December....everything but Christmas

jjp giving her cheetah a ride in the wagon on a sunny December afternoon. 

One of my new favorite pictures.  Quinn waiting on the bus to bring Kanyon home. 

Celia, klp's PT brought a new amtryke over to get him fitted before we moved.  This new one will be delivered to us here in Montana.  

I came across this little set up one day and it made me giggle.  Wendy going for a ride on the skateboard. 

This series of pictures makes me so happy.  Jaylie June was getting a big kick out of this skunk puppet that was on the table. She was starting and laughing and having the best time with it.  The she started REALLY looking at it as if they were gonna strike up a conversation.....

she would just look at it and grin so big.  She was very entertained by this skunk. 

Quinn enjoyed his birthday cake for several days after the party. 

You know how sometimes my house is such a mess that I can't even believe it so I have to take a picture???? This was one of those times. 

This is the first year any of my kids have had stockings.  I started cross stitching ones for Kanyon and Jayde before they were born then realized I would NEVER finish those 2 much less any more for any other kids I might have.  So i picked out fabric and made/had these made for them. I picked the fabric out a couple of years ago. I saw that white fabric and bought it just in case I ever had a girl. Glad I did.  

This was Kanyon's last ride with his horse Kandy.  We were sad to say goodbye.  Kandy was a great horse for Kanyon.  

Jaylie, Meg, and Lucy at small group. 

Our great friends Gary and Sharon came over one night to bring the boys Christmas treats.  She gave each kid a Christmas book from her collection.  They loved them and they LOVED having Gary and Sharon over to play! 

Gary has had a hard year with a cancer diagnosis, surgery, chemo, and long recovery but he's back and doing great.  It did my heart so good to have him wrestling and playing with the kids just like he always used to do.  We love Gary and Sharon so so so so much and they have played (and will continue to even from a distance) an irreplaceable role in our family's life. 

Since we were moving to Montana in the middle of winter I thought I'd better have a warm coat so when Kanyon had Dr. appointments in Dallas we made a family trip out of it. All I have to say is baby winter/outdoor wear at REI is THE CUTEST THING EVER! Too bad this patagonia jacket was only $100!!!!  But we sure had fun playing dress up in all those clothes.  Carhartt's gonna have to do for this girl. 

klp had an early morning appointment so Kory stayed with Q and jjp at the hotel while we went to the Dr.  This was a neurology appointment and things are going well.  We think we may have finally found a medicine that is working for Kanyon's seizures.  They aren't completely gone, but they are way less often than they used to be! 

In the mean time Jaylie was at the hotel discovering her belly button.  

She really sat there for like 15 minutes fascinated with it! 

We got back to the hotel in time for breakfast and Bubble Guppies on the TV!  

We left the hotel and headed to see Santa in Allen.  It was so much fun and the kids did great.  Q was nervous so he graciously let klp sit on Santa's lap and he just stood there.  He was so nervous that he kinda choked when Santa asked him what he wanted him to bring him.  Q just stood there with a blank stare and then finally mustered up the words, "A train." (I think he saw a train that was on the wall decoration) That was the first mention of a train because he'd been consistently telling us he wanted a "horn" from Santa (a trumpet).  I didn't  think anything of it because I knew he didn't really want that.  Fast forward a couple of weeks and we were in Paris for Christmas.  We were driving around looking at Christmas lights and I looked over at Q and his chin was trembling. I asked him what was wrong and choking back tears he said, "I asked Santa for a train and I don't want a train. I want a horn."  I tried not to laugh and assured him that we could write Santa a letter and leave it out Christmas Eve to make sure that he knows to bring a horn.  That did the trick and he was happy again. 

Gay Gay met us at Santa and the kids reaped the benefits of having their Grandma come along because she took them on an overpriced train ride through the shopping center.  

If you can resist this girl in jeggings and moccasins something's wrong with you! 

This is me saying goodbye to my Rodeo.  I got this car when I left to go to college.  Its been "for sale" in our driveway for 2 years.  I kept giving Kory a hard time about not getting it sold, he'd put it on Craig's list then it would expire and blah blah blah it never got sold.  Then one day a yard worker was backing out of our neighbors driveway and ran into the car.  What seemed like a terrible thing (especially because we were getting ready to move and trying to get that thing sold) turned into something GREAT.  Turns out this dented door was all this car needed to get totaled.  The insurance company gave us over a thousand dollars more than we were asking for it on Craigslist.  And Kory's procrastination pays off again.  Literally.  I was sad to say goodbye, but it lived a good life and was with me through some of the best years of my life.  So long red rodeo!