kettlebell training.

at the beginning of the month, travis and i went to see laura for my intro to kettlebells class.  he's been training with her for over a year -- first at the hub on main street in BA, and then as she started her own business.

today was my first official class.  we were both supposed to work out, but when we got there, travis wasn't feeling well and decided to send me in to face the music alone.

i'm not going to lie ... it wasn't easy.  but i did enjoy it.  and i'm making an effort to make sure we get to class with her on a regular basis.  travis was doing really well for months on end, but lately has had to work later at the office, which puts us back in tulsa too late.  help hold me to this!  i don't want to lose anymore weight, but i want to tone up and get in shape. {oh ... and did i mention that i'm not strong enough to pull the slide back on my new christmas present? ridiculous}.

now we have lots to do to get ready for parker's big birthday bash!  we'll be heading to muskogee soon to celebrate our favorite little guy.

baking for parker's birthday.

there was little going on at the office today {i only received two emails, and they were both junk}, so i spent time at the house.  i was already all caught up on the laundry and had even gotten most of the christmas presents put away, and i didn't really have anything to write about ... so i pitter-pattered around the house.

lindsay had been unable to find a "1" cookie cutter for parker's birthday party, and i had one on hand, so she asked if i would bake the cookies for his party.  i already had dough from our baking night, so i pulled it out and set to work on baking tiny little 1s.

in the middle of baking it started snowing -- the first of the season.  it was too warm to stick, but the big, fluffy flakes were so beautiful as they fell.  i'm keeping my fingers crossed for more.

  

{if anyone has any suggestions for capturing snowflakes as they're falling, i would love to hear your suggestions.} 

while i baked, my boys napped.  oli has a knack for knowing when his picture is about to be snapped and almost always wakes up.

i have absolutely loved this time at home, doing things i love, and spending time with my boys.  i am so thankful for my job and like what i do ... but if i never had to work again, that would be okay by me.  

christmas with the lear clan.

right before we headed to muskogee, travis remembered that tanner was at the lears'.  he's 3 1/2 and we were afraid he had been pining to open gifts all morning long.  when we got to the house we found out he had already been allowed to open a couple of gifts, so he was fine.

i think steve gets as excited about the gifts as the kids do.  he wanted to start passing everything out as soon as we walked in.  i didn't snap a lot of pictures, but did manage to get a few.

this year we got steve a remote control helicopter -- which is what also inspired me to get travis's helicopter. every time we went to the store, he always went and looked at the helicopters, even after we had purchased steve's gift.

travis couldn't wait for steve to get his gift.  as soon as steve got some of the paper off he started laughing.  he just kept chuckling the whole time he was opening it. 
 

i realized i never got a picture of travis and me in front of the tree on christmas eve, so i tried to capture a couple.  this is the best we could do.

i ended up falling asleep for a bit after presents were opened {i actually fell asleep sitting up at first}.  you fall asleep for a few minutes, and this is what happens ...

dinner was delicious and we somehow managed to all fit around the kitchen table -- dee, steve, amanda, zach, eric, marlena, david, travis, and me.  tanner watched dumbo in the living room while we ate.  {by the way, i had forgotten how sad dumbo is! i always loved the movie, but it's so very sad}.

we were at the lears' most of the day, but ended up heading home around 6:30.  we were supposed to have a white christmas and some places in oklahoma saw more snow than we did in tulsa.  david called to say they were having trouble on the roads, so we didn't want to chance it.


we had such a wonderful christmas {our first as an officially married couple} and are so blessed to have so many people in our lives to love.

merry christmas from our family to yours!

christmas morning at the lears' {and i don't mean travis's parents'}

after a late night of yummy food and fun card games, we all slept in a little later than usual.  travis and i were doing christmas with his family later in the morning, so we got up and around and started rousing everyone else.  i woke sierra, and she rallied mom and dad.  she had to leave by 10:00 {i had no idea} to get to arkansas to spend christmas with dakota and his family.

{pay no attention to the angel leaning at the top of our tree.  my dad brought it as a gift on christmas eve, but none of us, not even justin, could reach it well enough to place it -- plus the top needed to be trimmed for it to really fit well}.

 

the best christmas present of the year.  from my husband to me.

and i was so surprised to get this mixer from my mom and dad. 

travis also got me a pistol, and i got him a new razor and a helicopter.  the helicopter was his actual present ... but it was broken.  we tried to return it for a new one last night, but had to get our money back because there were no more helicopters.  i had taken so many pictures, had been so busy, and had been so sick, i really didn't snap a lot on christmas morning.  i just loved everyone being together.  i heard the song "all i want for christmas is you" while travis was out shopping on christmas eve, and it rang so true for me.  as long as i have my husband, our boys, and our families, i have everything i need.

after all the gifts were open we all had to get around to get to the lears' {and this time i am talking about travis's parents}.  i was still feeling pretty sick, so i kept my pajamas on, travis grabbed a quick shower and hopped back in his sweats, and we headed to muskogee.

happy anniversary, leaches!

we have lots to celebrate on december 27th, including justin and lindsay's wedding anniversary.  today they celebrate their fourth.  congratulations you two!  we love you!

happy birthday, parker!!

today is my darling nephew's first birthday.  i was saying last night on facebook how hard it is to believe that at that moment last year we were sitting at hastings hospital waiting for our sweet little guy to be born.  a lot has happened in a year, but it's hard to imagine what life was like before he came along.

happy birthday, parker.  travis and i both love you so much, buddy.  we can't wait to see what the next year holds in store for you.

making memories of us.

this morning travis had to wake up and go to work, but i'm home with the boys for the rest of the week.  i usually sleep in, but this morning i was wide awake when travis left.  i laid in bed a bit longer, but went a head and got up.

i came into the living room and turned on the t.v.   cmt (country music television) was on -- which is weird because i don't remember the last time we watched this channel.  anyway, there was a song playing that reminded me of "get a little mud on the tires"  which reminded me of when travis and i first met.  we used to go for drives late at night through little towns in oklahoma.  we would always end up in fields looking up at the stars, holding hands, and just talking.  i loved it.

that then reminded me of  "making memories of us."  travis used to play that song for me.  "... i'll earn your trust making memories of us..."  and did he ever.  i'm such a lucky girl that he stuck around.  i know our first year wasn't easy for him.  i was so scared to love again and hurt again, and he kept putting all of himself out there.  i was scared, but i also couldn't live without him.  i wanted him around all the time.

to my husband:  thank you taking the time to earn my trust by spending time with me and making wonderful memories.  i know it hasn't always been easy, and i'm glad you've stuck with me and helped see me through tough times.  i'm looking forward to making so many more memories with you.

 

it's the little things.

i know dinner was good when travis gets excited about eating leftovers.  he hates bringing home leftovers from our moms.  he always, always, always turns them down.

tonight when he got home from work, though, he looked in the fridge and was so excited to see leftovers from monday night's dinner.

it made my heart happy.

it's the most wonderful time of the year: part iii

my uncle david and hayley arrived at our house right around 6:00.  mom, dad, and sierra were all running a little late.  i was just waiting to pull the meats out and reheat everything.

everyone visited and snacked on cheese trays until everyone arrived.  mom and dad arrived next and began carrying in packages.  when they were finished, mom whipped up a gravy from the beef tenderloin drippings {thank goodness!  i love to cook, but i've never, not once, made gravy}.

we snapped a few pictures, and then everyone grabbed a seat.

i strung this ribbon up on sunday night.  our christmas cards were starting to clutter up the mantle, and i couldn't see each of them.  i had some extra ribbon lying around, so i created this.  it doesn't photograph super well, but i still think it's cute. 

this picture is a little blurry, but i went ahead and posted it to capture the warmth of the colors in the room.  don't mind our outdoor table and chairs.  we have our round table our dining area most of the time, and it definitely won't seat nine people.

little parker and papaw just hanging out in the kitchen waiting for dinner to be served.

you're taking me away from the food??

the leaches - such a great picture of them

dinner time!  i wish the sweet potato juices hadn't run everywhere for this picture {put it's justin's favorite part}. everything turned out incredibly well!  i was so happy as it was my first time to have made most of it.  i like cooking but am always afraid people won't like it {we have some very picky eaters}, but everyone loved it.  i think a new holiday meal tradition has been born!

travis tried the pork, too {on the left}

rolls in our gorgeous, new silver bowl from penni dawn

li'l p trying some mashed potatoes from papaw's plate & miss sierra getting her plate ready

he's a sneaky little guy ... 

travis started to take a bite of the buttermilk pie before i stopped him and told him i needed a picture.

since the pie was such a big deal, i wanted to capture every bit of his first reaction as he tasted it for the first time.  i'm still so excited that he told his mom it was better than any she or sue had ever made!!

time to open presents

 

 

 

  

we had such a great, great night.  once parker was down and ready for bed, we continued the festivities with a few games of kent.  {and travis actually played on my team!! and we won!!}

i loved our family christmas at our house.  everyone was pretty wiped out and headed out around midnight.  justin, lindsay, and parker were doing his first christmas morning at their house and had to drive home.  hayley and david headed out as well.  mom, dad, and sierra all stayed the night so we could all wake up together and do christmas  morning together.

travis and i have had fun playing host to so many people we love over the past weekend.  thank you all for coming!