DECEMBER 2012

December, for the Anderson's, was a rough month, to say the least.  It's with a heavy heart that I must start our December blog post with the news that we lost a truly special & loved man.  Jarrod Petrelli, Rich's cousin & the Twin's Godfather, passed away in his sleep on Dec. 6, 2012.  It took us all by great surprise as he was only 34 yrs old & in perfect health.  He was a Veteran, an ex-police officer & most recently an FBI agent.  More importantly, he was a husband, father, son, brother, uncle, cousin, Godfather, nephew & friend.  It saddens me to think that my babies will never get to know their Godfather & Daddy's best friend.  However, I do know for sure that Rich & the whole family will keep his memory alive with a million stories about his honor, passion, sense of humor, love of family & friends, integrity & of course all of the shenanigans that surrounded him.  RIP Jarrod Petrelli.

With all that had taken place at the onset of December I tried to keep Jett & Delilah busy with a few fun crafts.  They colored in Christmas coloring books; put stickers on anything that would stand still; made a few decorations; watched Frosty the Snowman (a million times!) & we even made a Christmas tree picture with all of the families hand prints.

 

 

 We decided that this year would be the year that we introduced the Twins to "The Elf on the Shelf".  Basically, it's an elf that showed up at our home some time after Thanksgiving.  The kids named him & we read them the story.  For the whole month he pops up in different places every morning & the kids have to search for him.  Then, he reports back to Santa about the behavior of Jett & Delilah.  Boy, did "Mickey" have his work cut out for him!!!

"We found him!"

 In keeping with the Holiday tradition of most folks, we wanted to see if we could capture a little Holiday spirit by taking the annual Christmas family portrait.  Our dear friend (& talented photographer), Michelle Strottner, took some fabulous photos of us at the Pearl Brewery, down by the river.  It turned out to be a gorgeous day by the water & the pictures turned out even better!  Thank you, Michelle!!

 

Mid-month we went down to Galveston to help Grandaddy move into his brand new home.  It was a busy few days so we didn't get to celebrate Christmas with him very much... but the kids always love snuggling on his lap.

Another fun tradition that we started last year & one that we hope to keep every year, is going to Johnson City to see the beautiful Christmas light display.  It was super cold this year but the kids had an absolute ball!  Our friends, The Strottner's, went with us & then we all had dinner together.  Great memories...

 

 What's Christmas without a visit with the big guy himself, Santa Claus?!  He just happened to be making an early appearance at Kiddie Park.  Jett & Delilah had a wonderful time riding on a few of the rides & eating candy canes.

 

Since Toni (aka Ya Ya) & Steve were going to be out of town for Christmas, Toni came over several days before & let the kids open their gifts.  They always love visiting with Ya Ya!

 

  We kept it pretty low key on Christmas Eve & just hung out around the house playing with the kiddos.  Grandy came over to visit & spent some quiet time with them in front of the warm fire. Then, it was off to bed to dream about what the next morning had in store for us.

 

 I think Rich & I were more excited about Christmas morning than Jett & Delilah were... They slept in while we waited patiently.  As they woke up we entered their room singing "Jingle Bells".  I'm pretty sure they thought we had both lost our minds.  With the help of Toni, I made the whole family matching pajama pants to wear on Christmas morning.  Then, after a little breakfast, it was time to finally start ripping open the gifts!  We had several visitors that made that day even more special:  Grandy, Grandpa, Xemena (ELS student of Chris's), Clarence, Milagros & little Brisa. 

 

Rich was on shift for New Year's Eve so the Twins & I spent the whole day playing with all of their new toys & being silly.  They still went to bed at their normal bedtime & I, well... let's just say that I rang in the New Year somewhere in my dreams.

 

I have mixed emotions about seeing 2012 go... it's been an amazing year watching my two beautiful babies grow.  They've learned so much:  how to talk; run; play & communicate with one another; follow direction; sing songs; attempt to dress themselves; & much more.  However, with the death of Jarrod still so fresh in our minds, it's nice to welcome a brand new year.  One thing that Rich & I have been able to take away from the tragic event is to appreciate each other, our family, our friends & more importantly, our lives.  So much can change in just an instant.  Now, more than ever, I realize that I am blessed beyond measure!

WELCOME 2013!