THE LAST THREE MONTHS OF A SPECTACULAR DECADE!

OCTOBER
It seems as though as soon as Jett & Delilah are finished blowing out their birthday candles I immediately decorate for Halloween & the Fall.  And then, the first thing on our to-do list is to hit up the nearby pumpkin patch! The nursery just down the road always has a great selection plus a little shop for us to be silly in!

Delilah played her first season of Softball & really enjoyed it.  She had one of her very best buddies on her Team... it was so cute to watch them explore this sport together. She really learned a lot, most importantly, all about Team work. We are so very proud of her!  Jett also played the season of Fall-ball... this boy just keeps getting better and stronger. Way to go, buddy!!

It always puts me into total shock when we receive back their class photos!  I know in my HEAD that they're getting older but I guess I don't see it on a daily basis.  So, when I get pictures back, like these, it hits the very core of me.  These two kiddos will never know how much they make my heart melt!

In the early part of the month we were so excited about the possibility of camping with the cooler weather that we took a quick trip to Canyon Lake.  It was a great, small spot called Mystic Quarry.  Just what we needed... a little outdoors, feeding chickens, scavenger hunts and family time.  Rich had to work on the last day so me and the Twins loaded up and visited another pumpkin patch in Bracken.

 The best weekends are made up of things that make us THIS tired!

The SAFD had another great tragedy take place.  We lost another fellow firefighter in the line of duty.  While we, as parents, do our very best to try & shield Jett & Delilah from some of the evils of the world, unfortunately, this is our reality.  Tough discussions to have with them but we want them to understand our sadness.

Delilah, once again, opted to submit an entry to the PTA Reflections program.  The theme was "Inside of Me" & I must say that Delilah hit it out of the ballpark.  My girl is definitely wise for her years... she's not only intelligent but very in-tune, emotionally.  She chose to write a poem about what she might be when she grows up.  My thoughts... not so fast, little one!

Delilah ALSO wanted to submit a pumpkin, decorated like a book character.  Anyone that knows our daughter knows that this is right up her alley as it combines two of her favorite things... Reading books and arts & crafts!  She chose The Grouchy Ladybug...

We had the pleasure of attending one of the funnest parties of the year... the Hillis Halloween party!  Rich was off this year so we all got to go as a family.  That means, we had to come up with super fun family-themed costumes.  The Anderson's were Taco's, a Taco Truck & Sriracha Sauce. What a great evening!!!

A few pics from Drug Awareness week:

This year I decided to sponsor the Arlon Seay Fun Run. In return our Team name was posted on a huge banner at the front of the school, on the t-shirts and on roadside signs by the kid pick-up drive way.

Right before Halloween night, we finally slowed down long enough to carve our pumpkins.  I teamed up with Delilah and Rich teamed up with Jett to give it our best! We also introduced the Twins to our old tradition of baking the pumpkin seeds. (I guess I should add that those seeds sat in the pantry until they got so old I had to throw them out!)

On Halloween night our neighbors all met down at the neighborhood park where we all hopped aboard a trailer for a hay ride.  In true Anderson fashion we again came up with themed costumes for the special night... Jett & Delilah were The Flash & Jessie Quick (from one of their favorite shows), Rich was a flashing light, and I was a "hot flash", of course! We went trick or treating throughout the community and all of the kids got enough candy to open their own candy store! Such fun and what a wonderful place we live!! It's so neat when the last stop of the night was at the home of one of the kids very favorite teachers!

Just a few fun pictures that I don't want to leave out:

NOVEMBER
This years family photos were much easier than years past... We had one of Rich's dear friends, Zach Newton, who's a wonderful photographer, agree to the arduous task  We met him in downtown San Antonio for a more urban/industrial look.

 

On November 1st, the day right after Halloween, where they ate entirely toooo much candy, the Twins ran the Fun Run.  That means 36+ laps around the gym. They were smoked when they finished but they did a fabulous job!

 It doesn't take much, but I do take down the skulls and ghost décor and switch it out for Turkeys and pumpkins. This year was extra special because Aunt Carol passed down to us some of her really neat Fall décor.  I had fun painting it, to match our home. I always love once I'm finished  because it makes it official... Fall is in the air.

Arlon Seay always puts on a really nice Veterans Day program to celebrate the many vets in our area. At the end, they invite all of the Veterans in the audience up on stage, to be recognized.  Jett & Delilah wrote really fantastic poems for the occasion.

I had the pleasure of joining Jett, Delilah & a bunch of their classmates for the annual Thanksgiving "feast".  Of course, my children refuse to the at the actual "feast" so, Mommy brings McDonalds!

We spent one of the nice Sunday afternoons at a nearby, neighborhood winery, Kai Simone.  It was their grand opening so there was treats, wine & live music.

A celebration that we would never want to miss is the birthday for Brisa Bella.  Milagros always goes all out on the food & décor.  This year's theme was Mermaid.  Brisa made THE cutest mermaid ever!

In an attempt to catapult our family to the very center of the Christmas spirit, we decided to take Jett & Delilah on a very special, surprise camping trip to Burleson, TX.  Doesn't sound like much BUT it's less than an hour away from the Gaylord Hotel in Grapevine.  And, at the Gaylord Hotel, every Christmas season, the hotel hosts an amazing event called ICE!  Everything on display is made strictly from ice and the area was kept at a balmy 9 degrees!  They hand out special parkas to everyone attending the show to ensure we all kept warm enough. After the frozen display we took a turn on an ice slide; threw a few snowballs; ate lunch; went tubing; & then ice skating!  It was a jam packed day full of fun, laughter and frost bite!

The rest of the camping trip was pretty awesome, too!  The sites were super clean with beautiful pine trees! We fished at the lake; Jett & Delilah rode their bicycles; spent some time in the arcade; played on the playground; searched for perfect pinecones; made s'mores & most importantly enjoyed some very cherished family time together.

 After our camping trip, we had one day until our fabulous Thanksgiving dinner with family.  Clarence, Milagros, Brisa & Grandy all came over for a very relaxing evening.  After dinner we spent some time with dessert, coffee & whiskey around the fire pit.

We can always count on a very special visit from a certain little elf, the day after Thanksgiving. Sure enough, Mickey the Elf arrived as expected.  This year... through the mail.

The day after Thanksgiving is always special for another reason... it's the day that we decorate the house for the Christmas season.

Our yearly tradition of Chrsitmas in Comfort, with the Strottner's, carried on.  After a yummy lunch at our favorite place in Boerne, off to the parade we went.

 Several random pictures from the month of November:

DECEMBER:
December is always a much awaited for month in our home.  Decorations, shopping, gift wrap, baking & lot of family fun.
At Christmas in Comfort Jett & Delilah made little, wooden boxes.  Jett's was a tool box & Delilah made a heart shaped jewelry box. On a Sunday afternoon they painted them.

To set us all off on the right, celebratory foot, our neighbors, the Harkins, hosted a little Holiday shin-dig.  All of the kids, including us big ones, had a great time visiting, playing, snacking & drinking.

The official 2019 Anderson Family Christmas cards.  Yes, we always have to order two different ones because we can never agree on one, ha ha!

A tradition that I have loved since I was a little girl is the Advent calendar.  There's just something about starting each day off by opening a little door with a secret, chocolate treat hidden inside.  Perfection!

I had the honor of attending the Platinum Top 50 Awards breakfast, representing a team member of Rangel Real Estate Group.

We've grown to love any time that we get to spend at Chick's Meat Market & Beer Garden.  Breakfast with Santa made for a beautiful morning complete with pictures taken with Santa himself & visiting with a dear friend, Sydney.

After a chilly morning at Chick's we headed out to our next destination of the day... New Braunfels. We met up with the Handke family & had a delicious lunch at Krause's Café, where they serve delicious German fare.

As one of the busiest Saturday's that we had ALL month, we still had one more stop for the evening... After dropping the twins off with Grandy, Rich & I attended an Ugly Christmas Sweater party at Max's Roadhouse.  Some of these sweaters were downright awful... but hysterical!  After catching up with friends and a few shots... we headed  home.

While our Saturday may have been busy, I wasn't finished quite yet. On Sunday I packaged up dozens of cookies and hung out with the ladies at Nicole Wagner's Annual Cookie Exchange.

The first thing that Jett & Delilah do every morning is race around the house on a hunt for Mickey the Elf.  That cheeky, little Elf had a lot of precarious excursions this year:

With all of our busy schedules, it's always tough to find time to squeeze in a Team Christmas party.  So, this year, 4 out of 5 of us stole an hour or so & met for a delicious breakfast to visit & do a small gift exchange. I love my work-family!

In true Holiday-hectic fashion, I went from Team breakfast, to Client pop-by drop offs to an evening spent with the ladies from our neighborhood, at Bunco.  Oooor, drunco!  Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of our hysterical gift exchange but I managed to snag one of the last 3 girls standing.

The Christmas season wouldn't be the same without our yearly trip to Johnson City to see the beautiful lights display.  The Strottner's came over for a small gift exchange and then on to Redbud Café, in Blanco, for dinner.  After, the lights were absolutely spectacular!

I've always wanted to learn how to ice & decorate sugar cookies with royal icing.  So, I decided to host a group of ladies for a class.  The owner of Add A Little Flavor brought all of the cookies and tools and we dove right in.  I served a meat & cheese charcuterie board & also a dessert board.  We ate, drank, decorated & had a great afternoon.

Having "pajama days" is definitely one of Jett & Delilah's favorite things to do!  And a day like THAT calls for cinnamon rolls, hot chocolate & baking fresh, peanut butter kiss cookies.

We had some very special visitors come into town this month.  Aunt Kathy, Uncle Billy and their friend, came in from Boston.  We enjoyed our time with them having some delicious BBQ in Blanco, a light lunch in our home and they even stopped by the Fire Station to visit Rich.

The annual Anderson Gingerbread House show-down can always be a little competitive.  This year it was me & Delilah versus Rich & Jett.  Both houses looked great but I'm sure you can tell that there was a clear winner!

Charlie & Cinder are such important members of our family! It seems I take almost as many photos of them as I do the kiddos!

Jett & Delilah's last couple of days of school, before the Christmas break included Pajama Day at school.  They made these adorable ornaments to hang on the tree!

With as crazy busy as things had been through December, we decided to let Jett & Delilah stay home from school on their last day before Winter Break.  It was exactly what our family needed... We baked & iced cookies, worked on our gift wish list, played board games, & ended the day with a pizza picnic while watching a favorite Christmas movie.

The Twins were invited to decorate their second set of gingerbread houses, at their sweet friends house, The McAllister's.  The children spent the afternoon working diligently on their houses and probably eating more candy than what adorned the cookies. They even had another chance to sit on Santa's lap and plead their case one last time.

Unfortunately, Rich was on shift this year, on the date of the Walker's Christmas Party.  But, I asked Barry Lowry to go with me, and we had a wonderful time visiting with everyone.

This year's Saran Wrap Ball was the largest so far! I had a great time, chuckling to myself, as I wrapped up all of the trinkets.  The next project was the "reindeer food", for the kids to sprinkle on the lawn on Christmas Eve.

 

There for a while I was very confused... every so often Jett would ask me to add bananas to the grocery list. Sure enough, each time I brought them home, they would just sit on the counter and turn brown.  He would quickly suggest that I add them to a bag in the freezer, for when we bake banana muffins. Ah ha!! So, I spent a glorious afternoon teaching Jett & Delilah how to make my Mom's (Grandma Rose, is what they call her) homemade, Sour Cream Banana Bread Muffins.

I've really tried my best to keep up the ol' Stringer tradition of the Annual Christmas Eve Open House.  While there aren't as many folks that will venture out to Spring Branch for the occasion, we really enjoy our time spent with those friends & family that do.  Always lots of food, drinks & laughs! The saran wrap ball is always a hit with the adults and the kiddos love sprinkling the reindeer food on the front lawn.

After all of the guests leave after a fun-filled evening, it's time to prepare for Santa's arrival. We all get ready for bed, wearing our matching Christmas jammies and snap one last picture. After Jett & Delilah are all tucked in... one more Irish coffee.

2019 was a tough year as far as Rich working Holidays. He even worked Christmas day. But, Jett & Delilah got up early enough to see the awesome, new bicycles that Santa had left along with several other surprises. Then, when Daddy got home, on the morning of the 26th, we finished opening our gifts.  No sooner did I get all of the wrapping paper smashed into the trash can, and they were out playing with neighbors, using the new metal detector.

We finished off the special evening with a very competitive round of our new, favorite game, Clue.  Delilah won!

Our household hit another very significant milestone in December... Delilah learned how to make our coffee!  Total game changer!!

I

It's become a ritual that every night that Rich is on shift, I get to snuggle up with my Love's for the night.  Now, this means that I also must share the bed with 2 cats & an endless plethora of stuffed animals and blankets.  Wouldn't change it for the world!

Rich & I went on a date-night to celebrate the birthday of our friend and neighbor, Patrick Harkins.  We went for dinner in New Braunfels then stopped for a night cap at a local tavern there.

We rang in the New Year at the neighbor's house, the Harkins. I loved celebrating the beginning of a brand new decade with my beautiful family, friends & neighbors.

Jett & Delilah's very last picture of 2019.  And, the good Lord KNOWS that we take a zillion of them!

Well, that finishes up our 2019 and rounds out the most amazing decade of my life!  It was the decade that my dream of becoming a Mommy came true, and God blessed us with these two, beautiful miracles! Almost every day we see some sort of change in them... they're growing up so very quickly. Both of them are turning into smart, loving, funny & gorgeous humans.  My cup truly runneth over.
CHEERS TO LOVE, LAUGHTER & A PROSPEROUS NEW DECADE!