It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Blessed beyond measure...
I've had a blast decorating our new home. God is good. I just look around and say "is the real" and "wow, thank you."

Living room

The mantle (my favorite)

Our new 9 foot tree

Porch decorations

Stairs

View from the top

Formal Dining Room

We hope you enjoy the holidays as much as we are!

A day in heaven...

Heaven's Seven Ranch - Farmersville, Texas

As I mentioned last week, we loaded up the family for a quick trip to Texas. We were fortunate to stay with the whole clan out at "Heaven's Seven Ranch." My parents are living here and enjoying it so much. I love hearing them talk about "country living" and all of the excitement that comes with it.

We had a fantastic visit and man, did we eat like kings (and queens). Kelley was amazing in the kitchen - and we had a wonderful time catching up with everyone. I loved that Grandma "Granddam" got to see my babies and I LOVED getting to hug my CANCER FREE Aunt Genie. God is awesome and faithful. We had a lot of blessings to celebrate this year.  Alex and Carson had a blast playing with Scott & Kelley's kids - fun was had by all.

Back to the ranch...The family just got a new horse, Houdini. YaYa (my mom) was in heaven (literally) as she took us out for a ride. I think it's the happiest I've seen her in a few years. Especially in that moment. The pictures explain much better than I can:

The girls in action



Beautiful Mom

Happy, happy girl

THIS IS HAPPINESS.  Mom, I adore this photo of you! 

Did I mention Alex rode bareback?!?  STUD!

Amazing!  So proud of my daughter

Alex was patient and sweet - careful and cautious

I even got to take a turn riding bareback - amazing experience!  I grew up riding and man, I miss it.

Interesting clothing choice, eh?  LOL!  PJ's :)



Happy girls!



Alex loved leading me...

Doesn't get better than this.  Ever.



YaYa and Sissy show Carson how to pet Houdini



Carson was incredibly responsive and thought the horse was "awesome"



The boys loved watching us girls play



Hieee!  Am I precious?

Running, running, running



Look at my mom's face - precious  moments



"Nice job, Carson" - he said that to himself after petting Houdini

Kids and animals - one of my favorite combos

Sweet girls - Natalee Grace and Alex

Carson actually fed Houdini too!

As you can see, it was a special, magical day for our family. 

A few of my favorite things

Carson is at the most adorable stage ever!  I truly can't imagine him being ANY cuter, sweeter or more precious.  He just turned three back in September and we are loving every minute.  I wanted to make sure and capture a few of our favorites so they are not forgotten:
1."Dank you, Mommy"- he's so polite and always says thank you for things
2. "Quiet mouth" - when he's being too loud, he covers his mouth and says "Shh, too loud,  Carson needs a quiet mouth."
3. He sings Happy Birthday to french fries.  "Happy Birthday dear French Fries..." at least once a day.  Too cute!
4. He loves to "take a bow" anytime he does something good.  "Carson take a bow."  "Daddy, take a bow..." you get the idea.  Everyone in the house takes bows daily.
5. "Mommy sad - mommy cry" - he loves it when we "pretend cry" so he can run into our arms and tickle us and cheer us up!

Precious, angelic child! I want to eat him up!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Enter His gates with Thanksgiving and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name.  For the Lord is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations.

I am most thankful for God's grace and salvation offered through Christ's sacrifice on the cross.  His righteousness covers me though I do not deserve it.

Family Photo Shoot: October 29, 2011

Our friend, Mitzi Penick, is a fantastic photographer and we had the opportunity for her to work with our family several weeks ago. Mitzi has such a calming, peaceful spirit.  I have to say, it was the easiest, most relaxing photoshoot our family has ever experienced.  This was a "mini-session" so we were only there for 30 minutes (we usually shoot for an hour or longer), so the kids had a blast.  The location:  Two Rivers Park, a hidden treasure to us!  It was beyond gorgeous.  We shot right at 5:00 (just before sunset). The weather was perfect, the shoot was perfect...I was a happy Mama. 

I will post about this entire week soon, but you will see that my sitter from Texas, Gabby, is in several of our photos.  Gabby flew in from San Diego and stayed with our famiy for two weeks.  We had an amazing time with her and she is truly a part of our family, so it was special to include her in the photoshoot.  Gabby is incredible with the kids and one of the reasons the photoshoot was such a success!

To see more from Mitzi, check out www.mitzipenickphotography.com. Here are a few favorites from our special day:

                                                            Daddy with his favorite girls

                                                                   I LOVE this one! 

                                                        The whole family with Gabby

                                              Alex and Daddy's yearly "Sic 'Em Bears!" photo

                                                                   Carson, 3 years old

                                                                Mommy's masterpiece

                                                              The "Christmas Card" shot

                                                                        Handsome man

                                                   Beautiful girl with her best friend, Macy

                                                                 Our precious babies!

                                                           She melts me - I love her smile!

                                                             The Darby Fam, 2011

                                Carson had the best time!  He ran and played and was such a happy boy.

                                                                    Sweet moment

                                                             Kisses from my man!  :)

                                                          Precious moments captured
We are so thankful to have these photos - now it's Christmas card time.