Christmas Pancakes fix Everything

I knew we were in for a long two weeks when Reese came out of her room on the first day of our vacation looking like this...

It's a good thing this super mom has some tricks up her sleeve.  Granny's famous pancake recipe, a christmas tree cookie cutter, way too much grease, and some sticky syrrup and viola...  

Not just one happy kid... but two! 

I'm addicted to my Granny's homemade pancakes so I make those all the time.  So making them in the shape of Christmas trees was a sinch... and earned me major Mom of the Year points.

It didn't take much to get us in the Christmas spirit!

Twinkle Twinkle

The day after thanksgiving, the Doyle women took all the kids to the Parade of Lights in downtown Fort Worth.  We sat right by the announcer this year which was kinda fun and the kids loved the horses, lights and fire trucks.  The weather was perfect too! 

This is how I feel most of the time... like a crazy woman trying to wrangle three kids. 

We had a great time and then Amber and I got stuck in the parking garage for well over an hour with 4 kids.  Fun times.  Don't you know we called the police to come direct traffic so we could get out of there!! 

Lake House

Well, it happened. Grammy and Grandpa moved to the lake.  The kids are already having fun fishing and playing outside.  No more Houston mosquitoes to worry about! 

Even Rylan is enjoying the lake house already.

Smiln' Rylan

I can hear her now... "There are way more pictures of Reese and Tucker than of me when I was a baby." And she'll be right.  Gotta work harder people.  Here are a few we've taken of Rylan in the last few months...

This girl continues to be happy, content, snuggly and always smilin'!!  

Walmart Attitude Adjustment

We all have those days. Days when we're discouraged, frustrated, and overwhelmed with the responsibilites of life.  I had one of those days not too long ago so I took a trip to Walmart.  I know it sounds weird, but Walmart gives me clarity and perspective.   I guess some of the people in Walmart give me clarity and perspective.  We all joke and pass around the Walmart emails, but every time I go in that place I'm reminded of how blessed I truly am.  Blessed to have the job that requires me to work so hard, blessed to have the car that needs new tires, blessed to have the house that constantly needs to be cleaned, and blessed to have the husband and kids that always seem to need something from me. 

Speaking of blessed... we had Thanksgiving dinner with my family this year.  Talk about blessed...

Sisters, brothers, neices and nephews... all that get along and enjoy being together. 

Parents that love my kids and spoil then (and us) like crazy! It was a great Thanksgiving. I had the whole week off this year and we got to see both sides of the family now that Chris' parents live close. 

Just try it... the next time you're in a funk, go to Walmart for an attitude adjustment. 

Oh Brother

So, I'm in the kitchen making pancakes yesterday (at the crack of dawn I might add... because that's when Tucker gets up) and this is what Tucker is busy doing...

Rylan didn't seem to mind.  Not that I'm surprised though. She also didn't mind when he sat on her back and yelled "Yaw, giddy-up horsey" or when he used her as a step stool to get on the couch. 

We're working on the whole "Brothers are supposed to protect their sisters" thing.  Hopefully it will sink in before he does some serious damage.  Until then... he can't be left alone with her!



Everyday a Sunday

Can we please just play outside all the time!?  Wouldn't it be nice if life was just a continuous cycle of Sunday afternoons?  Where we could just relax and enjoy playing together?  No stress, no responsibilities... just moments of pure joy, love and laughter. 

I pray that we'll always find the time (and energy) to play together, to explore together, to just plain love life together!

Moments like these bring me pure joy and remind me to count my many blessings. 

See what God has done!