Smorgasbord

Several things:

1) I got a new haircut.

2) Eva is super cute.



3) Today at the store, my sitting-up-now Eva was sitting next to Clarky in the basket and Clark had his arm around her shoulders the entire time. I felt like a celebrity the way everyone we passed was fawning over us. But, seriously, it was so cute.

4) The Sam's Club near my house now accepts my "Free Food Card".

5) I found the equivalent of the Costco tortillas at the local HEB. They are called Guerreros and they look like this:
I just passed over them every time because they are all in Spanish. So is their website.

6) I am now a nearly-published freelancer, as TAMN would say "with no skills or experience".
7) I am declaring this Wednesday Spring Cleaning day. I may even rearrange the furniture.

My Exercise Regimen

If exercising daily is one of your New Years Resolutions, this may help you.

A Very Franny Christmas

We enjoyed our first ever Christmas at home. It was very relaxing, and I loved being the mom--making gifts, stuffing the stockings, planning dinner, setting out the toys, etc. It was peaceful and slow. We missed our families at home, for sure, but it was cozy to be just us with no where to go.

Our Christmas nook

On Christmas Eve, we joined our adopted family here for the nativity and some yummy chili and cornbread.

Mary and Joseph

A shephard. . .

. . . with his penguin. (too shy to stand there alone).

The angel (yes, that is a sheep to the left).

The magic of Christmas

Then we came home, put the kids to bed, and put on our elf hats. We went a little overboard with gifts because we didn't realize that Clark would be so enraptured with the presents already laid out that he would have no interest in opening any more.
So we just put the wrapped ones in the closet for his birthday.

He got a horse blanket from his Grandma Francisco for his big boy bed,

This rolling toy from his dad,

A train and a mat,

And STICKERS!!!!

Eva got this stacking toy from me, and about 6 pairs of legwarmers.

Perhaps the best thing about this Christmas is that we are still a year away from children with "the gimmies" (as I heard it phrased last night) and so we were able to focus on the real reason for the Holy day this year.