The Wise Ones

Each year our church hosts a live nativity.  You might recall in years past we've taken our turn at being shepherds, kings and even the holy family with Reid as baby Jesus.  Now that the boys are older, I decided to sit out in the crowd and watch these handsome three kings perform at the live nativity. 

 

 There they come bringing gifts to baby Jesus.

 Connor had so much fun! Even after the 3 shows they were in, he wasn't ready for his role to be over.  He starred in a 4th show by himself while Josh and Reid and I watched from the audience.  As soon as Connor and the other kings emerged from the distance, Reid took off running yelling "Hi Connor! Hi Connor!"  He ran right up to Connor (front and center) waved to him, then ran back to his seat.  It was pretty funny!

Because they did such a wonderful job, we were asked to once again be "wise ones" for the Christmas Eve service.  (Mommy joined them this time!)  Here we are walking down the aisle.

 A little bickering between the kings going on. Normal.

 At the children's service all of the kids in the congregation get to be either angels, shepherds or kings.  I told Connor that we get to lead all of the kings to baby Jesus and he said, "yeah we're the leaders because we're the Settlemeyer Family!" Such a wise one! :)

More (not) Real Santas!

We've had the opportunity to meet lots of Santas this year.  But as well all know, they aren't the REAL Santas (read previous post.) Nevertheless, the boys enjoy seeing him and sitting in his lap. 

Here we are at Bass Pro Shop in San Antonio

 Shorts and short sleeves with Santa?!?

 The boys had Breakfast with Santa at our church.

 Santa at the Mall

 Who knows what Reid is telling him.  He usually only says he wants whatever Connor wants, or something completely random.  Oh that Reid...

 The train was passing by, so Reid was giving a side wave to the train.

Even Santa needs his rest! Real or not real...

Christmas Party at School

This week the boys both had their Christmas parties at school.  Connor also had Polar Express day where he wore his pj's and watched the movie while snacking on popcorn and hot chocolate.

 Reid had to be right next to Connor at each station, but Connor didn't mind as he would often put his arm around his little brother!

 Reid made reindeer food with his teacher and friends.

 Proudly showing off his bag.

 Instead of decorating gingerbread houses, they made trees.

 He decided he wanted to make it a volcano and ate off the top.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Pics with Santa Claus...

...but not the REAL Santa Claus, of course! Each year we take a picture with Santa at the mall but Connor informed me this year that he was not the real Santa Claus.  You see, the REAL Santa visited him at his school last week and he knows the one at the mall is different because his beard was a couple of inches shorter than the one from school.  Hmmm... This kid doesn't miss a beat. 

And we've gone 5 years with NO tears AND smiles!!

So here is the "fake" Santa at the mall 2012:

 2011

 2010

 2009

 2008

Blessed

I love my family.  Some days don't seem so lovable, but I thank God for them EVERY day!  I was first blessed to have the best parents in the world (and even the best brother in the world, but don't tell him I said that!) And now I have the most wonderful man in my life whom I get to call husband AND the two most adorable boys that get to call me MOM!  I am beyond blessed!

 Daddy and his boys

 Momma's Boys

 Sweet Brothers, Best Friends

 This photo sums up our everyday life with two silly, lovable, wonderful little blessings!

I want to dedicate this blog to one of my most devoted blog readers who sadly passed away unexpectedly this weekend.  Mrs. Williams was such a sweet,caring woman and devoted mother and grandmother.  She always had a smile on her face.  Please keep her family in your prayers as they go through this difficult time. By having her in their lives, they too were wonderfully blessed.

Choo-Choo!!!

The boys love all things train.  There is a passenger train which runs from Leander to downtown Austin and the boys always want to ride it.  So one day I called a friend of ours and we decided to ride the train downtown.  The kids loved it!!

 Jenna used to live next door to us.  She is 2 months older than Connor.

Once we arrived in downtown we walked and walked (the kids were troopers) to one of our favorite diners: Hut's Hamburgers!!! Yum!  Then we walked across to Whole Foods, picked out a dessert and played on the playground before walking back to the depot.

 Waiting for the train to pick us up and take us home!

 Katie is Jenna's little sister and is 8 weeks older than Reid.

If you're looking for a fun day trip I would recommend riding the train.  Kids are free to ride which is bonus!!