Christmas Traditions Start Early

The Hughes Fam has started with the Christmas spirit a bit early this year, and if I'm being totally honest, every year since moving to Texas. Hey, when you live in a retail space like we do, you tend to follow the retail calendar. So that means in a few weeks we'll be decorating for Easter ... I digress.

• Our family decorated the home for Christmas in early November. Mom, Dad, and the kids hung ornaments on the tree.
• We took a family trip to Target to check out more holiday decor for our house, and even had special holiday hot cocoa from Starbucks!
• We made a family holiday calendar to plan out special holiday events. Daddy and Daughter are going to the Nutcracker Ballet. Dad and Avery are going to a Rockets game. Chris and Em are having a special holiday date. We've even penciled in shopping dates!
• Friday nights = Christmas Movie nights. 
• Chris breaks out the guitar and we sing Christmas carols

Some upcoming events as the holiday draws near ...

• We will take the kids to Macy's to mail their letters to Santa.
• We will drive around to check out Christmas lights.
• We also want to teach our kids to think outside the family when it comes to celebrating the holidays, so this year we are planning a visit to a nurisng home.
• Christmas Day is s special and relaxing day for us. We spend it at home, playing with each other and new toys.
• Christmas night is movie night! We bundle up and take the kids to the theater to see a family friendly flick.

Our family loves the holidays, but what we love most is the time we spend with each other. And that is why we intentionally protect family time at the "Most Wonderful (and busy) Time of the Year!"

Avery Runs to School

My son RUNS to school every day. He loves it and can't wait to get there. He can hardly wait for me to stop the car so he can get out. It really makes me smile. May it always be so!

Avery Runs to School from Emily Hughes on Vimeo.

Don't Know What You've Got ...

Don't know what you've got til its gone ...
There is a place I long to visit. It is so beautiful. A vacation destination for many. And to think I used to live 10 minutes from there ... BUT HARDLY EVER WENT!

I love this beach!
Now that I live about 1000 miles away, I often wonder why I didn't take advantage of what was right down the road. I remember feeling bogged down by the beach "stuff" needed for the kids, metered parking, and sandy car. It now takes special vacation time and a 20 hour road trip to visit. Ugh. That really puts things in perspective!
Since moving to Texas I have found fantastic spots around town that are charming and fun. There are so many new experiences that are unique to this area: farmer's markets, museums, parks, farms, and sporting events. And I remember not to take them for granted or let a short drive make me decide not to go. Its too easy to be too busy to get out and enjoy your town. Embracing what you have ... that is what its all about. 

When In Rome

So we dressed in our Texans shirts and had a great time at the game. Texans vs. Bucs. Funny, MH decided she wanted "the team from Florida" to win. 

Moo

Chick-Fil-A has a promotion every year for free food, if you dress like a cow! Our family was not the least bit shy. We enjoyed making our costumes at home and wore them with pride in our local store. Some of the items were actually provided by CFA the week prior to the big day!

They had games and prizes! The kids really loved the icedream cone!

Our intern, Jeremy, got into the spirit, too. We made him a special "Cow In Training" costume. His sign read "I'm Earning My Spots."

To make the event even cooler, our CFA had a real cow outside with an informational talk by the farmer and milking demonstration!

Summer Swimmin'

What summer is all about ...

This neighborhood kiddie pool is the best I have ever seen. Thanks to a great friend, we got to enjoy it for the day. 4 hours later the kids still didn't want to leave!

A quick trip to Target before heading to the pool... we snatched 2 floaties. They were the highlight of the day for the kids.

Avery is such a cutie!

Mary Hannah was enjoying the independence.

She was very protective of their new toys, so she decided to carry Avery's while he wasn't using it. Later in the day she decided to share with some kids ...

Relaxing

Mary Hannah was clearly too small for her float. But, she tried to float and kick anyway.

I love spending time with my little munchkins!

Easter in Texas

It was our first Easter in Texas. The Hughes Fam got ready by teaching the kids all about Christ's sacrifice. Never too early to teach that. Together we watched a kid-friendly animated version of The Passion, and used Resurrection Eggs to help them remember the events leading up to Christ's death and resurrection. More importantly, we discussed what effect those events has on our lives today and what we should do in response. It was extra special to hear Mary Hannah and Avery talk about the Easter story and to see them embrace it.

Our church services were packed! In all, there were 8,500 people present at the weekend services. The sanctuary is large, but it was full! Even our second campus had standing room only! Here are a couple pictures from the day.

Inside the sanctuary at the main campus.

The cafe portion of the lobby was also packed. See the blue screens? People sat out in the lobby to watch the service on those TVs since there was no more room.

They filled the lobby with chairs to accommodate the overflow.

Sundays are always busy in our house. It really a work day for Pastors. So we like to take it easy. We had a simple egg hunt then let the kids play in the splash park by our apartment. Here are some pics from our day:

No More Diapers ... and other signs they're growing up

We are now a diaper free home. Sigh. Rejoice. Reflect. Rejoice ... lots of mixed emotions. Mostly celebratory emotions, but undoubtedly mixed with the reality that are children are growing up quickly.... AND ... We don't have any babies here. Boy, would I love to cuddle a baby!

Along with ditching the diapers, Mary Hannah has added to her grown up status gum-chewing and role playing. She likes to believe that she has achieved motherly status when she is chewing a piece of Extra and is carrying her baby doll. "Look, now there are two moms!" she exclaims as she trots on by. She also has an imaginary friend, Sally, who visits us frequently. Usually Mary Hannah greets her in our apartment building elevator and consults her when putting on jewelry and hair bows.

Avery has been getting taller ... so much so that a common question from any acquaintance is "How old are you?" Followed by a quick "Wow! You are tall!" He is enjoying his new status as a 5 year old very much, and tells anyone who will listen that he will be in Kindergarten next year. Avery is a great reader. He loves to read anything in sight ... including every street sign, and even pretends to know how to read a road map. Which, of course, means that he likes to tell us where to go when we are driving. Recently he has gained quite an interest in math and science. School is fun for Avery. Each day we have the same routine. We arrive at school, he excitedly runs ahead of me into his class and doesn't even turn to say goodbye when he reaches the door. Instead he bolts right on in and mingles with his friends. I don't mind. Actually, I prefer it that way ... The other day when we picked him up at the end of the day he turned to Chris and said, "I don't know why school is over. Do you? I love this place!"

Life is sweet for the Hughes fam. We certainly remember to thank God for such blessings!

Spaghetti with the chance of Meatballs

Chris and I have enjoyed being inventive when it comes to date night. Recently we have had dates at home. We feed the kids, put them to bed early, then have our special dinner and movie in the family room.

Tonight the kids had a special "date night" before ours. We rented "Cloudy with the Chance of Meatballs" from Redbox. (We love the $1 rentals!) They ate their meal in the family room on their little table and chairs, over beach towels, of course! Can you guess what was for dinner?

Spaghetti and Meatballs!

It was simple, but fun. Mostly, it was great to do something a little special for them while showing them how think outside the box ... at home.

In One Month

We have had a lot of action in the past month, but have been a bit too busy to update the blog. That is, until my friends from SoFL filed an official complaint. They need more blog updates to get them through the work day.
Here's the list of what's been going on for the Hughes':
Grandma and Grandpa came to visit
Thanksgiving Houston 09
Our First Snow
Avery's Christmas Program

There are pictures to accompany most events, but you'll have to be patient! For starters, the most recent event: Avery's Christmas Program will be posted first.

Great Pumpkin Run 5K

Another race down, and I feel great. Today I ran the Great Pumpkin 5K with my friend and trainer, Kandice, and our friend Tiersa. It was a very chilly 50 degrees, which was a great temp for a run.

Kandice is training for her half marathon. She took off from the start and waited for us at the finish line. We later found out that she finished 4th place in her age bracket! Tiersa and I are running just to finish. We me our goal: to run without stopping, and actually made great time. We sprinted to the finish line and finished in 32 minutes. We chatted the whole time! Tiersa and I plan on running together again on Thanksgiving at the Turkey Trot.

After the race, we went to Starbucks to celebrate with some hot and delicious drinks to warm us up.

Fall on the Farm

Avery and Mary Hannah have been enjoying preschool. Chris and I like it, too. This week they had a farm field trip visit the school for "Fall on the Farm" (which was actually "Farm in the Parking Lot" due to the rain soaked field). The field was too wet for a tractor to pull the hayride, but the kids didn't mind the improv. 

Both kids enjoyed the pony ride. They loved the petting zoo. Avery wasn't so sure about the pot belly pig, but they both liked the little goat. All kids went home with a pumpkin. After being dropped about a dozen times, ours are showing signs of "decay" (thanks to Sid the Science Kid for a lesson on decay, that is the word of the week at our house!)

Running Running Running

Since we moved to Pearland I've had a lot of time on my hands. Luckily, the gym is only a few stop lights away. The kids like the Kids Club, and I like the classes. In our first few weeks, Zumba and Pilates filled my schedule. I used the fitness schedule as my own, giving me a purpose and a reason to be somewhere ... somewhere other than on the couch in my PJs. It was going just fine, but it started to get a little lonely. Fitness is always easier with a partner!

A few weeks ago, I met a friend, at Chick-fil-A of course, who quickly became my running partner. It was just the thing I needed. Within 2 weeks I have gone from barely running 1/2 mile to regularly running 3, and sometimes even 6 miles! And I am very excited about it. I really never thought I could do it. But I have.

In 3 short weeks, I will be running my first ever "race". Its a quick 3K, but a great place for me to start. And in 6 weeks I will run my very first 5K! Maybe in a couple months I'll post before and after photos.

A Very Thankful day

Some pictures from our Thankful Thusday... I am just so thankful to be with my kids!






And a little video of our kids playing. Mary Hannah really cracked me up!

Froberg's Fruit and Vegetable Farm

I had never been to a farm to buy produce. In fact, I am having a hard time remembering if I have really been to a farm at all. But something about going to a "farm" instead of the grocery store is charming to me. So when I heard about Froberg's Fruit and Vegetable Farm I had to check it out. 

The open air warehouse style pavilion is cooled by large fans. The fresh produce is crudely displayed in mass quantities on old wooden tables. Handmade pricing signs dangle from string hung across the tables. The place has a country kind of charm. The people couldn't be any nicer. And the fried pies couldn't taste any better! 

Yes, they have fried pies! They are homemade right there at the farm. There must have been at least 20 flavors to choose from. Avery wanted something chocolate. Ah, a boy after his mother's own heart. We got the chocolate walnut buttermilk pie, so fresh it was still warm.  It was nothing to look at, but it sure was heavenly.  

Although this farm sells more than it actually grows on site, (apparently a common practice among on site markets) the produce is fresh and mostly comes from small farms across the country. Something about that feels so American to me. 

I liked my experience there. The kids did, too. We will visit Froberg's again soon. But not too soon, because those fried pies are too much to resist!