4 Years!

Today is our 4 year anniversary, and that seems crazy to me. 4 years! It just doesn't seem like that long. We have been really blessed over these past years together, and God continues to watch over us. It's hard to believe that all those years ago, God had picked out the man who would be so perfect for me. Who'd have thunk that I'd meet a boy in Abilene, TX who loves fishing, loves Texas sports, could live on Taquitos and Oreos and Dr Pepper, and that we'd end up living in Dallas, TX. Amazing the plans that God has had for us, and we are so thankful. 

And I thought I'd leave you with some of the pictures Kim took of us this past weekend...

 

Much thanks to Coati Photography for the photos!!

Christmas is my FAVORITE

Christmas at the Craddocks

 

Brandon has become quite the light expert:)

  
 We had such a great Christmas. Brandon's parents came in from Atlanta to spend several days with us, and Kim and Philip joined us late Saturday night. We had a wonderful time. We even had all the cousins and everyone over last night for a big Christmas dinner. It's so good being with family, and I feel like I've been part of the Craddock family forever. We have so much fun together. And it's just about impossible not to stop and realize how incredible blessed we are. God is so good to us, and we tried to take some time to think about the reason that we celebrate this time of year. It's amazing how a pregnant teenager all those years ago gave birth to the baby boy who gives us hope and joy in life. And I think that getting together with family and friends to love on each other is exactly what Jesus was all about. Again this year, we were honored to have so many of the people we love in our home for the holidays.

 Christmas morning

 Above: Brandon's crazy family (photos courtesy of my father-in-law Chris Craddock)

Kim took some family photos of us after on Christmas this year. This is one of my favorites.She is such a good photographer, so if you haven't checked our her work, you SHOULD. To see her work (and more from our photo shoot), check out Coati Photography HERE.

Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!

Umm SERIOUSLY?

It is far too cold in this world. It was 26 degrees outside this morning when I left for work. 26 DEGREES. How does this happen? Every summer in Texas it gets so hot that I actually start to get excited about the cold weather, which is really saying a lot if you know me at all. But now that the cold has officially arrived, I am in shock. About 40 degrees is my breaking point, especially in Texas where the wind just whips through your heart and soul. But this is approximately 14 degrees below that. Help!

Just wanted all you Tennesseans and Georgians and Alabamaians (hm?) and everyone else to know, IT IS CRAZY COLD HERE. Keep us in your prayers and please call periodically to make sure we haven't frozen to death. I mean, at the very least, this cold of weather warrants some pretty snow and maybe a snow day. But is that what we're dealing with, no. Definitely not. We're suffering through the "I can't find enough clothes in my closet to layer enough to make me warm" kind of weather. But at least I know what I want for Christmas- a set of battery-powered heating pajamas.

Porter!

 

So if you've talked to me at all recently, you know I've been counting down the days until this little man came to visit me. Beth and I have been best friends since middle school even though life has put us in different places. So she and her sweet baby came to visit me, and we had such a great time. Other than the cold and rain, it was the perfect weekend. I had so much fun playing with Porter...9 months is the most perfect age:) We shopped and cooked and made yummy chocolate candies, and even went downtown with a couple of my girlfriends here to see the Christmas Children's Parade. It was very very cute. Bailey has LOVED having Porter here. Not only has she been following him around and doing whatever she can to get into his room while he's sleeping, but her new favorite spot in right underneath him at meal times. I could go on and on, but we just had so much fun... I just couldn't get enough of that sweet little boy!

   Beth and Porter, we are so so glad you came to visit. Thanks for braving the chaotic travel issues to come see us- it meant so much. We loved having yall here. Miss you already!

Happy Birthday

FOR SOME REASON, THESE FEW POSTS DIDN'T PUBLISH, SO HERE THEY ALL ARE AT ONCE...OOPS:)
Happy Birthday Kathy!!!
 My mother-in-law's birthday is today, and I just wanted to wish her the very best. And since we can't be there, I just wanted to post a couple of our most recent favorite videos from YouTube so maybe it'll make her laugh. You might have already seen them, but you can always use a good laugh :)

Thanksgiving

We had such a great Thanksgiving. We went to Nashville and got to spend several days with my family. We had two big Thanksgiving dinners with family, visited with lots of neighbors, put up the Christmas tree, watched movies, played cards with Matt and Ashley, did a little shopping, and of course Bailey got to play and play and play with Shelby. It was the perfect visit.

So we "convinced" Damon that we all dressed up in honor of the Pilgrims and Indians on Thanksgiving and this is what he showed up wearing... LOVE IT!

Girls Weekend

I had the weekend to myself while Brandon went on a fly fishing trip (go figure). So I took the opportunity to put up Christmas decorations, make cookies, and play loud Christmas music all weekend. And of COURSE I planned a girls movie night, so here is a picture from our Twilight outing on opening weekend. Love that these girls are not at all ashamed to be waiting with me in a very long line for the movie of the century! So much fun, even though a few of them are Team Jacob:)

Broken Bow 2011

This past weekend was our annual camping trip to Broken Bow with the Lee family. Despite a very disappointing Rangers loss on Friday night, we had an amazing weekend in Oklahoma. It was so fun being away from the city, away from cell phones, away from...heat We hiked, canoed, and ate some of the best food we've ever had on a camping trip. The dogs played, the boys fished, and the girls, well, just enjoyed being together with our boys and our dogs. Here's a few more pics from our weekend...

Happy Birthday Brandon!!!

My hubby is 28 years old tomorrow. TWENTY EIGHT. And I can't help but be sappy and sentimental because of it. I just feel so blessed to get to grow old with this guy. He is a better man than I deserve, and I can't imagine my life without him. It's crazy how much we're really grown up together over the past 8 years since we first met. He's my best friend and I thank God every day for bringing us together so that I could fall in love with this man. Brandon I love you more than anything!!! Hope your birthday is wonderful.

Time to Accept It

It's time to accept it- we are Texans. Brandon and I are finally changing our phone numbers to have Dallas area codes, both starting with 972. So we are growing up and facing our fear of commitment.  I have been in denial for years that this would be a permanent residence, but this just seems like the right time since we were changing phone stuff anyways. After all, we do own a home here and don't see ourselves moving anytime soon.  We both finally got tired of people asking where our phones are from and having to explain why we had Abilene and Atlanta numbers. So there you have it, our lives are changing.We have to learn to accept it, and so should you (as in, make sure you have our new numbers). If we have your number, you'll probably be getting a text to let you know our new 972 numbers!


I can't even talk about the Rangers right now, but I just ask that everyone please send good vibes to Ian Kinsler and the rest of the boys tomorrow night. Tonight was very upsetting, and we're all really hoping for a big win tomorrow night.