Our Family Christmas

We celebrated our family Christmas a little late this year, but it was still so special and so much fun. Now that Collin lives in San Antonio, it's quite the treat when all 6 of us are together at home. We started the Christmas festivities by preparing for Santa's visit. We baked some chocolate chip cookies and set them out for Santa with milk and carrots (for Santa's reindeer, of course!)

I asked Connor if he wanted to write Santa a note, and he wrote these 2 notes all by himself without any help.

They say, "Santa thee's cookie's are for you. If you do not eat all of the cookie then we will eat it." and "Santa do not eat the cairit's. The raindeer eat them." I smiled and laughed so big when I read them! And I definitely saved them in Connor's keepsake box. :-)

Santa was very nice to the family again this year. This was the scene after he left.

Connor was up by 7 (the earliest time he is allowed to leave his room) and promptly woke everyone else up. Collin and Kevin were good sports and quickly came downstairs to see what Santa left.

The big train table in the middle of the living room was the first thing everyone noticed. It was meant for Kaitlynn, and she loved it!

One of Connor's favorite gifts in his stocking was the Houston Texans pillow pet.

Collin's big gift was a stainless steel mini-fridge/freezer for his college apartment. I think it might be nicer than the full-size one in our kitchen, ha!

One of Kevin's gift was a nice watch. He definitely knows how to wear it. :-)

Here are a few more pics from our family Christmas:

Kaitlynn got a Dora microphone from Nana and Papa. It's a big hit!

Kevin with his remote controlled helicopter.

Jeff with a new Texans jersey - the authentic one just like the players wear!

A gift I gave to Jeff (although it's kinda for me too) - our family portrait on canvas. So fun!

The boys tried out one of Connor's new Wii games. Thank goodness they can teach him!

I didn't manage to get any photos of myself in this post, but I still had the BEST Christmas. My awesome hubby surprised me with a certificate for some alone time in a hotel by myself -- no kids, room service, books, huge big bed all to myself -- what could be more blissful?! You can bet I'll be checking in early and staying late (although there was a disclaimer for a 24-hour limit, ha!)

Christmas Celebration

Our Christmas was spent in East Texas at my parents' home along with all my siblings, their families, and our extended family in the area. This was the first time in a LONG time that we managed a photo with the original Morgan 6.

The more time I spend with family, the more blessed I feel! It's definitely what Christmas is all about for me. We had such a nice visit, and Connor and Kaitlynn got some much anticipated time with their cousins for a few days. Here are all the cousins with their MeMe and Grand Daddy after church on Christmas Day.

There is just nothing more special than the fun memories these cousins make everytime they are together.

Going for a walk with MeMe.

Playing in Grand Daddy's dungeon.

Goofing off at the White Oak Dairy Queen, their favorite spot for treats and playtime.

My brother Jeb and his beautiful wife Alli.

Jeb and Alli with their beautiful girls.

Renee and Ryah, sweet and beautiful sisters!

Christmas Eve was super busy at the Morgan household. We all opened stockings when we woke up, exchanged gifts with our immediate family in the morning, and then exchanged more gifts in the evening when our extended family arrived.

Connor was so excited to open his stocking.

Kaitlynn was enthralled with her Lion King movie, definitely her favorite!

That was only part 1 of the Courtright Christmas celebration. Santa will be making a special late visit to our house later this week when Collin and Kevin arrive to celebrate with us. We love Christmas so much that we're happy to draw it out just a bit longer! :-)

Merry Christmas from the Courtrights

Holiday Party

Connor's kindergarten class had their holiday party today. What fun! The kids enjoyed lots of yummy treats and snacks while visiting with their parents. We have a great classroom of kids and parents -- almost every parent donated party items or money for the teacher's group gift. As the room mother, I organized the party (and took lots of notes to make it better for next year, haha)!

Mrs. Hunter and Connor's kindergarten class.

Silly picture!

Mrs. Hunter and Connor (with green lips from his cupcake!)

After the party, the kids (with neighbor kids) celebrated being out of school!

A Special Visit

Last week we traveled to Dallas for a VERY special visit with 3 of my VERY best friends in the world! Katherine, Dana, Amanda and I have been friends since junior high school. We tried to count the years and came up with about 23 years, give or take a few.

It's amazing to look back and realize everything we have been through together. Despite all the time and distance that has separated us throughout the years, I feel so blessed by their friendships.

Now we've all got families and kids of our own, so we make every effort to get together and visit while our kids play and hopefully become best friends, too. :-) This visit was the first time that our ENTIRE group was able to be together in one place in over 2 1/2 years. The last time was when Amanda and I were both pregnant with Kaitlynn and Alex. That's WAY too long if you ask me!

Our top priority of the week was getting photos of all the sweet kiddos. Amanda is the photographer of the group and managed to get some great ones. These are framers for sure!

We had such a great visit letting the kids play while the grownups talked and ate and talked some more. I went around and tried to snap some pics of the kids. Here they all are in order from oldest to youngest.

Jacob, age 6, son of Katherine

Connor, age 5 1/2

Luke, son of Katherine, age 3 1/2 (almost 4!)

Jackson, son of Dana, age 3 1/2

Kaitlynn, age 2 1/2, giving me "the look"

Alex, son of Amanda, age 2 1/2

Sarah, daughter of Katherine, age 1

Ryan, son of Dana, age 1

Andrew, son of Amanda, age 6 months

Here are just a few more snapshots from our weekend.

Connor and Jacob play SO well together. It just warms my heart they they are becoming such close buddies!

The big kids ate at the kid tables. So fun!

Here are most of the kids in front of the Christmas tree.

They did a book exchange instead of presents.

Love this picture of Jeff reading to Kaitlynn and Alex, only 3 weeks apart!

It was such a special weekend for me...Fun and chaotic, exactly what you'd expect with 8 grown-ups and 9 kids aged 5 and under. And it was just a preview of times to come when we all travel together to Destin, FL next summer! Woohoo!!

Good Luck Charm

By now, it's no surprise that our Houston Texans pulled off a last-second stunning victory on the road in Cincinnati to become the division champs for the first time in franchise history. The local media are calling yesterday's win one of the top 10 all-time football wins in the city of Houston. It was AMAZING! And there was no more excited Houston fan than the 5-year-old in our house. Connor was beside himself during the game, and we all jumped and hugged for joy after that final touchdown that put the Texans ahead!

One of the big players of the day was Ben Tate, the Houston running back that is usually playing behind our top guy, Arian Foster. Last week when we were at the Galleria getting Santa pictures, we were about to head home when we noticed a small line forming at one of the sports memorabilia stores. We walked past the store and were surprised to see Ben Tate just inside the store! Connor was so excited and begged me to let him meet Ben Tate.

That's right, Connor met and shook the hand of #44 himself, Ben Tate.

So there you have it, the true explanation behind yesterday's Houston Texans' division-clinching victory over Cincinnati. Sure, our team is awesome, but Connor is one serious good-luck charm!