Christmas Time

I can't believe how quickly Christmas has come and gone. While the season was definitely hectic, it was truly fun and wonderful as well. We ate lots of junk food, visited Santa, watched endless Christmas movies, participated in our church's Glory of Christmas, and appreciated how awesome God was to send us baby Jesus.

One of our favorite Christmas traditions is getting hot chocolate from Starbucks and driving around at night to look at all the lights. Our favorite house, which looks as if it belongs to the Griswold's, is on Brookwood Drive, and it's so lit up we can practically see it from our house. This year we had Daddy pull over, and McLain visited with the Santa who sits in his sleigh every night. Unlike last year, Keaton is really interested in Christmas lights, which was nice for me as McLain informed me that he was too old for me to point lights out to him. Keaton appreciates my light sightings. :)

The boys were ridiculously spoiled on Christmas day. Mommy, Daddy, and all the grandparents gave them enough toys to last them until they're 20. The most popular present was the pet rat Santa left on our fireplace. Despite my protests, McLain named him Scar and insists that he sleep in his cage right next to his bed. Keaton loves Scar as well and has been busted on multiple occasions trying to free Scar from his cage. Sometimes I wonder what Santa was thinking...

Thankfulness

Thanksgiving 2008

This has unquestionably been a very hectic year for the Brookses, but despite our crazy schedules and the often frantic pace of our lives, I am very thankful for the silly boys I have.

McLain is blowing me away with his sponge like nature to absorb anything new and interesting in school or on the Discovery channel. He is fascinated with everything from F5 tornadoes to Australian jelly fish. McLain also reminds me of myself at his age because his nose is always stuck in a book. He and I love to curl up in the bed together and read for hours.

Keaton is mellowing a bit as he approaches his second birthday. While he is still my furniture climber and mischief maker, Keaton is also a serious snuggler and loves to laugh at the antics of his big brother. He is finally beginning to talk, so I truly appreciate every time I hear him say "Mama" when I walk into the room. It seems that his stubborn nature proved more of an obstacle for his speech than his verbal abilities. I know when he is a teenager arguing with me that I will miss his early quiet days.

In the beginning...

It seems like yesterday that Clay and I were in high school together, stealing glances at each other across our American Lit class. Fourteen years later we're married with two boys that keep us sleep deprived, extremely busy, and unquestionably happy. I am thrilled to begin this blog to chronicle the madness that is the Brooks family.