Busy Holiday Season!

Wow, I can not believe it is almost Christmas!  It seems like this holiday season has just flown by.  We will be heading to New Orleans for our Christmas vacation. We are so excited!!! We miss everyone so much & are looking forward to a nice, long visit. The kids don't start school again until January 5th, so we will be leaving New Orleans on January 4th. That way Lawrence can watch the last Saints game of the regular season. He has been such a sport...having to watch the games on the computer when they have not been televised.

We attended our Christmas party at church last Friday & had such a wonderful time. Lawrence made a jambalaya (which everyone thought was FANTASTIC & they all want lessons on how to cook one.)

Jonah had a "Holiday" party at school last Friday also. He had such a great time making crafts & eating goodies. Peyton had a "Friday Fun Day" the same day, but was sad to tell one of his teachers bye. (She will not be returning after the break...we will miss Mrs. Hatten very much.)

Addison is getting bigger by the day. She is into EVERYTHING! We are looking forward to seeing her open her gifts. We are going to try to get a picture with Santa Claus tomorrow.

May you all have a blessed holiday season!  Much love from The Bonvillain Bunch!

Snow?!?

YES!!!! It did snow here in Round Rock, Texas...of course, none of it stayed on the ground. It was wonderful to see the flakes falling, even if they did melt once they hit the ground. The boys were at school, but said they got to see the snow. They were a bit diappointed that there was not enough to "play" in. Addison & Mommy went outside to try to get some pictures...but were not too successful!

Family Happenings

I wrote a post all about our Thanksgiving & it seems to have disappeared.  So, I will try to write it again.

Lawrence and Peyton attended our church's "Turkey Bowl" (football game) that morning. They had a good time and were able to spend some father & son time together (which is always a good thing).

We spent the rest of Thanksgiving Day at the home of our friends: The Ortiz Family.  I cooked a turkey...for the second year in a row...and it was yummy!  Lawrence cooked a sweet potato dish (yummy) and 2 pumpkin pies (yummy, yummy)!!! Addison enjoyed some turkey, sweet potatoes, and dirty rice for her 1st Thanksgiving. She loved it all.

After lunch Christie, her daughter Andrea, her cousin-in-law Dinora, and I went shopping at Old Navy. I really couldn't pass up the sale they were having on jeans (the boys needed some more). We had some girl fun and started planning a midnight shopping trip to Toys R Us, for Black Friday Deals!!! When we arrived back at the house, the PlayStation along with RockBand had been pulled out and everyone had a turn to jam out! After all the music, we decided to head outside to play some soccer in the school field across the street. Peyton, Lawrence, and Jonah all played...Mommy watched Addison. After the game of soccer, we headed back to the house for dinner. Then we headed home.  We had a long, but wonderful day. And I did not go to Toys R Us at midnight & I did not wake up at 3am for early bird specials. I went to 2 stores around 10:30 & picked up exactly what I went there for...that is definitely a first for me & I think my hubby was pleasantly surprised!

There are so many things I have to be thankful for this year...(1) Three healthy children, (2) hard-working, loving husband, (3) being a stay at home mom for the first time in 7 years (4) wonderful family and friends back in Louisiana whom I miss very much, (5) my faith and the knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  There are so many other things that I am thankful for, but these would have to be at the "TOP" of my list.

As I look forward to the upcoming year, I am hopeful that we will continue to be blessed. I am also looking forward to all of our new opportunities and adventures that we will have living in Texas. I am glad that we decided to make this move, it has turned out to be many blessings in disguise.

I am thankful for each one of you for being a part of our lives.

November Happenings

November is almost over. Thursday is Thanksgiving. We are planning a quiet (as quiet as you can get with 3 kids) day at home. We will be cooking a turkey...Jonah is so excited! Last week Lawrence and I were able to go to school to eat a "Thanksgiving" lunch with the boys. I ate lunch with Jonah and Lawrence ate lunch with Peyton. We figured this was the easiest way to enjoy the lunch, so we could take turns watching Addison. We were served...turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, a wheat roll, and a pumpkin bar. Everything tasted really good for a school lunch...I was very surprised! Jonah ate almost everything, except the green beans. He thought the cranberry sauce was good & he really liked the cool whip on top of the pumpkin bar. Lawrence said Peyton decided not to eat the lunch & got yogurt instead, which of course he only ate a few bites.

Jonah told me this week that he wants to be a teacher when he grows up. I think he'd make an excellent teacher. He is always wanting to "know" things. He is always writing. A couple of weeks ago, he was writing books. He would draw a picture, then write a few words, then staple it all together. He is learning so much in school. He is already reading. Guess we won't be able to spell things we dont want him to hear...LOL!

Peyton has been writing "newspaper articles". He has a whole collection of sports statistics and play by plays that he has written. I wonder if he will be a journalist....hmmmm. He says he wants to be an NFL player. I know he is wishing he was playing football this year. Unfortunately by the time we moved and got settled, the registration was closed and they would not make any exceptions. He did not get the chance to play baseball either this year, which is another favorite sport of his. We decided that we would focus on school work for this year, since we were unsure if he would be behind. His teachers say he is doing really well and he shows real interest in all his schoolwork. He made all A's & B's on his report card....YAY, PEYTON!!!!!

Lawerence was sick at the begining of the month. Addison got sick the following week and I got it the following week. I bounced back a lot quicker than Lawrence or Addison. I started taking Zicam the first day I felt bad.

We are looking forward to celebrating Christmas here in Round Rock. But we are even more excited to head to Louisiana the day after Christmas to spend a week with our families and friends.

We hope that everyone has a wonderfully blessed Thanksgiving!

Trick or Treat 2009

Halloween has come and gone...now there is WAY TOO MUCH candy in our house! Jonah was sick with strep throat at the beginning of the week. We were worried that he might have to miss trick or treating, but he was better by Wednesday. He did have to miss his field trip to Crow's Nest Farm...but I think trick or treating made up for it.

Friday night we carved our pumpkin...I think we did a good job, especially since it was Mom's first pumpkin carving.

We went trick or treating with our friends the Ortiz Family.  The kids had so much fun getting all their candy but got tired of all the walking. Addsion enjoyed riding around the neighborhood in her stroller with her glow stick but fell asleep before the end of the night. We saw lots of awesome costumes along the way.

After trick or treating, it was time to head to the Ortiz house for hot dogs and chili, rice krispie treats, and candy apples...YUMMY! The boys enjoyed spending time with their friends & playing the Wii, while Mom & Dad were able to enjoy some adult conversation.

So our first Halloween in Texas was a success & FUN! We miss our old friends but had a good time with new ones.

Halloween Activities & Family Surprises!

The boys were surprised with a visit from Lawrence's parents & 3 of his sisters this past weekend. They arrived Friday while the boys were still at school. Joyce, PaPa, & Laurie(aka Ree) were hiding in Peyton & Jonah's bedroom when they came home from school....the boys were so suprised! Peyton cried because he was so happy to see them & he missed them so much. Then we went towards the kitchen where Edna(aka Inda) & Sandra(aka Teenie) were hiding....MORE tears!!! They had not seen Edna or Sandra since June when we moved to Texas. Later that night we attended the Trunk or Treat at our church. The Trunk or Treat consisted of a Chili-Cookoff, carnival games, & of course "trunk" or treating...we all had a good time but it was so COLD!!!
Saturday A LOT of board games were played & that night the apartment complex had a Halloween Bash at the clubhouse. We watched "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" poolside, had a costume contest (Jonah won for his age-group...he was Anakin Skywalker.), and snacks (popcorn, pickles, and candy...YUM!) It wasn't quite as cold as Friday night but it was a bit chilly. So, the family & the kids headed home to finish watching the LSU football game. Lawrence & I went back to the poolside to watch the next movie they were showing..."Halloween".
The family left on Sunday & there were once again MANY tears! I told Peyton that it would only be 2 months til we saw them for Christmas but that did not help..."they are still too far away", he said. (It is so hard to see your kids so upset and not be able to make them feel better.)
But we must get back into our routine because tomorrow is Monday and school for the boys. And for those counting...55 days til we head to New Orleans for Christmas Vacation!!!!!!

Year in Review

This year has been quite busy for us. We started out the year welcoming our newest addition...Addison Rose! She was born on January 20,2009 and weighed....10 lbs 6 oz.....yes, 10 lbs 6 oz. She looks just like her Mommy! Peyton & Jonah were so excited to meet her! They were a little disappointed because she was having some breathing problems & was on a monitor in the nursery...so they could only look at her through the glass. But Dr. Barner let her come to mommy's room for a few minutes so the boys could see her before they went home for the night.
The day before Addison was born,on January 19th we welcomed our newest Bonvillain family cousin...Kale Anthony Guidry.

During my maternity leave, we made the decision to move to Texas. We had been talking about it for a while & decided this was the time. We traveled to Texas during the Mardi Gras holiday & found an apartment...then it was real...we were really doing this...MOVING TO TEXAS!!! We decided that we would let the kids finish out the school year in Houma & move June 1st. I went back to work March 9th. (It was so hard to tell my co-workers & clients that I was leaving in May.) On March 15th Lawrence went ahead of us to Texas to start working. I still can't believe I managed a new born baby, 2 kids in school, working full-time & packing all by myself...I have a new respect for military & single moms that do it all the time...YOU GIRLS ROCK!
In March we were surprised with a visit from my little sister Shelly!! Our family was able to spend the day with her at the zoo. Then to eat po-boys...YUMMY! The boys love their Aunt Shelly. (Mom & Dad have talked about making a trip to Utah to visit with her & her family, but no definite plans have been set in motion.)

Our last couple of weeks in Houma were quite busy...My last day of work was on May 15th. I decided I needed a little extra time with the kids still in school to get some packing done. However, between the 2 doctor appointments, 2 dentist appointments, wedding rehearsal, & the wedding...not very much packing was done. On May 29th...we attended the wedding of Kali & Blake Zammit. (Kali is Lawrence's godchild.) Peyton served as the ring-bearer. (He looked so handsome in his tuxedo!)

MOVING DAY!!!! June 1st we packed up the truck & made the trek to Austin, Texas...our new home! We were able to go to some baseball games over the summer and.....The boys were surprised with a visit from Lawrence's parents & his sister Laurie in July. (Mom & Dad are very good at keeping secrets!!)
The boys started school & LOVE IT! The schools here are so different but we are very pleased with how much the boys are learning.
On September 26, 2009 Peyton was baptized! What a special day for him. We are so proud of Peyton for making such a wonderful decision & learning so much during this time.
We have been in Texas for 5 months & are loving it! However, I am counting down the days til Christmas vacation so we can "go home" for a visit.

Starting Over Again

Well, I have decided with all of our NEW changes and our fresh start we made over the past 10 months...I will start posting to my blog again. Especially now that we have moved so far away from our families. Hopefully I can keep this up to date so our families can keep up with us & these growing kids.