First Snow of 2009

When I was in college, I was disappointed to learn that snow was a once in a decade event.  I’d heard stories of the elusive white stuff but didn’t ever see it in my 4 years in San Antonio at Trinity University.  The absence of snow continued for years after I moved to Houston as well and I was accustomed to thinking that snow was a fluke and I’d likely never consider to be “real” snow after growing up in Utah.

This all changed on Christmas Day 2004 – the first Christmas when the Texas Batemans included Jackson in addition to Mom and Dad.  Christmas Eve saw more than an inch of the white fluffy stuff piled up on the grass, cars, and just about everything else.  It was a nice treat for Jackson’s first Christmas and shattered my belief that the only snow the kids would ever see was when we went on trips to the Rockies.

Fast forward to 2009.  Yesterday, we had a respectable snow storm that survived overnight and was enough to make a few snowmen in our neighborhood.  Not to mention that it has now snowed in Houston 2 years in a row!  Global warming, wha?

So we are now fully into the Christmas spirit with Thanksgiving behind us, the Christmas tree and lights up, and snow on the ground.  Today, we deck the halls!

Here are some pics from our 2009 holiday season:

Our snowman - Frosty

  

Hermey the elf and Dad putting up Christmas lights

Thanksgiving in San Antonio

Jackson’s fake mustache we got from Black’s BBQ in Lockhart, TX

 

Christmas tree hunting at Dewberry Farm

 

It ain't just about the pictures

As I was lying down to read some books with Emily and Jackson tonight, it dawned on me that our lack of posting to this blog is not acceptable.  Somehow with the allure of FaceBook, I have been kidding myself into thinking that sharing photos is enough.  Pictures are worth a thousand words, but there is no substitute for the context behind all of those wonderful images.

Jackson can read... really well.  I constantly try to find things to stump him with because he can read just about anything.  Whether it is a book to Emily or pronunciation of "El Jarrito", J-Man rarely encounters a word he can't pick out.  T-Ball is the latest craze and Jackson loves playing with Davis, Connor, Walker, and the rest of his team.  Yousef and Nadu are his buds at school, and Emerson is almost literally the girl next door.

Emily is growing up to be quite a little princess.  As much as she loves pink and playing dress-up, she doesn't take any guff from Jackson or anyone else for that matter.  Ballet is teaching her coordination, and she loves having fun with her friends Jenna and Tinsley at school.  That cute little 2-year old smile continues to melt Daddy's heart and every day she amazes me with her wonderful spirit.

As a family, we have been quite busy lately.  We try to save up our energy during the week as the weekends seem to be the most hectic.  Recent fun has included Easter egg hunts, crawfish boils, T-Ball games, bike rides, playing golf in our "front yard", and other spring time activities.  Last weekend Nana came to town and we had a great fun-filled weekend.

Speaking of the grandparents, I got to see my Pops a few weeks ago when attending some conferences in Palm Springs and San Diego.  We're also planning to take part in Fiesta activities this year in San Antonio which we haven't been very active in the past few years with the kids being so young.

There are so many memories swirling around in my head that I can't capture them all, but I felt the need to capture at least a few.  Each day, these kids are growing up so ridiculously fast, and no digital collection of pixels can accurately capture this amazing experience.