Christmas and 2013!!!

I can't believe Christmas has come and gone!! It was different not being in our own home but it was still wonderful. I can't wait to be in our own house again but at the same time, I think we will really miss living at my in-laws. Here is a little glimpse of our Christmas...we shopped, hung out with friends, went to Young Grandma's, and hung out with Joey's family and my family. We could not have asked for a better Christmas!!!

We watched the Rockettes!! Love it!!

We shopped and enjoyed Lowe's selection of books!

We acted silly at breakfast!

I tried to add a little color to my wardrobe!

Candle light service with Shelby and family!

Chuck E Cheese on Christmas EVE-day!!

Christmas Eve at Young Grandma's

Our lil' fam on Christmas Eve

Christmas Parties at school

Christmas morning and Nana and Papa's and then Mimi and Pawpaw's

What happens when kids get a hold of your phone...haha.

This picture totally sums up our sweeties

Being asian with Mommy...Mimi was so proud

A little shopping and meeting up with a friend!

I hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas, as well!!! Now it is on to the New Year...2014!!! 2013 flew by and was full of so many blessings!!!

Highlights from 2013

I was honored to be nominated as Dallas ISD's Counselor of the Year and was it for our division. We also won the Character Counts School award. It was such an honor and I am still SO thankful for my experience in Dallas ISD....I learned so much from the amazing people there and most of all....the kids.

My sister got married..and now she is pregnant with a BOY!! Can't wait for Liam to make his debut in February. We were also blessed with a sweet nephew, Jansen Taylor (Joey's sister). We are such a lucky aunt and uncle!

 

Our little family of four had our first big vacations. We headed to the beach (the kids' first time) and to Disneyworld!!! We enjoyed seeing their excitement...every time I saw the look of amazement in their eyes, I swear I would tear up!

Then Grayson started Kindergarten and I swear this Momma didn't know what to do. I knew he was ready but I guess I wasn't. He is doing great and loves being with Daddy at school. We have also been so blessed that he has amazing teachers!!!

I also changed jobs and accepted a job in Rockwall!!

We sold our home of 7 years...for some reason this picture STILL makes me tear up.

And....we started building......

Ella had her first program. It was too cute for words. She just may be the sweetest Frosty I have ever seen!

And last but not least, my amazing Grandma turned 100. Now that is something spectacular.

I am just amazed by God's goodness to our family and while it's been absolutely amazing, it has been extremely humbling. Many times, I feel like (well, I know) that I don't deserve all that I have been blessed with. I saw this on facebook and it perfectly describes what I have learned over the past year.

I look forward to blogging about our family's resolutions this week. Grayson told me 2 of his tonight that just about melted my heart...it was the sweetest thing and he totally got bombarded with hugs and kisses...I could not help myself!!

Before I got, I want to share a couple of things I am sooo excited about!!


1. The Storybook Bible
Oh my word! I love this thing. Joey ordered it for us to read to the kids. I really just love this book, but even better...the kids LOVE it! Each night they can pick ANY book they want and Grayson always wants to read this. It is put into words kids can understand and I just love the way it is written...I enjoy reading it to them!!!

You can order it on Amazon for around $10 HERE!


2. The G Free Diet
Many of you know I have struggled with trying to eat 100% gluten free and the times I stuck to it fully, I still felt sick! A sweet girl at Joey's work is g-free too and told him to get a book called The G Free Diet. Sweet Joey ordered it and since he gave it to me I haven't been able to put it down. It is such an easy, informative read and I just love Elisabeth Hasselback anyways so it made even more enjoyable. If you are needing to go gluten free or just want to change your eating habits to be a healthier you, this is a great book and you can order it HERE!! I can't wait to order her other book!

3. Red Hunter Boots
I think I am just falling in love with rain boots....weird...I know. My Christmas money was well spent on these babies that I hope will arrive soon. They are on sale and you can get some HERE! With rain boots you can wear them any season...you just need rain. Heck, I may wear them on a sunny day. I won't lie...I did check the weather to see if it will rain anytime soon. Don't judge!!

 

Keep an eye out for my New Year's Goals/Resolutions post...it will be so super sweet and I can't wait to hear the kids'. I will see y'all in 2014 and I hope you have a blessed, safe New Year!

The Acker Family and Santa!!!

It's that time of year when kids' eyes are gleaming with joy and excitement. Their Christmas lists are made and many line up to see the big guy in red. However, our family does not do Santa. I know...you can't believe it!!! You may even be thinking what is wrong with us. You might even be thinking we could be the meanest parents EVER!!! I just wanted to share with you all our stance on doing Santa because so many ask. Joey and I in no way disagree with Santa. Both of us grew up with doing Santa and we both see nothing wrong with it. We just personally feel convicted about it and so we choose not to do it. Again, for my friends and family who do Santa, that is awesome and I love seeing all of the cute things you do. I totally support that and see no problem...I just want to explain our little story.


Two Christmases ago, Joey and I decided not to do Santa. It was a long discussion full of disagreements. We could not see eye to eye on how we wanted to handle the situation. If you know me, I love doing fun and cute things and the thought of not doing Santa broke my little past-Kindergarten teacher heart. But Joey felt convicted about it and after much tears and late night talks, we decided to not do Santa anymore. At first, I was upset even though I completely understood where Joey was coming from. We both believe that families can do Santa and incorporate Christ into Christmas!! But Joey felt that at Christmas time Santa would always overshadow Christ at Christmas. As a child, who would you be more interested in? A super cool, magical guy who brings you goodies and presents that rides on a sleigh with reindeer or a baby who saves us from our sins? Hands down to a kid....the cool, magical guy will totally win!

Another thing that we both have a hard time with is lying to our kids. A lie is a lie whether it is for fun or not. We so strongly want our children to understand the importance of honesty and what we say we mean and is true. With Santa, we feel like it doesn't just stop at lying and saying he is real. You have to lie about the elves and how he delivers all the presents and much more. I am not at all saying anyone that does this is horrible, we just feel strongly about the kids understanding that we are honest with them and that lying is never okay.

The last thing that led us to not do Santa is his characteristics. He knows when you are sleeping, he knows if you are bad and good....and all that....God is omniscient....not Santa. We feel that they bear some of the same characteristics and when kids stop believing in Santa, they may question God's existence. When I found out Santa wasn't real, I still believed in God but I feel that this can be confusing for kids.


Santa is still a character in our home. We watch Santa movies and make Santa shaped cookies but the kids know he is a fictional character just like the Disney characters we saw at Disneyworld this summer. We are not anti Santa or against anyone who does it. I absolutely love seeing my friends' Elf on the Shelf pictures and all of the cute stuff they do. But for our family, this works. I won't lie, there were times I had doubts about our choice to do this but a couple of weeks ago, I felt absolute peace when Grayson said, "Mommy, I am glad you and Daddy told me the truth about Santa but don't worry, I won't tell my friends." And mommies of kiddos Grayson and Ella play with, don't worry!! We often talk about not telling other kids and ruining it for them. Grayson is in Kindergarten and has not had any problem with it. His teacher has even said when they do Santa activities, he just gives her a look but says nothing!!!

I believe every family should do what works for them. This is not a right/wrong issue...it is just what we have felt convicted about and are going with that feeling. Our goal is to raise Grayson and Ella in a Godly environment. We want them to know and love the Lord with all of their heart, mind, and soul just like Deuteronomy 6:5 says.

So that's our story and hopefully you don't think we are crazy, weird, or mean...haha! We are just following what we feel God wants for our family. We still do fun activities each year for Christmas. Here are some of our traditions!

1. Candle Light Service at Church
This is an absolutely beautiful service that our church does that makes you feel like you stepped into a Hallmark movie. My favorite is hearing Silent Night. Join us this Sunday at 5:30 at Chisholm Baptist Church in Rockwall!!

 

2. Looking at Christmas lights. The kids get so stinkin' excited even if its seeing one little tree wrapped in lights.

 

3. Visiting Bass Pro Shop. We don't really shop there but every year the kids love going and looking around and we usually buy some fudge on the way out.

 

4. Trains at Northpark. We try to do this every year if we can. The kids always love it!

 

5. Watching Christmas movies and eating popcorn and cookies while drinking hot cocoa.

 

6. Doing our advent calendar. The kids love this. We open a little door and read the bible verse for the night and talk about it. They also get a little treat. This is probably their favorite because if I forget they definitely let me know. I bought a cheap disposable one at Hobby Lobby this year, let me know if you know of any good ones. I would love to have a nice one to keep for years to come!! 


And before I go, I want to share my fav Christmas picture to date.

 

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year full of blessings and love!!! 

Longest Stinkin' Post Ever.....

Last time I blogged I was heading out to San Antonio for the Texas Counseling Association conference. I had a blast and my Dad went with me. It was nice having some father/daughter time. We both had never been to San Antonio (I know so weird) and we both loved it. He can't wait to bring my Mom when it warms up. We ate yummy food and watched Millionaire Matchmaker while my Dad gave commentary on the ones the millionaires should choose...hilarious! I had a blast and learned a lot, so all in all it was a great trip!

Riverwalk dinner

Dad being cool

Learning

We got to see the Alamo!!!

When I got back, it felt like Thanksgiving got here super fast!! Unfortunately, Thanksgiving was a little rough this year. Joey got a stomach virus and missed out on all the delish food and then one by one we each got it. I was able to spend some time with Joey's family and mine but when we got back home it all started. I did catch a sweet pic of Grayson and Ella with their cousins playing in the leaves. How perfect of a fall photo is this?

  But when I was up and feeling better, I had plenty of time to shop with sweet friends!!!

Grayson also started basketball through Upward two weeks ago and he is loving it!! He is on the team with one of his friends from school so that makes it even more fun!! He is just too cute out there and this Mommy can not wait for the first game!!!

We have had so many celebrations in our family! This past weekend my Grandma (mom's mom) turned 100!! My mom and aunts threw a big party and Grandma even danced. She had so much fun surrounded by family from out of town and Grayson and Ella had so much fun dancing the night away. Below you can see all the fun Joey had at a Filipino party!!! Haha!

Then yesterday my BFF and I threw a baby shower for my sister, Megan, and baby Liam!! It was so much fun...I so can't wait for him to get here!!!

Only 30 minutes after the shower, Ella had a Christmas performance at her daycare. I know I am biased...but it may have been one of the cutest little performances EVER!!

And this weekend, we have been celebrating my 31st birthday. I officially feel older but WOW...all I can do is praise the Lord. He has blessed me beyond what I ever could imagine with Joey, the kids, family, and friends. I think this year will be amazing because I know the Lord is working on my heart even more. Last night, Joey's grandma (Young Grandma) watched the kiddos because they were begging to go to her house so she treated us to a night alone. It was so stinkin' nice and we headed to Northpark for some dinner and birthday shopping. We had so much fun but just a tip for the future: NEVER go to Northpark a week before Christmas!!! Today my parents had a lunch for me at their house along with family. It was so nice and I couldn't have asked for a better birthday and it's not even until tomorrow!!!

Now for an update on the house. I only have one picture because my phone about died. It is coming along well and the builder said it will be about 60-75 more days. Bless my in-law's hearts. They are awesome for letting us still stay here because I know its been hard. I can't wait to move in our new home and for things to feel normal again!! They did the tape and bedding and we are hoping they will do stone and brick soon since it has just been hanging around the front.

standing at the front door

Other than that, we have been enjoying every bit of Christmas with the kiddos that we can and I am so EXCITED it's almost here!!!!

Y'all have a very Merry Christmas!!!