Merry December !

We made it !!!  That's right, we made it to December ! :)  December was a busy month for us...then again what month isn't ;) 
The first weekend of December my mom and I headed Southbound 35 to San Marcos for our birthday tradition to do a little shopping and relaxing.   We had a blast and of course brought a car load back ;) 

While your in the Hill Country its a must that you listen to live music and wear your boots, best place for that is Gruene, TX !  OUR FAV!

 

I'm not sure if many of you know or not, but David is also known as Mr. Christmas.  He loves Christmas and so do I , but he loves everything including the shopping.  I wouldn't let him begin shopping or decorating until December, but he went to town when I said GO.  We got our first Christmas Ornament for the tree and it was on...let the Christmas festivities begin!

 

Whitey likes to have a list of exactly what he is getting everyone for Christmas and he likes for everyones gift to be the best.  I tend to procrastinate and shop the week of Christmas usually.  I will say that it's been kind of nice having Whitey do my shopping for me ;) I can not tell you how many times we went to Cabelas or Bass Pro Shops in December.  Wow , it had to be a record...by the time December was over I think they knew us personally everytime we walked in, "Hello Mr. & Mrs. Whitehead". 
December was so much fun getting to see close family and friends.  We got to have our first annual Knox/Howard/Whitehead Christmas dinner and had so much fun catching up and remembering old times. Love this family!

Before we could celebrate Christmas it was time to celebrate David's birthday, we invited friends and family over to cook out and just hang out, even though the birthday boy did most of the cooking ;)  we had yummy deer burgers that were delicious.  I did fail at not taking pictures of any of this....guess I was too busy getting the cabbage prepared for our burgers ;)  let's just say cooking and food is not my expertise :) 
High School football playoffs were in full swing and David's High School was playing at Texas Stadium for the State Championship, so we decided to gear up and go cheer on the Mildred Eagles at Jerry World.  We had a great time at the game, I think the whole town of Mildred was there supporting.  Someone even posted a picture on Facebook that was a sign near a stop light leaving the town of Mildred and it read "Last one out turn off the lights"  ... I love small towns!  They ended up losing the State game, but hey atleast they are able to say that played for the State Championship.

It was time to prepare for Christmas and we were so excited that the Campbell's would be in town for a week, since they live in Montana !  We ran around this year and made it to every Christmas dinner and lunch which made for a very busy Christmas, but we wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Here is some of the fun that we had!

You never know what to expect from an almost 16 year old ;)

 

 Fun times with props this Christmas...definantly doing this next year!  Thanks mom we had a blast!

Too COOL Colten !

 

 Papa and his girls ! :)

 

So glad we finally have a picture of us three, Whitehead girls!

 This picture is my favorite !  Love how everybody has their own expression :) too funny!

 

Yay for the Campbells being in town !  Sorry Dale, not sure where you were on this picture.  I think your always hiding from my camera ;)

 

 The boys were such good participants !   It did take a little extra to get them on board.

 

Nanny with her girls!  Such a sweet picture.

 

Dale opening his snowboard helmet...he is ready to ride the slopes of Montana now!

 

Colten and his remote control car...love that big smile!

Katelyn and her boots

 

 Our CRAZY niece jamming out with new head phones!

 

Christmas time at Mammaw's !

Mammaw trying to hide her face....she loved the picture sooo much!!

 

David giving Max his Christmas present!  He was sooo excited!

We were so blessed this Christmas to be able to spend it with family and friends, rejoicing in the true meaning of Christmas! LOVE YOU ALL !

NOVEMBER

Well Halloween ended thank goodness ;) and I was ready for my favorite month NOVEMBER, which includes hunting, Thanksgiving and birthdays....and this year was the BIG one ( 3-0) ! 

November started and the hunting was on....the first big kill of the year went to my dad.  It was a nice buck with a double main beam, which was awesome and something he hadn't got before !  We were pumped for him !! 

November included a lot of traveling for us both, including to the deer lease and to San Marcos.
I had not been to San Marcos since we got engaged so I was definantly due for my first trip there as a Whitehead.  One of my best friends Heather lives down south so we met in New Braunfels/ San Marcos for a fun filled girls weekend that included lots of shopping and of course eating at the Gristmill where we both used to work during our college days.  We had a great time catching up and remembering all the great memories we have there!! 

Thanksgiving came and we both knew that this year the holidays were going to be tough for both of our families without Bappaw and Mema being here.  We both decided we were going to make every family event we had to be there for our families this holiday season. 
We started out Thanksgiving day with the Turkey Trot of course , which is a Howard Family tradition and has been since I was little.  I'm not sure it so much of a tradition for my mom and brother though, they tend to stay in bed while us runners run ;)   I know your all probably wondering, but yes I have been dragging David to the race for 3 years now :) and he has done great !!!  My dad has been doing the 10k and we would do the 5k , but this year David decided to sign us up for the 10k and with the busy lives we lead there wasn't much time to train.  We all did great though and FINISHED, which is what matters right? :)

As we had Thanksgiving with both families that day I sat and observed what was going on and it was obvious that Mema and Bappaw were there with us.  I could definantly see their faces and hear their voices amongst us and they are so proud and I know it makes them happy seeing each family bond together during these tough times !!!  I know Christmas is almost here and I know it's going to be even harder , but for some reason I can't stop smiling knowing what they have instilled in us and continue to teach us daily.  They both are celebrating this Christmas with our creator !!  We love and miss them so much everyday !!

After Thanksgiving it was deer lease time again, this year was the first year all four of us were doing a little bow hunting (thanks to my awesome Husband for my early birthday present).  It was a blast getting that close, although David would get a little mad when my allergies got in the way of hunting and he thought I was being too loud ;)  I tried to remind him who has the bigger buck on our walls ;) and I kind of know what I'm doing with a little help from my pops :)  We all split up that Saturday night after Thanksgiving and went to hunt, I went with my dad and David got in a tree stand nearby.  My dad and I got a text that David had a doe down, he was sooo pumped to get it with a bow as were we.  Now we have some yummy deer burgers that we get to eat on for a while !   Everyone is welcome to the Whitehead house for deer burgers anytime ;) 

It was getting close to the end of the month and the big 3-0 hit me on November 27th.  Thirty I have decided is going to be my best year yet!  Bring on 30 , not sure it's ready for me ;)  Since it was the big 3-0 David and a few friends were planning something which I had somewhat figured out.  I like to think it's because I'm smart, but when my husband leaves out a list of names my mind began to wonder.  So the Friday of my birthday week came and we headed to eat at one of my favorite places called Hard 8, which has amazing yummy food.   When we got there I saw that several friends and family were there to celebrate with me.  It's so awesome being surrounded by such amazing friends and family that have helped me get to this year 30 that I have come upon.  Each and everyone of you has had a part in who I am today.  Love you all so much !  We also celebrated another birthday that night which was my beautiful mothers.  I love that we both get to share our birthdays together every year, which is something I always cherish.  We have a tradition that we always take a road trip to San Marcos for our birthdays and this time it came the first week of December.  More to come in the next post on that trip.  Oh I forgot to mention how lovely my desk was decorated for my birthday at work and how they put lovely pictures of me up all over work for everyone to see.  For those of you that know me, it's not often I take a normal picture....so I'll let your imagination take it from there ;)  Thanks Hilary Holder and Jennifer Duncan !

Well November is my favorite month so I know this post was a little bit more about me.....but BELIEVE me December will be David's month as it's his birthday month and he likes to think he is Mr. Santa Claus , and Mr. Christmas if you will.