2025 Top Ten

1. Brad flew halfway across the world to Malaysia where he tried Durian fruit. Highlights included  mountain biking and snorkeling.

2. Emily celebrated her 40th Birthday with a trip with Brad to Sedona, AZ and a girls trip to Banff, BC.  She also celebrated 10 years cancer free!

 

3. Carson (16) is a Junior in high school! He got his drivers license permit and drove us home from Utah.  He also went to Homecoming with his girlfriend Prya.

4. Tanner (14) 8th grade! Got a e-bike and loves riding around the neighborhood with his friends.

5. Logan (11)  5th grader! He is on the safety patrol at school and loved going on a fathers son campout to Enchanted Rock with his scout troop. 

6. Spring Break skiing at our favorite Purgatory resort in Durango, Colorado

7. Going to Carlsbad Cavern, NM

8. Kayaking Horseshoe Bend and boating in Lake Powell with Grandma and Grandpa Clark

9. Murphy Family Reunion in McCall Idaho

10. Lantern ceremony for Olivia

(what is written on the family Christmas Card)

 This year has been one of both heartache and gratitude for our family. Earlier this year, we lost our dear cousin and niece, Olivia (11).  Her absence is deeply felt, and through our grief, we've been reminded of the preciousness of family and the importance of cherishing each moment together. 

Carson turned 16 and is now driving!  He even drove us all the way back home from Utah over the summer, a 1500 mile journey! Tanner, now 14, had a great season playing football and loves the freedom of zipping around on his new e-bike. Logan, 11, is enjoying his last year of elementary school and making the most of every moment before middle school begins. Brad had a big travel year with work, highlighted by an international trip to Malaysia. Emily celebrated her 40th birthday with a special trip with Brad to Sedona and an unforgettable girls' adventure in Banff.  

Through all of life's ups and downs, we are thankful for the love and support of family and friends. Wishing you a joyful Christmas and a peaceful new year filled with hope, love, and togetherness.

Christmas 2025

The older the boys get, the more I realize Christmas magic changes, but it doesn’t disappear. This year gave us some bittersweet milestones, lots of laughs, and all the cozy family moments that make this season so special.

Christmas Eve is always one of my favorite traditions. We had our fancy family dinner and Brad cooked the most amazing prime rib feast. After dinner, we opened our Christmas pajamas and the boys still insisted on sleeping in the same room together on Christmas Eve, one of those traditions I hope never completely goes away.

This year also marked a big milestone: Logan officially told us he knows about Santa. Truthfully, he’s known for a couple years but didn’t want to ruin the magic or traditions for anyone else. While it was a little bittersweet, it also took some pressure off us trying to keep up every bit of the Santa magic. Although apparently not all of it… because Tanner was very upset when I suggested maybe that meant I didn’t have to do Elf on the Shelf anymore. So yes, the elf still made his appearances this Christmas season. 😂

Christmas morning was full of presents, laughs, and all the cozy Christmas chaos. Then that evening, we ended the day watching the very much anticipated Stranger Things finale together. One of the unexpected perks of having teenagers.

Love this season, these traditions, and this family of mine. ❤️🎄 

Chat GPT turned this cute picture into a Norman Rockwall style painting

Christmas breakfast!

I din't get any pictures opening presents so I made them take a picture with their favorite present

Love this family!

Day after Christmas we took Logan to a skateboard park to try out his new present.

It all goes by too fast!!

 

Christmas Parties

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

We kicked things off with Cookies with Santa at the elementary school. I had to drag Logan and his friend Jason to it.  They are ready for middle school and they just felt a little too old for this. But we wanted to come and support and enjoy their last bit of elementary fun.

Then came my work Christmas party, which started off with a nice dinner… and then quickly became the kind of night everyone hopes for. The white elephant exchange absolutely steals the show every year.  It's my favorite.  My co-workers absolutely deliver every year and you'll hands down get the funniest gag gifts ever. We were laughing so hard. 

Me and my partner Kelly.  She's the best partner a girl could ask for.  We really do have the best time together.

Next up, one of Lauren’s friends invited us onto a party bus to head downtown for Lights in the Heights. Walking through a neighborhood lit up with Christmas lights felt straight out of a movie—houses glowing, music playing, everyone just in a good mood. And because we weren’t done yet, the night ended at a club with music and dancing. Not your typical “silent night,” but definitely one for the books. So fun.

Back at school, the kids had their own lineup of festive fun. The elementary Christmas party featured gingerbread house decorating. Unfortunately i wasn't able to attend this one because of work, but thankfully friends sent pictures to fill me in.

I did get to be there for Polar Express Day though, which might be one of my favorites. The kids showed up cozy in their pj's, sipping hot cocoa, listening to our school's namesake reading the Polar Express, and watching the movie together. I was there in my official capacity as yearbook photographer, snapping pictures and trying to capture all that magic. It was super cute!

And in one of those unexpected, proud-mom moments, I spotted Logan’s name in the hallway—Student of the Month. Of course he didn't tell me, so I'm glad I was able to see this!

Love this time of year.  It can be easy to get caught up in the busy of the season, but these are the moments that stick, the laughter, the traditions, the surprises. Christmas parties are where the memories are made.

Christmas music

There’s just something about Christmas music that instantly pulls you into the spirit of the season It really is one of the best parts of the season.  

We unfortunately did miss one of our favorite traditions this year. Brad didn’t have his work Christmas party at the Houston Symphony, which is always such a fun and festive night. No reason was given, but with the large layoffs that happened around Thanksgiving, it makes sense that a big celebration might not have felt quite right this year. Still, it was something we definitely noticed missing from our December lineup.  They've been doing the Houston Symphony Christmas party for over 50+ years, they even did the performance over zoom during covid time.  They've never canceled it, so I was really hopping that they would still do it, and sad when they didn't. 

Thankfully, Christmas music still found its way into our lives in the best way through our boys. Having two kids in orchestra means lots of Christmas music. I just love listening to Carson and then Tanner perform. It brings a whole different level of pride and joy when its your kids performing.

Tanner’s night was especially memorable. He came straight from basketball tryouts (where he made the team!) and went right into performing. Talk about a full night!

They even had the instrument petting zoo, where before the performance they let little kids test the different instruments out.  Logan of course gravitated to the cello...

Brad and I also carved out a little time for our own Christmas music date night. We headed downtown to The Mucky Duck for a date night and to listen to some jazz Christmas music, and it did not disappoint. A little different from the traditional carols, but so memorable.

Just love that no matter how busy the Christmas season gets, listening to Christmas music is tradition and memories and it makes everything feel more meaningful.

 

Stalkyards with the Starks

We had the best time meeting up with Brad’s aunt and uncle from Alabama at the Fort Worth Stockyards while they were in town visiting Melissa, who just recently moved there after her husband started a new job as a PA at a local hospital.

We made it just in time for the Christmas tree lighting, which was such a fun surprise and made everything feel extra festive. We grabbed some ice cream, but of course, Texas weather kept things interesting and we ended up getting caught in the rain! Thankfully, we found cover under a patio where we could sit, stay dry, and actually enjoy some quality time catching up with the Stark family.

Also very grateful to Sasha for loaning me some cowboy gear so I could fully fit in with the Stockyards vibe 🤠 It was such a great visit, and I’m so glad we were able to see everyone while they were in town!