A Christmas Light Adventure!

Our Saturday started quite like most of our Saturday mornings: Daddy and Winston going out to get donuts + hash browns.  Yes, that's right.  Winston loves McDonald's hash browns as a side for his Saturday morning donuts!  And while they are out, this is how Lulu stays...

...curled up, under our covers in what we like to call fat pig pose!  She loves a good lie-in on Saturday mornings!  

After breakfast we went in to "let's get it done" mode!  Benjamin made trips to Good Will and storage while Winston played and I cleaned out.  By the time the morning was complete, we had successfully set up Truman's crib!  That in itself felt amazing.  Now, no matter when he arrives, Truman won't have to sleep on the couch!  Haha!  

We signed, sealed and stamped our Christmas cards with the help of a little Winston elf this year!  He was all about writing in the cards {well, for at least 12 minutes!} and helping to put the stamps on the envelopes!  I am thankful that he loves to be a part of whatever it is that we are doing.  I have learned that even though I can do it better, faster, neater that's not what matters.  Taking the time to teach him how to help in a task, even as small as putting stamps on an envelope, means he gets to be right where we are.  And he looks so proud to help and be part of the conversation!

After nap, we tried out the newest restaurant to open on our side of 45, a local pizza place named Crust.  I had never been to any of their other locations and was delighted with the taste of everything!  Winston ate the entire kid sized pizza and man, is their strawberry green iced tea delicious!  If you are in The Woodlands/Spring area, I highly recommend them!

Because we ate dinner at 4:45pm {yes, we are old people at heart!} and the weather was perfect, Benjamin made a list of houses with awesome Christmas light displays and we headed out on a festive adventure!  We knew that we wanted to visit Dearing Dazzle and in his research, Benjamin discovered a group called Lone Star Holidays and their amazing map where members pin the location of their awesome lighting displays!  Most of the displays are programed to Christmas music that you can listen to in your car or that they have playing outside in the yard.  Also, a lot of the houses have specific days and times that they run their displays so be sure to check before you head out!  

We started at Stone Fox Lights in Fox Run, because that was a stone's throw away {haha!}.  

When we drove up, Winston exclaimed, "They have a Bumble!" and then got lost in the magic of watching the lights dance.  Over the course of the night, we learned that there are three different types of lights that are used: RGB, LED, and Incandescent.  My favorites were the RGBs - they could do any color and pattern!  

We popped into Starbucks, grabbed some hot chocolates and petite madelines, and continued on our journey!  We stopped at two other houses, one of them being the Dodd's Family Holidays where a bubble machine and three singing trees were going in full force!  

Our final stop was the Dearing Dazzle.  We had heard about this house from a few different sources and we were all super pumped.  There was a really good crowd and a perfect spot across the street for sitting and watching the show.  And it is a show to see.  Expect smoke and fire!

Watching Winston watch the lights, drink his hot chocolate and sit snuggled in Benjamin's lap was the best thing of all.  He was jazzed when he heard the Chipmunk's sing, clapped during Jingle Bells and was mesmerized by the flames.  As we drove home, we talked about how many more days it was until Christmas, who brings presents and about Rudolph.  Benjamin asked whose birthday was on Christmas to which Winston answered, "Jesus!"  And after a small quiet pause he said, "Jesus lives in my heart."  And right there I prayed that my sweet son would continue to know and love Jesus all the days of his life.  That yes, there are so many wonderfully fun and exciting things about Christmas, but Jesus is the foundation of it all.

I think it's safe to say that we created a new tradition for our family!  How do you go looking at Christmas lights?  Just load up and roam or do you have a specific routine?  I'd love to hear!