Cornelius Chronicles

We must have been very good this year. Santa left us lots of fun gifts. We thought we would share a little of our holiday in pictures. Bekah received a castle and some Sleeping Beauty figures. She hasn't stopped playing with them since. We have had many daring rescues, perilous adventures, and dancing princess in the last two days. Dad has been working around the house a lot and he has been using some pretty cool looking tools in the process. Poor Loyd has been frustrated at the nearly continuous refrain of "No Loyd, Daddy's tools," as he tries to join in the fun. Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa C he can play with his own tools. He was so excited to have his very own hammer, screw driver and pliers. He keeps bringing his tool box, loaded with treasures, to each of us in the house and telling us with great pride, "Loyd's Tools!" Even my garden got into the act. These beautiful roses came off my small rosebush in the front yard on Tuesday! I love b...

We've had a lot of fun receiving special packages from our family and friends for Christmas. Last week we received the packages from Grandma C. She said we could open up the PJs early. The kids have LOVED wearing their new pajamas and we couldn't resist getting some pictures by the tree. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa C! I love the little smile on Xavier's face in this shot. He is such a smiley baby. I think he has been my happiest baby yet. Trying to get three kids ages three and under to all look at the camera and smile at the same time is a hopeless endeavor. It's like wishing for lightning to strike in the same spot thrice. I love this shot of the two brothers. Loyd loves his little brother, Xavier. I know they will have a lot of fun together as they get bigger. Check out the authentic pointy elf ear on this kid! We can thank those handy Phillips genes for our real life Spock. :>) Ah, my Bekah is getting prettier and prettier as she grows up. Of course,...

Santa made his big appearance at the Helen Hall Library in League City on Thursday. It was pretty exciting to meet him. Nobody even cried. :>) After we saw Santa Clause the library had cookies and a penguin craft for the kids to do. Here is Bekah concentrating very hard on removing the paper back of her scarf sticker. This is Loyd working on his winter penguin and trying to not eat his cookie. I couldn't resist this shot of Xavier. With his finger on his chin in such a thoughtful way, even in his sleep, clearly we can tell this boy is a thinker. Santa must have brought more than just the Christmas spirit with him on Thursday. On Friday we had snow! You can't see it very well in the first picture below, but you can see it falling in the next picture. The kids and I had fun running outside and getting sopping wet. None of it stuck, but it was nice to see the big, petty flakes fall. The whole city shut down for the afternoon and nobody was suppose to drive on the road...