The Krauska Family Blog

So Brandon and I have been talking about getting a horse for some time now and decided to start looking for one. I knew I wanted an Arabian horse just because I knew that I would want to get back into showing if at all possible.

We found a horse we both really liked and went out to look at him and have Brandon ride on Monday. The horse looked great in warm up and with the owner riding him. When it was Brandon’s turn, he hung on for about 4 bucks then got thrown into a wall. Obviously, this horse wasn’t for us and we left disappointed. When this happened it scared the heck out of me because the horse ran straight for the wall and all I was thinking and yelling was “Oh babe” and maybe a choice word. I was scared for my husband and just wanted him off. He was off quickly and was not hurt. Brooke watched this whole thing too and was very concerned about her daddy. We kept it positive though and told her the horse just didn’t like Daddy. We didn’t want this to be or put bad thoughts about horses in her mind.

The rest of the week, we just kept looking online for other horses and found several to go look at. We found 2 out in Weatherford and decided to go check those out. When we got there they actually had 3 to show us and the last one is the one we truly fell in love with. The first 2 were nice but the third one we just couldn’t walk away from. He was gorgeous, sweet and Brandon said he rode really nice. Brooke got to ride as well and in fact rode one horse for about 30 minutes with a lady who rides out there. They were all so nice and Brandon and I were excited about finding a horse that worked for us. When Brandon got off the first horse, Brooke said “Daddy, you didn’t run into the wall.” It was quite funny and we all had to laugh.

Brandon riding Cash

So needless to say, we bought oursleves a horse named “Cash” and got to bring him home to the barn we are keeping him at today. He is absolutely gorgeous, we all 3 love him and cant wait to ride him and get him back into showing. Brooke is so excited she has a horse now and loves to feed him treats. He is so good around her and she is getting more and more brave around him.

Uncle Preston and Aunt Rachel flew into Dallas today from Iowa and we got to pick them up from the airport. Brooke was very excited to see them. They wanted to do some fun Dallas things, so right after the airport we went to the Dallas Science Place. They had 2 new exhibits we hadn’t seen yet so we were all excited about going.

Preston and Rachel had a blast and Brooke loved having them there to explore with them. I think they had just as much fun as Brooke did at the museum! We didn’t bring our camera in, so the only pictures we have are either from our phone or on Preston and Rachel’s camera that we forgot to get from them before they left. Before we left, we went to see the electric show. Brooke did great and dint get scared at the loud sounds that were made! She is such a big girl!

At the electric show!

Brandon and I woke up before Brooke did, so I had Brandon in the living room with the video camera to film Brooke as she came in the living room to see her presents! When I woke Brooke up, I told her Merry Christmas and told her Santa came. She sat up and said “is he here?” I said no but he left you some presents. She then got out of bed and looked out the window to see if she could see him. She was a little disappointed that he was not out in our back yard. She then went into the living room and was so excited to see that Santa left all of us bicycles for Christmas.

We passed out all of presents and began to open them. When I handed Brooke hers, she lined them all up in a line. It was so funny! She really liked opening presents and would want to play with them right away. One of her favorite toys was a snake bracelet and a toy kitty cat for her baby dolls. She also liked her bike and well pretty much everything else she got! I love watching her open presents. She is so funny and says some of the funniest things!

Celebrating Christmas with a child is such a joy. I was really glad to hear that she remembered and recognized that Christmas was Jesus’s birthday. I hope that we never loose site of that and He truly is our focus. Our family showed up a little later that morning and of course she got more presents. Brandon and I were cooking in the kitchen but weren’t extremely busy. We time managed our meal very well this year, which turned out very nice!

We had such a great Christmas and really enjoyed spending it with our family. Our family is such a blessing to me and I look forward to celebrating Christmas each year with them.

Every year for Christmas Eve, we go to church then go over to my moms house with family and friends for dinner and some gifts. This year Brooke woke up and had such cute pajamas on I had to snap a few pictures. When we got ready to go to church we always take a picture of Brooke in her Christmas Eve dress. She looked so cute, just as she always does. She wanted to pose herself in a few pictures, which always cracks me up!

Brooke stayed with us in the service and did awesome. She loved when we sang and attempted to sing along, even if she didn’t know the words. Her favorite part though, was when we got to light our candles. Brandon tried to let her hod it on her own, but she wanted his help. She did great and was cute holding her candle as we all sang silent night.

After church we went to my moms and had a great time as always. Brooke loves to play with her friends over at Nana’s. I really like that she gets to play with kids during this time, because on Christmas she is typically the only kid. Not that any of don’t play with her, but it is always nice and fun to play with someone your age! We had a wonderful Christmas Eve and are so blessed to have such a wonderful family and great friends!

Singing Happy Birthday to Jesus

Brooke and her Nana

Matthew, Big Brooke, Brooke, Lily and Bethany

Me and Rachel, friends since we were 5!

Our family on Christmas Eve!

I have seen these but never made them, so this year I knew it was something I wanted to do. I love simple snacks or deserts that are festive looking and these are perfect for that! Plus, they taste great and are very addicting!

I made 2 batches, one with chocolate kisses and one with peppermint kisses. The peppermint kiss ones turned out so cute since they have stripes and are red and white.

Ingredients:
1-2 bags Hershey kisses
1 bag pretzels
1 bag Large M&Ms

Directions:
1. Pre heat oven to 200 degrees
2. Place pretzels on foil lined cookie sheet
3. Place an unwrapped kiss in the center of each pretzel
4. Place in oven for 7-9 minutes or until the kiss is melted
5. take out of oven and place a m&m in the center of each melted kiss
6. Allow to cool before transferring (this will take a long time if you just leave them on the counter, you can place them in the freezer or refrigerator to speed up the cooling and setting process!)