Christmas Day Pictures

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning was always very magical for me when I was young. I remember laying in bed all night without sleeping talking to my brother about what Santa would bring us and how much fun we were going to have the next day. My parents always made Christmas morning so fun -- Christmas was always done right in my home growing up. Trying to replicate those feelings for my kids has been a fun 'task' to have as a parent. I hope we are doing well....here is a short video of the kids waking up then some photos of the day. Enjoy!

Both Payton and Abby said to April and I that this was their best Christmas ever....maybe we are creating a fun Christmas spirit.
Above is a slide show of our day! We hope everyone had a great Christmas!

The Texas Bingham's

Merry Christmas!

Dear Family & Friends –

We are late getting started this year on many things including writing our letter to update everyone on how we are doing. If it were up to me we would only post our update on our blogspot (http://), however, since we have some of our more mature and wise family members that are “wise” in other ways, we will write a quick letter as well. [If you are reading this letter and are internet savvy, check it out with pictures. Otherwise, you’ll have to let your imagination do the work as you read].

2008 as brought many blessings to our family. Family and friends have been very thoughtful and have visited us on many occasions. Grandma Bing spent a weekend with us in late July. Gram White visit for Abby’s birthday and Halloween. Grandma & Grandpa Bing, Adam & Shalisa, Kip and Chantel visited for Thanksgiving, and we are looking forward to another visit by Gram White over the Christmas to New Years school break. We welcome all that would like to either visit us or Texas …… you have a place to stay!

Work this year as been interesting as it has for many in the workforce across the country. I am now working for Bank of America as they acquired the old company I was working for. Payton asked to come to my new work once the acquisition had happened to which I replied that he already had been. After some confusion I explained that even though the company I work for changed, my job is the same, and my office is the same. It is a blessing (so far) to be working and it appears that 2009 will offer stability as well. This past year I began my pursuit towards my MBA (Masters in Business Administration) attending classes at Texas A&M – Commerce. I am enjoying this and should be complete next year at this time.

Well enough about that, let’s get onto the important parts, April and the kids……..

April’s driving services were increased this year all without any complaint from her. She seems to drive the kids all over McKinney in their various activities. She is still in the Young Women’s Presidency and is loving the girls of our ward. She has recently been asked to play the piano in primary sharing time so she is enjoying dusting off this talent now that we have a piano. April is such a good Mom and wife, we are way too lucky to have her!

Payton had a great year. He went to Disney World in April, golf camp in July, had his cousin Tagg in Texas with him for summer break in August, went to Utah on vacation in August, and began taking piano lessons. He is a happy kid and enjoys the Wii, his electric scooter, webkinz, and recently searching Google earth. We are proud of him, he is getting very big.

Abby started Kindergarten this year and she loves it. We hear a lot more about school from her than we ever do from Payton (we are learning that boys and girls and children are very different). Abby too went to Disney World and ate with the princesses, started playing soccer this year, and enjoys riding her scooter, and playing with friends.

Ashlyn gets to stay home with Mom for most days and they are good little buddies. She did begin preschool this year and attends on Tues/Thur for three hours a day. She loves it and has made a good friend names Charley (Dad calls her Chuck and Ashie gets very upset about it). Ashie loves clothes (already), dolls, and playing with friends. She is definitely our most social child. She loved spending time in Disney World this year, playing with her dolls, and being best friends with her mommy.

We hope this update finds each of you happy, healthy and well. We are so blessed in our lives to have each other, friends and family that are always supportive of us, and most importantly the Gospel of Jesus Christ. At this time of year we are humbled by His birth and life and are so grateful for His Atonement. We as a family know that He lives.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Ryan, April, Payton, Abby, and Ashlyn (& Maisy)

Dear F

Payton "LIVE" in Concert

Payton had his first ever Piano Recital last night at the church. He has been taking piano lessons for about 2 months and we are very impressed with his musical ability. He was the only student who played two songs and he was the only student who had both songs memorized. We caught it all on video so the family could 'be there'. Enjoy!

Great job Payt, we are proud of you!

December in Texas -- 72 Degree!

What a beautiful day today was! It was 72 degrees so after church and dinner we decided to go on a walk and enjoy the December Texas weather. Here are a few photos of the fun we had........


December days like today make it hard to believe that Christmas is only a week and 1/2 away.

No winter wonderland in Texas that is for sure.



We also decided to take our scooters out for a spin....to get the Sabbath Day wiggles out. Here are a few videos of the fun!

You've got to love TEXAS!

Merry Christmas?!?!

Deck the Halls

As all of you have, we too have decorated for Christmas. Payton calls this 'decking the halls' and he and the girls had a great time decorating the house with April.



Payton insisted on placing the star atop the tree and as you can see he had some difficulty in making it happen.....April helped out while I took the pictures. Dad is not big on putting ornaments on the tree so while the family did this for FHE, he took the pictures while watching and sneaking in some Monday Night Football (but don't tell April about that last part!)

Well , here are some of the pictures of the event and how the house looks after Aprils touch. We are so thankful for this time of year and as a family are grateful for Jesus and his atoning sacrifice.

We wish everyone a very merry Christmas!

Love Texas Bing's

Merry Christmas!

Sunday we took some time before church to take a family picture for the holiday season. We wish everyone a very merry Christmas. We are very blessed and have been more and more appreciative of the Savior and how his atonement affects our lives. We know that he is the Son of God and we love him.

Perth Australia

Maybe a mistake, but we had a hit from Perth Australia on our blog. It could have been an old companion from the mission field. If you are looking at the blog and you live in Perth, let us know who you are....it would be great to catch up.

All the best!

All I Want for Christmas

.........we wish it was only Abby's two front teeth!

Mom, Dad, Shalisa, Mindy and our family (April, Ryan, Payton, Abby, & Ashlyn) went to downtown McKinney for our annual tradition of 'Dickens of a Christmas'. We got to meet Santa and the girls told him all that they wanted.......you guessed it American Girl dolls.

True to form, Payton wanted nothing to do with Santa and said he would simply send him an e-mail to tell him that he wanted a Wii and some games.

We spent the rest of the evening walking around downtown McKinney enjoying the lights while Mom and April visited some of the craft shops. It was a fun night!

I almost forgot the other highlight for the kids....the city manufactured snow for the kids to sled on, they called it 'Ski McKinney'! The kids thought it was the greatest thing ever....here are a couple of pictures.

Abby looks a bit terrified :-)

I can't believe that Christmas is here again.....time flies when your busy with a family.

Merry Christmas!

American Girl

You spent what?

Abby and Ashlyn had their first and if I have anything to do with it, final visit to American Girl in Dallas on Friday 11/28/09. They spent about 3 hours in the store looking at all of their favorite dolls and making decisions about which ones they wanted Santa to bring them.

April peeled off to, well you know play some Santa and they were invited to eat a sundae with their American Girl doll of their choice. They both chose the very exact one that Santa will be bringing them, so April knew the right choice had been made.

Anyhow, the girls were very happy and that makes their Mom and Dad happy too. We were also excited that Gram Bing, Sheshe, Chani, and Mindy could see this store and be apart of it.

Merry Christmas.....the girls are sure to have a merry one!

Thanksgiving in McKinney Texas

We were extra thankful this Thanksgiving in that we had Mom & Dad Bing, Adam & Shalisa (with Winston & Wilbur of course), Mindy, and Kip and Chantel join us in McKinney Texas! Everyone got here Tuesday night and they drove up to Altus, OK to see Adam and Shalisa first.

They arrived Wednesday night and we had a house full! We had nine adults sleeping in the house, so it was a full load, but we loved it! Adam and Shalisa's friends Matt & Elisa came down from Altus as well with their little boy named Raymond. April and I had invited a couple from work, as well as the Williamson family -- some very good friends of ours that live in our neighborhood.

Thanksgiving dinner was awesome, turkey and all the dressings. Shalisa made a great salad, Mom made her award winner stuffing, April made a turkey with cranberry sauce & sweet potatoes. April also made a cherry, pecan, and pumpkin pie. It was a great afternoon. Following lunch we went to the theater and saw the new movie Bolt -- a definate must see!

Friday, Adam, Kip and I woke at 4:30am to hit the sales. It was fun to help out a friend of mine, Robert, purchase some TV's for his dental office. We also picked up a few things that were good buys, but mostly just went along to see it all. Did everyone here the tragic story in New York where shoppers killed a man so they could get to their deals. Our country is a mess and we are out of control!



That afternoon we played laser tag with Payton for his birthday (Payton's team won!) then ate lunch at Rudy's. That night Adam, Kip and I started our own band, Bing Bro's, on Guitar Hero and played until 1am. It was a lot of fun! That night the girls went and saw a movie, Twilight. On Friday afternoon the girls went down to American Girl and did some shopping....we now know what Abby and Ashlyn want from Santa. Could they not choose something less expensive?

We loved having everyone here, thanks everyone for coming to see us and spend Thanksgiving in Texas!

Happy Birthday Payton - Big #9 & Weekend in Altus

Winston at his PAD!

Payton woke to find his one present, his motorized scooter. Both of this grandma's contributed money to help out and he loved it! While Payton went to school that day Mom and Dad took the scooter for a spin, just to make sure it was safe and ready for Payton when he got home. :=)


Adam and Shalisa invited us up to Altus for the weekend, so we packed up our stuff (including the scooter) that afternoon and made our way up to Oklahoma. When we arrived Shalisa had dinner for us and had baked a cake for Payton for his birthday.

Shalisa had invited some friends of theirs over to celebrate the birthday. Stacey, Sydney and Bryce were a lot of fun. Both Sydney and Bryce had bought Payton a present.....that was very thoughtful! Both Bryce and Syndey are in the picture above.....great kids and we enjoyed getting to know their parents!

Adam and Shalisa sewed Payton a sweatshirt 'Rat Pack' it was very nice!



We spent the rest of the weekend playing Guitar Hero - World Tour, riding Payton's scooter and attending church with Adam and Shalisa where they spoke and did an amazing job.



Thanks Adam, Shalisa, Winston, and Wilbur......we had a great time and plan to do it again if you'll have us. Altus ROCKS!! Well, maybe not the city, but 2 of its residents and 2 of its dogs definately ROCK!!!

Halloween 2008 - McKinney Madness

Halloween was a great event this year as it is all years. Our neighborhood had kids running around everywhere, we loved it! April and Gram took the kids out while Dad sat in his camping chair on the driveway and handed out candy to the kids while talking to his friend Robert. Here are a few of the pictures:

Payton was a race car driver again and he didn't want a new costume, so we recycled from a year ago. Abby was a cat and Ashlyn was a cute witch.



For Family Home Evening the Monday prior to Halloween we had the Williamson and Bentley families over for some pumpkin carving. We had a lot of fun!

Halloween 2008 was a lot of fun!