Thankful List

Brian goes back to work tomorrow and we find ourselves a little blue about that. We've had a lot of family time and it's hard to go back to the hustle and bustle of "real" life. So, instead of being sad, I thought about making a Thankful List.
Warning *This is a quick, in the moment list, so no telling how it will go.

Alex - "I'm thankful for my friends and my family and how much they love me. I know there's something else. Oh, yeah, I'm thankful for technology, animals and a lot of things. I'm thankful for just about everything except most green vegetables and eggrolls."

Emma - "Poohey (Pooh), Family, this house, God and Jesus and heaven. And, I'm thankful for my neighbors and my friends. I'm thankful for food, water and cookie dough. I'm thankful for my brush and I'm thankful for bad guys. (I had to stop and ask WHY? No answer. Hmmm.) I'm thankful for ice cream and God sending Jesus to die for us."

Brian - "I'm thankful that God gave me the gift of life, you (Angie), my children. I'm thankful that I'm gifted with wonderful friends. I'm thankful for my education and profession and that I am still employed in such a difficult economy. I'm thankful that I'm healthy, wealthy and wise! Oh, and I'm thankful that I'm so modest. Wait, you're not really putting that in there are you?...

Angie - Boy, I'm so thankful that I just did this with my family. We had some laughs and definitely stopped feeling blue. I'm thankful for the many incredible gifts God has graced me with. My family, friends, co-workers, my children's teachers and school, my patients, my health. I'm thankful for my neighbors, the health of our family and ABBY. I'm thankful for homemade Christmas cookies, good books, fireplaces and snuggle time.

Abby - She's chilling on her new bed, so she's definitely thankful for that. And, probably for being in a loving family who adores her.

Happy Birthday Alex!

How can it be 9 years already? Surely, I'm not the only one that feels like that with their children? It seems more so with him. Maybe it's because he's the oldest and I had more time to journal and enjoy. Well, if I remember accurately, those first weeks weren't terribly enjoyable. It took me a while to figure out the mothering thing. I think that's why God blessed me with Alex. He was a great baby (once he started sleeping for more than 10 minutes at a time.)!! Remind me to tell you about the chart we kept, trying desperately to figure out some rhyme or reason to his constant waking. What a laugh!!

The days, weeks and yes, years have seemed to fly by. I want to enjoy each step along the way. I want Alex to enjoy the steps along the way too. I pray that we give him as much as his incredible smile gives us.

We celebrated his birthday with our "family" aka, the most incredible friends on Earth. The night of his birthday, it was just the 4 of us, which was really nice I made his favorite meal - pancakes and bacon and with a 9 candle right on top! Boy, was it a feast.

And then, it "really" snowed!

We were so excited about the first flakes, knowing that they might be the first and the last. But, lo and behold, there were more. And, they were nice, plump, real snowflakes. What a treat! Brian and I were more in excited than the kids. Heck, they've had snow in December twice in their lifetime, here on the Gulf Coast!

The kids fell asleep before we got a nice thick coasting in the yard. So, being the wonderful parents that we are, we went upstairs and woke them up! Come on. It's snow. In Texas! Alex looked out his window and promptly fell back into bed (see photo). Emma was more interested and she let Brian carry her downstairs. She said something along the lines of, "Oh!" and laid her head on his shoulder and fell back asleep (see photo). Poor child. She doesn't even remember us getting her up. You'd think the photo would be proof.

Here's my best shot of the snow. I'm still learning how to use my new camera, so...You'll have to look very closely to see the snow over the grass and shrubs and trees.

It's raining, It's SNOWING ...

Okay, they are itty-bitty, teeny-weeny flakes, but they are snowflakes. What a treat!!! We keep running outside, oohing and ahhing, and then decide it's too cold to be outside and we run right back in. We have thin, Texas blood and it is cold man! How do people live in this (and much colder) for months out of the year? :-)

The Recycling Fashionista

I had the pleasure of spending Thanksgiving with one of my best girlfriends, Laura. We went to the TEXAS v. a&m game in Austin. Her husband, Scott sent us as a birthday gift for Laura. I was the innocent, very lucky, bystander. Thanks Scott!

Laura and I always have a great time together and this was no exception. There were laughs about all sorts of things. I'm going to share a picture that is still making me laugh. But, to truly enjoy it, you need to see Laura. She was really rockin' those awesome boots and her Longhorn belt (which can't be fully appreciated in this photo). Check out her picture, then check out the one below, with our recycled souvenirs. It seems only fitting to Go Green in Austin! Make sure to notice the tower all aglow in Burnt Orange.











Yep! Those are plastic Longhorn cups. The ones you get your Diet Coke in at the stadium. I took mine and grabbed 2 for the kids. (We did that at an Astros game one time and loved drinking out of them and remembering our time together). Laura decided that sounded like a great idea but that we needed enough to fill her newly cleaned out cabinet. So off we went, searching the seats for plastic cups that people left behind! Can you imagine? And, we were completely sober. Really! Can you imagine, seeing women searching the stands for plastic cups? Oh, and don't miss the koozie I found! It's orange, so you can't go wrong. Right? ;-)

Emma is 7! How can it be?

Emma just celebrated a birthday. How can my baby be 7 already? It seems like yesterday she was toddling around after her brother, carrying Pooh, sucking her thumb and looking at me like I had all the answers. Now she chases her brother, carries Pooh, sucks her thumb (less) and tells me what to do, because, clearly, she has all the answers!!! ;-)

Seriously though, Emma is an incredible gift, and one that we are thankful for each and every day! She celebrated with pizza, cookie cake, dog bone cookies at school, jumping on the trampoline and riding her new kick scooter. Life is good, indeed!

Happy Birthday "M" !

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Vampires and Werewolves

I found this post, saved as a draft, from weeks ago....

I never, in a million years, would have thought I'd be reading books about vampires and werewolves. I avoid scary movies, stories, music, etc. I didn't watch Scream until several years later, and then only during daylight with my hands covering most of my face. Still my heart was racing. I'm not an adrenaline junkie.

So, knowing that, I'm baffled at how much I am enjoying reading Vamp and Were stories. I guess it's pretty superficial to even say that they are "Vamp" books. One series is what I would call a romance. Top it off and it's a young adult series! Am I trying to regain my youth? Aren't I too young to need to be doing that just yet? (Please say yes!) But, I admit it. The Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer is one of the best I've read in years. (Thanks Kel and Lisa for pressuring me into them). If you haven't read them yet, go buy them or check them out from the library. They are a good read!

I have a thing for books in a series. I love getting to know the characters in such detail. The second series I am reading is the Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris, starring Sookie Stackhouse. I've only read #8, Better Off Dead. I have it if you want to read it. (Thanks Geneva for sharing.) Loved it. Funny. Easy. Can't wait to read all of them.

PS - The Twilight movie is out, old news now. I saw it opening day, and the theatre was crowded at the 10am showing. And NO!, it wasn't only females. There were even a couple of guys there by themselves. Go figure. My review: The book is better, but the movie was good enough to enjoy and get the gist of the story. If you liked the movie, you'll love the books!

I'm back!

Okay, I keep being asked if we have returned after evacuating and if we survived Ike. And, I keep being asked by friends that I am with and have seen repeatedly since Ike. I get it, I get it! So, I finally figured out my password and will do my best to start posting again. :-)

I had a wonderful weekend with some incredible friends!! The Caretaker, The Comic Relief, The Food Enthusiast and The Financier (who are ALL so much more!) I came home midday today and had a great time with my family. It was gorgeous outside and we took advantage of it. The kids played flag football at the park with some new friends, including my new BFF's family. (inside joke) You should have seen Emma once she finally got the football. She had no idea what to do. She begged and begged for the ball, then...nothing. Poor thing! She's great at defense, though it often looked like she was playing basketball defense rather than football. What's a girl to do?

Night, night,
Ang

IKE is headed our way.

Yikes! We are headed to Austin this morning. I feel so many things. I do not have the time to put it all down this morning. I'm trying to get as much done as possible before the kids wake up. I pray you are safe and secure. Much love, Ang

YIKES!

I have no idea why part of that last post is bigger and bolder that the rest of it. Anyone else know?

The Gift from Hurricane Gustav

Like most everyone on The Gulf Coast, we spent a big part of the holiday weekend considering if we needed to evacuate. Fortunately, we did not have to. But, each time this comes up, we get a little more prepared. Thanks to Sara, we now have an overhead cargo carrier so that we can have room to take our stuff and our dog. Having Abby added a whole new dimension to the evacuation plans!! And thanks to Steph and The Jordans for a safe place to evacuate to.

Instead of evacuating, we had the opportunity to celebrate with one of our favorite 9 yr olds, Lauren. She had a fabulous birthday celebration that included a nice breeze (thanks to our friend, Gustav). Not only that, but we got an awesome gift from Hurricane Gustav - a visit from The Caldwells! They had to evacuate and we got lucky enough for them to spend one night with us. It's always a good time when we get together and this time was no exception. Beaumont was blessedly spared, so they were able to return home Tuesday.

I want to add a note about this picture. First, thanks Sara for taking it. Second, the ledge the kids were on was too small for all of them. Cody and Alex were vying for the same small spot and just before this picture Cody had been shoved out of the way. It wasn't like that sounds. It was halarious - even to Cody. I love that the kids are so comfortable with each other. I hope that's always the case.

Signing off, Angie

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRIAN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

We celebrated Brian's b-day last night. He wanted to have Italian food, then head home for cake (that's another story all together). So, that's what we did. It was all yummy and we had a great time being together. After cake, it became clear that Bri wanted to hang out on the couch, feet up, with remote in hand and flip back and forth between football and the Democratic National Convention. We had other plans for him. Me - trying to take our picture. I never could figure it out. He did and you'll see how happy he is about that! The kids and Abby - crawling all over him. Now, that DID make him happy. We all had a great evening. Happy B-Day Honey!

Why Me?

So many of my friends have the best pictures of their kids. It seems that the moms pick up their cameras and the kids automatically say "CHEESE" with the most perfect smile in the world! Okay, okay, I know it doesn't always work like that. But, it never works like that at my house. I'm not sure if it's the kids or me or, more likely, both. Either way, I no longer get upset about it. At least, not terribly upset. Not every time. Progress can be slow. Here are a couple of shots from last night. These pics make me say, "WHY ME???" and they make me laugh. Maybe that's why God blessed them with their quirky sense of humor and why he blessed Brian and I with them. Later gators. Ang

I can't believe I almost forgot about this...

I can't not tell this story. It so touched me this morning. We were walking out the door to go to school, without a lot of time to spare, when Alex ran upstairs to get something. He came back down with a Purple Cross keychain and attached it to his backpack. He told Emma that it was to remind him, when he got scared, that God was always with him and that he'd been fine. Talk about making a mom happy - that did it!! Then, he even went and looked for one for Emma. You cannot see the cross very well, but I promise it's there.

Jakey the Bear

Here's the picture I promised of Jakey. He was literally right outside our cabin. That was July and we are still talking about him. I expect we will for quite some time to come. Isn't he a cutie?

Emma says, "Enough picture taking Mom. I mean it!!"

Alex...need I say more?

First Day of School

Well, we made it through the 1st day of school. 3rd grade for Alex and 1st grade for Emma. We only had a couple of morning mishaps - which is great around here since neither Emma nor I are Suzy Sunshines! Can you tell that from her school picture? The one that clearly says, "Enough Already!!" I won't complain too much though, she did let me put her hair in pig tails and she looked adorable!

Emma decided she wanted Alex to walk her to class. Boy, that does my heart good. I found out this evening, that he took her to the wrong hallway. They were both laughing about it. For those of you who know my kids well, you know that's incredible. Laughing instead of screaming. Love it.

Alex was up early and ready to go. He's my earlybird. We only had one tough moment, when he thought he'd forgotten how to tie his shoes. It seems that it's like riding a bike - it comes right back to you. (I guess these things happen when you wear flip flops all summer long.)

Both kiddos report having a good first day. They were excited to get to play with Ash and Cody for a little bit after school. They were ready to chill-out when we got home. We're going to celebrate the day with a special dinner (chicken, sweet potato fries and mac n cheese, plus the obligatory green veggie). Isn't fun when special is also simple and inexpensive???

End of Summer

I truly cannot believe that it's the end of summer and the kids start back to school in the morning. Alex and Emma are both in bed, asleep and I find myself sad. Really. It's been such a wonderful summer and I hate that it's ending. I never thought I'd say, type or feel that way. It's such a blessing to be home with the kids and I really enjoy it (most days!!).



At dinner this evening, we went around the table and chose our favorite summer activity. Our Colorado trip was top, without question. Alex's favorite part was the B-I-G hike that he, Scott and Brian went on. That's where he learned about the Elk Poop Boot Test. (I doubt you want the details, but he'd be happy to share them if you do!) Thanks Scott for the education! And here I thought I was the poop expert in the family!!!



Initially, Emma said "doing the Olympics" was her favorite part. Come to find out, that's what the cul-de-sac kids were playing this evening. It just goes to show you that when you have friends around, you don't have to go anywhere special to have fun. I love that!



Brian and my favorite part of the summer was having such an extended time away with the family, in the beautiful mountains of Colorado. Hey, did we mention the incredibly cool temperatures and having a bear right outside the cabin? I'll add a picture of Jakey the Bear if I can figure out how!



The relaxed schedule was also a family favorite. I loved being able to sleep in, veg out with the kids, head up to the FABULOUS Y pool on a moments notice and spend time with friends (at home and in Colorado).

Signing off. I'll be back with first day of school details soon. Ang

I finally figured it out!

Okay, it's taken me from the first post until now - more than a week, to figure out how to add a background to this blog. I don't think that bodes well for this being easy, but I'm not giving up just yet.

Believe it or not...

You better sit down before you read this.
The peer pressure has finally gotten to us.
Brian and I are actually starting a blog.
More to come...I think.
Ang