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!