Our Christmas morning

Our Christmas morning

We had our Christmas morning today. This year, Taylor will be with Nikki the early part of Christmas day. When this happens, we always do ours early so we're all together for opening presents. We would have done it on Christmas eve morning, but since I have to be at church at 8:30 for worship practice, it just wasn't practical to try to cram everything into tomorrow morning. We surprised the kids having everything out when they woke up. They were expecting to do it tomorrow. :) It was so much fun watching their faces. We let them have all of their birthday presents from us too since all of them were big and we were tired of hiding them!! :)

(btw, the pictures are for the benefit of out of town grammy's, grandma's, papa's, poppy's and great mimi's and great papa's -- it's just a whole lot of "variations of the delighted face". lol)

After the presents were opened, Tom and I let the kids play while we took a nap. :) About midmorning we all got around and went out together to enjoy my grandma's gift to us, Christmas brunch! We were all famished by 11 so it sure was good!! We were lazy the rest of the day, playing with the kids, watching football and the like. Finally about 4 we all got up and did individual 15 minute scrambles in separate rooms to get the house all put back in order. It was fun and got the house in great shape!

As a reward for helping, Chandler helped me make puppy chow and I let Taylor make sandart cookies all by herself! It's a fun way for her to use her fraction skills. :) After dinner, we snacked on our culinary handiwork and watched a Veggie Tales Christmas movie. Before they went to bed, we talked about the movie. It was cool to know that they really do grasp the fact that presents are fun, but they are only secondary to the true meaning of Christmas. Then we carried on a tradition from my family, and turned out all the lights in the house except for the tree lights and sat around the living room singing Christmas hymns. I had to teach the kids some of words of the verses... which appalled me. lol... but I guess it does take years of exposure to get them all down!! :)

Ok, I'm heading to bed! Happy happy Christmas, everyone!

Oh just a heads up, there's going to be some GREAT old Christmas classics on the Turner Movie Classics channel over the next week or so. I have about 8 of them set to tivo. Bishop's Wife, White Christmas, I Remember Mama, Meet Me in St. Louis.... oh the simplicity of yesteryear. sigh.... You can stop laughing now, Tom... Stephanie.... :)

Taylor's first recital!

Taylor's First Recital

Taylor had her first piano recital this evening. She did such a wonderful job. She played three songs that she had memorized: Jolly Old Saint Nick, Jingle Bells and Ode to Joy. I gave her her Christmas dress early so she could dress up. She was so happy. She looked absolutely gorgeous and so grown up! Pam and Coy (Tom's parents) and her cousin Daven came to watch her play, as well as her friends Sarah and Hannah Johnson. They had a great time together. Afterwards, we all went to Posatos to celebrate her musical accomplishment. :)

I have a long rant in my head about it not seeming like Christmas and how I'm not excited... or rather it just hasn't sunk in yet that it's only 5 days away. I don't know which. In any case, it was too long and rambly to bother with.

I finally got the last of my Christmas cards signed today and 97% are even mailed! I have a handful that I still have to get addresses for. That's so annoying. It was such a big deal getting the pictures in with the cards this year and it really delayed me! I'm usually right on top of it and have them out the first week in December. Not so this year. It's irksome to me. :)

Ok, I'm done being negative. Merry Christmas!! :)

Ha! two posts in one day! lol

Christmas fun

Tonight was awesome. The movie was cute, the courthouse was great and pizza is just always good. :) And the crowning glory to the night was that Santa Claus walked down the street and let us try on his wig! lol Don was nice enough to put everything back on for the kids to see him again when we got home. The kids ran out and were so excited to see Santa walking across the yard. Our kids know the story of the real St. Nick so Santa isn't a really a big deal for us but it was still so much fun to hang out with Don and try on his costume. Thanks Don!! L(

Agh

Goings on

You know it's been a long time between posts when your husband even comments on it. lol

Quick run down of our jam packed, fun and exciting past few weeks and the pictures you'll see -- playing in the yard.. ok that was just a random pic.

Church ladies Treats and traditions -- didn't get any pictures, but what an awesome night out with the girls!!

Putting up the tree family party! Oh it was so much fun -- eggnog, puppy chow, apples and caramel, cookies, and warm soup.

ELO Christmas party. The kids had a blast with all of their friends.

Ladies Craft Brunch -- again, it happened, but I didn't get any pictures! Bummer! It sure was fun though!

Daven's 8th Birthday Party at the pizza place in Gladewater... missed you Pam!!

Taylor's Soccer -- they haven't lost one game of the indoor season! Yah, Firecrackers!

Church Christmas program and dessert party - yummy fun. :)

Couple of everyday pics and today's gingerbread decorating party with the kids. I've always loved the idea, but I'm too busy to mess with all the hassle... UNTIL I found this super cute kit at wally world! The kids loved it. I fought the control freak in me and let the kids have free rein with the decorating, and it really did turn out great! :)

Tonight we're going to a movie, dinner and then Christmas at the courthouse where our friend Don is playing Santa. :) It promises to be a great family evening! Take care! :)

Greg's leaving the Wiggles :(

I'm a grown woman - this shouldn't make me this sad. :) Greg Page is leaving the Wiggles! A chronic disorder that causes nausea, fatigue and fainting spells when he stands up has made it impossible for him to continue preforming with the Wiggles. It's just so sad. His understudy, Sam, is taking his place as the yellow Wiggle. You can more about it here and there's also a video message from Greg explaining about leaving and introducing Sam.

Happy Thanksgiving!

WARNING: Tons of pictures to look at (or not) in the album! :)

Thanksgiving weekend

We had a WONDERFUL thanksgiving weekend. I hope everyone else had a great weekend as well.

Quick rundown of the events that have made up Thanksgiving 2006: Wednesday: 6am - I was up making pumpkin bread and signing Thanksgiving cards for my family. (so yummy - saved some for us!) I spent the rest of the day packing and picking up the house. 7pm - Finally got on the road, quick stop to drop off Lola (our dog) with my inlaws and visit a few with Tom's family and then back on the road! We got to my parents house around midnight and got to bed around 2. :)

Thursday - Had a leisurely morning, the kids played football with Tom and my dad. I went to Mimi's house about 10 to make pies because she was not feeling well, we we had no room in Mom's oven for more pies! We had dinner about 5ish. Itwas a super yummy!! I had no room for pie until much later. :) Afterwards we sang Thanksgiving hymns and then visited with family long into the night. Another grand Fry Thanksgiving!

Friday: Another leisurely morning! (lovely) Tom and I decided to go out for an afternoon date and had lunch and did some Christmas shopping. It was so fun! It was so nice to just be out and have no time limits and go in as many shops as we wanted and browse and must be together. :) The hustle and bustle of Black Friday was still there a little bit and it was fun to be in on that. That night we had pizza and watched movies with my family. Then we were up until late playing Trivial Pursuit with my dad and older siblings. So fun!

Saturday found my and my siblings scrambling to find a place to watch the OU/OSU Bedlam game! My parents don't have satellite so we went to McD's first, then Monterey's, where on Friday Tom and I had seen most of the Texas game, but still no luck. FInally we ended up in the plasma section of Best Buy!! We were quite a sight to see... 8 of us standing around, cheering and then trying to act nonchalant. lol We watched the first half and then listened to the second half on the radio at home, munch on puppy chow. :) And all I'm going to say is --- the sooners won --- There, see I'm not gloating. :))))

Ok, I thought this was going to be a summary -- agh -- so Saturday we all went to my sister Vanessa's school where they were having a concert and the lighting of the campus, and lots of fireworks. It was really nice and so pretty. The hot cocoa was good too. :) Grandma came with us and it was great getting to spend more time with her.

Sunday we went to my parents church. We have several friends there, so it's always nice to see all of them. :) We went to lunch with Mimi and Papa to spend some time with them before we left. We all enjoyed that. Then we headed back to the house to pack up and say goodbye to my family. We got on the road about 5 and made it home by 10. It's so nice to be home! :)

Fall Party

Just now getting these off my camera! :) What a fun day it was. I'm already planning the next one: Decorating Christmas Cookies Party. :)

Lot'o'pics

Recent pics

Just thought I'd get these up -- don't have time for labels yet, so check back for explanations some other time. :o)

Weekend review

Weekend review 11/11

The past few days have been so jam packed, I made an album entitled Weekend Review - and as I was just telling Dana, the weekend isn't even over!! :)

Off to finish watching Cars with the kiddos!

Very striking resemblance

They could totally be sisters. Taylor gets told all the time that she looks like her. :)

My idea for the craft exchange

Since I can't email anyone - STILL! - here's my idea. Even I can't mess this up! :)

My email is bouncing

Just FYI - I haven't received any email sent in the past 18 or so hours due the stupid cable company. The deleted my email address! Who does that!? I'm totally ticked off right now. It should be fixed soon, but as of right now it's still not working.... pfffttt....

Ok I'm done. these things are too funny :)

You are Slinky Heels!

You're an uptown, well put together woman But you're not too uptight to enjoy a hot club You're always the best dressed chick in the room And you'll only settle for the best in men

What Kind of Shoe Are You?

LOL

This makes me sound oh so much more interesting. :)

You Are a Golden Blonde

Men see you as flirty and fun, yet deep and thoughtful You've got all the pizzazz of a blonde... With the intensity of a brunette

How Blonde Are You?

My helpers

I forgot to say earlier that my day wasn't all bad... it wasn't bad at all really. But it was really nice because I met a sweet lady today at Chickfila from Holland! She's only been here for a few months and she has a daughter who is 2. It was so cute to watch them speak back and forth to each other in Dutch. :) Her husband came here for his job and he travels a lot. I got her email and I hope we can get together sometime. Oh, I'll invite them to our fall treat party! :)

It was also nice because Jaime came by today to drop off the hats they borrowed and ended up staying for awhile to visit. So nice to just chill awhile and get to know a friend better. :)

Oooh, and tonight I made potato soup and biscuits for dinner. Yum! I love fall comfort foods. Hmmm... how fast can I whip up some pumpkin pies for dessert??? 

Oh what a day!

It all started rushing from piano to get to storytime at the library on time - midway there I realized I didn't have a bottle for Piper. I ran home and still couldn't find it. So at that point storytime was scrapped and off to walmart we went so that Piper could eat!

After walmart I decided to go vote so that I wouldn't have to wait in line around the lunch rush. I went to Pine Tree HS first as that was the logical polling place for where we live. So after getting all the necessary strollers and diapers bags out and everyone inside, I was told I was in the wrong place because I'd never changed my address when we moved! :-P

Tom had told me that anyone could vote at the courthouse and since that was right by the library I went there next. I was determined to vote! I was going to do my civic duty, if it killed me. And after two flights of stairs two ways with a stroller and a toddler in tow, it sure felt like it was going to kill me! :) Again I was in the wrong place.

I finally made it to G.K. Foster and once again we all paraded in. This this time we FINALLY got to vote. :) The electronic ballots are super cool... though I've heard on fox news that there's some question on how accurate they are! (scary thought!!) Anyways, the kids had fun at the courthouse, the fountain and the preview of the Christmas decorations was almost worth the hassle. I said almost. :)

We got to the library about 12:30, but I was so worn out I said to heck with it and decided we could get more books another day. :) The kids had really been so patient and good the whole time so we went to Chickfila for a treat. :)

We got back home about 2:30 - School crossed my mind in a sinking feeling sort of way, but then I shrugged. We had a civics lesson while we voted and in the car to and from all the polling places so that counts as school for the day in my book!!

 

My poor sick boy

It's so cute and pitiful when kids are sick -- they're forced to slow down and become super cuddly! :) He's had a fever on and off all day. He must have gotten what Tom had last week. He missed two days of work because of flu like symptoms. Yuck. I had a touch of it over the weekend, but I perked up today. Nothing like a sick child to make you get back on your feet. :)

FYI

My mom didn't know, so I thought I'd make sure everyone knows: You have to click on the thumbnails on the right and it'll take you to albums of pictures. :)

Old Fashioned Family Day!

Not much to tell since I'll explain all the pictures in the album. (Over there on the right) It was a blast of course and so much fun to be in charge of the pie contests and get to judge! I'm so critical by nature it was easy to judge. The thing is, I was comparing all the pies I tasted to my mom's pie and there just isn't any pie that comes close!! There were three this year with cream cheese swirled or layered... it was a nice change. Drew Farrell's was my favorite and I guess that was the consensus of all the judges, because he won first place! Good Job, Drew!

It was super cool to not be making a pie this year. I like the competition aspect, but hate the hassle and stress. Runs to walmart, Target, a soccer game and getting out to the farm by three is enough going on in one day for me! :)

I've been fighting a sore throat and stuffy nose all day. I couldn't let it slow me down, so I tanked up on caffeine and took dayquil every 4 hours on the dot. :) Now it's all crashing -- the meds aren't working anymore and the late night/early morning/long day is catching up to me. I can barely keep my eyes open right now. I'm cold, my feet hurt and I feel HORRIBLE! lol I'm off to down some NIGHTquil and tuck myself into a warm bed with my hubby. :) Hopefully, I'll feel much better in the morning! Night!

Candy, map and teeth

I'd like to think I'm a better photographer than the pictures of late have been indicating. :) The settings on my camera are so finicky, it's always a crap shoot as to whether they'll turn out crystal clear or all funkily blurred. :-P

That's the kids enjoying a piece of candy from last night's spoils. They only get it in a very slow trickle (think one piece every couple of days, if they're lucky) so it's a special treat and it also means they've got enough to last over a month!

Taylor's showing off the map she drew for extra credit in co-op class, labeling the states they've learned about so far. For free hand, I think she did really well! She's our little artist. :)

And then Brayden brushing is self explanitory and posted for the enjoyment of grandparents far away. :)

Fun fun fun

We spent the evening with the Forringers. I took over lasagna and pumpkin pie and we had dinner at their house. It works out well - I do the cooking and she does the cleaning. My favorite division of duties!! :)

Afterwards we went together to the Highlights Fall Festival that Longview Christian Church puts on every year. It was a lot of fun! There was so much to do there was no way to get to it all! We hit the highlights (no pun intended at first. lol) of the festivities, like the cookie decorating, pony rides and LIMBO.... you've gotta check out the pic Tom got of me ATTEMPTING this. Mind you, I'd already done it three times without incident. :)

There's a link to the pictures up top on the right. Ok, I've got a very early morning tomorrow... yawn... I'm going to bed!

Chandler the TV star!

I forgot to link this when it happened, but a few weeks ago Chandler was with some friends for the library's storytime. The news crew was there and he was on the 10 o'clock news that night. :) If you go to this link and go down to "Fire Safety" Longview Public LIbrary storytime - just click on that to see the whole video. Keep an eye out for Uriah, Isabel, Sam, Micah, Josiah, Amara and Zachary too! :)

Edit: The link was taken down today and I'm not sure how to get to it now. I'll let you know if I find it, Pam.

Big man :)

Trying to fill daddy's shoes.. it won't ever happen buddy! lol 

Pumpkin Patch Adventure

We had a great time yesterday! First we had Taylor's game and they won!! I'm upset that I didn't get any pictures... when I got there I realized that the batteries were dead) Anyways, that brings their stats up to 6-2, I believe. Sweet!

After a quick stop home, we headed to Moore Farms' pumpkin patch. It was so neat! We decided to make this a fall family tradition. :) The kids had a blast feeding the animals, going on the hayride, picking out their pumpkins and various other things. On the way home we stopped in Tyler for lunch at Braums. It was a very full day, but it was awesome to have the whole entire day to be together and have fun as a family.

Oh yeah, over there on the right is the link to the many pictures of the day.

Misc pictures from last week

 

Making pumpkin pies

The kids got in on the action of making the first pumpkin pies of the season a few days ago. It was lots of fun! Afterwards they made their own "crust creations" with leftover pie crust dough. :)