2011 Wrap-up

Well, 2011 is almost at its end. I'm sitting here, waiting on the fireworks to start and thought I'd try and remember what this year held. In January, we spent every waking moment wondering when Baby Zeb was going make his appearance! He finally scooted on into the world on the last day of the month! (In fact, today, he is 11 months old.). He was our first homebirth and we had an awesome experience with that.
In February, Xman turned 8 and I still can't believe he's that old. Zeb looks *very* much like Xman did as a baby. It's almost uncanny, they could've been twins for sure. So, every stage that Zeb enters, I've been remembering Xav at that age. In March, my Mom came down for a visit & we loved having her here. In April in we began looking around for houses and trying to figure out what our landlord was doing. In May we were still looking & she still didn't know either. Then Hubbub got the job offer we'd been waiting around for. Our house search switched cities to Houston & we had to regroup. We finally found a place by July and with a LOT of help from friends, we got packed to move.
Not long after the boxes were being unpacked in our apartment, Hubby & Xman were leaving for Belize on a mission trip. It was life-changing for them. We finished out the summer just unpacking and learning to adapt to Hubby's new job. We've never dealt with so much travel, and it is still a stretch for the kids and I. But, we're trying.
We started school in late August, using the same curriculum and books that we loved from last year. At the end of October, my sister flew down and was brave enough to drive back to NC with the kids and me. It was a crazy, busy roadtrip, but we survived! We had a lot of fun visiting our family and friends, it always goes by too fast. Even though we were there 2 and a half weeks, it seemed like a blink!
We had Thanksgiving with my in-laws and enjoyed our time with them. Since we've moved, now we end up staying at Nana's house when we're back in town. Christmas came and went in a whirlwind and we're still trying to recover. I can't believe this year is ending. It's been a long, tough one for us. I can't say that it was my favorite year, but I have enjoyed my sweet little guys and watching Baby Zeb grow. He's been such a trooper this year, with all the crazy changes in our family. Well, Happy New Year!

Happy Independence Day!

"The Star-Spangled Banner"

O! say can you see by the dawn's early light,

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming.
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;

O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!


Francis Scott Key, 1814

Merry Christmas!!!

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!!  

My Favorite Christmas song

I love this song!    I couldn't wait to hear it every Christmas season on the radio when I was younger.  I found it on YouTube and thought I would share!

Snoopy's Christmas

Boys

I am sort of almost done unpacking suitcases and organizing all the new toys. More exciting posts soon to come! Maybe. Here are some funnies from my crazy boys in the meantime...

We bought the boys a trampoline for Christmas. I thought it would be a great way to get them outta my hair sometimes burn off some energy. It has already been a success! We also made sure to buy the big safety net enclosure so the 2 y.o. wouldn't fall off of it. Good idea, right? So, when I look out the window today, who do I see running around the rim of the trampoline, on the OUTSIDE of the net? That's right, the 2 y.o.!!

I have a sore throat and was losing my voice this morning. When I explained to XMan that Mommy wouldn't be talking very much today, he had all the answers. He exclaimed, hand gestures and all, "Oh Mom, Mom! I know just what you have to do! I had this once, and what I did was not talk for 2 days. Then on the 3rd day, my throat was fine!"
(Are you rolling? Because I was!)

I'm sorry son, but if you ever had the same illness and didn't talk for 2 whole days, I am sure I would have written it on the calendar. Or fainted.

Our Christmas Vacation

Here's a sampling of what we did while on our Christmas Vacation...

We attempted to all smile for the camera... See how enthusiastic all my children look?









We got hugs...









We hung out with our friends!









and did some more "hanging out" with our friends.









We told Elijah "Happy 4th Birthday."










Then we ate some BBQ!!! (Yes, that's the Neely's from Food Network's show, "Down Home wih the Neely's." It was gooooood!)

Not Me! Monday

Well, let's see...
To begin with, I am NOT one of the only people I know still blogging this week. The rest of you are probably busy with family, or getting ready for Christmas. Here I am procrastinating away.

I did NOT just decide that the kids could stay in pajamas until this afternoon, when we load up for our road trip. Why change them yet, when they aren't going anywhere?

I have NOT forgotten about our pooch, whom I haven't called to check up on yet. Sorry, Banner, it's just that I know you're in good hands. (At least I hope so.)

We did NOT buy our children's big gift while they were with us at the store, and then tell them "So, here's your present! What do you think?!" Because we have lots of time to do things beforehand, and we also don't mind wrapping extremely huge boxes just to waste the paper. Or maybe not. So, they were thrilled at the trampoline, and they don't mind waiting until we get home to use it! Whew, that went well!

Oh yeah, and we did NOT do all of the Christmas shopping in the past 4 days. We NEVER procrastinate like that! In fact, for the past 8 years, Hubby and I ALWAYS buy gifts early. Like in June....sort of. Just don't ask me what I got anyone until around noon on Christmas Eve, okay?

My son did NOT just ask me why I was putting "yo-grit" on my face, ha. Mommy's coming up on 30, honey. I need the "yo-grit" in a jar now, it's called, "self-preservation."

I do NOT have empty suitcases laying out, waiting to be packed. Everything is packed right up here...in my noggin. Besides, Hubby won't be home until after naps, I have plenty of time to stash it all away and load up, right? On second thought, maybe I better run...

Merry Christmas!!!

Speechless.

Tonight's turn of events have me speechless!

We might have found a dog trainer y'all!!!!! I saw her ad online and immediately got the "go ahead" from Hubby to call! Banner has an appointment to spend the holidays with her and we'll be picking her up after 14 days. WHOOOHOOOO!!! I'll keep you posted, especially if it works!


OH! And get this. Hysterical. Hope he doesn't mind me sharing. This hoochiemama less-than-classy female pulls up beside us at the gas station tonight. Her cigarette is hanging all out of her mouth and I hear her call out something to Hubby, who was pumping the gas. I didn't catch the words, but something told me the "tone" wasn't asking for directions, ya know? He starts laughing hysterically and I can't wait to hear what this is going to be. She had a less-than-classy friend with her as well, so I could tell it wasn't just a fluke that she was dressed that way on this particular night. *coughs*
So...anyway, Hubby comes around to get in the car and I asked, "So, what did that girl say to you?"
He giggles and goes, "She said, 'You're so pretty!'"
I fell out laughing. Yes, thank you, we all think our Daddy/Hubby is good-looking too.
You know, those people in the car? His WIFE and THREE KIDS???
Hysterical. Some people.
(I love you, honey.)

The Infamous Card Photo

This morning, I was determined to get the kids dressed up, take the picture, and go get it made into cards. We snapped a few pics at 7:45, headed to Wally World to go make the cards, and were done by 9am! Whoohoo! Here are a few pictures from our experience!

The Big "D's" in My Life

December is a crazy month for a lot of us. Instead of having the peace that we so long for, we can tend to make Christmas a busy, hurried, hectic holiday. This time of year is especially distracting for me, as often have bittersweet memories about our son Elijah. His birthday, December 27th, is a constant reminder of that particular Christmas. The other day, I innocently told Hubby I kept having the feeling that someone was missing in our house. I would count the kids and keep thinking someone must be in another room. He looked at me for a long moment, and then it dawned on me, "Oh, I am thinking about E...."

So, Distraction is a big problem for me right now. Distraction because we spent two weeks fighting off sickness and trying to rebound from that. Distraction from the gift-buying that commericals tell me I think I ought to be doing, and haven't had the time or resources yet. Distraction from the sewing machine that sits glaring at me in my room. With the projects piling up around it, as I count numerous "reasons" they haven't been done yet. (I.E. the kids won't leave me alone to do it; I only have one table to use and it's the kitchen table; I don't think I have the expertise to pull it off, therefore I avoid any possibility of failure.... You get the picture.)

Another "D" in my life is Discipline. Discipline that needs to take place with my children - or when discipline does get enforced, and then I harbor guilt over doing it wrong! I also fight with disciplining myself, in my eating habits, household chores, and Bible reading.

The saddest and most perplexing "D' right now is the DOG. Such a sweet dog, but so very stubborn. (Fits right into our family!) We cannot figure out how to keep her in the yard and out of everyone else's! The other night, she climbed over the fence, and spent the night cavorting in the neighbor's front yard, eating Christmas decorations at leisure. We saw the remains of their poinsettias as we got ready to leave for church. Thankfully, they assured me it wasn't a problem when I went over to apologize, but I was embarrassed nonetheless.

The only solutions we can think of are: to try walking her twice a day to get the energy out, bringing her inside (haha, she's 80lbs and very furry!), giving her to a friend who lives on a farm, or having her on a dog chain. Hmmmm. Well, I just cannot add walking the dog twice a day, with three small children in tow, down a busy street to my daily routine. I could possibly wake up early and do it myself, now that Hubby makes his own schedule... It's on the list of "maybes". It certainly wouldn't hurt my hips and waist line to go with this one. But, that's still not even a sure-thing to keep her in the yard. We agreed not to have an indoor dog on our lease, so that's out. I hate having her chained all the time, not to mention she barks way more when tied up. Who can blame her?? So, we're going to call our farming buddies and see if anyone is interested. We have one in particular who owns a male Great Pyr and it might be a really good match....

But, I guess my biggest and most annoying "D" is Despair. I tend to let things overwhelm me constantly. Even small things like forgetting something at the grocery store can send me into a whirlwind of guilt! Why do I let these everyday issues become so monumental? I am praying and asking God to help me get rid of all this baggage! Then I can get on with celebrating the season and focusing on His birth.

IS IT REALLY SNOW?????

It snowed!!!! I couldn't believe it!!!!

At 5 o'clock this morning, I was awakened to the rowdy, noisy sounds of our neighbors outside in their front yard! My first thought was, "Are they seriously partying at 5am on a Thursday morning!?!? Is there some Hispanic holiday I forgot about???" Then I got up and looked out the window. Lo and behold, there was something white on the ground! My next thought was that they must have had it blown in for someone's birthday or something! (I am not a huge pessimist, though, really, not me!) Then, I looked and realized...we had snow too!!

It was melting fast, so we woke the kids up and went outside. It took us about an hour just to get everyone awake and find the winter clothes bundled up. Even then, it was still dark outside. So, here are some of the best pictures I could get. I am so thankful we got the new camera in time!

(And yes, I know my white dog is brown in this picture. She has been rolling in the mud non-stop for the past few days! Oh yeah, and that's the neighbor's snowman, not ours.)

In the trenches

Hey guys. Not too much post material this week! We're pretty much hunkered down in the the "trenches" of life right now. With the vehicle issues, the rainy weather, the barrage of stomach aches and sniffly noses, I am worn out! In between that, we are trying to avoid the holiday commercialism while coming up with meaningful Christmas gifts & activities. Does any of this sound like your household?

So, for the sake of conversation, tell me what your holiday plans are! Anyone have a favorite tradition they like to do? Will some of you be traveling? Anyone already have Christmas cards mailed out? (If you do, you're obviously an over-achiever!)

I like to start up my favorite Christmas CDs - yeah, I know I'm the only one left without an MP3 player, right- and play them in the background. We also enjoyed making & dropping off the shoeboxes for Samaritan's Purse this year. I think that one will become a tradition for us. Has anyone ever done an Angel Tree gift? Those seem very rewarding.

Can't wait to hear about your favorites!! (It will give me something to do in between all the wiping-of-bodily-fluids.....ick.)

The trip to Waco that wasn't....

When it rains....it monsoons! Well, remember how we were going to go to this really neat craft fair this weekend? Didn't happen.

We started out fine, everyone was cooperating and we got on the road smoothly. Until we stopped for gas in Houston, and everything went downhill from there! I had to feed the baby, so Hubby took the opportunity to check the oil, which needed adding to. Then he removed the ridiculous amounts of pine needles that had fallen into the hood of the car from our pine tree. Finally, we were back on the road, and no sooner had we made it onto the highway, than our car starts smoking!! Smoke was pouring from under the hood and into the car vents!

We pulled over and tried to figure out what in the world was going on?? Within 3 minutes, a tow truck was pulling over to help! He had just happened to be driving by at that moment!

The boys were absolutely thrilled to ride in the tow truck as he took us - free of charge- to an AutoZone nearby. Once there, we tried to assess the problem and see if it was fixable. Of course it started raining while Hubby was under the hood.... He added water to the radiator(?) and we tried to drive down the road to a car dealership. At this point, we were just going to see if a dealership with a mechanic would either give us an estimate, or buy it for cheap!

We didn't make it very far, when the smoke started up again. We pulled into a church parking lot and prayed, waiting for an answer or Divine Miracle, whichever came first! Low and behold, out walks the pastor, who was only at the church that day for a brief moment! He offered to help us get to a Christian mechanic nearby and we followed him there. They said they would see to our car within the hour, which was great news to us!

Meanwhile it's lunchtime and we have three kids who need to be somewhere other than a mechanic waiting area for the next 3 hours.... Pastor Don speaks up before we could even voice our concerns and invited us back to his house for turkey leftovers! And that's how, instead of being in Waco, we ended up at the pastor's house from the Houston First Church of God eating turkey!

The mechanic's shop called a while later, and Hubby went to see what the estimate would be. It turned out to be a big deal, and would cost $1200 to fix! Not a good thing when the car is only worth about $2000. The problem was completely unrelated to the low oil, or the annoying pine needles!

So....we called some friends to see if they could come pick us up in Houston, an hour and a half away. (The only people left in town at this point, as most of our friends were in Waco, or with family.) Thank goodness for good friends! While we waited on our "ride" we enjoyed hanging out with Pastor Don and his wife Debbie. They have 20 grandchildren, so there were lots of toys and even a playground for the kids to enjoy!

We got home late Friday night, with our poor car left alone in Houston until we could get back to tow it home. Then, Saturday morning, I woke up with a stomach virus and was feeling horrible! Thankfully, MIL agreed to drive with Hubby and the boys back to Houston and help pick up our car. The car is our only "family friendly" vehicle since Hubby drives a Jeep, so we couldn't have all gone together even if I felt well. The web was becoming more and more entangled. They drove to Houston, picked up a U-Haul truck and a dolly he had reserved, and drove back home once again!

So, in summary, I didn't see Waco, but I saw way more of Houston than I ever wanted to! And we have no family car until this one gets fixed. The boys and Hubby went to go have another Thanksgiving meal with my uncle and his family near Galveston. Baby girl and I are stuck here at home, quarantined and without a vehicle.

What a crazy weekend!!

I'm Thankful For...

Sweet little cuddly babies!










Energetic little boys!











A Husband that gives early Christmas presents!
*the camera of course*

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope you had a wonderful Easter!

How was your Resurrection Sunday? Ours was very nice.

On Friday afternoon, the boys and I made homemade playdough and recreated the crucifixion scene. XMan was very creative, making clouds to cover the sun, and having the huge stone to cover the tomb. We "closed" the tomb until Sunday morning, and then "rolled away" the stone and cracked it just for special measure.

On Saturday, I went ahead and made baked turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, and cranberry sauce for dinner on Sunday. Poor Daddy worked all night Saturday, but he still came home and got ready for church Sunday morning. Then, as soon as we ate lunch, they were calling him to come back! So, we let him sleep in really late Monday morning!

Have a great day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy New Year!

Hope your 2008 is wonderful!

Have you recovered yet?

How was your Christmas? Ours was great. The kids really enjoyed their presents and seeing all the relatives. I am officially tired of baking and cooking! I think we'll put a cap on that for at least a month...
Daddy has enjoyed using his new automatic wrench on things that the boys have enjoyed breaking. Like the bedroom door, for instance. The poor door is on its 3rd or 4th life now, at least. Those hinges just don't seem to stay on when you have two rambunctious boys playing around.
X-Man was thrilled with his new "Goat Car."
Little Man's favorite present was none other than his new toothbrush. He wouldn't loosen his grip on it no matter what! So much for all the $$ spent on finding great educational toys for him. :-)
I am looking forward to spending time reading all 15 of my new books! Hurray! (Most a few of which I am slightly embarassed ashamed to say I ordered for myself...)

So, we had a good time. And now I must go consume some Pumpkin Bread. Which is my best recipe, if I do say so myself. I will leave you with some pics of our Christmas Morning!

Happy Holidays!

Hey y'all! I finally have it all done! The shopping, the "wrapping", the shipping - it's all done! I hope you have your shopping done, also. So, since I have nothing left to do except enjoy my Christmas Season, that's exactly what I'm gonna try to do!

This year, Christmas has been kind of rough on us anyway. With my Dad passing away, things have been really sad as we try to get into the Christmas Spirit. This time of year started becoming difficult for me three years ago, when our son, Elijah was born. Two days after Christmas, our precious little baby was born, with a congenital heart defect called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. Eighteen days later, and two days after my birthday, he left us and went straight into the arms of Christ. It isn't a sensitive subject anymore, I think losing Dad has just compounded everything. So, it seems the holidays have lost their sparkle this year.

So, for the next week, I am going to let things lay quiet here in Bloggerville, and just spend time with my hubby and kiddos. I hope y'all don't mind! I will be back right after Christmas! I'll try to remember all the funny things that happen in between then. Love you guys!

10 Reasons why I wrap presents the way I do...

I am not a genetically good present-wrapper. It's safe to say you will never see me at Hallmark, helping people wrap their gifts and being paid for it. I could care less if the corners match, the box shows a little bit, you know, the asthetics. My Mom and sister got the genes for present wrapping. It flat skipped over me. So, here are my best excuses reasons why I wrap my own way. And I could care less, because it's the thought that counts. Really.

10 Reasons why I wrap presents MY WAY...

1. It takes less time.
2. People don't have to be careful opening my presents, they don't look too hot anyway.
3. I don't have to buy expensive paper that folds well.
4. My kids will tear through it anyway.
5. Your kids will tear through it also.
6. It's easier to use a bag.
7. I can put the tape anywhere I want to!
8. If I run out, I can use newspaper...Ok, I haven't actually done that one yet.
9. It's okay if they get beat up a little in the mail.
10. This year's fav: IF I RUN OUT I CAN PIECE THE REMAINDERS TOGETHER!

Oh, yes, ma'am, I did. The last present got the scraps taped onto it. Ask me if I care. Ask me.