Makayla's Visit with Santa

Our visit with Santa 2009 went very well. In all years past we have had to coax Makayla to Santa and then try to keep her from crying while sitting in his lap long enough to take a photo.

This year she was more than excited to see Santa and tell him her list of things she wanted. Which of course included a whole host of horses and horse accessories! *sigh* Its tough seeing her grow up so fast. I wish time would slow down some so these years dont go by as fast as they did with Devin.

For your viewing pleasure...

A year in review slideshow for you to watch! Its not complete with everything that happened this year but pretty close.

All the pictures from Devins graduation were really blurry so you will have to watch the video I bought to see his graduation!

Halloween 2009

There's no place like home, There's no place like home! Yes... Makayla dressed up like Dorothy from the Wizzard of Oz for halloween this year. She was adorable! Of course her favorite part of the costume was the ruby slippers . Because what girl is complete without owning a pair of ruby slippers? Mommy also let her wear some make-up! Real live lipstick was on her lips!

I unfortunately had to miss the festivities due to being sick. My co-worker came to work sick on Thurs and shared her germs with me once again. My throat is on fire and im afraid its strep throat so I will have to visit the doctor tomorrow *sigh* I dont have the time, energy or money to keep getting sick. From now on if anyone around me even LOOKS sick I am going home...

I am hoping if I rest up for the day I will be able to attend trunk or treat tonight and have some of Roberts chili for the chili cookoff at church. I guess I will just have to see how the day goes. Im really tired of having to miss out on all of the fun stuff because I keep getting other peoples germs. I wish they would stay home with them and quit sharing!

2009 Preschool Pictures

I am so thrilled with how the school pictures turned out this year. I bought a huge package and have the copyright to them so I can order as many more as I want at walmart cheap!

I make beautiful babies...

Devin came hom for a visit this weekend and I happened to grab the camera and make him suffer through a few shots. What I noticed after I took them is that I have made some beautiful children. Well with the help of a husband and God.

Seriously though... look at these faces!!! You certainly cant miss their eyes thats for sure. That my friends is 100% mommy given. Both daddys have brown eyes so kids... bow down and thank God and your mother for having those gorgeous eyes!!! I tell ya its almost a shame I cant have anymore children.

Dang I am good and I thank God daily for blessing me with two beautiful and healthy children. I pray they continue to be happy in their lives.

Devins in his new apartment

Devin is all squared away in his first apartment along with three other boys attending TSTC Waco. It was hard on him and his mom to leave him there by himself but I have every faith in him that he will do well. I think we have talked more today than we have in the last week!!!

The apartment is definitely the ultimate bachelor pad. They had a big party in his apartment apparently last semester that resulted in quite a bit of damage that the previous tenants had to pay to repair. The cabinets are hung wrong, the floor is nasty, the bathroom... well lets just say that I wont be using it... ever!

After getting him all unpacked we took him out for dinner. We had a nice family dinner at the cracker barrel and then we took him shopping. He did well choosing groceries for himself for the first time in his life and Mom paid the bill. He is set with tv dinners and soup for a few weeks. I was even super nice and bought him Dr. Peppers which I don't approve of him drinking because of his teeth.

His bed that the apartment complex provides was quite nasty and we requested a new one. Instead of getting a new one though we have found a nice futon for him. It will work out better for him since he doesn't exactly fit in a twin bed. Poor baby's legs hang off the bed from about mid shin. This futon is wood and not super nice but a much improved version of his current bed. We will take it to him this weekend. Its a full sized bed which should accomodate his height better for sure.

Makayla cried the hardest of us all. She was not very happy with any of us that we were allowing her brother to move out and be so far away from her. She was devastated and is still quite upset with me today. She asked me why I call her "sister" all the time and I told her it was because she was Devin's sister. To which she replied not anymore because Devin is in his own apartment. I just cant convince her that she is still his sister even though he isn't going to live with us for a while. She loves her brother for sure!

New Hair...

Well its not the best picture because I didn't get home until after dark and my house is a cave but you can see that I had some blond and red highlight/lowlight added to my hair today. It was cut again too but its the same cut I have had for a few months now. Its called a swing bob and I LOVE it! Its short but cute and sassy... just like me!

Calysta didn't straighten it tonight because it took so long to get it colored so its not as cute as it would normally be. Ill try to get Robert to take another photo of it once its daylight and you can catch the color a little better.

So tell me... do you like the red? Dig the cut? Hate it? no... don't tell me if you hate it because I love it!!! I'm so diggin' the red... maybe next time Ill go completely red for a while and watch my fiery personality come to life! teehee

Rattlesnake Scare

Now... most of you know that I am not a prissy girl. I'm not even a girly-girl for the most part. Yes, I like my hair done and I get my nails and toes done and I love clothes and shoes but that's pretty much the extent of it right? I wasn't a cheerleader, I don't go to balls and I am certainly no debutante.

I like living in the country. The simplicity of country life suits me fine. I like to take care of my family and my man. I don't mind so much having the extra chores that come with living in the country... for the most part.

Where I draw the line with the country life is when my four-year-old daughter steps OVER a rattlesnake... TWICE! This can remove at least ten years of your life instantly! I don't recommend trying it... you can just take my word on this one.

Praise GOD she wasn't struck, nor were the dogs that were bouncing over the blasted thing. It was stretched out on the steps in our back yard sunning apparently and wasn't to be bothered by anything. Except my shovel weilding husband and hoe weilding son. God was definitely watching out for my family last night.

So be warned all friends that live near me. We did have a rattlesnake in our back yard yesterday, it was a little one, only about 12" in length but where a baby is... Momma cant be too far away! *shudder* I can deal with snakes... just NOT rattlesnakes!

Thus ends todays public service announcement! Back to your regularly scheduled programming!

Oops... been a while again!

I have had so much going on lately I have totally neglected my blog. Well, really I have just been reading my kindle so much I have neglected a lot!

Devin graduated from HS! Thats my biggest news! I will scan and upload pictures to my blog sometime soon! We are so proud of all he has accomplished!

Bad news is that my aunt Penny hasnt faired well after her most recent brain surgery. She aparently had a stroke on the operating table and hasnt really woken up from her surgery. They say she is in a stupor stage but hopefully after the swelling comes down and some therapy we will have our loving Penny with us again. Its in Gods hands and all we can do is pray at this point. Please continue to pray for her.

Other than that no other news to report.

Say hello to my little friends...

While camping yesterday we made two new friends. Tell me what you think!

Makayla LOVED them! hehehehe

Makayla's funny for today

So we are sitting here having a conversation and I am picking on her a little (cause its fun) and I told her... you should have had a V8.

So she says to me... whats a V8?

Me: Its a juice like tomato juice.

Makayla: We dont have any tomato juice but we have some spagetti juice (the ragu spagetti sauce in the cabinet)!

The things this girl is able to come up with!

On the subject of Devin

I had to create a slideshow for our senior table at church so I thought I would share it here for all the family and friends that wont be able to see it on the 31st.

I tear up every time I see pictures of him as a baby. It just all went by too fast. I still cant believe Makyala isnt a baby anymore but its twice as hard knowing Devin is a grown man now. *sniff, sniff* Hug your children!

Student of the Year!

We are so proud of our son. Last night Devin was presented an award for placing SECOND in the state for his Skills USA competition, automotive testing division and he received STUDENT OF THE YEAR for his automotive class!

Congrats Devin... you couldnt make us any happier! Youre an excellent young man and I hope God blesses you always!

T minus three weeks and counting!

Gahh Im dying here! I cant believe how soon it is until Devin graduates high school!

Pray for me... I have too much to do and not enough time to do it! acccckkkk

My baby is on his way to prom!

Devin and Robin just left and are on their way to prom. He is quite handsome in his tux and Robin looks like a hottie in her dress! I hope they have a grand time!!!

Birthday

Yesterday was my birthday and I can officially say I am just not going to celebrate anymore of them. Okay! So listen up all my friends... after I pulled a grey hair out of my head this week we just arent going to allow anymore birthdays... ever!

I did have a nice day though. I went to church and taught Sunday School with my best Jessica. We had a great time! Then I came home and wanted to read for a while!

I got a surprise call from my mom who brought over a very yummy chocolate cake! That was a nice treat. Its been a while since I have seen my mom and dad. My mom bought me a honey pot with some special honey from Florida. Its really neat so I will have to share a picture soon!

It was a nice and relaxing day for all of us!

I love teaching!

I just have to say that I love teaching the wee ones and am going to be very sad when this school year is over.

I have some good memories of my two year old class and am really going to miss them when they move up to the next class.

I hope I have as much fun with next years class!

The Church Experiment

I found this interesting. Its certainly one way to deal with your crisis of faith or faith in Church.

http://churchexperiment.blogspot.com/

I havent read much of it but I do plan to read more. I like a different perspective sometimes.

Fun New Software!

So I have been wanting to do slide shows with my pictures for a long time. I would like a way to show of my photos in other ways other than scrapbooking.

When Grandma Died (June 06) I purchased a software called ProShow Gold and this was the software that I was going to use to create my fun and unique slide shows. Then life got in the way and I never got around to creating slide shows. Fast forward to buying a new laptop and transfering over all of my old software only to find that this $79 software that I have never used is now obsolete for Vista and I have to pay to upgrade.

Have I mentioned before how much I love HATE Vista?!?!

Anyway... I call the company and since I am not a happy camper they offer to sell me the super upgraded MamaDog of all software upgrades for a small fee. I finally agree to it and bought the upgrade to the mucho better software called Producer! AM I GLAD I DID THIS!

Holy smokes this thing has so many kewl features! This is a slide show that took me literally THREE minutes to create. Im loving it!!!!

Just for you Jessica,,,

Wanna do another midnight GNO?

ahhhh... got some scrappin done!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh it felt good today to finally get in my scrap room and knock out some layouts. I am not super happy with the two I did of Devin but I am really pleased with how the layout of Makayla came out. I just love it when a layout comes together on paper the way you had it pictured in your head. Crafting is just great therapy for me and I am so blessed that God provided me a creative outlet!

ok who would ever have thought...

Too funny not to share!

Horses

Anyone that knows my daughter for more than five minutes knows that she LOVES horses. We have at the last count 80+ horses in this house. I don't know where her love for horses came from but she cant go a day without playing with her horses.

In the fall of 2007 we went to Colorado on vacation and while there in the mountains we took Makayla to a place that let her ride a horse. She has never forgotten that horse or the cowboy that led her around. She speaks of Sookie and Cowboy Todd all the time. I cant believe she remembers that since she was two at the time but apparently its something she will never forget.

Fast forward to day before yesterday when a kid on a horse happened by our house. I had to ask him if Makayla could pet his horse and he was more than happy to oblige. What a sweet kid he was to share his horse Tori with Makayla. He even offered to let her hop up on and take some pictures. I just couldn't thank him enough for making her day!

Cards

I have finished some cards that I wanted to share on here. I originally made them for craft night but nobody wanted to take the free card class I was offering. What a bummer eh?

Cards are so easy to make and are a great compliment to scrapbooking since they both use the same supplies. Not to mention people love getting handmade cards! I cant tell you how many people complimented me on my Christmas cards last year.

These are a couple of cards I made recently. I hope to make more cards soon and when I do I will share them here!

Picnic in the Yard

I love days like this. Its gorgeous outside so Makayla and I had a picnic in the yard.

You just have to love days like this!

Hummingbird Moth

Every year we have this really neat bug that visits my thrift when its in full bloom. I have never been able to get a really close look at it before because it flits around like a hummingbird. Today I finally saw him in the thrift again while I was outside having a picnic with Makyala and it just so happened that I had my camera handy!

So this is what he looks like...

After a little research online (dont you just love the www) I found out he is a hummingbird Moth! I am so glad to finally figure out what he is and can now enjoy his beauty.

Yes people I am amused by the small things in life!

Debating with Chris...

I love teaching Sunday School with Chris. Chris, is just one of those guys that is comfortable in his skin. He is incredibly intelligent and one of the most faithful men I have ever met. He has a great sense of humor and we mesh well together. On any given Sunday with Chris I can go into that room knowing that I will at least learn one new thing. He is just one of those people that is full of knowledge and wants everyone to know all that he knows. It is never dull around Chris!

The best thing about teaching with Chris is he LOVES to debate and we all know I LOVE to argue so this makes a great combination. Now most of the time he wants to debate things I cant even begin to understand nor do I think I WANT to understand. See Chris has an analytical mind, a clinical and unfeeling mind and I of course am a more of a feeling type person. According to Chris he can move through life without having any feelings. This is my favorite thing to debate with him! He feels things he just doesn't want to admit it! Right Chris? *wink*

So where am I going with this? Well, yesterday we were debating whether God "calls" you to something. For example if a minister is "called" into the ministry or if they just want to be or choose a minister. It was a fun debate and I wont bore you with all the back and forth of it all but it just so happened that I stumbled upon this verse today...

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,

who have been called according to his purpose. ~Romans 8:28

Do you think God led me to that verse today? I'll just leave you with that thought! *snicker*

Cousins

Makayla loves Maddie and has missed her over the last year. She asks about her all the time and I think that feeling is quite mutual. I was really happy that my sister was able to come to Texas again this year to visit. I hate that they live so far away and wish they would move back home!

You cant help but wish the girls could be together all the time when you see them like this...

He Placed... AND HIGH!!!!!

WOW! Devin just called and I am stunned! I think my kiddo has figured out what he enjoys doing and is really good at it. Well something besides fishing anyway... we all know he is good at that and loves that too!

So out of 60 kids from various schools participating he placed FOURTH! WOW! One of his friends and fellow church members Preston placed SECOND! Thats two kids from WHS that placed in the top 5! Pretty darn good if you ask me!

WOOT WOOT! WTG DEVIN!!!!!!!!

Im proud of you kiddo! He attends the state competition in Corpus Christi the first weekend in April. Everyone wish him luck there and pray that he has a safe trip! He will love going because thats his favorite fishing spot! LOL the lucky duck!

Devin's Competition

I know I havent mentioned it here yet but today Devin had a competition in Waco with some of his automotive class. I thought this was a team thing but turns out it was an individual participation and based on his knowledge of cars alone.

The first stage of the competition was a written test. Normally this would be really hard on Devin but he said it went really well and he was one of the first five done. Once the boys completed this timed test the were ranked based on their scores. The top 16 were chosen to then move on to an applications type test where they are ranked based on their hands on knowledge. Devin was one of the top 16 and thus moved on to the second stage of testing! wooohooo Devin! WTG kiddo!

He said he did well on most of the hands on tests but there were some he felt he didnt do so well in. Unfortunately we wont know if he will be sent to the state competition until Monday but I will be sure to post where he ranked in that and let you know if he will go on to the next big competition in Corpus Christi! He had such a great time today and came home with some funny stories. I love it when this kid has fun in a positive way. Its definitely God answering my many prayers!

Crafting Today

I realized that its been forever since I have gotten in my craft room and really knocked out some projects. I really miss having the motivation to just get in there and create. So today I had the urge to get in there and play and thats just what Makayla and I did. I didnt get a project completed but we played and had fun together.

I took out my fancy watercolors that I have had for more than five years. I knew Makayla would love them because they are very sparkly. You know anything with bling is going to light up my daughters eyes. It was fun watching her eyes light up the second she saw those colors sparkle!

So we painted some scooby coloring pages (she loves scooby ya know) and then pulled out the rubber stamps. We stamped some images and then colored those in too (fortunately I dont have any scooby stamps hehe). She had a great time playing with the craft stuff and I did too. Any day spent playing with my daughter is a good day!

In fact we had so much fun that Makayla didnt want to go to bed tonight, she wanted to keep painting. So I promised her that we would get it all back out again tomorrow. I will be sure to post pictures of our creations then!

Spring Cleaning... blog style

Ok if you havent noticed I have been doing some spring cleaning on the ole blog and its been a whippin' to say the least. I keep finding all these fabulous templates that I really like but once I try to load them on the blog they wont work correctly.

Since my knowledge of html, xml and css is very limited I cant figure out how to fix most of them. Isnt that just the way the cookie crumbles?

However! I was finally able to get this little birdie template working after much research online on fixing a code or two! woohooo! I love the Internet, dont you? Its just a wealth of knowledge! Im not ready to retire this blond brain of mine yet!

Balet? You decide!

Ok be warned this video comes with a spew alert...

You decide... balet or no?

2/22/09- AKA Makayla's Birthday

We had such a great day today!

Today was AWANA day at church. The focus on the children is a bit hit at church lately and today was no exception. The kids love the attention and the adults get to relax a bit and enjoy! All of the children that participate in AWANA were called to the stage where they got to sing a song with Nic. BUT the best part was each section of AWANA had a child chosen to recite a memory verse of their choosing. Makayla was the cubbie chosen to do that and it couldnt have been on a more perfect day... her birthday! She didnt hesitate one second to take that microphone from Childrens Minister, Karen. She said her verse (a little faster than we had practiced) but she said it loud and clear! I was so excited for her. Shocked a little that she didnt bust out in song but proud none the less. I love our church and everyone there!

Then it was party time! We headed to Jumping Party to have her birthday extravaganza! We were a smidge late since church ran a little long and we still had to pick up Papa and the cake from walmart. Makayla had such a great time with all her friends!

You cant tell by these pictures that she had any fun can you? I want to thank all my friends and family that came and made it such a special day for her. It really meant a lot!!! She had a great day and I am sure its one that she wont be forgetting anytime soon!

Four years...already?

What happened? Four years ago at this very minute I was gearing up for the hospital visit I was to make in a little more than tweleve hours. Then four years later I wake up. I cant get over how fast time really flies. Especially when it comes to raising our precious children. Wasnt it just yesterday I gave birth to Devin? Didnt he just turn 18? I cant wrap my mind around it and now tomorrow my precious baby girl will be four! FOUR... thats F-O-U-R? Good grief.




Here is my precioius girl the day we brought her home. I still remember her sweet squeaks and jerky movements. I remember how Robert carried her around with just one arm. He has always been a great dad and continues to get better as the years go on. Its just so hard to believe how grown up she is already. *sniff, sniff* Anyone have a tissue?





I took this photo of her just the other day. She has grown into quite the beauty. Best of all is her personality though. Robert thinks she is a lot like me with always wanting things done her way and like it or not she knows what she wants. I see how sweet and gentle she is. How much she genuinely cares for her friends and their well being. She is going to be such a great asset to the world... she already is.

So join me tomorrow in wishing my baby girl a very happy 4th birthday. She is going to have a very exciting day. They have chosen her from all the cubbies to go on stage in big church and recite a verse of her choice. She chose to recite Mark 12:30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart. After church we will be headed to Jumping Party for a fabulous birthday extravaganza complete with princess everything! Its going to be a very exciting day for her!

Happy Birthday my sweet baby girl!

Snakes

I read www.thepioneerwoman.com every day. Her blog makes me laugh, cry and learn new things daily. She has a great photography and cooking section complete with some fabulous recipies not to mention some good homeschooling information as well.

Yesterday she posted that her hubby played a trick on her by putting a fake snake next to her bed and then having her reach down to get his pillow. I just about wet myself reading it not because of her story but because of a memory that immediately came to mind.

Robert and I were busy in our house with normal day to day goings on about three summers ago when all of a suddon my then 79 year old grandfather came barrelling through our back door. He was all sweaty and out of breath. I thought he was going to tell me something had happened to my grandma but all he could get out was my phone wasnt working. I finally calmed him down and got out of him what the problem was. hehe

He was sitting in his recliner watching tv and reading his newspaper when a six foot long water moccasin came slithering under his recliner and through the house. He in sheer panic reached for his phone and started dialing my number to come for help but was so upset and excited, he couldnt get the number dialed. He finally after coming out of his catatonic state managed to RUN out of the house and down to mine to get us to help him.

When we got back to his house the door was opened, some chairs were overturned and I couldnt find my grandma. I yelled for her and she yelled from her bedroom that she was fine. However you could tell that she was in a panic and freaking out beyond any panic that I have ever heard in her voice. Aparently when she realized the snake was in her room Grandma screamed and ran for her bedroom, slammed the door and got up on the bed. Now this was a site I tell ya...LOL My 73-year old four-foot-ten grandma standing on the bed with sheer panic in her face.

All this over a snake? I am not afraid of snakes and Robert has a healthy respect for them but doesnt care for them much. I had pet snakes both as a child and an adult. They are beautiful creatures that do a good deed for the earth. They eat RODENTS! After some searching we finally found that poor snake. Robert caught him and beheaded him much to my protest. I thought he should be taken to the lake and set free but Robert didnt feel like he could wrangle the thing without being bit at some point. I prefer to keep my hubby healthy as opposed to the poor snake.

Its a day I hope I never forget. The moral to the story is... dont leave your doors open when you live in the country! It was such a beautiful day and Papa was tired of getting up to let the dog in and out every five minutes so he left the screen door open just enough... to invite in the critters!

Makayla's Birthday

Ok lets just face up to the facts... I waited till the last minute to set Makaylas birthday party...LOL It just slipped my mind until my sister called me today and asked what I was doing and I was like "I dunno, I still have time to figure it out" to which she replied... "ummm, its like next weekend." can ya give me a big whoooooooooooopsy!

So I called Jumping party and luckily they had a slot opened at 1pm! So thats what we are doing! woohooo! Its all finalized and paid for! All I have to do now is order the cake and get some party favors together, get the invites out and well... buy my daughter a present...LOL

So to all my good friends (namely, Shelley and Jessica) have your kiddos ready to be at Jumping Party on Feb22 to celebrate Makaylas birthday! We will be able to stay and jump the entire day...LOL

Horoscope?!?!

So do you read your horoscope? Do you believe anything they predict? I rarely read them and at times wish they would come true. For example, this was my horoscope today...

Things are about to equalize in all aspects of your life, so get ready to enjoy
a healthier period that will give you a stronger sense of security and
confidence. You're standing on a firm foundation again, which means you can
reach higher and try harder for the things you want. It's time for bolder action
and bigger stakes. You are feeling totally in control and it looks like no one
is standing in your way. Ignore your fears and move ahead at full steam!

So here's to wishful thinking and hoping that whoever it is that is predicting this is dead on! hehehe

Depression... an FYI for my friends

Some of you know but most of you don't that I suffered a severe bout of depression from 2001-2003. It was horrific to the point of me not leaving my house for a long time. It was a struggle to get out of bed, brush my teeth and so on and so forth. It was a scary time in my life and one that I hope to never relive. I bring this up because I am going to need help from my friends to pull me out of the funk I am starting to get in to.

How can I tell that I am starting to get depressed? Quite simply... I am getting a case of the woes Me's! I really think that all this pain and illness is causing me to get depressed and I just cant have that happen again.

Luckily for me I have a great hubby who helps me through these things and some pretty great friends too that I know will give me a kick in the pants if I need it. Since I am already recognizing the signs of depression setting in I am making a conscience effort not to let it grab me the way it did in the past.

A couple pictures to start your day...

I just loved that Makayla and daddy made a cake for Devin on his birthday. I was such a sweet gesture and obviously Devin loved it...

Gotta love these faces!!! I still cant get over the fact that I have an eighteen year old! OH and did I mention that he is on the A/B honor roll again! Senior year is doing great things for my boy!