Happy 2010. May it be a year of happiness, family time, and good health. May you have strength to see the good in those around you and to not judge too quick.

snow again

As you can see, the snowman changed while we were gone..."I'll be back again some day"

Today we got up early to drive home before our snow started again and we made it JUST in time. It is nice to be home and unpacking seemed to take forever.

old friends

Today we got together with a family we met nearly 12 years ago in Hawaii on our way to Majuro to adopt a little girl ~ Ruth. Our friends adopted a little boy who was 3 months old and it was not a done deal until the last minute. You see, the mother had changed her mind but they went on faith and came home with a son. Today is his 12th birthday too.

WE HAVE A TEEN!

Today Sara turned 13. In looking back, it feels like she has been a teen for at least a year and you know what I mean. Today she will get her ears pierced (ear pokes she calls them) and she has been stocking up with earrings for 2 years in anticipation for this. We will have a small family birthday with grandparents and aunt & uncle....and another cake.

It is amazing how quickly they grow and I am grateful I take pictures constantly to go back and see how exactly this happens...

Christmas #2

We arrived at my parents with out issue-the snow area ended about 1 hour into our drive and the temp continued to climb. We were the first to arrive-2 dogs in tow. A few hours the masses arrived and first was a super delicious dinner.

Then it was on to the 3 hours of opening gifts.

THEN it was the hours of cards into the next day.

My 3 kids

The girls wanted to go to the cemetery to say hi to their big brother Bryan. We took his Christmas tree and Sara took a brush to clean off his marker. The kids like having a big brother that they say look over them.

Merry Christmas #1 at home

Merry Christmas to everyone. We got up this morning and opened the generous presents, sang happy birthday to Jesus, then headed out of town to my parent's house for the gathering of the masses.

Since we had a very heavy snow yesterday -the 24th-this drive will be a little scary. A second concern is the ice under the snow since it is about 20 now.

Summer to winter

IF you think your weather is strange......check this out. The saying in Texas is that if you don't like the weather, wait a little while and it will change.



WELL...yesterday it was 73 and today~~~snow. No wonder we are a flexable people...we never know what to expect. So far we have 2-4 inches and it is still snowing and it is 20 degrees-BURRRRR

back pains

I went back to my dr. yesterday and had X-rays taken because my back still hurts, so now we have an answer. It seems I have a muscle in my back that spasmed and then got stuck. Now, we will do 4 wks of PT to get it out and retrain the muscle. The worse part of pt--having to do the exercised in front of a huge mirror-I need to get back exercising!

The therapist said he will also work on my knee--yea!

Then, he was talking about things for Ruth's scoliosis...I need to have her X-rays sent over from her ped for him to look at.

ICE SKATING

Today I braved it all and went to our big mall to take the girls ice skating FOR THE FIRST TIME. They both did great. It did take a little time for them to let go of the wall, then they were sailing. We have decided this will be a monthly thing and each can bring a friend....also great exercise.

cute puppy pics

Jessie is the tan one

Cooper is the black one.

Sara's 13th B-day party

This evening was Sara's 13th birthday party. She had 5 girls come and 3 spent the night. We began with lots of giggles in her room. Then they made individual pizzas. Next they painted a letter for their first name and "blinged" it. Next they did sand bottles and most of those came out OK. Then the soccer cake-marble our new favorite. Finally a rush to make one last craft before the two sets of parents came for a pick up. Though we rented 3 movies for them to watch, they elected to watch some we already had. Sara picked out some sock slippers for each and also gave them a small rhinestone picture frame. Of course on Sun am it was donuts all around followed by some more movie watching. All were gone by noon. It was a great party

What is a neighbor?

Today we spent the afternoon having so much fun. Beginning at noon, we went next door to help my neighbor and her 8 yo son put up her Christmas lights. She had boxes of decorations and the girls untangled the strings of lights, I directed which direction for the final electrical hook up, the 3 kids put the steaks holding the lights and outlined the yard and front garden. As we were doing this, the next neighbors up, an elderly couple, came out and the kids quickly move to help them do their lights. Once again, lots of laughter.

I took a break to do the final year end cut on the yard, which required raking 5 large bags of leaves, and the 8 yo came over and helped.

At the end of the day we were exhausted, hungry, and proud of all we had accomplished.

I told the kids that this is exactly what being a neighbor is all about. Yes, we do know all of our neighbors..I make a point that we meet all the newcomers. I hope the girls see what it is all about and are always good neighbors when they grow up. I think everyone would benefit if we were all better neighbors.

There.....that is my wish for the day...besides....they are so much fun!

neurosurgeon

We are back to the neurosurgeon with Sara. She has continued to have occasional site pain. We were told nothing to be worried about, but keep a journel of when it occurs, what she is doing at that time, etc. Of course she had one when I picked her up from school.....bad timing, but good news all around.

I can tell that the kids are not getting enough exercise due to the cold....they are WAY to full of energy when they get home, especially Sara who simply can not unwind!

After school we did some Christmas shopping. I now let the girls pick out the clothes they want and put them under the tree. I have different taste then they do and I do not want to mess with exchanging afterwards. They both finally found boots that they liked.


My friend Erin and her family are now in Majuro, where Ruth was born, to adopt their new beautiful daughter. Now daughter #1 will be a big sister, and she will be a very good one.

Band Concert

This evening was Sara's bank concert. She plays the flute. They were very good. This year they wear formal tuxedo shirts and black pants/skirts for this concert. We had to get a special order shirt for Sara because they were all too big.

Busy weekend

First we went to Pet Smart and had a picture take of Jessie and Cooper with Santa. We were very lucky that the first photo was the best. Let's just say that Jessie has not learned to socialize outside the house yet.

Then the girls decorated ginger bread houses. We bought the kits from Wal Mart -ready made, and all we had to do is decorate. Ruth took about 2+ house, Sara about 1. Ruth's is on the left, Sara's on the right.
Next we made individual pizzas. We are trying out ideas for Sara's birthday sleep over. The girls will make their own small pizzas. They were good. NO SURPRISE~~Sara used her super hot sauce instead of tomato sauce.

We tried the antlers on Jessie-he was begging for removal, which we did, but it is such a funny picture.

We also did some Christmas shopping. We went to Marshall's and got the girls some shirts that they chose and will find under the tree Christmas morning. We restocked our beef jerky. There is a man that makes it himself in his store about 3 miles from our house and luckily, one is hot enough for Sara.

Of course, I needed relief at the end of it all.

Christmas craft idea

This is an idea that I got out of some magazine years ago using foam sheats from the craft store. Do you see their hand prints up side down? Sara noticed how her had has grown. What I love about this is that they can NOT be broken, and the kids helped make them, and who doesn't love their kid's hand prints.

Thanksgiving & Jeff's birthday

Thanksgiving at my parents and we were as stuffed as the turkey, and as lively afterwards. We did play cards for hours-one of our family's favorite past times. This was the first car trip for Jessie-the light one-and he cried for the first 1/2 hour in the car, than settled down. Going home was better~~a little. Cooper is an old pro at it all.

Monday was Jeff's birthday-now even older than me. We were very creative for his "cake" spaghetti...no sugar allowed. Have you ever seen meatballs with candles in them...only at our house and we love it.

fun time

The girls were having so much fun today!

Adoption pending

I knew this would get your attention.....but it is not us!!!!

A very good friend of mine is possible minutes from finding out the age of her new daughter from Majuro, RMI--the same place Ruth is from. They have a beautiful daughter that they welcomed into their home about 9 months before we brought home Sara, who just turned 5. They will have to leave almost immediately for the islands....I will keep you posted~~~~~~oh the excitement~~~~~