It's beginning to look a lot like

So this past weekend we stayed home and worked on our Christmas Decor and it finally is all up (after a lot of fluffing) Can I just say that I hate fluffing! it sucks! My fingers are all cut up and my scratched from all the tree fluffing... but now that it's done, it looks great! :)

We have the tree up, the garlands strung, the nativity out and my advent calendar hung. Jason was in charge of the outside lights and he wants to make some changes but his one's heart desire was the below Santa.


Yes... that IS santa in a bass boat with a fish... he will now reside in our front yard next to the oh so pretty garland and pretty lights. We are so white trash.

I ordered it off of Ebay... and we have not received it yet. As soon as he is all hooked up, I will be sure and post some pictures for all the world to see.

I have also been doing most of my holiday shopping online... LOVE it ... they wrap it, they send it... and all I have to do is sit and point and click! FABULOUS! And through ebates.com I have gotten like $75 back! WOOHOO!

I have not bought Joey's presents or Jason's yet... need to work on that. How many days til Christmas???

And... it is supposed to snow tonight. Flurry actually, and it's not supposed to stick... but snow? I am so not ready for this! It was 60 degrees this morning when I left my house... now it's like 40 something. BRRRRRR!

Recent Holiday Pictures

So we recently had our pictures taken with Melissa Goldberg up in Grapevine and she was divine. I mentioned her in an earlier blog and she was fantastic and I am more than THRILLED with the results. :) She seemed to really capture my little Joe and well, let's face facts... that's what I wanted. Ha!

So, now I am faced with the dubious task of picking which picture I would like to use for our christmas cards... but, please enjoy looking at them. :)



So, we are now 1 year and a half... how did THAT happen? He is understanding so much more. I ask for his foot and he sticks his foot up to receive a sock. I ask him to put his arm through and he reaches through. I even ask him to stand up in the bathtub for a second so that I can wash his "bits" and he stands up. He is so smart! :)

We have decided that separation anxiety is the thing to do though and MAN is that tough on mom and dad! We can't leave him without him breaking into fits of tears. And, in the morning, me especially. It seems that going to the bathroom is no longer a solitary activity... who knew. I sure hope THIS stage doesn't last too long.

And, the word NO is definitely a dirty word in his book. And knowing that he is understanding more and more, well... the temper tantrum takes on a whole new face. I know that it is this hard headedness that will make him successful later in life and I know that his insatiable curiosity will mean that he will be thorough. I know that his comedian side will mean that people will enjoy being around him. His fearlessness... well it means that he won't be afraid to try. And his mischeviousness, well THAT means he is a creative thinker. All good things LATER in life. But for now... now, it means that mommy is getting a few more gray hairs. :)
Daddy, aka, Jason, has been a real champ though, especially on weekends and at night. He recognizes when my patience has worn thin ... ner and usually takes him right off of my hands which then means that I feel horrible. But... this parenting thing is definitely easier with two!

We are almost ready for Christmas. But what's funny is that Jason was in charge of the outside and I was in charge of the inside. And we were both happy with the outside UNTIL he left tonight to go get him some cokes and he had the chance to see some of what the other houses have done and he said that we look like very half assed. He is now reconstructing our Christmas lights. Say NOTHING of the Santa in a Bass Boat that is due to arrive this week. :::Insert eye roll here::::::

He is too funny! But, now, we might resemble the Griswalds. I will be sure and take some pictures and add those as they come through.

We had a great Thanksgiving in Houston... although a bit long. Turns out that almost a week now, with Joe walking and curious and doing stairs is just hard. Mom and I spent most of the time chasing after Joe saying... No... No... not a toy Joe.... no, we don't hit our friends... Nope... we don't hit mommy either. Mom's house is VERY kid friendly but her cabinets aren't. And the mixer fast became the new motor car of the century... thinking nothing of the cord that was trailing behind to the cat's dismay. So... after about a week of no schedule or not much of one (being in a different house and a different bed)... mom and I were supposed to drive home. Well, she got sick sick sick... so Joe and I ended up flying home. And as much as it threw me for a loop cause that wasn't what I intended... it was nice to be home. Nice to be back in a routine... and nice to just... be. :)
I guess that's what "home" is, right?

I suppose that I have babbled enough. :) But, as the Christmas holiday fast approaches... it is a time to celebrate family! Celebrate our blessings! And celebrate and be thankful for all that God has given to us! I am one lucky girl!



I am sure I will blog again soon... but for now... good evening... good Sunday and I wish you all a wonderful week! :)

Happy Thanksgiving

So... we are heading to Houston tonight and I cannot wait! I hate the four hour drive but I am just so excited to see my family, see my friends and to get to eat STUFFING!

I love my moms stuffing... and yes, it's stuffing because it's IN the bird. I know that many don't do this anymore for risk of salmonella but... if it's cooked long enough... it adds so much moisture to the stuffing! :) YUMMY! And none of this cornbread stuff that you Texans seem to like so much... blech! ;)

Of course, the food is not the only thing to celebrate... but all the things we are thankful for! And I have SO much to be grateful for!

My gorgeous husband and I on our honeymoon. What a wonderful time we had!
















My husband holding my son, both of which make my world go round.


















Our wonderful parents who are supportive and loving!















My beautiful sister.















My Sister and Brother in law, Jackson and Peyton who was still cooking.












My wonderful dog, Murphey















My niece, Emilie
















Great friends who are always here for us. (there are far too many to picture). :)






















Great friends that I get to "get away with".

























Not only having a roof over my head but being proud of it too.
























A Mimi and a Mr. Richard who loves us and loves our son!












Relatively little damage when "Ike" blew through.


















Cousins... and best of all... cousins who share.

























A new hair color. :)














FUNNY old pictures that my dad sent to me.













And I have to end with this little mischievous man... :)















Truly... in a world where so much is in turmoil, I (we) have so much to be grateful for. I think I could go on forever and not cover everything... but I hope you enjoyed this small sampling of things in my life that are PERFECT and I have God to thank for all of that. I am one lucky woman!

What are YOU grateful for? :)

A good Sunday!

It has seemed that for the last... well ... forever... all we have done is travel travel travel to either Lufkin or to Houston and this weekend, we STAYED HOME! What a wonderful thing! We didn't have to rush home on Friday... finish packing... get Joey fed and bathed and into his jam jams... and then loaded up in the car.. "did you remember to pack...?", load the dog, load the dog food... "Do we need to stop and get gas?" and then head off South or East only to arrive at 10:00 at night and then have an AWAKE toddler that we need to entertain for a couple of hours so that he finally crashes. :) Only to race back home again on Sunday to start the week all over again.

So... this weekend, we stayed home.












Oh yeah... the adorable hat in the picture above was knitted by my dear friend Amber of Ric Rac Baby... www.ricracbaby.com

It was wonderful. Although I do confess to LOVING being in Lufkin and in Houston because it usually means I get to sleep in, take naps and drink good wine. But, this weekend, I got to get my nails and toes done (sans baby) and then we had some great friends over for dinner. They brought their kids and it was such fun. There were six kids and six adults and the kids all played so well together and the husbands all played well together (ha!) and of course... us wives had a blast. And I even found out that one of them is a sorority sister...how crazy is THAT?

But we had great steaks, good wine and well... it's just so nice to have some new friends up here. For me, I am such a social creature that to not have friends... well, it's just foreign to me. Jason is fine with it... he loves his friends but he is really rather solitary... he enjoys people too... and enjoys getting together but it's not central to his being... you know? For me, it's essential... and I can't explain why that is to him. He doesn't understand. (men are from mars, women from venus). But, I just had such a great night and everyone left fairly early because of the kids... and shoot, I was in bed by 9:30. :)

Last weekend, I realized that I have pictures of Joey (d'uh), I have pictures of Joey and I... Jason and Joey... Jason and I... but none of the three of us, professionally taken. So, my friend Meg had some pictures in her signature on the Nest... and I asked her who had taken them. As luck would have it, Melissa Goldberg, had an opening today (Sunday) up in historic Grapevine and the timing (and lighting) could not have been better!













We were up and out the door by 7:30 am and headed to Grapevine to the railroad depot and they had just started to decorate for Christmas and it was perfect. It was cool but not too cold, light but not overly bright and Joe was in perfect spirits. As luck would also have it, I think that Melissa has a genius eye... she found some of the neatest spots for us to take pictures... and then we let Joe down to just be Joe and she captured his little mischevious comedian self doing what he does best... entertain.

There were wagons and train tracks, pumpkins and big wrapped presents. We laid in the grass, climbed under the wagon, cajoled, played and even tried bribery. :-} It was so much fun and I cannot WAIT to see the final product.

Afterwards... it was like 9:30 and we were all the way up in Grapevine... (which is about an hour away from our house)... what do we do now? We went to Bass Pro Shop... d'uh! ;) We wandered there and hoped to catch a glimpse of their Santa but he didn't arrive til Noon and so we looked at fish and a bunch of animals that used to be of the living persuasion... and I even got out of there without spending too much. ;)

We decided to go over to Grapevine mills and got inside when we decided that we just really weren't in a shopping mode... so we got a picture of Joey with Santa (there was no line) and we did a little bit of shopping and then loaded back up and headed for some lunch and then home.

We even had the chance to all take a nap... yay!... played, ate some dinner and now, little bits is asleep and we are going to watch some 24. :)

The only thing that was missing today was that I had hoped to get to church... we really need to find a church "home" here ... but we have to stay put long enough to enjoy them. One of these days... life will settle down. HA!

I think the best part of today was just that we got the chance to be a family.. do whatever we wanted and the "race" stopped for just a few minutes. :) Now, it starts back up again because it's Thanksgiving week, of course... but for now... I get to enjoy ... us. :)

Crazy... I'm all full... no more room at the inn....

So.. I realize that it has been way too long since I have written anything. I just haven't had the time.. and when I have had the time, well, I am working so ... I don't have the time. :-D

Life has been full with Jason fishing, Jason hunting, Halloween, Joey getting "Hand foot and mouth disease", a new nephew, a girls trip in Galveston, heading to lufkin to see said nephew and me getting sick, and then Joey getting sick again.... eegads. I think that "Calgon Take me away" commercial needs to come and knock on my door.

Can you even BELIEVE that Christmas is like six weeks away? How did that happen? Before we know it, it will be 2009 and we'll have a whole list of new resolutions to work on and break. :-D

Where do YOU want to be in 2009? I need to think on it and I'll get back to you! Promise! :)

I leave you with some Joey cuteness... cause what post would be complete without it?