Abilene Christmas

Jill got another American Girl Doll this year----this one is Samantha.
Grant plays a mean electric guitar!

Thomas waiting for someone to walk by so he can shoot them with the Nerf darts!

Grant was ready for action!

Doesn't Clara look beautiful in her new princess shoes? Santa is good.

I am posting some pics of our Christmas fun in Abilene. All of J's family except Addie was there---it was her year to go to Jeremy's parents house. We missed you, Addie. We all had a great time and Santa was good to all the kids AND to me! Like I previously posted, Thomas asked for a necklace for me and Jill asked for some fluffy pj's for me. They are so thoughtful and Santa came through again..........I know he is glad to be at the North Pole resting!

The cousins played------no big disagreements that I can remember------best of all.......no one ended up in the ER needing stitches. Grant did have a close call with a laceration to the head, but J did not think he needed stitches this time. THANK GOODNESS!

I dont know how I left Abilene with no pic of all of the Davis grandchildren. Maybe having 10 kids and 10 adults in the same house messed up my brain for a moment or two. I have now recovered.........a little!

Hope all of you had a great Christmas. We wish you all a Happy New Year!

Christmas Get Together #1

Boston, Brooklyn, Beau, Branson, Jill, Lucas, Grant, and Thomas

I just liked this pic of Lucas. He is now 2!

Those who were able, came to our house last weekend for a Christmas celebration. We had all of the Braggs (Dallas), Farrah and Lucas (Las Cruces, NM), Pops (Waco), Angie and her girls (Lubbock), and Sandy (Lubbock).

We ate, played games, opened presents, and visited. Jonathan and Darrin skipped out for a little while and went to the Highland Park playoff game in Waco.

It was fun--------Thank you all for coming to the big city! HaHa

Jill

Jill had an eventful December. She has been practicing for Creative Writing for UIL for a few months. They had the district meet in December and she placed 3rd. Here she is with her friend Katelyn, who also participated.

The 3rd grade choir performed at Richland Mall a few weeks ago. They did a great job! She looked so BIG up there singing away.

The results from the Fire Essay Contest are in-----Jill got second place and even got 5 golden dollar coins with Sacajawea on them. She was pumped!

The cashmere beret and scarf was a present from Miss Cooky. When she wears it, she tries to speak French. It's so funny. Everything is something with the word "moi" in it.

Way to go, Jill. We are proud of you and love you to the moon and back!

Thomas.......Happy Late Birthday Post!

Thomas with his Steeler's cake.

This is Thomas's favorite football card. It even has a piece of Ben's actual jersey. He guards this card.

Sorry I have been a little negligent in keeping up with my little blog this month---for all 3 of you that actually read this---I am sorry and will try to do better!



I guess I need to start with Thomas and his 7th birthday on December 7th. The story of his birth is kind of funny. I was put on partial bed rest the last month of the pregnancy---with Jill (an almost 2 yr old) at home! We lived in Abilene then and Jill went to MDO at Highland on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Even though bed rest was ordered, Jonathan's mom and I had already planned a shopping day with lunch at Hickory Street Cafe. Against Jonathan's better judgement, off we went after dropping off Jill. We did all we could during the time Jill was at MDO. I kind of rested after picking her up......as much as I could anyway.....until Motherly Love that night. Motherly Love is a thing that Hillcrest does where the older ladies of the congregation make dinner for the younger moms---they usually had a speaker or something, too. It was always fun and I was not going to miss it! So, on Dec 7th, off I went again! Motherly Love lasted about 2-3 hours, but as soon as I stood up after it was over.....I knew something was wrong. I had LeighAnne drive me home and called Dr Kapu. She said she would meet us at the hospital in 10 minutes! Thank goodness our adopted ACU student, Stephanie, was already coming over. She had no idea what was going on when we asked her to stay at our house with Jill because we had to go to the hospital! She was coming over to paint my toenails! Anyway......while Dr Kapu is doing the C-Section, Jonathan tells her to ask me what I had been doing all day. I was totally busted. I told her I already had all of that stuff planned-----I was at least wearing the lovely prescription pantyhose----anyway, Thomas was born at 11 pm on Dec 7th instead of on Dec 20 like he was scheduled to be. It all worked out fine. : )

Thomas is a sweet boy. He loves football, football, and football. His favorite team is the Steelers and he wears his Ben Rothlisberger jersey with PRIDE! Thomas loves his momma, Jill, Grant, Daddy, puppies, and eggnog. He even asked Santa for a huge diamond necklace for his mom for Christmas. (Santa obliged! THANK YOU!)

Happy late blog birthday Thomas J...........my Sweet Babboo!

EARS!

Grant likes to fall asleep in my bed, then be moved to his own bed after he falls asleep. I think he likes to fall asleep in my bed because I have this warmer thing.....it is under the fitted sheet and is kind of like an electric blanket.....and has settings from Low, 1-9, and High. Grant likes to turn it on 5.....because he is5. Anyway........he fell asleep in my bed last night and when I went to bed (after watching The Biggest Loser on DVR--I love that show!) I tried to snuggle with him before Jonathan moved him to his own bed. I told him that I loved him to the moon and back like I always do....not expecting an answer.

This morning he came and got back in bed with me at about 6:20 to snuggle before the alarm went off........and I told him that I was talking to him last night.......at this point he says "Mom....dont you know that my ears are turned off while I am asleep. Dont talk to me---I cannot hear you."

Cocoa, Thanksgiving, Ben Roethlesberger, and being the Little Brother

This is Cocoa. He came to live with us on November 13, 2007. It was a bittersweet day at our house. In one of my previous posts, I included a picture of our new dogs.......KC and Love. Well.....on this day, KC (Kid Chaser) was lying in one of the Adirondack chairs on the back porch by the big tree. The only thing we can come up with is that when he had his head down on the chair, that his name tag got stuck between the slats in the chair and got twisted perpendicular to the slat. He panicked and tried to get off the chair---but, being a Shih Tzu, he had very short legs and could not reach the ground and eventually choked on the collar. It is all very sad and my stomach hurts retelling the story. I loved that dog......even though we had only had him two weeks at that time. He had been to the vet, the groomer, and everywhere else with us! Thank goodness that Jonathan was the one who found him....I would have freaked out.
That afternoon, J was taking Jill to the allergy Dr. in Waco for her weekly shot, and he called his friend Trent to see if there were any more Shih Tzus in the paper. There was one----in Speegleville---so J drove there and got it for me...for us. I did not know he was doing that---being the Budget Nazi he is---I thought he was done spending money on dogs he did not even want, much less the groomer and the vet. But he did.......and Cocoa has been a sweet addition to our family. He kind of lessened the hurt a little and gave all of us something new to focus on, not that KC is forgotten. His pics are still on my camera because I have not gotten them printed off yet. I will get around to it sometime.

This is a Thanksgiving shot. Notice that Lady is in charge here----telling the kids how she wanted them to write down the things they were thankful for----but not to include the usual answers----church, family, God, Jesus, grace, etc. Their answers were great! The bigger cousins helped the younger cousins with the spelling----they love each other!

Snow on Thanksgiving in Abilene-----how fun that was! The cousins had a good time pounding each other with snowballs---and trying to get the parents, too. J thinks we should use this as our Christmas card.....I dont know about that.
Thomas loves the Steelers. He even has a Roethlesberger jersey that he likes to wear everyday! Since his bday is coming up, we had a mini-cousin party while in Abilene. Thomas shares a bday with his cousin, Ben, and Uncle Jimmy's is the day before Thomas and Ben's. He loved this cake. I will post more pics of him and the cake soon.

Little Brother........G got mad and threw an airplane at Thomas last night, so T threw a block at G and hit him right on the eyebrow. This was some major drama with lots of dripping blood. HOWEVER, I did not faint (this makes my stomach hurt too---thinking about the blood)! Jonathan took him to the ER in Waco for some stitches and he was mostly fine this morning. We will have another claim on the AFLAC accident plan----the one we got mostly for Thomas----has been used for Grant three times and Jonathan twice. OH MY.......Thomas cried because he felt guilty......Boys will be Boys! I know someday this will all be funny....right, POPS!

Love to all..........and, in addition to praying for the Hortons, please pray for Linda Hill, a secretary at the High School in West, who beat breast cancer 5 years ago, and now has cancer in her back. She is such a sweet woman.

Treasure Life's Unexpected Blessings....An article by Lady (Jonathan's Mom)

*****The following is an article written by Betty Davis, Jonathan's mom, who lives in Abilene.
This is her second article that has appeared in the Sunday Abilene Reporter News. We are so proud of her!*****ENJOY..............

'I never got the things I dreamed of," mused my sister, "but I got things that I never would have dreamed of!"
Life does that sometimes -- gives unexpected blessings.
I dreamed of becoming a movie star -- singing, dancing and being famous. All I needed was my cousin's coat ensemble and a ride to Hollywood.
The coat, hat and hand muffs were discovered while snooping in the bathroom closet at my aunt's house.
Both the nubby coat material and the soft shiny lining were the most beautiful materials I had ever seen or felt. Cousins gave and got hand-me-downs; this was sure to be mine sometime, but when? And why hadn't I seen my cousin wear this?
I couldn't ask my mother. She would know about the snooping and skin me alive!
(These days, when kids get into things that don't belong to them, it's called curiosity. Those days, it was called none of your business. My mother didn't have much tolerance for my "curiosity.")
Sneaking unseen into the bathroom, then into the closet and shutting both doors behind me was no small feat, as the farm house had one bathroom and many visiting relatives at any given time. I would slip my hands into the muff and envision myself in that get-up, tapping my way to Hollywood and into the movies.
I never got the coat, never learned to tap, never made it to Hollywood.
I met my leading man and the dream changed. He had the cutest freckles, sandy blonde hair, a shy grin, and a driver's license. He asked me to be his co-star and I said yes.
In living "happily ever after," we have a lifetime of experiences: laugh-out-loud funny, sob-out-loud sorrow, plenty of busyness with sprinkles of boredom.
Along with a house full of kids, we raised a farm full of animals: cats (lots of cats), dogs, turtles, hamsters, fish, gerbils, rabbits, and one bird. A cat ate it.
We have five kids who turned out pretty good in spite of us. That number has doubled to 10; we can't remember which ones were the Original Five. They have kids of their own, and we enjoy the show. What goes around, comes around.
We are now older -- and wiser -- in their eyes. They don't say it, but we recognize the signs.
They think we need a pet.
They call one another to see how we're doing.
They say, "Thanks, guys, we love you," and, "Come see us."
They ask, "Can I get you something?" or my favorite, "What do you think?"
It's better than any screaming crowd of fans I ever heard.
The empty nest is cozy, and we enjoy peace and quiet until we are blessed by a visit from our kids, with their kids. We love, love, love it when they come, high-five when they go, then snuggle up (in our own chairs) and take a nap while we watch a movie.
If I had the chance to do it again, I wouldn't. Once was enough. But I wouldn't have missed it. The thing is, I like now! Each stage of life has challenges and pleasures: it's best to be in the present, living life one act at a time. If we always look back, we stumble into the future, and miss the sunrise today.
For everything there is a season.
There is much for which to be thankful and we are.
About that coat ensemble. Recently I admitted my covetous nature to my cousin and asked her whatever happened to it.
Did she save it for her own daughter? Her granddaughter? No?
She has no memory of such an outfit.

It will make you BUFF!

Tonight at dinner....all of us just relaxing, eating a lovely take out dinner from Jack and Diane's (the local bbq/beer joint that we would never eat in.......but love to take the food home!)........
Grant decides that he doesn't like brisket or sausage and says he would rather not eat it.....Thomas then says....."Grant...its protein...meat is protein...it will make you buff!"

3rd Annual November Church Trip

Trent, Amber, Steve, Lorie, Bruce, Paula, me, and Jonathan

This weekend was our fun trip (NO KIDS) with some of the other couples from church. The past 2 years we have gone to Dallas, so decided to change it up a little and go to San Antonio this time. We left early Saturday morning.....girls in one car, boys in the other......and stopped in Temple and had breakfast at the Bluebonnet Cafe. From there, the boys went to play golf somewhere in San Antonio (J cannot remember the name, but said it was beautiful) and the girls had some shopping to do. We stopped at the outlet mall in Round Rock first-----none of us had been there before......there were so many stores! I laughed at the Burberry Outlet prices....$465 for a coat......whatever......it would need to be cuter than that for me.

We all had some luck at the Ann Taylor store (one of my favorites!). I found a few things at American Eagle, too. All of the things I bought were even on sale! : )

We left there and went on to the outlet mall in San Marcos. Paula has XM radio in her car, so Lorie and I were singing and seeing who could guess the artist first of all of these songs that were on the radio from when we were in jr high and high school. We found some good things at this mall, too. However..........we were getting TIRED! What was wrong with us? No kids...shopping...and we were tired???!!!

We left there and went to the hotel in San Antonio. We got the rooms on priceline and thought we were staying at the Rivercenter Marriott, but were actually staying at the Marriott on Alamo Street......not too far from the riverwalk. We got there at the same time as the boys....we had some mixups finding the place.....but a fine citizen from San Antonio let us turn in front of him on our street.....even with Amber freaking out about asking him, so Paula did........you really had to be there for that one. Amber does not talk to strangers. period.

We got to the hotel-----all on different floors because some of President Bush's dignitary people had just left and they were not done cleaning up yet---and had about 35 minutes to get ready for dinner. We did not know where we were going, but knew we wanted to be on the Riverwalk.

We walked around and around (Paula.......I hope your knee is better after the little fall down the steps) and finally meandered into the Pesca. It was a seafood place and was good. I figured out that I do not like cold smoked salmon as my appetizer-----GAG-------the texture almost killed me, but I did try it at least. The menu did not mention it was cold smoked. I guess I should have asked! Our waiter was.............as Jonathan says.......BUSY! He tried.......but there were eight of us. Jonathan and I split a steak and crabcakes. After Bruce traded steaks with me (mine was toooooooo pink) we were good to go! THANKS Bruce. I think everyone liked their food for the most part. Lorie and Amber both had blackened swordfish.......One of the funniest things for me was seeing Paula pull salad dressing out of her purse---she is allergic to gluten---and has her own little snacks stashed at various places. Bless her heart.

It was COLD in there, so the girls went outside to warm up and let the boys pay for dinner.

We then went to Starbucks, had a coffee, and went back to the hotel for bed.

Jonathan and I actually slept until around 8:15 or so........then we were off at 10:00 to eat at a place called Blanco that Lorie's aunt recommended. After driving around in the barrio, we did find it, and it was delicious. I highly recommend it!

For the drive home, Jonathan, Bruce, Paula and myself were in one car-----leaving Trent, Amber, Lorie, and Steve in the other. (Thier kids were all in Hewitt, so they were going there)

I had to take a sweater back to American Eagle and J wanted to stop at the Johnston and Murphy store.......so we did......and found some other stores that we missed the first time!

Paula bought some hand cream at the Crabtree and Evelyn store and it was in a paper sack....when we stopped to use the bathroom, we were gathering up the trash and empty water bottles....she handed me the sack and I threw it away! Neither of us thought a thing about it until we pulled up to our house and Paula started laughing........it was then that she remembered what was in the bag! I AM SO SORRY ABOUT THAT! (BTW...Bruce and Paula are Trent's parents)

We got home and the kids were outside with Ms Cooky playing with the animals. They missed us a little they said. Cooky is lots of fun though.........

Now we are back to life.........back to blogging........and working.

love to all........

Pics I have needed to post

Above is a picture of Grant and his friend Copeland. Grant decided on Halloween that he needed to have a party with his "peeps". Copeland is the only other kid that I know is home, so I called her mom to see if she could come over for the party. She and G had a good time with Ms. Cooky until G fell asleep on the couch! Nothing like inviting someone over to play and falling asleep.
Sorry Copeland........G will do better next time.

This is a Halloween pic of G and Ransom (brother of Copeland, above). Dont they look great!!??

This is a bad pic.....you can hardly see Jill......her choir group sang at the Richland Mall for Santa's arrival Friday night. One of the parents who was closer than me is supposed to email me some better pictures.......It was WAY crowded!

The Thomas picture....my dad, Thomas.......and my son, Thomas..........at Jills concert.

This is a pic that I love. This is seven of the grandkids (Farrah's son was not here : ( for this one) at the bday party for my dad. From left to right: Grant, Jill, Brooklyn, Boston, Beau, Thomas, and Branson. Arent they cute?

Time Saver

Yesterday while at Wal-Mart (Lorie's FAVE store), I discovered something wonderful in the frozen food section. It has probably been around forever, but I just found it and am so excited about it--------it is called "Seasoning Blend" and is onions, celery, red and green bell pepper, and parsley flakes ALREADY CHOPPED UP! I think it was like $1.29 or something.......if it keeps me from having to chop all that up.......its worth it!

Has this been around forever or is it new to yall, too?

American Girl Boutique and Bistro Opening.......

Jill and I got up early on Saturday morning to head to the Galleria in Dallas for the opening of the American Girl Boutique and Bistro. I thought it opened at 10:00 (it opened at 9:00), so we left in plenty of time to stop and get a Coke, too. We put the address into the GPS (because you all know I am directionally impaired) and were on our way. We pulled up and there was already a line----from the front door around the side of the building all the way to the back of the building.
There were security people, line dividers, police directing traffic in and out of the parking lot---all for this Grand Opening that Jill has been waiting for for almost a year. Jill, Emily (her AG doll), and I walked up and got in line. We waited for about 45 minutes before we could even get in. They had already reached the 500 person maximum and were only letting people in as others came out. We were thankful that it was not too cold and that the wind was not blowing!
We visited with the people in front of us while waiting-----one mom and daughter had spent the night at the Westin the night before to be sure they made it, others left home early that morning to make the trip. There were a few dads and brothers in line, but not many. The 3 little girls behind us thought they were going fishing (that is what their mom told them), but their mom really was bringing them to the AG opening. WHAT FUN!
We made it in the door and Jill was amazed......so was I really........at all the people in there first of all......second at all the stuff in there! It is a 2 story store---it stands outside the Galleria---with the majority of the stuff downstairs and the Bistro upstairs. I tried to make reservations last week for us to eat in the Bistro, but it was all booked up already! (The upside of that is that we got to have lunch with The Braggs) There was a story about it in the Dallas Morning News today about it. www.dallasnews.com/extra
Sorry there are no pics. I forgot my camera. I have pics on my phone, but dont know how to load them from there. I never have claimed to be technological! Those of you who have girls should really check it out!

Pictures of Pictures........

I am not sure if this will work or not........or if it is legal or not........but these are pictures of pictures that we had made of our family. Our last professional pictures were taken in March of 2001!!!!! I know....what a terrible mom I am.....Grant keeps asking which one he is in. Sorry Grant.....you werent born yet! So, now, after asking for these for Mothers Day for two years in a row........Brigham Mayfield took these for us at Tonkawa Falls in Crawford. It was HOT, but beautiful! Hope you can tell what the pics look like. (What I really needed for these is Shelley's scanner!) Hope you can see them and that they are not fuzzy---? We will see!

Here is Thomas with his painted pumpkin. I think he named it Mr. Colorfulpants.
Grant did not give his pumpkin a name, nor did he care about it a whole lot!

Jill and her doll, Emily, with her pumpkin. She liked doing it and now thinks we should make the pumpkins into Pilgrims.
The kids in their new pjs with the dogs---KC (Kid Chaser) and Love.
Our three little trick or treaters----Thomas the Gatekeeper, Grant the Pilot, and Jill the ER Doctor. We had trunk-or-treat at our church so that took a lot of time, we did "traditional" trick or treating down a block, went to the library (they gave out books!), had a devo at church with a Fellowship Meal afterwards, baths and bedtime! All of the candy is still in the bags in the car.....we'll see if they even ask about it! The good thing about teaching was that I could take 90% of the candy to school and let my students eat it.......now I don't know what I will do with it!I may take it by there anyway..........Happy November.........bring on the pumpkin pie!

WHAT A WEEKEND!!!

As many of you know.......this weekend was ACU's Homecoming. J played in the golf tournament on Friday with some of his friends. He said they did not win, but had a good time. Saturday morning at 6:30 am (!!!!!!!!), I went to the KJK breakfast (sorry for the terrible pic). I saw some friends there that I hadn't seen in a long time. I pledged 15 years ago----it almost does not seem real. To go along with the Japanese theme, we even got fortune cookies at our place settings. Mine said, "Kojie born and Kojie bred, and when you die you are Kojie dead"--What does that mean?---some of the others had "SECRET" Kojie sayings......LOL.......some of those sayings I had not heard in a very long time. Our table laughed and laughed about the fortunes. The NuNus (or provisional members as they are now known) did a great job with skits and songs. It was really great to see everyone and catch up. We also went to chapel. Brandon Thomas led the singing, along with some of the other past Sing Song hosts and hostesses. Chapel was good and our kids enjoyed it, too. Dr. Money spoke and told all the kids that were first grade and older that they could now pre-enroll. Better start saving some $$$$$$$$ too. We made it to the football game---weather was nice----but the Wildcats lost. I cannot remember the score, but it was close. We saw more friends at the game------the Piersalls from Abilene and Anna (it used to be Malcuit, but I cannot remember her married name) from Nashville with her husband and kids. We went to Hillcrest on Sunday morning---the singing is so good! A lot different from our little congregation of 70.

This is our niece, Clara. Her 3rd bday party was held in Abilene this weekend while we were there. She and Lady had their parties together. As you can see, Clara got lots of princess attire.

This is Love. She is one of our new puppies. Her name is Love because Jonathan loves his kids. See story below........

This is K.C. He is our other new puppy. Although it may not seem real, KC (Kid Chaser) and Love are brother and sister. For about a month now, the kids and I have been trying to convince Jonathan to let us get a Shih Tzu from a lady that Addie got hers from in Abilene. All along, he has been saying no. On Sunday he had a change of heart and said yes. They brought the puppies over for us to choose from----I liked the one that actually looked like a Shih Tzu (KC) and the kids (and Jonathan too I think) liked the other calmer dog (Love). He wanted to make everyone happy.....so he got BOTH of them. So, at 10:30 pm, the kids and I go back to Wal Mart to get another carrier, leash, personalized tag and collar, shampoo, detangler, brush, food, food and water bowl, puppy training pads, towels, etc. for our new additions to the family. They barked and barked when we put them to bed in their kennels at midnight. I took them both outside at 4:40 am (its like having another baby) to do their business, played with them afterwards, put them back to bed and tried to go to sleep myself. They were barking again at 6:00 and this woke the kids up.....so they turned on all the lights in Lady and Granddad's house and got the dogs out and back outside we all went. Remember how cold it was this weekend---we were all freezing! But a dogs got to do what a dogs got to do----not inside Lady's house---or we would all be in trouble. Anyway......we are home now and the dogs are fine. I need to find a groomer for KC---his hair needs a trim!! Jill bathed both of the dogs last night and wrapped them up. J says that KC snores, but I did not hear them! They are both asleep at my feet right now...sooooooo cute. Thanks, Meano Daddy, for letting us get not one, but TWO Shih Tzus.
Here is Jonathan, our Meano Daddy. Doesn't he look great in Grant's Cowboys' helmet? I could not believe he actually got it on (and off) of his head! I laughed and laughed when he came and showed me his new look. I am still shocked he let me take a picture. I am sure he did not think it would end up on the Internet! He is my MAN! : ) Love to all.........

A look back in time....

Now that high speed internet has arrived in our little town, I wanted to add this video that Pops took of Jill during softball. I found it this morning in my old emails and thought I would share!

Cooking with Grant

HIGH SPEED internet

Thomas, our Steelers fan........he is also #7 on his football team...........

Grant...........the Cowboys fan..........loves this jersey and would wear it everyday if I would let him. He also has an Roy Williams jersey.

The famous ear piercing...............she now owns over 20 pairs of earrings!

Grant was a team captain the first game---he is the short one in the red.

Jonathan is the tall one out there with him. As of today, their record is 3-1.

This is before the Westfest parade........the State Champion softball team.........line dancing! LOL

I know you were all shocked by the last post because it had a picture. Well..........high speed internet has made it to West, TX. Now if my sweet husband can figure out how to wire the office so we can both have it on our computers........I will be so pumped! I love my little Verizon wireless card, but when it comes to attaching pics to a blog............I have no patience! So........here are some recent pics:

American Girl Fashion Show 2007

Jill and I went to the American Girl Fashion Show this afternoon in Ft. Worth. All of the dolls were represented by girls from Ft. Worth---they (amazingly!) each looked like the actual AG doll. The Girl of the Year for 2007 is Julie, a girl who grew up in the 70s---the girl that represented her was great! Jill and I were both in shock at how the models of the characters of AG resembled each other so much! I know it was planned like that and all......but still........it was neat to see. The show was held in the Masonic Center in downtown Ft. Worth and the proceeds went to something historical. How is that for paying attention?!

We walked in at around 12:30---the show started at 1:00---which really meant about 1:15. Let me start off by saying that I was WAY underdressed. 96% of the other moms had on fancy Sunday dresses---then there was me---capri jeans, green shirt, favorite Bjorn sandals. Jill looked cute...as you see above(the thing that looks like a dumpster is actually a marble block with a lantern on it)....she was dressed more appropriately than her mom on this one.
I knew that there was going to be an opportunity to purchase a souvenir tshirt, as well as one for the AG doll. What I did not know was that there would be books, mini dolls, puzzles, games, the AG pets, personalized stationery while you wait, raffle prizes, a hair fixing station, and a photo booth-------none of which were included in the $30 (each) ticket price. My sweet Budget Nazi said that she could get something.....that she could have our Date Night budget because we have no free Saturdays this month in which to have a Date Night.......so she got Licorice (the AG cat), a scrapbooking kit for her doll, a shirt, and the matching outfit for her doll. Her doll also went to the beauty salon and got french braids and fancy ponytail holders. WOW---we were busy---
but the show was great and they gave AG catalogs to all attendees. Jill is going to circle what she wants Santa to bring her. Last year she just mailed him the whole catalog! In case you were wondering, the Grand Opening of the newest AG store and Bistro will be November 3/4 in the Dallas Galleria. Hope to see you there!
After this, we went to the mall. We had to find Jill something pink to wear with her new AG shirt! Jill and I got to do girly stuff today-----even if its only for one day! Maybe AG will make her want to be more girly.

Lunch with the middle schoolers.........

Imagine for a moment this picture: Tuesday.......lunchtime.......Hubbard, TX (a small 2A).........cafeteria..........filled with middle schoolers.........LOTS of noise..........children throwing Cheetohs at each other.........cafeteria "monitor" telling them to stop (yeah right)........OH MY!
That is where I am trying to work today.


I am in Hubbard giving people quotes and finishing up some paperwork here at the school! I am in the cafeteria that is full of windows so that my Verizon Wireless card will hopefully work better out here in the country!

Hope you are having a great Tuesday. Sorry I am missing Taco Tuesday at Rosa's with the "regulars". : (

CHILLAX

In returning home from somewhere (isn't it bad when you lose your memory so young?), Thomas was telling Jonathan to just "chillax". Jonathan and I were both in the front of the suburban and we just looked at each other---like---what did he say? We asked him what that meant and he said "Chill Out" and "Relax" all together---his own new word..........

Premiere Week.........

First of all, let me start by saying I TiVo almost everything I watch these days......I just dont have the patience to sit through all of the commercials!! Also, some of the shows I really dont want the kids to watch......so I record it and watch while they are snoozing!

The Bachelor.........this is a funny show to me..........its so high school, but I love it. The Bachelor this time is from Austin, so I feel like I need to support the fellow Lone Star State person!
LOL! It is on tonight.......Monday..........so tune in.........

Boston Legal.........I think Jonathan likes this show more than I do. It used to be funny......now I think its just kinda stupid. I dont know if I will continue to watch this one faithfully.

Dirty Sexy Money.........whats with the title of that one? We watched this one Sat night. I think it will be a good one. Lots of characters to remember though.

Greys Anatomy.......I was not impressed with the season opener. Maybe it will get better. I like the girl who plays Meredith's sister. As far as Izzie is concerned..........saving a deer in the back of a truck? Lorie would be so proud of her..........

Private Practice........the spinoff from Grey's........it was OK. Nothing to get really excited about.
I think that Kate Walsh will wish she was back on Grey's...........

Desperate Housewives........it was OK last night.........I really listened to it and worked at the same time.

**I record The Young and The Restless everyday and have for a LONG time! It takes me about an hour and a half to watch the 5 hours I have saved------most of it is fast forwarded through!
I love the show........Jonathan will come in and start asking me questions about the characters though...which is kinda funny. Do I ask him football questions? I think not. I would not know where to begin. I know Brian Urlacher because I used to babysit him and I know Colt McCoy because Cathe used to babysit him. We have had such influence on these football players! ha

As far as our week last week: Jill missed 2 days of school but is now fine---thanks to some pink medicine; the boys finally got hair cuts (they had football pics on Sat); the boys won their football game this time, but I do not remember the score even though I was in charge of the scoreboard; I camped out most of the week in Grandview at their schools and wrote some business thank goodness; Jonathan had his last drawing class and got an award for being a good student (he was also the only student!), but his drawings are pretty good. We had practice and church.........some shopping on Sat (and Sunday with Amber! sorry Lorie--you were out of town!). I need to mention Thomas here, too----the boy got a 100 on his sight word test---a great accomplishment for us all---after studying like crazy all week and even reviewing Fri morning before school.

Hope you all have a great week!!

No cute title.........our week this week!

This week............
Yesterday was the boys' first flag football game. They looked so cute in their jerseys---Thomas is #7; Grant is #1. I guess that is one benefit of being the coach's kids.....you get the # you want!
Their team is called the Cougars........they played the Horned Frogs and lost by one touchdown. Talk about disappointment! The funniest thing was when I walked into the office last night to see my sweet husband, the coach, drawing out PLAYS for these kids like they were on varsity.
It cracks me up. J said, "I dont care if it is flag football.......I still dont like to lose". So the Cougars have a new offense to run this week---we will practice it on Tues and Thurs to see how it goes. : ) Oh yeah........I would be the mom/coach's wife that did not even think about bringing snacks/goody bags for the boys after the game like we did for baseball. It did not even cross my mind. One of the moms asked me about it at the game......thank goodness she volunteered to bring the essentials next Sat.

Friday night we went to Texas Stadium to watch Abilene High play Tyler Lee. Abilene High won.......so J was happy.......he used the be the QB there and apparently was pretty good. (Ask him about his box of medals---ha! ) One of his friends from Abilene, that now teaches there, and his wife met us there to watch the game. Then they came back to the big city of West to spend the night with us and to watch the flag football game the next am at 8:15. You can imagine how tired we are were after being in Dallas the night before. We did show them the town after the game and took them to the Ole Czech Bakery for a kolache. Such culture in this town. Its not Snowhite Bakery, but it will do for now.

Other than that we had a pretty normal week. Practice, church, practice, church. I camped out in Covington this week and made a few trips to Hubbard and Killeen for work. This next week I will be camped out in Grandview---wish me luck----and patience with this new job. I would much rather be doing something fun..........like a Bare Minerals store or something. Maybe when I win the lottery that will be my fun job.

total frustration

Today, I am feeling totally frustrated with my job. I like it for the most part.....flexile schedule, still work with school districts, bonus incentives, etc. The frustrating part is getting people to follow through with what they say. I have a stack of cards on my desk where teachers have indicated that they are interested in one product we offer or another, so I call them to set up appts, then they say they dont want to mess with it. I am trying not to take it personally. really......OR......today, for example, I get an email from a teacher saying thank you for explaining 403b and how it works.....but my husband had already made an appt with so and so about it. just venting a little today..........pray for my husband that gets to hear me complain about it....I guess this job is harder than I thought it was going to be.

New things this week............

This week held some new fun things that we have never done before!

On Tuesday, 9/11, I had the opportunity to take part in a Freedom Walk in Hubbard, TX. (about 20 miles away) The schools there wanted to commemorate 9/11 and decided to have shirts for all the students, staff, and some other VIPs made. Horace Mann donated money for the shirts (576 of them!), so I was invited to take part. What an amazing sight it was to see little preK kids holding hands with the seniors walking from the elementary school to the middle of town for the speaker. Some had flags to carry....some had bells.....
The speaker was a man from Hubbard that had fought in Desert Storm. He now lives in Hubbard and is a farmer. He was introduced by his four sons---that were in grades K-4. He could hardly speak after they introduced him.....I should have worn waterproof mascara! They were so proud of their Dad and he was proud of them. He spoke about freedom and the things that we would not be able to do if we lived in another country.
Two young men that have already decided to join the military were introduced, as well as a number of men who have served our country in various capacities. The K kids sang "My Country Tis of Thee". Do you get the picture? WOW........it was moving.

Flag football anyone? Thomas and Grant have started practicing on Tues and Thurs nights. They have practice this week and their first game on Saturday morning. It sure is fun to see their Daddy coaching them plus 8 other little guys after watching him coach Varsity kids for 10 years. We bought the boys' first pair of football cleats this weekend---Pops was with us and he was laughing at how many pairs of cleats we will be paying for over the years!

Jill spent the night with a friend on Friday, so all we had to take to the football game was the boys. They spent a good hour putting as many crickets into a water bottle as they could. It was the grossest thing. I thought our friend, Sheree, was going to GAG! While looking for crickets, Thomas found $15 in the grass. He is the luckiest boy! He is always finding money! His savings account just increased!!!!

Saturday morning after all of the cleat shopping, we went to the Parade of Homes in and around Waco. There were lots of builders, real estate agents, bank reps, etc. WE PAID OFF OUR SUBURBAN LAST WEEK : ) so now we can start saving $ to build a house that I love on our land. I found a couple that I really liked. Hopefully in a year we will have enough $ saved to start.
We had Kids Night Out on Saturday night---we take the kids to church from 5:30-9:30 and the parents get to have a date! Us and two other couples went to The Elite for dinner then went and saw 3:10 to Yuma. We also went by Starbucks on the way home. YUM.........
Sunday after lunch, my friends Lorie, Amber, and I, went back to the Parade of Homes. They thought that the one that was my favorite looked like me........I can't wait!!!!! I am not a patient person. I would go and borrow ALL of the money tomorrow, but my budget nazi, Dave Ramsey husband would not go for it.
Besides Wed night, Sunday morning and Sunday night church, I think that is all that happened!
Love to all............Leave a post...........even if you are a "lurker" (Amy!!!).........have a good week.

Week of Sept 2-9

I cannot seem to post randomly........maybe weekly updates are best for me at this point!

We survived Westfest......the kids had a great time riding all of the rides. Jill rode the zipper four or five times in a row! The ride worker kept asking her if she wanted off and, of course, she kept saying no! I lost count of how many times she rode.........thank goodness the worker finally made her get off because she was in there for about 30 minutes. Thomas and Grant weren't tall enough to ride the zipper, but they were tall enough to ride the Dragon Coaster, the Spook House, jump in the Bounce House and the tall slide. Thomas and Jill rode the ride they called the Hanglider. You lay down with a seatbelt on the you go up in the air and spin around. Grant, once again, was not tall enough and was pretty mad about it. He did not want to ride the "baby rides" like the motorcycles or little dragons that go round and round. Maybe next year!
The parade was great, too. Jill's teams float won first place---it had a batting cage on the back with the pitching machine and everything.

Since Monday was a holiday, I had time to get my nails done finally! We also had lunch on the patio at On The Border with Dad. I think I came home and took a nap after that. I love naps.

I drove all over Central Texas with appointments this week........but that is good for business! : )

Thomas has lost 2 teeth this week----one on the top and one on the bottom---both in the front and school pics are this week. He looks great and was trying to catch the Tooth Fairy last night by holding his tooth in his hand while trying to fall asleep. He told me this morning that he did not catch the fairy, but got a dollar for his savings account.

Speaking of savings accounts.....the kids all opened one this week of their own. We started them out with $25 each--once they contribute $25 we will add another $25--and so on. Their contributions come from the commissions that they do during the week. They get paid weekly based on what jobs they have done, then they decide what to give to church, save, or spend. Jonathan then takes them to the bank on Monday to make their deposits. We are hoping that they learn the importance of managing their money and saving for things that they want, as well as giving to church. J and I talked yesterday about maybe asking them if they want to earmark their giving money for a project that our church is helping sponsor in Cuba. One of our elders went to Cuba in the Spring to check out the efforts there and brought back a picture of the house, that they call the Castle, that they are hoping to use as a meeting place instead of using one of the families' garages. Jill saw the picture of the Castle and asked if it was a picture of a real place.
OH MY.......that really opened my eyes to the effort there........has she not seen enough dilapidated buildings to realize that there are people that actually live in those places and are happy with it? I told J that the next time our church wants to send members to Cuba, that we need to volunteer and take the kids. They dont realize how fortunate they are.

I went to a Bible Teacher's Workshop this weekend at Saturn Road Church of Christ in Garland with some other members of our church. We got some new ideas of things that we can do for our classes. One funny thing that I saw was a sign by the registration table with Brooklyn's name on it. Apparently she was "in trouble" for not returning pager #119. HA.....I called Cathe and she forgot it was in Brooklyn's bag.

Besides watching the Cowboys last night, I think that's all that has gone on besides all the normal stuff. J has a drawing class tonight......one of his new hobbies. My new hobby seems to be studying for the series 6/63 tests so that I can market securities. BORING!!

Have a good week.........love to all.........V

This crazy week...........

OK........I want to start off by saying I really am glad to have our school routine back. However, I don't feel like I get to "visit" with the kids as much! Jill and Thomas get off the bus around 4 and Grant gets home around 5.......then I am trying to help with homework, get dinner ready, eat dinner, have everyone bathe and set out their clothes for the next day, read bedtime stories, brush teeth and THATS IT! They are in bed and we do it all over again. We do get to visit for a little while when the kids get home and, of course, during dinner......but it just isn't the same as in the summer where we let the kids stay up late, sleep late, and then took them to Cooky's late. Jonathan and I both office out of our home, so on the days that Cooky came here, we could see the kids some at least! I guess I could quit my job and home school........but I dont think that is my calling (I am borrowing your phrase, Lorie!).
The kids started school on Monday. That morning my sweet husband reminded me that in 10 years, Jill will be at ACU. Where has the time gone? Jill also got her ears pierced the day before school started---she looks so cute. I am still shocked that she actually wanted to do it......she is starting to like SOME girly things again, and that has been fun for me!
Yesterday she got bit by something that made her arm swell up pretty bad. I took her to the Dr today and he said that it was a spider or a Mexican beetle. A WHAT??????? I know........I know........it sounds crazy. Personally, I think it was probably a spider or something. She now has an antibiotic to get rid of the fever from the bite, an excuse for PE (she was not thrilled about that one), and more Benadryl. He did say that she could still wash dishes, clean her room, participate in the Westfest parade on Sat morning (has to be there ready to go at 7:30!!), and go to Westfest. She was glad about that one.
Thomas is off to a good start in First Grade. He has not gotten in trouble and is doing his homework. The funny thing about Thomas is that he think he has to look "just so" every morning. He gets that from his mean ol' Daddy! He has also started spiking his hair in the front just a little.....it is cute. I know that Amy and Shelley would post cute pics here, but I just am not patient enough to wait while they attach.
West has a youth football program and Jonathan is going to sponsor a team and BE THE COACH. hilarious. He coached Varsity sports for 10 years and now has begun to be the little league coach. I never ever thought he would do it, but I think it has been good for him and for the boys. They can both be on his team because 4-7 yr olds are in the same league. Jill also wants to play.......I had to explain that it is for boys only. She can be a cheerleader for the team......they do have those.......Shelley, we will need lessons.......quick! : )
Grant has had a good week being back in the Cooky School routine. However, Ms. Cooky did fall on Tuesday morning during her normal 3 mile walk in the dark like at six am. She ended up fracturing one of her ankle bones and has to have an air cast for a while. She still thought that she would be able to keep up with G though......He even gave her some tips like "Take a flashlight and shine it right in front of you where you walk". Thanks, Grant.
On Wednesday morning of this week we went to a service for a baby (Peyton Brooke Huffhines) of some friends of ours that was stillborn. I have not been to a service for a child since our sweet niece Maddie died in 1999. HEARTBREAKING. I feel very blessed to have had 3 healthy pregnancies and 3 healthy babies.
Please pray for our friends, David and Misty Huffhines, and their other daughters Makenzie, Ashton, and Kyndall. They need it desperately.
One day this week J and I applied for passports. : ) He is on track to earn a cruise for his job. It will be next summer and will go to Western Europe. Everyone keep your fingers crossed.
Jonathan played in a softball game tonight in Waco and the kids and I went to cheer him on. I don't think I have EVER watched him play a sport.....when we met he wasnt playing football at ACU or Angelo State anymore......He did a good job........despite that fact that he was 10 yrs older than most of the other players!
Cooky and her husband are on their way to the coast tonight, so G and I are going to hang out tomorrow. I am looking forward to it. I still have to do some work tomorrow, but I am going to set myself a time limit!
All the kids and I are going to Westfest tomorrow night for armband night while J goes to the football game in Salado. He does not miss a game.....and he ordered College Game Day on the Dish.....can anyone say football widow??????? That's me.........and I thought that was all over when he stopped coaching! ha
Saturday we have the parade in the morning and a birthday party and Hannah marching in Waco that night. There will be another party on Sunday night after church........on Monday we hope to rest! Labor Day is great, isnt it? I guess those who are not off dont think so.......
Its 11 pm now........I am turning into a pumpkin......goodnight all!

AUGUST 24??????????

Where did August go? We have been BUSY! I have done 6 "Back to School" meetings at various schools in Region 12 plus one at Grandview today. I have seen lots of teachers these last 2 weeks and I can honestly say that I do not miss teaching at this point. I still have my little K-3 Bible Class on Sunday mornings.......that is enough for me!

Grant Alton Davis did turn 5 on August 8. Lets see......5 things I love about Grant..........his smile, his love for Thomas and Jill, his personality, how excited he gets when he wins a Playstation football game, and his white blond hair...........I will post some pics of his Dallas Cowboy party when I have more time to wait for the pics to attach. Y'all know it really drives me crazy waiting on it.

Did you notice my no braces pic? (It looks a little distorted once I put it on the blog......????? any helpful hints for that out there?) I found a photographer I love......www.brighammayfield.com......he is in Waco and his business is called Artistic Images by Brigham Mayfield. He did a family shoot for us at Tonkawa Falls in Crawford last week. The pics from that are amazing!

Is anyone visiting this year for Westfest? It is coming up......Jill's softball team is in the parade this year for winning state. She is SO excited.

We also found out who the kids' teachers will be....Jill got Mrs. Janek; Thomas got Mrs. Huse; and Grant will still have Ms. Cooky for one more year! (We opted for no K this year for him.......we don't want him going to ACU just barely turning 18 before his freshman year.) Thinking of ACU.......is anyone going to Homecoming? I think we are going this year.
I have not been to KJK breakfast in a few years........actually I do not think I have been since Grant was born! I'm a terrible Kojie! Jill did ask to see my drop the other day so we got it out.......Lets just hope that they all want to go there. Jonathan and I loved it!

School starts next week! WOW! Time flies.........wish I was on the beach.

A day at the beach is worth a month in town..........

The saying above is on a sign that I bought while we were in Galveston last week. I love the beach..........walking in the sand, the waves, the sound of the water, reading under an umbrella.........I miss it already.

We left last Monday and met Jonathan's brother Tim and his family in Cameron and drove the rest of the way following one another. All the girls in one suburban....boys in the other.........there were 5 of each so it worked out perfectly! Some of Tim and Jennifer's friends from church were also in Galveston and invited us (all 10 of us!) over for dinner. It was very sweet of them and the food was great. The kids were so excited to be there.....after dinner I took all the kids to the beach a little ways down from where we ate dinner. They still had their clothes on---no swimsuits underneath. I told them they could put their feet in----what was I thinking? Thomas, Jill, and Grant were soaked within 5 minutes!

I was mad at the time because they did not mind me, but now I am over it. They had been in the car all day waiting for the beach and then we take them to a stranger's house for dinner and expect them to wait some more?!! Of course they all said....."It was an accident. The waves came up on me!" or Grant's excuse was that he just fell in. WHATEVER!

So they had to sit on the porch of the Rasco's house until they dried off.....their ice cream and brownie were delivered to the back porch and they were to stay there until their clothes had dried. NO FUN for anyone...including me.

We got to the beach house we rented and it was great. I highly recommend it to any of you that need lots of room on vacation. You can look at the house on http://www.sandnsea.com/ it is called "waves" on Pirates Beach. It was the 6th house away from the beach---totally within walking distance for frequent bathroom trips, snacks, forgotten towels, sunscreen, another Diet Coke, etc.

We played on the beach......the kids built castles for the hermit crabs they found, a pond for the minnows they caught, they tried to bury each other in the sand, played with the dogs belonging to other beachgoers, looked for shells, boogie boarded, floated, and jet skiied. The jet skis were probably the most fun thing......if we dont remember that the suburban got stuck in the mud (TWICE) while trying to get the trailer out of the water (the wrecker was only called once {$180} and the fact that Luke crashed, Jonathan/Thomas wiped out while trying to run into the pelicans going 40 mph, and Jonathan/Grant wiped out (well really Jonathan fell off because Grant pushed the gas while Jonathan was trying to fix his hat while they were stopped). All were OK and I am glad that I only heard about, and did not witness, all of the above mentioned activities. Notice that none of the girls crashed or wiped out! We went fast, but were careful!!! All of us were sore the next day from having to hold on so tightly----it was worth it though!

We also spent a day at the Space Center in Houston. It was interesting---I was amazed at how big the Space Shuttles are---I guess when you watch it on TV you don't get the whole magnitude of it all. The kids enjoyed it, too.

Jonathan and the kids also went to the Flight Museum, the Submarine exhibit, and the Railroad Museum. I went to the Strand for a little shopping! I did find a fun store called the Funky Monkey....check it out at http://www.funkymonkeygalveston.com/ That is where I bought the wall hanging in the title and one that says "I Love You to the Moon and Back" to hang in the hall by the kids' bathroom. I love that book, too, and have read it to the kids often.

Tim, Jennifer, Jonathan and I played Cards and Marbles. Its a game that Jennifers parents got them started on and we always play it at their house and they brought it for all of us to play. Hannah and Luke played some, too. Grant wanted to challenge everyone to a game of Yahtzee or Connect Four. He is pretty good at both of them---loving that he beat Uncle Tim, Luke, and Hannah!

There were also 5 TVs in the house......it was great at nighttime.........no fighting over Hannah Montana or ESPN!!!!!

Hannah and Luke kept the kids one night and the adults went to see "Bourne Ultimatum". It was good.....

I guess it's back to reality now......I leave on Wednesday (Grants 5th bday) to go to a Horace Mann meeting in Lubbock.....at least I get to fly!

I will be back Friday night and Jennifer is having a garage sale on Sat in Temple, so I will probably take some stuff over for that!

Fever............fever...........fever........

Thursday night Thomas started a fever. Nothing major.....about 100 degrees. I gave him Tylenol and sent him to bed! Friday morning (the morning of my Series 63 test in Waco) he still has the fever. GREAT.
Our wonderful babysitter, Cooky, is not scared of feverish boys, throw up, or any of the other lovely things that could have happened to Thomas. He just had the fever..........all day...........as soon as the Tylenol/Motrin combo would wear off. Saturday morning.........still has the fever, but now it is 102.....so off to the minor emergency clinic we go! The doctor checks him out----no sore throat, no ear infection, no sinus problems---she started poking around on him and he almost jumped off the table when she was pressing on his stomach---where his appendix is! Keep in mind that we are leaving for Galveston on Monday morning for a week!
She sends us to Providence Hospital to the ER doctor---great---Jonathan is at home with Jill and Grant waiting for me to get back because he was playing in a golf tournament that afternoon on a team that he sponsored.
I called him and told them we were being sent to the ER and he is frantically trying to find a babysitter for the other two kids........he did and he showed up at the hospital and so did POPS! Before they had gotten there, the doctor came in and examined Thomas and decided that we needed to have blood and urine samples. Thomas was such a big boy about it all-------he ended up having to be poked three times! His vein tore on the first one; the second one worked except the blood was too clotted when they were going to test it; and the third time went fine except he was mad that they were having to do it again and was embarrassed that the nurses and doctor were seeing him in a gown....
He did not like having to walk across the hall in the gown to tee-tee in the cup because people would see him in the gown.....: )
After a few hours all the bloodwork and urinalysis came back and the doctor said he was FINE. He did not see any reason for the fever and decided that the possible pendicitis was probably just gas. He still had the fever all day yesterday and last night, but woke up this morning like nothing had ever happened. His arm looks terrible where the blood was drawn......but he is back to the same Sweet Babboo! Thank goodness.......
We are off to the BEACH tomorrow. : ) Jet skiing is in my future!

We have a STATE CHAMPION in the family!

Jill's team played for the Coach Pitch 8 and under State Championship in Clifton this past Friday night. (It just happened to be the same day I had to get a root canal at 7 am in Waco and pick up the kids at Cousin Camp in Abilene at noon. Jonathan had too much work to do, so my dad (THANK GOODNESS!) drove me to Abilene (I mostly slept) to get the kids and hurry to Clifton to be there by 4:30.

They had to play 3 games that night to win the whole thing. They played Salado first and beat them. Then they had to play the Bosqueville Diamond Darlins---twice----because it was double elimination. They beat them the first time 15-0, but the second game was much closer with a final score of 5-4. It was a great game with a great finish to a long season. We are so proud of Jill and her team! After the game in Clifton (about 30 minutes away) we went to Pizza House in West around 11:30 for the victory celebration!

Wedding pics

My cousin, Sarah, got married last weekend in Lubbock. Somehow I did not get a picture of all of the cousins, but did get one of me and my sisters. From left.......Cathe, Misty, Farrah, and me.

This is our latest family photo---with the addition of Jill's American Girl Doll, Emily. She loves that doll and takes her everywhere!!!!!!!

We did have a great time at the wedding. Sarah looked beautiful and we were glad that we could all be there. We had time that weekend for lots of swimming, shopping, and eating! The kids especially enjoyed going to Shogun's where they cook the food in front of you. The chef made a smoking train out of onions and soy sauce.......he told the kids that the soy sauce was Dr. Pepper. It was pretty funny........because they ate every bit of it!

On our way back home, we dropped off the kids at the 5th annual Cousin Camp in Abilene. They were gone all this past week. They had a great time and had lots to say about the Natural History Museum, going out to eat at Cypress Street Station in their Sunday clothes, the NICCL Museum, water balloon fights with Addie and Jeremy, saran wrapping and post-it noting Addie and Jeremy's cars at night, swimming at the Green's, going to the Abilene State Park, and riding in the van that Lady and Grandad rented! There were 11 cousins this year........

Tball has ended!!

Well......Thomas's tball career ended that Thursday night. They lost to the team that eventually won the district title. Thomas did a great job at first base and third base. He LOVES to tag people out. He also loves to slide into the bases......especially home base! He will move up to the next league in the Spring, but then Grant will be in tball! : )

The Agony of Defeat!

Well.....Thomas's team lost last night. The score was so bad I don't even remember exactly what it was.........we were just glad it was over! Our boys just could not get it together!!! We play again tonight at 6:30...if we win, we play again at 9:00. If we lose........we are out! Jill's team scrimmages tonight at 6:00 in West. We are supposed to be going to Lubbock today for my cousin, Sarah's wedding tomorrow night. It looks like we may make it to Abilene around midnight or so and spend the night at Lady and Granddad's, which is not all bad, because that means we can go to the bakery for breakfast and a few thumbprints for the road to Lubbock.

BUSY BUSY BUSY!

STILL PLAYING BALL..........

Thomas's team won last night! I think the score was 43-32. He caught a pop fly to get the last out and was SO EXCITED! If only I would have had my camera ready and could have captured the look on his face! His team plays again tonight at 8:00 against the other West team that made it to district. It should be interesting!!! Can't we just play in West instead of having to drive to Hubbard? NO..........that would be too simple.

Jill's team is still practicing for the State Playoffs. Yesterday a girl that graduated from West (that plays at Texas State) came to their practice and taught them how to SLIDE properly. They used a slip n slide! I sure am glad we have the AFLAC accident plan. They ended practice by pitching water balloons to the girls and letting them hit them with their bats. It looked fun.........Jill said it was----and she was totally wet when practice was over.

Shelley.......I think you may be the only person that reads this blog! Thanks for your post! Love ya, V

Workplace Benefits Solutions Tball Team
Thomas is second in from the left.
Jonathan is the coach you can barely see!

Thomas at bat....sorry I could not figure

out how to rotate the pic after attaching it!

Grant loves his POPS!

TBALL PLAYOFFS 2007

Thomas continues to crack me up........daily. Take last night for example: It is our first game of Tball playoffs in Hubbard, TX. It is the bottom of the 3rd inning (Dad...notice I did not say quarter here...haha) and Thomas, who is playing 3rd base, takes off running. He goes past the pitcher....past the first baseman...and into the dugout where he tells Jonathan he has to go to the bathroom...NOW...in the middle of the game. Jonathan asks the umpire...he laughs...and says to let him go!

Thomas takes off running again behind the dugout......through the fence....down the hill to the restroom while the other two teams are just standing there on the field. Of course there is a line to the restroom, so he walks behind the restrooms and just goes on the grass. He then starts running again.....back to the game and everyone started clapping! It was pretty funny. AND the best part is that they won the game 32-21.



They play again tonight at 9:00 PM. Yes......imagine little 4,5,and 6 year olds trying to play at 9:00 PM......dont even get me started.