What is a Post With No Pictures!??!

Sorry about the lack of pics here...my little SanDisk reader belonged to my last employer and I haven't gotten another one yet. Strangely....another reader-type thing arrived in the mail a few weeks ago (J swears he did not order it...?) and it is not the right type for my camera. UGGGGH! Since he did not order it, I dont have any idea where it came from. The mystery with that continues!

Since my last post, Jill has turned 10! OH MY!! She is growing up too fast for both J and I.
She is in 4th grade and is 5'3", wears my shoes, some of my clothes, and even steals (I mean borrows) my headbands!! She had a fun party....we picked up 6 of her BFFs and went to the movies and out to eat. We saw the Hotel For Dogs movie....the kids were so funny. They didn't even want to get up to go to the bathroom in fear of missing the movie! On my camera are some great pics of them at the party. We are so proud of Jill----too many reasons to list----Dad, you will be proud that she used $25 of her own money (her idea!) buy a new Bible. One that she picked out and that has her name embossed in GOLD on the front and is even indexed! We are so very thankful that she reads the Bible and is making her own choice to do so.........

We have started basketball on Saturday mornings. Jill's team is doing well, despite not practicing! They are having fun and are working together! Thomas's team is doing great, too!
Grant still wonders why Kindergarteners cannot play??!! Next year, G............I have some cute bball pics on my camera, too...........: )

All of the kids got straight A's on their report cards last week. Let me tell you how thankful I am for that, too. After teaching Special Ed for so long........I saw the strugglers. Saw their struggles and their parents' frustration. We've had those moments with our kids, but not near to the extent of some of the kids I've seen. Thank goodness Thomas has a cousin named Beau, or he never would have gotten the word beautiful right on his spelling test!!!!!! : ) well, maybe.......

Jonathan has lost like 15 pounds in 25 days! He is a calorie cruncher (thanks to the Iphone app) and is working out........even RUNNING! He is going to do the next 5K with me in March.
We've even talked about getting a treadmill! Maybe for Valentine's day......now thats romantic!

I start working out with a personal trainer this week......I told him I want arms like Jillian on the Biggest Loser! I may regret saying that......I may not be able to type when he is finished with me!

I started working with Jonathan full time on Jan 1. His business has grown to the point that we both really need to be doing it. Plus, he says, if something happens to him.....I need to know how to run the business to continue to receive the $........TRUE! So, we are back to working together.
We get along and have taught together before....so....no worries! He even bought me a ROCKIN computer with a lime green top. LOVE it.

I dont think anything really interesting is happening these days.........I am reading The Shack right now. Still not real sure about it. I am about half way through. J's brother read it and after God was portrayed as a woman.......he let it go! I will finish it I think.......its all just a little weird!

Hope you are all well........xoxo

So.....I am not really a Resolution Girl!

I really am not a resolution person. I'm just not! I don't think I have ever been. Is eating healthier a resolution or a lifestyle change? Probably it could be both. (Did those large McD french fries on New Year's Eve count? Nothing else sounded good!)

Jonathan is calorie counting, so I have to make better choices when meal planning and going grocery shopping for the week. I guess it filters down to all of us. I do need to drink more water....at least more water every day than Diet Coke. Some days its about 50/50!

The kids and Jonathan were talking about resolutions they wanted to make. Jill was a little concerned that the Wii Fit had her on the obese line. YIKES! Girls have such body issues anyway without the Wii making you cringe! Isn't it supposed to be FUN? It doesn't help that she is the tallest one in the 4th grade and has figured out that she weighs more than most of her friends. She is about a foot taller than most of them, but she doesn't take that into consideration.
My work is cut out for me on this one. I keep stressing the word "healthy" to her, not "weight"!
She will be T.E.N. next week. : (

These boys are actually playing together on Christmas. They both got some knights from Santa and were still being good when this pic was taken. Thomas's resolution was to hate the Longhorns more. Dont really know what the deal was with that other than him wanting to aggravate Jill, who LOVES the Longhorns. Once she found out that my oldest sister babysat Colt McCoy and that his Dad and Grandad coached her....that was it. She is their biggest fan.

Grant's resolution was to play with our dog and cat more. I keep reminding him of that and we are only at day 8 of the resolution!!! He may have to update his........we will see.

We got to see lots of family during the holiday.....Here we are in Lubbock with some of Dad's side of the family....

This is the girls at my sister Cathe's house.....My Aunt Ellen was also able to come over, visit, and have lunch with all of us! We had a good visit!

Here is my Dad (visiting from Nebraska) with Cathe, me, and all of our kids!!

We had a great Christmas and New Year's! Hope all of you did as well!

Abilene Christmas 2008

These are the snowmen the kids made out of cupcakes, icing, pretzels, coconut, Reese's cups and marshmallows. The picture in the cook book looked good..........these just had a hard time standing up. Maybe next year.....

Some of the cousins with Grandad, Uncle Joe, and Uncle Jimmy

Thomas lost a tooth on Christmas Eve!!

Grant and Jake were at table #1 with me and Grandad.

Getting ready for pickle presents

Grant and Clara are ready!

Me and Jenny

Grant and his new pjs

Jill and her new pjs

Thomas and his.....

Lady, Clara, and me

Grant and Clara getting ready to go downstairs and see if Santa brought anything.....

Grandad with the cousins

Grant with Tony Romo..

Jill with the Guiness Book for Wii....

Grant with the football that lights up if you throw a spiral....

Santa brought Kit for Jill..

Grant with his football cards...

Thomas with his Steelers helmet...

looks good....

On Christmas, you can have Reese's before breakfast!

Breakfast..

A little Cousin Football

Jonathan and his dad.....relaxing on the porch!

This Bionicle has almost 300 pieces!!! Jonathan put it together......and he was patient!

Hope you all had a good Christmas! We will head out this week to spend some time with my Dad's side of the family........Happy New Year to all as well!

Open House...try # 341

I think most of the pics are on here now......thats good......because I'd almost given up on getting the pics to load. My sweet husband did get me a new computer for Christmas (I opened it this morning!), so, hopefully I wont have all the problems anymore.

Speaking of sweet husbands........here he is.......with his favorite decoration. It came from Whataburger or somewhere like that. Eggnog is like a little stuffed thing. I think we have had it longer than we have had Jill!

Me with eggnog......J thought this pic was too funny! He took it.

The kids tree.....all of the ornaments they have made are on here, including Jill's angel tree topper she made in PreK. Some ornaments Jonathan made in 1977 are on here too. He must have had a good teacher that year!

These are hand blown glass ornaments that the kids made a few years ago in Temple. They are hanging from the chandelier in the entry way.

This one is my favorite.........these are ornaments that my Nanny made a long time ago. I always remember them being on her tree----so shiny and sequinish!! I tried to make one for J when we got married----I dont have the touch though---it was too heavy and kept falling off the hanger! Martha I am NOT!

These things are also in the dining room. The tall Santa is from Nanny and Grandad's house....the short Santa is from France (a reminder of our trip this past summer!), and the little glass tree is a replica of one that was in my Momba and Bob's house.

The kids advent calendars with the Christmas village......

Merry Christmas to all!!!!!!

This morning.....

Since we will be at J's parents house for Christmas, we decided to let the kids open their presents from us this morning. Here is Thomas with the laptop we got........Dad is already tired from staying up late "testing" one of the other presents........

this is the one he (really we) tested.......the Wii......here are Jill and Grant boxing!

Thomas checking out Yahoo games......

Grant trying out the boxing again!

Dad, Jill, and Thomas playing......

I got Jonathan a Wii fit. Sorry, no pics of him on the balance board yet. He did his Wii age...his was something like 32. Mine was 53 or something crazy like that. NOT FAIR. We will try that again and see if the reading is the same. The computer did say he was a master at yoga breathing!!! HA! He is going to begin teaching yoga in January. SERIOUSLY!

Open House.......TAKE 3!!!

***FRUSTRATION = ME TRYING TO UPLOAD THE CHRISTMAS DECO PICS TO BLOGGER FOR THE THIRD TIME AND THESE WERE THE ONLY ONES TO LOAD........I KNOW YALL FEEL MY PAIN!!! I WILL TRY THE OTHERS TOMORROW. (maybe)

these are just some of the decorations in the kitchen.....Christmas plates, the nativity cookie jar, and the snowflake bowls.........

this is above one of the kitchen windows.....it started out white, but J spray-painted it for me...white would not have shown up well on these walls!

the stocking were hung on the stairway with care.......or something like that!
Grants is the bear; Thomas's is the snowman; Jill's is the Santa

the tree........I did get a new topper this year. The other one, an angel Jill made in PreK, has graduated to the kid's tree. Hope to get a pic of it in the next round.

front door with the wreath my friend, Linda, made........

hope to have more for you later!

Thomas is 8!!!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU....HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU...HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR THOMAS.....HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!

This boy loves the Steelers.......he needed a new cap.......(the kids had just gotten up...we usually dont let him run around shirtless!)
a glow in the dark football........

a new scooter........that I let him ride in the house....until he ran into the Christmas tree!!

the football again.....

testing it out........

during his party that afternoon...the day that the Steelers played the Cowboys.....Thomas's wish came true that day......and yes, he was the ONLY one in a Steelers jersey that day.

make a wish.....(it came true when the Steelers won)

some of the boys and other guests that came.......

present time.........

more presents......

It was a good day!!