Thinking.....

My dear, dear husband has been working feverishly on his days off trying to get the cabinets done for our "fishing camp" that we have in Trinity, TX. So before he could actually get to the wood working portion of his project he had to get the measurements down to a tee. Here he is one night working, or should I say thinking hard?! I give him credit, he has done an absolutely tremendous job and I am very proud of him. I can't wait to post an updated picture of where he is now. Two thumbs up honey! I love you ~ XOXO.

Me and My Mom

I love my Mom so very much and it is rare that there is a photo taken of the two of us so I had to share this picture that Lyndsey took. It is not the most flattering but it is still special to me. I know Mom reads my blog so I will take the time to thank her for all that she has done for me throughout my life. Mom, you are a remarkable woman. You have taught me how accept life as it is, even when it may not be too kind, and to learn from each experience, even though I may not understand the lesson at that moment. I am the woman I am today because of your strength, understanding, compassion, and mostly your love. I love you ~ XOXO.

Happy 4th Birthday James!

Wow! I cannot believe that my little boy is already 4 years old. It stills seems like yesterday that we found out that we were pregnant. Where does the time go? Anyway, James turned 4 on December 26th and we celebrated with Mimi and Papa still here, along with Gpa Hale! We had cake and ice cream and, of course, lots of presents (like he needed anymore after Christmas)! But, I have vowed that even though his birthday is the day after Christmas I will still make sure he feels every bit as special as he is! So, this year is was an Incredible Hulk birthday with everything green (plates, napkins, balloons)...just take a look!

Christmas 2009

Ok, Ok, Ok....it has been almost two months since Christmas and I am just now posting my pics. Sad I know, but I just haven't taken the time to get my blog updated. But, during the Super Bowl half-time I thought would be the perfect time since James is watching one of his shows, Lyndsey is in her room doing only God knows what, and Byron is off flying the friendly skies. So, here I sit updating the blog....I hope you guys enjoy our new photos.

This Christmas was little different since Kurt was unable to join in the festivities, which he was dearly missed. But, Mom and Dad were here and we loved having them as always. The kids managed to hold their excitement until about 6:30 but all bets were off after that. It was a wonderful morning with lots of laughs and surprises.



This years Lyndsey has really gotten into giraffes, so giraffe print was the main theme behind her Christmas gifts. In this photo is a giraffe head wall hanging, or mask as Lyndsey is using it, that Lyndsey received from Santa. She also got several giraffe figures, a light switch plate (thank you Uncle Craig and Aunt Dora), a giraffe print purse that she was told she would under no circumstances be getting becuase I couldn't find one, and a giraffe print pillow made personally by me with lots of love!



James, on the other hand, is SO easy to buy for.....any thing that shots, drives, or makes lots of noise. In other words, anything that is ALL BOY! Uncle Craig and Aunt Dora really pick a good one this year....for both Byron and James it seems. You can see what I mean in the pics!
I guess it is like the saying goes...."Like Father, Like Son." Or in this case, "Like Son, Like Father." I have to admit, it was super cute, and super funny to watch Byron try on James toy. I don't think I laughed that hard in quite some time!




Well, like I said, Mom and Dad were here to enjoy the festivities with us again this year so I got a quick snapshot of the two of them. Dad was barely awake but you take what you can get.




Last, but not least, I figured I would add one last photo of me....the woman behind the camera. Byron took this picture just to show that I really am at all these events. And, of course, I have my handy dandy sidekick helping me get everything just right!

Dallas in December

Our family is trying to make an annual trip to visit Lynn, Byron's dad, each December for a day to hang out and tour something new. This year we went to Fair Park and then went bowling.



We began our day EARLY by catching the 7:30 am Southwest flight out of Houston bound for Dallas, where we were to arrive by 8:30. Here are the kids on the van heading from the parking garage to the airport. Don't they look excited?



Once arriving in Dallas and Lynn picking the clan up at the airport, we stopped and had a wonderful breakfast at Mama's Daughter's Diner. All I can say is the service is beyond excellend and the food was delicious! Two thumbs up for this place and would reccomend it to anyone in the Dallas area! Anyway, once we finished stuffing ourselves full of the fabulous food, we headed back to Lynn's where he opened his Christmas presents early, as you can see by the picture!


Now it was time to work off our yummy breakfast. We all took off on foot from Lynn's place and headed to the bus stop so we could catch the 31 or 51 to the train station. Now, anyone who knows me, knows I am not a great public transportation rider, but...I was up for the adventure....for awhile! Once we reached the bus stop, several blocks later, we waited...and waited...and waited......until we finally called and it would be another 15 minutes or so until the next bus. I voted we walk back to Lynn's and get the car and just drive to the train station. And we did. So back we went and in the car we got and off we were...train station bound. Finally, we are on the train. Here are Byron and James enjoying the ride!

We now have arrived to Fair Park and it looks deserted!!! I'm thinking, "Oh no, now what. The kids are going to be so bored!" But, we took off on foot and looked around and Lynn found that the museums were open so it wasn't a loss...just not crowed, which was great! We took the time to go to the planetarium, which was not impressive at all, but the kids seemed to enjoy it enough to make it worth the time. We kinda just walked and looked and took a few snap shots here and there. Here is one of me and the kids with an elephant statue (I LOVE elephants).




After Fair Park, we rode the train back to the car and went and had a nice lunch at Cafe Express. From there we were off the bowl! Ok, now we haven't bowled in a bowling alley in YEARS! We usually only bowl on our Wii and we are Pros on that thing, so we are thinking we will kick some butt, right? Oh how wrong we were! It was hilarious! And the poor employees at the alley had to keep getting James' ball unstuck from the center of the lane because it just didn't have enough momentum to get to the pins. But, it was great fun. Here are a couple of pictures, one of the ONLY ball Lynn threw and one of James rolling the ball down the lane.













Once the bowling was done...and I won the game...we had to head back to Lynn's, gather our stuff, and head back to the airport to catch our 7:00 pm Southwest flight back to Houston. We got to the airport at 6:00 and managed to catch the 6:30 flight and arrive back to our house by 8:00! It was a wonderfully exhausting day and we all enjoyed to its fullest. We love Lynn and always enjoy the time we get to spend with him!

Lyndsey and Amanda

Here are Lyndsey and her BFF, Amanda, dressed and ready for the Jingle-Jam Dance that their school held this December. Both girls were eager to go and hangout with their friends and dance the night away...or at lease until Amanda's parents picked them up at 8:30!

James' Christmas Sing-Along

At James' pre-school they do a lot of singing. The classes did a "concert" for the church congregation one Sunday but James didn't do ANY singing. So.....when I actually caught him on video singing at his Christmas tea, I had to share it with you guys! Enjoy!