Our Christmas Adventure!

You know in how you always dream about what Christmas eve and Christmas will be like. Well...... we left on Christmas eve about 3pm to go to Meme and Pepper's in Decatur. We made it through Abilene and about 5 miles outside of Abilene, traffic was at a stand still. It was backed up all the way on I-20 to Ft Worth because of the snow (Blizzard)! What? We tried to go north through Albany and 1 mile outside of Abilene the ice and snow was so packed on the roads we were sliding everywhere. At this point, I was already having a melt down because we wouldn't be with my family. We turned around and headed back to San Angelo. We got back on the loop in Abilene and started to hit icy patches again (5:45pm)!

John decided it was to dangerous to travel at all. We found a hotel and had Christmas eve dinner at Olive Garden. We had the most yummy continental breakfast at the hotel! We got to open presents at the hotel (weird) and had some fun playing with Ethan's new toys!

The news was still saying that some of I-20 was closed or slow moving. We had also found out that morning that some 200 vehicles got stranded and had to sleep in there car (15 degrees) that night. They had to open shelters, bring in helicopters for food and water! Man was I glad we had a warm bed to sleep in. The snow and ice had started to melt by lunch and we went through Stephenville to try to get to Meme and Pepper's.

We finally made it to Decatur at 5pm. We were tired, but so happy to spend some time with our family. Ethan got to open presents again that night, which he thought was so cool! We had got him a Kawasaki kids 4 wheeler! He loves it.

John and I realized that no matter how bad you want to get somewhere your family's safety always comes first. I am so glad we made the decisions that we did. I prayed the whole time that God would help us make the right decisions, even though that might mean not getting to do what we wanted. He was faithful to us! This Christmas was one we will never forget. I hope your Christmas was exciting too, but without all the drama!

Cinnamon Rolls

I got a new cookbook a couple of weeks ago and have tried some recipes out. It is "The Pioneer Woman Cooks". It is a great cook book for special recipes. They are full fat and not something you would cook everyday. I have found the best recipe for homemade cinnamon rolls. They are Yummy! It makes a bunch so perfect to give as a gift! Here is the link for the recipe! Enjoy, but don't blame me for any extra pounds after eating!

Gingerbread House & Santa

John, Ethan and I got a Gingerbread house kit at Target and put it together last night. It turned out pretty cute. Ethan loved putting all the candy on it! It was a great family activity.

Santa was at John's work today so we stopped by to see him. I thought Ethan would be shy or scared. He walked right up to him and sat in his lap. Santa asked him what he wanted and his response was " a clock." What? Then he said "earrings". I have no idea why he said that? It was cute. They also had some beautiful white fluffy (therapy) dogs that he loved. I got a good picture of him with them.

Oh! It's Christmas time

I guess today it finally dawned on me that it will be Christmas in a few weeks. I had not bought anything for Ethan and just a couple of things for John. I usually have everything planned out by now. I decided to make some Rocky Road fudge (YUM) and some Chex mix today to get started on some Christmas baking. So hopefully soon I will have some creative pictures of Ethan and I making some candy.

Ethan has been sick about a week. I am not sure how that really happens when it seems as though we really have not been anywhere in about 2 weeks (because it has been so cold). He started coughing last Friday, but seemed fine. Sunday night he started running a fever and Monday afternoon got to 102.3. I didn't mess around this time since last time he did that we had a ear infection. I saw Dr Sawyer Monday afternoon- just a virus. No ear infection. So we again have been at home, snuggling, reading, snuggling, and playing some. He is feeling better now! I hope that we all are healthy for Christmas!

Snow Day!

We woke up this morning to snow! Ethan was in shock! He was ready to go outside pj's and all to play!

We had breakfast and got all bundled up. I got some great pictures. He decided to taste the snow and loved it.

I tried to make a snowman, but the snow wouldn't stick together and my fingers were numb!

Christmas Decorating!

We started decorating for Christmas the Sunday after Thanksgiving. I begged John to put up christmas lights on the house. He got them up on Sunday while the cold front was blowing in. He didn't whine at all! I don't have a picture of them, but they are beautiful. I love decorating the house for Christmas, it just gets you in the mood!

We always got a Precious Moment ornament from my great uncle. I have quite a collection now. I bought Ethan one for his 1st christmas. We found this one today and I couldn't pass it up. It helped that I also had a $5 off coupon for the Hallmark store!

This is our manger scene. I was one that mom got Ethan on his 1st christmas. It comes along with a story and very durable characters so they can play with it. Ethan decided there weren't enough animals so he added some of his own. It was the perfect touch!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving! I picked up Little Meme (my grandmother) in Garden City on Wednesday. Big Meme (my mom) and Pepper (my dad) got in late Wednesday night. Ethan was so excited to have all the extra attention. Amanda and Coley had obligations at church and weren't able to come. Tanner and Jessica stayed in Colorado.

We had mexican food on Thursday because John had to work all day, so we celebrated Thanksgiving on Friday.

Ethan, Little Meme, and Big Meme cooking! Wonder who's doing the taste testing?

Tiff, Jon and the kids came on Friday to eat with us. We stuck the kids outside after lunch! Looks like they are having a blast!

Tammy, Will and their kids also joined us. John got some sweet pictures of the twin girls!

It was sad not having our whole family together, but I realized that god wants us to bless others by opening our home so that his love is made known!

Tuck me in!

We had a full weekend. I had a busy 12 hour shift on Saturday. Ethan and I were just laying in my bed and I was dozing off( it was just 9pm). He said "Momma, can I tuck you in?" I agreed and he proceeded to pull the covers up to my chin. I said " Are you going to pray for me?" He started, " Thank you Jesus for the rain and thank you Jesus, Amen." He got down and said " I love you mom, goodnight." Such a precious moment I will always have "tucked away" in my memory.

Meme's Birthday

Ethan and I drove to Amanda's this last week. Mom met us there. We got together to celebrate Meme's (my mom's) birthday. We had so much fun! We had a babysitter for wednesday so we got to shop and have lunch at Craigo's Pizza. We enjoyed the time to just talk.

I couldn't resist getting a picture of these two. Ethan just thought is was the coolest thing to be able to climb into bed with Landri!

Carmel Apples!

I had a whole bunch of apples at home that we needed to eat, so we made some carmel apples. I knew Tiffany, Jon, Thyme, and Cole would be coming over and we could share our sugary creation. Ethan just licked the carmel and sprinkles up while John did all the work.

YUM! They were great!

Tiffany and Thyme were cats! Cole was a ninja! Jon was... well you guess! Ethan couldn't quit staring at him. I couldn't get him to look at the camera.

FUN!

After a couple weeks of being sick and 2 trips to the doctor, I am finally feeling better. I was ready to have some fun! I found the cutest fall craft in the Family Fun Magazine and we had a blast playing with the paint. I colored a tree with brown marker, then I made a template so Ethan could paint the leaves with a sponge to make a tree!

This was our final product below. Turned out great we made aunt Tiffany one to put up in her room.

We finally got to go pick out some pumpkins! I didn't take the camera with me because I sometimes get so caught up in taking pictures that I miss just being with my family. But, I couldn't resist not taking pictures of Ethan's first pumpkin carving. He wasn't in to sticking his fingers in the pumpkin. It was so slimy!

I finally got him a big spoon and he went to town, while John started carving!

If you can't tell we carved a cross in our pumpkin. It just reminds me to shine the light of jesus on all holidays. We had such a great time, I even made some sweet and spicy pumpkin seeds. They were YUMMY!

More than Allergies!

Ethan had 103.5 fever saturday night and still running fever this morning. We went to see Dr. Sawyer this morning. His eyes had been watering and matting up. The Diagnosis.... ear infection, cold with an eye infection. Flu Screen negative (YES) So after antibiotics for both eyes and ears we hope to be getting on the road to recovery soon. Maybe I will have a healthy & happy picture to post of us next time.

Allergies- Achoooo!

Well we have been battling with allergies this week. At least Ethan and I have. John feels fine. I finally had enough (after dealing with it off and on for about 3 weeks) I called the Dr and got right in. She gave me a steriod shot (which my mom swore would help) and recommended some allergie meds. I started Zyrtec and continued my Nasonex. 2 days later still feeling the same as I did when I walked into the office. I am now slowly starting to be able to walk around without having a Puffs (with lotion) kleenex box at my side.

Ethan has felt about the same or not worse than me. I then discovered he started running a fever at noon today. Never the less.. we were suppose to be at John's sister's wedding at 4pm, instead chillin' at home on the couch. So..... we do hope that we get to feeling better soon.

A Letter

I had the opportunity to attend a "Women of Faith" in August. They talked a lot about World Vision and child sponsoring. I decided to sponsor a child! That weekend I picked out "Faith"! She is from Uganda. I felt like this would be a great opportunity for our family to have someone to pray for each night. I also thought it would be good for Ethan to learn more about the different kind of children that God designs! We have already had so much fun. We have a picture of her on the fridge and we pray for her daily. I sent her a note and a picture of us about a month ago.

Today I received a note from her. It blessed my soul! The most exciting thing that she wrote was "I am a christian and a sunday school member of my local church. We are taught that Jesus loves children like me and that's why he died for our sins." WOW....

I want to encourage you to take part in World Vision if you are looking for another opportunity to give back to the Lord. Here is there website

http://www.worldvision.org

Jesus said, "... whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me." Matthew 18:5

* FALL *

We have been so excited that fall is here. We have been enjoying the cooler temperatures. Ethan helped me put out all of our fall decor last week. We hope to go pick out some pumpkins soon to help decorate the front yard. I love to have the opportunity to share all the fun things about fall with my family. I hope fall brings some new adventures for your family too!!

Rainbow

We got to witness a double rainbow the other night. I took a picture but one of them didn't show up. I was so excited to tell Ethan about Noah and god's promises to us! He loved it. John got a picture of us sitting outside and enjoying the rain!

Time at the Park

We had a couple of busy days (or nights actually)! I worked late on Wednesday (till 12am), John worked till 1am Thursday and Friday night. Ethan had a tooth coming in and a couple of sores in his mouth so he was up multiple times crying Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night! We were ready for some rest and family time.

John, Ethan, and I had time together on Labor Day. We decided to go to Kids Kingdom and walk around the river. Ethan is always more interested in the nature type stuff. Wonder were he got that from?? We fed the ducks some old tortillas I had. They weren't all that thrilled, but ate them anyway. We saw a fat little Nutria in the water right after we got there. We fed him and he kinda followed us around the rest of the time. Ethan loved watching him!

I love my family!!

Potty Training- Seriously???

I am praying about when to start Potty Training Ethan. I say PRAY, because I have heard it can be stressful!! He is 2 years 5 months. I have bought him some big boy under ware. I decided to tell him that these are what big boys wear, during the conversation he decided they would work better on his head. We both laughed really hard! More to come about our new adventures in potty training........

Little Meme

We finally had an opportunity to go visit my grandmother (aka Little Meme) this last week. Amanda came to San Angelo to pick me up and we all headed to New Mexico. Mom was able to get away and meet us to. We hung out most of the time at home and let the kids play outside. The time change always messes the kids up. They decided to RISE and SHINE each morning about 6 am (7am Texas time). We had lots of laughs & always enjoy time we have together.

Our Anniversary

John and I celebrated our 6th anniversary this last weekend. We decided last minute to go to a bed & breakfast in Fredericksburg. We had a gift certificate that John had got from work so that helped pay for our room. Amanda & Coley always want an excuses to keep Ethan, so this was a perfect one.

John and I spent Saturday morning at Enchanted Rock. We climbed all the way up and over. Then we went through the cave. This is the 3rd time we have gone together, and it's always a blast. We had a picnic lunch and headed back into town before it got to hot.

We got up Sunday and headed to San Antonio. We got to have lunch at P.F. Chang's (my favorite) and see Transformers 2 in the IMAX theatre. We met Coley, Amanda and the girls to pick up Ethan. He loves being with them and really wasn't that excited to see us. We had such a great time together without worrying about nap time, sippy cups, and diapers. I recommend this for every married couple at least once a year!

Our Beach Vacation

We got to spend some time at the beach in Rockport, TX over the 4th of July week. We met my parents and Amanda, Coley, Paige, and Landri there. We rented these great cabana's at The Drifters Resort. This is us having a great picnic and we had just made smores! YUM!

We spent one day in Corpus Christi and visited the Texas State Aquarium. I got some great pictures of the Sea Turtle. John, Mom, Dad and Coley visited the USS Lexington that afternoon and really enjoyed seeing the carrier.

We spent most of our time at the beach. We would pack a picnic lunch and swim at the beach in Rockport. These pictures are at Port Aransas. We would go in the evening right at dusk and walk the beach. The kids loved picking up sea shells. This is were I was able to get some great pictures of Ethan. He loved the beach. He would wake up in the mornings and the first thing he would talk about was going to the beach.

I cherish all the time that I have with our family. We made plenty of memories and can't wait to take Ethan again.

Happy 4th of July

I had the opportunity to go and get a pedicure today. It something I had been looking forward to. I was so please with the results I had to show you my toes! Hope your holiday weekend is fun and relaxing.

Girl's Weekend

Mom, Jessica, Amanda and I all met up in Fredericksburg to celebrate our 29th birthday.  We stayed at a cozy bed & breakfast.  We had birthday cake and stayed up late watching movies on Friday.  I had planned on sleeping in but woke up at 6:45am and then forced myself to rest at least till 8am.  I am not sure why it is when you have the opportunity to sleep in your body won't let you.

We shopped almost all day on Saturday and got to each lunch at The Peach Tree, YUM! Sunday we got up, had a devotion and prayed together.  Our time was so precious together. It was so nice to have a little break.