Goodbye Houston!!

Today we had a gathering of family and friends for a "goodbye"! What a GORGEOUS day!! It was awesome!! Big lake for the kids and men to fish, big pavilion for us to hang out and spend time with everyone!! An absolutely perfectly beautiful day!! Thank you to EVERYONE that came out to see us one last time before we leave!! Especially BIG THANK YOU to Wendy and Skip for feeding and cooking for us all!! You are both wonderful, we love you and we're gonna miss you tons!! Make plans to come visit us soon!!!

Here's some photos of the day!! :) (and that's the last time I use Justin's camera...don't know why they are posting sideways! :P) Gonna post some pics from my iPhone too!! :)

My crew!! XOXOXO

Loves his momma!



Catch that fish baby girl!

Silly boys!! :)

Christie, my love, I will miss you TONS!!! Can't wait till next year!!! XOXOXO

Handsome Ben!!


Handsome Ethan!

My Nephew, Baby Micha! So sweet!



Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!! You nasty!!

Best Buddies

You're supposed to be fishin' for FISH, not turtles!!

Flirtin' with my man! LOL



iPhone pics:

Chandler man bike ridin'

My beautiful sister, Brandie Renee!

Her beautiful daughter, my Micaela!

My other beautiful sis, Jenn!

And her gorgeous (clone) daughter, Liz-ard! XOXO

Wendy ROCKS!!

Love ya Christie girl!!!

Chandler being a boy!


xoxo

Yes! Yes! Yes!

He's home!!! He got home about noon on Sunday!! My photog buddy Christie took Homecoming photos, so as soon as I get them from her, I will post them for you!! It's been great having him back, and not having to be mommy and daddy alone anymore!! We leave for San Diego on Tuesday (2/12)...going up to Albuquerque to visit an old friend, then over to Flagstaff, AZ to play in the snow and see the Grand Canyon, then down thru Sedona and Phoenix and over to San Diego. So a fun road trip ahead! CAN'T WAIT!! I sure have missed that place!! Again, it will be really weird to be there without the Byrd and Dick families, but that's what vacations are for right??

You can see a few photos in the last few days on my 366 blog. :)

xoxo

Well....

I jinxed it. I SHOULD be at the airport right now picking up Justin...I SHOULD be standing there with the kids "patiently" waiting. But...he's stuck in Greece. Yes, there could be worse places, but he's NOT HERE! :( I got an email from him about 2 hours ago, saying that he was on his way to the airport and hopeful that they would be taking off. I am holding my breath. I don't even want to check my email for fear that he'll come back and say he hasn't left yet. So, say some prayers that they do get to take off, and that they have a SAFE flight to Norfolk.

This part sucks! If you could have only seen how heartbroken the girls were. :(



xoxo

Today....I ROCKED!!

I was the coolest mom EVER!! Ok, so it wasn't exactly the "REAL" thing...but they are still too young, in my opinion, for the real thing. But a 3D movie was pretty cool, and they loved it!! I really like this song in particular!

Seriously??

How is this child supposed to eat?? If she loses any more teeth, she'll have to drink her meals!! LOL By the way, she swallowed this one! Ew!

Hey Mr. President....

So how many people do you think get the chance to sit down and have breakfast with the President of the United States? Get to ask him anything you want. Talk about anything. Well, JUSTIN DID!!! Ok, so there are a lot of people that have given up on Mr. Bush, and everyone has their reasons, but I personally think that it would be the hardest job in the WORLD to do! Think about it...no matter what you do, you're never right, someone is ALWAYS criticizing you, taking bad about you, you're worthless, you're nothing, everything you say and do is under a microscope...don't sign me up for that one! He is, after all, a human being and a God fearing man, and that's enough for me. I was not put here to judge him. I have a lot of respect for all of the men who have been "fortunate" enough to be called the leader of the free world, and I pray for Mr. Bush every night.

With all that said...Justin got the privilege to sit NEXT to him at breakfast this morning! HOW COOL IS THAT???



It made it into the paper too!!

Houston Chronicle: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/world/5451545.html
The Navy Website: http://www.navy.mil/view_single.asp?id=54455

Cool!

I scream, you scream....

A field trip on Wednesday took me, the kids and Oma & Opa to the Blue Bell Creamery. Yum!!! We got to sneak in at the last minute to the tour of the factory and see how they make the ice cream (really cool!) No pictures allowed inside the creamery, so I didn't get to take cool ice cream shots that I wanted to for my "366" blog...oh well. We had fun and got a HUGE free sample of ice cream at the end of our tour!






Also, if you would please keep the Byrd family (Jeremy, Venus, Niki and Kevin) in your prayers. Jeremy is sadly losing his dad to bladder cancer. They don't expect him to make it much longer and I know it has to be especially hard on the kids, they love their pawpaw. CANCER SUCKS!!

Catch-Up Post!! (LONG!!)

It has been brought to my attention that I did not post one teeny thing about Justin being home or Christmas. Sooo....here ya go!! It was a FAST 9 days, but a NICE, much needed 9 days. The last 3 were spent packing out and getting prepared to move to San Diego, but it wasn't too bad! Chandler had a GREAT b-day and really got the hang of the ripping thru presents! (I have a list of all the thanks you's to send out for that, and I think it got packed...so, they might be kinda late! Like my CARDS!! haha Better late than NEVER!!) Christmas was a blast as usual and the kids made out (as usual). Oddly, I didn't know that a tradition we practice with our kids was one Ms. Angie does too...they receive 3 gifts of significance and then little stocking stuffers, and we aren't forced to have to bring them down from TOO far out of what Christmas really is about.

Ok, shut up Gina and show us the pics!! LOL Here ya go!! Starting with Justin being home.







Chandler's B-day (THANK YOU EVERYONE!! I PROMISE I AM GOING TO FIND THAT LIST!! LOL) He quickly became covered in blue icing...hence the no shirt pics!









Christmas!! At home, at Oma's, at Nana's, at Wendy's and at Grandma's (not in that order)....bandits!!

Seriously!! Chill!!

This is what she did the VERY NEXT DAY!!! 2nd one loose, 1st one FINALLY gone!! LOL

Growing up without a care!

Two months ago you couldn't even take one training wheel off her bike without her FREAKING out! And if you know Falyn...she's VERY good at that! But about 2 weeks ago one of the wheels broke off...so she was forced to learn to balance herself without it. Today, she said "mommy, watch! I can ride without hitting the wheel!" And she DID!! So, I told her I was going to take that one off and she could ride without them at all! She hesitated, but let me. Check her out!! She got on that bike like she'd never even used training wheels before! A few tips from Opa and she was on her way! All grown up! :(






Gotta take a fall occasionally right?! LOL



Chandler and Faith joined in the fun!

366 Challenge - HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

There will be 366 days this year! Yes, it's a Leap Year! I am taking on a challenge to take & post a photo every day this year! We'll see how that goes...I may not be perfect about it, but enjoy! Some will be artistic and some will be snapshots, but all will have something to do with me and my life this year!

Happy 2008!!!

You can follow me here: http://366of2008.blogspot.com

Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus

Editorial Page, New York Sun, 1897

We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:

I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, "If you see it in The Sun, it's so." Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus? Virginia O'Hanlon

----

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except what they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The external light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus?Thank God he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!
XOXOXOXO

Merry Christmas to MEEEEE!!!!

I have THE most wonderful husband in the world! So, I have been wanting a Yorkie, since probably when we first were married almost 9 years ago. Well, being the awesome person that he is, he has been secretly collaborating with a breeder (while he is in the Middle East, no less) about a litter she had. Well, being half way around the world proved to be a little difficult for him, and I am pretty good about picking up on clues.... I "accidentally" figured out what he was getting me this year, and I got to go pick him up today!!! Talk about surprised!!! LOOK AT THIS ADORABLE BABY BOY!!!



Isn't he ADORABLE??? He's so snuggly right now too. Very sweet. Insert problem....I had always pictured us getting a girl and had a really good name picked out. NEVER thought about a BOY name!! So, I am asking my wonderful friends and family to help me (and my children) decide on a name for this little guy. Here are are the few that we have come up with! Please choose the one you think fits this little face!!

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE THAT VOTED!! ROMO IS HIS NAME!!

Where's the "pause" on this kid?

He's growing up at warp speed and it's awesome and SO sad at the same time. Less than 2 months ago, he couldn't even reach the pedals on the tricycle....and now, look at him, figuring it out!! Such a big boy!!

Smile

If this doesn't make you smile.....you're a ROCK!!



Isn't he just the CUTEST little man in the WHOLE WORLD??? :)