Mustangs beat Magnolia and advance to regional finals!!!

Today's game was great - then again, anytime we win it is great! But how exciting to be 3 games away from a state championship. Wow. It's hard to believe. First baseball and now football. 2 trips deep into the playoffs within a 6-month period. We are exhausted, but in a good way. I say "we", but really Jamie is the one working 7 days a week. Elise and I are just along for the ride. Hopefully we can play for 3 more weeks, and then enjoy a much needed break for a few weeks before baseball gears up again.

We will face Beaumont Central next Saturday evening in the Woodlands for the Regional Finals.

Our Little Helpers

We had 2 very eager helpers while making our chocolate pies this year. They are always ready and willing to make a contribution to the family at any time. :)

We are so blessed

I can't believe it's Thanksgiving again already. It does not seem like that long ago that I was writing my last post about thankfulness. I guess time flies when you are having fun! I still remember Jamie and I making pies together in the kitchen last year - it really seems like it was just a few months ago.

This year I thought I would make a list of all the things I am thankful for again. I know - not very creative. But I think it's a good exercise to pause and think of all the ways in which you are blessed. Sometimes during the year we have a tendancy to focus on what we don't have, so I am glad Thanksgiving comes around once a year to bring the focus back to what we do have.

This year I am thankful for:

• Starbucks Christmas Blend coffee
• Jamie and Elise (of course!)
• Our bed - I know, that is odd, but I just love our bed. I get such restful sleep in it.
• The health of our family - Praise God for another year of good health!!! This is truly priceless.
• Our first full family vacation to Disney & our adult trip to Vegas this past summer
• Our jobs - With the economy in an incredibly fragile state, I am immensely thankful that Jamie and I both have reliable employment.
• Jamie's successes, which include a trip to the state tournament in baseball and a playoff run in football that continues as I type this post
• Our dogs, and the fact that they are finally outgrowing their chewing stage
• My new lemon cookie recipe
• Twilight - What a wonderful escape these books have been for me.
• Happy hour at Sonic
• Time spent with dad on my Fridays off
• Sunny 99.1 and around the clock Christmas music!
• The safety of our family and friends during Hurricane Ike, and the generosity of our neighbors during the clean-up efforts.
• Electricity! Boy, we learned during the hurricane just how much we take that for granted!
• S Factor hair products
• Fuzzy Crocs - These things make the best house slippers on earth!
• Cool Whip
• Pinot Grigio
• And most of all - Jamie & Elise. I know I already said that, but it's worth mentioning twice :)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

Friendswood 40, Westbury 12

With an exciting win yesterday, the Mustangs advance to the Area Finals! We will be playing Magnolia next Saturday at 1:00 at Aldine. Ironically, one of my friends called today to confirm that Jamie coaches at Friendswood - her brother-in-law is coaching at Magnolia! I was joking with her and told her that we would have to be enemies for the next week or so. :) As promised, here are pictures from the game:

Good luck to the Mustangs tomorrow!!!

I've been so wrapped up in other things (ummm...lusting over Edward Cullen), that I haven't given proper football updates in a while!

We had a great first round playoff win against Lamar Consolidated - the 2007 Texas 4A State Champions. It was a close game and very exciting. It was also Jamie's first ever football playoff win.

We will be playing Westbury in the area finals tomorrow afternoon. I forgot my camera last week (I am so mad at myself for that!), but I am going to be sure to remember it tomorrow. I should have pictures to share on Sunday.

The movie!!!

Jamie and I went to see Twilight today. Although I was excited to go see the movie, I was not expecting much. I didn't think there was any possible way it could ever live up to the book. I was very pleasantly surprised!!! I *loved* it!

The casting was phenomenal. The Cullens were all depicted nearly exactly as I pictured them. Bella's truck was perfect - the houses were perfect - the woods and the school - it was all designed with wonderful attention to the details in the book. I really loved that. I was super skeptical that anyone could do justice to Edward, but I think Rob pulled it off!

A few things were changed, and I will admit that the meadow scene from chapter 13 did disappoint me. Then again, I don't know if anything could have ever been good enough as far as that goes. It was my favorite chapter of all 4 books.

Jasper's character was a hoot, and they really portrayed a perfect Alice in my opinion.

Overall, I thought it was wonderful. I'd been hearing that people who didn't read the books would not like the movie, but Jamie (who has not read the books) went along with me and said he actually really did enjoy it. I already want to see it again, and I am planning to take my dad after the crowds die down a bit. Our theater was PACKED at 10:00 in the morning, and all other shows are sold out.

I'm already anxious to see the rest of the books brought to life on the big screen, so I know it's going to be a long wait for New Moon & Eclipse (and hopefully Breaking Dawn if they can arrange a deal to make the last movie).

And now the big question...what book should I read next? The Twiligt saga is a tough act to follow, so I don't even know where to start.

Happy Birthday, Dad!!!

We love you!

Grandma's Visit

I am over half way done with Breaking Dawn (the last book in the Twilight series), and all of a sudden I feel the need to stall finishing the book. After this one, I will have read the whole series. So, I thought it would be a good time to share some photos from my grandma's visit. It was great to see her. The last time I saw her, Elise was only 3 months old. She was amazed to see Elise now - of course she's seen pictures, but seeing someone in person is always much better. :)

Grandma is 91 years old and still as sharp as a tack! We took her out to eat one night, and down to the lake to feed the ducks. I hope she really enjoyed it - I know we enjoyed seeing her.

Football Playoffs

Okay, forcing myself to update!

We made the playoffs! So far our only loss this year has been to Angelton, and I believe we ended up being district co-champs. I need to check with Jamie to be sure, but I think that is correct.

We are playing Lamar Consolidated this evening in the bi-district playoff. This is a tough challenge, since LC is the current defending state champion. Jamie said they've had great practices all week, so hopefully we are up for the challenge! The whole family will be there tonight to cheer them on - in-laws included. :)

I will update on Grandma's visit once I get the pictures from mom. By the way, mom, I need the pictures!

Overdue Updates

There are so many overdue updates (both here and on my other blog)...football playoffs, visit with my Grandma, etc. However, until I finsh these books, it's just not happening! I am so in love with them - they get all my spare time for now. I am working on the 3rd book now, so hopefully I'll finish them all by the end of the weekend!

Twilight

If you have not read Twilight (by author Stephenie Meyer), get yourself immediately to the nearest bookstore and buy a copy. While you are there, you might as well go ahead and pick up the whole series (including books 2-4: New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn). I promise you will NOT be sorry you did.

I must warn you, though...once you have the Twilight series in your home, the laundry will not get done, the dishes will pile up in the sink, you will not sleep and everything around you will literally stop until you've finished reading.

I never thought it possible to fall in love with a fictional character. I often find myself wishing for Edward and Bella to be real and feeling a twinge of sadness when I realize they are not...

Election Day

I try not to get too political on my blog, so just a quickie. I can't fail to mention election day! I hope everyone got out to vote today. I voted early this morning while Jamie got Elise ready for school. I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't have to wait in a huge line. I was able to swing back by the house and pick up Elise to take her to school. Jamie voted during the day, since he happens to work at the school where voting was taking place. That was convenient! The senator I wanted didn't win. Blah. However, I got to vote for Ron Paul as my Congressional Rep, so that was pretty cool! I just love voting. It's such a precious privilege, and I know many brave Americans have put their lives on the line so that we have that privilege. So today regardless of who wins, I feel proud.

Ah ha!

I have finally figured out how I can actually get everything accomplished. I just need to add an extra hour to every single day!

Fall back

Tonight is daylight savings, so we are setting the clocks back before we go to sleep.

The good news: We gain an extra hour of sleep tonight!
The bad news: I will be driving home from work in the dark for the next few months.

We won again!

After trick-or-treating last night we headed to the football game to see the Mustangs beat the Brazosport Exporters. With our playoff spot now secure, it's nice to go into the last game of the season without much pressure.

Jamie at work

Trick-or-Treat!

We had a great time trick-or-treating last night! Our princess got a full bucket of candy - just when I had decluttered the pantry, it is now full of junk again!