It Feels Like Today

Yet again I am behind!

2010-02-13T09:56:00.006-06:00

So let me attempt to get caught up once more! This time of year is usually not particularly interesting. We're just back in the groove of daily life after the holidays.

Baseball has kicked off! It's Jamie's first year as a head coach, so he's really busy making sure everything goes smoothly, attempting to make some improvements to the field, etc. He had a fundraiser scheduled for this weekend which unfortunately had to be cancelled due to weather. Hopefully he can reschedule for next Saturday. I'm ready to see the team play soon!
We visited Wes and Darlene last weekend, because they bought Elise some new earrings. They are so good to us! Not only did they have earrings for her, but also a new jewelry box, a fun hat, and a few scarves. My pictures turned out poorly but here are a few anyway:

Elise had her Valentine's Day party at school yesterday. I'm so glad to have been able to attend all her class parties this year, but equally glad this was the last one! 23 Kindergartners pumped full of sugar and all crammed into a small classroom with their parents is not always the adults' idea of fun. But the kids had a great time.

Back to normal

2010-01-09T18:37:00.004-06:00

Every year around this time, I look around my house after all the Christmas decorations have been stowed away in the attic, and I let out a huge sigh of relief. The holiday season (which, in my opinion, begins with Halloween and carries through all the way until the New Year) is fun and busy - but it's always nice to just be back to normal!

This year I'm even more satisfied, because Jamie and I did a massive decluttering project over the first weekend of 2010. We hauled something like 30 large trash bags of donations out of our house. We did a full cleaning/reorganization of our storage closets, bedroom closet, playroom, Elise's room, spare bedroom, and master bathroom! It did not make for a fun weekend, but it feels great to have it done. I feel like we are starting 2010 on the right track!

In other exciting news, Elise got her ears pierced last weekend! She started begging a while ago, but I had serious doubts as to whether or not she would actually go through with it. I explained the process to her and warned her it might hurt for a few minutes, and she still persisted that she wanted earrings. I agreed to let her give it a try, but I suspected strongly that we would leave without pierced ears. I thought as soon as they sat her in the chair, she would start crying and change her mind. She proved me wrong - very wrong! Not only did she march right up to the chair and sit right down, but she did not shed a single tear! I was really proud of her. She is thrilled with her new look, and now instead of bugging me to get her ears pierced, she is bugging me to get her some new earrings. I told her she cannot change them until Valentine's Day, so I'm planning to surprise her with some heart studs as her Valentine's Day gift from Jamie and I.

Christmas was really nice, and I took tons of pictures, of course. I just haven't managed to get them posted. With so many to choose from, it just feels like a task that is too daunting at the moment.

Grandmother is leaving to go back home next weekend. We will all miss her - I wish she would stay longer. But I know she is anxious to get back home, see her dogs, and be in her own space again. We just got so used to her being here...it is going to be strange when she's gone. Elise is going to really miss seeing her everyday after school. :( Now that she will be back home, I suspect I'll be blogging a bit more regularly so she can keep up with us from afar.

Another week of elf mischief!

2009-12-20T09:51:00.009-06:00

Okay, here's the rundown from last week!

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

The Festival of Lights

2009-12-20T09:37:00.009-06:00

We finally made it to Moody Gardens for the annual Festival of Lights display. We've been trying to get down there for 3 weeks now! It was great fun - better than I expected. :) The weather was perfect - cold, but not miserable and no rain! I loved all the music, and of course Elise was impressed by all the lights.

Elise took this one - not bad, just a bit blurry. :)

Elise's Class Party

2009-12-20T09:31:00.005-06:00

Elise's class party was last Thursday, and she and Jamie are now officially on a 2 week break from school. I am so jealous. I was in charge of decorations for the party, and we had a fun time. After the party Elise and I went to see Princess and the Frog, which was super cute. It was nice to sneak in a special one-on-one afternoon with my girl. :)

Santa on the firetruck

2009-12-20T09:24:00.004-06:00

Every year in our town on the Saturday before Christmas, Santa comes down every single street in the firetruck and throws candy to all the kids...sirens blazing and all! As a kid, I looked forward to it so much, and now it's fun to watch Elise wave to Santa too. We started hearing the sirens close by around 9:30am, but it wasn't until around 2:30 that he came down our street. Talk about a long day of anticipation! Elise waited and waited, refusing to come inside. Jamie and I made the best of it and trimmed some bushes while we waited. Ha!

Santa, baby!

2009-12-09T21:29:00.003-06:00

Another wacky week with the elves!

2009-12-09T21:17:00.009-06:00

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

This is Elise's money jar (she earns money doing chores and has to spend her own money if she wants anything in the store when we shop).

Thursday

Naughty Elves!!!

2009-12-05T20:23:00.008-06:00

I simply could not believe Holly & Herman would do this.

However, Elise was pleased, because it meant she got to have an early Christmas present. ;)

Yesterday she noticed the Elves in her backpack just as we were leaving for school.

Unrelated to the Elves, we had snow yesterday! We did not get much accumulation at all, so that was disappointing to Elise, but the house looked pretty and frosty early this morning.

And Bailey has found a new friend. :)

Stowaways

2009-12-03T21:06:00.004-06:00

And a pic from this morning :)

Shoes!

2009-12-02T22:18:00.002-06:00

This one is for tomorrow. Elise LOVES to walk around in our shoes, so I think she's going to love seeing Holly & Herman wearing them! :)

Decorating the tree

2009-12-02T21:27:00.001-06:00

Cards, anyone?

2009-12-02T21:16:00.007-06:00

Or perhaps you might prefer to play dollhouse?

Holly & Herman are climbers again this year!

I think that has me all caught up for this week so far! Stay tuned for more Christmas Elf shenanigans!

The reaction!

2009-11-27T08:50:00.005-06:00

Jamie and I were greeted bright and early this morning by a very excited Elise.

"Mommy! Holly and Herman are here, and one of them climbed up in our tree!"

We are so grateful that Holly & Herman set up the tree for us this year - it sure did save mommy and coach a lot of work. ;)

They have officially assumed their place on top of the TV for the remainder of the Christmas season. There's just no telling what they might get into next.

They're baaaack!!!

2009-11-26T23:55:00.007-06:00

Holly and Herman, that is!

I wanted to do something grand and dramatic for their return, so we lugged out the Christmas tree tonight after Elise went to sleep. When she wakes up in the morning, she will see that Holly and Herman have arrived and set up our tree while we slept!

Holly attempted to get into the ornaments, but I think she is going to need some help to decorate the tree. ;)

Let the fun begin!!!

Stay tuned tomorrow for Elise's reaction!

Thanksgiving pictures

2009-11-26T23:04:00.012-06:00

Yesterday I had a brief moment where I thought perhaps I had been in a coma for about a month and it was actually Christmas rather than Thanksgiving. I came home from work to discover that Jamie bought Elise a new bicycle. He says it is a reward for her doing well in school for the past few weeks. I say he's just a sucker for a cute little blonde. The next time he complains that she is too spoiled, I am going to remind him of his participation in the spoiling endeavors!

We had a beautiful fall day!

And wonderful food!

Full bellies!

And the perfect after-dinner activity for the girls while the guys watched football - a game of BINGO!

How a broken hip and car wreck can be a blessing

2009-11-26T09:23:00.002-06:00

We've had a hectic few months around here, and I haven't been blogging much. It all started back in October when my mom got a phone call on a random Tuesday morning that my grandmother had fallen down her back steps and was being rushed by ambulance to the hospital. I can't imagine the panic and helpless feeling she must have endured as she received the news over the phone, sitting in Texas and totally unable to do anything about the situation transpiring all the way in Georgia. She was on a plane and arrived in Georgia by that evening - and I'm certain at the time she did NOT consider any of it a blessing.

Grandmother had surgery the following day to repair the broken hip, and it was a long week spent in the hospital...followed by another long week or 2 doing inpatient rehabilitation. Once grandmother was strong enough to make the flight home, she was discharged from the rehab facility and mom brought her back to Texas to stay with us as she continues physical and occupational therapy out of my parents' home each day.

We were finally all getting settled here - mom and dad made a few modifications to their home (no floor rugs, extra handles in the shower and bathroom, etc). We got hooked up with the right therapists and got them on a schedule of coming to the house to see grandmother. Things seemed to be settling down nicely, and mom was set to return to work after a month-long absence.

Then there was the car wreck.

If you want to make God laugh, just tell Him your plans.

The accident took place on Halloween around 7:30pm. Elise was spending the night with her dad, and Jamie and I were all set to drive to a Halloween party about 2 hours from home and spend the night out of town. As we started to get on the highway to head to the party, Jamie and I just looked at each other, and almost as if we were sharing our thoughts without speaking, we both knew that we didn't want to go to the party. It was right around 7:30 when we turned around and headed back home. We changed out of our costumes and had just finished eating dinner when we got the call about the wreck. It was one of those instances where God was looking out for us - at the time, I didn't really know why I shouldn't go to the party. I just knew I had a gut feeling that it wasn't a good idea, and I listened to it. A lot of times I feel guided by gut feelings, but I don't always get confirmation that I did the right thing in such a timely manner!

When we first arrived at the hospital, both mom and grandmother were taped down to body boards in separate rooms. They were both shaking and scared. Grandmother was very coherent and experiencing pain where the seat belt had bruised her body upon impact. Mom was not doing as well. I was quite alarmed initially, but tried to remain calm. I was so glad Jamie was with me, because he is very collected in an emergency. She was having a lot of pain in her shoulder and hip, but what concerned me most was her memory loss. The doctor was asking her a lot of questions, and she was struggling to answer many of them. She couldn't remember where she works. She thought she was still in Georgia. She didn't know what day it was. She kept asking the same questions over and over, as if she had forgotten that we just answered her a few minutes earlier. My mom is the nurse in the family and the one who always takes charge when any of us are sick or hospitalized, so for her to become the patient was a role reversal that I was not fully prepared to handle at the time.

Long story short (or maybe not so short at this point!), no bones were broken, grandmother's hip replacement was not damaged, and they were both released to go home. We got them home, but they were both having severe difficulty walking. Mom's pain persisted so much that she went back for another set of x-rays, feeling insistent that her pain level had to be indicative of a broken bone somewhere. The result of the second set of x-rays was the same as the first, and the conclusion was that she had deep, severe bruising. Here we are nearly a month later, and she is still limping around - although she has improved quite a bit.

And so the caregiver became the patient for a while. And this didn't feel like a blessing either.

But it was.

It sounds crazy to say a broken hip or car accident could be a blessing. These are bad things, after all. There have been so many times that I've wondered why bad things happen - especially to good people. It's something I've thought about a ton over the last two or three years, since we've dealt with our infertility struggle. What I've decided after prayerful consideration is that God doesn't make bad things happen to us. Bad things happen as a result of the fact that we live in a fallen world. Elise and I have been reading the Jesus Storybook Bible , and I love the simplicity of the Bible put into words that children can understand. I had never thought of the first sin committed by Adam and Eve in such terms, but when you break it down into simple language, it's easy to see that God never wanted anything bad for us.

"Did you eat the fruit I told you not to eat?" God asked them.
Adam said, "Eve made me do it!"
"What have you done?" God asked.
Eve said, "The serpent made me do it!"
And terrible pain came into God's heart. His children hadn't just broken the one rule; they had broken God's heart. They had broken their wonderful relationship with him. And now he knew everything else would break. God's creation would start to unravel, and come undone, and go wrong. From now on everything would die - even though it was all supposed to last forever. You see, sin had come into God's perfect world. And it would never leave.

Our world is no longer perfect, but God doesn't leave us here alone to struggle. He shows up on the scene and brings good from the bad things that happen to us.

But before they left the garden, God made clothes for his children, to cover them. He gently clothed them and then he sent them away on a long, long journey - out of the garden, out of their home. Well, in another story, it would all be over and that would have been the end. But not in this story. God loved his children too much to let the story end there. Even though he knew he would suffer, God had a plan - a magnificent dream. One day, he would get his children back. One day, he would make the world their perfect home again. And one day, he would wipe away every tear from their eyes. You see, no matter what, in spite of everything, God would love his children - with a Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love.

Our family has been blessed out of circumstances that otherwise could have been terrible. Because of the fall, Grandmother is spending her first ever Thanksgiving with us. She is home every afternoon when Elise comes home from school. The memories Elise is making with her great grandmother are priceless. I do not have any memories of any of my great grandparents - they had all passed away by the time I was two years old. It's an opportunity that I never had - and Elise would not have this opportunity either if none of this had happened.

Due to the fact that both Grandmother and mom were incapacitated for a period of time, Dad has really stepped up and come through to help both of them, all while still picking up Elise from school everyday. I've been cooking every weekend for the whole family and delivering meals. We've come together as a family.

So, on this Thanksgiving Day, I am thankful for our circumstances. I'm thankful for our struggles, because out of the hardest times I find my faith being strengthened.

May all of your families be blessed this holiday, and may you all feel the Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love that God has for you!

Halloween!

2009-11-06T23:07:00.012-06:00

I am behind and lacking motivation to keep things current. One of the main reasons I have this blog is for my grandmother's benefit, and since she is here with us now, seeing all our memories firsthand, I haven't gotten around to posting them here. Nevertheless, I do want to keep up as best I can, so here are our Halloween pictures!

Elise's class party

Pumpkin carving

Trick-or-Treat!

Our first WIN!!!!!!!

2009-10-25T22:29:00.012-05:00

It was an exciting Friday night!!! We finally got our first win - what a good feeling. :) Look at that smile!

I was so glad my father-in-law was there to witness the win too. He hasn't missed a single game all season - even when it was pouring down rain! I stayed home that night, and it was the only game in Jamie's career I've ever missed, with the exception of one other game that took place the day after I had surgery back in November 2007. He's been a real trooper!!

I LOVE this one. If you knew Wes, you'd know that it's so unlike him to pose for a photo. I had to take this one twice, because the flash malfunctioned. He's so good to humor me. :)

The winning score!

My grandmother said she thinks this is the beginning of a winning streak...I sure hope she's right!

Overdue update

2009-10-18T20:22:00.004-05:00

I haven't written a decent post in a long time. Things have been busy, but it's mostly been life as usual and I just haven't been in the mood to write. Our football season continues to be an experience in personal growth - we are still looking for our first win. Jamie and I had a really good talk about it recently. I told him that rarely do people grow during the good, easy times. It is the tough times that cause us to examine our lives, count our blessings, and learn things about ourselves that we may not have otherwise learned. I know this has been the case for me over the past few years as we've dealt with infertility. I truly believe Jamie is going to be a better person for having this experience...but it doesn't make it any easier as we are in the midst of things.

Elise had strep throat a few weeks ago and missed a few days of school. The good news is that no one else caught it. The bad news is that she will not get a perfect attendance award for this grading period. On the same day she got strep throat, I came down with pink eye. Weird coincidence.

My maternal grandmother fell and broke her hip a week and a half ago, so mom has been in Georgia since then. She had surgery the day following her fall and is thankfully recovering well. She is having a lot of pain, but seems to be healing on target with the doctor's expectations. Mom is going to bring her home to be with us as soon as she is cleared to travel. I suspect she will be at mom's through the rest of this year, and I am looking forward to helping as much as I can. At times like these I long to be a lottery winner, because I wish I could be available for my family on a more consistent basis. Alas, I will have to keep working until I pick the lucky numbers. I'm anxious for them to be here. I don't think I've gone this long without seeing my mom since college!

Halloween is less than 2 weeks away, and we all have costumes this year! Jamie and I were invited by Candace & Jeremy to a Halloween party. It's been years since I've dressed up, so I am looking forward to it. We will be able to take Elise trick-or-treating, then head out to our party a bit later. I hope the weather cooperates with us - I'm putting in my order for a cool, clear evening. :)

As the close of football season nears, I am beginning to think about baseball. This will be my first season as a head coach's wife, so it will be a new experience for me as well as Jamie. I wonder what adventures lie ahead...hopefully it will be a positive thing for us.

I know it's only October, but I've started the Christmas shopping. I have fallen victim to the Zhu Zhu Pet craze. It's quite silly, because I don't think Elise even knows what they are! But they are already sold out everywhere and going for two to three times retail price on eBay, and supposedly they are the "must have" toy for this Christmas. I fail to see the huge appeal, but nonetheless I stalked Wal Mart and Toys R Us until I had a full set with accessories. I've also been able to pick up some extras to help out friends who couldn't find them in their towns. I still can't figure out why I just HAD to have them. I also have the dress-up trunk underway (this will be Elise's Santa gift this year). I've got it about 1/3 - 1/2 way full, and will hopefully complete it when costumes go on sale after Halloween. I have an idea for Jamie's gift, which I am keeping under wraps for now...I know he reads this! ;)

So, in summary - sickness, adversity, holiday madness, surgery...did I say earlier that it was just life as usual?? Okay, maybe not! But really - isn't that what life is all about?

Ah, I do love this song

2009-10-11T21:36:00.000-05:00

"I'm not who I was..."

Our Fairy

2009-10-11T21:04:00.003-05:00

He should have been a hunting dog!

2009-10-11T20:59:00.003-05:00

We've bought a multitude of toys for the dogs over the past couple of years. Dexter is strictly a rawhide bone dog - he could care less about anything else. Bailey loves stuffed animals - but not just any animal. He loves stuffed ducks. He can actually tell the difference between a duck and other animals. It's hysterical, and we've been through more stuffed ducks with him than I can even begin to count. Sometimes it's funny to imagine him in a duck blind. I think he would have been really good at it. :)

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-10T20:59:00.007-05:00

Pictures from our annual trip to the pumpkin patch!

A reader in the making!

2009-10-10T20:56:00.003-05:00

Elise got her first book order back recently. She was so excited to have a bunch of new books to read. I thought it was pretty cute when I went to tuck her in and found her sleeping with all her books. I emailed the picture to her teacher and told her that she is creating quite the avid reader. :) She got a kick out of it as well.

Donuts with Dudes

2009-10-10T20:52:00.002-05:00

Elise's school had Donuts with Dudes last week. I had to snap a quick photo before Jamie left to have breakfast with our little love at school. She was soooo excited that "Coach" was going to have breakfast with her. After they ate, Jamie got to walk her to her classroom. They both really enjoyed it.

My Loves and Puppy Loves

2009-10-04T12:55:00.002-05:00

Bailey tickling Elise's toes :)

My birthday and fall decorations

2009-10-04T12:42:00.007-05:00

I'll be another year older in a few days! We had a nice family dinner last night (thanks, mom!).

My birthday cupcakes

And the most awesome present ever! LOVE IT!

And a few pictures of our fall decorations. I don't do a ton, but I love fall and Halloween, so I like to put out a few things. :)

Transitions

2009-10-02T20:02:00.002-05:00

I've been thinking about this for a while now, and I haven't been writing much lately...probably due to all the thinking! ;)

Our family is in such a transitional period right now. Obviously we have Jamie's new job, Elise starting school, etc. But I feel like there are other transitions taking place that are more beneath the surface and less apparent. For a while now I have started to feel the transition from life with a baby/toddler to life with an older child. All of a sudden I feel like I have time again. Elise is quite self-sufficient (she even showers on her own now!), and I've gained back time that I used to spend on more intense childcare. My house is a lot cleaner, we always have groceries, I am cooking a lot more, the laundry is almost never behind - heck, I have even bought about half the Christmas gifts already! It's nice in many ways, but it's also a bit disconcerting to me. I'm not sure why, but I guess it's because I feel less needed and almost don't know what to do with myself. I was standing in the kitchen earlier tonight while Elise was in the shower. I've already done the grocery shopping for the week. The house is basically clean. All the laundry is done. We had eaten dinner. There was nothing to do. And it was a bad feeling.

I know I should be thankful to be in this place. There have been many times over the past 5 years when I have felt completely frazzled and longed for boredom! But now that I'm getting a slight reprieve, I don't know how to handle it. The thought occurred to me that I should pick up some of my old hobbies again. But my main hobby was working out, and that still doesn't fit back into the schedule very nicely, because I do not like to be gone during Elise's waking hours in the evenings...and I am not liking the idea of working out later at night either because it keeps me awake. Honestly, I work too much to form many hobbies or make many friends outside of work.

I just find myself wandering around the house a lot these days and feeling a bit lost. It scares me a little, because I need to find myself again. Elise is growing and growing, and someday she will move out on her own. Being a mom is a huge part of who I am, but it can't be the only thing I am. At this rate, I am scared to become an empty-nester! Wow, I will really feel lost then.

Just because I think it's cute

2009-09-21T21:19:00.001-05:00

Pictures from the last 2 weeks

2009-09-20T13:43:00.011-05:00

I have a lot of pictures to share, but not much news. It's just been life as usual around here. I think Jamie and I are both struggling a bit professionally and personally, so we're just taking it one day at a time and making it as best we can. We know better days are ahead. We're missing our crew in Friendswood (and we miss winning too!). We haven't gotten our first win in Danbury yet, and although we knew it would take a few years to have a winning season there, I don't think we anticipated it would be quite this rough. I think we will feel a lot better when baseball season rolls around.

I'm itching to get the fall decorations out of the attic. I think next weekend I will cave. Jamie teases me quite a bit about my holiday decorating, but I am sure he secretly enjoys it. ;)

Some pictures from the last 2 weeks:

A Week of Firsts

2009-08-29T10:45:00.016-05:00

I'm behind on blogging lately, but it is for good reason. We've had a memorable week in our house, highlighted by the very much anticipated first day of Kindergarten! Elise has done well with the adjustment...probably better than the rest of us. I am still getting the hang of the new routine and perfecting exactly what time is best to leave the house to avoid the worst of the traffic. Our evenings are very full with dinner, shower, looking at Elise's folder together & talking about her day, planning for the next day's lunch, story time, and hopefully working in some free play time before her 8:00 bedtime. We got out of the habit of having a nighttime routine over the summer, and it's a lot to cram into just a few hours. But we're settling in and doing pretty well. I'm a very proud mommy and hopefully we will have a fantastic year. Elise is attending the same elementary school I attended as a child, so it's been neat to walk the halls again.

This one is blurry, but I am posting it anyway, because it's the only one I took of both my loves on their first day of school (darn humidity was fogging my camera lens!).

At school!

In the gym waiting to go to the classroom

Walking to class

In the classroom

Already hard at work (her little sister is helping) :)

I was so focused on Elise's first day that I nearly forgot it was also Jamie's first day teaching at a new school. His week seems to have gone well also. He has a pretty nice schedule, so that is a good thing.

Last but not least - we had our first Danbury football game last night. I wish we had won (would have been a great way to start), but we lost to Louise High School with a score of 0-13. We may have a tough season ahead, but I told Jamie last night that years like this build character and perseverance. We need years like this to remind us to be thankful when we have years like last year. And there is going to be much improvement. I'm proud of our team & coaches, because I know how many hours of hard work have already been devoted and will be devoted over the next few months.

Check out the sweet panther paw...the coaches painted it themselves. Not bad, eh?

Danbury's newest mini-fan :)

Elise & PaPa Wes

Check out the team spirit!

By now you may see a Gumby theme emerging...

We may not have won the game, but what other team can say Snow White, Ariel, Barbie, and Gumby are their fans???

Our coach

To sum up the week, I would say it was hectic, emotional, tiring, productive, exciting...and I'm glad it's over!!

Updated to add the link to an article about last night's game. Click here to read.

Bed Buddies

2009-08-29T10:40:00.003-05:00

Caliputers and other cute sayings

2009-08-09T13:06:00.003-05:00

One of my favorite things about the toddler years is all the cute mispronunciations that came out of Elise's mouth. They are so funny that we have almost encouraged them, and I am beginning to realize that it might not have been the best idea.

A few examples:

Caliputer = caterpillar
puter = computer
on perfose = on purpose
fer = for
confection = infection
pisa = pizza

Anyway, it occurred to me today when she said, "Mommy, how do you spell fer," that while it was cute when she was 3, it may not be that cute when she is 5 and in Kindergarten. I don't want her to get teased by her friends, and I don't want it to cause problems when she begins to learn how to spell words and read.

So, as much as I hate to do it, I think we are going to have to start correcting her. Just a part of growing up, but I am sure going to miss all the cuteness.

Here we go!

2009-08-05T20:06:00.004-05:00

It's hard to believe, but it is that time of year again - the first week of football practice. It also seems like an appropriate time to mention that Jamie is officially a graduate of his master's program. It's a big adjustment from having Jamie home all the time to having him gone most of the time, but I find that each year the transition goes more and more smoothly. This year we've added in a bit of a commute, so he's out the door by 5am. It's so strange to wake up and be able to turn on all the lights, run the hairdryer, and listen to the radio - I spent the entire summer tiptoeing around the house, doing my hair and makeup in the tiny hallway bathroom, and attempting not to wake him in the mornings...and I have to say he's such a light sleeper that most of my attempts at showering and exiting our room undetected were total failures! It's kind of nice to eliminate that worry. AND it's nice to be the last one out of bed instead of the first! Love ya, honey - now it's your turn! :)

Most of the coaching staff is new this year, with about half of the families relocating for the new job - one from as far away as Indiana! Everyone is getting settled, and we are getting to know one another. So far it seems like a great group. I'm looking forward to hanging out with the ladies and kiddos in the stands very soon.

The beginning of football also means that my favorite time of year, the fall, is rapidly approaching. It seems silly to be discussing fall when the heat index is still over 100 degrees, but in all seriousness it will be here before we know it. Some of my mommy friends are already contemplating Halloween costumes for their little ones - this is a bit much even for me, but it feels like lately the weeks just fly by. Before I know it, I will blink and it will be time for hot chocolate, trick-or-treating, turkey, and a visit from Holly & Herman. Just typing that makes me panic a tiny bit inside. Another year is over halfway gone and I haven't really accomplished much. But such is life, I suppose. This has been Jamie's big year for accomplishment, and I am proud to be by his side. I think my year must be somewhere on the horizon.

Crazy Dog

2009-07-29T20:08:00.002-05:00

Look where I just found Bailey.

All in a day's work!

2009-07-25T22:24:00.003-05:00

Elise has been accompanying Jamie to work quite a bit this summer, and she has been begging to come to work with me as well. I can't bring her with me for a full day, so Jamie agreed to bring her for lunch on Friday. It was so fun to see my loves during my lunch break. Elise *loved* her visit, and she would have spent the entire day on the escalator and elevator if we would have allowed it.

Here she is at mommy's desk. :)

Summer fun

2009-07-12T21:38:00.006-05:00

We have been enjoying the last few weeks of summer with playing outdoors (when we could stand to brave the 100+ degree heat!) and watching an Astros game at Minute Maid Park. Jamie begins 2-a-day football practices in just 2 weeks, and he has quite a bit of work to do before then. It won't be long until our first game in Danbury!

The Party!

2009-07-12T21:07:00.012-05:00

Elise had a great 5th birthday party with her friends this weekend. There was pizza, cake, animal balloons, presents, putt putt golf, arcade games, and bumper boats. What more could a 5-yr old want?

She got to decorate her own cake. :)

Neat story

2009-07-11T08:57:00.003-05:00

A reporter from a Friendswood paper called Jamie last weekend and did an interview. The story came out this past week.

Click here to check it out.

Other than a few small typos (should read 4 years instead of 9), I thought it was great! :)

Our girl is FIVE!

2009-07-06T17:25:00.018-05:00

We had a perfect day today, as we celebrated Elise's 5th birthday. She is now 5, going on 13. This morning as we were getting into our bathing suits, she was informing me that you should not look directly into the sun, because it could burn your eyes. I asked her how she knew that. Her reply: "Mommy, I'm way smarter now, because I am 5." I should have known.

We headed down to Moody Gardens and spent a few hours at Palm Beach. Elise loves to swim, so it seemed like the perfect way to celebrate.

After a fun day of swimming, Grandma & PaPa threw us a small Tinkerbell party, complete with pizza, cake, ice cream, and presents! We are having her big party with friends on Saturday...so the festivities are to be continued!

It's amazing how quickly this:

Turns into this:

Our Weekend (a few days late!)

2009-07-02T12:23:00.007-05:00

We had a great time last weekend. Jamie was taking a final exam for his master's degree at Lamar University on Saturday, so Elise and I spent the day together. I was happy to have some one-on-one time with her, since Jamie is getting a lot of time with her while I'm working this summer. I have been jealous! :)

I took her over to Lakeshore Learning Center to do a free craft (party hat), then I took her with me to the nail salon to get our toes painted. It was her first visit to the nail salon, and honestly she's too young, but as much as she loves to have her toes painted, I figured she would get a kick out of it. Our salon has a "princess pedicure" on the menu for kids, so I went for it. They even gave her a piece of chocolate cake! She took it all in, and got flowers painted on her toes too. It was a good mother-daughter bonding moment.

On Sunday we were invited to go swimming with friends. Elise LOVES the daughter of one of Jamie's coaching friends, so she was thrilled and had a great time.

Jamaica - Day 5

2009-06-23T20:34:00.008-05:00

We spent our last day in Jamaica by the pool and on the beach, soaking up as much sun as we could before it was time to leave. I love the fact that we did so much relaxing on this trip. We ate at another restaurant on the water for our last dinner.

The towels were in the shape of a flower on our last day. :)

All in all, it was a very nice trip and we really enjoyed it. I do wish Elise had been there with us, and I'm going to keep that in mind when planning next year's trip. We rate Jamaica below Hawaii, but it was still great and I would recommend it. I had some safety concerns when planning the trip, but I can honestly say that I felt 100% safe the entire time.

So, it's back to reality! Luckily for Elise and Jamie, they have a few more weeks of summer vacation to enjoy. But for me, it was back to work on Monday morning! Ugh! Is it bad that I already feel like I need another vacation??

Jamaica - Day 4

2009-06-23T20:06:00.014-05:00

The guys played golf and the girls went to the spa!!! :)

We got the most heavenly massages, then headed to the pool to lay out and relax. The guys joined us for lunch after golf, and we went back to the pool for a while. The resort had a Beach Bash in the evening, which kind of reminded me of a toned down version of a luau - but with reggae instead of hula dancing. There was a great buffet on the beach along with live entertainment. They had a dance contest that was also quite entertaining. I finally got to try some jerk chicken, and it was great!

On our way to the beach party:

Check out Jeff's drink!

We got some of my favorite pictures on day 4 as we were walking down the pier at sunset. A resort photographer approached us and asked if we wanted some photos, so we said "sure"!

Apparently I forgot to take a picture of the towels, and I don't even remember what they were. Oops!

Jamaica - Day 3

2009-06-23T17:44:00.028-05:00

Day 3 was the busiest day of the trip. We got up and went snorkeling in the morning, then went zip lining and for a ride on the Jamaican bobsleds in the afternoon. Since I'm finally unpacked and nearly caught up on laundry, I have a bit more time tonight to describe the food on the resort. We are now totally spoiled by the all-inclusive concept! We had some amazing meals, and it was great to be able to walk up to any bar or into any restaurant and order whatever we wanted without worrying about price or carrying any money around with us. We took advantage of the opportunity to try a lot of things we normally wouldn't order if we had to pay for it. We ordered appetizers, salads, entrees, drinks, coffee, and desserts at every meal.

The breakfast was consistently the best meal of the day. I can't even adequately explain the gorgeous fruit buffets - and not just the typical cantaloupe and grapes you see normally. We're talking mango, papaya, fresh pineapple, whole peeled kiwi, peeled oranges, honey dew melon...the works. It was all SUPER fresh and beautiful. I had to learn at the first few meals to pace myself, because I was getting full just eating fruit!

Then as you moved further into the room, there was an omelet bar, pancakes, waffles, bacon, scrambled eggs, potatoes (prepared all different ways), a table full of different breads - croissants, sweet rolls, pastries, biscuits, donuts. I am having breakfast withdrawal since returning home. I miss that wonderful buffet! The coffee in Jamaica was really unique, but very good...and strong! It reminded me a little bit of the Kona coffee from Hawaii.

On the first night we ate Caribbean cuisine for dinner, and we had Italian on the 2nd night. On the third night we ate Tex-Mex, and it was probably the most average meal of the trip. We wanted to eat at this particular place, because the restaurant is on a pier over the water, and we were overlooking the sunset during dinner. It was really lovely, even though the food wasn't the best. Also, it was a really casual meal and we were not wanting to get dressed up after such an active day.

Snorkeling was really fun. I had done it once before in Grand Cayman, but the coral and fish were much prettier in Jamaica. I enjoyed it a lot, and of course took pictures! :)

The boat behind us is the one we rode out to snorkel.

Jamie got sunburned the day before, so he kept his shirt on as long as possible. I teased him about wearing his life jacket over his shirt. :)

On the boat

Our group did have one snorkeling mishap - Jeremy lost his wedding ring. :(

After we arrived back on the shore, we all felt nasty and wanted showers immediately. We got cleaned up, ate lunch, and headed over to catch the bus to go zip lining! I was really excited about this part of the trip, because I had been reading about zip lining and really wanted to try it.

What I did NOT realize was how we were going to get to the top of the mountain in order to zip line back down.

We rode guys in one lift and girls in the next...and we were scared out of our minds! Well, I should say some of us were scared. Jeff and Jeremy weren't bothered in the least - but there was no voice of reason in the girls' lift! There were no seat belts of any kind and just a single cable from which we were dangling. And it went MUCH higher than I expected...it just kept climbing and climbing...

The view from the lift was beautiful. I wish I hadn't been too scared to enjoy it! We could see the cruise ships parked in the distance.

Once we got to the top, we rode the Jamaican bobsled. It was like a mini roller coaster and also overlooked the water.

Then it was time to put on our zip lining gear!

For obvious reasons, we couldn't take our cameras on the zip lines, so I'm sad to say I don't have any pictures of us actually zip lining, but it was SO FUN! I loved it and would totally do it again someday.

Some pictures from dinner:

Relaxing on the beach after a nice meal:

And our elephant :)

Jamaica - Day 2

2009-06-22T19:31:00.016-05:00

We spent day 2 relaxing at the beach and pool. It was heavenly! In the evening, we ate my second favorite meal at an Italian restaurant at the resort - it was a LONG dinner at almost 3 hours. After dinner, we lounged on the beach, danced, and had a nice, low key evening.

Some pictures of the resort - I took all of these, so they aren't the greatest shots, but you can get an idea for how pretty it was.

And some pictures of us on day 2:

And last but not least - the swans!

Jamaica - Day 1

2009-06-21T19:51:00.008-05:00

We're home, and we had a great time! The idea of blogging the entire trip (while 4 full suitcases are waiting to be unpacked) is too overwhelming, so I am going to take it one day at a time until I get the whole trip done. It's sooooo great to be home. I missed Elise like CRAZY the whole time we were gone, and actually wished we'd chosen a family friendly trip this year. The adult time is always nice, but I am at a point where I'd really rather share our vacations with Elise. I think it will be a long time before we do another long trip without her - the most I want to consider at this point is a long weekend away from her. Having said that, Jamaica was beautiful, romantic, and relaxing! The resort was fantastic, we ate more wonderful food than I care to admit, and the landscape there is amazingly gorgeous.

We arrived in Montego Bay to a rainy afternoon, and I think we were all a bit nervous about what the weather might have in store for us. Thankfully once we survived the 2 hour bus ride into Ocho Rios, the sun was out and we never saw rain again for the duration of the trip. A quick word about driving in Jamaica - it's scary!! They drive on the left side of the road, but really, they just drive wherever there is room! It was quite an adventure.

As soon as we arrived at the resort, the staff greeted us with champagne and gave us a quick lesson about how to navigate the resort. Since it was all-inclusive, we could basically eat or drink anywhere at no additional charge. We could also participate in a variety of activities at no charge, such as snorkeling, para sailing, water skiing, scuba diving, windsurfing, etc. We headed to our rooms and changed into our bathing suits immediately, then went down to the beach to scope things out! We had one of the best dinners of the trip on the first night as well. After dinner we hung out in one of the beachfront bars, had a drink and talked. We heard about a country singer performing in the amphitheater, so we headed in that direction and listened to some good music that reminded us of home.

Each day while we were out, the staff would come in and clean our rooms and leave behind towels in all different shapes (I've seen this on a cruise before too, and it's neat). Day one was a heart. :)

On the bus

Our view

Early Father's Day Celebration

2009-06-14T21:56:00.006-05:00

We celebrated Father's Day today since we have some things going on next weekend that prevent us from being able to celebrate on the actual day. I got up early and bought kolaches for Jamie this morning, we went to church, then grilled steaks with the whole family - my parents & the in-laws. It was a really nice time!

We love our dads!!! All 3 of them are very special and amazing men, and we are blessed to have them in our lives.

Caring is sharing

2009-06-11T20:57:00.004-05:00

This happened about 2 weeks ago, but I haven't gotten around to blogging about it yet. It had been one of those days. All you moms out there know what I'm talking about. One of those days when even though you love your child more than anything, they have pushed every single one of your buttons and then some. I was nearing the end of my very fragile (at that point) patience, and I had Elise in the bathtub. I was preparing to put her to bed early and pour a glass of wine.

I had just rinsed the shampoo from her hair when I realized I'd left her pajamas on the dresser right outside the bathroom. I stood up to get them, and she told me in a very sassy tone of voice that she didn't want me to leave the bathroom. She had been incredibly demanding all day long, and bossy to boot. I was sick of it, and I replied to her without even thinking of the example I was setting. I said, "Elise, I don't care what you want."

Her reply...with the most serious and hurt look on her face...

"But mommy, caring is sharing."

As much as I wanted to be mad at her, I couldn't manage to conceal my laughter. What's there not to love??

Our Girl

2009-06-09T20:34:00.002-05:00

Reflections

2009-05-30T10:46:00.010-05:00

It has been a heck of a week. We got a phone call early last Sunday morning from Jamie's father informing us that Jamie's grandma passed away in the middle of the night. It was rather unexpected and sudden. We drove to Denton on Wednesday after Elise's recital to be there for the viewing. Then we came back home Thursday for a playoff game. Friday we attended Elise's graduation in the morning, the graveside funeral service in the afternoon, and our final game here at Friendswood High School in the evening.

It feels like every time we turned around this week, we were saying goodbye to someone. And it's been hard. We are leaving the preschool where Elise has attended since she was 3 months old. I've watched her grow up with the same classmates for nearly 5 years now, and even though the move to Kindergarten is going to be a great one, I know I'll miss the teachers and kids from preschool. We thanked Elise's dance teacher and said goodbye to her as well. Jamie's been out of school all week due to the death of his grandmother and our traveling to the viewing and attending the funeral - so he never got to say goodbye to his students. He went into the classroom early yesterday morning to leave notes for his substitute and found written notes from students all over his chalk board. They had written messages such as, "We miss you!" and "Don't go!". I know that was hard for him to see.

Then yesterday we said goodbye to Jamie's grandma. I read a poem at her service, and Jamie's cousin spoke briefly. It was a tough afternoon, obviously. I only met her once, but I'll never forget how accepting she was of me and Elise into her family. She picked Elise up and put her on her lap, and you would never have known that Elise wasn't her biological great grandchild. I really appreciated her, and I know she will be missed.

By the time we got to the game last night, we were just so emotionally drained that our loss to Nederland and elimination from the playoffs just left us feeling numb. Our kids played really well, and we just ran into a better team. It happens. But yet another round of goodbyes was so hard. This group of seniors is extra special to Jamie, because they were freshmen during his first year in Friendswood and he's been with them all 4 years of their high school career. They arrived together, and now they will leave together.

Some pictures from our last series here at FHS :(

Game 1

Game 2

Jamie leaving Friendswood has been harder than we thought. I think he's getting more sentimental as he gets older. He used to have no problem picking up, moving to a new town, and starting a new job. I think it was an adventure to him. But Friendswood has been so good to him - this is where he was working when we met & married. His life has totally changed since he arrived here. Not to mention the trips to state in football and baseball! Plus all the great kids he's met both in the classroom and on the field. Being a Friendswood graduate myself, I am obviously attached as well. It's going to be so strange to cheer for another school next year.

So, that's it - several big chapters of our lives are coming to a close. I know most of the change is going to be positive, but Jamie and I don't do change all that well. Our lives are going to be a bit upside down for the next few months until we get Elise started at her new school and Jamie at his new job. We need to get settled into our new arrangements and get into a routine. Then I think we'll be just fine. It's just the anticipation of the unknown that is hard in the interim.

My Graduate

2009-05-30T10:31:00.011-05:00

Elise graduated from preschool yesterday. It was a cute ceremony and much more than I expected! The kids marched in, said the pledge of allegiance, sang a song, counted to 100, and read a poem. Then each one came to the front to get a diploma. I'm a proud mommy!

My Dancer

2009-05-29T23:42:00.011-05:00

Elise's dance recital was held on Wednesday of last week. Jamie and I attended, along with Grandma, PaPa, PaPa Wes, and Darlene. We all enjoyed seeing the product of Elise's hard work for the past school year. She was so excited to wear her costume and make up! :)

**To watch the video, go to the very bottom of the blog and turn off the music before playing.**

Elise receiving her certificate, goodie bag, and balloon

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

We did it!

2009-05-29T17:26:00.005-05:00

I am behind, but trying to catch up!!

We ended up defeating TX City in the regional quarterfinal playoff last Saturday. It was a great game and a decisive victory with a final score of 18-5! Here are a few pictures.

You win some, you lose some.

2009-05-22T22:30:00.012-05:00

We are currently in the middle of our third playoff series (the regional quarterfinal). We won Thursday night's game in extra innings - 10 to be exact - by a score of 9-3. Tonight we lost game 2, unfortunately. Both games have been close right down to the very last inning. We will play the 3rd and deciding game tomorrow.

Pictures from Thursday:

Ready to cheer on the Mustangs!

Cody running to home after hitting a grand slam in the 10th inning!

Pictures from Friday:

Our 2 cutest fans

Twinkies!

A narrow escape

2009-05-18T22:31:00.007-05:00

Tonight was one of those nights where you realize you were outplayed and VERY lucky to have won the game. We beat Houston Davis in extra innings tonight by a score of 2-1. It wasn't pretty, but as I always say - a win is a win. If the pictures appear a bit blurry, it's probably because my hands were shaking!

Jamie & Kevin

Some action shots of my love

2009-05-17T23:03:00.003-05:00

Okay, I am really going to bed after this! But I just adore a man in uniform! He can coach me anytime! ;)

Just because I think it's cute

2009-05-17T22:56:00.003-05:00

Since everyone knows how I love to watch Elise as she sleeps, I thought I would share a photo that I just snapped about 5 minutes ago. We were on our way to bed, so I went up to peek at Elise as I do every night.

A few observations:

She's tucked all the Barbies, babies, and stuffed animals into bed.
She is sharing her pillow - love it!
She's gotten into her bow collection and fixed the hair of each Barbie doll.

Although you can't see them all in the picture, she had 3 Barbies (all with bows in their hair), one baby doll, a stuffed horse, and Spiderman all in bed with her! Yes, I said Spiderman. I have no idea why, but she loves Spiderman. And I love her.

Life is crazy

2009-05-17T22:16:00.002-05:00

This time of year is crazy in our house. Now that I'm completing my 4th baseball season with Jamie (third as his wife), I think I'm finally adjusting to the hectic nature of playoffs and not feeling as flustered and stressed as I did in previous years. Baseball playoffs are incredibly unpredictable, because after each round there is a coin toss to determine when and where the next series will take place - so it's literally impossible to plan ahead. For a compulsive planner like me, that is a recipe for disaster! But for some reason, this year it's coming a lot easier for me. And that is a good thing! Maybe I am finally mastering the art of not sweating the small stuff. It's about time.

Jamie and I scouted our potential 3rd round opponents on Saturday. He taught me how to chart the game using the palm pilot, and I felt totally in my element. As Jamie moves up in the ranks, I am wanting to learn more and more about the games he coaches. How stupid would it look if the head coach's wife didn't know what the heck was going on?? I love all sports (seriously, I could watch just about anything that involves a competition), so learning how to scout baseball teams has been really fun for me. I think it was a definite bonding experience, and I loved helping him. Plus, now when we play the 3rd round - yes, I said WHEN :) - I will know a lot about our opponent. :)

Of course, life wouldn't be exciting enough if we didn't have other things going on in addition to baseball playoffs. In the next few weeks we have a baseball banquet, dance recital, preschool graduation ceremony, birthday party, and a wedding to attend! I've become rather forgetful lately, so I'm actually using the calendar alerts on my phone for the first time ever in order to be sure I won't forget anything - including buying gifts for the birthday party and wedding...you know, in my spare time.

Isn't it time for vacation yet???

It's that time again

2009-05-16T21:31:00.004-05:00

Mustang baseball playoff time!

We had a great first round against Terry High School, winning the bi-district title in 2 games last Thursday and Friday nights. Read about Thursday's game here.

Normally playoffs are a best 2 out of 3 series, but round 2 will be a bit different this year due to the suspension of UIL sports over the swine flu scare (insert eye rolling here). UIL has dictated that all 2nd round playoffs will be 1 game that must be played by Tuesday night - winner takes all - in order to get caught back up to the proper schedule. The normal 2 out of 3 series format will then resume with the 3rd round games, which will begin later in the week.

Our 2nd round game will be Monday night in Manvel vs. Houston Davis High School. With a 1 game playoff no one can afford to have an off day, so we will be ready on Monday!

Now this is love!

2009-05-12T21:46:00.002-05:00

I just adore him for stuff like this. A man who plays Barbie...How did Elise and I get so lucky??

Good Grief!

2009-05-12T19:27:00.001-05:00

I don't know which computer is funky, but when I was choosing my new background color on my laptop it was not nearly as bright on the screen as it appears on the other monitor we have. I nearly went blind looking at it! LOL

I'm going to try out this more muted yellow. Although I did want something brighter and more summery, I wasn't exactly going for the school bus look. :)

A great day

2009-05-10T21:11:00.006-05:00

Thanks to Jamie & Elise, I had a fabulous Mother's Day today. I love my family so much! We went to church this morning with my parents and had a relaxing afternoon. Wes & Darlene came over around 2-ish and we went out for BBQ and then came home for dessert and coffee. Jamie and my dad got together and bought mom and I gift certificates for the spa. They said they will entertain Elise for us when we go. All in all, it was a perfect day.

Elise was so cute and sweet. She kept picking flowers from the yard and bringing them to me and telling me she loves me. I felt very loved, peaceful, and happy all day. Thank you to my loves!

Mom with the flowers we gave her today

Me & my girl

My loves

The grandmas

Just wanted to share

2009-05-09T15:45:00.004-05:00

As I've mentioned before, Jamie and I are dealing with secondary infertility as a result of a life saving surgery that was required within weeks of Elise's birth. I generally keep most of my chatter about this topic to my other blog ( Life's Best Laid Plans ), which is linked on my blog list on the right. However, I wanted to bring attention to a recent post, because I feel like it's important to share as much information as possible on a topic that isn't at all well known - the risks of D&C surgery. So, if you are inclined, please read about it here.

The Last Game

2009-05-09T13:35:00.008-05:00

Jamie coached his last Friendswood Mustang baseball game last night. Here they are - Jamie's last team at Friendswood High School (and district champions at that!):

Some other pictures from last night (my hottie is #10) :)

Of course we will be going along with the varsity for playoffs, so we aren't totally finished yet, but I know it felt sentimental for Jamie to finish the season with his JV team. One of the parents came to me and told me how much they are going to miss Jamie. It made me feel good to hear that.

So, let the playoff excitement begin! We are waiting to hear who we will play in the first round. Go Mustangs!

Recap

2009-05-03T21:10:00.004-05:00

Jamie and I went to see 2 movies on Saturday. I can't even remember the last time we did that...it had to have been back when we were dating. We saw the new X-Men movie and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. Two very different movies, but they were both great.
We were invited to 2 graduation parties this weekend. We messed up the time of the first one, but made it to the second one today. One thing I really love about Jamie's job is the fact that it keeps us young. There's nothing like spending the afternoon poolside at a crawfish boil with a bunch of 18 year olds to make you feel 18 yourself. I got a little sad today, because I realized how great the kids & parents are here and how much we'll miss them all next year. So many of them came by and gave me hugs and congratulated us on the new job. The boys all got together and threw Jamie into the pool, fully clothed! I think it took pretty much the whole team to get him in, and I REALLY wish I had brought my camera.
I am registering Elise for Kindergarten this Thursday. I can't believe it. I'm kind of sad, but also excited. I think this is going to be a really positive change for her in the fall. She will be attending the same elementary school that I attended as a child. I wonder what it will feel like to walk the halls again?
I'm contemplating a wide range of summer activities for Elise. Swimming lessons are a must (for safety reasons), and I want her to do Vacation Bible School. My goal is to expose her to a variety of activities, so she can decide what she wants to do as she gets older. I'm going to try REALLY hard not to steer her towards athletics, because I know Jamie and I have a huge bias in that area. I want her to truly make up her own mind. We've had her in a dance class for this entire school year. She likes it, but I'm not sure that she's crazy about it. Deep down inside, I just KNOW she's going to want to be a volleyball player. ;)
I am really craving some chocolate chip ice cream right now, and if it weren't after 9 on a Sunday night, I'd be tempted to go buy some.
The official countdown to Jamaica has begun! 6 weeks to go...I SO need this vacation. I just feel depleted in so many ways lately. I hope the time off will allow me to recharge my batteries.
WHY is it that I can't watch one single episode of Grey's Anatomy or Desperate Housewives without crying??? Seriously. I must be really showing my age, because I am all sappy, sentimental, and emotional all the time!
I'm having a girls' weekend in Chicago at the end of July. I believe there are somewhere around 10 of us meeting there, and I'm totally excited! It's guaranteed to be a wonderful time. Jamie was so cool about me going - and I love him for that. :)

Happy Birthday, Coach!

2009-04-26T18:23:00.013-05:00

Yesterday our coach turned 35, and we have been celebrating all weekend! We've had several great meals, cake, chocolate fondue, and a lot of great family time. I'm not sure who had more fun - Jamie or Elise! We also worked in a Mustang baseball game - we won! Jamie said his birthday was absolutely perfect. I'm glad, because he deserves it! :)

The first party (Saturday) - This one included a delicious steak dinner, cookie cake, chocolate fondue, and presents.

A handmade card from Elise

Coach had plenty of help unwrapping his gifts.

We had round 2 today at Jamie's dad's house. Wes took us all to eat at Guadalajara's, then we went back to their house to relax and visit. I think Mom left with more gifts than Jamie! She and Darlene share of love of plants and gardening, and Darlene generously shared a bunch of cuttings from their yard with Mom. While Mom, Darlene, and Elise played in the yard, Wes (who is a professional jeweler) was kind enough to do some work on our wedding rings. Our rings are white gold and were in desperate need of replating. He polished out all the scratches and replated our rings, and they now look brand new again! Dad watched the whole process and was fascinated and impressed by all the equipment Wes has in the house and how talented he is. Of course I had the camera along...

I know I speak for all us when I say I hope we have many more perfect birthdays for years to come.

Sleeping Beauty

2009-04-25T08:36:00.001-05:00

Every mother can appreciate the beauty of a sleeping child. I've always *loved* to watch Elise while she's sleeping. There is just something so peaceful, serene, and perfect about her. When she was a baby, I used to sit on the floor in her nursery next to her crib and watch her sleep every single night. While I was sitting there admiring my beautiful baby, I would think to myself how quickly she would grow up. I wanted to just freeze that moment in time & capture it so I could remember what she looked like forever.

You've probably noticed that I post a lot of pictures of Elise sleeping. I go up to her room to peek in on her every single night still to this day. Thank goodness she's a heavy sleeper!

Over the course of the years, I've gotten a lot of pictures. Some are angelic. Some are funny. Some are just downright wacky!

She slept in her swing from the time she was about 2 months old until she was 5 months old. I know, bad idea, but it was far superior to how she slept for the first 2 months - ON ME! :) I didn't know the true meaning of exhaustion until Elise came along. Oh the plight of the mommy of a reflux baby.

She went through a phase of sleeping with her arms over her head. I thought it was pretty funny.

This one is cute, but comes with a disclaimer: I didn't actually let her sleep with all those toys and a blanket when she was this small. I would keep a close eye on her and remove them once she was sleeping.

Then there was the "butt in the air" phase.

I still don't know how she managed this...

One of the few times she's fallen asleep on the couch:

Worn out after a fun-filled day at Disney! I think this might be the one and only time she's ever slept in public!

And last but not least...the picture that inspired this post! Jamie and I found Elise like this one night last week...

Sweet Dreams!!

BIG NEWS!!!!

2009-04-20T21:47:00.001-05:00

Jamie and I have some very exciting news to share, and I've been dying to talk about it! I've had to wait until everything is official, and I can finally share our news tonight because the school board voted today to confirm Jamie as the new Defensive Coordinator (for the football team) and Head Baseball Coach at Danbury High School. We are trading in our blue and white and becoming Danbury Panthers beginning with the 2009-2010 school year.

This is a bittersweet move for Jamie. We are SO excited about this huge promotion. It's what he has been working so hard to achieve for years now, and he is very deserving. At the same time, Jamie has made a lot of wonderful friends here in Friendswood, and he's become emotionally invested with so many of the kids. He's having a tough time with the idea of saying goodbye.

This is a really neat and amazing moment for me as his wife. When Jamie and I first met and began dating, we talked a lot about his career and his goals. When I agreed to marry him, I was committed to being his partner in every way - which I knew included supporting his career aspirations. We talked at length about the fact that he was not content in the assistant coach role for the duration of his career. We had a few serious talks about the lifestyle of a coaching family. More often than not, promotions come with moves. Jamie knows how close Elise and I are to my parents, and he asked me if I would be willing to pick up and move with him if he got a job offer in another town someday. The moment he asked me this question, I knew he was my soulmate. I have never met anyone else who I loved enough to leave my family for them. So, I made this committment to him - that I would follow his dreams right alongside him, wherever it may lead us. It wasn't even a hard committment to make. The fact that Jamie dedicates his life to working with kids is one of the main reasons I fell in love with him. We all know that teaching and coaching doesn't ever make you rich - but our family is wealthy in many ways nonetheless. ;)

I think that is one of the most amazing things about this opportunity. I was willing to move for him - and now we won't have to (at least not for a while). We've been entertaining a few possibilities for the upcoming school year - one which would have required a move. We've been very torn about what to do should Jamie get offered both jobs. We've prayed about this decision a lot - and my mom has been telling us that we will end up wherever we are meant to be. She was right, of course. The other job fell through the very same week Jamie was offered the Danbury position. Our decision was made for us, and it comes with so many positives. We could not be happier about how it has all worked out.

Jamie has been very selective about where he interviews, because he takes Elise's education very seriously. He only has a few districts in the state where he would be willing to have Elise educated, and if we cannot live in one of those districts, he will not accept a job - no matter the position. He was offered a very similar job last year (DC and head baseball at Palestine High School) and turned it down since there aren't any decent schools in the area for Elise. We've waited 3 years for this to come along, and it's truly a huge answer to prayer. We will be able to keep our house, stay near my parents, and enroll Elise in one of the best school districts in the area for the fall when she begins Kindergarten. We thank God for how He worked this situation out for the best of everyone. He really heard & answered our prayers!

On a more personal note, I can't end this post without expressing how proud I feel. Jamie is an amazing person, father, husband, and coach. During the past 3 years, he has amazed me with his accomplishments. He's been an attentive husband and father, coached TWO state semi-finalist teams, taught & mentored hundreds of kids, and worked towards a masters degree in Education Administration. He will graduate this summer right before he kicks off his first football season as a Defensive Coordinator. I can see the impact he is having on the lives of so many kids on a daily basis. We've had so many parents approach us to thank Jamie for everything he's done for their child. It means so much to hear that - nothing is more important to a parent than their child. I can tell how much the kids love him - we can't seem to go anywhere without running into at least a few! :) I don't know how he's found enough hours in his days to do all that he does. I admire him so much, and I am so proud to be his wife.

I love you, baby. Danbury is getting an amazing coach. GO PANTHERS!!!

Incidentally, although Jamie has expressed how much he will miss blue and white, I am a little excited about the black and gold...it's a throwback to my college days!

Disney on Ice

2009-04-19T19:40:00.008-05:00

We braved the torrential downpour in Houston yesterday to take Elise to see Disney on Ice. I wondered if we had lost our minds a few times on the way as we avoided flooding streets and all kinds of other road hazards, but thanks to God's protection we made it there and back safely. Elise enjoyed it immensely, and of course Tinkerbell was her favorite part. :) Thank you for the great time, Grandma!

Easter Weekend ~ 2009

2009-04-10T17:43:00.018-05:00

It's been a busy, but wonderful Easter weekend.

Good Friday

I saw an ad for an event at Jumpin' Jungle (one of those indoor jump places, like Pump It Up). For only $8 your child got 1 hour of jumping, a snack and drink, a visit from the Easter Bunny, and an Easter egg hunt! I couldn't pass up that opportunity, so Elise and I went in the morning while Jamie went in search of a book he needs for his last class in his masters degree program. He didn't find his book and ended up having to order it on amazon, but Elise and I had a great time.

Jamie surprised us at lunchtime with shrimp from Red Lobster for him to share with Elise and La Madeline's tomato soup and ceasar salad for me! It was a great treat, since I almost never eat at La Madeline anymore, because I am the only one in our house that likes it. Thank you, my love! :)

We took our bluebonnet pictures, and then Elise spent a lot of time playing outside. We came inside, got cleaned up, ate dinner, and went with my parents to see our church's Easter production, Journey To The Cross. It's important to me that Elise understands what Easter means. I think it can be easily overshadowed by the bunny, egg hunts, and other festivities. I want her to enjoy those things too, so it's a tough balance. Hopefully we did a good job striking the balance this year.

I have to add a tidbit about a phone conversation Elise had with Great Grandmother. She mailed some Easter gifts for Elise, so we called to thank her. Elise got on the phone and said, "Thank you for my presents. I hope you send some more soon." Then she proceeded to sing Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer. I guess we need to work on our thank yous a bit, as well as review our holidays again! LOL

Saturday

We colored our Easter eggs! :)

The rest of the day was spent just relaxing as a family, which was wonderful!

Easter Sunday

Luke 24:1-7
(1)It was very early in the morning on the first day of the week. The women took the spices they had prepared. Then they went to the tomb. (2) They found the stone rolled away from it. (3) When they entered the tomb, they did not find the body of Lord Jesus. (4) They were wondering about this. Suddenly two men in clothes as bright as lightening stood beside them. (5) The women were terrified. They bowed down with their faces to the ground. The men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? (6) Jesus is not here! He is risen! Remember how he told you he would rise. It was while he was still with you in Galilee. (7) He said 'The son of man must be handed over to sinful people. He must be nailed to a cross. On the third day he will rise from the dead.'"

Our services began this morning on a somewhat somber note as it was announced that a former youth pastor of our church suffered a heart attack early in the morning at his church. At the time of our service the outcome was not known; however, I learned shortly after arriving home that doctors were unable to revive him and he passed away on this Easter morning. It is a great loss, but it is comforting to imagine him celebrating on this joyous day in Heaven with Jesus Himself.

The service was beautiful, and since our senior pastor is recovering from surgery, they brought a former pastor from our church out of retirement to preach this morning. It was very special to me, because Rev. Meador confirmed me in the church when I was only 13 years old. It was wonderful to see him again today.

Since we attended the early service today, we all came home and took much needed naps! This evening we had a very nice family dinner with both sets of our parents. It's been so long since we had quality time with Jamie's parents - it was a really, really nice visit. As usual, mom had a wonderful spread of food prepared for us, including appetizers, steaks, and chocolate fondue for dessert. I ate so much that I am miserable!

April showers bring May flowers

2009-04-10T16:09:00.007-05:00

Well, it's still April, and the showers are coming this weekend!

Being a Texas girl, I love seeing the bluebonnets bloom in the spring. I had plans to drive out to Brenham this year to get some pictures, but the timing just wasn't working out for us. I'm still planning on it one of these years, and I'd like to take a professional photographer with me when I go. But for this year, these will do. :) Thanks, Jennifer, for letting us in on your secret spot!! ;)

Fun with iPhone photo apps

2009-04-05T22:50:00.007-05:00

I had way too much fun this afternoon, and no one was immune...not even Gizmo! :)

I like to call this one..."Houston, we have a problem..."

Go, mom!

How appropriate for my girl who loves flowers more than anyone I know!

Our crew at the zoo

2009-03-29T20:52:00.008-05:00

We made a very spur of the moment decision this afternoon to visit the zoo. The weather was beautiful with not a cloud in the sky. We know it's going to get very hot soon, so we just decided to take advantage of the cooler weather today and spend time outdoors. It was the perfect day for the zoo. All the animals were out and about, moving around, and laying in the sun.

Go Longhorns!

After we got home, Elise helped me water the flowers and played outside while Jamie mowed the grass. She was so exhausted that she actually asked to go to bed tonight! Now that's a first.

1-2-3-4-5, Once I caught a fish alive!

2009-03-24T19:46:00.001-05:00

Elise sings this song all the time:

1-2-3-4-5, Once I caught a fish alive,
6-7-8-9-10, Then I let him go again.
Why did you let him go?
Because he bit my finger so.
Which finger did he bite?
This little pinky on the right!

This past Saturday, she finally got to catch her first real fish! She's been looking forward to this. My dad has been promising to take her fishing for a few weeks now. I can remember the first time he took me fishing and how exciting it was to share his favorite hobby. It was neat to go along and see Elise have this experience too. :) Of course, she was afraid of the fish, but I expected that! In addition to catching a few fish, we also fed the turtles and ducks. It was a great activity for the first weekend of spring.

Spring is in the air!

2009-03-24T19:30:00.000-05:00

Spring has arrived!!! We've had a series of absolutely gorgeous days around here, and we are really enjoying it. I'm normally not that into spring. I am more of a fall girl. I love winter clothes, hot chocolate, the holidays, etc. However, this year I am really, really excited for spring. The warm sun feels so nice - I am ready for it! There is a rejuvenating feeling in the air. I potted some flowers for the porch over the weekend, and Jamie has been doing some work in the yard. Things are looking nice and green out there. :)

Twilight was released on DVD last Saturday, and YES, I already have my copy! I wasn't into it enough to wait in line at midnight Friday night, but we made a trip to WalMart Saturday afternoon and luckily they still had one display of DVDs left. I was telling Jamie how excited I am, because I just found out that Eclipse will be in theaters June 30,2010 (so only about 6 months after the release of New Moon). Then he compared me to a Trekkie, which I just found insulting because those folks are weirdos. And surely I am not a weirdo....hmmm....maybe if I showed up at the premiere in a Volturi costume. (No, I do NOT plan on it! LOL)

My dad and Jamie are bonding over March Madness. They've been texting each other quite a bit since the tournament began. I'm glad they have each other, because that means mom and I don't have to pretend to be interested. LOL It's not that I don't like it, but I just don't have the kind of time I used to have to really follow all the teams, and it's not as fun to watch when you don't care who wins. One of the girls I know online has a brother who plays for Gonzaga, so that is pretty neat! I caught part of their game the other day and it was fun to root for him.

Baseball tournaments are officially over! So, we have regained our weekends until playoff time. Hooray!

Easter Sunday is only a little more than 2 weeks away, and Disney on Ice is only 3 weeks away. I cannot believe it. I am really glad I did the Easter Bunny shopping early this year - it has really snuck up on me.

Fish and 4-year olds

2009-03-15T17:35:00.003-05:00

Lulu II has officially outlived the original Lulu's life expectancy. I've also learned the window of interest as far as a fish and a 4-year old are concerned. It's about 48 hours for anyone out there who is curious or was considering a fish for their own 4-yr old. Especially problematic is the fact that the average lifespan of a beta is 2-3 years. I see many months ahead where poor grandma will be feeding and caring for Lulu II, and Elise has completely lost interest. Ah well, live and learn!

Also, speaking of fish...Elise has become very interested in an iPhone application called Flick Fishing. Jamie downloaded it on the recommendation of some of his students, and since Elise has learned to play she has become addicted! I never would have guessed this would be such a hit with her. She has basically taken over our phones (I downloaded the game also for those times when Coach is not home). She is truly grandpa's girl!

Future Mommy

2009-03-14T23:44:00.002-05:00

Notice how the stuffed animal has been tucked into bed. I find Elise sleeping like this a few times a week, and it always makes me smile.

Fridays

2009-03-13T22:37:00.009-05:00

For a little over a year now I have been on an alternate work week schedule, which allows me to work 9 hour days and take every other Friday off. My dad is retired, and somewhere along the way, we decided to start spending my Fridays off together. Today was my day off, and dad and I were talking about what a blessing his early retirement has been for our family. I've had so many special times with him when everyone else was working. I got pregnant with Elise the exact month he retired, and I can honestly say that I don't know how I would have made it without him. When I was on bed rest during my pregnancy, dad came over and sat with me every single day. He brought me lunch and sometimes dinner too. He kept me company and helped me stay calm. I can't even remember how many Astros games we watched together - me laying on my left side on the couch and dad in the recliner.

Then Elise was born, and I was on my own with my tiny baby. Oh my - I was so clueless! My maternity leave was an intensely lonely time for me. I had a lot of health problems and since Elise was a preemie, I could not take her out for a long time. I was basically housebound, and if it weren't for dad coming by every single afternoon to sit with me and hold Elise so I could take a shower, I think I might have gone insane. He was my only contact with the outside world for days at a time. Mom stopped by a lot as well, but she was working full time and couldn't stay for more than just an hour or so in the evening. For the first 4 months, Elise wouldn't sleep unless she was being held. To give me a break, dad used to sit with her and let her sleep on his chest - every single day. Those times we had together during my maternity leave will be cherished forever.

Aren't they cute??

Dad was sitting with me the day I hemorrhaged and drove me to the hospital - he was very literally my lifesaver. I will never forget crawling to the car on my hands and knees to go to the ER. Thank God for his ability to drive us there safely under the circumstances!

Life with Elise has gotten a lot easier since those early days, but he still helps us all the time - I can't even count how many times he's delivered forgotten dance shoes to the school, picked up Elise when Jamie and I were running late, met repair men at our house, etc. He is truly a wonderful grandpa and father.

I love & treasure my Fridays with dad. We always have lunch together, and inevitably he ends up chauffeuring me around to run all my errands that have piled up throughout the week. We've had a lot of great conversations while driving from place to place and eating lunch. Of all the people in my life I am most like my dad, so he really "gets" me. If anything is ever bothering me, we always talk it out on our Fridays. I'm also amazed at how much we can get accomplished! Just today we did the following:

Stood in a crazy long line to get my passport. The idea of having to live with my less than stellar passport photo for the next 10 years is causing me a bit of anguish, but I suppose I will survive.

Went shopping for some spring/summer clothes for Elise (and found a few cute things for my Jamaica trip in the process). It felt kind of silly since it was raining and 40-something degrees today, but it's already been in the 80s and I know the warm weather will return very soon. Of course nothing from last summer fits. We also hit Stride Rite for Elise's summer shoes.

Stopped in the bookstore, and picked up a few books. I just randomly grabbed one called Love Walked In. It's a NY Times Bestseller, and it looks like a nice, light, romantic read. Then I went ahead and picked up Kushiel's Dart. Last but not least, I finally got around to buying Parenting With Love & Logic, which is a parenting book I've been meaning to read for quite some time now. Amanda recommended this one to me, and I think our parenting styles are similar enough that if she likes it, I will too! I love reading books about relationships and parenting. Speaking of which, I read an AWESOME book called His Needs Her Needs recently. It was very eye opening, and I think every married couple should read it! After I read it, I really understood why Jamie and I are such a good pair - we share a lot of the same basic needs. Fascinating stuff! I wish I had read it many years ago.

Had some great, hot soup at Panera Bread

Thank you, Dad...for EVERYTHING.

What's up?

2009-03-07T16:48:00.003-06:00

Lulu bit the dust. Already. A replacement Lulu was purchased yesterday. I now take back my statement in my last post where I said it was good that Lulu was living with the grandparents, since I would kill her (him, but I am humoring Elise). Apparently it doesn't make much of a difference where Lulu lives after all. I'm going to call the new fish Lulu II.
Jamie's JV baseball team won the championship at their tournament this weekend. I am sure it was due mostly to excellent coaching. We now have 2 tournaments down with only 1 to go. Jamie and I are both ready for them to be over.
We booked a trip to Jamaica this past week with Jeremy, Candace, Jeff, and Debbie. I would leave tomorrow if I could - it really just cannot get here fast enough. Unfortunately we will have to wait until summer, but it's something great to anticipate.
Jamie is mad that dad's Jayhawks beat Texas. I can't cheer for either one, because *someone* is going to be upset either way!
I was going through my summer wardrobe, because in my mind I am already packing for our trip. I discovered that I am in need of some nice, open toed shoes. I mostly live in flip flops during the summer, but I want something cute and strappy for our nights out in Jamaica. So far I haven't found anything I like. I don't want a huge heel, because I am already almost 6 feet tall. But I don't want a flat either, because they look too casual. Aren't there any cute, 1-inch heeled, summery shoes out there?
I'm also revamping my swimsuit collection. I want some suits that are a bit more conservative, but still bikinis. I feel like I'm beyond the days of string bikinis, in more ways than one. I ordered one cute suit from Old Navy this morning, and I want to get a few others for the trip.
Okay, so I know Tara has recommended Kushiel's Dart (and the whole series) as my next reading project. I have to admit, I picked it up at Barnes & Noble and began reading the first page, and I had to think WAY too hard to keep up. I ended up not buying it. Tara, you are way smarter than I! But I am thinking about reconsidering and trying again while laying on the beach this summer. Maybe I could clear my head enough to follow along? And I am getting a real kick out of the llama that pulls up on the author's home page. LMAO! It must be a sign that I should pick up this book right away.
Twilight is out on DVD on March 21st. I can't wait to buy it and watch it again. :) Jamie is looking over my shoulder as I type this and making fun of me for being so into this series for teenagers. What he would never admit is that he enjoyed the movie and is looking forward to New Moon. ;)
My friend Lisa has finally set a wedding date after being engaged for like 4 years. I'm excited for her! I am helping with the wedding planning, which is very fun as long as it's not my wedding.

Introducing Lulu!

2009-02-28T20:52:00.003-06:00

Elise is the proud owner of a new beta whom she decided to name Lulu. I tried explaining to her that fancy betas are boys (the females are very plain looking), but she insists that hers is a GIRL.

A huge debt of gratitude is owed to Grandma & PaPa who have agreed to let Lulu live at their house, because mommy has absolutely no desire to care for a fish. The poor thing would probably die over here!

*I am so anal that I just googled "when to use who and whom" to make sure my first sentence is grammatically correct. I just got a lovely refresher on subjective & objective pronouns. I am studying grammar on a Saturday night - I clearly need help.

Just for you, Ang! :)

2009-02-26T20:44:00.000-06:00

This song reminds me of Twilight

2009-02-23T21:26:00.002-06:00

I've been listening to it and thinking of Edward and Bella a lot lately - yes I am Twilight obsessed! I totally think this song should be used in the Breaking Dawn soundtrack. I'm so excited that New Moon will be playing in NOVEMBER!!! Just 9 months to go! And they've finally given the green light to make Breaking Dawn (the 4th and last book) into a movie...so we should get to see all 4 on the big screen. Totally pumped.

Lucky Strike

2009-02-23T21:22:00.003-06:00

Jamie and I went bowling with 2 other couples on Saturday night. We had a great time - our friends are such fun company. And I had a lovely view for most of the evening if I do say so myself...gotta love camera phones. :)

Jesus Loves Me

2009-02-21T10:18:00.005-06:00

Elise's first dental visit

2009-02-20T20:53:00.002-06:00

This post is late, but better late than never (I say that a lot, don't I?).

Elise had her first trip to the dentist a few weeks ago and got a glowing report. I was thrilled, because never in my life have I ever received good news from a dentist! At the end of the visit she got to choose a toy from the surprise box. What she chose really cracked me up.

A little too connected?

2009-02-20T20:41:00.002-06:00

I've become one of those people...one of those people that bugs the heck out of me. One of those overly connected people.

There is nothing worse than being around someone that is constantly checking their Blackberry. It is one of my pet peeves - especially during a business meeting. Since getting the iPhone, I have become one of those people! I am feeling quite hypocritical. This thing is connected to my Facebook account & my email. Every time I get an email, my phone immediately notifies me. Knowing I have an email, of course I can't resist opening it to see what it is.

On all 3 of my message boards and Facebook, I have it set to send me an email each time I receive a private message, someone writes on my wall, etc. You see where this is headed...I am instantly responsive to all forms of email & messaging. I am sure my friends think I do nothing but sit in front of my computer 24/7! I assure you all, I am out and about doing normal things - but this dang phone has me so connected that I might as well be at the computer nonstop.

I'm not sure if this is a good thing. When I find myself typing emails while driving, I am certain it's a BAD thing. I am going to have to adjust some settings, because I am beginning to become a slave to all this technology. It is super cool to have the capability to browse Facebook while sitting in the movie theater, but it might not be the healthiest thing. Thank goodness I am not required to carry a Blackberry for work - that might push me right off the edge and into the deep end.

Fight for a smoke-free Texas

2009-02-15T21:43:00.004-06:00

A friend of a friend suffered a huge loss last year when her husband - who never smoked - died of lung cancer. She sent me this information in an email, and I felt compelled to post it here since this is something that I feel pretty passionately about myself. I despise having to breathe secondhand smoke in order to enjoy a nice dinner out with my family, and I get inifinitely more upset when my child is exposed. Go, Lance! I am sending a letter to my representative.

"The debate is over, the science is clear." Those are the words from a recent U.S. Surgeon General's report on secondhand smoke. The evidence is overwhelming: smoke-free policies are good for health and good for business. That's why the Lance Armstrong Foundation is teaming up with elected officials, business leaders and other nonprofits to fight to make Texas a smoke-free state.Join us by sending a letter of support for a smoke-free Texas to your elected officials today.In Austin, Houston, Dallas, Corpus Christi and countless other communities across the state, citizens have voted for similar measures and taken steps to make their communities a healthier place to live and work. And in a recent survey of Texans, we learned that more than 67 percent support statewide protections against second-hand smoke.So today, February 10, advocates from across the state will converge on the State Capitol to ask their elected officials to help us make a difference in the lives of our fellow Texans. As someone who is deeply concerned about the health and well-being of my neighbors, I am asking you to help us show how much Texans care about this issue.Send a letter today to your elected officials to amplify the voices of the advocates at the Capitol.We proved with the passage of Proposition 15 in 2007 that Texans care deeply about their health and wellness, and we showed the power of what is possible when we organize. So let us stand together once more and fight for what is right for us and for future generations.

LIVESTRONG,
Lance Armstrong

Love Day

2009-02-14T18:00:00.002-06:00

Valentine's Day holds a special place in my heart, not only because it's a day to celebrate love, but also because it is the day that I first met my love. Exactly 3 years ago today, Jamie and I had our first date. We have basically been inseparable ever since. It's odd, because 3 years really isn't that long, but it feels like it's been this way forever. I think I was pretty lost before Jamie came along. It feels good to be found. Every year around this time I think back to our first meeting, and it always brings a smile to my face.

We got a great Valentine from Elise this morning - she slept until 8:30! :) We gave her a gift from us and all snuggled in bed for a few minutes this morning before Jamie had to head up to the school for the last day of the 100-Inning Game fundraiser. Elise and I had a more leisurely morning at home and arrived at the field a bit later. We were just in time to watch the last game before the lunch break and enjoy the BBQ. I chatted with Trish and Mary for a bit and Elise got to play with her friend Drew. It was nice to spend the day together enjoying one of Jamie's favorite livelihoods...baseball! I'm learning to love it, because I love him. ;) I brought my camera with the intention of getting some pictures to share, but the rain showed up before I took any and cut our day short. No worries, though - the season is just beginning and there will be plenty of time for pictures!

We are having a nice, quiet evening at home tonight. Mom and Dad are having Elise spend the night with them, so I am sure we will incorporate some candlelight into our evening. I got Jamie some golf balls to go with his new set of Callaway clubs and a cookie cake (I know, it's not romantic, but it's what he likes). He got me this teapot along with this tea in a decorative storage tin. It's a "blooming tea", which means as the tea steeps, it opens into beautiful flowers, which you can see through the glass teapot. I love it! I've had my eye on it for a while, and it's very sweet that he remembered. As it turns out, this is great weather for a nice cup of hot tea - thunderstorms and all. It's also great snuggling weather, and we are making the most of it!

Happy Love Day. I hope everyone finds the kind of love we have found in each other.

My Bailey is 2!

2009-02-12T20:05:00.004-06:00

Today is Bailey's 2nd birthday. In just 2 short years he's gone from this:

To this!

It just so happens that Elise and I are baking cookies for her Valentine Party at school tomorrow, so we gave each of the dogs a cookie to celebrate. :)

National Signing Day

2009-02-05T06:00:00.001-06:00

Well, a day late, but better late than never! 3 of the athletes from our football team signed college scholarship papers yesterday. Our QB is going to Texas Tech, one of our wide receivers is going to Rice, and another guy (I'm forgetting his position at the moment) is going to North Texas. Congrats to them all! It's exciting to have 3 players signed in one year.

Super Bowl Sunday

2009-02-01T21:40:00.004-06:00

We had a nice evening watching the Super Bowl with lots of good food! Mom surprised us all with chocolate fondue! She had such a good time at The Melting Pot that she went out and got her own fondue set. It was delicious. We dipped marshmallows, strawberries, bananas, cheesecake, and rice krispy treats. YUM!

She also got 3D glasses for everyone so we could enjoy the 3D commercials during halftime. Elise thought that was pretty cool.

I wish the Cardinals had pulled out the win - it was an exciting ending! I thought the commercials were kind of disappointing this year, although I wasn't paying very close attention so I may have missed some neat ones.

Thanks for the food & fun, Mom & Dad! :)

Around the house

2009-02-01T19:55:00.003-06:00

A few pictures we've taken recently at home. Some puppy love and Mario Kart - what more could we ask for??

Family Pictures

2009-02-01T18:12:00.003-06:00

I think we got some nice ones.

I have no idea why, but when I embed the slide show in this post, it removes all the widgets from the side of the page...very odd. They are still there but just don't show up. So, anyway, I am moving the slide show to the top of the page until I can figure out what is up!

This random stuff is starting to grow on me.

2009-01-31T17:27:00.006-06:00

Maybe because I feel too drained to type full paragraphs.

I decided a few days ago after learning a bit more about Kurt Warner that I am cheering for the Cardinals in the Super Bowl tomorrow. Plus, I love an underdog. Go, Arizona! I'm making a bunch of food for the game tomorrow. I'll post a new recipe on my kitchen blog tonight or tomorrow.
Jamie and I watched Juno last weekend. I haven't watched a full movie in quite a while. It was such a sweet movie. I loved it, and it hurt a little too. It's definitely worth seeing if you haven't already.
I made a birthday dinner for mom last night and we had our family party. It was really nice. :)
Jamie started baseball tryouts yesterday. So, we're officially in baseball season. He seems really pleased with his group so far this year, so that is good. Our varsity will start the season ranked 3rd in the state by the THSBCA (Texas High School Baseball Coaches' Association).
Jamie interviewed for a new job last week and will hopefully have an interview with another school in the near future. We know he's a long shot for one of the jobs, but it seems like he might have a decent shot at the other. We're praying that we end up wherever God can use Jamie's skills and abilities the best.
We are having family portraits taken tomorrow. Just a regular studio picture this time.
If you haven't checked out Ed Hardy's fragrance for women, you are missing out. Not the new one called Love & Luck, but the original one. I don't like the new one much - it's a little too "musky" for my taste. But OH.MY.GOSH...the other one is to die for. I just think Ed Hardy is plain cool to begin with, and this perfume is possibly the best I've ever bought. That is saying a lot, because I have a perfume fetish and I've tried nearly everything. It's cheaper than Romance (Ralph Lauren, my 2nd fav) and Allure (Chanel, my 3rd fav), and it's better. Jamie loves it too.
Mom and Jamie have both been telling me for weeks now that I need to get Elise's hair cut, so I finally broke down today and took her for a trim. I've waited so long for her to get a decent amount of hair that I hate the idea of cutting it! But I have to admit, it does look neater after the trim. Mom said I should have cut another 1/2 inch, but I am happy with it. Now she'll look extra sharp in our pictures tomorrow. :)
I'm looking for a new book to read now that I've completed the Twilight saga and taken a small break from reading. It's going to be a very tough series to follow. Any recommendations?

More Random Stuff That Nobody Cares About

2009-01-25T23:38:00.003-06:00

I know this stuff is not interesting to anyone. I write it purely for my own amusement.

I discovered perhaps the coolest thing ever created tonight at the grocery store. Okay, so you know how you buy applesauce in the little individual serving containers with the foil wrap junk on top? Well, get this...they now make pickles in these containers!!! Yes, that is right. Yummy, crunchy, delicious little baby dill pickles in the small, individual applesauce looking container. If that isn't the best thing ever, I don't know what is. I love pickles! I purchased 6 of them. Jamie thinks I am crazy. He's probably right.
I discovered that I have a new favorite wine - Riesling. I tried it for the first time, because I wanted the blue bottle that it came in. It was just a really pretty bottle, and I wanted to put some Christmas lights inside. As it turns out, the wine is not bad either! I've purchased some more, and I am enjoying a glass right now.
I'm so proud of myself for overcoming some of my anal tendencies. I have clean laundry folded and stacked all over our coffee table. And I am going to leave it there overnight and put it away tomorrow. This is truly an accomplishment! One step closer to not sweating the small stuff! Hooray!
I've gotten Jamie addicted to one of my favorite iPhone applications called Textropolis. He was looking over my shoulder as I played earlier today, and he's now downloaded it on his iPhone and is sitting next to me on the couch playing it. He cannot put it down. It's 11:44pm and we both have to work tomorrow, and he's playing Textropolis. And I'm blogging. What is wrong with us??
Speaking of iPhone apps, I am getting a kick out of a new one I got today called Chicktionary. If you have an iPhone or iPod Touch, you must download this game. It's a total hoot! I am loving all the word games.
Jamie just put down his phone and announced that it's bedtime, so I guess I better shut it down! How is that for random?

Mom's Early Birthday Dinner

2009-01-25T22:32:00.004-06:00

We took Mom to The Melting Pot last night for a wonderful fondue meal to celebrate her birthday a week early. It's not a child friendly place, so we needed to go while Elise was with her dad. We are having another party with Elise on her actual birthday this coming Friday. We did the full, 4 course meal and it was to die for! I think mom and dad both really enjoyed their first fondue experience. I was telling mom that when Elise gets older, it will be fun to do a girls' brunch of cheese and chocolate. So much to look forward to! :)

Bathtime!

2009-01-25T22:28:00.005-06:00

Jamie took the boys outside and hosed them down the other day. It cracked me up that he used an old loofa sponge to scrub them down. They are so big now - there's really no other way to do it! And yes, that is literally a trough. :)

The Peaceful Transition of Power - Inauguration 2009

2009-01-20T06:00:00.001-06:00

I've always been in awe of inaugurations in the United States. Regardless of the new President and the party they represent, it's a day that every single American should view with great pride. The way our country has mastered a peaceful transition of power from one party to another is truly something we should all appreciate. These types of transitions spark war and violence in many other regions of the world.

Today's inauguration marks a historical moment in United States history, because we will be swearing in the first black President in our country's history. Again, whether you are a democrat or not this is a major milestone. Just one day after the celebration of Martin Luther King Day, we are another step closer to acheiving his dream.

I also think it is important to recognize President Bush as he moves out of the White House today. He has become a controversial figure, however I recognize that his actions have always been in what he considered to be the best interests of our country. He strived to keep us safe from another terrorist attack after 9/11 and was successful in that endeavor. I feel thankful for his service, even though he and I disagree on an issue here and there. ;) It is hard to imagine the range of emotions that he and Laura will experience as they make this huge transition. Many prayers to them.

So, whether you voted for Barack Obama or not, celebrate today. We are fortunate to have the right to do so.

Random Tidbits & Updates

2009-01-17T19:49:00.003-06:00

Mom bought tickets for us to all take Elise to see Disney on Ice in April. She got the VIP tickets and we are apparently going to be on the 2nd row! Yay - something to look forward to! Elise keeps asking to go back to Disneyworld, so maybe this will be a decent consolation prize.
Dad and I saw Marley & Me yesterday - OH.MY.GOSH...it was so good, but sooo hard to watch at times. I loved how the life cycle of the dog mirrored the life cycle of the relationship. It was great, but I don't think it would be possible to watch it without crying. Marley reminded me a little bit of Bailey.
Elise has learned to sing Jesus Loves Me and Jesus Loves the Little Children. I will have to post a video soon. It is super cute.
We had such a fabulous meal at The Melting Pot for New Years Eve that mom has decided she wants to go try it out for her birthday. We are all taking her next Saturday as her gift.
Elise's favorite phrase lately is, "When I was 3..." Apparently everything happened back when she was 3. And she speaks like it was just ages ago. It's pretty funny.
We are thinking of planning a long weekend in San Antonio sometime around Spring Break. Jamie has been tempted by some cheap airfares to Vegas and a deal our timeshare is running for free room upgrades to Vegas, but I am trying to steer things more towards San Antonio. It's not that I don't love Vegas - but we were just there over the summer and it will be more fun to go back when we can take some friends along. Plus San Antonio will be much cheaper and Elise would get to join us.
Baseball tryouts are scheduled for January 30th, so it won't be long until the season is beginning. The break has been short but nice. I think Jamie is almost ready to get back on the field.
Jamie & I both got iPhones about a week ago and we are both totally in love with them. This is the best gadget I've ever owned, and I know Jamie loves his as well. I don't think I could ever go back to a regular cell phone again. It's worth every penny! I think mom wants one now too.
Mom is getting a huge promotion at work and moving to a new department. The pay raise is substantial to say the least, and she won't have a carry a pager and Blackberry anymore (which equals less stress). I'm so excited for her!

It Feels Like Today

Yet again I am behind!

Back to normal

Another week of elf mischief!

The Festival of Lights

Elise's Class Party

Santa on the firetruck

Santa, baby!

Another wacky week with the elves!

Naughty Elves!!!

Stowaways

Shoes!

Decorating the tree

Cards, anyone?

The reaction!

They're baaaack!!!

Thanksgiving pictures

How a broken hip and car wreck can be a blessing

Halloween!

Our first WIN!!!!!!!

Overdue update

Ah, I do love this song

Our Fairy

He should have been a hunting dog!

Pumpkin Patch

A reader in the making!

Donuts with Dudes

My Loves and Puppy Loves

My birthday and fall decorations

Transitions

Just because I think it's cute

Pictures from the last 2 weeks

A Week of Firsts

Bed Buddies

Caliputers and other cute sayings

Here we go!

Crazy Dog

All in a day's work!

Summer fun

The Party!

Neat story

Our girl is FIVE!

Our Weekend (a few days late!)

Jamaica - Day 5

Jamaica - Day 4

Jamaica - Day 3

Jamaica - Day 2

Jamaica - Day 1

Early Father's Day Celebration

Caring is sharing

Our Girl

Reflections

My Graduate

My Dancer

We did it!

You win some, you lose some.

A narrow escape

Some action shots of my love

Just because I think it's cute

Life is crazy

It's that time again

Now *this* is love!

Good Grief!

A great day

Just wanted to share

The Last Game

Recap

Happy Birthday, Coach!

Sleeping Beauty

BIG NEWS!!!!

Disney on Ice

Easter Weekend ~ 2009

April showers bring May flowers

Fun with iPhone photo apps

Our crew at the zoo

1-2-3-4-5, Once I caught a fish alive!

Spring is in the air!

Fish and 4-year olds

Future Mommy

Fridays

Now this is love!