snow in kansas

little trouble maker throwing snow balls!

grey, alaina, shaelin. it was too cold for poor ella to come out.

alaina making the biggest snow ball

grey wanted to sled so bad, but just not quite enough snow!

chistmas in pictures

ella loving on her bitty baby

ella opening her bitty baby. daddy decided she had to have it!

tearing off the paper!

grey was already absorbed in the DS, or as he used to say, the TS. then he saw the box and that it was really DS.

ella feeding her twin cabbage patch babies.

opening up the DS.

the much desired helicopter.

opening a present

ella enjoyed opening a few as well. she would tire out quicker, so we put her down for naps and would open and set up a few of hers at a time so she'd see them all when she woke up.

kids in front of the tree, dying to get their hands on the gifts!

playing with santa toys.

Joy of the Day

Today my joy is my family! I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones!

some favorite christmas eve pictures!

it snowed and grey was soooo cold! he couldn't smile for a picture!
ella hunting in our backyard! this girl is too funny!

billy and grey making papa karls wassal. yum!!

ella tasting santas cookies. she had to be sure they were ok for him!

joy of the day

today it comes from the final preparations for christmas. we are so looking forward to mimi and tacey coming and having our dear friends over and seeing our friends and family in kansas - just so much to look forward to!


update - another joy for today! it's SNOWING!!!

joy of the day

today my joy comes from knowing this is my last working day of the year! yay for holiday break!

joy of the day

today i had to work late, and my joy of the day was coming home and driving through the neighborhoods and seeing all the twinkleing lights. all the houses are done so beautifully!

joy of the day

today what has made me so cheerful is listening to christmas music. i just love this time of the year!

joy of the day

First Christmas of the season - playing games, great food, and a Snuggie!

joy of the day

Date night with Billy! Yummy dinner, watched The Hangover at home. Good times!

joy of the day

Playing babydoll with Ella.

joy of the day

Grey singing Christmas caroles in the back seat in the sweetest voice ever!

joy for today

Today I'm excited to have pot roast, gravy, mashed potatoes, and green beans for dinner!! Not bad for a Tuesday night!

joy of the day

It was a beautiful day so Ella and I walked down to the bus stop to get Grey. My joy was from seeing Ella recognize her brother and start running to him! I hope she always is this excited about seeing her big brother!

joy of the day

This weekend we rented Super Mario Brothers on Wii. My joy has come from sharing a favorite childhood game with Grey. He has had a blast playing this game and we have had so much fun playing together as a family. I hate to see the weekend end!

joy of today

Today, what has brought me joy, along with general day off goodness, was hearing Grey sing a Christmas Song. Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer..."And they shouted out with pee"... Seriously, how can that not bring a smile to your face?? Such a BOY!!

joy for the day

1) Wolf Howl at Grey's school. 2) Ice cream with great friends. 3) Super Mario Bros on Wii. 4) Chick-Fil-A.

joy of the day

My joy for today....give me a few minutes and I'll get to it.

I started this little daily positive thought for two reasons, one being that in this time of so much WANT (not need) and so little resources, it is important to focus on the joyous moments we already have. And two, because it helps to create a habit by doing something 30 days - so 30 days of positive thinking, should help me to become a more positive person.

Today has been a frustrating day. Nothing major, but let me explain. My job allows me to work from home 2 days a week. This has been one of my joys. Today was rough though. Ella is teething and just flat out wants her Momma to hold her. Yet, I have a job to do, and I must do it. It is hard to be a working mom. It is hard to be a stay-at-home mom. And it is really hard to try and combine the two. So it's been a hard day. Poor Ella just wanted comfort and I was struggling between feeling like I wasn't doing a good job at work and I wasn't doing a good job at being a mom. Then Grey got home and was in a difficult mood. So, while I'm working, and being a mom to two unhappy kiddos I was also cooking one of my 2 good meals (a pot of beans and sausage, cornbread, and rice - YUM!). I had Grey ride the bus home today, just so I could stay home and cook. It cooked all day; the house smelled so good. And somehow, while trying to soothe Ella, work my job, take care of Grey, dinner got scorched. Not just burned, scorched. Soooo frustrating! I was looking forward to dinner and Billy was looking forward to it (its one of his favorites). I talked to my Mom, was able to salvage the beans and sausage, made the rice and started the corn bread. Of course I didn't have one of the ingredients! It was just that kind of day!! But, I have a wonderful husband. He didn't care that dinner was ruined. He was willing to pick up fast food, or just eat what I had left. He has taken care of the kids tonight and let me try to just relax. So, my joy for today is in my husband. He is a fantastic husband, an unbelievable father, and my greatest support.

joy of the day

Today, my joy came from listening to Grey sing me a song about how much he loves me. Such a sweet boy!

joy for today

After a long day at work, my joy has been coming home, making dinner, with Christmas cartoons on in the background! I love the Mickey Mouse Christmas Carole!!!

Joy For Today

Today, my joy has come from being able to work from home. I was able to spend the day with Ella, pick Grey up from school, and enjoy the afternoon with my kiddo. Great way to spend a very cold Monday.

Joy for the Day

My joy for today comes from a roaring fire in the fire place, Christmas movies on the tv, and my two kids snuggled up beside me! That is a wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

Joy of the Day

Today my joy comes from seeing my house all decorated for Christmas! The outside still needs to be completed, but it is sooooo cold!!! But the tree is complete, the stockings are hung by the chimney with care, the house looks beautiful and it's a great day!

Joy of the Day

Today my joy has come from my new tires bringing me home safely! I got to drive through a really pretty snowfall in Waco, and thanked the Lord for my tires! Granted, I was not so thankful about the $600 spent 3 weeks before Christmas, but still... I am glad to be home safely!

Joy for the Day

What has made me joyful today was having nice meals, at restaurants, with adult conversation! That is truly a rare occasion for me!

Joy for the Day

Today I am joyful for an adventure. I am going to Austin for a conference on Mental Health and Corrections. It will be the first time I will be away from my babies, but I am looking forward to a lot of adult interaction, new learning experiences, and dinners eating out! No cooking!!!

December - Joy of the Day

There is this little trend going around Facebook right now, "My Joy for the Day". In an effort to truly count my blessings, I plan to document each day something that happened that made me joyful. Just a little note to remind myself of all I have to be thankful for!

So, today, December 1 - My joy for today is seeing the snow fall on my way to work! How nice!

Grey

Here are some things I wanted to upload. The first is a picture of Greys school work today. They are talking about living things. His 2 pictures of living things are a bat and a tree. His non living pictures are of a rock and a block. The bottom of the work sheet says "Something is living if it GROWS and DRINKS WATER." The second picture is his wish list for Santa. We are going to write a letter and drop it off when he sees Santa. He is really getting into Santa this year. It is so exciting to watch!

As for news on Ella - she cut her second bottom tooth today. Her first bottom tooth came through last week. She has done pretty well with the teething, mostly taking very long naps and waking up with a new tooth! I can't wait to take teethy Christmas pictures!

Pictures

We took the kids down to the lake this weekend. It was a beautiful day for pictures. Still need to get a good family picture, but we will wait until Greys hair grows out a little bit! I did want to capture what he looks like now with his buzz cut, though. Just as a reminded to never, ever think they are old enough to not cut hair. I'm so thankful he didn't cut Ella's hair, though!

Grey Cuts His Hair

First off, please excuse the quality of these pictures....camera phone used here! Anyway, I got a text from the babysitter with picture attached. Grey decided he needed to "straighten" his hair. The problem is that he was sooooooo proud of this. The babysitter told Grey he was going to get in trouble, and Grey assured her that "It looks ggggoooooooooooddddddd!!! My momma will be proud!". Um, no. Not so much, Grey. I wish I could say the picture was worse than the cut, but I'm afraid I can't. The picture does not do it one bit of justice. It was terrible. Down to the scalp in several areas. So, Billy came home and took him to Sports Clips. They had to buzz Grey. It's OK. I know it will grow back. Someday. Soon. And thankfully he didn't "straighten" Ella's hair.

Ella Turns 1

Its hard to believe my baby is now 1. Ella has added so much to our family. She is spunky, determined, stubborn, sweet, snuggly, determined, funny, active, determined, and did I say determined??? Little Miss Priss or Ella Bella as we tend to call her, is a true joy. She still has no teeth, but we think some are coming through soon. She is sleeping about 12 hours at night, plus two 2hr naps a day. She eats really well. There isn't much we can put in front of her that she won't eat. We celebrated Ella's 1 yr on her birthday with a little party at home with just the 4 of us. We had pink cake, presents, and pasta for dinner. Ella got a glow worm from Grey, and a cute Little People doll house. She LOVES it! She hasn't had many girly toys, most everything has been either baby or boy stuff, so this is really her first gender specific toy. And she loves it. We are so blessed by both of our children.

Halloween 2009

This year Grey chose to be Optimus Prime and Ella was a ballerina. The kids really had fun. I didn't think Ella would get all that into trick or treating, but she wanted to walk to every door. She would get almost up to the door, say something gibberish, then turn around and walk on to the next door. She got the concept! Grey, however, had a blast. He loved seeing the other kids in costume, he enjoyed the houses that were decorated, and he LOVED getting candy! It was so much fun to watch them both, on completely different levels, having so much fun together! I kept thinking about last year at Halloween. I walked and walked and walked and walking, hoping to get Ella out. I was sooooooooo done being pregnant by then! And now, here we are one year later. I can't believe it! Anyway, it was a fun night and we have tons of candy to prove it!!

Ella is 11 months!

Our little girl is almost a year! I can not believe how fast time has gone by. At 11 months Ella is keeping us very active! She is walking everywhere. She is chatting all the time with us. Her babble is definitely conversation-like. It has rise and fall, she has expressions when she talks to you, she waits for answers, etc. It is so sweet! She is pointing and bringing things to us. She is following some directions - like if we are playing and I say go get the ball, she will bring it to me. She is sleeping really well, about 12 to 13 hrs at night, and two 2 hr naps a day. She isn't the biggest eater yet (must take after her mom). She refuses breakfast, only wants a bottle. She prefers pasta for meals (who doesn't). She is just such a joy and we are loving every minute as a family of 4. Grey is still the best big brother. He plays with her and interacts so well. We are truly blessed!

The Real Life Dash

Soccer season has begun. The rain has canceled approximately half of our games, but the boys are still having fun. One night I asked the boys who was the fastest and they all agreed they were the real-life Dash from The Incredibles. I think I was lucky to catch this super fast boy on my camera!!! So far, soccer has been fun. This is Greys 3rd season. Billy coaches the team and they really have fun bonding on the pitch. Now, if we can just get Grey to stop making silly faces at me and play the game, we will be in business!!!

Just Catching up

Lately we have been very busy. Billy is traveling a lot with work (about every other week). I'm still working full time, being a single parent part time (when Billy is away), and working to get my photography biz off the ground. Grey has done fantastic in Kinder. We could not be more proud of him! He has stayed on green almost every day (one yellow day so far!). He is learning so much and comes home showing us new things he has learned. It is such a joy to watch him! Ella is keeping us on our toes. She will be 11 months next week. She is almost exclusively walking. She is talking a little (momma, daddy, no no, uh-oh, and trying to say thank you). She is very much as adventurous as her big brother. She is definitely a Daddys girl. Almost always happy and easy! So we are are just trucking right along and enjoying the change to fall! Hope everyone else is enjoying this cooler weather!

These are pure evil!

These little bites of sweetness are just pure evil! The best part of Halloween is the candy. Hands down. So, whenever I hit the grocery store around this time of the year, I just can't help myself. I can't seem to remember the last year, when I made myself sick off of these, or the year before, or the year before that. It's a sickness, and in true dysfunctional fashion - it cycles. I bought this bag yesterday. I think to myself, I'll just eat a few. I get no more than 4 at a time. But I eat those 4, and then 4 more, and 4 more, and 4 more. Until....This bag is practically gone. My stomach hurts. And yet, I yearn for more!!!!

Ella Walks!

Ella took her first steps at Camp Meeing, the first week of August. She took 3 steps to her Daddy. She has taken a few steps here and there to various friends and family. But, today she really took off! Can you believe it??? Please forgive the quality. She LOVES my phone, so I was recording on my phone (the buzz you hear is a text coming in!) and so would walk to try and get it. Mean Mommy!!!

Labor Day Weekend

We went to Sea World this weekend with my aunt and uncle, my cousin, and her 3 kids. We had a blast. Ella absolutely loved the shows! What you see in the first picture, her standing and clapping, that's how she was almost the entire day. She did not take a nap, but was so happy to watch everything. It was such a joy to share this with her. The second picture is Maddie and Grey. All the kids had so much fun, but I felt like this picture just summed up what summer was about - family time, Sea World, and blue mouths! That just is exactly what a kids summer should be in my mind! Hope everyone had a great summer and is ready for the fall!

Ella @ 10 months

Ella is 10 months!!! Our little girl is getting so big. Here are some things about Miss Ella Bella

Weight - 17.1 lbs (10 to 25 %)
Length - 27 3/4 (50-75%)
Head - 17 2/8 (50 %)

Talking - she can say "momma", "daddy", "uh-oh", and "no-no"
Tricks - she can stand on her own; if someone says "yay Ella", she will smile and clap; if she drops something she will say "uh-oh"; if she is done eating will shake head and say "no-no"

She is really good at entertaining herself. She can play in her bed for an hour and never make a peep. She is a great sleeper. When we put her down for her nap, she just rolls over and goes to sleep. No fussing at all. She prefers to feed herself. She's not really into baby food - she wants food she can pick up and eat by herself. I'm guessing she is going to be fiercely independent. She adores her brother. She loves on him and hugs him and lights up when he comes in a room. She is such a sweet, amazing little girl. We are so, so proud of her!

How I Lost 8 inches!

I've had long hair for about 5 yrs now. While I did not intentionally set out to grow it out just to donate, I did intentionally decide that when I cut it, I would donate it. So, I started doing research and was a little concerned that many places want 10 inches. I didn't know if I would go that short. I found out that Pantene will take 8 inches, so I am glad to participate in Beautiful Lengths. I love my new cut - I use Dee Dee at Downtown Salons in Wylie. Here I am feeling all kinds of sassy!

So, if anyone is thinking about helping out with this particular type of donation, go for it!