The Knauss House

The State Fair of Texas

2011-10-10T08:17:00.000-05:00

Grey was out of school today for Columbus day, so Billy and I decided to take the day off and go to the state fair. We had a blast walking around and eating tons of fried foods. Yum!! The kids enjoyed watching the shows and playing games and riding rides. The weather was perfect and we had a wonderful fun filled day!

Big Tex:

Ella square dancing:

Grey found a green motorcycle:

Ella was sooo tired! I think the swing almost put her to sleep!

~ Amber

baby blues?

2011-10-05T12:51:00.000-05:00

Not likely for me! I’ve been up to my eyeballs in the sweetest, cuddliest babes! I’m doing newborn photography and LOVING it!! Check out some of my favorites! These are from different photo shoots, but I just love all of them!

2nd grade

2011-08-22T20:10:00.000-05:00

I can’t believe he is in the 2nd grade. I can’t believe he is in the 2nd grade. I CAN’T BELIEVE HE IS IN THE 2ND GRADE!!! I kept saying this in my head all night last night, and all morning. Grey is just growing up too fast. It is the most bitter sweet feeling. On one hand I love watching him grow. Learning to read, gaining independence. But on the other hand, I miss my baby boy. I miss his sweet little baby face, and his sleepy hugs and snuggles. Now, he is just growing up too fast! Thankfully, he still hugs me in public, still says the sweetest things, still thinks I’m a super cool mom, and still thinks I’m a great cook (poor kid…so misguided!). So, I’ll enjoy each and every day of this bitter sweet feeling and hang on to every memory we make!

meet the teacher

2011-08-19T20:01:00.000-05:00

I can’t believe Grey is starting the 2nd grade!!! Where does the time go? I swear it feels like not that long ago he was just a baby! Thru the past several years, he has had a group of boys that have been in the same class – Kinder and 1st, and this year the school separated them. So Grey doesn’t have any of his best buds in class with him. I think his teacher will be grateful! :)

camp meeting, 2011

2011-08-07T19:57:00.000-05:00

This year, Camp Meeting was a little different for us. Billy was unable to go most of the week, but we still enjoyed a lot of quality family time. I was able to take Grey up thru bat cave this year. Glad I did it, but if I don’t go again for a while, I’ll be ok with that! LOL! I also spent some hours doing photography for a family that was affected during the fire this summer. They were such a pleasure to meet and get to know. I was truly so blessed to get to spend some time with them! And of course, its always fun to catch up with old friends. I wish I had some pictures to share, but I just didn’t take many this year. I guess I lived more in the moment than in the lens, and that is a good thing! :)

A Plea for Help

2011-07-13T09:13:00.001-05:00

Every summer, for the past 60 years, my family has gone to a church camp in the mountains of west Texas, near a tiny, picturesque town of Fort Davis. This spring, on April 9th a spark from an abandoned shed started a fire that burned over 300,000 acres and actively burned for almost 2 months. To put the acres into perspective, this is 641 square miles. I live in Dallas, which is 385 square miles, so almost twice the size of one of the largest metroplexes in the nation. This has been called the largest wildfire in the state of Texas. 23 homes were burned to the ground. The fire moved over 60,000 acres in less than 2 days, so many families did not have the luxury of getting their belongings. Thankfully, no lives were lost. We’ve all had the thought of what would we grab in case of a fire, and for most people it is pictures. These families were not able to do this. I wanted to help and had been unable to find a way. It’s a 10 hour drive and even if I could make it out there, I could not physically fight a fire. I could send money but I just wanted to do more. So, I decided what I could do is help with pictures. I can not replace precious memories that are now in ash. But I can help create new ones to represent a new beginning. So, the first week of August I am going to Fort Davis and have offered to take family portraits for the victims. I hope, if I can raise enough, to give each family a disk of all the pictures, some prints, and would love to be able to even frame some pictures. If you would like to help, it would be greatly appreciated. I have set up a pay pal account on my photography website, www.golightlyimages.com and would appreciate any donations. Thank you so much for your time and generosity.

~ Amber

grey and ella

2011-05-08T10:42:00.000-05:00

My big boy turned 7 and poor kid, his birthday is in the heart of wildflower season so he is always going to have his pictures in the bluebonnets. At least until he is big enough to start putting his foot down!

CAMP GREY

2011-05-01T09:31:00.000-05:00

This year, for Grey’s 7th birthday party we had his party out at the lake and did a Camp theme. The kids shot sling shots, did archery, made S’mores and had an all around good time in the great outdoors.

Greys 7th Birthday

2011-04-28T08:51:00.000-05:00

Our boy turns 7 today!! Where did these past 7 years go? Grey is turning into such an amazing little boy and we could not be more proud of him. We started his day off with waffles for his fun birthday breakfast.

Then I had to be in training today but Billy was able to bring Grey his requested lunch...McDonalds of course!

Grey requested a cookie cake for school so Billy brought that but the school just had him leave it in the office and he didn't get to see Grey share it with his friends. For Greys birthday dinner he requested Pigs in a Blanket and Macaronni and Cheese. Hum. But anything for the birthday boy!! And after dinner, finally, Grey got to open presents!! This year is all about Beyblades!!

In honor of Greys 7th birthday, here are seven of my favorite things about this amazing boy!

1) Grey has a sweet sweet heart. He is very caring and concerned about his friends and loved ones.

2) Grey is still a great big brother to Ella. They play so well together and I rarely hear them arguing. Sure, there are days when they do but those are actually few and far between.

3) Grey is very fair. He likes to make sure all his friends are treated fairly and doesn't like anyone to be left out.

4) He is reading like a champ!! This kid reads everything! And I do mean everything. Signs going down the highway, commercials on TV, anything with letters!

5) He is really funny! This kid loves to make people laugh and is often making up his own jokes.

6) Grey is very active. He is doing great in gymnastics and now we've added tennis. He is very agile and such a monkey!

7) Last but not least, Grey is doing really well in school. It's not his favorite thing. In fact, classes kinda get in the way of his recess! But, he amazes me with how quickly he catches on to the topics and how good his memory is. Kid never forgets anything!

Grey has been such an amazing blessing to us and we are the luckiest parents in the world!

~ Amber

easter weekend

2011-04-24T08:19:00.000-05:00

We had a really fun, busy Easter weekend. Billys sister and her family came in town for the weekend, so the kids were thrilled to see their Aunt Anna, Uncle Craig and cousins Shaelin and Alaina. Unfortunately, since we were sooooo busy I did not get any decent pictures!!! Here are a few I took on my phone.

Take me out to the ballgame

2011-04-17T07:48:00.000-05:00

This weekend we went down to Houston for a fun weekend. Mom and Stace got great seats for an Astros game! We had such a blast hanging out in the pool and just relaxing and enjoying some great family time!

Saturday morning, Stace wasn’t feeling well, so Mom and Ella decided to make us all some French Toast! This was by far the best French Toast I’ve EVER had!!

Thankfully, by Saturday evening Stace was feeling 100% and we all got to go to the game. We had a BLAST!!!!

A guy a few rows ahead of us caught a ball and was nice enough to give it to Grey!!

And this is where we spent most of Sunday…Wonderful!!! We cooked out on the fire pit, played in the pool and just relaxed! It was a perfect weekend!

M. I. A.

2011-04-10T22:24:00.000-05:00

So, I've been a bit of a blog slacker lately. On my behalf, I do have to say it's been a pretty rough go the past few weeks. Before we went to Houston, both kiddos had strep and flu. That was fun. Not. Then we went to Houston and on the Sunday while we were there I though Ella seemed "off". Sure enough, another case of strep. While we were in Houston, the man I consider like a grandfather, who has been battleing cancer, was in the hospital, in ICU. We were able to see him (even the kids) and tell him how much we love him. Ella sang him twinkle twinkle little star and Grey told him a few knock knock jokes. After that weekend he took another turn for the worse and they decided to go home on Hospice and let him be at peace. So a week later, we lost an amazing man. I know heaven is rejoicing with a new angel. So Billy and I headed back to Houston for the funeral. We left the kids with Billys mom that weekend and sure enough, Grey came down with a virus. Yuck! So we come back from an emotional trip to a puking boy. And to add insult to injury, that Monday I woke up with pink eye. Lovely!! So we limp thru the week, have a lazy weekend. And guess what? The next Monday night (or Tuesday morning) I wake up to Grey vomitting again. Yay! Because we haven't had enough illness! Soooooooo... There are all my excuses! I hope we are back on track and healthy cuz we've got a lot to get done around here! We've had to put off all our spring projects due to the random craziness!

This weekend we wanted a relaxing, fun weekend and that's just what we had! We slept in, lazed around, worked on Greys upcoming birthday party, and had a yummy trip to Bahama Bucks! Since no blog entry is complete without a few pictures, here ya go!

Checking out the future "Camp Grey".

Good times at CiCis pizza (Greys choice. He'd been dying to go!)

Bahama Bucks. Yum!!!

Grey and Billy fixing Greys bike.

Ella swinging.

Overall, it was a really fantastic weekend. But, I'm afraid all those spring time projects and chores are still needing to be done. *Sigh*

~ Amber

Rodeo Time

2011-03-13T21:09:00.000-06:00

Every year we make a special trip to Houston to attend the Rodeo. We take a day from work and school and make a long weekend out of the trip. This year over one weekend we got to go THREE times!!! It was fantastic! The concert is not typically a big deal to us, but this year we got to see Lady Antebellum, who is my favorite. We had amazing seats and the concert was fantastic! The kids had a blast at the carnival riding rides, eating junk food, and just having some great family time! Unfortunately, one of the days my iPhone was stolen. So I don't have many pictures. :( I'm just grateful it wasn't my big camera that was stolen! Here are a few pix that I did get.

Stace and Grey

Ella with her pink guitar.

Grey. A budding musician on our hands?

Me and Els on the airplane (she is obsessed with airplanes right now)

Ella on the horsey ride. She is also obsessed with "horseys" right now.

~ Amber

Let's go fly a kite

2011-02-27T12:28:00.000-06:00

This weekend it was finally windy enough to get out the kites! Grey has been dying to do this since Christmas when he got a really cool pirate ship kite from Nana San and Papa Karl. We had a blast and the kids LOVED chasing the kites around!

The pirate ship flies!

Grey and his pirate ship.

Grey flying the pirate ship.

Ella chasing the airplane.

Grey flying his kite.

cooking out!

2011-02-19T12:19:00.000-06:00

We have had some really nice weather here lately, for mid-February. I’m enjoying it, but I really do kinda miss the cooler weather. I’m supposed to be inside, curled up by the fireplace instead of running around outside bare footed and in shorts and t-shirts! We haven’t been up to much, just enjoying family time and being outside. This weekend we decided to cook out in the fire pit. Grey had a friend over and we cooked hot dogs and roasted marshmallows. It was a really fun, relaxing weekend!

Valentines Day

2011-02-14T15:24:00.000-06:00

Starting Feb 1st my husband has left me little candies every morning with a sweet note. This has been especially fun for me because he has never been the Valentines type.

So I've enjoyed waking up each day to see what my little treat might say. We were also able to enjoy a double date this weekend and had a fun dinner out and games with our besties. It's always nice to have an adult night out!

On valentines morning I woke up early to make a special breakfast.

Grey was NOT a fan, however, because they were pink. "Mommmm. I can't eat those. They are for a girl." He can be such a turkey! And I made a super yummy dinner and dessert.

We ended the night with more chocolates, flowers, and stuffed animals. Overall, I think we had a really nice day!

Valentines Parties

2011-02-11T15:33:00.000-06:00

Today both Grey and Ella had Valentines parties at their schools. Grey picked out Tron Valentines and we made some rice krispie treats to go with them. Ella had Hello Kitty valentines and she loved them! I took off from work early to go and enjoyed attending with them. Greys class had crafts, games, and treats. He has a little girlfriend right now and I confess I don't know what to think about that! It's very cute and sweet but at the same time he says other kids make fun of him for having a girlfriend so that makes me sad. But, I enjoyed seeing her, although Grey wouldn't let me talk to her! Too funny! Here are some pictures of his party.

After Greys party we went to Ellas school for her party. I am so impressed with her teacher! They had a sub today so honestly, lots of 2 yr olds, plus sub, plus candy should have equaled chaos. It did not! She had those kids so well behaved! I did not get any pictures of Ellas party tho, unfortunately. But, overall, I enjoyed being able to attend the last party of the school year. Sniff, sniff. Let me wipe away my tears. Grey is going to be a 2nd grader before I know it!!!

snow!!!!

2011-02-04T17:00:00.000-06:00

Grey got to stay home again today. That makes four days in a row!! That is nuts! I was off work again. And Billy was able to stay home with us as well. We woke up to a winter wonderland this morning. It was so beautiful and peaceful. When the kids got up we had the curtains and blinds all open so the first thing they would see was all the snow. Grey and Billy ran to Target in search of make-shift sleds and we hit the slopes…er hill… by 10am! Oh we had so much fun. We all took turns going down the hill. We had snowball fights, made snow angels, went for a really nice walk. It was still early enough that it was so quiet and peaceful. I hope that we made some wonderful memories for the kids. I know that I will remember this day for the rest of my life.

ice day – take three

2011-02-03T16:50:00.000-06:00

Grey is home from school again today. It is still so cold out. I think it is somewhere in the teens with a wind chill near zero. That is crazy cold weather for Texas!! Unfortunately today I had to work, but at least it is my normal work from home day, so I was able to stay home with the kids. Although I’m not sure if being stuck inside with two kids AND working 8 hrs is really ideal! We are watching movies, relaxing, and enjoying our fireplace. Supposedly it is going to snow tomorrow. The weather reports are predicting maybe up to 3 inches! I am not sure yet if I will have to work tomorrow, so we will just have to wait and see.

ice day – take two

2011-02-02T16:15:00.000-06:00

We got ANOTHER day off this week! Awesome. Except that the kids were sick last week, and so, we haven’t been outside of this house since Friday. I’m going stir crazy. They are going stir crazy. I am going stir crazy!! So I decided to brave the weather and go to Target and McDonalds. By the time we got to Target (which is literally walking distance from my house) I realized WHY there was no school and no work today and really questioned my sanity for being out. It was beyond cold and the roads were horrid. Then I remembered that my kids are the two worst shoppers in the world. So that was fun. NOT. After Target, McDonalds is just a block away, so I figured it was better to try that than to try my patience. We drove down, slipping and sliding. Got the kids out, get in line, and sure enough, rolling blackouts hit and McDonalds looses power. Fun. So we had to leave and just hit a drive thru and head home. All in all, though, it was a great day. I’m loving being able to be at home with the kiddos and not have any stress of how many hours of work I have done and if the quality of my work is upstanding. It’s been great to just hang out and play and enjoy my time at home! And since no post is complete without a picture, here is one of Grey ---still in his jammies and playing Legos. A happy, happy boy!

joy of love

2011-02-01T15:02:00.000-06:00

For the month of February I am doing a month long photo workshop documenting my loved ones. Be sure to pop over to my photo blog to check out the pics!

www.golightlyimages.blogspot.com

ice day

2011-02-01T08:38:00.000-06:00

Today Grey didn’t have school, and I didn’t have work!!! Wonderful! Dallas had a major ice storm roll thru and we are covered in ice here. Unfortunately I did not go out and take any pictures (are you kidding…it was a wind chill of 1 degree!!!!). Last week, on Thursday I noticed Grey wasn’t feeling his normal self. So I kept him home and he seemed to just get worse, so Friday morning we went to the Dr. Yup, Grey had the flu AND strep. Ella was also positive for Strep. So we had already been home since Thursday and indoors. With it being so cold today I just didn’t think it would be a good idea for the kids to get outside. Instead we made a fun dessert to have at home. Brownie Pops (minus the pop!). We made brownies, mixed them up with icing, then cut them into hearts and covered them with almond bark. Seriously yummy!!

wonderful whitt worker

2011-01-21T08:29:00.000-06:00

Today Grey was honored at school for doing so well in his studies. Each teacher picks one child per 6 weeks to essentially get “honor roll”. This year Grey has done so well in school. He has gotten 100% on every spelling test, except one. His reading has jumped from a level 6 to a level 20. He comes home every day with new and interesting information that he has learned. We are so proud of Grey and so excited that Mrs. Palmer also sees his hard work and dedication.

Valentines day photo sessions

2011-01-12T12:48:00.001-06:00

Anyone out there searching for a great Valentines day idea? I am going to be offering a mini session which would make a perfect gift! I will be at the Gaylord Texan on Sunday, Jan 23rd, and Sunday Jan 30th (I can add days if needed). This will be a 45 min session and you will get 10 images on a CD along with a personalized Valentines Card. You can then make as many prints for as many people as you want! No high costs on prints over here! I do offer canvas printing and am also including a 20% off coupon for a gallery wrapped canvas print. Please contact me if you would like to schedule a session. You can leave a comment here, or on facebook and I will get back with you!

snow!

2011-01-09T19:47:00.001-06:00

It snowed in Dallas today!! We went outside and played for a while and I got a few shots of the kids enjoying the weather. It was a really fun time. This doesn’t happen often here, so we try and take advantage when we can!

Build-A-Bear

2011-01-07T18:45:00.000-06:00

Billy was home from work today and it was a beautiful day. However, the weather reports are calling for snow this weekend. Grey lost his heavy coat. Again. And so we have been on a hunt for a new winter jacket. The problem is, we live in Texas. So, naturally all the winter clothes are gone and we have tons of options for bathing suits!!! After more shops than I care to remember we finally found ONE on a sale rack at Gymboree. As we were walking to the store we had to walk past a Build-A-Bear. Ella saw the store windows, stopped in her tracks and said "Wow. Nnnnnnniiiiiiiccccccceeeee!". So we just had to do the whole experience. We actually had not done the Build-A-Bear thing before, so it was a really fun, spontaneous adventure!

Grey chose a puppy and he named him Max. Ella chose a kitty named Kitty.

Filling up Kitty.

Filling up Max.

Bathing Max.

Ella was done at this point but we had a great time. I want one next time! :)

Kitty and Max.

Joy

2011-01-07T10:28:00.001-06:00

The word I picked to concentrate on for 2011 is JOY. I found this quote and wanted to share it.

"If you are joyful, it will shine in your eyes and in your look, in your conversation and in your countenance. You will not be able to hide it because joy overflows. Joy must be one of the pivots of our life. It is the token of a generous personality. Sometimes it is also a mantle that clothes a life of sacrifice and self-giving. A person who has this gift often reaches high summits. He or she is like a sun in a community."

~ Mother Theresa

2011-01-01T15:13:00.002-06:00

I saw this idea of "one little word" on a few blogs and have decided this year I want to concentrate on Joy. Not necessarily always being happy or everything always going right, but in finding the Joy in very circumstance. Good, bad, scary, rich, poor, healthy, sick, etc... we are told to make a joyful noise unto the Lord. I want to live up to that and be that kind of a woman. These are several words I plan to concentrate on in 2011 to help shape my heart and grow to be a woman after Gods heart.

new years eve!!

2010-12-31T15:04:00.000-06:00

This year we stayed at home for New Years since we were out of town for Christmas. We had our bff’s over and had a really fun, low key evening. We had WAY too many snacks, fun games (GIRLS WON!!), tried to do karaoke (Ella completely took that over and refused to give up the microphone!), bounced on the trampoline, and let Grey stay up to watch the ball drop in NYC. We did a sparkling apple cider for Grey and for the adults at the CST midnight, I had attempted to make ice glasses for our champagne toast. They were mostly a flop, but it was fun anyway!! So, we ended 2010 on a really fun evening. 2011 has big shoes to fill!

christmas 2010

2010-12-25T14:43:00.000-06:00

This year we went to Houston for Christmas to spend time with my mom, Stacey, and the Collins Family. We had a wonderful time. On Christmas Eve we went to Karl and Sandras for a few early gifts and then back to Mom and Staces. I think the best part of Christmas was that Grey actually saw Santa putting his gifts under the tree! Grey is so excited that he saw Santa! For our Christmas dinner we dined on “surf and turf” and had an amazing day! It was such a special Christmas this year!

viva las vegas

2010-12-21T14:09:00.000-06:00

Years ago, Billy and I worked as Travel Agents for American Airlines Vacations. Working there, I learned so much about the amazing hotels of Las Vegas and was just in awe. I have wanted to go there for years and see hotels, see shows, just walk around and soak up Sin City. We finally decided to bite the bullet and just book a trip. We went with our best friends and left the kiddos with Billy's mom. I have to say, it was an amazing trip. It was everything I had hoped and so much more! We were only there three days, but the hotels were just amazing. We stayed in THE hotel at Mandalay Bay. It is an all-suite hotel and the rooms there are just incredible. Floor to ceiling windows, one and a half bathrooms, the largest bath tub I have EVER seen, and so on! We arrived on Sunday wearing our Chiefs gear to support Billy's favorite team and met up with our besties who were supporting their team, the Cowboys. The boys found a place who put both games on and us girls started out with a little slots and some shopping. We went to a fabulous dinner, Joes Stone Crab and then crashed. Billy and I had to get up at 3 for our flight and with the time change, we had been up almost 20 hours at that point! The next day was a whirlwind of hotel site-seeing! We saw Venetian, Bellagio, Paris, Caesars Palace, Planet Hollywood, Luxor, MGM, Excalibur and so on. We went downtown and saw the Freemont Street Experience. This was especially cool since they were kicking off a bowl game and had a special show as the football teams were walking down Freemont Street. Very cool! We had dinner at Red Square in Mandalay Bay and stayed mostly at the hotel with The Mix, and Eyecandy. On Tuesday we did more site-seeing and shopping, and went to Minus 5. It is an ice lounge and possibly the “coolest” thing ever!! Then we went to the Gold Lounge at Aria before our show – Viva Elvis! This show was amazing. I think my mouth was open the whole time in amazement! We hung out at The Chandelier at Cosmopolitan, and then were hoping to catch 80’s night at The Cathouse. They had canceled 80’s night, but we still had the best time dancing the night away! We had to leave the next day, but we had an absolute blast! I can’t wait to go back again! ?Sorry the pictures are so out of order. Blogger just isn’t working with me today!

greys christmas party

2010-12-17T10:52:00.000-06:00

Today was Greys school Christmas party. I left work early to go to the party and spend some time with him and Ella. Grey really had a good time. The parents did a good job of having fun crafts and games for the kids. I think the kids most enjoyed the Frosty Freeze game. They danced around until the music stopped and then had to freeze. It was so cute to watch Grey interact with his friends and really get to let loose a little. Ella is ready to start school already! She loves Mrs Palmer and also really enjoyed the party!

Christmas cookies

2010-12-12T10:47:00.000-06:00

Next weekend our crazy Christmas break begins, so we took advantage of this weekend to relax and just enjoy our time together. As you can see, Grey never even got out of his jammies! Oh, alright, truth be told, I didn’t either! We spent Saturday laying around, watching movies and baking Christmas cookies. Then Sunday we went to church and back home for more laying around and movie watching!! It was a great weekend to relax and rest before the end of the year!

polar express

2010-12-10T10:56:00.000-06:00

Today was Polar Express day at Greys school as well as Billys office Christmas party. First off, let me document a little about the first picture. Last week was the holiday store at Greys school. He was so excited about his purchases and wanted us to open them right away. I got a pretty little note pad, and Billy got a Christmas tie. Grey also got himself a bakugon (lol!). But Grey was so excited about that tie for Billy! And what was funny was that it was a child size tie. Grey wanted Billy to wear it, and I just casually mentioned maybe Billy could wear it to his company Christmas party! LOL! So, on the morning of Polar Express, Grey was so thrilled to see that his Daddy wore the tie! I took a long lunch today and brought Grey McDonalds at school. He was thrilled to see me and I loved being able to see him in the middle of the day! He had a great day and really enjoyed getting to wear his jammies all day at school!

Santa Baby

2010-12-05T16:22:00.000-06:00

This year I did a family photo session at the Gaylord Texan. It is an awesome place! So we decided to go see Santa there. The decorations are amazing and they have some fun activities for the kids! We visited with Santa, Grey got to go tubing down a snow hill, and we turned ourselves into elves to visit the North Pole!

Ella wasn't really sure about Santa so we had to take a family picture with Old Saint Nick.

We had a blast and I would highly recommend going to the Gaylord for some Christmas cheer!

Someone was exhausted after we were done!

Oh Christmas Tree

2010-11-28T14:51:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving weekend we had a wonderful time with family. Grey and Ella love spending time with their cousins. Billy and I were able to get almost all of our Christmas shopping done AND wrapped on black Friday! I feel so ahead of the game! :)

So after we (I) wrapped our packages with care they needed a place to rest the next few weeks.

Grey is really into Christmas this year. He helped with the tree from the beginning to the end. Ella was not so interested! The kids each picked out a special ornament this year. Grey got a Tron motorcycle and Ella picked a ballerina that plays The Nutcracker. We had a great time getting in the Christmas spirit!

Thankful Thursdays

2010-11-25T10:20:00.000-06:00

For the month of November, each week we had a little special meal on Thursday nights. We spent extra time at the dinner table and discussed Thanksgiving, what it means, the pilgrims, our blessings, etc. I tried to incorporate some type of authentic food item at our meals. One Thursday we made home made bread and home made butter. But one Thursday we were thankful for Chinese delivery! Lol! We all enjoyed learning a little more and being more mindful of our abundant blessings!

Kids making home made bread.

Making butter. Shake shake shake.

Finished project.

Ella Turns 2!

2010-11-05T10:33:00.000-06:00

I can't believe my baby turned 2!! How did this happen so fast? We celebrated on her birthday with a fun evening at Chuck E Cheese. This was Ellas first time to go and really enjoy all they had to offer.

A few things about Ella at two. She is extremely and fiercely independent. I think we hear "I do it!" more than any other phrase. She is a daddies girl. He can get her to cooperate better than anyone else. It makes my heart melt to watch their bond grow. She loves shoes! This girl absolutely adores shoes! What's funny is that both Grey and I are barefoot people around the house and this drives Ella nuts. She wants us to all wear shoes all the time.

See what I mean! Lol! Also she is a dancer. She loves pop music and tends to be quite demanding to hear certain songs. And any time she hears a song with a beat she just can't hold still!

YouTube Video

I hope the video works. It's really too cute for words!

So the next day, we celebrated Ella at home with our dear friends. My BFF made this amazing cake for Els.

Ella loved being the center of attention! We are so blessed to have Ella in our family. Her sweet personality really just brings us so much joy. Two years has gone so fast but at the same time it feels as if she has always been with us! We love our Ella Bella!

1st Grade

2010-11-03T14:54:00.001-06:00

Grey is doing great in first grade! He loves his teacher, Mrs Palmer. His favorite part of the day is recess! He has spelling tests every Friday and has gotten 100% on every test except one. He really works hard for that sticker Mrs Palmer puts on his tests!!! He is very social and has a lot of friends. He seems to really enjoy school, except that he has to wake up so early! Grey is not a happy morning boy!!! So far it has been a great year and we look forward to watching Grey grow in his education.

Halloween Week

2010-10-31T11:58:00.000-06:00

This week was Say No To Drugs week at school. Each day the kids had some sort of theme. In addition to that, I thought it would be fun to have a Halloween themed dinner each night.

Monday was red ribbon day and he was supposed to wear all red. For dinner we had "bloody brains and witches fingers".

Tuesday was Team up against drugs so he wore his favorite team jersey. Go Chiefs!!!

And we had eyeball tacos for dinner.

Wednesday was silly hat day. We used his Woody hat from Halloween a few years ago. Grey was really unsure about wearing a silly hat to school but afterwards he said he was glad he did! We also had monster claws for dinner that night!

On Thursday Grey had "Hugs Not Drugs" day and was suppose to bring his favorite stuffed animal. This night we did not have a Halloween meal because we did pumpkin carving instead!

And Friday was Greys party at school! He had a great time! Both Billy and I got to come up and be there for him. It was fun seeing Grey with his little friends, and all the cute costumes!

I ran out of meal ideas so Papa Murphys had a Jack-O-Lantern pizza.

Finally Halloween arrived! We made "witches brew" (chili) and used fun plates and cups then hit the neighborhood for candy. It was really a great week! I hope I can remember to do this again next year!

Hope you all had a very Happy Halloween!!!

Java

2010-10-29T09:50:00.000-05:00

For 13 years, Billy and I have had a faithful companion. We got Java as our gift to each other on our first Valentines day as a married couple.

We loved him and treated him as one of the family. He went on vacations with us, shopping with us (Home Depot and Canton were some favorites). He was a great addition to our little family and we were so blessed to have him.

So, after 13 years we lost our Java. He will be greatly missed in our family. He was a wonderful companion to Billy and me and eventually to Grey. He slept in Grey's room for a few years and gave Grey comfort when he didn't want to be alone in the dark. We know Java is sleeping on a sunny cloud up in doggy heaven keeping a watchful eye over us.

Great Wolf Lodge

2010-10-23T13:56:00.000-05:00

Saturday was my birthday (34) and I got an amazing surprise from my mom and Stace. They sent our family to a night at the Great Wolf Lodge. We had never been and had been wanting to go. This place is amazing! We got there early afternoon on Saturday and stayed until late afternoon on Sunday. After we checked in we immediately went to the water park. They have an awesome section for babies and Ella loved it!

Here she is getting ready to go to the pool. That girl just loves her boots!!!

Grey helping Ella.

Both kids also loved the wave pool. Greys favorite part of the water park was the big slides. I wish I could have gotten pictures of him! Funny thing tho, I was so impressed because the lines looked kinda long but Grey would go thru so quickly, I thought the lifeguards were keeping the lines moving. Nope. Grey was cutting. Whoops!!

After swimming we found out the hotel had trick or treating and the hotel conveniently sold costumes (lol) so we got Grey wizard robes and Ella a fairy princess dress.

Then we went to dinner at the Loose Moose before story time. Story time at the hotel was amazing. Ella could not sit still and Grey was so intense in listening! It was so fun watching them!

After story time we did MagiQuest. This was truly one of the funnest things we did. The hotel has a game set up where you get magic wands and go around the hotel to find objects to fulfill your quest. We had a blast doing this as a family!

After a while, Ella and I were exhausted so we went back to the room and the boys hit the arcade.

There is nothing quite like skeeball in your jammies! After a great nights sleep we got up and went down to breakfast (in our jammies). The hotel has a huge, great breakfast buffet. Yum!

After breakfast we had another fun filled day with several hours at the water park, lunch, and more MagiQuest. This was one of the best birthdays ever. I actually can't think of one that beats this! I can't wait to go back to The Great Wolf Lodge again! Thanks Mom and Stace. You did awesome!!! ;0)

Fall Frenzy

2010-10-22T20:39:00.000-05:00

We went to Fall Frenzy at Greys school and the kids had a blast. Ella mostly ran around, but Grey enjoyed the games and bounce houses they had set up. It was a fun family night. Before we left, I made these cute shirts for the kiddos.

Go Chiefs!

2010-10-17T09:15:00.000-05:00

For Billys birthday, my mom and Stacey scored the BEST birthday gift for him. Billy got to take Grey the Texans vs. Chiefs. Billy has been a Chiefs fan his whole life (he grew up in Kansas) and since Grey has been born Billy has dreamed of taking Grey to a game. So this was a huge deal. We had a fantastic weekend. We spent a lot of time in the pool. We cooked out over the fire pit a lot, and made smores. We got to see family and I had a photo shoot with a old friend from high school. It was a wonderful weekend!

Smores in the pool.

Labor Day Weekend

2010-09-05T09:30:00.000-05:00

This weekend my mom came up for the weekend. We had a great, relaxing weekend. We did some shopping on Saturday and Sunday we spent the day in Ft Worth. We had lunch at Joe T Garcias and went to the stockyards. Grey rode the mechanical bull (twice), did the maze, and did a pony ride. But the coolest thing happened as we were leaving. A man was riding his personal horse down the street and Grey had stopped to watch him. The man stopped and let Grey ride his horse. It was so cool. He just led Grey up and down the street and talked with him. His horse was so calm and great for Grey. What a special memory!

1st day of 1st grade

2010-08-23T17:29:00.000-05:00

Grey was so excited to start 1st grade. Just kidding! Grey really wasn’t so cool with going back to school. He was ok with going back to school, but he wanted to go back to kindergarten, back to his teacher from last year, back to the same classroom with the same classmates, etc… Until, we got to his new class room and guess what he saw??? He got his very own locker JUST like Shaelin and Alaina! That seriously turned his entire day around! Grey wasn’t difficult about starting back to school, he just wasn’t that into all the school shopping and new clothes and new supplies like his Momma was! He did great with everything and I am sure he is going to have a fantastic year.

last weekend of the summer

2010-08-22T17:11:00.001-05:00

This starts out with a bit of no fun…what kid wants to end summer with FOUR cavities??? So in order to make a no-fun situation better, we went to Kansas on the last weekend. Billy sister was able to get Greys dental situation corrected and since he was seeing Aunt Anna, a dreaded dentist trip became a great time! He loved being spoiled and actually came home smiling! But, we had a great last week end! We got to go to Grey’s cousins school and had lunch with Shaelin and Alaina. Grey thought that was sooooo cool. Shaelin and Alaina have lockers and Grey really thought those were the neatest thing ever. We got to see Alaina play soccer, which is always fun, and got to attend a bridal shower with most of Billy's family. It was a wonderful weekend and a great way to end the summer!

paisley – 3 months

2010-08-21T17:19:00.001-05:00

While we were in Kansas I had the pleasure of photographing Paisleys 3 month pictures. She is such a sweet baby. I had a really hard time putting her down to take her pictures because she is such a snuggle-bug! She is so laid back, I seriously don’t think she cried except to say “Hey, I’m hungry” and that was about it! What a doll!

bloys, 2010

2010-08-08T16:51:00.000-05:00

The rest of Camp Meeting was spent with fantastic family time, worship, and mostly relaxing. Billy was able to take Grey up the mountain several times. Grey enjoyed playing with his friends and cousins. We went to the McDonald Observatory and had fantastic star gazing this year. I think this year was one of the best for the stars!! It’s always so nice to catch up with folks we’ve known forever and rarely get to see. I always leave Bloys with a bittersweet feeling. It’s so nice to know I’ll be back next year! Anyway, on to the picture overload!!

bubbles bubbles everywhere

2010-08-01T09:40:00.000-05:00

The day after we arrived at Camp Meeting my mom broke out the greatest toys of the week…bubbles!!! The kids had a blast playing with these.

On the road!

2010-07-31T10:27:00.000-05:00

We are on our way to our annual family trip in the Davis Mountains out in west Texas. We are so excited to have the week off, great time with family, and fellowship with life long friends.

We stopped along the way for a picnic at Balmorhea State Park. It has a huge spring fed pool, but we just had a short time so stayed by the springs to eat. Grey "fell" into the water ;o). Silly boy. But he had a good time and it's a great place to stop and stretch your legs!

Grey in the COLD spring water!

Ella enjoyed running around.

Mountains in the distance.

Ella was ready to go!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

colt

2010-07-18T17:31:00.000-05:00

This weekend I had the pleasure of meeting and photographing the Harper family. Christina and Ty have an amazing little 2 month old! This boy is soooo strong. I was awestruck at how long he could hold his little head up and how he was rolling all over the place! At 2 months!! That is just amazing! My advice for them was to tie him down! He has the sweetest disposition and was just such a trooper as we carted him around and requested sweet smiles. Guys, I hope you love your pictures! Although, Christina, I think we need to meet again and get that Aggie picture! :o)

Paisley

2010-07-06T09:48:00.000-05:00

This past weekend we were in Kansas for a funeral. One of Billys cousins was tragically killed in a car accident. She was 20 yrs old, full of life, and absolutely beautiful inside and out. For some reason, family tends to get together the most for funerals and weddings. And this was no exception. Despite the horrid reasons for the gathering, it was wonderful to see family we haven’t seen in years. Another of Billys cousins had just had her baby girl, Paisley. Paisley is the sweetest, easiest baby. She slept everywhere, never heard a peep from her and was just over all the most snuggly, lovely baby. She had a head full of the blackest hair and just a sweet, sweet disposition! Hope yall enjoy the pictures!!

July 4th

2010-07-04T09:58:00.000-05:00

We went up to Kansas for the 4th of July. It was an unexpected trip due to a funeral, but despite the awful circumstances, we had a great time. The town we were in had a cute parade the kids enjoyed and we did an unbelievable amount of fireworks in the rain that evening!

summer fun in the sun!

2010-06-19T12:12:00.000-05:00

We went are spending a lot of time at the pool so far this summer. The kids are doing great. Ella is much more cautious than Grey was at this age. But, she has a lot of fun and is not scared of the water at all. Grey is a little fish. He can swim really well and loves playing with the kids at the pool.

photography workshop

2010-06-05T11:59:00.000-05:00

I was soooo excited and glad that I participated in Taylor Jackson with Barefeet Photography’s photo workshop. It was a fabulous time! We had some fun models, learned a lot, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! I am hoping that she will do another workshop, because I’ve got more to learn and she was an excellent instructor! I went to Cleburne with my friend Christy and we stayed at The Liberty Hotel. We had a great time having some grown up girl time away from our kiddos. Can’t you tell by the picture below?????

kindergarten graduation

2010-06-03T11:22:00.000-05:00

I can not believe Kindergarten is over!!! It seems just like yesterday that he went for his first day! Grey did well this year, but honestly he isn’t a huge fan of school. I feel like I did a huge disservice to him by not putting him in a program 5 days a week. We don’t have the option for half day kinder out here and I just worry they push the children entirely too hard. Grey loved his teacher and he did learn so much, and we hope to keep his brain active this summer so he doesn’t lose all that wonderful information Mrs. Jenkins helped him learn. Grey really was blessed with a fantastic teacher. We could not have asked for anyone better suited for Grey!

Anniversary weekend!!

2010-05-29T11:45:00.000-05:00

For our anniversary, Billy and I went on a kid free weekend to San Antonio. We stayed at an amazing hotel, The Hotel Contessa. Our room was fabulous. We had the most wonderful time, just hanging out and relaxing. We ate at great restaurants, got massages, mani/pedis, slept in, spent time at the pool. We took a long drive down to San Antonio and stopped at EVERY. SINGLE. OUTLET MALL!!! It was so fun to just look around and look as long as we wanted with no tugging on the arm and no tantrums. Fun! We had a fantastic lunch at The Gristmill in Gruene. Such a neat town! Then we checked in to our hotel and had dinner there and met a friend I used to work with there. It was great to catch up with El and see her again! On Saturday we had our massages and mani/pedi’s. Spa day!!! Awesomeness! We had a wonderful lunch at Landrys on the Riverwalk, and unfortunately were witnesses to a cruel bird murder! On Saturday night we went down to the Market and had a great dinner at Mi Tierra. It was soooo yummy. Sunday was another day of relaxation. We spent some time at the roof top pool at the hotel, walked around the Riverwalk again, had a great Italian lunch. We ended up going back to Gruene to meet our friends El and Robin again. It was a wonderful weekend. We had so much fun getting to be Billy and Amber again instead of Mommy and Daddy. A huge thank you goes to Gramma Dee and Grampa Mark for watching the kids and dogs. We loved our weekend!

fort worth stockyards

2010-05-16T11:18:00.000-05:00

I had a photo shoot down at the Stockyards this weekend. While I did the photo shoot, Billy took the kids to ride on the train, and then we enjoyed some family time together for the rest of the afternoon. We had a great time walking around, eating yummy food, and Grey loved the mechanical bull. That boy. He’s going to want to be a bull rider if I’m not careful!

Soccer – end of season

2010-05-15T11:10:00.000-05:00

Well, another soccer season has come and gone. The game has started to “click” with Grey and he is consistently scoring a few goals each game. He still gets worn down pretty quick, but I think over all he enjoys the game a lot. Or, at least I hope he does!!! At the end of the season we had a pool party at one of the boys houses and each boy got a trophy. The kids had a blast and it was so much fun! We are looking forward to next season starting up again!

Grey is 6!!!

2010-04-28T12:57:00.004-05:00

I can't believe my baby boy is 6 today! We had his birthday party last weekend and he had an amazing time. He wanted to do a winter theme, and since it rarely snows here in Texas in late April (ha, ha!) we had to use our imaginations some! We kept everything blue and white. All the treats on the table were blue or white, or both. My best friend made this amazing cake (she's a baker extra-ordinaire!), we did snowflake decorations, etc. Then for the activities we had "ice fishing" where the kids fished in a little pond where I had originally set out some floating ice glaciers (those didn't last long in the heat, unfortunately). Then we moved on to snow making. The kids thought this was fantastic! We had a "snow shoe relay" where the kids had to shuffle along in make believe snow shoes (anyone out there ever tried to find shoe shoes in Texas? yah, that was fun!). We had a snowman pinata, and lastly a snowball fight with snowballs made from Bahama Bucks. Really, they are ice balls, so instead the kids just threw the balls around the yard and at the fence, but it was still a lot of fun. I think it was a party Grey will remember for years to come!

pictures

2010-04-26T08:26:00.001-05:00

I have set a goal for myself that I would update a picture a day for the month of April on my photography blog. Go take a look at all the things we have done this month! Leave me some love, peeps. It’s nice to know when people are out there! :)

Golightly Images

Getting ready for s’winter

2010-04-23T21:02:00.000-05:00

We are getting ready for a winter theme birthday party for Grey tomorrow! More pictures to come!

bluebonnets

2010-04-18T19:27:00.001-05:00

Well, we tried to get pictures in the Bluebonnets today. One child was helpful. One was not. We’ll try again next week!!

2010-04-17T09:18:00.000-05:00

This morning as we were going to gymnastics Grey told me "Shhhh Mommy. God is talking to me". After a few minutes Grey said "Huh". So I asked him "What did God say"? Grey replied "I don't know. He was talking in spanish".

I just wanted to remember that!

gooooooooooooaaaalllll!!!!

2010-04-12T20:58:00.001-05:00

Guess who scored a goal tonight?

Easter weekend

2010-04-09T17:37:00.000-05:00

This weekend we had most of my family come in town for a fun and very busy weekend! We went to Canton for Good Friday and spent Saturday at the stockyards. These are just a few of the pictures I took and wanted to post.

snow lily

2010-04-08T16:45:00.001-05:00

snow snow and more snow!

2010-03-21T12:33:00.002-06:00

I can’t believe how much snow we got! On Friday it was in the 70’s. It was a beautiful day and then on Sunday we got around 6 inches of snow! Grey and Lily had a blast playing out in the backyard. Ella was not a fan of the snow last month so she didn’t even try to go outside! But it was such a beautiful snow fall. We really enjoyed it.

Grey’s early birthday surprise

2010-03-15T21:16:00.000-06:00

Well, Grey turns 6 in about 6 weeks. He has been asking for a puppy since well before Christmas. His letter to Santa included a puppy (written 5 times) and a horse. Around Christmas time we fell in love with Charlie, one of our cousins golden doodle. So, we kinda had our mind set on that type of dog, but had not really thought much past “eventually”. This past weekend, the stars aligned and we were able to surprise Grey. On Sunday, Lori called and let us know her breeder had a black female (just what we wanted) and so we decided to grab her! We headed north without telling Grey where we were going, and he had to guess clues as we went. Eventually we passed the Kansas state line and he got excited. He thought he was going to see his cousins. We tried to explain that was one of the surprises, but there were more coming. We stopped at Loris house, who had been so kind as to put the puppy in a box with a ribbon. Grey got to open her up, and out popped the sweetest little puppy. Grey was so overwhelmed he could hardly speak. Around bedtime, Grey finally came to me and whispered “Is she mine? Can I keep her? Can I take her home” I assured Grey she was indeed his. He chose the name Lily. So, here she is, Grey’s very own puppy…Lily! She is a golden doodle. Her mom is a black standard poodle named Sophie and her dad is a golden retriever named Cooper.

While we were in Kansas, we got to visit with some of our closest friends from college – The Dunhams and the Gates. Lori, Lavica, and I were all in Delta together. We all have girls around the same age and so we have three future Delta girls here…

We jammed a lot into our quick visit. Billy and Grey got to enjoy some time with our nieces and enjoy some time with them showing off Lily. It was way too short of a trip. We were in the car more than we were actually there, I think! But it was a great trip and I’m so happy to add one more girl to our family!

Lets Go rodeo!!

2010-03-05T18:01:00.000-06:00

This past weekend we went down to Houston for the rodeo!! We had an awesome time going with my mom and Stacey. They got these amazing seats, called “action seats”. And that truly describes it. You are right there in the action. We were on the front row, so as cowboys would walk by, Grey would stick his hand out and they would give him five. The horses were so close and Ella absolutely loved every second of it. Almost the entire time she stood on my lap staring out the railings. It was just a fantastic time.

Grey goofing it up before we headed out for the day!

Ella was so excited, she could not stand still for a picture!

We started out in the livestock show area. The kids had a blast seeing all the baby animals, “driving tractors”, and rolling down this hill area they have inside. Great times!

Then we went over to the kid corral area where grey got to try his hand at mutton bustin and riding a mechanical bull. He absolutely had a blast! You can tell he is totally hamming it up for the crowd on the bull!

We rode some rides, which Ella absolutely LOVED. Talk about melt down city when it was over! OMG!!

Then it was time for the main event. The kids loved it. Seriously, can you see how high that bull jumped? Our seats were just ridiculous! That’s the only way to describe it. Amazing!

And just two shots of the cutest little cowpokes there! It was a great time. We can’t thank Mimi and Tacey enough for this wonderful treat!

Camera phone

2010-03-01T17:36:00.000-06:00

These are some pictures I’ve had on my phone for quite a while and have been wanting to get posted on the blog. Ella is obsessed with being on top of the table, so a large majority of our days involve her climbing up there and me taking her down!!! She is so funny! Grey is growing up so fast. The picture of him at the table writing is where he is addressing his Valentines cards. He worked so hard on them and did such a good job! You can also see how much he loves his sister. He is so patient and loving with her!

Mini me?

2010-02-19T19:07:00.001-06:00

Everyone says how much my kids look like Billy, but I think Ella takes after me some as well! The top picture is me when I’m about a year or so, and the picture of Ella is her about 14 months. What do you think?

happy valentines day

2010-02-14T10:46:00.000-06:00

snow

2010-02-11T16:55:00.001-06:00

Star award

2010-02-05T17:22:00.000-06:00

We are so proud of Grey! Today he was presented with a Character Award from his school. Each 6 weeks the school recognizes a child in each class that portrays a certain characteristic. This 6 weeks they were looking for Truthfulness and Grey was selected out of his class. We really could not be prouder of our son! Today was also the 100th day of school, so apparently they colored hats. I particularly like that Greys hat is on upside down!! Silly boy!

Mimi turns 60

2010-01-26T19:29:00.001-06:00

This past weekend we went to Houston for my mom, Mimi’s, 60th birthday. It was a great weekend, full of fun and very relaxing. We spent the weekend playing together and having some fabulous family time. It was really a weekend to cherish! The kids had a blast playing Wii, playing pinball, playing with Mimi and Tace, and just over all getting tons of love and attention!

Ella’s Dr checkup

2010-01-18T15:03:00.000-06:00

Our little girl is 14 months and I finally made it to the doctor for her one year check up!!! She weighs 18 pounds and is 30 inches long. In weight, she is in the 5th percentile, and in height she is in the 30th (poor baby – that won’t last long!). She had to get 5 shots! Lets just say she was not a happy camper. Right now she is a chatter box. Here is a list of things she can say:

Mama
Daddy
Puppy
Here you go
night night
Hi
bye
love you
thank you

I think that covers everything she says. She loves, loves, loves to talk on a phone. Or anything she can pretend is a phone. She picks up toys, puts it to her hear and says “Hi”. She plays wonderfully with her brother. She loves riding trikes and swings. She doesn’t really pay much attention to the TV, but when she hears music she dances. She is just such a blessing to us!!!!

snow in kansas

2009-12-30T16:36:00.001-06:00

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

2009-12-25T15:22:00.000-06:00

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

2009-12-25T12:57:00.000-06:00

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

some favorite christmas eve pictures!

2009-12-24T15:12:00.000-06:00

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

2009-12-24T13:00:00.002-06:00

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

2009-12-23T13:00:00.000-06:00

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

joy of the day

2009-12-22T12:59:00.000-06:00

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

2009-12-21T12:57:00.001-06:00

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

joy of the day

2009-12-20T18:08:00.000-06:00

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

joy of the day

2009-12-19T18:07:00.000-06:00

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

joy of the day

2009-12-17T14:12:00.000-06:00

Playing babydoll with Ella.

joy of the day

2009-12-16T14:09:00.000-06:00

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

joy for today

2009-12-15T18:20:00.000-06:00

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

2009-12-14T18:16:00.000-06:00

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

2009-12-13T21:39:00.000-06:00

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

2009-12-12T19:29:00.000-06:00

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

2009-12-11T21:38:00.000-06:00

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

2009-12-10T19:18:00.003-06:00

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

2009-12-09T18:15:00.000-06:00

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

2009-12-08T18:43:00.001-06:00

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

2009-12-07T16:17:00.002-06:00

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

2009-12-06T19:35:00.003-06:00

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!