The Ears have it...

Mia has wanted to get her ears piereced off and on for the last few months. She'll decide she's ready then maybe not so much. Well, one day before Christmas we went to see Alvin, the Squeakwel and after the movie I said, "Mia, do you want to get your ears pierced today?"


She said "YES!"


So we headed upstairs to Merle Norman......quickly.....before she changed her mind, (emphasis on QUICKLY)





She picked out a cute pair of CZ star studs and was all smiles and giggles. She loves the attention and everyone was focused on her.

And then.....Ear one.... and Oh my goodness Ear Two

I'm quite certain the picture above will show up in an edition of National Geographic under the heading...."Coming of age Rituals performed while parents physcially restrain them"

But we just couldn't go around with one earring. Sometimes they do both ears at once but there was only one lady working that day.

The tears were short lived. It was after Christmas and the clerk had brought in some holiday cookies and snacks and they were sitting on the counter. She asked me if she wanted a cookie and once she began eating it she forgot her ears hurt.

And it wasn't long until she was in show off mode. In fact she made me fix her hair in pony tails for a week so that Everyone could see her new earrings.

Brotherly Love

I'm so glad I have this picture. Not because of the reasons you think. Not because I'll have it forever or they have the best smiles or they look so happy......

NO the main reason is because it does prove that they really do Love each other.
Even with all the
fighting

bickering

picking

name calling

and

agitating

They really do love each other. Deep Breath. They really do love each other. Deep Breath

Here comes Peter cottontail

Kaylee has wanted a bunny for a few years now. I'm not even sure when or why she wanted one. No one we know has one. But somewhere or on some show she saw a bunny and fell in love.

When she turned 8, I almost caved and got one for her birthday. However, the ones I handled sent me into a full-on allergy attack. At which point I quickly called American Girl and ordered a doll instead. David was so relieved.

But then this Christmas I told the kids they needed to start making a wish list for Santa. Kaylee's list went something like this.
Bunny
bunny
bunny
bunny
littlest pet shop
bunny
bunny
bunny
bunny
toe socks
bunny
bunny
bunny
bunny

Anway, you get the idea, So we broke and got the bunny. And man was she overjoyed. She loves that rabbit and to tell the truth I think the rabbit loves her. Everyday after school Kaylee holds her like a baby and they snuggle all afternoon. Clara, the rabbit, is so calm and very very soft. She's a Rex(breed) if that means anything to anyone. It didn't to me a month ago. But apparently the rex has the softest fur of all the rabbits.

We borrowed a cage from our friends The Odoms and I thought we would use it for several months until the spring. I mentioned to Zane that maybe he and David could make a wooden hutch for the bunny to keep outdoors. Well that got him researching rabbit hutches on the internet. Zane came across a "Bunny Condo" picture. He drew the blueprints, decided on the amount of supplies.......

And the next thing you know he and David had constructed a two-story, bunny condo. Complete with two doors, stairs, and plenty of room to move around in.

Project time

I love it when there is a real "project" around the house that only the "guys" can handle. Well if you've ever tried to come through our back gate then you knew we had a real project. That old fence was so heavy and poorly constructed. But until recently it had not made it to the top of the priority list.

Finally the caster that was holding the gate together gave up and fell off. It was time to do something about it. So David and Zane started building. Living in the culture and "age of plenty" that we live it really makes me happy to see David passing on skills to the kids.

And Zane enjoyed the project as well. In fact they've recently constructed another project that was Zane's idea... pics of that coming soon.

Cookie Boss

I've ALWAYS loved cut-out cookies but until last year I had never been truly successful at the task. But last year at Mia's Pre-K Christmas party I met an outstanding woman. She was outstanding to me simply for the fact that she had made 17 star cookies and had beautifully iced and decorated each one of them. They were exceptional. AND the best part is (SHE SHARED HER RECIPE with me) There are secrets to this baking...oh yes there are!

So this year I crossed my fingers, made sure the the stars were aligned just right, held my breath and we baked Christmas cookies.

And what do you know they came out perfectly... The gingerbread men looked like gingerbread men...The trees looked like trees, you get the point.... And then since I was feeling oh so lucky I tried a new icing recipe and it came out great also.

Santa enjoyed wonderful Christmas cookies and she, I mean he is oh so excited about them.

Happy Birthday

It's hard to believe that it's been four years ago since little Rocket came to be with us.

Happy Birthday to the best dog ever. Who is not quite so little anymore

So many thoughts....no time to blog.... I haven't completely decided to quit blogging but the thought runs through my head periodically.

With the new Facebook phenomenon, it just seems easier and faster... but we'll see.

Maybe I need a few weeks to get refreshed. After all it's not like I didn't just nurse 6 people back to health, including myself, after a 9 day date with the Flu. Then shopped for 6 people, plus do 7,324 loads of laundry, send out Christmas cards, and make sure everyone had the correct gifts for class parties. "Only 100 piece puzzles Mom.... Only 100, Not 300, Not 500 Only 100...."OK,OK, I've got it under control

But there is something making me smile today. The thought that I don't have to make lunches or pack backpacks for 17 days!!! Woo Hoo! Can you hear me hollering from wherever you are?

Let it snow, Let it snow

It's hard to believe it snowed again here. It wasn't just a little bit either. It was probably more snow than I've ever seen come down at one time. The kids got out of school early but even while they were at school their teachers took them outside to play, several times.

Disney Part 1

Part 1 of ? Let's face it I have enough pictures for the next 10 years from this trip alone.

We had orginally planned this trip for Thanksgiving 2007. But then God called us to adopt again and we thought maybe we should wait until our new little guy joined the family. Then the next Thanksgiving Ty had just joined the family and we thought maybe this would overwhelm him while he was adjusting. And we didn't want to set the bar high that this is what we do every year for Thanksgiving. Ha! So 2009 is our Disney year
We've had a great time. The kids have walked and walked and walked. No strollers for us. (well for them) Although several times I have wished for a stroller for me.
We all love this Buzz Lightyear ride. We remembered this one from several years ago. I liked it the best until on the second time we rode it. Somewhere in the middle of the ride I dropped my camera on the floor of the car. So I reached down and picked it up and shoved it in my pocket. Then at the end of the ride I tried to turn around and take a picture of Mia and David and my camera wouldn't work. I couldn't figure out why it wouldn't come on and then I noticed the battery had fallen out. And the battery was nowhere to be found in my space car. So I guess I'll add camera battery to my Christmas list
Yes, we had matching shirts on the first day. And honestly I wish we would have had them for every day of the trip. It was so easy to locate and keep up with everyone. Next time we're going to have neon green, and sunshine yellow and hunter's orange as well.

Christmas Ideas

Stefanie over @ http://www.nihaoyall.com is hosting a Christmas idea post. I LOVE this idea because I am always looking for great gifts that don't involve plastic toys that last all of 10 minutes.

So, to enter her contest I thought I would give you all a little glimpse of what some little boy in our house is receiving this Christmas. (since he can't read I feel it safe to post this...but please don't tell him)

My friend Emily and I traveled to Canton, TX for the 1st Monday Trade Days, and I found this awesome TeePee.

This is truly an American made product by two really nice people. No mass-production here. And the fact that the Tee-Pee collapses easily and can be stored under a bed makes me happy. Add to this that there are no batteries involved and I'm truly giddy......

They make many different fabrics, including camo and a sweet princess one. We got the denim one trimmed in Red. (We try to be gender neutral as much as possible)

And the cost is very reasonable. Even with shipping. Visit their web-site www.texasteepees.com to see more.

Disclaimer: I do not recieve comission for any teepee sales...ha!

Trick or Treaters

Trent as Rocky Balboa.... He loves this costume. Thanks to the Grey Davis, Trent was able to score a really cool costume. But oh this robe.... Gayla brought the costume over a few weeks ago. Trent couldn't wait to get into it. He LOVED IT!

But his favorite part of the costume is the robe. So for a week, everyday when he got home from school he changed out of his clothes and into his robe. Gayla says it's like his smoking jacket. I was thinking more like Hugh Heffner. Gayla says," not to worry but if he ever comes out of his room with a girl on each arm then you should be concerned. "

Mia had options this year. Which is never good for a 5 year old girl. Our friends, the Harveys gave Mia this Bride's gown a few months back. She loves it.... but then she was also given a sleeping beauty costume. So up until a few moments until Halloween she waivered back and forth on which one to be. But in the end the Bride won!
A friend of mine tried to convince her to trick or treat in one dress then half way through change to the next dress.... Um! NO! That's not going to happen.

PEACE, LOVE and Kaylee

The Gang ready to head out for some candy action.

Ty's new favorite movie is Toy Story. He would watch it every day if I let him. He's so cute he says "Mom I Love You, Beyond Infinity"

Princess Mia

Mia's friend, Avery, had a Princess party for her 5th birthday. It was a really royal event. All the girls got to pick out ball gowns and then had their fingernails and make up done. They were then presented to the commoners (parents) and had a royal tea(pink lemonade) party.
A special guest appeared, Cinderella. She sang with them, played games and read them a story. Mia had a great time.

(Note to self: Gold is a great color on Mia: remember for prom dress one day!)

Mia and Avery the birthday girl

Just what I need...

Just what I need.....another hobby.
Actually it's an old hobby that I can do differently. I've been wanting to try digital scrapbooking for a while. But I kind of felt like I would be cheating on my supplies. Kind of like I already have the other stuff, why learn a new way.

But I am LOVING the new way! I don't have to pull out anything..... I constantly find myself with 15 minutes in between picking someone up or making it to an appointment. One of the cool things about digital scrapbooking is I can just save a project and move on until later.

Cool.

So I signed up for classes on-line. http://www.jessicasprague.com/

I have had so much fun. Learning to do this and really just learning something NEW!