Glancing Back, Moving Forward

I have about so many posts rolling around in my head but am overjoyed and full with holiday happenings.

The New Year couldn't pass without a post, so here are my eight memories to highlight from this year!

1. This day last year was my first day of officially becoming professional mother (even though the wee one was in utero).

2. When I gave up work, I left the diet drinks behind. If you know me, you know that was nothing short of a M-I-R-A-C-L-E! Lord knows I could down me some diet pepsi in the day, but there isn't any more aspartame turning into formaldehyde in this body :)

3. Experienced the joy and sheer humiliation of childbirth and loved every minute, especially my little "I"!

4. We moved to a horse ranch!?! Sometimes I still pinch myself with disbelief that I am officially a country girl.

5. I also gave up milk. We have our own well out here and water has never tasted so good in my life!

6. What I realized was how the creative writing that my old job required stirred a desire that I had long since buried. It lead to me to this here blog, which has been a wonderful outlet for me. The shocking part is that I have kept it up (well sort of).

7. Enjoyed my sweet little gifts that God has loaned to me- my boys. I have also become closer to my family. I am forever grateful. As well as becoming much closer to my extended family- what fun!

8. 2008- The Year of New Beginnings- Couldn't be more true for our little family.

Nine, the number of judgement, the year of reaping what has been sown. I can't even begin to imagine all that is in store for this next year but my heart's desire is to be found at His feet.

Praying for God's best and richest blessings upon your new year!

Making Up Stuff

Last night Joe and I were in the bathroom getting ready for bed. There is this light over the shower that went out.

I reassured him that it had a motion detector and went out when there wasn't much movement in the bathroom.

Joe gives me a funny look but I reassure him of the accuracy of my assessment. Then he questions me, "Have you always thought that there was a motion sensor in our bathroom?" "Well, yeah, why else would it periodically go on and off. Usually if I move around enough, it will come back on."

Long silence.

"Babe, there is no motion sensor. It is a can light and they turn off when they get too hot so they don't catch on fire." He starts to chuckle.

He continues his questioning, "So did you ever question if you were right or if there really was a motion sensor."

Me- "No."

Joe- "Well shoot, that throw out that theory. I was thinking if you were ever teaching Isaac something and you just weren't sure about it, you could run it by me first." :)



Laura told me on many occasions, "If you don't know something, you can't just make it up."

I don't know about yall, but they always told us if you didn't know something then make an "educated guess." I passed many college written exams with a long "educated guess."

Trouble. My child is in lots of trouble.

Testosterone Time!

(Above: from left to right. My boys. Kenny holding Conner. Kyle holding Cole. Conner and Cole belong to Kyle. Kenny's wife is due in January with a sweet little girl, Olivia Rose!) On a side note, baby legs totally crack me up. I just got caught up in a belly laugh inspecting these little boys legs. No calves, just chub chunks and then a foot! :)

This last weekend while the girls were having a shower for Olivia Rose, Joe hung out with his two best friends- they have been this way since elementary school! The guys got to talk, hang out and eat Mexican food, of course.

When I returned, my little man didn't give me two glances. He was so busy having a blast with the other boys that for the first time, he's rather play than eat.

Long Overdue Makeover

So my blog has been that 50-something year old woman who is still unashamedly stuck in the 80s with hair as big as Texas and leg warmers to boot!

No longer...

The blog has visited Clinton and Stacy at "What Not To... Put On Your Blog" and received a makeover. This is just the holiday version; more fun to come...

I DO NOT LIE!

I'm walking with Isaac in tow through the den today. I happen to glance down, to my HORROR there is a DEAD RAT ON THE RUG. I am shrieking and screaming! I am sure, absolutely sure that I have completely freaked out my sweet little man. I DO NOT do rats or mice. Just don't do them. Then, to have a dead one on my rug. UGHH!! My sweet Madi has officially turned into a ranch dog now that she brings dead animals into the house. She is about to become a barn dog if she continues this type of thing.

Absolutely disgusting!

It's Beginning to Look....

A LOT LIKE SNOW!

I have to add my pictures of the crazy weather yesterday so that you can see Southfork covered in glorious white!

What a wonderful day- the little man's first snow!

Back in Business!

This was the FIRST picture that was ever taken of Joe and I!

We lived across the street from one another and he offered to help me put Christmas lights on the "girls" house. We totally went all out and had no idea what we were doing. We used about 5 rolls of duct tape. We joked about having our own Christmas light business. What we learned was NEVER use duct tape for lights, which I am sure you already knew. I was "patching" those lights every other day because they were falling down. Oh my, we have some hilarious memories from our Ralph St. days.


Since then, we have always lived in apartments. This year, my man was determined to get the ball rolling with the lights on our house last weekend. He was outside after Isaac went to bed working on the lights, so I slipped on the same outfit I was wearing at Ralph St. Watch out- we are back in business!

We also wanted to find a Christmas tree farm out here to have our own real tree. We called one of the locals out here, who without question has THE THICKEST accent of anyone I have met out here. He said (you got to do your worst country accent in your head while you read), "Now Joe, I don't know about no Christmas tree farm, but if you want to go for the natural look, I have a nice cedar tree in my backyard that you can cut down." Wow.

We did find a tree farm and had a wonderful time preparing for the holidays!

The little man was trying to suck up the falling pine needles like a vacuum.

So, here is our tree and our garland that looks nice from the front.

But from the side, we have the leaning tower of Normangee :)

Now, there's four (including Madi, of course!)