Happy Day!

Neal has a birthday today! We're going out for Thai food and having Meyer Lemon Coffee Cake to celebrate. What? You think he has weird tastes? Just one of the many things I love about him.

This is Parker's favorite picture of his daddy. We found this little anole one evening in our doorway in Houston (not uncommon). Neal quickly picked it up (also not uncommon), then said, "you can clip these on your ears!" And proceeded to do so.

Happy Birthday Neal!

this is all it takes

Just a hint of the white stuff (but with a pretty icy underlayer) and school was cancelled today! Audrey woke up in a panic after 8.30 and said, "It's Wednesday!" In other words, "why am I still here?" Neal got the pleasant news around the same time that he didn't need to go into the office today. When the schools are closed, so are the day care facilities, and hence his assistants had to stay home. Plus, no one expected anyone to slide down the icy highways all morning just to get a root canal! We had a really peaceful day, it was lovely!

And have I mentioned how much I love the portrait lens that Elliott talked me into buying? I know this picture isn't in perfect focus, but I love that sweet face even when it's blurry.

consequences

This is what happens when Mama is just too engrossed in her semi-spooky book to get involved with after-school snack. "Just do it yourself, guys," I said from the couch. Ha, I paid the price later, of course, when it came time to clean up for dinner.

Grateful Sunday

boys doing boy things. please note moe's tongue. ahem, dad.

This week has been great. Cold, but great! I'm grateful for:

• the wonderful women in my church. They are a great group of spiritual, strong women, and I'm proud to be among them. I really feel a wonderful spirit when we get together like we did this week.
• one warm, perfect day amongst the rest of the wintery week.
• a good, sweet, trustworthy babysitter and a good movie with Neal.
• the missionaries from our church, who just plain old work hard. What wonderful examples.
• this book, which has given me some great laughs this weekend. Buy one and help the Nielsons, if you can.

Shabby Audrey

My friend, Kristen, hooked me up with a link to submit your pretty daughters for a Shabby Baby photo shoot (and wardrobe prize)! Below is my submission (it has to be posted on a blog). Go here to enter your little one!



My daughter, Audrey, would be a perfect "picture princess" for your Shabby Baby Girl line of dresses. Although her coppery red hair and hazel eyes bring her lots of attention and compliments, once you know Audrey, you come to see her compassionate, intellectual, and curious personality. Audrey loves life, nature and learning. If you'll just sit beside her, she'll read to you for hours. She's quick to giggle and loves a good wrestle with her brothers. Audrey is pretty convinced she'll be President of the United States one day, and that's about as close to a princess as a little Southern girl will ever be.

I think she'd look great in the Canary dress. The subtle colors and modern print would suit this little grown-up quite well. The 45 Words per Minute dress in the green shade would be great with her coloring. And that's probably her accurate typing speed. :)

supermom

Did you see my sister, Stephanie's inspiring and motivating post about motherhood here? You need to read it. It will make you better at what you do.

Way to go, Steph!

girl time

Audrey had so much fun pretending Callie was her sister last weekend. One of the only regrets of my life is that Audrey doesn't have a sister of her own. Don't get me started or I will cry.

this is what he does

Whenever I get the camera out, this little dude immediately changes into crazy mode. He's always in happy mode, which we appreciate. And crazy mode is even more entertaining. Lately, as he approaches two-and-a-half, Miles is very lovey, doling out kisses and face snuggles at random. He loves to say the prayers, sing along at lullaby time (which makes it hard for him to fall asleep), eat mini gumballs when he successfully finds the potty, tease Audrey and Parker, play baseball and tennis in the house, and can really jam out on his toy guitars. He is an absolute joy to behold. We thank our lucky stars every night that Miles came to our family.

friendly friends

A few shots of the kids with their friends in Houston this weekend:

Part of the group of kids that gets dragged out because their parents all have fun together.

Miles with Rebekah. She and her family used to be our neighbors and almost daily playmates. Bekah and Miles always clicked so well, despite the eight year age gap. We miss our great neighbors, since our current neighborhood is completely blah.

Audrey and Braden, her best friend from her first grade class. We met him for lunch.

Parker got to play all morning at his preschool friend, Kai's house. These two are great buds.

Thanks for seeing us, everyone! Now we miss you all over again. :(

Grateful Sunday

Callie, Holly the puppy, and Audrey, enjoying the sunshine this morning

We just had a fun weekend. I'm grateful for:

• our safe and relatively quick-seeming drive back home today. The kids did great and Miles slept. Hooray!
• our friends, for letting us crash at their house. Audrey wouldn't have had it any other way, and I'm glad they let the rest of us come with her. :) See more pictures at Rebecca's blog.
• the other friends we were able to see who made time during a busy Saturday so we could stop by. We miss so many people down there! Next time, we hope to see even more friends.
• my friend, Lauren, who covered for me at church today, since I couldn't be there.
• a day off of school tomorrow! Woohoo for no obligations!
• NieNie's ongoing recovery. I'm excited to read her blog again and wish her all the best.

Audrey's Dream

We're going on an Alaskan cruise this summer with my family. We are so excited, and have recently learned that the shore excursions are available for booking. Audrey's entire purpose for accompanying us on the cruise is to see the sled dogs. Here is the description for the shore excursion she will be attending. She is going to die just from the thrill of it.

Dog Sled Summer Camp

Learn about Alaska's official state sport, dog mushing, see an exact replica of an Iditarod Race checkpoint and experience the thrill of riding behind a team of highly trained Alaska huskies.

Embark on a breathtaking drive along Gastineau Channel, through the historic AJ Gold Mine site and into the remote and scenic Sheep Creek Valley. At the dog camp, you are greeted by an Iditarod musher and his team of dogs. Enjoy an educational tour of the camp and hear real tales from the trail. At the Iditarod Race checkpoint replica go through the steps the mushers perform as if traveling with them along the route. Learn how the health and care of the dogs is the musher's greatest concern.

Then, climb aboard a comfortable wheeled sled and relax as your husky team whisks you along the 1.5-mile trail through the beautiful landscape. Back at camp visit with the dogs, pet the puppies and learn what it's like to live amid 120 happy huskies. (That part will be her favorite, you can be sure.)

We're so excited, thanks for letting me know, Mom!!

recent yumminess

I have been finding some great recipes lately, and wanted to share them with you! I've posted both of them on the recipe blog I share with my friend, Natalie.

Chocolate Bundt Cake with Vanilla Glaze (from my friend, Erika)

&

Garlic Chicken with Mushrooms

I bought my first bundt pan after Stephanie posted her lemon cake recipe, and now I'm trying all sorts of cakey recipes to fill it. What have you been making lately?

Grateful Sunday

This Sunday, things are good. I'm grateful for:

• my grandma and nephew, who were both in town this week. I'm glad they made time to come see us, even if we were their secondary reasons for being here.
• Parker's successful basketball game. It made me so happy when he got a basket in the second quarter. I could tell he was so excited that he could actually do it! Go Wolves! :)
• our Bishop's very inspiring message in church today. He called upon all of us to do better when it comes to the really important things. Like teaching our kids.
• our family's health. I try not to let it go unnoticed, especially this time of year. We're all so lucky to have healthy bodies.
• a lovely dinner with new friends tonight.

a fun visit

We had lots of fun with "GRAPE-grammy," as Miles so preciously calls her. It was great to show her our part of the world and to have nice, long talks about life. She helped me sign up on Facebook, cleaned up the dishes, made the big kids feel special, and cuddled Miles when I was too busy.

Love you, Grammy. Thanks for coming! We miss you already.

Miles keeps asking, "where grape grammy go?"

the most exciting thing happening around here?

ICE

what's happening at your house today?

Grateful Sunday

the kids with cousins and Uncle Jeff, last night at dinner

This has been a great two weeks. I have a lot to be thankful for in this new year!

• a safe trip to and from Oklahoma. None of us love road trips, but this one went pretty well. I'm already gearing up in my mind for a 12-hour trip to Florida next August. Heaven help me. We're not a driving kind of family.
• my new TomTom, a GPS navigator which Neal got me for Christmas and which has made every trip since then, both long and short, a bit more fun.
• our spotlessly clean hotel room during our stay in OK. It was a brand new hotel and we were the first ones to sleep in our room. Such a nice feeling.
• my grandma's bad fortune. She needs a root canal this week and rather than pay a local endodontist to do it, she's flying here to stay with us and get care from Dr. Neal. Fabulous idea, Grammy! I can't wait.
• our patient realtor. I feel like every time I call her, we have a new scheme. But she's always quick to help and/or meet us someplace.
• Neal's brother, Jeff, who always takes us to the best dining spots in Dallas. I'm still dreaming about the food from last night. Thanks, Jeff!
• morning church meetings and Sunday afternoon naps. No more coming home in the dark for us!

Happy New Year!

Nothing like a few teeny illegal fireworks in the cul-de-sac to ring in the new year right.

p.s. Miles really hates fireworks.

Right after this photo, he and I went in to watch from the upstairs window.

~*~Happy New Year!~*~