Girl's Day Out

One of our gifts to Kenzie was a 'Girl's Day Out.'


Last Friday she invited four friends from church to spend the night; unfortunately, only two were able to make it, but it was nice with a small group.

Saturday morning they went to the salon to have their nails done and then went out to lunch.

Kenzie chose to have her nails done in a 'stained-glass technique.' It's hard to tell in the picture how detailed they are, but here's what a small fortune will buy you at the nail salon! : ) You only become a teenager once right?...

Kenzie's friend Kenna told her "I wasn't sure what to get you, so I bought you something I know you'll love...your very own boy!" ~ too funny and so true ~

Happy Birthday Mackenzie!

Tomorrow night at 10:55 p.m. Mackenzie will officially be a TEENAGER!

Here's a quick glance at the last 13 years ~

This little girl had a rough start! She was born with a Tracheo-esophageal Fistula [an extra part if you will] connecting her Trachea and Esophagus. She underwent major surgery four days after she was born to correct the problem. This photo was taken on Christmas Eve 1995. Not exactly how we envisioned spending our first Christmas with our new baby ~

Three months later, she was strong and relatively healthy; you would never know this little one had such a beginning ~

~ Look at this cute baby [and her baby-faced daddy] ~

Mackenzie was a great big sister from the start. Maybe I should remind her more often how excited she was when Lauren came along.....hmmm...

Mackenzie has always been a very social person ~

This poor, deprived child has spent two of her birthdays at Disney World!

First year at Girl's Camp this past summer!

....This picture captures Kenzie's attitude perfectly!

How did she grow-up so fast?

Thirteen years......I'm not sure where they went ~ [I feel so old!]

The Stockings Were Hung by the Chimney with Care....

...In Hopes that St. Nicholas Soon Would be Here!

I finally finished sewing our matching 'Christmas Jammies' just in time to snap a few photos for a Christmas card ~

Brigg loves to be the center of attention! ~

~ Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night ~

And the Award for Mother of the Year goes to.......

So on Monday, Lonnie was able to pick the kids up from school. Aiden called me on the way home and told me he was 'Star of the Week' this week. For those of you unfamiliar, this is a VERY big deal at their school. It involves bringing a 'Star Poster' with pictures and information you want to share about yourself to display in your classroom and bringing a treat to share with your class on Friday afternoon during your 'Star Party.' Basically you are the star of the class for the week. And.......
I FORGOT! .....Needless to say, I was up late Monday night creating a Star poster to take to school Tuesday morning.

In my own defense, I have been a little busy. Last night I hosted a RS Christmas dinner for church. We had a sit down dinner for 70 people ~ in my house! I never really got a good photo, but the tables were beautifully decorated, the program was great, dinner was good and everything went smoothly. It was a nice evening. I just need to get my house back together~

Now it's on to planning Kenzie's birthday party on Friday, finishing the Christmas shopping and getting the gifts wrapped.....Merry Christmas!

New Quilting Blog

Check out our new quilting Blog

Quilting Sisters

[1/4 inch from the edge!]

www.quiltingsisters.blogspot.com

We created this blogg to share ideas with eachother [and anyone else interested] since we don't always have time to get together. There are some really cute ideas and great patterns; check back often for more great info!

I am Thankful for ~

My four children and the blessing they are to me [even though sometimes they drive me crazy!]

My husband

Religion

Family

Friends

Our home [we are beginning to wonder if we will ever be able to sell it!?]

A job that provides us the things we need [even though this particular job stinks!]

Modern conveniences [I would never have made it as a pioneer!]

Roll-out Pillsbury pie crusts!

We had seventeen people here on Thankgiving and no photos! It is always amazing to me that after two days of cooking, dinner is over in thirty minutes [or less]!

Good food

Good company

TONS of leftovers!

The Wisdom of a Five-Year-Old

Last night I noticed that "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" was showing on television. Even though we watch it every year, I figured Aiden did not remember seeing it before so I asked him if he would like to watch it.

He turned to me with obvious concern and asked me if the Grinch is real. I'm thinking to myself that he is worried because he is afraid of the Grinch. So I assure him that the Grinch is not real, that he is just a character someone made up.

With relief he says, "I'm so happy that the Grinch isn't real and that Christmas can't be broken."

....I couldn't help but smile....I'm glad Christmas can't be broken either.

Over the upcoming weeks, I am going to have to remind myself of this conversation and the wisdom of my five-year-old son. When I am

...fighting crowds at the store...

...waiting in holiday traffic...

...running all over town searching for that one gift...

...and when we are spending Christmas with my in-laws!

There are nine children in Lonnie's family. Add seven spouses and twenty-nine grandchildren and put everyone in a house that is made to hold a family of six. There is no other way to describe these gatherings than pure and utter chaos!

BUT........I will remember the spirit of the event we are gathering to celebrate, will be grateful to gather with family, and most of all will remember that Christmas cannot be broken ~

Goodbye to the Mullet

Brigg had his first haircut this week. The girls loved it long and shaggy, but he was a little overdue; he had started to grow a baby mullet! [it sure was cute though...]

Our neighbor JoAnn was nice enough to come over and cut it for us. He did fairly well sitting still with lots of help from Lauren and Grandma to keep him entertained. Luckily JoAnn was quick and got it all cut before Brigg had a total meltdown.

We were sad to see all the hair go, and it is taking a little getting used to the short bangs.

...I guess we'll keep him anyway : )....

Boys' Birthday Highlights

Here are some of the highlights from the boys' birthdays this week ~

Aiden took cupcakes to school to share with his class. The kiddos devoured them, but I think Aiden enjoyed them the most visually : )

Who doesn't love presents? .....

Aiden making a wish......looks pretty important. He says he wished to be a superhero! Hope he's not holding his breath on that one : )

The big one-year-old birthday boy. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do with the presents, so of course he got lots of help from his brother and sisters.

Presents, presents, and more presents....

Enough excitement!

Diggin' into the cake.....

....I think Mikey liked it!

Grandma came for the week and endured all the noise and excitement. We had a good week, but I'm sure we all gained 20 pounds with all the cake and ice cream!

Happy Birthday Brigg!

It is incredible to me that a whole year has passed by already! It is hard to remember our life before Brigg arrived. These are a few things we love about Brigg:

He is such a happy, sweet-nautred boy! He is usually smiling and laughing and he keeps us doing the same.

This little guy is the world's biggest 'Daddy's Boy!' From the second Lonnie walks through the door, he wants nothing but his daddy. He has even been known to push me away! [gotta love that]

Brigg gives the best hugs and great kisses; you know the big, slobbery, open-mouthed kind....right on the ole' kisser. I love them!

Even though Brigg caught us by surprise, it is hard to remember life before he arrived; It feels like he has always been here. When Lonnie saw Brigg for the first time the thought hit him, "Yea, we have been missing him."

Brigg's our only child named by someone else...thanks Melissa for the suggestion! It was definately meant to be.

Brigg loves his big brother! He thinks it is so cool to play with Aiden and his 'big-boy' toys.

He is the cutest baby ever! [of course we are a little biased ~]

Happy Birthday Aiden!

Aiden turns the big five today! Here are a few things we love about Aiden:

He has a special little spirit. When asked by his Sunday School teachers at church how we can be more like Jesus, Aiden answered, "We can have faith." Great answer! He also quickly added, "We can also have power over the weather!" That boy is ALL about having super powers : )

Aiden is always the first to tell you 'great job' and give out words of affirmation. Last Sunday when
Lonnie said the closing prayer in church, Aiden told him, "Good job Dad! I'm so proud of you!"

Aiden is a great big brother. He has had a special bond with his little brother since the beginning. Aiden was the first to know that Brigg was on his way. [and boy weren't we surprised when he told us!]

Aiden loves ALL things masculine: tools, working outside with Lonnie, fixing things with Dad, getting dirty, riding his 4-wheeler, catching the assorted wildlife that lives out here [frogs, horned toads, snakes] and of course weapons, weapons, ......weapons : )

Aiden also loves to sing. His teacher at school tells me he can always be heard well above the other kids and keeps the class 'on key.' If it's a song he can really get into....watch out! Last year in the Primary program at church Aiden was right up front and you could hear him belting his little heart out on EVERY song. Too bad he didn't know all the words! : )

Fall Festivities

Last week Aiden's Pre-K class took a field trip out to the local 'Corn Maize'. We walked through the maze plowed into the corn field, enjoyed a picnic lunch, rode the cow train, took a hay ride and saw a couple of animals. Even though the wind was blowing 50 mph that day [in typical Lubbock fashion] it was nice to be able to join his class and see him having fun with his friends. Luckily, a friend offered to take Brigg for me that morning; I'm not sure he would have lasted very long!

The kids dressed-up Monday night for our annual Fall festival and 'Trunk-or-treat' at church. Lauren was Pocahontas, Aiden was Sir Lancelot and Brigg went as Elvis. Aiden is excited because they get to wear their costumes to school this year. In the past, they have always done a 50's Day. I bought a cute costume for Mackenzie, but of course she and I were butting heads and she decided not to dress-up in the outfit that I bought her. [...Instead, she went as a sassy teenager : )...]

Last night, we carved pumpkins. Aiden helped clean out his pumpkin this year [last year, he wouldn't touch the insides] and did a lot of it by himself. Lauren did almost her entire pumpkin all by herself; she was very patient. Kenzie cleaned-out her own pumpkin, but was not so patient. I traced and carved her design for her. It was all too much excitement for Brigg. He ended up in bed and missed out on all the fun ~

Parenthood

Last week in Kenzie's Skills For Living Class, they were all 'made' parents and were given the assignment to care for an egg baby for one week. They were to take their eggs everywhere with them and treat them just like real babies. They were only allotted 4 hours of free babysitting and then had to pay 50 cents an hour for someone else to care for their baby.

I told Kenzie I thought it would be cute to use a fresh chicken egg a neighbor had given us because it was brown. It was unique and I assured her that no one else would have a baby like hers. Even after enduring a week of comments about her 'inter-racial' baby, Kenzie faired just fine. She had a friend who went through three or four egg babies in the course of the week. However, Kenzie managed to keep her baby safe [despite it being used as a hacky sack during science one day by a couple of guys in the class].

I'm not sure how much of an impression the assignment made on the kids. Did it even make a dent in what it's really like to be a parent? If you want them to give them a real experience, give them a 20 pound sack of flour (in a car seat) to haul around the store for a couple of hours while they do the grocery shopping. Throw in a diaper bag or two and a couple more children (one of them whining and/or screaming of course) and that would be a little more realistic. How hard is it to tote around a tiny egg all day? What about getting up several times a night...the diaper changing? How about the constant wondering if you are raising them right, or the worry that they will turn out to be good people? ........By the way, where can I sign up for babysitting that's 50 cents an hour?