Why????

Can someone tell me why the spurs couldn't have had THIS GAME when I took my daughter to her first live NBA game??? So not fair. I'm pouting now.

Ole San Antone

We got back late last night from our visit to San Antonio. It was a great visit. We got to see all of my family that lives there and were able to do various activites as an immediate family as well.

We got to go to the zoo and visit these lovely creatures...



and these lovely creatures...

We rode the train..



and the riverbarge..


We checked out the Alamo..


and witnessed the ugliest game of basketball I have ever seen.
I did have the cutest fan there though.

(bad quality due to phone camera but you get the picture)

Thanks Mom and Dad for putting up with us and for all you did for us while we were there. We hope to see you guys soon!!

Christmas Day

We had a good Christmas! Both grandparents were so generous and we were remembered by so many friends and family. Thanks so much. Here are some of my favorite pictures.

Melody wasn't sure in the beginning but really enjoyed herself.


The old pros!


Christmas princesses


And.. after baths tonight, the ever popular "Grammajammagrams"! Thanks Mom! You are so wonderful!

Christmas Decor

Is it sad that we just put up our tree and stockings today? I have to say that one of my favorite decorations is on the couch. Our tree is simple and child friendly. I'm all for making our life easier.

Thanks Mom! Pass some of that talent my way!

Mom has outdone herself once more.. Just as my sister in law, Tib, posted... my mother, the "sewing goddess" has struck again. Check out the newest creations! Even the ever picky Morgan is in love with her Christmas dress.

The Many Faces of Maya

Sure there's the obligatory "Cheese"



Followed by the ever popular "Aren't I cute?"



"Watch me as i eat my icing from cookie decorating!"



Now we're just getting silly.

It's no secret that we are a soccer lovin' family!

but now the word is officially out... check out the FC Dallas Blog..

See any people you recognize?

FC Dallas Blog <--- click here

Proud Mom Moment

Morgan's gym had their banquet tonight and was selected out of the entire team of 40 girls, to be gymnast of the year. What a sweet moment for her to be rewarded for all of her hard work. Congratulations Morgan!

Did I ever share this photo?

This photo was taken at halloween. I think the babysitter we had last night will confirm that this is indeed a costume.

My middle child

She's growing up and making friends! See them holding hands! We were taking Payge home after playing at our place for a few hours. I love that she's getting along with Payge! Mel doesn't seem to mind the extra company either.

Amber alert!!! Call 911!!!

We have a missing person(s) report! Can someone please tell me where the gingerbread people from our house are!???

Oh wait... never mind,... the perpetrators have been apprehended.



Don't let their innocent faces fool you. These are hardened criminals. Trust me. I know. I helped mold them.

The Texas Gingerbread House Massacre

So it started out well.. (Notice Mel is licking her fingers. She's in heaven.)


Then we enjoyed the fruits (icings) of our labor.... Cheers!!



What's this!?? Clearly we are not achitectural geniuses... or maybe it's that we ate too much icing? Hmm...




All better.. Thanks Mom! You are do miracles when you use a ton of icing! Hey.. put that spoon down!!

Gymnastics strikes again!

So this picture is from a meet a while back but the results DO include a medal :)

Morgan went to a meet this weekend and they scored the gymnasts a little differently. The top 60% of participants received medals. The top 33% of that 60% (still with me here?) got gold, the middle 33% received siler and the bottom 34% earned bronze. Morgan got gold on vault and floor, silver on beam and bars, and a gold in the all around. Her gym's level 4 and 5 teams both earned first place. It was a fun weekend! One of the other moms had a fantastic camera so hopefully i will be able to get the shots she took of Morgan very soon!

Go Spurs Go!!!!

Spurs 97

Mavericks 95

It's a shame my watching buddy had to go to bed at 9. She'll get a full update in the morning.

Game Day

Yes, We live in Dallas... so we're getting a few dirty looks today. I'm not feeling too optomistic without Tim Duncan tonight but I'm in the spirit of things anyways. (and I'm dragging my offspring down with me!)

The new shirt

One thing I admire about my sister Rachel is that she has a quirky sense of humor. I love it. She also has a collection of quirky, humorous Tshirts. I especially love her princess bride one. Ask her about it sometime. Anyway... here's my new one to add to my own collection. I'm wearing it today. It's ok that I bought it in the men's section, right?

Yes It's that time..

Time to avoid eating my weight in Christmas crap. I started a fitness challenge online today so I could get a head start on my will power. I am a realist. I will eat Christmas treats. I will probably join the ranks of "eat till you puke" on Christmas Eve/Day... but I need to get a "buffer" going... Wish me luck. I started with 60 mins of elliptical this morning. umm.. anyone have any ibuprofen??

The Changing of the Guard

No, not this one...


I HAD to get groceries this morning... otherwise I would have waited until a time when I could have gone alone. So it was off to the store with 2 rugrats.... Now, ordinarily the person who gives me the most grief is Maya. Times they are a changin'! When Melody goes down for her nap, Maya and I are going back to finish what we started and I'm not even the slightest bit concerned. It looks like the torch of crabby behaviour has been passed.

Not to be outdone by my brother.....

The parable of the pretzels and the goldfishes

First, let me clarify that I am not a nursery worker at church. I live there because my little hip monkey doesn't let me leave. Today as we were arriving for my sentence... i mean quality time with my little ones, we discovered (for reasons not important) that we were devoid of snack. For those who have little ones in nursery you realize this is a catastrophe!!!!

After sending an official primary worker home to get a few odds and ends we discovered that the natives were indeed getting very restless. Along with the primary president's emergency stash of goldfish from her car and the items from 2 diaper bags we were able to feed the masses with a feast fit for... well.. a bunch of preschoolers... but they thought it was AWESOME! :) Oh the variety of it all!! Crisis averted. I believe in parables.

Just call me Martha.

My new inspiration seems to be attempting to satisfy my picky, hard to feed family with new recipes. Crazy. Last night we had Crockpot BBQ beef on toasted buns and broccoli salad. (It was made with a roast which Nathan has declared he does not like along with a very LONG list of other things.) For dessert I popped some ready to bake cookies in the oven, made some buttercream icing and we had cookie sandwiches. The dinner was popular with Morgan, Nathan and I but the two littles turned up their noses... I suppose 3 out of 5 isn't bad? Tonight I'm revisiting an old favorite with Potato Soup. I'm looking forward to that!

On another topic, I've become stark raving mad with clipping coupons, price shopping and deal finding. If you have any tips, let me know! I have to save money for my little 2 year old suction cup to attend at least a few hours of preschool or mother's day out next year or I'll go INSANE. People think I attend the gym for exercise.. really it's so I can go to the BATHROOM ALONE!!!

My kids and their grudge against me

Oh yeah it's immunization time! I took Morgan to her 8 year well check and didn't expect anything. Well it turns out that she was behind on her HEP A vaccine so she needed that one and since we were doing that already, why not get the flu shot?? Oh and by the way.. since Maya's here why don't we get that one out of the way too... So both kids hate my guts for a little while. This morning I took Melody in for her 2 year and she gets a flu shot too. Guess who was the toughest? Yup you got it. Mel's the prize winner :)

I LOVE this!!!

It's a good thing I have a supportive husband who would never say such a thing.

"What do you do all day?"

A man came home from work and found his three
Children outside, still
In their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty
Food boxes and wrappers
Strewn all around the front yard.


The door of his wife's car was open, as was
The front door to the house
And there was no sign of the dog. Proceeding
Into the entry, he found
An even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked
Over, and the throw rug was
Wadded against one wall.

In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a
Cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys
And various items of clothing.

In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink,
Breakfast food was spilled on the
Counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog
Food was spilled on the floor,
a broken glass lay under the table, and a
Small pile of sand was spread
By the back door.
He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over
Toys and more piles of
Clothes,looking for his wife. He was worried
She might be ill, or that
Something serious had happened.
He was met with a small trickle of water as it
Made its way out the bathroom door.
As he peered inside he found wet towels,
Scummy soap and more toys
Strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a
Heap and toothpaste had been
Smeared over the mirror and walls.
As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife
Still curled up in the bed
In her pajamas, reading a novel. She looked up
At him, smiled, and asked how his day went.
He looked at her bewildered an d asked, "What
Happened here today?"

She again smiled and answered, "You know every
Day when you come home
From work and you ask me what in the world I do all
Day?"
"Yes," was his incredulous reply.
She answered, "Well, today I didn't do it."

So now it's time to wax spiritual....

I've been thinking lately about the strength of my testimony. I've always had one but am I the only one who has had an increase in their testimony since having children?

I mean there is the obvious reason... the miracle that is your child tends to evoke spiritual feelings that one cannot always describe. However, I have noticed something else.

Sometimes I strongly believe something and sometimes I follow it "because I am told". I have found that some of the things that I follow because I have to be an example for my kids has given me a testimony of that principle. Make any sense?

Let me give you an example. Before I had children I was pretty good with keeping the sabbath day holy (if you don't count pre-marriage years). Since I have three little policewomen keeping up with me on Sunday I have realized the blessings that come from keeping the sabbath holy and how it is such a divine principle. There are quite a few of these little (but significant) things that I have to thank my children for.

You guys drive me crazy sometimes but thanks for building up my testimony. I may not sell you on E-bay after all :)

So.... How about them Spurs?

Time to shift gears!! Go Spurs Go!

What do I do until late next spring?

RIP
FC Dallas season of 2007.
Ugh.
That was one ugly game.
Enough said.

Oh I suppose you can see the kids too....

Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore!



Convincing, isn't she?


Isn't she "sweet"?


I just can't help it.

Happy Halloween!!!!

There are times when I wish I had a transporter...

You know.. like in star trek?
So.. first things first.

FC Dallas 1 Houston 0 !!!!!!! Here is my souvenir of the night...



For those who don't know.. this is Denilson. He's been capped for Brazil 61 times and was a part of the world cup winning squad in 2002.

So the next leg of the journey is this Friday in Houston. We win there and then we are on to the conference finals!! So... back to the request for a transporter. I so want to be at that game.

Weekend plans anyone???

I'm excited about mine! Can you guess what we'll be doing? Does it have anything to do with Soccer? FC Dallas maybe? A babysitter for the rugrats??? You got it. It's the first day of the playoffs on Saturday night. Nathan and I have joined up with a group of supporters in a new-formed group called Los Toros (If there are any closet FC Dallas fans reading this, please join us!)



We've got the streamers and confetti ready and we're on for a tailgate! :) Now.. the big question.. do we bring the mullet wigs or not??? Decisions, decisions...

Clothing Rut

Yup, that's me. I'm in a clothing rut. I always wear a tshirt and jeans. Usually I wear a baggy shirt. I need to find some clothes that fit well and will last. I lost all my weight, got the gut fixed and I want to feel good. Too bad they don't make shirts for women who have amazon shoulders and reasonably sized arms. I'm a size 4 on the bottom but vary between a M and L on the top. Can What Not to Wear just come and visit me please???? (or can I have a shopping buddy volunteer?)