* Happy New Year! *

Hope everyone has an awesome new year! We did some sparklers with Trey when it got dark, and that's the extent of our fun! :) We're going to be lazy, old people and watch the 10 o'clock news and head to bed! :) That's what you do when you have two kiddos, right? Here's some pictures of Trey and his sparkler fun!

Yes Sir Daddy, I will not put that sparkler

too close to my face or clothes...

I kinda like these things...

In deep discussion with Aunt Debbie!

:: The Book ::

Now that the Grandparents have gotten their book for Christmas, I can share on here! :) I think I've mentioned it before, that I use Blurb to make photo books every year. I think this is the third book. However, in the last year, I have become somewhat obsessed with digital scrapbooking. I thought I'd share some of the pages via a little movie. Enjoy!

:: No Not Me Monday ::

Not me Monday is on vacation this week.

Grandma & Papa came the day after Christmas, so we have been enjoying their company. Yesterday, we had Emery baptized in the church I grew up in. Yes, I know...I had her dedicated at our church a few weeks ago. However, this is the church I was confirmed in, said goodbye to my dad in, got married in, and baptized Trey in. Therefore, I still have some ties to it.

After church, we went over to John and Kay's house...funny story behind that friendship. I don't think I'd get it entirely right, but long story short...John and Joe's dad had known each other from way back in the day when they grew up in the Mexia/Wortham area. Fast forward to Joe and I's college years, when Joe and I took Joe's parents to church one day and Joe and John ran into each other. Small, small world. We had a great time with them yesterday, and meeting some of their family. However, I left my camera...ruh roh! They're bringing it to me on Tuesday, whew!

Who knows what the rest of this week holds. My uncle John and aunt Debbie are in town, and I'm cookin' tonight. Hmmm, what to make. I think I'll get it out of my new autographed Lady & Sons cook book...Gotta love some Paula Deen!

Poor Joe has a round-robin basketball tournament. Whoever came up with that? I think Joe was lookin' forward to 2-and-barbecue. For those of you who don't know what that means, in the tournament world, that means if you lose 2 games, you get to go home early! Joe turns 29 on Saturday, so we'll have to see what's in store for that evening. One step closer to 30, yikes! :)

Well, I hope everyone has an awesome week and a Happy New Year!

* Merry Christmas! *

Throwback Thursday is just going to have to wait until next week. Too many cute pictures from the last week to share!

The Brewer's came over for dinner Monday night.
Emery made a new best friend with Aunt Shan.

Trey decided he wanted a pile of shredded cheese. Nice.

Choo Choo!

Too cute for words.
Aww. I love my big brother.
So sweet.

Goin' Fishin!

It looks like Santa's toy bag threw up in our living room! :)

The big winner of the day is Mimi's present: Thomas the Tank Engine rack set. I've never seen Trey sit in one spot and focus on something like he has today. He finally sits still! If you need to find Trey during the next few months, chances are he is sitting around the train.

I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas!

*Not Me Monday - Rd. 5*

Here comes another round of MckMama's Not Me Monday! It was a pretty uneventful week around here, but these things just start to flow...

• This was not a crazy-busy week. I would never have to get babysitters for Monday night, Wednesday night, and Thursday night. No way!


• I did not bring home close to 900 papers to grade. Nope. I do not have about 175 students who turned in at least 4 assignments this week. Go ahead mathemeticians, how many papers? I will not procrastinate until the day before I have to go back to school to grade them.


• I did not have to secretly laugh with MckMama (and her comment about waiting for lovely comments) at this post...I would never allow Emery to do that. She certainly has not been sleeping that way for a couple of months now.


• I'm such an awesome mom that I would not get halfway into the garage before I realized that Emery was still sleeping silently in the back seat. Nope, I'm too with it to do that. She forgave me...hey, at least I realized it before I went inside!


• I did not have an awesome time with some friends on our 'Football mom's night out to shop'. We certainly did not shop for 4 hours. We did not discuss the necessity of a daquiri shaq in the mall.


• Trey would never stick his hand down his diaper and dig out something yummy. Not Trey. No way. Let's all thank Joe for catching that one before it became wall art. Thank you daddy!

Well, I thought we had to end it on that note! Hope everybody has a great week!

* Silly Saturday *

Why was our Saturday silly? Maybe because it's December 20th, and it is 70+ degrees outside. I put Trey in shorts and a t-shirt, and he helped daddy wash the car. December 20th! 70 degrees! Oh wait, in less than 24 hours it will be 30 degrees. Oh and wait one more time, by Christmas it will be 70+ again. Awesome.

P.S. You'll have to excuse the lack of quality in the pictures....I wasn't feelin' the PhotoShop love tonight!

Throwback Thursday - Round 2!

I wouldn't dare forget! We're college bound this week. A lil' tribute to the SFAVB crew. Oh the days...

E and Me...Bomb.

Yes. She is saran-wrapped to the pole.

Oh how we miss Mr. Dick...the bus driver.

SFAVB...Miss it! SB, JR, & KB...don't ask. :)

* Wordless Wednesday *

:: AS IF... ::

As if, this day could get any better! Remember this? I turned in my PO today!!! This is what I'll be doing for an entire week in March. I would be excited if it was in Houston, Vegas is just an added bonus! As I was turning in my PO, my phone rang. Some of our favorite friends, that currently reside in Lake Charles, informed us that they are moving to Baytown!!! I will gladly take an hour, over 3! So excited!!! I don't need anything for Christmas, this day will do it! :)


This is the only pic that I could find of us with Wendy & Andy (and I'm behind the camera). Funny story: We went to San Antonio with them and Wendy and I talked the boys into going to Fredericksburg for the day. Fredericksburg quickly turned into Enchanted Rock and a hike ensued. Let me back up for a second...Wendy and I were BOTH pregnant (I was only 2 months, and she was 6 months along), and it was like July. Enough said. We were not excited! The boys made it to the top, but we hung out at about the half way mark. Let's not mention that a lady back at the hotel informed Wendy that if her ankles got much bigger that it could kill her. Uh oh.




Whoa...3 posts in one day. Record!

* He's Back! *

If you remember this post my OB left me one month before Emery is due, and now a friend of mine just let me know that he's coming back in January! (A little history: One Dr. delivered Trey, but Dr. McGuirk was on call throughout the night and we LOVED him, so we switched to him the second time around.) You can read in this post, this post, or this post about some of my pregnancy 'fun' after he left. I will be one of the first to make my well woman appointment to give him an ear full! :) That was kind of fun reading back thru those old posts and reminiscing. Praise God for a healthy Emery, but I did have quite a bone to pick with the 'fill-in' Doctor. In my awesome medical opinion, I did not have preeclampsia. I never swelled, I felt fine (for the most part), and my blood pressure was PERFECT in the midst of labor. hmmm. Anywho, I am so excited he is back! NO, we will not be having any more babies to keep him employed. Just in case you were wondering. No way Jose. Just had to make that last part clear. :)

:: Emery's Expressions! ::

And we thought Trey had some funny expressions! Check her out!

* Not Me Monday - Rd. 4 *

I got smart this week...I kept track of my Not Me's throughout the week! There's quite a few, so watch out!

• There was not a cooler with dead deer remains on our back deck for almost a week. *gross* It wasn't there because I refused to even open the lid, and Joe had basketball almost every night of the week. The dogs really don't stalk said cooler when they go outside. (One of Joe's students went hunting and brought him a deer...didn't you know that is the new 'apple'? Get with the times people)
• On Tuesday night, Trey certainly did not get nose to nose with me and say, "Mommy, I want you to do laundry." What? I certainly had not been storing up on my Not Me's in advance so that I didn't forget them by Sunday night. Really, laundry is not overrated.
• I did not want to shed a tear when Boston Legal was over on Monday night. I don't think I will leave it on the DVR to re-visit Denny and Alan when I start having withdrawals.
• I am not contemplating boycotting ABC after ending Boston Legal and Dirty Sexy Money. *sigh* Not really, but it sounded good.
• Surely the weather in Houston did not drop 40 degrees in one day. That would just be silly.
• It did not SNOW on Wednesday in Houston, Texas. The first time in four years. The weather forecast for the weekend, was definitely not high of 72, just 3 days later.
• I certainly did not get annoyed Wednesday night with an Anonymous commenter. Said commenter surely would not impose their opinion about how they would NEVER put their son in a seat belt positioning booster. Is it not amazing that people feel so secure behind their anonymity in blog land. I do not love my reject comment option.
• Friday morning as I was getting ready for work, I most certainly did not cover myself in Aussie Super Strength hair spray, thinking it was my Wild Orchid Bath & Body splash. You know you've done it...
• A few of the parents from Joe's school did not provide an AMAZING dinner for all of the coaches and their spouses. Who knew that a few of those dad's were the same ones that another wife and I got somewhat aggravated with at a game when they were questioning the coach's decisions. I did not try to cover up my face with a menu, when we discovered said coincidence. Thank goodness for parent's with a good sense of humor! The parent's did not praise us for standing up for our coach's!
• At the lovely dinner, I did not manage to drink 4 sangria margaritas in a 2-hour period. Those ritas definitely would not give me a massive headache Sunday morning.
• I am not starting another blog in an attempt to do something I've always wanted to do. People are always saying, "You should do this on the side"...so here goes nothin'! Check it out and let me know what ya think!
  

Whew, what a week! Last week of school, and then a 2 week break! Hallelujah!

Joe & Santa

I know what you're thinking, and no...Joe did not go visit Santa this year. lol. However, Grandma & Papa have moved, and in their unpacking I think Papa came across this picture. Joe was six almost 3! Too funny. Thanks for sharing Grandma!

Emery's Dedication

We had Emery dedicated at church today. It was a great experience, and Emery did awesome. We love, love our church and it is so touching to know how many people are dedicated to guiding all of these babies in their faith. Here are a few pictures for your viewing pleasure.

We're doing what?

Pastor Mark praying with us...which one is
Joe and which one is Mark...hmmm?
Funny story in a second.

So, on to the funny story...we sat on the front row today, and this weekend the kids got to come into church to 'Give their best Gift to God'. They walked up and passed us to drop their gifts off. Joe smiled at one of the little boys and he turned to Joe and said, "Hi Pastor Mark". I about fell off the chair laughing. You can tell from the picture that with a quick glance, they definitely can get mixed up. From behind, it's a toss up.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's Not Me Monday...it promises to be a long one!

Throw-back Thursday

I'm starting something new today. Throw-back Thursday! (So apparently a lot of bloggers do this, but I hadn't seen it before (or at least I don't remember)...oh well. I'm doin' it!) I have a gazillion old photos from a movie that I made my mom for her 60th birthday, and I thought I would post a few each Thursday...seeing that I remember every Thursday. Here goes nothin'.

How cool is this picture? I am totally jealous of my mom growing up on a farm in Illinois. Joe and I would live on land out in the country in a heart beat. Plus, every day access to a horse. Not fair.

Love this family photo of the Greene's. That's my mom on the bottom left and her brother next to her. I love my Grandpa's suit in this picture. So snazzy. Is that a word?

A Rhodes/Finley/Parker reunion. These are the Rhodes'. This picture cracks me up. If you can pick me out, check out those shorts. Nice. Man, loved the 80's. Cody, you still have to babysit Monday night, even though I put this picture on here. My dad is in the back on the far left. That is my 'Nana' in the middle. As much as this picture cracks me up, it makes me sad for her...if you saw her now you wouldn't recognize her. Poor thing.
Alright, we just hopped up a few more years. We have my mom, cousin, uncles, Joe, and me. (Okay, English teachers, I'm slacking...forgive my sentence structure.) This is at my dad's Memorial Golf Tournament that Stewart & Stevenson put on every year (for 10 years) following his passing. They always did an awesome job and raised a lot of money for Star of Hope, my dad's Charity of choice. Let's not mention that your's truly won the longest drive competition 2 of those years...shh, don't tell anyone I got to hit off of the women's tees.

*Sigh* we'll finish up with this one. I think this is one of our last family pictures together. I'll leave it at that.

Let me know if you do a Throw-back Thursday. I'd love to come check it out!

Prayer Request - update!

-- UPDATE --
All went well, and she is in recovery. Got the baby hooked up on the ultrasound and IT's doin' great. Notice the IT, because I know what IT is...and I'm not tellin'! Stay tuned to her blog for her to spill the beans!

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Please say a little prayer for Ryan tonight or in the morning for her quick healing and baby Ahren's health. Ryan is one of my dearest friends in the whole wide world. She's going in the morning for a small laproscopic procedure. Not one of the top things on the list when you're pregnant. You can also say a little prayer that baby Ahrens is a girl so that they can inherit Emery's small consignment store, also known as her closet! Love ya Ry.

Sorry Ryan, I forgot to tell you that I was going to post this, but I didn't think you'd mind a few prayers coming your way! :)

* Not Me Monday - Round 3 *

I love me some Not Me Monday, it lets my supressed sarcasm come out! Here goes nothin':

* I really have not let Emery's clothes sit in a massive ball on her floor for more than a week because the thought of sorting thru all of her clothes made me get dizzy and short of breath just thinking about it.

* Poor Joe did not have basketball games Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, & Saturday. Welcome to basketball season!

* I did not laugh out loud when someone made a comment about how MckMama's son was improperly restrained in his seat belt. (disclaimer: I take my child's safety VERY seriously, but he is the size of a 5 year old, so I think a seat belt booster is A-ok.)

* I did not have to turn my back to Trey in order to not bust a gut when he pointed at me and said, "You know better than that..." That statement surely did not earn him time in the naughty chair.

* I really did not make my first batch of soup EVER. I thought Joe was anti-soup, so it never made it to the menu...until now. My cheesy chicken tortilla soup was not DELICIOUS. Recipe to follow at a later date.

* I am not ridiculously behind in my Christmas shopping. Seriously. Surely my Christmas tree is not sitting in the guest bedroom, still in the box. *sigh*

That's all for now! Hope everyone has a great week!

:: Emery in Action ::

Just a quick lil' shot of Emery checking out her bouncer. I think she'd rather it just be a swing, but hey...she liked it. She is getting too big, too fast! By the way, all of the 'stuff' on her floor has been picked up. Me taking this little video was slight procrastination of getting busy and sorting thru the diva's clothes. Ryan - could you help a sista out please and have a girl so I can unload some of this out of my closets....

* What a day! *

Yesterday was non-stop, but in an awesome way. Trey was so much fun yesterday. We got up in the morning and took breakfast to Mimi's and patiently awaited Santa's arrival... Every year Santa rides thru the neighborhood on a fire truck. Santa + Fire truck = Toddler Heaven! We missed THE photo op. of the year, but these will do. (Santa sat down on the curb next to Trey...that's my missed photo op...there's always next year!)

Gettin' Giddy...

Waiting Patiently! Santa Climbin' Up...Hey Santa!In awe...

I'm pretty sure this
qualifies as a HAND FULL.

--------------------------------------------

Stop 2 for the day? A Walk Thru Bethlehem at Mimi's church. Trey wasn't so thrilled with the walk, but he did enjoy the snow...oh wait, fake snow. The playground was an added bonus. I told Mimi, that we would have scored points just going to the playground...however, it was cute when one of the King's gave Trey a coin, and Trey found the baby Jesus and gave him the coins. The fellowship hall at the church is transformed into Bethlehem, it was really dark so I didn't get to many pics in there.

Giving the coin to Baby Jesus Contemplating
Diggin'Slidin'Emery & Mimi...
Em wasn't coopearating

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Okay, really...the last stop was at Santa's Wonderland in College Station. Can we say...AWESOME. Totally worth the money, and Trey was more than excited. Please excuse picture quality...I was juggling the video camera and my camera. Yikes!

The line!Here we go...

Excitement!
Psss..MckMama check out the seat belt. lol.

The Entrance

Awesome.

Whew...this post made me tired. Might qualify as longest EVER. Oh yeah, by the way my 100th post came and went and this is #102. Crazy.