* Warm & Fuzzy *

Nacogdoches. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. I LOVE THAT PLACE. That's where Joe and I met, that's where I have some of the best memories. EVER. Here's a few pics of our trip today...oh how I miss Pecan Park. I think I'd blow up my camera the first week I lived there. So pretty. {Excuse the amount of pictures...I couldn't resist}

We ate here. Delicious.

Saw this. Trey said it was neat.

Played here. Trey said it was neat too.

This was Emery's view...

Oh how I miss Pecan Park & Frisbee golf.

Now we're ready for Dallas tomorrow!

* Happy Birthday Uncle Cody! *

Today is Cody's birthday! I think he said it best when he said it's the 12th anniversary of celebrating his 21st. birthday! Trey & Emery LOVE their Uncle Cody! Trey is so excited to go see his buddy...

Check out that wallpaper! {30 some-odd years ago}

We (as in my mom, Trey, & Emery...daddy has basketball) are driving up to Nacogdoches to take Cody out to lunch, and then come home this evening. Can we say fast and furious? Oh well, I need any excuse to jump behind the 'pine curtain', because I LOVE IT! Hope everyone has a fabulous Thursday!

P.S. Happy 33rd, Cody! {had to do it!}

Not Me Monday!

Whoa! I've been a busy bee in posting this morning! It's time for MckMama's Monday Blog Carnival...Not Me Monday! Enjoy...

• We did not have a fairly boring week around our household. That would mean we're boring people. We are so not!
• We are surely not bribing Trey to go #2 in the potty...we would never use milk shakes as his reward...He did not go to the potty a couple of times at Grammy's and then tell me at McDonald's that he needed 2 milk shakes!
• I did not sit straight up in bed Friday morning, only to look at my phone that said 6:24! In case you didn't know...we usually leave the house no later than 6:20. Both kids were not sound asleep, they are generally our back-up alarm! I did not have a few choice words when I realized what time it was! We could never manage to get out of the house with both kids, bottles, drinks, lunches, etc...by 6:40. I would never let Trey go to Grammy's house in his PJ's and running shoes...that would look silly.
• The same morning that we overslept...I did not go in to buy my morning drink, only to reach for my debit card and not have it. The cashier did not feel my pain, and give me the drink for free! Joe would never take it out of my wallet without telling me! Not my dear husband! Love you Joe.

* Week 3 - I Heart Faces! - Adult *

Here's our 'I Heart Faces' Adult entry for week 3. This week's theme is joy. Even though the timing of this picture was not so joyful, I think the expression is awesome. This is Aunt Sarah...Hi, Aunt Sarah! We hope you don't mind! :)

* Week 3 - I Heart Faces! *

It's that time again...week 3 of 'I Heart Faces'...This week's theme is joy! I haven't decided on my adult entry, I have enough of the kids to keep me going for a while. This is Trey at the airport about a week before Emery arrived. He was still the center of attention, and boy what an airplane can do for a little boy! This particular trip, the nicest man actually let Trey sit in the plane. Can we say cloud 9??? Anyway, enjoy the picture!

:: Simple Sunday::

Just a few pics from today. I'm so mad...the camera was on the wrong setting, hence the fuzz. I knew better than to take it out of AV mode, but wanted to play with another setting. Won't be using that one again! :) The photo shoot from yesterday is in limbo, we put a reservation in with Mr. Sun and he is supposed to let us know when he wants to come back out...we're still waiting.

We're sophisticated y'all...we sit on coolers.
P.S. Try not and notice the beer can on the bar...
or the half eaten 'nuffin' on the cooler...

That's his 'I dunno' face...

Climbin', Climbin', Climbin'

This is Trey saying, "Come on Summer time!"

*I want to win...*

I am a sucker for give-aways! Go check it out! She's giving away some fun stuff, but don't you comment...I want to win! Just kidding! :) Enjoy.

P.S. No photo shoot yesterday, the weather was not my friend. Keep your fingers crossed for today. However, as I look out the window as I type...doesn't look promising. {sigh}

* Not Much *

We have been up to a bunch of nothing this week! :) Okay, so maybe nothing...you know, raising these sweet kids of ours. I say sweet, because it really has been a nice week of going thru our routine, doing a few things once Joe gets home at night. I posted on here last week (I think), about my little leap. It hasn't taken long for me to become obsessed with taking pictures. I LOVE it. Last night we went out to a neighborhood down the road and got some good shots, even if we were trespassing. Tomorrow morning, I am supposed to have my very FIRST photo shoot with some friends...I'm excited and nervous. I'll let ya know how that goes! Here are some pictures from yesterday...they're on Owens Originals too, but I had to share.

...Moving...

This week we went to church on Saturday evening, and it was probably one of the most moving services I have ever witnessed. I have been waiting to post about it until the video was up. Thanks to Donald, it's up! Go HERE to watch it on Donald's blog (under Cardboard Testimonies). I must say, the video doesn't do it justice. It's about 10 minutes long, but it's worth it.

It was especially touching to me, because just last week Joe and I had been talking about how sometimes I still struggle with the fact that I don't have my dad (I know, it's been almost 15 years) and that I know God is so, so, so good...I just wish he would have let me have my dad a little longer (okay, a lot longer). Anyway, once you watch the video, you can guess which one I LOST it on. It pretty much slapped me upside the head, that I do have a Father, the Almighty Father. Sometimes it takes something like that to shake us up and get on the right path. I watched it this morning on Donald's blog and almost lost it again.

I hope you get as much out of it as I did.

:: I Heart Faces - Week 2 - Adult ::

Here is our adult entry for 'I Heart Faces' Contest. This is Uncle Fred, and we just love this picture. Hope you don't mind Uncle Fred! :) Enjoy!

:: I Heart Faces - Week 2 ::

Here's the kid's entry for the 'I Heart Faces' contest. I know, I know...she's cute! (I'm not biased, at ALL) I'm addicted, now that I got Honorable Mention! :) It's fun to look thru all of the entries, go check it out. Stay tuned for the adult's entry...It's going to be hard to top Papa though.

* Not Me Monday *

Oh, how I love my Monday therapy! Compliments of MckMama. Enjoy, and have a great week!

• I was not totally put out with the fact that we had final exams this week. Those are reserved for BEFORE Christmas, and include a 2 week break when finished. However, now we are left pining for another 2 week break. Thanks a lot Ike.
• I did not let Trey eat whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted this week...thanks to his tonsilitis (aka Strep). The poor baby was hooked on yogurt, jello, and ice cream. You know he's sick when he cries because the french fries hurt his mouth.
• Thursday morning, I did not get the Augmentin out of the fridge, shake it up...only to have the lid fly off in mid-shake and it go flying everywhere. Including my shirt, the floor, you name it. However, I think maybe only one dose was lost.
• That very same morning, I did not slam my finger in the car door. I would never run into the middle of the street at 6 a.m., jumping up and down, and holding in every word that wanted to come flying out. That would just be silly.
• Saturday evening, we did not manage to get to church without any formula for Emery. We had 2 bottles...no formula. Not good. I did not allow them to give Emery some random kind of formula that was left last week (In a can people, I can hear the gasps now). P.S. She's fine, she didn't have any complaints.
• I did not check, this blog 5 times a day for an update on her sweet baby. Please pray.

Feel free to join in on the fun.

* Honorable Mention! *

Our picture of Papa received Honorable Mention in the 'I heart Faces' Contest! Woo Hoo!

:: A Little Leap ::

I am finally taking a little leap and putting my PhotoShop skills to use. Click on the picture to go check it out. I had originally wanted to get into some crafty stuff, but I think I'm much better at this. Let me know what you think.

P.S. I'm putting 'Throwback Thursday' on hold until next week. I need to go to my mom's house and get some good pictures to scan!

*Finally!*

Yay! I finally found somewhere that would let me upload our 'Year in Pictures' Movie! I mean really, it's only like 20 minutes. If you're bored, have at it! *Don't forget to pause the music on the right*


'08 Christmas Movie from Kristy Owens on Vimeo

:: I Heart Faces - Papa ::

Okay, so they have an adults picture contest too. We've had this picture since this summer, and I LOVE it. This is Joe's dad...aka-Papa. One of these days when Joe and I get our picture wall going, this is definitely going to be there! Finally, I get to post it! :) Enjoy!

:: I Heart Faces ::

I stumbled across this blog today. Sounded like fun, so I thought I would enter one of my favorite pictures that I took last week. Check it out if you have some of your own fun photos! They have a kids section for kid pics and an adult one also. Check it out!

:: Not Me Monday - Rd. 6::

Yay! MckMama's Monday therapy - aka...Not Me Monday! This week was pretty uneventful, but I couldn't pass it up!

• I did not say 'ugly' words, kick, punch the pillow, etc. last Monday morning when the alarm went off...which of course means, school is back in session. Clarification: I know I am blessed to have a job that I love, it was just hard to wake up!


• I did not procrastinate grading those previously mentioned papers from school. I wouldn't spend most of my class periods this past week grading them. Surely, they are done...Nope, they're not. Hey, don't judge...I have until Friday at 12:30. :)


• I did not pull a squishy, moldy bag of potatoes out of our pantry in my cleaning escapade this week. Not me, that would be gross.


• A stranger would never just dial my number, and ask for help moving. Story behind this? Talking to my dear friend Ryan on the phone (as I do almost every day after school), and a strange number came across the phone...picked it up, and proceeded to listen to some poor soul who needed help. I didn't hang up, I felt sorry for her. I ended up passing her cell phone number along to my church so that hopefully someone could help her. It was way wierd...this is the much condensed version.


• Trey was not rendered speechless Friday night when he got to ride on a 4 wheeler with his daddy. He was not the happiest boy on the block!


• I would never go 'birthday' shopping in a friend's garage for Trey...Once again, don't judge! I'm actually proud of my money-saving mission. Thanks Claire!
• Joe would not eat my 2 party sandwiches for breakfast! You know, the ones that I was soooo looking forward to having for lunch. No worries, I forgave him. I'm going to let him take me to a movie tomorrow night. :) Thanks to Josh for the movie gift card!
• We certainly would not put Trey in pull ups this morning because the package of diapers were downstairs...we are not that lazy.

Hope everyone has a great week! I've declared it a jeans week at my school...the kids are taking their finals. Easy week, sweet! PLUS, day off on Monday!

*Trey-nado Turns 3!*

Trey is officially 3! He was sooo cute today. In the last couple of weeks, Joe and I have been amazed at how much he has matured. I know people say that the 3's are rough, but we've had a good go at it so far. Some of my favorite things about Trey? Hmm...he slept thru the night from one week on (not kidding.), he cares so much about how you feel, he is ridiculously smart, he can make me so mad and then in 2 minutes he has me laughing hysterically, he loves to give hugs and kisses, he knows just when to say "I love you mommy.", he does not meet a stranger, he's an AWESOME big brother! I can't wait to see what the next year has in store for us with Trey...it's definitely not going to be boring!

Now, on to the party! I had a first for this party...I didn't do the grocery store cake! I HIGHLY recommend Kris at Patty Cakes if you live any wear near Northwest Houston/Tomball, etc...Trey LOVED his cake. So much so, that he wanted to stick his fingers in it! Enjoy the pics!

The Cake!

Mommy, I want a 'pupcake' too!

Icing...yummy.

Happy Boy.

I'm this many!

Pinch me...is this real?

Mimi and Emery

Daddy helping Trey play his new
Bob the Builder game...

Mimi helping too...

Still pinching himself! Crazy kid.

Corn Dip and Party Sandwiches

Just thought I would share a few of the recipes I used today! The corn dip is a party staple around our circle of friends. The sandwiches were something new, and came highly recommended by my mom. They were definitely a hit, and I am excited that there were 2 left for me to take to lunch tomorrow! Stay tuned, the party post is coming next...I'm trying to get it in tonight so I can get Not Me Monday in tomorrow!

Okay, Corn Dip first! Here are the ingredients:

• 2 cans fiesta style corn
• 2 cups shredded fiesta blend cheese
• 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• 1 small can jalapenos OR green chiles (depending on how spicy you want it!)
• 2 cups of mayo
  

Mix it all up together:
Put it in an 8x8 dish and
bake at 350 degrees for about 1/2 an hour.
Serve with tortilla chips. DELICIOUS.

.................................................................................................................

On to the party sandwiches! I wasn't ambitious enough to take pics of them, but here's the recipe.

• 1 12-count package Hawaiian rolls
• 6 slices ham
• 6 slices Swiss cheese (Kraft Deli Fresh package)
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon Worchestershire sauce (I used more...)
• 1/2 tablespoon poppy seeds
• 1 1/2 tablespoons yellow mustard
• 1 tablespoon dried minched onion

Cut rolls in half. Cut ham & cheese into 4ths. Layer 2 slices ham & 2 slices cheese alternately on rolls. Place in 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Combine butter, Worcestershire sauce, poppy seeds, mustard, and onion in a small bowl. Pour over sandwiches. Cover with foil and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight. Preheat oven to 350. Back covered for 10 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 more minutes.