Christmas Morning 2008

Christmas this year was a BLAST! It had some very interesting moments but worth every minute. On Christmas Eve my mother-in- law and brother-in-law arrived to spend Christmas with Emma. Note, I said Emma because there is some unwritten rule that when you have children you are no longer important. I wonder why that is? Oh well so back to Christmas. I rose extra early to make sure "Santa" had eaten at least one cookie and had taken the "reindeer food" that Emma had so carefully left for him. He had indeed done what was expected of him, but along with that a mess for me to clean up. Gotta love Santa! When Emma woke up, she rubbed her sleepy eyes and squealed with excitement. "Santa" left the only 2 things she had asked for: a vacuum cleaner and a Barbie bike. She was so excited. That little girl had so many presents under the tree that her Uncle Chris got tired of handing them to her. She loved it. There is something about seeing your child on Christmas morning that makes everything in the world seem right. I loved it! Here are some of the few pictures we got on that morning. I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas with the ones you love!

City of Lights

Mark and I decided to take Emma down to Natchitoches to see the lights. The city is famous for all the decoration that go up every year. I have gone a few times before Emma was born but this was her first time. We drove down on that Saturday afternoon, did a little shopping at all the shops on Main Street. The shops were fantastic. After a few hours of walking and shopping we started the search for the perfect spot to see the fireworks. Once we found "the spot" we settled in for the wait. The fireworks were amazing. They lasted for about 45 mins. It was the most amazing fireworks display that Mark or I have ever seen. The only bad thing was that is was so cold. I am talking bone chilling cold. We are all bundled up but we were still freezing. Ohh well, it's the price we pay for our children's delight!

Here Comes Santa Claus...

Today Emma and I decided to brave the crowds at the mall to see good ole' Santa Claus. This is the first year that Emma has not screamed her head off at the sight of him. We stand in line for what seems like forever with every other child in town just to get a picture with the old guy. Emma could not have been more excited. She went up to him like a big girl, told him what she wanted, and then smiled for all the pictures I wanted her to take. I must say I am very proud of her. After she was done I asked her what Santa said when she told him what she wanted. She looked at me and said "Santa would do his best, but mom if he doesn't it then we will just have to go to the store and buy it ourselves." You gotta love the mind of a child!

So many things to be Thankful For..

Every year for Thanksgiving we have friends and family over for dinner. We started off the morning by getting some cooking done before we headed to do Thanksgiving with Mark's family in Arkansas. That was fun driving an hour away and only staying an hour then driving back home. So when we got home we kicked it into full gear and finished all the cooking. Mark fried a turkey and I did the fixings. Except for the dressing. That is the one thing that I would rather leave to someone else. Our friend Mark Fuller cooked this for us. It was so good!
We had a house full that night. Our friends Mark and Tracy Fuller and their little boy Luke, my mom, sister and niece, and our friend Ryan all came to eat. I think I cooked enough food for an army but you know I would rather have more than enough than not enough.

As I was sitting there with all our friends and family here with us I thought back to our first Thanksgiving without all our family around. It was when we were in California. I think that was the first Thanksgiving ever that I did not go to my grandparents to eat. But we had some good friends of ours out there with us, Paige and Russ and my mother-in-law, JoAnn, also flew out that morning to be with us. Between Paige and I we cooked our first Thanksgiving meal. It was so good. We had so much food left over but dear lord was it good! I was proud of us. We did a great job.

This year I sat there looking around and began thinking how lucky we were. Mark and I have a wonderful little girl, who is growing up so fast. We have wonderful friends, who are more like family, and we also have a wonderful family. Our friends Mark and Tracy just had twin girls that were 10 weeks early, who are striving in the NICU. They should be ready to come home any day.

I thank God everyday for my family,friends, and the many blessings he had bestowed upon us. Happy Holidays!

Little Miss Sassy Pants...

Everyday Emma is learning more and more. When she gets home from school she gets so excited telling us all about her letters,songs,etc that she has learned that day. I listen to her tell me all about who gets in trouble, whose clip got moved, and what her teacher said to them. Em is such a little mommy. She "mommies" Allyson all the time. It's so funny to watch them together.

Ok so on to the sassiness. A couple of weekends ago Emma and I along with my grandparents headed to Birimingham,AL to meet my dad,stepmom,and little sister for the weekend to do some Christmas shopping. On the way there a VERY slow driver got in front and would not move. I think this person enjoyed making my blood boil. While I was discussing this with my PawPaw,Emma says "Mom don't freak out, just chill." I could not believe it. I was sure I heard her wrong but obvisouly not she repeated it again. I laughed so hard. Where in the world so they learn these things. Also one of her newest things is when you ask her something she looks and you and says "Are you serious?" The first time I heard this I thought I was hearing things. It amazes me that all of a sudden my sweet little child has gotten to be so sassy. For instance a couple of weeks ago Emma and I were headed to do some shopping while Mark watched a ball game on TV. Emma asked Mark if she could buy a toy while we were out. He said "baby daddy doen't have any cash on him" and with that said Em looked at her daddy and said "but daddy you have a credit card!" I thought her daddy was going to fall out of his chair laughing.

If she is doing this now, OHH to think what her TEENAGE years are going to be like. Lord Help Us!!

Trick or Treat...

Our Halloween night was filled with all kinds of fun. First, let me start by telling you Emma was a fairy. One lady called her a butterfly because she had wings and with all her 4 y/o sassiness she said " I am not a butterfly, I am a fairy." It was so funny. OK so enough about that....We start off our Halloween adventure every year with visiting grandparents before we head out to trick or treat. It never fails, Emma gets more candy from them then anyone else. She had a 1/2 of a bag candy before the night even began. SO after we got done with all the visiting we headed to my friend Jackie's house to trick or treat with her,Gracie, Wesley, and Wes. Emma and Gracie were so cute. They got all excited when it came time to run to the door and ring the door bell.


After we left Jackie's we met up with my sister and my niece Allyson for a little more fun. Allyson was dressed up as a nerd. I have to say I think she's the cutest nerd ever! My mom and sister did a great job on her costume. The girls were so excited to see each other. Over all our Halloween was a blast. Emma had a blast and now we have way to much candy in our house.


This year is also the first time since Emma was born that my mom and I have not made her costume. We actually bought one. Let me tell you it was so much easier. She picked it out all by herself and she was so proud. And by the way I think she did a GREAT JOB! I also think that she was by far the cutest fairy ever!! I may be a little bias on that one!!

Our Night at the Ballet

Mark and I both want Emma to experience as much culture as possible, which is hard to do here in good ole Louisiana. So with that said, off to the ballet we went. Emma, Sara (a little girl that takes dance with Emma),Melissa (Sara's Mom),Brooke (Sara's cousin),Jessica,Megan, Allyson, and I all sat down and settled in to see how well the girls would do. I don't think I have ever seen my child so mesmerized with anything like that before. Honestly, I did not think we would make it through the whole thing. I figured she would get bored and want to leave but no her eyes were glued to the stage. All the girls had their eyes glued to the stage. They were even dodging peoples heads when they got in there way. That part was so funny. Emma watched the ballet dancers with as much intensity as a 4 y/o could .My eyes teared up just to see how much she loved it. When it was all over she looked and me and said "Mama it was beautiful. I want to dance like that one day." My heart almost exploded with excitement for her. I can't wait to take her back to the next ballet at Christmas. So here is a picture of the girls at the ballet. Aren't they the cutest!

Mark's Fall From Grace.....

Here is the video of Mark falling on the ride while we were at Oktoberfest. I had some problems with it loading. I hope you enjoy it has much as we did..

Look Kids Big Ben; Parliment.....

As many of you know Mark and I went to Europe in September to visit Mark's best friend Jeremy and his wife Leslie. We had the best time! The plane ride there was not so much fun. It was long and stuffy on that plane and we were stuck there for 9 hours. But once we got off the plane,through customs, and baggage claim there were endless possibilities. The air was so crisp. Getting used to sitting on the drivers side was a little tricky. I think Mark may have gotten in the "driver's seat" a thousand times. It was so funny. The cars over there are smaller than here also. If you have seen the new Smart Cars that is what they all look like over in Europe. I was so glad to see a big mac truck on the interstate.


The scenery was the best part. I have never seen so much untouched land that was just there to admire. I loved driving from village to village and seeing all the different things each one had to offer. The houses were so different from here. In the United States the bigger the house the better. In Europe they had some big houses but mostly small cottage looking homes that looked like you could walk right in there and become part of the family. If you had a front "garden" then that was a big deal. Most of the homes only had a back "garden." Which is kinda different considering that most homes here have a front and back yard.

So on our first day of outings we went to Stonehenge. Which by the way is neat but I would not pay 6 pounds to see it. You can stand outside the fence and get just as close as the ones who paid to get in. But I still unsure how someone can't put this up so close the interstate without someone noticing

On the Friday after we got there we went down to Liverpool. It was beautiful. I had no idea it was the birthplace of The Beatles. Jeremy,Mark,Jack, and I walked all over that city. We went to The Beatles Story which is a museum that chronicles The Beatles from birth to present day. I knew that The Beatles were a big hit back in there time and that people still adore them but I have no idea that it was like that. I enjoyed learning something new about them. So after a whole day of walking around Liverpool we learned that after we had walked over two miles one way to find a certain place that everything we wanted to see was in a 2 block radius. Our feet were mad at us but we enjoyed our day.

We made the trek to London a few days later.That was the most amazing,terrifying,crazy experience all wrapped into one. London's verison of the subway is The Tube. I have never in my life seen so many people in one place. You have to know what station to get off at and what line you need get back on. It was like a mad house. But we finally made it to Harrod's!! (cue the Hallelujah Chorus) That was the best place. It was 5 stories of pure shopping joy. We walked into this place and they hand you a map of the store. That way you don't get lost. Which by the way is easy to do. You can buy anything in here from a trash bags to real estate. It was amazing. It had the best shoe department ever. So Mark was little worried since I have a major addiction to shoes. Leslie has told us about this restraunt on Harrods called The Rotisserie. It was amazing. Buckingham Palace was the beautiful. They have the palace open to the public for 2 months a year. Luckly we were there for part of that 2 months. So we got to go inside of the palace. That was amazing. Just to get to see where some of the most prestidge leaders of the world have been was amazing. After that we spent the whole day walking around and seeing the sights. It was an amazing day.

Another part of our trip was going to Germany. Ok so anyone who knows my husband knows he likes his beer. So how fitting that we were going to be in Germany at the same time that Oktoberfest was going on. So when Mark called Jeremy and told him about the timing they decided that we are going. I was excited for Mark because it was something he really wanted to see and to be able to brag to his friends here that he had been to the "real" Beerfest. The beer in Europe are alot stronger than they are here in the states. The beer at beerfest were 2 liters. It was HUGE! Mark loved it so I was happy. The best part of the day was when Jeremy,Leslie, and I convinced Mark to get on this ride that was there. It consisted of a conveyor belt and a slide. The result was the highlight of our day, it consisted of Mark busting his behind on the conveyor belt in front of a huge crowd. I am posting the video so you all can see why we laughed until we cried.
The hotel we stayed in was a military only hotel that was located at the foot of the Balverian Alps. It was breath taking. Every morning we woke to snow covered mountains. I could have stayed there forever. We also visited The Neuschwanstein Castle. Rumors have it that this castle is what Walt Disney based Cinderella Castle on in Disney World. I think we may have climbed a million stairs to get to it but it was well worth the climb.

We had an amazing time in Europe. I wish we could have stayed longer, and if we had had Emma with us we may have never came home. By the way Emma stayed here with her grandparents while we were gone, so we came home to an extra spoiled little girl that had grown 2 inches since we had left. Enjoy the pictures because I asure you we had a blast.

Our First Ballet

Today started out like every other day. Getting everyone up,dressed,fed, and off to school and work. I had so many things to do that I was not sure I was going to get them all done before Emma had to go to dance. Thankfully I did but only by the grace of God!
I finally get Emma and Natalie into dance and sit down to take a much needed breather. The lady behind the desk says that the Twin City Ballet is hosting this world famous ballet that has been traveling all over the United States and they have given Linda Lavender some free tickets if anyone is interested. So being the mother of a 4 year old in my mind I am thinking, "There is no way Emma would sit there and watch a 3 hour ballet." So some of the other moms and I are continue on with our "mom conversations" that revolve all around the girls, when Sara's mom spoke up and said, "Why don't we have a girl's night out with the girls, have dinner and take them to the ballet." Knowing we would all love to go but kinda hesitate to take the girls. We decided to ask the girls what they would like to do. Ok so if you can imagine 20 something 3 and 4 year olds all coming out at the same time it's like mad house. We finally grab our girls and ask what they think. I have never seen Emma's eyes get so big. She got all excited. She said " we get to see the big girls dance like we do mama," at that moment I knew that there was no way we were going to miss the ballet.
So on saturday night Emma and I along with 4 other moms and their daughters are going out to dinner and then to the ballet. I know we will have fun. I just wonder how the girls are going to do. Wish us luck! I'll let you know how it turns out.

A New Journey

Mark has taken a new job. He is now the Quality Control Director at Glenwood. He has worked so hard to get here. He now works Mon-Fri 8-4 ,no weekends, and no holidays. So now we actually get to have a normal holiday season.Woo Hoo!! Anyone who works in the medical field or has a spouse that does knows exactly how I feel about this. No more rushing through Christmas morning because daddy has to go to work. God has answered our prayers. Maybe now we can finally get out of Louisiana. For the mean time I can handle being here because I know that there is a bigger plan for our little family. Just waiting on the good Lord to show us the way.