Happy New Year!

I cannot believe we are well into 2010! We had a WONDERFUL holiday break. We had Christmas Eve at Trent's parents house, which is always incredible. We had a hard time getting there, and its just across town! The roads were iced over and snow was EVERYWHERE! We had gotten 8-10 inches the night before and a lot more came later!

I really love and appreciate how much effort his mother (aka Meme) goes to in order to make this time so comforting! She makes an incredible amount of fun, sweet snack treats in addition to an UN BELIEVEABLE yummy meal! Christmas is her absolute favorite and its more than obvious in her home. I tell her every year that her house should be on a Christmas home tour, its just beautifully decorated- EVERY room! My favorite part about being at their house is sitting by the fire, which is always roaring and crackling, and eating peanut butter brittle/chocolate and or drinking spiced tea while all the cousins play together! There are 10 children total and watching them interact with one another is just priceless to me! I only have two cousins which have always lived FAR away, we are talking Alaska for several years, and then more recently California and Oregon. I have seen them a handful of times in my life and never at holidays. I am so grateful that my kids get to experience Christmas surrounded by so many people they love and knowing so well. I know my last post was probably a little too 'real' for most people who read this, not like its a huge list or anything! I think I have been able to figure a lot of that and decided how I will handle things differently next year... more on that in a later post.

We had a wonderful time and went home with a ridiculous amount of gifts which filled my suberban as usual! The kids fell asleep on the way home as always, we carried them to bed and then began laying things out. We woke up to even more snow! I heard the kids watching TV and Trent and I jumped to meet them, all of their gifts were on our hearth and they had not even noticed them.!! We sat down and started drinking coffee dropping several hints and they finally caught on and were very excited!

Later Trent and the kids bundled up and went out and built a snowman and made snow angels, they had a blast! I had a blast watching them from the window and inside my warm house! I have never seen anything funnier than Olivia asking her dad to knock her down, watching her stiff body fall, and then watching her legs and arms go!

We have had the tradition for the past several years of going to a movie on Christmas day with the entire family but b/c of the weather and cold, Olivia and I skipped out and had girl time at home while Trent and Ty went to see Avatar.

The next day we headed for Arlington and celebrated with my family that evening. My uncle and new girlfriend joined us along with my aunts and we had another great evening of visiting and eating! That next day, Sunday, Trent and I made a trip to Sam Moon only to find it was closed :( I was seriously almost in tears. I hadn't been in a year and was looking forward to finding some accessory bargains along with a possible diaper bag.......oh well. We ended up going over to Grapevine Mills where I waked forever and found nothing. Trent however made out rather well and we found a few things for the kids.

Later that evening we headed to Austin for three days to a tournament at Barton Creek where Trent recruits at every year and I have the treat of joining him! We had the best time ever. It was so nice to be alone and have real conversations! We always stay downtown and there are so many great places within walking distance. P.F. Changs was right across the street and we headed there first off! The next morning Trent was all over the three courses while I spent time reading a great find, "Finding God."Very deep but very good. After he was done we went back to our hotel relaxed and then headed to the sushi bar across the street. Its our favorite thing ever and we usually go to one of some sort every year for our anniversary, I have to say this was the best yet! I had nothing raw but some really incredible fried rolls!!! The next day the tournament was cancelled due to freezing rain and the course being saturated from the night before. We took advantage of that time and went and saw 'Sherlock Holmes'- GREAT movie! We then headed to Round Rock for some outlet shopping. I am not a big 'namebrands' type of girl but I LOVE Burberry. I was sad to find that the purse I wanted was at the huge discount equal to our house payment!!! DANG! I have already contacted my China town hook up and will be going that route forever! That night we returned to Barton Creek for The Coaches Panel Town Hall Meeting, which I spent in the car b/c the weather was so bad and parking was CRAZY! After that we had our best night of cuisine yet... Cafe Bess on 6th Street, where Trent's friend from college is now the head chef! WAY cool romantic atmosphere and even better food. Fried Artichoke and Double Chocolate Bread Pudding........SINFUL.

I was also able to see a handful of my highschool friends that New Year's Eve that we returned. One of my girlfriends planned for us all to meet at the Galleria to eat and play, it was wonderful to see everyone! I was so surprised, they all came baring gifts, of the baby sort! SO SWEET! I had been unsuccessful in finding neutral items but they had much more luck and this baby is SET! My friend Holly had saved every item of Olivia's that I passed onto her as well as passing along several of her baby items. I don't know if I have mentioned this, but we gave EVERYTHING away! I was overcome with excitement! When we got home I opened the tubs and began reminiscing.... of course I did not remember that it was ALL pink! I think that pretty much seals the deal that this baby is a boy ;)

All in all, we were BEYOND blessed this holiday. We have returned to much busy-ness and re-organizing of our home to accomodate our newest family member who is coming fast. I have grown a lot and am now at 32 weeks- hard to believe. Lots more to report but this post is already too long and I know its more for my documentation than anything! I have two sick fighting children who need to be tended to so more to come at a later date!

Bah Humbug.......

I really think we need to re-evaluate on how we celebrate Christmas...........

I really do like Christmas and even the commericial part of it.... today I am feeling really guilty about that. Several things have happened, or been said lately that have laid heavily on my heart and made me just be thinking a lot about it all. This is the first year that my kids have truely even 'gotten into it'. You know, excited about Santa, talking about Jesus' birth. However they are really confused, which I believe is because of all the mixed messages we are giving them. While they understand why we celebrate Christmas, and talk about Jesus' birthday and it being HIS party, it is obvious that they are MORE excited about the magic of Santa and ALL that he brings. I don't want to be a grinch and totally leave Santa out, but all for selfish reasons I think. When I think about it, its because that is the 'FUN' part of it, and because of the tradition and memories I have as a child. Ty even asked out loud the other day, "If its Jesus' party, why does Santa come?" Basically, what does he have to do with it? Got me thinking.

I was sitting on my couch looking at my tree in adoration and remembering where each ornament came from. Most of them are from my mother, but in the recent few years, many symbolize various things that have happened during that year. For instance I bought a school house this year to signify Ty starting kindergarten, I have a shopping bag from NYC from our trip two years ago, etc..... As my eye moved down, I started looking at all the presents and remembering whom I wrapped each one for and still feeling the need to get more. I think its because I feel like it is a time to let people know they are appreciated and loved. I also have two aunts and an uncle, all of whom are not married nor have children, and feel like I am the only one who will help them to feel this way on Christmas. I am BIG on birthdays too for this reason. But this is not THEIR birthday. All three of these people are not church going, or place a high priority on the role God plays in their lives. I started thinking and wondering what Jesus thinks about all this. There are so many, and more under my bed to put out tomorrow night to be from Santa. What message am I sending to all of these people? Yes it feels wonderful to feel loved, and I think that feeling comes from God and sharing His love, but at the same time is not centered on Him.

When I think about the example Jesus sets for us throughout The Word, it focuses mainly on being a servant to others in need. Every single person in my family is not in 'need'. Everyone has various wants, and of course that is relative from person to person and family to family, as to what their financial situation is. I just think, all that money spent on 'need-less' items and how there are people that have NOTHING, could have had all the more. I only bought one toy for a child that is less fortunate and only gave $20.00 to a family that my class collected for. We have spent a few hundred in order for everyone in our family to feel loved.

I got Olivia this doll at Target last year (from Santa). Its their knock-off version of the American Girl Doll. I was SOOO excited about it, I LOVE dolls. It was a little over $20.00, which for me was a lot to spend on one item, especially for a three year old. She liked it okay, played with it a handful times over the past year, now the hair is all matted, b/c it is plastic and now she is actually more at the appropriate age to have it. She just now has showed more interest in it, sleeping with it and changing its clothes. I was searching all over for another similar to it, almost purchased the Madame Alexander one for around the same price, even considered doing the American Doll thing. Then I got a grip. Seriously, $100 for a doll for a now four year old???!!! We are not in that financial situation to be spending that kind of money on one item for such a small child. I remember when I was a girl how $40 was a lot for the ever so popular Cabbage Patch Doll! I had SEVEN of them! I have a lot of friends who have done this and have absolutely no problem with it and all I can say there is, its none of my business. I am only in control of me and my heart is the one feeling the pull that we are living in excess. There are so many children and people in our world living in true poverty. If we lived more conservatively then there would be even more to give.

I struggle with want. I have wanted a new-er suberban now for two years. Mine drives just fine. Its the old body style but has a huge crack across the front windsheild, which my husband says its still driveable and we don't need to spend the $$ to fix it. It also has a dent in the back left bumper, non working CD player, missing interior lights, rubbed off color on the glove box, and a volume control that comes off daily. I justified 'needing' a newer one b/c of this baby coming. The one we have now is bench seating and I did not want Ty swinging his leg over its little carrier and face everytime he gets in and out of the car. It would be nice, but I do have a car that is paid for, that runs and runs well, and although I see its many flaws most others do not.

I often think of how it would be nice to get my hair colored and highlighted again, or have my nails done on a regular basis, or get pedicures more than once every couple of years like a lot of my friends do. I don't because we are on a tight budget.

The fact is, we live in a really nice house in a nice neighborhood that is furnished very nicely as well. We have been fortunate to have received lots of wonderful hand-me-downs, or what I like to call pass-alongs, and it probably appears that we have even more than we do. We do live fairly conservatively, but we are FAR from in need. We find the money to do the things that we really want to do, and most of them are not in service to others.

I try to justify our wants in comparison to others. I am not sure why I do this. We have an incredibly wealthy friend who does not even work because of his huge oil inheritance. He flew Trent on his private plane to CA to Cypress Point last week. Their house and cars could be on MTV's Cribs. Seriously. Trent spends time with him on a daily basis. They play golf together and have a lot of common interestes and have developed a good friendship. Its hard for me to understand. He is a super nice guy, not stingy by any means, but I look at him and his situation and become somewhat embarassed of the material things we have. WHY??? I know that we are blessed incredibly, and thank God each night for the things we do have. I know there are SOOO many with far less. I think God is really trying to help me see how excessive we have truely become in today's world. The best and the greatest and latest...........on television, on our friends, more so in our town that we now live in! Its really 'showy' here as compared to where I grew up. As mature and spiritual as I thought I was, I have been sucked into it. How sad to not only be sucked into the world but at a time that I should be focused more than any other on the opposite. Not self, but others.

Not self plus others, I think that is missing the point as well. The mentality of I will do some for others and that way I will still feel okay for doing more for myself (or my family). I need to be passing along all that has been passed along to me and more. Almost all of our children's toys, with the exception of about 20% have been given to us. ALL of my maternity clothes have been given to us. SOOO many sugary delights have been brought our way in the past two weeks! I have had three friends now, who just broght dinner to me on various occassions b/c they knew I was struggling to make it while my husband was travelling. To think that I am not even a smidge close to poverty and have been given SO much.

I have not discussed this with my husband, and I know his family will not be on board- but I really think we need to re-evaluate how we celebrate Christmas. Not just MORE emphasis on Jesus, but ALL emphasis on Jesus! I think I have become more confused than my children and not able to keep up my responsibility as their parent to teach them how to truely LIVE DAILY IN CHRIST.

Ty turns 6

Ty turned six on December 9th! We had a family celebration that day but later had a party with six little friends at 5oth Street Caboose. Games, cake, and ice cream, he had SO much fun! I can't believe how much he has grown in the last year. He is now the tallest kid in his class! He still has a super sweet spirit about him and is a wonderful big brother.

His Favorites:

Baseball

the color blue

hot dogs

Iron Man

going to the movies with Dad

playing outside, riding his scooter or skateboard

just learned read, LOVES to do so!

Ty is about to move to the playroom, get a bigger bed, and his own bathroom! It will still sort of serve as the playroom but the girl toys like the kitchen, dolls, and dollhouse will be going to Olivia's room. Exciting things coming for this six year old! He has brought such joy to me, and reminds me of what is most important in life.

Gingerbread Houses

The same day as the star party (before actually) Olivia and I went to help with gingerbread houses. His teacher Mrs. Grimsley was nice enough to let Olivia be involved and they had a blast! Friday, he brought it home and asked if he could eat it! At first I said no, then I said, "You know I always wanted to do that so I let him! I have pictures of their school loot that will go up after I post pics from Ty's birthday party. There is a lot going on in December for our family!

Ty's star party

Last week, December 10th was Ty's 'Star of the Week' party where he got to present the poster that had been up in the classroom all week in honor of him. We were invited to join the presentation and bring some treats to help his friends in class learn more about him. Here are some pictures from that day........

Olivia and the Polar Express

Thank you Meme...

Fun pics from the past two months

lunch with Ty















Man's best friend

Calvary Carnival

Kareoke and dinner at Lakeridge, with the Summers and the Bailys

shelves in a closet in Meme and G's new house

Crazy hair day at school

Fridays Furrs Date with Grandmom

Liv and her bestie.. Avery Stallings