Saying "Thank you" this Holiday Season
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
It is free, fast, and does not require a sign up.
1. Go to the website Let's Say Thanks
2. Pick a postcard (the designs were drawn by kids from all over the U.S.)
3. Write your name and hometown
4. Select from a list of pre-approved statements
5. Send
The website will print out the postcards and send them to our soliders this holiday season. It is a simple thing for us to give but it will mean so much to someone serving our country.
The Christmas Tree Farm
Let It Snow
Monday, December 7, 2009
The snow just kept coming...
And coming...
And coming!
Playing Catch Up
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Our first stop was in Austin to spend Thanksgiving day with family. There was a fabulous spread with TWO turkeys, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing ... the works! One of the best parts of the meal was that both my boys napped during it so I got to savor each bite and enjoy the company. That is rare for me; with two little ones it seems like meal time is always rushed. The boys played with cousins and went to the park. Mike and I visited with family and watched football. All in all a perfect Thanksgiving day I can't wait to do again.
After a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner we loaded the boys back into the car and headed to San Antonio. We stayed in a hotel on San Antonio's famous river walk. It was gorgeous (which explains all the pictures!) I have never been to Venice but I have seen pictures and I can imagine what it is like so I will say that this is like a little Spanish version of Venice. There are Spanish tiles inlaid in the walls and adobe like roofs on the buildings. And of course a plethora of Mexican restaurants that line the river walk. Boats run through the river you can ride on and bridges and tunnels lace all over it.
The river was decorated for December with Christmas lights everywhere. They hung down from the trees, they lined the boats, and they outlined the walks and bridges. At night it was beautiful to see it all lit up! The day after Thanksgiving the river walk has a light parade where boats are COVERED in lights and holiday decorations and they parade down the river as visitor listen to holiday music and eat dinner. With the little kids and the cold weather we opted to watch the floating lights go by from inside the hotel which had huge windows overlooking the whole thing. We had perfect seats!
We saw lots of great sights walking around San Antonio and we visited the Alamo. It was interesting to walk around inside the old church walls and the makeshift barracks. It feels like hallowed ground when you are there and you know that the men who died there are being remembered for the sacrifice they made.
We window shopped, we ate at fabulous restaurants on the water ways, we walked around downtown, Mike even planned a spa day for me that was very relaxing. It was wonderful. We had plans to do a lot more but Van got sick while we were there and we decided for everyone's sanity it would be better if we came home early. But, as a special treat, on the way home we stopped and picked up some famous fudge: rocky road, toffee caramel, pecan, cookies n'cream,peanut butter swirls, and turtle fudge. So delicious!
My Buddy and Me
Thursday, November 19, 2009

Halloween Pictures...Finally
Wednesday, November 18, 2009





We took Van trick-or-treating at about 10 houses this year but was too afraid to ring the doorbells and he had to be held most of the time. He did enjoy taking the candy and adding it to his bag. My parents came trick-or-treating with us, then my mom stayed home with a sleeping Seph while the rest of us went to a Halloween Block Party in our cul-de-sac.






This year Van was dressed up as a fireman, Seph was a dragon, I was a vampire, Grandma was a Skelanimal, Grandpa was Domo. I am hopefully we will be able to convince Mike to wear a costume next year.
I'm Cute and I Know It
Projects Around the House
Monday, November 16, 2009
- Installing a light over the workbench in the garage
- Hanging a decorative item on the ceiling (it is going to be a compass painted on the ceiling of our entryway. I love it! Have patience ... it will look cool when it is finished)
- Moving Van's dresser upstairs (my mom was so sweet, she even folded all Van's clothes and organized his drawers after it was moved)
- Moving a bookcase upstairs (once again, my mom organized all the books on the shelf as soon as it was in place. I love her!
- Rewiring the fan in Seph's room so it works with a light switch
- Installing a dimmer switch for the kitchen lights
- Putting the outside lights on a timer to turn on when the sun goes down and turn off at 10:00pm
- Cutting down a tree in the backyard
- Rewiring the house alarm system for two control panels and replacing the battery
- Fixing two of the kids broken toys and a broken chair
- Unloading a truckload of river rock (all pulled from our front yard)
- Replacing burned out light bulbs around the house
- Fixing the kitchen ceiling (the previous light fixture was slowly pulling down the drywall until there was a 2-inch drop in the middle)
- Installing recessed lighting in the kitchen
- Moving plumbing lines in the ceiling