Southbound on 35

We love to take trips. Chris and I are easily distracted by all the "stuff" that needs to be done at home and so we really enjoy taking some time to focus on family. For us, the best way to do that is to hit the road and get out of town. So, a couple of weekends ago we decided we were ready for a mini-vacation. To be honest, we really had no idea where we were going to go or what we were going to do. So, the night before we were scheduled to leave, we sat down at the computer and with a little Priceline magic, decided to head to Austin for a couple of days. Other than knowing where we would lay our heads that night, we had NO plan. I never knew that being spontaneous could be so fun!!

The first thing we did was check in at our awesome hotel. It was so nice and the kids really loved the glass elevators and the fact that our room was on the next to the top floor. I, on the other hand, did not like either of those....over the years I have become more and more afraid of heights. I am not sure why... Every time we came in and out of our room, my legs felt like Jello and I was constantly telling the kids to get away from the railing (it was an atrium hotel). Sorry kids, I just can't help myself!!

The kids in the lobby (oh how I loved the ground floor)

Our first destination after the hotel was actually the Texas State History Museum, which was so neat!! No cameras were allowed, which is a good thing since I forgot mine on that excursion anyway...For the first time, both kids truly enjoyed exploring a museum. Anna was particulartly intrigued as she is studying Texas History in 4th grade this year.

After a yummy dinner at Threadgills, we headed back to the hotel and made plans for Day 2. One of our favorite stops the next day was the Austin Childrens' Museum.

Alex playing some tunes

He was so cute in that hat, I could hardly stand it!

(maybe we should move to the country)

Anna creating a gourmet meal for me in the restaurant area of the museum.

A PICTURE STORY

Here we have Chris helping Alex make a drinking contraption in the creativity center at the museum.

Here we have Anna disgruntled as she watches Chris helping Alex. She feels strongly that her creation (made all by herself, with purple tape in the pic below) will not compare to what they are making...

And, finally we have Alex with his finished contraption. Which we tried out a WhichWich a little later and were so excited when it actually worked!

Anna's sorrow was short lived...here she is hanging like a bat in the Bat Cave at the museum.

THE END
(of the picture story)

Of course, we could not miss going to the Capitol. After breakfast at Starbucks on Congress (the barista made extra drinks for us to try...too fun!), we headed to the Capitol to do some exploring.

My hubby...so handsome!!

Anna reading about the first Texas flag.

(she loves museums)

We also happened upon this reenactment happening on the Capitol lawn.



My beautiful kiddos

All of us...together.

As referenced above, we ate lunch at WhichWich in downtown Austin. Anna needed to make a lasting mark in Longhorn land....

Here is her decorated sandwich bag, hung proudly on the wall.

Our day was winding down in Austin and we had planned to head back home. But, we were just so close to San Antonio that we could not help ourselves, we had to go see these sweet people...

Eating dinner on the Riverwalk with Ryan, Ash, Cate, Cara and Claire

We ended up spending night #2 in San Antonio (another great hotel on the cheap, thanks to Priceline). We thoroughly enjoyed knocking on Ryan and Ash's door and surprising the girls who had NO idea we were coming. We had such great fun! Big thanks to them for welcoming surprise visitors!

We are already looking forward to our next little trip and wondering where the road might take us.

Blessings on your week,

Anna....LOW

I don't talk much about diabetes here....for the simple reason that I try very hard for it be an underlying current to our lives, not a dominating theme. And most of the time that is exactly what it is, always under the surface...that one thing that is ALWAYS in the back of my mind. I might forget for a moment or two, but in reality I am constantly running these things through my head....her latest numbers, last time of bolus, what kind of food she ate, what kind of activity she has been/or will be doing. I hope, however, that from the outside looking in you don't see any of this. I don't ever want any part of her to be defined by diabetes...that is not to say that I do not believe it has a purpose in her life and will somehow be used for God's glory. I know that to be true beyond a shadow of a doubt.

All that being said, there is one time that diabetes can NOT remain hidden. This is the one time when I will jump over a couch, fight my way through a crowd, interrupt a very important meeting or stop the world for one second (if only I could). That is when Anna is LOW.

Today as I was working in the office, I heard this whimpery, breathless voice from the other room saying, "Mommy, I think I'm low...I can't move, please help." And instantly I jump into action, I can't get to her fast enough. I grab a coke from the fridge, a straw from the pantry and run to her side. But when I get there, she wants to argue, she doesn't want a drink she wants FOOD. You see, being low makes her feel desperately hungry. Her sugar-deprived brain is telling her that she NEEDS to eat. And, on top of that, being low can make one somewhat uncooperative. So, I talk her into taking a sip, promise her some food and grab her meter to test her blood sugar...the result: 45. A half of a coke, a bag of Cheetos and a grilled cheese later...she is up to 120. What happened, you wonder, to cause this low? Sometimes, you never know. But in this case, it was quite explainable... to make a long story short...she did not eat any of the lunch I served her and had already bolused (given insulin) for.

So, if you are ever with Anna and she looks like this.... (pale, deer in the headlights, lethargic)

....get some sugar into her fast.

Thanks for listening to today's lesson on diabetes. Now, go enjoy the ice/snow.

What do you do when....

....you are stuck at home because a big ice storm is supposedly coming (no actual ice falling from the sky as of yet)? You turn your daughter into a princess alien, obviously.

I promise, that in real life when her mother is not playing make-up with her, she really is pretty. See...

Blankie Emergency

Both of my children's blankies were made by my bestest friend from childhood, Dawn. Dawn is a missionary who made Alex's blankie with her loving hands while she was in Turkey. We just have one slight problem....after 6.5 years of intense loving, blankie is falling apart. And, we are on the cusp of a blankie emergency. Now, some of you may not understand, you may wonder why I am even concerned that my almost 7 year old would have to go without a blankie. But, I am not personally of the mind set to take comfort items away. In fact, it is perfectly fine with me if he takes it to college...I wouldn't tell anyone. Plus, look at the picture below, really how could I tell him he can no longer have it.

In an effort to prolong Blankie's life, he is no longer allowed to take it to school for nap time. He is most unhappy about that as I cannot produce another "blankie with holes". So Dawn, if you are listening, do they have yarn in Iraq, could you get busy on another blankie?

With love,

and Alex

Kids at Play

I love school vacations....for many reasons. But one of the very best reasons is that my kids, after a couple of days, get into a GREAT groove of playing together. At first, they usually will ask to have friends over, someone of the same age and gender. But after I repeatedly deny this request they give up and move on :). It is really quite amazing...they will play together for HOURS on end. And they play so nice together, really no arguing, taking turns playing what each other wants to play. Sometimes, Chris and I will just sit quietly in the living room and listen to their antics...basking in the glory ;)!

As I was working last week, they begged me to take a break, come outside and check out their trick on the swing. I did my best to capture some pictures, but it was hard. Have you ever tried to take pictures of swinging people from the side? Not an easy task... So, as you will see below, it took me a few tries to get them both in the picture looking at the camera.

And, finally, I did it! They are having so much fun!

This one is too dark, but I couldn't resist. I just love Anna's feet in this pic. What is it about feet that are cute? Am I the only one who finds them cute?

And lastly for your viewing pleasure. This was at the end of a LONG day of playing. Alex was getting a bit tired, they were wrapping up a rather lengthy "show" they had put together for us and things just weren't quite going his way...



Balloons are definitely required in ALL Grand Finales, don't you think?

Blessings on your week,

Over the river and through the woods...

....well, not exactly through the woods. But, we did go over the Red River the week of Christmas to visit Chris' grandmother. We spent the day with her, Chris' parents and sisters and his aunt and her family, and then returned home that evening. It was definitely a worthwhile trip and a special blessing to see her enjoying her kids, grandkids and great grandkids. It was also a definite reminder that I need to do a better job at reaching out to those in our own community that do not have loved ones close to spend time with.

Some fun pics of our quick trip...

Chris' Aunt, Grandmother and Mom

The whole clan

My handsome hubby and beautiful princess

Aunt Mindy and Alex

Aunt Mindy and Anna

A hot card game with Papa and the kids

Chris, his Grandmother and Mom

Watching my kids sleep can be addictive....just so peaceful and precious.

Alex is fading fast here

Better Late Than Never

I have been a bad blogger....Here is what happens: so many fun and wonderful things happen that I want to write about but I don't find the time. Then I get so far behind and become frustrated knowing that I will not be able to post it all, so I just don't post anything at all. Just being honest.


So, let me start by saying, "Merry Christmas". I hope that you enjoyed a blessed holiday with family celebrating the birth of our Savior. I resolve once again to put more focus on Jesus' birth next year and have learned some fun and new ways that I am going to try. I love being excited for Christmas again already :) (Now, if I could just get excited about taking all of these decorations down...)


We have had an amazing couple of weeks, celebrating Christmas at school, at church, with friends and with family. Chris and I both took off of work all week last week and thoroughly enjoyed every minute we had to be together as a family. We made a quick trip to OK to visit Chris' grandmother (more on that later), but other than that were able to stay here at home. I must say that my kids love just being at home with us....so much fun! We played games, decorated cookies and let them sleep in pallets on our floor :). I want to enjoy this time when they still think we hung the moon ;) Friends with older children keep telling me that is going to end....what a bummer :)


I want to share with you one fun, special, spontaneous thing that happened on Christmas day. I looked up from working in the kitchen to see this....


Daddies and Daughters dancing






Chris and Anna




Ryan and Cate



Wade, Nan and Molly






And, our crew...all 8 sweet peas. Aren't they precious? :)

We are headed down to the Hill Country tomorrow for my cousin, Hayley's wedding. So, Happy New Year a bit early. I pray that you will find joy in the "everday" in the coming year.

Life is Bliss

• I LOVE cold weather- it has not gotten out of the 20s today!
• My house was cleaned today- not by me.
• I had the opportunity to give to others in need- nothing brings greater purpose.
• I have beautiful children who came home from school today with amazing work (GREAT grades from Anna and the absolutely wonderful Nativity, pictured above, from Alex)
• My husband is cute and he slow danced with me tonight while our children watched (grinning ear to ear).
• I made a yummy beef stew and fluffy yeast rolls and shared it all with my family, including my Mom.
• My children took a warm bath, and now are covered in warm lotion and dressed in fleecy jammies playing Wii Sports with their Daddy.
• I am about to make Chocolate Truffle cookies (with my husband as my helper) to share with our family and friends.
• It is only 10 days until Christmas....I can't wait to see my whole, big family!
• Part of Anna's homework this week is to learn this...

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

-Luke 2:13-14

I sit here this evening feeling amazed by God's goodness to me. Thank you Jesus for loving me so. This season, I am committed to paying attention to the little details, the little ways that my Savior tells me He loves me every day. He loves you too....

Merry Christmas,

Remember the Alamo...in LIGHTS!

This year's theme for the City of Euless Parade of Lights was "A Lonestar Christmas" So, I put on my thinking hat determined to come up with something that truly represented Texas, was easily recognizable, but was not something that everyone else would do too. And this is what I came up with...

The Alamo and per Chris' exact words "some cheesy cacti" in lights

It looks a bit lonely here with no cute people on board...

So, now we have the Alamo and Cheesy Cacti with cute people

Many thanks to the Carrolls for the use of the trailer and the hay and for putting up with my slightly anal, perfectionist but cute and wonderful husband for several hours as we got it all put together.

We really did have a wonderful time...there is just something about riding in a parade, waving to the crowd and saying "Merry Christmas" that makes a person all warm and fuzzy inside. You should try it sometime...

Merry Christmas,