Taking Time to Be Thankful~~~

It's November. That means it's time for turkeys. And pumpkin pie! And decorating the house for Christmas. Kyle got his Thanksgiving assignment last week. He had to decorate a large feather with all the things that he was thankful for. Here's his list: Mom & Dad, Trey, pumpkins, presents, fire trucks, race cars, candy canes, soccer, falling colored leaves, and construction vehicles. :o) That got me thinking about my list ( in no particular order). I'm thankful for .......
1. My husband
2. my boys
3. my home
4. my job
5. my church
6. my health
7. my parents
8. my sisters
9. my brother
10. my father in law
11. my history team
12. my friends
13. Kyle's babysitter ( well, caretaker---he thinks he's too old for a babysitter LOL)
14. I'm getting a new-to-me car---a 2002 Ford Expedition, Eddie Bauer edition w/ all the bells and whistles
15. my upcoming vacation to Walt Disney World!! I can't wait!!
16. Trey's good grades
17. Kyle's snuggles
18. my hearing---I love to listen to music....I can't imagine what my life would be like if I couldn't hear.
19. The Dynamos are in the playoffs!
20. Trey's soccer season is coming to a close---this is bittersweet, because he's so disappointed that they aren't going on, but it sure will be nice to have free time again on weekends
21. Kyle's soccer season ends Saturday. I know he's glad---soccer just isn't his thing!
22. living in a neghborhood that is safe for the kids to play and ride their bikes without fear
23. neighbors who care and look out for each other
24. neighbors that dn't like to party all night
25. neighbors that don't have barking dogs
26. my baby days are over so I don't have to worry about sleepless nights (until Trey gets old enough to drive)
27. knowing how to cook
28. being able to rely on my mom for parenting advice
29. having the opportunity to talk and laugh with my sisters on the phone
30. hot apple pie with Blue Bell vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce

School Notes

• Trey is learning to play the viola. I have a love/hate relationship with that instrument. I'm beyond thrilled that he is enjoying orchestra so much. I'm proud of him, because he practices every day without my asking him. His teacher is suggesting private lessons for him because he's doing very well and could go far if he continues to put forth effort like he does now. But right now, the viola is not such a beautiful sounding instrument. There are lots of screeches, and wrong notes, and he always waits to practice at 8:oo pm when I'm trying to get Ky to bed, and my shows are coming on. It's hard to watch "Private Practice" with violas screeching in the background. I can't hear the volleying back and forth between Addison and Pete and I know I'm going to miss some good repartee. I know this too shall pass, and there will come a time when I will beg to hear the viola once again playing in my suddenly silent house but there is just so much that this mama can take right now.


• Kyle is loving kindergarten. He's such a Know-it-all, that it's getting him in trouble. He argued with his teacher and got sent back to the end of the line. She acknowledged to me that he WAS right, but she needed him to know that he can't argue with adults. Then he argued with the substitute last week. Again, from the sound of it, he was right, but he hasn't learned when to stand up for himself and when it's best to keep quiet. Poor baby---he has his mama's sense of fairness and this time, that's probably not so good. I was always getting in trouble at school for doing what I thought was just standing up for myself. Unfortunately the teachers always took that as arguing also.

Our Fourth of July

Happy Independence Day!!! We had a very quiet day. The parade was at 9 am, but it was raining so we decided to stay home. Kyle was ok with that---he played in his tent and watched tv. Eddie updated the computers and downloaded some new songs for our Ipods. I read, watched tv, thought about working on my lesson plans and just relaxed. After lunch, I read some books to Kyle and then we decided to go see Ratatouille. By the time we got there, the next 3 showings were all sold out--( did I mention it was raining? Guess everyone had the same idea.) so we saw Surf's Up instead. It was cute. Afterwards we were going to do some shopping but were amazed that several of the stores were closed. We don't actually live in a small town---we're on the outskirts of Houston, for goodness sakes!---but we do get the atmosphere of small town life. The only things open were the grocery stores, Walmart and Target. And the restaurants, of course, although we did see a few of the smaller ones were closed as well. Now we're talking 6:30.....I was just surprised that they were closed. We went to On The Border for dinner....Kyle ate some french fries, Eddie and I had some DELISH Mexican food. We came home, Ky got his pjs on, climbe4d in his tent and watched the Flintstones marathon on Boomerang. Eddie and I watched the History Channel until it got dark and then we went outside and sat in the back of his truck and watched the idiots on our street shoot off fireworks for the next hour or so. They were all around us so I kept turning around to see the ones right over our house. Normally I would have been nervous about them falling on the house and starting a fire, but it rained off and on all day yesterday so I think we were ok. I just hated that Trey wasn't there. He loves fireworks and would have loved watching them last night. Hopefully they did lots of fun things at camp yesterday. He comes home tomorrow!! Can't wait to see him!!

Summer Camp

Trey left today for a week at our church camp. He was so very very excited. He started packing last Monday, and has been going through his suitcase every day to make sure he had everything he needed. His 2 buddies, T and T ( we call them the Triple Ts---which could stand for Triple Trouble! lol) were going also, and all I heard all week was his plans for the 3 of them. This morning, he wanted to say goodbye to his dad before he went to work so he asked Eddie to wake him up. At 4:30, he was already awake, dressed and downstairs waiting for his dad to get up. ( He didn't have to be at church until 1 pm!!) All morning, I heard, "is it time to go yet? What time do we need to leave? How long does it take to get to church? "

I just pray that Trey gets as much out of camp as I did growing up.....my summers were spent at camp, first as a camper, then as a teen worker, and later as a counselor. Some of my most precious memories and closest friendships started in those old cabins at camp.

Kyle is spending his week camping also----we put the little pop-up tent in the living room and he's sleeping in there. He's been busy today planning all the fun things we're going to do this week. Tomorrow we're headed to the library for story hour and some new books/dvds and he'll probably try to con me into a stop at McDonald's as well.

10 Things to Keep in Mind ( to make your life a little better)

1. TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS.
If it doesn't feel right, it probably isn't..fun, tempting....maybe, but not right.
2. REMEMBER YOUR MANNERS.
It doesn't cost you anything, but it speaks volumes about who you are.
Having class starts with this.
3. NEVER LET POSSESSIONS "OWN" YOU.
It's just STUFF!
The most valuable things in life----friends, respect, love, knowledge---don't cost money....
Hokey, but true.
4. NURTURE YOUR FRIENDSHIPS.
The investment you make in true friends will pay huge dividends all your life---remember
you can't make an old friend.
5. KEEP YOUR HANDS CLEAN.
This is meant both literally and figuratively....it will save you a lot of regrets later....
6. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF.
Yeah this is another hokey one, but you do happen to be the only you in existence and
you're also the only person in the world who can truly hold you back in life....
Think about it.
7. BE GRATEFUL.
Don't waste all your todays in anticipation of some grand tomorrow. Now is all we've got.
Live in it!!
8. TREAT OTHERS THE WAY YOU WANT TO BE TREATED.
(okay, so I didn't make this one up.)
The point is, just because your're smarter or richer or prettier than someone else doesn't
mean you're better. It just means you've been more blessed.
9. ALWAYS KEEP PLAYING.
Who says adults have to give up toys? Keep the little kid inside you alive....it keeps your
imagination primed.
Silly is good.
10. NO MATTER WHAT, YOU WILL ALWAYS BE LOVED.
You don't have to test this one.....Just carry it around in your back pocket, and know that, no
matter what, you can always come home.


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This list was on the birthday card that my parents gave me this year. I thought it was so special and wanted to always remember these 10 items, and be able to share them with my kids when they left home...I know this is probably silly, but #10 was very important to me because my feelings were hurt on my wedding day, because my mother didn't tell me that, but had told every one of my siblings, when they married, that if it didn't work out, they could always come back home. She said it was because she KNEW that I had married the right man, but had reservations about the others. And she was right~~ of the 5 of us, only 2 are on our original marriages. Now, 15 yrs later, and after I've been on my own for 20+ years, she tells me I can come home! LOL

School's Out & I never have to go back there!!!

I'm starting at a new school in the fall and am ready to kiss my old school "bye-bye!"

Trey's D.A.R.E. Graduation

Ok...it's starting. The week(s) I've been dreading all year. The time when I have no choice but to face the fact that my babies are growing up. It actully started last week, when we met with Trey's Middle School music teacher to sign him up for orchestra and set up our rental agreement for his instrument---the viola. I sure hope he enjoys it and sticks with it.

Today was his DARE graduation. DARE stands for Drug Awareness Resistance Education, and is taught by the local sherriff's department. Every Wednesday for the last few months, Trey comes home with enlightening info like, "mom, did you know that a cigarette has rat poison in it?" He really learned a lot and I feel better knowing that he has good comebacks if (no--when) he gets tempted by peer pressure to make the wrong choice about drugs, cigarettes, alcohol and even sex. Since I work in a middle school, I know it's out there and as much as I'd like to keep him young and naive, I know that he needs the tools with which to stand up for what he believes in the face of temptation and peer pressure.

I'm including his essay for ya'll to read...I'm really proud of him!!

To some people, D.A.R.E means “Drug Abuse Resistance Education” but to me, D.A.R.E is “Decision + Anticipate + Relationship = Effect. For the last few weeks, I have learned so much about drug, alcohol and tobacco like 1,200 people die everyday and there are 599 ingredients in cigarettes.
The Decision is not up to your parents but up to yourself. Make the right choice by saying No! Anticipate means to plan ahead to have at least one way to say no. Like the one that sounds funny to me is broken record because you just say one word every time. But there are lots of other ways too… Like walking away and giving an excuse.
R is Relationship. You have to choose the right friend. If your friend asked if you want cigarettes, that means he doesn’t care about you and is not really a true friend. That is also called peer pressure. You can change the subject or give an excuse.
E is the Effect you get when you add Decisions, Anticipate, and Relationships. Making good choices will help you stay away from harmful things like drugs, smoking and alcohol. Another effect is if you do drugs then there’s a lot of stuff that harm you like if you smoke you can get cancer and heart disease. Just say no and keep that answer. Everything has an effect so go the right way. I want to say thank you to Officer Bodine for teaching us about drugs and what would happen if you do drugs. D.A.R.E is really awesome and you will learn so much. That’s what D.A.R.E means to me.

Ugh! It's 3 months later!

I try so hard to get online to write in my blog, but it's so difficult. During the school year, my time online is so limited. I wish I could get on at school....I"d find a bit of time to catch up then. Actually, I have a lot of thoughts during the day; I just forget them by the time I get home or I don't get access to the computer at home because I'm either busy or someone else is on it.

School is out in 7 more days so I PROMISE to get on very often during the summer.

16 years ago I married my best friend.....

here are some pictures of that memorable day....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ewVGFn1sfk

Where did my baby go?????

Happy Birthday to my darling Son! One of the lights of my life.....the one who watches cooking shows with me. The one who drives me crazy one minute but the next is amazing me with his incredible creativity and inventiveness. I can't believe he's 5 years old. It seems like yesterday I was being rushed to the hospital. I never want to go through those scary few hours before his birth again, but I thank God for giving me such a precious miracle.

Here is a movie I made of his first days......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMJToK8p6Bk