A little Christmas fun

Doesn't it sometimes seem like the few days after Christmas are a bit of a letdown?  All the build-up and excitement leading to "the day" and then you are left with the work of dissassembling and putting away the decorations, tree, and festive spirit.

Well, that will come soon enough, but we managed to extend our fun and holiday spirit a little longer.  Here are just a few pictures from this year!

We are so blessed by such a wonderful family, and all that God has provided. 1 John 3:1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!

Our trip to NASA

While we didn't actually make it to the NASA tour, we did visit Johnson Space Center this week. The kids really had fun with all the hands-on activities, and especially the giant play station. It's a good thing there were benches where the adults could rest!

Holley's favorite part was being Mission Control and talking to someone on the other side.

They tried on space helmets, and maneuvered a "floating" chair while pushing control buttons to complete a mission.

And my very favorite picture of all, the drive home...

Sing Praise!

"But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. For today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:10-11 NIV).

You know what is cool?

Prayer in school.

We went to Holley's 1st grade class play tonight (all 6 first grade classes), and before everything got started, we said the Pledge of Allegiance, the Pledge to the Texas Flag, and then the principal led everyone in prayer.  You can't do that in Kansas.

Funny, Mike was talking to some guys from church at the BBQ/Chili cookoff last weekend (did I mention he took first place chili and 2nd place open category with grilled asparagus?!) and they were explaining that around here (here being Texas), there is no separation of church and school, don't even mention it.  Prayer is supported from the administration level onward.

How cool is that?

Does your cat do this?

Remember Jasper? He is quite the comedian. They do this every day and he will bring the mouse to you when it is time to play.

What a sweetie.

Thankful things

What do you think would happen if people posted what they are thankful for, every day, and not just the week before Thanksgiving?  Facebook, blogs, churches - they are all filled with "thanks" this week.  Why not all the time. 

Before you go further, hop over and read another blog.  There are not many I read, mostly I just look at the pictures (think stamped cards), but this one is one worth reading all the time.  About 3 days ago she posted about her sister's dog, Owen, who ran off and was lost in the AZ desert.  Here is the update.

I am thankful for people who really believe in the power of prayer, and not just as a last resort, or something you say to comfort someone, but because you know that prayer works.  And you are not afraid to use it. 

I am thankful for how fratrated, and sometimes down right mad, this little angel makes me.  That means that I have the gift of love from God.  This is her 1st grade school picture.  Cute, isn't she?

After 3 self-initiated hair cuts, I finally talked her into letting it grow out enough to even up the length.  And if she wanted it cut again, to please just ask and I would take her somewhere to get a good cut.  It worked!!  Saturday she told me she was tired of it and wanted to "be someone different".  So we went to the salon, picked out a picture, and she looks amazing!  It is sooo cute, and she likes it too!

THANK GOODNESS!

It's about time

to start stamping again!  Tuesday night I went to my first stamp class in over 7 months!  I have been itching to ink up some stamps for weeks but needed a little boost, so I found an SU demo and got into her class.  It was worth it - several cute projects that I can use for Christmas gifts, and it reminded me of the reason I enjoyed stamping in the first place.  But I sure was GLAD that someone else did all the planning, and cutting a work!

Actually I have been adding to my supplies for a few months, but not all SU any more, so today I am going to drag it out and actually open the packages.  Woot! Woot!  Below are some pics of the projects the class did.  Nice group of ladies too.  Click here for:  Project photos

The other thing I am doing is salvaging empty CD cases.  I have about a hunders that were headed for the trash, but with my growing assortment of clear stamps, these make a safe and economical way to store them.  I am giving serious consideration to un-mounting my wood block stamps to use on acrylic, for just this reason, but that would be a ton of work.  Will have to keep thinking about that...

And one more thing,  Happy Anniversary Honey!  17 years and I love you more every day!!

My next trip to London

will be the first week of November. I have been invited back to a client "Task Force" meeting. I won't be travelling alone this time, two other people from my company will meet me there. This is the hotel where the 2-day meeting will be held.

http://www.greatfosters.co.uk

Can't complain!


Pray for safe travels, and for Mike and Holley while I am gone, 5 days.

Real cowgirls wear boots

Since we moved to Texas, Holley has insisted she is a "real" cowgirl. This weekend she got a pair of real boots. The good kind. And do you think she wears them every day?

What would a real cowgirl do?

A little behind again

I plugged the camera in to download the latest pictures, and realized I hadn't uploaded the last pictures yet!

So today is a double dose. First, a few from Winefest. Although it was a hot 93+ degree day, it was really neat to just roam around, see some neat gift ideas, taste some amazing Texas wine, and try different food. Holley got to do a few special things too. There were inflatables to jump and climb on, face painting and her two favorites - petting the miniature horses, and stomping grapes.




Then Saturday, we had a "Holley"day. She had a great week at school, and was rewarded with a play day. We went to ITZ, which I could only describe as a casino for kids! It was actually pretty fun, with a large pizza buffet, a few indoor rides (think carnival style) and tons of arcade type games, where you win tickets to trade for a prize.

We stayed for hours and all enjoyed ourselves. The best part was the mini bowling - but my legs and glutes are telling me about it today! Holley chose a photo album, so we are picking out pictures of her family and friends to fill it.

A few photos

We finally got it clean enough to take a picture! If you recall from earlier posts about the new house, there was no color. Literally - everything was eggshell white. The walls, the trim, the doors, the blinds, the bathrooms.... The carpet is bland, the tile is tan and if it weren't for the maple cabinets in the kitchen, the house could be deemed "sterile" looking.

Holley's bedroom got painted first. She picked two pretty lilac colors from the Disney collection at The Home Depot. It matches the color in her bedspread very nicely! Mike built the shelf around the top of the room and I almost fell over when I saw how much stuff filled it up! She loves having a double wide closet too.

Mike painted the living room, but it still needs work - drapes, art on the walls, something, so no pics. On to the office. No paint, but we did install shelving/cabinets. This is actually several units from Closetmaid at Lowe's. You pick and choose the sizes and arrangement. The doors and drawers are add-on, and the fabric boxes came from Garden Ridge for $3 a piece. I would still like to add one more of the 24"wide units to get rid of, or hide, the last of the plastic drawers, but this is a pretty great way to store my stamping stuff and still be able to use it!

Finally for this tour is the master bedroom. It is painted with two shades of pine green, which make the off-white trim really pop out and look great. We had huge windows on one wall with a large arched window in the center. One week of every month, the full moon shines full in that window, so something had to be done. There is also a smaller window in one corner, facing the patio. Thank goodness for JC Penney - ON SALE! I found these lined drapes in colors that match the paint and beadspread perfectly! The colors are copper, chocolate, dark mustard and pine green. You really have to see it to get the warm and cozy feeling. This is my favorite room at the moment. The master bath is getting a coat of paint this week to coordinate.

Hope you can see it live and in person soon!!!

Prayers for my Mom & Dad

Dad has been doing well lately. When we went to visit in August he was getting aroung pretty well and mostly off of the pain meds. This past week however, he went back in the hospital with severe Anemia. This is the way Mom described it: "I just came from the hospital were the Oncologist gave us the diagnosis/result of the biopsy. John's bone marrow is not functioning properly and is only making a small fraction of red and white blood cells and platelets. This is called Myelodysplastic Syndrome or MDS. The doctor gave us a 9 page print out describing this disease, the 3 levels of risk factors, and what can be done about it. You can read all the big words at this link.

In a nutshell, he said John is probably in the intermediate risk group and the fix is a bone marrow transplant from his sister, IF she is an exact match. For the time being we are starting with the "Supportive Care" which you will find just over half way through the above web page. This will involve a lot of monitoring and trips to the doctor's office for injections and possibly blood transfusions. The big PLUS is that this is NOT leukemia and "quality of life" shouldn't suffer too much."

For every bad thing that happens, God finds a way to use it for good. Sometimes it is just really hard to see what that will be, if I am ever even supposed to know. They have both been through so much with his medical history. Please pray with me for their strength, patience, and healing. He is still in the hospital after several days and a few pints of new blood.

Day 3 & 4 updates

Wednesday was great. High of 74 degrees, and we all got out of the house and had a good time. Holley still had a morning fever, but not enough to keep us all cooped up. We drove into Conroe to run an errand and decided to take the scenic route home, heading west to Lake Conroe and Montgomery. The marina is much larger than I expected and we found a good place right on the water to grab some hot wings and sandwiches for lunch.

After that, we went into downtown Montgomery and browsed through a variety of antique shops. I had no idea that they had such a cute downtown. One of the shops we went it specializes in carrying a variety of Texas wines. We brought home a Moscato out of Iowa Park (think Wichita Falls) that is quite yummy! This weekend is the 4th Annual Historic Montgomery Food & Wine Trail and we are looking forward to going back over there. Also check out this link for even more year 'round events.

Thursday it was back to Conroe to get our driver's licenses converted, then off to a pharmacy to find the elusive TamiFlu that is in short supply. We got it, but they calculated the dosage wrong and we have 2x more than required. Very costly stuff too, but it is not like you can take it back....

Also got to meet Holley's teacher. Nice lady. Turns out Holley is holding back - not really showing what she is capable of and they are just now discovering how good of a reader and overall student she can be! She is back in school today and happy about it, but in a way, I am glad we had time together this week. And progress on clearing out "stuff" continues!

Day 2 update

Day 2 hasn't been so bad, considering. Holley stayed home - 102 fever at 5 a.m., but has been closer to normal all day, thanks to Motrin(R). We took her to the clinic and the flu test came back negative, but the Dr. prescribed a "preventive" drug for 10 days, which the pharmacy is out of since every kid in town has the flu. She laid low all day, but is getting bored.

It has also rained most of the day, so that made it much easier to stay inside and work on boxes. The office is taking shape too. Met my goal of cleaning the dining room, and only had to relocate 3 boxes of dishes that I have no room for. Looks like we might have a garage sale this weekend.

Long time no post

If I wait for something significant to write about, it is likely that nothing will get written. What can one say about the mundane? Go to work, come home late, do dishes, read a book with Holley for school, go to sleep, repeat. Interject an occasional trip to the grocery or hardware store, and that is about it. Not much to write about.

If I write about my week of vacation, the first in over a year thanks to this client contract, it is not likely to be much more interesting.

Day 1 - get hair cut. (Ok, that was actually great! I soooo needed this mess whacked off...)
Take cat to vet. Unplanned event - pick up Holley from school with 100.8 fever. Pay bills, empty a file cabinet. Goal: see top of desk again.
Day 2 - work - there are two reports that I need to give input on. Promise self to keep it to 2 hours, MAX. Repair falling wallpaper border in the bathroom, put up new light fixture. Empty more boxes in the dining room (where to put it?) Goal: have dining room 100% clean.
Day 3 - Keep working on those boxes. List the rest of the craft stuff I need to sell. Mop floors. Vaccuum. Goal: have foyer 100% clean.
Day 4 - Dentist. Get Driver's License. (Glad I got the haircut!) Check out some new place for lunch with darling husband. Meet Holley's teacher after lunch. Back to the boxes. Goal: Holley's Bedroom finished (need more shelves).
Day 5 - Goal: Do nothing. Reality - finish as much of the stuff I didn't get to yet as possible.

Oh well. Still better than a week in the office.

Got kissed by a whale at SeaWorld

We took a long weekend to drive over to San Antonio and see my folks (hotel style) and spent all of Saturday at the park. Everyone had a great time, enjoyed all the shows and a few roller coasters.

The highlight was the interactive tour, which took us behind the scenes with the Beluga whales and Pacific White Sided Dolphins. Way cool. Several perks with the tour, but the highlight was the kissing. The toothy guy came with the photo - no extra charge.

A new addition to the family

This is our newest addition. He is Jasper, a 2 month old black. He is a lap cat already, and if he even thinks you are going to pet him, he starts purrrrring!

We adopted this sweety from a friend - that is her little girl in the picture, pushing him around in the baby stroller. No doubt we will have funny stories about our 2 kitties to share!

Final moving update and some fun

First, we need to thank everyone for their prayers. The support of family and friends has helped us all enormously through this time which has been mixed with happiness, sorrow, sweat, anxiety, and finally enjoyment.

Closing went smoothly on both houses, and we were able to unload the truck and move boxes in on July 1 (note to self - new home anniversary date). I was/am still working 12-14 hour days so Mike has handled the lion's share of the unpacking and organizing, and entertaining Holley. He is simply amazing. We are far from settled, but have about 1/2 of what we brought organized now. The rest is mostly office/stamping and misc. things that require frequent dusting. That can wait!

Still have a full storage unit in KS that we need to bring down. I honestly do not know where it will all go. While this house is large, we lost a considerable amount of storage space (no basement) and my office. Better start thinking about another garage sale. I also don't know how we will get it down here - we need a large covered trailer... so please pray for that too.

Holley is adjusting well, though she is bored most of the time, waiting for school to start in 6 weeks. There is a great "solar heated" swimming pool 2 blocks away and she is becoming a frequent visitor. There are also a few kids nearby that she has met, mostly younger, and many more we still have not yet met.

We are still visitors at the church I mentioned previously and will visit a new SS class today. Then back to work. But we have had have some fun - joined the children's museum which is large and always has something new. On our last visit, we watched a magic show put on by one of the local High School kids. Everything about it said "Bryce" and it was really cute (although I think Bryce is a better magician!)

And finally, we went to the mall to explore and Holley got to bunjee!

Oh Deer!

Every day we discover something new about our surroundings. Friday it was deer. Our neighborhood is heavily wooded, so as you might expect, there are a variety of critters. Most are small and scamper away if they catch you watching, so in the interest of amusement, we put a sqirrel feeder on a tree in our front yard. (Yes, I actually said tree in the front yard, something which was nearly foreign in our previous home.)

The first time that treat dissappeared entirely, overnight. Wow, hungry squirrels. The second time I caught the culprit. A button-buck, maybe 2 years old with 3 of his friends. They ate the corn tight off the cob until it was loose enough to knock the whole thing off. The 4 of them were quite casual about being here and at least one of them is brave enough to venture closer to the house to see if we are growing any tasty flowers.

Well, we aren't, at least not yet, and maybe we won't now... but it was really fun to watch them. The pictures are not great - it was about 8 pm so I had to lighten them, and also have a shaky hand, but you get the idea.

Moving update

Living in the RV park for the past week has been a nice diversion. It is pretty with a couple of ponds, a clubhouse, and the people are friendly. Being only 9 minutes from the office is a bonus too, especially since my hours have been 7 am to post-dark p.m. every day, including weekends. The downside (or up-side in this case) of project implementation - working so much you don't have time to think about other stuff. The week passed pretty quickly and Mike and Holley arrived safely on Thursday.

Our closing date on the house moved up to the 29th, and the movers called to say the truck was already here and they could deliver early too. We drove by the house today and they are fully moved out. so we got to check out the yard and garage area a little better. There is enough room for another garage/workshop added on to the back, plus the trailer parking we were originally looking for. If you don't believe that God provides, then give us a call and let us tell you about the last 2 years of our lives. In fact, we will probably write it all down, because it is almost too good to believe, almost.

At any rate, things are looking very good right now. Went to church this morning in The Woodlands (twumc.org) and met some super nice people. We felt very at ease, even though the church is about 7x larger than where we came. Holley wasn't the least bit shy about staying either. Tomorrow we get the keys, and the next chapter in our lives "officially" starts.
Until then...

The countdown is on!

In 48 hours I will be on the road to TX. We are stopping to pick up our new (to us) travel trailer and will set up camp at the Lake Woodlands RV park. There I will reside with our kitty until July 1, so I can be in the office during a critical contract implementation.

Our house in KS closes on the 26th - Mike and Holley will come down right after that, and the new house closing date is the 30th. Moving truck arrives on the 1st and we start unpacking.


Will update pictures, new email and phone #s once we are settled.

If you wondered why we are moving...

Have you ever looked at a map of the world? Look at Texas with me just for a second.
That picture, with the Panhandle and the Gulf Coast , and the Red River and the Rio Grande is as much a part of you as anything ever will be. As soon as anyone anywhere in the world looks at it they know what it is. It's Texas . Pick any kid off the street in Japan and draw him a picture of Texas in the dirt and he'll know what it is. What happens if I show you a picture of any other state? You might get it maybe after a second or two, but who else would? And even if you do, does it ever stir any feelings in you?

In every man, woman and child on this planet, there is a person who wishes just once he could be a real live Texan and get up on a horse or ride off in a pickup. There is a little bit of Texas in everyone.

Texas is the Alamo . Texas is 183 men standing in a church, facing thousands of Mexican nationals, fighting for freedom, who had the chance to walk out and save themselves, but stayed instead to fight and die for the cause of freedom.We send our kids to schools named William B. Travis and James Bowie and Davy Crockett, and do you know why? Because those men saw a line in the sand and they decided to cross it and be heroes. John Wayne paid to do the movie himself . That is the Spirit of Texas . Texas is Sam Houston capturing Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana at San Jacinto .

Texas is huge forests of Piney Woods like the Davy Crockett and Sam Houston National Forests . Texas is breathtaking mountains in the Big Bend . Texas is the unparalleled beauty of bluebonnet fields in the Texas Hill Country.
Texas is floating the rivers of the Hill Country on a hot summer day.
Texas is the beautiful, warm beaches of the Gulf Coast of South Texas.
Texas is beaches you can drive on and have many memorable on-fires with close friends.
Texas is that warm feeling you get when someone asks where you're from.
Texas is the shiny skyscrapers in Houston and Dallas.
Texas is world record bass from places like Lake Fork .
Texas is Mexican foods like nowhere else, not even Mexico ..
Texas is chicken fried steak and world famous Bar-B-Q.
Texas is the Fort Worth Stockyards, Bass Hall, the Ballpark in Arlington and the Astrodome. (guess now the Reliant Stadium too) and of course, Jerry World, the new Cowboy Stadium!

Texas is larger-than-life legends like Michael DeBakey, Ann Richards, Denton Cooley, Willie Nelson, Buddy Holly, Gene Autry, Audie Murphy, Tommy Lee Jones, Waylon Jennings, Farrah Fawcet, Janis Joplin, Sandra Bullock, Kris Kristofferson, Tom Landry, Eva Longoria, Darrell Royal, ZZ Top, Eric Dickerson, Earl Campbell, Nolan Ryan, Sam Rayburn, Howard Hughes, George H. Bush, George W. Bush, Lyndon B. Johnson, and let's not forget GEORGE STRAIT- PANTERA, the Big Bopper, Tex Ritter, George Jones, Clay Walker, Mark Chestnut, to name ONLY a few.

Texas is great companies like Dell Computer, Texas Instruments, EDS and Compaq, Whataburger, Southwest Airlines, Bell Helicopter and LOCKHEED MARTIN AEROSPACE, Home of the F-16 Jet Fighter and the JSF Fighter, Valero. Texas is NASA. Texas is huge herds of cattle, beautiful horses and miles of crops.

Texas is home to the world famous King Ranch.
Texas is home to the most amazing sunsets of gold over an empty field. Texas is skies blackened with doves and fields full of deer.
Texas is a place where towns and cities shut down to watch the local high school football game on Friday nights and for the Cowboys on Monday Night Football, and for the night In Old San Antonio River Parade in San Antonio.

To drive across Texas is to drive 1/3 the way across the United States.

Texas is ocean beaches, deserts, lakes and rivers, mountains and prairies, and modern cities. If it isn't already in Texas, you probably don't need it. No one does anything bigger or better than it's done in Texas .

By federal law, Texas is the only state in the U...S. That can fly its flag at the same height as the U.S. Flag. Think about that for a second. You fly the Stars and Stripes at 20 feet in Maryland , California , or Maine , and your state flag, whatever it is, goes at 17 feet. You fly the Stars and Stripes in front of Klein Oak High or anyplace else at 20 feet, the Lone Star flies at the same height - 20 feet. Do you know why? Because it is the only state that was a Republic before it became a state.

Also, being a Texan is as high as being an American down here. Our capitol is the only one in the country that is taller than the capitol building in Washington , D.C. And we can divide our state into five states at any time if we wanted to!We can become a republic again at any time the voters of Texas choose, and we included these things as part of the deal when we came on. That's the best part, right there. Texas even has its own power grid!! And don't even lie to yourself... Did I mention Live music capitol of the world?

If you are a REAL TEXAN, you won't even need to be told to pass this on.
GOD BLESS TEXAS!

Before and After

Most of you who have seen the house probably would be amazed at the transformation. It may not qualify for the longest remodel in history, but it is certainly remarkable. If it were not for selling, it might not have happened.

Out with linoleum, in with wood laminate. Out with frame and concrete, in with walls and shelves. Out with dirty blue carpet, in with plush brown. And a bath downstairs. And new paint. and finished the wood paneling... tell me again why we are moving?

Oh yeah. Employment. Crud.

Before/After:

A windy day for a recital

Today is the final Saturday of River Fest. Yes, they finally changed the name instead of insisting everyone properly call it "festival". Some folks just can't say that many syllables at one time.


I haven't been to one in several years. Used to be one of my favorite weeks, but after I quit working downtown it became too much hassle to drive, and park, and fuss with the crowds.


Well, today was less crowded, possibly because of the wind and low temperature. 60 degrees at noon. Brrrrr. And Holley had her last dance recital today. (I say last because we should be moved before anything else is scheduled.) In spite of the chill factor, the girls had fun and did a great job. I caught a little video and a few other shots to share.











After dancing, we grabbed a funnel cake. Something about a "fest" that makes you have to have one. Kim and Mark met us too and shared some cotton candy. Dentists will love us!