Thanksgiving...a Time for Food and Family

This year we planned to be with my parents for Thanksgiving, but before we headed that way we had a few things that needed to get done. Stephen was getting ready for his last few days in class, and had to create a dessert for a pot-luck lunch in his leadership class. He decided to tackle the tart. He looked around and settled on a Butternut Squash tart. He made the dough from scratch, which is supposed to be really hard to work with....and it was. He had a time getting it to fit the pan without it getting too sticky, but the results were wonderful. You can see the pic below. He also played around with another tart recipe using apples, strawberries and brie cheese. All I have to say is YUM! It's not featured in picture which is a shame because it was SO pretty. It was so good, it was devoured before it could be photographed.

We went out to my parents and had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day. Anna had fun riding in her wagon and playing with her cousin Parker (my brother Jered's son).

Anna being pulled in the wagon by Mom.



Stopping for a picture. It was pretty windy!



Anna and Parker. Isn't he SO CUTE! She loves to give him kisses... here she is going in for the kill..


She also had fun playing in his carseat. He has some cool toys!

We finished off the weekend by getting a little hair cut. I only trimmed off about a 1 inch lock from her bangs but it has seemed to make a dramatic difference in the way she looks. Oh well, at least her hair won't be hanging in her face anymore.

Anna during her "first" hair cut. The after pic with bangs down.


The after pic with J-Paw and Uncle Judd reading her a book!

I hope everyone had as wonderful a Thanksgiving as Stephen, Anna and I had. We are incredibly blessed with wonderful family on both sides and thank God for them on a regular basis.

Thanksgiving Dinner with Anna

Mashed potatoes are GOOD!!


Today was the Thanksgiving dinner at Anna's school where parents are invited to come and eat with their child. Stephen and I made arrangements to be at the school for lunch. Anna was so happy, it really does make your day when she is just standing there, not really showing much expression until she sees you....her mommy. I just love her smile and how happy she is to see me. Not to leave Stephen out, she was equally happy to see him, and lately has favored him in the evenings. They like to sit and read or watch her Baby Einstein video before she goes to bed.

Back to the lunch, Stephen and I arrived and went into the lunch room where they had all their tables set up. They feed them family style, with all the food on the table in large bowls. The teachers give each child a portion and they eat it up! I was very impressed to see her teacher, Ms. Frances grab Anna's hand before she scooped up some mashed potatoes and put them on Anna's plate. She was mimicking how to scoop potatoes for her. It is really nice to have a daycare system in which they teach your child a curriculum, not just babysit them.
All the adults sat on the floor around a table that is two feet from the ground. The children sat next to their parents and we all enjoyed a very nice lunch.

She loves her Daddy!

We had a great time spending time with her during the middle of the day. She did pretty good when we had to leave and go back to work, she cried a little, but settled down for a nap pretty quickly after we left. Before I got on the road to travel back to Rockport I went to the restroom. While Stephen waited for me he went back to check on her...she was sleeping soundly.

TAEA...a weekend full of fun!

This weekend I went to an Art Educators Conference in Galveston. We had a very good time...I had a chance to catch up with some of the people I have taught along side in the past. I also got the chance to meet some new additions to the VISD art team. Saturday night we all got beaded up for an evening on The Strand titled Arti Gras. Evelyn had brought some masks with her from Marti Gras the year before and we were going to adorn these along with our beads she brought. We found out before departure from the hotel that they were going to provide masks that we were to decorate as we toured the shops on the strand. SO...we opted to leave the masks ( that were AMAZING ) in our room. BAD decision. The masks they gave us were Robin masks...like on Batman and Robin, but worse because the ones we were given were cardboard. You can see my distaste in this lovely photo. All in all, we had a great time. It is always good to see old friends.

Here is a picture of me and my new buddy Renee'...see how the the large mannequin is checkin' her out. Pretty funny.

Picture of us all with some random large gorilla. Why not? And the woman hiding in the back, that is Daisy. Funny lady. Also, I did not realize that I would look like such a dork in that pose...I really was just very happy to be there.

And on another note, while I was out, Stephen was slaving away at work while Anna stayed with T-Maw for two days and then another two with her Granny. Here are a few new pics that just make me laugh. The one where she looks like a drunk man at a pub was taken in Victoria at her Granny's house. So funny!


Anna, so happy watching Hi-5...her favorite show on tv.

Well...it is the next best thing....

We couldn't do Halloween because we were
recovering from ear tubes, but this Saturday
we decided to dress up and take a few pics. Stephen had already gone to work, so these are without mom and dad. Hope you enjoy. She REFUSED to put the cat ears on....hence the picture of her with cat ears screaming. She also rubbed all the make-up off her nose when we tried the ears, so she looks like she is dirty. Pretty funny. It will be a good story for her to hear and see one day. The post man walked up and looked a little confused until I explained. Oh well...you hate to waste a cute costume!!

In Recent Days....

The ear infection was our enemy. We had a wonderful day on Saturday with a garage sale with mom in Calallen. We made money...which never hurts. Anna was a perfect child and napped when I put her to bed, she ate great at lunch and had SO much fun outside with us on a GORGEOUS day to be outside.
Then Sunday, it hit with no warning. Fever, 103. She stopped eating and was very unhappy. We worked with the fever, called a nurse and got it down using baths and fever reducing meds. Monday took her to the PCP and she referred us to a ENT. All these acronyms make me laugh. At the time though, it was no laughing matter.
Her ears look real bad was his diagnosis, she will need tubes in the next few days. So I was looking at more time off...which was NOT good. ( I have been out a lot lately fighting this enemy, the ear infection.)
Miraculously, they had an opening for the next morning...and I had already called in for the next day! So Monday night we went home to cope. She was so pitiful. She had thrush from all the antibiotics ( due to the enemy) and could barely sleep. She would only sleep on Stephen or I. She was a drool MONSTER...her throat hurt so bad, she wouldn't swallow. It was so sad. We could not wait to get her feeling better.

Monday the surgery went great. She was calm, and our Anesthesiologist was a Christian..we found this out when he placed his hand on her tiny back and said, in Jesus' name we pray she will have a safe surgery. Stephen and I both about lost it! We had prayed that morning for God to watch over her and we really feel like He gave us comfort in that doctor.

Her recovery was, to say the least, outstanding. You can see the change in her after 24 hours. CRAZY! So our enemy was thwarted for the time being and we have our happy girl back!

Retroactive...

I have to go back...these moments are too hysterical and must be mentioned.

This was Anna on her first birthday with her first cake. Doesn't she look so excited to eat her first birthday cake? It took unbelievable convincing for her to eat it. But once we started, there was no going back.

She was into the cake!!

It must be in the water....

No we are not pregnant...we are just joining the blog world. Stephen and I have been very involved with MySpace this last year in order to keep family updated with pictures of our daughter Anna. But I want to talk about our lives too...and it is much easier just to blog. So...here we are! I must say a thank you to Holly for getting us started!