Last Post of 2008!

One of my favorite traditions around this time of year is making Pecan Balls. My grandmother made them when I was a little girl. They soon became my favorite cookie. Now I make them each year and share with everyone. Shane's dad loves to get his batch each Christmas. My Grandmother now gets excited when I give her the cookies. My parents enjoy nibbling on them for days as well. This year we have a new member of the Pecan Ball Cookie Loving Hall of Nibblers, Emma. She absolutely could not get enough. Her mouth was rimmed with powdered sugar. Her fingers were covered with little white flecks. Her toes even got a sprinkling as she ate each and every cookie that her belly could hold. I am sure one day she will take over the tradition of making our favoite cookie. But for now, I do not mind making everyone a batch for Christmas!

Only in Jax could the girls wash a car at Christmas!

Introducing Jingle Bell, the Hamster

Opening Gifts at Home and in Jax

Our Christmas was a little early this year. Santa came Monday morning so we could drive to Jax, FL Tuesday. Shane's vacation week is this week so he wanted to be able to spend some time off from work with his brother and parents. The girls did not seem to mind. We had e-mailed Santa and put in a request for Monday, but did not know for sure when he would fit us into his busy schedule. So it was a great big surprise when the girls walked downstairs to find the living room full of gifts. Shelby got a Hot Wheels Town complete with a garage and city streets. She also received a hamster cage with a coupon so she could go to the pet store to select her first pet hamster. Santa left a Wii game system for her and Emma with loads of games. Emma got a huge Princess Castle with a horse drawn carriage and PRINCESS BARBIE(all she actually wanted). She also received a Princess Karaoke machine. They had a wonderful morning playing and exploring their new gifts. Afterwards we all got dressed and visited 5 pet stores before Shelby found "the one". Pictures soon to come of that! Hope you all had a Merry Christmas! We surely did!

Unbelievable!

I thought for sure I would have to wait until next year to witness Emma sitting on the lap of a man with a big red suit and a white full beard. But it actually happened. After Shelby had her turn talking to Santa, I walked Emma over and squated in front of him. I asked her what she wanted for Christmas and she replied her usual, "Princess Annaleise Barbie". Then Santa asked if she would like to sit on his lap and tell him about the Princess Barbie. She blurted out a very happy, Okay!" and sat down. I was able to walk away and take a few pictures. I could not believe my eyes. We had tried a few weeks ago and she would not even look at him. I guess this was just the right time, the right place, and the right Santa. Unbelievable! Afterwards we enjoyed a very chilly ride in the carriage with a horsie named Monkey. Shelby got a kick out of that. It was a very successful Santa visit.

FSU GAME

 

 

 

 

Disney On Ice

Shelby and I went to see Disney on Ice at the Phillips Arena with Sarah and her mom. It was such an incredible show. We saw Cars, The Little Mermaid, Lion King and Tinker Bell. Shelby was thrilled when Lightning McQueen drove onto the ice. I loved watching her expression brighten and her eyes widen when she saw her favorite. We have been to a few Disney shows but this was by far the best.

 

 

 

 

Halloween

Each year we go Trick-or-Treating with my friend Catherine and her girls, Lauren and Gabrielle. To stick with tradition, we met at our house and walked the neighborhood. Emma wasn't really wanting to participate so we pushed her around and at times tossed some candy in her pumpkin. Shelby & Lauren ran from house to house gathering all of the candy they could carry until their pumpkins were too heavy. Gabrielle started out strong going with the older girls but tuckered out and soon took a seat in her stroller as well. After about an hour of collecting treats, we retired to our house to look through the goodies.

Halloween Sneak-a-Peek

Here's a little peek for Nana & Grandma of their granddaughter's in costume for this evening. Emma is Cinderella and so perfect for such a costume. Shelby chose to be a police officer and actually fits the role well.

Okay, you know when you are sick and you have been in bed for a couple of days and cannot stand to see your pillow for another minute? Well, that's exactly how I feel right now. I actually feel more exhausted and sore all over than yesterday but could not make myself watch TV in bed any longer. So I got on the computer and scrapbooked. The girls and I went to Puerto Rico to visit my brother and sister-in-law this summer. I finally have gotten around to scrapping those pictures, well half of them anyway. I finished my 3rd LO this afternoon while I shivered and sniffled. But it sure did break up the boring ole sick in the bed routine. My nose is sore, my eyes are tired, and my kids are lively & loud. That certainly does not make for a recipe of afternoon napping. But at least I had enough quiet time to get some scrapping done. Back to those dreaded covers and tissues. One day soon I am sure I will want so badly to get into bed for a quick nap when I have had one of those busy mom kinda days. But for today, I will enjoy my time and make myself rest so I can get well.

My Girls Playing Ball

I'm back . . .

It has been a while since I have posted and I am ready to get going again. There is so much to catch up on with just selling our house and moving into a rental for the time being. Shelby is at the same school since we rented in the same area. Emma is still in pre-school and learning so much. Shane is back on routine and I am trying to get there. I was able to exercise in our old house but do not have room for my equipment here so I have to reconfigure my routine a bit. My kitchen is organized and I am actually cooking Shelby's favorite tonight, chicken pot pie. Our furniture is in place and everything that we want to unpack (for hopefully a short time) has been put in its place. I just wanted to post something and since I have not found the time to download recent pics yet, I am posting a few oldies but goodies of the girls in our old backyard playing softball. Well, Shelby was hitting and Emma was prancing around the yard trying to retrieve the balls for Shelby. It was a silly afternoon. After just taking Shelby to Disney on ice, I hope to scrapbook some pages soon and post them. That was a treat! I am so looking forward to this weekend too. Shane scored us some free tickets to the FSU vs GA Tech game. It will be Shelby's first college football game. Most of you may know Shane is the most extreme of FSU fans so she will be seeing another side of her Daddy. I plan to take my camera so I will share that day eventually. Hope to post soon!

What do you get when you put 1 busted blood vessel on right hand, several bruises on thighs, 1 bump on the head, cuts, scrapes, soreness, aches and pains altogether? You get one extremely exhausted mover! I am sore from head to toe and have been making runs to the new house we are renting since a week ago Sunday. Shane and I along with our awesome friend, Carol, have spent our spare time taking boxes and misc things to get ready for the movers who come Friday. By Friday evening, hopefully our beds will be ready to have a restful sleep in while we put this move behind us. Of course, our next destination still remains a mystery. The bank did not take the offer on the house under foreclosure. So I guess they like it so much they want to hang onto that loan. It must not be the one for us. We plan to meet with another builder Thurs before closing to look at some lots. She said materials are as low as they were in the seventies so building from the ground up would not be bad. Sounds fun to me. Shane and I have built 2 houses and actually enjoyed the process of getting to choose everything. Gotta go and take a look at some floor plans! If you are in the area and would like to do some heavy lifting, give me a ring! BTW: I am so thrilled at the moment. My Mom flies in tomorrow for 7 days. Although, we are a bit nervous about her trip due to the fact that my Grandmother is in the hospital again with a bone infection in her new knee. My Mom does not want to leave her without knowing what they plan to do so pray for her recovery please. :)

October 10th!

As of today, our house is officially sold! We will close on October 10th and start moving things to the house we are renting very soon. We'll be able to stay in this area so Shelby can go to the same school while we, hopefully, finish that house I had mentioned. I have been so busy packing and doing life in general that I have yet to scrapbook or even take pictures lately. I miss it. But I will return once we get settled. Update on the girls: Shelby has been getting boo-boo after boo-boo lately. It looks as if she has been beaten with a broomstick. She has bruises from new and old injuries. She fell while playing kickball on the road, which left a lot of road rash and scrapes. She came home today with clay from her waist to her toes, along with more scrapes. The Nikes I washed this weekend are now orange along with her shorts, leg and some of her shirt. Needless to say, I will be washing the shoes again and praying the stains will come out of everything. I love her so much and feel her pain when she falls. I too played hard like her and had legs that looked bruised all of the time as a child. Good thing they are so long and sexy now! LOL!Emma has been asking me to call her Princess. She gets up on her tiptoes and says, "I want to be Princess Mommy." As she walks away, she says, "Princes toes, princess toes." I don't know where that is coming from, but it's incredibly cute! I did learn the other day why she likes to spread out a napkin on the table under all of her meals. I picked her up early from school last week and saw that her teachers spread napkins out for the kids to eat thier lunches on. Ah-hah! I just thought I had a neat kid! Although Emma does not like anything on her hands or face and may go through 5 napkins in one meal. She is also trying so hard to count and say her ABCs. One of the latest statements she has come out with has been, "I got idea." Cute! They are both so loved! As most all of my friends know, Shane passed his Project Management Certification Exam. That was not only a big relief but a great accomplishement for him. I was and still am proud of his hard work! Gotta go. Hope to have pics to ost or new LOs soon.

Busy time for us...

I know I have not posted in so long. Actually, I have not been scrapping either. We have been super busy with our house among other things. As of this moment, we have a contract on our house and have passed inspection. I am praying all goes well and we close on October 10th. We have found a foreclosure that is 76% finished and walked it with a builder we know. The surrounding houses have not sold but are listed in the high 600-700K. If we can get in this house, we will get such a deal that we'll already have lots of equity established. It is exciting but also stressful. We are thinking about putting in a pool while our yard is not completed. Shelby is thrilled about that. I am too personally. I had a pool when we lived in Fort Lauderdale, FL as a child. It was so much fun. I especially liked swimming at night. Speaking of night, Shane went by the house the other evening and saw two deer in the yard. It sits on 3/4 of an acre and has a flat driveway!! The road it is on is pretty flat too, which thrills this Florida girl. I just love to ride bikes and now I can with my girls and hubby again. I used to take Shelby on rides in Jax when she was a bitty baby. Now I can ride Emma while Shelby cruises along side of us. I know I seem to be getting ahead of myself, but I really feel like this is the place for us. Shelby will be able to go to school with her best friend, Laura Kate. So that is another plus! Selling a house and moving into a rental will make two moves for us, but it seems to be well worth it. I am so excited and pray things work for us. On another note, I have been taking a Bible study, actually two. Just having gotten over a stomach virus has put me behind on my homework. But it is still a treasure to be spending time in the Bible. I have already learned so many things I did not know before. One is a Beth Moore study I go to on Wed nights while the girls go to Children's Church. The other is Wed morning where I attend with other women. I love having the time to actually have adult conversation that is healthy and inspiring. Shane has been attending classes to get his Project Management Certification. He took his last of the four this past Saturday and plans to take his test Thursday. It is an extremely difficult test, maybe the equivalent to an attorney taking the bar. I am praying he passes. It will certainly better his career since not many people have this certification. Shelby and Emma are doing well. I just love them and hope to find time to scrapbook some of their beautiful pictures soon. Once we get going on the house, I will post some pics.

Love this!

 

 

 

 

Puerto Rico

Girls Playing at Fort