I Have a ONE Year Old! ... for the 3rd time...

And man, oh MAN is it bitter-sweet! While it is so much fun seeing all of the things my Carter Chance can do and loving the smiles, babbles, and cuddles I am getting from my "chunky dunker," it's hard to realize that he's not that tiny baby I gave birth to a year ago... and... the toughest realization... that these are my last "firsts." It's so hard to give up and let go of this time in my life. I never knew I would love being a mommy so much that I would want to do it again, and again, and again...

At any rate, we had a lovely family get-together after church on Sunday to celebrate the 3rd ONE year old in my life. And it was a lot of fun! Good food, good family, and great memories.

Another great Nana creation: The 1 cake!
Mommy helped blow out the candles on Carter Chance's personal cake:
Carter Chance decided he needed to do a taste test before serving his guests:
How he spent most of the party: cloth diapie and cupcake hat!
Not sure about this taking steps thing... crawling is so much easier AND faster!

Eight Months of Making Me Smile!

And so many more smiles to come!

Starting Out a New Year With Amazing Memories!

Our holidays were spent in the most magical, happiest place on Earth. And, if I have to spell it out for you, well, you're obviously not among the land of the living!!!

If necessary, here's a hint:

It was amazing!!! I must admit, however, that I was a little upset when Bill first suggested we spend Christmas there. But, after thinking about our boys and how much they would love every minute of being there, how could I NOT want to spend Christmas there? Yes, we were away from family, and it kind of put a kink into Christmas gatherings... but I think we made it work well. And, I have to say, the grandparents were wonderful and understanding about it all.

Walking into Magic Kingdom on Christmas morning was breath taking! The Christmas decorations are more than you could ever imagine, and the castle... well... it's just... magical! Caleb and Connor were awe-struck, and seeing them experience it all was one of the best memories I'll ever have.


We had fun taking a ride in the tea cups! I always say I was sitting in a tea cup with a couple of little sugar lumps! ;)

Experiencing the Earthquake at Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory at Downtown Disney. Eight scoops of ice cream, eight toppings of your choice, bananas, whipped cream, and cherries. Oh my aching stomach!

Character lunch at The Crystal Palace. We had lunch with Pooh, Piglet, Eyeore, and OF COURSE... TIGGER!!! (We had to trick Connor into getting close enough to take a picture!)
We really did so many amazing, fun, exciting, spectacular things... I could make a blog four miles long about it, and the pictures would probably overload blogspot as a whole. So, I'll keep it simple, and I'll keep it sweet. The memories mean more to me than any stranger who actually takes time to read the blogging of a SAHM, and they'll be in my heart and head forever... or at least until absolute dementia sets in... But I do have to say... Thanks, Bill, for making me step out of the Christmas box and giving our kids a gift they'll treasure forever in their hearts!

Stop Blogging? Yeah... Right... When Pigs Fly!

Well, the "piggy flu" hasn't stopped me, but WOW has it ever slowed me down! Granted, the things I'm including in this blog happened LONG before I began my oinking adventure, I kept putting them off and putting them off... and, eventually, the pigs flew over this peacock, landed HARD, and put everything on my to-do list on a screeeeeeeeeeching hault! So, to quickly wrap up what has gone on, I've created a few smilebox slideshows to show what's been going on - during WELL times!

IT SNOWED IN SAN ANGELO!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Caleb turned SIX!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

And my kids are just stinkin' cute!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Bad Blogger! Bad, Bad Blogger!!

The backs of my hands are flaming red because I scolded myself for not blogging in quite a while... Note to self: next time scold AFTER typing out the apologetic blog!

*sigh* Let's see... since my last blog there's been so much take place, so I'll just do a quick highlight of some events.

*Caleb had his Thanksgiving Feast at school - complete with an entire village made by the kindergarten class to represent the first Thanksgiving. Very cool. And - probably THE most important part - Caleb got to do the Turkey Tango... an adorable dance only done by Kindergartners at Sierra Vista.



*We went to our friends' house after story time where the kids were treated to fruit turkeys (Alyson rocks the planet), lots of play time, and making/eating turkey cookies - a sure-fire way to make sure naps are taken. Or not. I'm just sayin...


*I turned 34. We celebrated at my favorite restaurant. Enough said about that.


*Thanksgiving at Nanny's. The absolute BEST dressing she's made in years! And - my boys pretended to put on make-up at Nanny's vanity... just as I used to do. <3

Veteran's Day

To be terribly honest, this day has always been a day that really just came and went for me. I would notice all of the additional flags along the business fronts as I drove through town, but that was really the extent of it. And now, I'm embarrassed to admit that. Last week - November 5th, 2009 - 13 men and women were shot and killed at Fort Hood. Like so many others, I was angered and saddened to see and hear about these events.


Then... my heart was broken. I found out a dear friend's brother was at Fort Hood and could not be reached during this day. I saw her posts on Facebook - could hear the fear in her status updates as she asked if anyone had heard anything. I followed the news and her updates through the day. That evening, I sent her a text to see what she had heard. A wave of thankfulness came upon me as her returning text read, "He's not on the deceased list. *I think*"

Unfortunately, as I was rushing to get Caleb to school the next morning, I saw my phone... and the 2 texts that awaited me. I didn't even have to read them. I knew. I just knew. Begrudgingly, I clicked on them and saw that they were from two fellow friends informing me that my friend Leila had indeed lost her beloved brother Jason Dean Hunt. My heart broke right then and there for her, and I cried the rest of the drive to Caleb's school - trying to explain to an almost six year old why I was crying.

In the past week I have gone through so many emotions - sadness as I cry for what Leila's going through... being reminded of her pain each time I see her on t.v. and the pictures of Jason that are shown over and over. Anger has been a big part of my feelings as well - why did this have to happen?! Helplessness - because I just can't do enough to let Leila know she's so important to me and that I just really want to be there for her.

I am going to Oklahoma this weekend to attend her brother's funeral because it is all I know to do to offer as much support as I possibly can. All I can continue to do is pray for Leila and her family in this time of great pain and sadness. And I do pray. I pray God grants them peace in all of this and reveals to them His plan for their lives in honoring and remembering Jason.

And, from this Veteran's Day on, I vow to be more aware and conscious of our troops and the amazing job they do - both abroad and AT HOME - to keep each and every one of us as safe as they possibly can.

Thank you, Jason Dean Hunt, for your service and dedication to our country. And thank you, Leila Hunt Willingham, for sharing your brother with us and the amazing love that has been and will always be between you. He would have chosen you each and every day to be his beautiful big sister.

Happy Birthday, Connor!

What an absolutely amazing time Connor had turning three! That's right... THREE!!! We had a back yard carnival to celebrate this milestone - complete with cotton candy, popcorn, hot dogs, a trampoline decorated in carousel fashion, and a CLOWN!! It was so much fun - even the adults enjoyed themselves!

Make a Smilebox slideshow