Rodeo and Keith Urban

I went to Rodeo three times this season. It was a blast, but I definitely got my fill! I love going to Rodeo and watching the bull riding, mutton bustin', and more! It's always fun to see the FFA students chase the calves for a chance at a scholarship!
Keith Urban put on a great performance, and we had amazing seats that were given to us!

Breakfast in Bed

Mary Frances served me breakfast in bed this morning - 2 pieces of toast smothered in peanut butter and a glass of water (covered with Saran wrap so it wouldn't spill on the way to the bedroom).

After giving me the breakfast, she curled up in bed with me and said, "Do you want two pieces of toast?"

I replied, "Would you like one of my pieces?" She quickly answered, "Yes! I'm starving!"

So, we enjoyed our breakfast in bed while watching Barbie! Ahhh....these are the days!

Nana and Papa

These make me happy...

Hanging out with Papa G.

Although it was a sad week and the circumstances of my Uncle's death were not the best for visiting, we did enjoy being with Papa G. I love watching the children with Papa. They are so sweet to him and absolutely adore him!
Mary Frances and Chase love to hold his hand to "help" him walk around. He is very healthy, but he has a problem with his foot that makes it difficult to get around!

They also had fun telling him jokes! It turns out that Knock-Knock jokes are even funnier with Papa G. - mainly because he can't hear the kids and turns them into a completely different joke! We were all rolling at the dinner table!
The kids said one of their favorite parts of vacation was going to Papa G's house!

Griffin Family

This is Uncles Francis (Papa's baby brother), Cousin Linda, and my Papa

South Geogia 6-pack

We actually purchased this from a liquor store exactly like this! (In case you can't tell, it's a 12-pack that has been cut in half and taped with packing tape!) Welcome to South Georgia!

Vacation?

We've just returned from our trip to the East Coast. After having to change our clocks on Saturday night for Daylight Savings and then having to adjust them to the Eastern Time Zone on Sunday, we decided that we may reconsider traveling that direction for Daylight Savings Weekend in the future!!

Anyhow... we started off the week in Monticello where Ray C. and the children had a wonderful time hanging out with family! My parents came down to get me so I could go to my grandfather's house for a few days to help them clean it up! We were able to get rid of a lot of empty boxes and papers from 15 years ago that he didn't care about having anymore! (By the way, he approved of everything!)
After a full day of cleaning and a good 8 hours of sleep, my aunt called early Wednesday morning to say that my uncle had died of a heart attack. My mother and grandfather were devastated, but we know God had a hand in the timing with us already being there for the news and Papa not being by himself.

So, we traveled to St. Simons Island, GA for all of the funeral arrangements and stayed there the remainder of the week in a condo that a friend graciously loaned us. Ray C. and the kids met us on the island, and we were able to enjoy being with family in a different situation than we had planned.
The children were amazing! They did so much "adult stuff" the whole week with great attitudes. They were actually very interested in the whole death process. We allowed them to see Uncle "T" in the casket, and they were not afraid at all. Chase kept touching him to be sure he really died. He was very confused about how he could die but still be here. We had some great conversations about death and souls.

Chase announced on Saturday morning that he couldn't wait to bury Uncle "T". When I asked why, he just shrugged his shoulders and said "cause I've never done it." My mom and I looked at each other and, at the same time, said to him, "We're not going to bury him ourselves, you know!" He actually thought we were going to dig the hole!

The kids sat through the funeral and the burial service and were excited to see that Grandaddy was the preacher for a change! Jean asked my dad to do the service because Uncle "T" thought so much of him. In fact, he said that he was one of three of the most incredible men he'd known in his life!

The entire week was a celebration of Uncle "T"'s life - exactly the way he would have wanted it!

Texan Day at the Preschool

Chase's preschool Bridge class performed some rodeo songs for the parents and grandparents this past week. They were so cute - especially since his class is made up of only 8 boys! Mrs. Zarazee loves her boys, and they love her back! Aren't they too cute?? (Chase is fourth from the left.)


My BABY!
We were so excited to have Grandaddy there! It was so nice to have some family there for one of the kids' events. That has been one of the hardest things for me living so far away from family!
Chase adores Grandaddy...
and Ms. Barb, his music teacher for the past 4 years...
and Mrs. Zarazee! He has had a fun year in the Bridge program, and we are so excited we decided to let him wait one more year before kindergarten. He has definitely matured and will be ready to do GREAT in kinder!

Happy Birthday, Mary Frances

So, she turned 7 in January, but I'm a little behind on posting! At least it's here, right?These two should have been twins! I don't think they could be any closer!
Jessie came for Mary Frances' birthday. Mary Frances requested that we go ice skating. So, we went up to The Woodlands for some fun on the ice!
As you can see, Mary Frances fell several times, but she really was a good ice skater! Thittle omas did pretty good, too! However, Chase tried for about 10 minutes, realized this was one sport he wasn't good at, and spent the rest of the evening crying out of frustration and embarrassment!

It was good for him, though! He needs to know that he isn't the best at everything! His ego needed a little deflating! It was a fun way to celebrate her birthday, and we followed it up with a trip to Olive Garden! MMMM....

Go Upward Basketball!!

We played our first season with Upward Basketball, hosted by our church! It was a fun season, and the kids had a blast!


I think Thomas has found his game - running not stop!! He was fun to watch - and pretty good and making baskets, too!
Mary Frances kind-of enjoyed cheering, but an hour is a really long time to stand up and cheer! :) So, next year she wants to try basketball!?! Hmm... We're still looking for her sport!


Go Thomas!!

Discipline Hurts

The past few weeks have been drama-central in my world, which includes a 7 year old girl going on 12! I swear she already acts like a middle-schooler some days!

The main thing we've been dealing with is her sense of entitlement! Nothing is fair!! For everything we do, there are two or three things we didn't do! I am almost at the end of my rope with whining and complaining!

Give me a break!

I took you to the rodeo (the only kid that went with us) and bought you cotton candy and a corn dog, and you complain because I didn't buy a toy.

I buy tickets for the carnival at Rodeo tonight and you complain because you can't take a friend.

I let you go play with a friend all afternoon, and you come home complaining because I didn't do something else with you (since you weren't here)!

I was at the end of my rope on Sunday night after all this drama and couldn't figure out how to solve this the best way---and then, a light bulb.

After praying for God's guidance, I realized that not letting her go to the carnival tonight was an appropriate consequence for her actions.

So, I sat on her bed as she was crying and told her how much I love her. I reminded her that my job as her mother is to help her love God and tell other people about him. That means that I have to teach her how to be grateful for the things we have and to be considerate of others who do not have! So, I informed her that she would not be going to the carnival tonight. She was heartbroken, which in turn broke my heart, but I know it is the best way to teach her this lesson. She must understand that she can't have everything and that she needs to be thankful for what she has.

I'm sure the drama will continue, but I know that God will continue to show us the way to handle these situations. After all, He loves her more than we do!

On the Ranch with Honey & Grandaddy

Honey and Grandaddy came for a week after Christmas. Since Ray C. had the week off, we went to San Marcos to stay in our friends' ranch house. It was such a great, restful week. I love that the kids can just run around outside without me worrying about cars and people!Check out my mom! She is looking so good!


The kids think the ranch is the best place in the world! Why not? With four wheelers, guns, and a fire to roast hot dogs and marshmallows, what else do you need?




It rained several days while we were there, but we were prepared with plenty of board games to play and books to read!

Rodeo Houston Salutes the Military

Mary Frances and I got to go to the rodeo with Grandaddy last week. It was the night that they recognized the military. So, there were men and women in uniform everywhere. Each branch of the military brought in an exhibit. So, we saw tanks, jets, and all types of things! Mary Frances wanted her picture in the top of the tank!Of course, there was plenty of bare-back riding, bull riding, and mutton-bustin' (that's when 5-6 year old ride sheep). We also got to see Trace Adkins in concert! He put on a great show! I was surprised at what a great performer he was on top of his bass voice that vibrated the stadium! That was really cool!

In the last few years, Texas fairs have become well-known for frying EVERYTHING! Check out this menu - as if Snickers, Twinkies, and Nutter Butter didn't already have enough calories and fat! The day we went to the rodeo, the radio station had a nutritionist on the air talking about rodeo food. She said the best thing to eat at rodeo is the Cotton Candy with only 200 something calories. In fact, she said cotton candy is practically a health food compared to everything else! One of those fried oreos has 156 calories in it!
Yeehaw!
Everyone is excited that Grandaddy has been able to spend so much time with us the last few weeks!

My favorite part of the rodeo was when the Special Ops guys rapelled down from the rafters of Reliant Stadium along with the American Flag! It was an amazing sight!

Papa, Peppy, & Uncle Glen come to Texas

We were so excited to be able to stay home for Christmas this year and have family come to us! We are usually the ones doing the traveling at Christmas. So, it was very nice to be able to enjoy the holidays in our own home!Papa, Peppy, and Uncle Glen came a few days before Christmas and then left Christmas day. We loved hanging out with them and getting to know Peppy better!

Two Peas in a Pod - The older Thomas gets, the more I think he is like Papa!!
We were excited to take our company to NASA. My favorite part is visiting the Mission Control Room!
We were excited to see that NASA had a LEGO display this time! Check out the dragon behind us!