An Outing!

Today, the whole family went to Moody Gardens in Galveston. Our main goal was to get some good pictures of the kids for our Christmas cards, but we visited the aquarium while we were there.

We all slept late, since Dad got home so late last night. Then, we had a big breakfast (scrambled eggs, sausage, biscuits & gravy). By the time we were all ready, it was almost lunch time so we planned to go to Cracker Barrel on the way down. But first, we had to stop and buy Kyla some shoes since she had grown out of nearly every pair she owns and had nothing nice to wear in pictures.

Ryann testing out the Cracker Barrel Rockers.

Brendan and Kyla squaring off.

We ate well and headed down to Galveston Island. It was early afternoon, so traffic wasn't too bad. When we got to Moody Gardens, there was a school bus and the kids were like "aww there's a field trip", I assured them that they wouldn't be there much longer. They were Jr. High or so and crowded around the Seal tank where the seals were being fed.

Ryann was amazed! She loved looking at all the fish and aquatic animals. She was a bit worried when the bigger animals/fish got close. The seals kept coming up to the glass and holding their heads up looking at us. She was a little overwhelmed by the tunnel where the sharks and other fish swam over us. We saw the divers cleaning and she liked waving at them.

Getting a closer look!

In the tunnel.

We also saw a gianormous sea turtle! And this cool striped snapper that the staff named Clifford the Big Red Fish (sorry hard to take pictures of those in the tanks).

Ryann was really cute carrying her dolly around (then casting her aside when she saw something interesting).
After all that fish watching, we went outside and undertook the awesome task of getting the 3 kids to pose for a picture. Unfortunately, it was naptime and Ryann was not going to sit still for anything. We did manage to get a few but decided to head to the Strand for some treats and another try in another locale.

She moves quickly!

Here's a great one of Kyla!And Daddy with Ryann.

Ryann fell asleep on the way to the Strand (historic shopping area on Galveston Island) and we were able to eat our caramel apples from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory before she woke up. Then, we tried again at the picture taking thing.

"Nope, not without my pacifier!"

Mom's had enough!
Overall, it was a great day. We picked up some pizza on the way home and everyone is resting now.

Plain ol' Tuesday?

or Monday for that matter? Not really. Yesterday was so full. I had an ultrasound early (still a girl...Tara Patrice), then Kyla had a meltdown so we went home for lunch instead of going to Fry's Electronics (super cool store) and eating out. Then, they had rehearsal for the Nativity play they will be in next week. I managed to get my mom to take Ryann home with her after we ran into her at the grocery store. After rehearsal we ate at my mom's (veggie soup, YUM!) and since dh was out of town for the night, I left the kids there so that I could go to Christmas Card Stamp Camp. I stamped much later than I expected and didn't finish my cards, but I think I can manage to finish them at home. I got everyone home and in bed very late.

We slept late this morning and focused on getting the schoolroom back in order, it's been getting crazy in there. The kids and I had our difficulties this afternoon and I took a nap. Then managed to scrounge some dinner together so that we could go to that discount store with the cheap fabric and make it to Brendan's boy scout meeting (at Sonic) which was cancelled. I had to call my home voice mail to find out, after we ordered.

Well, that's it.

Catching Up!

Last week went by too fast! I accomplished some of the things I wanted to, not all. Ryann and I enjoyed our one on one time, she is so fun! I did get some baking done, but I need to bake more bread already (I don't know how some people keep up). I also mixed cookie dough and froze it in balls ready to bake - chocolate chip and oatmeal.

We had a peaceful and quiet Thanksgiving at our friends' house. I roasted the turkey in my new roaster and it was really juicy (the secret to juicy white meat is to roast it breast-side down). I also made the rolls and baked them at her house, pretty tasty, but I made them too small (perfect for Ryann). It would have been even nicer with my big kids there too.

Speaking of my big kids, we got them back this evening. They were already given some Christmas gifts, atleast one anyhow. They got IPODS. Well, Brendan's is on its way. I'm not super crazy about them having them and since I already knew they were coming, Steve and I were able to make some decisions about them. We are going to treat them like GameBoys and other electronic games. We will not let them have them all of the time, we might if they only had music on them, but they have games & movies as well. Now, I get to figure out how they work. Lucky me.

DH and I go tomorrow for a fetal echocardiogram. Sounds serious, but it's only to get a better picture of the baby's heart, she was too squirmy and little at 16 weeks for them to get a good picture. We are excited to have another ultrasound of this sweet baby. Steve will not commit to a name until we see for sure (again) that this is a girl. Wouldn't it be crazy to find out it's a boy after all these weeks of being sure it's a girl?

Well, I need to get some sleep and prepare for a super busy day.

May God bless you to be a blessing in the coming Christmas season.

They Have Begun...

The holidays that is. Thanksgiving is in 4 days! My big kids are at their bio-dad's in San Antonio for the week. I am planning Christmas already. I have 4 presents already, many more to go.

Yesterday, our ladies' ministry got together to make ornaments for the Angel Tree gifts. (Angel Tree is an awesome ministry to prisoners where you can sign up to buy gifts in the prisoner's name for their children.) We also had dinner which consisted of salad and baked potatoes with chili. I was asked to make the chili. I haven't made chili in a million years! I tried, really I did, but I didn't want to use a package and all of the recipes I found were similar enough that I thought I could do it myself, using recipes as a guide. Well, not only did I start late (thanks to a detour at a mall), but I tried to cook too much and in my new roaster. When it was nearly time for me to go, I don't think it was done. So, I called a wise lady and she suggested I buy some and I did. Now, I have about 3 gallons of chili I let cook for atleast 24 hours. It's okay, dh likes it, but I think it could be much better. I plan to freeze most of it. Last night, I would have been so embarrassed to serve that chili, it was bad enough that I brought store bought. Oh, well...

Like I said, my oldest 2 are in San Antonio with their bio-dad. I'm going to miss them, but I hope to get some baking done and hopefully a few other projects. My biggest fear is that they will be rotten when they get back, they are good kids so it will only take a short time to remind them of what's expected here.

Oh, I am pet-sitting my nephew's guinea pig "Dodger". He's really cute, but a lot of trouble for being so small. Although my sister said we did not have to get him out of his cage, I couldn't let him stay in it all day and got him out for a few minutes. I should say, my dh got him out, Dodger and I are both a little skittish. Once he was out, I held him and pet him until he calmed down. Ryann was saying "puppy" and trying to get close to him, Daddy held her back. We hold him in a little bed (picture micro dog bed) so that he feels more secure.

Well, Daddy & Ryann just went for a little walk and I'm going to make hot cocoa for when they get back.

A Day @ the Farm

Well, we went to Homeschool Day at a local farm and I think the kids had a great time.

Here they are in the "corn box" playing with...well corn.

Looking at the chickens! (B is not crazy about having his picture taken)

As close to the hosre as R wanted to go.

What cute animals!

B and K got to shoot corn cobs out of this cannon. How cool was that?

R enjoying the "puppy" (all animals with 4 legs are puppies).

I had a hard time getting them all to look at me, so I just chose this picture where they are all sort of looking the same direction.

The "cow train".

On top of the world.
She kept trying to get her pregnant mama to climb up there with her. I didn't think I should. Bubba did a great job climbing with her.

Mom and R had a great nap when we got home.

I'm still here!

It's been a dull few days. Dh came home safe and sound to a wife in extreme pain. Somehow, I pulled a muscle or pinched a nerve in my neck/shoulder area and was nearly in tears all day. When he got home, I went to bed. I am much better now (still should go to chiro soon).


The kids and I are taking it easy this week, no math. We went to the park on monday (forgot the camera) and were nearly carried away by the mosquitos. Yesterday, we tried to clean house. Today is just getting started. I wanted to blog while they were getting along and Ryann was happy.

Here are a couple recent pictures.


This is where all the peanut butter sandwiches went. This is the pocket in the back of her booster seat at the table. Her brother made those special for her. WHAT A SNEAK!!!



Well, I am having a very hard time loading pictures. I'll try again later.

Bleh.

My dh is on a plane right now, on his way to sunny SoCal. I know that it is a business trip, but I am jealous - jealous of him (I love to travel) & jealous of the people who have caused him to go there. I'm glad that his trips are very short and that he makes a point of keeping them short. I also know that he does not enjoy leaving us, and he really does not want to go on these trips.

The kids and I are barely getting anything done. Brendan should have taken a math test yesterday, but I want to review with him first. Maybe, I'll pull him off the scooter when I'm done. I was going to bake more bread today (everyone loved it), but the kitchen needed to be cleaned first. I AM going to bake cookies in a bit, but I am waiting for the butter to soften (no, I always melt it in the microwave and that's not good for cookies).

Speaking of cookies, I love to make them and freeze some of the dough already in cookie sizes for quick homemade cookies without the extra stuff those premade ones from the grocery store have in them.

That leads me to OAMC. I have been bulk cooking for about two years. I'm not as consistent as I would like to be, but it does help on those hectic days.

OH, I also downloaded a talking alarm clock to the kids computer. It is soooo cool! I have it set to remind them of chores, lunch and a couple of weekly activities. I'm hoping to add more to help keep us on track, mom's memory is not what it used to be.

Well, I bet that butter is soft enough.

Today!

Well, if I would have posted yesterday, you would have been depressed! I'm really glad that today has gone much better.

Last night, at our a bridal shower for our pastor's daughter, her mom & future mil were talking about gifts that can't be wrapped. One of the gifts was perseverance, and it's greek counterpart means "to remain under". How awesome is that? It really made me think, instead of ignoring or hiding from a problem or situation, you stick with it no matter how yucky it is. God has a reason for these times in our lives and I think we always grow during them. I guess I'm growing alot!

Another good thing about today: I got my first Stampin' Up! stamps! I've never ordered a set of stamps before, but love going to stamp night a church. I hope to be able to stamp some cards on my own. I'll scan them in and show you when I do.

Tonight, I get to go to the Painted Potter all by myself to make some Christmas presents for my bil and sil. Maybe I'll take pictures, or maybe I'll just enjoy not having 3 extra sets of hands this time.

My First Bread Making Experience

Today I made bread. I used my kitchenaid and a recipe I found on the web. It turned out pretty well.

Punching down the dough.

Forming loaves.

Mmmm........tasty.

First Homeschool Lessons

She was more into pouring the counting animals in and out of the cup and container than anything mom said. Well, I guess that was the lesson. The object was to keep her out of her siblings' hair while they did their lessons. This was probably a month ago.

Baby on the Way

This is our newest blessing. I'm so glad that I scanned this in because I cannot find the paper copies. (no they are not still in the scanner). Isn't she beautiful? This is from last month, so I'm sure she's much larger now. I can't wait to meet her in March.