Biggest Loser....

So did you guys watch the season finale of The Biggest Loser? I did!! I must say, I am VERY HAPPY with the outcome. I wanted Michelle to win and she did. Partly because she is a Dallas, Tx girl (where I live),she is a Christian, and she down right deserved it. Those people all amaze me though. It's amazing to see the transformation of their bodies and how much happier a person they become. It just shows that when we live "right" (in whatever sense of the word) we are happier people. When we are "right" with Christ our lives are filled with JOY and HAPPINESS that only he can give. When we eat "right" we have more energy, we're more active, and just feel better altogether. When we treat others "right" we get treated with the respect we deserve and desire.
I believe we all have things in our lives that we need to get "right" whether it be a relationship with a parent/spouse/sibling/friend or most importantly with OUR GOD. Maybe its that we aren't spending the "right" amount of time with HIM. I know this is something that I struggle with often. I never seem to have enough time for HIM. I only have time when I need something or when something isn't going just right. I need to make the time EVERYDAY to spend with him. He is patient with me still and waits for me and always forgives me when I ask. What an awesome feeling.
So even though things are busy right now with the holidays and all the happenings I'm going to try to find 15 minutes each day (at least) to spend with just me and HIM. I know he doesn't care how long I spend with him but just that we spent the time together.
This post is kinda all over the place but it's just a little bit about how I'm feeling.

It's a cold Monday

Wow...Old man winter showed up over night. It is COLD!! Yesterday was absolutely BEAUTIFUL with temperatures in the high 70's. Hubs went and played golf with our neighbor, Mark and another guy from our church. They had a great time. I'm really not ready for this cold weather. We are just now getting over all our colds, sinus infections, etc. and now it's supposed to be in the 30's for two days and then back in the 60's. I pray we get through it with no sickness. I want Christmas to be "ill- free" this year.
Friday night we had our Sunday school Christmas party at the church. We had a great time. We ate lots of great food and dessert, played a few fun games, and had good fellowship. I didn't get many pictures. Here are a few of the girls before we left.
(Excuse the blurriness on the pictures)



Saturday, we FINALLY made it over to see our friends The Murray's precious baby boy, Adam. He is two months and was born 5 weeks premature. However, you wouldn't know this because he is such a big boy. He just curled up in my neck and slept for a good hour. I love that age when you can just sit and look at them sleep and watch all the funny facial expressions they make. We spent a few hours visiting with them before heading to Target to grab some things needed for Madeline's kindergarten teacher and also a few things we needed at home. Saturday evening we loaded back up in the car and went looking at Christmas lights. Madeline and especially Macy "oohed and aahed" at all the lights. It was so funny listening to the excitement in their voices. When I pulled out of our neighborhood to go to another neighborhood, Madeline was at first disappointed because she thought we were finished until I explained to her that we were going to another neighborhood to look. She was thrilled and even said, "I didn't know we were going to get to go to OTHER NEIGHBORHOODS. YAY!!". We had a great time as a family driving around, listening to Christmas music, and giggling.
Sunday, we went to church and the guys (hubs and Mark) left from their to go play gold while the girls (Kristie and I) took all the kids to eat hamburgers. YUMMY!! We came home and I attempted to take a nap but the girls were rather loud playing so that didn't happen. We went back to church last night for the adult choirs "Celebrate Joy" performance. They were incredible.
Now it's Monday and that means laundry, house cleaning, etc. I really don't mind doing it today because it's so stinking cold outside. I have a lot that I need to get done this week before we leave town for a week for Christmas. This week I have two Christmas parties to help with, one Christmas play (Macy), finish wrapping presents, and pack for our trip. I hope you all are winding up on your Christmas shopping and getting ready for the big day.
Through all the hustle and bustle of the shopping frenzie my pray is that we all remember the TRUE meaning of Christmas is JESUS!!

God Bless you all!!!

I'm back.....

I have been so bad about blogging lately. Mostly because I haven't been feeling well and then my mother came to town on Tuesday and just left this morning. I ended up going to the doctor on Tuesday and found out that I was having SEVERE ALLERGIES and a possible infection. So she gave me an antibiotic (amoxcillin) and a steroid dose pack to help work faster. It has help TREMENDOUSLY. I no longer have the constant sore throat and I can feel my sinuses opening up. YAY!!
To get you caught up on us. My mom recently retired so now she has the freedom to come to Texas and visit whenever and for however long she wants. We decided a few months back that she would come and spend a few days and we would attempt to make Christmas candy together. My grandmother made it for YEARS and it was always SO GOOD. She passed away two years ago this January so we haven't had any of her candy the past two years. To tell you the truth, I don't see how, at 90+ years she stood over the stove making it (and a BUNCH of it) each year. That is some hard work. If you want to build your arm muscles, make candy. It takes LOTS of stirring. We had a good time and I think we only had to throw out one batch of toffee candy. We made 1 batch of English toffee, two batches of divinity, 2 batches of old fashioned fudge, 1 batch of pralines, and 1 batch of the things we called Rocky Tops. They were a large marshmallow dipped in chocolate and covered in pecans. They are SO GOOD!!! I'm not even a big marshmallow person but they were delicious.

Look at all this delicious candy......I'm very proud of us...We did a good job for it being our first time. However, I know Grandma was in heaven looking down laughing at us.

Sample Platter

Now I need to get all this candy OUT OF MY HOUSE....before I turn into a house.

Wednesday night, Madeline had her play at church. We have a program for kids kindergarten through 5th grade called Kid-U. It's like our children's choir. We meet on Sunday nights. I have been working with kindergartners. Each year they do a play at Christmas and at least one Sunday a month they start the Sunday service in the choir. They are so cute. Madeline was so excited to get dressed up.

Before the program:

Madeline and her best friend/neighbor Rachel. Remember Rachel suffers from Nephrotic syndrome and just had a relapse which places her back on a VERY high dose of steroids which cause her cheeks to be so "full". These two are just like sisters.

During the performance:


Madeline doing here drum line routine.


Madeline during one of the songs.


Madeline (in back) doing her sign language.

Madeline is such a performer when she wants to be. She is full of emotion and really gets into it but I'm thinking someone was getting a little tired here or bored, I'm not sure which.


What do you think? Tired or Bored?

Last Sunday evening we had our Women's Christmas dinner with all the ladies from church. I don't have any pictures from the event (because they are on my neighbors camera) but I have a few of Kristie and I before we left. (of course these aren't the best pictures)





As many of you know, Kristie has been my saving grace here is Texas. I was pretty much miserable before she moved in next door. I had no friends or close family nearby, I was pregnant with Macy, and I missed Oklahoma terribly. They moved in about 9 months after we did. Their house was for sale for a while and had a sold sign in front of it two different times and for some reason those sales fell through. Thank God. Kristie and her family were not even looking in this area and had been looking for about 4 months solid for a house. The first time they looked at their house they decided to buy it. I believe it was all a GOD thing. I had been praying for Godly neighbors and that is just what we got. She is one of my closest friends.
So that pretty much gets you up to date with what has been going on in our house. I'm leaving you with a few more cute pictures I've taken this week....

Macy being silly...as usual!



The girls camped out in front of the TV after a long day.


Do you have all your Christmas shopping done? I do, I'm just waiting for a few things to arrive via the man in the brown suit (UPS) so I can get them wrapped and then I am DONE!! YAY!!

Sick of being SICK!!!!

I had plans of doing a big post of our weekend but I just don't feel good today. Actually I haven't felt great for over a month and a half now. I'll just start to feel better and then I wake up feeling like I've been ran over by a truck again. My whole family has been passing this YUCKY cold stuff to each other. I woke up this morning with no voice, clogged ears, cough, and a very bad sore throat. I know what you are saying....GO TO THE DOCTOR! I am, tomorrow. I called the dr. today and made an appointment. I'll be so happy when this stuff leaves my body and my house.
I hope to update in the next few days. Hope you all are doing well and feeling healthy.

Give Thanks....

Ok, I'm finally getting around to giving all of you our Thanksgiving update,COMPLETE with pictures. We left town Tuesday afternnon and headed to Oklahoma. It seems like our car just kicks into auto-pilot (hubs is driving of course) but it's been down I-35 so many times it knows the route. We spent the first part of our trip with hubs' family. We did a little shopping, lots of eating, and even went on a nature hike. The boys (Hubs and his dad) played golf while the girls (gramme, Aunt Mich, the girls, and I) went hiking. Look at our adventure.....

Here's everyone heading into the nature park...The girls have their bags to collect "treasures" in.


Macy posing....


Macy checking out what lives in the stump of the tree.


Looking for the birds and squirrels with Gramme.


Another photo moment.


Me and my girlies...


Aunt Mich and her two monkeys.


Just a couple of trees that I thought the coloring was so beautiful...





It was amazing how many "TREASURES" the girls found. We came home with all sizes and shapes of leaves, acorns (eaten and uneaten), pea gravel, sticks, small branches. The girls had the best time and we "older girls" got some good exercise.

Every year, hubs' father puts out his big train track that goes under and around the Christmas tree. He hadn't put it together yet this year so the girls asked him to while we were there. Of course, he jumped right to it. You could tell he was excited to do so. Here are the girls helping Granddad get the train out and together.



Here's a picture of Madeline with her Uncle Brad and Aunt Mich(hubs' sister and husband)

Poor Uncle Brad gets NO REST from the time he arrives till the time he leaves. He is non-stop jungle gym for the girls to climb on, airplane to fly on, train to ride on, and Top Entertainer. Thanks Brad for being so great with them. You've come A LONG way.
We didn't get to see my other brother and sister in law much because they spent Thanksgiving at her families but I did get to keep my nephew for 9 hours on Saturday. That was a lot of fun. We had the best time playing together. The girls love being around him and I think he likes them just as well. He is the best little man. Take a look at these three trouble makers....


Pounding on the ottamon to see how much noise they could make...



I love this little guy!!


Here's all three of them in the bed having snuggle time. Aren't they all three precious?


Friday through Sunday was spent at my parents. We did my families Thanksgiving on Friday. We had a WONDERFUL meal with the best PIE I've ever eaten. If you know me, I'm normally NOT a pie eater. I NEVER eat pie. However, this year my mom made a pie called a Kentucky Pie....It's super Yummy. The best (ok, maybe second best) thing is, it makes 2 pies at once. If you like chocolate, you need to try it. It's also great with ice cream or cool whip on the top.....I can't wait to make some.


We spent the day with both my brothers, my brother's girlfriend and her son, Garrett(who is like a nephew to me), my parents, and one of my brother's friends. We had a great time together. The girls both love playing with Garrett and when it was time for him to leave Macy got the saddest face and didn't want him to leave. We had a great time away even with the circumstances that were taking place at home. We are looking forward to spending time with everyone again at Christmas in just a few short weeks.

I hope you all are having a great week....I leave you with my little pilgrim girl. Madeline had to dress up as a Pilgrim girl for her feast at school.

The stockings were hung....

I tackled the Christmas decorating today. I dread doing it because of the mess but LOVE it once it's all up. It makes the house feel so cozy and happy. However, I don't know what I was thinking by getting it all today when Macy was home. I spent more time taking the breakables out of her hands and putting them back away. She loved all the decorations and when the tree was finished she just stood there looking at it saying, "It's so beautiful."
I got the tree up and the mantel done dressed with stockings. However, Madeline was upset when she got home from school and Buford's stocking was not hung up, so I told her we'd go pick out another stocking hanger and hang his up. Madeline really hasn't showed much emotion about Buford being gone. She cried for just a minute or so when we first told her but about 5 minutes after that asked if she could get a rabbit. I told her that wasn't a good idea since Riley is breed to CHASE RABBITS. HA!
Today while I was going through all the tubs of decorations she came across Buford's stocking and said she was very sad that he wasn't here. I told her it was ok to be sad and that I missed him too. I told her it would take time for us to get over missing him, that he was a big part of our family. She then broke down and cried, crawled into my lap, and we sat there and cried together. I have to admit, it was a little sad today as I was putting up the tree that I didn't have him laying right underneath where I needed to be.
We bought an ornament that we will put on our tree every year in rememberance of him. Madeline had the honor of placing it anywhere on the tree. She picked front and center. It will always be special to us.



So enough of the sad, because I can't keep going there it isn't healthy..HA!

I'll have lots of pictures from Thanksgiving and all our outings in my next post. So stay tuned....

You will be missed....

Our Thanksgiving holiday didn't start out the way we liked. We left town to head to Oklahoma around 3:00 on Tuesday afternoon. All was good. The dogs had been fed and were outside to play. That evening around 9:30, I received a call from our pet sitter (this is the first time we have used her) and she said she was concerned about Buford. She asked me if he was normally real lethargic, moving slow, and he had drool hanging out of his mouth. The first two were pretty normal for him. He was 14 years old. The drooling was a little concerning for me. About that time I hear her (pet sitter) trying to rush him out the door because he was about to throw up. She got him to the fireplace. Ok, now I'm getting concerned. He was fine when we left him today. Maybe he's got an upset stomach. I asked her to call me back in a bit and let me know how he was doing. About 30 minutes later I talk to her and she said she had gotten him back inside on his bed and laid beside him and rubbed his belly and that he was doing much better. We were still concerned and contemplated driving the 3 hours back home to be with him that night. We decided that since she said he was doing better we'd wait and see how he was doing in the morning.


My phone rang at 7:40 the next morning and it was our pet sitter. The words out of her mouth were this.


"Danielle, It's (her name). I'm so sorry, he's gone!"


I was in complete shock, denial, and was hurting so bad. I knew the time would come and I knew it was coming soon but I never thought that we'd be 3 hours away when it did. I couldn't even think clearly at this point. Hubs took the phone and finished the conversation with her. I then got on the phone to figure out what to do with him. Luckily our vet could take him. Our pet sitter was the best. Her family took great care of him and even took him to the vet for us. They wrapped him in an old blanket, she cut a rose for him, they said a prayer over him, and then took him to the vet. What a wonderful person. We couldn't be more thankful for her.


I have to admit I was dreading coming home. I knew it was going to be so different without him here and it was. When we walked in and only heard 1 dog barking,/excited to see us, I cried. Seeing his empty collar laying on the counter, I cried. Seeing the "special treats" we fed him, I cried. When I went into the laundry room for the first time and saw the freshly washed rug, I cried knowing that that was the place he died. We will miss him terribly. Riley is missing his best buddy too. He keeps walking around the house looking for him and then he just goes back and lays down.


There are so many things that we will miss about our SWEET BUFORD.





* That deep hound dog bark.


* The way he snored when he slept.


* The way when you gave him a chew bone he'd walk around the house forever trying to find the perfect place to "bury" it. He'd lay the bone in the corner and "throw" dirt on it. It was hilarious to watch.


* The way his ears covered his eyes when he slept.


* The way he would lay and let the girls do whatever to him.


* The way he protected them when they were babies.


* That when it rained you knew you'd always have a sleeping buddy. (he hated storms)


* The way he got so excited when it was time to eat and then it took him forever to eat it.


* The way he would lay all spread out in the sun outside.


* That he'd drink out of the toilet at times. (I know gross, huh)


* The way he and Riley were the best of friends.


* That he was so sweet and lovable.


* The way he would lean into you more and more as you would pet him.


* That when we took him for a walk we'd get about 1 block and he was done and would NOT walk anymore.


* The way he was so gentle when the girls would give him his treats.


* The way he slept most of the day.





There are many more things that we will miss for a long time. He was apart of our family for 8 years. We adopted him from Pets and People when he was what they thought to be about 6 or 7 years old. I don't know what the first half of his life was like but I know the past 8 years were full of love, laughter, and fun. We love you sweet Buford.

Rest in peace...We will love and miss you!!