We Need a Little Christmas

Over the weekend, we put up a little Christmas cheer in the home. Well, okay, a lot! The whole house is twinkling! We put up Rhys' first ornament on the tree.And while we put up the main tree while Sophie was napping, she did get an opportunity to help Dad decorate his beloved Star Wars tree.We are happy to say that the decorations are up, the cards are out, and the shopping just shy of complete! Now, time to take a deep breath and enjoy the holiday.

Our Thanksgiving Get-Away

Our Butterball this Thanksgiving: We were very happy to get out of town for Thanksgiving. The last time we did anything that required an overnight was a year and a half ago. Thanks to our family that housed and fed us! We piled in a minivan with Rudy and Becky and headed off to West Monroe, LA. to visit with Becky's family. We stayed with her parents, Reba and DeWayne, whom our kids call Nonnie and Papaw. Dinner was at, Becky's sister, Denise's house. Oh my goodness the food was so so good and so so bad for us. We went back for seconds and thirds. Keri made a yummy pumpkin pie/cake and nutmeg log cookies for the occasion.And good times were had by all. Sophie had a blast running around with the other kids. Rhys was a trooper and while at the party, we discovered he'd busted out two lower teeth.

We stayed a few days and enjoyed the perfect weather, autumn walks, chatting with family, shopping, and did I mention eating? Becky's brother, Paul and his partner, David, joined us the day after Thanksgiving. It was great to see everyone and get out of town. We enjoyed light showers and a beautiful sky on the way home.

We already recognize so many blessings in our lives and we just wanted to say how grateful we are to the family and friends in our lives. They just makes life so worth living!

Potty Preoccupation

While finishing up her job of chasing the cat (which the cat absolutely loves?)...
Sophie: "Kitty wear panties?"
Mom: "Um, no kitty doesn't wear panties."
Sophie: "Diapers?"
No, his fuzz butt is just fine the way it is, Sophie.

Lately while Keri's waited for Sophie to finish on the potty, Sophie's been providing a play by play of the action.
"Where (there) goes a wittle (little) one."
"Where goes unner (another) wittle one."
"Make sound."
"One more."
"Big one."
"I did it! All done, Mommy."

Really?! No, REALLY?!

Enjoying Life

Another reason to love my husband...it's the weekend before Thanksgiving and the Christmas lights are up on the house. The stroller babysat our kids while we got the job done!Caught!A special request from fashion forward Sophie one morning...while in her PJs she asked for "boots on" and then went and got her Easter hat. Ready for a cold weather walk

If you make Rhys super happy, which is easy, he smiles and sticks out his tongue at the same time.

Sophie and Rhys Quirks

To Sophie eating is an event!

When Sophie is tucked in for the night, Neal could be on the other side of the house and sneeze and without fail Sophie will shout, "Bless you, Daddy!" Even long after we thought she'd fallen asleep.

Sophie will take books off the shelf and pile them on the carpet or dump a bunch of Rhys' blankets on the floor in a pile and then announce, "I make compost!" Yes, we have a compost pile in the backyard. I'm glad she's thinking green so young.

Keri will fart, say excuse me, and Sophie will follow-up with, "Mommy, gas bum?" Do we really have to get this technical? Yes Sophie, gas came out of my bum.

In other potty related happenings, while Grandma J (Keri's mom) was here visiting, she'd excuse herself to go use the bathroom to which Sophie would run ahead of her, move her step stool to the side of the tub, climb up and sit on the edge of the tub, and tell Grandma to sit down on the potty and declare, "I watch." Talk about performing under pressure.

She certainly does not feel a need to discriminate between our yard and any of our neighbor's yards when it comes to jumping in freshly raked piles of leaves.

Rhys now rolls from front to back. He has started making 'raspberries' and will gladly spit all over his face doing it.

25 Years and Going Strong

It's been 25 years since the first church building of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was dedicated in Allen, TX--so we celebrated through service! Our stake (a group of congregations, generally about 4,000 members) had a goal of 2,500 hours of community service in one morning!

Twelve "Mormon Helping Hands" projects included decorating thanksgiving boxes for food distribution, making blankets for cancer patients, making chew toys for the animal shelter, picking up trash and removing debris from grass allies, greenbelts, creeks, and future community building sites, mulching trails, refurbishing a BMX track, staffing the bounce house and serving refreshments at our community's outreach grand opening, and painting and repairing uninhabited historic homes. The projects benefited the city of Allen, Allen Community Outreach, Joyful Foundation, Carter BloodCare, and Allen Ministerial Alliance.

Unlike our friends with older children, who were able to get in and get their hands dirty, Keri and the kids participated in the only project appropriate for Sophie's age. She colored Thanksgiving pages, tried her hand at cutting with scissors, and helped glue and tape her decorations to the food distribution box. Mom provided guidance and Rhys supervised.

Neal was unable to participate in the church's celebration because he was busy doing some good of his own--completing the last class of his CERT training which included hands on work in a simulated emergency. In a team, he worked on a scene where a tornado had hit and there were 17 injured people to attend to. He said it was fun doing the simulated emergency. Congratulations to Neal for pursuing a way to assist in the community and following through.

Never Forget

Neal only has one more Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) class before his training is complete. At his second to last class he had a unique experience. The classes are held at the local fire station and the trainees were treated to a viewing of an awesome 1900 lbs. memorial.

It was a World Trade Center beam from the terrible 9/11 disaster bound for the troops in Afghanistan. One of the individuals involved in the transporting of it, needed a place to hold it for about 3 weeks and our local fire department was chosen. It was a reverenced moment for Neal as he was able to read and ponder the words on the memorial.

Neal here, it was actually really neat and emotional to get to see this piece of the World Trade Center and touch it. It was an experience that I am grateful for and will never forget.

Head Over Heels

Neal has so much fun rough-housing with Sophie and she LOVES it! Thought we ought to post this before she gets too big and he can't do it anymore. This is, of course, Neal's favorite shot!