It's All Her Fault

I've decided my life is all my mom's fault. Is it still the thing, to blame everything on your parent's? It used to be. Used to be that you could go on Oprah and talk about all the bad things your parents did to you to make you the person you are today. I don't watch Oprah so I don't know if that is still the thing! I think people should be responsible for themselves and realize after a point that they make their own decisions and their life is what they make of it. But, for me, my life is still it is my mom's fault. That's my way of getting out of being responsible! Ha!

It is my mom's fault that I don't have anything to go on Oprah about. Too bad because I do love Chicago!

It is my mom's fault that I think I can do anything. I think I can remodel a house with no experience, take care of a family, and home school four children all at the same time. Mother always told us we could do or try anything we wanted to. My brothers and I all, to this day, will try to make things work and figure things out. My brother's seem to be a lot better at than I do, I don't see my mom having to fly across the country to rescue them when they bite off more than they can chew. She always seems to know when I have done it again (bitten off too much) and shows up without me asking. This picture is of her painting my old basement, I couldn't find any pictures of me actually doing any work!

It's my mom's fault that I love plaid and colorful things. It's her fault that I think I can sew. She made these lovely outfits above.

Not sure if she made these or not. Probably, I don't think you could get anything this lovely in a store.

It's my mom's fault that I love to read and love books. She may be regretting this after all the times has has had to pack all of our books! She loves to read and read to us and took us to the library. I had a library card long before I could read. In this picture I'm reading Go Dog Go! to Ryan. Love that book. Isn't he the cutest!? We won't comment on my loveliness!

It's my mom's fault that I love family. I will go to the ends of the earth to make sure my kids get the chance to know their extended families. Family is what we have at the end of the day. While friends are wonderful and needed, family can't get rid of you, even if they want to!

It's my mom's fault that I have three boys. Really it is. She always told me that I would have a bunch of boys that loved baseball. Really she did. This was in response to me griping, complaining and griping some more about all the ball games I had to go to. My brothers were always on a team of some sort and our vacations a lot of times revolved around some sort of sports event. That or a cemetery, but that is for another post.

I think it is also her fault that I have Callie. I think she always secretly wished on me the trouble that I gave her! No, Callie is not trouble, but she has a mind of her own already, and is going to keep on my toes for the rest of my life! Just like I am doing to my mom!

It's my mom's fault that my children's education is so important. She made sure that we did our homework, that we participated in all we could. It was never an option. We did our best in school and went to college. It was never a question, it was just what we were going to do. She took us on her own little field trips and opened up new worlds to us. She is huge history buff and loved sharing all of that with us. Luckily she loves sharing that with my kids. Again, my brothers got all of that gene. I think history is very important, but it is not my hobby. Both of my brothers are in education. I guess you could say I am in education, although what we do around here sometimes is not very educational! I think her attitudes at home, making everything a learning experience, helped me realize that homeschooling can work. That and the fact that she made me think I can do anything. (Still trying to decide if that is a good thing!)

It is my mom's fault that I married a Christian man. She married a Christian man, it's worked out well for her for 48 years. She talked a lot about the people we were going to marry. We knew that she wouldn't care what our spouse did, looked like, or anything. What mattered was that they were Christians.

It is my mom's fault that I have a mind of my own. I guess technically we all have a mind of our own, but we don't all use it. She has always been creative and adventurous. She has marched to the beat of her own drum. Not in a kooky way, but in a way that doesn't jump on bandwagons. She studies, and makes up her own mind about things. She uses the Bible as her ultimate guide, then does things the way she thinks they need to be. She thinks she can do anything, hence the reason my brother's and I think think we can do anything we want to do. I am glad that I don't have a problem being different. I am glad that I had the nerve to order the whimsical chairs instead of the boring brown and blue (a story for another day!). Of course I really didn't really have the nerve, I had to email her pictures and listen to her reasoning before I could order them, but I did the actual ordering! I am glad that I have a big family that I love and at least pretends like they love me!

The reason for all of this is that today is my mom's birthday. I'm glad that I can blame her for my life, because my life is not half bad. Here's hoping my kids will blame me for their live's someday. And here's hoping that she'll live until she is 80! (inside joke, obviously I hope she'll live much, much longer than that!) Happy Birthday Mother! Thanks for ruining my life :)! (Another inside joke, seriously.)

Why Make Things So Hard?

This is my New Years Resolution. I guess that is not really a resolution as much as a question. But, that is what I am going to ask myself all year. The biggest problem I think I have right now is making things harder than they have to be. I am terrible at making decisions because I am always worried I am going to wish I had made a different choice. Do you know how much harder this makes my life? This is for big things. "Should I get a brown couch or a red couch?" It is for little things. "Should we have chicken or pork for dinner?" Seriously. It consumes me. Do you know how many decisions I have to make during a day? What we're going to do, what we're going to wear, what we're going to eat, and the list goes on and on. How many of these decisions are really going to matter in the whole big scheme of things? All that matters to me is that I help my family get to heaven. And that I get there! I can't deal anymore. I am going to make decisions, live with them and go on in 2010. Really, I am. Now, what should we have for lunch?

A blog I enjoy is Kelly's Korner. She has "Show Us Your Life" parties on Fridays. Today's theme is New Year's Resolutions. I haven't ever gotten around to participating, but thought I might try here and there. It's fun to read what others are thinking and saying about life. She has a cute little "button" to click on for this, but I don't know if I can figure out how to put on my page. We'll see! Here is the not-cute button, but you can use this link to check it out if you are interested.

http://www.kellyskornerblog.com/2010/01/show-us-how-you-live-new-years.html

Happy 2010!

Christmas Fashion Show

I was excited to find a little time for sewing this Christmas. I would always love to have more, but with everything going on, I was glad to get this much done. I didn't think to take pictures of her standing up so you could see the finished product, so I just cropped the best pics I could find.

This is the tried and true Martha Pullen A-line. It is so easy, takes less than an hour to whip out, and it's reversible, so you get two dresses in one! I have already made too many of these and will probably make many more! This side had a Christmas ornament appliquéd with a C in the middle.

This side of the jumper had this cute Mary Engelbreit fabric. My favorite part you really can't see but along the bottom is says "Is Christmas fun or what?" So cute!

This is just a little red tee with Christmas tree appliquéd on it. I love this tree. The red thread swirls to look like garland.

I guess you could say this is her "official" Christmas dress. I smocked white on white then green and red to resemble holly. I love the simple look of it. The only problem is that it is huge! I bought the pattern the next size up from her Easter dress. Well, she hasn't grown enough to need that size. But, it will all work out. She didn't really get to wear it this year since we were out of town on Sundays and churches were cancelled in Oklahoma. So, it should still fit next year. Woo-hoo, one Christmas project that I can cross off the list already!

This is not a homemade Mama project, obviously. But she got it for Christmas from Grandma so I had to include it. Shoes and all. How cute is this? I think Grandma is worried that Callie is destined to be stuck in jumpers and polka-dot shoes forever! And, I think Grandma is also pulling for her to be a the point guard for the OU women's basketball team, so she is just getting her used to Nike's and warm-up suits!

Even an athlete needs to cook!

All's Well That Ends Well

Now that 2009 has come to an end it is time to start planning for 2010. I always look forward to this. Everything seems like such a new beginning. Little things, like the boys need new chores. Big things, like we just moved to a new town, we still need to get out bearings. And it is a time too look back. What was good, what was not so good. I titled this post All's Well That Ends Well since we are ending on a good note. We are happy and healthy and looking forward to 2010. I am going to share some memories of 2009 with you. Bear with me as I stroll down memory lane before I am off to plan those chores for the boys!

Well, not such a good memory to start with, but Callie looked cute, so we'll go with it! In January OU played in the National Championship Football game. They lost. Oh well. As I said, we all looked cute watching!

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In February we had our annual candlelight dinner. The boys love it and Callie apparently thought it was a hoot! Kellen and Garrett dressed up as King David and Little David for their class at church.

The highlight of March and the entire year was Kellen being baptized. He decided to be baptized on his birthday by his daddy. It is also his daddy's birthday too, so it was an all around wonderful day. I am still so proud of Kellen for this decision. I have never been so proud!

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A few more March memories. I guess March was a big month! For Todd's 40th birthday we redid the basement in an OU theme, what else! I decided I could do in a weekend with out him knowing. My parents, knowing all to well how I bite off more than I can chew, decided to come up and help me. Thank goodness, or it wouldn't have been even close to being done! Then the OU Women's basketball team came to Iowa City for March Madness. So, my parents came back a week later and we joined them at the games. My mom is a huge fan! We had a good time.

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In April we celebrated Garrett's ninth birthday. If he looks hot and sweaty, he is. That is Garrett's usual look as he is always playing ball, running, jumping, anything athletic like that! We also celebrated Easter. I smocked my first dress for Callie and was so excited that it fit and didn't look too bad to wear!

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In May we celebrated Gannon's fifth birthday. He got a Jeep and a bike, so he is covered for transportation! Mother's Day is a great day of course. Look at all I have to be thankful for! And, we started baseball season, in the rain. But, as long as we have a cute raincoat, who cares!

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In June it was more of the same. Baseball, baseball, baseball. We enjoy watching Kellen and Garrett play and they enjoy playing. June was finally warm enough to swim and play outside. In Iowa there is not much time for that!

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July was busy with baseball. Kellen playing in the All-Star game for his league. Mama and Daddy celebrated their 18th wedding anniversary! The kids and I made a two week trip to Oklahoma and had a great time! We visited family, went to the zoo, played and played in Grandma and Grandpa's creek. It was a great time!

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In August we took a family vacation to Chicago, Michigan, and Indiana. We had such a fun time. Lots of just meandering around but we packed a lot into a few days! In August we found out we were moving to Springfield. With Todd's job you are always waiting for the next move, but when it finally comes, it is so bittersweet.

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September. What can I say about September 2009. At the time it is a month that I never wanted to think about again. But, as always, time helps get rid of that feeling. Todd was already in Springfield working and the kids and I were left to finish remodeling our house and get it on the market. We did it. With the help of a lot of people! But, the ol' house cleaned up nice and we sold it in three weeks. W00-hoo!

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October was a busy, busy time. We traveled to Springfield to look for a house, we sold our house, we tried to fit in as many visits with friends as we could, we packed, we moved. Goodness. Makes me tired to even think about it! The best part of the month was getting to be back with daddy every day. We missed him!

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I didn't take many pictures in November. I wonder why!? The month was spent unpacking and settling in to our house in Nixa. We did enjoy Thanksgiving here at home then traveled to Shawnee the day after to enjoy family there.

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December was a fun month. One highlight was celebrating Callie's second birthday. Time does fly! I can't believe what all has happened in the two years she has been around. Then all the holiday parties. I of course loved all of this as you can tell if you read my blog! We were so blessed this month!

Well, I was going to try to pick one thing for each month, but it wasn't possible. I didn't realize our 2009 was so packed! No wonder I am tired :). These are just a few highlights. I am a big believer in the little things in life. The things you don't get pictures of. I think these are the keys to a happy life. I have so many happy memories, big and little, of this year that the bad memories are already getting crowded out. (It doesn't take much in my little brain!)

Here's hoping you have as many great memories in 2009! Praying for a happy, safe and memorable 2010!

p.s. I tried something new with my pictures this time since I was ending up with so many. I don't know why it says "View Full Album" all the way down. Some may have extra pictures there, most don't. Sorry about that! It would take me to long to change it all, so we're just going to live with it.

Christmas Party Five

This is the last party, I promise! We are so glad that we were able to go to have all of these parties. We are blessed with a big, happy family!

After we left Shawnee we made it back to Tulsa. We didn't want to be out on the highway after dark if we could help it so we got into town about dinner time. Thank goodness because we got to eat at Abuelo's. This is one of my favorite places and we haven't been there in ages. I love their avocado enchiladas. Of course my sister-in-law Dwan gave me some to go guacamole that I ate the entire way up there, so it wasn't as good as it would have been if I was hungry, but I enjoyed it!

After dinner we decided to go look at Poppa Roy's Christmas lights. To say he goes all out is an understatement! People come from all around to see his lights. The neighbor across the street does up his house and Roy does up one of the neighbors house as well, so it is quite a show! We called to tell them we were outside and ended up going in to visit. Callie was in rare form. She had slept all the way there and she comes alive about eight in the evening anyway. She talked their leg off and was really in a good mood. I didn't take any pictures that night, but is was a fun impromptu visit.

Kellen and Garrett spent the night with Nana and Poppa, the rest of us headed back over the next morning. Church was canceled so we got to take our time. We hated to miss seeing our old friends at Park Plaza, but taking our time after all the Christmas running around was nice. Todd's brothers were both able to come so enjoyed a day all being together. I don't think we had all been together for almost two years. It is usually Todd that can't make the trip :(.

Before Taryn and Jack got there there was a girls chair. Karlee, Kymree, and Callie.

And a boys chair :).

Papa Foxx was able to come for the day. It was so nice to see him. He worked for American Airlines for many, many years.

Todd, Glenn, and Chadd. We have many pictures of them in this "pose". I was going to post some with this but decided to make it a post all its own. I am sure they are thrilled about that!

Again I didn't get a picture of everyone. I left out Kerry (Glenn's wife) and Natalie (Chadd's wife). Sorry girls! I'll try to catch you next time!

Poppy Roy and Nana Charlene with all the grandkids. They have four granddaughters and four grandsons. I think it is cool it turned out like that. Karlee, Kymree, Poppa, Nana, Callie, Taryn, Gannon, Jack, Garrett, and Kellen. Whew!

Nanny Edith is Charlene's mother. She lives with them so we get to see her when we come to time. She had a rough year after breaking her hip in February, but has bounced back and you wouldn't know it happened. Another testament in our family of someone taking care of themselves. She is 93 if you can believe that!

Poppa, Nanny, Nana, Glenn, Chadd, and Todd

There's one in every crowd!

And with that Christmas 2009 has come to an end. I know I keep saying it, but we are so thankful to be able to enjoy our family this year. I was always glad to go home, but I always wished Todd didn't have to miss out on so much. Now he should be able to around a little more. We are like a new family since we have been home. Our little six really needed to laugh, smile, and enjoy some time together and some time with our extended families. God has blessed us and I do not take that for granted. I pray he blesses anyone that reads our little blog.

Christmas Party Four

Christmas Party Four just about didn't happen this year. We were so excited to be further south so that we wouldn't have to deal with weather during the holidays. Then comes the Blizzard of 2009, or whatever title the news stations gave it. It was quite a snow storm. The wind made it so much worse than I think it would have been. That and the fact that apparently Oklahoma only owns two snow plowing trucks and the drivers were out-of-town for the holidays. Just kidding! But, seriously, I love you Oklahoma, but I think you have enough weather to justify some snow trucks. All that being said, we made it. Our plan was to head to Shawnee on Christmas afternoon. We headed that direction but only made it as far as Tulsa before we stopped and got a hotel room and ate at Ihop with the rest of the town of Tulsa! We got to Shawnee the next morning and both my brothers made it, so were set for the day. It was a little short since none of us wanted to drive after it got too dark, but we had a great time. We are all a little nuts so there was lots of laughing and carrying on!

The only picture of my mom. The kids were piling gifts on her lap. I didn't even get a picture of my dad. Sorry dad. I'm still don't do a good job of getting everything on camera like I would like.

Me. I think I'll make this picture tiny so you can't see all the wrinkles!

My brother Clay. Amazingly we got a picture of him not making a goofy face.

My brother Ryan.

Ryan and his wife Dwan. Amazingly we got a picture of Ryan making a goofy face.

Madison and Kellen. I can't even look at this picture. Only mothers of twelve year olds would understand.

Mallori and Garrett. They are both nine.

Gannon. Sorry Mason. I didn't get a picture of you either! I'll get you next time. Gannon and Mason are both five.

Gannon: "Good grief it's taking a long time to get to my turn."

I love this picture. We were soooooo glad that daddy got to come with us this year. No one can even remember the last time he got to attend family Christmas parties, or any family gatherings for that matter. I love how Garrett and Callie are sitting on him to open their gifts. We love our daddy.

Actually I did get a picture of Mason. He and Gannon are in their storm shelter. Ha! Yes, it is true every year, the kids would rather have boxes!

Madison giving Callie her first manicure.

Callie was sooo proud of her nails. She showed them off for days. Even Gannon didn't want her to take a bath because he didn't want her polish to come off.

We had a great day. We laughed and laughed. Ate some good food. Got some great presents. (It is Christmas after all!) As you can see the kids are all very close in age so they have a great time together. I know I've said it many times now, but we are so glad to be close enough to visit family. Thanks Todd!