On Saturday, Macy and some of her friends (plus Mommys) from dance class went downtown to the Junior League for their Breakfast with Santa. We really had a great time. We had to dress up and of course, that was right up Macy's alley. She was so excited to get to be, as she called, SO FANCY! She even poured her lemonade in her coffee cup to make her look a little more mature. ha! They all had so much fun and we had fun just sitting back and watching their sweet faces.
`

Three pretty princesses

Me and Linda

Macy and Santa. She told him EVERYTHING
she wanted. It was so cute!

Sweet girl!

Me and Macy striking our usual pose. ha!

The girls...most of them have been dancing together

since the beginning.

Say cheese.....AGAIN!

Thanksgiving was a blast. We had a fun time just all being together. It was so fun watching the kids play all week. Cousins are so much fun...no matter what age you are. The turkey was yummy. I overheard that this was the best Thanksgiving spread EVER! I agree. I am so thankful for my family. We are truly blessed. Here are some pictures from the week. I didn't get any pictures on Thanksgiving Day...what was I thinking. I never have my camera when I need it. I am always searching all over the house for it. Please tell me I am not the only one who does this. :)

Jordan swinging the kidos

Reid in his element....there was football ALL week!

BA and Katy


Me and Mimi



Sweet Jaxon waiting patiently for her LaCabana


Tucker


Mitch and JD

Bubbie and Jaxon

Mom and Dad

Macy and her gangsta face....what's up with that?

Troy and Reid

Going on a tractor ride! Avery loved it....Poor Jaxon

loved it until we hit a bump and she hurt her head.

Sorry, Jaxon!

I have so many things to blog about and so many things I am thankful for but am so behind I feel overwhelmed. You know the feeling? It has been months since I have updated my blog. I know some of you are tired of seeing the "Character Counts" blog. This post goes....way back!

So, what's going on in my little world?

**October came and...oops...no blog. Halloween was crazy and we still have candy from our trunk or treat. I think my little Dorothy was precious....and her little friend Ariel is adorable. :)

Macy and A

**The pumpkin patch with The Smith family was a blast. My kids think these boys hung the moon. We barely got pictures...the sun was going down way too fast. We always love our time together.

Macy, R, Reid and J

Kim and I have to have a SPT!

**We had a wonderful 14th wedding anniversary. WOW! Time files. We spent our anniversary in Fredericksburg. It is such a fun place. My sweet husband actually went into just about every store. My favorite store was a little bead store. I think I went inside about 10 times. He wins husband of the year for going into a bead and jewelry store. ha! We had a wonderful time shopping, eating and we even hiked to the top of Enchanted Rock. It was nice to go and do whatever and not worrying about the time. Thanks to Mom and Dad for watching the kids and the dog. Tucker, Macy and Reid love going to Neena and Papaw's house. :)

Yeah for coffee!!!

On top of Enchanted Rock

Character counts!

I have to brag for a minute..... :) My baby girl got an award for having awesome character! She got to have her name called (which by the way is a BIG deal for 1st graders) at an assembly. She also got a cool sign for her front yard. She gets to keep it for nine weeks and then another deserving child gets a turn. She is way excited. Her Daddy and I are super proud of her. Way to go baby girl! Keep up the great work....We love you!

Now, on to my oldest...We are super proud of him as well. He took up the trombone this year and while sometimes the sounds coming out of his room are questionable...he is keeping up with it. He practices 20 minutes a day and is pretty serious about it. He is also doing great in Jr. High. He acts like he has gone there for years. God is truly watching over him. I love that boy and sometimes when I look at him I can't believe he is mine. He is one great kid and I love him so much! This video is pretty funny....it is of him and the neighbor boy. They thought they would practice together. LOL!

We lost a very special family member the other night. And no, this is not a real picture of her. :) Sweet Ella, our beta, has been with us for almost 3 years. She lived in the kitchen and loved to watch me wash dishes. She loved to eat her little tiny food. She loved for Macy to tap on her tank. We bought her at Pet Smart with one of Macy's little friends. Her friend named hers Elizabeth. Ella and Elizabeth were friends. We have fond memories of our time with Ella.

There were tears and a mini funeral. Picture all 4 of us in the bathroom, with a fish on a plastic spoon because we couldn't find a net. Troy and I felt like Cliff and Claire Huxtable. We said a prayer, Macy cried and then yes, we had to flush her. Macy is still sad. Reid laughed..a lot. He had to leave the bathroom. What is it with boys? He even said they were with Karen and Joe. And for those of you who don't know who they are...well they were Reid's goldfish when he was about Macy's age. ha! He also had a hamster named Doris. Who died a sad death. You would think he would be sentimental. :)

Tonight when I tucked Macy in bed she prayed for her and said she hopes that she is having fun in the bottom of the toilet. ha! I know that she will be praying for her for a long time.

Goodbye sweet Ella, we will miss you.

Wordless Wednesday

I found these pics online and thought this one was awesome. It is a statue that was dedicated to the people who lost their lives in the hurricane back in 1900. Isn't that something....look at the waves today. I have been to that statue and it is quite a ways from the shore...not anymore.

Here is some of the traffic. We left before all this but this is VERY similar to what we sat in during Hurricane Rita back in 2005.

I saw this one and had to laugh...what in the world. Like a water hose and piece of carpet will keep that piece of junk safe...Let it go people, let it go!
That's what insurance is for.

Yes...GO HOME IKE!

We are safe and at my Mom and Dad's. We are thankful to be out of Houston. Today I have been watching KHOU.com...they have a live feed and I have been stuck to it like glue. I am glad I can watch whats going on but now that I really know what's going on...I am scared to death. These are some of the things I realized I forgot when we evacuated.....

*My wedding album
*My favorite Bible
*My pillow I have had since I was a child
*Macy's pink baby blanket that she sleeps with and has had since she was born
*All our personal information
*OK..silly, but my Fiesta dishes. I l-o-v-e them and if they float away I will be so sad.
*Our sweet fish, Ella,she was a good fish!
*Our crabs. There are two. I guess if the water comes in they will know what to do...they are crabs for goodness sakes.
*My pictures from high school
*Some of the kids baby pictures that I left in the closet
*All the pictures that my kids have ever drawn for me
*Reid says his PlayStation
*Macy forgot Itty Bitty Baby
*My kids baby outfits that I brought them home from the hospital in.....
*My Winnie the Pooh cup. But, I know my sister will give me hers...right?
*My kids hand print plates
*My computer....it has pictures on it that I haven't saved to disk yet. What was I thinking?
*Reid's baby things...like his old pacifiers that he LOVED! Yes, I keep those things. I can't help it.

OK..I have to stop. I think I might be sick. I could go on and on....I left everything but my scrapbooks and a few pictures. You just never think about things that you need to get and things that mean alot to you that you might not ever see again. There are so many things in my house that mean so much to me. Not material things but things that belonged to my Mom, my Nana and my great Granny. That makes me sad. I did save a painting that Nana did and some letters from Granny...those things cannot be replaced. And even though my dishes and stuff like that can be replaced it still makes me sad. I know who gave me every piece. I am sentimental like that, I guess.

As of now, Ike will hit land in about an hour. Please pray for our town...for the people who were crazy enough to stay in Galveston. It looks like Ike will definitely do some damage...its just where and how much is the question.

Ok..we are evacuating. I wasn't so scared of "Gus" but "Ike"....he scares me. It is really going to hit close to home and I'd rather not be here. I think we are heading home. Of course, Mom is really excited. The kids are super excited. They cancelled school on Thursday and Friday so that in itself is fun for them. Then to throw in a road trip to Neena and Papaw's...well that is just icing on the cake.

The only thing I am worried about is the stinkin' traffic. In 2005 when we left for Rita the traffic was horrible. I had never seen anything like it. It was so bad I can't even imagine getting in something like that again. We are thinking about leaving at 2 in the morning but I am scared everyone has that same idea.

I do know one thing. I will take my scrapbooks, pictures, pic CDs...oh yeah and my kids. ha ha! We will look silly going down the road with our car piled up with our kids and a dog and his crate! HA HA I have flash backs of National Lampoons Vacation....without Aunt Edna! :)

To evacuate or not to evacuate...that is the question...?? Right now, we are staying put. We are prepared as well as we can be. We went to the store and bought batteries, water, canned food, candles and gum. The gum was Macy's idea. She can't go a day without some gum. And if we have no electricity we will be bored. So our thought was we could have some bubble blowing contests. :) Anyway, we really don't think we will get the brunt of the hurricane our way but will for sure get some rain from Old Gus. All our neighbors are staying put as well so if worse comes to worse we can have a neighhood block swimming party.

Back 3 years ago when we evacuated from Hurrican Rita it was pure chaos! And I do not want to sit in traffic like that ever again. It took us 18 hours just to get to Katy. By the time I made it to my sisters house I thought I was going to lose my mind. Then that night Rita took a turn and H-town was spared. So, I am hoping we will be spared this year, too. I am hoping Gus wants to visit some other fun city and not mine.

The weatherman said earlier to see what the night holds. They should know by early morning if Gus will take a turn toward us or go the other way. So for now we are bunkering down in our house. Who knows what tomorrow will hold. We might be heading to Mom and Dad's if in the morning we find out that we have to evacuate...so Mom be prepared for the Sab's. All 5 of us. :)

**Thanks for everyones sweet words about Tucker, our puppy. He is doing much better. If anyone is intersted I have 2 huge Sago Palms for sale. Just let me know if your interested. I will sell them cheap if you come dig them out yourself. :) Who knows maybe the hurricane like winds will blow them down. Hey, a girl can wish.....

Wordless Wednesday

What have I been doing? Why haven't I blogged? I can't even begin to type it. Go to my Mom's site and you can read a little about it....if you want. :) It's Neenas Nest...on my side bar. I'm to tired to make a link. ha!!

Have a great day.......

"all the words I'll ever need" Wednesday

38 candles

Happy Birthday to my sweetheart. Today he is 38. Oh, my how time flies. We have known each other for 20 years. Can you believe it? I seems like just yesterday we here holding hands through the hallways of SHS, riding around to Def Leppard and having the porch light flashed at us while we were smooching in the driveway (thanks Mom!). HA! We have been through alot together and had some really fun times. Most of the memories I have growing up have him in it. And they are the ones I hold so dear to my heart. We have, of course, had some not so good. But more good than bad. But through it all we have loved each other with all we have and I fall more in love with him everyday. I am so glad that God gave him to me. I am blessed. Happy Birthday to my best friend, my soul mate. I love you.

Happy 4th of July! WOW! It has been a while since I have posted. I thought that when summer got here I wouldn't be as busy. Boy, was I wrong. We have been super busy. It has been fun though! Reid did a fun basketball camp in Crosby with cuz Justin. Mitch and JD also came to help out with all the fun. He had a blast being with those guys! He even won a few awards. We were so proud of him. Of course my camera was in the shop so I have no pictures. I took some on my phone but haven't transfered them. ugh! Thanks Justin and Hollie for keeping my baby for the week and letting me crash there for a couple of days. I loved it!

Then Bubs and JD came here for some fun. We went to the beach on Friday and spent the day, ate a picnic lunch, played in the waves, did a little board skimming, layed in the sun and built sandcastles. Then we went to Schlitterbahn on Saturday. It was a blast...until the rain. But, oh well, it was still a fun time. We laughed A LOT! It was so nice having them here. I loved getting to love on baby Jaxon! She is a sweetie pie. I miss them already. Her birthday is coming up...she will be ONE! I can't believe it! Time goes by so fast, believe me!

This girl loved the water. She would have crawled into the ocean if we would have let her. She takes after her cousin Macy.....true beach babes!

The other BIG news is:

We got a DOG! His name is Tucker. Can you believe we actually bit the bullet?? We decided we made our kids wait long enough. We felt pretty bad when Macy was writing at school that she wished she had a dog. One time she drew a picture with a girl, her, with a sad face. The girl had a leash with a dog and she wrote, "My daddy says we can't have a dog." Thats pretty sad, huh? So, when some close family friends from our hometown had a litter of lab pups we decided to get one. It was so nice knowing where they came from. I had looked online for dogs but was so scared it would come from a bad home. So, this was exactly what we had been looking for. Thank you, Tara and Chad. We LOVE our Tucker! He is such a good dog and has loved running in the back yard with the kids. I have more pictures and will post them soon. Thank you to my Mom and Dad for keeping Tucker while we were at Schlitterbahn with the Sab's. They really became attached to him. :) They helped me so much with teaching him to potty train. He is doing great! I was a little scared to get a dog but having their help made it easy. Thanks!!

There is so much more to tell and more pics but I will post them later. To all my 5 readers out there, I promise it won't be a month! I have some really exciting news from a sweet little girl that lives here.....but I will wait. I need a certian picture from JoJo.

I am inspired to keep blogging from my sweet friend Holly. She made a blog book from Blurb.com. Let me tell you, I have seen it and it is the most awesome thing ever. She is so creative. I am determined to make a book. We will see.......

Wordless Wednesday

summertime

Yesterday was our first official day of summer. We are so glad school is out. We all slept late and Reid made eggs and bacon for me and Macy. It was really good. He is a good little breakfast chef. He learned that from his Daddy. :) Why is it that Dad's like to cook breakfast foods? I remember my Dad always making pancakes. And it was usually for supper. I guess breakfast is easy. ha!

BUT, I have already heard the famous words....I'M BORED. yikes...already? Well, I have lots for them to do but cleaning their rooms is not what they have in mind. So, I think I will be spending alot of time at the pool. Well, after they clean at least some of their room. And I have to clean my room, too. My room is probably worse than theirs. I need to be an example. :) Hey, by the time I clean everything else in this house I'm too tired to clean my room. I did make my bed this morning, Hey, I'm trying.

How do some moms keep things so organized? Or make it look so easy? It makes me crazy.

books....

It's no surprise to my realllllllyyyyyy close friends that I am a terrible reader. In fact, I often buy a books and get thru one to two chapters and decide that I'd rather dust my house or mow the yard than read. I know, I'm weird. I never had that love of reading that my friends have. I wish I did. I am a wannabe reader. I will buy books just because the cover is pretty. I can read blogs all day but books....ewww! I think, too, that I have adult ADHD. Anywho, thats another story.

So, today as I was cleaning all the paper work out from behind the phone, I found Reid's summer reading list for his AP classes for Jr. High. Poor thing. He does great in reading class but has my desire for books. He won't just pick up a book and read. I'm so sad about that. I really want him to be a good reader. So, this summer guess what we will be doing? Well, I decided I would read with him. You know, be an example! HA HA. So, our first read.... "Where the Red Fern Grows". I read some of this book in Jr. High but then I realized there was a movie and well, thats all she wrote. I am more of a movie buff...... :)

Any advice on learning how to be a better reader? :)

In the merry month of May

I can't believe the month of May is over. I think this is the busiest I have been in a long time. It was CRAZY! Here are some highlights of our busy but fun wonderful month of May....

Baseball has taken over our life. Its so much fun and my little man loves the game. I love getting to watch him play. He is a good little player! He even hit an in the park homerun this year and got some good pitching time. :)

Macy turned 6!!!! I can't believe my baby is ready for 1st grade!

Of course, we had to have a Hannah Montana party...compete with guitar cake.

We had her party at a pottery place. Each kid got to paint a tile. It was so fun. Crazy but fun!

Holly and family, Ash and Avery got to join in on the fun. I was SO glad they came!

Me and my baby girl. She melts my heart.

OK...Here is Teacher Appreciation Week. Oh my, can you say overboard? These schools! These Moms....HA!

Then, my sweet niece, Mindy graduated from Texas A&M. We are so proud of her. I felt like one of my kids were graduating. I have known her since she was 2. I was teary eyed watching her walk across that stage. She is one remarkable woman! I am proud to be her aunt.

This is Mindys sweetheart, Will. Isn't he a cutie! And he is just as sweet. He treats Mindy like a princess! And just look at that pic of Troy and Will.....Mindy and I think they look like long lost brothers! We had went bowling that night and they has us laughing so hard. Don't you think they look similar?? Troy just has 15 years on him! Haha!

Macy LOVES her Mindy!

Daddy trying to teach Macy how its done. Troy is a pretty good bowler!

Now, next...Macy's dance recital! Its is always held at the Opera House in Galveston. It is a BIG deal! They work on the dances all year. This year she danced to "On the Good Ship Lollipop" and "Be Our Guest" (from Beauty and the Beast). It was SO cute! And I thought she looked just adorable! Here she is looking like Shirley Temple. Granny and Van made the trip to see her. We were so glad. I am mad that we didn't get a picture of them with her. Sorry, Granny! What was I thinking? We love you and am so glad y'all came. Avery and Ashley also made the trip! I think Avery loved the dancing. Her face lit up and she was clapping when the first little dancers came out! I love that girl!! Her facial expressions are priceless! It was a fun day with everyone. We all went our to eat at Tortugas afterwards. We sure missed Neena and Papaw. Paps was at home puking his guts up. Sorry Paps!

Here is the class doing their best Belle dance from Beauty and the Beast!

My sweet little Belle really concentrating!

The family after the performance! Reid was so glad it was over! HA

Then....drumroll, please.....I turned 35. Enough said. My sweet husband did get me some good presents, flowers and a yummy cake. Thanks, honey...I love you!

And lets don't forget field day! What a hot month for field day. Whose idea was that?

Reids favorite part of field day....water guns!

Reids class in a major tug-of-war competition!

Now do you see why I haven't been blogging? WHEW! I'm glad May is over. Oh, and in all this, I had strep throat and Macy had pink eye. I really had no time to be sick! HA! Troy took off work for a few days so I could lay in bed. Boy, that felt good. Well, not to be sick but to be in my bed with the door shut....AH, pure bliss!