Ski Trip 2008

Well we survived our first trip as a family of four to Taos, New Mexico. We left last Sunday morning at 5:00 am and got back at 11:00 pm last night. It was a long week but loads of fun. Both kids did so much better in the car than I thought they would. I don't know what I would do without our DVD player but I think I have hours of Blues Clues and Dora memorized. It was a 12 hour drive and the kids slept a total of 45 min in the car. As many of you know my kids are not sleepers and this trip was certainly no exception. Charlie slept a total of 3-4 hours a night and would only take a small hour nap during the day. That didn't seem to slow him down though. Abby did better and would slept around 7 hours a night. Despite not sleeping the whole week we did have a lot of fun. It snowed the whole time we were there. My car ended up getting stuck in about 5 feet of snow and took hours to get out. The skiing was great! I've never seen so much snow! It was a winter wonderland for sure. Abby was so excited about skiing. I wasn't going to bother putting her in ski school because I just knew she would freak out as soon as they put on those heavy boots but she proved me wrong. She was a natural and loved it. Who knew that my little girl who is so afraid of everything would love skiing. We couldn't get her off the mountain. Charlie also loved the snow. He looked hilarious with all his snow gear on. He was all over the place and worn all of us out. We went with Chaz's whole family and stayed in his family's cabin they've had for over 40 years in Tres Ritos. It's so cute and opening presents on Christmas morning in the moutains, with all the snow was priceless. We all had a great time but glad to be home and back to 70 degree weather. Merry Christmas to everyone and happy New Year. May yours be a blessed one.

Happy Birthday, Abby!!

Abby riding her new bike.

Chaz and me dressed for his work holiday party.

Abby right after she got her bike.

Monica and sweet Annie. Could be one of Charlie future girlfriends. No pressure but she is cute.

My dear friend, Stacey and her two precious girls.

Sweet little Andrew, always happy.

Emma and Addie enjoying their lunch.

My precious little princess. Happy birthday, Abby!!

I can't believe my little Abby is 3 years old! She's growing up too fast. We had her princess party on Friday and it was crazy but fun. All her little friends were there to celebrate and Abby was so excited. Chaz and I got her a bike which she loved and still can't stop thanking us for it. It's so sweet when out of no where she comes over and says thank you so much for her beautiful bike. I did make her cake this year too which I'm not sure I will do again. By the pictures you can tell that's it's a castle cake and it took forever to make. I didn't even want to eat it because I was so sick of looking at it. Abby loved it which I was glad. The party went better than I thought. I knew it was going to be crazy with so many little girls and several little ones Charlie age but it went pretty smooth. I was so tired afterwards but glad that Abby was so happy. Right after her party Chaz and I had to get ready for his office party. That was fun too and it was fun to get all dressed up since I never get too. We got a hotel room for that night which was great. I was disappointed when we found out that they were out of king beds but it was kind of nice having my own bed all to myself. I went up by myself and went to bed by 10:30. Chaz stayed and hung out with friends. I actually loved the quiet time to myself. We then slept in and went to breakfast before going home. We hadn't had that much time to ourselves in a long time. It was so nice just being together. But I was ready to go home and see the kiddos too. I want to post more about Abby and her birthday later but here are some pics from her party. Lots of princesses and pink. Happy Birthday my little princess!!

A week I'd rather forget!

I usually don't like posting negative stuff but this last week was worth writing about even though I'd rather never remember it again. It all started with Charlie not sleeping for 3 nights and not taking much of a nap either. He never ran fever and didn't show a lot of signs of being sick so I just thought that he was teething. Finally on Wed. I decided to take the poor baby to the doctor who then did a test that revealed that Charlie had strep throat. Oh joy! I felt so guilty for not taking him in sooner and then realized that Abby was probably going to get it too. At least I was a little more prepared for her to have it. So off we go home with meds and praying for sleep. Wed. was a my brother's birthday, which was hard but I was so busy with kids that I didn't have much time to think about it. Which I guess was good but today it all hit me and I've been depressed all day. I think the stress of the week had finally caught up to me. I was so tired by Thurs. that I almost fell asleep driving home from church. It only got worse Thurs. night when I was trying to get Abby to come down the stairs when she started to throw a fit. I was holding on to her and so when she did this I started to fall. I did catch myself by not with much grace. I felt my toe, the one next to the smallest one, bend back and pop. I knew that it was broken. Of coarse Friday Abby came down with fever and is now also on meds for strep. Chaz and I haven't gonen it yet but my luck it will on Thanksgiving. Meanwhile I've got my toe wrapped and bracing myself for the Turkey trot. I'm not going to let a small stupid toe stop me from running. I love running the Turkey trot on Thanksgiving and haven't ran it in years because I was either pregnant or just had a baby. So this year nothing is going to stop me. I know this week has to be better than this last one. We're hoping to go see my dad tomorrow so I pray that goes ok. The kids are doing better today and hope we are past everything. Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and I promise my next post won't be so negative.

Happy Halloween!

All the sweet babies.

Lots of princesses this year.

My little shark.

My little mermaid.

We had a great time at our annual Halloween party at the Ridgell's. Chaz went as a cast away, I went as a pirate, Abby was a mermaid and Charlie was the cutest shark. Hope everyone had a fun holiday and didn't eat too much candy. There's also some pics from the pumpkin patch we went to last week. I finally was able to get some good pictures of the kids there.

High School Reunion

This last weekend we made to big trip to Abilene for my 10 year reunion. It was so much fun! It was great seeing people that I haven't seen since graduation. So many haven't changed and others are completely different. It so funny to now talk about our kids. Chaz and the kids went with me to Abilene but Chaz went to the ACU football game instead of going to the reunion with me, which worked out great. I was able to go with one of my long-time friends, Stacey, and we had a blast. We also had fun staying my aunt and uncle who have been like parents to me. They have lots of different kinds of animals so the kids had a blast playing with them. Charlie just chased the turkey around the whole time. It was hilarious! That poor turkey didn't know what to do. Anyway it was a lot of fun and enjoyed seeing everyone. Can't wait till the next time we all get together.

Fun times at the pumkin patch!

Sunday we met with some other young families at a pumpkin patch. The kids had a blast, especially Charlie because he got to run free. Abby really enjoyed playing and chasing all her little friends around. They had a hay ride, corn maze and lots of fun stuff for the kids. It was a lot of fun despite all the wonderful Texas wind! Here are some pictures.

Happy Birthday Charlie!!

I can't believe my baby boy is now a one year old. We had his party yesterday to celebrate and it was only fitting to have a Dallas Cowboy themed party since I found out I was pregnant with him right after a cowboy game last year. He is destined to be a Dallas Cowboy fan for life. We had a good party with friends and family. Then watched the cowboys play. It was a good day. Abby was so sweet and helped Charlie with all his presents but now thinks they were all for her. Luckily Charlie doesn't know the difference yet. I'm sitting here thanking God for how blessed I am to have two beautiful, healthy children. Being a pediatric nurse and taking care of very sick kids, I know how blessed I am that mine don't have any problems. Today is one of my long-time patient's b-day. He is three and lives with a brain condition that could cause him to die at anytime. As a mother, I just don't think I could deal with that. I know first hand that God gives us the strength to get through things but having a sick child or worse knowing that everyday is truly a gift because you could lose them at any moment is just too much for me. I don't mean to sound so negative when I'm writing about my son's party. I just know how truly blessed I am to have my two kiddos. They are God's gift to me and I hope I never forget how blessed I am to have them and be their mother. I thank you God for not only giving my children healthy bodies but thank you for using them to remind me how much you love me by making me their mother. And I pray for all the mothers out there who have sick kids or have lost a child. God is with you and has his arms around you and your child. God Bless and hug those little ones. They grow up too fast.

Happy Birthday to me!!

One more year of being in my twenties then I hit the big 30! I can't believe I'm 29 years old. I know that's not old but I do have to say that I'm starting to feel my age. I guess I feel like that because Chaz and I just started Marine Fitness Boot camp and I'm so sore that some days I can't even put on my underwear by myself. It's really making me feel all the aches and pains of getting older. I did have a pretty good day despite getting pulled over for speeding on my birthday on my way to boot camp at 5:30 am. I did manage to get out of it but that it wasn't the way I wanted to start off my 29 birthday. I went to work then Chaz and the kids took my out to dinner at one of my favorite places, Cheese Cake Factory. It was a good day and I'm even more excited about my birthday gift. I asked for a wii fit. They are really hard to get right now so I don't have one yet but Chaz is working on it and hope to have it soon. I figured he shouldn't be the only one having all the fun with the wii. Anyway, things are going good. I wish the rain would stop. Chaz and I put up the kids' swing set on Sat. and they haven't been able to enjoy it since it's rained for 3 days straight. Well, I included some pics of my birthday and of the new swing set or what I like to call, the thing that is going to wear my 2 year out.

Happy Anniversary to us!!

I can't believe that Chaz and I have been together 7 years now. August 11, 2001 feels like yesterday. We had a beautiful wedding at Chapel on the Hill at ACU. ACU will always be very special to us because that's where we meet, fell in love, where Chaz proposed to me and where we got married. I loved everything about our wedding except it was the hottest day in history. I remember sweat pouring down my back as we said our vows and then we thought it would be good to ride in the back of an old Ford car after the wedding. I was so hot that I remember my dress being stuck to me. Chaz had to pull it off. But it was a beautiful wedding. Our story of how Chaz proposed is so sweet. I do have to say he put a lot of thought into it and it's one of my top favorite moments. It all started when we were seated across from one another in Biology class. After a couple of days, Chaz started up a conversation. He was very sweet and asked to share my book since he had left his at home. I, of course, said yes. After a week or so of talking in class, he asked me to a social event for his fraternity. We then fell in love and when Chaz proposed 2 years later, he took me back to where it all started. He blind folded me and led me to the classroom where we had met. He sat me down in the same chair that he sat in and put me into my old seat. He read a poem that he had written then got down on one knee and popped the question. After I said yes, he then confessed that when he asked to borrow my book, two years earlier, that he had is the whole time. He just wanted a reason to be close to me. HOW SWEET IS THAT!! That my favorite story of the two of us. Chaz, I love you so very much. You have blessed my life in so many ways and continue to sweep my off me feet. I look forward to celebrating many more anniversaries together. I love you and thank you for making my life feel so special.

Ranch weekend and Charlie walking

I can't believe my sweet baby boy is walking at 10 months old. For some kids this maybe a normal time to start walking but I was use to Abby who at 10 months was just starting to crawl and didn't start walking till 15 months. I guess the saying is true, very kid is different. It's so fun to watch him. He is so excited and we all cheer him on. I also can't believe that I have to start thinking about his birthday soon. Man, has this last year flown by.
On another note, we had such a good time at the ranch with my family. It was a great time to get together and remember Michael. Every time I was out on the four wheeler, all I could think about was how much he would of loved it out here. We also celebrated my sister Cayce's birthday. Her birthday isn't till next month, a day before mine, but she is leaving for boot camp the first of August. Yes you read it right my sister Cayce is joining the US Coast Guard. I couldn't be more proud. She is having to leave her son, who is Charlie's age, for 2 months. She is stronger than me. I couldn't do it. She knows this will better her family and that God has lead her to do this. Please pray that she has the mental and physical strength to get through it. We had so much fun watching her son, Isaac and Charlie play together. Abby also enjoyed having to boys to boss around. She was really sweet and made sure both were feed. I have to watch her closely when she's eating something because she gives Charlie a bit. I caught her giving him peanuts the other day. At least we know he isn't allergic to peanuts now. It's sweet that she shares and it's hard to tell her that she has to share some things but not others. Some how I'm sure Charlie will survive. At least now he can walk away from her.