Merry Christmas to all....

....and to all a Good Night! I hope you all had as great a Christmas as we did.

Let it snow!!!!!!!!!

SO last week it was ice this week it is snow! I'm sure you all are wondering where we have been and what we've been up to. Well, let's see........

We had a nice Thanksgiving with the Mortons. We had a delicious meal at April's house and stayed with Grammy for a couple of days. Ryan cooked the turkey this year and it was probably the best turkey I've ever had. We also got a chance to see our Melrose family on Wednesday night. It was sooooo good to see all of their smiling faces and get caught up on the happenings there. They truly warm my soul..... Then the first weekend in December, we went to Dumas to celebrate James' grandparents 60th wedding anniversary. It was good to see Mama Nody and Papa Jim and the rest of the Morton clan. We love them all very much! Thanks to Nina for hosting the celebration at her house (please keep Nina in your prayers, she fell and shattered her hip yesterday and is having hip replacement surgery today). Since then we have all been sick and/or cooped up in the house. Two days after we got back from Dumas, Megan came down with a wicked stomach bug. It slowly made its way through the four of us. I think Mom, Dad, and Shai skipped out on it. I was so sick last Monday, I just wanted to curl up and stay under a blanket all day. As luck would have it, James wasn't here. He flew out last Sunday night to Dallas to pick up a Uhaul and bring the rest of our furniture back. He got one of the very last flights out of Tulsa for a couple of days. We got a nice little ice storm last Sunday-Tuesday. It is the worst they have had here in several years. Welcome to Oklahoma, right? We were fine here, we had electricity and water, just had to stay shut up in the house. Some people in the Tulsa area were without power for days. There are LOTS of trees and power lines down. It will take them a while to get it all cleaned up. Shai missed 2 days of school and Megan was out all week. She sure is hoping they have school next week. James made it back on Wednesday with our stuff. Our house is now completely empty. We had hoped to close on the house on Friday, but the state has not gotten the paper work back to the lender yet, so we are still waiting. Doesn't look like we will hit our original date of the 17th either. We are going to sign an extension on the contract, so hopefully we will close before Christmas! It is getting a little frustrating for all involved.
So on to today....it started snowing this morning and it covered the ground quite nicely. It has continued to snow on and off through out the day. It sure is pretty. I took some pictures of the kids. Bethany wasn't too sure about it and she did NOT like it to be on her shoes. I think I got one or two to choose from for my Christmas cards (no they have not been sent out yet). Megan and Shai had a good time out there, I even joined in on the fun for a little bit.
I am not ready for Christmas the least little bit. I have only bought three gifts so far.....guess I better get busy, but who wants to go shopping in the ice or snow. Hopefully the weather will be good next week, otherwise I will just have to get out there anyway! I think that just about catches everything up since Thanksgiving. Will try to do better about updating, but no promises..........

Happy Turkey Day!!!

I hope you all have a happy and safe Thanksgiving! We are so blessed and have so much to be thankful for. Today let's hug our loved ones a little tighter and a little longer, they are our biggest blessings!

Here is Brock!

I just received this picture of Brock from Grammy! Isn't he adorable!?! Of course I knew he would be, Mortons don't make ugly babies! :)

Happy Birthday James & Brock!

Today is James 36th birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAMES! We are also celebrating Brock's "birth day". James brother, Jared, and his wife, Ann, were blessed with the birth of their little boy today! Brock Alexander made his entrance into the world today at 5:15pm (eastern time). He weighed in at 7 pounds even and is 19 inches tall. We are so excited to welcome him into the world, and Uncle James is more than thrilled to share his birthday with our new nephew!. Ann had some complications with her pregnancy and has been in the hospital for about 7-8 weeks. We are so glad Brock made it here safely and Ann is doing well too. We thank God for answering our prayers that were said so many time throughout every day! We will continue to keep them in our prayers as they discover the many joys and trials of parenthood, and we ask you to do the same! We will post a better picture when we get one. This is the only one we have seen so far.

The rest of the pictures from Sears....

What beautiful babies I have!!!!!!!

7 Beautiful Words...

You have a contract on your house....

We got an offer on our house on Thursday, we counter-offered Friday, and we now have a contract on the house! YEAH! Please pray that all goes well and that we will soon be "houseless". We would love to be able to get our own place here. Please pray for my sister, Amy, that they may hear those beatiful words soon as well. They have had their house on the market for some time, and they will be moving soon as well. I know it would be a huge load lifted off of their shoulders to be able to sell quickly.

Picture Time

Here are a couple of the pictures I had taken of the girls today. I am really pleased with the way they turned out. The rest of them are individuals. Will post more later.

I just wanted to put a couple of pictures from Halloween on here. They were the Ladybug and Belle at the Halloween carnival we went to. And, BeeWitched, for Halloween Trick-or-Treating. I couldn't decide which one to get for Bethany, so she got both. Megan got Belle and then I realized that would not be practical for school. She had the black clothes, so we bought the hat/wig and broom and voila! They were really cute trick-or-treating. Bethany caught on to the idea really quick. We hit all of the businesses downtown and called it a day. I didn't want to go house-to-house. I hope you all had a safe and happy Spook Day as well.

BOO!!!!!

Hope you all had a
HAPPY
HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!

School Picture

I just wanted to share Megan's very first school picture with all of you! Isn't she CUTE! She is loving school and doing very well. I think she likes her teacher and her classmates are good too. I have been volunteering in her classroom on Wednesday and Thursdays for an hour each time. They are all excited when I show up and tell me that I'm pretty. They are so sweet! I really enjoy getting to work with them and getting to know them all. They are always full of stories about their brothers or sisters, football, dirt bikes, or whatever their interest happens to be. I have to remember what they tell me because I am quizzed the next time to see if I remember. When I don't remember, they are disappointed. It's really fun, and I think Megan likes me to be there. She asks me every day if I am going to be the helper today. :) I also went to the Pumpkin Patch with them last week. It was fun. I will post more on that with some pictures soon. We are going to a Halloween Party tonight, so I am sure I will have lots of pictures from that too!

Quiz

My sister did this quiz on her blog, thought I would too. More from me later.....

So Much, So Little

So much to blog about, so little time. I know you are all ready for a new post. There's been lots going on lately, but just haven't had the time nor the "want to" to get it done. We did get moved to Oklahoma on Oct. 6. Mom and Dad's garage is now full of our stuff. I got all of our clothes organized into one bedroom. That was a challenge, but it is done. Megan started school on the Tuesday after we got here. She seems to like her new teacher and her new classmates. She is doing very well. She got her first report card this week. Kind of tough to get a report card just a few days after your start at a new school, but she did well. She also got invited to a birthday party for a boy in her class. We went and she had a good time. Her new teacher loves her and says she is lucky to have such a sweet girl in her class. (Nothing I didn't already know.) Ironically, her teacher is the aunt to a lady that James worked with at his previous job. It is such a small world! She started school here just in time for Fall Break this week, so we are enjoying our time together. Bethany is just as busy as ever. Grandmom calls her Taz. She's not mean, but she is always on the go and leaves a path of destruction behind her. She has really started talking and is putting 2-3 words together. Her eye is much better and should be back to normal soon. All that is left is a little red spot. James is getting into the swing of things with his new preaching job. We went Monday and set up his office at the building. Everyone seems to like his sermons so far, he is doing an excellent job in my opinion. I will be glad when we get into some kind of routine. We had some time before we had to pick up Megan on Monday, so we took a quick trip to Kansas. Yes, Kansas, it is only 23 miles from Nowata. We checked out Coffeyville, had lunch, and came back. I am doing fine. Just trying to stay busy and stay out of the way here at the house. I am ready to get my own house here. It will be better for all of us, I think. I have started teaching Megan's class at church. I have never taught that age level, but we are getting through it just fine. I have also started Weight Watcher's with Mom. I lost 3.4 pounds the first week. Yeah for me! Can't wait to be "thin" again. I know I will feel so much better. Guess that's about it for now. Will post some pictures soon. They are all on Mom's camera, so I will have to get her to put them on the computer. Love you all! AK

Precious Moments

There are some moments in life that are just so precious. Some make you laugh, some bring tears to your eyes. This is one of those precious moments that James and Megan share every morning and it always brings tears to my eyes. James walks Megan to school every morning. Just across the street they have a spot where they always stop and say a prayer. What a wonderful way for them to start the day!

2000

If you scroll down to the bottom of the screen, you will see a "ticker" that shows how many times this site has been viewed. It is almost at 2000. Scroll down to see if you are number 2000. If you are, let me know. I think Mom was number 1000.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Okay, so today I hit the big 3-0! I can't say I feel any different. James bought me roses and is taking me to dinner tonight. YEA! I am also supposed to be getting a poodle puppy sometime within the next year. I grew up with a poodle and can't wait to have another one. I will have to get a puppy naming poll on here whenever we finally get her. I hope you all are having a great day!


Today would have also been my grandpa's 87th birthday. We got to spend 12 birthdays together. I wish it had been more! I always think of him all day on our birthday and wonder what it would be like if he had lived longer.....

Surgery Over

Before
The awful eye patch
After









Bethany in her cute hospital jammies trying to take off her id bracelet.













Bethany's surgery was this morning at 11:00. Everything went really well and she did GREAT. They came in around 10:45 and gave her some "goofy juice", which did make her really silly. There were no needles or ivs, so that was excellent for this mama. She went back with them a little after 11:00. She went without crying or anything (another nice thing for mama). She was only away from us for about 20 minutes. She did have a little more bleeding than expected, but it was easily controlled with a pressure patch. She was not happy having that patch on and tried numerous times to yank it off. Thankfully they came and took it off soon after they brought her to us. She is now at home and doing well. Her eye should be completely back to normal in 1-2 weeks. I think her least favorite part of the day was being weighed and having to wear that silly hospital bracelet. What a silly girl! I have some very cute pictures of her in her hospital jammies that I will have to get on here. Also have some before and after pics to post. Thank you all so much for your prayers!

Who ever heard of a chalazion?

A couple of weeks ago a small bump appeared underneath Bethany's right eye. Within a day or two it had gotten a red and a little bigger. I assumed she had a sty and decided to watch it. A week later it hasn't gotten better, only bigger and redder. So I took her to the doctor. He said she had a chalazion, it is a blocked gland under neath the eye that fills up and then bursts (at least that is how I understood it). So I took her to a specialist today, they have decided to go ahead and drain it. I'm kind of freaking out about this a little. I'm not sure exactly what they will do, but I'm sure she won't like it. She will be going in Thursday, but I do not have a time yet. They should be calling me with a time and some more specifics. Please pray that all will go smoothly and she will not have any complications.

Not a good day....

Poor Megan, she did not have a good day. For the most part, I guess I didn't either. Megan woke up and needed to take a shower. She assured me she was washing her hair. When she got out, her hair had not been washed. So she had to get back in. We finally got her all dressed and off to school. She forgot her library book and didn't get to bring home a new one. :( Then she thought I had forgotten to come have lunch with her (I was 30 seconds late). I took her out of school a few minutes early for a doctors appt, she hates to leave school early. Then I took her and Bethany to the eye doctor. I had to hold each of them down while they put drops in their eyes to dilate them, they kicked and screamed the whole time. Plus she had the normal bumps and glitches in the life of a 5 year old. She says she still can't see things close because her eyes are still big in the middle. I told her we needed to pray about it and hopefully tomorrow will be a better day. On a good note, she does not need glasses. YEAH!!!

Picture Taker

Megan found my camera the other day and took some pictures. While I wish she wasn't playing with my camera, she did take some cute pictures. Thought I would share two with you.

Please cook safely!

I know, I know, long time, no blog! I have been so stressed and busy with James career change and our move that I haven't felt like it ;ately. I've got some pictures to post, but no time for that right now. I did want to share this email with you all that I got from a friend. It's kind of frightening what can happen in a kitchen. More news later...


Kitchen fire-life saving info

The video is only 34 seconds long--worth watching!!!Please read this info before you watch the video clip.This is worth KNOWING!
Maybe this could keep someone from having a disaster.This is a great video. Everyone should watch it and take heed.At a Fire Fighting Training school they demonstrated this with a deep fat fryer set on the fire field.An instructor would don a fire suit and using an 8 oz. cup at the end of a 10 foot pole toss water onto the grease fire.The results got the attention of the students.With the water being heavier than the oil, it sinks to the bottom where it instantly becomes superheated. The explosive force of the steam blows the burning oil up and out. On the open field it became a thirty foot high fireball that resembles a nuclear blast. Inside the confines of a Kitchen, the fire ball hits the ceiling and fills the entire room.Also, do not throw sugar or flour on a grease fire. One cup creates the explosive force of two sticks of dynamite! Now THAT is scary!!

Money Girl

I forgot to tell you a funny that happened a couple of weeks ago while we were having our garage sale. Bethany got into the money box and says "Money." and points at her pocket. We have been known to give her money a time or two because she likes to pick it in her pocket. So I gave her a couple of quarters to put in her pocket. She very excitedly puts it in her pocket, then says "Dollar." :) Oh boy, are we in trouble or what!?!

First Day of School

French Fries and Water

Words of Wisdom from Megan:

"If you dip your french fries in water, and you taste it, it's yucky! Do not try that!"

I will do my best to follow these profound words! ;)

Circus

For Bethany's birthday, a group of us went to the circus. We had lots of fun and created lots of memories. We are so glad that so many of you joined us during this fun time. I just wanted to share a few pictures with those of you that couldn't make it.



Bethany wasn't too sure about the clown, but she stayed still long enough for a picture.








Megan and Bethany on the elephant pedestal.
















Megan wouldn't go anywhere near the clowns, but she loved dressing up.










James, Jeff, Megan, and Parker all dressed up in circus attire.















Bethany and Megan get a close look at the tiger before the show.











Megan and Shai get up close to one of the elephants.










Here is Bethany picking up an elephant tooth. It sure was heavy for such a little girl.

You want to wear what?

So I thought I had a few years to go before my little girl was picking out her own clothes. So, Megan's big enough to do that, right? Well, it's not Megan, it's Bethany! Yesterday James told her we needed to go get dressed for church. She went to her room and brought back a diaper and her little jeans. James went tried to hand her a shirt, nope that's not what she wanted. She wanted to see in the next drawer up. So James picked her up and she dug around until she found the shirt she wanted. She did the same thing with me today.... She is getting way to big, way too fast. Below are the two ensembles she has put together. It looks like she likes to wear jeans, ahhhhh, a girl after my own heart....

Bethany's first two outfits she picked out herself. Plus a little oreo mouth.... hahaha

Funny!

We were in the car tonight after buying Megan's school supplies. We were talking about what was expected at school and what we expected of her. James tells her that he expects her to be valedictorian of her class. I told her that if she is valedictorian she can go to any school she wants to (thinking of college). Megan very adamantly says "NO I want to go to kindergarten!!!" :D

100 About Me

1. I was born on my Grandpa's birthday.
2. I always thought that was cool.
3. I became a Christian when I was 13.
4. I was born in Texas.
5. Even though we lived in Oklahoma.
6. We moved to Texas when I was 12.
7. I would like to move back to OK
8. I have one brother.
9. I have one sister.
10. My first cat's name was Boots.
11. I was in a flood once.
12. It was scarey.
13. I have hit the windshield of a car.
14. I always wear my seat belt now.
15. My favorite teacher was Ms. Griffith.
16. I cried on the first day of school when I found out she was going to be my teacher.
17. I always thought my sister was the prettiest, coolest person around.
18. I always wanted to be just like her.
19. I love to cross stitch.
20. I haven't cross stitched much since I had kids.
21. I think my kids are the greatest thing on the planet.
22. Even if they do fight sometimes.
23. The ends of my pregnancies weren't easy, to say the least.
24. Leaving my baby at the hospital was one of the worst days of my life.
25. Bringing her home was one of the best!
26. Not having to leave my second baby at the hospital was also one of the best!
27. I've spent 28 days at a hospital as a patient.
28. I've spent several more sleeping next to my babies.
29. I don't want any more kids.
30. If I did have another, I would want a girl.
31. Speaking of the best days, my wedding day 8 years ago ranks right up there too!
32. I love my hubby!
33. I like all vegetables.
34. Fruit is okay.
35. I don't really like watermelon.
36. I like my house.
37. I wish my bathrooms and closets were bigger.
38. I would like to have a fenced in back yard.
39. I need to get my house cleaned up.
40. The smell of most candles makes my nose burn.
41. My first car was a Corsica.
42. I loved that car.
43. I like my minivan more.
44. I don't normally buy clothing for myself unless it's on sale.
45. I don't budget like I should.
46. I love homemade egg rolls.
47. I don't like to eat anything that lives in the water.
48. I love to see my babies smile.
49. I love to watch my babies playing nicely together.
50. My favorite shows are the home makeover shows.
51. I also like some reality tv.
52. I would watch more CSI type shows, but I can' watch them with my kids around.
53. I am halfway done.
54. I have a weird fascination with numbers and how they relate.
55. My favorite number is 2. (Megan was born in '02, Bethany was born on the 2nd. I have 2 girls. If you add Megan and Bethany's birthdays together (27 & 2) until you get a single number, it is 2. 2+7+2=11, 1+1=2 or 27+2=29, 2+9=11, 1+1=2. See my weird fascination.)
56. My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving.
57. I broke my foot one time with the help of my sister.
58. I broke my finger all by myself.
59. I like to read, especially mysteries.
60. I have 6 nephews, 3 nieces, and one unknown. (just found out the "unknown" is a BOY!)
61. I would like to have a couple of more nieces.
62. I went to one university and 2 Jr Colleges.
63. I am not any where near having a degree.
64. Our family reunion is one of the best times of the year.
65. I wish more of our family thought so too.
66. I like all things Italian.
67. My dream house will have an Italian theme.
68. We lived just down the street from my grandma when I was 5.
69. I liked riding my tricycle to her house.
70. Church camp is great.
71. I wish they would still let me go.
72. I hope to get to go as a counselor some day.
73. My favorite princess is Belle.
74. I like to talk to my mom and my sister on the phone.
75. I talk to them both almost every day.
76. I wish we lived closer to each other.
77. My high school mascot was a Ricebird.
78. I was in the Ricebird band for 6 years.
79. I marched all 4 years of high school.
80. I played the flute.
81. I think I still know how to play.
82. I was on the drama team for 2 years.
83. I only worked behind the scenes.
84. I am a member of the National Thespian Society.
85. I am one of the world's worst organizers.
86. I wish I wasn't.
87. Our church family is the best!
88. I am currently teaching the 2-3 year olds.
89. I like my class. (I usually just have 2 boys)
90. Church potlucks are fun.
91. I let my children sleep with me.
92. I wish I didn't.
93. I believe totally in the providence of God!
94. I need to pray more often.
95. My favorite verse is 1 Corinthians 10:13
96. I need to have my children's picture taken more often.
97. I miss all of my family.
98. I love to play games, and get a little competitive sometimes.
99. I used to really like roller coasters.
100. This was harder than I thought.

Debt Collectors

I know they are just doing their job, but I wish I could reach through the phone and strangle every one of them. If I had the money, I would give it to them!!!!!! I am not sitting over here with cash in hand and just refusing to give it to them. We don't live extravagantly. We don't eat out at fancy places. McDonalds sees us a lot less frequently than they used to, my A/C is set on 80, we don't go on fancy vacations (or any for that matter), and we don't do all of those expensive fun things that every body else seems to do. So I'm not real sure where they think we can get the $$$ from. I didn't choose to have expensive babies, it just happened okay!?! I am soooooooo sick of them calling me all day, every day! The hospital they represent got 10s of 1000s from my insurance, can they please just leave me alone! They have REALLY ticked me off today, can you tell!?!

Where in the world is Bartlesville, OK?

That's what we all said when we found out Dad was looking at a job up there. I guess we will all soon find out exactly where it is. Dad has accepted a job offer with ConocoPhillips. I'm still not sure exactly what he will be doing, but what else is new? I do know he will be working normal hours and will have weekends off. How exciting! He is starting his new job on July 23. Mom has "retired" and will be moving up there as soon as the house sells. If you're looking for a house in Rockdale TX, let me know. :) They have a really great place! Needless to say Uncle Russell is very happy, they will not be too far from him. I think Mom and Dad are also excited to be moving back to "God's Country".

Washer and Dryer

Aren't they pretty!
This dryer is HUGE!








I forgot to tell you about our new washer and dryer! We got them a couple of weeks ago. They are so nice and so big! I love them! It almost makes laundry fun, notice I said almost! :) I am very thankful to have them and even more thankful that I no longer have to go to the laundromat!

15?

Megan and I have been counting a lot lately. We are still working on getting to twenty. I think if we can ever get there, she will not have a problem getting to 100. As for now it is still.... 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, etc. Where is 15? I always try to jump in there, but she doesn't always get it. If I remember correctly she skipped 5 for a long time too. I know she will get it eventually. She's a smart girl!

Ba-by

Bethany has started carrying this baby with her every where she goes. Not necessarily at home all of the time, but if we leave the house, Baby must go with us. She is so cute dragging that little doll around. I am not used to carrying something like that with us, Bethany usually takes care of that. So we left for the library today without Baby. It was not pretty when Bethany went to get her from her usual spot on the floor of the car, and she was not there. I assured her Baby was at home taking a nap and would be ready to play when we got home. Sure enough Baby was all rested up and has been playing nicely since we got back.... :)

Diddle Diddle...

How many times have we said or heard Hey Diddle Diddle, the cat and the fiddle.... Have you in all those times every wondered who Diddle Diddle was? I personally had never thought about it until today.... Meet Diddle Diddle, he is on the far right by the dish and the spoon.

He is a funny little guy and is pretty good at directing. Today during story time they had a puppet show. It was all about getting the cow to jump over the moon. He always wanted to jump through, or under, or beside. When they threatened to bring in a "stunt cow" he finally cooperated. After all he needs the job, he does have calves to feed, you know. When he did finally jump over the moon, he landed right on Diddle Diddle. It was a cute little story. Megan has been talking about it ever since. Her favorite part was the when they threatened to bring out the "stunt cow". She still laughs when she talks about it. She is so funny sometimes.

The Library

Megan got her very own library card yesterday. She is so proud. She immediately went and got her five book limit (that is just the first time, after that it is umlimited). While we were there we found out about the story time they were having today. She really enjoyed it. I should have been taking her all summer. Oh welll. It starts back up in August. We will have to go for sure then.