Elizabeth B. Whiddon

Today has been a very sad day for the Whiddon family. James' aunt Elizabeth went home to her reward this morning at 7:35. We rejoice that she is now with our Saviour, but we are grieving for our loss here on earth. Please keep her husband, Jim, and their two boys in your prayers. My heart is broken..... It's not fair....

Megan's Birthday Pictures

Eating "breakfast"
The cake
Stick the tail on the donkey....
Megan and her cake
Blow out the candles
Watching Scooby Doo
Chicken Limbo
"Present time, present time, open a present and sees what's inside..."

















It took me a while to narrow down which ones I wanted on here, but I think these tell the story.

Megan's Birthday

Time for a post about Megan's birthday..... January 27 is such a special day. It is the day my precious baby girl Megan entered our lives in 2002. It is usually a very emotional day for me. As you know, her birthday was a joyous day, but it was also a scary day. We were not prepared for her to come so soon, and neither were her little lungs. I try not to think about what could have happened that day, but when I do, it makes me so very thankful that I get to hug and kiss her beautiful face every day. She is growing up so fast. She lets me know that every day. She likes to tell me that "I can do (fill in the blank), I'm 5. Remember?" Too cute! We have come a long way from that sick little baby in the NICU.
We had her birthday party on her birthday this year. We had a "Pretend Sleepover" at Ethan's house. Since a lot of her friends are boys and she is only 5, we just had to pretend. All her friends came in their jammies, and we served them breakfast for dinner. We played "pin the tail on the donkey", "chicken limbo", and they went "fishing". Her cake was so cute, if I do say so myself. It looked like 5 little people laying in bed under the covers. I will be posting pictures shortly. I think all the kids had a great time. Once we had cake, opened gifts, and got things under control a little, they all layed down and watched Scooby-Doo. I think it turned out to be a great party. I owe a big thank-you to my friends Liz and Lea for helping me pull it off!
So Happy Birthday sweet Megan. I hope you had a great time. I hope you always remember this day and smile, I know I will. You are getting so big!!!!!! I love you with all my heart!

Happy Birthday Megan!

A very happy 5th birthday goes out to my sweet, sweet Megan! I love you so much Big Girl! I will post pictures and info about the day later. Right now I am worn out and ready for bed!

New Layout!

I was playing and thought I would change the look of the background. I lost my ticker and my little birthday counters at the bottom in the process, but I guess I can put those back. Do you like this new brighter look or should I change it back? Let me know!

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

It has been so cold here for the last few days. The last time I went outside was Sunday after services. It has not gotten over 35 degrees since Saturday. It has been coldy, windy, and icey! We even got a little bit of snow this morning. I am ready for some warm weather. I am so tired of being cold. Our electric bill was too high last month, so I don't want to crank up the heater too high. I definitely will not be going to Colorado in the winter, I know I couldn't stand it. Sorry Amy!
Still trying to settle plans for Megan's birthday. I need to get the invitations done and get them out soon. Not much else going on here.

Tpyos

I was goning oevr smoe old pstos tnioght and funod sverael toyps. Why didn't someone tell me?

Sweet moments....

This is a sweet moment every day. The moment when Daddy gets home from work! Bethany always runs and gives him a big hug and Megan hides to see how long it will take for Daddy to find her. She always giggles and gives away where she is (usually behind the recliner or by the back door). This day Megan was sick and wanted Daddy to hold her. Bethany was not happy about Daddy not holding her too, so he ended up with both in his arms! Too cute!

Here is a sweet moment I caught on film the other day. They sat there quietly and at that whole bowl of popcorn without fighting once.

Megan is sick

Bethany ran a fever for a day or two last week and has since had a little cough and runny nose. She is doing better now, just a little runny nose. Megan came down with it Sunday. She has been running a fever, had a runny nose, yucky cough, watery eyes, etc... She has even had a little wheezing, but that went away with one breathing treatment. Well, today I decided it was time to go to the doctor. Good thing I did. She has an ear infection. Thankfully that's all it is. She is now on antibiotics and the doctor recommended 3 breathing treatments a day until the cough gets better. She should be doing much better within the next 24 hours.

Pictures

This is Bethany with the ornament she brought me off of the tree. Poor baby didn't understand that is wasn't a real Hershey's kiss. She was a little upset when I wouldn't/couldn't open it. I finally had to put it up where she couldn't see it.

Be sure to check out all the pictures I have added. I hope you enjoy. It was a pain getting them all on here. For whatever reason, it would only allow me to add one at a time. GRRRRR I started adding at "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" with a picture of our tree and the lights on the house.

Elizabeth

Please continue to keep James aunt Elizabeth and her family in your prayers. They are having to make some big decisions concerning her cancer treatment. She is currently in Houston and they hope to be bringing her back to Dallas within the next couple of days. They will then have to decide whether to try one more chemo treatment or just let things happen as they may. What a terrible decision to have to make! I know they are going through a tremendously difficult time. Please keep her, her husband Jim, and their boys, Johnathan and Daniel, in your prayers. Don't forget to check on them at www.elizw.com I'm sure any words of encouragement would be greatly appreciated!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Welcome to 2007! Year of the Boar, according to the Chinese calendar! The year of the Boar: is one of benevolence, one with a lot of 'feel good factor', one of "abundance" and a good year for business. Life in this year will be lived to the full and although there will be uncertainty it will be minimal. It is a rich year with impetuous acts, but care is recommended with any matters concerning money. The Boar is the symbol for great courage and integrity.

Not sure what all of that means, but interesting anyway. So far 2007 has been okay. Not much going on at the moment. I still haven't taken down all of our Christmas decorations, but I'm getting there. The lights are almost all down off the house and bushes, and everything is on the kitchen table or still on the tree. Here are some events and happenings that we look forward to this year here at the Morton household.........
Megan will be turning 5 soon. She is getting so big. She is big enough to start kindergarten in the fall. That means she is really growing up. So sad, yet so exciting all at the same time. It doesn't seem possible that my little 6 pound 1 oz premature baby should be starting school already. We are considering holding her back a year. Not because she isn't smart enough or because we really want to (because we know without a doubt she is plenty smart and could do it), but because we think emotionally it might be better for her in the long run. We are not sure what we are going to do yet, but just something we will be thinking about. I know God will guide us in the direction we need to go, if we will just listen. He has blessed us with a very sweet spirited little girl, and our hope and prayer is to guide her in the way He wants us to.
Bethany will turn 2 this year. She is growing so fast. She has been such a wonderful addition to our family. She and Megan don't always get along, but they are starting to have some really sweet moments. Just the other day I found them quietly playing together in the play room. Such a sweet moment. She is really starting to talk and I'm sure will be carrying on conversations with us by the end of the year. She has recently added "sister", "cookie", "barbie", and many others to her vocabulary. We can't wait to see her beautiful personality develop this year. She is another one of God's GREAT blessings in life.
James took on another job. He will now be working in the evenings and on Saturdays preparing taxes. We will miss having him around in the evenings, but maybe we can start digging our way out of this sea of debt we are in. I now can relate to the old saying about drowning in a sea of debt. It certainly does feel that way! Hopefully this year we will be able to do some repairs on the house also. Just minor, mostly cosmetic, things that need to be done here and there. James got a couple of Home Depot gift cards for Christmas, so that should help out with that.
I will be turning the big 3-0 this year. That's about all I have to say about that....
We plan on taking a trip to Colorado this year to see Amy. I've never been to, only through, Colorado, so I am really looking forward to that. She is already planning our itinerary. I'm sure she will find plenty of fun things for us to do on our limited budget.
We are also looking forward to the arrival of our new nephew in May. This will bring James' Mom up to 7 grandkids. It will also gives us a total of 9 nieces and nephews (6 nephews and 3 nieces). We pray for the new baby's safe arrival, for him and for his mommy, April. He will definitely make the blog as soon as he arrives!
We certainly look forward to the new year and all the challenges and blessings it will bring to us. We will keep you posted on our "moments" and would love to hear about yours. Much peace, love, joy, and happiness to all of you. May we all learn to be more like Christ in the new year so that we may all celebrate together in Heaven someday. Love you all!!!~Amanda

New Year's Eve

This is what's left a few days after Megan's fall. I should have taken a picture sooner. Oh well....


We spent New Year's Eve just hanging out. Mom and I watched her new movie while the guys took a nap. James did the preaching that day. He did a great job both times. Mom and I missed part of the evening service taking care of Megan. Just before we left for church she somehow managed to fall down the stairs. It was scarey. Both of my kids have fallen down those stairs now. *knock on wood* we have escaped both times with minor injuries. She got a nice scrape/carpet burn on her face along with various bumps and bruises here and there. I am so thankful that is all she did. We spent the evening with everyone at Mom and Dad's church. We had a nice potluck dinner and then played 42 til just before midnight. Mom took the girls home after dinner and put them to bed so I could stay and enjoy the evening. Thanks Mom!!! Just before midnight we cleaned up and sang in the New Year. 2006 was a good year. We had a few bumps along the way, but all in all we stayed healthy and happy. We hope 2007 turns out to be as happy, healthy, and blessed!

Christmas again....

The cousins play Twister.
Bethany wants to play too.
Eating, enough said....

The six Anderson grandkids.
Grandpa, Grandmom, and the kids.

We had our family Christmas on Saturday. It was nice to have Aunt Wanda and Sarah join us this year! We had steak, broccoli rice casserole, corn crunch, green bean casserole, salad, and rolls...YUMMY! Our theme for our Christmas this year was "A Timely Christmas". Our gifts had to have something to do with "time". There were lots of clocks, calendar, and a Bible there to fight over. Amy came up with a cool game this year instead of the regular one we play. We rolled dice until we got doubles, then we opened a gift. We did that until everyone had a gift. Then for 10 minutes we got to roll. Anytime you got doubles you could steal from someone else. Amy and I fought over the Bible, but in the end she won. BOOOOO! I did get a really nice black mantle clock. So I didn't really lose. I think I am going to redo my back living room around that clock. It is time for a new look. James got the dry-erase board calendar. YEAH! I have been wanting one of those for a while. I just have to find a place to put it now. That's about all we did. The kids had fun ripping into their presents that day. The kids all got new games for their gaming systems and clothes. Other that we just ate, visited, and finished a puzzle.

Off to Mom and Dad's

Aunt Amy fixed all the girls hair. Look at all the bows!
Bethany "helped" with the puzzle.












The day after Christmas it was off to Mom and Dad's house. James had to go back to work on the 27th, so we met Dad halfway. It was a nice trip. Mom and Amy had gone to find Mom a new tree and got back about thirty minutes after we got there. It was good to see Amy and spend some time with her. I think the kids got along better this time than they have in the past. Amy and I spent a lot of time working on puzzles. We got three put together in the time I was there. They had already started the first one, but it was hard so it took us a few days to finish. We didn't do much but take care of the kids and the puzzle, but it was nice just to be together.

Christmas

Even Megan's coat got ironed with her new iron and ironing board from her sister.
Twas the night before christmas....
Bethany opens her presents from Santa.

Megan with a stocking stuffer from Santa.
Megan and her first Barbies.
Wow, ripping off paper is fun!

Papa in the tunnel Bethany got from Santa.
The six Morton grandkids.
Papa and his girls!

Our Christmas went well. We spent Christmas Eve and Day at Grammy's house. The kids got PLENTY of new toys. Megan loved her new kid size iron and ironing board she got from her sister. I think she ironed everything in her suit case! Santa did well again. I think they both got things they enjoy. Megan got her very first Barbie with matching Ken and a carriage to ride in to the ball. Bethany got a cool tunnel to call through and around, even Papa joined in on that action. :) We all had fun Christmas morning watching the kids open their gifts. Megan was so sweet and let Bethany open all of her gifts first. Of course Bethany wanted to help Megan open too. Bethany sure had fun tearing the paper off of everything. She enjoyed it so much that she got to help Mommy and Daddy open some too. All of James siblings and their kids came later in the day. It was fun for all of us to be together. It doesn't happen much anymore since Jared and Ann moved to Florida. Everyone spent the night except for Camille and Scott. All the beds were full and the young boys took the floor in the dining room. I went to sleep to the sound of Pirates of the Caribbean II, but no big deal to me. It was kind of sad to see the day end.