Thanksgiving

 

We had a quiet Thanksgiving at home this year...

I was so happy that Gabe came up to join us...

I know we can't have our kids every holiday...

but I just love it when we do...

 My guy requested a chocolate pie... Gabe's not really much of a sweet eater, so I didn't think he cared what kind of pie we had...actually, I don't even think he ate any.

Now if Joshua had been here, I would have made 2 chocolate pies...one for Joshua and one for us.

I love Thanksgiving... especially with my family!

A date with Emerson

November 13th, I was driving back from Lindsey's...met Gabe to pick up Emerson's car seat...and then went to his day care to pick him up for a date!

Earlier in the day, Kay (his day care provider) told Emerson, "Your Mimi is coming to pick you up for lunch!"

"My daddy's Mimi?" he asked.

"Yes," answered Kay.

"You mean Judy?"

When I pulled up to the house, there he was...standing at the window...waving and waving and waving with a huge smile on his face.  When I walked in, he was ready with a big, tight, long-lasting hug...which just about melted this Mimi's heart!

We visited a few minutes...then went outside to get in his carseat.  I asked him if he would like to go to In n Out burger.

"I don't like burgers," was his answer.

"OK...well, what would you like for lunch?"

"Cheese pizza!"

Off to a pizza place we went!

 We sat and visited while our food was cooking...  Emerson was coloring a turkey. 

 I asked him what else he liked to eat.

"My dad cooks chicken nuggets and fish sticks.  My mama cooks cheese pizza.  That's what I like!" he told me. 

 I was telling him how I had seen his dad to pick up his car seat...

"What did he say?" Emerson asked.

"Oh, he talked about one of his projects he's working on," I told him,
"What else did he say?" asked Emerson.
"Well, he told me about your preschool."
"What else did he say?"
I told him a little more.
"What else did he say?"

This kept on...even when I told him, "Well, that's all he really said," he asked again,'
"What else did he say?"

It was hilarious!

His first two pieces of pizza, he told me he didn't like crust.

I told him I loved the crust.

On his third piece, he said he was going to eat the crust. 

 He asked me to cut it up for him...

I did...

He asked me to take another picture of him...

I did... 

 "Mimi, we are on a date!" he said.

"Emerson, you're absolutely right!  I just love going on a date with you for lunch!"

What fun it was!  I was driving home thinking about how Emerson has grown...in so many ways.  We sat together in a restaurant...sat there and visited...and colored....and visited...and had lunch together.

I love this little guy...so, so much!

Loving his bath!

 William is enjoying his big-boy status these days...

 He's watched his brother and cousin take baths in the big tub, and now he can join them... He told us it was big time fun!

 I'm not sure how much he wanted his picture made while he was in his birthday suit... We told him it was OK...it was the way you were suppose to look in a tub...

and then he was OK with it...

back to playing and splashing in the water...

Yummers!

 William is enjoying all the new tastes!

He even likes to lick the spoon...to get every last drop!

 Sometimes Linz uses the two-spoon approach...let him chew on one while she gets more food on the 2nd one...

Then she substitutes one for the other...

oops...I don't think William was too happy about that one! 

Lindsey and William

 

Our little man is almost 9 months old...

It's hard for me to believe that much time has gone by...

 

He's going to be a "bruiser" as his Saddie would say...tough...seeing as he has an older brother to contend with.  You may notice he has a bruise on his head...

I have no idea how he got that one..

Maybe he grabbed one of his brother's toys?

Lindsey and William... 

Lindsey definitely loves her little men!

Of course, their daddy is pretty crazy about them too...

The ABC Song

Benjamin has loved cars since he was a little guy...

He also loves to sing, as I said in an earlier post...

and he especially loves to listen to his CD's in the car...

 He told me that when he got to be a big boy, he would drive me to Trader Joes!

That will be fun...but my little men are growing up so fast, I just want to savor their ages right now!

Benjamin in perfect light!

 

Benjamin...

 

I had so much fun with him when I was last down at their house...

 We read books...Many Moons (Princess Lenore)...and Grandma's Pear Tree...

 

We spent a lot of time in the car...just with the battery turned on... listening to The ABC Song, The Silly Song, and The Wheels on the Bus...

Benjamin loves to put the CD's in, watch for the display to say "Read"...and then for the it to say "Track One"...he gets ready and sings...

 When these photos were taken, he was asking about going out to the car to listen to music...but what I noticed was the light...the light coming through the windows was perfect!  I kept him talking while I pulled out my camera and captured my little man in front of the window. 

Then...we went out to sing!

Thankful Tree

 Lindsey and Donnie have a 'Thankful Tree' this year.  In the evening, they'll talk about something they're thankful for, write it on a leaf, then hang the leaf on the tree.

Benjamin likes to put the leaves on...  I asked him what he was thankful for... "I'm thankful for my family, bananas, and tomatoes!"  was his answer.

On Facebook this year, quite a few people are posting something they're thankful for each day.  Some are doing '30 days of Gratitude'... call it what you want, but I think it's a great idea.   I put a leaf on the 'thankful tree', but also thought it would be a good thing to make a list.  Since there are 30 days in November, I guess that's where the '30 days of Gratitude' came from. 

My list..in no particular order:

I am thankful for...
1.  My family in general...
2.  Ron...He's been my best friend since I was 14 years old...
3.  Mom...Where would I be without her?  I'm thankful for her independence, for the health she's enjoyed..
4.  Our home...I may not like the weather here (too cool)...but this is home. 
5.  My grandkids!  I LOVE LOVE LOVE being Mimi! 
6.  Teaching... I complain at times about being swamped...about the politics involved...but I love teaching!
7.  Blogs!  I obviously love to blog since I have 10 blogs already...but I also have a few that I love to read.
8.  Thalia...I've already said "my grandkids", but Thalia has so many gifts I'm thankful for.  Her music ministry amazes me...her talents in singing and playing the guitar.  
9.  People to People... I'm so thankful I've gotten involved with this organization.  I love to travel and I've been able to visit so many countries around the world because of them!
10.  Joshua...He was my first...I'm so thankful for the man he has become...for his devotion to family.
11.  Coffee!  Should that be on a list?  I so enjoy those first couple of cups in the mornings.
12.  Good health.  I know this is a gift...and we don't all have it. 
13.  Gabrial...I love all my kids, but for years, Gabrial was my affectionate one, the one who I talked to the most, the one who was my rock...
14.  Kitchen-Aide mixer!  yep, I'm thankful for that!  I love to cook, and it's the appliance I use the absolute most.
15.  My girlfriends.  For 20 years or so, I've had 9 other women who were my very close friends.  I don't know what I would do without them. 
16.  Lindsey...my baby girl...I'm in awe of her...her drive, her convictions.  I am thankful that I get to watch her as a mother...to be close to her...
17.  Texas!  It's where I grew up and I'm thankful for that.  My mom and my mother-in-law still call it home...among other members of our family.
18.  d90 ... that's the name of my camera.  I bought it right before Emerson was born, and it's almost like another limb of mine. 
19.  John David...my brother.  I can talk to him like I talk to no one else..he understands me in ways no one else does...because we are so alike in so many ways...
20.  Those that have gone before me...like my Dad...and Mimi...my Aunt Jane.  I'm thankful that I had them...for the influences they had on my life.
21.  Hope...it's what keeps me going at times.
22.  Coziness of sitting by the wood stove!  I'm so glad we put this stove in with our addition!
23.  Storms!  Strange, I know, but I love it (when I don't have to go to work) when it's storming outside and I'm inside the warm house (See #22!) writing a blog, like I am right now!
24.  Vacations... all types!  Right now, it's a vacation from school...but we're not going anywhere.  At Christmas, we'll vacation in Colorado...
25.  Christmas!  I love holidays when I've got my family around me. 
26.  God's presence in my life...which is what I'm most thankful for.  I want to know Him more...to see, hear, and feel His presence.  He's what gives me #21!
22.  Donnie...my only son-in-law...He is a man of God and I'm so thankful for that.
23.  Erica...what an absolute jewel she is!
24.  Emily...she helped give us Emerson...I miss her.
25.  Watercolors!  I am so thankful I started doing this.  I need to take the time....find the time, to do it more.
26.  Teachers!  Not me, but those that teach me.  Each of my kids teach me...Alan is my watercolor teacher...Dennis is our pastor and he teaches me...
27.  Changing colors of the leaves.  I'm sitting here right now looking out the door at the multiple colored leaves on the blueberry bushes.  They're gorgeous.  Someday, I hope to see the changing colors in the northeast, like my friend Pam did this year! 
28.  The farm.  The farm has been in Ron's family for years.  I'm thankful for all the memories we have from there...and hopefully for more to come.
29.  Becky...my sister in law...I am in awe of her ...of her faith in my brother ... and her faith in general..
30.  I was getting ready to write PSE9...(Photoshop Elements 9) which I love to play with...but then I realized this is #30...I am thankful for it, but I'm also thankful that I could continue to name people and things I'm thankful for...

Chosen

 

Thalia and Joshua

Once upon a time...Joshua and Erica met...started dating...

but Erica, in her wisdom and love for her daughter, didn't introduce her to Joshua...not until she was sure that Joshua was the one, that he was the one for her.

We were then introduced to Thalia...and I remember the first time this little one walked through our front door.  I remember her asking me 'Why are you so excited to see me?'

I had been getting to know her through Joshua..through his stories of her...

She's been our granddaughter for years...our first grandchild...our first granddaughter...Joshua has been her Dad...has been there for her...loving her...and the affection has been returned.

Thalia had her last name changed ... think it was about a year ago... but others wouldn't agree to an adoption... 

until now...

This morning...at 8:30 a.m., they went before the judge...and Joshua and Thalia legally became Father and daughter...

I knew it was happening...but when I got the text message from Joshua that it was complete...I was sitting in my classroom...in tears.

Nothing changes... Joshua, Erica, and Thalia have been a family...but now it's all legal..

We couldn't be happier!  Thalia...we love you so much!

Ho Ho Ho!

 The names have been drawn!  My guy and I made a list...and then duplicated the list, cut it into strips, then drew names, filling them in the order they were drawn.

 There are 16 of us... Thalia, Emerson, Benjamin, and William are not in the drawing...  seeing as they are youngsters!

Here's the list:  The first column is who buys and the second column is who you buy for:

Saddie......... buys for Donnie
John David...buys for Patti
Becky...........buys for Ron
Sami.............buys for GRITS
Addison........buys for Lindsey
Soo...............buys for Joshua
Joshua...........buys for John David
Erica.............buys for Sami
Gabe..............buys for Erica
Linz...............buys for Gabe
Donnie..........buys for Saddie
Patti...............buys for Judy
GRITS...........buys for Soo
Liz..................buys for Addison
Judy...............buys for Becky
Ron................buys for Liz

I hope everyone is looking forward to our time together...I know we sure are!

October 20

 

William sang 'Happy Birthday' to his Papa...

 Then he thought about giving him the birthday card he and Benjamin had made... He decided to chew on it for awhile...

 

As his Papa opened his card from Emerson, Emerson certainly didn't want him to chew on it!

 Papa was reading it...and told William what it said...

 

Emerson wanted to read it to his Papa...so William quietly sat there and listened...

 They all three read it together...and oohed and ahhed over how well Emerson wrote his own name!

 "I want to see that," said William...

 At that point, both the big boys came over, playing with their airplanes...

 William wasn't interested in the planes...he was happy with both his Papa's birthday cards!

 William's mama and his Uncle Gabe were hanging out visiting....

 Uncle Donnie was there, too, and Emerson wanted to read with him.

 It was definitely a happy birthday for my guy...having 2 of our 3 kids with us...and 3 of our 4 grandkids!