Happy Halloween!

 Emma as "Tape Face" from America's Got Talent.

 Our jack-o-lanterns!

Trick or Treating with their besties!

4th Grade Graduation/Yearbook Signing

 The nuggets and Mr. John-PE and Art teacher.

 The nuggets with Ms. Lou Anne-Social Studies and Art teacher.

 The nuggets with Ms. Julie-Language Arts and Reading teacher.

 The nuggets and Ms. Liz-Science teacher.

 The nuggets and Ms. JAs-Math teacher and Robotics.


Introducing our three new 5th Graders for the 2016-2017 school year!

   

Dallas Arboretum-Last Field Trip of 2nd Grade

Daddy and I spent Wednesday with our kiddos and some friends from school on 2nd grade's last field trip of the school year.  We spent the day at the Dallas Arboretum.  We arrived around 9:20am and left at about 1:30pm  The kids started their visit with some classroom time learning about insects and their life cycles.  Their main focus at school the last few weeks have been on the metamorphosis of a caterpillar to a butterfly. After class we had a picnic lunch and then could go off exploring until about 1:30pm when we met up to leave to return to school. We decided that the Children's Exploration Center and Garden would be a great place for the kids to explore. They had a great time and we only saw a small portion of the garden.  If you live in the DFW area, I highly recommend going.  It is absolutely beautiful!  We have a plan to do a day trip with some friends from school so we can spend more time there.  And maybe, just maybe I can arrange a kid free day at the arboretum too.  I also got to catch up with a friend from high school that volunteers there.  The weather was gorgeous, the company wonderful, and the scenery was spectacular!

National Diabetes Awareness Day

For Papa, Grandpa, Papaw, Aunt Linda, Miss Amanda and her family, Mikey, and so many others out there that battle every day, we are wearing blue today to show our support for our family and loved ones with diabetes.  We are hoping and praying for a cure some day very very soon.

Happy Birthday, Stephen!!!

Today is my best friend's birthday. Stephen and I have known each other since we were in diapers and have been best friends for 30+ years. He is a wonderful person. He's far away today or far enough away to where we can't celebrate with him in person. So we're sending him lots of hugs, kisses, and love. Happy Birthday, my dear friend!!!

A Special Request

We-Henry,Emma, Daddy, and Mommy have a special request that we'd like to present to all of our blog readers. There are three very lovely ladies in our lives that we'd like to have around for a very long time who are currently battling a very nasty disease called Multiple Sclerosis. Our Aunt Julie, Aunt Tanya, and our dear friend Ali have all been diagnosed with this disease within the last 12 years. Here's the thing, on the 28th of March the National MS Society is having a charity walk/run in two of our major cities-Dallas and in Fort Worth to raise funds to help with research and treatment. There are walks being held all over the U.S. Chances are you either already know someone that has this disease or you know someone who does. So let's give them a hand and register to walk, donate to the cause, spread the word. Any help would be greatly appreciated. We've donated and we're walking this year and plan on doing so for years to come. Thanks for your help.

www.nmss.org

The above is the site address for the National MS Society where you can learn more. Take a moment or two to read and see what you can do to help.

or

Come out to cheer on the runners and teams as they raise money.
Go Team Shout Outs and Team Will Walk for JAM!!!

The Big Birthday Party!!!

To celebrate Henry and Emma turning 4 years old, we had a big birthday bash at our house on Saturday, the 7Th. Since the kids aren't in daycare or preschool yet, most of the guests were adults, with the exception of one kiddo their age and their younger cousins. We invited family and a few friends to come on over and help us celebrate. We had some yummy snacks to munch on since we knew the kids wouldn't sit still for a sit down meal. And we had birthday cake and ice cream with sprinkles! I was shooting for a themed birthday this year, but it was a no go. So we got a nice Spring themed cake and added a Tinkerbell candle for Emma and a Lightning McQueen candle for Henry. They were thrilled and thought the candles were great. Per Emma's request, Mommy even got streamers and decorated several rooms. You'll see that Mommy hasn't decorated with streamers in ages, but they were happy with the end result and that's all that counts:) Aunt Suza brought them each four helium balloons with some of their favorite characters on them so that added a bit more to the merriment. The kids and their friend Jacoby and the cousins played outside for a bit and then we called them in for cake and ice cream. They did an awesome job of blowing out their candles! And then it was on to the presents. Our kids are well loved. Something similar to a truckload of presents took over the family room. We crowded in and began the process of opening presents. The kids are pros at this now. The only problem we ran into was, Henry tore through his presents like a little tornado and got a little upset that his sissy was still opening more presents. After it was explained to him, he settled down. It was so funny watching Henry open the presents containing clothes-the bag would be opened and rummaged through and clothes tossed over his head and he would move onto the next present. Hilarious...so funny! Emma would at least pause and look at the clothes and maybe make a comment and then move on. It was a blast! And we are and continue to be so grateful to our family and friends for their generosity and love for our kids. We all had a great afternoon!

Happy Birthday, Petey!!!!

Today is our good friend, Petey's birthday!!! She turned four today:) Wow, can't believe she's that big already. She's a wonderful little girl and we hope she had a great day celebrating with her family. We love you and are sending you lots of hugs and kisses on your big day. Happy Birthday!!!!

Happy Birthday, Stephen!!!!

Today is my dear friend, Stephen's birthday!!! We sent a card, but I'm not sure if it made it to him on time. So to make sure he knows that he was thought of on his special day; we are sending lots of hugs and kisses to him:) We hope you have a wonderful day. You're loved and missed. Happy Birthday!!!

Lunch with Rob

Today we went out to lunch with our friend Rob at Red Robin. Rob is a really good friend of Daddy and Mommy's. We went out for a belated birthday lunch. Rob wasn't able to join us for Daddy's bday party the other weekend. We all had a good time together and afterwards Mommy took a picture of us. Too cute not to post:)

Happy Birthday, Ashlea!!!!

Today is our friend, Ashlea's 28th birthday!!! Hope you had a great day!!! Love you:) (Ashlea is on the left--I'm on the right)

In Loving Memory....

Christopher Neal Forrest would have been 34 today if he would have survived cancer. Chris was one of my childhood friends who I've known forever. It was a rocky start to one of the best friendships I've ever had. We met in kindergarten and hated it each. He ended up going to a different middle school and then returned in high school. It was then that our friendship blossomed into a great relationship. He was a wonderful person-smart, funny, generous in all things,musically talented, a very well rounded person. And even after he was diagnosed he stayed positive-I think that's one of the reasons he lived as long as he did after the initial diagnosis, the surgeries, the chemo and radiation. He was a real trooper. And if only I would have know that my time with him was going to run out so quickly I would have spent so much more time with him. Jason and I saw him before we left that year for a two week vacation-he was in good spirits as usual and he seemed to be feeling alright. The night we flew back in I have about four voice mails on my cell phone all from his fiance Jo hat told us a completely different story. While we were gone Chris' condition worsened drastically. He made the decision to put himself in hospice care at one of the local hospitals and had been there for a week. He had asked about me/us several times and she told him she had called-they knew that we were out of town, but she also knew that I wanted to know if things changed. We came in late that night, but I called her and she asked if we could come first thing the next day. And that's what we did. He had a private room and it was filled with his family. And then I looked over and there was my dear friend hooked up to machines. So I sat down on the edge of the bed and held his hand and told him about the trip. He was on a lot of medication, but could understand what I was saying and that it was me. As soon as I said hi, he smiled. So we stayed with him and the family for a long time and then decided we should go and that we'd come back the next day in the evening. Little did I know that the first phone call that I would receive that next morning would be Jo, his fiance, calling to give me the news. Chris had passed away in his sleep that morning. That was four years ago....He would be 34 today. So my dearest friend, Happy Birthday. You are missed so much every day.

Happy Birthday, Sarah!!!!

Today is our friend, Sarah's birthday. Sarah we hope you have a great day!!! We're sending you lots of hugs and kisses:) Happy birthday!

Happy Birthday, Tim!!!

Today is also our friend, Tim's birthday. So we have to wish him a happy happy birthday and send him lots of hugs, kisses, and lotsa love! We hope you have a great day!!!

Happy Birthday, Shawn!!!

Today is our friend, Shawn's birthday, so as usual with the people we love-friends and family- we're sending him lots of hugs and kisses and lotsa love! Happy Birthday, Shawn!!! We hope you have a great day!

Happy Birthday, Chris!!!!

Today is Chris' birthday and we just wanted to say we hope you had a GREAT one!!! Chris is a very good friend of ours and was there for us before the kids and remains one of our dearest friends. We love you and are sending lots of hugs, kisses, and love!!! Happy Birthday!!!

Heyyo....

That's how we say, "hello" here at our house. That cute little word came from Emma:)We're still here, just been kind of busy. And I apologize for not posting as much, but my shoulder has been giving me problems. That's also the reason behind the lack of emails to family and friends. So until I find relief the post may be short and sweet, but I'll do the best that I can to give thorough updates about the kiddos.

We are about to start on two new adventures with the kids. Bedtime bottles will be going bye-bye and potty training will officially begin. We've talked about it with Henry and Emma and they seem eager to try. So hopefully by Christmas we'll have them potty trained and bottle-free.

They are both getting more independent-wanting to play by themselves, dressing and undressing themselves, bathing and showering with supervision, climbing in and out of their highchairs on their own, climbing EVERYWHERE and on EVERYTHING! They are so curious!

I'll update more soon, but for now, here are some recent pictures.

Happy Birthday, Great Granddaddy and Ms.Wanda!!!!

Two very special people to our family are celebrating their birthdays today. My grandfather/H&E's great grandfather turns 93 today! And a very good friend of ours who we consider family, Ms.Wanda turns....we're keeping it a secret:)To both of these two wonderful members of our family we want to wish a very Happy Birthday!!! We are sending out hugs, kisses, and LOADS of love!!!!

Happy Birthday, Donna Peyton "Petey"

Happy Happy Birthday to Petey!!!!
She turns three today. We went to her bday party this past Sunday and had lots of fun. Petey is the daughter of a friend of mine whom I've known since kindergarten. She's a sweet little girl and we want to send her lots of hugs and kisses. We hope you have a great day!!!Happy BDay!!!!