Merry Christmas to All -

And to all a good night!

Happy Christmas Eve!

Well, I have a few minutes and wanted to add a few more thoughts and pictures to the blog.

First of all, yes, we do have a tree and it does finally have ornaments and a star on top. We had the tree up for about a week before putting anything on it. But now it is all done.

Here is the "putting the star on top with Daddy's help" picture from this year.

Last year's picture.And 2007. I love that Lindsey is wearing her crown.This morning we had a surprise when we woke up. Reagan missed out on the snow earlier this month so I wanted to be sure and get her outside this time. Looks like she is enjoying it, huh?

This video is taken with our new toy. We got a Flip Video Camera from Robert's work Christmas party. We haven't used it much so sorry it is shaky, especially at the end. I was trying to do both video and our still camera at the same time. Didn't work too well.

I like how you can hear Robert talk to Reagan and see her shake her head yes and no.

Reagan looked a bit happier once she got inside.

We have already had a fun break from the daily routine. And are looking forward to spending lots time with our extended families coming up. Hope you all are staying warm and dry. Have a wonderful Christmas!

Our December Thus Far

With Christmas coming up, I figured I needed to get some of my blogging caught up. These are just some pictures that I have taken over the past couple of weeks.

We had a wear red day at school and at the last Dittos for Kiddos, I found these great matching shirts. One of them was even brand new. I love Dittos. And I love my kiddos (I couldn't resist - sorry!)

Reagan just wouldn't stand still any longer. I don't get it - I mean she is all of 16 months in this picture - doesn't she understand the concept of Mommy wants a picture of her girls together?

And yes, it does snow in Abilene, occasionally. This is what was left around 8:30ish in the morning. I kept trying to wait until Reagan woke up to go outside but she slept LATE that day. So, no pictures of Reagan in this snow. Only Lindsey this time around.

And, yes, this is all that Lindsey did with the snow. For some reason she does not like getting into it all. Just a poke with one finger is all I got to take a picture of.

Reagan was on the couch with all of her clean laundry and decided that she needed a few of her blankets. Just love the look on her face saying, "Haha, mom, I got them!"

This was the day that we went to get Lindsey's hair cut. She kept saying that she wanted five inches cut off because she is five.
The before shots - front.

Back.

The after shots - front. (Love her face and smile too.)

Back - and yes, it is really straight across it just doesn't appear to be in the picture.

Lindsey and her gingerbread house. We don't have finished pictures yet - it's a work in progress.

One day after school, Lindsey was reading her Corduroy Christmas book and Reagan wanted to see too. Cute moment caught on film to cherish forever.

Each year, we have a night before Christmas when we join our friends, John and LaRae and their kids for dinner and gifts (just the kiddos). This year, Lindsey got Don't Break the Ice as her gift. Both our girls love playing it. Lindsey understands the concept a bit more but Reagan is learning to take turns a little.

Now, don't worry, just because I am posting three days before Christmas doesn't mean that there won't be more postings of our family and the holidays. Just not sure when they will come. I am positive, though, that it won't be before Christmas. So with that said - I hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas spending time with family and friends and remembering the true reason for the season. We have a wonderful God who provides for us daily and we need to always remember that, not only at this time of year. Love you all!

Just Another Picture (or Three)

As I was about to add more pictures onto our computer, I saw that I had a few pictures that I haven't shared with everyone. So here they are...

Lydia came over one day and had some ice cream with her. So the girls were able to share some of it.

Reagan loved it and made a mess (on accident). She kinda looks like a Santa with the mustache and beard.

Lindsey saw that I was taking pictures and wanted a picture taken of herself. Surprised? No.

One morning, the girls were laying on the couch watching something while I was cleaning up from breakfast and when I turned to check on them, this is what I found. So cute!

Our Thanksgiving

Most people celebrate on Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November. We started a little earlier than that. My parents drove to Abilene on Tuesday night and stayed at our house for the night. On Wednesday, we spent most of the morning together and then were able to eat lunch with my granddad. We took Little Panda to his place and enjoyed time talking and eating together. We also managed to take a few pictures while we were there.

G-Papa and (two of the four - almost five) great grandchildren.

The four generation shot - my granddad, my mom, me, and my girls. How great!

After lunch, my parents headed to Fort Worth and my family headed home for naps and to start packing for Fort Worth. We didn't leave until Thursday morning for several reasons but it turned out to be a great thing. I was able to take my time to make the rolls and dessert for our lunch at my aunt and uncles house. That in itself was wonderful.

We spent the rest of the weekend with my dad's family in Fort Worth/Mansfield/Arlington. It was a good, fun, and pretty relaxing week. No certain times to be anywhere. Mom and I were able to do some shopping - not early in the morning shopping but shopping, nonetheless.

Sunday also happened to be my grandmother's birthday. We all went to church together and then out to eat before all heading separate ways. While at the restaurant, I snapped another picture of the girls, this time with their great-grandmother, my dad's mom.

On the way home we ran into really bad, backed up traffic. They are doing some construction on I-20 just east of Ranger Hill. Normally, not a horrible thing. But on Sunday after Thanksgiving when everyone is trying to get home, it was BAD! I think we spent an extra hour (at least) on the road Sunday afternoon. Luckily, Reagan didn't have a morning nap due to church so she slept the whole way. Even in the stop and go traffic. Lindsey took a good nap too and then was happy to read or watch the world go by. Although it took longer, it really was a good trip.

I am so thankful to have had that time with my family - all of them.

One More Day!

Here it is the day before Thanksgiving and I have one last "thankful" post to write. This time it will be things that I have been blessed with that I am so very thankful for.

I am blessed by my MOPS group. Mothers of Preschoolers is an amazing organization that is all over the world but I am lucky enough to be a part of it here in Abilene. Twice a month, on Mondays, I am able to sit with a group of women who are so wonderful. We get to talk, eat, listen to great and uplifting testimonies, learn more about being better mothers, and sometimes get crafty. It is a great way to spend every other Monday and I always look forward to it.

Young Children's World is another wonderful place filled with wonderful people. I love working and teaching there. I love that my girls get to go to "school" there and have such loving teachers. YCW has been another one of those places that I look forward to going to each week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I love being able to be around such Christian women. They encourage me and I learn a lot from each of them.

Now for the "little" stuff...

my van - love that it is easy to get the girls in and out and that it gets me from here to there.

my house - I love it - it is perfect for us.

my health - so far God has blessed me with good health and good health of those I love.

my God - He has blessed me so richly and so many times I take it all for granted.

I love Thanksgiving - good food, great family and friends, but mostly a time when we can remember what we have been blessed with. I hope that by reading this, you can take some time and think about those things that are near and dear to you and thank God for them all.

Friends

So here is my second thankfulness post. I would love to put up a bunch of pictures of my girl friends but I'm afraid that I would miss some and embarrass others. But here goes some of the things that I am thankful for about my friends.

I am thankful that I can go on mommy only dinners. And to grab coffee. Being able to eat or drink while having a calm conversation and not have to worry about children staying sitting down and being somewhat quiet. Those times are very important to me and very wonderful.

I am thankful for my friends who listen to me when I want to talk. Not that I do that much but I am so thankful that I have friends who don't judge me and don't try to one up me with their own stories or life. I am also thankful in that I have great people who will share with me their thoughts and ideas.

I am thankful that I have friends who don't care what my house looks like. I enjoy having people over but hate cleaning. So these friends are the best to have. They aren't critical of what I have done (or haven't done) to clean for them to come over.

I have some of the best friends ever. Thank you God for my wonderful friends Amy, Katherine, Alisha, Barbara (you fit it two categories), Mom (two also for you!), Ashley. And please forgive me if I didn't name you as one of my friends on here - be assured you are loved and very much appreciated!

What Am I Thankful For?

That is really a very important question. And one that we have been asking our kiddos at school. So I thought that I would take a little time and answer it myself.

First of all, my family. My wonderful husband is amazing. He works so hard at two different jobs so that he can provide for our family. I am so grateful that he does so that I might be able to stay at home with our girls when they are so little. He means everything to me. I love you, husband!

My girls. They are both so fun and exciting to be with and watch grow. Lindsey is growing so fast and I love watching her learn new things. And I get such a kick out of the things that she says. Reagan, while only being 16 months, is such fun too. She loves to open cabinets and drawers and pull everything out (okay, so that isn't the fun part). But she enjoys looking at everything and seeing our reaction.

My parents. They moved away this summer but I am so thankful that I was able to live so close to them for the first 30 years of my life. I miss them so much but love being able to visit them and stay in the same house with them while we are there.

My in-laws (this includes sisters too). They are always there when we need a quick babysitter. And they never complain about doing so (although, who could complain about our sweet, precious girls?) All of them are great about loving the girls and encouraging us as we raise them.

Okay, that's all for now but stay tuned - there are more people that I am thankful for!

Our Halloween Trip

For Halloween, my family drove up to Oklahoma to surprise my mom. I had talked to my dad earlier in the week and planned it all out. We left Abilene just after lunch and drove to Edmond and picked up dinner for all of us and rang the doorbell at my parents. Mom came to the door because dad had left to "go get dinner" (which he did by way of me handing it to him in their driveway). She kinda just looked at us like, "you're not supposed to be here". It was great. After that, she kept thinking of things that needed to be done, like wash sheets and get them on our beds but dad had already taken care of that. It was so fun to see her face once it all sunk in that we had planned this earlier and taken care of everything. She was still so surprised that she forgot to call her dad which she does every night (sorry, Papa!).

We had a great visit and mom got to have the fun of trick or treating with the girls. Here are some pictures of that night...

Lindsey in her flower girl dress. She just loved wearing it again and looked just as beautiful (minus the hair).

Reagan dressed as a little ladybug. She smiled once we got it on her - not so much in the process of getting dressed.

Trying to get a picture of the girls together, both happy and still, is hard these days. That would be my dad's hand trying to get Reagan to stay by Lindsey.

And here is my mom trying to put Reagan back after she did make it away. Not too happy anymore.

After trick-or-treating (which Reagan was so good at - she held out her bucket and signed "thank you") Reagan was checking out the goods still at my parents house.

Going in for some more to add to her pumpkin.

And being caught in the act! Haha!

We loved our weekend in OK with my parents. We tried a few new places to eat (The Hideaway Pizza is amazing!) And I am so glad that we were able to surprise mom so well.

Reagan's Stay in the Hospital

Most of you know all about our visit to the hospital so I will try to keep this brief but I wanted to share just a couple of pictures with everyone. If you don't know the story, here is a quick rundown. Monday, the 19th, Reagan woke up having a lot of trouble breathing. We went to the doctor that morning and he said that it looked like bronchitis. He told us that we could either go to the hospital then and let them do breathing treatments and oxygen. Or we could go home, try and do it ourselves, then go back to him on Tuesday morning and he would put us in the hospital then. We decided to let the professionals do it and went straight from the doctor's office to the hospital.

First thing they did at the hospital was give Reagan an IV in order to give her fluids and medicine. Not fun seeing an IV in your baby. She also was hooked up to an oxygen monitor. Also every two hours she had a breathing treatment. She was pretty confined to a small area because of the tubes and cords. She was not having much fun. I did happen to snap a picture of her while she appeared a little content.
We were in the hospital for three days. Each day the breathing treatments became less frequent and once she pulled out her IV, we didn't have to have it put back in. They just gave her oral medicines. That was a relief.

A fun gift we (I mean, Reagan) received while in the hospital.

After coming home, we continued breathing treatments on Thursday and Friday morning. Our follow-up appointment with the doctor was Friday morning and everything looked (and sounded) much better. Now we have a breathing machine and medicine at home that we can use if ever needed. We hope to not use it much but it does help me feel better that if she ever has major trouble again, we can use that and hopefully avoid another trip to the hospital.

Lindsey is Five!

I think this is the last in the Lindsey birthday series. Hopefully!

I always enjoy taking first-thing-in-the-morning pictures. Unfortunately with the flash these pictures did not turn out very good. She kept blinking when the flash went off because it was so bright. But it is a memory that will last a long time.

Another attempt at getting a picture with her eyes open. Didn't work!

Lindsey is opening her presents from Mom, Dad, and Reagan on the night of her actual birthday. First was her #5 angel. If you don't remember these, my aunt and uncle would give them to me each year for my birthday and I have decided to give them to Lindsey.

Digging in another gift. Love how she just flings the tissue paper to the floor.

A girl and her shoes! Love it!

The birthday girl and Daddy!

Mommy and her big birthday girl!

I can't believe it. Lindsey is five. She is a beautiful child of God and I love her so much. Looking forward to so many more years to watch her grow.

Lindsey's "Blasingame" Party

Monday night while Barbara and Manny were still in town, we decided to celebrate Lindsey's birthday with Robert's family. We started out at Mr. Gatti's and then ended up at our house for cake and ice cream. It was a fun time and Lindsey got even more fun things.

Here she is with her most favorite nightgown (for now). She would wear it every night if I did laundry often enough for that.

She loves this new Mulan doll. She is close to having all the princess dolls like this. I think we are lacking only Snow White, Jasmine, and Pocahontas. And then the new princess, Tiana, from The Princess and the Frog.

This was apparently kinda hard to open. I love her face.

A new set of softball stuff - glove, bat and ball. All princess of course!

You might think, surely this is the last of the birthday celebrations for Lindsey. You're wrong if you think that. I love having it spread out so much so stay tuned for our own family celebration with Lindsey. Our big 5 year old!

Lindsey's Friend Party

Next was Lindsey's friend party. She has been wanting to have a Disney Princess party for so long and I had put it off thinking that she would like them for a long time. Well, this year was the Princess party. And to make it more fun, we invited her friends to dress like princesses (or prince as the case may be).

This is Lindsey and her friend, Campbell. They were wearing the same dress and thought it was cute.

Kerith and Lindsey. Katherine, Kerith's mom, was out of town and dad brought her to the party (minus the Princess dress that we loaned them). Thought it was funny. Love that family.

Here is the prince. I love the costume and am so glad that Finn cheered up so we could take this great picture of the two of them.

I had made princess shape cookies (crown, glass slipper, wand, and princess) and the kiddos were able to decorate two. One to eat then and one to take home and eat. It got a tad messy there - glad I had lots of help to do the cleanup!

Reagan was having a ball. She had the attention of everyone (except me). But Mimi and Nana loved it.

Lindsey's princess crown cake.

Lindsey blowing out candle number 2 this year. She is a pro now.

Barbara and Manny just barely made it to the party. They had some issues with flights and car rental stuff. But they came and that is all that mattered.

Lindsey loved this gift. A necklace, bracelet, and lots of stick on earrings.

And I loved this gift. Shrinky Dinks! I used to make these a lot at my friends house growing up. Now Lindsey is loving making them at home.

Nearing the end of the party. Lindsey is growing up way too fast but I am loving every minute of it.