proud of my dad

I just have to write and brag a little bit on my dad. He was honored this past week as the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce's "Volunteer of the Year." He's been actively involved with the Chamber of Commerce for over 10 years now and has put in many-an-hour volunteering. He was honored at a luncheon this week (along with a few other folks) with 500 people in attendance. Even got his picture in the paper. I know how great my dad is; it's just kind of nice when other people notice, too! I'm proud of you, Dad!!

Thanksgiving festivities

Happy belated Thanksgiving, 2008! We had a great time with my family, our first holiday with everyone together in 5 years. It was quite a feat to have everyone present! My sister and her family first drove from Nashville to Lubbock to stay a few days, then we all caravaned to OKC to be with my brother and his family. I've managed to get my pictures out of order, but here are some shots of our fun time together. OKC had some beautiful weather on Thanksgiving Day, so the kids' table was moved outside! Three of us adult kiddos have birthdays in November, so here is a shot of us celebrating my brother-in-law Chris' birthday in Lubbock before we left. (Yes, this picture is out of order but work with me.) You can see my sister and her hubby have 3 cute kids. We got to meet my sweet niece baby Ava for the very first time.

Grace and cousin Jake are only 2 1/2 months apart...here they are having a fun tickle attack session.

Outside play is always a great idea when there are 7 kiddos in the house! Papa Jim and Granna with their grandkids, minus the one I currently have in-utero! You can have some seriously good conversations while trying to steal some ham and turkey before dinner. Erin (my sister-in-law) did lots of research and made seriously the most moist turkey I've ever eaten! Great job, Erin! And, seeing as how she is Martha Stewart, Erin also hand-made cloth pumpkins and napkin rings for the table this year. Here's the woman who worked so hard to pull it all together with niece Ava. Stay tuned for a few more pictures of our time in OKC, including a special treat of seeing Kevin dressed up in a cow costume!

holiday shout-out to my EA buddies

*Disclaimer: this blog entry was probably written under the heavy influence of a multitude of pregnancy hormones. Growing up, we would always have Christmas music playing while we decorated the tree. I mean, doesn't everyone? It seems like our cd of choice almost always included Amy Grant's "Home for Christmas." Or at least, that's the one I remember. So, even though I'm sure there are a multitude of wonderful Christmas cds out there, that particular cd takes me back to some fun Christmas memories more than any other. It was December 8, just before Christmas, when Kevin and I arrived in Asia in 2004. The hard goodbyes to family were very fresh, and we were still pretty scared about how to live in such a foreign place. We didn't have an apartment of our own yet and could barely find the bus stop or a grocery store to go buy bread. Finding peanut butter was a big deal. But, by golly, we managed to buy a Charlie Brown Christmas tree and decorate it with a few things we brought from the States. One day, however, I made the mistake of pulling out my Amy Grant Christmas album. One song into it and I was crying. I couldn't even begin to listen to Christmas music without getting homesick. I was PATHETIC. Now, don't get me wrong. We've had 4 Christmases in Asia, and for the most part, they have each been sweet in their own way. There is still materialism in Asia surrounding the holiday, but not nearly to the extent as in the US. Actually, most folks in Asia don't even really know why Christmas is celebrated, and that is always a good motivator/reminder of why it's so important to be there. But Christmas more than any other holiday has always made me miss my family and family gatherings. So, during the last 4 Christmases, I've only played Christmas music when I felt like I was in a good emotional state of mind! So, today I thought, "Hey, I'm in the US this year for Christmas. Let's bust out some Amy Grant!" I was SO surprised that I still got emotional. How silly can I be? But now, I think that album takes me back to those first emotionally tender days of that first Christmas in Asia. And, I started to think about all my ex-pat friends who are in Asia right now. I know they will have wonderful Christmases, but it is always a little different to be away at this time of year. So, for all you EA buddies, and you know who you are, I love you and am thinking of you this entire Christmas season. In particular, R, A, H and H, as you celebrate your first Christmas overseas, I pray it's one of the most blessed ones you've ever had, even if there are some homesick feelings. We love you very much!

photos

We had "Captured by Cassandra's" Cassandra McDonald take Grace's photos a few weeks ago. I was really pleased how they turned out! I had to share a few of them...

I'm calling it progress

A few weeks ago, Grace started going through one of those toddler stages...the FEAR one. Currently I find myself several times a day saying things like: "No, Swiper is not here. He's not going to get you." "God is bigger than the scary man. He's watching over us." We've even re-written the V-tales song to go, "God is bigger than Swiper..." But our biggest road block yet has become bath time. Grace has always reveled in bath time and loved every part of it. We've typically washed her hair by pouring water over her entire head because we didn't want her to be afraid of water. But, suddenly early last week Grace became terrified of the bath. I'm talking, screaming-like-a monster-was-chasing-her scared. We were completely baffled. I read online that sometimes this can happen out of the blue with toddlers. So, the last week we've had lots of sponge baths and sink baths and half-way done hair washings. But, I've decided those half-baths just don't cut it. So, tonight I got in the bath with her. She saw me in the tub and immediately said, "We're not going to get my hair wet, we won't get my nose wet; we're just going to swim." So, that's what we did. It was a lightbulb moment to let me know she really has just hated having water on her face. I was so excited she actually set foot back in the tub that I didn't even care about the hair-washing. We'll get there eventually. My mom says I'm just paying for my raising, because I was scared of EVERYTHING at Grace's age. So, in retrospect, THANKS Mom and Dad for putting up with me! :)

my poor husband

Do you remember that episode of the Brady Bunch where one of the kids had their tonsils out but it was all going to be ok because they'd get to eat ice cream? That's always the image I've had of a tonsillectomy...you know, not a big deal. Well, it is a big deal when your 30-something husband has to get them out. Not fun! Kevin had his tonsils out yesterday, and the surgeon said they were the worst pair of tonsils he had ever seen! Normally the doctor can get tonsils out of a person in 12 minutes flat, but he spent about 45 minutes working on Kevin's. I'll spare you most of the gory details, but they were swollen, infected, and had started growing their own blood supply! It's a good thing he got them out now before they really gave him problems. I've joked with Kevin that he never does anything halfway, including getting sick. He's been a trooper and feels better today than yesterday, but still quite sore. He'll be eating soft foods only for about 5-7 days. Kids are really smart. Grace knew her daddy, "got a little bit sick" and laid on the bed with him for a long while today. She asked him several times, "You feel ok daddy?" Here's to lots of vanilla ice cream this week for Kevin!

First Fall Festival

Since no one really celebrates Oct. 31 in Asia, we've never dressed Grace up before. So, she truly enjoyed going to her first fall festival at our church. I enjoyed watching her "people-watch." She was completely in awe of all the costumes. "Mommy, that boy looks like a lion! Mommy, look at that girl; she is a duck!" And so forth. And, it didn't take her long to realize she was going to get lots of candy that evening. A good time was had by all. Grace loved her Sleeping Beauty costume, but she wasn't so big on the scratchy sleeves, so they became a bow tied on her back. Good thing it was pretty warm here.

Granna and Papa Jim joined the fun and were working that evening. Papa Jim even gave Grace rides around on the golf cart that night as he was working security/welcome crew outside.

Granna worked in the face painting booth, and she drew a kitty cat on Grace's hand.

Pure sugary-bliss.