Our Christmas (Con't)

Here are a few pictures of our Christmas celebration last Fridy 12-26-08. We had a wonderful day...hope you all did as well.

Scott opening a present.
Allie's new Barbies

Holley opening a gift

Macie opening her rip-stick

Macie opening a gift...

Allie openig her princess scooter

Holley loves her new rip-stick (aka wave board)

Scott opening his rip-stick

We exchanged a lot more gifts but I forgot about my camera in all of the chaos....it was fun....stay tuned, will post video of jumping on the tramp soon, including Meme jumping....

Back Home!!!

The kiddies came home last Friday (Dec. 26 th) about 1230!!! We (Meme and I ) were waiting not so patiently, standing at the window watching for the kiddies arrival. We met them outside in the yard!!! They were HOME!!! WOO-HOO!!! Merry Christmas to us!! In case you forgot, the fab four spent Christmas this year with their father. I worked on Christmas Eve (actually was sent home at 2pm because of the low pt census) and worked all day Christmas Day. Sadly, we did not have ANY Christmas babies. There were several born on Christmas Eve, but none on Christmas Day (before 7 pm that is - may have been some before midnight but I wouldn't know about that). But, back to the 26 th!!! My parents and I gave the kiddies a joint present this year. Their BIG (quite literally) present was waiting for them in the backyard....

Yeah!! They were very excited! We spent the next hour taking turns jumping, even Meme and I jumped! I promise to post videos of that soon. HILARIOUS!!! But mainly we played out there trying to buy time until Aunt Perry arrived. She made a new purchase that morning and we waited for her to arrive to start our "official" Christmas celebration. A good time was had by all...Everyone had a great time exchanging gifts and playing and we ate a great meal. I promise to post pictures and video soon...Worked yesterday (Sun.) and I work tomorrow and again on New Years Eve then I have 2 days off in a row!! I'm scheduled 4 days this week...we've got 4 nurses out for various reasons so we are all pulling extra shifts...ugh! When you see the tramp- don't be alarmed....the net wasn't on correctly but Poppy and Jack fixed it today (Mon.) so it is officially put together correctly as of this morning.

Merry Christmas!!!!

Walkin' in Bethlehem

Last Wednesday was "A walk in Bethlehem". It was a program sponsored by our church to be a community outreach project. My mom and I worked on the props committee, my mom pretty much ran the committee and I helped out when I could (work schedule permitting). It was an awesome evening. There are two things I would change if I could. One , the weather...it was drizzling. The majority of my pictures show the drizzle as my flash reflected off of the water droplets. The second thing I would change is there would be a lot more lighting so we could see things more clearly. I think the "powers that be" are already working to come up with ideas to improve lighting next year. Every one who came through Bethlehem loved it. There were over 1000 people who visited. It was so awesome. We walked through town, paid our taxes and registered for the census then talked and interacted with the citizens of the town. I pretty much stalked Mary and Joseph when I heard that they had entered the town. I was trying to get good picture of them but somehow between all of the people walking every were and having to switch out batteries in the camera I did not get a picture until they were asking for a room at the inn. These are some pictures from that night. They are a little out of order, sorry!

The Fab Four and one of the camels

The angel appeared to us announcing the arrival of our saviour

Far away pic of the angel (on the roof) it was really cool in person

The Holy Family

The Holy Family

The Kings arrived bearing gifts

Astrologers

Baker talking to Allie

Basket weavers

A brick maker

The well, a community gathering spot

Mary and Joseph at the inn. There was no room but they were offered the stable as a place to stay

The potter actually making pottery

A Roman guard making way for the kings

A wine maker, stomping on grapes

Not sure her name....yarn worker??

It was really neat to see Bethlehem. Obviously, we were not in actual Bethlehem, but we tried to really create the feeling. One of the advisers of the event said that our church campus was actually the same approximate size as the city of Bethlehem, so that's neat. I've got a bunch more pictures of the kids getting to hold the animals that were in Bethlehem, but that is another post. I'm off to bed. Am counting the days/ hours until my kiddies are home. I'll have to post the saga of Scott and the emergency room too. He's OK...don't worry. Nothing that a bunch of breathing treatments didn't cure. Stay tuned....S

Better Late than never

Well, here it is friends, the much anticipated (yeah right) pictures of our trip to Dallas last weekend. If you remember, we went for Holley's state gymnastics meet and decided to make a birthday weekend out of it for Scott. We celebrated his 9th birthday (minus the presents- those waited for his real b-day on Sun) in Dallas on Friday night at a really cool place....

The Fab four...heading out...it was a beautiful, sunny day.

Here we are!. After checking in at our hotel we changed and made our way (without getting lost I might add yippee!) to Medieval Times -restaurant and tournament. We were entertained by fabulous food and an awesome 11th century medieval tournament. We were served tomato-basil soup, herb-roasted chicken, prime rib, garlic toast, garlic potatoes, and an apple pastry. We did not have any utensils to use. Apparently, they did not use eating utensils in the 11th century. We did have cups though, thank goodness. You can imagine how thrilled I was (after reading about my quirky food things) when half a chicken carcass was slapped on my plate. Literally 1/2 a chicken. We were served SO much food! Even Scott made it half-way through and said "I'm so stuffed, I couldn't eat another bite!!" (until desert I might add, then he miraculously found little room! Ha! )I picked the meat off with my fingers and then ate it. The kiddies didn't even notice!!! It was fabulous by the way. I even managed to pick up my prime rib and bite the meat off. Guess with so much excitement going on I could focus on other things besides gnawing on this poor animal's rib!!

The fab four outside the castle standing by the moat.

Oops, got the pictures out of order. When you go in the castle you are given your table assignments and you are assigned a knight that will fight for the honor of his kingdom. By being seated at his colored tables, you are a member of his kingdom. We cheered on the black and white night.

Before we were seated for dinner, we got to explore the castle. They fed us yummy cookies that the kiddies got to decorate for Christmas and hot cocoa. The castle was all decorated for Christmas. It was very pretty. I forgot to mention, when we first entered the castle we had our pictures taken with Father Christmas. They turned on the snow machine so it looked like it was snowing. If I didn't look so scary, I'd post it, but sorry folks!! Then we went to the dance floor where the kiddies convinced me to buy light-up fencing foam thingys. They played and sipped on Shirley Temples....and had a blast!!! Did you know that 4 Shirley Temples and 1 small strawberry daiquiri (have no idea how to spell that) costs $28?? Just a little tid-bit of info for you!! I almost fainted.

Allie contemplating her choice of sprinkles. Holley in the background going to town with hers.

We met the horses up close and personal....stinky!!!

Allie cheering on our knight. It was pitch dark in the dining chamber when I shot this pic, she wasn't real sure she liked that...this is her half smile- half "I'm about ready to cry mom" look

Macie and Scott having fun!!! Scott, "Geez, mom, stop flashing the light in my eyes...please!!!"

Group photo with the suit of armour.

This is the falconer. It took about 5 minutes to convince Allie that the bird would not hurt her. She did not trust it!!! Can't say that I blame her...I was scared of it too. Big surprise I know!!!

We ended up having a fun time. The kiddies loved it!!!

Here's a short video of one of the jousting contests.

Sadly, our knight was not victorious....we love him anyway....

Well, now you are caught up on Friday night in Dallas and I already posted about the meet on Saturday. On Saturday night the kiddies and I went in search of a Red Robin (YUM!) and a movie theater. We found both and ate an awesome meal (love those 5-alarm burgers) and went to a super cool movie theater to see the movie 'Bolt'. We were waited on in the movie theater just like a restaurant and had desert there. It was fun. Then we went back to the hotel and headed out about 1000 on Sunday. I hope to post more pics of Scott's actual birthday soon. Also, the pictures from 'A walk in Bethlehem' will be posted soon. I have not forgotten . Stay tuned....S

Christmas parties and other chaos...

Hello all, today was class party and gym party day. We had great fun....

Allie helped me stuff Holley's class' goodie bags.

Holley helping stuff "goodie" bags.
Holley and her sweet teacher Mrs. Holman (4th grade)

Across the hall...Mrs. Rickman and Scott (3rd grade)

Scott and his table mates during a class contest. His class is the GT class, his team spent most of their time arguing over whose idea was better, they did not win the contest.

Allie joined right in the fun. Holley actually invited Allie to join her at her table. You would have thought Allie was a 4th grader the way she talked with and kept up with the other kids...

More pics of sweet sisters...

I spent the afternoon after the class parties, wrapping presents. I've now got just about everything for my family wrapped, all of the stuff that will travel to Houston on Monday wrapped and ready to go. Unfortunately, not one thing I have for the kiddies has been wrapped yet. I've only got Monday left as I work tomorrow, Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Then they come home Friday by noon. Yippee!! I already miss them!! Sad, but true.

After gift wrapping, Holley and I went to the team gymnastics party. It was a lot of fun.

Caitlin, Ashton and Holley(level 5 teammates)

The kids gathered in a circle around the tree and waited for their names to be called. They drew names and shopped for the team member the drew. It is always fun and a neat way to get to know each other.
Silly Amanda. This girl ALWAYS has a smile on her face.

Coaches Kristin and Svetlana gave the girls these awesome shirts. Each level got a different color. All said the same thing.

Sweet Ashton gave each girl a neat gymnastics ornament. It is already at home on our tree.

Coach Kristi surrounded by her "loot" that was given to her.

Holley and Kylar, a new friend (level 6 and goes to our church too!!) She is such a sweetheart and has a sweet mama (who is also a nurse). I'm glad they moved here this year. After the party, I met up with the kiddie's dad so that he could get Holley from me. He had Macie and Allie in the car and I found myself tearing up a bit after hugging them for the hundredth time and wishing them a Merry Christmas and telling them I'd see them on the 26th. Sometimes it is NOT fun to say good-bye.

EXTRA, EXTRA,!!!!

I, I repeat, I, Stacey, got up OUT of bed this morning, and got the kiddies up myself this morning, had breakfast with them and then got them out to the bus on time, thank you very much!!! Then Allie and I were off to the class parties at the elementary school. Pictures to come...Stay tuned.... SEE!! I told you I COULD do it!!!!

Honest Scrap...

Thanks for sending me this Robin....let me see... 10 things huh??? By the way, I too have no idea how to put links to other people's blogs in here and I don't know but a few people who are blogging at this point so I don't have 7 people to send it too...MA, Perry, Dad, join the fun!! Come on friends, break the mold and start your blogs...it's free and a lot of fun. Trust me if I can do it...so can you!!!


"When you receive the prize, you must write a post showing it, together with the name of who has given it to you, and link them back. Choose a minimum of 7 blogs that you find brilliant in their content or design. Show their names and links and leave them a comment informing that they were prized with 'Honest Weblog'. List [if you can and/or dare] at least ten honest things about yourself. Then, pass it on!"



Wow, this is more difficult than I thought....

1. I have a backwards heart. My mom tells me that when I was a very small child, I was sick all of the time. I had an allergy to corn, asthma, and spent the better part of my first couple of years sick. When I was two(?), I had a spinal tap to diagnose the flu. During one visit to the doctor (hospital-I guess), they did some test and were very surprised to see that my heart is in the correct spot in my chest cavity, but is flipped backward. She tells me I made history at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston as they had not seen this up to this point. This was in the early 70's.



2. I am an extremely picky eater. I have always been. I've tried to improve this as I've gotten older for the sake of my children...I don't want them to miss out on something they might love just because I turn my nose up at it.



3. I have several weird "food things". This is certainly a weird "quirky" thing of mine that most of you (if any) know about. When I'm by myself....or bored I guess, I line things up and eat them smallest to largest. Like french fries, I eat all of the small ones first then the bigger ones. I eat broken chips first, then the bigger whole ones. Small grapes before the bigger ones, etc. I know that's weird...it is not OCD (although I do probably have some other tendencies- at least I come by them naturally- right MOM??) It is not something I HAVE to do, I just do it mainly when I'm bored....also, I will not eat any meat attached to a bone. Ribs, chicken, steak, etc. I just can't...yuck. It reminds me of walking up to some chicken and ripping it's leg off and digging in...Oh my, I feel queasy just thinking about it...I will cut my meat off of the bone and eat it with a fork. The worst dinner nights are when we have barbecue-chicken. The kiddies love it...they love picking it up and end up with barbecue sauce all over themselves. So far they haven't noticed that I never eat drumsticks (if I can help it) and if I have no other choice, I use a knife and fork. I hate the skin on chicken, it reminds me it is SKIN!!! I will spend extra money to buy boneless, skinless etc. I suck the salt off of saltine crackers, pretzels, cheez-it's, etc. before eating them.



4. Stephen F. Austin is my great, great, great, great, great, uncle. (My family knows this of course).



5. If given the opportunity, I could probably sleep for 2 days straight!!! (once again, no surprise to my family).

6. I am a 'Gray's Anatomy' and 'E.R.' fanatic. I will move my schedule around important shows like season finale's, etc. I also love HGTV and Discovery Health shows. John and Kate plus 8 and 17 kids and counting are also favorites.

7. I'm and very scared/ uncomfortable around old people. I'm always afraid someone is going to keel over in front of me. I became a lot less "freaked out" by the elderly after working with them on the surgical-oncology floor for 2 years. I had no choice. I have had this fear for as long as I can remember. My grandmother used to cough a lot and that totally freaked me out. Then one day during lunch at her house she choked on a bean-burger and I was sitting right next to her just staring ( I was maybe 7 or 8), it took a minute before anyone else noticed, she ended up being totally fine, but I've always been afraid of choking after that. The VERY FIRST DAY of clinical when I was going to Methodist Hospital School of Nursing in Lubbock back in 1996 (I met my friend Robin there) my instructor sent me and another student in to a patient's room. The family had requested a bed bath, I was shocked to find this patient well on the way in the dying process. The patient proceeded to die while we were bathing her and I totally lost it! I called my mom that afternoon and said "I can't and won't do this". I managed to hang on through the rest of the semester and then quit. I was too terrified to continue. It took the Lord a long time to open my heart to the possibility of nursing again, but it has always been my love and I've always felt His prodding in my spirit in this direction. I'm just glad that, for the most part, I deal with young, healthy women now.

8. Being a nurse scares the crud out of me sometimes. Knowing that it is my responsibility to take care of the pt. and to be the first line of defense in an emergency is overwhelming. I find myself praying almost constantly the whole way to the hospital for protection for my patients and their unborn babies and for my fellow nurses, etc. I used to pray before my old job as well. The last thing I request each and every day as I get ready to step inside of the hospital is for a hedge of protection to be around me and my patients and that the holy spirit would work through me, give me the strength I need for the day, and shine through me and reveal himself to the patients. I pray at other times too, not nearly as much as I should, but right before work is MANDATORY.

9. I drive WAY too fast. Let me correct this. When my children are in the car I am a respectable driver. But on my way to work, I drive way too fast. If the weather is good I can make it from my driveway to the hospital in 35 minutes. (It normally takes 45-50 or so). I used to drive wayyyyyy too fast home from Tech in my college years. It is typically a 5 1/2- 6 hour trip to Lubbock to SA and one time I made it in 4 hours...yikes...that little Mazda 626 could fly!! Did you know their speedometers go up to 135??? (maybe higher- can't remember) Man, I'd find myself flying at 100-105. Boy was that stupid!!! Now the fastest I go is 80. (sorry Mom and Dad)- I'm supposed to be truthful after all.

10. Even though I've started developing blood pressure issues, a degenerating spine, have had gestational diabetes twice which puts me at much higher odds of developing diabetes in the future, and I've got 4 awesome kiddies counting on me, I just can't seem to find the motivation to lose the extra weight that I've allowed to accumulate over these adult years!!! Please pray for me this next year. It is literally going to take God whacking me upside the head to get me off my bum and just do it!!! Please pray that God will give me the desire and the strength to lose some weight, my health depends on it.

A few freebies: my favorite job ever was at the movie theater in high-school. We always ran the new movies that opened on Friday's on Thursday nights after closing to make sure they did not break during their first run. Employees were allowed to bring up to 4 people with them on Thurs. nights to see the first-runs. We always got free popcorn and soft-drinks. It was awesome....

I HATE the morning....UGH!!! I wake up long enough to go into the girl's room, turn their light's on and say "It's time to get up, have a good day" and I go get back in my bed. My sweet dad gets Scott up downstairs and gets them out the door on time. I could never repay him for that- it means more than I can express!!! I'm a major night-owl. I routinely stay up until 1 am or so.

As bad as this sounds, sometimes I'm glad when it reaches the night or weekend when the kiddies go with their dad. It's nice to have a break and peace and quiet....I'm always ready for them to come home though!!! I'm good for about two weeks in the summer then I count the days until they are home during July when they're gone for a month!


That's it...I know I lead a boring life...no terrible skeletons in my closet. Stay tuned....