Happy Birthday Jesus!

The kids woke up this morning around 8am and we went downstairs for our traditional birthday cake for breakfast.

We sang "Happy Birthday" to Jesus and
then Joshua blew out the candles.

Rachel really enjoys this family tradition!

My wonderful husband Brian
Rachel double-checking to make sure
it's okay to tear the wrapping paper.
She eventually got into the swing of things.
Joshua playing with his pop gun from Granny & Grandad
Rachel playing with her baby doll from Nana & Papa
Joshua excited to open his new toy - a Leapster2
Rachel's new wooden kitchen set - isn't it adorable????Merry Christmas Everyone!

Christmas Pictures 2009

Here are Christmas pictures of the kids. Don't they look so grown up?
I can't believe how fast time is going by....

My New Present

I got an early Christmas gift to myself (with help from Grandma's Christmas Money) - a new lens for my camera. It's the one MckMama recommends for getting those sought after blurry backgrounds. I've been taking lots of pictures trying to perfect my craft. These are some pictures of the kids from last week.

Museum Fun.....For FREE!

I love taking the kids out to visit places and discovered that the Witte Museum is free on Tuesdays from 3pm to 8pm. Needless to say we will be making many more trips to The Witte in the future!

In the HEB Treehouse, they have a light-up dance floor where you chase the lights and stomp on them. The kids LOVED it!

There's all kinds of things to learn about at the museum. Joshua made a light bulb turn on just by spinning the wheel!

Rachel played with Lincoln Logs and ran around with Joshua.

It was a rainy day, but it was a good day. They really had a lot of fun and we can't wait to return.

4 Generations

While my mom & grandma were visiting we took the
opportunity to get pictures of all 4 generations together.
Here are all the women of the family.

Here I am with my sister & grandma. I'm trying to convince her to move to TX and maybe move into our house! I'd love to have my kids make great memories with her like I did when I was little.

Me and my Mommy
My mommy with her mommy

All 4 Generations

Thanksgiving.....Finally.

After a horrendous trip, my mom & grandma
finally made it to San Antonio.

All the grandkids were so happy to see them!

The Roadschooling Ryans came to visit.
We were so blessed to fellowship
with them and have the children play together.

Joshua just loves his Great-Nana!
I'm so excited that my sister will be living close to us!
We had so much fun visiting with everyone, it wasn't even that bad having 18 people in our tiny house at once! At least we have more square footage than the Ryan's do in the RV!
We perfected the art of feeding
everyone and making an assembly line.
Here we are with all our kids on the last night of their visit!
We hope they have fun and safe travels and look forward to seeing
them again if they make their way back to Texas.

it's official, american airlines has ruined thanksgiving. my mom & grandma were supposed to fly in today, but aa's complete & utter incompetence won out.

National Day of Miscarriage & Infant Loss

This year the day snuck up on me and I forgot to post yesterday. October 15th is the National Day of Miscarriage & Infant Loss so I just wanted to take the time to remember those who have lost a child/pregnancy. Especially those who I know personally: My sister Heather, my friend Jamie who has lost 2 babies, and my mother in law who has also lost 2 babies. Thank you to all who prayed for me during my own miscarriage this last May. We will be reunited with our babies in Heaven. If you are someone or know of someone who has suffered a loss, please feel free to post a comment and I will pray for you. God Bless!

Early Gender Prediction Test #2

Today I am exactly 10 weeks along, which is the earliest you can do the Intelligender Test. I got this test at our local grocery store when I found out I was pregnant the last time. After we lost the baby, I couldn't bring myself to return it to the store. I've been anxiously awaiting the 10 week mark so I could get an early indication of the gender. We are hoping for a girl, but of course we just want a healthy baby of any gender and already have names for both.

So the 2nd result is...........................GIRL!!!

It was kinda green & kinda orange, so I sent the pic to the Intelligender Customer Service Department, which helps when people aren't sure of the results and this is the email response I got:

Hello,

Based on this picture this is a girl result!

Congratulations and please let us know when you confirm.

The Moms of IntelliGender

So, I still have another 10 weeks until the "big" ultrasound, but it's fun to get a sneek peek at what gender you might be carrying!