New Year's Eve........

Kayla spent the night at Brandy's tonight so it was just me, Mom, & Gabi at home. I lit some sparklers for Gabi & she threw some poppers. She managed to watch the ball drop in Time Square. told me how disgusting the white grape juice was that I gave her to make a toast, then ask to go to bed. It was a nice quiet evening at home, just as I like it. HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope 2009 is good to everyone. Make sure you eat your black eyed peas and turnip greens today. :-) We could all use some luck in our lives and the way the economy is, money too.

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY ADDIE.........

Yes, I'm a blog lifter-don't tell my baby sister. It really shouldn't be that hard to believe that we're celebrating Monkey's 2ND Birthday. We BLINKED!! I remember getting the call at work that she was on her way; luckily I was at UAB & only had a short distance to drive. When I got there Mom was in the waiting room with the VERY anxious Big Brother, it wasn't long after that Addison Ellis made her appearance. I'll never forget the first time I saw her or the first time I held her! I knew she was a precious addition to our family & she makes each day even more precious!

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY SWEET GIRL. XOXOXO

Gabi & Brianna

Gabi wanted Brianna to come down this afternoon & play. Bri rode her new 4-wheeler down & her and Gabi spent several hours playing. As you can see here they both have on their art smocks to paint pictures, they played with Biscuit, Gabi's doll house, the art supplies, etc.

More pics....

Christmas Day/Dinner @ Apryl's....

WOW! What a day! Awesome; the food, the gifts, the apple cider. :-) Carl's not praying, he's sleeping, him & Corbin didn't last long after they ate. The present Howie's holding is Addie's, not his!

It's time for things to settle down, the next time we blink we'll be celebrating Addie's 2nd birthday, a new year, & C'Jay & Mari Kynadee's birthdays!

Christmas morning......

Kayla doesn't take pics until her hair & makeup have been done so her pics are to follow. Here's Gabi enjoying Santa. She got Biscuit, a North Face Jacket, art supplies, house shoes, etc. Also, here's a pic of the mess Mary made on her last day & the ice cream Mary left Gabi for Christmas, Mayfield's Snow Cream. Kayla got clothes, a gift card for shoes, a gift card for a new cell phone, etc. I hope everyone had a great day.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

It's almost two a.m., my mother/aunt duties are completed, I'm off to bed; not sure what time Kayla/Gabi's feet will hit the floor this am.

We're off to my cousins this afternoon for Christmas Dinner, more pics to come.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

Brianna

Every year when we get back from Jenn's Brianna comes over so we can celebrate Christmas with her. She got onto me tonight because each year we decorate a gingerbread house, etc. This year with my surgery & me being in the hospital it didn't happen. I'm sorry Bri, next year for sure.

Christmas Eve @ Jenn's.......

We celebrated with the family at Jenn's this afternoon. The kids really seemed to enjoy themselves which makes the event even better for the adults. After we stuffed ourselves with quiche, spinach dip, pizza rolls, a cheese tray, sausage balls, shrimp, olives, etc. we opened presents. Then; as if we hadn't had enough we dove into the double layer pumpkin pie, the peanut butter pie, cookies, fudge, peppermint bark, etc. Addie was content with the can of cool whip within reach. Kayla & Julien attempted to bake cookies for Santa. :-) Of course Santa made his rounds on the Fire Truck, he was inside because of the rain. Only in Alabama is there severe weather on Christmas Eve! I'm still adjusting to a new camera so some of the photos may be hazy, bear with me!

Mary's last night.....

Here's a pic of Mary hanging from the ceiling fan in the living room and a few pics of Gabi spending her last day with Mary. Gabi's really sad but her Mother told her if she was good, we'd see if Mary could come back in June for her birthday. :-)

First grade...

is so much fun. These are just 3 of the things Gabi brought home from school last week. I love the pillow case and the two ornaments are precious. Her teacher, Ms. Cabler is obviously very creative. Cecilia spent a lot of time at the school helping out.

THANK YOU....

for all the prayers and phone calls. Hopefully there will be no more set backs. Now to try and play catch up on everything, I can't believe Christmas is in 3 days.

Mary, at it again....

I've been too sick to keep up with Mary but it's my understanding she hasn't slowed down any. Here she is pouring the shampoo out in the bathtub, pouring cereal in the floor, and swiping a snack cake and hiding in the box to eat it. One night she crawled into the light in the dining room, this morning we found her in the refrigerator in Gabi's new kitchen. She always ends up in Gabi's bed, I guess she figures she won't get in as much trouble there. I can't believe Santa will be taking her back to The North Pole in 2 days.

My....

gall bladder surgery on the tenth went well & I was on the road to recovery. I signed up a month and a half ago to go on a field trip with Gabi on the 17th; I went and that night I was in so much pain I could not lie down & it hurt to breathe.

Thursday when Kayla got home from school I was going to the doctor to have my staples taken out & to take Kayla shopping to buy her friends Christmas presents. Needless to say we never made it shopping. The doctor sent me straight from his office to the hospital & I was admitted. I was there until Saturday. :-( Thank you to the creator of Demerol! Turns out I had a nasty bacterial infection in my kidneys and my liver was swollen. I'm out of commission until I go back to the doctor on the 29th. He sent me home on antibiotics and pain medicine.

The Polar Express

Gabi had a field trip today to The Polar Express; 249 first graders, teachers, & parents, grandparents, aunt, uncles, etc. joined in the fun. We had a good day. Each of the children got to sit on Santa's lap aboard TPE and tell him what they wanted for Christmas. They each received a toy & a bell from Santa.

Afterwards we went to the Galleria for lunch. :-)

Mary strikes again...

Mary got out of bed last night, took Gabi's cell phone from under her pillow, got some green paint from who knows where, & got the baby powder out of the bathroom. Luckily she dumped the baby powder in a dish then put a hot dog in there, was she trying to cook? Gabi is very proud of Mary for making easy to clean up messes and not waking everyone up while doing it!

Please keep me/us.....

in your thoughts and prayers. I had my gall bladder taken out this morning. Thanks to Lortab 10 I'm comfortable, my throat is so sore. The Dr. gave Mom pics of my gall bladder and handed her the 8 LARGE gall stones that have been giving me grief. Pray for a speedy recovery.

Also, please pray for Addie. She has another URI and is miserable. There's not a day that goes by that we don't pray for her just say an extra one today.

Continue to keep Mom in your prayers, everyday is a struggle for her. She tries to do so much for everyone else & not enough for herself.

Hopefully Mary will behave tonight so we can all get a good nights rest.

Mary's 1st night.........

I had to go to school last night and take a final, when I got home the Angel was missing off the top of the tree and none other than Mary was in sight. We got her down & put the Angel back where it belongs. I had another final to take on line so we tucked Mary in and everyone else went to bed. Mom & I were up most of the night from the storms and my only guess is that's what Mary's problem was as well. Next thing we knew the Christmas tree had been rolled. We got Mary & put her in bed with Gabi. She was scared from all the thundering and lightning. :-)

Look who's here.....

When Gabi got home from school today Santa had left her an early Christmas present, MARY! As if we don't have enough estrogen in this house as it is. I remember last holiday season when Juliens elf, Butler, wreaked havoc on my sisters house. I can only imaging what Mary will get into while she's here. Santa will pick her up on Christmas Eve, wish us luck. As if you could not tell from the pics, Gabi is SO excited. I told her maybe Butler & Mary could have a spend the night party! What was I thinking?

For the nighttime....

sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, fever, best sleep you ever got with a cold medicine. Kayla came in from school the other day still not feeling well. I handed her the green liquid filled capsules & shortly thereafter this was the result. She fell asleep in the living room at five and stayed there until four the next morning.

BCBS

Gabi & Brianna went with Mom & Cecilia to the Annual Blue Cross Blue Shield Christmas breakfast/photos with Santa, etc. Here's a pic of the girls in front of the massive Christmas tree in front of BCBS. The girls had a good time!

More pics.....

Kynadee & Addie playing with Play-Doh, Kayla & Julien playing Wii, C'Jay chilling, Kynadee eating, and Aunt Sue's awesome banana pudding.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING........

We all got together at Jenn's house for Turkey Day! We enjoyed the family time & of course the food. There's just not enough time in the day. Here's one of our many desserts, gobble-gobble. Aunt Sue and Mom. We got to see God's amazing work, Addie using her walker. Also Corbin, Kayla, Julien, Gabi, & Addie. C'Jay and Kynadee were in route.

Pooped

I got a last minute phone call Tuesday night to see if I'd keep an eye on Julien Wednesday; which meant Gabi & I had to get up at 5:30 in the morning to get ready & be in Helena by seven. This was Gabi on the way home; pooped, her and her baby, Hope!

HAPPY 10TH BIRTHDAY JULIEN

We celebrated Julien's tenth birthday at SUMO today, his birthday is Monday. Happy Birthday Julien/J-Rod.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...

We usually put our Christmas tree up the day after Thanksgiving, this year it falls on my 7 on so we decided to put it up this weekend. Kayla and Gabi were both a big help. This is ONE of my favorite ornaments, Kayla's first Christmas. It's hard to believe she'll be fifteen in four months.

A picture.....

is worth a thousand words!

Erin & Kayla

Erin & Kayla haven't seen each other since Erin's birthday party in September. Erin's Mom & Kayla's Dad just divorced so things are very edgy. They got to see each other in the parking lot of a restaurant for about 15 minutes. UGH! Erin cried when Kayla pulled off. She misses her Sissy!

MOM'S 60TH BIRTHDAY

Our Beautiful Mom turned 60 today. Shhh, don't tell her, she still thinks she's 39. We met friends and family at the Fish Market for dinner. We had a good time, the kids really enjoyed each other. As most of you know Mom is not a picture person so the birthday girl is not in the photos. Happy Birthday MOM!

LAKE

Gabi & I went to the Lake yesterday afternoon. She did her homework, we ate popcorn, watched the boats, & watched the sunset. Very relaxing.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN.....

Tonight most of the family was able to meet at San Antonio Grill in Helena for an early dinner. Then we went back to Jenn's house; Kayla, Jeanie, & Julien walked the neighborhood trick or treating, the rest of us stayed behind to pass out candy, etc. I had to leave early to come to work but the neighborhood was hopping. Kayla was a pirate, Jeanie-Daisy Duke, Julien-a werewolf, Gabi-a ballerina, & Addie-AN ANGEL! Here are a few pics; Julien trying to scare "somebody", his little sister was not fond of his costume at all. Chris was proud of his pumpkin carving abilities & they did a good job decorating for Halloween. Yucky spider and all.