year in review

Happy New Year's Eve greetings to you all! I thought a fitting way to celebrate was to take a look back at 2007 through pictures. Below are my favorite pictures (or a few favorites) taken from each month this year...

JANUARY

Lee & Jordan after playing a game of one-on-one at Jordan's school. Although we were there for a very sad reason (my grandmother's funeral), it was nice to see my "boys" bonding over a little basketball.


FEBRUARY

Rich & Chapel flew into Dallas and spent a long weekend with us...IT WAS GREAT! Here they are at a Dallas Mavericks game.


MARCH

Although this picture was taken in August, we met with Lauren (our first Make-A-Wish "child") for the first time in March. Here she is with Amy and I after we were lucky enough to present her with her wish...a tricked out laptop!

APRIL

Amy and I with Henry (our second Make-A-Wish child). Henry's wish is to go deep sea fishing and they're currently working on all the paperwork involved in granting it. Amy and I look forward to celebrating with Henry in '08!

Before Amy and I were given Lauren and Henry, I was paired with another volunteer for Carson (pictured on the left). This is from his party at Chuck E. Cheese's where we celebrated his upcoming trip to Walt Disney World.


MAY

While I had many favorite pictures from Mom & David's visit with us, this is my absolute favorite! Here she is playing around with flamingo glasses in the town of Jefferson, TX where we were doing one of their favorite activities...antique shopping!

JUNE

Here I am enjoying my up close and personal interaction/personal concert with Rick Springfield!

JULY

Jordan and Natalie a few days into their summer vacation with us in hot and steamy Louisiana.

We had so much fun on our beach vacation and ended up with a ton of great pictures, however, this is one of my absolute favorites...David Dillard with his feet in the ocean for the first time and totally loving it! I adore this picture of David, David & Lee.

This is the another picture that I think sums up our trip...the girls having a blast with two sets of grandparents at the same time! I don't think it gets much better than that!


AUGUST

Although she appears either intoxicated or dead, this is Maggie sprawled out and loving life!

SEPTEMBER

The very first time I ever saw our "fighting kitties" in the same chair, let alone sleeping together!

A picture of the scrapbook I'd promised Lee the year before for his 40th birthday. This page highlights one of Lee's favorites days...the day I surprised him with his parents to celebrate his actual 40th birthday in the town where he was born.

OCTOBER

I tried to stay away from landscape photos for "the best of '07" but this one truly takes me back in time. Each time I look at it I'm reminded of our over-the-top fantastic trip to Ojai Valley Inn & Spa. Just seeing the lavender and their amazing spa in the background is enough to relax me!

I love, love, LOVE this picture of Lee 'playing' in the extremely cold Pacific Ocean. Isn't he cute?!

Here we are celebrating my grandmother's 82 birthday in Palm Springs
(pictured L to R: Aunt Judy, Mom, Elise (2nd cousin), Sydney (2nd cousin), Debbie (cousin and mom to Elise & Sydney), Carol, Grandma and moi)


NOVEMBER

Lee and the girls at Highland Lake Inn (where we got married)

DECEMBER

One of our "famous" self shots before heading out to Pat's going away party.

While I really enjoyed many of our Christmas pictures, I figured those had just been posted so no need to post them again so soon.

Hope you enjoyed this tiny walk down memory lane. We sure did have a wonderful and blessed 2007! I your "year in review" provides just as many smiles as ours did and we wish you a happy, blessed and safe 2008! See you next year...

christmas vacation {favorite quotes}

While taking down the display of Christmas cards, I remembered a topic I wanted to do a post about...favorite things I heard while the girls were here on vacation. Of course I couldn't wait until I was done with my chores, so here I am.

Here are my favorite quotes from this past week...

1. While playing the game Whoonu, Jordan ranked "motels" almost dead last. Lee, who had given her the card knowing how much she enjoys to travel with us, mentioned his surprise. Jordan looked at him and said, "Dad, I like 'hotels' not 'motels'" with an expression full of disdain. It was classic!!! Lee and I were almost rolling on the floor laughing because only a few short years ago she was calling really nice hotels 'motels' -- looks like I've had a bit of influence on her after all! {I've explained the difference between the two to them countless times. Since my degree is in Hotel Management, I felt I had the proper credentials. I just didn't realize she was listening!}

2. We watched the movie "A Christmas Story" Saturday night and all laughed repeatedly. What we didn't realize at the time was just how close we'd get to re-enacting a key scene just 20 or so hours later... While wandering around the displays at "Christmas at Roseland" Jordan and Natalie were skipping ahead and making each other laugh (they're pretty good at that!) I was about a step and a half ahead of Lee and heard Natalie say, "Oh no, where did my glasses go?!" Apparently in her merriment they had, somehow, flown off her face. Now here we are in the pitch darkness with Natalie wondering where her glasses were! Lee's classic reply to news of Nat's missing glasses..."You've got to be kidding me?!" I think we all instantly pictured the scene when little Ralphie shot the BB gun for the first time and his glasses when flying, only to end up crunched under his foot as he frantically searched for them. Our eight feet slowed down tremendously until we heard Nat shout with glee..."I found them!" Thank goodness we left with the memory but glasses intact!

3. Last but not least...on Wednesday we were playing another round of Scattergories (it's our new fave) when the next favorite quote was uttered. The current round had us using the letter "H" and we were going around the table saying our answers to the question of "found at the White House." Lee started by saying "historical items" and was followed by Jordan's "handsome boys" (not totally sure this is correct but bear with me). I don't think I was able to come up with anything and was in awe that Natalie was about to spit one out. While she had come up with some pretty creative ones in previous games, this round had her a bit stumped. Regardless, nothing could have prepared us for what was about to come out of her mouth. Her answer..."hypocrites!" Hilarious!!!

Anyway, I just had to share these favorite (and potentially infamous) quotes with you before I forgot, yet again. I'm off to finish restoring order to our kitchen...

the time has come

I'm knee deep in attempting to restore a semblance of order to our extremely messy home, as well as put everything related to Christmas away for next year but wanted to pause for a moment (ok, procrastinate) and finally share a picture with you. I'm not sure if you remember but back in early November I did a post on getting excited about the upcoming holiday season and how we'd found the most sweet & unique gift on Etsy.com for a special person in our lives. Lee & I both agreed it represented her perfectly but since she's a devoted reader of the blog, I was unable to share the sweetness with you until the pretty package containing it had been opened. Now that Christmas has passed and the paper has been ripped off and thrown away, I can finally share with you what got us so excited almost two months ago! Drum roll please.....


This picture represented to us a snapshot of Chapel's life in Vermont...bundled up from the cold & holding one of her favorite beverages. Not only does the coffee represent one of her favorite things but we also saw significance in the fact that she works for Brueggers (they have their own coffee). While times are cold up there in the North and we know she & Rich are looking forward to warmer pastures (when the time is right), we thought this would be a good snapshot of her time there. Now when they move (who knows when that will be), she'll have something to look at that will, hopefully, bring back all the positive aspects of living in the frozen tundra. Plus, the fact that the girl in the picture somewhat resembled Chapel didn't hurt either!

This is a print I found on charlie motel on etsy.com (the same place where those adorable deer gift tags came from) and couldn't wait to get it framed. I also thought it was pretty cool that the designer/illustrator of it was in England (seriously, I got "air mail" from the UK -- it was great!) Even better, this print had just been completed and Chapel's is the first one purchased. Therefore Chapel has #1 of how ever many she produces. Pretty cool, don't you think? The only snag occurred when I took it in to Michael's to get a custom mat to fit the frame we liked. Suffice it to say I didn't receive the best customer service and although I took it in on Dec. 3, there was a good chance I wouldn't get it back until Dec. 22!! Luckily it all turned out ok and I was able to pick it up in time to wrap it and get it to Chapel in time to be opened on Christmas (thank goodness!!!) Here's how the final product turned out...



We so hope Chapel enjoys it!

christmas vacation

Technically I'm on "vacation" year round but it isn't as much fun unless I have family and friends to "play" with. Needless to say, I was in seventh heaven with Lee and the girls hanging out with me for the past week! We did so many fun things and while I can't remember them ALL, here are some highlights of our Christmas vacation...

FRIDAY (21st) - Picked the girls up from the airport around 7:30 p.m. and then headed out to a late dinner. From there we drove around a bunch a few neighborhoods and checked out the dazzling display of Christmas lights. Jordan fell in love with the inflatable snowmen and displays of pink lights, Natalie enjoyed the colored lights and the plethora of Grinch displays we saw, and Lee & I enjoyed hearing the excitement in the girls voices as they pointed out each house! We all had a hard time believing we still had FOUR more days until Christmas!!

SATURDAY (22nd) - The girls were looking forward to breakfast at our favorite place (they love our waitress!) so we all headed out for a yummy bite to eat. A few errands later we decided to head home so I could take a nap (Lee's cold decided to hit at a very inopportune time!) That night's menu featured pizzas made by Lee and the girls and from what I hear, the girls did most of the work. The pizzas were fabulous and we followed them up with a viewing of A Christmas Story, complete with yummy "drinkable chocolate" from Starbucks that was topped off with whipping cream and pieces of candy canes. The girls thought they were heavenly and while it was a bit too sweet for my palate, I really enjoyed seeing the smiles it brought to their sweet little faces!

SUNDAY (23rd) - Sticky Bun Day!!! I had been looking forward to this day for almost a week! As I mentioned in a previous blog, the girls made their famous Sticky Buns for breakfast and they were INCREDIBLE!! That afternoon we headed out to see the movie the girls had been excited to see the day before but had to be postponed due to my cold...Alvin and the Chipmunks. I'm normally pretty game for all the movies they want to see but I have to admit...I had no desire to see this one! I went in a doubter but no later than the opening credits rolled, I was enjoying myself! It was a REALLY cute movie and while I can't see anyone without kids going to see it, I thoroughly enjoyed it. We went home for a bit after the movie and just chilled before heading out to dinner and then over to the American Rose Center for "Christmas in Roseland." We weren't sure what to expect and figured it was one of those displays of lights that you just drive through. Nope! You park the car and can then wander around all the neat displays, complete with life size Christmas cards that were created by the schools in the area. It was fun to see the girls' personalities come out in full force as they cruised around the different displays. They even got to see Santa and get their picture taken with him!! Here are some pictures that were taken that night...

Lee, Natalie & Jordan fresh from the warmth of the car (we weren't totally prepared to be walking around in the cold!)

Nat & Jordan in the first of many cute poses (check out Nat's hand on her hip!)

Natalie & Jordan in front of Ms. Liberty

I have a feeling we'll be a bit colder the next time we're in the same vicinity of the Statue of Liberty
{credit for this photo goes to Nat}

This picture is for Grandma Sue
(see the flamingo display in the background?)

Jordan & Natalie striking a pose
{frame 1}

Jordan & Natalie striking a pose
{frame 2}
(they just kept cracking Lee & I up!)

As soon as I put the camera away, they told me to take it back out...each display of lights became a new place to "strike a pose!"

Amazingly, they actually still seem to REALLY enjoy each other's company!

After we got home from our stroll among the light displays, we found ourselves in front of another Christmas movie (Elf). This time we enjoyed a cup of hot apple cider as we laughed the night away.

MONDAY (24th) - Christmas Eve began with me baking Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Cookies for Santa and getting everyone ready for the afternoon festivities. Lee and the girls headed out to Sci-Port to make yo-yo's in Santa's Workshop, while I hit a few stores for some last minute shopping (yes, it was crazy!) We all spent a little time getting the last of the presents wrapped and under the tree and then it was time for Lee to make his famous spaghetti. Yum! Throughout the day we played games like Scattergories and International Rummy and had a fantastic time. The day ended with each of us opening a present and watching a Miracle on 34th Street. By 8:45 the girls informed us they were really tired and could we get Santa's plate ready. We fixed up the plate with Santa's ginormous cookie, added some carrots for the reindeer and filled the glass to the rim with milk and the girls then trotted off to bed. Lee & I couldn't believe it...it was 9 p.m. and the girls were tucked in and ready for bed! Apparently they were ready to get the show on the road and wanted Santa to arrive ASAP!

CHRISTMAS - I woke up at 5 and couldn't get back to sleep (I told you this is one of the few days that I actually want to get up early!) and ended up waking up Lee at 5:20. We spent the next 40 minutes or so talking about Christmas' past and getting somewhat presentable for Christmas morning pictures. At 5:55 the girls came downstairs on their own and informed us that they'd been watching TV since 4:30 since they'd woken up and were too excited to go back to sleep (Natalie woke up at 4:10!) Lee and I couldn't believe it...the girls were actually up before 8 on Christmas and we hadn't even had to wake them up!! From there is was on to see what Santa brought (lots of fun stuff!) and to open gifts. We had a wonderful morning tearing open our packages and squealing with delight! Even better, we had no plans for the day other than to relax and enjoy each other and our new toys! We all stayed in our pj's for the ENTIRE day and had a blast! Lee and the girls each took a nap, we played games, watched a little basketball, and indulged in some favorite comfort foods like Finnigan Pie (mashed potatoes, ground turkey, corn & cheddar cheese) for dinner and CCCC (cinnamon chocolate chip cookies) for dessert. During dinner we each mentioned how this was one of, if not the, best Christmas' ever because it was so low key and we really got to enjoy each other's company! After dinner we played more games and then fell into bed exhausted and totally content!! It was FABULOUS!

WEDNESDAY (26th) - The gift cards the girls received for Christmas were burning a hole in their pocket so we braved the crowds and headed out to the mall after taking Natalie out to lunch celebrate her birthday. Jordan found a ton of great things at Aeropostle (her fave store) and was thrilled to get them all (6 things, including a jacket!) without having to spend a cent of her own! Nat also found a few things she wanted at Limited Too but still has some more to spend once she gets home. They also each found some fun stuff at Bath & Body Works and were fortunate to still have some money left on their gift card to take back home with them. It really was a great day!!! That evening we celebrated Natalie's birthday early by indulging in birthday cupcakes (we ordered them earlier in the week) and ice cream before dinner! She opened a few gifts, we played a few rounds of cards and then ate a scrumptious dinner of leftovers...it was fantastic!!

Natalie's early b-day cupcakes
(yellow w/chocolate frosting & sprinkles)

The almost 10 year old posing with her cupcake
{don't worry, that's just sparkling white grape juice in the glass}

Natalie and just one of her MANY funny facial expressions

THURSDAY (27th) - Sad day at our house as we got the girls packed and ready to head to the airport. While we had a GREAT time and enjoyed our time to the fullest, I don't think anyone was quite ready for the fun to be over. As we headed out the door, I thought to take a picture of the girls in the same spot where I took one last year. Check out the difference...

Jordan & Natalie in front of the fireplace (2006)

Jordan & Natalie in front of the fireplace (2007)
Look how tall they're getting!
(Jordan is now 5'5" and Nat is around 5'1")

I couldn't help but take one last parting shot as they were walking down the hallway in the airport...

We hope you all had a wonderful holiday with family, friends and those you care about the most. It's hard for me to believe that Christmas has now come and gone. Instead of packages to wrap and make pretty, it's time to find a "home" for all of the fun things that we received. I also have all the chores that I didn't do while on "vacation" staring at me. Guess I better go get busy...

christmas morning snapshots

Still a bunch of activity going on in the house but wanted to share some pictures from our family Christmas. I'll do a post in the next day or so with a full review but for now, these snapshots will have to suffice...

{from Christmas Eve}
the jumbo cinnamon chocolate chip cookie we baked for Santa + Natalie's handwritten note

Merry Christmas!
Santa not only came and ate that jumbo cookie but left a ton of stuff for the girls...
Natalie asked for some Nintendo DS games and Jordan asked for a pink digital camera (along with some candy - more on that in a few days!) - Santa came through with it all!!!

our tree on Christmas morning (Maggie was trying to figure out how she could get to her favorite spot behind the tree -- of course, even with all the gifts in her way, she figured it out!)

our sleepy, yet very excited, girls after stockings were ransacked

one of my favorite things about Christmas morning is passing out the presents. since I'm the youngest, that job was always mine, and mine alone (I loved it!) however, since there is a younger generation these days, I let them enjoy the pleasure and excitement of finding gifts with their name under the tree (it was hard but so fun to watch!)

the girls picked out this ornament for Lee and brought it with them from NC. not sure if you can tell but it's a snowman made out of basketballs...perfect! needless to say, he loved it!

our normally shy and anti-social kitty (Panther) decided to enjoy the festivities from her newfound perch...a just unwrapped Christmas gift!

our normally outgoing kitty (Maggie) had been unusually shy all week (she spent a good portion of it under our bed!)...that is until she was enticed by all the ribbons and wrapping paper. this is her making an early morning appearance.

looks like someone is ready for a trip to the blustery big apple!

to get the full effect of this picture you need to open it up (click on it)...these are mini-spatulas with a personalized message on them to me from my sweet nephew. i had no idea williams-sonoma would engrave things for you!

apparently Panther likes sitting on boxes. here she is after finding another one she liked!

here she is stopping to "smell the roses" after climbing the kitty version of mt. everest (I later learned this huge box so lovingly wrapped by my sweet husband held the chair pads I fell for while shopping with him at Anthropologie back in November)

sweet sleepy Jordan after she had to move to a new unwrapping perch due to the bright stream of sunlight that came shining through our windows

sweet hilarious Natalie having fun with a humongous bow

the girls after oohing and ahhing their way through their gifts -- they absolutely loved everything!

the grand finale. i had Lee open this gift from my mom and David last as I knew he was going to be blown away by it. boy was I right! it's a desk blotter filled with pictures of us, the girls and me (my mom knew how much Lee wanted pictures of me but I'm not the most willing participant when it comes to being on the other side of the camera!)

Panther is going to be quite sad when the girls go home. as you can see, they lavished her with a ton of attention. i don't think she quit purring the entire time they were here.

see what i mean?

Maggie making quick use of one of their Christmas presents...a new scratcher that either she or Panther literally drooled over (you may be able to see the drool spot if you click on the picture).

More on our fabulous morning in a day or so. Hope yours was just as drool evoking!