Happy 39th Birthday, Jim!

WooHoo - 39 years old! One last year in the thirties decade. :) Instead of recapping Jim's last year (since he would do a better job of that himself) I'm going to share 39 things I love about my husband. Cheesy, yes, but fun to write!

1. His faith in God is important to him.
2. He is himself and doesn't care what others think of him.
3. He makes the effort to be a great husband.
4. He is a terrific Dad.
5. He loves the outdoors.
6. He makes me laugh.
7. He is willing to be silly with his kids.
8. He has dark hair (well...he used to), but a red beard.
9. He wears shorts year-round (because you have to wear shorts at a bike store!).
10. He is motivated and self-disciplined enough to be his own boss.
11. He is good at being his own boss.
12. He helps people who need it and never says a word about it.
13. He gives thoughtful gifts.
14. He gives me a break from the house and kids when I need it and doesn't complain about it.
15. He doesn't snore.
16. He is competitive.
17. He is not too competitive.
18. He knows how to fix the toilet (and lots of other things around the house).
19. He does not complain.
20. He takes me to a musical occasionally (if you know Jim, this is a HUGE sacrifice).
21. He'll dance with me even though he hates dancing.
22. He likes sports.
23. He'll ride the off-road trails with me even when I know he wants to go faster.
24. He'll eat whatever I cook.
25. He'll cook.
26. He puts the dishes away just to be nice.
27. He takes good pictures.
28. He reads to the kids.
29. He lets the kids help with projects.
30. He takes the time to teach the kids what he is doing when they help him with projects.
31. He keeps his word.
32. He is honest.
33. He tells me he loves me.
34. He leaves notes for me.
35. He plays with the kids even when he is tired at the end of the day.
36. He takes out the trash.
37. He'll clean the kitty litter and pick up the dog poop because he knows I hate those jobs.
38. He takes one kid out each week for a night out with daddy.
39. He chooses to love me and our children every day.

I love you, Jim! Happy 39th birthday!

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's Turkey Day! And it's snowing - big, beautiful flakes that we don't get to see in this neck of the woods very often. Everything is totally covered in that gorgeous, clean, pure blanket of white. What a beautiful sight.

Let me recap our Thanksgiving Day. We started our Thanksgiving this year by getting up early and heading over to the park by our house to participate in our city's Turkey Trot. They have a 5k run and a 1 mile fun run. This year I got to do the 5k (Jim did it last time) and Jim took the kids on the fun run. A lot of people showed up and many of them did not register until that morning. This meant that the run started about 30 minutes late. By the time we got going I think we were all frozen stiff. (Remember - it snowed.) It was not actually snowing yet, but the air and wind were cold - especially the good ol' Texas wind. The fun run started first so I got to see the rest of my crew run by. True to personalities, Troy ran the whole way next to Jim, who was pushing the girls in a jogger. (They had the warmest seat in the house!) Trent took off after the word go and was not seen by Jim again until the finish line where Trent was waiting. The boys both did a great job! They'll be doing the 5k before we know it! I ran a lot of the race with a friend of mine and had a nice time running, talking, and finally warming up. I could feel my toes again after a few minutes of running. Even though it was cold, we plan on making this a Thanksgiving tradition, so next year Jim will do the 5k and give the fast guys a run for the money and I'll get to run with (probably behind) the foursome.

After the Turkey Trot we had a nice breakfast and a leisurely morning. We then packed up and headed to my parents' house for turkey dinner. On the way there, it started to snow. Around 12:30 or 1:00, we were all enjoying Mom's delicious food and noticed that the huge flakes were actually sticking to the ground! By the time we left to head home around 3 there was a good bit of snow on the ground. Of course, all the kids wanted to play so we sent them out in it before loading up in the car. Paige and my niece, Kyla only had crocs for their feet, but it didn't seem to deter them in enjoying their romp in the white stuff.

After we got home, the Cowboy game came on (of course). At halftime the kids wanted to go out in the snow again so they got bundled up and out they went. Cherisse, Hannah and Kyla came over and joined us. They played football, made snow angels, snow balls, and a snowman. What fun! Once it was dark, the troops headed indoors for hot chocolate and dinner. The Flanagans headed home and we relaxed the rest of the evening. What a fun Thanksgiving!

God has blessed us with so many things, but this year I really am thankful for my great family and the chance to spend time with everyone and just enjoy being together.

Happy 34th Birthday, Kelly!

Woah - I'm 34 years old today. It is amazing how quickly the birthdays roll around these days. It wasn't that many years ago I remember thinking that my birthday would never arrive. Now it seems like I finish with one and next thing you know - it's time for another!

Even though they are coming faster, I still get excited about my birthday. There is just something fun about your special day. This year was no exception. The kids are old enough now that they really help Jim with birthday cards and presents (instead of just "signing" their name). It is always fun to see what they pick out. This year they gave me some sweet pictures and cards as well as some bath goodies from Bath and Body. Jim gave me an airbrush and some "trial" paint. (Random, I know, but he knows me well.) :) It will be entertaining to see what I can do with it after all the Christmas rush is over.

On the kids' birthday posts I posted things they have accomplished during the year. I suppose I'll follow that lead for me..........This past year I was convinced by a friend of mine to train with her and run a half-marathon. I said, sure - why not? I actually did it! Now, by no means was I fast, but I did run it and finish it! (I finished all of one minute before the marathon winner.) I must admit that it was a great feeling to train for and accomplish something like that. My next venture will be a duathlon in April, hopefully with that same friend..........During this last year, I was able, along with my mother-in-law, to plan a family reunion for Jim's side of the family. That type of thing is always a lot of work, but it is worth it to get to see so many family members together in one place. It was here in town over Easter weekend and it snowed! The kids loved that!..........Let's see, I also managed to really, truly get sick. I don't tend to get sick real often and when I do it is usually just yucky sinus stuff or strep throat which is easily kicked with medicine. However, this year I came down with - get this - mono. Yes - mononucleosis - the kissing disease - usually contracted by teenagers and young adults. That stunk. Apparently, much like chicken pox (which I also got at a much older than average age my senior year in college), mono is worse the older you are. And contrary to my belief, it is not just about feeling tired. It is a miserable illness. It took me several months before I was feeling over it, but thankfully, I have a bunch of friends and family who took very good care of me. In fact, lots of my friends got together and brought dinners over for us three times a week for six weeks! How is that for true friendship! My parents, in-laws, and brother and sister-in-law also helped out with cleaning and kid-watching. We also had some friends come take the kids to their farm for a morning so I could rest. And my sweet husband did more than his share of work around here while I was recuperating. I can now say that for the past month or two, I feel totally recovered............We started our 3rd year of homeschooling with two of our four officially being "in school." This whole adventure has been a blessing and a challenge. I love being a mom and the primary teacher for my kids. It has taught me a whole lot and even though it is a ton of work, I'm glad that it is what our family is doing............I have been able to do a little more at BikeTown this year thanks to some wonderful babysitters. It is much easier to get my weekly work done in a few hours time at the store instead of trying to do it all at home. It has also been nice to have that small break in the week..........There are lots of other things that happened this past year, good and bad, but this is getting long and I need to wrap it up. :)

This last year has been full and, mono excluded, fun. I am truly blessed with an awesome husband, great kids, and terrific friends and family. I found out first hand how dear and loyal my friends and family are. They really care about me and my family and they take the time to show it! Even with the hard parts, this past year was great and I pray this coming year will be even better.

Double Birthday Lunch

My birthday is coming up (tomorrow actually), and I happen to share my birth date with a good friend of mine, Meg Knight. Meg and I decided that it would be fun to have a birthday lunch together. Of course, since that would be during the daytime hours, we would have all of our children with us. Even though that meant the number of children would vastly outnumber the number of adults, we opted to not dine at a fast food restaurant, but at a real sit-down place. After all, it is our birthday! Olive Garden was chosen and a table for eight was reserved. We reminded the kids of proper behavior before entering the restaurant and, much to the mommies' delight, they all did really well. They used their good manners and we managed to have a nice birthday lunch with quite a bit of adult conversation considering there were only two adults present and six children. It was a nice treat. Perhaps it will become an annual tradition. Of course, next year two cars will be needed to accommodate all involved since Knight baby boy #3 will not have a place to sit in the old MacDonald suburban. It was a very full car today! Happy birthday tomorrow, Meg!

Happy 5th Birthday, Paige!

Our oldest daughter is five! I can hardly believe it. She has grown up so much in the last few months. It is amazing how much older she seems. She has really been coming out of her shell lately. Paige has always been on the quiet side, but once she is comfortable in her surroundings, watch out! She can be just as loud and goofy as the next kid.

This year Paige has been learning all sorts of things. She loves to swing and is quite proficient at it. In fact, she was the first of our crew to figure out how to swing herself. (She was 3 at the time.) Now she likes to jump off the swing - once it slows down a little bit. Paige also loves to get in dirt and mud. This is rather amusing to us since she can also be quite the girly-girl. She absolutely loves it when we find a mud puddle to play in. Paige learned to swim without floaties this year and now loves to get in a pool. She is getting better and better on her bicycle and has commented lately that she doesn't want those training wheels anymore. Paige loves to play dress-up and dolls, but will also play football with her brothers. She likes to color and is particularly fond of drawing flowers. Her favorite color is purple, followed closely by pink. She likes to eat pizza and bean burritos at Taco Bueno. She also loves to go and get her hair cut and styled. Paige is a sweetheart and we have enjoyed her as the third addition to our family. We love you, Paige, and pray you will grow to be a woman who loves God and puts Him first. Happy 5th birthday!

Paige Through the Years

Baby Paige

These are a few of my favorite things...

Paige - We love you so much and can't wait to see what the next 5 years hold!

Trunk or Treat!

Halloween snuck up on us this year. The week before, it dawned on me that the kids and I had not talked about costumes. So, I asked them what they wanted to be this year all the while hoping whatever they picked wouldn't require a ton of work to be done in just a few days. The boys thought briefly about it and then blurted out, "football players" which led to the girls chiming in with, "cheerleaders." Yes! No work costumes! We already have all that gear! Now, don't get me wrong. I enjoy coming up with fun, unique, cheap costumes for the kids, but it seems that after 1 or 2 years of that, I need a break for a year and then we can go back to unique ones the next year.

Halloween morning we got out the pumpkins we had purchased earlier in the week at the DRI Pumpkin Patch and began to dig out seeds and carve to our hearts content. (We saved all the seeds and later made toasted pumpkin seeds. Yummy.) Three of my guys really enjoy getting their hands in the messy pumpkin. Trent does not. At all. Period. He also doesn't like the pumpkin seeds. The other three had a blast with the pumpkins and really enjoyed seeing a face and some words show up on the side of the orange gourds.

Instead of trick or treating, we go to our church's trunk or treat. It consists of church members decorating the trunks of their cars and then pulling them into a circle in the church parking lot so kids can go trunk to trunk asking for candy. In the middle of this large circle of vehicles are some booths set up with games, face painting, popcorn, etc. It is really a lot of fun and gives us a nice alternative to the traditional Halloween activities. It is also a good time to invite families from the neighborhood around the church to come on over and see what our church is like. We always have a good attendance and the kids love it. For being the end of October, we had very nice weather. In fact, no one asked for their coat until the very end. At that point we decided enough sugar had been consumed to last at least a month so we packed everyone into the car and headed home. Our little football players and cheerleaders were tired and ready for bed!

Pumpkin Patch

Aah - fall is in the air. That means...a trip to the pumpkin patch! Every Monday morning the kids and I meet up with another homeschooling family that has 4 kids the same ages as ours. Their mom and I knew each other growing up and have reconnected now that we both have families and are both doing the homeschool thing. The kids all look forward to our outings. Well, since this was the last Monday before Halloween, we decided to head out to the Pumpkin Patch at Disability Resources, Inc. DRI is a place where developmentally disabled adults can live and work at a vocational center there on the property. DRI actually produces many local products such as salsa, barbecue sauces, soaps, chocolates, etc. They have a pumpkin patch in the fall as a fundraiser. We thought it would be fun for the kids to see all the pumpkins and support a good cause at the same time so away we went. I was watching the daughters of a friend of mine that morning so all together we had 10 kids running around the pumpkins ranging in age from 16 months to 7 years. It sounds like a zoo, but they all did great. DRI gives people a free hay ride for coming out to the patch so we all got on the trailer of hay and got a little tour of the property complete with a candy stop for the kids. Afterwards, we got to listen to some stories, play for a while longer in, around, and among the pumpkins, and, finally, pick out two pumpkins to take home and carve. The choosing took a little while, but my foursome finally agreed on the two "best" pumpkins in our size (and price) range. We paid for them and then loaded them up for the drive home. What a fun Monday morning! We are already looking forward to next year!