Saturday...

This is a photo tour of JJ's day yesterday...

Daddy woke up with J so mommy could get a couple extra hours of sleep...when I woke, I found them enjoying a serious donut breakfast!





Next, was some play time with her baby dolls...



Then, Papa Bill stopped in for a few hours of playtime!


And of course, playing outside!



A nice relaxing Saturday!

SuperBowl Sunday

I have mentioned before how great our street is - The families all get along and everyone hangs out together in the evenings - kids and parents. This Sunday was no exception - we just took it a little farther than normal for the SuperBowl....

looking out our front door

there was SO much food!mmm....nachos!

jj learning ping-pong

they moved a TV into our neighbors garage for gametime...

Better late than never!

Here are some picts of JJ and her "I love Santa" outfit!

some blessings...

Lately I have felt the need to say an extra 'thanks' for the blessings in my life...

1) My Family. Geoff and our precious little girl Jerra. She is such a free spirit and independent little thing. I love watching her grow and learn everyday. From the moment her eyes open in the morning until the second she is asleep in the evening, she is just on the go, go go. She wears me out, but I LOVE every minute of my time with her. Geoff and her have such a special daddy-daughter relationship - which we know comes from him being home with her so much. She doesn't know it now, but this time together for them is going to be really important later in life. We are so blessed that we get to spend so much of our time during the day with her.

2) Our extended family....my parents, geoff's dad, brother Jeff, and sister Kristin and brother in law Tim. We don't always get to spend as much time as we would like with them, but we are so blessed to call them family.

3) Our home. We live on the BEST street - we have become good friends with our neighbors and we actually spend A LOT of time outside with them. And when I say 'a lot of time' I mean - every day that the weather is nice. The moms all sit together in a driveway and chit chat, the dads play basketball/baseball/ping pong and the kids all play together. We BBQ on the weekends and have poker parties on Saturday nights after the kids are in bed. There are 11 kids (not including Jerra) in our circle from the ages of 2-6 and they all play so well together. Jerra loves playing with the 'big' kids and especially gets a kick out of her time with the girls. A street like this is rare these days and we are so blessed to have found this one.

4) Our friends. We really have a great group of friends...the sad part is that we are all young parents and kinda spread out across Texas and the country and we don't always get to spend the time we would like to with them. But when we do get to see them, it's like no time has passed and we have a great time.

5) Our health. Geoff is healthy. Jerra is healthy. And so far, I have been having a healthy pregnancy. I pray many times every day that this remains the case.

Spend a few moments saying thanks for your blessings in your life.

Night #2....

Geoff came home around 2am from his show last night and checked on JJ.

This is what he found...

at least she was 1/2 in bed! And I did put that pillow there for a reason!

Making the move....

We have had JJ's 'big girl bed' up in her room for several months now, and she likes to play on it but has not shown much interest in moving over to it. So...we took the front rail off the crib and coverted it to a toddler bed of sorts. Last night was her first night in it and I must have checked on her every hour to make sure she hadn't rolled out! But she didn't. She went to bed right away just like every night, feel asleep and stayed in bed! Yay!

Here's to night two!


(its actually really dark in here, the flash on this camera is way bright!)

A Good Reminder...

Got this in an email....if its a true story or not, I am not sure - but nonetheless, it is a good reminder:

Luke AFB is west of Phoenix and is rapidly being surrounded by civilization that complains about the noise from the base and its planes, forgetting that it was there long before they were. A certain lieutenant colonel at Luke AFB deserves a big pat on the back.

Apparently, an individual who lives somewhere near Luke AFB wrote the local paper complaining about a group of F-16s that disturbed his/her day at the mall.When that individual read the response from a Luke AFB officer, it must Have stung quite a bit.

The complaint: 'Question of the day for Luke Air Force Base:Whom do we thank for the morning air show? Last Wednesday, at precisely 9:11 A.M, a tight formation of four F-16 jets made a low pass over Arrowhead Mall, continuing west over Bell Road at approximately 500 feet. Imagine our good fortune! Do the Tom Cruise-wannabes feel we need this wake-up call, or were they trying to impress the cashiers at Mervyns early bird special? Any response would be appreciated.

The response: Regarding 'A wake-up call from Luke's jets' On June 15, at precisely 9:12 a.m., a perfectly timed four- ship fly by of F-16s from the 63rd Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base flew over the grave of Capt. Jeremy Fresques.

Capt Fresques was an Air Force officer who was previously stationed at Luke Air Force Base and was killed in Iraq on May 30, Memorial Day.At 9 a. m. on June 15, his family and friends gathered at Sunland Memorial Park in Sun City to mourn the loss of a husband, son and friend. Based on the letter writer's recount of the fly by, and because of the jet noise, I'm sure you didn't hear the 21-gun salute, the playing of taps, or my words to the widow and parents of Capt. Fresques as I gave them their son's flag on behalf of the President of the United States and all those veterans and servicemen and women who understand the sacrifices they have endured.

A four-ship fly by is a display of respect the Air Force gives to those who give their lives in defense of freedom. We are professional aviators and take our jobs seriously, and on June 15 what the letter writer witnessed was four officers lining up to pay their ultimate respects.

The letter writer asks, 'Whom do we thank for the morning air show? The 56th Fighter Wing will make the call for you, and forward your thanks to the widow and parents of Capt Fresques, and thank them for you, for it was in their honor that my pilots flew the most honorable formation of their lives.

Only 2 defining forces have ever offered to die for you....Jesus Christ and the American Soldier.One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.

Lt. Col. Grant L. Rosensteel, Jr.USAF

Happy 2nd Birthday JJ!!!

My 'baby' turned 2 on Saturday....she is such a BIG girl now!

We had a little party for her at Gattiland with her neighborhood friends. They enjoyed pizza and cake and then played and played.

Somehow, J knew the cake was coming...when she woke up that morning, I went into her room to get her and said 'Happy Birthday' and her reply: 'cake?'

Her Nemo and Dory cake

pizza is a fave!

She really liked the cake!

all her winnings! (daddy helped)

cinderella outfit! so cute!

(have to add that the adorable Nemo dress she wore was made by our friend Amber! thanks!)

Christmas at our house...

We had Christmas at our house this year. Jeff came in from St. Louis and then drove down with my parents wed-sat. Bill and Becky were here for christmas eve and christmas day from Houston. So we had a full house, but it was wonderful.

Jerra was so excited over Santa 0r "Santa, ho, ho" as she says. We went to Christmas Eve mass at 5 and then had the traditional dinner of pizza afterwards.

Thursday morning J woke up bright and early as usual. We got her breakfast upstairs so we could wait for everyone to be ready before we brought her downstairs to see all that Santa had brought.

Santa brought JJ a new kitchen - 50's style diner

And a bunch more! a tent, slide, baby toys, new bike!

New fun toy from Aunt Kristin and Uncle Tim

Geoff's gift to Jeff - a carrot, with a picket fence....
Eating breakfast christmas morning

Geoff and Jeff and their "christmas pants"

JJ and her Nana

JJ and mommy

JJ trying out daddy's new golf clubs with help from Papa Bill

carving the turkey from C&J's

At Santa's Wonderland


On the hayride at Santa's Wonderland

Feeding the animals!

JJ and her gift from Uncle Jeff

Christmas was a blessing in our family. We hope the best for all our friends and family and we are looking forward to next year!

Merry Christmas!

This morning is Christmas Eve Day and we are ready for Santa tonight!

JJ woke up bright and early as usual and all the cartoons on Disney are about Santa, so she is going around saying, "santa, ho ho ho" this morning...

My parents and Jeff are on the road and headed this way from Ft Worth...

Bill and Becky will be here around 3...

Mass is this evening at 5...meaning some of us have to get there around 4 to get seats, and then the rest of us will show up with JJ....I have the cutest dress for her to wear and a custom made bow of course...

Our turkey for dinner tomorrow is coming this afternoon - its being smoked at C&J BBQ by our good friend/neighbor Scott...we went yesterday and peaked at it - it looks GOOD! (and anyone that has been to Aggieland knows C&J BBQ is the best in the area!)...

The presents are all wrapped and under the tree (well, some are hopefully coming in the mail today!)..."Christmas pants" are bought (more on that later)...

I sold my camera....and am getting a new one for Christmas...(fingers crossed) I get it today so I will have lots of new picts to post tomorrow...

It is suppose to be 70 out tomorrow...no white Christmas for us...not surprising!

Hope everyone has a good Christmas Eve Day and we'll loook forward to updates for Christmas!

Season's Greetings!

To all my Democrat Friends (if there are any):

Please accept with no obligation, implied or explicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2009, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere. Also this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.

To my Republican Friends:

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!