Thanksgiving 2008

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone for another year. It's amazing to me that we spend so much time getting ready...Cooking, cleaning, etc and it's over with so quickly! However, I had SUCH a great time!

Thursday morning, my dad and I got up before daylight, got dressed and drove out and picked up Kimberly and Alexis. We then went to my dad's pasture and did what we call "hunting" but fear not, no animals are ever hurt...That's because we sit there and talk and laugh so much that no animal dare gets close. We don't even bring anything to "hunt with. Although, surprisingly enough, we did see a doe which thrilled Lexi. Once she had seen her deer, she was ready to come home. Kimberly and I have gone every year for as long as I can remember. The only year we didn't go was the year Lexi was born because she was so tiny so we chose to go out to breakfast instead. We just make sure we do something just to have some father/daughter time. Last year was Lexi's first year to join us and now it's tradition that she comes too.

Once our "hunt" was over, we all headed home to shower and get ready for the family to arrive. Once they did...It was nonstop action and tons of fun. I really can't help out a lot in the kitchen because so much is going on and me and my wheels can get in the way. I helped Kimberly set out the desserts and then sat in the kitchen and talked with everyone while lunch was getting ready. We really do have a lot of fun in the kitchen. Lunch was great! After lunch, most of us tend to float to different rooms chatting and telling stories, just catching up and then later in the afternoon we head outside for pictures....It's always entertaining trying to get Austin to stay still long enough to get his picture taken, but at least he was happy to be out there! Around dark the family headed home with the exception of my mom's younger brother, his wife and their two kids.

Friday morning, My mom, aunt, Kimberly, Lexi, (Austin stayed home with his Daddy this year...Believe me, he enjoyed it there much more than with us) Landon (my cousin) and I all piled in the van and headed for the woodlands (don't worry, we may be crazy enough to go shopping that particular day, but we're not up at 4 a.m. we headed out around 9:45 so we're only semi nuts). We had a productive day...Lots of Christmas shopping got done and we had a blast together! This was the first time in MANY years that Kimberly's been able to go with us, she previously worked at the Holiday House the Friday after Thanksgiving and now since it has closed she was free to come. It was so great to have her with us...I recently realized just how much I laugh when I'm around my sister. I laugh a lot anyway, but get us together and she cracks me up! She really is SO much fun and is so hysterical (I see things that probably only crack me up because I'm her sister). I think I enjoyed this year even more because she was with us.

On the way home we were already on the road when Kimberly thought about getting Lexi in her PJ's in case she fell asleep on the way home. She was already in what we like to call "the zone" where she's staring off into space right before falling asleep so we had to get creative so we could keep her awake long enough to get to a well lit parking lot so we could pull over and get her changed. So, my aunt Becca and Landon started singing Christmas songs until we could pull over. After that was done, instead of stopping, the singing just continued and included an absolutely hysterical version of The Twelve Days of Christmas. Each one of us had a part and poor Mom NEVER got her part "six geese a'laying" right....What she came up with each time had us all laughing SO hard it was unbelievable. We were laughing so hard we were crying! And that was the thing we referred back to for the rest of the weekend and would laugh all over again every time. Needless to say, Lexi stayed awake the entire ride home and was totally wound up by the time we pulled in the driveway.

It was crazy around here but we love it. I realize I am one of the few who is blessed enough to have grown up being really close to my extended family. My aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents and even great grandmothers...Some of them are gone now but I realize how rare that is to have known BOTH of my great grandmothers and to have one that is still here to celebrate with us. I definitely don't take it for granted and am SO thankful! It's memories like the ones we made this year that will be talked about for years to come!

I hope YOUR Thanksgiving was just as wonderful!

Screen Actors Guild Strike?

Well folks, it looks as if we're one step closer to an actors strike with SAG seeking a strike authorization vote. Read the latest HERE.

Adventures With A Five Year Old

Alexis spent the night with us tonight, as she does most Friday nights and as my mom and I were playing school with her earlier tonight (with my mom and I as her students) we were given the assignment to draw us when we had gone on some type of adventure (my guess is they are learning about adventures in her pre-k class). So, my mom and I got busy drawing our "adventures"...

My mom drew a picture of her and my dad at the zoo looking at a giraffe. Lexi didn't like that idea because "if you go to the zoo, you have to see more than one animal..." to which my mom quickly explained that they only got to see one animal because it started raining and they had to go home (My mom's amazing at coming up with this stuff at a moments notice...Must be all those years of teaching first graders). Lexi then thought for a second and then took my mom's picture and proceeded to draw black clouds and rain streaks all over the picture, then asked my mom if she wanted her (Lexi) to draw the car in the picture so she (my mom) wouldn't have to walk out to the parking lot and get wet...By this time my mom and I were rolling with laughter. Alexis however didn't think anything of it and proceeded to work my mom's picture into her own unique work of art!

What did I draw you ask? A picture of me standing outside in front of a sign that says, "Welcome to Sam Houston State University." Quite the adventure, indeed.

Sexiest Man Alive 2008 According to Me

Who cares what People Magazine says...This is Nat's World, and in Nat's World, he wins...Hands down.

If Today Was Your Last Day

This song says it all. Available on itunes and highly recommended. Lyrics and music by Nickelback.

My best friend gave me the best advice
He said each day's a gift and not a given right
Leave no stone unturned, leave your fears behind
And try to take the path less traveled by
first step you take is the longest stride

If today was your last day and tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
Would you live each moment like your last?
Leave old pictures in the past
Donate every dime you have?
If today was your last day

Against the grain should be a way of life
What's worth the prize is always worth the fight
Every second counts 'cause there's no second try
So live like you'll never live it twice
Don't take the free ride in your own life

If today was your last day and tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
Would you live each moment like your last?
Leave old pictures in the past
Donate every dime you have?
Would you call old friends you never see?
Reminisce of memories
Would you forgive your enemies?
Would you find that one you're dreamin' of?
Swear up and down to God above
That you finally fall in love
today was your last day

If today was your last day
Would you make your mark by mending a broken heart?
know it's never too late to shoot for the stars
Regardless of who you are
So do whatever it takes
Cause you can't rewind a moment in this life
Let nothin' stand in your way
Cause the hands of time are never on your side

If today was your last day and tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday
Would you live each moment like your last?
Leave old pictures in the past
Donate every dime you have?
Would you call old friends you never see?
Reminisce of memories
Would you forgive your enemies?
Would you find that one you're dreamin' of?
Swear up and down to God above
That you finally fall in love
If today was your last day

Pray For L.A.

Please keep those that are being affected by the fires in L.A. in your prayers. And please pray for the firefighters as they continue to try and contain them and put them out. Thanks!

Tonight's Grey's...Personal Shout Out or Pure Coincidence?

Usually I blog about the show using the title of that episode. I guess it would be fitting to do so tonight since "These Ties That Bind" fit this blog as well, but tonight I'm going to deviate from my normal GA blog and kinda make it a personal GA blog all in one...

If I didn't know any better, I'd swear some of the lines said tonight were written as a personal shout out to me, and while I'm not naive enough to believe that that is actually the case, and I'm probably looking way too much into it, but there were times tonight that left me with tears in my eyes as the show crossed into my life in a way that was impossible to ignore.

"I'm trying to ascertain whether he's suicidal or just defeated." ~Derek Shepherd

"You have a story. We all have a story." ~Owen Hunt

"The ties that bind us are sometimes impossible to explain. They connect us even after it seems they should be broken. Some bonds defy distance, and time, and logic. Because some ties are simply meant to be." ~Meredith Grey

If you've read any of this blog before then you understand. If not, CLICK HERE and it'll be clear why this episode and the things above truly hit home for me.