Checking on Honey

Honey had her gallbladder removed last Friday, so Sunday Olive and I went to check on her. We spent the afternoon having fun and showing off all of her new "tricks". I think Olive definetly helped Honey to feel better. She loved looking at their tall Christmas tree and playing with Barney.

Dano and I took Olive to Garden Ridge to look for her a stocking. I have had no luck finding one that I liked, but Garden Ridge pulled through! We found one. Even though Garden Ridge isn't nearly what it used to be, I am glad we went. And her first Garden Ridge extravanganza had to be documented! I just wish they would go back to having good stuff instead of tables full of junk, but they didn't ask me...oh well. :)

Mom, why are you taking my picture again?

Loaded up and ready to check out!

We hope Honey gets to feeling better soon!!

Happy Anniversary!

It is hard to believe that we have been married for 5 years! Sometimes it feels like it was just yesterday that all of the stress of "wedding planning" was taking place. I feel so blessed to have married such a fun, caring, passionate man. We have been through a lot the last 5 years, but we have survived and our marriage is stronger because of it. I am so thankful to have him as my husband.

On Saturday we went out to dinner to celebrate at Benvienuti's, we had never been there and it was delicious. Little miss joined us for dinner, we called it "family date night". She was perfect! She sat nicely and played for a while in her seat and then fell asleep. We were so relieved, you just never know how she will react to restaurants. After dinner, we went home to feed Olive and then put her in her jammies and loaded up in the car to go see Christmas lights. We drove out to 72nd and Hwy. 9 to the Downs Family Christmas. It was incredible! They have lights set to music. It was really fun. Wrigley sat in the front seat next to me and watched the whole time. We had a great time celebrating as a family. Here are a few pics from our night out.

Thankful Thursday- Alameda Church of Christ

"Seeds of discouragement can not grow in a grateful heart."
Today we are thankful for our amazing church, Alameda Church of Christ. When Stephen and I first starting dating we were in totally different worlds when it came to the churches we were used to. I had grown up in the Nazarene church and he grew up Church of Christ. Our first date was actually to church on Easter Sunday. I was attending a church in Edmond that is a little more progressive than maybe some. Stephen now refers to it as "rock and roll" church. Stephen was used to no instruments, so going to a church with a full band was quite a shell shock. When we got married, we tried what felt like a million churches in Norman and never found one where we really felt comfortable. When Stephen's parents moved to Norman, they began attending the Alameda Church of Christ. For some reason, I was really resistant to this. I honestly don't know why other than I didn't understand some of their traditions and beliefs and I had heard skewed versions of what they were all about. His parents continued to invite us often and yet we still didn't go. Then in September of 2007 when our lives exploded, that church embraced us like we had been life long members. They brought food to our house for days. There were people coming over who we had never met who would hug us and pray with us. Rusty, the pastor was available anytime we needed him. The day he came over to help with funeral arrangements, we instantly felt a comfortable connection with him. Over time, we started attending Sunday services, but not regularly. We would always feel the love and compassion of the people there. We eventually started going regularly and we are so grateful for everyone there. You instantly become a part of the "family" when you are there. We love it. Rusty has been a mentor to Stephen and encouraged Stephen to be baptized, which he did last May. Our lives are so much better because of the amazing people at Alameda and we are so happy to call it our church.

Ho! Ho! Ho! Olive meets Santa

We decided to take Olive to meet Santa today because we thought the line wouldn't be as long. Guncle Chris and Guncle Shawn brought her a special Santa dress that she just had to wear for the occasion. Here she is ready to go!

We only had to stand in line for a few minutes. Olive did great! She sat right down and smiled at Santa. I will upload a better picture later, but here is one for now!

Christmas card picture fiasco

I thought it was a great idea to have Wrigley and Olive in front of the tree for our Christmas card. I should have realized how impossible that might be. Getting a good one of either one of them alone is hard enough! This is how we all felt by the end of the experiment.

Maybe we will have better luck another day.

Thankful Thursday--Friends

"Seeds of discouragement can not grow in a grateful heart."

Today we are thankful for friends! Now, please no one get offended, but I am not going to name people because we are surrounded by so many amazing people and I don't want to leave off a name. But, you know who you are. I think we are possibly the luckiest people in the whole world because we have been blessed with INCREDIBLE friends. The kind of friends who let you spend the night at their house when your husband is out of town and then make you breakfast in the morning. The kind of friends who come and clean your house when you are so overwhelmed that you can't do it. The kind of friends that come back early from family vacation because you need them. The kind of friends who make you laugh, out loud. The kind of friends who know exactly what you need without ever saying a word. The kind of friends who bring dinner when you have a baby (for 3 weeks!!) The kind of friends who will take your phone call anytime. The kind of friends who like to spend time with you. The kind of friends who know your parents on a first name basis. The kind of friends who you share so many memories with. The kind of friends who will laugh at you, with you and for you. The kind of friends who pray for you. The kind of friends who will tell you what you need to hear, even if you don't want to hear it. The kind of friend who you can do "nothing" with and still have fun. AMAZING friends who we could not be more thankful for.

Thank you to each and every one of you for being who you are and changing our lives by being a part of it! We pray daily for the friends Olive will have growing up, because of the important role friends play. She is already blessed with lots of friends, and she doesn't even know it!

To quote a great old show "Thank you for being a friend..." now try to get the tune out of your head! :)

Our Little Reader

Nothing makes this teacher more proud than the fact that Olive loves books! She will listen to books as long as we read them to her. Her "favorite" book is Snuggle Puppy by Sandra Boynton. I know it sounds crazy, but when I pull it out, she starts kicking and cooing. I really think she gets excited! Here she is during our story time tonight enjoying a few books with Mom.

She grabbed the book on her own. Makes my heart melt!