Gold Honor Roll!

I need to document a couple of things about Gracie. Last week, she has a nighttime P.E. program. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was really impressed! The students & coaches all worked very hard to make it a cute program. They did a routine with a parachute, a dance routine, a basketball routine, a baton routine, and something else I forgot the name of that only specific students did...tenicula? Something with sticks and jumping in between them while they were hit on the floor. I would have broken my leg if I had tried that! (Please forgive the horrible pictures. I.need.a.new.camera!)



Before the program began, we were able to walk around and try out some of the things they do in P.E. class. Here she is with one of her BFFs!

Today was 'Awards Day' for the semester for 4th grade. I wasn't able to go, but Chris was. We are very proud of our little 4th grader...all A's for the semester!!!!! Gold Honor Roll! She is so self disciplined & self motivated when it comes to her school work, and we are very proud of her. 4th grade is tougher than earlier years, and I find myself needing to remind her of more things more often, but I really can't complain. She is a fabulous daughter, and I'm happy God blessed me by choosing me to be her mommy!

A wonderful weekend with Chris!

Chris & I spent a wonderful weekend together this past weekend in Biloxi, MS. One of my 'dreams' has been to see Tony Bennett perform in concert. Yes, I know that he is 83 years old, but I adore him! I love his style of music...so relaxing. So...Chris told me a couple of months ago that he had gotten us tickets to go see him and to spend the weekend away! I have been so excited!

Mom "Grammer" was nice enough to come watch the girls for us, and I picked her up at the airport on Wednesday. She watched Ellie for me when I went into the office on Thursday. Mom seemed to think Grammers trump Friendship School! LOL

Friday, January 15
After we dropped Gracie & Katie off at school Friday morning, we came back home to give an extra kiss & hug to sweet Ellie and took off for Biloxi! We were both looking forward to having the whole weekend to just spend time together without the girls. We LOVE our girls, and being with them as much as we are is right where I want to be in my life right now, but it was also so nice to have time alone with my sweet husband!

The concert was being held Friday evening at the Beau Rivage which is where we also stayed for the weekend. It was very nice and quite unlike places we typically stay! (which is part of what made it so special!)

It took about 7 hours to drive to Biloxi, and we got there about 4:00. We decided to eat dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse which is a place we had been wanting to try. We had been told that there was one inside the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino which was right next door. The dinner was fabulous! The salad was one of the best we've both ever had. The rest of it was delicious as well...filet, bread, mashed potatoes (which were actually just ok) and dessert! Yummy! We were stuffed!

After we ate, we walked back over to our hotel and headed to the theater for the concert. Yes, yes, there were a lot of old people, but I didn't care at all and loved the concert! We talked to a very nice man sitting next to us who said it was his 4th time to see him in concert. Tony Bennett is 83 years old, and he still has an incredible voice. He seemed so nice and appreciative of his fans. It was neat to hear him tell stories of friends & people he had worked with....Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Rosemary Clooney, etc. It was a dream come true for me to be able to see him! I only wish I'd gotten a chance to speak to him.


After the concert, we left the theater and did some people watching in the casino. I know there were probably people there who are completely normal and just having a good time, but there also seemed to be some sad people there who didn't have much direction in their lives other than sitting there, pushing a button over & over waiting for their "big break." Anyway.

Going to bed that night, I think we both appreciated the fact that we didn't have to set an alarm or get anyone's pj's out or fix anyone's breakfast the next morning!

Saturday, January 16
Chris was a bit upset when I got up at 9:00 the next morning! LOL I'm not sure why I woke up & wanted to get up. Used to, I would have slept til 11:00 without moving! I guess I'm getting older! Ha! I realize that to most people, 9:00 doesn't seem early!

We took our time getting ready and decided to go to Waffle House for breakfast! YUM! We drove around Biloxi & Ocean Springs and found the church we wanted to visit the next morning and found a restaurant we wanted to go to that night.

That afternoon, we had a couples' massage! I have to admit that I didn't love it. :( I don't know if it was the lady who gave me the massage or the type of massage, but she HURT me. Oh well. Parts of it were nice, and I think Chris enjoyed his. After the massage, we got ready to go out that evening. Upon recommendation, we went to eat at Aunt Jenny's Catfish. It was really good! I had fried catfish, fried hushpuppies, fried shrimp, coleslaw, french fries, and biscuits.YUMMY! This was a meal for a Southern girl like myself! My grandfather owned a fish market in Paducah, KY, and I have memories of having a very similar meal many times cooked by my Maw Maw!

After we ate, we headed to the movies. Having 3 children, we don't get out to the movies by ourselves very often, so we enjoyed being able to go to the movies while there (we ended up seeing 3!) After the movie, we headed back to the hotel and watched tv...and it didn't have to be a cartoon! LOL


Sunday, January 17
We got up that morning and went to church. The people were very friendly, and we were welcomed by many. After church, we ate lunch at Hard Rock Cafe. Chris pushed for that...I think it had something to do with the Cowboy's game being played! Oh well! The food was just so-so, but that's okay.

We headed back to the room and had a little bit of time to rest before we headed to the spa for another treat! Chris got another massage again, and I got this wrap thing with a scalp massage. It was very nice!!!!!!!

That night, we decided to go to the movies again, so we did. We were going to go back to the hotel for dinner but decided to eat at Ruby Tuesdays and then go to yet another movie! LOL We were determined to take advantage of our childless time to go to the movies! It was nice to just be together and be able to relax!

Monday, January 18
It was time for our trip to come to an end. :( We were ready to see our babies, but we had had such a nice time!!!!! We decided to eat at the hotel buffet for breakfast and then hit the local souvenir shop for treats for the kids and then headed back to Houston! The sun FINALLY decided to come out the last day, so here is 1 picture of the beach! It was rainy & yucky the rest of the time we were there, but that's okay.

It was so good to see our babies and see the sweet sign taped to the back door welcoming us back home!

We look forward to our next fun weekend together! Oh yeah, it will be NEXT weekend when we go on our church marriage retreat! There will be more structure, but it will still be a really nice weekend! We are very appreciative to Mom for coming to watch the girls. Chris' parents will be here next weekend for us to go on the retreat.

I am a blessed lady!

All Things Bright and Beautiful

Ellie & I are having a lazy, pj morning. Chris is supposed to be off today, but he ended up going in for a bit anyway. He did, however, stay long enough to take Gracie & Katie to school. Yea!

This book, "All Things Bright and Beautiful," seems to be Ellie's favorite. I think I remember it being one that Peggy Walker, a former boss of mine from the Greater Atlanta Christian School bookstore, sent when either Gracie or Katie was born. Ellie seems to pick it up often, so I like to think that it's her favorite! She got a little goofy when she saw me get out the camera; she's a little ham these days! (Look at that hair!)

She had her 18 month check up this week. She weighs 25 lbs. which puts her in the 60th percentile and is 77th percentile for height, although I forgot what it is. (I'll look it up and add it later!) She is such fun!

Atlanta Trip December 2009/January 2010

I was going to spend a lazy "pj morning" writing a blog post about nothing in particular until I realized I never wrote about our trip to Atlanta! So, for the sake of preserving our family memories, here I go!

We left Houston Christmas Day and started our trek towards Atlanta! Since we didn't leave bright & early, we planned to spend the night somewhere along the way. We ended up stopping in Mobile which was about a 7 1/2 hour drive for us. Not too bad. The only problem we ran into was that since it was Christmas Day, just about NO fast food places were open! Not even McDonald's! Denny's, Waffle House, & IHOP were open, but we didn't want to take the time to stop & eat for that long. We finally found a Subway in a gas station open, so that was our Christmas dinner...eaten in the van. We had packed lots of snacks to bring along with us, so that served to keep us from starving! LOL

We arrived in Atlanta Saturday, the 26th in time for dinner. Mom's roast...yummy! The big girls quickly found the 'playroom' which also serves at the attic & laundry room! It is stocked with lots of our old toys. Fisher Price lasts!

Mom decorated one of the bedrooms to be a "granddaughter room." The sheets have their names embroidered on them. Once Ellie starts sleeping in a real bed, I'm not sure what we'll do because it was very crowded with the 4 big girls in there (my brother's girls came too).


Ellie enjoyed playing in Grammer's 'Tupperware' cabinet. I say Tupperware loosely because most of it is leftover butter tubs & the like! That's MY mom's version of Tupperware! LOL

The sunroom serves as a good place for Sunday morning pictures.

We were blessed that my grandmother, Bigmother, was there too!


We left Atlanta Sunday, the 27th, to go to Aiken for a couple of days (see post below) but returned to Atlanta on Tuesday, the 29th. On Wednesday, the 30th, we went with Grammer & Pappy to The Varsity! YUM! Pimento Cheese Burger (not on the menu but they know what it is) and a fried apple pie! Soooo good! Katie had us order a "naked dog," one of the things they are famous for yelling out, "Gimme a naked dog!" The Varsity is an experience that must be had if you ever visit Atlanta. It's right across from Georgia Tech and down from the Fox Theater. Of course, the girls had to get their Varsity hat!


It is a BUSY place, and you better be ready to order when you get up there. They say, 'What'll Ya Have?" and you need to let them know quickly! You should see the place before a GT game!


After the Varsity, we headed to Stone Mountain which was Katie's request. Pappy, Chris, Gracie, & Katie made it up the mountain. I made it part of the way before I decided to go back down. A bit disappointed in myself perhaps, but oh well! I've done it before! We joined Mom & Ellie who were down as well.

Gracie & Katie at the top! Chris said Katie was ready to go back down before they reached the top, but she persevered!



The girls got certificates saying they made it!

Ellie enjoyed one of the parks at Stone Mountain.

They have a snow area right now. We didn't play, but we did get a picture of the girls in front of the carving which is right above the snow area. It was really cold that day!

Gracie enjoyed relaxing by the fire once back at Grammer & Pappy's.

Late Wednesday night, Josh, Beth, Ann Elise, & Morgan arrived! The girls had a great time spending the new year with their cousins! Gracie (9), Ann Elise (7), Katie (5), Morgan (3), and Ellie (18 months).


Pappy with 2 of his grandbabies and Bigmother trying on her Snuggie that Ann Elise & Morgan gave her!

Ellie with her Uncle Josh and Katie with Bigmother.

We had a really fun time together and really look forward to Josh & his family visiting us in Houston this summer! Mom is also coming next week to watch the girls while Chris & I go away for a fun weekend together!!!!!!