Small Things Appreciated

I am so thankful that when I go to pick up Nolan from daycare he says "mommy" with a huge smile and runs to give me a hug. He is so happy to see me!

I am also so thankful to have a husband I come home to kiss and hug every night and someone who says goodbye and have a nice day in the mornings.

These are very simple things but in the rush of life and busy schedules it is nice to sit back and realize how special those little moments are.

Nolan, I know you will not always raise your arms to hug and kiss me but I cherish those moments so much of how happy you are for me to be picking you up and come home to see your smiling face.

Love,

Mom

Adding a new addition to our family

We are having a little Girl.

19 weeks pregnant

Estimated Arrival- August 7^th- I think it will be earlier than that.

How I told John if you were a boy or girl: Cupcakes filled with pink cake

Just as with your brother I can’t wait to meet you, see what you look like and watch you smile. You are coming into a family with a mom, dad and brother that are going to love you so much.

Speaking of your brother, he already loves you to the moon and back, he says hi baby and kisses you all the time. You two are going to be partners in crime. He can tell something is about to change.

Symptoms: This time around is much harder on my body.  I am very achy and sore. Unlike the first time around my sense of smell doesn’t seem to be that strong. I can eat Chinese food and don’t have any specific cravings, everything is fair game.

Mommy’s wishes for you: I want you to be an honest, ethical, loving, strong, and independent woman. I want you to know that you are loved unconditionally. There are going to be times that you do things that disappoint us but it will not change how much we love you, we all make mistakes it is what we do with what we learn from them that matters.

In the meantime keep cooking and try and stay off mommy’s sciatic nerve!

Love,

Mom

Trip to Sun City West

In a last minute decision we made a trip to Sun City West, Arizona to visit Great Grandma Eveyln, Great Grandpa George and Uncle Matt. Grandma Dawn, Aunt Maizi, Aunt Nellie, Michael, Lydia, and Noah were also able to make the trip. It was a wonderful weekend spent hanging out and visiting.

As a kids I got to spend a lot of time with my Great Grandma Nellie. We would go over to her house and play and one of the things we always did when we were there was feed the birds on her patio. Well while in Arizona Nolan got to have the same experience with his Great Grandma and Great Grandpa. By Sunday afternoon after we were done eating lunch Nolan said “eat birds, eat” he knew that it was time to go outside and feed the birds our scraps from lunch.  It was true proud moment for me as his mother watching him get this quality time in with his grandparents.

Great Grandma Evelyn and Nolan looking for birds and bunnies

All of us at Grandma's Quilt Show

Lydia at Grandmas quilt show

Grandma Dawn, Nolan and Aunt Maizi

 Grandma Dawn and Nolan

 Lydia and Nolan going for a walk

 The Boys

A White Christmas in Dallas

This year we spent Christmas is Dallas. We are trying to make it a family tradition to always spend Christmas or Thanksgiving in our home and travel to visit family for the other holiday. A few weeks before Christmas John’s grandma past away unexpectedly. We made the trip to Houston the weekend before Christmas to celebrate a wonderful life of an amazing weekend. Under unfortunate circumstances it was good to see everyone and Nolan got to spend time with his Grandma, Grandpa and cousins.

We Houston on Christmas Eve to make it back home in time for Santa to arrive at our house on Christmas morning. To our surprise our timing was perfect because we got to celebrate Christmas with snow in Dallas this year! It was Nolan’s first snow ever in Dallas, and it got to be on Christmas day!

Holiday Party

We kicked off our Christmas season with my company’s Holiday Party. This year the theme was James Bond. They rented the entire Hotel Zaza in Dallas and turned it into a casino. It was a very fun night and our first night leaving Nolan overnight with a sitter. In true rock star fashion he was great for Ms. Kelsey and let his mommy and daddy have a night together on the town.

Happy Turkey Day

This year we spent Thanksgiving in Houston with the Connor side of the family. It was a wonderful and much needed trip. It was the 1^st time Nolan went to Houston, he accomplished a lot in one trip: he got to meet all 15 of his cousins, he met his Aunt Jan for the first time and met his great grandma and great grandpa.

This trip was also special because we were able to spend a lot of time with John’s dad and Nolan had a blast with his Papa and going to see his Papa’s cows. John has always told me how he grew up going out to the land and taking care of the cows. I got to see it a few years back when we were dating but nothing can compare to how special it was sharing this moment with our son.

Here is Nolan feeding the cows in Papa’s truck, as you can see this cow is very friendly.

Days 14-19

Day 14- It may seem simple but I am thankful for a job that provides me and my family good insurance. We are blessed to have full coverage and not have to pay any money out of pocket.
Day 15- Family days, our family gets to enjoy our weekends together as a family. Neither of us travels for work nor have to work Saturdays, most of the time. Simply time going to the park or watching a football game I am grateful for. And I am grateful to have to 2 days off a week to regroup before I hit the ground running on Mondays
Day 16- This year I am running our Angel Tree Program at work. Reading all the names on the tags for children it makes me appreciate the stability we have in our household. We are capable of buying gifts for our family and friends and we get to sponsor angels.
Day 17- Friends come and go, some we do not seem as often as we would like but I am glad all my friends have been a part of my life. I still talk with a group of friends that I have known since preschool all the way through high school. I don’t get to see them often but when we do it is like no time has passed at all
Day 18-Smiles, the simplest gesture you can give someone that might just brighten their day.
Day 19- Laughter, the good kind that makes your cheeks and abs hurt because you are laughing so hard. Along with those who laugh with you while not at you.