Bailee as Clara in the Nutcracker

She had the most lines to memorize and had them memorized in no time! She gets that from her daddy!

The Mouse Army, aren't they cute!
Phoebe and the Penny Whistlers.
Mouse King, The Aunt, Sugarplum Princess,Clara, Fritz (Clara's little bother)
*Side note about "Fritz:" Apparently one day on the playground there was a heated debate about Bailee's mama being fat!!! "Fritz" ended the debate by standing up for Bailee and said "She's actually skinny." I love that boy!!
ONSTAGE for the Curtain Call!

Daddy and I were very proud of our little 3rd grade Bailee. She really loves to be on stage (she gets that from her mommy). Last year in the school Christmas program she had a pretty big part singing and dancing as the gingerbread man. I told her not to count on getting Clara this year because it was someone else's turn to be in the spotlight. Needless to say she prayed about it!!! Love that little girl, too!!!

Stanley The Snowman!

The first two Decembers we were here in Montana I think God was taking it easy on us. We didn't even have a White Christmas! However, these past two Decembers have been more of what were expecting, temperatures in the negatives and wind chills down to -30s!!! When it is too cold the snow won't stick together to make a snowman or even a snowball!! So, when it warmed up to 30 degrees we all headed outside to play! I took Hallie, Bailee and Jay ice skating at our beautiful outdoor skating rink. When we got back we found Charlie and daddy rolling a big ball of snow around the yard. Once we got him dressed in his snowman kit that my sweet southern friend Mary sent us, Riley decided he looked like a Stanley. So, Stanley will probably be with us until March! Thankfully, our protective and not so bright Yorkies have stopped barking at him!!

Winter Formal

Corsages!

Dinner at our house.

Braving the cold! It was about zero! Tanner rented a car that matched Riley's dress. How cool!!?? In our town at Winter Formal and Prom the guy's only ask friends, even if they have a girlfriend they take a friend. I kinda like this strange tradition. So, this was Riley's first date!!! Knowing everyone was going as friends made it so much easier!

Giving Thanks for Kari!

I lost a sweet friend today but heaven gained a beautiful soul. Kari was in a Beth Moore Bible study that I was trying to lead in 07-08. That is how I met her. She has one of those beautiful memorable smiles, a great laugh and always sweet positive things to say. What drew us closer was her prayer request towards the end of our "Daniel" study . She and Tom, her husband, had been married for a few years and wanted children. "Tom and I have decided to go through the adoption process and we need your prayers." As the months passed and they jumped through the adoption hoops and filled out countless forms and were interviewed they finally got to start the waiting part. While she patiently waited Kari decided to help put together a calendar entitled the Naked Truth. She was the photographer taking modestly and creatively covered naked cancer survivors in our community. It was sold all over town and an article appeared in our paper showcasing the calendar the very week she was diagnosed with Leukemia. I talked to her on the phone and she told me she was hopeful about her treatment because it could possible cure her lupus as well. HER LUPUS!!!??? You mean I was in a Bible study with her for over a year, went to church with her, ate her husbands delicious oyster stew on Christmas Day and she never complained about having lupus once?!

Kari bought a ticket to go see Beth Moore with our Bible Study group of girls that fall. However, she was stuck in a hospital room on the oncology floor while we took turns going to see her smile after we'd been to the conference. (Beth Moore wrote her a beautiful letter wishing she could have seen Kari while she was in Billings. ) Her husband Tom was at her side every time Brady and I went to visit her. The strangest thing would happen when Brady and I would leave their room. We were there trying to encourage them and without fail, they would spiritualy encourage us!!! How is that possible except through Christ alone?

Tom and Kari kept a Caringbridge website to let people follow her long road. From the first entry on Oct. 16th, 2008 until the last entry this morning it has been a beautiful testimony of faith and perseverance. Most days giving me a scripture I needed and a hysterical little idiom to make you laugh. Tucked in those journal entries were Kari's accounts of the day with never a complaint. No drama, no exaggerations, and most of the time her plight was undershot. I can't even begin to imagine what she and Tom endured. Scary fevers, being poked and prodded thousands of times, bone marrow biopsies, nausea, vomiting, insensitive medical staff, isolation, seemingly unanswered prayers. And yet I never heard a complaint or a grumble. I have learned something very important from Kari as she lived and through her death. Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe. Philippians 2:14-15 In my world Kari shown like the North Star. If only I could apply this scripture to my very easy life as she did in the face of many difficult trials. If only I will count my blessings. Lord, please help me live this life bringing you glory and not bringing you complaints!

10-31-09

Happy Birthday Dear Brady, Happy 36th Birthday to you! Brady wanted me to go hunting with him as one of his presents. So, Jay and I spent the day with daddy looking for Antelope and "The big buck." We didn't "get" anything but some exercise, fresh air and fun memories.
His mom came over to join the party for brisket and birthday cake. PoGo even got to come in the house for the evening to help him celebrate!
Then over to some friends house for trick or treating with a little Bumble Bee, a Leopard and Tiger Lily!
Charlie was determined to be Zorro, even though there wasn't a Zorro costume to be found in any store. Daddy, Riley and I all worked to make his costume idea a reality.
Jay in the parade around the school as THE GOOD KNIGHT.
Bailee was a Leopard. Shockingly, she was the only one in the whole school, even though I got it at Target. Living in the middle of nowhere does have its advantages.

PoGo Ate...

PoGo Ate by Riley, Hallie, Bailee and Vicki

PoGo ate Bailee's Friendship Bread and
PoGo ate her first bed!
I feel I should go check on that darling louse
I think I hear her chewing on the house!
PoGo ate some one's Christmas lights,
A mouse and some birds she finally got her snacking right!
PoGo ate my cutest sandals (brown and black),
I nearly had a heart-attack!
PoGo ate tons of our pool toys
but, she wouldn't eat those goose decoys.
PoGo ate my flower pot made of clay.
Oh well, I never liked it anyway.
Pogo ate one of our Sprinkler heads
Whatever she gets a hold of she quickly turns into shreds!
PoGo ate the contents of my purse
just when I thought it couldn't get any worse!
My lipstick and journal gnawed on in the grass,
I think I'm gonna spank her.... hiney!
PoGo ate some snow boots and Jay's soccer ball.
PoGo actually ate a hole in the wall.

Oh the fun has just begun,
this all happened in year one!
We love that puppy, yes we do!
I wonder what she will consume in year two?

Oatmeal

Christmas 2004

Texas Bluebonnets 2005

When we lived in Galveston and the girls were little, they would complain about whatever I made for dinner. Too much whine with dinner, if you know what I mean. I didn't want to make two dinners every night so they ate some portion of what Brady and I were eating. There were several evenings they survived on rice or bread. Oh well, they survived! Anyway, I still didn't like hearing the complaints! So, when Brady had to do an away rotation in Washington, D.C. I thought I'd cut them some slack and fix them "kid-friendly" meals for seven straight nights! I was so excited to finally get a break from the bad reviews I was receiving from my food critics in training. The first night I proudly placed tacos on the table. Guess what? They complained, deep breath, okay! The next night I made hot dogs! Guess what? They complained, Grrrr! The next night I let them help me make pizzas. You guessed it, they complained, here come the water works! I called Brady, sniff, sob, sniff, they are still complaining about dinner. He said "okay, here's what you do... make them one more meal they should like and WHEN they complain make them oatmeal for dinner the next night. Keep making them oatmeal for dinner until they learn to quit complaining!" I was like... this is genius! Plus, I won't have to plan dinners for awhile!

On the fourth night I made pigs in a blanket and mac-n-cheese, no-fail-meal, right? Wrong, THEY COMPLAINED, how could they? As soon as the first complaint left their perfectly proportioned pouty lips, I said "TOMORROW NIGHT YOU WILL HAVE OATMEAL FOR DINNER!" In one perfect harmonious chime my three little darling girls yelled " YAY"!! So, as planned, I made oatmeal for dinner the next night and all I heard was yum and mom this is so good! UGH! What's a mom to do? As a last resort I prayed for wisdom on how to handle my serious whine with dinner problem. As a result of my prayers, I told the girls this whole story from beginning to end and how their whining made me feel and they laughed and laughed. We all laughed!

I haven't heard a complaint about dinner in years. Maybe I just tune it out now!? I just try to focus on the "thanks mom," or the "this is good" I hear every now and then. However, one Saturday about a year ago Riley complained about lunch. My retort was, "I'm sorry you don't like lunch, what are you going to make for dinner?". She got on the computer and looked up the recipe for Asian Chicken, we went to the store and bought her ingredients. She cooked it all by herself. It was delicious and she hasn't complained since!