League Ball Season 2010

I'm sad to announce that the season for league ball is over for the year. I'm also excited to move on to other things. Dustin, Rachel and Courtney played league ball this year and all three teams won either first or second place in the league which granted them a spot in the district tournament. Dustin and Rachel's teams did not place but Courtney's team won the district tournament. This advanced her team to the state tournament. After three rounds at state with 22 teams playing, her team lost out too. I am very proud of all the kids working so hard this year to learn better skills and give it their best.

Rachel and Courtney are also members of select tournament teams and have been practicing and playing all year. The new season coming up is going to put both girls back on the same team in West. Their team is called S.W.A.T. and will be moving up to 10U. Rachel is a true 10U, but Courtney could play another year of 8U. This will be a big jump for her. Both girls will be in the pitching rotation and they are very excited about that.

Courtney pulled Grandpa out of retirement to show him her stuff on the mound. He was impressed indeed but doesn't think he's up for playing the role of catcher. It was a great moment watching him get out on the field again. He used to coach girls softball. I think he even shed a tear.

Blogger World

What do you do with three kids on a rainy day with no school? Blog, of course! I finally gave in to the kids and helped them create their own blog sites today. I have set them up to be private sites and are readable by invitation only. I have sent many invitations out to several of the family members and a few friends. If you did not get an invitation, let me know and I will send one to you. After you get on, make sure to become a "follower". The kids are excited to see how many followers they have and it also lets them know who's reading their blog.

We customized each of them to their personalities.

Dustin chose "Haulin Dirt" for his theme. He has figured out most of it on his own.

Rachel chose "Sunshine Day" for her theme. She is having fun typing whatever she can think of or has ever written.

Courtney chose "Bravo Burgundy" for her theme. She is currently stumped for content.


Be sure to leave a comment with their posts. They will enjoy that too!

Times are changing so quickly. When I was 7, 9 or even 11, blogs were not even a concept in someone's mind. Now everybody has one. Well, almost... Do you have one?

Freezing New Year 2010

This has been the coldest winter ever! We've had 3 days of below freezing temperatures for the high and only into the teens at night. Lots of friends have had frozen water lines and broken pipes despite the preventive measures taken to avoid them. We had our share too. One of the pipes in the old farm house froze and then broke this morning. We were fortunate to just be able to cut off the water since we don't use the water over there any more for the most part. We've kept it running because we are still needing to move everything out and do some clean-up but it's been too darn cold to go over there.

Keith and the kids have been having fun taking the dogs to the tank so they could "walk on water". The tanks have been completely frozen over and finally started thawing a bit this afternoon when the temperature got up into the 40's. I think our freezing nights are over and am looking forward to getting some golf weather soon.

The Journey of Life

I Believe....
That just because two people argue, that doesn't mean they don't love each other. And just because they don't argue, that doesn't mean they do love each other.

I Believe...
That sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.

I Believe...
That we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.

I Believe...
That no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.

I Believe...
That true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. Same goes for true love.

I Believe...
That you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life..

I Believe...
That it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.

I Believe...
That you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.

I Believe...
That you can keep going long after you think you can't.

I Believe..
That we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.

I Believe...
That either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I Believe...
That heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.

I Believe...
That money is a lousy way of keeping score.

I Believe...
That my best friend and I can do anything, or nothing, and have the best time.

I Believe....
That sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down will be the ones to help you get back up.

I Believe...
That maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had, and what you've learned from them....and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.

I Believe...
That it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes, you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I Believe...
That no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your grief.

I Believe....
That our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.

I Believe...
That you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret. It could change your life forever.

I Believe...
Two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.

I Believe...
That your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you.

I Believe....
That even when you think you have no more to give, if a friend cries out to you...you will find the strength to help.

I Believe...
That credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.

I Believe...
That the happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything. They just make the most of everything.

Thank you God for all the wonderful people who help us throughout the journey of life...

Dead-eye Dustin

Keith's Dad, Ken, passed down his .222 Remington Rifle to Dustin for Christmas this year and we bought him a case to put it in, put a bow on it and put it under the tree. He asked Santa for a gun, case and a day hunt. He must have been a really good boy this year because he got all three!

It's New Year's Eve 2009 and Dustin is in the deer stand in Moffat with Keith. Ken has been feeding deer behind his house all year so it was likely they would see at least one deer today. The first deer he saw was a 4 point, but it saw him and got a little spooked and went too deep in the woods by the time Dustin got his gun up. Next a doe came out and started walking toward the feeder. Dustin was trying to get his gun up and he realized he was not high up enough so he got on Keith's leg. By now, the doe turned back around and started heading back into the woods. Keith told him to pop it if he wanted it and Dustin's shot was dead on. It only took one bullet to drop the doe dead where it stood.

Dustin was very happy and excited and could not wait to tell everyone. He called Grandpa Ken on the walkie talkie, me, uncle William, Maw Maw and John Bailey. They gutted the deer and took it to Green's Sausage House for processing and of course had to tell everyone there that they knew. It will be another week or so before he gets the meat back and is looking forward to having his first chicken fried back- strap from his own deer.

We are very proud of our little hunter. Way to go Dustin!!!

Visit with Santa

Santa came to visit the kids at our religious education class last night. Kids from small to extra large got to sit on Santa's lap and tell him what they wanted for Christmas. Santa gave everyone a coloring book and chocolate candy and wished that everyone's wishes come true.


Rachel: I want bendaroos (retail $15)

Courtney: I want a Nintendo DSi (retail $150)

Homemade Noodles and Persimmon Bread

My conversion from Software Engineer to Domestic Engineer is coming along quite well. I am enjoying spending time in the kitchen with the kids making things from scratch. This month we made Chicken Noodle Soup with homemade egg noodles like Grandma used to make and Persimmon Bread.

Ok, so I'm stretching the truth a bit... I just wanted to play with my new rolling pin my brother made me out of mesquite wood. And, boy did I like it! Thank you William!!!

The persimmon bread was fun to make too. Sandra and Melvin Haisler gave me some persimmons and they looked really pretty sitting in the bowl on the bar. Finally, they started getting ripe so I figured I should do something with them besides throw them out. I found a recipe on the internet and it turned out to be a good one. I saved the seeds from the persimmons so maybe we will plant them and have our own tree some day. Thanks for the persimmons, Melvin!!!

Happy 7th Birthday Courtney!

Call me brave or just plain crazy, but we had a great time with Courtney this year for her 7th birthday. Eight of her friends were able to join her at the house for pizza, cupcakes and a sleepover. They had fun with the karaoke machine taking turns being stars on the mic while they took turns getting thier nails painted, had a pillow fight that lasted forever and then watched "Shorts" and "Akeelah and the Bee" before crashing for the night. Rachel joined the girls so we had 10 of them sleeping out in our little aggieland upstairs. Keith fixed breakfast for them while I got a few more zzz's and had them all around the new dining room table with their cereal of choice.

The girls all looked like they had a good time and Courtney thanked me for everything with a big hug and kiss. I enjoyed every minute of it and would do it again in a heart-beat.

Thanksgiving 2009

We started out this Thanksgiving season with dinner at Kelli and John's house on Sunday, November 22nd. We joined Kelli, John, Matt, Sara, Travis and Elizabeth for a quiet afternoon of food and fun. Courtney got a trivia game for her birthday and it gained lots of attention to see if we could answer the 1st grade trivia questions.

We had a delicious roast with mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, carrots and rolls. And for dessert a delicious banana blueberry pie and chocolate chip cookies. Thank you John and Kelli for inviting us, preparing the meal and sharing this day with your family.

Don't worry, Sara. I think I took enough pictures for both of us, although somehow your Dad disappeared when the camera came out. I didn't get any pictures of him cooking the roast or washing the dishes!

Matt and Elizabeth hanging out in the kitchen.







Dustin and Elizabeth busy at work building their creations. I think they traded creations ;)






Sara and Travis posing for the perfect picture.







Brain Quest... not sure who was winning here!







Kelli and her favorite girls.







Then it was on to Thanksgiving Day at my house. We had my brother William and his family Misty, William and Wyatt in from Spring, TX and Keith's Mom, Norma and Don over for a delicious meal, if I have to say so myself. This was my first holiday meal on the grand scheme prepared in my new kitchen. I enjoyed every minute of the preparation which started Sunday night boiling chicken for the dressing. We had a honey baked ham (thank you Don!!!), homemade dressing Cyclone-style topped with whole cranberries, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, candied sweet potatoes, noodles Wesphalia-style, and rolls. And for dessert there was cheesecake covered with a berry medley and pecan pie (thank you Judy!!!). Later we made a pumpkin pie too just to satisfy the craving.

For supper, I made a pot of chili, cornbread and had chips and queso to enjoy while watching the Texas A&M vs. #3 t.u. football rivalry game. The aggies put up a tough fight but fell short in the end on defense. It was a great game and set an all-time high scoring rivalry game record of 49-39. Better luck next year!

Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate with us. Normally we are running from house to house trying to visit with everyone, but this was a nice change being able to relax at home having family visit with us. Thanks again, Misty, for helping me with all the clean-up and making the pumpkin pies.

Happy Birthday William and Wyatt

We drove to Cut & Shoot, just East of Conroe, today for William and Wyatt's birthday party. They had the party in the pavilion and party room at the city park that William and Wyatt helped to build their playground. Wyatt turned 9 in October and William turns 10 next week. The boys are getting so big!

We had fun at the party. The kids played hockey under the pavilion and big William cooked hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill. Misty had everything decorated hockey style and gave they boys tickets to the Houston Aeros hockey game tomorrow. Dustin played "Happy Birthday" on his clarinet as we all sang in celebration.

The after-party included go-kart riding for all the kids which is always lots of fun. They all got a little muddy and wet, but we took towels to wipe them off before the long ride back home.

Big William's workshop is right next door to the park, so we went to the shop to find a nice surprise that William and the boys have been working on. They built me a 9' x 4' dining room table out of Wamara and Pecan wood. It is beautiful. They will be finishing it up and bringing it to me on Thanksgiving Day so we can break it in with style. William does not make chairs so I will need to find some chairs to go around it.