My picks...

Do you LOVE, love, love, Project Runway as much as I do?!!! I wish I could be on it...maybe some day. I think my "cool" factor would have to increase by many points before they would let me on! My favorites so far are Jack, Christian and Chris. I'm not that impressed with any of the girls yet. Anyway... in the spirit of fashion, and Christmas (the gift side of it), this is what I want for Christmas:

bobbi blu flats Isn't this Coach pretty?

I have always wanted a dress form!


What do you want for Christmas, and who are you picking to win Project Runway?

Thanksgiving fun...

We went to Indiana for Thanksgiving and spent a week with Jeff's parents. Fun was had by all! I have a ton of great pictures, so instead of writing about it I will let the pictures do the talking. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

We got to celebrate Papa Dale's 60th Birthday!

We spent time with our good friends Frank and Andrea and there three sweet boys... This is a picture of Claire and Josiah looking at there horses.

We were able to go to the Indianapolis Children's Museum! It is SO fun, even for Mom and Dad!

Claire learning about T-Rex.

Luke and Claire digging for dinosaur bones!

Dressing up like a real dinosaur!
and driving a race car...

We also got to enjoy the really cool weather and the beautiful trees changing colors! Wow, I forget how ugly Texas can be in the fall... being in Indy was a huge reminder.


Luke and Rumpus (Uncle Micheal's dog).


Nana Janis and Papa Dale also had a small Birthday party for Claire before we left. She had so much fun opening presents and eating cup cakes!

I could probably add more, but I will save some for later. I am so Thankful for all of our family and friends. God has truly blessed us with lots of people that care for us.

No words to describe this one...

This morning I took Claire to school, just like every Thursday morning. The only difference today was that I was driving Jeff's car... mine was in the shop. So, we are driving down the highway and Claire opens her door! I almost had a heart attack. There was no where to pull over so I had to drive very carefully, as to not make the door swing all the way open. Claire was very shocked that pulling such a tiny lever could cause Mommy to react so dramatically!!! After I yelled for a while (yes, I yelled! You would have too!) she said "Mommy, it wasn't me, it was Charlie!" Charlie is Claire's imaginary friend (it's a girl!). Well, don't you worry... Charlie and Claire will never open a car door ever again!

Here are some cute pictures of Claire and her buddies. I seem to take a lot of pictures when they are all together... mostly because they are down right fun to watch and I want to catch it all on film!

Who knew candy sticks and rocking chairs could be SO much fun?

Claire and "Benjum"

losing my mind...

Thank you for all of the encouraging comments about my lack of sleep. For some odd reason I actually slept last night... maybe God knew that Claire and Luke would drive me over the edge today if I didn't get just a little bit more sleep than usual!

We had a fun weekend. We had planned a short trip to see Jeff's Uncle and Aunt, but we had to cancel at the last minute. Claire cannot shake this recent asthma flare up... it made me nervous to travel with her like that. So instead we stayed here and went to the park. This particular park is right next to the lake. Claire loved just looking out into the water... she was looking for alligators. Funny right? When we pulled up to the park there was a warning sign stating that alligators had been spotted around the area! WHAT! We played cautiously.

One of the many faces of Claire...

Well, I guess I should elaborate on the title I chose today... I feel like I am losing my mind because I cannot get ANYTHING accomplished (any "Amen's" from my Mommy friends???).

Things I need to get done:

1. Laundry- we are leaving Friday for our Thanksgiving trip.

2. Decorations- I am decorating a table at our Women's Renewal at church tomorrow night.

3. Bathe- Please tell me that there are other Mom's out there that don't get to shower until nap time?!!

I won't go on, because I'm sure you don't really care...

This is a video of Luke singing. I ask him to sing this song at least 10 times a day because I think it is just down right CUTE. He LOVES Elmo. So, here is Luke's big singing debut! (La, la,la,la, Elmo's World...)

Sleep, who needs it?

I do. I don't sleep well...ever. Here is my nightly routine: wash my face, brush my teeth, pop a couple benedryl, get in bed, read, put my ultra deluxe memory foam sleep mask on, plug my ipod into the mask... pray that I can fall asleep before Jeff starts snoring. I do this EVERY night. Most nights it takes me a good hour and a half to two hours to fall asleep. Needless to say, I get very bitter if someone wakes me up in the middle of the night. Lately I have been blaming EVERYTHING on my lack of sleep. I want to work out, but I am SO tired. I want to get more done around the house, I want to take the kids on walks... blah blah blah. So, "My question is" (that's Claire's favorite thing to say right now!) how do you fall asleep quickly? If you are an expert sleeper, clue me in, because I feel like I am going to pass out as I type!


Not much is going on at our house at the moment. Claire and Luke are really starting to enjoy playing together. Most of the time it is pleasant, but there are occasional arguments. Last weekend our small group came over for dinner... we had a great time. I glanced out the window and saw all of the kids lined up on the playhouse porch eating there dessert. It was priceless. They are all such sweet kids. Claire gets very excited when her friends come over, this made it very hard to get her to look at me in the picture. She is mesmerized by "big" kids.

Kaylen, Payton, Ezra, Claire, Allen, and Benjamin (Luke and Anastasia were inside).

One more Luke story before I go... Today Luke was literally begging for a "nack" (snack). He seemed really hungry, so I gave in. Before I would give it to him I told him that he had to give me a hug and a kiss. He kept telling me no, but finally gave in. After he put two and two together he kept giving me hugs and kisses all morning! What a little stinker... he sure is smart!

Claire, Luke and Daddy watching football and having a "nack".

Fall Festival

Last night we all went to the fall festival at our church. The kids had a great time! Claire and Luke especially liked the petting zoo. As you can see from this picture, Luke was not thrilled about his costume. Maybe it was the fact that he went as a bumble bee. Or, maybe it was because his Mommy made him wear his sisters leggings? At least he lasted long enough to take a few pictures with his "sis" and his best buddy KJL.
The story behind the bumble bee is this: It was supposed to be Claire's costume, but after she threw a huge fit it became Luke's costume. Next year he will be bigger than her and I don't think there will be any swapping costumes! :)
Just for fun, here are some old pictures...
This is a picture from Halloween 2005... Indian princess Claire

This is Halloween 2006... Luke as Peyton Manning
Claire as a Colts cheerleader