Merry Christmas to our "deer" family and friends!

We hope each of you have a wonderful time with your family and friends during the holiday season. May God bless your family in 2010!

They got married!!

Last weekend was Kyndel's wedding weekend in Llano and it was so much fun! Kyndel is my youngest first cousin and it was really hard to believe she was old enough to walk down the aisle. The festivities kicked off with the rehearsal at the church on Friday evening. We met everyone in the wedding party and got to know Kyndel and Michael's closest friends a little better. Kalyn and Cambry were the flower girls and Sheldon, Colten, and Stran (another cousin) were the ring bearers. They all did pretty good for the rehearsal although Sheldon and Colten really didn't want anything to do with it at first. After about three rehearsals we walked over to the annex for a wonderful fajita dinner. The decor was awesome...Dr Pepper and antlers! It was SO Kyndel and Michael...it was perfect!

The big day approached quickly and all the girls were back at the annex for a bridal brunch at 9:30am. My grandmother and great aunt had a bridal luncheon for me and Carie before our weddings so it was nice to help them some with Kyndel's brunch. The food was so good and it was nice to visit with everyone before we all had to start getting ready. Kalyn LOVED being with the big girls and getting dressed in the same room as them. Soon it was time to head to the church to get married.

The church was PACKED...I had never seen it so full before. It was great to see different family members and old friends sitting in the pews. There wasn't a dry eye in the church by the time the bridesmaids started walking down the aisle. Kyndel wanted Tanner, her brother, to be included in her big day as a honorary groomsman so she had a framed picture of him on a table beside the other groomsmen. After the moms lit the unity candles, Kyndel's mom lit another candle in front of Tanner's picture in his memory. It was a special moment for everyone to witness. All the bridesmaids looked beautiful, especially Kristi as the maid of honor. Kalyn looked like a princess in her dress and Sheldon looked so handsome in his tux. They both did a wonderful job walking down the aisle together. Colten and Cambry were so cute and both did wonderful as well. Kyndel looked so beautiful and was so calm the entire time. Michael was handsome in his tux and was all smiles when Kyndel walked towards him. My dad conducted the ceremony and he did awesome...Carie and I were so proud of him. Soon after the pictures were done we headed to the reception for some food and cake.

The reception was held at the Iron Horse Hall. There was a spread of a variety of finger food...cheese, crackers, pickles, olives, chips, dips, and my uncle's sausage. It was all SO good. The cakes were delicious and I must confess I had two pieces! I just had to taste both. :o) Sheldon and Colten had fun playing outside on the rails and Kalyn enjoyed watching the bridesmaids and groomsmen decorate the car for Michael and Kyndel. Everyone had a great time catching up and just visiting.

Michael and Kyndel, we are so happy for y'all and thank you for including us in your special day. We pray God will bless your marriage as richly as He has blessed ours. We love you both! Welcome to our family, Michael!

3 years already?!

THREE years ago on this day Kalyn, Sheldon, and I were just about ready to get on the gator with my dad to go meet Ricky under the mistletoe to start our life together. It was a gorgeous, warm day at the ranch and all our family and close friends were there to celebrate with us. God blessed the THREE of us with Ricky in our lives when we least expected it. He taught me how to be myself again and enjoy God's beautiful creation like never before. Kalyn and Sheldon have grown so much with his influence and love. I have decided to list THREE reasons why I fell in love with my husband THREE years ago.

1- He loves God. He has first priority in everything in his life. Because of that we spend time together each night in prayer and reading from His word.

2- He loves his family. Family has always been so important to me so it was so wonderful to share the same values. We are close to both sides of our families and I love it that Kalyn and Sheldon will grow up knowing so many people love and care for them.

3- He is a country boy! For as long as I can remember living out in the country was something I hoped for one day. I always thought how wonderful it would be to be able to walk out the door and just see trees and animals all around me...now that is a reality!

Happy Anniversary, Ricky! Let's have many more years of love, laughter, and memories!!

Gotta brag a little!

Kalyn is my precious, smart daughter. She has excelled in everything she does in school and we are so proud of her accomplishments. Mrs. Rose, her teacher, selected Kalyn to compete in UIL for writing this year. There were 3-4 other students I believe from her school competing against the other schools. Kalyn was so nervous, but we assured her she would do just fine and we would be proud no matter what the outcome might be. Last week Kalyn came home to let us know she got 5th place...and she was the only one that placed in her group! She was disappointed that she didn't get first place, but we explained how awesome she did and she can work harder next year to place higher if that is what she wants.


Another thing...Kalyn normally has a spelling test each week. Often times she ends up not having to take the test on Friday because she already passed the practice test early in the week. Last week she was the only one who did that so Mrs. Rose gave her an alternative activity. Kalyn had so much fun with it. She was asked to write a story related to Christmas and make a visual aid for it. She had the opportunity to present her project to the assistant principal and to Sheldon's kindergarten class as well. She felt really special that day.


Kalyn, I am so proud to call you my daughter and I can't wait to watch you accomplish many more things in your life. You are so precious to me and your family!

Icing fight...watch out!

Last night was a messy, but fun night. We "attempted" to make a gingerbread barn using a kit that Ricky's mom bought from Tractor Supply. We got the sides and roof together using the icing, but after a short while they started falling off. I don't know if we didn't use enough icing or if we just didn't hold the pieces together long enough to allow it to set, but it just would not work. We finally gave up and just ate it...it was surprisingly yummy! Not only did we eat, we had to play too. Ricky swapped icing on Sheldon's nose then on Kalyn's nose. They laughed so much and of course one thing led to another...within minutes my kitchen table and floor were covered with icing! It was really fun to watch them enjoy themselves.

Getting started...

sealing the roof with icing

so far so good....

Sheldon pitchin' in

and it falls....

disaster!

oh well, let's eat it!

and the icing fight begins....

and he got you good!

It's starting to smell like Christmas in our house!

I love the smell of cinnamon! Every time I smell it I think of Christmas. Kalyn and I made cinnamon ornaments for her Kindergarten class two years ago and Sheldon has been wanting to do the same thing so that is what we did yesterday afternoon. We made them in the "I love you" handshape and put 2009 on the hand. The kids were good helpers and enjoyed the activity...especially Kalyn. After they all dry in the next couple days we will put strings through the holes so Sheldon's class mates will be able to hang them on their tree at home. It has been so nice to walk into the house the past few days and be welcomed by the smell of cinnamon...ahhhhhh!

2nd Christmas with the Lindigs

Last year we went to the Lindigs for Christmas so this year they came to our house. Kevin was on a hunting trip in South Texas and couldn't be with us...hope he brought some meat back for us! Bonnie, Mason, and Jenna arrived just in time to eat tacos and all the fixin's. After supper we had some homemade frosted brownies that I made for the first time. I decided to try my great Aunt Opal's recipe and they were SO good! I definitely will be making them again soon. The moment finally came for the kids to open their gifts from each other...they had been waiting all evening! Bonnie and I did some Christmas shopping last Thursday and decided to get both boys the same toy to trick them and we also knew they both would like it. The expression on their faces was priceless as they opened their gifts and wondered why they got the same thing they gave to the other! Their gift was a tank transformer. Kalyn and Jenna both got jewelry boxes. Jenna's had some play jewelry in it and Kalyn's had compartments for different pieces of jewelry. Really cute! Bonnie and Kevin gave us a lone star Scentsy candle set...YAY! Sheldon broke the one I had two years ago and I had been wanting to get another one. We gave them a cute wooden decorative Christmas sign that says "Howdy Santa." It was another wonderful evening with special friends...we love y'all!

The kiddos in front of the tree

Ripping their presents open!

Hey we got the same thing!!

The girls admiring their jewelry boxes

Such pretty girls...we're in trouble in a few years!

Close friends!

Working on the duck pond....

Our ducks are getting really big! They're really pretty too. The male has green on his head/neck and the other two are females. Ricky started working on enlarging their pen to give them more dry land to lay eggs. We can't wait to see those cute ducklings soon!! Stay tuned...

Christmas Program

The kids at our church had their annual Christmas program for us. We had a short devotional before the program then a chili/stew supper afterwards. The program itself was really cute and they all did a great job! The K-2nd graders were dressed as shepherds while the other age groups were dressed as something else. Kalyn had a speaking part and she was really nervous for about a week or so prior to the program. She did very well and we were so proud of her. We were proud of Sheldon too since he was willing to participate more than he was last year without much hesitation. Murray Street church of Christ has become our family and we are so blessed to have our friends there. God is so good...all the time!!

Abigail and Kalyn

Our shepherd, Sheldon

all the shepherds singing "Joy to the World"

Kalyn speaking

Mimi's Electronic Organ

My grandmother (Mimi) loved pianos and organs. She was awesome at "tickling the ivory" and I have precious memories of sitting on the bench as a little girl watching her play. I loved to feel the vibrations and watch her face as she played! I inherited one of her electronic organs and we haven't decided what to do with it yet. There is no room in our house for it, but the kids and Ricky have enjoyed trying it out over the last week. I had to take a couple pictures of the kids with my Mimi's organ. She would love them so much...I wish she was still alive for them to know her!

Santa Claus Came to Visit!!

Santa came to Llano! He rode the fire truck to the park by the river where the trail of lights are. My mom, Carie, Kalyn and I had been shopping most of the afternoon with our cousin, Joann and my grandmother in Llano so we just told the guys to meet us at the Trail of Lights at 6pm. Aunt Joni and Uncle Gary along with their clan met us there too. The kids had fun walking through the trail and seeing all the lights. Their favorite was probably spinning under the big lighted tree with Kristi, Kyndel, and Michael. Sheldon really stayed close to Michael...with those two together things were a bit CRAZY~ha! At the end of the trail was Santa's tent. The line wasn't too long so I got Kalyn and Sheldon to go inside to tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas (wii system) and they had their picture taken as well. After we were done with the pictures we headed to Stonewall's on the square for some yummy pizza for my birthday supper. It was a fun night with family!!

Kalyn is ready!

This is on every lamp post at the main intersection in Llano...LOVE it!

Entrance to the trail of lights....see Sheldon with his buddy, Michael?

cousins spinning under the lighted tree

Michael, Kyndel, and Kristi with the little cousins

We miss you Tanner! (he was killed in an accident 10 yrs ago)

Sheldon and Michael (interesting fact...Michael's middle name is TANNER!)

Sheldon

Kalyn

Kalyn and Sheldon with Santa and Mrs. Claus!

Gobble, Gobble!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday with family and friends. We sure did! On Wednesday after Ricky got home from work, we headed to Llano for the rest of the week. Carie and her family were there the whole time as well so it was really fun for us all to be at the ranch together. The cousins LOVED playing together and the adults enjoyed just visiting and watching the kids.

My mom hosted our Thanksgiving dinner this year and we had close to 30 people at the house. My great aunt put on a cute skit invloving all the kids and it was really cute! There was SO MUCH food...we were stuffed. We also celebrated my grandfather's 88th birthday...Happy Birthday Papa O! Football and naps were in order for the men after lunch while the women discussed Christmas plans and drew names for gifts. The kids were outside most of the day playing basketball, tag, riding bikes, etc.

Later in the evening was the Aggie game against t.u. I have to admit I wasn't sure if I wanted to watch the game knowing how well t.u. had been playing this year. The Aggies made me proud even though they lost...they played a GREAT game and I can't wait to see what the team will be like next year!

I am so thankful and blessed to have my family, Ricky's family, and our many friends. God has been so good to us through the past year. I can't wait to see what He has in store for all of us in the next year to come!

Oni and Granden with their youngest grandchild~ Cambry

Cousins...Kalyn, Colbi, Creese, Sheldon, and Cody

Aunt Chera and CambryBang, bang! Colten and Sheldon

3 more weeks until the wedding! Michael and Kyndel

All the cousins doing a skit with Aunt Bitsy

Happy Birthday to you, Papa O!!

Cousins eating outside

Naptime! I bet there was some snoring involved.

Cousins Kalyn and Cambry looking at the "moo" (cows as Cambry calls them!)

Kalyn, Colten, and Sheldon playing by the gate