Looking back....

One month from today, a little boy who stole my heart will turn three years old. Time really does fly......

Mickey Mouse

I took James to see Playhouse Disney Live on Sunday. He really enjoyed it. They had a lot of the characters from the morning shows - Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Handy Manny, Little Einsteins and Tigger & Pooh. He even got to do his favorite dance - The Hot Dog dance. If you have kids, you probably know what I'm talking about. Here are some pictures.

On Monday, he was out of school so we did some shopping and playing at the mall. What a life to be a kid!

You're Still Here....

February 14th was the six year anniversary of my dad's passing. When he died, a memorial video was done with clips from some of his friends talking about him and some video of him at fishing tournaments he had been in. It was really nicely done. I am going to try to figure out how to get it posted on here if I can be high-tech enough. The song played in the video became one of my favorites when thinking about my dad.

Thought I saw you today
You were standing in the sun then you turned away
And I knew it couldn't be but my heart believed
Oh it seems like there's something everyday
How could you be so far away
When you're still here
When I need you you're not hard to find
You're still here

I can see you in my baby's eyes
And I laugh and cry
You're still here

I had a dream last night
That you came to me on silver wings of light
I flew away with you in the painted sky
And I woke up wondering what was real
Is it what you see and touch or what you feel
Cause you're still here
Oh you're everywhere we've ever been
You're still here

I heard you in a stranger's laugh
And I hung around to hear him laugh again
Just once again
Oh...
Thought I saw you today
You were standing in the sun then you turned away
Away

Weather Updates

Well, I am going to sound like an old person and talk about the weather, but I figured why not, since that is what has been going on lately. We have had quite a bit of crazy weather in the last few weeks. About two weeks ago, we had an ice storm. It didn't do much damage, and only got us out of a few hours of work, but still not my idea of fun. I don't drive very well in bad weather, and I particularly do not like the way others drive in bad weather. I literally saw a car spin around three times across the interstate and just barely not hit the side rails. This was just after he passed me going about 60 mph compared to my 25 mph.

Here are a few pictures.

Then, last night there was severe weather across most of Oklahoma. Luckily, by the time it reached our area, it had weakened and we had no tornado warnings in our area, just really heavy thunderstorms and lightning. There was one area that did have a really bad tornado near the southern part of Oklahoma (we live in the north east corner of the state). I'm sure it must have been on the news, even all the way in SC, because so many friends and family checked on us. We appreciate that a lot. :-) I'm keeping my fingers crossed, that the actual tornado season is a long way off (or just inactive this year!)

You're Invited

If you received an invite from me, its because I decided to make my blog private to only people I have invited to read it. After reading another blog that the writer shut down because of what she called a dangerous situation to her family, I thought this was a step I should probably take. I don't think many people read mine, much less strangers, but it still made me worry.

Sorry for the extra step in reading this, but I figured its worth it.

Thanks for reading!

My Jewelry Shop

I have started a little jewelry shop on the Etsy website. This is where people sell their handmade items. I only have one item so far, but I hope to add more as I go along. My hope this year is to make and sell some jewelry at different places, since I had a lot of fun selling at our office Art Sale. I ended up making $150 which was super exciting for the first time selling!

My jewelry site is listed to the right of the blog if you're interested in looking. :-)

Christmas Wrap Up

Well, we are back in Tulsa after a great two weeks in SC. We managed to drive to SC in one day (19 hours!). At the time, it seemed to be neverending, but looking back it wasn't too bad. The DVD player stopped working just a few hours into the trip. There was no way we would make it the rest of the way without it, so we stopped at good ol' Wal Mart and picked up a replacement. Big James did 99% of the driving and little James was very well behaved, so it was much better than I could have expected.

The two weeks went by so fast and were so busy, but were very well spent. It seemed like almost everyday we were preparing to celebrate or celebrating something - Christmas Eve, Christmas, Birthdays (my own and others), New Years Eve, New Years Day, etc. - but I wouldn't have wanted to be that busy anywhere else!

We started out with a visit to the Festival of Lights, the drive & walk through Christmas light display that has been around for years and I just love! Every year it seems they have added something new and exciting so it doesn't seem like the same old things every time. Here are some pictures from the marshmallow roast - the little boy that is not James is my very cute nephew, Miles, who is about a year and a half younger than James. These pictures look similar, because of the coats and stuff, but one is me and James and the other is my sister in law and Miles. The similarities made me laugh!

Christmas Eve is when James' family does their big exchange. And I mean big! It is always a lot of fun, with lots of good food and the inevitable paper fight. Little James even got in on the action this year! Here are pictures of the tree before the gifts were distributed, the paper fight, and the not so small indoor jump castle. I wish I had gotten on camera all the hard work it took James to get this thing blown up! Poor James didn't make it in many pictures because he was busy doing all the daddy work! Keep in mind that at this point we were only a 1/3 of the way through with opening the gifts we would be traveling back with. We still had my family and Santa.

Christmas arrived with more gifts from Santa and my mom. Santa also brought a very cute, but somewhat unwelcomed gift, which was more enjoyed by Miles than by James. I have a video of James' reaction to the puppy - insert screaming - but it makes me too sad to put it on here. We are hoping he will start warming up to her soon! We named her Caroline to remind us of home. :-)

Then there was my birthday (29! ouch!) and New Years and then the weeks dwindled down and we got packed up and headed back. The return trip was a little more exhausting, what with the puppy, gifts, and the boat we decided to bring with us. Again, I should have taken a picture! We ended up staying the night about half way. Due to the boat, James did 100% of the driving and thanks to the very addictive Twilight series books, I was fully entertained! Of course, we didn't get to see everyone we wanted, and didn't spend enough time with those we did see, but we are thankful for the time we did have. I am still not unpacked and organized, but glad that the trip was safe and fun-filled!

Happy New Year!