Gabe exploring caves in Missouri over Thanksgiving 

My cutie pie...growin up so fast! 

Me and my cyclin' dude. 

Me and my girls, Emma and Julia 12/26/2005 

I can tell you the meaning of Christmas Charlie Brown

I hate to admit it but I actually got weepy watching the Peanuts Christmas cartoon today...I could blame it on the fact that I've gone three nights in a row without sleep (Thursday night me with the stomach virus, Friday night Ray with the stomach virus, and Saturday night Emma, Today is Sunday...), but really I love Linus and his amazing ability to take a group of flaky people with whacked priorities and stand up in front of them and say out loud what really is important....a babe wrapped in swaddeling clothes and lying in a manger and angles saying "I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." I guess it is a sign of my times that I can't even read those verses in Luke 2 with out hearing a lisp (Linus' that is). Same as I can't read half of the Bible without breaking into Veggie Tales songs! Witshing You and Yourths a Very Merry Christhmis!

A change in Values

For someone who really values their perceived originality and independence I'm not doing too well this year. I started a blog...How unoriginal...and after laboring over the title (okay so I thought about it for 15 minutes) I came up with "From My Texas Window" totally forgetting that my friend Carrie (who is very cutting edge) had a similar name for her blog. Then I decided since we weren't going to Laredo for Christmas this year I would make tamales at home...Kellie Avery however had already had the thought and has successfully completed the task. Gee whiz, I'm going to have to find something else to stand for other than individuality...hummmm lets see how about constancy.

If I could buy every friend a book for Christmas....

It would be Soul Survivor...How Thirteen Unlikely Mentors Helped My Faith Survive the Church by Philip Yancey.

This for me is one of those books that has quotes I want to paint on my walls...Oh for the days when I'm not living in a future rent house and can do very personal non generic decorating things! I dream of having this book written in a children's version so that I can read it to my son and give him modern day role models. One of the overwhelming thoughts I get from this book is that life is complicated and rather than feel defeated by this complexness, I need to focus on a few. I'm not very good at "sticking with" things, but I feel the responsibility to "stick with" a few that I know I should influence for their and the worlds good.

Sick Babies

There is nothing sadder than a sick baby. My baby isn't THAT sick, but it doesn't take much to break your heart. The hoarse cough, the rasping breathing, hot little hands and cheeks and the heavy eyelids--just about killin me! I have to say when it happens to your third child though it is much easier to be sad in a mommy sort of way rather than that all out terrified panic when your first born gets croup for the first time! Man I know I aged a decade that night!

I love Ice/Snow Days

Today school was once again cancelled for ICE on the roads. It is amazing how much I can get done when I don't have to stop and run to the school so many times a day! Also when I am just plain homebound....All that to say...I think I'm going to try and go out after about 1:00...CABIN FEVER IS DRIVING ME NUTS!

I'm sick of LOGGIN IN! I"M NOT A LOGGER I'm a BLOGGER

Okay! All I wanted was to print out a stupid Christmas crossword puzzle to keep my kids from driving nuts on this icy day...and they need my password and login name...WHO THE HECK KNOWS!...What was I thinking the day I logged on to Crayola.com months ago? Was my username: laranotalogger and password: scribblescrabble? AAAAAAHHHHHHHH

I guess I picked the wrong day to start blogging

Well I always wanted my blog to be a little more profound, but I'll have to say lack of sleep and too many things on my to do list are drying up the well! Maybe just the fact that I haven't yet had my morning coffee....AAAAAAAHHHHHH is the reason....check back in a couple of hours!

Oh the pressure!

Okay,
I'm going to put my reputation on the line and blog...God knows I don't have the time...but everybody is doing it!