O Christmas Tree....

Devlon and I went and bought our Christmas tree! Fun times! It is so pretty and will be nice and full once the branches drop. We put lights on it last night with his ornaments. I am off work tomorrow and will be gathering some of my ornaments to take over and put on the tree. Once it is complete, I'll post another picture........maybe with the lights off for full effect! I love the holidays.......but so much to do! I best start my shopping!

Wedding Picture

At the wedding this past weekend. Looks like Devlon has a fro from the shadow....he he

Long Time No Blog

Yes, I am alive. For some reason I haven't been able to find the time to sit down and blog! Why do you ask? No particular reason I can think of. So let me sum up last week/weekends events. Thanksgiving went great at the Hospital and I had fun with Devlon's family. Much smaller and quieter than what I am used to in San Antonio, but it was a great time with good food and football. (well, except the cowboys bit it).

Melissa, Ben and the girls stayed with me last week on their trip down........it was SO fun to see them and have the girls in my house. I just love them so much! They are as cute as ever and Brooke slept with me.........quite a change from sleeping alone. She seemed to follow me wherever I moved in my bed. She was a doll! I am thankful that they found time to spend with me that week!

Friday night we headed to San Antonio to try and spend some time with my family. Had some leftovers and relaxed! I hadn't seen my sister in what seemed like FOREVER, so it was nice to be around her again. Josh & Tracy were home also........I think it was a tad overwhelming. Now, imagine all of us (Josh & Tracy, Me & Devlon, Sister, 3 dogs, 2 parents and grandparents PLUS kids! NO WAY!) But we all had fun.

Saturday got up and went to get my hair done. Then we went to a family wedding at San Fernando Cathedral.....and then the reception at the Menger Hotel. It was a L..O..N..G catholic wedding, but it was nice for Devlon to meet that side of the fam! We snuck out early for dinner/drinks with Josh & Tracy and then we stopped by Mel & Ben's for one last visit.

Sunday, the boys went shooting at a gun range while sister and I went shopping. Nana came over for birthday lunch and then we hit the road! Short but fun visit.

I have a lot to be thankful for................

Nothing Exciting....

It has been a pretty blah weekend. Enjoying the cooler weather! Devlon left Thursday morning for "The Ranch" (near Corpus) to hunt with his friends. This is a yearly trip for him. Looking forward to seeing him tonight! Friday night went to dinner with a friend that moved to Colorado last year.......it was great to catch up with her! Saturday, I ventured out to McKinney with Treasure for Third Monday Trade Days. Walked away only spending $20! It was good times........I almost bought a bassett hound puppy. SO CUTE! Also hit the Allen Outlet Mall, the new Cafe' Brazil in McKinney, and had my first experience at Belk.

Today, I have slept in, started cleaning since Mel, Ben & the girls will be here Tuesday night (which I am SO excited about!). We will get to hang out, make a trip to Freebirds, and be around the girls. This will be nice because my Thanksgiving weekend is jammed packed with family and a wedding, so I likely won't get to see them for very long.

Working on laundry, about to head to the grocery store to get stuff for dinner tonight and stuff to make chocolate pies for Thursday's dinner. Yum! Won't be the same as being home, but close enough! Spending time with Devlon's family will be great.....they have welcomed me with open arms and I am excited to get to know them more.

Wish me luck as I start this work week.........I know it is important to so many kids who will be in the hospital on Thanksgiving, but it is never easy for me to be away from the family and at work on major holidays. We will be making pies in playroom and helping families normalize the Thanksgivinig holiday as much as possible..........

Taken from Mrsg

With the cold weather finally finding us in North Texas, I am looking forward to the holidays!
Will be spending Turkey Day with Devlon's family and then heading to SA for a quick weekend visit and wedding.

5 Things I Like About the Holiday Season:
1) Fall and Winter Smells
2) Everyone's positive attitude about giving
3) Time with family and friends
4) Decorations
5) Winter clothes!

5 Christmas Movies I Like:
1) How the Grinch Stole Christmas
2) A Christmas Story
3) Christmas Vacation
4) Home Alone
5) Frosty the Snowman & Rudolph- animated version that runs on TV

5 Favorite Christmas Songs:
1) Hark the Herald Angels Sing
2) It's beginning to look alot like Christmas
3) Merry Christmas to the Family - REK
4) I'll be home for Christmas
5) Silent Night

5 Things I will bake for Christmas (and Turkey Day)
1) Meemaw's chocolate pie
2) Christmas cookies
3) Pumpkin and/or banana bread
4) sausage balls or some kind of yummy appetizer
5) Green bean casserole

5 Things I want for Christmas:
1) A nicer watch to wear on event occasions
2) The whole family to be together
3) Maybe an Ipod?
4) No child to want for anything
5) diamond stud earrings (Ha!)

Hope everyone is looking forward to the holidays!!

Tech Picture

Here is a link to the picture that Devlon bought me for my birthday. He bought a signed edition.....it is beautiful and SO thoughtful! How did I get so lucky to find him??

http://www.benjaminknox.com/Detail.asp?id=87&pid=collegiate

Birthday celebrations

So, I am offically 30. No looking back! I had a wonderful birthday........thanks to my friends, family, and my honey for making it amazing! Here is a recap...........

Tues night (my offical birthday) - dinner at Truluck's with Devlon. Complete with a bottle of wine, stone crab, yummy birthday cake, beautiful flowers, and a sweet card. He got me a framed Benjamin Knox print of the Texas Tech campus. It is amazing! I told him he must really love me if he will let my Tech stuff hang next to his A&M stuff (gasp!).

Wednesday night - dinner with my friends......some girls from work, Devlon, Ryan (his twin), his parents, Marla & Corey, Heather, Chris & Riley, Cheri and Treasure! Fun times! I was mortally embarassed by the singing and the sombrero wearing! I have the greatest friends in the whole world! Got some fun gifts also!

That is all I really have to report. Have a great weekend! Gwen is here with Camaryn who I want to love on all the time!! More coming on Sunday!

Vegas Pics...finally!

Me & Mom right before birthday dinner at the Bellagio. We saw 'O' that night!

Mom & Tricky in the hotel scenery














Tracy & Tricky with the flamingo fountain

Tracy at M&M world....we treked a million miles to get there~ I bought Devlon Maroon & White M&M's!



The AMAZING ceiling in the Bellagio lobby....hand blown glass flowers. The picture doesn't do it justice!

Tracy with some PBR boys! The one on the right was in the top 5 bullriders at the PBR finals!


One of the bullriders at PBR...

The volcano erupting at the Mirage

The world's largest Koi fish..in the hotel garden area. Some were as large as 30lbs! Imagine one of those brushing up against your legs.....





Vegas was amazing.....not sure I can capture it all in a few pictures! Be sure and ask me about my friend I met on the bus when we went downtown, the lack of money I won, the amount of money I spent, the amazing shows we saw, but more importantly, the company!!

Reflections....

OK, so today is the big day. The big 30! I can never say that I am still in my 20's anymore.

I took a moment last night to reflect on the last year in my 20's and what I have to look forward to as a 30 year old (YIKES!). Here is what I came up with.............

I have an amazing family who I love dearly.

I have wonderful and supportive friends, who make me laugh everyday and listen to me complain when necessary. They are all over the place...in Dallas, in San Antonio, in Austin, in Oklahoma, in Chicago, in Alaska, in Houston, in Missouri, etc.

I met an amazing man, who I love with all my heart. I can't wait to see what this next year brings for us.

I have a great job, that I love going to everyday (well, most days!).

I make enough to pay my mortgage, clothe my body, feed my mouth (though I could slow down a bit on that), pay my bills, and live comfortably.

I have taken several fun trips this year.

My health is overall in good shape.

I am blessed with children in my life that I love dearly....Brooke, Becca, Camaryn, Riley, Colton, Tyler...looking forward to new children joining in! (hint hint Larry & Cheri, Josh & Tracy)

I have experienced weddings of friends and family, and looking forward to my brother's wedding in April.

I am lucky to be alive in this wonderful country, with freedom to vote, to live, to worship God, and to be able to wake up everyday feeling safe because of the men & women serving our country right now in the Middle East.

That about sums it up............I guess being 30 isn't as bad as it sounds!

Vegas Baby!

Well, I am back from a wonderful and fun-filled trip to Vegas! We had a great time, ate alot of great food, walked a TON, and saw some wonderful shows. The breakdown:

Thursday: checked into the hotel, did some gambling on the slots, buffet dinner at The Mirage, some more gambling, sightseeing, saw the volcano erupt at The Mirage, saw the gondola ride at the Venetian, and BED!

Friday: Walked around a TON. Visited lots of casinos/hotels and some fun stores like Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville, the M&M store (which was 4 stories high!) and bought Devlon some Maroon & White M&M's (even though Tech won the game!!), gambled at Slots-a-Fun (a Mom favorite), hit the hotel to get ready for a nice dinner at the Bellagio ( a really fancy hotel), and then we saw 'O'. We also saw the water show outside of the Bellagio. A wonderful and exciting show.......I would highly recommend it to anyone! It is amazing all of the things they did........WOW!

Saturday: Slept in since 'O' was at 10:30-12:30, had a yummy breakfast buffet, went to a PBR (Professional Bull Riders) block party and met some bull riders, more walking around and giving slot machines my money, and then we went to the PBR finals at UNLV. Amazing to see those Bull Riders! Very exciting and fun.........I bought Devlon a shirt that says "Git R Done" which was his choice phrase over Halloween for my trucker's costume. We then went Dowtown and saw the light show at the Fremont and called it a night.

Sunday: Got up early to catch the shuttle to the airport!

So as you can tell, a FUN trip! Thanks to my Mom and Tricky for making my 30th birthday amazing!!! And in case you were wondering, I didn't win a million bucks........not even close! :)

Look for pictures later!

Halloween Party #2

Man oh man, party #2 was interesting! So Fred & Barney did their thing and spent a good portion of the night finding interesting uses for their clubs. The picture of me and Devlon isn't the greatest.......in fact he looks a little frightened to be seen with me! We had a great time at a beautiful house in Plano. Lots of food, drinking (not on my part since it was a work night) and KARAOKE! Yes, you read that right. You can see Fred & Barney doing their rendition of Ebony & Ivory and Soul Man. Classic. That's all I can say. Notice the wireless mike to allow for dancing and movement. Fun times.

I did get up a sing a few with some girls.......it was fun but I am a horrible singer. And I had to be coerced to sing, since it is an introverts nightmare to have all the attention. We got so carried away with Karaoke that we didn't notice when the clock struck 2:30 in the AM! I am tired girl today, but it was worth it! Off to run some errands and start packing for Vegas!