Happy Birthday & Belated Christmas

For Casey's 33rd Birthday, we(our family), my mom & step dad, & Casey's mom & aunt all met at Bill's Catfish to eat lunch after church.

The weekend before we got to see his sister who he shares a birthday with. Kelly was born on Casey's 6th birthday! He swears he hasn't had a birthday since! Ha! Ha! We all know that is not true!


Cards the girls made


Hat rack my step dad made


Us with Casey's mom (Trisha) & aunt (Coelene)

When we got home from Bill's we rested up & then went to Grandmaw Elwanda's for a belated Christmas with Casey's brother Chris, Jessica & Crockett. The girls were so excited to be celebrating again!!


Emily & Nattie tearing into their gifts


Nattie delighted w/her new purse
Jess w/Crockett playing w/his new basketball game


Kayleigh & her scrapbook set
Crockett our sweet nephew

The Deep End of the Ocean

Grandmaw Elwanda let me borrow this book:
The Deep End of the Ocean
by: Jacquelyn Mitchard

This is a new author to me.
I struggled getting into the book, because of the storyline.
Elwanda said it was about a mom with 3 kids & one of them is kidnapped.
I thought I can't read this!

I knew going into it would be a difficult subject to tackle,
but by the end of the 1st chapter I was hooked!!

It was really good & by the end I had so many mixed emotions!!

So here is a little bit of the story:

It happened in a flash.
One minute Beth Cappadora was the happily married mother of three children.
The next minute, one of them, her favorite child, three-year-old Ben, was missing.
No one knew, and as minutes lengthened into hours, days, weeks, months, years, even the woman police officer obsessed with the case gave up hope.

So began the slow-motion nightmare for Beth, for her family, for everyone involved in the ultimate testing of the ties that bind people together and the wounds that tear them apart.
But suddenly something so unexpected happens, it changes everything.

This book has also been made into a movie.
It stars Michelle Pfeiffer.
I haven't seen the movie, but I am anxious to see how it compares to the book!

Thank you Grandmaw Elwanda for the good read!!!

Basketball Beauties

The girls, (Kayleigh & Emily) are both playing their first season of basketball!
Kayleigh's team name is Holliday Hot Shots, she is #14.
Emily's team name is Holliday Heartbeakers, she is #11.

As most of you know, Kayleigh has played baseball the past 5 years.
She didn't want to play basketball, but she had the opportunity to play for Coach Allbritton & quickly changed her mind.
He also coaches baseball!
His wife is a school teacher in Holliday, & she & I went to school together.
They go to our church & have kids the same age as ours.
He is also my Sunday School teacher.
They are a really sweet family!

Emily was sooo excited!!
She has always wanted to play basketball.
At her pre-school graduation she said, "When I grow up I want to be a basketball player!"
How many people can say their dreams came true in Kindergarten?!?
Emily's Coach works with some of Casey's family.
He is sooo patient!!

Up to this point Kayleigh's team has only lost one game!
Go Hot Shots!!!

Emily's team is still undefeated!!
Go Heartbreakers!!!

True Believer

As some of you know, I love to read!!

I am not able to get much reading done at home.
There is always someone needing something.

I always keep a book in the car.
I read while waiting for the girls to get out of school.
You would be surprised how far you can get when you have no interruptions.

One of my resolutions for the New Year is to keep track of the books I read.

The 1st book of the New Year:

True Believer
by: Nicholas Sparks

His other books are:
The Notebook & The Wedding
Message in a Bottle
A Walk to Remember
The Rescue
A Bend in the Road
Nights in Rodanthe
The Guardian
Dear John
The Last Song

I have read all of them & they are all wonderful!
Most of his books have been turned into movies.
The movies are good, but the books are always better!

Back to True Believer!
A little bit about the book:

Jeremy Marsh is from New York.He is a columnist who writes about supernatural encounters.
Lexie Darnell is from a small town in North Carolina. She is a librarian at the local library.

Jeremy travels to the small town where Lexie lives to investigate about ghostly lights that appear in a cemetery.
He gets to know her as he spends time at the library doing research.
She wants to trust him, but struggles due to past experiences.

It's a story about taking chances & following your heart.

I was shocked at the ending!
Nicholas Sparks is an awesome author!

Stride and Ride

We are excited about being apart of the 2010 Stride & Ride!
It is a huge fundraiser for the (MDA) Muscular Dystrophy Association.

The local MDA Office has many resources to help with making daily life easier for those who have a handicap.

One example of their effort is that Trisha was able to get a ramp for the house which makes it easier for her to get in & out.

The Stride & Ride will take place at our local mall.
So rain or shine the fundraiser will go on!

We have formed a team: MiMi's Marchers
We have 1 month to recruit people for our team & raise funds!

Below is a link to the teams website:
Check it out & see what it's all about!

Stride and Ride Wichita Falls: Mimi's Marchers

Race Face

Dad & Nancie are Extreme Nascar Fans!!

Dad is die hard Tony Stewart!

Nancie is die hard Jimmie Johnson!

They even have Snuggies!!


Now to Race Face!!

Dad had each grand kid pick their favorite:
Red: Tony Stewart
Blue: Jimmie Johnson

Here are the results!!

Kayleigh


Andy


Emily


Tommy


Nathalie


Looks like Tony Stewart Wins!
Better luck next time Jimmie Johnson!

One more thing!

The adults had to get a piece of the action!

Here are the results!!

Dad & Nancie


Amie & Casey


Joseph & Jennifer


I think we are all winners!!

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Stop!!!

This little church is up the road from my mom's house.
I thought it looked very pretty!


This is Nathalie's tricycle!


Emily, Kayleigh & I built a snowman.
We lasted about 9 minutes!


This is the Red River as we crossed going to Oklahoma!
Casey said in 32 years he had never stopped on the bridge.


Kayleigh & Emily making snow angels!
Nattie didn't play much in the snow.
I was excited since it was her 1st snow,
she could have cared less!

Christmas Come & Christmas Go!!