Debutante Ball

Russell and I had the opportunity to attend the Mesquite Debutante ball this weekend. One of our special MTM girls was presented to society! It was fun to see them all do their "bows" and Grand Waltz with their fathers....Here are a few pictures from the event.

Emily looked like a princess!

Me & Russell and my brother-in-law, Brad with his girlfriend Leslie. Leslie was a debutante in 2003

Russell is such a goof!

Welcome to the world little one!

I am sure y'all are all sick and tired of looking at Britney's bald head by now. Sorry I haven't been able to post anything sooner... I just got back into town last night from visiting friends in Lafayette. Louisiana. I left Russell and Annaleigh on Sunday afternoon to go and help our good friends with their 3rd baby (in 3 years!). Little Amalie (french spelling for Emily) made her appearance in the world last Thursday morning a little after 10AM weighing in at a whopping 9 lbs 14oz! It was so special to be able to see her and take care of her while she was so young. Our friends kids are just like our nieces and nephews and Corey and Natalie are as close as family! We have been so blessed by their friendship and we love them all to pieces! Here are a few pics of all the kiddos!

Britney update for the day!

Apparently Britney thinks she is cured because she checked herself out of rehab AGAIN this morning. Can't her family put her somewhere for help where she doesn't have the option to leave...like...oh say, the mental hospital??

And for all you smarties out there, I would like it to be known that I do, in fact, have a life. This is just like a train-wreck. You can't help but stop and watch no matter how ugly it is!

PS: the picture is from www.perezhilton.com

Rehab

Thank goodness! Britney reads my blog (wink, wink) and under my sound and wise advise has voluntarily checked herself (back) into rehab today.

That picture...

That picture of Britney's head makes me sick every time I log in, I so I had to add some more pictures today. Below is Annaleigh with one of her friend's from MTM. The other was the little monkey sleeping last night! We thought she looked so funny. Her poor hair is out of control!

I am worried about...Britney Spears

Disclaimer: I would not call myself a fan of hers, nor do I own any of her Cd's. With that said, I just have to say that Britney Spears behavior is alarming to me! Poor child. I know her red-neck mom and dad pushed her into the lime-light at a young age and she never had the opportunity to grow up...but this is ridiculous. She went and SHAVED her HEAD and is seen partying very very hard every night. She is obviously having a breakdown and starving for attention...and I know she has plenty of money to hire the best nannies, but her two babies need a mother!!!!! These young stars are just burning the candle at both ends and living very hard lives. You would think she would have learned with the recent alleged drug related death of the tragic train wreck, Anna Nicole Smith. CAN SOMEONE PLEASE HAVE AN INTERVENTION WITH THIS POOR GIRL, ENTER HER IN FOR A VERY LONG STAY INTO REHAB AND TAKE AWAY HER BABIES!!!!

So it's been a few weeks....

I really try not to take so much time in between blogs. First of all, it's overwhelming to start up again where you left off, and secondly because I DO check all of my friends sights daily(because I am a little addicted) and get so excited when they update! I would also like to take the opportunity to "shout out" to all my blogging buddies I don't know!!!! Thanks for posting on my previous entry "I am not a stalker..."
Things have been pretty crazy around here. My classes this semester are very challenging and take up a lot of my brain power and energy! In the mean time, being the wife of a youth minister and mother to a 10month old little girl leaves me little time to sit down and think about writing something witty, insightful....or for that matter coherent!
Russell and I celebrated Valentine's day last night because we didn't have time to BREATH this week! Traditionally, we don't do much for eachother as far as gifts, usually little tokens such as a DVD or a book or something....plus, and Russell knows this so I know it won't offend him: He is NOT good at surprising me with gifts. At all. And that's okay because it just means I get exactly what I want (because I go and pick it out myself.) Well last night he comes in with a pretty little gift bag (which is also a first, by the way.) I start to dig through...first I find a book I had been wanting. (Wow...can't believe he remembered.) Secondly, I see a CD that I had mentioned wanting (the new Norah Jones...very good, and highly recommend.) I notice there is something else in the bottom. I pull out an IPOD!!!!!!! I can't believe it! I was shocked to say the least and he went WAY above and beyond (especially since I only got him a Sports Illustrated subscription!) Anyway, I was very proud of my husband and he truly did make my day!
Hope everyone has a great Saturday. Annaleigh and I are having a p.j. day today and so far it has been WONDERFUL! Russell took a few of the kids down to Abilene for Sing Song today and should be back later tonight...

"I don't want my picture taken!"

You may be asking what I mean by the title of this entry...We went to get Annaleigh's pictures taken tonight and it was a disaster. You may know how it is. You dread the days your children have their pictures made. You schedule around nap & eating schedules so that they will be at their peak happy time...then, inevitably, they get off-schedule with their nap or they puke all over the clothes they were wearing. Well, none of those things happened today. Naps were a breeze, the dress was perfectly pressed and without stain. I was very optimistic. We proceed to the studio and everything is going great until Annaleigh gets in front of the camera where she goes absolutely stoic. She was bound and determined she would not smile. She didn't really fuss that much, but was just completely disinterested in what she was there for. I felt so sorry for the photographers because they truly tried their hardest and did a good job under the circumstances. Thankfully, a few shots turned out okay so it wasn't a total loss!
I tried to have my own photography session tonight before bed time receiving just about the same results, but I will let you judge for yourself....

I'm not a stalker, but...

Does anyone else read blogs of people that you don't know at all, or ones of people who you just know of?? I sometimes feel guilty when I find myself occasionally hopping from blog to blog through friends' links. I mean, I know blogs are public access (and by the way, it peeves me when people set their blog to private...what is the point??) but strangers may not necessarily mean for me to see pictures of their precious children or hear an anecdote about a conversation they had with a co-worker or friend. Am I invading their privacy?? It makes me wonder: who out there is reading my blog that I don't know about and who is guilty of "blog hopping" like me?? Feel free to confess. If you come clean, I will too=)

As much as I try...

I just haven't gotten back in "the swing of things" yet! Dallas experienced some unusually cold weather this past week with every headline on the news containing "Arctic Blast" or "Bitter Blast" with little to snow or sleet to report. We ended up canceling church services both last Sunday and Wednesday nights. Most of my classes were also cancelled last week due to the weather which was fine except for I am to the point where I needed them to start so I can just establish my new routine. Sufficed to say, we have been mostly holed up in the house for the last week...which makes me wonder HOW in the WORLD Annaleigh got sick!!! Just another thing to add to the pot! We took her in to Dr. Sonnen Friday because she had a persistent cough plus had been in a horrible mood for a few days. Mommy instincts told me something was wrong so I took her in and sure enough, she has an ear infection and RSV (basically a really bad cold virus. Very contagious. Can be serious for infants...Especially premees.) Anyway, meds were given along with orders to stay in for about a week so not to give it to anyone else. Can you say stir crazy??

It's been a busy week

It's been one of those hustle-bustle weeks...lot of little things to do most of which would be of absolutely no interest to any of my blog readers (all 3 of you.) I would like to back-track about 10 days and address the one obvious topic I missed. New Years Resolutions. I am not a big on them for the most part, but there is one that I try to accomplish every year...to ready the Bible in it's entirety. While the thought may seem overwhelming, the good people over at the Christian Book store can show you a few aids that may make it seem more attainable. I use the NIV " OneYear" version. Every day you get an easy-to-digest excerpt from the O.T., the N.T., part of a Psalm and a Proverb. It only takes about 10 minutes or so to complete the reading and you are right on track.

Happy New Year!

Hope everyone had a safe and happy new year. I have to say that I am a little bit relieved to get back in a routine this week so that I can get some rest ( I think that is a sign I am getting old!) Some of the major highlights of the holidays was Christmas at our house with the Frantz's, going to Georgia to see my family, seeing some GREAT friends from back home and Annaleigh turned 9 months old! Santa brought me a DVD camcorder this year, but since I am not that technical, I haven't figured out how to post video yet, so here are some pictures of some friends and family in the mean time.... Annaleigh and Great-Uncle Raymond Annaleigh doesn't wan't grandaddy to put a Georgia Bulldogs hat on her!
Annaleigh and favorite Aunt Rachel

Christmas Card

It has been so fun to catch up with old friends and make new ones this year through this blog! I don't even have most of your physical mailing addresses so consider this your Christmas card from our family to yours. We wish you all a very Merry Christmas filled with special times with family and friends. We hope you are filled with Joy this season as we remember the most precious gift ever given. Jesus Christ.

No time to Blog!

Our holiday season has been jam packed already! We celebrated our Christmas with Russell's side of the family this past weekend and had a great time. This week will be focused on concluding our Holiday Food Roundup at church where we give 1 weeks worth of groceries to 50 families including a full Christmas dinner. It is an awesome undertaking but so rewarding. Thursday we will start our trek to Georgia to spend Christmas with my family. The only thing we are not looking forward to is the LONG car ride with an almost 9 month old!

Visiting Santa at Abby's Birthday Party

Here are a couple of pictures with Santa today at Abby Railsback's 1st Birthday party. We actually already visited Santa a few weeks ago, but since I don't have a scanner I couldn't post the picture. I guess we aren't too afraid of Jolly Old Saint Nick yet. A little suspicious, but not afraid.

It goes around....

You know. One day you are all about keeping your blog updated and then the next it feels like a chore! I enjoyed reading about everyone's Thanksgiving in their postings. Ours was relaxing. We headed down to San Angelo to see Russell's family on Tuesday and didn't return until Saturday evening. It truly was nice to get away from the hustle-bustle of life here that we can never seem to get a break from. In a nutshell our activities consisted of shopping with my mother in law,EATING, going to see Nana, spending time with Russell's (ughm) interesting cousins, EATING, going to see the new James Bond (which was FABULOUS,by the way), and, oh yeah! More eating.
I have a little more than a week left for this semester and I am just READY for it to be over for a few weeks. Classes have been really great this semester, but I am in NEED of a little break right now! We did go and get our Christmas tree on Tuesday which is always an adventure. This year seemed a little easier than last year...but still, we had to find the "Perfect Tree" for Annaleigh's first Christmas. I know she won't care much about the presents this year, but her face is priceless every time I turn on the lights to the tree.
I will leave you with some pics from Thanksgiving at my in-laws house (she had her tree up the first or second week of November!)

5 more

1. The opportunity to go back to school to follow my passion- be a R.N.
2. A supportive husband who makes every concession so that going back to school easy for me!
3. A "home away from home." I have already said thank you for our church family, but they have truly taken us on as their own family and that is a gift I can never thank God enough for!
4. Rachel-My precious little sister...Lord, Let her her head catch up with her hearts desire.
5. and for my food of the day... Chinese food from Chans. YUM! YUM!

Blessings for today

1. Sundays: a time to worship and praise!
2. Fried Chicken!
3. My little girl's laugh
4. Best Friends
5. The Cowboys beat the Colt's today! Unbelievable!

and....a picture of my little squirmy-wormy today after church. She did not want to be still and get her picture taken in her cute new dress!

Blessings

The Thanksgiving season is a time where many are reminded of all of the blessings in their life...I got to thinking today about a little book my little sis in pi delta Bethany gave me for my birthday one year. It was a journal where you just wrote down 5 things you were thankful for every day no matter how big or small. That little book was such a blessing to me because it forced me to sit down and recall things that day that had blessed my life no matter how hard or bad I thought my day may have been. Kind of sad that it sometimes takes tools like that to make us realize how blessed we are. From this week on, I am really going to try harder to count my blessings and tell God how thankful I am for the blessings He lavishly bestows on my life daily. I think I will post 5 things every day this week to get me back in the right frame of mind. I hope you will do the same.

1. Jesus Christ died on the cross for me and for you!
2. My precious little family- Russell and Annaleigh
3. Our church family at Mesquite.
4. The changing of the seasons
5...........and HOT CHOCOLATE!

Have a Blessed Day!

Cold Weather Comfort

It's a dreary, windy, rainy here in Dallas-not all that cold, but yucky weather non the less. Weather like this makes me wish it was Christmas already but Russell would die if he came home from work and the house was already decorated BEFORE Thanksgiving. Weather like this also makes me crave good old comfort food! Last night I made pork chops and sauerkraut (Russell loves the stuff) with hot potato salad, green beans, and cherry pie! I think I will make a roast with all the trimmings later on this week and an apple spice cake. No wonder we tend to pack on the pounds when it gets cooler outside! Does anyone else have any "comfort food" recipes to share?? Oh, and by the way, if you ever need ANY recipe ideas, one of the best sights I have found is www.allrecipes.com

We went last Friday to get Annaleigh's test run in conjunction with the infection she has earlier this month (Sonogram on kidneys and VCUG for you medical-types) Anyway, everything came back negative. Praise God she continues to be a happy and healthy child! Her little personality seems to develop more and more everyday. She loves to give you a big grin and show her 4 teeth off!

"Let's Go to Luckenbach Texas with Willie and Waylan and the Boys..."

Russell and I celebrated our 4th wedding Anniversary this past Thursday by going to Fredericksburg, TX (with out the child!) for a long weekend. We stayed in a cute little B&B right on Main street and just enjoyed a few days of quiet and relaxation. It was great to stroll down the streets, visit all the local attractions, Christmas shop, and mainly just enjoy being with one another.

For you non-Texans, you may not be familiar with Luckenbach, TX (about 10 miles outside of Fredericksburg.) Willie Nelson really put the TINY place on the map by holding an annual concert on the grounds. It is a neat little novelty...Basically a falling down shack with a bar in it in a camp-like atmosphere. You can kind of tell from the picture below there are local musicians that come daily just to sit around and play. If you are ever in the area, it's worth stopping by for a little while.

Trick or Treat

Sorry I am a little late posting Halloween pictures. Annaleigh had a good time trick or treating for the first time even though she didn't get to eat any of the candy (except for the one sucker that was put into her mouth by a special friend at church before I even had the chance to protest!) Oh well, it didn't hurt her, and it was pretty fun to watch! We just got back yesterday from our Anniversary trip...I will tell you all about that tomorrow. Enjoy the pictures of the cutest bumble bee ever!


 

In remembrance

All week I have had something weighing heavy on my heart and mind. On Halloween night, exactly 1 year ago, my best friend's little brother was senselessly killed at his fraternities Halloween party. Evan was a fun-loving college kid who was known for his antics and for his zeal for life. Suzanna and I became fast friends when we were in the sixth grade and Evan was just in kindergarten. We spent every weekend at eachothers houses so her little brother soon felt like mine too. I have so many special memories of us all growing up together. We would do everything from going to the lake with her family to making up songs on the way home from school when we had to ride the bus. The Luke family has amazed me in the way they have rallied together to deal with the loss. I know it hasn't been easy for them, but they have showed me how to trust in God even through the worst kinds of pain. Ms. Luke told me something last year at Christmas that will forever be imprinted on my mind. She said that she prayed for Evan every day of his life and although he still sometimes made bad choices she knew that God had heard her prayers and it had helped him to accept Christ. This conversation has given me so much conviction on how important it is to pray for our children, and even our future children. I do ask that if you get a chance today you will say a special prayer for this family for comfort during this difficult time.

Buzzzy weekend!

Here are a few pictures from this past weekend. We had a Yard Sale for the Youth Missions fund on Saturday morning bright and early...it was cold at 5AM. Later that afternoon was our church Fall Festival. It was HOT by then! Annaleigh did put on her costume...but we left off some of the pieces (tights and booties) because it was so warm out side. The third picture is of Annaleigh, her boyfriend Camden and their daddies. We plan to doll her up again tomorrow night to go trick-or-treating so I will be sure to post some pictures of that as well. All in all it was a fun but TIRING weekend. I am still trying to recover! As you can see, Annaleigh is pretty tired too! 

Disclosure of Guilty Pleasure

I have been debating on whether or not to share this information , but I decided in the name of entertainment I would go ahead and spill the beans. OK, I admit it. I am one of those people who have jumped on the bandwagon of indulging in Celebrity Gossip. I justify it by having no other vices in the world...so it can't be THAT bad, right?? It all started will www.people.com. I consider People to be a somewhat respectable magazine with most information from actual interviews, based on facts, etc. I would check the websight every morning when I checked my email perusing the articles with half interest and then browsing through the pictures of the day. Fine. I then progressed to www.tmz.com. I stumbled onto this sight mainly from referrals from TV shows, etc. It is obvious that this sight is based on more "hear-say" than facts with a lot of the pictures taken by their own crew of papparazi. I am stooping lower by the second...then it all came crashing down. I found www.perezhilton.com. Perez is actually a self proclaimed "Celebrity blogger" whose sight has become enormously popular and has been actually able to make his living from it. This sight can be racy & raunchy (DISCLAIMER) but it makes me laugh every time. At first I was so embarrassed I looked at it...now Russell and I both laugh about it. The thing is, its not that I really care what Lindsey Lohan, Britney Spears & K-Fed, Jessica Simpson, etc or doing...and I hate it that there are actually people who look up to them because they do NOTHING meaningful and worthwhile with their life (at least from all outward appearances.) It's just darn entertaining so AMEN and dish me up some more celebrity gossip. Is there ANYONE out there with me??

Halloween Costume Test

We have been trying to get Annaleigh used to wearing her hat that goes to her costume for Halloween. As you can see, it hasn't been going so good... but it sure is funny. I am not sure what we did for entertainment before we had a baby!

Feeling Better

We went for our follow up to Dr. Sonnen yesterday and he confirmed that Annaleigh does have a UTI. The antibiotics are doing their job so she seems to be on the up-and-up. The bad news is that he wants her to go in for testing in a few weeks just to confirm there isn't anything wrong with her Urinary Tract or other equipment down there. He said that its pretty rare for baby girls to get UTI's unless there is a family history, but sometimes it just happens by fluke...He just wants to run these tests as precautionary which I really appreciate.

Thank you all for the prayers you lifted up for my baby. It truly means the world to me.
Here is a list of people I am lifting up in prayer today. I am not going to post specifics, but I pray that if you get the chance today, you will also just read this list of people to God. Please lift them up by praying for their protection and peace.

Sam & Hollee Ford
Michael, Courtney & her baby Will
John Forehand
Papa Moore
Abigail and Ansley
Beth & Brian Prewitt
Amanda & Courtney
The Luke Family

Sick little girl

You may have read in one of my postings last week that Annaleigh was taken to the Doctor for Roseola...well, after 8 straight days of fever the doctor decided it was probably something else so he sent us down to Children's Hospital last night for some further testing. After being prodded, pricked, x-rayed, etc. they came to the conclusion that she did indeed have an infection, but they are still not sure if it is viral or bacterial (she has no other symptoms except fever and lethargy.) They gave her an iv of antibiotics and fluids and sent us home with another prescription. Hopefully that will take care of her! I am not super worried, I just don't like knowing exactly what is wrong with her!
Keep us in your prayers this weekend. We follow up with the doctor on Monday so I will be sure to let you know what he says.

Pictures

 

Updates

Sorry for my little lag in postings. I have been trying to do better with keeping everyone updated on our little lives but there has been so much going on around here I simply have not had the time to sit down and do it.
It was so much fun to have my parents visit from Georgia the last few days. Sometimes I feel guilty for living so far away because I hate that they are missing out on watching Annaleigh grow up...but those feelings are coupled with thanks and peace that God has brought us exactly where we are for a purpose right now. We all had a great time visiting but I know they had more fun just being with their granddaughter..and that's ok!
In other news, we finally broke down and got DVR last week (built in TiVo.) Russell has been hounding me about it for ever and I have been putting him off even though EVERYONE swears its the best thing EVER. Well, I have to say that I do like it but I am not that much of a TV person because I just don't have the emotional energy to get into and follow shows. I admit that I have never even SEEN an episode of Lost, Grays Anatomy, or 24 (didn't that show end??) Anyway, Russell is in heaven so I am happy to make my husband happy.
We are sad because we were supposed to go and see our friends in Louisiana this weekend but we cant because Annaleigh is sick. Oh goodness, I just realized I talked about tv before I talked about my sick baby. UGH. It all started last week after she got her shots. I was expecting adverse reactions because she didn't do too well after the last round. She had a low grade fever and was mildly lethargic for a few days, but after 4 days straight of having a fever I finally called the doc and took her in. He believes she has Roseola. Since she doesn't go to day care or anything it is probable that she picked it up in Target or something. yuck. Anyway, we are just watching her close right now and waiting for the red rash to break out on her body. Sound fun??

Thank You God for our Family!

I never realized how much I MISSED living close to family until we had a baby! I totally understand now why people stay close to home or decide to move back home after having children. We had a fun weekend this weekend with Rita and Dean (my mother and father-in-law) here to visit. It was exciting to go watch Brad (my brother in-law) coach at football games...YAY for Friday night lights in Texas and the Rockwall Heath Hawks! We also had a blast going shopping, going out to eat, cooking at home, and just spending time together....