Make new friends, but keep the old!

I was so thrilled to be able to stop in Atlanta and visit with two of my oldest and dearest friends on the way back to Texas. First we stopped off for a bite of lunch and to visit with my oldest and bestest friend Beth. She had her baby boy at the end of September and this was the first time I have had the chance to see him!

He was enjoying some love! Big sis was at home napping!

Such a sweet and happy boy!

Next we popped into Northside Hospital to see Suzanna and her new baby Luke Evan.

He's perfect! Big sis Caroline is going to love giving him millions of kisses!

Lastly: Thank you to my sweet hubby for delaying our trip for 4 hours so I could visit with some of my favorite girlfriends and their new babies!

Christmas

It was a very Snuggy Christmas...even for Leslie's dog Chloe!

We celebrated in San Angelo this year.

Christmas Eve we open gifts from each other. I got Russell a drill....He won't be smiling so big when he realizes I got him that drill so he could complete all the projects I haven't told him about yet=)

Mimi and Pop got Annaleigh a fun new game!

Annaleigh also got a new baby Victoria doll...and of course a pink ball from Uncle Brad!

The magic of Christmas morning.....
Omigoodness! Santa came!

He must have really liked the cookies and milk!

And the reindeer must have loved the food she made them.

and Santa brought all the working ladies some treats for our tired feet!

Poor Aunt Leslie was tired from all the excitement from being caught in an ice storm the night before! Annaleigh brought her a doll to keep her company.

Watching the Wizard of Oz...thanks Santa!

It wouldn't be a major holiday without A having to do her breathing treatments!

Poor Baby!

Our little family

Getting some love from Mimi!
Annaleigh adores Aunt Les and Uncle Brad


Smile Pop! We love you!

Recent Pictures

Hot Muffaletta Rolls

I haven't posted any recipes for awhile, so I thought I would share this one that my mom and I tweaked from a basic hot sandwich recipe.
DISCLAIMER: As a whole, I find recipes as guidelines. I rarely ever follow them as they are written so feel free to make your own adaptations.Make sure to get your kid to help and make sure that she is barefoot so she can get her toes in the dough and has her hair hanging down...for added...uhhhhhh...Protein! Tasty.

Ingredients:
Pillsbury Hot Roll mix
Olive salad spread
salami
smoked turkey breast, or ham, or both
Swiss cheese
Provolone cheese
Any other cheese you want.....

1. Make the Hot Roll mix according to the roll recipe on the back and follow directions.
2. After dough has risen, separate into golf size balls and flatten out on cookie sheet.
3. Layer meat, cheese, and olive salad spread on flattened dough in that order.
4. Wrap up dough by folding over and placing seam side down on the cookie sheet.
5. Let rise for another 20 minutes.
6. Bake according to roll directions on the back of the box.
7. Serve and enjoy!I am noticing I look pretty rough in these pictures...hmmmm...I must have worked the night before!

Last Night

We waited 6 (yes, 6) hours to meet The Pioneer Woman last night and it was SOOOO worth it. She was so nice and kind and gracious and told me how beautiful my daughter was and gave us all free t-shirts! She talked to us for a minute or two and I asked her if she knew it was 1 AM. She just said "Honey, I won't even let myself look at the clock, I am just so happy to talk to every person here" ...did I mention there were like 700 people there?? And she talked to every person..including my husband who was patiently waiting safely in the background. She told him I owed him Big for waiting that long! I think she was right! More pictures to come....

Sweet and Sassy

Annaleigh and I started a new tradition today called "Annaleigh Day" (Not that EVERY day isn't, but that's another story.) Anyway, I told her that every year before she starts school we can go to the salon to get her hair cut and done, fingernails painted...then go to lunch wherever she wants...then pick out a special outfit for the first day of school...whatever she wants! This was her "before" shot at Sweet and Sassy.
Picking out nail polish. Pink. OF COURSE!
She was SOOOO into it!
Sassy Diva ready for a trim
She told the sweet lady she just wanted a "little" haircut.
The sweet stylist went ahead and gave her a "Princess up-do" since she had some time. The amount of glitter applied was impressive even though its hard to see in the pictures.
The "After" shot.
She decided she wanted to go to Cafe Express for a yummy lunch. She likes to just "share something with me" there. I love it!
then she stole my camera and decided it was time for a photo shoot....
This is the only I got of us together.
Then she wanted to take a picture of me and her dolly.
and a picture of her with her dolly...
then I was to give dolly a kiss...
...mama is getting tired of being photographed!!
Dolly was getting tired too so she took a nap on my lap...
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
....just a quick nap.....then time for:
Funny faces!!!!
Switch!
and beautiful fingernails! We had such a great time. I am blessed beyond measure to have such a beautiful and sweet daughter...it humbles my heart that God gave her to me to take care of on this earth!