...with all my cars!

Aron thinks it is great fun to tell "seekwets" in your ear. He used to tell me things about Thomas the train or that he had washed his hands. It was less about the content of the secret and more about the whispering in the ear. So imagine how my heart melted last night when Aron came over and said, "Mommy, I'm gonna tell you a seekwet.", then climbed up and whispered in my ear, "I wuv you!". I whispered in his ear, " I love you, too." He whispered back, "I wuv you, too." I decided to one-up him with, "I love you with all my heart." He smiled at me and put his little hand to his mouth, lifted his head to my ear and said, "I love you, too, with all my cars!" My sweet, sweet boy!

Deck the halls!

Front of the house

Our tree!

No fireplace here, so the banister will have to do for our stockings...

Our last Christmas was overshadowed by our big move from Nevada to Tennessee. So, this year, we are pulling out all the stops. Or at least all the boxes from the attic!

Rudy hung the lights for us on Friday morning and I just love the way it looks. With daylight savings making it dark at 4:30 pm, we need a little sparkle to look forward to!

Now that we have a house with a porch to decorate, I am looking forward to hitting the post-holiday sales and building the armory of lights and garland in the years to come!

Hope this puts you in the mood to do the same! And to those nay-sayers out there who think it is too early to put up lights I have one message: The Grinch called, and he wants his job back! Ha-ha!

So Thankful

Hmm...Thanksgiving HAM?

Strike two.

This isn't bad, but we're one short of a family picture...

Rudy played flag football out in the cold! Brrrrrrrr!

Me n my turkey. Apparently I bring out the silly in him!

I hope that all of my family and friends have enjoyed plenty of food, football and shopping. I also hope that we have all taken pause to consider all of our blessings. As Rudy and I approach the one year anniversary of our move to Tennessee, we are overwhelmed with gratitude to our Lord for all he has given us. We are so excited to be entering into the holiday season and celebrating our first holidays in our new home.

We shared a wonderful meal with some lovely friends we met at our church and some of their family and neighbors. It was a great mix of people. I love mixes of people!

We also invaded their home for a second day to watch the TX-ATM game together. The Browns are both Aggie alumn and, well, you know where I went to school.... so the Leal's dressed in orange and headed on over. I wish I could report that we won, but no such luck. We were really just happy to be sharing our TX college football passion with some fellow Texans, Aggies or not!

Hope you enjoy these photos of our Thanksgiving. We attempted to use the timer on my camera and take a family photo. You can see the results for yourself.

Please fill me in on how you spent your holiday!

My boys.

Aren't they handsome? And oh, so sweet. They make my day. Everyday!

I am so, so blessed.

Party time!

What a day we had! Turning 3 has never been so much fun! We celebrated the blessing of Aron's life with good food, good friends and good times! Hope your day was as full of joy as ours was, Los Leals

Three years ago today....

I woke up at 4a.m. I showered at 5am. I did not eat breakfast.
I was out of the house by 6:15 that morning. My appointment was not until the 22nd, but I had to move it up a few days! By 11:26am I had a baby boy!
I cannot believe that he is 3. Time flies by so fast.
Today I slept until 6...ok 6:12 a.m. Rudy had already bought me a latte. (a little we-have-a-lot to-do-today-treat) I have been making chili and cutting up velveta for queso. Things are moved around to make room for the festivities. Streamers and giant Cars are my new kitchen decor. Rudy is outside raking leaves. He started yesterday, but it got dark and he had to leave them in big piles in our yard.
Aron is still asleep. I can't wait to sing "Happy Birthday" and "Las Mananitas" to him. He chose cinnamon rolls for his birthday breakfast, so we will bake those together soon. Then there will be balloons and friends and presents and games and a pinata and food and cake and pictures.
Happy Birthday, Aron! You are the biggest blessing of our lives and we thank God for you

I've Been Tagged

Ok, my friend Rachael "blog-tagged"me, so I am going to play along. Hope I don't bore/offend/or just plain confuse anyone with this. But, who am I to spoil the fun?
Although a lot of people say they check my blog, I only know two other people (personally) who blog and one of them tagged me. Cousin G, guess you are my tag-ee...I have got to get some more hip friends, I guess. Just kidding!

I have been tagged. Here are the rules:
A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player lists 6 facts or habits about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player tags 6 people, posting their names, and leaves a comment on their blog, letting them know they have been tagged and to check the tagger's blog for instructions


Here are my 6:

1. I love being a mom. Some people complain about their kids and seem to really resent the time it takes to be a mother. Um....hello? It makes me sad to hear other parents talk about children as an inconvenience or a burden. They didn't show up without an invitation!
2. I want a big family. When I first married Rudy he said he wanted 4 children. I thought he was crazy and said, "two". As time went on I thought, "3 is a good compromise". Now, after meeting Aron and struggling with infertility, I think Rudy might have had it right with 4. They may not all come from my womb, but 4 sounds good these days.
3. I love to stay up late, hate to get up early. I WISH I was a morning person. I try so hard to be one, but fail miserably. Oh, I get up when I have to, but it is so hard. Don't ask me questions before I have taken the first sip of my SECOND cup of coffee, please.
4. I want to play a musical instrument again. I played the saxophone from the 6th grade through my freshman year in college. I loved music and being in the band really made High School fun for me. (shout out to all my fellow band-nerds!) I left the sax behind, but the music stuck with me. I am seriously thinking about getting a guitar and learning to play. Guess being this close to Nashville is starting to affect me.
5. I love being tall, but having big feet stinks! Trying to make a size 10 anything look cute is difficult!
6. I have been married twice. Both times to Rudy. Best decisions I have ever made, no matter how crazy some people thought I was at the time. Love you, baby!

OK, Georgia. I have to tag you. You are the only person I know who blogs. Feel free to pass, though. I am sure the world will still turn.

Autumn Adorable

Aron and Tom

Aron dives in!

diggin' in for more

Aron and our friend Tom had a great time in the leaves today. Our yard is full of them, so we might as well make the most of it! I raked them into a nice big pile and gave them the ol' "ready, set, go". What a great way to spend a perfect fall afternoon with your buddy! And, yes, even I got down in it with them. Wouldn't you?

Meeting Celebrities!

Does it get any more cool than this? Aron met Spiderman, R2D2 and a storm trooper at the Pumpkin Fest in Franklin last weekend! What an exciting day!