O Christmas Tree

tree expedition 2008

Blue Santa Parade

Lucas helps hold the tape










Timmy gets a lift










stuffed parade car










hello big kitty

Doug in China

top view: Daddy escorting Timmy down the elevator as we say good-bye









Say what?

Baby Anne

We had a fun visit with the cousins yesterday. Thank you Melanie for the great pictures!

Field trip day - places starting with Z

Places starting with Z

Homecoming

We drove to Houston over the weekend to attend homecoming. NASA had a booth there celebrating their 50th anniversary, where you could touch a moon rock and get a real astronaut's signature (he also did the coin toss). The boys enjoyed running around on the football field after the game was over. Doug was happy that Rice won the game. I enjoyed meeting friends from the MOB I hadn't seen in awhile.

One more soul

A miracle happened two months ago, God blessed the union of some good friends with His own divine spark and a new soul was created. Even from the moment of its creation, this child was well-loved by God and his parents. But alas, life is a fragile and precious thing, especially at it's beginning, and today I learned that this little soul, so fresh from God, has returned to Him. There is great sorrow at this parting, and the world is a poorer place because this child is no longer part of it. But we can be glad for this little soul, who has been spared the trials and heartache of this cruel world and now blooms unstained in God's own garden. Little saint, pray for your family, so that in the fullness of time you may all be united in joy at the eternal wedding feast of the Lamb.

"Breakfast in bed"

Our niece Jamie spent the night with us last night. We had a great time at the Southwestern Observatory with Barbara, and I was relieved that the kids went right to sleep when we got home (Lucas and Jamie stayed up talking most of the night when we went camping together a few weeks ago).

Early this morning I heard someone moving around in the kitchen, but I hoped it was my sister who needed to leave early to teach a CPR class. Actually, Lucas and Jamie woke up at 4 something and decided surprise everyone with breakfast in bed. "Breakfast," as far as I can tell, being Cheerios, all of our remaining frozen strawberries and blueberries, an entire bag of chocolate chips, and most of a bag of flax seed in milk. A lot of milk. They decided to use mixing bowls instead of cereal bowls and used more than a gallon of milk. Their intentions were good, but it is not fun to be surprised by a big bowl of this concoction on the end of your bed when you put your hand on it in the dark. But it did make us laugh. As I heard on the radio yesterday, expect anything from kids. At least they didn't use the stove.

Anne's Birth Day

I apologize for not having a picture yet, but my newest niece Anne Watkins was born by C-section this morning at 2:29am weighing between 7 and 8 pounds. I got to hold her for a bit, and she is so precious! This afternoon my brother called me to say that she is in the ICU because her blood sugar levels keep dropping despite having two feedings. I'm not sure how serious a threat this is for a newborn, but please pray for her and her family. I know how heart-breaking it can be to have your baby taken from you for medical reasons when you are just getting to meet her.

All Saints' Day party

All Saints Party

Trick-or-Treating in style

After the kids got tired of walking, they rode some horses a friend of my brothers brought. Our group was definitely the center of attention! The horses didn't get any candy, but they were given several carrots.

Fly, angel!

Timmy started out the evening "flying" around in his angel costume, but soon decided that trick-or-treating was too much work.

Saints line-up

At Meemaw's Atrium on Friday, the class did an All Hallow's Eve procession and prayed for the souls of the dead.

Pumpkin

Lucas did a much better job with the pumpkin this year. He helped me clean it out and drew the face that I carved. Timmy wasn't so sure about the pumpkin insides, but he did touch them. Once.

Congratulations, dad!

My dad just had his 30th anniversary at his work (that's longer than I've been alive). We had fun celebrating with him. I think his grandsons received more gifts than he did. Lucas' favorite part was playing with the gas fireplace you could turn on with a light switch.

Costumes

We had a costume theme this year, based on the book "Pascual and the Kitchen Angels" by Tomie DePaola. Lucas was Pascual, Timmy was the green kitchen angel, and I was the kitchen cat.