Coming soon to a Blog near you!!!!!

Well, finally! I am back online! WOOHOO!!!!! Man, I missed the internet!

We have since gotten moved, settled, etc. and are LOVING life in our new house and back in our hometown. True, I do miss my friends in Sherman/Pottsboro very much, though. However, I know we will see each other again! I can't wait for a visit but it will probably be a bit. I can't seem to catch my breath since we arrived.

Every day is something. It's all great, but I am worn out! LOL I have had so many lunches, dinners, shopping, visits, etc. WHICH IS AWESOME! I am loving seeing everyone and getting back into the groove of things here. We got to go back to our church on Sunday and it was wonderful. We were surrounded with love and hugs and "welcome home's" from everyone and it felt great. It was a wonderful homecoming!

Jason got to go right back to class and ended up in class with 2 of his best friends! One of them he's been in class with since kindergarten with the exception of when we were moved away and the other was his favorite soccer buddy who he's also been in class with before. He's had after school company this week and we made ice cream sundaes and that was fun for him and his friend, too! He also got to start taking guitar lessons again from his favorite guitar hero....Max! Jason LOVES going to Sound Techs and playing guitars and looking around. They love him there! He's about the youngest guitar player they have. Max told me that he wanted to get Jason up to speed on one of his band's songs and then let Jason take the stage with him and his band at the "Downtown Hoedown" this Spring! Jason is SO excited!

Speaking of stages.....my father in law is making a stage for Jason's room! It's only a few inches off the floor but it is going to be painted black with silver decals that have an electric guitar and his name under it! It will also have lights around the edges! He cannot wait! He will have his own stage in his room and a place to display all his guitars. (He has 3 now and wants to buy another one in May with his saved money and birthday money!) He's going to have quite a collection by the time he's 18 if he keeps that up!

Sarah is happy happy happy here in Lufkin! She misses Savannah Grace and talks about her EVERY SINGLE DAY! I hear her talking in her playroom to her dolls and saying, "Okay, Savannah Grace....now you sit here and I'll sit over here and we can share our chicken nuggets!" It is so sweet! She doesn't understand that we can't just "meet at McDonald's" any day we want with Savannah Grace and "Willy Claire" (aka "Lilly Claire") LOL However, she is very excited about being near her grandparents again! Last Friday, we went to the hospital to hear my dad play piano. He plays there at Memorial Medical Center every Tuesday and Friday from 10-2. I love going because it is great to just sit and hear him play the songs I grew up hearing him play. I also love that it will be a lasting memory for Sarah always. Jason gets to go sometimes in the summer, but right now....it's just mostly Sarah. She LOVES going! We always let her dress up to go hear the piano man! She walks around and talks to the volunteer ladies and dances, etc. She really loves that! Also, every day, we go see "Mimi & Pop". For the first few days, she tried to pack her bags every time we headed to their house! I had a hard time getting it through to her that it would not take us four hours to get to their house anymore! LOL She's finally got it, though!

Todd is loving work. He is settling in and trying to get things going the way he wants them to! He got to go to lunch with his best friend, Jeff, yesterday which was great! He has really missed getting to be around his friends. He and Jeff grew up together and we all have kids and are married and grown up but we all still get together to goof off just like old times! :)

I am so thankful that out of all of the places we could have been sent....we are back home!!!! We were so blessed to find the perfect house, in the perfect school district for Jason and there are even horses outside the kids' bedroom windows! We go feed them every day! They aren't ours, but we are able to feed them carrots. They love it! The kids AND the horses. Even if we just walk outside, the horses will come to the fence. They love us and we love them. They are beautiful and Sarah's favorite thing to do is name them something different every day. Their real names are Brandy (a solid brown beauty) and Baby (a beautiful paint horse). So far, their names have been: Brownie & Smores, Hershey & Kisses, Sparkles & Sunshine, Lilly & Sparkles (like on Barbie & the Diamond Castle), Alexxa & Bianna (also from Barbie and the diamond castle!) and a few other names I can't even think of! haha

I will be posting LOTS of photos later so you can all see the house, etc. I have to go to a teacher conference today just to meet with Jason's teachers so we can make sure I know how their system works in their classrooms, etc. and then I am going to lunch with a bunch of girlfriends to Mar Teres Tea Room!!!!! That is my most favorite place ever!!!!!! I cannot wait!!!!!!!!

Hope you are all having a great week! Love to everyone! Sharon

The Movers are Coming, The Movers are Coming!!!

Well, this is moving day! And it's been "Moving Week" since Monday! We are moving back home to Lufkin and we couldn't be more excited about it. We have missed our family, our friends and our church family SO MUCH! Todd was offered a promotion and we just happened to luck out that it was Lufkin! We honestly thought we would be moving somewhere that we didn't know anyone and have to build a life there....again.

In June 2006, we moved to Sherman with UR and they have been such an awesome company to work for. Todd has enjoyed learning the ropes of the business here in Sherman and now we are ready to move on to the next big thing.

The kids are THRILLED to be going home where all of their grandparents live! They have missed all of their little friends who they've been with since birth, pretty much. Jason will get to return to HIS school where he started Kindergarten so he is excited about that, too.

This week, Todd had to go to the Lufkin branch to get started on his work stuff. He worked here in Sherman on Monday and then left Monday afternoon. Sarah got to go with him and she was SO excited! She has never gone on a trip by herself with her Daddy and she thought it was a vacation! It was so precious. Daddy came home and she was squealing and ready to jump in the truck and go. She is so funny! I got photos of her in the back seat. She has been gone since Monday because Mimi & Pop are keeping her for us so that we could finish packing and moving. I miss her so much and CANNOT wait to get to Lufkin today to see my sweet girl. She has had a blast, though and it was her first time away from me for more than a day or two. Mimi said she has done great, though, so I am glad for that. (Although secretly, it kind of hurts my feelings that she's not crying for me....I am thrilled that she's been so good for Mimi & Pop!)

While she and Todd have been gone, I enjoyed some good quality time with my favorite little boy! We went out Monday night for a "Mommy & Jason" date where we talked about things like "What he wants to be when he grows up"..."what would you name your kids when you are married and grown up?" "What college do you think you'll want to go to". "What do you think your first car will be like?" etc. It was fun to just ask him questions like that and see what he had to say! It was interesting and I was very proud of him! He said he wants a job in "digital arts" and to make movies like Pixar films. He is thinking ahead! Good boy!

Yesterday, I took him at 5:45 in the morning and went to Ihop for pancakes! HE LOVES PANCAKES! I let him order the "big" breakfast because he said that is what he wanted. He ate less than half of it, but he felt so big to order it and not from the "child's menu". We had fun sitting and looking stuff up on the internet on my ipod. Ihop has free WiFi so that was fun! After lunch, I went to check him out of his school which took almost an hour because we couldn't find a math book and I was going to have to write a check for $58! needless to say, we SEARCHED the school and found it in another friend's desk! Whew! His friends were sad he was leaving and wanted a photo with him. They were all so sweet!

Todd came home last night and we are leaving this afternoon. The movers will be here around noon! We won't actually unload and unpack at the new house until in the morning. I can't wait! My mother in law, Carolyn, is coming to help me and she and I together are the dynamic duo when it comes to getting the house done! Every time I've moved, she's helped me and we've had the whole house unpacked, decorated completely and cooking dinner in less than 2 days! She rocks! I am so thankful to have a great mother in law who I am friends with!

Well, I will post photos as soon as we get moved in! Friends in Lufkin....COME SEE ME! I don't care if I'm moving in or not! I am looking forward to some "drop in" company! :) Love to all and have a blessed day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bye, Ms. Williams! Jason will miss you so much! :) You are a GREAT teacher! Good luck with the rest of the year.

A Royal Birthday Party

Today, I took Sarah (Cinderella) to a royal birthday party! Her friend, Savannah Grace turned four and they threw a BEAUTIFUL party! (as you will see in the following photos...) Sarah loved today! She was Cinderella. I ordered the top for her outfit and made the rest myself. She especially loved her princess shoes. She looked so angelic and sweet and I know I will be using these photos for her wedding someday! haha (Which Todd said will not be as big a deal as the party we attended....but he's wrong! LOL) Sarah wanted to be Cinderella, which was appropriate with her blonde hair and blue eyes. I think she was the prettiest Cinderella that I've ever seen! (I am slightly biased, though!) The party was amazing! A castle cake, neverending juice flowing from a fountain, "Build-a-Bear" friends to make and take home, Bibbity Bobbity Boutique where the girls got glitterized and made up and then got to choose some bling and a crown & wand to keep and then the grande finale.....a REAL horse and Princess Carriage ride! She will most likely remember today FOREVER....I know I will!

"If anyone offers you an apple, don't take it! It could be poison and you could wake up living with 7 dwarfs!"

Sarah is SOOOOO happy!

Sarah gets excited as she sees the Carriage arrive!!!

Sarah and Savannah Grace! Sweet Princesses!

Even some of the grandmothers and mommies wore Princess attire!

She quickly went from "Cinderella" to "Sleeping Beauty" when we got home from the party!

Moving..........again.

Well, most of you already know, but I thought I'd post it on my blog. We are moving again! Todd got a promotion and they offered for us to move home to Lufkin. SO, we are moving this Thursday! We are very excited to be going home to friends and family and our church that we missed so much. We are also sad to leave the wonderful friends we've made in Sherman.

And so, another chapter begins.

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

Okay, it is FREEZING here today! Ice is on everything! Check out these pics! I love it!!!!!!
In this first photo, the water made the color drip off the berries and then it froze into the ice! So COOL! Literally!

Uh-oh! Jason forgot to bring in his bike last night! LOL

Polar & Chicken Expres....LOL

One of the kids' early Christmas present was golden tickets to ride the Polar Express in Palestine, Texas! We got them matching pj's with their names embroidered on them and wrapped them with their tickets. On the 23rd, we told them they could open the first gift of Christmas and it was so funny! They got SO excited about the pj's and had no idea what was underneath them! I was impressed that Jason didn't say "Pajamas?" "Really?" "THIS is the first gift?" But he was thrilled about the pj's! LOL Then, they found their tickets and got REALLY excited! We told them.....put them on right now! The train leaves in 2 hours and we are going RIGHT NOW! They stripped right there in the middle of the living room and threw their pj's on and they were ready! Sarah was squealing like a little pig! Then, we got them loaded up and headed down the road to Palestine which is a one hour drive. About 10 minutes into the trip, Sarah put her hands in the air and squealed and said....and I quote...."I can't wait to go to Chicken Express!" Todd and Jason & I nearly died laughing! It was so funny! She got the Polar Express confused but she thought we were going to eat at Chicken Express in our pj's! HAHAHA We explained to her that we were going to RIDE the POLAR Express train and then she was even more excited! It was the most magical Christmas memory I've ever had with my children! Todd and I loved seeing the magic of Christmas in their eyes! The complete look of wonder and amazement! The train ride was wonderful! The workers were all dressed in chef's costumes and passing out hot chocolate and singing. There was caroling, hot cocoa, rice krispy treats, reading the story of the Polar Express, Santa, the North Pole, elves....everything! The conductor even punched holes into their tickets in the shapes of a letter! We kept those! It was JUST like the movie! Unreal! I would suggest this for ANY family! It will definitely be a Christmas tradition from now on!!!!!!!!!!!!! Here are a few pics and a smilebox of photos from our fun night!

I guess in retrospect.....we could have gotten out really cheap with some pj's and dinner at Chicken Express! LOL

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Heartfelt Courture Update.....

Most of you know about the non-profit project that I started with my friend, Keri! She is an amazing person and together, we touched 55 lives for Christmas! We made hospital gowns and put together boxes with teddy bears and books, etc. to take to Texas Children's Hospital and some to Dallas Medical City Children's Hospital. It was a great experience and really made me feel the spirit of Christmas! Go to our Heartfelt Couture Blog at www.heartfeltcouture.blogspot.com to read the full story! Click on "older posts" to see it all come together! Our story is very interesting how we came together!