Catch Up

Derek has been off for FIVE days! It has been so nice, and it has gone by SO fast! We have gotten a lot done though. Operation Christmas is in full swing. We have our tree up, the mantle decorated and some of the outside decorating done. Santa is almost finished with his list, too. It has been a very productive five days. We enjoyed Thanksgiving at my in-laws. Hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving!

I need to catch up on several things.

The kidlets got their school pictures back. I thought they turned out cute. Evan had to have re-takes! The first one made me laugh, laugh, laugh. I wish I could have kept one. The re-takes are much better and I love that you can see his missing tooth. It also appears he is right in the middle of saying, "Cheeeeese!" Soooo cute! Oh, that boy's eyes. They melt my heart!

Evan, age 7

The glam squad came to Ella Grace's mother's day out program. She got her hair curled and got to wear some costumes. They really aren't my "style," but I couldn't help myself. I had to get them. They turned out really cute, and she had a ball!

Ella Grace, age 3

Derek and I went to the last Razorback game in Little Rock for the season. We had a great time. It's always nice when we win, so we won't even talk about this week's game. Derek summed it up when it was over, "That's just so disappointing." =(

My kidlets have been LOVING the Christmas "Alvin and the Chipmunks!" I think I may have introduced them a little bit too early because the chipmunks are driving me crazy! Ha! There is only so much of that I can take, and they want it on CONSTANTLY in the car (and really it is the same two songs over and over)! The day before Thanksgiving, Derek was downloading some more Chipmunks music (thanks, honey), and Ella Grace got SO excited. She took off running down the hall and tripped. She tried to break her fall and instead broke her right arm! It is a tiny fracture, but we spent the evening before Thanksgiving in the ER for a splint and will have to go to the ortho doctor in the morning for probably a permanent cast. SIGH! I am so thankful it was not a terrible break, but I can't believe it has happened again. When I first started blogging we were dealing with her broken leg! The broken arm seems to be a little better than a broken leg as far as her mobility is not as limited. My heart is just broken. I hate it for her, and I just pray it is better and cast-free by Christmas. How am I going to get a big cast in all her Christmas outfits I have already bought? SIGH!

Bless her heart! Those chipmunks are really on my bad list now!

Ella Grace with her tiny pink cast when we was 13 months old.

A few of Ella's friends brought her a little something to make her feel better. She spent the afternoon yesterday doing nails with her new nail polish set. I think everyone around here has polished nails now...even Daddy!

EG's beauty shop

Tomorrow I start back to boot camp after about three months off. Oh, goodness. It's going to be ugly.

My Very First Giveaway

The winner is Elainaann! Congratulations, and I just love your name! Thanks for playing everyone. That was so fun. I want to do it again!!!

Y'all, I'm so excited because I am doing my very first GIVEAWAY! Nothing feels better than to give, so I'm super excited!!!

CSN Stores.com contacted me and said they would love to let me pick something from their site to give to one of my readers! Well, I was so excited about the opportunity. I went over to their site at www.CSNbaby.com. They have the cutest baby things including adorable crib bedding, lamp shades, clocks, mobiles, picture frames, and lots more.

After going through the website, I decided a toy would be perfect since Christmas is right around the corner. I decided to look for something that my children would have loved at that age and that could go for a girl or a boy. I decided on the Chicco Talking Farm Playset. I know I picked a good toy when Ella Grace strolled by the computer while the picture was on the screen and exclaimed, "I wish I had one of those!" Ha! And, she just said it again now!!!

So, if you have a little tot in your life you think would enjoy this awesome toy or if you would like to win it to donate to an organization or your church, please leave me a comment and you will automatically be entered to win. Feel free to advertise the drawing on your own blog if you know some people that would be interested. I'll draw the winner on Friday, November 20th, at 6:00 p.m. You can see all the specifics on the toy here.

You can also see the other great products CSNbaby offers by clicking the links below.

http://www.csnbaby.com/Nursery-Decor-C56261.html

http://www.csnbaby.com/Mobiles-C56337.html

http://www.csnbaby.com/Lamp-Shades-C56339.html

Yay for toys! Yay for a giveaway! Thanks CSNbaby!

I Met the Pioneer Woman

I'm sure all of you are familiar with the Pioneer Woman. Her blog about life on the ranch is interesting, and she is so whitty and funny! I also love looking at her recipes. They always make me hungry. I had no idea she was coming out with a cookbook until my good friend, Abby, told me. Ree was coming to Little Rock for a book signing.

Why in the world the book signing wasn't at a book store, I have no idea. It was at Wal-Mart of all places. It was funny because initially on the schedule was a, let's just say, "less preferred location." My friend, Abby, said she actually e-mailed PW's personal e-mail letting her know that Wal-Mart was the "yucky" one. Later, it was changed to a much better location. While standing in line, Marlboro Man was signing authographs and mingling with the crowd while we waited in line. When Abby and I got to him, he actually said someone had written in about changing it to a better Wal-Mart. We laughed so hard because it was Abby. We told him she was the one that wrote in and he said we should have been moved to the front of the line (but he didn't...I sure would have taken him up on it). LOL! Abby got our picture with both MM and PW, so I'll post them when I get them from her. I thought it was funny that MM autographed the picture of his rear end. Ha!

I got to see blogging beauty buddies, Becky and Cortney. I snagged these pictures from Becky. Aren't they just the cutest?

There are a lot of good recipes in the cookbook that I'm going to try, especially over the holidays. It sure was fun to meet someone I've read so much about. Pioneer Woman was very sweet and very beautiful. Here is the link to her post about her visit to my Little Rock. I find her hilarious. Can I just say how comforting it is to hear she wears a Spanx? That makes me just feel better. since I am a fan of that, too. LOL!


Abby and I were gone a little longer than I expected. I left my cell phone in the car and Derek had been trying to check on me. When I finally got to call him back, he joked, "I didn't think I could call the police and say, 'The last thing she told me was she was going to Wal-Mart to meet the Pioneer Woman.' They would have thought I was crazy." That made me laugh out loud because it does sound a little crazy. HA!

Veteran's Day

Happy Veteran's Day to all the heroes out there including my amazing husband, Derek! How blessed we are to have such brave men and women willing to go wherever to protect all of us!

He served with the best of the best and not a day goes by that I am not incredibly thankful for he made it back home to me and our little family.

This is a picture of Derek and his unit while they were in Iraq. Can you find Derek? He is the hunky one (with helmet hair). LOL!

I have to admit the 15 months he was gone was probably the most difficult thing we have ever been through in our entire married life. I wish I could have been more graceful during that time, but lack of sleep with a new baby, decisions about care for Evan's autism that needed to be made and the constant worry of Derek's safety honestly about did me in. I am proud of how brave he was through it all, even when it came to his crazy wife (seriously). Derek is one amazing person...he is so sweet, thoughtful, nice, charming and also tough, deliberate, smart, and aggressive when he needs to be (like war for instance). I really think he is as close to perfect as you can get this side of heaven. I am one lucky girl.

Happy Veteran's Day, Derek! Love you SO much!


Just several more pictures during his time in Iraq:

My pilot and his aircraft - UH60 Blackhawk (medevac)

One of his patients. This is an Iraqi father and his daughter. She lost her leg in an explosion. Most patients they would not or could not take pictures of. Derek saw some terrible things. =( His mission was a good one though. He helped A LOT of people get to medical treatment.

His aircraft in an amazing sunset

Halloween

We had the best time trick-or-treating with the kidlets. Ella Grace was large and in charge leading the way! They would both start saying, "trick or treat" before anyone even made it to open the door. It was so funny. Here they are in their costumes.

My Indiana Jones (or Mr. Jones as EG calls him) and Minnie Mouse

Harrison Ford has nothing on this guy!

It was rather chilly here that night. However, Ella Grace refused to wear anything that would cover her dress! Her little arms were so cold! She didn't care though.

Sweet, sweet girl.

Who needs candy when you have these two around?
I think I'll just eat them up instead! =)