Thanksgiving with the Arnolds

Our little family has not participated in Thanksgiving with the big family on either side in a LOOOONG time. Living far away, we have usually chosen to fly home for Christmas instead of Thanksgiving. We've entertained family at our house for non-traditional Thanksgiving (one at Del Taco I recall from our Pasadena years), but now that we're back in Texas, we enjoyed Thanksgiving with the Arnolds.

Here's Tammy with June. June loved all the attention from family members.




Rodney celebrated his birthday over the weekend as well. I hear after 40 you need some help with the candles.



Michael, Grandmother, and Shannon.

Rodney jealously wishing he was holding June. Rodney LOVES babies, so Michael did eventually pass her over to her uncle.

The amazing Keely with June. Keely was so good with all of her Arnold cousins. Owen says he "loves her because she is so sweet to me".

Keely with Abilene.

Growing up fast, eh?

Kaden...soccer stud and proud supporter of his daddy's longhorns.


Owen making his grandfather proud. Gag 'em Baggies is what I say. Hee hee.
Abilene giving her mommy a pat on the back.


And with all of the feasting, June tried rice cereal for the first time.


And this is how she's reacted to all food presented to her then and since:

We'll be taking a break on the solid foods for a week or two, but I have a feeling June will catch on soon. :)


June and the granddog, Tasha.
Still working on the stable situp. Mom says her hair looks red, but it is light brown.

This is a leftover from Kaden's house in October, but these are our boys...rowdy, active, and missing each other already. Kaden got to spend the night at our house, so it was Owen's first sleepover. We are so blessed to be back with family, Owen especially!

And June is drooling over the prospect of our next get together...Christmas in Austin.

And three cheers to Glynda and Mike for having all of us over for several days. It was loud and crazy. Three cheers to all the parents for going with the flow away from home. Here are all the grandkids and 1 granddog...in a more "interesting" moment.

Whew, that's better. :)

Until next time...next year, Thanksgiving with the McNeeses. You were missed.

Happy 92nd Birthday!

We were recently excited to celebrate Grandmother's 92nd birthday.

And when I say we were excited, I mean, Owen was especially excited!


A godly woman with a heritage of 2 daughters, 6 grandchildren, and 8 great-grandchildren...with one more on the way.

(oh, that's not mine on the way...Michael's cousin Tiffany is expecting again.)


Here are Owen and Glynda getting the cake ready.

If red velvet cake leads to 92 years, slice me another, please.

I'm sure this reminded Grandmother of when Michael was Owen's age. I hear they are very similar.

Tracie (Michael's cousin), Peyton, Chandler, and Cameron with Grandmother.

Arnold boys with Grandmother.

Thank you Grandmother for your example. You are loved and cherished!

I Know He's Laughing At Me

I can't help but acknowledge (and chuckle) at the way God is providing for me today.

Three goals for the week:
to have a morning quiet time
to work out (my sister-in-laws have reminded me by their example)
to get ready before the kids wake for the day

Mission accomplished by Michael taking my car keys to work so I have to walk Owen to and from school (4 miles total today)...there's my workout (for the week?)

June woke up at 5 am, sleeping again at 5:30, leaving me just enough time to get ready until Owen woke up. I grumbled about it (she usually sleeps longer) until I realized that the Lord was actually making an early morning time EASIER for me. Funny, God. That's funny.

And now, to see what time I collapse tonight. Lord, you are generous...and reminding me that when I pray "however you want it to be done, just help me", I better mean it, right?

:)

One More Advantage of Cloth Diapers

Yes, some cloth diapers are bulky...but they do make for a wide base to SIT UP!!!!!!!



At least until you fall over and land in your brother's lap.



"What, you want me to do this every day now?"

Way to go, Juney-pants!

Amazon Baby

I'd like to tell you that the proportions in these pictures are distorted, but, no, June is actually that big.

She turned 5 months last week. She's only 11 inches shorter than Owen, and she weighs 19 pounds. It's madness that she's almost half a year old, and I get a little misty thinking about it. So, I'll stuff that emotion and move on.



Owen missed school last Friday when his buddies were in town. His sweet teacher gave him his "make up" work on Monday. The letter of the week was "N", so he made a Fruit Loop necklace. He hates cereal, so there was no temptation to nibble.


Once we tried to put it on Owen's noggin...we realized that our necklace was more of a headband. Good thing the letter of this week is, in fact, "H".

Rock star headband. This is really the face he takes with every picture, but sometimes he gives me another pose after.

Try again, please.

The Three Amigos

Wendy came in from Abilene, Julie drove over from Dallas, and the three amigas were reunited...but this post (as most do) turns to our children.

The three amigos proud of the cars puzzle they built. As usual, Casen is holding something related to Buzz Lightyear, Owen is holding Spooky, and Ryan is ready for action.

3 cheers for lunch! Keaton liked standing at the table with the big boys, trying to mooch their food. Pardon my son's "see-food".

Prepare to zone out, I mean, enjoy the movie.

I'd love to show you all 6 kiddos together, but June and baby Chloe slept through the whole experience. Until our next get together...Great Wolf Lodge for the annual K/K/A holiday event.

Perks of Texas Living

Perks of Texas Living? BBQ, Blue Bell, and dinner with grandparents every Tuesday.


Michael's mom and her chubby grandchild #5

June: always entertained by facial hair


And Owen enjoying some Blue Bell ice cream. A definite craving when we lived in Fresno!

Before...

It's only been a month since we were placed as a CARES team for an apartment complex in Roanoke, but in that time, we've been doing events, meeting residents, and recuperating from illness (save Michael...maybe his height keeps him safe from the air-borne nastiness that Owen sneezes straight in my face).


What has not happened is decorating our apartment. I told Michael how badly I wanted this apartment to look more like our home instead of our temporary residence, and he has given it his full support. Lee and Michael painted accent walls in two rooms, and my dad built an awesome console for our new-to-us TV. Now, somehow I haven't quite made time to hang pictures and the like (you know, the kids and part-time job are taking up a teensy bit of my day).

But no more! We're having one building of our apartment complex in our home every month...and the first group comes in 1 week. So, here's the before...


Living room: Yep, that's a 3rd floor balcony. No more using the car to help Owen "give up" and give in to the nap...because then I have to carry 2 children up 3 flights of stairs. Bummer.

Dining nook next to kitchen. Kitchen table coming soon...eating off a clean shower curtain on the floor for one month...not good....shower curtain no longer clean.


View of entrance to the apartment:

I wish I could think of a good joke here. I know some of you enjoy potty humor.

Hey, it's a window in a bedroom. Actually the office/playroom. Owen and Juney-pants share a room.

Thrilling, no? So, wish me luck on wrapping it up.

"New" Activity Mat Review

Some people we know do product reviews on their blog...the following is proof that we don't need any fancy new gadgets at our house when Owen can just reinvent what we do have.


Elephant Activity Gym: not sold with "Bad" Spiderman (which was found under the couch at the apartment clubhouse...blech)


The wrench mobile is also not included.


And I think the pliers dangling over baby's head would lead to a product recall.



That being said, watching her brother work for 30 minutes in "her space" was the most entertaining part of the day for June.