We were so blessed this past week with a beautiful snow. In east Texas snow like that is rare and it was such a delight to see it falling and sticking, if only for a day or so. On Thursday I was sitting with Jennifer Stewart having lunch at La Waffalatta in downtown Mineola and it felt as if we were sitting in Manhattan. Through the huge glass windows we could see large snow flakes steadily falling. It was amazing. Through out the day it continued to snow and by the afternoon the ground was covered. I was able to attend Aubree's Valentines Day party at parents day out and then we went home to enjoy the snow some more. Bree was confused a little. She kept asking me"Where is the grass?" Her mind just couldn't figure out where it had went. That afternoon Jennifer brought the girls over to play and we enjoyed watching the snow from the warmth of our living room. Kerry made homemade chili for us all to enjoy and we took lots of fun pictures in the snow. It was a great night with great friends. The snow fell all through the night and by Friday there were probably 10 inches on the ground. It was the prettiest thing ever. Due to the snow my office was closed and I got to spend another day at home with my wonderful family. We had snow ball fights and made snow angels and had such a blast playing in the beautiful snow. Just as we were almost frozen we loaded up and went to Kitchens for breakfast by the fire place. We were too late for breakfast so we had an early lunch instead. It was a great time, however the snow had caused our electricity to go out so we spent the day in town at Gramps and Bebe's house. There we made snow ice cream and enjoyed the cold winter day. It was so fun sharing this experience with Aubree. Our electricity was out until Saturday afternoon so we enjoyed a day of shopping and leisure with Bebe. Then we had a great italian dinner at the lake with Gramps, Bebe, Nona and the three of us. The snow was all almost melted by Sunday and although I was sad to see it go, it was nice to see the grass again. Sunday was a very special day. Not only was it a day of love, but our oldest nephew, Parker was baptised at church. My heart is always moved when a child accepts Jesus but it was even more precious since it was our dear Parker. After church we enjoyed a great lunch and then my two loves(Kerry & Aubree) and I and Bebe and Gramps enjoyed seeing Valentine's Day at the theater. It was a great day filled with lots of chocolates, kisses and love. I could NOT ask for more. XOXO to all!

Too cute not to archive....

I use this blog as a way to keep a lot of our events archived and there were a couple of cute comments made by our darling Aubree that I want to make sure never get lost or forgotten. First off, Kerry and I love to watch sports. From football to basketball to hockey to baseball to UfC and Nascar. We enjoy all sports and most of the time don't miss an event. The same goes for my Mom and Grandparents. They are usually watching basketball or whatever sport is in season. My mom especially loves to watch the Maverick's basketball. She doesn't miss a televised game. Well Miss Bree has joined my mom in her passion for the Mav's and will cheer them on every time they are on the big screen. It is really cute to hear Bree say "Go Mav's!" or "Go Dirk!" Yes, she has learnt who most of the players are from my mom. She is very interested in this particular sport. Which I think she gets naturally cuz it is a sport that both my grandparents loved to play and from what I hear were very good at playing. The love of basketball was passed from them down to my mom and her brother Curtis and even to myself. I loved that game and still today enjoy playing and watching basketball. Well to get to the point, Pa and Mema and Bree were watching the Mavs and Bree ask, "Where is Dirk?" and teasing her, as Pa always does, Pa replied, "He's probably off with his girlfriend." And as serious and innocent as can be Bree replied back, " I am Dirk's girlfriend!" It was the cutest thing ever and she was so serious its not even funny.
On another note, this is a story that just melted my heart. I put this on face book so some may have already heard this, but for my Dad who I know isn't on fb I wanted to share this. Our cat Blue has a sore place on his back leg that we have no idea what has happened. We think it is a bite of some sort but aren't sure. Well the place started to get bigger and is bleeding more and has us all concerned. So we have been doctoring it and Bree has been pretty worried about it. Well out of no where the other morning she said to Kerry, "We need to talk to Jesus and ask Him to make Blue better." What a brilliant idea! I was so proud that at such a young age she already knows to go to God with her worries and ask him for help. This was a priceless moment for me as a mother. What a blessing that Bree is to our lives and to know she does understand the concept we are trying to teach her about having a relationship with God and talking through prayer to Him. It was just the sweetest thing and I wanted to share this joy with everyone, but my dad especially who always conveys the importance of having a relationship with God to me. And who always reminds me to turn it over to God, and although it may not be the answer I am wanting, it will be what God wants. And after all that is what we are here to do, seek God's word and live the life God wants for us. Hope these stories will warm your heart as much as they did mine and be a blessing for you all. XOXO

The month of January....

We have been enjoying this beautiful weather but know that the cold front is back on its way in. Last week I enjoyed running outdoors and it gave me a lil taste of what I have been missing on the treadmill. I love to run! It is relaxing and calming and a time when I can think and collect my thoughts. However, it is not nearly as refreshing when done indoors and not outside. I am not trying to rush things but I loved the 70 degree temps last week and am anxious for spring to get here. I am starting to think Bree has the same love for running. Every day she wants to see how fast and how long she can run. She runs up and down the living room, going full throttle the whole time. It is cute seeing her try so hard. I hope she grows up loving to run like I do. As a child I use to go out in the pasture with my Dad and we would have races through the woods and all over his land. We would see who could run the longest before they had to stop. Chasing each other all over, up and down hills and thru the creek. We went everywhere. It was always lots of fun and is a very good memory I have of time spent with my Dad. He always encouraged me and kinda planted a seed in me that has really flourished. As an adult I have participated in numerous charity events, marathones and half marathones, all sorts of runs and running organizations and hope to continue this well through my adulthood. I hope that I can do this with Bree someday(I can invision us chasing each other all over our land) and it is my dream to run mother-daughter events with her when she is big enough. I sure hope she loves it like I do. Her health is very important to me and I want her to enjoy exercising. I want it to be something we can do together. We have spent a lot of the month of January trying to slow down and spend more time enjoying each other, our home and allowing Bree to play with her toys and things. We have stayed in a lot of days and cooked our meals and eaten at the table together as a family instead of going out as we were so accustomed to before. We still enjoy a good meal out too dont get me wrong. It has just been fun planning our meals more and grocery shopping as a family has become one of our favorite things to do. We all enjoy cooking together and love how much more connected we feel after spending our time at home together. Our lives were so chaotic during the holiday season that this time of rest and relaxation was very needed. Plus I am constantly reminded of how fast Aubree is growing up and don't like looking back and wondering where the time went. Its inevitable I know but at least I can say that I am spending as much time as possible enjoying everyday with her and nurishing her mind and soul. One of our favorite family games that we have been enjoying is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse bingo. Bree got this as one of her gifts from Nona and we all enjoy playing it. Plus it is teaching her shapes and colors. Colors she has known for a while but there are a few shapes which she is really learning for the first time. Bree is really a lucky bingo player too. I have always enjoyed playing bingo on the cruise ships we go on and have been pretty lucky there too sometimes. I am sad to admit this but Bree usually beats Kerry and I most of the time. However, it's a fun time for us all. Bree has become quite the pajama girl. As soon as she comes home for the day she ask if she can put her jammies on. Normally it is fine and she spends the rest of the day comfy in her jammies and house shoes. And much to her delight she will enjoy "pajama day" at Parent's Day Out this Thursday. She is overflowing with personality. Always making us laugh. The other day she was very clear on informing Bebe that she wants to be called Aubree instead of Bree. I am not sure if she is sincere or if that was only for the time being but I have gotten in the habit of calling her Bree. I sure hope it doesn't last too long. Hopefully it is just a phase. She enjoyed a slumber party last week with her 1st cousin Kate at Gramps' and Bebe's house. I heard they had a lot of fun and while doing so I got to enjoy a date night with Kerry. So it was a win-win situation for us all. Well maybe not for Bebe. The girls kept her up most of the night and I sure bet she must have been exhausted. We spent last Saturday celebrating Bree's other cousin Lilly's 2nd birthday. It was a fun Elmo party and Lilly loved it. The party was great and we enjoyed spending that time with Clay, Tori and Lilly. Last night we were out to dinner with Gramps, Bebe and Papaw and when the waitress brought us Kerry's to go order Bree said to us, " I don't want Daddy to go to school." Made my heart melt. I knew it must be hard on her cuz she doesn't see her Daddy as much when he is in class but this was the first she had every said about it. She loves her Daddy so much and he is so amazing with her. He is a great Daddy and it makes me sad that she misses him so. I reminded her that he loves her and going back to school is a sacrifice he is making for all of us. So that one day he can be home more, enjoy his career and provide more for us. I am not sure if she understood but seemed to be comforted by what I said. God love her soul!! Precious little darling! Makes me even more ready for the relaxing weekend we have coming up. I cant wait to spend some time home together as a family enjoying each other's company. Every one should try it. It is great to slow down and plan on spending more time as a family, bonding and relaxing together. XOXO

After 12 wonderful Christmas parties and a very busy vacation, I am finally sitting down to blog about our wonderful holidays. This year Bree really enjoyed unwrapping her gifts and those of everyone around her that was willing to let her help them. The magic of Christmas was definitely present in our home. Bree's laughter was priceless and filled my heart with joy on Christmas morning as she discovered all the joys of being a child at Christmas. We are so blessed and it was great sharing this time with our families. I have started a tradition of making breakfast casserole on Christmas morning and having both our parents over. We all enjoyed watching Bree play with her toys. She loved every minute of it. A couple of her favorites were the outdoor trampoline, that of course came with the padding and enclosure and her talking spring horse and the musical sit-n-spin, easel desk and stuffed Dalmatian puppy that has a stroller and accessories. She had such a blessed Christmas and received so many cool gifts that she loves. Kerry and I both exchanged stocking stuffers and agreed to build a shop/workout bldg/ storage as our gifts to each other. My Mom gave us professional grade garment steamer to share as well as a LL Bean jacket for Kerry and shirts and 2 yearly subscriptions to outdoor and gardening magazines that he had wanted. Mom gave me a pink Ipod to use when I run and some really cool knee boots. From Kerry's parents we got a Vita Mix 5200. For years we have seen the demonstration at the State Fair of Texas and admired how "MEAN" they are. For like 2 days straight we lived on smoothies and have been amazed at how good they taste. Maybe they will help us both to get more veggies and fruits in our daily diets. The cool thing is u can fill it w greens and not even taste them when they are mixed in with the fruit. It also makes warm soups as well. We just dumped in the ingredients for tortilla soup (including fresh, raw vegetables)and in a matter of minutes had warm soup. Fascinating huh? My Mema got Mom and I an awesome gift that I am supper excited about as well. She got us season passes again this year to Splash Kingdom.(The local water park that we spent like every Friday of last summer enjoying.) Well now we are all set for this coming summer and I just cant wait. Bree has so much fun there and will be able to enjoy even more of it this year. Thanks,Mema! We received way too many wonderful gifts from our families to list everything but now u have an idea of some of the great things we were showered with. We thoroughly enjoyed all the time we got to spend with our families and friends during the season. As for vacation, I was off from work for 12 wonderful days. We spent a lot of the time relaxing at home. We hardly ever get to just spend down time at home just the three of us. So I enjoyed pajama days the most, more than I would have enjoyed any trip for sure. I spent most afternoons out on the trampoline with Bree. She loves to play 'break the egg' the most. We also do a lot of chasing each other in circles too. While Emily and Josh were in town we also enjoyed a fun night of bowling with Kerry's parents and family. This was Bree's 1st time to bowl and she absolutely loved it! The kiddos had a lane all to them selves with the bumpers on and had a blast. She keeps asking to go back and I keep promising cuz I must admit I had forgotten how much fun it is myself. Kerry was the ultimate champ and beat us all but I did have a great time too. Now if I can just get my house back in order and get all of Bree's new things organized. We may have to add on to our house just to accommodate all her gifts. Thanks to everyone for all u did to make our holidays so outstanding. We are all so blessed! XOXO

We have been greatly enjoying the month of December. I especially love this time of year and have enjoyed the chilly, cool weather this month has brought us. I am finally finished decorating our house for Christmas. I set up our nativity seen and put the finishing touches on our tree yesterday and Kerry helped by putting white lights on our house and shrubs. Bree has been in awe of our tree and loves to rearrange the ornaments on her pink tree in her room. It's sweet though to see her just gazing at the trees in bewilderment. She is so active in all the festivities this year. She enjoys putting the tape on the presents when I am wrapping them and finding the perfect spot for them under the tree. She also loves the snow globes and all the musical decorations. We have enjoyed discussing what the true meaning of Christmas is with Bree and she is so excited to have a birthday party for Jesus. Everything about the season is so breath taking to her. She has also enjoyed the excitement of Santa Claus and the gifts she will receive. She got to see Santa for the first time this year after the town Christmas parade with her friends Finlee and Addison. They sat in his lap and she smiled and starred at him with such delight. She was happy to ask him for a "Jumpoline". That is what she calls a trampoline. Which is really the only thing she has her heart sat on this year. Her friends Hannah and Sarah have one and oh how she loves to go over to their house and play on it. Nona also took her to see him when he and Mrs.Claus were visiting downtown and again she sat in his lap and ask for a jumpoline. I am surprised she hasn't been scared of him this year, but she reminds me often, "Momma, Santa is nice." So I guess she was pretty impressed with him. He may have gotten some brownie points cuz both times she saw him he gave her candy. Hmmm...that was a pretty smart move Santa Claus. Bree has been a doll singing lots of Christmas songs around the house and in the car. She makes the season so much fun! We have already began with the party madness that we so look forward to every year. The first Sunday of Dec. is always the Miller Christmas lunch. This is a celebration with my Mema's mother, Granny's side of the family. It was so nice seeing everyone and the food as always was great. Then on the 11th I celebrated with my girlfriends from high school. We got together this year for the 15th annual party which was hosted by Holly Tomlin at her house in Allen. There are 7 of us girls who have been getting together every year and we have such a neat, life long friendship. We enjoyed a great dinner at Mi Cocina and then spent the night together catching up and laughing about all the memories and history we have together. It was great seeing all the girls and I am so glad we have kept that tradition going through the years. Sunday after church we enjoyed lunch with my Grandparents and Nona at one of our favorite restaurants and then went home for a much needed nap. That evening we enjoyed the Festival of Lights at MSBC with some dear friends and then went back to their house so the kids could play for a while after we had pizza for supper. What a great night of good entertainment and good company. Kerry finished his first semester of the heating and air condition curriculum and was the top in his class. I am very proud of him and his decision to go back to school. It wasn't the easiest thing for any of us and it took some adjusting, but we all made it and in the long run will b better for it. It will be so nice to have him home more while he is off for Christmas break. Bree has been growing so much. She loves to read books to our cat Blue and our dog Alex and really anyone who will sit still and listen. She makes up most of the stories based on how she interprets the picture on the page, but she usually tells a very interesting story to say the least. She loves to shop with her Mommy and we have been getting more than our fill of that this holiday season. She is so much fun and always ask me "if i like this" or "what about this, this cute, Momma?" or something like that. The girl definitely has character! Friday when I was dressing her for the day, she put her pants on and while I was getting her a shirt out of the closet she turned her back side to me and said, "This look good from the back, Momma?" I cracked up! That girl is hilarious and always amazes me with what comes outta her mouth. I will end for now with another cute story about Bree. A week or so ago she was asking me all about my work and what I do. And said when she gets big she wants to be Cinderella. I laughed and thought that was so cute. Then a few days later when ask again what she wanted to b she said,"Jesus". How precious! The girls got ambition.Ha!Ha!

Sweet Day

Today I found myself thinking a lot about my sister, Malena Louise Spencer. Today would have been her 32nd birthday and I cannot help but to think of all the wonderful birthdays we got to share with her. For as far back as I can remember Mom always made us feel so special on our birthdays. She would always let us pick where or what we had for supper on our birthday and she always had a cake with ice cream just the way we liked it. We also always got flowers at school or work or wherever we were and a sweet card and a present or money, which ever we preferred. Mom made our birthdays a big celebration and a very special time for us all. I have way too many fond memories to share them all on here, but they will forever be cherished in my heart. I also find myself day dreaming of what Malena would be like today and what we would have spent the day doing with her. For sure we would have gotten pedicures and mani's cuz that was one of Malena's favorite things for us girls to do together. I miss celebrating her birthday with her and really enjoyed spending the day looking at pictures of her past birthdays and recalling the laughter and joy we shared on those special days of celebrating her life on this earth. How sweet our time was together and I am so thankful we were such a close, loving family who shared so much together. Malena Louise Spencer Nov. 24,1977 - June 19, 2004(Sorry some of the pictures are out of order but it wouldn't let me rearrange them and save them.)

Fabulous Fall

It has been absolutely gorgeous for the last couple of weeks here in Grand Saline. The trees are turning colors and the weather has been perfect, warm in the 70's with a little fall breeze. Wow, it has been beautiful. We spent last Saturday enjoying the sunshine with some friends at the pumpkin patch in Canton. It was a neat place with a blow up slide, carnival rides, pony ride, hay ride, kiddie roller coaster and lots of photo set ups. Bree loved it! She rode all the rides and had a blast. We both had a wonderful fall day. That evening she dressed up as a Dalmatian puppy to go trick or treating and to the town carnival. She was so cute and had a great time getting candy and playing the games at the carnival. I enjoyed watching her have fun more than anything. It was so sweet seeing her be playful and have a night all about her. Sunday after worship we celebrated Mauree Comer's 5th birthday with her. She had a cute pirate party and all the kids enjoyed it. On Monday we welcomed Brady Wallace Cranfill into the world. He is the baby of proud parents Greg and Katy Cranfill. Katy is a lifelong friend of mine and it was such a blessing to share in this time with her. I have tried to get back into my running routine this week. With the daylight savings and all it gets dark here around 6:00 and I have been trying to run on a treadmill inside instead of outside. In some ways this is much easier because I can run and watch Bree while she plays next to me at the same time instead of leaving her for a 35 min run. So, I actually like running inside, but do enjoy going for an outside run on the weekends when the weather is permitting. I love to run and when I get "too busy" and don't make time for it I can sure feel a difference in my mood and the way I feel. Crazy sounding maybe, but for me it is true. We spent this past Saturday at the Stewart's enjoying the awesome weather again. The girls enjoyed playing outside most of the time. They have a trampoline and Bree laughed hysterically for probably 20 minutes straight while they were jumping. She loved it! I must admit it is great watching her light up and enjoy herself. She has such a deep, wholesome laugh. It is precious. We took over frito pie stuff and we all enjoyed them. Even Bree and Hannah loved them, which they can be hard to please sometimes when it comes to food. It was a great day and Bree must have played her lil heart out cuz she was bathed and asleep by 6:30. Therefore, allowing Kerry and I to relax and catch up on some great college football. What a perfect day! Sometimes, it is nice to relax and spend time with those we love. Bree is learning so much these days. She loves to sing her ABC's and can even count to 10 now. She is like a lil sponge and loves to be read to every night. At bedtime she brings me like 6 books to read. (And is disappointed if I don't read every page!) Her vocabulary grows everyday and I just never know what to expect to come out next. She also loves to work puzzles. Her mind is busy learning and she is so much fun to be around. What a lil blessing!