You're all going to hate me, I know. But we have almost ALL our Christmas shopping done! Plus, while OU was kicking OSU's butt on Saturday, I decorated the house, our tree, and wrapped presents. It was so exciting to have a new house to decorate. The tree looks perfect in our front windows. Only 3 more people to shop for! 

Here we are, looking full and thankful on Thanksgiving! We were lucky to spend the day at Arni and Nina's, with all of John's family. It was so nice! 

This is what Max likes to do when we're wrapping presents....sleep in the other room! 

Faith REALLY liked to help me wrap presents this weekend. Her favorite part was the bows. She was helping me pick the very best bow from the bottom of the bag. Don't worry--we got her out of there before she suffocated! 

There was a lot of THIS going on--sitting and digesting our very full stomachs! We all watched "Christmas Vacation" together (after the Cowboys game, of course!). Here's Matt and Robin... 

Mason had a little accident the night before Thanksgiving, and came to lunch with a new trophy--a sling to help heal his broken collarbone! 

The Children Are Alive!

Yes, we spent a whole weekend with Easton and Mason and they are still alive. In fact, they were GREAT! They were very well-behaved and entertaining. Easton and I went on Friday night to a Boy Scout chess tournament (he won all the games he played--pretty impressive), then we went to the late showing of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire". He thought it was pretty cool because it was late, it was Harry Potter, and we didn't take Mason. Anyway, I hate to admit it (and my sister won't let me forget) but the movie was pretty good! It made me want to see the other ones.

We got up Saturday morning and the boys played while we watched OU get robbed by a couple of stupid refs. Have I mentioned that Texas and every school in it sucks? That morning, John started feeling pretty lousy. So I took both boys to the movies to see Chicken Little. By the time we got home, John was even sicker and had been throwing up all afternoon.

So, John was in bed most of the weekend. But that's ok--the boys were great! We had a good time just the three of us--I think they like me!

I'm off work until Monday! Tomorrow my agenda consists of staying in my PJ's for as long as possible, then catching up on my shows while John puts Christmas lights up on the house (he's feeling better).

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, here are a few things I am thankful for:
1) My loving husband (who puts up with more than anyone will ever know)
2) Having almost our whole family in the same town
3) All four grandparents still alive and well
4) My kitties (Yes, Faith AND Max)
5) An awesome church family
6) An amazing family who gave me and John amazing childhoods
7) OU Football
8) A cozy, warm home of my own
9) Melissa
10) Being healthy
11) Gilmore Girls and Grey's Anatomy
12) Weight Watchers ice cream sandwiches
13) Old Navy jeans
14) TGI Friday's
15) Laura Marie, who is always there when I need her

What can I say--I am so, so, so blessed. There is so much love in my life. John and I are so wealthy in ways we could never imagine. There are seriously days I sit back and wonder what more I could ask for. I am thankful for my life, and for those who make it a joy every day (even when it doesn't seem like it)! I hope you are as blessed as we are, and that you have a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Nothing Spells November like Food, Family, and Football

Well, we've got an exciting weekend ahead for us. We will have children for the weekend--Easton and Mason to be exact! Matt and Robin are headed on a little anniversary trip to Branson and the boys are staying at our house. But it will be fun! We have lots of fun stuff planned. We're going to see "Chicken Little" tomorrow and we're ordering pizza and watching movies tonight. They might scare the cats, but other than that we should be fine!!

We went to our class Thanskgiving dinner last night at church. I love it--two Thanksgiving dinners in one week! We had turkey and mashed potatoes, and rolls, and so many desserts you can't even imagine. There are three recipes I want now--broccoli/rice/cheese casserole, gingerbread cake, and this amazing peppermint/chocolate "bark" that Kristin Gates made. It was unreal....however, none of those items are Weight Watchers-friendly. Maybe they can be tweaked, since John and I are doing so well right now. Oh well, we'll see!

Well, how about my Sooners?! They are making a comeback. No, we won't see a BCS Bowl or anything this year, but when we beat the Red Raiders this weekend we'll be headed to the Cotton Bowl. Not too shabby for a year that started out with a home loss. I love football, I love Rufus Alexander, I love Malcolm Kelly...and I still hate Texas. I don't think I'm even going to watch the Rose Bowl ths year, because who can I really root for? The only good thing about USC is that they're keeping Texas from being #1, but I have no love or like for them either. Have you seen the ESPN commercial with the little kid trick-or-treating as a Trojan and he knocks on the door of a UCLA fan? It's funny.

Make sure and say a quick prayer for Julia, my sister, this week. She left about an hour ago to fly to France for 10 days. She's headed out there by herself and is meeting up with a friend. Sounds like a fun trip--they're headed to London as soon as she lands and then they'll spend the rest of the time in France where her friend lives. Anyway, you obviously know my fears of flying, and I've never flown across an ocean! So just pray that she lands safely, and that she doesn't run into any problems with the rioting over there.

All right, back to working hard. I only work Monday and Tuesday of next week and then I'm off! I cannot wait...I have about 2 weeks of all my shows (yes, "Lost" included) that I haven't watched. Pray for John and I this weekend, and call out patience. We'll need it, I'm sure! Or maybe just pray for Easton and Mason....

John and I went to the "Red Shoe Gala" Friday night for the Ronald McDonald House. It was pretty fancy! Doesn't he look great in a tux? When we stopped by Matt and Robin's for a picture, Mason said "Uncle John, you look funny in that wedding stuff".  

Mason the Pirate for Halloween--check out that hook! 

Easton as a Grim Reaper for Halloween... 

Faith and her new toy--red socks! 

Leaving on a Jet Plane

I know, it's been a while since I last updated. But apparently, I'm a cross-country traveler!

Chicago was ok. I didn't do anything there. Flew in, attended a conference, slept and flew out. The meeting took place at the Doubletree was I was stuck there the whole time. I do have to pat myself on the back for my improving airport skills.

First, I will say that I hate to fly. I guess it's because I feel completely out of control (although I can't be any less in control than I am when I'm riding with John in the car). And yes, I understand you're more likely to be killed on the way to the airport than in a plane. But how many movies are there on car accidents? Very few--plane crashes as much more entertaining, apparently. I AM getting used to it. In fact, once those initial 5 minutes of takeoff are over, and we don't explode, I feel pretty good about the flight.

Second, many of you know that I'm a little bit of a nervous person in general. I do not like to be late to things and I don't like for things to be off schedule. So, you can imagine how the airport messes with my sense of control. I even get to the airport about an hour and a half early in OKC. I wait for a while, but my heart doesn't race and I'm less likely to be searched by security (they only search you when you're about to miss your plane!). Anyway, I don't like it when my itinerary is thrown off.

So, since I've heard horror stories about how busy O'Hare airport is and how behind it always is, I wanted to be there very early for my return flight. I left the Doubletree with 2 hours before my flight, and ended up getting right through security. What made me do this, I don't know, but I decided to see if there was an earlier flight to St. Louis (connecting airport). There was! It was leaving in 10 minutes. So I ran. I ran and ran and ran through O-Hare Airport with my 50-pound piece of luggage and 20-pound shoulder bag in my heels. Heels, running, across the largest airport in America. And I made it. I ran onto the plane and they literally shut the door behind me!

So I get to St. Louis, and I'm thinking "I don't want to wait for another 4 hours for my flight home". And guess what? They had an earlier flight to OKC that was supposed to leave 10 minutes before I landed and it was delayed. So I made that one, too. Instead of being delayed on my way home, I was home 2 and a half hours early! However, I did have bad blisters from running in heels, and couldn't wear dress shoes for a week.

I went to Missouri this past weekend, which was great to see the grandparents, eat lots of food, and watch OU beat Nebraska. I watched the game with my Grandma. I think she might have been bored but she thought I was awfully funny! Let's give a round of applause for Rhett Bomar and his sling of receivers--finally completing some passes. We may be bowling after all.

Anyone else think maybe the Hornets game was rigged last night? Seriously--they beat Sacramento by like 30 points for their home opener. They won, what, 1 pre-season game? Conspiracy theories floating all over our office today!

I also have to give the "Husband of the Year" award to John. He sent me a HUGE boquet of flowers last week for no reason except "Just Because". They're still blooming and making my office beautiful.

I'll post pics of Easton and Mason's Halloween costumes shortly.