"Ok, that's it!"....

said Paulie every time my Mom's grandfather clock did its thing. It chimed on the hour and then every 15 minutes. He really got excited on the hour when he could count......sometimes we let him stay up until 9pm so he could hear the clock and count...and then off to bed.

We had a wonderful time in Michigan over Christmas. Our flight to Detroit was good and of course it was snowing and the roads were icy as we made our way across Michigan to my Mom and Wayne's house. A four hour drive was a tense 6 1/2 hour drive and we saw oh about 20 cars off the side of the road and many accidents. Needless to say, we were relieved and grateful when we arrived at Crystal Mountain. People were skiing and Paul was thrilled to see all the snow and the mountains. He wanted to go straight to the top--that's my boy--adventurous and a risk taker!

The beautiful trees with snow right next to my Mom's house - so pretty!

Other pictures from our trip are posted below....... Mom and Wayne are fun to be around. We played pinochle, domino's, ping pong, darts, ate cookies, watched TV, went for a surrey ride in the snow, played in the snow, went for chilly walks, made snow angels (well, I did) and enjoyed being together! Crystal Mountain is so pretty in the winter. Much different than our visit in May. Mom and Wayne live on the 3rd hole green of one of the golf courses - and now it is covered with snow of course. They have had about 70 inches of snow so far and it isn't even January! They also live in the woods - well, the resort is in the woods. Paul LOVED the snow and he keeps asking me - "where is the snow?" Uh son - we don't have snow in San Antonio. Especially when it is 70 degrees on Dec 31!

Santa found Paul in Michigan and he was thrilled with his gifts. Santa knows Paulie likes music, singing and dancing - so he brought him a harmonica. And I must say - he is pretty good! Santa also brought him the Peter Pan DVD and a couple of cars - a black Lamborghini and a red Porsche! His cousin Lauren in Denver sent him a VTECH V- Motion system and a game! Mom had to ship it and it should arrive in SA by Saturday! I personally cannot wait to play! We don't have any other play system - and we won't for a while.

The surrey ride was a memorable event! The Belgium horses were so pretty. We had to bundle up of course since the ride was at night - in the woods - in northern MI - in December! Mom and Wayne have done it before so they knew not to sit right behind the horses - they tend to pass gas. Oh did they ever! Even though we were not right behind the horses - we still were blessed to smell the horrid farts. It was hilarious to see and hear the kids up front - they were disgusted and pleaded with their parents to switch seats!

We woke at 5am Monday morning to drive back to Detroit and catch our flight. This time we had clear roads and no snowy weather. It was rather pleasant. We even had some extra time, so I took Danny and Paul on a 20 min tour of Ann Arbor, MI. M GO BLUE!! Paul was SO READY to be home! I don't know how many times during the day he said - let's go to Paul's house..pleeeeease! We made it back to SA and by the time we picked up Miss Oreo, it was 5pm.

I thought during our drive from Detroit to my Mom's on Dec 23 that we would NEVER do this again in the winter - go to MI that is. But, I don't feel that way now. It was a blast and it really felt like Christmas in the WinterWonderland at Crystal Mountain. Thank you Mom and Wayne!

Wayne and Paul walking back from cleaning off the satellite dish - a lot of SNOW!

Mom and Wayne's backyard - just beyond the trees is the golf green - covered with snow!

Danny fell coming back around the house in the deep snow - poor thing. I think he fell a few times while we were there!


The surrey ride! Yes, it was snowing at the time and we loved it!

Early Christmas

Today was a fun day! We gathered at the home of Craig and Denise for our annual Teams of Our Lady party. All the kids come too..we eat, drink, laugh and exchange gifts. This year was extra special b/c Craig and Denise have adopted 3 girls earlier this year. Ages, 7, 5 and 3! Melissa and Jesse added another boy to their family. So today we had 12 kids under the age of 7 all having fun. Mr. Craig has a trampoline and he helped them take turns jumping. You should have heard and seen the fun. Well, you can see some of the fun..check out these pictures.......
And those who live in SA - it was chilly and windy today. Ok, for all you people not in SA...I think our wind chill was under 40 today which is cold for us! I know those of you in STL are somewhere around 0..sorry! I don't mind the cold - but the wind was fierce this afternoon!

Even though Paulie was so tired after all that...we had an early Christmas back at our home around 4:30. Dad and Jean go crazy with the amount of gifts for Paul..and for us too. Paul had a blast and really enjoyed opening presents. His comments and noises are priceless. Here are few pictures......and of course, Paul is now fast asleep. I am headed there at 10pm. Peace out peeps!

Susan's To Do List for Saturday

1. Wake up
2. 30 min prayer/silent time
3. HEB (grocery store for those non Texans)
4. Dig out my scarf, ski hat and gloves
5. Keep working on getting things ready for our MI trip.
6. Exercise
7. Go to Fatso's Sports Bar to watch my Kansas boys play Temple.
8. Take Paul to see Santa at The Quarry.
9. Charge up camcorder for MI.
10. Go to Best Buy to purchase camera bag and a car charger for Paul's portable DVD player.
11. Call a few people.
12. Laundry
13. Snuggle with my boys...and Oreo too!
14. Call Linda.

Book Club for Divas

Howdy ya'll!

That's my best southern hello and how are you........

I got up at 6:30 today to head to my 7:30 dr appt. My dermatologist is so great and so sweet. I went for my annual checkup. Melanoma runs in my family and I have had one back in 1993. All looks good, except for those icky brown spots on my face which I hate. She froze a few of them and so now I will have a puffy red mark and scab for about a week. I then treated myself to a Starbucks with the $5 my Step Dad sent me (a bet I won) for the annual Kansas-Mizzou football game - KU won and so I win $5! Yippy skippy!

Last Thursday night was my monthly book club meeting at Michelle's house. She has a beautiful home in Sendero Ranch - but it is on the market! We gathered at 7:15 for drinks, snacks, prayer and fellowship. Before we adjourn to the living area to discuss the book, we go around and each gal spends 5 minutes or so updating everyone and asking for any special intentions. This time we had a book exchange it was fun! We then discussed this month's book. 90 Minutes in Heaven. We all agreed - it all could have been said in 2 chapters and was not written very well. But it was quick and interesting to read about his spiritual account of Heaven. Who knows..... Here are some pics of the lovely gals...all so sweet and Godly! I am blessed to be a part of this group. Thanks Yvonne for inviting me! MOPS Mommies are wonderful! Our book for January is The Shack by William Young. I agreed to be the discussion leader! Oh my goodness.....

I think tonight we might take Paul and go drive through Windcrest to see all the lights. Paul will be so into them this year - it should be sweet and lots of fun!

“If you look at the stock market, business activity, or budget deficits, things are dark. But if you consider our capacities and opportunities, our passion and vision, the outlook is bright.” -- Bill Gates in a recent speech at The George Washington University

“Finding the right work is like discovering your own soul in the world.” -- Thomas Moore

Pressing On.....

It has been 13 days since my last post - busy I guess. The Facebook thing has been addicting - catching up with folks and playing games......


I lost my job somewhat unexpectedly and am trying to stay positive. What does God have in store for me...????

I saw Twilight with my friend Gloria. We both loved the movie and cannot wait for 2010 when the second movie comes out!

Paul is doing great! I will post some pictures of the little man later today when he is napping - which should be soon! Uh, Danny takes his time when it's time to put him down....oh well.


I have all my shopping done and we are really looking forward to Christmas. Paul is in love with all the decorations, lights, tree, ornaments and Christmas movies like Polar Express, The Grinch and Rudolph. It is so sweet to see his enthusiasm! We're taking him to see Santa this week at The Quarry. They have a neat little Santa house and it never seems to be very busy.


I became very sick yesterday and had to make a trip to the ER last night around 5:30. Almost six hours later and bloodwork and and IV with medicine and fluids, I was back home. I am still weak today, but I do believe on the road to recovery!


We had Danny's Christmas party at La Hacienda a week ago and it was very nice. Thank you to Kelly for paying and to Angela for her planning. His co workers all are great!



I have a lot planned for the week. I am going to complete my application for the Archdiocese so I can start subbing January in the SA Catholic schools. I also have some other ideas up my sleeve. Please pray for peace and comfort as I still struggle with losing my job and the way it all went down! And I know that God will open another door and it will be even better! Right?!


I am feeling woozy and need to go lie down. Here are a few recent pics of Paul.








Peace out-
Susan

Twenty One Things That Have Happened Since My Last Entry.....

in no particular order....

1. Danny took his CFP exam on Nov 21 and 22.

2. I attended the Orphan's Ticket Home gala on Nov 21 - it was wonderful! Did you know there are 143,000,000 orphans in the world!

3. We bought a 22" LG TV for our bedroom.

4. I became addicted to Facebook; especially Word Challenge and Geo Challenge!

5. We took Paul to see Madagascar 2- and we all loved it!

6. Attended an ACTS sister's wedding - performed by the same priest who married us!

7. Got to experience/treat our doggie Oreo who had fleas!

8. Did a lot of shopping.....surprise surprise!

9. Took Paul to a lab where they drew 7 tubes of blood - ordered by the Pediatric Neurologist.

10. Went to the Murphy's for our monthly Teams of Our Lady Meeting - it was wonderful!

11. Cleaned out my car and got is washed - inside and out! It still looks pretty good!

12. Put up our Christmas tree.

13. Welcomed my Dad and Jean for Thanksgiving.

14. Ate Thanksgiving dinner at Cracker Barrel - it was VERY good and no dishes!

15. Started reading The Shack - for my January book club - awesome Christian Mamas.

16. Worked my company's booth at the Rock n Roll Expo - saw many people and had fun!

17. Bought these really cute drink coasters at the Expo for my friend Jennifer - they say:
"I run to drink wine"

18. Bought tickets for the three of us to attend some Freestyle Motorcross event in January
with some co workers (and their 2 little boys) - although not sure what we're going to see.....

19. Got my haircut...a little shorter!

20. Added a lot of new friends on Facebook.

21. Prayed a lot for the following: guidance, peace, healing, safety, grace, wisdom, comfort.