2012 Russell Family Digital Christmas Card- the Late Edition

I usually post an end of year wrap up on my blog before Christmas as a "Russell Family Digital Christmas Card". And I usually do it before Christmas , but at the moment it is December 26 and I am in the car on my way to see my hubby's family in Chickasha. It has been a wonderfully busy Christmas season and I haven't had the time to sit and formulate ideas like I wanted to. As I have stated several times, my intent for my blog is to be a gift and a chronicle to my kids. The end of year letter is the "Cliff's Notes" version of each year, so it is important to me to finish it.


This makes me want to cry. She was so tiny in January!

A brother/sister moment.

A midwinter zoo trip.

January - We rang in the new year at home with my Mom and Dad. I tried my best to re-create some of my favorite dishes from the now defunct Bahama Breeze in OKC. I made jerk chicken pasta, Cuban bread, chocolate tres leches, and Mimi Cyndi's mandarin orange salad. I started the year with my sweet but still-in-diapers boy and my tiny, baby, pacifier sucking, barely walking/talking, diaper wearing baby girl. Ryland and I did something different this year with our New Years resolutions. We wrote family expectations. We wrote personal goals, marriage goals, and goals for our kids. Happily, we reached many of them and we made great progress towards many others. Being the visual person that I am, I highlighted/marked off each goal as we reached it. At year's end, I am happy to report that there are more things highlighted and marked off than left blank. The kids both had yucky ear infections most of this month which resulted in many doctor's visits and bills.

Tunia's surgery with her happy napper and paci.

Isaac cried when he found out we couldn't keep his tiger gown.

My husband indoctrinating our children early.

February- My honey turned 28 and my baby boy turned 3. We celebrated Isaac's birthday with an indoor pool party with his best buddies and we took our annual trip to Arkansas to celebrate with Mimi and Poppy. Isaac and Hope both received new tubes & lost their adenoids within 5 days of each other. That was not fun, but we were so glad to see them have relief after months of ear infections and the sickies.


Isaac grew out his stache for his party, but we made him shave it.

Isaac and his buddies at his party.


The birthday boy at Aunt C's homecoming.

 

March- We happily marked off several New Years Expectations! My Isaac finally became potty trained. We were overjoyed that after several hard-fought days he decided to be a big boy. He did great and has had very few accidents. We also paid off our last car in an effort to be completely debt free. Mimi, Poppy, Aunt Hilary, and Uncle Hayden came to visit us and we got to take Hil and Hay to see the Hunger Games on opening night. Isaac also started his first season of soccer. He did more sitting & flower picking than scoring and assisting but he looked adorable in his white sweatband and cleats. Hopey quit the paci for good. She really quit being a baby after this, she literally started speaking in complete sentences.

My soccer star.

April- I reached a personal goal by completing my first 5K. I finished at a time that was better than what I anticipated, and it felt great! We had our annual Easter service at Central and as usual, I was so proud of my husband's creativity and God given gift of leading others in worship.

First "tigtails".

May- It was the end of the kids & my school year at GCK. We left on the last day of school to celebrate the retirement of my sweet friend, Donna Burkey, and to attend high school graduation parties for our cousins/greatly loved ones- Dana, Carly, Jordan, Mary Ann, Mary Kathleen and we had to miss Brittany's but we love her too!

Mothers Day gifts.

June- Daddy left for a few weeks of camp season and the kids and I enjoyed summer session at GCK. We spent lots of time swimming at Miss Ash-a-ley's house and being lazy. We overnighted at KMAK with Daddy and grieved when our beloved OKC Thunder lost the NBA title to the Miami Heat.

Big girl bed.

The sweetest picture of Hope and her Daddy.

The big boy bed.

July- We celebrated Independence Day at the Kaiser Hood Pig Roast. Our friends Jase and Riley joined us two days a week to play. We spent a week at Greers Ferry in Arkansas with both sides of Ryland's family. We did a lot of boating, swimming, eating, and just being together.

Dock time.

Cousins at breakfast.

August- I got a wild hair and cleaned out and re-organized every closet, cabinet, and drawer in the house. It took the whole month. Geesh. I had a nasty case of strep throat. Yuck. We moved Hopey from her crib to a toddler bed, and Isaac from a toddler bed to a big bunk bed. My cousin Riann and her husband Trent, and big brother Parker welcomed their gorgeous baby girl, Karla "Sloan" at the end of the month. Isaac and Hope were immediately smitten with baby "Fwoan".

September- The kids and I packed our backpacks and headed back to school. The kids loved their teachers and were excited to be back with their friends. Sadly we lost our precious Pawpa Kenneth to a very rare brain disease. We miss him dearly but we are so thankful that we know that we will see him again someday. The theme of his life was quiet service to those who had needs. He gave generously of his time, talents, and treasure, and was truly the hands and feet of God. He is one of the kindest men I've ever known. I'm so proud that I had the privilege to marry into and raise a new generation of his legacy.

Us.

First day of school.

First day of school.

We miss you Kenneth.

October- My tiny, spicy, fun, little rinka (princess) turned 2. We celebrated with a pumpkin patch party with some of her dear friends. And I turned 29 again. Ok, I turned 30. My husband took me to Galveston where we boarded a cruise ship, set sail for Cozumel, and spent 4 glorious days on the ocean. It had been nearly 4 years since we had spent more than 1 night alone together and I had no idea how much I missed Ryland Russell, my best friend. At home we are so often mom, dad, music guy, preschool teacher, fixer, diaper changer, cook-er, clean-er, do-er. It was refreshing to be us, the old us, the us who fell in love and had a history before kids and jobs and lives. For the record, we are insanely thankful for the kids, jobs, and lives that we have, but a respite gave us time to reconnect, clear our minds, and come home refreshed. It was just what we needed. I'm sad we didn't do it sooner! We came home to our pukey boy. And a week later my sweet hubby planned a surprise party for me with some of my very best people. I was loved into my 30's for sure. We celebrated Halloween as grapes ( Ryland and I ) and the kids were Buzz Lightyear and Baby Buzz.



Cinderella and Grapes.

 

Hope's birthday hayride.

 

Hope's birthday cook-in

 

Me and my boyfriend.

 

Buzz and Baby Buzz.

November- I spent the first weekend in November helping my parents to move my baby brother to San Antonio. When the lovely (and by lovely I mean completely horrible) moving company, All Star Movers didn't do what they said they would do, we ended up having fun anyways. We're Harmons, that's what we do. At the Russell house we decked our halls early. The kids helped and absolutely loved having our home draped in the colors of the season. We spent Thanksgiving with all four sides of our families and came home stuffed, loved, and exhausted. My little girl came home and decided that she was over diapers and promptly potty trained herself. No joke. She started "going" on her own, has had very few accidents, and even stays dry most nights. I am simultaneously weirded out and completely amazed. Way to go baby! Her determination served her well this time. My sweet hubby went in to high gear with his preparations for our church Christmas musical.

Random, every day antics from these two.

December- December is always a marathon month for us. Holiday parties, family gatherings, Christmas musical, and other little fun bits. We loved watching "the Grunch", "necorating" Christmas trees in the kids rooms, and getting deliveries from our elf Sherry, to put in our nativity. Our church's Christmas musical was my husband's best ever. Everything was perfect from the music, to the special effects, the drama, the videography, it was amazing. You can watch it here: http://vimeo.com/55698999 . My preschool music program was the next week. The highlight was a 27 piece nativity made entirely of pre-k cuties as the sang a song called "Was He a Boy Like Me". Ryland and I took the kids to visit Santa at Bass Pro Shop. Isaac asked for a "whiting mckeen gi-tawr" and new Toy Story friends, Hope wanted "Anastic Inastics Dora". We ended the evening with a visit to the lights at Rhema and dinner at Teds. We attended the Owasso Christmas parade. We had parties with our staff, choir, Sunday school class, polar express at the preschool,and then had Christmas celebrations with (deep breath) ... The Harmon's at the Scully's, the Russell/Gardners at our House, the Clapp's at the Upton's, the Harmon's at my parents, and the stinking stupid snow that wasn't bad except for where we were headed delayed us for a day but then we celebrated with Gram Rosie at her place, and the Russell/Rose/Allen/ Burruss families at Angie's. I returned home with my husband, kids, a mountain of gifts, and a bad cold. Santa brought my kids all they wanted and even though it is a lot, and is rushed, we are so thankful that we have so many beloved family members that want to spend time with us. It is wonderful. And my kids are so blessed with family that adores them.

My favorite Christmas picture of '12.

The Russell babies with Mimi and Poppy.

Christmas eve with Jeje and Pawpa.

2012 has been a peaceful year. There have been some sad and stressful moments, but it has mostly been a season of good health, happy marriage, and uneventful life. I know that in the years where life has been stressful and hard that my character and faith have been strengthened, but in a year where there has been rest and sabbath I have been made keenly aware of how sweet and blissful the small moments are. God is in the small stuff- kids potty training, snuggling, dishes, laundry, running, pre-school, and vacations. The small stuff, and our gratitude for it, are just as important as the monumental life changers to God. He is in it all, He doesn't miss a thing, and it all passes through his hands. For that I am thankful.

 

I am finishing the editing process today: December 30, 2012. Less than 48 hours from 2013. I have no idea what my future holds. I have no idea what my letter will say this time next year, if I am blessed enough to be here to write it in a year. I hope it says that we prayerfully considered buying a home, that we are somewhere in a continuum of bringing a new person into our family (not an announcement- just a hope at the moment), that my kids and husband are healthy and well, and that I know then just as I know now that God is good, He is for me, and He loves you and I, whoever "you" may be.

Dear friends, God bless you in 2013. I pray that you'd find something in every day and hour and minute to be thankful for. I guarantee that you won't have to look far.

 Merry Late Christmas and Happy Early New Year.

From Me and My Forever Boyfriend.

 

 

Get By With a Little Help...

For a grown up like myself, there are lots of figurative giants out in the world- the economy, a mortgage, saving for retirement, college funds, your firstborn heading to kindergarten.

When you are two, there are literal giants- like the big slide on the playground.

Here you stand, 30 inches tall and this behemoth, yellow, curly slide looms over you. It is a literal Colossus at age 2. It may have well been a skyscraper to Hope's little eyes.

I watched something quite beautiful transpire between my kids at the park.

Hope climbed all the way to the top of the jungle gym and looked at me from the top of the slide. I shouted encouragements and promises to catch her from the ground that must have seemed miles away below her. And she climbed her way to the safety of a lower ledge. It wasn't enough for her this time that Momma was there waiting. It was still too risky.

Isaac, a seasoned playground veteran, watched his sister struggle. He slowed down, climbed the where she was and put his hand on the small of her back. He leaned down, like an adult talks to a child and talked to her. He said, "Sis, don't be scared to go down the big slide. It's not scary."

He lead her to the top of the slide, where she stopped, still not quite convinced. Isaac said, "Sissy, you can watch me do it." He slid down and yelled from the bottom, "See sis, I'm a big boy."

She hesitated at the top as Isaac climbed his way back up. He looked at her and said, "C'mon sis, we can do it together."

He patiently helped her sit down and folded his arms and legs around her and helped her slide down. They hit the bottom and he cheered for her, calling her a big girl. She beamed at the praise from her hero. I cheered too, through the tears under my sunglasses and the giant lump in my throat.

They aren't always sweet and encouraging to each other, quite the opposite sometimes, but I hope that long after their Daddy and I are gone that they still love each other, and encourage the other through their fears. It was one of those moments that this Momma never wants to forget.

My cup runneth over.

Even on their sweet days, they still don't pose for Mom's camera.

Expectations vs. Reality- Why ALL-STAR MOVERS are dead to me

Before you proceed:

1) I usually like to be positive, light, funny, and ironic. This post is a little on the mean and negative side. OK, a lot on the mean and negative side.

2) If you ever think about messing with my little brother I WILL DESTROY YOU. You were warned......

In my little corner of Mindyville there are certain expectations that I have. And when those expectations go unmet it can cause an emotional response from me. Not always, but sometimes.

For instance, I expect that when I turn on a faucet, water will come out. I expect that flipping a light switch will cause a dark room to be filled with light. I expect that when I pay for a job to be completed that it will be completed within the time frame and parameters that I have discussed with the helpers I have hired.

This weekend I planned to help my baby brother move from OKC to his new town of San Antonio Texas.

Here is how it went down:

1. Expectation: That ALL-STAR MOVERS (yes, I am being tacky and using the moving company name because I don't ever want anyone I love to go through an experience like my brother went through.) would show up in OKC and have the tools and materials required to complete the task.

Reality: Two men; One very kind & hard working. The other in SANDALS, very bossy, lazy, and rude- showed up to move his stuff. My family and I ended up moving much of his stuff into the truck and having to take furniture apart (ALL-STAR MOVER'S job!) because Mr. Sandals had NO tools with him.

2) Expectation 2: ALL-STAR MOVERS were supposed to drop his possessions off in San Antonio at noon the following day as stated in the contract and verbally reinforced by the movers. My parents and I had taken off of work and other commitments we were planning on unloading & unpacking yesterday and today and coming home on Monday. All plans were centered & dependent on ALL-STAR MOVERS doing what they said they would do.

Reality: After a very early morning to reach San Antonio at the time specified for drop off by ALL-STAR MOVERS, and many unsuccessful attempts to reach the movers or even a customer service representative for ALL-STAR MOVERS by phone, my baby brother received a call 2 hours after the agreed upon drop off time telling him that his possessions were somewhere in Dallas and would not be dropped off until Monday. Monday! The day all of my brother's help in this move was scheduled to leave.

This was obviously the worst news possible when you are moving 9 hours from your old home and had only packed an overnight bag because your expectation was that all you own (including the contents of your closet and your underwear!) were promised less than 24 hours later.

If you can't tell yet, ALL-STAR MOVERS are dead to me. They screwed with my baby brother, and I hate them. Yes, I have had my emotional response to my expectations not being met.

But lucky for the incompetent, rude, unprofessional, and all around disappointing hacks at ALL-STAR MOVERS, the Harmons are decent people. We restrained ourselves from assembling mail bombs and decided to make the most of our time together.

We had a lovely, perfect, San Antonio evening together eating Mexican food on the river walk and seeing the Alamo together. Even the incompetence of ALL-STAR MOVERS cannot squash the joy from my parents and brother. We are a fun group.

Today we (my parents and I) are headed home, a little sad that we were robbed by ALL-STAR MOVERS of our time, money from our jobs, and the opportunity to help my brother unpack from his new town.

My hope is that many people will search for ALL-STAR MOVERS, and their search engine will bring them to my humble little blog and they will promptly decide never ever to use this horrendous company and thusly know that their expectations if what they will be getting will sadly not be reality.

30 Days I'd Like to Re-Live

Please note that I didn't say 30 days I'd like to go back and change. The older that I become, the more I realize the fragile nature and unreliability of memory. And because of that, there are days I wish I could go back & visit- like watching a movie for a second time. You always see things in more detail the second time. And having lived so much life since these days my life experiences have made the memory of these days so much more precious. These are my choices. 

30. The day my brother was born. I was only 3 but I wonder what I thought and felt that day. 

29.The day I received the PLC scholarship at UCO. Life changer. 

28. Any day from my trip to Disney World. 

27. Any day where I used to be a size 6. 

26. Any Friday night I spent in the sidelines as a high-school cheerleader. 

25.The day I moved away from my parents. 

24. A day from one of my summers in Grove at my grandparents lake house. 

23. The first time Ryland kissed me. 

22. Any of the nights I spent in my grandparents' Barnsdall homeplaces.

21. My 16th birthday. 

20. A lazy summer day poolside with my family as a teenager. 

19.Any night where my babies were tiny enough to sleep all night on my chest. 

18.A day from my time as an RA working for my friend Steph. 

17.A day from Energy Camp where I met my Morgan. 

16.Any Miriam adventure from any decade. 

15.Any Falls Creek day from my teen years. 

14. The day Ryland proposed to me over a picnic at Birch Lake.

13.Any Christmas Eve/Day of my childhood. I am so homesick for the magic of those sweet days. 

12.The days that my kids said their first words and walked for the first time. 

11. Graduations- high school & college. 

10.The first time I saw the ocean in junior high. 

9.Any post-football game cruising session with Aubrey and Charity in the Merc. 

8. The first time I ever sang in church. It took so much courage. Still makes me a nervous wreck. 

7.The day after fall finals at college- any year. What feels better than Christmas break at home during college? 

6. My first day as a teacher in 2005. 

5.Any of the days of my honeymoon in Jamaica. 

4.The days I found out I was expecting my kids- June 13, 2008 and February 6, 2010. 

3.The days my children were born. 

2. My wedding day. 

1.  The day that Jesus became more than a story, he became mine. The most important day. I'm so thankful for this. It truly gives meaning & purpose to all the other days. I hope each of you have experienced this "day" in your life. 

What day would you like to re-live? 

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from the Russell Family

 

 

The Fruities...

 

 

And the Cuties!

San Antonio Bolognio

The freaking corporate giant Chesapeake is stealing my baby brother away to the desolate land of south Texas, known as San Antonio with the promise of a big promotion and raise. Jerks.

Here's an un-posed picture of my little punk brother. He hates un-posed pictures and I'm mad at him for leaving me in Oklahoma to deal with my parents alone. Suck on that brother.

 

I am going to endure a 9 hour road trip with my stressed out parents to help him move into the trendy down-town area of San Antonio. I am leaving my husband and kids for 3 nights for him. So here are my thoughts and parting words for Lane:

1) There are many bad choices that I could tolerate from you, Lane. Being a Spurs fan is not one. I will DISOWN you. Forever. I could understand you being a Rockets fan since they stole the beard from us in OKC. Texas is taking everything I love. Haley, Lane, James Harden.....
2) I will never tell anyone you are from Texas. I refuse to believe that or to perpetuate such an ugly thought. I will tell people you live there temporarily. And I expect you to do the same.
3) Since you are temporarily living in Texas I expect that when you come home to visit your HOME in Oklahoma that as a sign of shame and regret for being a Texas resident that you will adopt a proper Texas dress code- a ten gallon hat, a huge ugly belt buckle, and boots with spurs. I will also expect you to talk like Charlie from Sunny in the episode where they try to sell gas door to door.
4) Everything's bigger in Texas? I know youir paycheck will be. I expect bigger gifts for me and my children and checks for taking care of our high-maintenence, aging parents in your absence.
5) You've already made Grannie B cry which is unforgiveable so I expect you to attend John Hagee's church so that Grannie Myrna will be happy. I also expect you to give a facebook re-cap complete with all sermon points and life applications each Sunday after services. If you are moving away from all of our grandparents you gotta pay the piper buddy.
6) YOU CANNOT FALL IN LOVE WITH TEXAS AND STAY FOREVER. You can't. I will die.
7) I would however love to tell the story at your rehearsal dinner of how I predicted that you met and fell in love with a sweet Oklahoma girl when you met and talked about how much you hated the Spurs and couldn't wait to move back to Oklahoma to God's country and your sister predicted just such an event in her blog. Make it happen. There has to be at least one poor, miserable, displaced Oklahomie there.
8) IN seriousness- I love you, Lane. I am so proud of you. And as much as my heart hurts I am so excited for you to have a fresh start in a new place. Enjoy it (but not so much you wanna stay forever), make memories and come home every single chance you can. Go get em' brother.

Cousins

Today is one of those days when I am a little wistful and sad.

 

I am the youngest grand-daughter on one side of my family and I am the middle cousin on the other side. I have so many amazing memories with my cousins: matching mullets, rv camping, Christmases sleeping in the same room, four wheeler rides, long afternoons at the creek, sweet conversations and shared memories.

 

Alas, life has happened. We are all grown and spread across the states, and some days I just miss them. I wish we could see each other more. They are some of my favorite people.

 

 My oldest cousin Chris has always been a hero of mine. Heath and Shawn have always cracked me, up their hijinks are legendary. Jennifer has a contagious laugh and gets stuff done! Haley is sentimental and organized always with humor and quick wit. Riann has such a kind, compassionate heart. Emily has a great sense of style and is a fun mom. Danna is my frugal soul-sister and one of my best friends. My girl cousins are an absolutely beautiful group of women. I could write entire blog posts on each of them, but they would kill me. They have threatened. As long as their secrets are safe, then so is my life.

 

The Harmon Cousins

The Clapp Cousins (minus Shawn)


I also get a little sad for my kids. My cousins were close enough in distance that we saw each other weekly if not daily sometimes. God has blessed us tremendously, I am not complaining, I just wish it were possible for Hope and Isaac to see their cousins more often. Their time together is quality, but I selfishly wish there was more quantity. And my goodness, they are cute in a group.

Little Russell cousins.

Nothing like dead fish watching with your cousins.

Cousin breakfast.

I wouldn't change a thing. I know we are right where God has us in this season. But for a few hours I wish I could be in my grandparents Barnsdall homeplaces and laugh with my cousins. I wish my house could be wrecked with the laughter and mess of my kids' cousins. I'm thankful for the role of each of them in our lives. I hope God blesses and keeps them all until the next time we can be together. Which I hope is soon, and more often.

30

In honor of my 30th birthday and my first 30 days of my 30th year, I am going to attempt to write a few "30" lists. This may be lame, it may be fun, it may be totally random.


To start, I give you, with no further adieu, 30 of my ex-boyfriends....Hmmm......Probably need to make my list longer.......

1. Just Kidding

30 Things I Would Eat All the Time If I Wouldn't Get Fat

30. Banana Pudding
29. Little Debbies
28. Chocolate Tres Leches
27. Chicken Chimichangas with sour cream sauce
26. Chicken and Noodles
25. My Mom's Spaghetti
24. My Mom's chili dogs
23. Indian Tacos
22. Red Robin Gourmet Cheeseburger
21. Onion Rings
20. Chick-fil-A Spicy Chicken Sandwich with Chick-fil-A sauce
19. Taco Bell Doritos Loco Taco- I'm so ashamed!
18. Grannie B cookies from her freezer
17. Sweet Tea
16. Stuffed French Toast with strawberries from IHOP
15. Panera Bread's Orange Scones- oh my lawdy
14. Classic Italian Sub from Arby's
13. My MIL's Paula Deen's Chicken and Rice Casserole
12. Creme filled chocolate frosted donut from Krispy Kreme
11. My MIL's Orange Pound Cake
10. Diet Dr. Pepper by the Gallon
9. Loaded Baked Potatoes
8. Hawaiian Sweet Rolls
7. Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls
6. Grannie B's Taco Salad
5. Schlotsky's Chicken and Bacon Club
4. Pizza from Hideaway
3. Tuscan Cheese Bread from Pepperoni Grill with oil and Vinegar
2. Fettuccine Alfredo
1. Cheesecake- any flavor

There you have it. This list could also be called 30 reasons it took me two freakin years to lose my baby weight. Or 30 things I'd like to be eating except I am on a diet. Or 30 Reasons I might be pre-diabetic.Or thirty things I might be fantasizing about when you think I'm listening....

What would you eat if it wouldn't stick to you and make you dough-y?

Hottie in Flight

This is one of my very very favorite photos from our annual family lake vacation in July, during my unintentional blog hiatus. My hubs was jumping from the upper deck of a pontoon. I am not a photographer in any capacity, but I got lucky on this shot with beautiful scenery, unintentional good light, and a cooperative camera that I don't know how to use.

I Did Something Cool Once

Do young'ens even say "cool" anymore?

See, I'm about to turn 30. O-L-D. Wrinkles. Walkers. Arthritis. Social Security. Talking about colon issues in public.

I was born in the stone age known as the 80's.

I have been out of college for many moons now.

I have never watched "Jersey Shore". But I do get excited on laundry Monday when "Boy Meets World" comes on the old MTV. Remember when they used to play music? I do. Cause I'm old.

Anywhoo, I did something young and hip while I was on unintentional blogging hiatus in March. At least, I think it was March. My memory is slipping in my old age.

I went to a midnight premier and saw "The Hunger Games". I have read the books too. Bonus cool points.

It was because my ten-years-younger, beautiful inside and out, much cooler, baby sister-in-law suggested it. I'm glad she did. And she just turned 20, which she thinks is old. Crazy.

I love her a lot. And here is photographic evidence of the one time I did something cool. Hilary was there. And she is cool. She saw me do it.

*The unsung heroes of my one cool night are my in-laws who babysat my kids and let us stay out until 2:30AM. They are very cool*

30 Best Moments From My Cruise

Top 30 Best Memories From Our Cruise.

30. The trip was the perfect length. Not too short, not too long. 

29. Our dining room Maitre D was from Russia and reminded me of the villain from Rocky & Bullwinkle. Was his name Boris? 

28. There was a cute, elderly, Asian man from Canada who sang country songs in the main lobby. He played electric guitar and was terrific! He busted every stereotype that any person could have possibly had about him? 

27. The comedy shows on board were hilarious. I love when my husband goes into his crazy laugh. I saw it many times this trip. 

26. Delicious sit-down dinners every night. 4 date nights! 

25. Turn down service with chocolates on my pillow. I wonder if my kids can be trained to turn our covers down. I guess that would mean they'd have to make our bed first everyday....

24. Spending a morning exploring Galveston with no plans at all. I had almost forgotten what spontaneity felt like. 

23. My parents. They weren't on the trip but they kept my kids so we could go. I'm 95% sure they drank pop and ate too much junk food but they were safe & had a great time. 

22. No election coverage. No reading facebook posts where every idiot feels the need to tell their opinion. Everyone has the right, and I am thankful for that, but I am so OVER election year. Can I please spend the rest of election season on a boat? 

21. Everytime we wore OKC Thunder apparel, foreign people would comment. They all love Kevin Durant. I think he should run for president. He could unite political parties and countries. 

20. Meeting lots of other nice Oklahomies. We're everywhere, and we all yell "boomer" when our presence is made known. We all hate Texas teams, it bonds us together. We even meet some fellow Owassies. So fun! Love my state. 

19. No dieting. I bet I gained 10 pounds at least. Maybe more. I ate everything. 

18. I had a piece of tiramisu that changed my life. Yum. 

17. Beach day. There is nothing in the world more relaxing than hearing the waves wash up on the beach as you sit & rest & read. I am a white sand lover. Sometimes I think I am displaced islander. 

16. We watched a show on the ship that was awesome. Great dancing, singing, lights, and special effects. The quality was amazingly good. It was like broadway in the ocean. 

15. I loved watching the dolphins chase the coast guard boat from our balcony. I had never seen a live dolphin before- I geeked out way more than necessary. 

14. Watching the sunrise from the beach in Galveston. Pure serenity. 

13. Making an all-night road trip from Owasso to Galveston. My husband is still my favorite traveling buddy. We laughed a lot. He's my lobster. 

12. I took naps at all hours of the day. It was glorious. And quiet. And kidless. 

11. I ate snails. Escargot . I wasn't a big fan, but I ate them anyways. All I could think of was the garden snails in Barnsdall. Slimy, yet satisfying. 

10. Being in the elevator with a girl who was minutes from walking down the aisle & hearing her chirp about how excited she was. I hope she has a husband who will still show her new adventures after 7 years and two babies. 

9. Shopping in Cozumel. So much crap, so cheap. 

8. Snorkeling- it is seriously one of my very favorite things in the world. I love that there is a whole gorgeous world underwater. 

7. Getting to sit & read with no interruptions. During the daytime. In the quiet. 

6. I did not change one diaper. Not one. Heaven. 

5. Getting to dress up on formal night. There aren't many occasions for that in my life right now. 

4. Watching the moon cast it's light over the water and seeing no other lights on the horizon from our balcony. It was so beautiful. 

3. Watching my hubby try, and like, alligator. 

2. Buffets all day- fat girl's paradise. 

1. Spending all day every day with my husband and having his undivided attention. 

I am so grateful to God and my husband. This was the best way to spend the last days of my 20's. Here's hoping that my 30's are just as wonderful and full of adventure with my cute best friend. 

You've Got a Friend in Me

 

Isaac's favorite movie right now is "Toy Story 3". If you can't tell, he's a pretty big fan of Buzz Lightyear. Or Buzz Light"hair" as Isaac would tell you.

 

But, he thinks Woody is a fantastic sheriff too.

 

 

And whatever Isaac thinks is cool.... When in Rome......

Naturally, we love the music from Toy Story, especially when sang by the cutest 2 and 3 year olds ever to don spacesuits.

 

So I have declared "You've Got a Friend in Me" by Randy Newman the official Russell family song.

 

Here are the lyrics:

 

You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
When the road looks rough ahead
And you're miles and miles
From your nice warm bed
Just remember what your old pal said
Boy, you've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You've got troubles, well I've got 'em too
There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you
We stick together and we see it through
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me

Some other folks might be
A little bit smarter than I am
Bigger and stronger too
Maybe
But none of them will ever love you the way I do
It's me and you
And as the years go by
Boys, our friendship will never die
You're gonna see
It's our destiny
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me

 

 

I hope my people always know that that they've got a friend in me. And I hope that when I am a grandmother that I'll still be able to hear my kids' voices in my mind singing. And I hope my mind will be able to recall them dancing to this little gem from "Toy Story 3".

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mBo6lOpJuQhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mBo6lOpJuQ

First Day of School 2012

 

We start our pre-school "school year" after Labor Day each year. I am beyond blessed to be the music teacher in our school. I absolutely love getting to teach Jesus, letters, shapes, colors, numbers and nursery rhymes in music. Our pre-school does an amazing job at getting our kiddos ready for kindergarten and laying spiritual and educational foundations for our 'graduates". Here we are on our first day!