Great Scott's

2009-02-07T09:54:00.004-06:00

Ryder wanted to help make a cake...

Poor baby was sick, doesn't she look miserable?...

Speaking of miserbale; nice picture daddy...
Nothing like a good bath...

I lost track of time; anyone want to come over for breakfast?...

It's so hard to believe that we're going to have another baby in a few months. I've about given up on any efforts to hold my weight gain to a normal amount. I've decided that my metabolism is just different when I'm pregnant, because I honestly don't eat that much more but gain a few pounds a week. It's crazy. Anyway, Sydney started full out crawling a couple weeks ago; she's EVERYWHERE! She's also started enjoying little pieces of table food, and that will keep her occupied (while strapped into a chair) for quite a while. Ryder has turned into such a good babysitter. He keeps a good eye on her and makes sure that she doesn't put stuff in her mouth. He made me laugh this morning. We're trying to teach him not to say "I can't" do something. This morning he was so frustrated because he couldn't find a tractor picture in his magazine. He comes crying and says, "mommy, I can't find tractor". I said, "Remember, we don't say I can't because you CAN do it!" With huge tears and a very distressed look on his face, he says, "mom please help, I can find tractor!" I guess we'll just keep on trying to teach that lesson, eventually he'll catch on!

These pictures are of Sydney and Presley, my niece. I bought them matching outfits and they're finally big enough to wear them.

Hug your babies and have a great week!

Blue or Pink????

2009-01-25T22:17:00.003-06:00

So, we had a sonogram last week and they said the baby is perfect, healthy and everything looked great. For all of you who doubted me.....HAAAAA, I told you :) Mama always knows. My entire life, I have always wanted 2 boys and a girl and am pleased to say that's what were getting. Daddy will only have one little princess and I'm sure she'll be rotten after he gets done with her. We're both really excited, but now back to the drawing board with names. My first pick is Jett Michael Scott, but Colt has always wanted Tripp Michael Scott. Opinions, suggestions, please help! Yes, Mel, we were doing the name game only a year ago; that's insane.

Like I said, the baby is very healthy, but I have placenta preiva. At this stage in pregnancy, it's not that terrible but it will be if it doesn't correct itself over the next few weeks. From what I understand, the placenta is attached over my cervix instead of higher up and that increases the chances for various complications. Assuming the problem is corrected in 4 weeks, then everything is fine. If not, there is the high possibility of bed rest until the baby is born and that's just not an option for us. In the mean time, my instructions are "do not squat down", "do not lift more than 10 pounds", and a few others but those stuck out the most. Have you ever tried not to squat with a baby and a toddler; not to mention that Sydney weighs almost 20 pounds! We've made several adjustments around the house because I can't carry Syd up the stairs anymore and now she sleeps in our room (unless Colt is home). He is also going to start coming to school with us so that he can get the kids in and out of the building. It's only 2 days a week, so not that big of a deal. He's a saint when it comes to the kids and his willingness to help. Anyway, PLEASE pray the this little issue is ok at my next checkup or I might be asking some of you to come live with us for a while :)

Last thing, my grandmother is in the hospital because she fell and broke her hip. Physically it's very hard on her, but emotionally also. Her and granddaddy forget what's going on and can't figure out where the other one went...it's just heartbreaking. We're hoping that she gets to go back to the nursing home with granddaddy this week. Even then, I don't think things will ever be the same, but at least they'll be together.

As usual, more pics...have a good week.

He asked for cheerios, I said no. I couldn't find him until I heard a noise in the cabinet. He got a bowl, climbed in the cabinet, shut the door and got his own cheerios. I had to have a picture; great parenting, I know....

This was my shirt when I was her age....

Good morning sunshine....

This is why a 2 year old boy shouldn't be allowed to dress himself....

Do they ever grow up????

2009-01-21T00:21:00.005-06:00

I (along with several other wives) are so pleased to report that our husbands have joined a new league here in Lubbock. This is not unusual for most of them, because they still like to play basketball, football, etc. However, this league is a little different. Their team name is "The Bull Honky Mama's" and they are playing dodge ball. Isn't that hilarious? Their first game was tonight and I don't know if they had more fun playing, or if we had more fun watching. I was very entertained by the girls simply cheering them on. Jennifer was pretty brutal with some of her comments like, "Come on, hit the girl!" or "Get the old man" to mention a few. They did win their games and here are a few pictures. We were talking about planning an end of the season banquet with slide shows, trophies and all that fun stuff. I tease them about acting like little boys, but honestly they wouldn't be nearly as fun if they acted their own age.
On another note, we go to the doctor tomorrow and will find out whether were getting a boy or a girl. I can confidently say that it's going to be a boy, but I guess the doctor can confirm it tomorrow :) I'll keep you updated! Have a good one.

The Bull Honky Mama's....

Their nicknames....

My stud....

Coming off the line....

Wow, he can clean up....

These are some pictures of the kiddos. Sydney is starting to crawl. She hasn't "officially" taken off yet but has made several leaps forward. She is also pulling up on everything and now the proud owner of a red lump over her eye (pulled a tray on top of her). It's so hard to believe that she'll be 9 months old, next week....what a precious girl!

Our little beauty...

She's always so happy...

Mama's little cowboy...

Cheeeeeeeeessssseeeeee...

Daddy loves his babies...

Disclaimer...

2009-01-03T21:08:00.002-06:00

Okay, I've had a chance to cool off from all the football madness. I would like to retract one of my statements about all my teams being idiots. As for the Cowboys, some predicted them to win the superbowl and they didn't even make it to playoffs, so they may still be idiots. However, I can't say the same for Tech. It was a disappointing end to the season, but they still had an awesome year. In a heated moment, it's hard to look at the positive, but overall I'm very proud to be a Tech fan...ok, now I feel better!

It's me again...

2009-01-02T21:08:00.004-06:00

I just looked at the date of my last post and it was over 2 and 1/2 months ago, wow! I could write for days about everything that's happened since October, but don't have the time or energy, not to mention the fact that it would be really boring. Anyway, I was doing pretty good about blogging, but we got some interesting news a few months ago that just brought our world to a stop. Don't worry, it's nothing bad, just very unexpected. So, you might ask what kind of news could have such an effect? I guess finding out that in June we will have 3 children under the age of 3 will do it! Yes, apparently God thought it would be fun for me to get pregnant while Ryder had just turned 2 and Sydney was 4 months. I was VERY unhappy at first, but we know it's a huge blessing. It has just taken some time to put everything into perspective and get our thoughts together. We will find out what it's going to be in 2 or 3 weeks, which also means that I'll be 20 wks and half way there. I have certainly learned that we can plan out our lives all we want, but sometimes God has his own set of plans. This is really going to change the way that I can work from home and the time table that we were looking to build our house. In the end, we are happy and know that there is no greater blessing.
In the mean time, our other two are getting so big. Ryder is 100% cowboy. He loves trailers, pickups, tractors, horses, cows and now anything that is John Deere. He got a pair of boots for Christmas and has taken them off for baths, but that's about it. He slept in them a few nights, hopefully that won't last much longer. Sydney got her first baby doll for Christmas, but Ryder plays with it more than she does. He's constantly changing her "poopy" diapers and has even named her, "daddy Colt". Colt is a little concerned at his love for a baby doll, but I have assured him that I don't think he'll be trading in his trucks for a doll. Sydney has four teeth and she's not crawling, but scooting all over the place. She's only 8 months, but wears 12-18 month clothes because of her length. They are both absolute balls of joy and we're excited to bring another one into our precious family.
Before I go, I have to gripe about football for just a second. Anyone watch Tech make fools of themselves today???? Anyone watch Dallas make fools of themselves a couple weeks ago??? Just checking, and that's really all that I have to say about my favorite teams. "Thanks a lot for such a happy ending to football season, you bunch of idiots". (Tierney, if you're reading this, sorry for all the insults!)
Here are pictures, and I promise to post within a timely manner this next time! Have a good one!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

It's been a while....

2008-10-18T11:15:00.004-06:00

It seems like yesterday when I made my last post, but as my sister reminded me, it's been almost a month. Several of you asked about the picture of Ryder and Colt on the fence. I entered it into a contest and am still waiting to see what they decide. It would be for the November issue of SuperLooper magazine; we'll see.
We've had quite a bit going on this month. Colt and I celebrated our 8th anniversary. (I guarantee you that a lot of bets were lost over that one) It's hard to believe that it's actually been 8 years; 6 out of the 8 have been very happy...don't ask about the other 2 :) I'm so blessed to have him because I couldn't ask for a better husband or father.

The kids are doing great. Sydney has two teeth now and working on a few more. She's an absolute doll with all her smiles and laughs. Ryder is rotten as ever, although he's still the sweetest most entertaining things you've ever seen. Do you notice anything wierd about this picture?

I opened the silverware drawer the other night and water started pouring out. Then I noticed that my spoon slot was full of water also. "Precious" (as we usually call him) had been playing at the sink and apparently thought the spoons were thirsty. He's truly a handful and we've learned to NEVER EVER turn our backs on him. Gotta love Ryder!

Here are several random pictures. We finally have a family picture and that's only because Amy Van was in town and took it for us. I still haven't figured out how to set up the automatic thing on my camera. Hope everyone has a good one and I'll try to post again soon!!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

He'll always look up to his daddy...

2008-09-27T13:57:00.004-06:00

Well, I've got both kids down for a nap, Colt is roping and so I've got a few minutes to sit down and blog. Colt has been entering quite a few ropings lately and has another one Sunday afternoon. He's done really well and is loving it, who knows what that could lead to someday. Several of these pictures are from one that we went to in Abilene last week. I LOVE the picture of him sitting on the fence while Ryder is looking up at him.
My latest project has been working on a floor plan for a house that we want to build someday. We just bought land with my inlaws and will start a barn and other little things for now. We probably won't even put our house on the market for another couple years. It just depends on how long it takes to save the money that we need. We've been out to the land several times over the past month and Ryder absolutely loves it out there. He's quite the outdoorsman and would stay outside all day if given the choice.
It's amazing how fast both of them are growing up. Syndey turned 5 months yesterday and is wearing 9-12 month clothes because she's so long. She still spends the majority of her day sleeping in the swing, but when she's awake, she's nothing but smiles and laughs. She is such a happy baby. Ryder spends most of his time on the trampoline, riding his jeep or playing with his trucks and tractors. He has a new fascination with trailers, tractors and ropes. I wonder why??? I think he's going to be our little farm boy/cowboy and that's fine with me. He's so full of energy and loves to climb on anything he can find. The other day, he was yelling our names and so we walked into the kitchen to find him hanging off the fridge. We have a side by side and he had both hand on the handles and had walked his feet up to his hands. He was literally hanging vertically from the fridge.
We've been so blessed to end up with two awesome kids. Well, I better run because I've got to make a bow for Sydney's church dress tomorrow. Most of these pics are of Ryder, because Syndey stayed with my mom; more of her later. Hope everyone has a great week.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Love me some cowboys...

2008-09-15T18:41:00.003-06:00

There is just something about this time of year that makes me so happy. The weather starts cooling off and that means football season is here. I love just hanging around the house on Saturday afternoons and hearing some college game in the background. Then of course there is Sunday and Monday for NFL and I love to watch the Cowboys. I think they've got a pretty good shot this year, but they are the Cowboys and history proves that you shouldn't ever give them too much credit. We've got tickets to the Tech games, and I love that too, but it's such a pain to find babysitters and make all those arrangements. The Tech games are really more about socializing than football. We usually tailgate in the same spot and it's just always fun to be with everyone, without the kids. Okay, I guess that's enough football talk, but I don't have much else to talk about. Nevermind, I just thought of something. Please tell me that someone has watched the new 90210. I was so excited when I heard it was coming back with some of the original cast, but was so diappointed when I actually watched it. Those kids are idiots and the principals family is the sappiest bunch of crap I've ever seen. Is it just me or does anyone else feel the same way. Maybe I'm just synical because the original was my favorite show in the world. Anyway, here are pictures. I hope everyone is doing good.

Last thing...has anyone had problems linking other blogs? I can't get any of your links to come up on here. Don't take it personally, I just can't do it.

Faith, Hope, Love Ministries

2008-09-03T12:10:00.004-06:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

It seems like I've lived on the computer for the past few days. I've meant to post this for a while and am just now getting the opportunity. These days, it seems like everyone has a "cause" that they're fighting for and while it's so easy to sit back and let everyone else do the work, we decided to make one of our own. This is something that I am very passionate about because I have seen the effects that divorce can have on a family and it's members. As most of you know, my sister is a single mom raising three kids on her own. Her ex no longer sends child support or has any real communication with the kids. We've seen her struggle emotionally and financially and it came to the point where we felt as if some sort of intervention was immediately necessary. We started a non-profit organization called Faith, Hope, Love Ministries and it primary purpose is to help single parents with resources and finances. As of today, Larissa is our focus, but her financial situation is only temporary and we will then be able to help someone else in a similar situation. I've attached a link to the website and you can read all about. Hopefully, it's self explanatory. Go to the original post, because Larissa added something to the blog last night. If it's something you're intersted in or have any questions, please let me know. We've already had an amazing response and with God's help, anticipate great things in the future.

I couldn't post a blog without adding pics of the kiddos. There were so many that I had to do a slideshow! Have a good one!
***For some reason, I can't add the link to the page, but here is the address: faithhopeloveministries.blogspot.com

Back in the saddle....

2008-08-24T12:07:00.004-06:00

Ryder and "B"...

Miss Priss...

Trying to get ready for church...

Mom, Madi and Sydney...

Mom and Sydney...

The last few months have been a little different for our family. Colt has decided to get back into roping again. He grew up team roping with his entire family, but decided he hated it when he was pretty young. He would mess around with it when we were at his parents house, but he hasn't been in a roping since he was probably 13 or so. Anyway, for some reason he decided he wanted to build an arena, get a horse and start doing it again. Everyone has their own natural talents, but roping is something that comes so easily to him. He's great on a horse and looks like such a pro in the arena. He entered a roping yesterday and did amazingly well. He was only one of 2 people that made it to the short round twice. All they had to do was catch and he was almost guaranteed a prize, but both of his headers missed for him...he was pretty disappointed, but there's nothing he could do about it. The top prize was a really nice horse trailer and they paid 10 cash spots which would have been nice too. Since there were 250 teams that entered, it's awesome that he made it that far; especially since so many of those people have devoted so much of their life to practicing. Here comes a kid in tennis shoes and a baseball cap that hasn't entered any sort of competition in over 15 years and he out-roped almost everyone. I'm so proud of him and so excited to see where this is going to lead. He's going to another one in Muleshoe on Labor Day, so we'll see what happens.

Here are a few pictures of the kiddos. I've debated for a while on how to handle Ryder's "B" (blanket). If you notice, almost every picture has a "B" in there somewhere because he never goes anywhere without it. I decided to take his picture with it and then I may start cutting it into smaller pieces. I haven't been able to take scissors to it yet, but at least he has pictures with it. Hope yall have a good week!

A mini vacation....

2008-08-11T21:09:00.003-06:00

just like 7th grade doubles pictures...(Jill, I hope I made your husband proud)

aaahhhh!

Daddy and the kids...

Ryder's 1st tennis lesson...

Amy and Syd...
We went to Dallas for the weekend and had such a good time. Amy Van was house sitting for some of her good friends while they were in Hawaii. She asked us to bring the kids over and let them swim while we grilled out that night. I knew they had a nice house, but my jaw hit the floor when I saw it. Some of the ammenities included (in realtor language) outdoor kitchen with flatscreen, fireplace, pool, hot tub, lighted tennis court (yes in their back yard); the inside had 2 staircases, an elevator shaft, a dining room table that seats 24 people and to top it all off, the master closet was honestly the size of my bedroom at home. We did the math and realized that their house is 6 times the size of mine. I could go on for days about how gorgeous it was. We ended up staying there 2 nights because we didn't want to leave; it was like being at a resort.
Needless to say, we had a great time and it was so good to see Amy and let her spend time with my kids (when I could pull her away from the Olympics...Go Michael Phelps:) For those of you who don't know her, she's crazy, but I love her! Anyway, here are a few pics from "the mansion". Have a great week.

The last B-day party for a while....

2008-08-07T21:13:00.002-06:00

I actually wrote this over a week ago, but was having problems downloading the pictures. I realized it was because I have too many saved on my computer, so I'll have to start putting them on disks...aaaggghh! Anyway, this is a slideshow from Hannah (3), Elise (2) and Ryder's (2) Birthday party. I had to throw the single picture in there, because they were both trying to kiss him; what a little stud! We're headed to the "Big D" for the weekend; have a good one!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Life is not always meant for us to understand...

2008-07-22T18:24:00.002-06:00

You're probably wondering why I posted a picture of a "present", but it's a lot more than that. Most people don't know this story, but I've thought about it for a while and something is compelling me to share it. I'm not doing it because I want sympathy or anything like that, but to show that while we don't always understand why things happen, God always has a bigger plan. Four years ago last night, I layed in a hospital bed and delivered a baby girl. On our way to the hospital, we were fully aware that she would never take a breath. Her name was Summer J. Scott, she was 12 inches long and weighed about a pound. We knew at 9 wks that something was wrong, but it was a few months later that the Dr.s determined she had Turners Syndrome. We were told that I would get to about 8 months and her heart would probably stop beating. Although I didn't make it that far, her heart did stop beating. Oddly enough, I knew exactly when it happened. Colt and I had really prepared ourselves for what we had to do that day and although it was just like a normal, induced delivery; in our minds it was more like some type of procedure. I guess that was our defense mechanism. As those months of being pregnant went by, we learned several things. Probably the most important was that it's not always our job to understand why God does what he does. He's God, it's his prerogative and it's our job to determine how we will handle the outcome. They always say that major tragedies will either make or break a relationship and through this challenge, it only made us stronger as a couple. We saw sides of each other that we had never seen and opened up in ways that I never would have imagined. Looking back, I think that God knew we needed something to shake us up, and this is what it was. I also know that at that period in our lives, we were in a financial mess. Things would have been very different for her than they are for Ryder and Sydney and we wouldn't have been able to take advantage of many of the opportunities that were so blessed with today. I say all this because when life has you in the middle of a storm and it looks like there's no clear skies in sight, just be patient. We don't always get the answers, but I firmly believe that we learn the lessons that can lead us to a greater understanding about so many things.

Back to the "present"....Instead of having a funeral, we had her cremated and saved her ashes. We weren't sure what to do with them, but knew that it would be revealed to us at some point in the future. Last spring my mema past away and we decided to bury her ashes with mema. When my dad ordered the headstone, he decided to have her name put on there also; I thought that was awesome. I guess the reason I wanted to write about this was because sometimes I feel a bit of guilt because I don't ever want her to be forgotten, but at the same time it's not "casual conversation" material. I guess her birthday just made me think about it. The flip side to all of this is that God has chosen to bless Colt and I with 2 beautiful children and we both feel that our lives couldn't be better. Our lives go on, business as usual, but she will never be forgotten; it's awesome to know that we will still get to meet her someday!

My baby is 2!!!

2008-07-17T13:29:00.003-06:00

Love this picture!!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

It's so hard to believe that Ryder was born over two years ago. He has been such a joy to us and our family and we never expected the last couple of years to be as wonderful as they have been. Now our joy has been doubled with Miss Sydney...life is good :) Ryder had a small party Monday night with our family and he decided on an Elmo theme. I'm not big on characters, but other than tractors and farm animals, Elmo is the only thing he's really taken an interest in. I did my best at making his cake and it actually turned out really well. I have no idea how it tasted because I wasn't about to eat all that clumpy icing, but the kids seemed to like it. I asked his Pappa (Colt's dad) to make his traditional B-day cake and it was great. We've decided that were going to have to buy a bigger house just to hold all his toys. Do they still make small toys? If so, please tell me where. Ryder ended up going home with Colt's parents for the week and it's been so strange not having him around. Granted, I've gotten more done around the house than all of last year combined, but I'll be ready for him to come back in the next couple of days. We're debating taking the side off of his baby bed this week. I think he's old enough, but it may drive me crazy and end up back on the bed by the end of the week...we'll see.
For those of you that new about my grandaddy, he had a heart attack the other day and remarkably is doing just fine. He's already gone home and you would never know that he came near death a few days ago. Knowing him, he's thinking that he's got to much work "around the house" to finish up and it's just not his time. He's a funny guy!
This is random, but I'm going to start posting houses that I have for sale on my blog. Hey, I might as well kill two birds with one stone. If you know anyone looking for anything in the Lubbock area, whether I have it listed or not, just let me know. Anyway, I hope all is well. Have a good week.

A great weekend...

2008-07-06T21:22:00.002-06:00

We decided to visit Colts family this last weekend. He has always been very close to his aunt, uncle and cousins, but they live in northern NM and we usually only see them once or twice a year. During the holidays we always get together and have the JLS ropin (Jackson, Lehman, Scott) and were fortunate to get to do that this weekend. Back a while ago, we found out that his uncle Joe has pancreatic cancer and immediately started treatment. I'm so glad that we got to see him this weekend because nobody knows what God has in store for his future. For the 4th, we went over to Eagles Nest and watched the firework show over the lake. It was so gorgeous becasue we were right in the middle of the mountains, no clouds in the sky and nothing but a million stars and awesome fireworks. Of course it didn't dawn on me that capris and flip flops probably aren't the smartest thing to wear at night in the mountains. I don't know what the temp was, but it was pretty dang cold for July. Overall, we had a great weekend with his parents and the rest of his family; once again, it was nice to get out of town.

To be honest, I don't really feel like blogging right now. I feel compelled to mention this, but don't want to talk about it yet. I just got a call from a good friend in Dallas that I used to teach with. She called to let me know that one of my very good friends at school died last night. She's had cancer 5 times now. I don't have much to say, other than I hate cancer and it scares me greatly. On that note, please keep her family in your prayers and please pray for Colt's uncle Joe, too. He's got quite a battle ahead of him. Don't ever forget that we don't know what tomorrow holds, the ones we love may not be with us. Don't take anything or anyone for granted. Now that I've probably depressed you all, (sorry) have a good week.

Intense Prayer...

2008-06-22T13:32:00.003-06:00

"Let the little children come unto me"
I love this picture. Ryder is learning how to pray and that we say prayers when we sit down to eat. He looks like he's in deep agony, but it's still the cutest thing. It takes forever to eat a meal, because he will take a bite and want to pray, take another bite and want to pray....Larissa has already warned me, "just wait until he starts saying them". I'm sure they will get interesting. As for Sydney, she's getting so big. She can't wear gowns at night anymore, because her legs stick out too far. We'll go to the Dr this week for her 2 month checkup and I really curious to see how much she's grown.
It's been a good week, but still really busy with work stuff. Summer time is usually when things kick in for the real estate business and I'm so blessed to have so many things going on right now. It's amazing that I can still get this much work done and stay home with the kids most of the time. My mother in law was here yesterday and watched them for a while and my mom has volunteered her Tuesdays to watch Sydney while working on Larissa's house. We're so lucky to have everyone this close. Not too much to write about, but I had to get this picture posted.

A crazy month...

2008-06-12T20:30:00.002-06:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

No, I didn't fall off the face of the earth, it's just been a really busy month. I've had more going on with my business than I ever have (but I'm not complaining) and adding Sydney to the family has been a much bigger adjustment that I ever expected. She is wonderful and it's been so awesome to watch her change and grow every days. She's already sleeping through the night and not even 7 weeks yet. She usually goes to bed around 11 and doesn't wake up until at least 7 the next morning. Ryder sleeps at least 13 hours a night and still take at least a 3 hour nap during the day. For whatever reason, God blessed us with really sleepy children. All in all, things have gotten so much easier and we're starting to figure it out.

Colt and I sent Ryder to his parents and Sydney to my parents this last weekend and took a long needed getaway. We went to Albuquerque by ourselves and had a wonderful time ALONE! We stayed in a really nice hotel downtown where there were all sorts of restaurants, pubs, and shopping within walking distance. We went to the casinos one night, rode the tram and just spent a few days "hanging out" together. It was so nice to not have anyone else around and have no set schedule. I would have taken pictures, but we got to the top of the city (tram ride) to admire the gorgeous view and that's when I realized that I left my memory card at home...go figure! Anyway, we had a great time, but were certainly ready to see the rugrats :)

I don't usually have deep thoughts to write about, but I had an epiphony (I love that word) while we were there. We were sitting on a patio eating supper and watching all the people go by. Down town Albuquerque is FULL of strange and homeless people. We were right next to the sidewalk and a really old man, wearing torn up clothes, using crutches falls down on the ground near us. There was an iron gate seperating us, but my first instinct was to go over and see if he was ok. I noticed that nobody was even paying attention to him as he layed there moaning. I looked at Colt with shock and he said, "no, he's just doing it for attention so he can get money." Although I thought theres no way, he got up and hobbled away. About an hour later, the same man came back and did the EXACT same thing. I was amazed, because Colt was right. As I looked around, I noticed so many people that I would refer to as "bums" that have brought this lifestyle on themselves because they are alcoholics, drug addicts or whatever...then it hit me. That man is someones son, probably someones father and brother. I'm so quick to judge people, and whether he had made bad decisions or not, he's still a human who deserves what we all want. There may be a family sitting home worried about him, wondering if he's warm, where he's sleeping, or if he's even alive. It just really made me think twice about the way that I look at people and the fact that those are the people that Jesus spent so much time with. It's so sad that we allow the media and other forces to determine who we accept and who we don't. Whether he wanted money or not, Jesus would have helped him up and sat there and talked to him. I chose to enjoy my hot supper in front of him! Anyway, it's just something that's been on my mind and something that I really need to adjust when it comes to the way I look at people.

I know, deep thoughts by Suzanne. It's been so long since my last post that I had to do another slideshow because I have so many pictures. Have a good week!

2008-05-11T18:02:00.001-06:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

2008-05-02T23:12:00.003-06:00

Precious Sydney...

Still scrubbed in at NICU...

The proud big brother...

All my babies....

Ryders first encounter with Sydney...

I'm so happy to say that I'm at home and so is our precious Sydney. She was in NICU for six days, but we brought her home yesterday and she's doing wonderful. Thank you so much for all the prayers, meals and gifts; we are extremely blessed to have such great friends and family. The adjustment has not been bad and my recovery has been much better than I expected. Ryder has been the biggest problem this last week. Only 2 hours after I was released from the hospital, he started throwing up and running fever. He has never been quite this sick for this long. He threw up this morning, but that was the last time and has been able to hold down pedialyte all day. This is a huge improvement from the last 3 days. He started feeling better tonight, so hopefully he'll be better by tomorrow.
He's not really sure what to think of Sydney. He really wants to help by throwing blankets on top of her and literally throwing teddy bears at her. He even tried to put her headband bow on tonight but ended up with it around her neck. This morning he tried to feed her a nutragrain bar. He has the right idea with everything and I know he has sweet intentions, but he is really aggressive and doesn't understand the meaning of "gentle". Needless to say, we can't turn our backs on him for even a second.
Were so fortunate to have had Colt's mom here for the week. With Ryder being so sick, I don't know what I would have done because I'm not supposed to pick him up for a few more weeks. Colt has been such a trooper and deserves "daddy of the year". I feel bad for him because he's had to concentrate on work, taking care of me, tending to Ryder, and leaving some time for Sydney. He slept on a hospital couch for 4 nights and rather than getting a good nights sleep our first night home, he slept on our couch with Ryder until 3 in the morning because that's the only way he would quit crying. After all that, he got up and went to work the next morning. What a man!!!!
I look around me and count my blessings because we have such wonderful friends and family and I have two beautiful children along with an amazing husband. What more could I ask for??? Thanks again for all the prayers, I always knew that everything would be okay. Have a good weekend.

2008-05-02T23:01:00.002-06:00

My parents, Jenny Beth and Sydney...

Ryder eating cake in my hospital room...

Poor baby was so sick...

Granny and the kids...

Ryder loves his daddy...

2008-05-02T22:51:00.002-06:00

Sydney Ann Scott; 8pds 2oz, 23 inches long...

Daddy bringing her out of the operating room...

Proud Daddy...

Our baby girl...

She was hooked up to a breathing machine, IV's and a feeding tube; maybe the scariest day of our lives...

Sydney is here....

2008-04-27T05:02:00.002-06:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that we now have a baby girl! Sydney Ann was born Friday morning, 8pds 2 oz, 23 inches long and absolutely gorgeous. I ended up having a c-section and everything went very smoothly. Yall were so right about the recovery; I took a shower yesterday morning and am now able to walk downstairs by myself (don't need the wheelchair any longer). As for Sydney, she is doing really good, but has been in NICU the entire time. Long story short, they're not exactly sure what's going on but it has something to do with her respiratory system. She was requiring too much oxygen and they ended up putting her on a ventilator yesterday. Technically, it's breathing for her but they have assured us that it's different than an adult being on that type of machine. They said it's not as bad as it sounds. Originally, she was covered with an oxygen tent and we couldn't get a good look at her, but the ventilator at least allows us to touch her and see her entire body. For the past 48 hours, her CO2 and O2 levels have fluctuated instead of continously getting better, however I just came from NICU and they said that she had a really good night with steady improvements. The nurse said that they plan on feeding her this morning (for the first time) via a feeding tube. While she has done really well over the past 12 hours, they're still not exactly sure what the problem is, but are beginning to eliminate certain things. The cardiologist did an EKG last night and determined that her heart is fine, so we can check that off the list. It may be nothing more than she needed a little extra time to "bake" and her lungs just weren't mature enough. With that being said, we don't know how long she'll be here, but I should be released by Tuesday. Colt and I are doing really well and know that everything is going to be fine. Any daughter of ours is automatically going to be a stubborn little thing, so this is probably par for her course. Anyway, we just wanted yall to know what's going on and I will keep this updated with any news that we get. Pictures will come soon, I promise!!! Again, we're doing really well, but would appreciate your prayers. Give all your babies tons of hugs and kisses today and I'll post again soon!

The latest news....

2008-04-21T19:22:00.004-06:00

I leave the room for 2 seconds and come back to find him stripped naked, digging through my purse

Just enjoying the view....

Just like daddy....

Well, only 4 more days and we will have two children. I'm scheduled at the hospital either for induction, or c-section on Friday morning. We were quite suprised that she has been breech for the last week. I'll have another sonogram on Thursday and that will determine what kind of delivery we'll have on Friday. I'm not looking forward to the idea of a c-section simply because of the recovery. Then again, I'm not too fond of the idea of having my stomach split open and organs temporarily removed from my body...all while I'm fully conscience. Either way, it will be fine and there's nothing I can do about it. I've said from day one that girls are TROUBLE and she's supporting this theory; already giving us problems :)

Only a few more things left to do in her room and I will post pictures. I know I've been saying that for weeks, but I really mean it this time. It was just a lot more work than what I had figured, but I have a tendency to get in way over my head with a lot of things. Thankfully, my wonderful friends threw us a shower (they totally went above and beyond and it was awesome) a couple weeks ago and that really finished out anything that we might need for the baby, so now we'll just sit and wait. We'll take lots of pictures of Miss Sydney and I'll get them posted over the next couple of weeks. Have a great week and keep us in your prayers.

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

2008-04-06T21:24:00.002-06:00

This is kind of random, but I've been meaning to write this blog for a while. For those of you that know Amy VanVranken, she has worked for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation since graduating from LCU. I have agreed to lead another team for the Great Strides Walk that will be next month on the LCU campus. It would be wonderful (for those that live here) to have several people volunteer to walk and raise some of their own money. However, if you can't walk, there are always financial pledges. I sent out an e-mail to several people and didn't get much of a response, so I thought I would try this way. If anyone is interested in donating at least $10, I would be very appreciative. I hate asking for money, volunteers, help and stuff like that, but I know this is for a very good cause. CF is a deadly disease; they are still working to find a cure and that is what your money would go towards. If you're interested, you can go to the website www.cff.org/great_strides and look up my name to donate directly. If you would rather pledge an amount to give next month, e-mail me and I will collect it over the next few weeks. My address is txbrowneyes99@yahoo.com
Yall are wonderful! Have a good week.

28 days left....

2008-03-28T23:16:00.003-06:00

NBA, here I come...

Mama's boys...

Easter morning...

Hunting eggs...

Those are diapers on their heads; they make me laugh...

It's so hard to believe that I'm down to a few weeks. As I mentioned in the last post, I still have SO much to do. Hopefully the nursery will be completed by the end of this week and that will take care of a lot of my list. That just reminded me that I'v got to get our tax stuff together so that we can do that next week too. It's funny because we always used to file by the end of February, but that's because we would get a nice return. When you know you're going to pay, I guess you wait until the last minute.
Anyway, we had a great Easter. My parents and Colt's parents came to our house to watch the kids hunt eggs and celebrate Larissa's b-day. Ryder did really good collecting eggs until he realized they were full of candy. He refused to put them in the basket and left a trail of hershey kisses all over the yard because he opened every egg he could find. I didn't get any wonderful pictures because he was in "one of those" moods.
Not much to talk about other than leg cramps and swollen ankles and that's not very exciting...all in good time; I know!!!! Have a good week.

My Prince....

2008-03-14T09:25:00.003-06:00

September 30, 2000...

Engagement Pics, June 2000...

Honeymoon in Puerto Vallarte...

Our first born son; Maverick...

Our family today; March 08...

I know, it's been awhile. This past month has really flown by, and I've come to the realization that we're having another child 6 weeks from today. It freaked me out because I realized all the things that I haven't done yet. I've been scrambling around trying to do things that should have been done 2 months ago. Colt and I are going to work in her room this weekend; there's a lot of sanding and painting to be done, but we're down to the wire. Anyway, other than being fat, I feel really good, but am SO ready for this to happen.
On another note, I was supposed to write this blog last month, but just got the pictures scanned in. A lot of people don't know much about Colt or how we met...so here goes!

I graduated Dec of 98 and moved to Dallas to teach in Garland. About that same time, Colt moved to Lubbock and was living with his sister, right across the street from Jason Copeland, Josh Bailey and Justin Brown. For the next few months, Jason was always telling me about "his buddy Colt", I said NO WAY, he's too young and I'm not hooking up with anybody that you would recommend. When school got out in June, I came home to visit and was on my way to see Jason and Josh who were across the street at Colt's house. I walked in (meeting him for the first time) to find him in his dirty work clothes, backwards baseball hat, eating supper on a TV tray. I immediately thought he's really cute, but he was rather preoccupied with his food. That night, several of us went to midnight rodeo, and he technically was there with someone else, but that's a long story :) I don't know what it was, but I decided that there was just something about him and I GENUINELY tried to stay away from him, but we ended up innocently dancing. This was a Thursday night in June of 99, he kissed me on Saturday, we decided to start dating the next week, he moved to Dallas in August, he proposed the next May of 2000 and we were married Sept of 2000. Talk about a whirlwind romance; it's hard to believe that we've been together 9 years this June. I can't think of anyone who thought it was a good idea that we got married. In fact, a few of my guy friends pulled him aside and gave him "a talk!" Everyone loved him, just not with me. I guess I should have been given a little more credit because here we are, 9 years, 2 dogs, 2 kids and several pounds later...happier than I would have EVER imagined. He truly is my best friend and we really do love each other more every day. All I need it a white picket fence and the fairytale would be complete.
So, there you have it; our story! These pictures are between 8 and 9 years old (except for the last one) and I never realized how skinny we both were. I love them dearly and wouldn't trade them for the world, but these damn babies have really screwed up my girlish figure!!!! Have a good week.

She has a name....

2008-02-21T17:49:00.003-06:00

Am I cute, or what???

Tough man....

The prince sleeps...

Okay, Lisa, after many attempts, you are officially being congratulated on naming our child!!! We've gone round and round on trying to pick a name, but Colt finally agreed on Valentines Day that we can name her Sydney Ann Scott. Her initials will be SAS, instead of ASS (sorry to disappoint you Cherise!) That's one more thing that I can check off my list of things to do...give my kid a name :) I can't believe that it's already so close to time; 9 weeks will be here before I can turn around.
It's been another eventful week. The day after he had x-rays to locate "the dime", he slit his eye open. Fortunately it wasn't close to his eyeball, but close enough to the lid that we had a hard time keeping the wound shut. It happened late in the evening, so we decided against an ER visit. I figure that girls usually think scars are sexy and boys think of them as trophies, so it shouldn't be a big deal. If we could just keep him from picking the scab off, it might actually get well.
Not much to tell, but here are a few pictures to look at. Have a good week.
FYI...We found the dime and it's now in his baby book (scrubbed clean, of course!)

An expensive dime...

2008-02-13T15:55:00.003-06:00

Eating at the big boy table...

Riding with Daddy, Nana and Papa...

Love McD's...

ERN!!!

Good to see old friends...

There's so much to write about this time. First off I want to say how good it was to see so many of you last weekend. I don't think I'd seen Cherise and Darla since school and that was a long time ago. Thanks to the Kappa girls for letting a CD come party with you. I kind of considered myself "transclub" (get it??? instead of transgender), therefore it was never a big deal. As for my old CD's, we need to get together next year. I will volunteer my house. Let's try and make that a priority; who knows we might could even go to the breakfast but that's probably pushing it for me :)
Anyway, Saturday afternoon Ryder decided to have a dime for lunch. I saw him pick it up and run to his bedroom, but by the time I got there it was too late. He started choking but managed to get it down. His pediatrician said as long as it's not blocking his airway that it would pass through in about 12 or so hours, 3 days at the most. In the mean time, he developed a deep cough and heavy wheeze. Since today is the 4th day and we still have no dime, she said he needed an immediate X-ray. She even mentioned a surgical procedure because she thought it might be trapped in his right lunch. Long story short, we found a dime in the X-ray but its deep in his gut instead of his lung. There's really nothing that can be done, but she said it can take up to 6 weeks for him to pass it through. That means I could be digging through his diapers for another month and a half....that's disgusting. While were waiting on the dime to show up, he's having to take breathing treatments every four hours for a severe upper respiratory infection! All in all, we're pretty lucky because he hasn't been really sick in over a year. As for the dime incident, I have a feeling we'll have plenty doctors/ER visits in the future because he's ALL boy!
That's all for now. Have a great week!

All about me...

2008-01-31T16:19:00.000-06:00

Did I do that???? (he's been dressing himself lately)

He loves to ride with daddy...

snuck out the doggy door with a phone and bag of chips...

holding baby Zane....

Playing with Cash...

I've been tagged! I'm sure that yall are so excited to find out wierd little things about me. I could probably come up with pages full, however this only asks for 5-7 and this is what I have off the top of my head. My next blog will include some fun pictures I found from college; it has to do with Amy Lee's last entry. As soon as I get my pictures together, it's on!!! Some of you should be scared, very scared!

(1) Share 5-7 non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself. (2) Tag random people at the end of your post. (3) Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their page.

1. I have several strange OCD habits, but this one is the easiest to explain. When I'm driving in a vehicle and think that my car is centered between two landmarks, (usually highway telephone poles) I click my teeth together. I will count how many seconds it takes to get from one pole to the next and if it's 6 seconds then I will know that I can click between the next set of poles at 3 seconds and that should be close to the middle. I know, they prescribe meds for this kind of stuff.

2. I love the smell of a cow lot. It's not like I would buy "cow lot" scented potpourri for my house, but when I smell it outside, it reminds me of West Texas/Eastern NM. I guess it just reminds me of my childhood.

3. It is virtually impossible for me to turn down a bet. Regardless of how ridiculous the dare or bet may be, I would probably take it. In high school, a guy bet me that I couldn't eat 50 bags of chips in less than a week. I of course said that I could, not realizing that it's almost 8 bags per day. Needless to say, I lost and he ended up with a new pair of boots.

4. I love fried spam. It is probably my very favorite kind of sandwich; fried spam, mustard and cheese on toasted bread. I can only make it when Colt is out of town because he says it stinks up the entire house.

5. I would never stick my hand under a bed. Childish, I know but something about that clown on poltergeist has stuck with me all these years. I'll look under a bed, but only if I'm a good distance a way, however, I would never stick my hand under without looking first.

6. My highschool letterman jacket has the wrong graduating year on the patch. When I was filling out the paperwork to order it, the question said "year?" I thought that meant what year is it right now. Apparently it means what year will you be graduating. That was a touch one to live down.

7. I'm probably the reason that people post "no soliciting" on their doors. When I was little, I would make the DUMBEST things and take them door to door asking neighbors to buy them. I would sell anything and everything, but my favorite were the mini pom-poms. I took a bunch of 4 inch pieces of yarn, tied them all together in the middle and called them pom-poms; they were only 10 cents a piece. I remember that one lady asked me, "what do you do with it?" I said, "I don't really know, but you could still buy it."

Maybe this will clarify why I am the way that I am. No, that will probably never happen. Okay, I tag Jenn, Lisa and Mel. Have fun with this one.

Agnostic??? Please....

2008-01-19T18:40:00.000-06:00

Ryder and his BFF...

Ryder and Mim (my mom)

I'll preface this by saying that I've never been known as one who researches and has all the facts straight. I usually speak before I think and don't mind expressing my opinions. If I'm totally off base here, or don't have my definition correct, please let me know. I have no intentions of offending anyone, but this topic happens to be may latest pet peave. Have you noticed how many people claim their religion as agnostic? I was looking on myspace one night and saw so many people with that in their profile. I asked a couple at church about it and they said that it means you neither confirm nor deny that God exists. The more I thought about it, it really irritated me that so many people are so spineless. I guess that I have more respect for an atheist because at least they will take a stand and believe whole heartedly in a position. Sounds like the idea of being agnostic is some mans genius way of saying "I don't want to acknowlege that God exists so that I have no guilt over my lifestyle, however, just in case he does exist I'm not atheist so I won't go to hell." That drives me crazy that people see Gods existance as being so insignificant that they are comfortable with sitting on a fence and not having to make any real decisions. Isn't that society in general these days? No-one wants to offend anyone else or be wrong about anything, so they take the middle ground and continously lean towards the side that makes them most comfortable at the time. Amazing the message that's being sent to the children of the world. As I said earlier, it just seems to be a very cowardly, spineless way to live...grow a set and take a stand. Whether you're right or wrong, at least you stood up for something that you believed in.
Okay, as Forrest Gump would say, "and that's all I have to say about that!" On a lighter note, Ryder had pictures made last week and they turned out really cute. He's really into horses thanks to Colt's side of the family, so we went with the western theme. Have a great weekend.

2008-01-15T21:09:00.001-06:00

He loves his tunnel set...

Daddy must be slacking...

I know, it'a hot pink hat but it's still cute!

Playing under the trampoline

As most of you know, I got my real estate license last year and I have enjoyed every minute of it. It allows me to stay home with my children most of the time yet I still have a "career" that I can focus on and I really need that. Ryder goes to Parents day out on Tuesdays and Thursdays, giving me 2 days a week to focus on nothing but real estate. I'm so thankful that Colt's job is very flexible because that allows me to take care of after hours/weekend appointments, showings, open houses or anything else that I need to do. Long story short, I feel that I've gotten my feet wet enough and I really want to focus more on that aspect of my life. One of my new years resolutions was to start putting myself out there and make people aware of what I'm doing. I didn't talk about it a whole lot because I spent the last year learning and preparing myself to take on more responsibility with my business and I feel that I'm ready to take that step. My point in all of this is just to say that if your in the Lubbock area (even if you're not, I can help with that also) and thinking about buying or selling a house, please consider me during that process. I set a goal for myself last year and actually tripled it, so I am confident that I can help with any needs that you (or someone that you know) might have! My broker is Greg Garrett with GMAC Real Estate, only one of the biggest companies in the US. It's a fabulous company and I'm so blessed to be a part of it. I'm still working on my web site, but you can visit www.suzannejscott.com and that gives more info. Okay, now that I've totally bored you, here are cute pictures of Ryder. I just felt it was important to get this information out to as many people as possible, otherwise my business won't grow. FYI...I do plan on going full time someday and I WILL be the #1 agent in Lubbock. Move over veteran agents because here I come. (Anyone who knows me, knows that humility has never been my greatest quality :)
One last thing...my sister, Larissa is a loan officer so she can help you with any financing. Her link is on my page. Okay, now yall can go cook some spaghetti and I'll go sew something! Have a great week.

Recipe Ideas...

2008-01-11T10:52:00.000-06:00

This is random, but I just put Ryder down for a morning nap and was thinking about what to cook for supper. I was thinking that it would be nice to have something different, but I'm out of ideas. Long story short, I've decided to start posting recipes on my page (yall can do the same thing). Good idea huh? If only a few people post one every few weeks, it would still be better than nothing. Maybe it will work, maybe not but the one thing I promise is that you will LOVE this spaghetti stuff. I'm not claiming that it's healthy, but it's wonderful and although it looks semi complicated, it's very easy to make. It also heats up really well for left overs. Enjoy and tell me what you think!

Christmas 2007

2008-01-09T12:57:00.000-06:00

Move over Jeff Gordon....

Isn't this illegal in some states???

Special Delivery....

Fun with Daddy...

Ryder loves his dump truck....

I know this blog is out of order, but go figure that I left my camera at home when we went to Colts parents for Christmas. We took all the pictures on his sisters camera and I just got them last night. Anyway, I had to post the pictures of Ryder's Santa gift. I told Colt that it was too much for him at 17 months, but he never listens to me. It must be a man thing because he insisted on buying him this jeep. He assured me that it's not too big and he'll know how to drive it (yeah, right!) I have to admit that it's really cool because it has a built in radio and goes in forward and reverse. He can only play in it on nice days because it's way too big for the inside of the house. Not to mention the fact that he can't even drive it. He prefers to sit in the drivers seat and dance to the radio music or just honk the horn; over and over and over and over and over again. Yeahh, it's TONS of fun! Maybe he will appreciate it when he older; for now feel free to bring your children to my house. They can drive Ryder around in his own car because he's not big enough to drive himself. Moral of the story??? MAMA always knows best :) After saying all this, I will also say that Colt was an extremely proud daddy on Christmas morning and I'm thankful that he was so thrilled to make his son so happy! I've certainly got a good one and I guess I'll keep him for a while longer!

Some of these are just random pictures. Ryder loves to climb in things and pretend he's asleep; this was just a funny picture.

2008-01-04T12:25:00.000-06:00

Careful there, Cowboy!

Ryder and Mama

Come and get me!!!!

Ryder and my Granddaddy

Hey Cowboy!!!

It's hard to believe that another year has come and gone. You know you're getting old when you complain about the years passing too quickly. Anyway, looking back it's been a great year for Colt and I. It's included many transitions with both of our careers, but everything has turned out better than I could have dreamed. Ryder is almost 1 1/2 years old and that's really hard to believe. He is certainly our pride and joy and we can't remember what life was like before him. Probably our biggest surprise of the year was finding out about "baby sister". She is commonly referred to as baby sister, because we still can settle on a name. We better figure it out quickly because I'm ready to start working in her nursery and having things embroidered. Maybe yall should help name our baby. Lisa's been trying for a while, her suggestion was Karter. I think it's cute, but Colt doesn't like it....go figure. I'm making a rule that anyone who reads this entry has to respond and include a girl name suggestion.

Anyway, I hope everyone has had a great year and is looking forward to an even better 2008. Here are a few more pictures. One of the Sants's (my parents) got Ryder a rocking horse for Christmas. He absolutely loves it and rides it so fast that it keeps tipping over on him. You think that he would learn....oh well, he's used to the bruises. Have a great week!

-Suzanne

2007-12-13T21:59:00.000-06:00

Ryder loves his bubble baths...

What a little stud....

Daddy and a book before bedtime...

Giddy up....

The infamous cherry pie...

Well these aren't quite the "Thanksgiving" pictures I talked about last time. I only got one and he's not even looking at the camera, oh well. Life here is kind of crazy right now. I'm almost done with my Christmas shopping and have had so much fun getting it all done this year. The girls came over for breakfast this morning and that's always fun. We ate a lot of food and exchanged christmas gifts. I love the fact that almost everyones schedule works so that we can do stuff like that!
All is well in baby land. I've tried not to buy any baby clothes until after Christmas, but I broke down and bought a pair of shoes the other day. They are silver, glitter ballet flats with a velvet bow. Prissy??? oh yes! Our latest battle has been coming up with a name. Colt lOVES the name Kallie. I like it, but we already have a friend named Callie and that's kind of wierd. I really like Allie and that's a great compromise; just drop the K. It's no suprise that he doesn't agree. I think it would be neat to name her Allie Suzanne Scott. The only problem is that her initials would be "ASS", and that's not a nice thing to do to your kid. There is only one name that (so far) we both like, even though it's not a favorite. What do you think about Harlee? She would be Harlee Ann Scott. Some people will probably hate that for a girl. It's also strange that our sons name is Ryder. Ryder and Harlee???? Does anyone else thinks that's wierd?
One story and I'll quit babbling. The other day, Colt was supposed to be watching Ryder while I was getting dressed. Things were too quiet in the front part of the house, so I went to make sure everything was okay. Knowing what an attentive husband I have, I walked in the kitchen to find Ryder eating a cherry pie that was on the very back of the stove top. He had opened the stove to climb onto the door, so that he could reach the pie. I knew I should have spanked him for touching the oven, but I was proud of him for being resourceful. If you want something, figure out a way to get it...that's my boy. Also, I didn't think it was fair to take his picture and then spank him, so I just let it go.
Yall have a great week!

Pink is in our future...

2007-11-21T21:05:00.000-06:00

I will post again later with our Thanksgiving pictures, but just wanted to make our big announcement. We found out yesterday that we're having a girl. I'm still in a bit of shock over that, but that's okay. We're very excited! Have a wonderful thanksgiving; I know that we will!

Mama's Little Stinker

2007-11-06T17:30:00.000-06:00

Colt wasn't very happy with my choice in Halloween costumes. I kept telling him, "you have to have vision; I promise he will be so cute." I don't think he was worried about the cute factor; he was thinking of a costume that was more manly and masculine. In fact, his exact words were, "are you trying to make our son gay?" I still think he looked adorable and so did everyone else. For those of you who are very detail oriented, I am fully aware that the sleeves are navy. The tag said black when I bought the shirt and it looked really dark...oh well.
We went to Ft. Sumner for the weekend and took Kyle with us. These are pictures of the boys riding on the horses. I didn't realize that Kyle had never been on a horse; he really enjoyed it. I threw in the picture of Colt and Kyle because I thought it was so cute. Colt is really good with him and in this picture, Kyle insisted that they hold hands...precious!
Not too much to write about. I went to the doctor last week and feel much better. A lot of my pregnancy issues have gone away (for now) and I'll enjoy this time while I have it.
By the was ONLY 48 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!!!! I shopped all morning and it was so fun. This also means that I get to put up my tree in 16 days. Colt is SSOOOOO excited about that (not really). Later Gators!

2007-10-29T21:49:00.000-06:00

I want everyone to know how blessed and thankful I am to be pregnant and for it to be a healthy pregnancy for me and the baby (as far as we know anyway). However, I have decided that I HATE being pregnant. I'm 13 weeks now and still don't feel good, I'm getting fatter and grouchier everyday. I have always wanted 3 kids, but I told Colt that "we're done", unless he wants to adopt. I'm not doing this anymore because honestly, it just sucks. I know that's not a very nice attitude to have, but it's where I'm at right now. Okay, I feel better for getting that out. On to other things.....These are just a couple random pictures of Ryder. The 3rd one is funny because that's our doggy door, and he is always trying to escape to the backyard. I never realized how dirty the door and wall are until I looked at this picture. Just ignore that part. I'll try to get it cleaned this week (we all know that's probably not going to happen). Anyway, I've been tagged. I feel like I've done this before, but can't remember. Oh well, you get to hear about it again.

1. Favorite TV show: FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

2. Fav music: I COULD PROBABLY LISTEN TO THE CRANBERRIES ALL DAY LONG

3. Fav color: RED

4. 5 fav things to do: SIT OUTSIDE AND DRINK COFFEE, PLAY WITH RYDER AND COLT, SHOPPING, GET A MASSAGE, BREAKFAST WITH "THE GIRLS" (WE NEED TO DO IT AGAIN SOON)

5. Fav ice cream: JAMOCHA ALMOND FUDGE

6. Stitches: THANKS TO MY HUSBAND....I GOT ONE IN MY THUMB THIS SUMMER BECAUSE HE SLICED ME WITH A STEAK KNIFE.

7. broken bones: ODDLY ENOUGH, NO.

8. states i've been to: NEW MEXICO, FLORIDA, OKLAHOMA, COLORADO, ARIZONA, CALIFORNIA, OREGON WASHINGTON, WASHINGTON DC (DON'T KNOW IF THAT COUNTS), MARYLAND

9. favorite snacks: WHEAT THINS AND SPRAY CHEESE, FRITOS AND BEAN DIP, SNICKERS, CARAMEL APPLE EMPENADA FROM TACO BELL, CHIPS

10. what i'm most proud of: my happy, successful marriage, being a mom, my family, my 1st year as head coach we won the national cheerleading championship,

12. fav store: Baby's R Us

13. fav dog: I shoud say Jack Russell's but after owning two, I'll say a boxer

Tag, now you're it....Darla, Reese, Chelle

Another bun in the oven.....

2007-10-08T11:17:00.000-06:00

It's been forever, I know and I'm sorry. Things have been pretty busy around here. In case you don't already know, Ryder is going to be a big brother in May. I'm 10 weeks and would like to think that I'm passed most of the bad part, for now anyway. I feel really good and have only gained 4 pounds. I know that sounds like a lot, but I had already gained 13 pounds at 10 weeks with Ryder. We're doing things differently this time. Eventually, we'll find out what it is, but I'm pretty sure it's another boy. I can't imagine my life with a girl, and I want Ryder to have a brother to wrestle and play with.
Here are some pictures from the last few months. Ryder got his first black eye in August and it turned into his entire cheek. This picture does it NO justice...I was such a proud mom! Would have been prouder if I could say it was from playing football or something like that, but he tripped and fell into the fireplace...that's okay; he only cried for a minute! I hope everyone is doing going and I'll try to post again before 2008. Just kidding, I promise.

Don't Delete Me!!!!

2007-09-29T09:53:00.000-06:00

Sorry, sorry, sorry...it's been 2 months and I usually do better than that. I'm not on my usual computer, so I don't have pictures to post right now. I have a ton of pictures that I want everyone to see and I have a lot of "news" to share with a lot of people. I PROMISE that I will blog this week and get everyone updated. Thanks for your patience!!!!!!!!!

July 29th post

2007-07-29T21:18:00.000-06:00

For some reason my most recent post won't come up unless you click into July. The title is "my future QB" and you can get to it if you hit July posts on the right side of the page. Sorry....

My future QB...

2007-07-29T20:57:00.000-06:00

This has been a crazy few weeks, but we are officially done with swimming lessons. 3 weeks of driving to Post everyday for a 30 minute lesson is kind of crazy, but my aunt teaches them and taught me and all my cousins in the same pool. Therefore I didn't have much of a choice. Ryder loved it; he's turned into a real fish. It's amazing how much he progressed over the 3 weeks. He can swim underwater, jump from the side (with help because he can't even walk yet) and go off the diving board. She would catch him in the water and help him swim to the side ladder. It was so cute to watch him reach out and kick his legs. He looked more like a frog than a person, but it was still cute.

I took him for his first haircut last week. I've never fixed a boys hair, so it's still a work in progress. I'm going for the spiky look on top, but sometimes it looks more like he put his finger in a socket; I'll keep working on that one. We had his pictures made too, and they turned out so cute. I haven't made pictures with him since he was born. I vowed to lose all my baby weight first and am close enough at this point...too bad it took an entire year, but 70 pounds isn't easy to lose. Colt took pictures with him when he was born, but I still looked like a beached whale; I'm not so camera shy today. Anyway, the photographer had a Cowboys helmet and I couldn't pass it up. I knew Colt would shoot me, but he wasn't there so theres nothing he could do. I did ask for something Broncos, but he didn't have anything. I told Colt that's because they suck and nobody likes them. He didn't think that was very funny.

It's been a busy weekend. Colt took Ryder to his parents for a few days. I'm sure they were happy to see him and I know everyone had a good time. I'm glad to have them back. Guess I better go fold some towels or mop the floor...something domestic like that. Have a great week.

Happy Birthday Ryder

2007-07-14T21:27:00.000-06:00

I just realized that I was tagged a few weeks ago, so I'll play along.

1. What were you doing 10 years ago?

I was in college, living with Shasta. Those were some crazy days, and I won't go into any great detail. I was also pledge master and VP of CD's and preparing for my week of torture. Sara still brings that up from time to time.

2. What were you doing one year ago?

One year ago today, I was laying in a hospital bed waiting for the nurses to bring me my baby. He was born around 5:00 and I didn't get him back until 11:00 that night.

3. 5 snack you enjoy.

chips
anything chocolate
flaming hot cheetos
wheat thins and spray cheese
ice cream
as you can see, I'm a very healthy eater.

4. 5 songs you know all the words to.

Anything from the old Church of Christ hymnal...especially 728b (i stole this from Larissa, but it totally cracked me up)
Ice Ice Baby
Baby's got back
any song from the Kenny Rogers greatest hits
anything from Garth Brooks, No Fences
anything from the George Strait box collection

5. 5 things you would do if you were a millionaire.

give to church
pay off all mine and my families debt
give to cystic fibrosis foundation
take all family and friends on a shopping spree in NYC at christmas time
Flip houses, make more money and invest it for the future

6. 5 bad habits
popping my knuckles
losing my temper over stupid things
spending money unwisely
procrastinating
being lazy

7. 5 things you like doing
playing with Ryder and Colt
laying on the couch with Colt
watching TV
dream about the future
drink morning coffee on my patio

8. 5 things you would never wear again
bangs that touch the top of my car
friendship bracelets
stirrup pants
pants that go up to my belly button
baby doll dresses

9. 5 favorite toys
TV/DVR
computer
camera
cell phone
TV remote :)
Okay, so I tag Jennifer and Sara

Today was a big day, it was Ryder's 1st birthday. My inlaws came to my parents house and we had a big shindig. It was a lot of fun watching the kids swim and play together. It's so hard to believe that my baby is 1, but it's true. He has changed our life in countless ways and I can't wait to see the kind of man that he becomes. What a blessing he has been to us.

2007-06-14T19:33:00.000-06:00

What a kid...

My little fish...

My future daughter in law...

Just in case anyone is wondering, these are things that I can't stand:
1. Suddenlink...would you believe that my cable was out AGAIN yesterday? I missed the road rules/real world challange and that really bothered me.
2. Speaking of Real World, Brooke!!!! I was so ready for that series to be over, just so that I didn't have to hear her whiny voice.
3. People that smack/pop gum
4. People that smack chips or any food for that matter
5. People that drive slow in the fast lane and block you in so that you can't pass them.
6. asparagus, hominy, corn tortillas
7. People that wear socks or panty hose with open toe sandals
8. being called, sweetie, honey, sugar or any other pet name by other women
9. Hillary Clinton
10. red lights
11. when I see a teenage boy walking with his "baby's mama" in a headlock. I guess he really just has his arm around her, but holding her that close looks uncomfortable.
12. being referred to as "miss"...it's a teacher thing.
13. chipped finger/toenail polish; it's all or nothing ladies!
14. when people let their children act like hethans in public; bust that kids a%%.
15. white bread
16. when "larger" women let their stomach hang from the bottom of their shirt
17. taco bell on 82/Univeristy; they get my order wrong EVERY time
18. when people feel the necessity to hug you every time they see you; just because you haven't seen me in 24 hours doesn't mean that it warrants another hug, unless it's family and that doesn't really count
19. computer pop up adds
20. Vampires, sharks, needles
21. Tom Cruise, Sandra Burndhart, Terrell Owens, Kanye West

Well, I guess that about covers it for now; I'm sure I'll come up with more later. On a lighter note, here are more pics of my precious baby boy who is 11 months today...hard to believe. Have a good one!

Baby Mason if finally here....

2007-06-04T15:02:00.000-06:00

Going fishing...

Mama and Ryder...

Mama's 4 boys...

The cousins...
href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_Y_DprBSdzBA/RmSAE5jwJRI/AAAAAAAAAF8/-mOY-eOfD4s/s1600-h/100_0693.jpg">
Larissa and baby Mason...

First off, I have to gripe about the cable company. I don't care what their new commercial says, Suddenlink is not the same as Cox. Everything was great with Cox and we never had issues. With Suddenlink, it's always something. I've been without cable and internet all day long and they said it was due to the storm last night. That would make sense if the cable went out last night, but it was working fine this morning. Why does is suddenly go out when there's not a cloud in the sky and they try to blame it on the storms???? I'm no rocket scientist, but that just doesn't work for me. We can send satellites into orbit and men to the moon, but the cable company can't keep my channels on long enough to watch The Price is Right...I don't know. On another note...
As most of you know, Larissa had her baby 2 weeks ago. He spent a week and 1/2 in NICU, but is home now and doing great. He is the smallest thing that I've ever seen and the spitting image of Kyle. We're just glad that he healthy and he's finally here. There's not a lot to report right now. I've been staying fairly busy working on my real estate business. I got my first listing last week and will hopefully have a contract on another listing this week...yeahh!!! So far, I'm really enjoying it and glad that I have chosen this route. These are a few of the most recent pictures, some of Ryder and some of Mason. I don't have time to write much more, because my favorite show is on and I try not to miss it. Yes, I'm referring to Judge Judy. She's awesome...love her. Gotta go; have a great week!

Cowboy Up....

2007-05-07T22:15:00.000-06:00

It's been a while...I know and I'm sorry. We've had a lot going on over the past several weeks and walking upstairs to the computer takes a lot of energy. That's probably why I'm still carrying 10pds of baby weight :) Ryder is officially crawling, pulling up and standing on anything and everything. He hates being confined to the walker, so I get to constantly chase him around. He is really starting to show his stubborn, aggressive side (not sure who he gets that from). If he doesn't get his way, stand back because he will scream mercilessly. With all the sounds that come from our house, I'm surprised that the neighbors haven't turned us into CPS yet!
He got to ride a horse for the first time this weekend. Colt roped with his sister and parents and Ryder got to "saddle up". He absolutely loved riding through the arena with his daddy. Apparently he's pretty fearless, because he never even attempted to hold on. We're considering lowering the deductible on our health insurance because I have a feeling that we'll be using it a lot over the next 18 years. Anyway, these are the latest pictures. Have a good one!

Here comes Peter Cottontail....

2007-04-10T09:46:00.000-06:00

Am I cute, or what????

What's in this thing?

Come to daddy!!

I'll have my people call your people!

Showbiz is a tough job, but somebody's got to do it!

I love these pictures. I may be somewhat biased, but I think he's about the cutest little boy that I've ever seen. I'm not sure if he was more impressed with the contents of his Easter basket, or with the grass itself, but he had fun unloading everything. I can't believe that he's almost 9 months old (this Saturday), which is also his daddy's birthday. I'm not really sure how were going to celebrate that, but I better come up with something and quick!!!

Easter Sunday was a fun day. Everybody met at my parents house after church and ate lunch. After that, Madi and Kyle hunted for Easter eggs in the Antartic like weather. I love Easter because Larissa, Jenny Beth (aka Jailbird) and myself still hunt our own eggs. Usually it's a contest to see which one can collect the most, but this year we had the coveted "golden egg". Everyone pitched in money and we got to find the egg. AS USUAL, I found it. I wish my sisters would get it through their heads, that I ALWAYS win at Easter time (not that it's a competition, or anything). Anyway, better luck next year girls...but don't waste your time, because I'll find it next year, too!

Have a great week!!!!!

Another day, Another diaper....

2007-04-05T11:36:00.000-06:00

There's not a whole lot of excitement right now. Tuesday night, we celebrated Madi's 5th birthday. If you haven't been to Chuckie Cheese, I highly recommend it; the pizza is fabulous (hint of sarcasm). The kids had a good time; it's just hard to believe that she is 5. Last night, we had cake with Sara and few other people. I won't disclose her age, but will tell you that next year is the big milestone birthday :) It's always fun getting together with our friends.

I mentioned in an earlier entry, that I passed my real estate test and am very proud to say that we've decided to go with Greg Garrett Realtors. It will be a part time career (for now), but I'm really excited about the potential that it can bring.

Ryder is changing every day. He will finally do patty-cake with us. We're still working on waving and saying "mama". So far, he only says "da-da". He loves to eat, loves to sleep, but his favorite thing to do is play with his big brothers. They always seem to make him so happy. He's not crawling yet, but trying. He is more concerned with walking and pulling up on the coffee table. That's working out except for the huge, red lump on his forehead...not quite sure when that happened. Other than that, there's not a whole lot going on. Here are the latest pictures. I will put up more next week in his Easter suit!

Bad Blogger....

2007-03-27T16:07:00.000-06:00

Okay, Okay, I'm aware of the month, but haven't even logged in since February and now it's almost April. Sorry, Amanda, I'll get Terrel off of here!!!! So much has happened since my last post. Most of you know that Mema did pass away. It was sad, but at the same time, quite a blessing because she's at peace now. Thanks to Madi, she will always be with us. Larissa explained to her that Mema lives in our heart, just like God and Jesus. I don't think she fully understands that because her and mema have had breakfast together on several occasions and when she was checking my heart, with her stethascope, her eyes got huge and she said "Oh my goodness, I hear Mema." It was so cute! Anyway, thank you for all the prayers and sweet words.

Things here have been crazy, we're selling a rent house and that has been a nightmare from the start. At this point, I don't even care if we make any money, I'm just ready for it to close. We finally got everything worked out and it is supposed to finalized next week. Hallelujah!!!!!

Last week, Jennifer and I both passed our real estate tests. That was a huge relief, now we have to figure out which brokerage firm to sign with. Hopefully we will have our minds made of by the end of the week and be official realtors..yeah!

Here are my latest Ryder pictures. He's quite a character. We've decided that he loves being center of attention (can't figure out who he gets that from???) He is getting to be SOOOO much fun. Always laughing and keeping us highly entertained.

I'll post again soon, don't get your panties in a ruffle, Amanda :)

My boy, Terrel.....

2007-02-26T22:23:00.000-06:00

One of the most rewarding things about being a teacher is getting to see what my kids have chosen to do with their lives. One of my very favorite and most memorable kids is named Terrel Harris. He is #1 on OSU's basketball team and he is so much more than a wonderful athlete; he's just an all around great young man. We have kept in touch over the years and I got to see him play this weekend. I'm sure the fans were a little confused, because we were dressed in Tech clothes and cheering for the Red Raiders, but I was more interested in Terrel than anything. He got to meet Ryder for the first time and we got these pictures. Ryder loved every minute of the game, but he completely wore himself out and in spite all of our attempts, he would not wake up for pictures. That's okay, they still turned out great!

Not a whole lot has changed with mema. She is still hanging in there, but not by much. They changed her dosage tonight, because she was in a bit of pain and that's the last thing that she needs right now. Each day means that we're one closer to the end and in her case, that's a positive way to look at it. She's proven that she's not going out without a fight....bless her heart!

Come to me, and I will give you rest....

2007-02-21T19:50:00.000-06:00

The last few days have been pretty long. My mema is nearing the end on this earth. She has gangrene and it is starting to spread through her blood stream. The only thing that can be done at this point is keep her pain free. Tonight the Dr. is placing a morphine patch on her and we've been told that it will slowly put her into a permanent sleep, but she won't feel any pain. A lot of family members came in yesterday to say their last good-by's before they start the patch. I'm on my way out there now to say my own. Death is an end to a new beginning for everyone. What kind of beginning is our decision. She is a wonderful, Christian woman who loves her Lord and her family. Nothing else really mattered to her except that everyone was happy. She sacrificed and gave up her own dreams to take care of everyone else. What a way to be remembered!!!! I don't know what these next few days have in store for her, but the one thing I'm certain of is that she going home soon. She's finally going to get her reward for having to deal with so much hurt and turmoil that this life had to offer. Am I sad, of course. Am I happy for her? I couldn't be happier. Here is a picture of her with Ryder. They both look so peaceful. I'll keep everyone informed on her condition, and make sure to announce that blessed day when she finally gets to meet her best friend, face to face!

There's no place like home....

2007-02-18T19:52:00.000-06:00

Throughout our married life, it seems like we have moved around so much. Each place offered different opportunity and was exactly what we needed at the time. This move back to Lubbock was such a dream come true for me. It's so wonderful to be back around our friends and family. All of my family live within 15 minutes and my inlaws are only a couple of hours away. Last night, we ate supper with my parents and sisters, and tonight with Colt's parents and his sister. I love the fact that Ryder gets to spend so much time with his grandparents, aunts and cousins. This is just one more example of how blessed we truly are.

These are just random pictures of our family. Don't you love the enthusiasm as Madi listens to his heart. The look on her face is priceless!

Two A Days....

2007-02-16T10:49:00.000-06:00

I probably shouldn't announce to the entire world that high school, reality shows are probably our favorite shows to watch. From Real World to Maui Fever; we love them all. Anyway, I have one question...What is up with the hair do's on Two A Days??? If you watch that show, you will know what I mean. Every guy on that show has this shaggy dog look. They brush their bangs down and kind of feather them around to the side. It looks like a modified Trump hairdo. We watch the show every week and always comment on how ridiculous they look (as if we haven't made the same comment every week for the last 6 months). If you currently have this hairstyle, then I apologize for saying you look ridiculous. I'm sure it looks more attractive on you then on them.

This picture has nothing to do with my comments, but it's really cute.

Living each day as if it were your last....

2007-02-15T17:22:00.000-06:00

Something hit me yesterday. Life is short and our days are numbered. Within the last week, I have found out about two people who are young, both married with children and terminally ill with cancer. One died last week, leaving behind a 32 year old wife and 3 small boys. The other found out this morning that she might live for another year. She has two small children. It made me think how my life would be different if I were in her shoes. How would I choose to spend my last days? How would my relationships be different? I can only count my blessings and thank God that were healthy. It makes me really put things into perspective and be appreciative that I have the important things in life. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in the everyday, trivial, tasks of life and don't stop to look at it through someone else's eyes. The next time that I get irritated because someone is driving too slow, or didn't take my order correctly...whatever; I hope that I stop to consider what their life is like. Did they just find out that they're dying? Did their husband just leave them? There are so many things bigger than me and my day to day "issues".
I know this is kind of deep, but it's something that we have a tendency to forget. Life is short; be thankful for who and what you have and live each day as if it were your last!

Maybe it will work this time....

2007-02-10T15:55:00.000-06:00

I'm so computer illiterate that it's pitiful. This is the 2nd page that I've created because I got locked out of my own account with the 1st page. Hopefully, I will be able to get all this straightened out.

It's been quite a day. Ryder is sick and Colt has been out of town for the weekend. Him and a few of the guys went skiing/boarding in Angel Fire. With all the testosterone in their cabin, there's no telling what they've been doing. If history proves itself true, someone will lose a bet and end up naked in the snow (probably Gabe) or eating something that will eventually make them puke. In the end, I know that they are having fun and making lots of memories. Having Colt gone for a few days really does make me realize how much I need and love having him at home. I really can't imagine my life without him and God willing, will never have to. One thing is for sure, I would be a complete slob if it weren't for him. I had to "Febreze" my jeans this morning and Ryder has been in his pajamas for two days. Poor thing, at least he's not old enough to realize it. Needless to say, I'll be glad when his daddy comes home.