Christmas 2007

What can I say about Christmas 2007? We had a great time with Bryant's family. Amanda, Jeremy, and Elizabeth flew in from Utah. Josh, Melissa, Sophia, and Jack drove in from Bakersfield. We immensely enjoyed getting to see baby Jack and baby Elizabeth, as evidenced in our pictures.

Bryant and the other boys got to play two golf games. In the first one Bryant got hit in the wrist with a ball (by his dad.) It isn't broken and it was his wrist and not his face, so that is good news. The second time they went, he played the best golf game of his life, injured wrist and all. Go figure! The girls went to the movies and saw "Alvin and the Chipmunks." I thought it was incredibly lame, so I took a little nap. The girls loved it though, and say they can't wait to rent it.

On Christmas Eve morning Skyler pulled a tooth, so she was visited by the tooth fairy and Santa Claus all in one night! Score! Also on Christmas Eve, we got to visit with my parents vis-a-vis the internet. We had a wonderful hour long visit with them and I am so appreciative that they were able to be part of our Christmas this year. On Christmas morning, Bryant had to take me to the emergency room (for the second time in 4 months)! I was having symptoms that were consistent with either kidney stones or kidney infections. I (unwittingly) ruled out kidney infections because I assumed no infection could survive the massive amounts of antibiotics I was taking for my pneumonia. I was wrong, though, and after a cat scan it was determined that my symptoms were the result of severe kidney infections and, after a few days of antibiotics, I am feeling much better. I hated missing out on one minute of the girls' Christmas, but it made me really appreciate the sacrifices of the soldiers serving overseas, who don't get to see their families at all during the holidays. I really don't know how they do it.

Anyway, I am ready to get 2007 over with! It has been a rough year with my parents leaving on a mission, my grandmother getting breast cancer, my grandfather taking a couple of terrible falls, Bryant's business woes, my neck sprain, my vision problems, and my pneumonia, etc. I hate to be pessimistic and whiny though, because our family has so much to be thankful for- especially great medical insurance! We have each other, a nice house in which to live, two good reliable cars, two beautiful intelligent children, two good jobs, two supportive extended families, lots of good friends, and the list goes on and on. If nothing else, we are blessed to live here in America and live with all of the stability/benefits which that entails. Just look at what happened today in Pakistan.

Since I am counting my blessings, I have to brag here and say that I have pretty much for sure the best husband in the whole wide world. (Just a little ode to Bryant, if you will...) We have been together for over ten years now and I love him more and more each day. He is such a sweet man and a good caretaker, even though he does tease a little too much! My mother says that she is so grateful for Bryant because even though she is on the other side of the world right now, she knows that I am well taken care of if I ever get sick or hurt. He is so supportive. Every morning I go to work and leave before the girls are up. He gets them up, fed, dressed, and takes them to school and even manages to do a great ponytail! (I do have to pick out their clothes before I go to work, though, or else I get a good laugh when I see them in the afternoon when I pick them up from school.) Thank you Bryant! You really are the best. Thank you for all of the little things you do, like helping me with the housework, helping the girls with their homework, etc. The way you treat your family says a lot about your character. It reminds me of Luke 16:10: "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much..." You make us so happy! Thank you for watching the girls while I went on vacation for Labor Day and thank you for taking me to Mexico!

Anyway, before I went off on a Bryant tangent, I was saying that we really are grateful for all of our blessings and we are excited to see what 2008 has in store for us! Bryant has his real estate license now and will be selling to investors here in the near future. Perhaps we will have a new addition to the Bryant Slade family. (This is not an announcement. I am not pregnant yet.) We are eagerly anticipating the birth of two nieces/nephews. We really wish both mothers would be a little more cooperative and find out the gender of their babies, but we know that is their decision to make, and not ours. At any rate, 2008 is sure to be a blessed year! Thank you for being in our lives and sharing 2007 with us! We love you and are grateful for our relationships with you. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I don't mean to brag, but....

I am really proud of my sister, Jenny. She is living in Louisville, KY right now and is writing and editing for a local health magazine there. Even though she is 4 months pregnant and sick as a dog, she wrote an interesting article on Stroller Strides. All of you mothers with young children would probably find it very interesting. You can check it out at http://www.kentuckianahealthfitness.com/. Congratulations Jenny!

Christmas Crafts

The girls are eagerly anticipating Christmas day when they will get to open this huge present from my parents!

They crouch down near it and practically salivate! It's great.

They are showing off some Christmas crafts we made tonight. I got the idea from a kindergarten teacher I subbed for the other day. We got some old socks and put them over some water bottles. For the hat, we used ice cream cones. For the buttons and face, we used cereal. For the arms, we used plastic forks. I hot glued everything on for them once they decided how they wanted them to look. They loved it! The best part was that I didn't even have to go and buy anything. We already had it all. I love crafts and recipes like that!

A Fish Called...Todd?

Skyler is about to adopt some African dwarf frogs from her classroom, so we went to Petsmart and started getting some supplies. Sibley felt a little left out, so we let her pick out a fish. She picked a beautiful male beta. In the checkout line at Petsmart I asked her what his name was and she said without hesitation, "Todd." Then in the car (on the way home) she told me his middle name was "Blue."

Also, she thinks it is really cool that Santa has a "slade." She has me print out "slades" for her to color and likes to sing about Santa's one horse open "slade." I don't have the heart to tell her it is a sleigh, kind of like when Mama didn't have the heart to tell me the true ending of Three Blind Mice. She knew I would get upset that the mice got their tails cut off, so she left that part out. Then when Bryant sang it I told him he was saying it wrong and that he was sick. I will tell Sibley it is a sleigh before she gets married though. Love you sweet Mama!

Sibey took some video of Todd to share with y'all. (She knows how to video and I don't!)

The second video is a little more exciting than the first.

Church Christmas Party

Tonight we had our church Christmas party. Skyler got to be an angel in the manger skit. On an unrelated note, Bryant gave himself a haircut today. It is the same hairdo he had while we were dating, so I think he looks great. The girls say it looks "weird" though. It might take a little while for them to get used to.

The reason I don't have any pictures of Sibley with Santa Claus is that she is still a little afraid of him.

Breaking News!!! Really Great Breaking News!!!

Bryant just passed the final real estate test! He's bonafide!

Congratulations Bryant! We are so proud of you!

Skyler's Bell Choir Concert

You can see her well in the first one, but in the other two she is hiding behind her friend, Morgan.

Our photo session with Steve at the Riparian Preserve down the street

Thanks Steve!

Quick and Delicious Soup Recipe

The weather was cool and wet today, and so I decided to make some soup for dinner. I found a tortilla soup recipe on allrecipes.com. I don't mean to toot my own horn, but it was dang good! It was so quick and easy to make. I was worried that it might be too spicy, but it wasn't at all. I know some of y'all like to try new recipes, so this one is a must!

Chicken Tortilla Soup
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 T olive oil
2 t chili powder
1 t dried oregano
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 10.5 oz. can chicken broth
2 cups water
1 can cooked corn
1 can white hominy
1 4 oz. can chopped green chiles (i bought the mild.)
1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 c fresh chopped cilantro
2 boneless chicken breast halves, shredded into small pieces
crushed tortilla chips
sliced avocado
shredded monterey jack cheese
chopped green onions
1. In a medium stock pot, heat oil and saute onions and garlic until soft. Stir in chili powder, oregano, tomatoes, broth, and water. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.
2. Stir in corn, hominy, chiles, beans, cilantro, and chicken. Simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Ladle soup into individual serving bowls, and top with crushed tortilla chips, avocado slices, cheese, and chopped green onions.

Remember how I mentioned that it was rainy here? Funny story. I was teaching at the girls' school and it was sprinkling on Friday. Everyone freaked out about the rain. They cancelled all outside activities. They wouldn't let the kids go out and go to the buses. Instead, they waited for the buses to park directly in front of the office doors, one by one, and called that bus's number over the loud speaker and the kids went to the office when their bus number was called. If your parents picked you up, then you had to wait for them to come into the gym. It wasn't thundering or lightening or anything, just sprinkling. i don't know what they thought would happen if the kids got a little bit wet. No one can drive here when it rains either. It is the only time they ever drive slowly. Anyway, I just thought it was funny and wanted to share.

I have company.

I was elated when I got home from work today and got an e-mail from my sister-in-law, Alaina, saying that she now has a blog! Please check out her blog. Just click on the Joshua Enslen family link.

Also, I literally have company at my house. Arah and Gavin, thank you for letting us borrow your husband/dad for a few days. We are tickled to have him here! Love the new car, by the way.

Dress Up: Our Girls' Favorite Pastime

Skyler's friend, Rachel, came over on Saturday and they gave Sibley a makeover. She was sassier than ever. They snapped some pictures. We thought we'd share.

Christmas Lights at the Mesa Temple

Found my camera! The weather cooled off and it feels great outside. I was thinking it was really cool here, then I checked out the forecast in Lehi, Utah where it will snow and get up to 37 degrees tomorrow. Boy am I glad I don't live in Utah anymore! Anyway, we decided to take the girls out to the Mesa Temple Grounds to see the lights and the manger scene tonight and here are a few of the pictures we snapped.

Also, thank you Joe for coming to visit us for Thanksgiving! We had so much fun with you. I can't tell you how happy I was to have one of my siblings spend part of the holidays with me. I am just sorry I didn't have my camera around. Love you buddy.

Skyler has a Bell Choir concert on Wednesday night. I will be updating again soon with some pictures of that!

BREAKING NEWS!!!

This just in:

Bryant passed the first and most difficult part of his real estate exam this morning! Just one more test and he'll be a genuine, bonafide, certified realtor.

Tagged by my lovely wife!

I am a very boring individual. I am also very bad at remembering things that happen to me. So this is a tough proposition for me.
1. I enjoy teasing everyone. Anyone who knows me well knows this to be true. I even enjoyed teasing perfect strangers in the hot tub aboard our recent cruise to Mexico with Josh & Melissa.
2 I was on the state championship golf team in high school. Actually I was not good enough to ever play in a tournament and just joined the team to play free golf. However, there were about five other guys that helped the rest of us 15 get a T-shirt and trophy for being state champs.
3. I don't have any particular skills. However, as a child I could burp the ABC's. I probably still could if I tried, but my wife wouldn't find it as amusing as my playmates did back then.
4. Six......are you kidding! This is murder. I know how to saddle and ride a horse.
5. Have been to one (unforgettable) Nascar race at Talladega superspeedway. Looks of rednecks, lots of drunks, lots of tire smoke and exhaust, and lots of fun!
6. Have the best and most beautiful wife and kids in the whole world.
BTW, These six are definately NOT listed 1-6 in importance. Try 6-1. How's that for delivery? I shoulda been a mailman.

I've been tagged.

Sorry for the lack of Thanksgiving pictures. I have (hopefully temporarily) lost my digital camera. On to the tagging....Hmmmmm....Let me see. Six interesting facts; I will view the term "interesting" loosely here.

1. When I was in high school, I served as the Future Business Leaders of America Alabama District V Vice President. It was a great experience. I learned things like Parliamentary Procedure and I got to travel to Louisville, KY and see the Breeders' Cup. I also got to go to the National Convention in Anaheim and go to Disneyland. While we were in California, all of the other state officers (7) got into huge trouble for having boys in their room. I was the only one who wasn't there with them. Go figure!

2. I love to read/learn about/see Civil War history. If I ever get a chance to read, I read about the Civil War. I like to go to reenactments and would eventually like to be a reenactor myself. I think Bryant would like it too. He likes history as well. I had ancestors to fight for the Confederacy and one (that I'm aware of ) for the Union! I know it is hard to believe, but I have a Yankee forefather. I just finished Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt. It was absolutely wonderful. I like to think about how when my parents were born, there were still a few old Civil War Veterans around. I wish so badly that I could have interviewed them. Now my children are in the same situation with today's quickly vanishing World War II Veteran population. And their children will be in the same situation with Vietnam Veterans. Anyways, I try and teach my girls about their great grandfathers' experiences whenever I get a chance.

3. I love yoga. Plain and simple. Yoga is my thing.

4. I love animals. If it was up to me, we would be living on some sort of farm right now. But it isn't and we aren't. I have the fondest childhood memories of taking care of pet calves and having little pigs wander around the yard. Maybe one day I will get some land and be able to have more animals. I would definitely get a donkey. They are the cutest. But for now I will have to settle for three cats and an occasional trip to a petting zoo.

5. When I was little I wanted to be a poet. Here is one of my poems:

"God's Creations"

The birds,
The trees,
The pretty fall leaves,
Are all God's creations.

I must have thought that one was pretty good, because I memorized it so well that I still remember it today. I remember bits and pieces of a Christmas one about stockings and M&Ms too. Me and Jacob got in a big fight about that one because he claimed I didn't write it. He thought I had plagiarized, but I really didn't - Jacob! By second grade, though, my dream of being a poet was replaced by my dream of becoming an architect. I took to designing houses for all of my friends. I must have been good because I got requests for new jobs everyday. So in my spare time at school my friends would come up to my desk and ask me to design them a house. I would then ask, "Would you like for your house to be in the shape of your first initial or your last?". "E" houses were the best because they could have two patios, but "C" houses were tough. To this day I still love architecture and that is the reason I minored in Art History.

6. When I was a kid in Alabama, Chubby Checker came to the Jasmine Hill Garden Amphitheater. He pulled me on stage and we did the twist. It was a really fun concert. I remember twisting with him and looking down at his checkered boots and thinking about how I wanted a pair like those.

I am tagging Arah Atwood, Steve Atwood, and Bryant Slade. We'll see if the men can deliver.

Sistas-N-Effect

Those of y'all from Wetumpka will get the title. I found this today and just had to share it with y'all.

Fall Pictures 2007

HALLOWEEN 07 - The Real Deal

Skyler had to be a rockstar, along with the rest of her class, for her classroom party and parade. Sibley kept with the geisha costume. The girls decorated our yard all by themselves this year. Did they do a good job or what?