I am finally finished my Christmas shopping! Yeah! This is the first year that I have started buying as early as October, so the shopping has gone on and on. The good news is that I feel like everyone got a really thought out gift and not gift cards. I'm not opposed to gift cards - I love to receive them, but I was really excited that I found creative gifts for my family.

Our Christmas festivities start tonight, and it should be interesting. We're going to have a white elephant gift exchange and with this side of the family - it's guaranteed to be interesting.

I'll post pictures soon!

Blogging live

from our new laptop! Thank you Gigi and Grandpa!!! Having this laptop will help Lamar with his masters and will be more reliable than our older computer. We are thrilled to have it!

Thanks for supporting us all the time - especially as Lamar goes back to school!

Recovered

I found the pictures in my Kodak!! I'm so relieved. Once I updated my Kodak software, the new default for pictures was not the same, so I didn't know where to look. It's fixed now though. Enjoy!!

The girls on the North Pole Express

Landrie and her favorite cousin Kade

Karsyn & Landrie at La Ha



Crazy cousins on Thanksgiving night



Karsyn doing cheer stunts with the cousins

Landrie & Snoopy in Salado - Love at first sight!

The only new Christmas decoration this year - a tree for the girls' playroom.

Daddy and his girls at the last football game.

Karsyn at Mommy's school for her first pep rally

Silly Landrie in the closet with all of her animals. She insisted on having the picture made.

Hustle & Bustle

I'm nearing my 200th post here at the Kirk Krew and was hoping to reach that milestone by the end of 2008, but with all of our running around, I'm not sure that will ever happen.

I finally downloaded 200+ pictures to my computer the other day that included Halloween, Thanksgiving, meeting Snoopy, Landrie's Christmas program and about 15 random pictures that my future photographer Landrie took.

I'll try to post the highlights here:

Scratch that...I cannot locate the pictures on my computer right now AND I deleted them off of my camera. I'm hoping that they are there and my computer is just not cooperating right now.

I'll keep you posted.

I must be crazy!

My mom and I are always up for the adventure of Black Friday. 3 years ago when I was pregnant with Karsyn, we got in line at Circuit City at 4:30 or 5 for TVs. I skipped the mad dash last year, but this year I was in. I had planned to buy the girls Leapsters for Christmas and found a great deal at Wal-mart.

We started our craziness on Thursday night. After reviewing all of the ads, Lolly and I thought we wanted the Jeep at Wal-mart that was $88. We finished dinner with our family (all 30+ of us) and headed to Wally World. We scoped out the scene, found the Jeep but decided the little Jeep wasn't going to work for Landrie. So, Lolly headed home and I planned to return to Wal-mart for the Leapsters that were on sale for $30.

My cousin Kyndra and I arrived at Wal-Mart around 3:45. After searching for the right black shrink-wrapped pallet, we stood in line for the Leapsters. We thought we were the only 2 coming for them, but the closer it got to 5, the more people that lined up. A worker came over and opened the pallet at 4:50 - it was ON! We grabbed our 3 and then started handing them back to the people that were waiting behind us. It was a grabbing frenzy! We walked over to the electronics section out of curiousity, but it was insane! People were practically climbing over each other to get the TVs, DVD players, etc. We paid for our Leapsters and were in our car by 5:01! Success!!!

We were on a high from that experience so we headed to Whataburger for some breakfast and then braved the line at Target for 45 minutes. It rained on us some and it was COLD! We weren't sure what we were looking for, but they handed out ads and maps and we found the goods. I got a surprise for Gigi & Grandpa and Leapster games for the girls. Success again!! I saved close to $100 yesterday!

I came home and tried to sleep, but I was too wired. I cleaned out the garage and then headed out to shop with Lolly. We braved Best Buy, Haverty's and Gymboree. Gymboree was another huge win.

Today, I punished myself yet again. I got in line at Big Lots at 7 AM for pink chairs for the girls. When the doors opened at 8, I ran in and bought them quickly. I wasn't too sure about the size or color, but I decided I could figure that out later. I dropped by Lolly's and we decided they probably weren't the perfect pink and might be too small for Landrie. So - I headed to Garden Ridge for hot pink bean bag chairs. Luckily they had 2 left. I bought those, and then returned the other chairs to Big Lots. I'm beat, but I'm finished shopping for the girls now so that's good. Last year I was still shopping for them until the 23rd of December.

I guess my crazy paid off!

Meeting Snoopy

Yesterday the girls met Snoopy for the first time. Landrie was immediately enthralled with her. Karsyn - not so much. She likes to watch her, but she doesn't want to touch her and she definitely doesn't want Snoopy approaching her. It all has to be on her terms.

Landrie loves to take her on walks and just to sit and pet her. It really is pretty sweet to see how much she already loves her dog.

I'm still definitely on the fence! She's very mellow and sweet, but she's still a dog! Gigi thinks she'll grow on me - the jury is still out on that one.

I think it will be good for Landrie to have Snoopy and have the responsibilities that go with her. We'll see how she does, but right now I'd give her an A+.

Pictures will follow

Happy Anniversary

Today is Pops & Lolly's 30th Anniversary! I'm a little late with the shout-out, but I hope they know how proud I am to have them as parents just the same.

They are great examples of what a marriage should be. I remember growing up my dad would always make a point to say to us how much he loved my mom. We'd always roll our eyes and act disgusted, but even then, I knew how lucky we were. To say they still have it going on is an understatement - they are more in love today than ever before.

Thank you Pops & Lolly for loving each other first and showing us what love should really look like. Thank you for loving us and providing for us constantly. You are the best!!! I hope that we can pay it forward to our girls some day.

Happy Anniversary!
We love you!!!

This is just so funny that I have to participate! Click the picture above for the rules, but it's pretty simple - find an ugly Christmas sweater anywhere - your mom's closet, your own closet, Goodwill, etc. Take a picture and email it to Big Mama. Winners will be announced on Dec. 19! I can't wait to see what people come up with.

I've seen a few ugly sweaters in my time--what about you?

Who Knew?

Who knew that Snoopy would get me so much blog attention? Maybe I should have written about the "Challenge" our pastor has issued to the married people at church. That may have gotten even more attention.

Check out Good Morning America tomorrow for an interview with our pastor! On ABC from 7-9 am (not sure when the segment will air).

A new family member

Tonight we shared with Landrie and Karsyn a BIG surprise!

"Snoopy" is coming to live with us after Thanksgiving! Landrie cried real tears she was so excited!! Snoopy is a Beagle and is supposedly a very mellow, loveable dog.

I admit that I am still reluctant in adding a dog to our family, but Landrie's excitement was just so heart warming! She has asked and asked for a dog and hopefully this will be her dream come true!

Thanks Gigi & Grandpa...I think!

Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake

Tonight was our turn to host Home Team at our house. We have been a part of this small group for over 4 years. It's so wonderful to have close Christian friends who are in the same phase of life. We spent a long time tonight talking about parenting - it was GREAT!

We had good food, good fellowship and good fun!

Here's the recipe for the dessert I made. It's Paula Deen's Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake. I'm not a fan of pumpkin in general and I LOVE this!

Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cakes

Cake:

• 1 (18 1/4-ounce) package yellow cake mix
• 1 egg
• 1 stick butter, melted

Filling:

• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 stick butter, melted
• 1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan.

To make the filling: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter, and beat together. Next, add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mix well. Spread pumpkin mixture over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure not to overbake as the center should be a little gooey.

Serve with Cool Whip.

Variations:
For a Pineapple Gooey Cake: Instead of the pumpkin, add a drained 20-ounce can of crushed pineapple to the cream cheese filling. Proceed as directed above.

For a Banana Gooey Cake: Prepare cream cheese filling as directed, beating in 2 ripe bananas instead of the pumpkin. Proceed as directed above.

For a Peanut Butter Gooey Cake: Use a chocolate cake mix. Add 1 cup creamy peanut butter to the cream cheese filling instead of the pumpkin. Proceed as directed above.

The joke's on me

Date Night with Lamar - $50
Childcare through church - $10
Your youngest child puking on the way home from date night - Priceless!

God knew we needed this night so he let Karsyn hold off on the mess until we got her. We had a great night in spite of the throw up! Let's just hope that she's done and we can have a calm weekend.

Hope yours is less exciting than ours!

Unexpected

Today I had an unexpected day off. Landrie came in this morning while I was in the shower complaining that her throat hurt. I continued to get ready, but then she said she thought she was going to throw up. I thought she was confused about what really was bothering her so I just went about my business. About 2 minutes later, she threw up - in my bed. Yuck! It wasn't major, but I didn't know if it would continue or not, so I called in to school. I put her in the bathtub and within minutes she was acting like her old self.



I made her rest for most of the day, and thankfully she didn't get sick any more.



While we were enjoying our spontaneous 3-day weekend, I upgraded my photo software. I was playing around with it and came up with this cute picture!

The software now has photo retouching and you can add text. I'll definitely be doing this more often.

Praying for our children

I often don't know how to pray for my girls or how to pray at all. I have little conversations with God throughout the day, but to be honest - most of them are self-serving: keep us healthy, get us home safely, etc. After I read The Shack, my prayers have changed. I've tried to be more intentional and more conversational with God and to pray for more than just my instant needs - more bigger picture, I guess you would say.

I found the link above with specific prayers to say for your children. I think it's great! They are all based on scripture and are about the character traits that we all hope our children to will have---Christ-followers, kind hearted, compassionate and more. Hope that you like it too!

For Gigi

I'm feeling guilty about not posting any pictures recently. Gigi checked 3 times last night for pictures, so I have to come through this time. These are really random and not in any particular order.

The girls at our "photo shoot" in October.

Landrie and Avery at Landrie's birthday party.

Landrie opening her ring from Gigi & Grandpa. Gigi - she's been wearing it in short spurts now. She loves it!


At the Pumpkin Patch again with Channing

Slacking...

I've been slacking big time on blogger lately...We seem to be running in many different directions in real life so I haven't had a chance to post here.

Here's just a few highlights:

*Celebrated Halloween with my crazy family (see Lolly's blog for pictures)
*I've reorganized and added some decorations to the girls playroom (pictures coming)
*Karsyn's first Pep Rally (pictures coming soon)
*The end of football is near!

Is this time of year crazy for anyone else? I wouldn't have it any other way!

Politics, Drag Queens and Richard Simmons - OH MY!

Last night was the 6th Annual Huffman Halloween Party. We have celebrated 4 of the 6 with our Home Team friends, and this year didn't disappoint. We had a costume contest and the Huffman Hallolympics. It was a great night with LOTS of laughs!

Popeye & Olive Oil, Buffs Cheerleader & Football Player, McCain/Palin, Joe the Chemical Guy, the Graduate, Baylor Baseball Player & Cheerleader, Richard Simmons and Olivia Newton John, War & Peace, M&Ms (switched up) and Hansel and Gretel.

Observation

I know that the state of our economy is all over the news, but other than the ridiculous gas prices, I've been relatively OK with things until last night...

I went to Wal-Mart to load up on all the necessities for the week. Everything was priced basically the same, except for the Cascade... Drum roll please - $7.00!!! I usually pay $3.50-4.00 for the same size box as I bought last night.

That my friends is ridiculous!

What other items have you noticed going up?

Buffs WIN!!!

It was an exhausting and emotional night, but the Buffs pulled off a surprise victory against Weatherford tonight! We went into 3 overtimes!!! At one point, I looked up into the box and Lamar had his hands covering his eyes... It was the much needed boost that they needed in a tough season so far.

Keep an eye out for some celebration pictures and Karsyn sporting a sweet new hairstyle! Let's just say - she took matters into her own hands. Yikes!

Have a good weekend!!

"I forgive you"

Those are some precious little words...especially coming from a sweet little 2 1/2 year old. She's being a little difficult tonight about going to bed (imagine that) and she keeps yelling "I'm sorry" and right away "I forgive you".

She can be so frustrating but at the same time so adorable! How can you be upset at this face?

I recently read the book The Shack and could really understand how God feels about us for the first time. The book illustrated how God truly looks at us like his children. We mess up and God just keeps on loving us. I know we must frustrate Him sometimes by the choices that we make, just as my girls frustrate me, but that will never change the love I feel for them. I loved that the book showed our father/child relationship so well.