Christmas Emotions...

Santa Torturing Morgan

While I normally love this time of year, I must confess that this year's preparations for my favorite holiday have left me feeling frazzled. Part of this may just be that my entire family is currently recovering from a nasty flu or stomach bug and we leave for Illinois tomorrow. All of the "things" - shopping, gift wrapping, baking/cooking, decorating, writing cards, celebrations, and other "obligations" - have served to steal my joy on a few occasions this Christmas season. I'm hopeful that our travel up to Chicago (which is currently buried in snow and enduring single digit temperatures) will go smoothly and that once I'm with my family, I will experience a fresh wave of joy.

I don't think this was what God had in mind for me... or for any of us as we celebrate the reason for Christmas: the coming of his Son to save us from our sins. After this holiday season ends, I need to sit down and re-think what I did wrong this year and what can be cut out next year so that I don't miss out again next year. Particularly as Morgan gets older, I want her to know the true joys of Christmas ... and get to experience it with joyful parents!

All that being said, I wish you, my dear friends, a Merry Christmas filled with joy recognizing the blessing we have in the Son who came to bring our salvation! I value each of you and am grateful for the friendships you have blessed me and my family with this past year.

With love,
Barb

Morgan's Christmas Portrait

My Thanksgiving Meme

So I'm already thinking about food in anticipation of Thanksgiving!! The whole giving thanks thing is great and all, but isn't everyone's focus really on the food anyway? Okay, and maybe some football too...

I do love food, but more than the food at Thanksgiving, what I also love about the day is that it ushers in the Christmas season in such a nice way. But in an effort not to brush aside the importance of Thanksgiving and rush onto my favorite holiday, I've decided to stop and reflect - on food ... and a little bit on Thanksgiving :)

1. Which do you like better: Cooking at your house, or going elsewhere? Going elsewhere is certainly more relaxing – though I’ve never cooked Thanksgiving at my house and would like to give it a try.

2. Do you buy a fresh or frozen bird? Again … never cooked a turkey but would like the opportunity.

3. What kind of stuffing? Good old fashioned Stove Top – sometimes people get a bit too “creative” when they make it themselves. I don’t want any giblets in my stuffing (Mom!).

4. Sweet potato or pumpkin pie? Do I look like a Southern girl to you? I don’t want no stinkin’ sweet potato pie – bring on the pumpkin!

5. Do you believe that turkey leftovers are a curse, or the point of the whole thing? Modest amounts of leftover turkey are okay. I hate when it gets reintroduced as other dishes though – i.e. Turkey Surprise, Turkey Goulash, Turkey Casserole, Turkey Ice Cream.

6. Which side dish would provoke a riot if you left it off the menu? If at a Kilmer family event, it would be the dinner rolls…

7. Do you save the carcass to make soup or stock? Ewww… carcass.

8. What do you wish you had that would make preparing Thanksgiving dinner easier? A babysitter ☺

9. Do you get up at the crack of dawn to have dinner ready in the early afternoon, or do you eat at your normal dinner hour? We’re noontime Thanksgiving meal people in our family. However, I’ll be making the pies (my contribution this year) ahead of time!

10. If you go to somebody else's house, what's your favorite dish to bring? The rolls (so I know that they’re good ☺).

11. What do you wish one of your guests wouldn't bring to your house? Freaky canned cranberries – you know the kind that come out looking like the can it was in…

12. Does your usual mix of guests result in drama, or is it a group you're happy to see? Good group ‘cause we have a good fam.

13. What's your absolute favorite thing on the menu? Tie between mashed potatoes and rolls.

14. What are you thankful for this year? As always, I’m beyond grateful for the life God has blessed me with. It is filled with my wonderful husband and daughter, awesome parents and sisters (mine and JD’s), a job I love, the good fortune of living in the best country on the planet, and a God who provided it all!

I'd love to see your responses. Fellow bloggers, here's an easy post for ya (especially my NaBloPoMo friends)...

Kel + Jess = 4EVER

My baby sister Kelly got engaged yesterday to an awesome guy Jess Heugel. I'm so excited Kel finally met "the one" for her. I feel like I've been praying for the right person to come along for her for a long time, and I truly believe that in Jess that prayer has been answered. He'll make a great addition to our family; I just hope he knows what he's in for :)

Oddly though, for my sisters and I all having such a nondescript maiden surname of "Walsh", we all are ending up with crazy weird married surnames - Schlueter, Polites, Heugel. Who do you think got the worst shake of the three of us?

Anywho, CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN TO JESS & KEL!!!

My Camo Kid

Anyone who knows JD & I knows that at this time of year we can often be found out at the ranch due to hunting season (all Jonathan, not me :). This year we've been so busy that this weekend was the first time we made it up. Unfortunately, Jonathan didn't get a deer. However, we were able to finally put Morgan in the John Deere camo t-shirt Aunt Kaye gave her. I decided to accent it with a bit of pink though...

The three trees - you almost couldn't see them, could you?

One of Jonathan and Morgan's favorite pastimes - "wiggle seat"
*Oh yes, the finger/thumb sucking is a recent habit. Boo.

Morgan's Second Halloween

Sorry for the very belated posting of Morgan's pictures in her Halloween costume. Obviously none of them turned out very good. Even after three attempts, these are still the best I could come up with. You'll just have to take me at my word that she was one mighty cute ladybug :)

Even Sasha had to dress up this year -
Not a very heroic firefighter, but she'll work for treats.

Travelin' Girls

The last week of October my mother-in-law Linda , Morgan and I took a four day trip to L.A. This was a pretty big deal since we went sans our significant others. We managed really well! Even Morgan was a great traveler. Our primary purpose was to visit with Linda's grandmother (and therefore Morgan's great-great-grandmother) who soon will be 107! Granny loved seeing Morgan and couldn't say enough great things about her - in fact, she predicted Morgan will be a valedictorian :) We'll see... It was a great time for all of us. We look forward to going back with the entire family in two weeks for Granny's birthday celebration.

Granny and Morgan pondering the intricacies of a battery charger

Morgan hamming it up on the swing at Venice Beach

Nothing better than chasing sea gulls, right?

Thanks Acorn...

GO VOTE!!

Hey friends! It's FINALLY election day. After 21 months of being inundated with this political mess all over the news, we can finally see an end in sight (praise the Lord!!). Don't overlook what a privilege it is to VOTE and live in this great country. Please get out and vote today - regardless of who you vote for. This is an important and highly polarized election so expect (and don't be deterred by) long election lines. Be educated and prayerful about your choice then grab a bunch of friends and head to the poll!

Voting is your civic responsibility. If you don't vote, I don't want to hear you complain for the next four years, got it? :)

Pumpkins

It's that time of year again ... FALL!! I just love fall. Unfortunately, Texas doesn't really get how to do fall. It feels like fall for very limited hours of the day here - like until 10 a.m. and after 9 p.m. Accordingly, I've been trying to get outside as much during those times as possible.

Kristi and I took Audrey and Morgan for their Second Annual Pumpkin Patch trip this year. It was a lot of fun! It's hard to believe last year when we did this our "pumpkins" were both under four months old (what were we thinking?!?). I couldn't decide which pictures of M with the pumpkins I liked best so I included probably more than you want to see. Hope you find one that makes you smile! To make the pictures bigger, you can double-click on them.

Look at how gorgeous the weather was!

For comparison's sake, here are some "Then & Now" photos depicting last year's trip and this year's:

2008

2007

2008 - Audrey giving Morgan a kiss.
(The frame right before this she was whacking Morgan on the head :)

2007 - When they'd stay put wherever you left them!
This time we had to constantly keep tabs on who was running where.

Walk This Way

The day has come ... Morgan is a member of the walking world! Now it's time for this mommy to put on her running shoes. Thankfully, for now, she has started off slowly. However, I don't think it's going to take too long. We're so proud of our baby and feel incredibly blessed to be part of her growth process.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Smile pretty

Recently, we had our incredibly talented photographer friend Bre take some pictures of Morgan and our family. The shoot only lasted about an hour - only as long as Morgan would tolerate (which wasn't that long considering she was tired and we had her dressed in a sweater dress and cotton tights while it was nearly 90 degrees outside!). Nonetheless, Bre worked effortlessly and efficiently and got several fantastic shots. Now comes the miserable task of narrowing down which ones we want!

Check out several of the other great pictures Bre captured of us on her blog, and check out some of her other work at her studio's website. We can't recommend her highly enough!

My Kind of Town

JD had a legal education conference in Chicago last Thursday and Friday which Morgan and I accompanied him on. We stayed at the Fairmont where the conference was held. When we arrived, we received an upgrade to a suite with great views of Millennium Park, the Museum Campus, Soldier Field, and the Yacht Club.

We woke up Thursday morning to beautiful Midwestern fall weather - cool and crisp. While Jonathan attended his meetings, Morgan and I went out to explore Millennium Park which I had never seen before (it opened in 2004). The Park was so cool. Below are some of the pictures:

Cloud Gate (or known to resident Chicagoans as "The Bean") -
It's a three story steel sculpture meant to resemble
a drop of mercury hovering at the point of landing.

The butt crack of the Bean replete with reflections of the city's skyline.

One of two 50 foot LED towers-turned-fountains.
Faces of resident Chicagoans are projected on them and change every five minutes.

The faces play on the gargoyle theme and spout water from their mouths
right before the towers change to the next face.

Thursday JD joined us for lunch in Millennium Park and then ducked out of his conference early that afternoon to stroll Michigan Avenue with us. That night we enjoyed Chicago-style pizza at Pizzeria Due (the kid-sister to Pizzeria Uno).


Friday my sister Kel and her boyfriend Jess came up to the city to hang out with us. This was the first time we met Jess, and he received our stamp of approval :) He and Kel even watched Morgan for two hours while JD and I went on an architectural tour of the notable buildings along the river. Unfortunately, it was drizzly so the tour wasn't as wonderful as it could've been. That night the four of us enjoyed even more Chicago-style pizza - this time at Pizzeria Uno. And no, I don't ever get tired of it!

Friday night SIX inches of rain from Hurricane Ike drenched Chicago. So after all that hype in San Antonio about Ike, they saw not a drop of rain and we, in Chicago, got six inches. Go figure. Saturday morning we drove into Dwight (my hometown) and celebrated Morgan's first birthday (which was that day!) with my parents, Kel & Jess, my grandparents, and several of my aunts, uncles and cousins. It was a super way to celebrate Morgan's big day! I was so glad we were able to share that with them. Morgan loved eating her own personal birthday cake made by my Grandma. However, she decided to "blow" out her lone candle by snuffing out the flame with her palm.

Grandpa and the Birthday Girl

The rain poured all day Saturday and more Saturday night. Sunday we made a quick visit to my Grandma Walsh (where we also visited with my Aunt Jill) before braving the wet roadways back up to the airport. What a whirlwind!

All in all, it was a great trip. I love Chicago and I love my family. Maybe that's why Daniel asked me upon returning home, "So are you guys moving to Chicago?" Some days, I wish...

Being family

I love my parents ... and I especially love when I get to see them since it doesn't happen as often as I'd like. It's particularly hard for me now that we have Morgan. I want them to know her and her to know them. Each time they see her she has changed so much. So we have to treasure each of these opportunities we are together.

Can't you just tell she adores her grandparents?

ONE

Yep, that's right - my sweet baby girl is about to turn ONE. I can hardly believe a whole year has passed already; I've never had a year go by so fast in my life. And what amazing transformations and growth a baby goes through in a year. Morgan is no longer a baby but a little girl! My little girl :)

While there are still have a few more days until Morgan's actual birthday, we threw her birthday party this past weekend while my parents were in San Antonio visiting us. Jonathan's parents were SO gracious to host it at their ranch (and even more gracious when over 40 people showed up when we promised them it would be more like 25-30). Thanks Dad and Mom!

Thankfully, the weather was beautiful and the temperature was not too hot such that we could enjoy the beautiful Hill Country scenery. Dad even had a tractor pull going transporting people around the property - most wanted rides to the fish pond where some were fishing.

After a tasty fajita dinner, the real fun began - cake time! Of course, it wouldn't be a party without one of Kara's stunning cakes. The impressive part about this was I told Kara to decorate Morgan's cake however she wanted - and, no joke, she came up with exactly what I would have requested! It was SO beautiful and totally yummy. As you can see, Morgan's first experience with refined sugar was a very positive one. And she only got a little messy.

Here are a few party pics for you to enjoy -


Special thanks to everyone who helped make Morgan's party turn out so great and to all who helped her celebrate, including:

• Dad and Mom Schlueter for opening up the ranch and hosting us all.
• Both Moms for their great work in the kitchen.
• Jonathan and both Dads for their work at the grill and running food in and out of the house.
• Jen for watching Morgan while we all ran around like chickens with our heads cut off.
• Dad and Mom Walsh for traveling down from Missouri for the party.
• Kara for making a beautiful cake and taking all the pictures so I didn't have to.
  

Dusting off the old blog

Sorry folks, I know many of you probably wondered if I survived my 30th birthday since I haven't posted since before then. I did indeed survive. In fact, courtesy of my wonderful husband, not only did I survive, but I did it with style. He (with some help from his family) threw me an awesome surprise party at Carino's. I was completely surprised, and it was a lot of fun. In addition, Jonathan gave me a beautiful necklace to commemorate my milestone birthday.

Since then, life has just been busy - a good busy mostly. Thanks to you faithful blog-checkers who have continued to stop by looking to see what I was up to. I hope to be better about posting updates in the coming weeks. I already have requests for more Morgan video so I'd better get busy. So don't give up on me ... and never fear, I haven't had the 30 mental breakdown some experience :)

I'll "talk" with you soon. -B

Girl's Got Skills

In just the last week, Morgan has learned to "share" when asked, point out where her head is, and clap her hands! It's all so amazing to me. We worked with her on both the sharing and pointing out her head but the clapping she started all on her own (granted we did a lot of clapping in celebration of the first two achievements so maybe she learned by example).

On the flip side, Morgan also has perfected the art of protesting loudly when something is taken from her that she really wants and how to ignore me when I say "no" :) When I told my sister Steph this, she wisely stated, "The ignoring skill is really a sign of maturity. She'll practice that one for the rest of her life." So true...

For now though, I'm going to revel in her positive accomplishments. Here's a little clip so you all can share in my excitement:



And sadly, the countdown is on. I am now one week away from turning (gasp) thirty....

Mmmm, Mmmm....Good?

Yeah, seriously. I'm not sure which part of this recipe is my favorite ... the "Be sure lymph glands are removed" in ALL CAPS or the cavalier "Cut off front and back legs" or the gentle prompting "If you haven't tried this, don't miss it." Wha...?

In case you're wondering, I found this recipe in a compilation cookbook at a garage sale this past week. The cookbook was assembled by a group called the Woman's Exchange (which I've never heard of and now translate to read "Redneck Biddies") out of Memphis, Tennessee in 1967.

My sister Steph is a fan of these compilation cookbooks so I decided to flip through this one despite its age (and other warning signs). I didn't see any knock-out or even particularly repulsive recipes to influence my purchase decision until I got to this one! I figured for 50 cents I had to add it to her collection. I just hope Barbecued Raccoon doesn't end up on her Thanksgiving table this year (thankfully, we celebrate Thanksgiving down here so I don't have to find out :).

P.S. I personally think the best source for raccoon is the side of the road contrary to Mr. Johnny Jacobs. (And why is a dude in the Woman's Exchange anyway?!?)

I'm a Slave.

That's right, I'm a slave to my planner. I can't live without it! My mother has always had one, and I always wondered about its necessity growing up. And now here I am ...

Funny thing is I never used one while I was working, but now that I stay at home I find I need it. The inherent problem with planners is that they show you just how much time you have left to fill. And so I try and try to make sure all my minutes are utilized, and when someone asks if I can, my planner seems to say, "Sure you can; you have space on Wednesday afternoon." It's really a killer!

Instead what I really need is to schedule time to rest and spend time with those I care about. As I was in my car today listening to one of my favorite sources of inspiration, Sara Groves, her song "Just One More Thing" played and reminded me about keeping perspective of my time. Below are the lyrics; I particularly love the chorus. The emphases added are mine.

There's always just one more thing
There's always another task
There's always I just have one more small favor to ask
And everything is urgent and everything is now
I wonder what would really happen if I stopped somehow

I'll be there in a minute
Just a few places to go
You wake up a few years later and your kids are grown
And everything is important
But everything is not
At the end of your life your relationships are all you're got

(Chorus)
And love to me is when you put down that one more thing and say
I've got something better to do
And love to me is when you walk out on that one more thing and say
Nothing will come between me and you
Not even one more thing

There will never be an end to
The request upon your time
It's your place to stand up and tell the world
You've got to rest awhile
And everything is important
But everything is not
At the end of your life your relationships are all you've got

And love to me is when you put down that one more thing and say
I've got something better to do
And love to me is when you walk out on that one more thing and say
Nothing will come between me and you
Not even one more thing

That being said, one of the things noted on my planner this week is helping out with our church's Vacation Bible School. The theme is Veggie Tales' The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything.


This is definitely one of the more worthwhile things I've chosen to spend my time on! If I'm going to invest my time and energy, I'd like to put it into something that has potential to have lasting effect - what better way than to plant the word of God and the love of Christ into a child!

Hope you all find the time (or make it if you have to) this week for those you most value in your life or who could be benefited by just a little more of you in their lives :)

**And for those of you who haven't listened to Sara Groves yet, I'd love to lend you her CDs!

Thankful for...

1. A little relief from the busyness.
I finally had two days last week with absolutely NO commitments or obligations! One of those days I didn't even leave the house just to enjoy it :)

2. Time to catch up with friends.
Morgan and I were able to resume our playdate with Kristi and Audrey after a several week hiatus, and Amanda and I enjoyed an extremely tasty breakfast at Magnolia Pancake Haus. I had the most wonderful apple cinnamon waffle ever ... and they even gave free pancakes to Annabelle and Morgan! Could I love MPH anymore?

3. A small group babysitter.
The Newcoms have two new family members so we now have six kiddos in our small group. Kelly brought Christina, one of her pharmacy employees/all-around hardworker/superstar, to watch the clan. She is incredible with kids; I could seriously use a lesson :) AND I was able to secure a full-time sitter for future meetings.

Anyway, why is this super you may ask? It meant all the adults/parents were able to participate in small group without anyone having to miss out in order to watch the kids.

4. A LONG overdue date night with my husband.
Ian and Kara graciously watched Morgan so we could enjoy this privilege. We went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner and then saw Wall E. We tried to brainstorm the last time we had been to a movie just the two of us, and we couldn't even remember! It was so nice... I'm ready to do it again :)

5. Three mornings of prayer time with Jonathan.
We've fallen out of this habit of late and are trying to get back on track. After only three days, I can already see an improvement - we both find we feel a lot better and relate better with one another when we make this investment in our relationship with God and each other.

6. Time to see THREE movies: Sweeney Todd, Singin' in the Rain, and Wall E.
This never happens - maybe one movie but not three! (For those of you who are curious, Wall E is just okay. I say wait until it comes to DVD. And for those of you who saw it, do you agree with me that the underlying message is "Recycle or you'll get fat"?)

7. Morgan has started standing all on her own.
Though not for very long ... which is why I don't have any pictures to post of it.

8. The Fourth of July coming up.
I don't know why I like this holiday so much; I just do. We live in such a fantasticly blessed country, and my heart always swells with pride when we celebrate the Fourth. I think it's all the patriotic music :)

So what are you thankful for?

Dear Ol' Dads...

Happy Father's Day Dad W & Dad S! JD, Morgan & I are so blessed to have such wonderful dads who care for us. You've been through a lot with us, and you have supported, encouraged, and guided us all along the way. You provided for us physically, emotionally, and spiritually until we became the strong, independent adults you taught us to be. And you continue to be there for us! Thanks for EVERYTHING; we love you both,

Barb, Jonathan & Morgan

Dad, Steph & I sharing some cuddle time on the couch

One of my favorite recent photos of Dad & I
...and one of my favorites from our wedding

Jonathan and his dad share some father-son bonding over the duck tank

Happy First Father's Day Babe! You are a great Dad to Morgan.
You can tell how much she loves you by the way her eyes light up everytime she sees you anew - I love seeing it!