Farewell Texas Stadium

On December 20th we celebrated Joey's 40th birthday with a Cowboy game, the last game ever to be played in Texas Stadium. Other than the fact the Cowboy's should have just stayed in the locker room for the game, it was a wonderful time. We had venison, venison and more venison thanks to Brye's fabulous hunting skills. We tailgated for several hours prior to the game and barely escaped the worst cold front of the season so far. Our seats were as high as you could get which worked to our advantage given the weather. The mile walk back to the car was blistering cold and according to Julie the coldest she'd ever been in her entire life. The Farewell ceremony was pretty neat, kind of boring at parts, but they did actually turn the lights off with the fans still in the stadium which I thought was pretty cool. The Cowboy's lost but we had a fabulous time. Thanks Jenn for coordinating this wonderful trip, Happy birthday Joey and Farewell Texas Stadium.

It's A . . .

I am so far behind on my blogging so you're getting several posts at once!! On December 17th, Brye and I found out we will be having another boy!! Yes, I have the Carter Curse. In the past four generations of Carters, only two girls have been born. I'm very excited though. Bexley is going to be a great big brother and he is so boy, I'm not sure a girl would be able to keep up. Brye says they'll be best friends and if they turn out to be anything like my sisters and I they definately will be best friends. Our next task is the name game. I of course have picked out a name, but I'm just waiting on my other half to get used to it. We are trying to get Bexley used to the idea of having a baby brother, but he is not quite there yet. He knows theres a baby in mamma's belly, but also thinks there's one in daddy's belly and his own belly. Hopefully when mamma's belly gets bigger he'll begin to realize it.

The Word of the Week. . . . "Ration"

Our first Thanksgiving without our mother was as successful as it could be. My three sisters and I were in charge of the five day long menu and grocery list for 22 people, 5 of those being teenage boys. Needless to say there were several meals days where the word "ration" was used in conjunction with portions of food. We also used the phrase, "you snooze, you lose" at breakfast almost everyday. I think we went back to the grocery store three times for milk, ice and butter. Midnights at Allsups for "gut grenades" was the guys hotspot. The food however, was absolutely delicious; our mother was a great cook and taught us well. We have no idea how Nonnie did it. She was amazing. I have to admit we had a really good weekend. Thanksgiving dinner was great.
Friday, the kids got to play in the park, then we went to enjoy the festival of lights in City Park as well as meeting Santa. Bexley wasn't too thrilled, so no Santa pics to share yet.

Somehow we were able to get all 14 grandkids together for a group picture. It was quite an experience and not one single picture was perfect, but these were the best I could get. I guess that's the fun of it though.

Bexley's 2nd Birthday!

On Saturday, we celebrated Bexley's 2nd Birthday. I can't believe it's been two years. Bex is becoming so independent (or at least he thinks he is). He is talking so much and very well. I love him more and more every day. Anyway, we had over his very best friends; Jordan, Case, Korbin, Madelyn (or Adelyn as Bex calls her), Sophia and Grandpa and Jo Jo. We had fun with our fireman hats, but the best part was the swingset Bex got from his grandparents. Thanks Daddy for working so hard to put it together for the party. I have to say thank you to Jammi Palmer for the slide show you are able to view here. She is my photo guru and I love it. Someday I'm going to have to pay her. Thanks james, love you.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

I've been tagged

Thanks Sharon, here goes!

8 TV Shows I Love To Watch:
1. Gray's Anatomy
2. ER
3. Private Practice
4. Lipstick Jungle
5. The Backyardigans
6. Sunday Football
7. House
8. Channel 8 News

Favorite Restaurants:
1. Dos Charros
2. Boston Market
3. Baker's
4. Pei Wei
5. Chili's
6. El Fenix
7. Rockfish
8. El Sombrero in Childress

8 Things That Happened Today:
1. Made breakfast for Bexley
2. Took Bex to his 2 year well check
3. Reminisced with Sabrina Lathram-Dorris
4. Came an inch from t-boning a dodge ram who ran a red light in front of me.
5. Had lunch with my two favorite teenage girls
6. Emailed an old friend (sorry Amanda)
7. Completed four court reports for work
8. Gossiped with Angie

8 Things I am looking Forward To:
1. Bexley's 2nd birthday party
2. Baby Carter #2
3. Being with family for Thanksgiving
4. Christmas Shopping for family
5. Coffee with Poppa
6. Cowboys football game on 12/20
7. Wearing my new UGG's
8. Being pregnant with Jodi

8 Things On My Wish List:
1. To see my mom again
2. A big family of my own
3. Healthy children
4. No stress during the holidays
5. Happiness
6. A pay raise at work
7. To fit in my old clothes come June
8. My dad happy

8 People I Tag:
1. Jennifer
2. Julie
3. Jodi
4. Jammi
5. Jenny
6. Shada
7. Ashley
8. Sarah

Go Dawgs!

Better late than never. Back on November 8, my nephew Curry's football team, the Southwestern Oklahoma State University Bulldogs play the Texas A&M Commerce Lions in Commerce, TX. Commerce is only a little over an hour drive from McKinney so we all packed up along with Julie and Jodi and their families and Cousin Sarah and Olivia and headed to commerce to watch the game. The Bulldogs did end up losing, but Curry had a great game. The kids loved yelling, "Go Curry". After Curry's game we rushed back to McKinney to watch Texas Tech vs. OSU. Sarah is an OSU graduate so she was a little outnumbered here in McKinney. Brye had not joined us for Curry's game and instead went and bought a brand new flat screen TV so we could watch the game. Really? Anyway, it was a great game for Tech, sorry Sarah, and a wonderful time for family. Now, everytime we watch football, Bexley says, "Go Curry, Go Texas Tech, Go Cowboys" all in the same sentence. Poor kid is so confused.

A Special Thank You

I just want to take a few minutes to share some thank you's to some special people in my life and my family's lives. This past weekend we (my dad and sisters) were invited back to Childress to the Pregnancy Outreach Center's annual fundraiser. We were told that the fundraiser was going to "mention" my mother's contributions and work to help found and run the Center. What we were not told was the outpouring of heartfelt gratitude we all received from everyone. I know my mom was special to me and I've heard people tell me that my mom was special to them. What surprised me were some of the people I didn't realize my mom had touched and how they expressed that. At one point in the night the entire room gave my family and my mom a standing ovation. I learned after the evening ended that the person who actually led the standing was someone I didn't even know cared. There were many others there that I had never met that made sure we all knew how important my mother was. I just want to say a special thank you to Angie Husband for inviting us to this event as well as Susan Davidson, Pam Horton, Jay Parmer and all the others on the board of the Pregnancy Outreach Center who cared so much for my mom to honor her at an event like this. I do hope you were able to raise the money you were going for. It was a very nice night and we all had a really good time. Thank you so much, and God Bless.

Happy Halloween

With Bexley being two years old, I felt that this was the last year mommy gets to decide what the kid is going to be for Halloween. So at the last minute we changed our mind and our little Bexley was transformed into none other than Bam Bam Rubble himself. He made a perfect Bam Bam and as soon as the club was put in his hand he was hitting everything in sight. We started the day off with a Halloween party at daycare. Then we trick or treated at the courthouse with Madelyn. Our next stop was the "Scare on the Square" in McKinney. It was very organized and kids were walking single file down the sidewalks for candy. Not Bexley, he knew exactly where to go and didn't care who was in his way. He just walked right up to the person giving out the candy and got his share. That only lasted until he saw the choo choo train taking kids for a ride around the square. Of course, we got in line and waited a good 20 minutes and every time the train came back for more kids, Bex got excited, then upset because it wasn't his turn. Finally he got his turn on the train and loved it.

On the way home we stopped at the Lloyd's to see the wonderful display Sharon had done. Bex was a bit frightened at the monsters in the front yard, but was oh so thrilled at Cadburry their pet bunny. He got to feed the bunny a carrot and thought that was just the coolest thing ever.

We ended the night going through the neighborhood with the Palmer's and had a really good time. His pumpkin was so full of candy, he didn't even want to carry it. He was so pooped at the end of the night and went to sleep without a fight. It was a good day.

And 1 makes 4!!

Three months down, six more to go; we are having baby number two! Brye and I are very excited and sadly, Bexley isn't sure what a "big brother" really is yet. He will find out soon enough and I'm not sure if it's going to be easy. He is so jealous of the dog being in my lap, I don't know what he'll do with a baby. However, he loves his cousin, Baby Joie, so I'm hoping for the best.

Anyway, Baby 2 is due May 8, 2009, on my neice Jorja's third birthday. Brye and I are still struggling on whether I'm to go back to work or stay home. I never imagined myself being a stay at home mom, but a non-profit organization doesn't really pay the daycare bill. I have to admit being a mother of two is a lot scarier than just a mother of one. Will I really loves this one as much as I love Bexley? Can I juggle two year old tantrums and newborn cries at the same time?

The other side to all this is that I no longer have my mom to lean on and ask questions. She'd be the one to reassure me of course you will love the second as much as the first. She'd be the one who was there to catch me when I felt like I was falling. I know she'll be there, just not the way I want her there. I actually had a dream the other night that I went to a prenatal appointment and the baby's heartbeat was irregular and I was hospitalized. My mom was there. I guess that is God's way of reminding me she really hasn't left me; she's here.

Thankfully I have a fabulous husband and three wonderful sisters that I know will be here for me and a mother in law that I'm sure will be here too. It is wonderful to have such a great family.

Birthday's at the Pumpkin Patch

Jordan is starting off right. The entire weekend focused around her birthday; just like her Aunt Jaime likes to do. We started off with a Friday night dinner at Chuck E Cheese, then spent the day Saturday at the Pumpkin Patch. Sunday morning we had breakfast at Julie's and watched football all day. The cousins, with the exception of Kyler and Baby Joie, got to hang out with each other as did three of the four sisters. We missed you Jennifer. Oh, and the brother's in law too. It was a good weekend.

Enjoying the hayride

Aren't we lucky no one was allergic to hay?!

If he ends up at UT, I'm bribing him with this picture someday.

Feeding goats!

My beautiful little boy!

Jordan and Jorja talked to each other the entire time.

The bouncehouse was the hit of the day.

Did anyone see any pumpkins? Well if the kids would be still long enough to get a good picture. . .

"Come on Bex, look at momma."

"Bexley, I'm over here."

"Seriously, will no one pose for a pumpkin picture?"

Big Tex 2008

If you can believe this, I had never been the State Fair until now! We decided a spare the moment trip on a beautiful Sunday afternoon would be great family time after my business weekend in Austin. Bex had his first funnel cake, roller coaster, and of course that huge and I have to say, very scary ferris wheel. Bexley loved it while I got a little more quesy every inch up. It was a great day!

Bexley loved this more than we did. It was so high!!

He wasn't quite sure at first, but really loved it!

6th Photo in 6th File

I've decided my first photo posting could only be the latest trend. However, I have a lot of explaining to do. First of all for those of you who don't know Brye, he can be very anal. Our files are sorted alphabetically, not chronologically. Now for the photo explanation. When we lived in England a comedian by the name of Peter Kay redid a old song titled "Is This The Way to Amarillo". Somehow it got very popular in London and when all our friends realized we used to live in Amarillo, they became fascinated. Not to mention they also thought Brye ironically looked like Peter Kay. So on one of our trips home, we took this picture to share with our British mates. So here it is.

If I Have To

Okay, so I can barely keep up with my myspace page and somehow I was talked into starting this blog. Thanks to Jammi and all my sisters having one, I now have no choice. So here it is and we'll see how it goes.

My beautiful and precious little boy got his first "no-no" report at daycare today. He hit another child in the face with a puzzle. Where does he learn these things? So for punishment he did not get to watch Backyardigans when he got home from school. It was absolute torture; more so for me I think. I don't know if I'll ever get used to being mean.