Happy Birthday Daddy!!

Today November 30th is My Daddy's Birthday! I thought what a Great way to say Happy Birthday!! I looked thru all my pics and came up with some that meant the most to me, of course they all mean alot to me but these really tell a story.My Dad.hmmm where do I start! My Dad is a Great Man that I love very much! I probably don't tell him enough that I love him but I love him dearly! He is a man of great integrity and always tried his best to teach me and my brother to have that same quality. My Dad is a very loyal friend and a very loving, faithful husband. He loves his family very much and goes out of his way to help us in any way that he can! My Dad truly has always given me everything I have ever wanted.. Of course there were the times as a teenager that I broke his heart by being the rebellious teen that he so not wanted me to be but, he always never made me think that he did not love me for doing the things that I did.. ( Sorry Daddy)Now as a adult and a parent myself, my Dad is still there for me, he may not live next door and I may not see him or talk to him everyday but if I ever needed him he would be here as fast as he could..Last year when I was so sick and we could not find out what was wrong he came to STL to take me to Dr appts, when he was not in town he was praying for me and had everyone else he knew praying for me too! Of course when my boys were born he was right there ready to hold them! My Dad is a hard worker and has always worked very hard to provide for his family. He is a great example of a christian man with a great gift of faith. I Thank God for giving me this man as my earthly Father and I wish every girl could be as blessed as I am to have a Daddy like him! Happy Birthday Daddy .. I love you!!!

Thanksgiving 2008'

Ok last post I said I can't believe it is already Thanksgiving! This post I am saying I can not believe Thanksgiving is OVER.. Oh My Goodness Christmas is 28 days away!! Now I have so many thoughts running thru my head.. I have to take all my fall decor down and put up Christmas decor, I have to shop and buy presents, I have to send out Christmas Cards what else..?? I have promised myself I am not going to stress, I am just not! After 41 years I think I finally GOT IT! Christmas is NOT suppose to be like that, you are suppose to truly remember what CHRISTmas is really about! You are suppose to spend time with your loved ones and enjoy it, and again you are suppose to be THANKFUL for all the many blessings God has given you!! so that brings me to Thanksgiving, it was a great day and we had so much fun with our friends that we are so THANKFUL for! We have been so blessed with their awesome friendship and we have mutual feelings, we love each others families like our own! Thank you for spending the day with us, it made the day so much easier without our family, we just love y'all so much!!!~ We had sooooo much food, we ate and we ate and we ate and then we rested and then we had dessert and then we rested again lol! It was alot of fun just hanging out doing nothing but eating!!We decided we wanted to go to a movie so we all went to see Four Christmases( Vince Vaughn, Reese Witherspoon) it was really cute! I hope that you all had a Thanksgiving as blessed as ours! Thank you to all of our friends and family who called and wished us a Happy Thanksgiving, we love you all and we are so THANKFUL for each one of you! Hope to see all of you soon!!

Thanksgiving Eve

I can not believe that Thanksgiving is here!! It just does not seem like it to me?.. There could be a few different reasons why! We are use to alot cooler weather on Thanksgiving and we are use to being with my family.. This is the first year we have been without our family ever on Thanksgiving,we have always been with my parents for as long as I can remember and a few years ago we started a tradition that my parents and my brother and his family would all come up to St Louis on Wednesday afternoon, we would all go out to dinner and then come back to my house and start making casseroles, desserts etc..and then have Thanksgiving on Thursday at 1:00 and then me and my mom and sister in law and neices would go to Old Time Pottery while the guys stayed home and watched football, and then we would come back eat again and then go on a carriage ride thru Tillis Park and look at the Christmas lights and sometimes we would go to a movie. It was alot of fun and I know that I am going to miss them alot this year but we will see them all at Christmas. We are so excited about Thanksgiving this year at our new house in Texas and sharing this holiday with our sweet friends The Johnson's,we are looking forward to a fun day filled with TONS of food and fun.. The boys felt sorry for me today because they know I usually make everything with my momma so they all said they wanted to help me and we had the best time! Maybe this will be the new tradition and before to long hopefully they will make all of the recipes.:) We have soooo much food but that's what Thanksgiving is all about.... I am so Thankful for My Awesome Husband who loves me no matter what mood I am in and I am so Thankful for my 2 sweet boys that both have compassionate hearts and I am so Thankful that I have a loving family even though we are not all together this year and I am so Thankful for our friends who we love and think of as our family that we will share it with them and MOST of all I am so Thankful for a AWESOME GOD who loves me unconditionally and blesses me way beyond measure!! I hope that you all have a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving! Check back for pics and post from our Thanksgiving Feast!

Texas In The Fall

Can I just start this blog by saying I really like the temp here in the fall.. It is 11/24/08 and I wore shorts today ,yes shorts ,and even got a little warm:) I talked to a friend in Memphis and she said the high was 59; low tonight in the 30's.. My friend in St Louis called and said it was cold and wintery today the high 52' and it was suppose to get down to 28' oohhhh The high here today was 78' and sunny and the low is suppose to be 56, I can handle this and I like it!!!!!!! As most of you know I am not a cold weather person, I hate wearing coats and I despise being cold.. I loved living in St Louis but their winters can get pretty dang cold like bone chillin cold and I hate that!!I hated wearing a coat when I lived there and you pretty much have to but I learned to layer really well and I loved my fleece, my friend Mandy loves hers too ( lol could not resist) I hope she reads this!Anyway, I can tell you though I truly miss the leaves and all the foliage with the beautiful colors, we do have that here but not as much. I was in a mood today and went out in our yard and found some color and just sat out there and soaked it up in the warm air! It got me thinking, if God can make this season as beautiful as he does especially in certain parts of the country can you only imagine what his decor must be like in heaven.. I have several friends who have lost a loved one and I have too but if this is a glimpse of what they have at any time it gives me a comfort in knowing that they share in the planning of the decorating.I hope that when you see his beautiful decor that you will stop and praise him for his beautiful works.. Happy F'all Yall!!

** SUPERSTAR***

Well, Do we call him our HERO or our Superstar*?! Phillip played his last game of the season last night against the Aggies, who are a pretty good team, and it was a really good game.. Phillip usually is a 1st baseman or a 3rd baseman and sometimes a outfielder and he does very well playing those positions. This fall, Coach Keith has decided he wants him to play a few different positions and I guess you could say we are were a little bit uneasy. He put him at 2nd and it took a few games to learn that position and he did really good and then he put him at shortstop and he did ok there too and then he decided he wanted him to pitch... Oh NO! Phillip will tell you flat out "He is NOT a Pitcher" and he does not like to pitch, he said it is way toooo stressful:) Chuck and I sit there biting our nails and of course saying why do you have our son in there at the end of the game?uggggg.Well, last night was a TOTALLY different story. Phillip started the game and pitched the first 5 innings.. Are you ready for this?! The first 2 inning he struck all the batters OUT:) The 3rd and 4th inning, he only had 2 get on base and that is because they walked and the The Tigers got them out on base:) and then the 5 inning again Strike 1, Strike 2, Strike 3 as the ump yelled "YOU ARE OUT" and then he would yell WHOOO //HAAAA.. and of course I was screaming and jumping up and down screaming yeah!!!! That's my boy!!!Just in case nobody knew:) We were so excited for him and so proud and of course he was proud of himself too! His Coach wants him to get pitching lessons over the winter and come back stronger than ever! He is a great athlete if I must say so myself and we are so proud of him.. He has always played baseball since he could hold a bat and he has always said that he wants to be a Professional Baseball player..Who know? Our Motto for our kids is " YOU CAN DO AND BE ANYTHING YOU SET YOUR MIND TO BUT YOU HAVE TO GIVE IT YOUR ALL!!" We Thank God for Phillip and his health and the ability to play baseball.Phillip is such a good kid and a true blessing and we love him so so much~~Oh and the final score was Tigers 10 Aggies 2! Yeah Tigers!! They had a great season and we are ready for Spring.. We met some great kids and great parents and we look forward to getting to know them better!!!

The Dreaded Tuesday

Well The Dreaded Tuesday has come and gone!! It was awful!! I meant to post last night and I just couldn't.. I hate when my friends leave!! I know we will see each other next month and time will fly with the holidays and all that is in between but still... If we lived in the same state we would not have to go thru this.. we would be together!! I have to say we had a GREAT time.. we shopped everyday, went out to lunch and dinner everyday,totally the way to live!!:) On Tuesday we went to Old Town Spring and shopped if you have never been there it is a MUST.. It is in the historical part of Spring with a few streets with old houses and buildings turned into the cutest stores and they have a few restaurants it is a whole lot of fun! They have one shop called "Friends" and of course we had to take our picture in front of the sign, we stopped this lady and she was very nice to take it for us but her photos were just not up to our standards:)lol!! We even tried to take them ourselves:) but as you can see they are not posted haha!! The weather could not have been any better.. It was Sunny, Blue Skies, and the temps in the high 60's low 70's.Just perfect! I am so glad that she came to visit me, it truly put a smile in my heart, not only mine but Chuck's too, he was just so glad to see us happy and having fun. The boys loved her being here and did not want her to go either.. Max fell in love with her ( and her with him too) When we came home from taking her to the Airport it was so sad our house felt empty and Max kept looking past us waiting for her.. I was teasing her yesterday naming all the little towns that we had been to while she was here and told her she had covered more of Texas than some people ever do in their life. We covered alot of area.. She had her fill of Mexican food, tried new food "Kolaches" if you have never had one you have to try them they are sooooo good and sold in the million donut shops here in the area:) We just had a blast! I did not think we would cry when it was time for her to leave but we did, it is just hard !! I truly think you miss someone more when you spend time with them and have such a good time and then it is time for them to leave it is just so hard because you realize they are not around the corner anymore and you just hate that! I am so blessed to have her as my BF and I pray that everyone who reads this blog has one or will try to find one! She is so much fun and I can tell her anything and she will help me solve the problem or just be her honest self and tell me to forget about it or get over it.. I love that about her.. we are alot alike but yet so different, actually she has more of the personality as my husband.. I can't figure it out Why?? I love 2 of them.. Lord help me!j/k! she is great and I know we will always be Best Friends and she will always have a special place in this family's life.. Thanks to her sweet hubby who was sick and let her come and spend time with me, he was not feeling good and took care of their 4 sweet girls for her and I so appreciate him doing that for ME!! I hope that she had fun if she didn't I told her what she could do lol:) but I know she did and I pray that she will come back soon.. I miss my friend and love her bunches!!!!!!!!!! She is a TRUE GIFT FROM GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Part 2 with the BFF plus a extra bonus another BFFxoxo

What a day!! We had the best time another one of my bff's joined us today for a fun filled day of shopping, laughing,talking, trying on wigs, trying on perfume, trying on clothes, hats, shoes etc... It was every girls dream to have her 2 BFF's with her and having the time of our lives.. There is nothing like having friends who you can be so real with and be goofy with... We went to Sam Moon's and tried on the fake ponytails and had random people take our pics.. Yes we got some really strange looks but we could have cared less.. We had the best time!! Thanks to my hubby for taking care of the boys and letting us shop without any interruptions, Thanks honey love you!! Have I said how THANKFUL I am for these 2 women? I just love them so much and truly consider them a part of my family..Well tommorrow is Tuesday the dreaded day that my bff goes home and I am already so sad:( Please say MIGHTY prayers for us as we have to say "See Ya Soon"I have learned never to say Goodbye..As Christians you never have to say Goodbye and for that I am so Thankful that these 2 are my ETERNAL friends.. I hope all of you have ETERNAL friends.. Check back for the dreaded Tuesday!!

Look! My BFF From STL Is Here!!!!!

I am so excited! I think today has to be one of the best days in my life:) My BFF from STL Jenn flew in this morning and we have had the best day!! I picked her up from the airport and off we went to The Nutcracker Market (again) I had to share this with her and she had to taste the O Chocolate drink that I had and she loved it too.. so we bought some and made it tonight... We had the best time shopping and just having so much fun being together! We left there in a desperate search of the BIGGEST diet coke we could find so we went to lunch and then had our nails done.. We came home so she could see Chuck and the boys and they were just as excited to see her too! We all went out to dinner ( Mexican that is) because that is her favorite and everyone knows we have plenty of it here in Texas:) so after dinner we came home made our O Chocolate and put on our matching jammies:)lol! We made Chuck take our our picture so we could share it with all of you!! I am so happy that she is here!! She is so special to our family and we just love her so much!! I miss her bunches and today I have felt like we have never been apart! She leaves on Tuesday night and I know I am going to be so sad:( so please pray for both of us! But until then we are going to cherish every minute together and just have the best time that we can possibly have!!!Thanks Jenn for coming to visit me, I love you bunches!!! Stay tuned for more pics and updates on my next few days with my bff!!! I wish everyone could have a friendship like ours, I am truly blessed~~~~

The Final Game of the season

Today was Peytons final baseball game of the fall season.. We were so blessed to get Peyton on this team.. They were the Georgia Tech YellowJackets and they were a great group of kids and the Coaches were just what we were looking for.. Coming from St Louis and being with the same team for 5 years Spring and Fall season, we really grew to love each one of those boys and their families, we truly beacame the "Baseball Family" and as some of you know it was a very emotional goodbye for Chuck as the head coach and Peyton as we had to say Goodbye to all of them when we moved, we have wonderful memories with the Bulldogs and boy do we have some stories to tell that we will never forget:) But when we moved here this Summer they did not have a league for Peyton's age so we signed him up for Fall Ball and all summer he watched Phillip play with a team and we can honestly say we really felt for Peyton.. Phillip's coach was so sweet he would let Peyt practice with them and sometimes sub when they needed a player and that was a really BIG deal for him but it was still hard because he knew that this was Phillip's team and they were Phillip's friends so fall season started and Peyton loved all the boys who were on his new team, he thinks the world of Coach Dennis and Coach Mike and of course Chuck had to help coach too... I think Chuck enjoys it as much as Peyt does:) The YellowJackets were a incredible team they would really have you sitting on the edge of your sit and your heartstopping at particular games, we always rallied we would be down 10 to 1 several times and come back and win by 1 or 2 points it was great.. Today we played the #1 team in the league and we were winning 5 to 0 up until the 4th inning and then the Huskies came back, the score was 5 to 4 and that is how it ended.. We were all yelling and high-fivin and the kids were all jumping on each other and hugging.. It was a great day and at the end in the huddle the Coaches handed out dogtag neclaces to each player and we were all told we had come in 2nd place in the league.. We hope that Peyton will be able to stay with these Coaches and kids, he really felt like he was a true Texan.. You would have thought he had known these kids for years, it was awesome!! Stay tuned for more sports news with Peyton Ray, next month is Basketball:) The sports never stop in The Ray household but we all love it!!!!

A Fun Day Out With The Girls

Teresa and Shannon Sipping The Big O Chocolate

What a fun day! Well we all got together for a fun day and went to the Nutcracker Holiday Market in downtown Houston, We met early this morning and all loaded up in Teresa's van and headed South(Thanks Teresa for driving!)of course we had to stop at Starbucks for my coffee drinking friends and once again I asked Starbucks if they would be interested in serving Diet Coke:) so off we go and we walked in and I wish I had a picture of all of our faces when we saw the actual market , oh my goodness we were all overwhelmed and ready to run,, we seriously were like kids in a candy store. This Mkt has over 300 vendors and they had holiday items, floral arrangements, cute clothes, cute shoes, cute jewelry,lots of good food, I think we sampled it all we had soup, toffee, fudge, chocolate, jams, salsa, tamales,honey, dips, pecan pie, you name it we had it! I think we all agreed we like the frozen pecan toffee the best but I must say that we had this warm chocolate drink that was made from 4 different types of chocolate and Teresa and I tasted it at the same time, I seriously think Teresa's eyes rolled back into her head it was soooo good! lol! It was just so much fun! We all had so much fun and I think we were just so happy to all be together and realized we were now all "FRIENDS" I am so thankful for these girls and I feel like I have known them for years.. I hope I will know all of them for years. They are each so precious and I look forward to our friendships growing and getting to know them better!I am sure we could make a ton of fun memories.. On the way home we were talking about where to go to next.. I will let you know where the next BIG adventure takes us!! Thanks again to my sweet new friends for a great day! I love you all and can't wait to see all of you again! If you have a chance go to the Nutcracker Holiday Market, it is well worth it and I promise you, you will have a fun day and you will not come out empty handed!!