Computer 'Fasting'

I will be logging off the computer for the next eight days.
We will be traveling to Springfield in the morning to be with the Hicks side of the family. Travis's Dad had been struggling with his health since the first week of August and after an extended hospital stay, skilled nursing, home care & hospice care he was taken to be with the Lord this morning. We will have a celebration of life gathering Tuesday evening and a small grave side service early next week. We will greatly miss our father, my Papa D (what I have called him since Travis and I wed over eight years ago) and our Grandpa Dallas. Please be in prayer for the entire family. Gabi says Grandpa is now in heaven living with Jesus and helping the angels. I know he is enjoying listening to country music and watching his beloved Rams with a new set of ears and a fresh set of eyes. We love you and miss you already!!

Happy Birthday Jesus

{Pay attention to Dawson's face & excuse the voices ...
we ALL are suffering from bad colds}

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6 NIV
Merry CHRISTmas!

Parent/Child Dedication

Sunday December 7th we dedicated to the Lord Dawson Matthew.
Travis and I "accepted our responsibility before God to raise Dawson in the ways of our Lord, guiding him in the Word of God and by the example of our Christian lives." I love the certificate of dedication that the church provides each parent. It states the above and is a fresh reminder of our responsibility to our commitment to love, discipline and to be a Christ like example for our child(ren).

We took the opportunity to catch a few family pictures after the dedication in the church's Connecting Point Room.
More of these pictures to come ...

I love this little peanut!!

GG was able to make a very short visit to KC to be with us for Dawson's special dedication day. We enjoyed a meal out and had a great outing to Crown Center Saturday evening. Sunday following service we all (our family, my parents & GG) had a wonderful brunch at First Watch. We were sad to say goodbye to GG after such a short visit, but loved having her with us.

Proverbs 22:6 Train a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

Crafts

It has been a week.
A week of ups and downs.
Good behavior and bad behavior.
I (me, myself & I) need to practice several fruits of the Spirit.
Patience, Gentleness & Self Control.
Motherhood ...
I will just leave it at that.

On another note - if I am seeking a quick change of attitude in my strong willed soon to be four year old I simply reach into the craft shelf in the pantry.
These are two simple projects we did together this week.

This was a super quick peel and stick ballerina. It included purple and gold glitter paint that Gabrielle used to make "good night light shades" for baby D & Daddy. I used the gold glitter to add the hearts and her name to the top of the curtain.

I had every intention on investing in a nice advent calendar this year, but it didn't happen. So in order to divert Gabrielle from asking if it is Christmas today (everyday) we whipped up this little count down calendar yesterday.
AND ... it worked!
This morning she proudly said, "Mommy, it isn't Tuesday anymore. That means there are eight days until Christmas!"
8 days!!!

Graduation Day

Thursday December 4th was a big day for our little man.
Dawson officially "graduated" from his physical therapy appointments with Ms. Debbie. I {being the emotional person that I am} cried tears of sadness (we will miss our time with Debbie dearly) and joy. Debbie was quick to remind me that Thursday marked a day of triumph. She wanted me to reflect on how much Dawson had progressed over the past year. We left each other with a big hug and Dawson received several squeezes and a kiss or two. We could not have asked for a better PT match. Debbie provided us with kind words, endless encouragement & lots of smiles. She made our dealing with Dawson's torticollis diagnosis an uplifting, pleasurable experience. We shared time in discussing our families and our faith and developed a lasting friendship.
It is so refreshing to know that we will still be in contact with Debbie through her interactions with Gabrielle's classroom once a week.

Holiday Program

Wednesday evening The LeeAnn Britain Infant Development Center hosted its annual Holiday Program at Atonement Lutheren Church. Each class performed one song or dance. Ms. Shanan's Tuesday/Thursday morning class (Gabrielle's class) performed the Jingle Bell Circle Dance. I was so disappointed in the pictures I took that evening. I think I get impatient with the flash and moving objects as we all know can be difficult to capture.

These are the three girls in the class.
Sydney is on the far left, Gabrielle is in the center and Molly is on the right. Gabi said to her Mema "I want a skirt just like Molly's!" It was over the top. News alert - not happening girlfriend!

Ms. Thang making sure she was keeping her audiences attention.

Performance complete and proud of it.
After the program the director invited all the students and their siblings up on stage to sing one final song of We Wish You a Merry Christmas. Gabrielle was all excited and then when she realized I had walked her upstage and gone back and sat on the front row she began having a meltdown. Poor thing. Santa showed up and was passing out really great gifts for the children but the line was horrendous so we skipped out. Maybe next time Santa!

Family Tradition

This last Sunday marked the 1st annual family tradition of rolling, cutting, baking & decorating Christmas cutout cookies.
Oh, I can't forget the best part ... eating them!

This is my absolute favorite smile!


These first few pictures show the pure delight that Gabrielle reflected the entire time. She loved every minute and wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty in the process.


Dad took notice of how extremely focused Gabrielle was on the task of frosting and decorating each cookie.
It was as if each one was her own special masterpiece.


Did I mention that Ms. Magoo loved this special event?
These pictures are worth a million words!

Mema DuBay, Mommy & (grand)daughter

These two share such a special bond with one another.
Gabrielle is 100% her Mema's girl.
We are beyond blessed to have my parents live just around the corner from us.We couldn't imagine our lives without them.

New Improved Look

Our little man has quite the head of hair. I guess you could say he was graced with my side of the family's hair. He received his first trim from Daddy at three months of age. Marietta then shaved him at four months of age and he had had two professional haircuts since then. His last cut was at age ten months (if my memory serves me correct). As his hair kept growing longer and longer I fell in love with his long locks and even his side "wings" that he sported every day. Well ... as the hot weather and humidity have since passed those locks and especially the wings weren't looking so cute anymore so we decided it was time for another cut - #5 if you are counting!

The kids and I love going to see Ms. Jillian.
She is young, fun and full of life.
Oh to be 21 again!!
As you can see from this picture Dawson wasn't quite sure at first if he was happy to be getting a haircut. But wait ... what is that that I see?

A lollipop!!!
{Yes, I realize that makes two lollipops that he has had within a month. That doesn't make me a bad parent. I am a fanatic about oral hygiene so no worries.}

Mmmmm all is well

My little man is looking more and more like a little man as the haircut progresses.
Jillian took a break to love up on baby D and give him a good long lick of that delicious lolli.

And here he is.
Mommy's new man - just as his shirt says
All clean cut and looking cuter than ever.