Her Hillbilly Highness

This is my unflattering new weight watchers ad. I haven’t been doing weight watchers but have modified my diet dramatically and have been working out quite a lot. I have missed over a week of working out because of the holidays, but maybe if I look at this picture from March long enough, I will get back to work!! I have lost 22lbs and have 20 more to go but I am really dedicated to get back that shape that I once had and was proud of.

So, today we are just hanging out and playing with all of our cool toys. One fun thing that we did with Kylie was playing the High School Musical Sing Along game on the Wii. It was so much fun! Alan and I really got into it and were fighting with Kylie over the microphone. Riley dressed himself again and has been playing with his Dinosaurs and tunnel. I need to do laundry and take down all the Christmas decorations but instead I am chomping on ice and playing on the computer.

So, that’s what Christmas break is about, right? Hanging out with the ones you love and doing nothing.

Christmas 2007
We had such a great Christmas this year. Our first family party was at my family’s house in McKinney on Saturday night. We partied so much that we didn’t get finished opening gifts until almost midnight.
That normally would have been fine except we had to pack and leave for Little Rock that next morning.

We got to McKinney at about 4pm and went to take several items to a family in Melissa who really needed help this year. That made us feel so good to help out and to see the gratitude on their faces when we brought stuff in the house to them was awesome. They were really appreciative. Next we started the party right at Mom and Dad’’s with food, drink and a cake walk. Yep, that’s right. Instead of exchanging gifts with everyone, each person brought a bakery item with a gift card attached to it. FUN! Alan got a VISA gift card and I got a World Market one that Kylie really won for me. Then the kids and Beady opened gifts and by then it was pretty late. Finally we got to have our family Christmas which is always my favorite part because my mom always knows just what to get me. The kids got a kitchen and lots of great stuff from the aunts and uncles. Riley opened all of his presents by himself and wanted to stop, open, and play with each one. Kylie loved all of her gifts and was a little sad that we had to go home and go to bed rather than play with everything.

We set out for LR the next day around noon and were so happy to see Meemaw, Peepaw, and Aunt Essie. Essie has been campaigning for Governor Huckabee but she was able to have a couple of days off to come home for Christmas. We really enjoyed spending time with them. The kids had so much fun and Riley didn’t really miss his schedule all that much.

Christmas morning was so much fun for the kids. Alan and I were pretty tired but the looks on their faces made it so worthwhile. Kylie was really impressed that Santa remembered all the things she ‘“ordered’’” and Riley loved his dinosaurs. By the end of the day he had brought in one of the dining room chairs to stand on so that he could dunk his basketball into the goal. Kylie had a great time playing with it as well. She really loved her Barbie Dream House and her American Girl Doll.

We spent the rest of the afternoon in Salado seeing all Alan’s Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Second Cousins, and Granny. We got to see people that we haven’t seen in a while and most of them remarked on how much Riley had changed. We are really proud when other people notice how much he is doing because he has really worked hard for where he is right now.

Most of the time we spent in Arkansas was really relaxing. We needed a break from the busy semester that we endured. We also got to enjoy a candlelight service on Christmas Eve. That really meant a lot and we loved that Kylie loved it as well.

Now we are back at home, safe and sound, and downloading pictures to save those memories that we made at Christmas 2007!

Kylie was so excited and really showed us how surprised she was that Santa came and brought her such cool things and also that he ate all of his cookies and drank all his milk.

This was really a fun Christmas because of the kids. Riley liked all of his things and unwrapped his presents so great! Kylie was so thoughtful and really was excited to play with all of her cool toys.

She got a Barbie Dream House and an American Girl Doll. She got the Just Like Me Doll because we went to the store in December and she pitched a fit in the store and wanted one RIGHT THEN!! This was the week right after she told me that she was a tomboy and she didn’t want any kind of doll! So, before Christmas Nana and Poppy gave her the pajamas and I guess she was pretty sure that she was getting the doll from Santa because we didn’t hear any lip about it.

On Christmas morning she opened her doll’s matching pajamas and she couldn’t wait to put them all on. Her pajamas were way too big so Meemaw stitched them up on the sides pretty good.


This is her new smile and she really wanted to pose with her doll. I think that she thinks this picture is going up in the actual American Doll store because she was giving me directions on how to take the picture. “They do it like this, Mom.”

She got lots of clothes that fit from Meemaw and Peepaw,lots of Barbie stuff, snazzy Nikes, a Pottery Barn Kitchen from Nana and Poppy, HSM Calendar, an art easel, a Scene It Disney game, and lots more that I can’t remember.

My favorite thing that she got? HSM Sing Along. I am having a blast with that thing!!

Riley was a cutie as well. He got a basketball goal and lots of dinosaurs that roar at him. Meemaw and Peepaw fixed him up with jeans that fit and lots of puzzles and learning games, bowling pins, and a bank.

We all had a very, merry Christmas in 2007!

These are just a few of the many sights and sounds that happened on Christmas Eve and days before.
Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to All!




Kylie reading the story of The Birth of Jesus from the book of Luke with minimal help. (Some of those names and places are hard to pronounce!) We were so proud of her!

Riley is doing really great with his new glasses. We have noticed such an improvement! The first day that he had them, he was not too crazy about wearing them for a long length of time. So we worked up to wearing them more and more and now he is wearing them all day. We went into Target the second day that he had them and he was seriously searching the store with amazement in his eyes. It was so cool to watch.

We hit a little snag today because he thinks that he can take them off when we get to Early CLASS or Big School. I think that the problem will clear itself up when he gets used to wearing them over the holidays. Yesterday we only had school in the afternoon so we played and sang all morning. I told him to go get dressed and this is what he came back wearing. Shorts and a backwards shirt! I just had to have a picture.



Thursday is his last day at Early CLASS for the semester. We are so sad yet when we look back at all he has learned, we are really proud of our little guy! I guess I need to make a list of everything that he is doing now. Most importantly he is trying to communicate and we actually had our first fight with words the other day. His favorite things are asking for pizza and McDonalds. Whenever we see a McDonalds he shouts, "Donalds! I want fries!" SO much nicer than screaming and crying! I also met some wonderful friends at Early CLASS. We took this picture before Thanksgiving break. Each one of these women have helped me in some way. Whether it was advice or just simply a shoulder to lean on. I am so blessed for them entering my life.





We will miss some of his Early CLASS friends that are moving on but most of all we will miss Kristen. She was so great with Riley and always supplied him with the words he needed as well as many hugs. Riley definitely noticed whenever she had a day off. He loves to look at her picture and says, "Kristis" We hope only the best for her and will definitely make a place for her in Riley's life. Someone has some really big shoes to fill next semester!

Been there, done that with the cutting of the bangs but when Kylie wants something, she wants it immediately. I can definitely relate. It all started this morning after Meemaw and Peepaw left from babysitting the kids so that we could go to our many Christmas parties last night. Kylie looks at me and tells me that she wants to get her hair cut short like mine. I immediately go into defense mode because I remember the many times that my mom had my hair chopped off for no good reason. I told her no and that was that. Well, this afternoon I noticed that not only did she have bangs, but she had chopped off one side of her hair below her ear. (It's really not that noticable once I angled it.) I asked her if she cut her hair and she confessed and said that she wanted it short and she did it last night when Meemaw went to the bathroom. So I told her to go get the hair that she cut and Alan saw her get it from behind her nightstand. Pretty sneaky, sis!

So, I tried to clean it up and tell her that she would have to wear a ponytail until we could get it cut or shaped and let's just say that she wasn't my biggest fan tonight. After she took her bath she did look cute with the bangs so I am not that mad but she will not be using scissors for a very long time. Also, I feel the need to mention that she is reading THIS book:


Tomorrow I will look for a series that may actually teach her manners and how to not be such a troublemaker.

Also, Alan put up the lights on our house this weekend. They look great and I am so proud of him! So is Kylie and Riles. All in all it was a great weekend! I got to go to the spa and visit with my friends that I never get to see anymore. I also had to say goodbye to two of them for about a year. Alan and I got to go to two fun parties and see people that we love to spend time with and Meemaw and Peepaw got to visit with the kids and see how much Riley has changed. That will be the next entry, Little Riles!