2011 Holiday Season
my aunt and her sister (my mom!)
Thanksgiving 2011, Mansfield TX
a little archery practice before lunch
Thanksgiving 2011, Mansfield TX
my aunt and uncle, fussing with the gravy
Thanksgiving 2011, Mansfield TX
oven packed with tradition
Thanksgiving 2011, Mansfield TX
half of the Thanksgiving spread
Thanksgiving 2011, Mansfield TX
pure goodness (that I totally forgot to eat!)
Thanksgiving 2011, Mansfield TX
Thanksgiving sunset
Thanksgiving 2011, Mansfield TX
new worship venue (we outgrew the last one!)
FBC McKinney – December 2011
FBC McKinney – December 2011
FBC McKinney – December 2011
FBC McKinney – December 2011
FBC McKinney – December 2011
Lord's Supper
FBC McKinney – December 2011
my dad... this time as a king instead of a Pharisee
"Deck the Halls" worship service, FBC McKinney – November 27, 2011
church staff *playing* "Feliz Navidad" on iPads and iPhones
"Deck the Halls" worship service, FBC McKinney – November 27, 2011
our Executive Pastor joining in on vocalizer
"Deck the Halls" worship service, FBC McKinney – November 27, 2011
pre-show by a Blue Man Group featuring our Student Minister, Senior Pastor, and Director of Communications
"Deck the Halls" worship service, FBC McKinney – November 27, 2011
"Deck the Halls" worship service
FBC McKinney – November 27, 2011
"Deck the Halls" worship service
FBC McKinney – November 27, 2011
"Deck the Halls" worship service
FBC McKinney – November 27, 2011
"Deck the Halls" worship service
FBC McKinney – November 27, 2011
"Deck the Halls" worship service
FBC McKinney – November 27, 2011
"Deck the Halls" worship service
FBC McKinney – November 27, 2011
"Deck the Halls" worship service
FBC McKinney – November 27, 2011
our favorite drummer during "Deck the Halls" worship service
FBC McKinney – November 27, 2011
"Deck the Halls" worship service
FBC McKinney – November 27, 2011
"Deck the Halls" worship service
FBC McKinney – November 27, 2011
"Deck the Halls" worship service
FBC McKinney – November 27, 2011
our worship leader (and favorite drummer)
"Deck the Halls" worship service – FBC McKinney, November 27, 2011
"Deck the Halls" worship service
FBC McKinney – November 27, 2011
children's choir during "Deck the Halls" worship service
FBC McKinney – November 27, 2011
"Deck the Halls" worship service
FBC McKinney – November 27, 2011
"Deck the Halls" worship service
FBC McKinney – November 27, 2011
"Deck the Halls" worship service
FBC McKinney – November 27, 2011
"Deck the Halls" worship service
FBC McKinney – November 27, 2011
candle-lighting portion of "Deck the Halls" worship service
FBC McKinney – November 27, 2011
"Deck the Halls" worship service
FBC McKinney – November 27, 2011
a true giving tree
FBC McKinney – November 27, 2011
showing off his newest handcrafted ornaments to PawPaw
November 27, 2011
November 27, 2011
best decoration at D's house (their heads swivel while music plays!)
November 27, 2011
my itty bitty Christmas tree
December 2011
Father Christmas figurine (a favorite)
December 9, 2011
a few decorations for my flat
December 9, 2011
jingle (door)bells
December 9, 2011
a few of my decorations
December 2011
my fave holiday design
December 2011
a quick game of LIFE with K2 and D
December 9, 2011
reading "The Polar Express" with me
December 9, 2011
a long winter's nap for K2
December 9, 2011
D and my only puppy Abigail
December 9, 2011
pajama day
December 10, 2011
loved this display!
December 24, 2011
winter flowers
December 16, 2011
decorations in the neighborhood
December 16, 2011
decorated county courthouse
McKinney, TX – December 22, 2011
Christmas shopping with dad
December 14, 2011
loved this tree!
Whole Foods – December 13, 2011
a day in the town where I grew up (with Mom and Dad)
Sherman, TX – December 15, 2011
decorations in the doctor's office
Sherman, TX – December 15, 2011
a quick check-up for the dad
Sherman, TX – December 15, 2011
Cracker Barrel's famous rockers, all decked out for Christmas
December 15, 2011
visiting Kiwi at work
Cracker Barrel – December 15, 2011
sock monkey Christmas tree!
Cracker Barrel – December 15, 2011
I take photos of all the trees
Bells High School – December 15, 2011
W's first band concert
at BHS "New Gym" – December 15, 2011
three-quarters of a family
following W's first band concert – December 15, 2011
building the final piece of the Christmas train
Lowe's – December 17, 2011
concentration
Build and Grow at Lowe's – December 17, 2011
building the Christmas train engine
Lowe's – December 17, 2011
the finished product
Lowe's – December 17, 2011
the finished product (and his mom)
Lowe's – December 17, 2011
yes, I can use a needle and thread... just not often
embellishing a replacement stocking – December 17, 2011
Rudolph the red-nosed balloon reindeer
December 2011
another great tree, seen during a job interview
Dallas, TX – December 19, 2011
trying out a new cider recipe
December 23, 2011
making ornaments for the kids (crunch time)
December 21, 2011
movie day with K2, introducing the "Home Alone" movies
December 22, 2011
picking up supplies for D's candy box
Mom and Popcorn Company – December 22, 2011
the completed project (exterior)
December 23, 2011
the completed product (interior)
December 23, 2011
and then there was wrapping to do (on Christmas Eve, no less!)
December 24, 2011
FBC McKinney – December 24, 2011
Christmas Eve worship
FBC McKinney – December 24, 2011
Christmas Eve worship
FBC McKinney – December 24, 2011
Christmas Eve worship
FBC McKinney – December 24, 2011
a little Guitar Hero to kick off the service
FBC McKinney – December 24, 2011
sand art
FBC McKinney – December 24, 2011
sand art completion
FBC McKinney – December 24, 2011
candlelight
FBC McKinney – December 24, 2011
FBC McKinney – December 24, 2011
FBC McKinney – December 24, 2011
FBC McKinney – November 27, 2011
all wrapped up and ready to go
Christmas Eve 2011
D and his dad, tracking Santa online
Christmas Eve 2011
K2 chillin' by the fire
Christmas Eve 2011
D and his mom
Christmas Eve 2011
the mom's traditional reading of "Twas the Night Before Christmas"
K2, Janeen and D – December 24, 2011
Santa's Christmas Eve snack and letter from D
December 24, 2011
D's letter to Santa
Christmas Eve 2011
Santa's letter to D
Christmas Day 2011
Kiwi's ornament from me, honoring her upcoming high school graduation
Christmas 2011
W's ornament (handmade, cut, layered, trimmed... by me!)
Christmas 2011
D and Kiwi
Christmas Day 2011
my brothers-in-law (Mark and Shane)
Christmas Day 2011
family prayer at lunch
Christmas Day 2011
Christmas ham and my sister's deviled eggs
Christmas Day 2011
the Christmas lunch spread
Christmas Day 2011
apparently there was a grandkids photo while I was out of the room
Christmas Day 2011
Kiwi's favorite gift
Christmas Day 2011
W's gifts from me (a favorite that day and an interest we share)
Christmas Day 2011
Kiwi and K2 with his gift of cash
Christmas Day 2011
K2 and $30 in ones, taped together in a roll (thanks Muddy and PawPaw!)
Christmas Day 2011
D and a gummy Army man
Christmas Day 2011
W's sneak attack
Christmas Day 2011
Kiwi with her requested gift from me: watch pendant reminiscent of "Alice in Wonderland"
Christmas Day 2011
D and his dad, resting during the family gift exchange (!)
Christmas Day 2011
W's response the drawn-out gift exchange
Christmas Day 2011
my sister Joanie and her husband Shane
Christmas Day 2011
Kiwi and me (in terrible lighting with horrible focus)
Christmas Day 2011
sisters (in terrible lighting with horrible focus!)
Christmas Day 2011
my favorite photo all day... and a total accident!
Christmas Day 2011
D and his mom, with bedtime fast approaching
Christmas Day 2011
the traditional photo of "gifts I received"
Christmas Day 2011
and me, finally relaxing at home
Christmas Night 2011
and away it goes...
January 2, 2012
2011 June – August
Summer Story 2011
decked out
Kiwi, her Aunt Neen, and sister-cousin Linz, all decked out for the Poison concert
get-well penguin
a gift for the second boy upon emergency surgery
Dubya
the second boy after emergency appendectomy
a day at the lake
toes in the water
the extent of my submersion in the lake
water sports
Janeen, D, K2 and PawPaw tossing around the football
brothers
D and K2, in one of their great brother moments
Baywatch moment
K2, who doesn't even know what Baywatch is, I'd guess
Bella
Kiwi's cousin Linz brought her new little puppy, Bella, along to the lake party
Bella and the second boy
Bella and Kiwi
lovin' on Bella
all the kids loved that puppy, and the last boy just had to make sure he got into the photo with Linz
Kiwi and Bella
my favorite shot of the day
a little music to relax
I gave D my GLEE playlist when the moment came for him to chill a bit
early summer moon
June 2011
favorite summer activity
family movie outing
June 24, 2011
angry birds
D needed something to pass the time while waiting (first) in line for CARS
CARS
one sister's family
I joined the boys and their parents for CARS
Studio Movie Grill
runaway beagle girl
retrieving the baby girl from a runaway jaunt around her neighborhood
beagle prison
after 3 escapes from her backyard, I had to imprison the baby girl until her family returned from vacation
summer breakfast
McDonald's mango-pineapple shakes are the best!
my office for the day
McDonald's dining room, Wylie TX
Happy Birthday
family birthday party for D (July 10, 2011)
waiting for the birthday surprise
Surprise!
the birthday boy
one of his favorite things
the boy and his dad
Mark and D, testing out the bouncy castle
father-son time
a quick rest
Mark and D
nine candles
CARS cookie cake
birthday boy
cousins
K2, Kiwi, D, and Dubya
the second boy
the first boy
silly cousins
Dubya, Kiwi, D, and K2
a cousin chat
Kiwi and K2
sweaty birthday boy
K2 and PawPaw
one of my favorites photos of the day
birthday hug
Aunt JoJo and D
PawPaw and the birthday boy
chatting
Dubya, Shane, and PawPaw
Miss Kiwi
playing around on Aunt Neen's new iPad
Kiwi
Kiwi's new car!
pool day during MLB All-Star Week
Pool Day with K2 and D
they've been wanting to check out my apartment pool for years
brothers
K2 and D at apartment pool
brothers at play
K2
standing on the dividing wall
I love that this photo shows a sign for "No Diving"
dipping my toes
not yet swimming at this point, but I had to cool off somehow
cheering on the last boy
K2 is always helping D learn to swim better
the last boy
texting
K2 was always tired before the rest of us
my view
my early visits to the pool never included swimming
poolside
the last and the first boys
D and K2 came to my place to enjoy the MLB All-Star festivities
rooting for the American League
D had to represent his Rangers, though, by keeping that blue hat on his head
Home Run Derby 2011
always fun to have the rivalry show up
chillin' during the All-Star Game
D spent the evening checking in on the game while also lying in my bed and listening to the GLEE playlist
down for the night
D sleeps at the foot of my bed whenever he stays overnight. (I have a rule that no kids are allowed to sleep beside me. We don't play nice.)
one last visit
going-out-of-business sale at my favorite local bookstore
goodbye
my favorite hangout
Borders newsstand
still unemployed
with no real bites in over a year and a bare minimum part-time job for salary
work days
where I spent most all of my time this summer (taken on a rare *daytime* schedule)
Twitter break
my usual spot – stretched across the bed, checking in to social circles
sunning at poolside
In late August I finally got over myself and purchased a swimsuit – my first in 20 years.
tools of my swims
turtle kickboard, polkadot towel, and a cold bottle of water
late summer swim
I almost always had the pool all to myself. Can't believe how much I loved getting back into the water!
consequence: sunburned
my fair skin can react no differently to the sun
late summer sky
August 2011
late summer moon
August 2011
bedtime
this summer, my typical "schedule" had me awake all night and heading to bed as the sun came up
insomnia
and when I couldn't sleep, iPhone was my companion
the state of my sleep
quite often the look of my bed after waking in the dark hours (sleeping *across the width* of my bed!)
wake-up or go-to-sleep
This a.m. hour could easily have been a wake-up time after all-day sleep or a heading-to-bed time after all-night awake.
morning hair
crazy sleep leads to "morning" hair
early morning food run
Many a morning took me out before sunrise in search of food and/or caffeine. This is what all-nighters do to this girl.
no curfew
McDonald's summed it up best: "thirst has no curfew" – so thankful for $1 Cokes!
24-hour car wash
these are the things that were made for people like me
getting real
with all the topsy-turvy days and nights, I sometimes had nothing left in me after only a shower
how I worked all summer
TV as my playlist + laptop at my fingertips
typical summer playlist
last summer movie
August 16, 2011
new favorite neighborhood restaurant
di-vine fish tacos
Fuzzy's nachos
these are pretty good, too!
homemade pizza
yes, I do cook on occasion (but rarely)
sno-cones from a pirate ship
sno-cone summer treats
bubblegum for D, cheesecake for K2, and some kind of (really awful) mango-blend for me
summer beverage of choice
Route 44 cherry limeade
favorite summer fruit #1
favorite summer fruit #2
a healthy snack
super-plump red grapes
impromptu healthy snack
rosemary garlic Triscuit with soft cream cheese + sliced nectarine
favorite summer dessert
pink lemonade pies (in miniature!)
drive-thru craving
because they're open late nights!
lunch with Dad
coloring chilies for St. Jude's at Chili's restaurant
chilies!
chilies for St. Jude's at Chili's restaurant
back-to-school supplies
my favorite part of summer's wane
best spiral notebook EVER
TOO EARLY!
my summer wasn't even over yet! (seen in late August 2011)