Lazy days.......

Not a whole lot going on here....we had a lazy weekend and got caught up on our rest and housework.

Friday after my drug-shopping adventure (see previous post)I went to the local high school football game. Kolin was making his debut performance as a member of his boy scout troops honor guard. This is made up of about 8 boys who present the flags of the branches of the military as well as the Texas and US flag at different events.

I have not been to a high school football game in a long time. Man, those memories come rushing back. There is just nothing like Texas high school football. Even though our team lost we had a great time. Not only did I enjoy the game, I enjoyed the people watching. Looking at all those teenagers and thinking "did I act that goofy at that age?" Yep, I probably did!!


Kolin sitting in the school library before they marched onto the field. Doesn't he look sharp??

It was in the low 50's here Friday night and combined with the wind chill it made for a cold evening. We were all bundled up in the stands.


Kelby, red nose and all, trying to stay warm during the game.

Saturday I had a movie fest, I watched both Click and Poseidon. Click starred Adam Sandler and even though I am not a big fan of his I really enjoyed this movie. It made you really think about slowing down and enjoying life as it is happening. Poseidon was okay, I never saw the original but this version did have great special effects.

I forgot to mention that Thursday night after Kelby's football game Paul and I had date night. We went to the Studio Movie Grill, which is a movie theater that is also a restaurant. Your food is served and you eat while watching the movie. How cool is that? We saw "Flicka" starring Tim McGraw. It is an excellent movie but be warned: bring your tissues. It is a tear-jerker.

The rest of the weekend was spent running errands, a little scrapbooking, reading, and just chilling out.

I wanted to included this last picture because I thought it was just too darn cute. Whenever I am in the office/guestroom working on the computer Rowdy comes in and goes to sleep on the bed. Last night I captured this picture.


Have you ever seen a cuter dog?????

Thanks for checking in.......and also be on alert referrals "should" come this week. Let's all say a little prayer that the CCAA makes great strides this month.

Drugs anyone??

Feast your eyes on my $106 purchase at Target this afternoon. Impressed??? I better explain before you go calling the cops on me. I participate in a healthcare spending account through my employer. Pre-tax money is taken out of check each week and put into a special fund for healthcare purchases. It covers everything from dr visits, presciptions, vision care, otc meds, etc. Well the catch to this type of account is that if you do not use the money by Dec 31, you lose it. That's right, my money that I earned being forfeited. Paul and I were both blessed this year that we have only been to the doctor a few times and needed few prescription meds. Just out of curiousity I checked my account balance this week and found out that I had $275 that needed to be spent. I am very frugal and was not about the forfeit one penny so off to Target I went. In addition to the normal meds you may have around the house I went ahead and purchased the meds I thought we might need for China (don't worry I checked the expiration dates). Now, Miss Avery is the proud owner of Tylenol and Motrin (both infant and children's), Orajel, Butt Paste, mylicon drops, a digital thermometer, and Strawberry Shortcake band aids. Paul and I were treated to eye drops for the plane, Immodium (no explanation necessary), cold medicines, tums, and several other goodies.

You should have seen the looks I got while wandering around the pharmacy aisles filling my basket with a little of this and that. If anyone out there has any suggestions about other children's meds I might need, feel free to send them this way.

So, what did you do with your Friday afternoon?

Dinner with the family

What happens when you mix your biological family with your Great Wall family for dinner and socializing??????

A great time is had by all!!!!!!!!

This past Saturday we had that opportunity. Paul and I get together with other Great Wall families every couple of months and this time several of the couples invited their parents along for the fun. Paul parents were both working but my parents were able to attend. My parents thought it was a great way to get to actually meet the people they hear me talk about so often. I think dad spent the entire night starting at Mollianne, Mia, and Emily. Don't worry dad, we will have Avery home before you know it.

Now on to the pictures of the night.

Bob, Don and Judy (Kelley's parents), and Chuck

Anton, Barbara (Erin's mom), Gary, Erin, and Christie

Okay, why is my table the crazy bunch???? Valerie, my dad, Jamie, and Matt (my mom and Paul are hiding somewhere behind Jamie)

Kim and Bobby, Mary Jane and JD (Teresa's parents), Teresa and David, Tim and Daneen

And last but certainly not least:
Kelley - she wouldn't let me take a picture of her new stylin' tennis shoes so go on over to her blog and read the saga of the shoes.

Huge thanks go out to Teresa and David for allowing us to congregate in their wonderful historic home.

Erin, feel free to steal these pics and correct me on any of the names!!

Hope everyone is having a great week!!

How could I forget????

Well, I did not really forget the date, I just forgot to post it yesterday. Yesterday marked the 10 month anniversary of our Log In Date. At this point we know we have made it through review with no questions asked (answered prayer) and now we are in the line in the matching room. Many people have asked me lately why the process slowed down. Of course I cannot answer that question but I have gotten in the habit of saying, "It's like when I go to Wal-Mart, whatever line I pick suddenly starts moving the slowest. Well, we picked China and thus they slowed down!!" Sorry to all the people in line behind me!!

Hey but it is uplifting to see that we are now in the double digits. At this point we will take whatever little milestones we can get. So Happy 10 months to us!!!!!!!!!!!

I have "officially" started my Christmas Shopping..

With Christmas a mere two months away, I finally bit the bullet and began my shopping. Normally, I would be way over half way done by this point, but after looking at my shopping habits for the past few years I have decided that doing it early doesn't mean I save money. It just means people get a lot more gifts because I keep shopping all the way to Christmas. Yesterday I made my first purchase for Christmas '06. Let the fun begin!!!!

Just so you know I AM one of those psycho people that get up at 3am the day after Thanksgiving to go grab those great bargains. Thanksgiving Day around here means eating until you are on the verge of puking, watching the Cowboys play, combing through the newspaper ads to see what is available, making a priority list (we call it the "game plan") and then sometimes even sleeping in our clothes so that when the alarm goes off at 3am we can just jump in the car and leave. Do they make medicine for this kind of behavior??????