Santa Picture

We took the kids to the Bass Pro Shop to visit Santa. This was an ideal place to see the big guy because there was virtually no wait. Plus, they have such a cool set-up for Santa with a vintage looking sleigh complete with all nine reindeer! Rudolph poised to leap over Rex's head.
Mara had fun pretending to feed Rudolph.
Ho! Ho! Ho! ...Santa says, "hello".
The picture turned out pretty good. Mara was happy, but was not feeling generous with her smiles. (I'm just glad that she's not crying)

C.T. Eddins Elementary

I am so excited that Rex's elementary school, C. T. Eddins Elementary, was named a National Blue Ribbon School this year. It is a great accomplishment. The school is one of only 14 elementary schools in the whole state to receive this recognition. His school did a lot of special things last week to celebrate their status. The kids had Blue Bell ice cream on Monday and Friday was blue hair day...just to name a few. We went to a Pep Rally in front of the school on Thursday night. It was all a lot of fun. I know the pictures are a little dark, but you get the idea. McKinney Boyd High School Cheerleaders
Scott Johnson Middle School Band
Rex & Mrs. McClellan
Rex & Riley

(Riley & Rex are both in kindergarten at Eddins, but have been friends since they were babies in cradle roll class at church.)

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a wonderful time last weekend in Burnet for Thanksgiving.

We enjoyed a traditional dinner with turkey, dressing, and all the trimmings at my grandmother (Nanny's) house. Rex was privileged to sit at the grown-up table.I was very thankful to have both of my grandfathers and my Dad share Thanksgiving with me.
Yummy! Dinner was delicious. Tim and I really enjoyed the whole weekend...lots of food and football (especially the A&M vs. t.u. game). Whoop!
Mara had fun in Nanny's little rocking chair. It's just the right size for her.
Grana loves to read Rex and Mara bedtime stories. Our family is truly blessed, and we have so many reasons to be thankful. Praise God for taking such good care of us!

Locked Out

Mara and I had quite the adventure this afternoon. I went out into the garage to get something, and when I tried to open the door to get back into the house I was horrified to find that the door was locked! Mara had managed to punch the button lock to the garage access door. This doorknob is tough to turn especially when the lock is engaged. Mara tried to open it for me, but was unsuccessful. I then opened the garage, went around to the front door, and tried to get her to open it for me. The front door was deadlocked, but I thought she might be able to turn the deadbolt so that I could get in. I coached her through the door for quite a while on turning the lock, but it was no use. She wasn't able to unlock any of the doors for me. What to do? What to do? My two-year-old has locked me out of my house! I don't even have a cell phone with me to call for help. Luckily, my neighbor was outside loading furniture into his car. I was able to borrow his cell phone to call Tim at work. Tim was then able to call his parents who live only 20 minutes away, and they have an extra key for our house. Thankfully, Tim's dad was able to immediately come to my rescue. Mara was fine through it all. She was happily playing with her toys on the floor of the living room when we finally got the door open. I think she was relieved to have me back inside the house, and she was even more excited to see Grandpa. What a hassle! I've learned my lesson. From now on, I'm keeping a spare key in the garage for just such an emergency.