Benny's First FHE

It is unreal that I have a son old enough to teach our Family Home Evening lesson. Benny did so well. He picked out a subject and then I helped him pick out some pictures. Benny wanted to teach his lesson on how we take care of our bodies. He did such a good job remembering what to say on his own and he even ad-libbed a bit. I would have recorded it but I was afraid it would distract him too much. Maybe now that he is comfortable I will get the next one on video.



He decided we should have caramel apples for dessert. They turned out pretty well.


I didn't have a candy thermometer so I may have cooked the caramel a minute too long, cause it was tough to bite through.


But we finally finished them after two hours and several lost fillings.

Even Joshua got to enjoy some bites we had to carve off with a butcher knife. Maybe next time I will take him down a different isle in the grocery store.

Fredricksburg

My eternal companion surprised me after Christmas with a get away over Martin Luther King Day weekend. We traveled a whole two hours to the historic Fredricksburg, Texas. It was very relaxing.


The hotel we stayed at had a heated pool and jacuzzi, with a fire and television where you could make smores. Main street was only two blocks away so during the day we walked up and down looking at antiques and local goodies.

Since it was settled by Germans there was plenty of authentic restaurants to eat at. One thing about the Germans is they love there pigs and beer. There was probably twenty different schnitzel and sausage dishes on every menu. We sampled the Schnitzel first and were not impressed. It was pretty close to a chicken fried steak, only pork. I told Chris not to worry, just cause his wife is a German doesn't mean he has to like the schnitzel. But I have to say they have mastered the art of pastry making, because the strudel was magnificent. We had apple served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and I could not stop myself from licking the plate.

We also saw some gorgeous old homes. This was one of our favorites and pretty similar to one I would like to own one day.


This next one is now a museum of some WWI coronal, but it so reminded us of the house off of Mary Poppins, were the old soldiers set off the cannon.


Then we went into an art gallery and I saw the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my entire life.



Isn't he absolutely brilliant. He is a solid bronze swine made for a beef company with the slogan "Eat more beef". He cost $33,000. I so want this. I have loved pigs since I was a little girl and he would look great in my yard, don't you think. Now if only he wasn't the price of a car I could actually see myself buying him one day, but unless we take away one of those threes he will probably remain in that gallery. Oh well a girl can dream.

Thanks Sweetheart for the relaxing weekend away from reality it was so much fun. And special thanks to Nona and Grandad for coming down to babysit. They even had to put up with a sick baby. We really appreciate it.

Sir Elton John/ Mrs S D Lee

While Chris and I were driving to our romantic get away this weekend I was pondering while listening to Sir Elton John and I asked Chris " Do you think that Elton John signs everything Sir Elton John since he was Knighted. I know I would if I had an awesome title like that; credit card receipts, checks, kids permission slips...boom Sir Elton John.

Then I started thinking in away I kinda all ready do. You see I sign everything Mrs S D Lee. It is my permanent signature. I decided this would be my signature long before I got married, well not the Lee part, but the Mrs part, thanks to my best friend Dawn. When we were girls she noticed that my mom signed her checks Mrs B L Bamburg and she mentioned how cool she thought it was. I had never thought about it until she pointed this out. I guess since my Mother and Grandmother were the only women I had ever really seen sign anything I just assumed all married women signed things this way.

I resolved at that moment that I too would proudly sport my title as a wife. Not only would it continue a tradition carried on from my Grandmother and possibly my Great Grandmother, but also a sign of my commitment to the sanctity of marriage.A way to show the world that I was proud of the vows I had taken. I wanted everyone to know that anyone could be an S D Lee, but only someone who had made vows in front of God and all could claim the sacred title of Mrs.

So to all you married or unmarried women out there, if you agree with me or disagree, I don't care I want to hear your opinion on this matter. For or Against. Should women sign using their appropriate title? If you agree with me then I challenge you to be proud of your title and add it to your signature the next time you sign a letter or receipt.

Now I am aware of the irony that this is in the same thought stream as Elton John who is openly gay and probably totally disagrees with the whole sanctity of marriage thing but you can comment on that too if you feel. Meanwhile you can enjoy some of his greatest hits on my music, cause whether or not he has Mrs or not he still rocks.

Oh yeah and I realize I have some teachers that read this so I know that you go by this title regularly, but I want to know how you feel about this in your personal life.

Happy First Birthday My Joshy Posh

We actually had his party on Saturday the second while we were in Tyler with family, but I thought I would wait and post pictures till his actual birthday. Today he is one year old Yay!! We are so glad to have Joshua in our family. He is so smart and funny. He already dances to the beat of music. He has better rhythm than I do. He is super ticklish, but loves to be tickled all the time. Josh will sit on his bum and turn himself in circles with his feet. You just have to see it. It is hilarious. He is my pickiest child for his age. I don't think I am going to be able to take away his bottle at one, like I did with his brothers. We are still working on it. He is also the only one that still takes a bottle in the middle of the night. I have tried everything to get him to sleep all night, oatmeal, rice, beans. I have tried just rocking him when he wakes. He is just one hungry kid. Anyway, he is also my biggest kid. He is heavier than Caleb and almost as tall. It is probably a good thing he isn't walking yet, he may start tackling his brothers. He is such a blessing to have around. He teaches me all kinds of patience and birth control:)!!

Christmas and A Rockin New Year

We had a great Christmas here at home. Chris's parents and Grandma came down from Tyler and Amarillo.

We had our traditional Christmas Eve lasagna that Chris perfected this year. It was seriously the best I have ever had. Our neighbors also came over and I forced everyone to watch my favorite Christmas video " Mr. Kruegers Christmas".
Our neighbor girl who is ten was sooo funny she kept asking if he was going to die. Then we had a great time opening presents.






Benny said that he got everything he wanted from Santa

and insisted that Santa's sleigh did not land on the roof but, landed in the yard cause we didn't have a chimney.



Santa must have enjoyed his cookies and milk cause they were all gone the next morning.

Then Sunday we headed to Tyler for the week. My best friend since I was two was coming into town after five years apart and I didn't want to miss a minute I had to spend with her. This was the first chance she had to meet my kids, and of course it didn't take long before Caleb was in her lap and Benny was crying cause she was leaving to see another friend. I told him that she was coming back and he said he didn't want her to come back. I asked if he wanted her to stay gone and he said No I don't want her to leave at all so she won't need to come back. Hopefully it won't be another five years before we get to hangout again. We had an awesome New Year's party at my Mom's where we spent most of the night playing Rock Band. I have to say that I finally made it to medium on the guitar on one song. Whoo Hoo! We then spent the next two days playing Rock Band with my cousin and his wife who also came in to town for the party. Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures, cause I was too busy partying to carry my camera around. But I did get these pictures of my kids and my cousins kid rockin out. Notice the future Diva in the back.



So in honor of three days of rock Band and because the songs are ingrained in my head I have added them to my play list for your enjoyment. Hope Everyone is having a Happy New Year. I know I am excited to see what 2010 will bring. I am also wondering what we are going to call this decade cause "the teens" just doesn't flow very well.