The Christmas Tree That Could...

It was the Sunday after Thanksgiving, and I was determined to get our tree {notice I did not say decorate the tree}. It was really cold and windy outside, so instead of loading the boys all up, I ventured out all by myself. I have become quite the pro at picking out trees very quickly, and within 5 minutes I had located the tree I wanted and was trying to find someone to tie it to the car. I was driving down the street, and got onto the freeway, when lo and behold, a huge gust of wind came, and blew my tree off the car. Yes. Off the car. Onto the freeway. The night before I had had an interesting conversation {after a few glasses of wine} and the people I was talking to said you had to always question people's motives, which is something I rarely do, call me naive. Well, as I sat pulled over on the side of the freeway wondering how in the heck to get the tree out of the road {I called the non emergency police, and my parents who don't live that far, and instructed them to jump in their truck}. As it turns out, before my parents or the police could get there, a good Samaritan got my tree off of the highway, had put it in his trailer, and pulled up next to me and told me to lead the way to my house. I couldn't believe it. He and his wife followed me home, got my tree, put it inside {in two different locations as I have mentioned how I am indecisive...} and then flat out refused to take money from me. I literally chased him to the car with $20, and he pulled out a wad of cash and insisted he had plenty of money, said Merry Christmas, and jumped in his car. I immediately thought about the conversation I had had the previous night, and I know that everyone has the right to their own opinion, and mine is that people, for the most part, are good, and we don't have to question everything everyone does. Please. Who has time for that anyway?!

Tis the Season everyone! May we all remember how truly blessed we are, and stop if you can, and help out your fellow man.

Thanksgiving 2011

This Thanksgiving as always, I am thankful for my family, but most of all, I am so thankful that my grandfather has decided to move in with my aunt and uncle. It will be so hard for him to leave his home in Oklahoma, but we will be so glad that he will be so close to us. We love you Buck!

Rachel and Claudia

Rachel was trying to get Luke to say Roll Tide... but Luke knew the price he would pay later... and kept his mouth shut! Okay, he was roaring. He loved the dinosaur Claudia, Shan and Rachel got him!

Rachel and I

Troy and I

Buck, mom, & Cole

the above plus Luke

dad and cole

the boys!

and the whole gang! I'm taking the pic of course!

Happy Thanksgiving 2011!

{Grateful for the many blessings in my life}

{three} Months

Happy

{3 Months}

Cole Hudson

You are such a happy baby! And you love your brother. He makes you smile. You smile a lot now though, and you really enjoy your swing. You laugh and talk a lot! And you love to stand on our legs, and bounce up and down. You are wearing anywhere from 3-6 months, to 6-12 months depending on the brand, and a size 2 diaper. We love you Cole Hudson Matthews!

Star of the Show

Haley took some awesome family pictures for us, but it is taking me some time to upload them. Our computer is acting up... but I had to share these of the star of the show. Our little ham.

We are FAMILY

The older I get, the more and more family means to me. It's always meant a lot, but... you know what I mean. It's amazing how having children really marks time, and my how fast it goes. I wanted to get the family together and have some pictures taken, and of course, Haley agreed to do it. Thanks Haley, for documenting this time in our lives!

It's Getting to be that time of Year Again...

I know I've said it before, but we are just so darn lucky to have Haley as a friend. She did us a ginormous favor and took the entire family's pics today. We were so grateful! She took us to the most beautiful place, here is a sneak peak. Isn't this place gorgeous? And it just so happened that on this fall day in November, it was a balmy 85 degrees. Here are a couple of pictures that I took while she was taking our pictures...

My silly, and very good looking boys

Luke had enough, and ran away, so Carol Ann snapped a pic of Troy, Cole and I.

Happy Fall Y'all!

Christmas Came Early This Year!

Grandma and Grandpa gave us this awesome present this year! Are we not so lucky? Luke loves it, and we love watching him enjoy it. Thank you so much Grandma and Grandpa!

What took you so long?

Luke was never really that fond of the swing, so I assumed that Cole would not be that thrilled. Well you know what they say about people who assume things... It's very true. Cole loves to swing. The kid will even sleep in this thing. Making me think, oh precious swing, where have you been all my life?

Swinging out, since November, 2011.

Announcing...

{Cole Hudson Matthews}

Once again I had a terrible time deciding what picture to go with, so I had two announcements printed, just like I did with Luke... and at least I am consistently indecisive, right? So you can see the one you did not receive... aren't they so cute? Haley did an amazing job, as always. I love his little monkey tail... and his sweet little face, although, it's far from little now!