lately

I notice on my blog visitor list, that several of you have checked in looking for news - Sorry... I really don't have any!

I haven't taken any great pics lately - and other than a weekend trip to San Antonio to visit Nana and Pa, there has been no excitement around here. Tim got the flu while we were out of town - I got bronchitis soon after, Tommy as usual had his nose to the grindstone (thanks babe) and poor Maggie had the worst thing of all - SEMESTER EXAMS! Here are some random pics from the last two weeks:

This is my mom and dad - it had been a cold nasty, rainy day - mom had just gotten over a few weeks of the flu or something horrible, and she recently had cataract surgery. How cute does she look anyway?!

Tim and his friend Ben at Restoration Hardware - they were FREAKIN' EXCITED to be there!!!

Poor Ben - Tim also started running a 104 temp. about an hour after this was taken - his San Antonio trip was not very fun - Sorry Ben!

I actually had planned on taking the kids to the zoo the following day - Tim thought everyone should go anyway and he would just stay at home with Nana - but Ben vetoed that idea, saying he didn't feel good about leaving Tim behind - he said the zoo would not be as fun without "a little bit of hyper!" Now, that is a good friend!

Tim had been washing his hands - well, he was a bit distracted by the magical soap bubbles!

mag and a few friends working on the monster Chemistry review packet - they looked just like this for HOURS!!

and finally - Sprout killed yet another mouse - nothing unusual, but this one had babies. She was kind enough not to eat them - she just pulled them out and left them alone - she sure is a sweet kitty!

My little animal activist, Tim, of course was mortified! I actually thought it was kind of cool - seriously, click on one of the pics to enlarge and check how cool their little forming bodies look!

Snow Men of Forney

Maggie had a doctor appointment this afternoon, so we took a few minutes on our way home to drive around and check out the snowmen in our town - we liked these in particular. Which is your favorite?

Sister Wright!! It's SNOWING!!!

Wow! Was I teaching a sunday school lesson?

Who can remember?

There is SNOW!!!

Tim and the Snowball

He wouldn't let me take a formal snow day pic, but this one is cute, so I'll take it!

NOW it feels like winter!

It has taken long enough! We have had many 70 degree days here in Dallas, so when the weather man said snow, we were skeptical in our house. As we headed to church in the pouring rain, I felt like that would be all that we got.

But while we were in the chapel, the snow began to fall! YAY! We sang "Once there was a snow man" in primary and I wished we could take the children outside to sing it the right way!!

I snapped a quick pic after church, because I knew I would not get tim out of his wet snow clothes for a good shot after he started to play!

Of course I was able to get one of Maggie!

Mag and Haley playing in it - Haley slid down that little hill awfully fast and couldn't really get traction enough to get back up! Super funny!

So since school was delayed for a few hours, we invited everyone for breakfast! FUN!!

We had a bit of a buffet going on!

French Toast

Breakfast Burritos

Pancakes

and more!

Charlie REALLY wanted in on the big snow day buffet!

This was a glass of chocolate milk - he chugged the whole thing at once!

Maggie was drinking straight from the carton and only released it after scott chased and tackled her for it!

Poor Maggie felt so sick that she had to lay down right there on the kitchen floor to keep from throwing up - must have been what she ate - here is the list:

A HUGE breakfast burrito

A Plate of Pancakes

Two tall glasses of chocolate milk

The remainder of the milk in the carton (at least another glass worth!)

No wonder she felt sick!

Its nice to have a change of pace sometimes! We

like the snow - but only now and then to shake things up!

Merry Christmas

There has been a lot going on over the past week or so - too much to journal every detail - so here are some pics - mostly Christmas:

Mag's friend Carlie is home from college and wanted some friend pics. I absolutely love the pic of Maggie holding the fluffy weed thingy!

Her golf buddy Brian tagged a long for pics, and I snapped a shot of them together too!

Christmas Eve was spent in Gilmer, at Tommy's parents house:

Y'know that Saturday Night Live skit with Lawrence Welk and the Merrill sisters? Doesn't Tommy look like the last sister here?!

I warned her I was going to be posting pics on my blog and she made this face anyway...

Tim typically parks in front of the computer and stays put!

Rebecca, Maggie and Lindsey crafted most of the day

Sweet Mary! - Gran's fudge was delicious!

Me, Mag & Rebecca making fun of the "my space face" in the bathroom. I'm super hip!

Keith & Mag

Papa & Tim

Rebecca, Brenda & Lindsey

My attempt at getting a pic of my kids in front of the tree

Rebecca & Tim

Tim & Lindsey

Tommy & Keith - caught in the banana pudding!

awww!

This shot makes me laugh because it is so typical of any gathering at gran and papas house - everyone in the kitchen, munching on whatever is out on the counters!

Part of the house - it goes around to the next lot too - and on to the backyard - complete with music!

Then we headed home for our traditional Christmas Eve family stuff - opening the crepe paper balls from Nana, new pajamas, the Christmas story read by maggie, Twas the Night before Christmas by daddy, hanging of stockings, cookies for santa and off to bed!

Christmas morning was quiet this year since it was just the four of us - but it was really nice!

Charlie wishing Maggie a Merry Christmas! (or begging her for hot chocolate!)

opening all of those gifts is clearly exhausting!

Tommy making Christmas breakfast! He makes THE BEST EGGS!! He leaves the sausage gravy & biscuits to me!

As for New Years Eve - Mag & some of her friends went out to Plano for dancing, while Tim had a friend over for midnight celebrations.

Sorry, no pics of tim and his celebration :(

at midnight!