Christmas pictures

Alex was thrilled with his ISOBOT (remote control robot).

We gave Emma a digital camera.

Rebekah received an Ipod Nano.

Santa outdid us all and gave the kids a Wii system.

Tween Life

Rebekah would spend all of her day on the computer talking on the phone if we would let her.

Weekend

We had a good weekend. Saturday we had a houseful of kids coming and going which is just one of the many things I love about living in this house. Saturday night Jeff and I attended a progressive Christmas party. It was such a fun and yummy time! Sunday after church we went to my stepmother's house for an early Christmas with her, her fiance, and my sister and her family.
The absolute best part was a gift my stepmother gave to my sister and I. She handed the bag to Julie and said that this was for her this year and for me the next year. Inside was an ornament that had belonged to my dad. He received it as a child and it says "Merry Christmas Johnny". (his name was John but my Grandma Angeline called him Johnny). Julie and I were overcome with emotion. It means everything to us to have this part of him.

Rebekah, Aunt Julie, Madison & Alex

Grammy, Emma & Reagan

The frenzy

I am exhausted. I have been on nonstop Christmas detail this week and we still have six days until Christmas. I am so over the shopping, driving, wrapping, shipping, and baking. I was looking forward to a much needed break today which meant that I was attending Rebekah's 5th grade field trip to the Houston Museum of Natural Science and then helping at her class holiday party. How's that for a break?!

The following is a list of my favorite blog posts. The final post listed below from March 2008 is actually the post regarding the "red pitcher", not the post from the titled link.
If I was more technologically saavy I could have only the title of the post and not the entire URL. oh well... I do the best I can!
http://texasfamilymatters.blogspot.com/2007/09/mouths-of-babes.html
http://texasfamilymatters.blogspot.com/2007/10/emmas-teacher-conference.html
http://texasfamilymatters.blogspot.com/2007/11/childs-prayer.html
http://texasfamilymatters.blogspot.com/2007/12/clean-hair-101.html
http://texasfamilymatters.blogspot.com/2008/01/something-right.html
http://texasfamilymatters.blogspot.com/2008/02/like-father-like-daughter.html
http://texasfamilymatters.blogspot.com/2008/03/if-i-were-president.html

Sunday comics

This afternoon I was walking from my bedroom and I could see Alex at the kitchen table. I did not see what he was doing so I asked him. He had the Sunday comics spread out in front of him and he then picked them up and replied," oh, just reading the paper."

Slumber party

Friday night Emma had a belated birthday party with her friends. We had 5 eight old girls who were ready to party! They ate dinner, ice cream sundaes, opened presents, played, played louder and then played as loud as they possibly could. Jeff and I finally shut it down about 10pm. All in all, the girls had a great time!

Christmas silliness

Wednesday night I primped and prepped the kids for their Christmas card picture. What do you think?

Elf Yourself

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Christmas questions

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? wrapping paper

2. Real tree or artificial? artificial

3. When do you put up the tree? early December weekend

4. When do you take the tree down? New Year's Day or the closest weekend to it

5. Do you like eggnog? yes

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Barbie house that folded into itself (hard to describe!)

7. Hardest person to buy for? HUSBAND

8. Easiest person to buy for? any of my 3 kids
9. Do you have a nativity set? yes, it sits on our coffee table

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? mail and it is typically a family picture

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? can't say (don't want to offend anyone!)

12. When do you start shopping for Christmas? mid November
13. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No

14. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas: the sweets!! Fudge & frosted cookies top the list

15. Lights on the tree? yes, the BIG tree has clear, the 4 other trees have multi-colored

16. Favorite Christmas song? Joy to the World this song says it all

17. Travel for Christmas or stay home? this year we are staying home

18. Angel or star on the tree top? Star

19. Open presents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning? both - Jeff always opened presents Christmas Eve so we honor that tradition; then on Christmas morning we have Santa's present and stockings

20. Most annoying thing about this time of year? How hurried and rude people can be

21. Favorite ornament? don't have just one.. I love reflecting on the ones from my childhood, early in my marriage (First Christmas together 1995) and my kids' "Baby's First Christmas"

22. Favorite Christmas colors? red, white and green... I'm pretty traditional with my decorating

23. Favorite Chrismas dinner? rib roast, cheesy potatoes, ceasar salad, Red Velvet cake

24. What do you want for Christmas this year? for my children to appreciate all they have

25. Any special Christmas collection? yes, Liberty Falls town from Dillards and an ornament from the places I visited during the year (this year it was Charleston and Maui. If only I could get Jeff to join in to the collection we would have ornaments from all over the world!)

Birthday Month

November is a big birthday month in the Griffin household. Alex turned 6 years old on the 8th. He had a Pokemon party at the house with seven friends. They had a great time!
The 19th is Jeff's big day. He indulged in his favorite, homemade chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.
Emma's celebration is what takes the longest. Her birthday is Nov. 28th. We always celebrate on Thanksgiving with family, then the day of her birthday Jeff and I treat her like the little princess she is, and in December she will have a party with her friends.

Cutest kids

Isn't it something how we each think our own kids are THE CUTEST?!?!

Halloween

Ash Ketchum from Pokemon, a Pirate cutie, and a Sweetheart bat

Allow me to brag

Rebekah came home today with terrific news! She was voted by all the fifth grade teachers as Navigator of the Month for October! (student of the month for those of you not attending Sienna Crossing Elementary.)
This is quite an honor. Every month teachers from each grade level vote on which boy and which girl has exemplified overall positive qualities in the classroom - intereacting with peers, following classroom rules - just all around good "gators." Not only was she selected for October, it is the first selection for the school year. She will attend a luncheon with the principal and 2 assistant vice-principals. Her picture will be on display for the school to view.
One of her teachers emailed me this, "Overall, she's adjusted so nicely to our school and is a pleasure to teach. I can tell she really does want to do well. We enjoy her very much. "

This is quite remarkable and we are so happy and proud for her.

Sunday

Sometimes the forces of the universe all come together and all 3 of my children play nicely with each other! We had such a nice Sunday. First was church where the pastor continued his series, The Family Survival Guide, and the sermon was directed toward effective, loving parenting. In the afternoon we played outside in our beautiful backyard and went for a family bike ride.

Shame on me Part 2

It has been over 5 months since my last post -- shame on me! During this time we have sold a house, bought a house, adopted out our dog Jake, vacationed in Maui, moved in to the new house, started a new school year, and survived Hurricane Ike.

The kids are all doing good. Rebekah is active in soccer and school choir; Emma is participating in an art class; and Alex is doing soccer and the art class. In early September he finally learned how to ride his bike without training wheels. He also finished his reading lessons and is officially a VERY GOOD reader. All of their activities are in Sienna so that makes my week easier with getting everyone where they need to be.

Jeff was in London this summer for close to a month (which most if not all of you already know). Currently he is in Oslo, Norway. At the end of the month he will be in Austin and then in November in Las Vegas. He says he also needs to get to Italy and Germany before the year end. We'll see how that goes!

I keep myself fairly busy with home projects (decorating being the #1 on the short list!) I have all day every weekday to "do my thing" now that Alex is in Kindergarten (deep sigh and pause to wipe the tears).

Mini-Society

I have a problem!!!!!! At my school we are having a thing called Mini-Society. What we do in it is we sell stuff that we make for 3rd graders. I can't think of a idea for something to sell!!!
I could take a job like the money cutter but I would rather sell something...
If you have any ideas PLEASE RESPOND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

P.S It has to be something creative that is possible to make for a 4th grader

P.P.S I need anwser as soon as possible!!!!!!!!!

P.P.P.S Rebekah wrote this article!

Are you a Tigger or an Eeyore?

This question was posed by Carnegie Melon Professor Randy Pausch, who is dying from pancreatic cancer, in his "Last Lecture" Sept. 2007. I found myself welling up with tears throughout most of the speech but this one question has stuck with me the most.

Are you a Tigger or an Eeyore? He said the Tiggers are energetic, optimistic, enthusiastic, curious and have fun. It got me thinking.. Do I greet each day with a renewed enthusiasm and positive outlook? Or does everyday come with a woe-is-me attitude? Do I greet others with a smile and happy heart? Or do I tell them all the bad things in my life? Do I hug my children and tell my husband I love him? Or do I get wrapped up in all the things they did "wrong"?

I CHOOSE TO BE A TIGGER!

Birthday girl

Today is my dear friend Stacy's birthday. She and I have been friends since junior high. We have gone through high school, college, boyfriends, husbands, children, secrets, new jobs, new homes, and one half marathon and are still going strong! (FYI we are traveling to Charleston, SC in 5 weeks for a girls-away vacation.)

I had an opportunity to see her last week and was struck once again by how beautiful a person she is, both in her appearance and her personality. She is the total package -- Christian, pretty, smart, fun, thoughtful and most importantly Stacy lives to be the best mother and wife she can be.

I am so thankful that I have been a part of her life and can't tell you how much her friendship has been a blessing to me.

Happy birthday girlfriend!

Easter Sunday

Our Easter was filled with faith and family. We attended the early church service and I was so blessed by the worship and Pastor Hartman's message. Our Redeemer Lives!
Rebekah has begun to notice that she has friends who attend churches that are not Baptist. Her questions have been about their church practices and mainly, are they going to heaven? I tell her what I have believed throughout most of my adult life given my own personal experiences with various denominations: when we stand before God I don't think He will ask "Did you go to the Baptist church?" But rather "Did you know my Son?" (Coincidentally our pastor addressed that in last week's message.) One can sit on a Baptist pew every week, kneel at a Catholic mass or sing in a Presbyterian choir and still have never accepted Jesus as Saviour. That act of faith is what determines where we spend eternity, not the church denomination we select as our place of worship.

In the early afternoon my step-mother and her fiancee came over for lunch. Then we hid the Easter eggs for the kids. The remainder of our afternoon was spent in the glorious weather outside with neighbors.

Happy spring!

Spring Break

We had an eventful spring break. On Monday the kids and I met my friend Stacy and her son Cody at the Houston Children's Museum.

This is Alex listening to the newly hatched baby chicks.

Emma did this face painting herself!

Here is a rare glimpse of the three kids playing together.

Emma spent the night with Grammy on Tuesday, Thursday we joined the Jacksons and the Gabinos at Chuck E. Cheese, and Friday Jeff took a vacation day and the family went to Kemah Boardwalk. Yummy food, LOTS of people!
Our weather was so perfect this week that we spent alot of time outside in the front playing and chatting with neighbors. Hope your week was just as wonderful!

Rebekah comment

For dinner tonight the family went to a local Mexican resturant. As we were leaving I spied someone I wanted to say hello to so the kids and I went over to him. I chatted for just a minute and when we left I asked Rebekah if I had anything on my face. Her response? "What? Do you mean like wrinkles?" No, I meant like food! Can you believe that ?! I'm only 36 and am proud to say that I do NOT have wrinkles. She seems to think I have them on my nose and cheeks. What do your kids think you have that you clearly do not?

If I were President

by Emma

If I were President I would do these things. Like make sure the earth is clean, give kids cats and dogs if they want one, throw a party, let people go on t.v. without paying, make sure nobody gets cancer, tell people to do good stuff, make everybody go to church, they have nice manners, eat well and be healthy, help people with stuff, help people drink healthy water. the end.

I couldn't agree more with her!

To you this looks like a red drinking pitcher. To me it is my childhood. This 2 quart plastic pitcher is what my mom would put the Kool-Aid in for me and my sister. Whenever we saw it in the refridgerator we knew the contents.. KOOL-AID! Not water, not iced tea, not juice... KOOL-AID! This was a big deal, if memory serves me correctly, because Kool-Aid was not an everyday consumption. It was a real treat.
I would guess that the pitcher is 30 years old. Even at its cleanest there still exists a sweet drink scent. Several years ago I asked my mother if she would let me have the pitcher. I have continued the Kool-Aid tradition with my kids and when they see it in our fridge they too know the contents... KOOL-AID!

Typing test

85 words

http://speedtest.10-fast-fingers.com">Speed test

Ear Piercing

Saturday Rebekah had her ears pierced. Her Grandma Bonnie came over and we took Rebekah to Claire's Boutique. She selected her birthstone, "diamond", for her starter earring.
Jeff had the rule that the girls must be 10 years old to have ears pierced. She is just 2 months away from that so we decided to have it done. She was pretty brave about it all. The pictures are first of her waiting, then 2 Claire's girls cleaned each ear, marked them and readied to pierce, and the third picture is of the exact moment they pierced.

No electronics day

Today the kids had a "No computer games/video games/Nintendo DS/Gameboy/ T.V" day. And they survived!!
Wednesday I heard a lady on the radio talk about how she does this once a week to encourage her children's imagination and physical play. I decided to try it out today because it was a school day for everyone and the weather was beautiful for playing outside. Gotta ease them into these things. The one who was most affected by it was Alex. He really loves his Gameboy Pokeman games and his television cartoons. So instead he played with his Pokeman action figures, rode outside on his scooter, played on the swingset and read books with me. I plan on doing this every Thursday. I'll keep you updated.

Coloring pages

The kids and I found a great website for free coloring pages. It has every cartoon character we could think of plus holidays and seasons. www.coloringbookfun.com

Like father like daughter

Jeff and Rebekah have such a great relationship. The two of them have a similar sense of humor and can make light of anything. Almost daily I am struck by what a good time they have together. It pleases me to no end to see my daughter have such a fantastic relationship with her dad.

Emma's journal

Today Emma brought home a composition notebook that she had filled at school. I want to share with you her October 8, 2007 entry: "I do not know how my mom does it all in one day. She is so cool. I wish she was a popstar. I love my mom. I can not love her more. I love my dad. He is the best ever. He is cool to me. I get to see him almost every day."

School pictures

This week Rebekah and Emma came home with their school class pictures. It reminded me of showing them my own class pictures at their ages. This prompted me to post my school pictures from 4th grade (Rebekah's grade) and 1st grade (Emma's grade). Take yours out... your kids would love to see them.

Couples quiz

1. What is your husband's age? 41

2. How long have you been together? Married for 12 years and dated 9 months prior to that (so including the time from our anniversary in January.. 12 years and 10 months total)

3. Who eats more? Jeff

4. Who said I love you first? Me

5. Who is taller? Jeff by about 3 inches

6. Who sings better? Jeff

7. Who is smarter? Jeff, no doubt about it!

8. Who does the laundry? Me

9. Who does the dishes? Me

10. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Jeff

11. Who pays the bills? I do with the money he earns! Thanks honey!

12. Who mows the lawn? Rodriquez Lawn Service

13. Who cooks dinner? Me

14. Who drives when you are together? We take my car when it is the whole family and either one of us drives. If it's just he and I then we take his truck and he's in the driver's seat!

15. Who is more stubborn? tough one to call... sorry Jeff, but I think it's you

16. Who is the first to admit when they're wrong? Jeff (I'll admit it sometimes just to be the marytr or end the discussion. Then there are other times when I really am wrong - can it be?!)

17. Whose family do you see the most? Mine

18. Who kissed whom first? Jeff kissed me. Well, he attempted to and I moved my head not allowing him. The next date he tried and I complied.

19. Who proposed? Jeff

20. Who is more sensitive? ME!

21. Who has more friends? Me (isn't that the norm with men and women?)

22. Who has more siblings? Jeff . I have one sister, he has a sister, a brother (deceased) and two adoptive siblings from his dad's remarriage

23. Who wears the pants in the family? Jeff, he doesn't have the legs for a skirt!

Beauty favorites

I am always on the hunt for the best and affordable beauty products. These are a few of my favorites.
Maybelline Define-A-Lash Mascara in Brown Black: Genetics blessed me with nice long eyelashes so I don't buy a mascara for lengthening or thickening. I just need one to enhance what I already have. This mascara is the best for me because it isn't clumpy and does not smudge with all the sweating I do in our weather.
Burt's Bees Lip Balm in Pomegranate: I apply this in the morning before I do my lipstick. It conditions without being greasy and has such a nice light taste and scent. At most retailers it sells for $3 a tube.
BeautiControl Secret Agent Liquid Foundation: With all the makeup choices we ladies have now I just can't seem to get away from the liquid base. I prefer the BC one because it covers very well, stays put all day, is priced well at $15, and comes in such an array of shades you are sure to find the perfect match.
bareMinerals Mineral Veil Finishing Powder: I was a diehard user of Cornsilk loose powder for all of my adult life. Then a few months ago a friend showed me her bareMinerals makeup and I tried her Mineral Veil. WOW! It adds such a nice softness to my makeup and you will use such a small amount each time. The price tag of $19 may seem like a lot but this product will last you a long time.
bareMinerals Bisque: This is their concealer and it is just fantastic. This covers blemishes, redness, and my scarring so well. Bisque is the best product for great concealer coverage. It is in powder form and just makes your problem spots disappear.
Sebastian Shaper Hairspray: This hairspray is for "brushable hold control" but doesn't fall flat in our humidity. I like the aerosol formula and I can keep the top of my hair in place while still having the rest movable and touchable.

Jeff returns with presents

Jeff returned home Thursday and brought gifts from Europe. Emma received a Manchester futbol team scarf, Rebekah got a towel with a griffin on it, and Alex got a jester type hat with England's insignia. He also brought them each an art print souvenir from the National Gallery. The wonderful mother who did such a fine job taking care of his children in his absence was given a box of delicous Belgium chocolate truffles.

Mom Logic

Today I discovered a fun little website. www.momlogic.com It's moniker is "for thinking moms who don't have time to think."

Technology challenged

Alright, I admit it. I am technologically challenged. Let me tell you why. We woke up today without any extended cable service. See, we had to get digital converter boxes for our televisions due to the all digital mandate from the government. I have the boxes and tried to set it all up by talking with Jeff, talking with En-touch, reading the directions and I still can't make heads or tails of it all. It should be a simple thing of attached the cable into the new box but that's not doing it. This is a very good example of how well matched Jeff and I are. He is the brains behind the technology and finances and I am good at everything else!

Swivel Sweeper

Let me tell you about this fantastic cleaning machine! It is the cordless Swivel Sweeper and runs on a rechargeable battery. It is lightweight, durable and quiet. (So lightweight and easy to use that even Alex helps me out with the cleaning.) Did your little one dump out all of the bird's food? Swivel sweep it! Did your other little one drop his bowl of goldfish crachers? Swivel sweep it! Did your cat make a big mess with the litter? Swivel sweep it!

I have had mine for almost a year now; and it has helped tremendously when I have a showing on the house. Rather than lug out the vacuum to do the downstairs I simply pull the sweeper out and zip, zip, zip right through. You can buy it at most major retailers including Bed Bath & Beyond where you can use your 20% off coupon. (Retail price is $34.95 less the 20%)

Sisters