Merry Christmas Eve

We've had lots of fun Christmas festivities to catch you up on. Tonight, we had an amazing Christmas Eve service at church-not a dry eye in the house. We went to my mom and dad's for chili and then back to our house to begin preparing dinner for tomorrow. Last night we stayed the night in Jacksonville and had a great time hanging out with Hugh's dad, sisters, niece, and nephew.

This is Houston and I at his school Christmas party on Dec. 19th making snowflakes. We had lots of yummy treats and got to take home lots of Christmas art.

We have the cutest pictures and video of Houston using the Christmas wrapping paper rolls as sticks for his own interpretation of Christmas dance. The best part is, after he sings and bangs them on the ground, is that he throws them down in a grand finale before clapping for himself. I will try to get video of that on soon.

Houston waiting for Santa's cookies to get finished baking......

He drew his first picture/letter to Santa with red and green crayons.

A picture with the Big Man. You will notice tears are missing, and you will also notice that his usual adorable smile is missing as well. He looks a little concerned, but the Santa '08 picture is in the books! Merry Christmas to all our friends and family!

Chocolate Chip Cookies and Curls

Being a first-time mom, I have been proud of each of Houston's milestones-sitting up, crawling, walking, talking. But I have to say, this is one I have dreaded. His first haircut. I know I have needed to give in for some time now, but it was sad for me to think about cutting off his beautiful curls. When we got home from school today, his hair was a complete and utter mess. Medusa was on top of his head and it could not be tamed. There is not enough lotion, baby oil, grease, spit-nothing can hold it down now. So, momma gave in to the clippers.

He honestly was such a trooper. He sat, with cookie in hand, attentively watching his daddy cut and momma cry and pick up the curls and put them in a baggie.

He "ooooohed" and "ahhhhhed" through the whole thing and didn't seem to mind a bit. The cookie was a little hairy before we were finished, but he kept right on chomping away.

It's hard to get a good idea of the finished product, but I have to say I am PLEASED, and even like it in fact. If you thought he was cute before, you ain't seen nothin' yet.

He looks like momma's little man and I still love him, curls or not. Kudos to his daddy for his barbershop skills!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....finally

I hate to admit it, but I have to. I have been a complete bah humbug this year. I usually am in love with this season early on, but I have not been interested much this year. I usually put up all my decorations Thanksgiving weekend, but we were gone to Branson this year and I just haven't taken the time or effort to pull everything out and set it up. Not to mention the fact I will be chasing a curly head 16 month old all over the house when he steals the ornaments. But I know Christmas morning wouldn't be the same, so we at least got the tree out. We went for the small skinny one instead of the big fat one.

It does look pretty, but I already dread taking it down. Can somebody pass along a shot of the Christmas spirit?

Houston reading all about Santa, which he lovingly refers to as "ho ho".
SO grateful to nana for this dog that sings Feliz Navidad on command. Over and over and over and over and over.........

Our first Christmas card of the year.....Shout out to Stephanie for being on top of things (and doing it while almost 6 months pregnant!)

And this one just because I think he is simply the most adorable thing out there and if this won't get you in the spirit, nothing will. Hope your holdiays are going good! And to all, a good night.

Busy weekend and Happy Birthday D!

The holiday season is in full swing for us and was non-stop this past weekend. It started out Saturday morning with our women's Christmas party at church-always a great time and I must admit, the purse I stole from Dana is truly fab. Good times, good food, good friends. Then, Houston and I were off to Chuck E. Cheese for a birthday party for my friend Stephanie's little girl, Ella. We rode Bob the Builder until we used up all 20 of our tokens! Last but not least, we were privileged to spend Dana's birthday with her around the grill at Fuji. Us and 27 other people, though there was only seating for 15. You do the math. After Fuji, the girls KILLED the guys at laser tag by almost 100 points! Lots of fun. Happy Birthday, Dana. What a great friend!

Cory is Lewis and Kara's grandson and he and Houston have gotten to hang out a lot more lately and have really hit it off. Houston kept getting out of his high chair and Fuji and Cory would point his little finger at Houston and say, "Sit down bottom!" It's fun to watch these two together.
Houston's new thing now is "squeezing". That's what he calls the hugs he gives out. Within the last couple of days he's added grunting to the squeeze. Gotta love this kid!!

The picture of the WINNERS! It is worth mentioning again that the GIRLS BEAT the BOYS "fa and sqa" at laser tag.

A different kind of Thanksgiving.....

We usually do the traditional Thanksgiving....turkey, dressing, parents and in-laws. But this year, we opted for something a little different. My parents, my brother and his family, and Hugh and our family went to Branson for 4 days. We rented a house, shopped, ate and had fun. We spent our actual Thanksgiving Day watching the Christmas show at Dixie Stampede. It was wonderful. It was fun to get to see all the cousins play together and everyone got along so well.

This was the cutest. The night before we left, Houston must have wanted to make sure there was room for him-he climbed in the suitcase, sat down, and started playing with his cars.

Houston and his cousin Barrett are definitely 2 peas in a pod. They are getting old enough now where they are really starting to play good together-and fight together.

Most of the gang in front of Dixie Stampede-Katie, Hugh, Anna, Houston, Felicia, Nana, Barrett, and Alana. The girls had a good time while they were here-we kept them very busy and the time flew by.
Our Christmas will be small this year-this was our "big" family gift to each other. We had a great 4 days and I liked the twist on the typical Thanksgiving. Now that I've finally finished all 4 Twilight books, I'll be back in the blogging spirit. Got lots of cute pictures to share. Happy Holidays!

You have my approval......

Houston is really growing fast and doing new things every day that amaze us. He is starting to put to words together.....shoes on, coat on, go school, football, touchdown (with arms raised I might add). He is trying to jump and brush his own teeth and hair. The other day I had taken him into his room to change his diaper. After the process was completed, he looked at me, clapped his hands, and proclaimed, "Good job!" with the biggest smile he could manage. That was the best diaper I ever changed.

On the road again........

After an extended stay at home, Hugh is back on the road again. But don't feel sorry for him, he's in LA staying at the DisneyLand Marriott. He has one more trip to Phoenix, AZ and then he will have quite a bit of down time until February. I know he will check this blog before he goes to bed and a big smile will come across his face. One, because he loves when I update the blog and surprise him. And two, mainly because it is a sweet picture of his little man doing what he does best-being Mr. Cool.

P.S. Notice the Giants blanket? That's thanks to my sister-in-law Lisa!

Backyard photo shoot and sad memories...

I had wanted to get some good fall photos of Houston while the leaves were so pretty, but didn't want to bug my buddy Dana. So, off to the backyard (and across the street from Country Mart) we go. I have found the key to liking your photos is taking plenty of them so eventually, you will get one with the right pose, with the right lighting, etc. So here, goes.

I love the look on his face-may need a little touch up on that scar on his forehead though!


Perfect lucky shot with the sun peeking through!

Right in our backyard.

Once again, love that face.

Today was a fun day because Hugh, Houston and I stayed outside together until it got dark. But, it is also a sad day. It's hard to believe, but it has been 3 years ago today since we miscarried our first baby. I know I will be reunited with them both again in heaven one day, but it is still difficult and I feel a sense of loss that I will probably always carry with me. Looking back, I have to say thank you to Christine and Stacy for being there and holding my hand while I cried and thank you to all our friends and family for all the prayers. I couldn't imagine our life any differently now and we LOVE Houston so much and are grateful to be his mommy and daddy!

He's my lobster!

We started our Halloween festivities with a party in Houston's class at school-games, food, and a baby obstacle course. Of course, like his birthday, his favorite was the chocolate.

His class went trick or treating that morning (my friend is passing along some pictures later) and he stole the show in his cute lobster costume.

He loved playing with the carved jack-0-lantern and seeds. He is quite the ham in his classroom.

We ended our Halloween day by trick-or-treating at nana and poppy's where they declared Houston the "cutest lobster they had ever seen" and then on to the Hewitt's to take up all the candy in a 4 block radius. Here he is with Elijah *Tony Stewart* Graham, Ty *Super Ninja* Hillis, Abby *Dorothy* Allen, and Saraya *BatGirl* Hewitt.
This tired, pizza-faced lobster was then ready for bed!

**Pumpkin Carving Walker Style**

Monday night, after Hugh got home and we got finished with dinner and bath, we broke out the pumpkin carving necessities. As soon as we opened the bag, Houston started clapping his hands and grabbing all the pieces. We didn't go traditional style with all the mess, we went kid friendly and easy for daddy. We let Houston choose between each body part-he would name them after us as we poked them in the pumpkin. He was quite satisfied with the end product. And so, a clean tradition is born.

Couldn't resist these cute pumpkin pjs. If you think this is cute, wait until you see him in his costume......

My two favorite Walkers....all the rest of you are pretty special, too.

And, finally, a shout out to all you Twilight fans-vampire tater. Have a good one and be ready for some cute costume pictures!

For Uncle Chad....

because he loves the color orange. And we think he's a pretty neat guy. We love you guys-Chad, Rhonda, Britton, Landon, and Easton. See you soon.

How I spent my weekend......

with a sick baby. From Friday until Monday night, this is pretty much how he looked. We did make it to church and that was our only outing for the weekend. No prayer breakfast, no Grossology, no Halloween party......a weekend with a crying, fussy baby who coughed until he made himself sick. 5 times. The one good thing about it is that it meant extra snuggles, lovin', and hugs. Rhonda, is it just me, or does he remind you of Easton in this top picture? Hopefully, we are on the road to recovery.

Busy Weekend

Wow! It has been a busy week around the Walker household. Hugh's schedule is finally beginning to slow down (thankfully) but he has not had any difficulty staying busy. This past weekend, we had a nice dinner Sunday evening with the McClain family, the Davis family, and Hugh's friend Kerrick Jackson who is a scout with the Washington Nationals. Thank you, Kerrick, for the flowers and yummy dessert. Always love a chance to hang out with friends.

Hugh and Kerrick

Also this weekend, Hugh was inducted into the Hall of Fame at Jacksonville High School. Here he is signing autographs for some kids that were there. He gave an awesome speech and remembered to thank his parents, and mention all his brothers and sisters. While he was talking, Houston was clapping the whole time and yelling "Dada"! I wish I had known Hugh back in his glory days, to be able to see all the amazing things I only get to hear stories about. I'm proud of you! The guy in the background behind Hugh in the blue shirt played 5 years for the Dallas Cowboys! (That one's for you Lewis!)

The Crossroads Fall Festival was also Saturday. (Like I said, we've been busy!) I know many people put in lots of work to make it happen and be so much fun-shout outs to Cristi Hillis and Dana Hewitt for their hard work! The kids had a variety of activities to choose from-pumpkin bowling, face/hair painting, target shooting, bean bag toss, train ride, and treasure hunt. It was a beautiful day-perfect weather to hang out and enjoy friends. I love this picture of Maggie and Houston. I can just her little voice, "I wanna hold him". She has been a Houston fan since the day he was born and she couldn't be sweeter. Love you Mags (as your mom calls you).


Now, the official business to report. I was a chili taster for the cookoff. Interesting for sure-6 different pots of chili, 6 very different tastes. #4-the Gillams, was the victor in the end. My good friend Lesley and I giggled all through it because Steve kept clearing his palate. Lots of fun with great friends! Have a good rest of the week!

Hayless hayride, tagged, and funny story

We had a great idea of having a hayride/cookout today, but it didn't quite go as planned. Dad set out to find hay and after making 5 stops, still came up empty. My nieces, Anna and Katie, were happy to pile blankets in the trailer and go for a ride. When we got back we roasted hot dogs and "marshrellos" as they are lovingly called.

I love this picture of my two nieces-they are the sweetest and growing up way too fast. Anna is in 2nd grade and Katie is in kindergarten. They are both into riding their bikes from their house to nana's house and Katie is ready to get rid of those training wheels!
This is the cutest picture of Barrett. He would have eaten that whole bag of marshmallows if we had let him. He didn't roast them, he just liked eating them off the stick like everybody else.
Katie with a tripledecker.
Anna was the expert marshmallow blower offer when they caught on fire.
Houston got his fair share and loved them. We will never get that boy fumigated from the smell of smoke. He had a blast though.

Now, tagged. Sorry, Holly it took me so long, but here goes. 7 things about me you didn't know:

1. i sang "I'm Too Sexy" standing on a table at a chinese restaurant when i was 17 for $200.00 dollars.

2. i had a bag phone 15 years ago!

3. i ran my mom's car through the end of the carport when i was learning to drive. i was 23. just kidding. all i remember was i crushed my dad's new smoker and my brother was singing "Pour Some Sugar on Me" in the backseat.

4. i have been to England 2 times and on 4 cruises.

5. i was in the homecoming court in 5th grade.

6. when i was little i wanted to swim with dolphins for a living.

7. i threw up pepto bismol out of my nose in 3rd grade.

Now, to a funny story. Sorry this is a long post, but this is great. Mike Archer, our pastor called me one day last week to give me a message that a man named Adam had been trying to reach me. He gave me an 800 number, extension, and reference number. I was really puzzled and had NO idea why this man would be calling Mike to get to me. So, I called Adam. He told me he was a debt collector and that I had an outstanding debt to ASU for $1, 733.00. I told him there must be some mistake-I graduated 10 years ago and had paid off all my loans 6 years ago. He asked if the last four of my social was blah, blah, blah, and I said "no" it was blah, blah, blah. I told him there was another Mist Walker in Little Rock I had been confused with before. He said sorry for bothering me, he had the wrong person. The best part of the story is this: I asked him how he had found me through our preacher. He said he had done a search for me online and I was listed as the women's leader for our church, so he called the pastor to find me. That good ol' Phillip Weese does TOO good with the church website!!