Closing out 2010 and Welcoming 2011

Well, 2010 has been quite a year! Looking back on the year of posts, we have been quite busy "Livin' Life". God is truly a provider and he has provided so much more than I ever expected in one year. We have watched Cade grow into a lil man and every day is something new with "Cade man". He has been our largest blessing thus far in life. I thank God for the health and happiness he has given our family. To have a roof over our head, AC/Heat, food on the table, and love in our hearts is more than a person ever needs. We are surrounded by constant love of family and friends...so much more than we deserve! Then, on top of ALL those blessings, we are closing out the first trimester with another miracle baby in my belly. I am just speechless. God's timing (although not mine) IS PERFECT and I thank him daily for the blessings he provides.

Psalm 37:4

"Delight yourself in the Lord and he shall give you the desires of your heart."

Deuteronomy 7:9

"Know therefore that the Lord your God IS GOD; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of Love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments."

A tired lil man doing sparklers...he calls firecrackers "Boom boom's"

Cade with his "boomer", it's a tank that rolls and sprays sparks. And yes, his shirt says, "stud muffin" on it! Hahahahaaa...

The tank in action

This one was a firetruck that raises its ladder and makes noises and rolls aound while shooting flames

Good thing we got this pic, totally not worth the $1 per second of action we got! Even Cade just kept looking at it like, "That's all you got?"

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Top 5 things to come in 2011 for our Family:

1- ANOTHER BABY in July

2- Charles and I celebrate 7 years of marriage

3- Spending quality time with family and friends

4- Birthdays: Cade turns 2, Baylor turns 7, Charles turns 32, and Stacy turns 31

5- Charles ALMOST finishing his Doctorate (we are hoping to be done by Summer of 2012)

Went bowling, struck out.

We couldn't be prouder of our Baylor Bears for making it to a bowl game this year. This was the first time in 16 years, so we were happy we got the opportunity. We had a great season this past year! The Bears ended up in the Texas Bowl, which was convenient for us being in the Houston area. We were glad we were not going to have to travel out of state or far away! My favorite part of the game was meeting up with all our friends. Our good friends Kristin and Beau Carpenter were in town (they currently live in Canada) and we were blessed that they got to stay a few nights with us! We gained a little weight making sure they could visit all their favorite restaurants, and Kristin and I had a good time catching up. We are hoping they move back soon!! The game didn't exactly go as we had planned. We were picked to win and even through pouring rain, we made our way to the stadium proud to be a Bear. The game itself didn't exactly go according to plans, we were disappointed that we were "not having a good game day". The boys looked like their focus was off and we didn't make the best of choices. Our defense did a good job holding their own, I think they were just tired of being on the field for the majority of the game...we will leave it at that. Final score was 38-14. Here are some pics from the game, it was still great to see all the thousands of Baylor fans in the stadium...let's hope they all come out to the season games next year!!

Kristin, Me, Ashley, and Lizzy before leaving for the game
Kristin and I at game, we got there early!

The whole Fam at the game, we were soaked from coming in from outside.

A tradition at the Texas bowl is to have both bands perform "Deep in the heart of TX" together pre-game.

Here come the Bears...........

Cade shaking his bowl towel with Gramp-ee, he loves to root for the Bears (Our brain washing is turning out to be successful!)!

Kristin, Britni, and I

Still supporting our Bears at the end (even though most people left), we had to sing "That good Ole Baylor Line"


HAPPY BIRTHDAY NINA!!!

Another milestone this week was my Sister, Mendy (AKA: Nina), turning 33. She is a great Sister and I treasure every moment I get with her! Keep her in your prayers as she was diagnosed a few days ago with Viral Meningitis! She has a 5 week old baby and it is a rough time adjusting to the new schedules, and being so ill. She can't even love on her 2 kids! She is currently in bed for most of the day, and having trouble even sitting up. Pray for her speedy recovery! I love you Nina, you are a great friend, Mother, and Wife. We hope this year is the best ever! At least you aren't turning 40?!!!

On our Family Cruise this past summer (she was 6 months prego!)

The 4 of us in Key West, FL

12 week Doc visit

So, here is a video of the baby's heartbeat at 12 weeks! Please ignore my double chin! The heartbeat was a strong 155/156 which was exactly the same as Cade's! The doc was impressed that I only gained a few pounds in the last 6 weeks (must have been the "all day sickness"). Everything else looked great and my BP was 110/62. It was a quick and exciting visit with lots of positive news of growth. Due date is still scheduled for a C-section on July 7th! We can't wait to have you join our family...now keep growing strong and healthy!

Christmas 2010

What an eventful Christmas we had with the Hall side of the Family! The fun began on Christmas Eve when we had a fish fry. Corey (Charles' brother) was able to come in town at the last minute, so we were all excited to have everyone home for Christmas! Cindy and Fred worked hard getting all the plans in place and we were all there: Cindy, Fred, Charles, Stacy, Cade, Corey, Christopher, and Heather. It was so fun to all be together! Before we left that night, Charles read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" to keep the family tradition alive. Charles Grandmother, "Mumps", read this each year, and Charles has taken up the tradition ever since Mumps has passed. A few years, he read it to just me. Last year, he read it to Mackenzie and Cade at the Parks' Family Christmas, and this year to the Hall Family. We look forward to the tradition growing and his audience increasing!

Christmas Day was of course filled with even MORE excitement and was one of my Favorite Christmas' so far. The excitement of the day and seeing Cade's face really reminded me of the Magic I used to fill as a child. I loved watching him open gifts and smile when we mentioned Santa. He is truly a happy lil boy. I do look forward to him being a little older and actually learning the real reason for the holiday though. Santa is cool, but Jesus is SO MUCH COOLER! Once we opened Santa and had breakfast, we were shortly joined by the rest of the family at our house for the afternoon and evening. We enjoyed a brisket dinner with mashed potatoes, cheese grits, green beans, crescent rolls, and fruit salad. For dessert we had my "Aunt Dora's Big Red Cake" with peppermint ice cream. It was very yummy and I am still enjoying left overs! After dinner, we opened gifts with the family. It was a very memorable night for everyone.

Waking up on Christmas Morning

Christmas morning with Mommy in our Jammies!

My little angel's smile after he saw what Santa brought him! I laughed SO HARD when he looked at me like this!

Santa even visited Baylor since he was on the "Nice" list!

Checking out his stocking gifts!

Let's Play ball...and yes, I have balls all over my house and have almost rolled my ankle on the bat several times already!

Santa also got creative this year and thought it would be funny to get Cade a punching bag in the form of a horse. So, here is Daddy "prepping" the horse...if that's what you want to call it...

Just Cade's height!

Another visit from "Santa" occurred when Gam-ee and Gramp-ee came over! Imagine that! Santa round 2 had Cade's very own rocking chair and a chalk/color board for Cade. He was one very excited little man!

Gift Guarding

Baylor Bowl shirts! We will be sporting these at the Texas Bowl on Wednesday!! HHeeeyyyyyy SIC 'EM BEARS!

Cade stacking his mega blocks in the back of his truck

More gifts for our good little Baylor!

Cade opening gifts

Even Nana and Papa shipped some books for Cade under the tree. Of course, our spoiled lil angel will get more gifts once we go to visit them soon!

An eventful evening!

Last night we had tons of fun at our church Christmas event. It started with a musical/play that lasted for about 1.5 hours which included various animals such as: donkey, sheep, camels and an ELEPHANT! Cade LOVES elephants, so his eyes were GLUED to the stage! It was so funny to watch him. Then, after the performance, we got to go outside to see the animals. Unfortunately, the elephant was not there, but we did get to see the camels up close. They were somthing else! Cade also got to sled down a snow hill with Charles. I am not sure who had more fun! Then, to top off the evening, we all went to Shoguns to eat dinner. Cade enjoyed watching the chef cook all the food...I hope we do not get any ideas for our house! It was such a special and fun evening. Cade had so much fun that he slept 13 hours last night. I am thinking we need to do this daily! Hahahaha...here are some pics to enjoy!

Performance at Church

Cade watching the Elephant on stage...I am not sure he moved for at least a minute!

Family Pic

Cade feeding the Camel

Cade with Gam-ee and Gramp-ee

Posing by the snow hill

Sorry for the blurry pic, but they were going fast! I love Cade's face! As soon as it was over, he was laughing...but I think the actual ride took his breath away!

Cade watching the Chef cooking at Shoguns...he loved the fire and banging of the tools...he tries this at home a lot!

Playing in the water fountain outside resturant

And to top off the evening, Cade put on QUITE A SHOW for all the people in the courtyard eating dinner with his stellar dance moves. I think the entire courtyard was clapping and pointing. He actually has some really good dance moves! I am thinking Gam-ee teaches him dancing during the day while we are at work! Some moves I have never seen! Go Cade Go!!

Quite a busy few days!

These last few days have been busy cramming in all the holiday fun one family could possibly have! Since Charles and I are out for Christmas break, we have planned something fun to do each day with Cade. So, we have been a busy lil family and it's only Tuesday!! Here are some pics from the last few days...stay tuned for more pics and Christmas fun!

Family Pic in The Woodlands, TX
Gam-ee and Gramp-ee with Cade

Cade and Santa hangin' out...after a few moments he started "high fiving" and giving Santa "bumps"...such a little ham! Of course we only caught the serious side!

One lil guy checking out another lil guy

Giving Mommy kisses...I gotta admit, I love these! Even if the slobber is a mix of bananas and Gingersnaps!

I love my Daddy!

Decorating our family tree with ornaments. The unbreakable ones were all placed by Cade on the lower branches, then Mommy/Daddy placed the rest up HIGH on the tree!

Cade helping clean up an ornament that met an untimely death by Cade. FYI: if you have a child that LOVES balls and throws them all the time, steer clear of handing him a "Christmas ball"...in their eyes, they are one in the same and will get thrown across the kitchen!

Placing the Angel on the tree

This year's Featured ornaments! Ranking close to the nuts I painted when I was two comes these ornaments. Charles made his in the 1st grade, and I made the snowflake in the 3rd grade. I think it's funny to hang our "wedding bell" ornaments above them.

Our family stockings

Here is my favorite Christmas Decoration of the year!! It is a handmade Christmas card holder from Grandma Parks. I remember this hanging in my Grandma's house every year with cards. Now, I proudly get to display it in my house!

Another favorite I highlight almost every year is the angel on our smaller tree. The tree contains all our Baylor University, Football, and Alpha Chi Omega ornaments. This angel was my Mom and Dad's first Angel when they got married. I love her cardboard center and how her yellow wings are more north/south rather than east/west.

Here is one of our Countdown calendars...as you can see, we finished putting up our Christmas decor with one week to spare! Whew! We have to be better next year!

Another adventure was taking Cade to see the Prestonwood Lights! Daddy drove us around in the truck while Gam-ee, Gramp-ee, Cade, and I snuggled among dozens of blankets in the bed and drank hot chocolate. It was fun to watch Cade's face and hear his imitations of all the animal noises. He seemed to love the lights and waving to everyone as we passed all the other cars.

Snuggled up in Gam-ee's arms

And what would be Christmas in Texas if you didn't play in the sprinkler in 80 degree weather?! We did start out fully clothed, then slowly lost one article at a time until this is what was left!

Mr. wetness playing on his slide

Please do not try this at home...he is a trained professional (and promised Mommy he would NEVER do this again!)

My favorite way to go down the slide...hey, better than face first which used to be our favorite!

Feeding the ducks after Church (bread and Cade's hand)

What a bunch of quacks

And, finally, Mom and Dad got a special date night this week. Gam-ee/Gramp-ee kept Cade over night and we were able to go celebrate my belated BD and our second baby! We went to our favorite restaurant, The Melting Pot, and then a movie! We saw the late show of "The Fighter" with Mark Whalberg. It was a great movie based on a true story of a boxer, we both enjoyed it and I highly recommend it!