**This year is almost over, just one more day.. so in celebrating the new year, I thought I would reflect on the past year**

TEN things I did in 2009:

1. Mothered a very energetic little boy into his third year of life..  .. without any major injuries or illnesses.
2. Survived some uncomfortable situations.
3. Survived a trip alone with my son, where we had to arrive home at the airport, with two bags to collect, plus a carry-on, walk to a shuttle to go to a parking lot, to find where my husband parked our car, and drive us home.  All with only two hands, one of which was on my son at all times, who was very sleepy and dragging his feet the whole way.  (After surviving that, I felt like I could do ANYTHING!!)
4. Finished a (sock monkey) queen size quilt that I had started over a year ago.
5. Got to know my husband's family better.
6. Made new friendships and renewed old ones. (Many with the help of facebook)
7. Spent lots of time with my Grandma.
8. Survived losing our dog, and the unexpected effects that it had on Austin.  We miss him dearly, but are looking forward to a new puppy in 2010.
9. Lost about 10 pounds, though I have managed to put some of it back on through the holidays.
10. Got to visit my family in Missouri twice!  I miss them!

And my favorite picture of 2009:

Happy New Year!!  2010 here we come!

HOLIDAY CHEER!

We spent the two weeks prior to Christmas in Missouri visiting my parents, and family.  Some highlights of the trip were (in no particular order):

• Visiting family and friends, old and new.
• Meeting all of the new babies that had been born at church there since we last visited.
• Presents!
• Making sugar cookies with my mom
• Visiting some fun Christmas-y things in Kansas City.
• Smooth airplane flights.. we were a half hour early both coming and going!  (Yay, Southwest, not that I'm partial or anything.)
• Watching Austin play with the toys at Granny and Grandpa's house.
• Generally watching Austin hang out with Granny and Grandpa, and all of our other relatives there, which included two aunts, two uncles, one cousin, two great-uncles, two great-aunts, one second cousin and in-law, and two third cousins.  Last but not least a big furry sheepdog, two tiny scotties, and two small poms.  He had lots of family to visit both furry and human.
• Watching his cousin Cameron play hockey, and they WON! Yeah! (Hooray #2!)
• Watching the Cardinals descend on the bird feeder in my parents' backyard.
• The Mickies that I forgot to bring home on our last trip were there waiting!

Airplane ride: going

Airplane ride: coming home

Hockey fun.. right after landing at the airport we had to head straight to the game to catch it.. therefore explaining the "who are these people and what am I doing here" look.  (My bro. Kevin and SIL Cheryl)

We love #2!  Go Cameron!

Hooray for good sportsmanship and zambonies.

Happy Grandparents..

Grandpa and his boys.

Reee-united and it feeeeels so good... sorry but that song plays in my head when I look at this picture!

Peppermint sugar cookies:

Driving the "jet car" at Grandpa's:

They even let him drive it in the house.. I'm pretty sure they would have NEVER let us do that when we were little kids!

Some presents!

new outfit..

Mickey ornament:

Hot Wheel truck:

Cardinal: (actual, not baseball)

Dad taught him how to "left-click" the mouse and play a little preschool computer game..

Union Station, downtown Kansas City:

Beatiful old building..

Austin loved this painting:

The Christmas model train display that they have every year.  I read that it takes an entire month for them to set it up.  It was HUGE!

Austin's favorite car.. he laughed hysterically at it.  He still talks about it.  "The little funny car shaped like an O-val!"

Laughing at it with my mom:

Other scenes from the station:

Larger scale steam replica:

Train ride:

Cow:

Interior:

Diner:

Gift shop:

Across a heated, glass sky-way.....

we walked to Crown Center (maybe like a 10 min. walk)

This is the line outside of Fritz's, the diner where the trains cruise around the walls and drop your food to your table.. we did not wait in that line. 

Instead we ate at a Streetcar Named Desire, and the food was good and pretty economical!

The Gingerbread Village!   (my favorite)

(It had a Santa and reindeer flying around above it and a little gondola going up and down a wire and a train.  Austin loved it.  It makes the little gingerbread house that we built last Christmas from a kit look really sad.)

Fun times at Kevin and Cheryl's:

Helping Lisa grade her 5th graders (or is it 4th) papers.. we had lots of fun visiting and grading!

Last but not least, perpetual hair twisting:  which must mean it's time to go to sleep!  Goodnight!

(This post has sooo many pictures.  If you made it to the end, contact my friend Lisa, the teacher, and she will give you a star. )

Thanksgiving 2009

We had loosely planned to spend Thanksgiving in Missouri this year, since it had been several months since we had been there to visit.  Chris had to work, so we were making our own plans...  Then I discovered that with the rest of the family out of town, my Grandma, who turned 92 this year..  would be eating alone. 

Which would have made me really sad.  So we scrapped our travel plans and decided to stay and eat with her.  Also, we were thankful to be invited to eat with our Fannin family, with Chris out of town, but they were more than understanding. We missed all of you!  But sometimes the best things come from changed plans.

Since it was just her, Austin and I, we did not have the traditional all day prepared, 50 pounds of leftovers, gluttony of Thanksgiving food.  Which I won't lie, I do enjoy.. But I decided to make her famous chicken tortilla bake that we all grew up having at her house, and at church dinners.  I had forgotten that it is so easy to make.  Chris is now a huge fan of it too.  Austin is still in the finicky stage so he opted for apples and cheese and graham crackers. Yes, he's crazy.

Throw in some gooey pumpkin butter cake for desert and yummy yum yum.  It was such a great, relaxing day.  The weather was so nice outside.. Austin was able to wear shorts! He was needing a haircut!

He played and did all of the things he likes to do at her house.  It warms my heart that he has gotten to know her.  Their paths won't have crossed for too long in this life, but hopefully he remembers her when he grows up and the love and fun at her house.  And some things that he's learned by being around her.

He knows all of the things he can play with and what he can't.  Coins in a glass candy dish with a lid, wooden spools in a little ceramic house with a lid, the broom, the phone, some little hot wheels that she has collected at yard sales over the years from the curio cabinet..

He likes to talk on her bedroom phone..

I asked him to hang up before that annoying busy signal that blasts your eardrum came on, and he said, "Mommy, I'm waiting for to talk to the lady." (The lady that says, "please hang up and try your call again"-haha)

We did puzzles, one of my g-ma's favorite pastimes, and one that Austin likes too..

Above is a puzzle from Chris's mom that we put together that day, and below is Austin's new puzzle that we brought to do just for that day. My g-ma is on the phone with my uncle from Missouri who called to wish her a Happy Thanksgiving.

Then, naps were had by all.  A three hour one by this sleeping boy!

It ended up not being the Thanksgiving that we had anticipated a month or two prior, but I felt very blessed to be there.  At 92, I know that we won't have many more of these times together and it ended up being just the best happy day!  We did miss Chris, though.. and both sides of our family.  The only way the day could have gotten any better would have been if they were there to share it with us!