Milly!!

I finally got to meet Emily Kay Blankenship!

I was so excited for my family to have supper and hang out with the Blankenships' on Sunday evening. I previously posted about Emily when she was born on April 1. The Blankenships' are such a special family and I am truly blessed to know them. They have had a major impact on my life and seeing them is always a treat. I also love that they call her Milly for short...too cute!



And here are a few more pics from the Blankenships' with their other 2 cuties...Hannah and Ben

Mac

We got macs!!!!




more Christmas updates to come soon

Christmas Festivities

On Saturday Kyle and I ran over to St. Louis so I could do a little more Christmas shopping before State Beauty's Christmas party. There was a beautiful sunset and I was able to get a decent picture. (too bad I didn't have my new camera yet!!)

On Sunday, LifePoint had its Christmas party at the YMCA. We had a great time and it was a great success! It's exciting to see the families that have really plugged in! I've been dying to take this picture because Kyle adores these kids and the little ones are so cute when they walk into church and spot Kyle! (again, too bad I didn't have my new camera yet!!)


Monday we had a snow day at school and Kyle and I did our Christmas! It was a great day and I am sooooooooo excited about my new camera!!!!

It came with some extras and I know I'm a dork but I love the mini tripod. I was even MORE excited when I realized it can clip to my pocket! I know...I'm sad.

Merry Christmas to ME!

WOOOHOOOOO!!! I got a new camera for Christmas from Kyle!!! :) We did our Christmas tonight because we didn't want to haul the gifts on an airplane.

Here's the camera he got me:


This is just a quick post...more pics to come tomorrow!! (when I get the software on the computer!) I'm sooooo excited!!! Of course, I'm a photographers worst nightmare...got a good camera...and clueless how to use all the good stuff on it!! Hopefully this summer I can really figure it out!

Also, Kyle loves to figure out his presents before he gets them. (which he has on all his from me) I love for them to be a surprise. I had NO clue I was getting a camera...and he already had it BEFORE I wrote my previous blog making the camera comment. (he knows me good) So, a couple of days ago I made a comment about starting to save my money up to get the camera Lissa mentioned in my blog comment. Then I said, "I would really like a fancy camera with all the different lense options...but that will be way down the road!" So, Kyle has thought I figured him out this whole time...and he won't admit it but he couldn't stand it...Which makes me smile!!

Lissa: you may become a frequent email buddy! :)

Big XII...Thanksgiving...Christmas

My parents decided to wait to visit until the weekend after Thanksgiving so we could go to the Big XII Football Championship game. So, Saturday we drove over to Kansas City and watched Missouri get their butts kicked by OU. I had my Tech football shirt on closest to my heart....I wore Mizzou clothes for the rest....I wanted OU to win (I know, I know...Kyle is rubbing off)....I can't stand the MIZ-ZOU chant or the Boomer Sooner song the band insists on playing every break between plays...so you figure it out! Anyway, we had a great time!!


On Sunday we celebrated Thanksgiving at LottaWata Creek...and it's a lotta food! Then, Kyle opened his presents from my family since he won't get to visit Texas when I go to see them.




P.S. I need a new camera! It's wishful thinking right now...but all you camera people out there....what's a reasonable (affordable!) camera that you would suggest.

Thanksgiving Break

This Thanksgiving was the first Thanksgiving that Kyle and I did not spend it with one of our families. It was somewhat relaxing not traveling, but we definitely missed the tradition. We slept in and then cooked us a nice, tasty breakfast. I made chocolate gravy (Kyle's family's speciality) and Kyle made PERFECT white gravy. Then, that evening we went over to the Imbodens' house (one of the church founders) to hang out with their family and the Robbins' family. We are definitely lucky to have such wonderful people here to take us in! :)

We continued our festivities on Friday by going to the Trans Siberian Orchestra in St. Louis. The first half was...well, ok...with the exception of a few rockin' songs. The second half....A-MAZING!!!! They are awesome. Go watch someone moving their hands/arms on fast foward in your VCR and that is exactly what they looked like!! To tell you how much they rock out...the main guitarist was sitting on a stool all night because he is recovering from his shattered knee/torn ACL that he blew out 3 weeks ago rockin' on stage. They say he never missed a note when it happened!! Along with their incredible talents they have the most amazing light show we've ever seen! They are definitely worth the money if they are near you!!
I couldn't find a great live clip on youtube...although there were tons...so I went with this to remind you of their most popular song:

And finally, Saturday and Sunday I got all my Christmas decorations up! (not that I have many) The dogs like their stockings alot.



Hope everyone had a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!