Furr Family Four

Friday, December 24, 2010

Smiles

Captured a smile, when he wasn't paying attention!

The shy one. . . .

Was soooo shy! We did get him to very quietly say that he wanted a zhu zhu pet and a monster truck. Short and to the point. That's my boy.

SANTA!

I want a princess crown, a flute, a guitar, a doll, a zhu zhu pet, and, and, and. . . gheez! Oh yeah, WHERE did the flute thing come from!?

My boys

Ruston was just not going to smile. This little guys plays by HIS rules!

Waiting for our train

The kids were so excited to go on the train to see Santa!

Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Day 2 and finishing up. It takes a while to finish our tree every year. 1500 lights and I have no idea how many ornaments. I keep thinking I will count, I still haven't. There are 100 beaded icicles that were from my Mom that go on every year. I have bought more ornaments every year, with our original tree being 13 feet tall I needed a lot! Now that it is 8 feet tall, the ornaments fill the tree much faster. They still all go on and I still buy more. Keeping the tradition my Mom started of buying the kids an ornament each year. I can tell you where they came from or who gave them to us. There is no theme to our tree. Our tree is a hodge podge of all types of ornaments they have meaning and memories. Maybe I will take pictures of them and make a scrapbook of them!? At least the most favorites, like the one I made when I was three that is still on the tree, or the glass ball that has a magnolia on it that was given to me by a very good friend in Mississippi, or the hand blown Santa that I brought home from the Supper Club Christmas dinner. The icicles are the most precious. I remember making these, and the other beaded ornaments, with Mom as a little girl each Christmas. She would make soooo many of them. She gave them away, sold them, and kept some. There are so few left, they are the last to go on the tree each year, the final touch, the moment to say Mom is still here with us to celebrate her favorite time of the year, so many many years later. This picture is the three of us, for the first time putting the icicles on together. We talked about how they were handmade by their Grandma. Hopefully, it will carry on with them.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Busy at Play

Ruston is steady and deliberate at everything he does, including playing! You can see it in his face.

Ruston's Turn

Can't leave Ruston out. It was his turn to learn how to hang the ornaments.

Got to be careful!

Showing Ani how to hang them and make sure they don't fall off!

Working together.

They did a really good job this year.

Our Tree, 2010

After 1500 lights are put on, the kids really helped me decorate this year. They did a great job. Ruston liked the ones that didn't break. He even proved it on a few, "Hey look, this one bounces, Mom!"

Snowmen

Ani's nails after her first manicure! She loved it.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

MY House

I know I sold this house five years ago, and I am happy where we are, but this is MY HOUSE. I don't know why. Maybe because it is the longest I lived in a house. Maybe because it was my first house, maybe because I became a mother in this house, maybe because Virgel and I remodeled most of the house, including the amazing paint job - by hand. It told me it was the right house for me the moment I walked in it, and it feels like home the moment I put my put on the steps. It is hard to see it being neglected and unlived in. Essentially, the same as we left it, including my curtains still hanging. She has stood for over 150 years, and the last five are the only ones that have not had a family living there. Hopefully, that will change, she will get another lease on life and someone will love her as much as I do and sit on my porch swing and rock their babies to sleep.

Done

They are done! Completely and totally worn out. This is how I found them this morning when I woke up. Apparently Ani thought Ruston was her pillow! Now you all know why I will NOT let this little monster sleep with ME!

Great Friends

Despite how long in between our visits we are still such good friends. I really miss you my friend!

Two great friends

You can not tell these two have not lived close to each for five of their seven years. They don't skip a beat, can't wait to see each other, and hate to see each other leave. I hope their friendship continues to survive the test of time and distance. . . .

More than neighbors

Old neighbors is not even close. It is no way to describe what Naomi and Roger mean to us. I will never forget the first time I met Naomi. We were at the house, before it was ours and the door was open, she came in the front door, just to make sure we were suppose to be there. That was the begining of her checking on us, making sure we had everything we needed. Not long after, Roger and Virgel discovered the common love of everything gun related. If Virgel wasn't home, I knew where to find him - Roger's. It was a given. While there are more years between them than Roger would like me to type, they are two peas in a pod. A friendship that knows no time or distance.

We loved seeing you both again.