Thanksgiving

A few of our Thanksgiving highlights...

-My Mom got Nicky a super-cute coat and it was cold while we were there so it came in very handy.

-Unfortunately, because I was sick, there are no pictures of our Thanksgiving dinner but it was YUMMY! My personal favorite this year...the yams.

-Decorating the tree. This was Nick's first year helping out and he did a great job!

-And finally, the family picture. From left to right, my brother, Jon, his wife, Jessica, my mom, my dad, Grant, me, and Nick. No one anticipated taking this picture so we aren't exactly looking our best, however, we seized the moment and we are just glad we're all smiling :).

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Top 10 Things I Love About Going back to OK

1. Of course, seeing my family & friends.

2. Mom's blueberry muffins.

3. Driving the Blazer (my old car which I LOVE to drive).

4. Being pampered. My parents always make sure that I get well taken care of.

5. Rib Crib & Diamond Jacks.

6. Pedicures with Michelle.

7. Watching my parents get to spend time with Nicky.

8. Going shopping with my Mom.

9. Running errands with Dad.

10. Having the entire family together - Mom, Dad, Jon, Jessica, Grant, Nick, & Me. Now there's a good time and always interesting conversation :).

One of my favorite pictures...

I came across this picture today and I think it is one of my favorite pics of Nicolas and me. We went up to Julian, CA last December and had such a great time. I love his smile...it's so genuine.

My Christmas Pet Peeve

I decided to take Nicky to the store yesterday to do a little early Christmas shopping. While I navigated delicately through Pier 1 with a stroller, we were bombarded with blaring Christmas music which had absolutely nothing to do with Christmas. Now, I've been known to say that I don't like Christmas music however, I'd like to clarify that statement. I don't like to hear it beforeThanksgiving, but more than anything, I don't care for Christmas music that has nothing to do with Christ. That is the reason for Christmas, isn't it? It can be fun to sing a jingle with the kids every now and then but above all, our entire season should be centered around the fact that Christ was born. To be subjected to listening to someone's poor rendition of I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus while shopping in a store just bugs me.

I do however love Christmas and what it represents. I love giving gifts and spending time with family, and taking the time to reflect upon how Christ came into this world to save us.

Perhaps I should look to shop in stores that don't subject me to such things...but then there's a good possibility no one would be getting any gifts this season :).

Playing Catch-up

Okay, long story short is that when I set up this blog I somehow got a virus on my computer and was afraid to get back on and blog for fear I'd get another one. I've figured out though which site the virus came from and it wasn't the blog. With that said, my new friend, Nicole, has inspired me to start blogging again and I've got some catching up to do. Let's see...starting in August... I threw a baby shower for my long-time friend, Jordan, who is due in December. It was so good to see her (since it had been about 2 years since I'd seen her last) and we had a great time. Here's a picture of several of us Victory girls at the shower.

Nicky's getting to be such a big boy and I didn't realize it until I took this picture in September... He's wearing his favorite shoes - too cute!

In October, I finished the quilt I had started for Nick. He truly loves it and drags it around the living room when he get's tired.

Nicky also learned to color...I've saved all of his scribbles and managed to put them into his scrapbook. It's funny how I'm so proud of even the tiniest scribbles :).

Also in October, we went to the pumpkin patch. Actually, we've been to a couple of them and here are a couple of my favorite pictures.

A family pic at Tom's Farms...

Picking out his 1st pumpkin at Tom's Farms.

At Peltzer Farms with Gramps...

At Conrad Farms in Bixby, OK with Grandpa

For Halloween, Nick was a turtle and he was SUCH a cute turtle!!! There was a halloween party at the Little Gym and he had such a blast!

Lastly, I celebrated my 28th birthday (and no, I cannot believe I am 28) on Nov. 5th and while Nicky was pretty fussy that day, I had a wonderful birthday. Here's a picture of Grant and I along with his brother, Warren and his girlfriend, Jennifer.

That should about cover it. I know there are tons of things that I missed but hopefully over the next few weeks I'll get caught up completely. Next week we leave for Oklahoma to visit my family so there'll definitely be pictures to follow!