Christmas Lunch

After playing with our new toys and letting Connor sleep for a few hours we headed to Mimi's and Papa's for lunch with our Granny! My mom never lets me take pictures of her so this is special because I got her and granny in a picture. Granny is the only grandparent left between Greg and I and we like for the kids to get to spend time with their great granny.
Here are the kids giving Granny our gift and watching her open it.
After gifts we had a yummy enchilada lunch and visited for a while. Then it was time to head out to Sulphur Springs for one last Christmas event.
When we pulled into Memaw's and G-Dad's house Connor's ear was draining gunk! He was crying again and holding his ears. He was coughing and now so was Jack. After a long fever and cough filled night we decided to take both boys back to Dallas to go to our Doctor. Our Doctor doesn't like to mess around with Connor because of his illness and we are so glad we took him back. He had nasty blisters on his eardrums and one had burst. He put both boys on antibiotics and a strong cough syrup. The worst part was Connor had a strong shot of antibiotics only a week before and it should have covered him for a while. Of course, this is Connor we are talking about...
So, the pictures I took at Memaw's and G-Dad's all turned out too dark. So, no pictures of our fun times here. We love all that we got and had a great time in Sulphur Springs.

Christmas Morning

Did he come? Asked my three children on Christmas morning. They all three slept until after 8 then tiptoed into our room one at a time to wake us up. After Daddy went to the playroom to see if he did indeed come we let them all into the room to see for themselves. We told the kids that this year we really needed them to cut back their wish list for Santa and they all did a great job of what they asked for so Santa was able to get everything on their lists.

Jack is really into checkers and so he got a new game to play. The night before he had gotten an electronic Battleship game from Terry and Nicole and I think it is his favorite. He also got a few new games for his DS, some new lego sets and many odds and ends.

Connor was not himself Christmas morning. He was not interested at all in any of his new things! He cried and coughed all morning. He also tugged at his ears all morning! Yes, illness to come!

Bailey loved it all! She got a new sleeping bag with a flashlight and water bottle and can't wait for a sleepover to use it. She got this really cool fashion design book that has a figure and ideas and you design the outfits for it. She is really into creating and designing clothes. She also got a Nintendo game for Fashion Design.

Connor did stop crying long enough to look at his new sleeping bag. It glows in the dark and has bugs all over it. He also asked for a Go Diego Go game for the DS. No, he doesn't have his own DS but the other kids are going to let him play on theirs while they are at school so he got his own game. He also got a new wild animal set and some new little people things. After he saw his new things he went back to crying and crying and crying... illness blog coming later.

Christmas Eve 2008

Our Christmas Eve this year started with a Brantley Family get together in Kaufman. Papa's family has always gotten together around Christmas and this year my Aunt Jennifer put together a wonderful fun time. She rented a very nice banquet hall on the square in downtown Kaufman and it was big enough for all the kids to run and play. After a yummy pot luck lunch we let the kids open their gifts. They all got something perfect for them and also a very warm blanket my aunt made for all the kids. It is so fun to see all my cousins and remember playing as we grew up and now to see my kids playing with their kids is a treasure. The low point of this event I forgot my camera! No pictures of the fun we had!
After we left Kaufman we headed to Mimi's and Papa's to have some more Christmas Eve fun. First, Papa read the poem, The Night Before Christmas to all the kids. Well, he read to three of them, Connor and Brooke didn't last very long. Bailey and Emma enjoying the poem!

Connor got so excited to play with his "Brookie" that he forgot to go on the potty!

Earlier in the day all three kids got haircuts. I couldn't go because Bailey asked to get her hair cut and I didn't think I could watch. Yes, the long hair that took 7 years to grow out is now short. Greg said they cut 4 inches off the back. It has made such a difference and I really do love it!

All three got wonderful presents and were so grateful for everything. They got fun things to play with and many wonderful books to read and some much needed clothes for winter!

Here's my "cheese" boy. He really really enjoyed everything about Christmas this year. He loved Ho, Ho. He loved ripping open presents. He loved our tree and only moved the ornaments that he thought needed to be moved!

All five kids love to take silly pictures with their Aunt Tammy.

After some of Mimi's yummy cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate we took a few pictures under her tree and then we headed home to open gifts from each other.

All three kids got a special movie from mommy and daddy. Then they opened a few gifts from each other.




I was so grateful that Jackson had such a giving spirit this year and we both noticed how much he has grown up in the last year. He is such a blessing to us.

Bailey is so kind and has such a tender heart. She really was very thoughtful in all her gifts. She always wants to please everyone. That new haircut really makes her look older.

Connor, my sweet. I am so glad his health is holding steady. The excitement in his eyes all during the holidays was truly a blessing.

Finally, around 10:30 we got all three into bed for Santa to come. But, not before we put out cookies for Santa and sprinkled the reindeer food in the yard!

Who is That Amazing Photographer?

Who took all these amazing photos? It must be an amazing 2 year old photographer! Yes, Sunday morning Connor was still sick and running a fever so daddy stayed home with him. While daddy was in the restroom our creative 2 year old took a few (18) pictures of very interesting things (to him!) First, we have the back of his chair.

Followed by his place mat and his cup.

Next, was his cereal bowl, empty of course.

And last but not least his important potty seat! We are in the middle of potty training and he pulled it into the kitchen and snapped a quick shot of it.

I guess daddy can be grateful that Connor didn't decide to snap a quick shot of him in the rest room!

Hot Chocolate and Christmas Lights

Last year we started a new tradition at the French house. We put on Christmas PJ's and make a stop at Starbucks and then we drive around and check out all the decorations around town. Connor had gotten pretty sick Friday morning but by Saturday night we felt ok letting him in the warm car so we could keep up this fun tradition. I really wish this picture had come out better. This yard was so fabulous. They had a life size sleigh with a Santa inside it. Lights all over the yard and house. It was mommy's and Bailey's favorite.

This is a yard full of snowmen. Connor found this one and he loved it. We always have fun driving around looking at all the decorations in our neighborhood.

The Starbucks hot chocolate was wonderful and this year NO SPILLS! Not even Connor who drank his perfectly from the cup.

A Few of Our Favorite Things...

It's time for Mommy's annual Favorite Things lists. I used to have time to Scrapbook this but now I blog it for us to look back at year after year. These pictures are the kids school pictures for this year. Connor at 2 1/2 really likes-
*pizza and Honey buns
*the color blue
*Santa (Ho Ho)
*Backyardigans and Max and Ruby
*singing Hannah songs with Bailey
*playing animals with Jack
*Neigh Neighs
*play dough
*Sunshine School teacher and friends
Bailey at 7 really likes-
*All things Hannah or High School Musical
*books, books, books (Magic Rainbow, Little House on the Prarie, Junie B. Jones, Cam Jansen)
*hot dogs and pizza
*the colors purple and pink
*school
*singing to her Ipod songs
*Playing Nintendo DS games
*makeup and painting her nails
*LOVES Texas A&M

Jack at 8 1/2 really likes-
*pizza and carrots
*the color red
*reading books (Goosebumps, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Magic Tree House)
*Playing his Gamecube and Nintendo DS
*playing Basketball and Soccer
*watching football and throwing the football with Dad
*playing with his friends
*drawing
*science
Some things change and some things stay the same!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to All!

Ho Ho Ho

Today was another busy day for the French's. My day started off very nicely. My sweet kids and my wonderful husband let me sleep in this morning while daddy made breakfast and made school lunches. Then they brought me breakfast in bed and a few homemade cards and a new book I have been wanting. After getting all three kids to school Greg and I spent some alone time together. After lunch I went to the kids school to watch/teach Jack's Third Grade class to give his teacher a fun lunch out and some shopping time. I had a blast teaching 3rd graders and we even made a cute book to give his teacher for Christmas. As soon as we picked the kids up we headed to North Park for our Annual Santa Visit! We love this Santa. As my kids say, "He's the REAL Santa mommy!" And yes, we made it through another year and my sweet 3rd grader still really believes!I love this picture! They all enjoyed telling Santa everything they want this year and even told him they were really good this year. Glad he didn't ask me!

The King

In the midst of all the Christmas Craziness we headed to the DMA to view the King Tut exhibit.
I was in charge of the Northrich Teacher Luncheon this morning and was at the kids school from 9 until 2:20 when I checked the kids out of school and we all headed downtown. The kids were so excited to see all Pharaoh and Egyptian "things". I was afraid Greg and I would need to go back later without kids to really see everything but I was wrong. They were really good and Jack and Bailey had the audio tour and really listened and could tell us what they learned. Connor just tolerated it! Poor thing was stuck in his stroller while we all looked at and read facts. He couldn't even eat or drink in the exhibit. He got a little fussy as we entered the last room. Actually the Egyptians were a really fascinating civilization. I think we all really enjoyed our tour of the King!

A Parade and Santa's Village

All five of us bundled up early this morning and walked up the street to watch the Annual Richardson Christmas Parade. We haven't been for a few years but since it was just one block from our house we decided it was a good year to go and check it out. It was a little chilly but ended up being a perfect day for a parade. All the kids took their warmest blankets and bundled up.

Connor loved everything we saw!

This is my oldest son! Hiding under the blanket. He inherited his mommy's dislike for cold weather. He did come out in time for all the floats and bands and cheerleaders! Jack does love a cute cheerleader. We saw lots of people we knew and the kids loved all the candy they got. We even saw our cousin, Emma. She was riding on an Adventure Guides float.

Later in the evening we all headed up to City Hall to walk around the Richardson Santa's Village. We try to go every year it is a fun little village with lots of Christmas spirit.

The kids with Sparky!

Connor and Bailey rode in a sleigh. Jack played reindeer and pulled a sleigh, but we didn't get a pic of him.

We also visited with Mrs. Claus and she gave the kids cookies. While we were in line to see the Animal Shelter puppies (a favorite every year) I noticed a little boy walking around us looking really scared. Then when he said, "Where's my mommy?" with tears in his eyes, the mommy in me jumped to help him. This sweet little boy told me his name and his mommy's name and that he was 3. I sent another mom to find a policeman. I held him until the policeman came and talked to him and told me he would take him to the Police post. The little boy didn't really want to let go of me, but eventually the policeman took him with him. I couldn't leave the village until I saw him with his mommy. She was so scared!

I was so fearful for this sweet 3 year old and I so hope someone else would do the same for one of my kids if they were lost. I think that this has to be a mommy's worst fear, to turn around in a crowded place and your child be gone.
All in all it was a really wonderful, winter day!

Good News!

Yesterday Connor had his regular check up with his Oncologist. I had decided to go into it with NO expectations because last August I assumed and banked on his numbers being high since he hadn't been sick for a while and his numbers were at a low for more than 8 months. Not good news. Well, yesterday his numbers were at an all time high for the last 8 months! This is really good news heading into the worst time of year for our little man. It gives him more cushion when he does get sick for his body to fight, fight, fight. This is Connor very mad when mommy wouldn't let him run in the Turkey Trot with his brother and sister. By the way, Jack placed 7th in all of 3rd grade, a big jump from last years 12th place. Way to go Jackson! Bailey was really disappointed in herself and we were not in the least. She didn't place really high but she ran the whole way and never gave up and we think that is what is truly important.

Counting Our Blessings

On this beautiful Thanksgiving day, I encouraged the kids to "count their blessings" and here is what they told me...
Jack says he is thankful for family, friends, food, and our house.
Bailey says she is thankful for God and Jesus, water, Grandparents, makeup, flowers and LuLu the dog.
Connor says he is thankful for mommy, daddy and the neigh neighs!

I loved the perspective of each child. It had a lot to do with their ages and personalities.
Jack just says it like it is. NO Elaboration whatsoever.
Bailey is more detailed and would have gone on and on and on...
Connor is thankful for the things he thinks are most important right now. I was surprised I ranked above the neigh neighs.

I guess if I am counting my blessings then here is my list.
My faith, my husband, my three children, my family, my friends, my preschool Spanish students, our health, our home, my kids teachers... I could go on and on too!

Our Little Bear

Last Thursday we had Connor's first Thanksgiving performance at Sunshine School. It was an exciting event around our house. Bailey had a performance at her school but told us she didn't want to go so she could see Connor as a Bear. All month long I have tried to get him to sing his bear songs and all month long he has told me "No, I not a bear!" so we were a little nervous as to how much he would actually sing. Here is my cute bear walking in with his class. He looked so big. Well, no need to worry about this little bear. He marched up on the stage and sang really well. We were very proud of him.

Here he is leaving the stage. I was in charge of pictures. Not such a good idea. Somehow after I got the one of him walking down the aisle I hit a button and shut off the flash. So the next picture is of him leaving the stage! The pictures weren't great but I do have great memories of my sweet little bear.

Date Night with 648 Screaming Girls!

My sweet husband knew how much I wanted to see this new movie that was coming out this weekend. He knew it would mean listening to lots of screaming girls, but he got passes from my wonderful sister and he took me anyway! I started the book a while back and something came up and I had not gotten back to it to finish it, but I was hooked and knew the movie would be amazing too. We arrived 1 1/2 hours early, yes really! Even that early we were in the second section third line for waiting. In front of us in line was a really nice couple with three kids also. She had loved the book and drug her husband along. He kept telling her they could go see Bond and still be in time for this movie. ( he did go to Bond and she saved him a seat) In back of us were about 12 teenage girls who kept bumping us and screaming. It was a peek into our future!
When they let people start going in people were running and yelling and saving seats. I have never seen anything like it at a movie. Well, maybe Star Wars when I was much younger. This theater seats 650 people and there was not an empty seat! Finally the movie started and it was well worth the wait. The first time, and really every time Edward comes on the screen all 648 girls screamed. I have to admit there was something about this vampire! I loved it and Greg really liked it too. Just maybe minus the screaming girls!

The Leaves are Falling...

This is what our backyard looks like all fall! Some mornings you can't see any yard or concrete for the amount of leaves that fall. And, this picture is the day after Daddy and Connor raked them! Connor has found his favorite new "job". He is really good at bagging leaves for daddy after daddy blows them into a pile.

There are times when I think wow, this kid is just like his brother. Sometimes I even think he acts like his sister. But, just lately his little personality has really become all his own. We all laugh so much at this little monkey. His new favorite saying is "That Kooky!" He got it from his favorite show, Wow Wow Wubbzy. We passed a loud car one day, he says That Kooky! His brother and sister have a fight, he says, That Kooky! He doesn't just say it, he holds his hands up and wiggles his fingers as he says it. So cute. He also works his mommy all day long. He will walk up to me and grab my face and say "I wuv you mommy". Usually just after he has broken something or eaten candy he wasn't suppose to have.

Several people lately have asked me how my baby is doing. He fought a cold all last week and I am so happy to say nothing serious came of it! We know his blood count numbers were down last time we had them taken and we know this is his hardest time of year, but we feel so blessed to have him stay as healthy as he has. Please continue to keep Connor in your prayers, we know that it has made a difference!

Long Overdue Praise!

This is so... long overdue, but here goes...
My sweet friend Traci has this wonderful talent for blog design and is now using this talent to start a business. She redesigned my very boring blog and made something spectacular for me. I went on line and picked a blog template and told her what I knew I wanted. She put this wonderful looking blog together for me and I love using it. It is so bright and cheerful and the colors and design are so me. You really should check her site out. She has lots of templates and sample designs to look at. She is also having a free blog makeover in the month of November. So check it out,
sweet cheeky designs.

Ouch!

We had an injury tonight! Jack was helping mommy unload the dryer and he dropped some socks. When he came back to get them he jumped up and hit his head on the corner of the counter. He immediately fell to the ground crying. A sure sign that Jack is really hurt. When I got to him he looked at me and asked,"Is there blood?" Yes, there was lots and lots of blood. So much that I screamed for Greg to come and helped him to the table to put a cloth on it. We really couldn't tell how bad it was for all the gushing blood. And when the blood spurted out at me I really started to panic a bit. We called Papa to come over and access the situation for us. Greg held a cloth on it for over 5 minutes and the blood had already started to clot. A really good sign. And after all that blood the gash was really rather small.

Papa taped him up. Then all night long we laughed at his funny taped up head. When daddy ripped the tape off (he tried to do it gently but that just didn't work) a good bit of hair came out too!

My Brown Eyed Girl!

Yesterday was my sweet Bailey's 7th Birthday. It amazes her daddy and I that she is already 7 years old. It really seems like yesterday that she was this little toddler with NO hair. I think this year I'll post some little known facts about Bailey for her birthday not the usual stuff everyone knows.
*Bailey has a very sensitive heart. She gets her heart hurt so easily.
*Bailey as girly as she seems loves to play in the dirt and mud!
*She is very Patriotic and took this election loss for "her" candidate very hard.
*She is a BIG pack rat, nothing like her mommy who tosses everything.
*Loves to lay in her bed and read, just like her mommy.
*Does all her homework by herself, no help, and does it all the first night when it should take 4 nights. Can you say Overachiever!
*Loves all holidays! Counts the days to the next person's birthday.
*She likes broccoli and squash!
*She never forgets a name or fact. We find ourselves asking her when we can't remember something.
*Finally, she has the biggest brown eyes and beautiful smile of anyone I know!

We love you Birthday Girl!

High School Musical 3

What a fun day at the movies! Today was Bailey's big birthday party. She loves HSM and wanted to see it for her party. We couldn't have asked for a better party. Several of her good friends came and we headed up to the movie singing HSM songs the whole way. Those girls know all the words. After purchasing tickets and our movie meals we got our up close seats! (up close chosen by the girls not the mommy) The movie was better than the other two. I think I liked it in the theater more than the little screen. A really cute movie with really cute songs. Thanks Mimi and Tamara for going with us! After HSM was over we headed home for pizza and cake.

Bailey opened all her fun gifts and took pictures with all the girls after she opened their presents. This is Bailey with her best school buddy, Isabella, and one of her gifts.

This is Bailey with a "Soccer Sister", Alondra, a friend from school. She got her a Hannah purse, perfect for B.

This is another "Soccer Sister" Nancy a school friend. Who gave her two Hannah shirts. How well do these girls know my Bailey!

This is Bailey with her sweet friend Kayla who got her a purse, wallet and bracelets. She was just telling me the other day she wanted a wallet to keep her allowance in. So, thanks Kayla!

This is B with her Mimi and Papa, who got her a new American Girl Doll, Julie. Bailey loves her!

She also received a wonderful gift from her Aunt Tamara, a purse filled with HSM things and a gift certificate to The American Girl Doll Store! One of her sweet friends also gave her a gift certificate to AGD Store so she has lots of money to spend later!

I couldn't have asked for a better Birthday party for my little girl. As I tucked her in tonight she told me it was the best party ever. If you know Bailey you know she will tell me that next year and the next year and so on... She is a truly appreciative little girl.

Big Girl-

Mommy and Daddy are so proud of the young lady you are becoming. We are so happy you had such a wonderful day with your friends. We can't wait to see what God has in store for you because the first seven years have been so much fun!