Hello 2009!

Mia and I ended the year 2008 and started 2009 surrounded by people who love us. Our sweet Daryl has been in Kilgore, Tx (about 4 1/2 hours away) since early Sunday morning. He's out there working on a huge project, and had all his ducks in a row. If two other pieces of the puzzle would have had theirs in a row, he would have been home by Wed...New Years Eve. Well, that didn't happen, and I totally understand, but that doesn't help how much I miss him.

On to the people that have surrounded us with love...I'd like to thank some of the dearest people (and animals) in the world ~ Bonnie, Josh, Ben, Sam, Tallulah and Tucker for having us at their home, hanging with us, feeding us, and just being fabulous friends. Then there's Geni, Kell, Beckah, Noah, Miranda, Natalie, Allie, Garnier and Bill Pickles, who've generously done the same. Then today, the sweetest in-laws in the world had us over. Pawpaw had his little helper for the day and Nana had her little cook. I was able to relax and enjoy my family and some quiet time while Mia was going about her business tending to things that needed tending to.

I know down deep, that I would NOT be ok right now if it wasn't for every single one of those people...and animals.

Life is good. I have proof.

Now, since I've been so relaxed and immersed in the lives of other families, I didn't take many shots at all. None at Bonnie's, none at Geni's, and only four at Nana and Pawpaw's. So, here they are:

Cookie Family

I've been wanting to post about these cookies for a couple of weeks...now that everyone has their cookies, I can! It all started when Daryl, Mia and I sat down to ice some gingerbread cookies. They started out like random gingerbread men...then Daryl made one with a UT shirt on...I made one of Daryl...in the end, every family member got a cookie of themselves for Christmas :)

Daryl posing with the cookie I'd iced in his image

Mia HAD to show off her cookie just like Daddy did
Mia quite intent on icing a cookie that she'd already sampled!

(from top left) Daryl with UT shirt and Blackberry in hand, Me with camera, Mia with kitty cat

(from bottom left) Pawpaw with is Ron Paul shirt on, Nana with her glass of red wine, Joe in suit and holding his blackberry, Melissa with a book in hand (I added a set of knitting needles and scarf later), Gwen with messy hands from painting :) (I'd also made one of Memaw, but it didn't make the photo shoot)

Mike the fisherman, Tia Mae who's pregnant, and Ita with her beloved dog, Max even our sweet Ms. Andrea from Casa T got a cookie with an Om symbol on her shirt, a paintbrush and painting

Another Merry Winter Solstice Time

Joe, Melissa and Gwen had us and some friends over for a Solstice get together. It started in the kitchen where we peeled sun-hued oranges. I love the smell of a peel fresh off an orange. Then as more and more families arrived, we all just did our own thang. Kids played, mamas visited and daddies stood around talking and drinking beer :) A super fun time was had by all....especially Ava and Orion...I think she has a crush on that younger man.

More shots can be found here :)

this shot of me with Mia was taken by my loving husband (who now, and rightfully, wants credit for his shots)

Mia's first day as a photographer

I'm not sure why, but I can't wait til the actual proper date to let someone open a gift from me. It's not that I want to open one so bad, b/c it happens on other people's birthdays, too. So, yesterday (Dec 20th) Mia opened one of her Christmas gifts. A new kids digital camera. She LOVES it and it soooo easy for her to use. Here are a few of her shots in a collage, then some of my faves a little larger. Now the camera's turned!

I'm not sure if Mia took this one or if Auntie M got ahold of the camera and graced Mia's camera with a self-portrait :)

Over the river and through the woods...

...to Nana's house we go.

Thanksgiving '08 is a blur for me. Not because I was drunk...I had a HORRIBLE migraine. I hadn't had one of those in forever and it just floored me. On the way out there, Mia had a little sun in her eyes, so Ita came to the rescue with her shades. Once we got there, I gave my hellos and hugs and went to nap in the thankfully dark guest room.

They guys were off to fly the plane. When I woke up, I found that Daryl had crashed it into a tree after about being airborne for 6 seconds, so they just came home and drank beer, cooked and watched the game. Then I went out to call the girls (Ita, Nana and Mia) in for dinner. It was TASTY and lasted, for me, about 4 minutes then I had to go back to sleep. A few hours later Daryl woke me up. The car was packed with leftovers...we said our goodbyes..and that was Thanksgiving.

These are the only shots I took while out there :(

But WAIT!

I just found these fun shots of Mia (and her mouse) dancing with the performers singing White Christmas at the Macy's Thanksgiving parade...on TV