So Very Thankful

Well, the turkey has been eaten and pumpkin pie devoured.....This turkey is stuffed! We had such a wonderful Thanksgiving. I love the Thanksgiving Holiday so much! I feel like it is a time when I am more likely to stop and actually think seriously about all that I have to be thankful for. I thank God every day of the year for the obvious things like my incredible husband, my beautiful, healthy children, and my parents. However, Thanksgiving makes me remember some of the things that I am very thankful for, but often forget to mention to my heavenly father. I wish I would realize more often that everyday is a day for Thanksgiving.
One of the things that I have been thinking a lot about this Thanksgiving is family. Now I realize that is something that most people think a great deal about during this time of year. But, I've got a serious extended FAMILY to be thankful for. Our Thanksgiving plans consisted of THREE Thanksgiving dinners. THREE seperate occasions that our family welcomed us into their home and looked forward to seeing us. THREE days of feasting and visiting with people who had an enormous part in molding Jim and I into who we are today. THREE different families that loved on Presley and Grayson more than one can even imagine.
We started on Thanksgiving day at my mom and dad's house. I'm sure I looked funny walking down the street with a green bean casserole in my hands. Isn't that awesome that I just have to walk less than 50 yards to see my parents? We celebrated with Coby, Jen, Camren, and my Memaw. It was great! This year I have a sweet nephew to be thankful for! The whole family even went to see Bolt in 3D later that night.
The next day we headed to Lamesa to celebrate with Jim's family. It was great to see Jim's parents, Donnell and Family, Dale, Madonna, Tony, and Weston, and Aunt Lana. I am so blessed to be a part of the Archer Family. I couldn't have asked God for a better family to marry into. I loved the way we each had to say something we were thankful for before our prayer. I especially loved how my husband said he was thankful for his "Smokin' Hot Wife!" (Thanks honey.....You might want to explain to Presley why she should stop calling me that.)
The next day we stayed in Lubbock and went to the Tech game. I did have my first national TV appearance during the game, and yes I was freezing if you could not tell! Go Red Raiders!
Finally, today, we drove to Lamesa again for our third and final Thanksgiving dinner. This time we celebrated with my Mimi and Papa and all of my aunts, uncles, cousins, and all the new babies. I love how close my family is to one another. I also hope that I will never stop spending the Sunday after Thanksgiving at Mimi and Papa's house like I have for the last 30 years.
As we were driving home tonight, exhausted with belly aches and ready to get home, I couldn't help thinking about how amazingly blessed I am to have so many incredible people I get to call FAMILY.
Thank you God for all of your wonderful blessings of FAMILY.

TAG! 8 Things

So, I got tagged for the first time ever! Thanks to the Jennifers!

8 TV Shows I Watch
Survivor
Grey's Anatomy
The Today Show
Backyardigans
Dora
Little Einsteins
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
Imagination Movers
(Pathetic....I know)

8 Favorite Restaurants
Carino's
Outback
Lujan's
One Guy From Italy Pizza
Chick-fil-a
Manna
Red Carpet
Pei Wei

8 Things I Did This Weekend (This one is easy...we had the BEST weekend!)
Booked a cruise to Mexico to celebrate our 10th anniversary (for June)
Went to see Madagascar II with my sweet kiddos and hotty husband
Shared a Cookie Monster with my family at Cheddar's
Went to eat breakfast at Cracker Barrell after sleeping later than usual
Took the kids to play at Legacy Play Village
Watched a depressing Tech game with Matt and Rebekah....but at least we were in good company!
Cleaned my house...it looks so much better!
Had family pictures made with Coby, Jen, Camren, Mom, Dad, and us!
(Too bad I could only list 8 things...I didn't even mention putting up Christmas lights, hanging out with our LifeGroup.....this was a busy, but awesome weekend!)

8 Things I Look Forward To
Three Thanksgiving dinners with our families
Christmas Shopping
Putting up the Christmas tree
The Holidays in General
The Polar Express
A Cruise to Mexico in June
Getting to spend the summer with Jim and the kids (We will all be out of school for the entire summer!)
Family Camp in Branson, MO

8 Things on My Wish List
To be more like Christ
To be the best mom and wife I can be
To be a better friend
To be a great teacher for my sweet students
To get all my Christmas shopping done early
For potty training Grayson to be easy
For my house to be more organized
For Presley to NEVER grow out of her princess dresses

I tag Rebekah, Melissa, and Holly

My Rock Star Politician

Grayson...my sweet, sweet, boy.....my little rebel without a cause....my snuggle bug....my adventure. G-Jack, as we affectionately call our boy around here, is at such a "funny" age! I use the term "funny" lightly since some would not exactly call it that! For example, last week he asked his G-Dad if there was a baby in G-Dad's tummy. G-Dad did not exactly think that was funny. My mom, however, thought it was wildly funny until Grayson told her in the most innocent way that she was too old to go to the Halloween Carnival with him. On the same note, we think it is hilarious that Grayson has been heard rambling in his carseat about Barack Obama and John McCain. Last night, before he knew we were listening of course, Grayson was saying, "Barack Obabma winned...NO! NO! NO! John McCain winned!" It is pretty adorable when he gets his toy electric guitar and head bangs while making "electric guitar" noises....just like Daddy. (No, I have never seen Jim headbang, but Grayson apparently has!) I just love his BIG personality!
Everyone knows the reputation that comes with a two-year old. I'm certainly not saying that we haven't seen our fair share lately of evidence of the "Terrible Twos." However, I wouldn't trade the sweetness of this age for a year without tantrums. Grayson is so affectionate. He is famous among family and friends for his "night-night sugar and big hugs" that he has to give everyone at least twice before he hits the sack. Those big brown eyes just melt my heart when he looks at me and gives a goofy grin...he sure can charm his way out of trouble with that one! Thank heaven for little boys! I wanted to share some of my favorite pics of Grayson that capture this precious boy of mine.

FYI--That is a lollipop (one of his favorite things) in his mouth...I know it resembles a cigarette!

Walking In His Daddy's Footsteps

Whose Got Talent?

Presley and her friends have talent...that's who! Last night our school had their annual talent show, and Presley and three of her friends from her class were ready to entertain. I must say I was a little nervous....much more so than Presley was! I was armed and ready with my video camera in hand, and yes on the second row! (The first row was already taken..:) They were awesome! They sang Boom Chick-A-Boom, The Pink Song, and did a Wildcat cheer! I was so proud of her for being so brave! Here are a few pictures and even a video!Enjoy!

Here's to Perfect Weekends!

It's been a week since I last blogged, or should I say, let Jim Bob take over my blog. We had a good, but busy week, and this week looks like it will be even busier. We were able to have a wonderful weekend. It was just one of those weekends that just goes exactly like you envision it. It started off Friday night with an incredible night of praise and worship. Jim and the Heights Band held a concert of worship and prayer called Deep. We had a babysitter watch the kids so we could just focus on praising our Father...it was a wonderful way to spend a Friday night. My prayer is that I would continue praising Him and worshiping Him throughout this week at school, at home, in the car.
Saturday morning was a monumental moment in the Archer house as Presley had her first Kindergarten friend over for a playdate. Presley and Rece had a blast decorating cookies, painting butterflies, and of course, playing dress-up. For lunch we were able to meet up with some of our college friends that were in town for the Tech game. We had such a great time catching up with Ryan and Naomi, Nathan, Jennifer, and Jake for some One Guy pizza. Just like the good ol' days! We finished a great day with another Texas Tech victory! Go Red Raiders!
After a wonderful time of worship at church this morning and great meal at Lujan's, we were able to have a very restful Sunday afternoon! Here is to a perfect weekend! Only five more days until Friday!

First Time for Everything-Jim Bob's First Blog

It's me, Jim Bob, blogging. Just call me Jim Blog. Big day for me. Kelli coaxed me into starting a facebook account, and she's somehow persuaded me to submit my first blog. It's hard for a guy named Jim Bob to really enjoy technology. I guess this is just the next natural step that will lead to me being fed through the slot in my cage by my computer master. I hope my computer master will let me out to play with you all on weekends. Pretty sure that I'll be obselete before you though, so you've still got a little more time than me before you are replaced by the computer version of you.

I celebrated another big first tonight. Grayson and I had our first real game of catch. I got to say, "Keep your eye on the ball," which resulted in him getting beaned right on the noggin. True, it wasn't like a last second game winning toss from Harrell to Crabtree, but it was definitely a game of catch. Back and forth we tossed the nerf football, and I've got to say, he's got a good arm. It's funny, because two nights ago, he kept me up all night crying and refusing to let me go to sleep. I really thought I was going to lose it with him. Then tonight I had that moment that I've dreamed of having with him since I found out that we would be having a boy. I wouldn't trade our game of catch for a thousand nights of good sleep or even a Crabtree catch to beat Texas (that's a bold statement). I hope this was the first of many good games of catch with my boy. God, remind me of that if he keeps us up tonight. One day, he'll be my Crabtree, and I'll be his Harrell.

Happy Halloween

We had a very Happy Halloween! It all started last weekend when the kids went to a Halloween party at the Falls. Presley was a princess (of course!) and Grayson was a Dallas Cowboy football player (again...no surprise!). The next day we went to the Calvary Fall Festival. It was super fun! We still had our football player, but this time Presley was a Red Raider cheerleader! Both of them were absolutely adorable if I do say so myself! Finally, on Halloween night, we went to the Heights Fall Festival and to Coby and Jen's annual Halloween party. Jim and I got in the spirit, too. (In case you can't tell...I was Sarah Palin and Jim was John McCain. The precious baby we are kissing is Camren!) It was great fun! Here are a few pics from our Halloween....And I cannot end this without saying, "GO RED RAIDERS!" How awesome was that game??? Incredible!