"So Make It a Good One!"

We ended the year and welcomed the new in the best way possible. We had a private party at our home. This party was so private that you had live here to be invited. We still had a pretty big turn out with only one guest leaving before midnight.



We had pizza and soda as we watched the Back to the Future Trilogy. Those movies are so much fun when they are all watched together. Aside from being incredibly tired when they finally ended, I loved it. I like how the movies present the concept of time passing and of how little actions can effect our future and those we love.

The third movie ends with the Doc explaining to Jennifer why the words had erased from her paper (from the future.) The response was very appropriate to remember in the passing of one year to the next.

"Your future hasn't been written yet.
Your future can be anything you make it.
So make it a good one!"

Doc, Back to the Future III



We toast to you and to your happiness. May God bless you in 2008! Remember it is what you make it so make it a good one!

Then came Christmas!

It was a long and wonderful Advent season. We had many early Christmas times. We were so blessed that the children got those special Christmas hugs from their Nanny and Gramps. Cowboy even got to meet his Mimi, Aunt Katie, his CA cousins and his KeeKee. What we thought would be a restful Advent season was not, instead it was filled to the brim with running, visiting, sharing, gifts, activities, and good food. We were delighted to share all of that with our families, friends and each of you.

As the shopping stores began to close on Christmas Eve we began to cook our feast. It is our family tradition to let each child pick their favorite appetizer to prepare for our meal. There are so many of us that we are always over whelmed with many different dishes to munch on. We then clean up in time to start baking the cookies for Santa. After cleaning that up we prepare for Mass. We got ready for Midnight Mass at 9:00 p.m. and enjoyed every second of it. The younger kiddos were just as tired and have no idea that it was no where near midnight. We met up with some good friends at Mass and they shared their seats with us (thank you so much.) After a few friendly hugs and pictures we headed home.

At home we grabbed a few more group shots and some more individual shots. The kiddos know how much I love to take pictures and they were all dressed up. We laughed at ourselves, each other and at everything the entire time. After changing we opened our sibling gifts and the secret Santa gifts the kiddos bought for each other. After mom and dad started to fall asleep the little ones headed off to bed. We all hoped that St. Nick would visit after everyone fell asleep.

We woke early to enjoy the generosity of our Saintly friend. We sang birthday wishes, said our morning prayers and then opened the gifts. We all found peace and quiet this Christmas. Dad found it hiding in the kitchen with the turkey, the kiddos found it in their new toys that they shared and mom found it while napping. The day ended with a huge feast. Every over the age of three helped dad to prepare it. During our Christmas toast we thanked God for all the gifts He has given us. Those gifts include each of you, our family and friends.

Another perfect day in the life that we are so blessed to live in.

What was our Advent like?

Our celebration of our Lord's birth was wonderful. It was full of love, life and family!

There are so many ways that we can look at this time of year. I tend to get stressed about the cost of everything and have to work at enjoying the time. Last year we spent our time ill with the flu. After one trip to St. Louis for a wedding at the end of October we were preparing for another trip for another wedding at the end of December. During that crazy time Cowboy entered our lives even though we didn't yet know about him. What a wonderful gift he would turn out to be. We were planning on a peaceful, calm and relaxing December, A joyous Advent season in which we would prepare for Jesus birth. God had other plans for our family.

At the beginning of December we had the exciting visit from dad's family. We really did have a blast. Nanny and Gramps brought Aunt Erica and Beaner with them. The Texas's Ts loved every second with their family. They felt so loved and enjoyed every conversation, each meal, the toast for Uncle Michael and Beaner's family journey to Japan for the next baseball season, the Christmas cookie making, the visit with St. Nicholas and the early arrival of gifts. Dad is still in shock that his own Dad, a.k.a. Gramps, would make an early morning trip to the stores during the post-thanksgiving rush to find and purchase the Wii system for the grandchildren.

My dear husband and God had another adventure crammed into this very busy month. Mom got to fly out to Fresno to see her family and have them meet Cowboy. Mimi and KeeKee joined Cowboy and mom in San Jose and we drove to Fresno to visit with Aunt Katie and her gorgeous daughters. There Cowboy and Mom got to have another Christmas feast, more gifts, game night, pizza night, and lots of hugs from all those girls.

We spent hours trying to get a good shot of the kiddos for the Christmas cards that never went out. We had a blast this Advent. We spent tons of time together trying to get a good picture. They are getting so good at setting up the shot. One of our favorite new traditions will be our Christmas lights adventure. Thanks to another blogger for the idea we headed out with Thank you notes in hand. When we came across a house with great lights we gave them a thank you note. We went with some friends in two cars, 2 gallons of hot chocolate, and 30 thank you notes. We lasted as long as our bladders could hold. It was GREAT FUN and we counted 34 outside nativity sets.

Christmas Cards

We love to send and to receive Christmas cards. They really are a family favorite for our family. This year we have been so busy that we have yet to send out cards. As I stated earlier we had a computer crash and we lost all of our addresses. I have been working hard to recompile and update our list. I want to thank all of our friends that do send out cards, notes and pictures. They mean the world to us. We plan to try to send something out wishing everyone a happy new year. (That will be if I can get my act together this week!)

We used to post all cards on the back of the front door. We had way too many this year ans wanted them closer. We moved them right into the family room on the wall. This is a major no-no in the decorating world but it sure brings happiness to us. It was so nice to share this time with you all close by.

Who is this Santa guy?

We all have different traditions with this guy. My family tries to focus on the St. Nicholas aspect. Apparently there is a huge debate out there about Santa's weight. All of our politically correct friends want Santa to loose a bunch of weight to set a better example for the kiddos. That bugs me. I really don't care if he is fat or skinny, just spiritual. What is so bad about children being loved by a man that doesn't care if you have been bad or good, that celebrates our Saviors coming, and that is really a good and holy Saint. I personally find that his robust figures adds to his charm. To find more information on this just Google "fat Santa", you will be amazed.

This season we have had two photo shots with versions of this guy. While family was visiting from St. Louis we all went to see St. Nicholas. My bunch was all set and I was hoping to use that shot for the family card. At the last minute my sister-in-law put Beaner in the shot. Needless to say I can not use that shot, people will be very confused as to how many children we have. (also notice that the kiddos all looked at my sister-in-laws camera and not mine) So the shot will not work for the card but I still love it. It is probably more special because Beaner joined us and because it is clearly St. Nicholas and not the commercial Santa.

I don't know if I have said before how much I really love our neighborhood. There are many great families that live here that have carried on several traditions for many years. One of the yearly activities is the breakfast with Santa at the golf club in the neighborhood. It is just donuts, juice and coffee. We love to sit and watch others bring their children in while we eat. First we visit with the big guy then move to the food. It is always enjoyable. It is a perfect time to get a shot. The pictures are adorable but thek iddos didn't look at me again.

We got a few in front of the tree after our Santa visit. I don't know if we will use these either. I did loose my addresses this year when my computer crashed. It is taking me a long time to recollect all the addresses. We might not send out Christmas cards but Happy New Year cards this year for that reason. Here are a few of those in front of the tree shots.

Who is this Santa guy? For the Texas T's he is a wonderful man. We try to copy his spirit of giving that is inspired by his love for Christ. We try to show that spirit all year long. We don't care if he is fat or skinny, that isn't what we are looking at anyway. For us St. Nicholas is a reminder to love everyone, to be generous and truly celebrate Christ's love and example in our lives.

The Perfect Christmas Hug

It is so hard to try to enjoy the special day when we put too much hype on what it should be. I used to worry so much about the perfect house, the perfect gifts, the perfect childhood for my children. I then realized that it is what it is. I will continue to work hard to create wonderful memories for my children. I will do a much better job now that I am not getting upset over a china piece breaking, or a tree falling over or laundry not getting done because we are playing with gifts sent by the grandparents.

I know that my mom worked so hard for us to have the perfect day. We always did from what I remember. I don't remember what I got or what I didn't get. I remember the joy, the excitement and love. I remember the time with my family playing, I remember the long songs at Mass and the tears I always felt looking into the crib. I remember the eggnog, nothing fancy just from the container. I loved every drop. I remember how cool it was to go see my cousins, aunts and uncles and my Mommom. There is nothing better than a Mommom Christmas hug. (God I miss those! Mommom, God Rest Her Soul, has been celebrating the big days in Heaven since 2004)

I am learning to sit back and just enjoy what it is and not stress about what it isn't. There will be no snow in Houston this year, at least non in the forecast. That doesn't mean that Christmas is ruined. It might mean that I crank up the AC so I can wear a Christmas sweater even if it is 85 and humid that afternoon. I am preparing to enjoy the gifts God has given to me. My salvation, my life, my husband, my children and all those creature comforts that I enjoy so much.

As you prepare for this great celebration try to enjoy it. The most important thing you can do is that Christmas hug that is so full of love it will take the receivers breath away. My Mommom had it, my mom does, my little children have it, and I am determined to master it this year. That gift of hugging someone with the unconditional love of Christ. (I will also try to remember the cheap eggnog as well. I need it for the Mommom toast!)

RoseMary Teresa, Pray for us!

RoseMary Teresa
October 19Th ~ December 2ND 2007


It is said that the lifetime is in the dash. Your dash was only 45 days and yet you made the most of it. You touched so many people and helped us to grow closer to God. Thank you for sharing your life with us, thank you for sharing your family with us, and thank you for making the most of your dash. Please pray for us that we can do the same.

With all our love,
The Texas T's



*****RoseMary was born with a condition called trisomy 18. This didn't give her hope for a long life. It did help us to appreciate each second with her. Thank you God for allowing us to feel so close to a baby we never met. I am sure her family will continue to appreciate our prayers for them.*****

She's Got The Power!

Last night Bagel found a discarded lithium battery. It was small, flat and round - about the size of a nickel. It seamed harmless enough until she swallowed the darn thing. So in the last 24 hours we have watched the progression on a foreign object in side of little Miss Bagel.

While waiting to hear from the doctor, Bagel sat down to eat dinner. I don't know if this helped the battery to pass faster or not. Pickle paused as I sat his cup in front of him. He turned toward Bagel and in a very serious tone said,

Ya know, now that she swallowed that battery, she can start singing, "I got the power!"

At his point Bear corrected Pickle,

"No she can't, that battery was dead!"

As you can see I live with a crazy group of kiddos. We have all had a good laugh about the battery, the power and the passing. We thank her angel for protecting her from choking and from digesting the battery. The good news is that the battery passed very quickly and without any harm to our little Bagel. Thank you God!

A great visit!

We Love you Nanny, Gramps, Aunt Erica and Beaner!!

We had so much fun this weekend. Thanks to our visitors. We had nice warm weather that made the outdoor shopping in Old Town Spring so much fun. We had tasty meals together. We celebrated Mass with our St. Anthony's family. We baked cookies and had an early Christmas. There was tons of love that went around. The kiddos were so upset when we left to take them back to the airport. They really miss having grandparents and cousins around to play with. There really is nothing like family!

Who loves Bon Jovi?

Anyone who knows my husband very well at all knows that he is a Bon Jovi fan. He has loved the music for years. When we first had Pooker he promised me that our children would not waste their time on silly kid music but learn to love great music right away. "Great music" is kind of an open term. What I might think is great, you might hate. I think dad was admitting was that he had plans to make sure that his family all loved the music that he did.

From the first moments after a positive pregnancy test all the way to our dear 16 year old, Bon Jovi music has been introduced. I don't even know it is happening until something happens like it did yesterday.

We were headed to the airport to pick up our visiting family. Dad was still out of town and we would pick him up later. The kiddos had an IPod hooked up to the car stereo. Pooker was in the passenger seat with full control for the radio. She turned to ask Bagel, the 3 year old, what song she wanted to hear next. Without skipping a beat, "Bon jovi" was the reply. "Old or New?" was the next questions asked. Bagel asked for both.

It was such an adult sounding conversation it made me laugh. At least me dear husband has accomplished one of his goals in life. His children, all of his children, young an old love his favorite music. They know his music. They listen to his music. So the moral of the story is that even when dad is out of town mom still has to listen to dad's music. I guess it OK with me considering I have also grown to enjoy Bon Jovi tunes. Needless to say that was all we listened to until Nanny, Gramps and Aunt Erica and Beans got into the car!