Okie good time

Buggers with Andrea

Buggers with Shelby

Buggers with Troy






Good times at Grandparents

Goodnight People

On Saturday we all said our goodbyes to Gramp. His service was beautiful. Hubs said the opening prayer and led Amazing Grace. He said some great things about my grandfather. My aunt gave the eulogy and did a great job. My sister Dena did a movie of my grandfather's life. It was so good and really captured his life and joys he had. My sister read a poem, my cousin and I read some memories we had written in our blogs. I did not do a very good job of keeping myself composed while I read. I need hubs to come stand by me for support which he did so lovingly. It is hard to say goodbye but I know he is in a better place and is resting comfortably.

Happy Last Year of My Twenties!!!

Well amongst all the happenings, my birthday was Friday. This is the first time that I have ever had my extended family around on my birthday. Eventhough the circumstances were not ideal, it made the day special for me. My aunt got me balloons and a banner which was a huge surprise. Then she also had a ice cream sundae party that evening. She is so sweet and really made me feel special. My mom and dad got me two really pretty figurines that represent Bubby and Buggers. The one of Buggers has birds on her shoulders and if you know Buggers she has imaginary birds that she plays with. So fitting. Hubs also surprised me with a gift in the wee hours of the morning. He got me a Swavorski crystal necklace. It is unlike anything I have ever seen. It has a pink crystal which is my favorite color. It is really unique and it really shows he put alot of thought into it. You can see it in the pic below. We ended the night sitting around my grandparents table playing games. It was a great day and one that I will cherish.

Blast from the Past...19th Birthday

John Monroe Cato...

My sweet loving Gramp passed on Wednesday after a long hard journey with cancer. He was surrounded by 5 of his 6 children as he took his last breath in the early hours of this beautiful day. I am thankful to God for allowing him to finally find peace in his battle. But I am deeply saddened to lose him. But I find comfort that the Lord above found him and is wrapping his arms around him. When I think of my grandfather, I can't help to see his smiling face and hear his laughter. His humor would amuse anyone who was sitting around the table or visiting with him on the back porch. His recollection of stories would keep you entranced until the days grew long. His stories of the railroad, ups and downs of raising 6 kids, and the good times in his life gave you such insight into the wonderful life he lead. I'll never forget the summers I spent with him and my grandma. We would sit in the front room piecing together a 1000 piece puzzle, pick pecans from the yard, get lessons on how to drive a riding lawn mower, and play old records from his square dance calling days. I loved being around him because he gave you his full attention. And he took such great pride in being a grandfather. My most endearing memory is when Gramp to me by the hand and danced with me on my wedding day. I felt like I was dancing on air.

As I grew older and became a mother, I was able to witness my grandfather do the same type of things with my children. I got to experience how great a grandfather he was again but through the eyes of my children. He would get on the floor and play with my growing babies, roll around and wrestle, and tinker with baby toys that spin and pop as my kids giggled and smiled. My children loved their Grandpa John and speak of him often.

His true character became so vivid the last 10 months as he began his battle with cancer. His bravery and courage was astounding. He never once complained and he tried to hide his pain from his children and loved ones. Through clinched teeth as his body writhed in pain, he managed to joke with us and his nurses. He is a man with great will to survive. But better yet he was a man with the will to cherish every moment with the most important thing in his life...his family.

I will miss him dearly. I will miss his smile. I will miss him sitting on the back porch enjoying his cigarette. I will miss him sitting at the table with his legs crossed and one arm thrown over the back of the chair. I will miss him saying I love you when it was time for me to leave.

Amongst the pain and grief, I do find comfort knowing that he now has peace and his battle has stopped. And he is now sitting side by side with his dear wife having a cup of coffee while they read the daily news.

We love you Gramp!!

hit the road jack

Our beloved Jack passed away today alone while the famiy was away. We are so sad to see him go. It is an absolute shame that his life was taken so early and without reason. We loved him, fed him, and show our compassion for him as he fell sick the past few days. We will miss him and wish him well on his journey to a place beyond our imagination, fish heaven.

Door Over

I painted our front door starting last week and finishing on Friday. The weather in between was not conducive to painting. I wanted a deep rich red. I have always always wanted a red front door. As I walked around the neighborhood I would oogle over all the ones I saw. I just never had the guts to do it to ours. Our front door is not in the best shape and was a sight for sore eyes as you approached it. I just decided to get over my apprehension and just do it. So I asked my sister to "paint" my door red virtually so I could get an idea. I was sold!!! So I got a quart of paint called Roasted Tomato and set off to painting. Like so many projects I start without much planning. So I started painting and hated the fact that you could see the brush strokes. Well I was using a cheap brush and the door is metal. I finished it up on Friday with a foam roller made for smooth surfaces. And it turned out gorgeous!!! I love it!
Before

Midway after 2 coats with brush.Notice how clean the brass kickplate is. I used a homemade mixture of salt, flour and vinegar. However it didn't not stay that clean. I guess I need some brass cleaner. How well worth the green try...

After...

Applying for my next position...

Or atleast I'm being hopeful. I have been working on my cooking lately. I am trying some new recipes and come oldies but goodies that my mom used to cook. I made fried pork chops the other night for the first time and they were pretty good. I have tried 2 new recipes the past two nights. I made Sausage and Pepper Calzones last night. Then Grilled Chicken Salad Wraps tonight. Hubby like tonight's better than last nights. The filling to the calzones is delicious but wasn't sure about the pizza crust. It needed to be lighter and not so heavy. I may have to alter that by making it into a pizza pie or using a different pizza crust. The wraps were really good tonight. However I'm not a fan of crunchy things inside of a wrap or burrito. The red pepper had a little touch much crunch for me but hubs really liked it. I served this we left over queso from when we had taco salads. Here are the two recipes.
http://www.parents.com/recipe/chicken/grilled-chicken-salad-wraps/
http://www.parents.com/recipe/turkey/sausage-pepper-calzones/

I'm planning on making this tomorrow night for dinner. Sounds great hope it tastes great too.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Andreas-Pasta-Fagioli/Detail.aspx

Anyone try any new recipes that turned out great? Share please.

Tostito's Bowl of Whoop A**

Sporting our Longhorn attire in support of our team tonight against the much despised Ohio State Buckeyes. Hook'em Horns!!!!

First day of School

Buggers had her first day at school today. Bubby will have his tomorrow, hopefully. He got sick today in the parking lot as I was dropping them off. So he got to spend a day at home with Daddy. Buggers did really well today. She didn't even cry when I dropped her off. The only thing that happened was after her nap she told her teacher that "Mommy had left her" and she was quite upset. But her teacher was able to calm her down. However she became upset again when her teacher was going to leave for the day and put on her coat. Buggers told her she couldn't leave and to take off her jacket. So her sweet teacher stayed for a while longer and then I showed up. Buggers was beyond excited to see me. She was so excited she was on the verge of tears. It was so heart wrenching to see her so full of emotion. I was so proud of her today at being such a big girl. Hope tomorrow goes well too!!!

Christmas Past and Christmas Present

Christmas 1997


This was my senior year in high school. Hubs was stationed in Fort Sam in San Antonio. He had just finished up with Basic and was at his MOS training. This was a very special Christmas. He gave me a ring that year. It was a beautiful gold ring with a center setting of my birthstone.

Christmas 2008
7 years of marriage and 2 kids later...

The BIG 6-0

My fabulous dad turns 60 tomorrow. He is one of the funniest people I know. He is one of the most kind hearted, easy going, compassionate person who puts his family first. There are so many "dad-isms" that he says and does that I need to write them all down so I can look at them anytime I need a good laugh. I was at my parent's house over the weekend and was rummaging through pics. I found this one of his big 50th birthday.

Happy Birthday Dad!! I love you!! Have a great day tomorrow!

Hopeful New Year

Instead of doing a year in review today (since 2008 wasn't that great) I have decided to put hopefuls for the new year. These are not really resolutions since resolutions are meant to be broken. They are things that I hope happen or come true for me, my family, and other people in our lives.

I hope...
1. My kids adjust well to daycare which they start on Monday.
2. My mom is able to lessen the stresses in her life. She has been a true angel the past 8 months and taking on the weight of alot of problems. I just hope she finds some rest in 2009.
3. Hubs and I are hoping to get a better handle on our finances so we can move forward with some thigs.
4. I'm hoping some things change for me at my job particularly location. I really need to get closer to the house and not work as many hours. In all honestly I hope that I don't even have to work next year. I really want to stay at home with the kids.
5. I really want to lose the last 15 pounds this year. Weigh in is Monday and Biggest Loser runs until after Spring Break.
6. I can clean out the house and declutter just in case the moving van decides to come our way.
7. Most of all I hope that our lives are filled with love and happiness and our trials are few. My focus of the year is my family and making them happy.

I hope everyone has a great year and is filled with all those things that make you smile.

My first...

flower picked by my son and given to me. We were on a walk and he was riding his Hummer. He pulled over and jumped out and picked this flower. He yelled to me "Mommy I got this flower for you." He put it in the passenger seat and drove it over to me. It is moments like this that make my heart skip a beat and long for things to never change.

Are you kidding me?!?!?!

I nearly drove off the road as I passed by this school sign today. I turned the car around just to verify what I saw. I am embarassed to say that I work for the district that this school is in. And they wonder why our kids can't write in complete sentences with correct spelling? This tech language!!!! I can't believe this!!!!
Does this bother anyone else or just the teacher in me???

Dishwasher Safe

My sore cracked red dishwater hands are rejoicing. As of December 24th I have a dishwasher that works...in works I mean runs, drains, and dries dishes. I have been without a dishwasher for a year now. Ours stopped draining and the handle broke. We got a used one from my sister but it wouldn't drain either. After my dad, brother in law and hubs all worked on it in between christmas dinner and presents we found the culprit. It is not bigger than an inch in diameter and 1/8 of an inch in width. A small plastic circle that was never punched out when the new disposal that I got last Christmas was installed. That could be the handywork of my dad and hubs from a year ago. But all has graciously been forgiven. The main thing I wanted for Christmas was a working dishwasher. And Santa delivered via he Three Elves.

Holly Jolly Good Time

Merry Christmas!!!

Hope everyone has a great Christmas Eve and Day!! We are going to have my family over today then we will head to Nederland tomorrow to be with Hubs family. I will post pics soon of the kids and presents!! Enjoy the day with family!

First day of Christmas Break

The kids and I thoroughly enjoyed our first day of break. We took our neighbors some goodies. Bubby was so cute delivering them to the doors. Buggers was saying "we are making deliberies". Then we rode down to the pond to see the ducks. Bubby rode his Hummer and Buggers and I rode my bike. Bubby still has a difficult time driving in a straight line and tends to ride up into people's yards. And he even got spooked while crossing the street and hopped out of the hummer in the middle of the crosswalk. I'm sure it was a sight watching me on a bike with a 2 year old in the bike carrier trying to pull a hummer across the street. I was finally able to convince Bubby to get back in a drive it. The cars waiting were very patient and I sensed from them that they knew the feeling. We made it home safe and sound finally.
Bubby was the photographer...he took about 10 more of the neighbors houses.

Flower Girl

Buggers has been asked to be a flower girl in Hub's cousin's wedding in February. Yesterday her dress arrived in the mail. It was so cute because the box was addressed to her. She was so excited to have received something just for her.






"Abbie don't touch it"