HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I could not be more thankful for these three boys!!! I am overwhelmed with the Lord's goodness and the blessings he has lavished upon me.


We're having an nontraditional Thanksgiving this morning at our house. It is the Purdy's year for Thanksgiving, but since Lila is scheduled to arrive on Monday (we are so excited) we're waiting to have our Thanksgiving dinner on Sat. in Houston so we can stick around for all the labor and delivery excitement afterwards. So Daddy and Stacey made french toast this morning (Yummy) and we're just lounging around in our PJ's - OK so that isn't that untraditional, but it isn't the norm for us to be at our house.

Chances are if you are reading this then I am incredibly thankful for you too!!

Have a Happy Happy Happy Thanksgiving!

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever!" 1 Chronicles 16:34

Dinosaurs Alive

Aren't they sweet. :)
Stacey only had to work a half day today so we took the boys to the Dinosaurs Alive exhibit this afternoon at the Heard Museum. I LOVE LOVE LOVE family outings with my four pack!! I was a little underwhelmed with the actual exhibit (not sure what I expected) but III loved it. We walked outside along a trail to see all the dinosaurs and the weather was beautiful so it really didn't matter what we were doing we were outside on a beautiful day all happy and healthy and together so I loved it.
III was to busy walking and talking nonstop (days like today are what make my head spin when his teachers say, "He is just SO quiet."??? - WHAT???) to pose for pictures, but Dad and the dinosaurs were very accommodating. :)

Thanksgiving Tree

We completed our Thanksgiving Tree this weekend and I'm not going to lie it isn't exactly what I envisioned when we started, but I love it. In addition to God, Jesus, our house, food, clothes and all of our family, who Stacey named individually and wanted to clarify that Ryan was his cousin and his friend (so sweet), he is thankful for: Bob and Jack (our dogs), Bob and Jack's food, Bob and Jack's paws (you see a theme here) the Keys?, Balls and his letter "K" bag from school.

He got a little distracted at one point and started just naming inanimate objects around the house (very Brick from Anchorman) that he is thankful for....chair, lamp, door etc. and while we are thankful for all of those things I tried to redirect just a little bit :)

Brooklyn's Birthday

Whitney, my best friend from college's little girl Brooklyn turned 4 and we got to help celebrate on Sat. It was so fun to see all the fam and catch up.

Brooklyn is named after another of my best friends from college Brooke D'Lynn who passed away several years ago, and she was born right around the time our first baby would have been born, so she is a little special :)

The party was a LittleGym and, Oh my stars do they know how to do a fun party!!! Two employees kept the kids entertained with a nonstop activity. The boys got to run, tumble, kick balls, jump on a trampoline, blow bubbles, play with the parachute, and be pulled around on mats like superman. They LOVED it! And on a cold Sat., when I had them all to myself, it was just the ticket to wear them out.

The birthday girl sat in the middle while the kids sang Happy Birthday.Not sure who these two crazy faced kids are?
Stacey and the birthday girl. Happy Birthday Brooklyn!!!

Splish Splash

We got to keep Brylie (or bye-lee as the boys call her) on Friday night and the boys loved getting to play with their cousin. She looks a little unsure in this picture, but I promise she had fun!! III thought is was super cool that Brylie slept in his room and he got to sleep with Mommy, and since Stacey was away I LOVED having my precious snuggle buddy in bed with me!!

My Top 8

I've been tagged by my friend Katy to list a few of my top 8. Not gonna lie 8 was a little difficult in a few of these categories. If you're not interested in these random, yet wonderfully telling little tidbits of information about me, then scan to the bottom to see if you've been tagged :)

8 TV Shows I Love To Watch:



1. The Office

2. So You Think You Can Dance

3. The Hills

4. House

5. Jon & Kate Plus 8

6. 30 Rock

7. Privileged

8. The Cosby Show (Yes, still)



8 Favorite Restaurants:



1. Kirby's

2. Freebirds

3. Fireside Pies

4. Bubba's

5. Abuelo's

6. Village Burger Bar

7. Bless Your Heart



8 Things That Happened Today:



1. Picked up the house while the boys watched Curious George (a pretty amazing accomplishment for me)

2. Went to bible study and got to help in Stacey's class

3. Watched Stacey practice his songs for the performance at Bible Study on the Dec. 3rd. (So cute)

4. Wrote letters to some of my small group girls and a few thank you notes

5. Tried to console a very cranky Wyatt after his nap, no luck, he's crazy

6. Took the boys for overdue haircuts (a little bitter about Wyatt's finished product)

7. Rounded up some items that start with the letter K for Stacey's "Letter K" bag that he brought home from MDO. (Aunt Kacey you made the cut!)

8. Made some jambalaya for dinner



8 Things I am looking Forward To:



1. Lila's arrival!!!!

2. Thanksgiving

3. Getting out the train that goes around the Christmas tree with the boys

4. Watching the boys (especially III this year) on Christmas morning

5. January girls weekend

6. A day when I don't change any diapers

7. Family vacation this summer!!

8. A date night with my main man (hopefully this one will come before the summer vacation!!)



8 Things On My Wishlist:



1. Spellcheck on blog comments - hello? please help me!

2. A body like Jennifer Aniston (without all the work of course)

3. More patience

4. Photo canvases...Santa, hint hint

5. Time in the word every morning (really this wish should probably be that my kids would sleep later so that I might actually get that time in the morning)

6. Beautiful handwriting

7. An "everything is free for you" pass to Anthropologie

8. World peace (JK - not that that wouldn't be nice!)



8 People I Tag:



1. Angie

2. Kacey

3. Karla

4. Julie

5. Alli

6. Kylie

7. Stacey

8. Shelley

College Visit

Karla and I got to visit our girls at A&M and Baylor this weekend. It was so fun to see them in their new homes and catch up. I was going to blog all about it, but Karla did such a good job outlining our road trip, I think I'll just send you to her post. :)

All Aboard!!

There may not have been an actual choo choo on this train, but these boys sure didn't care!! For Noah's 3rd birthday his clever Mommy had a train party and we got to ride the Dart Train to the park.

I can not put into words how excited these guys were waiting for the train. They had their whistles out and were wound up like it was Christmas morning. It was SO cute. Here it comes!!
After the thrilling ride (I have to admit this was my first time on the Dart, but after seeing how much III loved it I'm sure it won't be my last) we played at a great park in Plano.
Then it was time for lunch and Happy Birthday to Noah!! Notice his cute T is for Train shirt.
As if that hadn't been enough fun, we of course got to end the party with another fun ride on he Dart back to our cars. When Stacey was talking about the party later that day he would make sure to explain, "And, then we got to ride the train AGAIN!!"
So simple, but so fun. Thanks Karla!

I heart three-year-olds

This morning the boys were playing alarmingly well on their own back in their rooms...or so I thought. They eventually came running out and this is the conversation that III and I had.

Me: What have you guys been doing?
Stacey: Drinking toothpaste.
Me: What??
Stacey: Drinking toothpaste, that's what we've been doing.
Me: So you've been wasting my toothpaste?
Stacey: Not your toothpaste Mommy, just our toothpaste.
Me: (After checking the bathroom to find no major signs of destruction or too much toothpaste missing) Stacey, we do not eat toothpaste. It isn't good for you and it is wasteful...
Stacey: (Interrupting me very confidently) And with a happy heart! (when we're discussing obedience we always go over: We obey 1.) All the way 2.) Right away 3.) With a happy heart)
Me: That is how we obey, but that is not what I'm talking about, do you remember a dinner last night when we talked about being wasteful? (peas were thrown on the floor and no cupcakes were handed out)
Stacey: I want peas and macaroni. Mommy, I'm hungry and thirsty - i want some macaroni.
Me: Do you know what it means to be wasteful?
Stacey: ...When you mess up the TV???
Me: UM...No. Let's not eat toothpaste again, OK?
Stacey: Yes Mam.

Is anyone else exhausted by this conversation!!

Brylie's UnFROGetable Birthday!

Our niece Brylie turned 1 this weekend and had a precious "Fru Fru Frog" party to celebrate!! Shelley did a great job and everything was frogtastic. I LOVED the fru fru skirt on this table.

Here is the birthday girl in her special "I'm 1" frog birthday shirt.

Frog cupcakes!

Frogeroni - frog shaped pasta!

The Smith siblings in birth order, Stacey, Shelley and Sarah

Stacey & Nannie.

Stacey found a measuring tape in Brylie's toys (Santa, add this to the list along with the flashlight) and he and Aunt Cassie were measuring everything they could get their hands on -you can always spot the teachers - so good at finding the education in the fun.

This was our gift for Brylie and after several screaming fits this week when Wyatt saw it in the back of the car and then in the house and did NOT understand why he couldn't ride on it, he finally got to take a spin on the princess scooter.

Happy Birthday Brylie!!!!

Thank you God for....

Lightning McQueen fruit snacks. Yep, that's right EVERY night, along with whatever else we are thankful for that day, Stacey is consistently thankful for Lightning McQueen fruit snacks. The funny thing is fruit snacks are not a staple at our house, they are more of a special treat that we have sometimes and if given the option Stacey doesn't even always pick the Lightning McQueen ones. A few weeks ago we were at the store and I was letting him pick out some fruit snacks for a road trip and he insisted on the generic smiley face ones. But come time to PTL (Praise The Lord), he is all about thanking Jesus for Lightning McQueen fruit snacks. Just wanted to make sure I made a note of this precious little quirk before it is history. :)

Yes, this sweet photo is staged, but pretty right on for the real thing.

Raider Power

We were in Lubbock this weekend for the best game I have EVER been to. The energy in the stadium was incredible and when Crabtree scored the winning touchdown to defeat #1 ranked Texas, we went ABSOLUTELY CRAZY!!!!!

College Gameday was in Lubbock for the first time ever and we could hear the fans yelling from our tailgate across campus as we watched it live, pretty cool.

We were up and at em on Sat. to start tailgating at about 8:00 - WOW!! Here is Stacey firing up the smoker.

Sarah (Stacey's little sister) came with us and although an Aggie she was all Red Raider on Sat.

For all the hard work that goes into the smoking I have to include a few pics of the ridiculous amounts of meat cooked and consumed.

Next stop, National Championship - I'm a believer!! :)