Merry Christmas from Us!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Happy, Happy Birthday Johnny!!! My baby is already one year old and I cannot believe it. John's first year seemed to go by so much faster than Jack's, and his first birthday was definitely a little more emotional for me. I feel like I have been so busy this past year with my TWO angels that I really have to stop and remember all the little wonderful moments that flew by. He started walking 2 days after his birthday and it is so funny now to watch him chase after his big brother....after about 4 or 5 wobbly steps John says "forget this nonsense..crawling is MUCH faster!!"

Johnny is one pizza-eatin' boy!
LOTS of presents

I pretty much had to hold him down to open each gift! The farm cake He didn't have any problems getting messy!!

SO, SO PROUD!!

After first earning his Bachelor's degree from the University of North Texas, my youngest brother Nolan recently graduated from the Fire Academy. He has worked so hard and I am so very proud of him, as I am of all my brothers. I thought this picture was really neat...my Dad and ALL of his boys in uniform!(L to R: Doug, Dad, Nolan, Cole)

JACK'S FIRST BLACK EYE

Well what do you know...a nice shiner just in time for Halloween! Batman can't have a black eye!! With two rough and tough boys I knew it was bound to happen sooner or later, but hey, we made it 3 1/2 years! Jack was playing pretty rowdy last night with his Granny, Uncle Buck and Aunt Brooke and apparently nose-dived into some toys...ouch! It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt, right?!?

Two Little Punkins'

The boys and I went to the Dallas Arboretum yesterday to see all of the pumpkins. It was an absolutely gorgeous day...a little cold first thing but then it warmed up and was beautiful. Jack had so much fun tackling the pumpkins, finding his way through the hay maze, petting the animals, and running around like CRAZY! Needless to say, we took good naps yesterday!

Have a safe and happy Halloween!!

BOYS, BOYS, BOYS...

Here's a thought...or two!

Between the innocence of babyhood and the dignity of manhood, we find a delightful creature of a boy. -- Author Unknown

Boys are God's way of telling you that your house is too neat! -- Author Unknown

Dirt is not dirty, but only something in the wrong place. -- Lord Palmerston

Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero. -- Marc Brown

Such a big miracle in such a little boy -- Author Unknown

There never has been, nor will there ever be, anything quite so special as the love between a mother and a son. -- Author Unknown

Dreams really do come true. Ours came wrapped in Baby Blue! -- Author Unknown

Welcome to the Family

For some reason we decided that we needed one more baby to take care of...so this is Gus, and he is absolutely the sweetest puppy ever. We desperately miss our Daisy, so naturally we wanted another beagle. We have been searching for a few weeks now and I ran across a website for a lady in Bowie. It was quite a drive, but more than worth it. She had about 25 beagles, so it was rather hard to choose. I picked my 3 favorites and then Jack ultimately decided on Gus. And did he ever make the perfect choice...turns out that little Gus' mommy's name is Daisy!!!

Augustus "Gus" Hasten (...yes, Jack likes Lonesome Dove!)
He LOVES the bird!
Best Friends! Poor Gus gets carried around everywhere Jack goes!

I love Chicago!

Chicago is great! Nathan and I just spent a week in the windy city and had a blast. We stayed on Michigan Avenue, which was great for me...every single shop that you could possibly imagine in walking distance. The city was beautiful, the food was good, and the people were great. I was very sad leaving Jack and John at home, but it was good for the two of us to get away. We were able to catch up on some sleep, eat dinner at a normal-people pace, and spend some quality time together. However, I probably called the boys at least 15 times a day! For anyone who has not had the chance to visit Chicago, I highly recommend it!We MUST take Jack to the Field Museum

At Navy PierThe Cubbies didn't do so hot, but it was so much fun being at Wrigley Field!

Psalms 31:24

TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!


Larry Ellis was diagnosed with Stage IV metastatic lung cancer on August 14, 2008. As a lifetime resident of Lewisville, a 1972 graduate of Lewisville High School and a 25+ year veteran of the Lewisville Police Department, Larry has touched many lives. He is a loving husband, father and grand-father to his family. You may know him as a coach, neighbor or friend. Larry has given so much to the community of Lewisville…. now it is our turn to give something back!

Larry has begun treatments at MD Anderson in Houston. We want to help ease the burden of the cost for treatment and travel. For those who want to help make a difference,

Join us on
October 9, 2008 at
Carmelita's Latin Cocina
2940 Justin Road -Highland Village, TX 75077
(10% of all proceeds this evening will be donated to help with these expenses.)
A huge thank you to Eric Mota for your support and generosity.
A raffle drawing will be held at 8:30 p.m.

AND

Individual donations can be made at any DATCU location.
Checks should be made to Larry Ellis with a note on the memo line –
“deposit in special account”.
If mailing donations, please mail them to:
DATCU • 1001 Edmonds Lane • Lewisville, TX 75067
NOTE Larry Ellis Special Account in your mailing.

Happy 3-Month Anniversary Ellis'!!

My brother and his bride recently celebrated their 3-month anniversary. It was a beautiful wedding and I am so happy to finally have another female around! With all of the changes throughout this past year, weddings, babies, deaths and heartbreaking news...I can't help but to remember how very blessed we are each and every day, every minute, that we have together. I have trouble putting my two angel babies to bed every night realizing that another day has past. I try to cherish every second, good, bad, frustrating or beautiful, and look forward to a future of many many more precious moments.What a handsome groom!

The cutest, sweetest, most handsome ring bearer of ALL TIME!!

Can't believe that it has been almost 7 years for us...

"There is not a single moment that is not incredibly precious"

BABYSITTERS ARE SUPER COOL!

Jack got to make quite a mess making cookies that probably wouldn't have happened with "mean ole Mommy"!! I didn't get to see the aftermath...Jack and his Aunt Brooke did such a good job cleaning up. Here are a few pictures from before I left...Yes, that is flour in the air!

Beautiful and delicious!

BEST FRIENDS

It absolutely melts my heart to watch my two angels play and interact with one another and with their friends. John does not take his eyes off of his big brother and lights up every time Jack walks in the room. I was so worried before John was born about how I would "divide" my love between two little boys...I know that sounds weird...hopefully that's normal (!), but it is amazing to see how they are truely two individual little people with very different personalities. They have already become the very best of friends these past short 7 months and I cannot wait to see what they have in store for their Mommy and Daddy in the future!

Looking a little rough before bed!

Lookin' cool in their matching jams

Jack and his buddy Michael

Being silly monkeys!

John and Miss Lilly

John's First Haircut

Baby John recently got his first haircut. Although that thick head of black hair he was born with has disappeared, he still managed to make his first trip to the salon about a whole year earlier than his big brother! He was a very good boy. It was a very sad day for Mommy!

Notice Jack holding his little brother's hand!

Silly Boys in Silly Hats

Not quite sure where I got these 2 silly boys! They both LOVE having their pictures taken and never miss an opportunity to pose!

Jack's picture was taken 4th of July weekend at the lakehouse (he doesn't normally wear stars and stripes!!) He had a great time spending time with family and helping Mommy organize the explosives!