HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

We hope everyone has a safe and happy new year!!!
Love,
Bryan & Rachel!!!!

Almost , A New Year

Can you believe that another year has almost passed, and a brand new one is rushing in...will be hard for us to remember to write 2009, won't it?....hope this is a good year for us all, and that everyone is healthy(probably the #1 wish on my list for us all), that all of our service men and women come home is right up there on the #1 list...that the job, house , money problems get better for everyone!!!!!!!!!!!...please help me add to this list, post what you are wishing for the new year...o.k.?

Thank You!!!

Mr. & Mrs. Hendrix,
Thank you so much for the purfume, that was very sweet and thoughtful of you!!! How was your Christmas? I hope you got lots of nice things!!! I hope to see ya'll very soon, we still need to do some antique shopping LOL!! Thanks again!

Rachel

Happy New Year

Hey grandma, just got in from Rachel's alittle bit ago and wanted to drop off a blog to yal'll. I know that she wanted to get on soon to leave you something too so be on the look out. It was so good to see ya'll on christmas, thank ya'll again for the gift and Rachel sure does love the perfume. She had a bottle of that kind but been dry on it for awhile so she was happy she got a refill. If its ok with you and grandpa, I think she would love to join us on Sunday if we get a chance to come out with my parents. Well I hope Stephen ain't giving ya'll too much trouble lol tell him we said hi. So this new year is coming up quick huh? Hope everyone has a good one and happy new year to everyone.... love bryan

Fun Time-12-25-08

O.K, we all know that when we get Stephen and his Grandpa together , we have laughs...well, we were in the dollar store, and "Grandpa" saw this "nose mask", and you all remember when we went on our camping trip to Martin Die's(know the girl's(Candace, Sarah & Liz) will remember , Stephen had a mask like this, and he kept us in "stiches" with his playacting, ..we all laughed til we couldn't...Good thing , there wasn't many campers around us...and Bo has to get in on the fun, his"Dad" covered him up with wrapping paper, so he just goes to sleep, I guess he was dreaming of Santa"s visit....

Christmas Day-2008

Christmas Day, as our tradition goes, we went over to Danny & Barbara's & Boy's house Christmas Morning for sweet rolls and coffee and gift exchange...like all traditions, Irvin and I , in the last few years since the Grandchildren have grown and Great Grandchildren have been added have started going to their homes, in the past, they came to our home..in our of the pictures, we have 3 generations together...in the family picture, Stephen is on his knees , as he is a tall guy...it was a great start to our Christmas morning...

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was filled with excitement for all of us, even the older ones of the family...First we went to the Christmas Eve service at the Church..so beautiful!..then on to Corene's for supper, then the opening of the gift's...just a few of the pictures we made(and as you know, I made many more)...the little ones tearing into their gifts..Katlyn is Santa's helper this year, after all , she is the oldest of the four Great Grandchildren, but Brooke was her helper, with Gary being "Santa", the tradition is Christmas Eve service, a meal, Gary reading from the Bible about Christ's Birth, then the exchange of gift's..This year is Andrew's First Christmas, as he was born in May...Lily came earlier to visit,as Eric is in Iraq, She and her Mom didn't come down this year ...t'was a great Christmas Eve...

HO! HO! HO!

............Very Verrrrryyyyy Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

"Merry Christmas Eve"

Merry Christmas Eve to all of you.......with all of the rushing around, last minute stuff, and saying to ourselves, "wow, just can't believe Christmas is here already"...just take a ddep breath, grab a cup of hot chocolate and enjoy! ho, ho , ho

The Doggy Christmas Surprise

If you haven't had a chance to see the video that Rachel is talking about, stop everything and see it, this is the cutest video!! love it!!!

Puppies decorate Christmas tree!

For all you dog lovers...I think there are a FEW in the family ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUtPKbMwnRo

If the link doesn't work for some reason go to www.youtube.com and search for "A doggy Christmas surprise". Enjoy!

Beautiful snow pic from Danny

This was sent in from Danny during the snow, last week....so pretty and fits right in, with Christmas turning the corner ....be sure and send your Christmas pics in, and if you have any of the white stuff to fall, we want to see those pictures too!, It is soooo cold here today, we have 30 degrees right now, then tomorrow, it is supposed to get in the 60's, and by Christmas, they say about 72, ...only in Texas can we expect such changeable weather, ha.....

Heressssssssssssss Santa

Danny sent this in, Bet you could guess that without me telling you..as he is our " Motorcycle Guy"...love this pic.....Thanks, Danny...I wish for you that it could be a real Motorcycle...

That is the cutest!!!!

Well, it looks like Ally is all ready for Santa, amd her presents...hey , do you have a chimney?ha, ha...she might just chase that jolly ole Santa if she sees him coming down the chimney...and hey girls, my kitchen is open to all who want to cook and yes, all of the calories are instantly gone before you eat....

Ally's dressed for the Season!

Ally hasn't seen her Scooby yet ;)

Our little tree!

Next year will be the year for the big, real tree !

Congratulations, Kevin!

Way to go!!!

Magic Kitchen

...hey Rachel, .we can put EVERYTHING on the I wish bars IF we make them in your grandma's kitchen because it is magic... the calories disappear from anything baked there!! lol

Graduation Day 12-20-08

Kevin graduated today from Sam Houston State University with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Design and Development......

Hooray for Macadamia Nuts and Triple Fudge!

No, we TOTALLY will add the macadamia nuts! What a great idea! Fortunately, I was able to get rid of the whole dish so I didn't have to bring any back home...or "unfortunately", I don't know ;) I'm not sure what other "healthy" ingredient we can add since this recipe seems to have everything...any ideas?

WELLLL...I WISH...

......I wish that I didn't gain 10 lbs. just reading that recipe!! lol sounds very yummmy..but I did think of one thing that would make this recipe even more "nutritious" Macadamia nuts! AND they would only add about 800 calories for 1/2 cup!!.. Next time we are all together in Texas we'll have to make some!! (without the macadamia nuts!)

How - I - Wish Bars

Okay so I'm not really sure what the "how i wish" is for but that is the name of the recipe..maybe "how i wish...these weren't so fattening!" Only make these if you have people coming over to share them with you...We're chocoholics but there is no way we could eat all of this. These are very gooey and ohhhh so yummy. I didn't see double fudge brownie mix but oh they had TRIPLE fudge so I bought that...it comes with a pouch of syrupy chocolate so I used that at the end to top off the brownies instead of the unsweetened chocolate.

How-I-Wish Bars

Ingredients

• 1 roll refrigerated peanut butter cookie dough
• 1 box double fudge brownie mix
• 1 cup peanut butter and milk chocolate chips
• 1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup peanut butter
• 1, 1 lb. box confectioner's sugar
• 2 oz. unsweetened chocolate

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pat out cookie dough in a 9x13-inch baking pan. Bake for 5 minutes. Mix brownie mix according to instructions for fudge brownies and add peanut butter and chocolate morsels. Cream together cream cheese, eggs, butter, vanilla, and peanut butter. Add confectioner's sugar. Spread brownie mixture on top of cookie dough, spreading to edges. Spread cream cheese mixture on top of brownie mixture, covering completely. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. (Don't over bake. They are supposed to be slightly gooey.) Melt unsweetened chocolate and drizzle over top. Cool and cut into squares.

Notes: Instead of unsweetened chocolate on top, you could cut in squares and top with vanilla ice cream and hot fudge sauce.

Number of Servings: 36

Lemon Square Bars

Hi everyone! We had a huge cookie exchange at work today and I wanted to share a couple of new recipes with you. This looked like one of the easier lemon bar recipes and you don't have to grate the lemon peel. It's soooo yummy =)

Lemon Square Bars

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 sticks butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 eggs, well beaten
• 1 heaping tablespoon grated lemon rind
• 1/4 cup lemon juice

Preparation:

Sift flour and powdered sugar together. Cut in butter until well blended. Press mixture over bottom of a 9 by 13 by 2-inch pan. Bake about 25 minutes at 300° until lightly browned. Combine remaining ingredients and spread on top of the baked crust. Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Makes about 12 servings.

Congratulations to another Graduate!

Congratulations Kevin on your graduation!! Good Job!!!

Hey Bryan! how is Rachel doing? tell your Mom and Dad that they should post again and tell Chris that I am winning by 16! ( I am saying that now cause I know it won't last long..he has got a"sick" team lol)

Real Quick Hello

Hey grandma how are you doing? Hows everyone doing? Just wanted to post a quick hello before bed...starting the work week...not fun lol. Ill get on soon and write more though. Cant wait til christmas and seeing all yall. Hopefully see Sarah and Liz too, that would be awhole lot of fun. Yall take it easy.

Snow and Earhquakes?!

Snow in Houston? WOW!! I'm jealous!! We actually had an earthquake here today! I'll trade you the snow for the earthquake!!..lol It was just a little one, 3.6 magnitude. I heard a big, loud, long rumble and the house vibrated a little but I didn't know what it was until Jim called to ask if I felt it....I said oh is that what that was?lol....Ok..now we need Christmas Tree pics AND snow pics!!!

SORRY GRANDMA!!!

HEY EVERYBODY!!
Well im sorry I havent posted in awhile Grandma! I dont have finals this semester but I still have BIG test in every class so ive been studying a lot lately! Well im glad that grandpa is doin so well that he already wants the next surgery! haha! And the snow that we had in houston was such an awesome suprise! I came out of school and there it was! we didnt get that much but it was still cool to see since we never do. Well we got your little calenders that you sent us and they are soooooo cute! I was actually just telling sarah I need a new calender and there they were! They will come in handy to write homework down in! THANK YOU SO MUCH! Well I hope that everyone is doing well and I hope we get a chance to see all yall this christmas! LOVE YALL!

HeyYou All

I feel like I am "Talking to myself" where is everybody? Nobody has posted for a while, know everyone is busy with Christmas right here, PLEASE just send in a little "hi" before you go out that door to shop or work ...it is sooo cold here today, we are just staying in ..We go back to the eye dr. for a follow up...and Irvin really wants to have the second eye operated on this month, but they had told him, that as booked up as they are right now, will be at least Jan....I certainly hope so, as he needs more healing time between the operations...

BRRRRRRRRRRRR

Hey it is soooooo cold here today, expect icy rain, the weatherpeople said..we seem to get the messy stuff, not the snow...Houston had snow last week, Danny said that they played in the snow,..Stephen made snowballs..if we had any at all, it didn't stick...if anyone gets the white stuff, make pics of it, please...

Hey , JIm, Congrats, Way to Go!!

That is Great news, Jim!!

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Jim! He just earned his B.S. in Information Systems!! YEA!! (this is his second B.S., he worked really hard and i'm very proud!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, REGINA!!!!!!!

Hope you have a GREAT BIRTHDAY!! and do take care of your knee!!, LOVE YOU !!!!!!

HAPPY BDAY MAMMA!

Hey everybody!
I hope yall are well. I just LOVE seeing all the christmas pics! They put me in a good mood! Well happy Bday mamma! hope its awesome! Wish we could spend it with you but hopefully we'll see you soon! luv all yall lots and hope to see allllll of yall soon! XO

Our tiny Christmas Tree

well, this is our little Tree, and Bo looking loveinly at his master, ignoring me, when I told him, "Hey Bo look at me", ha, ha...

Love the pics!

Ahhhhh....I love the pics of the pups by the tree...sooooo cute! I will have to take a pic of our fake tree still sitting in the box and post it on the blog ;) hahahha...maybe I will put it up this weekend. Been putting it off since I'm not sure when we're moving but we still haven't heard anything. I'm glad to hear that Grandpa's eye surgery went great! Keep up with those drops! I'm sure they feel really nice once they are in...I think I am addicted to eye drops! Yeah, Ally was kinda scared of Santa and I think she was confused...but she keeps on talking about the Barbie convertible she wants..not for her Barbies but for her to ride in, ugh she's such a diva! I already got her some new squeaky balls to play with...she just loves them but goes thru them so fast because she loses them! Well I better get back to work...loving all the Snoopy pics!

Yea!! It's Christmas!!!

It's time for EVERYONE to post pics of your Christmas Tree!!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

~Sierra and Toby posing by the tree before we dressed it up~

Laddie checking out the "dressed" tree and the beautiful flowers (thanks Mom and Dad)

~Sierra is wore out after all the tree excitement....she had to go to bed and cuddle with her best friend "piggy"~

update on eye surgery

Irvin came thru the surgery good, and at this time is resting ....we start all the drops about 4:00 this afternoon, and it will be drops , and more drops most all evening till bedtime, then we go back in the morn. for a checkup,...he is already talking about wanting to get the other eye done..hopefully will be about a month before they operate on the left eye, to let the right heal really good, will keep you all updated...thanks for the prayers! love you all!!

Eye Surgery today

Irvin has eye Surgery for cataracks today on his right eye...asking for prayer that all goes well...will keep you all posted this evening or tonight....

Ally's pic with Santa

Just went to website and checked out Ally's picture with Santa,...Sooooooo cute!...she is so tiny sitting in Santa's big lap....wonder what she told Santa she wanted for Christmas?

Ally's pic with

Her Birthday , Dec. 12th

Hey, as Rachel said , we have a special Birthday coming up next week(Friday, Dec. 12th) Give you all a hint, her first name begins with a R.....Thanks Rachel, we are all looking forward to seeing the pics of Ally, I am going to check out the website tonight, I can't wait...

Sorry it's been awhile!

Yeah sorry I haven't posted in awhile! This has been a crazy week at work so I haven't been able to play on the internet that much. Well I should be getting Ally's santa pic next Friday...on somebody's birthday ;) I am able to view the pics online but I don't get the print out until later. I will then scan it so I have an electronic version that I can email or post. Actually anyone that wants to see her "photo session" can go to this link and follow the instructions below:

http://moxiephotostudio.morephotos.com/mp_client/pictures.asp
11/26/08 HSUS Santa Photos (San Antonio)
Password: HSUS
Bottom of the page click: Click here to continue
Photos

Ally is on page 2 (pictures 1545b - 1554). It's almost hard to see her! But you can look at all the other puppy pics if you want. They are pretty cute. Well thanks for posting all the family pics...always love to see them! Talk to y'all soon!

Need more Charlie Brown pics, & pic of Ally with Santa

Looking forward to more of the cute Charlie Brown pics(sure gets you in the Christmas mood) and also the pics of Ally with Santa!

Grandma & Grandpa

I love this picture!, "It says soooo much"...do hope Corene is not too upset with me for posting it, but I think it just captures , patience and love..

Love seeing the pics of all the family! Wish we could have been there :( ooohh well...maybe next year.

Yea!!! we are getting our tree today!!!!! ...we'll post a pic after we have it properly dressed!

More pics from Family Gathering (11-23-08)