Christmas in Rockdale

For the Kyle family, December 24 means go to Rockdale. It is a family tradition that is repeated every Christmas Eve, no exceptions. (There was one year when we went on the 23rd, but we don't speak of that very often.)

The day starts with a hunt for a Christmas tree. We all go out and look for the perfect tree.
Some people just pose for photos instead of actually doing anything. I'm in that category.

The Kyle girls had many photo opprotunities. Aren't they beautiful?

A tree was finally selected and cut down. There was some controversy this year over the size and beauty of the tree, but most of us just wanted to get back to the house so we could start eating. It was kind of a Charlie Brown tree.

Here are most of us with the tree. It's really hard getting that many people in a picture.

I think it turned out pretty well after it was decorated. It's amazing what lights and decorations can do.

Baking and Decorating

All I've really wanted to do this month is bake. School has been very inconvenient for my baking schedule. A couple of weeks ago I gathered up a bunch of recipes that I've been wanting to try and bought all the ingredients I needed. The problem has been finding time to actually bake. I made some cake balls and raspberry filled cookies, but that's all I've been able to do. I had dreams of giving plates of beautiful cookies and candy to everyone I know. It didn't happen.

School is out now and I got up this morning and tried my hand at making kolaches. These weren't on my original baking list, but rather a spur of the moment choice.
I like to think that I could be another Pioneer Woman so I took pictures. Actually, I was kind of a pioneer woman when we lived out on the farm, but there was no internet and no blogging back then so I didn't get famous. Anyway, here are the kolaches before they went in the oven. Half were cream cheese and the others are apricot using my dad's homemade apricot jam.

This is the pan 2 minutes after coming out of the oven. They were pretty yummy. Next time, I'll try for a more uniform size, but not bad for a first try I think.

This is about all the decorating we did this year, a few little trees. I kind of like it though.

Busy, Busy, Busy

The Christmas season is very busy around here. I've put up a few decorations. Our house is decorated to be handicap accessible. Tom didn't want me blocking any pathways with something like a tree. So I didn't put up a big tree, just lots of little ones.

We've had something to do almost every night since the first of December. Salado always kicks off the season with a parade. I've taken the kids to the parade for the last 12 years. Sometimes they are in the parade and sometimes we just watch. This year Tom was supposed to march with the band, but since he has the crutches, he waited for them at the Civic Center and they played Christmas carols during the lighting of the tree. Katie had a basketball tournament that she played in that night. They ended up getting 3rd in the tournament. (I forgot to rotate the picture before posting it.)

This past Monday night, Tom was inducted into the National Honor Society and he had a band concert.

Katie had a basketball game Tuesday night. They won.

Tonight was the church youth Christmas Party. They were told to wear a tacky Christmas sweater, so my kids raided my closet to find something appropriate to wear. I'm still insulted that they think these sweaters are tacky. I took the shoulder pads out years ago.

Katie got her braces off today. Look at that gorgeous smile! Tom has beautiful teeth, too. He just never lets anyone see them.

Tomorrow night, Alan and I work at a basketball tournament and Katie plays in another tournament this weekend. I can't think about next week yet. Just get me through this one.

Letter to Santa

I just read my nephew Jake's letter to Santa so I felt that I should post my daughter Katie's letter to Santa because without a lot of help from the big guy in red, she's going to be very disappointed.

Katie's List
1. Ed Hardy perfume
2. Some type of gun (not a bb gun)
3. crocs (don't have to)
4. ipad
5. ab rocket (don't have to)
6. 2010 Camaro ss v8 (sun roof, blue with 2 black stripes, automatic)
7. iTunes
8. get the golf cart fixed

I don't think she reads my blog so I'm safe in telling everyone that numbers 1, 3, and 8 have been taken care of. If anyone out there has any influence with Santa, then Katie desperately needs your help.

Cats and Decorating

Before I say anything about the cats, I just have to say that we had a great Thanksgiving this year. My mom, dad, and brother came down from Amarillo. My sister and her family came up for the day and Alan's parents came to eat with us also. I loved having everyone here. We are getting close to being finished with the remodel, and it's really nice to be able to have people over again.

Now to the cats. As everyone knows, I really like cats. I much prefer cats to dogs for many reasons. I'm not far from being the crazy cat lady in my neighborhood. If I didn't have my family for companionship, I'm sure that's who I would be. However, the cats view my efforts at decorating as a game. Any new thing that gets put out is of immediate interest to the cats. Usually a new item will receive lots of attention for a short time and then it will be accepted by the cats and forgotten. The exception to this is Christmas decorating. They never seem to tire of messing with my Christmas decorations. Knowing this and the fact that we have 2 kittens, I decided not to put up a tree. I have some little trees that I did get out though. This tree hadn't been out but maybe 10 minutes and this is what I found. Not one of the kittens, but the old cat. He got right in the middle of it and decided to stay awhile.

Remember my rooster? I loved this rooster from the first time I saw it. My family ridiculed me for buying it but I proudly displayed it anyway. One evening, we heard a horrible crash and this is what I found.

Actually, it was on the floor and I only took a picture of the big pieces. There were at least a million little pieces. Right in the middle of all the shattered mess was Spencer.

He purrs like a freight train and is just so cute that I really wasn't mad. I was very sad. I think I may have shed a tear or two over the rooster. I think someone in my family put him up to it, or maybe they did it and framed the cat. I'm not sure, just a thought.

Broken Leg and a Cuddly Cat

Last Tuesday, I got a phone call from the trainer at the high school saying I needed to come get Tom. He got hurt in practice and he probably should go to the ER. I wasn't that alarmed. It didn't sound like it was anything too serious. I was thinking maybe a sprain. When I got to the school, Tom was lying on a table with his left leg elevated and he was shaking uncontrollably and the color of his face would change from red to white. The trainer started trying to tell me what was wrong, but I didn't hear much of what he said. My baby was hurting and I thought I was going to pass out. They put a splint on Tom's leg, tried to keep me from losing consciousness, then loaded us in my car and sent us on our way. When we got to the ER, they were very busy and didn't have a room for us so they put us is the hall to wait. It turns out that's not such a bad thing. No one could forget about us because we were in everyone's way. They took a picture of his leg, determined it was broken, put him in another splint and sent us home with instructions to call the orthopaedic surgeon the next day. We were in and out in 2 hours.

Yesterday he had surgery to repair the bone and ankle. I had no idea there would be this much metal in his body. One plate, 6 screws, and 2 metal buttons are holding him together. None of this has to come out. He'll have it forever.

He was pretty drugged up after surgery, thank goodness. He wanted to come home and get comfortable on the couch and that's exactly what we did.

Spencer loves to cuddle so I think the 2 of them will be good buddies.

End of Summer

We are all kind of sad that summer is ending. School starts Monday so it's back to routines, going to bed early, getting up early, and homework. The high school youth group had a back to school party on Friday night. The kids were told to make boats. The boats had to hold 2 people and float. This is Tom's boat that he built with his friend Drew. It was called the Majestic Dolphin. Katie built a boat with Kate and Hannah.

I was very impressed. No one sank and all made it to the finish line.

Katie's boat was named Spaghetti and Meatballs.

The boys finished 2nd in the race but won the prize for the best built boat.

The girls won the most creative prize. It was a lot of fun and plans are already underway in anticipation of another boat race next year.

New Furniture

We have been thinking about getting new furniture in the family room, but we had a really hard time picking out something new. Our old furniture has been with us for 12 years. It survived the kids growing up and all kind of animals with not much wear and tear. Then last week, an old friend put out a plea on Facebook for her son. He has moved back to this area, he's going to get married, and he's broke. She asked if anyone had furniture they wanted to get rid of. I thought that if I gave away my old furniture, then I would be motivated to pick out something new. It worked. The timing was beautiful. We picked up the new furniture yesterday and within 30 minutes of getting home, my friend's son was here with a trailer and loaded up the old stuff. Then we brought in the new stuff.

Within a few minutes, the kids and cats made themselves comfortable.

I really like it. I was afraid it would be too big for the room, but I think it will be OK. The cats have already been climbing all over it, but I just can't stress out about that.

Alan's tiling the dining room. I bought a table last week, but when I got it home it was the wrong color so they re-ordered for me. I hope it will be here this week.

Kittens and Useless Dogs

Our kittens are almost 2 months old. I'm a sucker for kittens. Katie begged me not to give this batch away, so I told her that if she cleans up after them and trains them to the litter box and makes sure the house never smells like cats, then they can stay. She's been doing a great job. She feeds them and keeps the litter box clean, but she's gone this week and now the house smells like cats. The black one is named Fish Sticks. The white ones are Leo and Spencer. They could be the lap kitties I've been wanting. They will fall asleep in my lap. As long as they are sweet and gentle and sleep in my lap when I'm watching TV, they will fulfill their purpose as cats.

The dogs, on the other hand, are useless. Chico wouldn't come inside this morning when I wanted to go for a walk. He can't go with me because he creates so much trouble on the street and he will not obey anything I tell him to do. He scares all the neighbors and no one likes him except Alan and the kids. Annie won't obey either although she doesn't scare the neighbors. Cindy is the only obedient dog we have, but she is a coward.

This afternoon, I saw this deer eating the bird seed out of the bowl that I put out for the squirrels. I don't mind her eating it, but I thought it was strange for her to be that close to the house.

She ate all the seed and then wandered over to the water bowl and drank all that. She wasn't in a hurry and didn't look concerned for her safety at all.

The deer finally wandered off and I heard some commotion on the back porch. I looked out the window to see Cindy trying to squeeze out from behind the grill and Zach, our freakishly large cat, crawling out from under the bench. They had been hiding from the deer!

I don't want Cindy chasing off deer, but if it's not in her instinct to do that then I can't count on her for any kind of protection. I guess our safety depends on Chico.

Cousins Camp

Today was the beginning of the 9th Runamuka Cousins Camp. I find it hard to believe that it's been 9 years since it first started. That means Tom was 6 and Katie was 5 the first year it started. If I counted right, there are 14 kids from the age of 6 to 15 this year.

They always have so much fun and the memories they make are priceless. I didn't have cousins close to my age so I'm just a little envious of them. They are part of a wonderful and close knit family that they probably don't fully appreciate now, but some day, they will think back on these days at camp and realize they were part of something really special. Not only do they have their Pa and Nana with them, but they also have some very special great-aunts. Kay, Ann, Suzie, and Pam are there now and Alice will be there later in the week.

What do I do while my children are at Cousins Camp? Home remodeling, of course. For the 9th year in a row, I have projects at the house to do. We are getting close to being finished with the whole thing. We need to finish the dining room and redo the kids bathroom, then we will be FINISHED! When I say close, though, that could still mean another year or two of work.

Mini-Vacation

Alan came home from work Friday night and said, "Let's go to the beach." At first, I thought he was joking because we really aren't that spontaneous, but then I realized he was serious. We talked about it for a little while and thought about maybe going on another weekend, but while we were talking about it, Katie was packing. She came in with her bag packed and said, "Aren't you guys ready yet?" There was no turning back at that point. We threw some stuff in a bag and we left.


We were in Galveston 4 hours later. We splurged a little and stayed at the San Luis Resort. We all drooled over that place last year when we stayed at the Holiday Inn which is right next door. We just told the kids to not get used to it. We are not setting a new standard.


We spent all day on the beach Saturday. Everybody got sunburned. The kids got to ride a jet ski. This time they did not hurt their dad. We ate supper at the Rain Forest Cafe. Sunday morning, we came home. A nice mini-vacation.

Mission Trip

We had another great mission trip to Atlanta this summer. Our church took 50 people to work in the International Village. That is an area in Atlanta where over 700 languages and cultures are represented in about a 5 mile radius. When I first heard that I couldn't believe it and then I went to Walmart. I believe it now. The first thing the kids were asked to do was clean up an area between 2 apartment complexes. They had cleaned this same area last year but it had not been maintained. It's an area that is a hang out for people doing drugs or hiding from the law or just about any other crime you can imagine. The missionary who works there has been begging the city to do something about it. So he was told to clean it up again and the city would work with the apartments to maintain it and the police would patrol the area.

It was a nasty area. Not only did the kids pick up trash, they also cleared brush. Many of the kids came home with poison ivy.

We have a new youth pastor. His name is Tim Stary. Here he is praying with the kids before they begin working. Our pastor also came out for a day and worked alongside the kids.

In the afternoons, the kids were divided into teams and each team was assigned 2 apartment complexes to hold backyard Bible Schools. The kids did everything. They planned the lessons, organized crafts and games and prepared snacks. I just love to watch them do this. These are the same kids who at home can't find their own shoes or remember to brush their teeth, but in this situation they are so responsible and will do whatever they need to do.

They don't have much down time, but when they do, they have fun together. I will not venture into the boys area. I learned that form my first mission trip. Something really weird happens when you put a bunch of boys together for a few days. There is a smell that forms that is indescrible. They don't seem to mind it much, but girls just can't take it.

They are reminded daily why we are there. We are there to do God's work. We could stay in Salado. There is plenty of work to do in our own community, but I think it is such a great experience for the kids to see other cultures, to be right in the middle of something so different from our own way of life. It opens their eyes to how needy the world really is. They tell the story of Jesus and how much He loves every child. I know our kids planted many seeds that week. Only God knows about the harvest. The kids were willing servants and I know God will bless them for that.

Tom Can Ride a Bike!

First of all, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. The picture is very blurry.

Tom learned how to ride a bike today! I really didn't think I would ever see him on a bike. We got one for him when he was little and Alan and I both tried to teach him. I remember running down the road holding on to the back of the bike and he would be yelling, "Don't let go! Don't let go!" And then I would let go and he would fall over. He was always so mad at me for letting go. He was getting very close to learning how when he broke his arm.

He didn't break his arm on a bike. He broke it riding his scooter. It was the week before Thanksgiving when it happened. I was getting ready for our church's Thanksgiving Feast and he was wanting me to do something. I don't remember what but I do remember that I was getting very aggravated with him because I was trying to cook something and he wouldn't leave me alone. I told him to go outside and he began aggravating his dad who told him to go ride the scooter until it was time to go to church. That's when he hit a rock, went flying off the scooter and broke his arm. We spent the rest of that evening in the ER.

To make it even worse, we were planning a Christmas trip to Colorado to take the kids skiing. We went to Colorado but Tom couldn't ski. He also never rode a scooter again and he swore he would never ride a bike. Bike riding lessons were over. He was 7 years old.

So you can see why I'm so excited about my 15 year old son learning how to ride a bike. I will never again have to run behind that bike holding on to the seat yelling, "Pedal, pedal faster!" He can do it all by himself.

Summer Vacation

It felt so good to not have to go anywhere this morning. I love my job, but I always look forward to having a break. It's going to be a busy summer for the kids especially Tom. He leaves on Monday to go to Disney World with the high school band. He'll get back on Saturday and then leave the next day for Scout Camp in Arkansas with Alan. When he gets back from camp, he'll have 2 days before we go to Atlanta for the church mission trip. Katie and I go on that trip, too.

Hopefully, we'll get a family vacation in July but we haven't made any plans yet.

I found ripe tomatoes on my vine this morning. Very exciting!

My Amaryllis is in full bloom.

So is the bush on the corner of the house that I forget about.

And we have new babies. They were born June 1. The kids have boy and girl names picked out for them and have told me to not give this batch away. This is going to have to be the last litter. Mese will be having an operation soon. She lives at our house all the time now so I feel responsible for her. She's a sweet cat though, so I don't mind having her around. It looks like we may have a few more join our family unless I find someone who just really, really wants a kitten.

2 Birthday Parties

Katie turned 14 on the 23rd and we celebrated for a week. We had family come over on her birthday for a meal and cake. Pa and Nana came and Kim brought Jake and Emma.

I made her a cake that I thought sounded like one my Grandmother Fariss used to make. It was the best cake ever and I guess she was the only one in the family that knew how to make it. As far as I know, she never wrote down a recipe. Katie is named after Grandmother Fariss so we decided this cake should be called the "Katie Lee". It has 12 thin layers and a chocolate glaze between each. As I was putting it together and it was getting taller and taller, the layers started sliding. That's why it's a little crooked. It tasted pretty good but it wasn't my grandmother's cake. It's as close as I'll ever get though, so maybe we'll start a new tradition.

14 candles is a lot to blow out.

The next weekend we celebrated her birthday again with her friends. I didn't make the cake this time. It came from Brookshire Brothers.

The girls spent the night in the bunkhouse and then we got up early Saturday morning and spent the whole day at Schlitterbauhn. We all had a great time. Tom took a friend. The kids took off and did their own thing and Alan and I spent the day in the lazy river. It's a pretty good way to spend a Saturday.

Happy Birthday, Katie!

8th Grade Graduation

We reached another milestone this week. Katie graduated from 8th grade. Starting next fall, we will have both kids in high school. It doesn't seem possible but that's where we are.


Before we have any more graduations, I want to get a better camera. The one I have is so slow. If anyone is moving, the pictures are blurry, so I didn't get a good picture of her on stage. I asked her beforehand if she would please stop while she was on stage so I could get a good picture and she said that Mr. Miller already told them they weren't doing that. They had over 1oo graduates and they weren't going to wait while every momma got a good picture. So, this is all I got.

Katie and I went shopping for a new dress. We spent one evening trying on dresses. We got pedicures and went out to eat. I love spending time with her like that. It is such a wonderful thing to realize that I really like my kids. I look forward to times that we can be together and just enjoy their company and listen to what they have to say. I know that time is going by so fast and I want to make the most of the time we have with them now.

I love this dress she picked out. Of course I think she was the most beautiful girl at the graduation.

Katie, I love you and I know that you have an amazing future ahead of you. High School will bring many new experiences and I know that you are ready for the challenges. I can't wait to see how you blossom over the next 4 years. I just don't want it to go by too fast.