Another Trip to the ER

I've decided that Tom is collecting hospital braclets. I wish he would find something else to do with his time. I got a really bad virus last week along with half the kids in my class and then I gave it to Tom. Instead of just lying around the house feeling bad for a couple of days like most people do, he took it to the next level and got a trip to the hospital in the back of an ambulance.



He had been sleeping most of the day and he hadn't eaten or had anything to drink. He got up and went into the kitchen. I saw him coming back into the family room. He stopped and leaned against the window. I called his name several times and he wouldn't respond to me. As I started to walk towards him, he turned from the window and just fell to the ground. He was lying on his stomach with his arms at his side and he was out cold. We have tile floors and I was so afraid that he might have a head injury. Alan called 911 and within about 5 minutes the firemen were here. He was starting to come to but his thinking was foggy and he knew he couldn't remember things. The firemen put him on a backboard and in another 5 minutes the ambulance was here and he was on his way to the hospital.

The doctor determined he was dehydrated which caused him to pass out. They gave him some IV fluids, watched him for a while, and then let us go home.

I can't tell you how much it scared me to watch him pass out like that. It's really a miracle that he wasn't hurt when he fell. He could have hit the granite countertop or a chair when he fell, but he didn't. He landed in just the right spot. He could have had a head injury just from hitting the tile floor, but he didn't.

I was thinking about all this after we got home and my first thought was that he had been very lucky, but then I remembered this book I've been reading and now I know that God's hand was in everything that happened. No luck was needed.

When the kids were little, I read through a book called "The Power of a Praying Parent". Each chapter is about something to pray over your kids about. It's been years since I even thought of the book, but I picked it up several weeks ago and started reading and praying through each chapter again. For some reason, the kid's safety has really been on my mind. Tom is learning to drive. Katie plays sports and there have been so many sports injuries this year within her team
that I've really felt like they needed to be covered in prayer.

One day as I was reading, I came across this verse. "For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. (Psalm 91:11-12)". I started praying this verse over the kids. I truly believe that God gives angels charge over us and when Tom fell, I think an angel caught him and laid him down. That's the only explanation that makes sense. He didn't even have a bruise on the side on his face that he landed on.

This incident has reminded not only of the power of prayer, but that Alan and I have a huge responsibility. We have to pray for our kids. We have to pray with purpose and intention and not leave anything to chance.

Just Call Her "K Squared'

Basketball season started in November and I can't believe I haven't posted any pictures of Katie playing yet. This is her first year of high school basketball and she loves it, and even though I'm her mom and my opinion doesn't count much, I think she's awesome. They started district play in January. Our school district moved up to 3A this year so the kids are playing teams they've never played before. We are a very small school compared to the others in our district. These other towns all have stop lights and HEBs and Walmarts. We are a very small fish.

Our girls are doing great though. Their district record so far is 2-1. They beat Lampasas and Taylor. Last night they lost by one point to Llano.

Katie is really playing well. She great on defense. I love it when she steals the ball and makes a break for the basket and makes a beautiful lay up, right or left handed. She can jump like a kangaroo and she's getting better at rebounding. Have I bragged enough? Remember, I'm her mom, I can brag some.

There is another Katie on the varsity team and the coaches decided they needed a nickname for my Katie to avoid confusion during practice. So they tried several different ones out and have apparently settled on K-Squared. They should have asked me. I have plenty of nicknames for her although she probably wouldn't want to be called "Sugar Booger" on the court.

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.