A Beautiful Baby...

Jessica, Cory, Bryan, Mark and I all loaded up yesterday and went to Stork Vision to have a peek at baby Hendricks. All I can say is, wow, what an emotional experience. I had never seen a sonogram live - the heart beat brought me to tears. The main goal of Jessica's trip to Stork Vision was to learn whether her beautiful baby will prefer ribbons and bows or snails and puppy dog tails. And, drum roll please, the ribbons and bows have it - introducing baby girl Hendricks...


Sucking her thumb...



This is a 3-D picture - amazing technology - if you look closely you can actually make out her entire face...



We're in love!

Deck The Halls...

Okay, it seems to me that maybe this year my halls aren't decked with their usual flare. I'm hoping by posting a few pics of what I have done so far I will be inspired to do a little more. Of course, it is four days until Christmas and I haven't wrapped a gift or baked a single cookie so the odds of massive Christmas decorating taking place today aren't good. And really, does it REALLY matter? Okay, here's what I have so far...

The kitchen tree - otherwise known as "my" tree...



It is full of peace and love...











And, of course, the stockings are hung by the chimney with care (and next year there will be a new one for Jessica and Cory's beautiful bundle of love)...



And then there is the living room tree. It is full of snowmen, handmade paper ornaments, Santa, silly stuff and souvenir ornaments from the places Mark and I have visited along the way. It is so fun each year to look at the various ornaments - they all have a story and, after all, who doesn't enjoy a story?









So maybe we're a little more decked than I thought we were. Now if I can just force myself to get those packages wrapped!

One more thing - A speaker I heard the other day made what I guess is one of the most simple and poignant points I may have ever heard. Basically he said that the only things we as humans really have in this life are faith, hope and love. It occurred to me how true this is - at the end of our lives these will be the only things that ever really mattered. Not the job, not the house, not the car, not the money - only faith, hope and love. It is my hope for each of us this Christmas season that we will explore our faith, our hope and our love and that we will never lose site of the true meaning of Christmas.

So much going on...

In the past few weeks we have been on vacation, celebrated a beautiful marriage and closed the door on the 2008 election.

Our trip to Playa was nice - although very, very wet - and not from being in the ocean. We took a chance on Playa during the rainy season and boy did we get rain! Oh well, it was still a lovely trip. We did have a couple of afternoons of "scattered sunshine". We also practiced our bar-hopping-in-the-rain skills and found that we are still pretty darn good at it.

Laura and Cody's wedding was wonderful. Becker Vineyards in Fredericksburg was the perfect venue. The good Lord smiled down upon them with a picture-perfect day and I have the pictures to prove it! (I promise to post them if I can ever get them off the camera!)

We spent the weekend in Fredericksburg in a rather funky B & B. It is a huge old house with lots of doors, windows, decorations and dust! It had a fabulous courtyard where we were able to enjoy the above mentioned picture-perfect weather. The beds and bedding were wonderful and the breakfast was pretty dang good. For those of you who don't know, my secret dream is to run a B & B. By the time we left I had done lots of renovations and made fabulous changes to the house. Okay, so they were only in my mind but man-oh-man was it fun!

Today we have a new President-Elect. He wasn't my candidate but, hey, that is what democracy is all about. Now, it is time to put the election with all its negativity behind us and move forward. It is my prayer that the people of our country will embrace him, his family, and his administration and work together to solve the many challenges we face. I will include each of them in my prayers and I hope you will do the same.

"una mas cerveza por favor"

COUNTDOWN! In 7 days I will be in my happy place! For those of you who are not familiar with my happy place it is on the beach in beautiful Playa del Carmen Mexico. Granted it is the rainy season but I am praying for some sunshine! And, even if we see little sunshine while we are there it will still be a wonderful trip. You see, life in Playa is calm. Nobody gets in a hurry. The population is comprised of people from all over the world - many of who went for a visit and never left. If they did leave it was to go home, sell everything they had and get back as quick as they could. Of course, I understand life in Playa isn't for everyone but it is definitely for Senor Reaves and me and we can't wait to get back there...even if it is only for a visit.

Bug Bite...

I found the most darling baby shower idea and I have to share it with my girlfriends (sorry guys, I know this is definitely not your thing!). I came across a girl who is super talented and has lots of precious craft and project ideas on her blog. She threw a Dr Suess themed baby shower for a friend and the decorations and menu are just too cute! You can check it out at http://www.peterandmadeline.blogspot.com/. Sorry but for some reason I am unable to add a hyperlink. Anyway, check it out!

You'll probably start to notice that I am a little focused on babies...baby blankets, baby booties, baby clothes, baby shoes...the grandmother bug has bit me hard and I can't wait to meet our precious little bundle of joy!

Breath In Love and Breath Out Peace...

Okay, I'm watching the DOW Jones tumble and trying to keep from PANICING like the rest of the country, pulling my 401K out of the market and losing my ASS in the process. People, pull yourselves together. As the Yogi says, "breath in love and breath out peace"!

Vote Smart!

Be well informed people! Do your research and find out where each candidate stands on the issues.

Let's not vote for a particular candidate because of the party they are affiliated with. And for goodness sake, let's try to get past the way they look or don't look, talk or don't talk, dress or don't dress. Let's concentrate on the issues. Let's look at HOW they plan to correct our current economic situation. HOW are they going to protect us from those in this world who want to destroy our country? WHERE do they stand on health care, immigration, tax reform, education, gun control, social security and abortion? The list goes on and on.

I urge you to take the time to do the research. There are many websites out there that can help you obtain the information you need to make an informed decision on the candidate of your choice. One such site is http://www.votesmart.org.

We are blessed to live in a country where we have a say in who our leaders are. Granted each of us are one little vote - but one plus one plus one - you get the picture.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Today marks the start of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. So, for all of you girls out there who are over 40 - if you haven't already done so - schedule that dreaded appointment! I realize it is not at the top of the list of your most favorite ways to spend an hour but hey, there are worst things you could be doing, a root canal for example!

Season Of The Pumpkin

Simply put, I love fall. I love everything about it. I love the cooler weather and the glorious colors that burst to life with the changing of the leaves. I love sweaters, fire places and high school football games. But, above all else, I love pumpkins. From the miniature variety to the fabulous "Cinderella" to the giant-hoping-to-break-the-world-record contender - I love them all. Just to see a pumpkin patch makes me giddy.

Our poor family is all too familiar with my pumpkin fetish. They all know that come fall our home will be decked out from head to toe in its most festive pumpkin attire. Each year I buy a new pumpkin to add to my collection. The collection runs the gambit from porcelean to wood to paper mache.

Over the years I have even put forth my best effort to instill my love of the pumpkin in my nephew and niece. Each year they come to the house a week or so before Halloween and we carve a pumpkin and maybe bake a few cookies. My niece adores the process of scraping the inside of the pumpkin clean. She digs in with both hands, working away until not a string remains. My nephew on the other hand is completely disgusted by it. He stands back with a look on his face as if he is witnessing the bloodiest of surgeries. Once she has it cleaned and prep'd he is ready for the artistry to begin! We carve our masterpiece and then strike a pose with it - another pumpkin carving photo for the memory book.

There are some who might accuse me of being a little obsessed with the pumpkin. And I do readily admit a pumpkin patch makes me terribly happy. And, yes, I won't deny that I have invented an entire new season in honor of the pumpkin. But unlike a highly misunderstood boy with a blanket you'll never find me in a field holding a sign that reads "Welcome Great Pumpkin"....as far as you know.

May the circle be unbroken...

They say each day is a lesson in living and the past few months have certainly proven the theory to be true.

July - The days of July were spent as if we were caught in a vacuum - a vacuum where fear of the unknown lurked behind every doctor's door, a myriad of appointments and tests and test results. A surgical attempt to stop an evil intruder - but with this surgery came machines and tubes and the slow departure a beautiful soul from this earth. The finality was a punch in the stomach.

July also brought to light the mysterious stranger who has been lurking in my body for many years. That familiar tingling and burning and twitching now has a name - multiple sclerosis.

August - Days of sorting through the remains of two people's lives. He had been gone for almost three years though the house would have never told you so. Each shirt, and pant, and belt, and shoe still remained in the closet. His comb and razor remained in the vanity. And now she is gone and we are left with the task of dispersing/disposing of (not sure what to call it) what remains of their time on this earth. It is surreal. It is heart breaking. It is wrong. It is a slap in the face that reminds one of their own immortality and how insignificant our time on this earth really is. And through it all the evil intruder remained with us - living inside another precious loved one.

August 21st - Her departure came much quicker than we anticipated. We had watched the cancer slowly work its evil on her for weeks. It was as if she became smaller and weaker every day. But her will was strong and she never acknowledged what she was sure to know. She developed a huge appetite and ate fried chicken up until the end. She left us early in the morning - hopefully Aunt Beth was right there waiting on her - ready to have a sweet roll and a cup of coffee.

Over a six week period we lost them both - two sisters with a fierce bond - one of them a devoted Aunt and the other a Mother, Grandmother and Mother-in-law. They left us with lessons of love and family and friendship - I could go on and on but basically they helped form who we are and how we will choose to live our lives.

September - oh sweet September. News that we will be experiencing the joy of new life. Our daughter Jessica and her husband Cory are expecting their first child. A child who will allow us the opportunity to love in a manner we have never known before. It is bitter sweet - to experience such grief in such a short time and then receive such a blessing from God. We will shower our first grandchild with unconditional love. There will be wonderful times filled with laughter and fun - just like the times Aunt Beth and Mimi spent with Cody, Jessica, Haley and Bryan. The circle goes on...