Merry Christmas!!!!

And may you "laugh all the way" through the next year.

Christmas blessings to each and every one of you!

Too much, too soon

So, I remember thinking a few weeks ago that having Christmas at our house with just the 4 of us would be less stressful and relaxing.

What the heck was I thinking?

I have SO much to do and like 2 days to get it done.

It doesn't help that my baby tooth (YES, I still have a baby tooth in my mouth, I don't have a permanent one under it) chipped and I have to get it pulled tomorrow!

All I have to say is, thank goodness for good friends who will watch my kids, a good husband who is going to take the kids somewhere so I can start "Wrap-a-pa-looza 2010" and my family for understanding that stress makes me irritable!

What I REALLY need to do is to concentrate on the meaning of this season. Jesus Christ was sent to us to SAVE us.....to save us from our sins, our fears, our doubts, our sadness and our stress. His birth is the reason we celebrate!

So, who cares if I don't get all the wrapping done.....Santa can get the credit. (someone please remind me of this at 2am Christmas morning!)

I am wishing you and yours a Very Merry Christmas and the peace and joy that surrounds this season.

It's the most wonderful time of the year

and also the busiest! BUT I LOVE IT! I love Christmas! I'm not gonna lie, it bums me out that Hobby Lobby starts putting their Christmas stuff up like the day after Labor Day but I LOVE Christmas time! I love the music, the lights, the magic, all of it! And I LOVE Christmas parties! We had 2 last weekend, one this weekend, lights on Sunday, Christmas Bunco tonight and next weekend we travel to RR for Christmas with the Bettencourts!

Oh, and lets not forget the shopping! My favorite thing is BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING! I know some people hate the crowds but they make me happy! I dread the day I am too old to do it.

Our beautiful new house looks fantastic all "dressed" for Christmas, although we are looking a little ba-hum-buggish outside because we have NOTHING. well, except for the wreath on the door. I am going to make Dustin put up 2 more wreaths and a few trees this weekend.

We are actually going to celebrate Christmas day with just our little family of 4. At first, I was so upset that we wouldn't be with our extended families but then I realized that we get to make our own traditions, the kids will wake up in their own beds and we can do exactly what we want to do.......and that may include staying in pj's all day! We will miss our family but will cherish this special time as well.

So, what are your plans for Christmas?

Kindness Hero

Kind–adjective, -er, -est.
1. of a good or benevolent nature or disposition, as a person: a kind and loving person.
2. having, showing, or proceeding from benevolence: kind words.
3. indulgent, considerate, or helpful; humane (often fol. by to ): to be kind to animals.
4. mild; gentle; clement: kind weather.
5. British Dialect . loving; affectionate.

kind·ness   
/ˈkaɪndnɪs/ Show Spelled[kahynd-nis] –noun
1. the state or quality of being kind: kindness to animals.
2. a kind act; favor: his many kindnesses to me.
3. kind behavior: I will never forget your kindness.
4. friendly feeling; liking.

Ramsey was recently selected as her classroom's "Kindness Hero". We are so very proud of her and the sweet young lady she has become. Her teacher, Ms. Cross, always has nice to things to say about her and we are amazed at how much she has matured and grown since starting kindergarten.

Walking off the stage after accepting her award:

Smiling with cutie-pie Bradley:

Smiling at school!
Ramsey----We love forever and always! Love, Mommy and Daddy

iPhone uPdate

I rarely carry my camera with me but my phone is usually around and able to capture the day-t0-day happenings for us. Enjoy!

Ramsey with her face painted from our friend Christi and Mark's "Harvest Party"

Annie in the bathtub with Bryson
BUSTED: Bryson dug into Nate's leftover birthday cake, and daddy caught him!

My 2004 Envoy hit 100,000 miles the other day....fittingly, in the Target parking lot! I love my car and I hope I can drive it a few more years!

If you are on Facebook you have probably already seen this....but I love this picture of Bryson throwing a massive tantrum in the middle of CostCo. It SO represents our outings!

More to come later, for now I am going to enjoy a nice cup of coffee on the couch...Bryson is still sleeping! :)

So Very Thankful

Now that Thanksgiving is over and my house no longer has pumpkins in it (can I get an amen!?!?, I was so sick of pumpkins) I just thought I should list a few things that I am so Thankful for this holiday season:

My best friend and husband, Dustin
My 2 precious kids
The rest of my wonderful Family (both born into and married into)
My amazing Friends
My growing Faith, in my awesome God!
My beautiful house
Ramsey's school and teacher
Bryson's school and teachers
Black Friday Sales (with my mom, sister and friends)
A clean refrigerator
The trash pick-up on Saturday
My cousins and uncle for driving in to see us
My Grammie for coming down from Amarillo
Restaurants, I'm sick of cooking
Dish gloves, my hands are so chapped
The Dollar Tree
The Magic of Christmas
The return of Trevor
The rest of the holiday season!!!!!

Wedding Weekend

We just returned from an amazing weekend in Round Rock. The wedding we attended was quite an event.....very classy......and we had so much fun dressing up and pretending we were high class socialites for a night! Plus, it was our first Jewish wedding so that made it even more fun for us. Beautiful Bride. Happy Groom. Great Food. Free Drinks!

Special thanks to Lolli and Pops for watching the kids both Saturday and Sunday nights. They had a ball hanging out with you guys and I know they are looking forward to coming back in a few weeks. Get the hot tub ready! :)

Behind Closed Doors.......

At any given moment you can walk into my house and it will be somewhat "neat". BUT, behind closed doors is another thing.....we were out-of-control unorganized around here.
so, after searching for Dustin's car keys for an HOUR, yes a full freaking hour, on Sunday night I decided I had had enough of the clutter.

here is a sample of my dirty laundry

Before:

During:

After:

Before:

After:

Hopefully the towels in this cabinet will move soon......I am planning on adding some shelving to my laundry room and putting them up there. That way, the kids have a true "craft cabinet" that all of their crap, ugh stuff, can go in.

Halloween in Pictures

These are totally out of order but here is a glimpse into our Halloween night. We had a BLAST Trick or Treating with the cousins and Dominic (one of Ramsey's boyfriends from school).

How cute was this couple who dressed up as Woody and Jesse! Fun!

This one is for my parents.......it's the whole Snoopy gang! So cute!

Bryson held his ball in one hand and his bag in the other for most of the night. He loved trick or treating!

We had 2 SWAT members with us last night so we felt safe!

This could seriously be the cutest picture EVER!

Before we headed out TorT'ing we went to 2 Halloween parties and had such a good time meeting new people and catching up with the old 'hood bunch! I am not the biggest fan of Halloween but last night may have converted me. Our neighborhood goes all out for the holiday and it was fun to see it all. The kids had a blast so that made it even more fun for all the adults. Now that it's over, it's time to start planning Thanksgiving and then CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

Sneak Peek

I. CANNOT. wait. to. see. the. rest!!!!!!!

Soap

You know your kid uses WAY TOO MUCH hand sanitizer when he thinks a prop in a play village is a dispenser. Hey, at least he has an imagination and he is using it!

And just because this is the cutest picture ever!!!!

Creative Juices

I am on a mission to get some stuff done around the house.....partly due to the fact that the whole family is coming at Thanksgiving and partly because I am sick of looking at a bunch of half-done projects. So, my goal is to finish a few of them this week and be DONE.

Here's a partial list of what needs to get done (some sooner than others):

• finish touching-up the upstairs walls
• hang Ramsey's butterflies in her room
• finish painting and then hang the frames in the guest room
• START repainting Ramsey's headboard and foot board
• hang shelving in the study closet
• hang a shelf in the laundry room
• re-organize laundry room
• order fabric for media room pillows
• find someone to sew pillows!
• make banners for a baby shower and Nate's birthday
• order and address invitations for baby shower
• find new bedding for Bryson's big boy bed
• buy mattress for big boy bed!

Of all of these things, the most exciting to me are getting the guest room "done" and finish painting over our errors upstairs.

Boring post, I know. I promise to come up with something more exciting later!

"DA" Reunion

I honestly don't remember the last time my mom's side of the family was all together in one place.....but it's (hopefully) gonna happen Thanksgiving weekend this year! I am excited that we will get to just hang out and spend some time together.

I foresee a few bottles of wine, beer and Scotch for the Gramps' in the group! Oh, and food.

Speaking of which, I really need to start my pre-holiday diet!

Here's a picture of the last time we were all together....minus Baby Jenni. Hopefully this year there will be no missing space!

Freak of Nature.....

I went to the allergist on Monday and it was confirmed to me that I truly am a "Freak of Nature". I apparently have the largest Nasal Polyp in my nose that this allergist has ever seen......he even had the nurse come in and look up my nose because he couldn't believe how big it was. So, I am now some sort of science experiment with all sorts of drugs to take and nasal sprays to inhale. 4 days later and I still don't feel much better.

I guess this does explain why I haven't been able to breath through my right nostril, smell out of it or blow anything out of it for over a year!

Let's pray the medication does it's job, otherwise I have to go to the ENT to have my nose roto-rootered.....and that doesn't sound fun at all.

It's official, I am a freak of nature!

Maddison Leigh Bettencourt

Maddison Leigh Bettencourt

December 1998-October 2010

I am WAY too emotional to blog about this right now but will do my doggie justice soon and will write a blog just for her. You know, because she can read now....but she might be too busy swimming and eating to care!

We will miss ya Maddi-Girl.

Pumpkin Patch

For my mom's birthday, which is today so HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM, we decided to do a family outing to the Big Orange Pumpkin Patch in Celina. I have been there a few years in a row so I am "pro" but the rest of the crew hadn't been there. And by crew I mean my mom, dad, both sisters, both BIL's and both nephews plus my immediate crew! When we first planned it there was no such thing as a Rangers play-off game.....what are the odds that they would play today at 1:00 when we planned on being there from like noon to 1:30. The weather was gorgeous, the men were compliant (for sure there was no jumping in the air and high-fiving over all the awesome pumpkins, but they at least smiled for the camera!) and we can call it a SUCCESS because we snapped some good shots of the kids! I took 119 pictures, erased a few and have put a few on here.....there are some other good ones but I am done for the night!

Bettencourt's 2010

they never look the same direction:

Me and Bry:

The Archers 2010

Ramsey The Grandkids:

The Vargas Family, 2010

Bubba

it's 5:15

it's 5:15 and I have NO idea what we are eating for dinner.

it's 5:15 and Ramsey is asleep on the couch.

it's 5:15 and I have 3 loads of laundry I meant to fold today sitting on my bed.

it's 5:15 and I have been on the computer for 45 minutes and still haven't logged on to my defensive driving class....you know, the whole reason I came in here and got on the computer in the first place!

it's 5:15 on Wednesday and I really, really, really wish it was 5:15 on Friday!

it's 5:15 and I have a headache and my tummy hurts. I want my mommy. or my husband. or anyone to come take care of me and my kids tonight.

it's 5:15 and I still don't know whats for dinner!!!!

Doris

Doris is the crossing guard that "works my corner" before and after school.

I went to a neighborhood party this past weekend and Doris came up in our conversation. Basically, we all think she is amazing. She knows EVERY single kid that goes through her intersection as well as their parents. She knows who rides bikes, scooters, who walks and whose parents park down the street for their kid. If you are an adult and are new to her corner she will ask you million questions to make sure you are supposed to be there. If you want to get to the school, you have to go through her.

She comments on kids clothes....which you know Ramsey loves.....haircuts, new bikes, etc. She knows it all. In fact, this morning she commented on Bryson's new haircut!!!!!

Anyway, I just feel so blessed that she is on my corner! She is a joy and is one of those people that always has a smile on her face. Plus, she knows ALL THE GOSSIP so you know I have to keep her close!

Needs VS Wants

One of life's greatest predicaments.....do we NEED it or do we just want it.

For instance.....I really NEED a rug for my kitchen, to go under our table, but do I really NEED it? Dustin would probably say NO but I say YES I NEED it. It would not only add some color to that otherwise drab area, it would prevent scratches on our tile so I say it is a NEED......but then again I can rationalize anything that I WANT.

Ramsey woke up this morning and said she needed to have a play date today. That she would be sad if she didn't have one. Really, you NEED to? Or you just WANT it?

Anyway, the point of all of this is to say that I am really going to try to cut down on my wants and focus on what I really NEED......I NEED to focus on my relationship with God, I need to spend more QUALITY time with my family (turn off the tv, and just play) I need to relax about the house (I feel like I am always fretting about how messy it is....it is supposed to be that way, we have 2 kids!) I need to stop worrying about what others think and do what I want to do and what I know I should do.

God gives everyone a purpose in their life and I NEED to figure out what mine is. What is my spiritual gift? What should I be doing to spread his word??

Baby Nate was baptized this weekend and it got me thinking about all of this. Am I doing enough to shine my light of Christ to those that know me? Unfortunately, NO. This is something that I NEED to do.

Anyway, enough rambling.....I NEED to go wrestle with Bryson!

Memorial for Snow White

Snow White Barbie died Wednesday, Sept 22, 2010. Her memorial service will be held today at 3:15ish at The Bettencourt House.

Snow White, known to her friends and family as "The Fairest in the Land", was loved by many including Sneezy, Dopey, Grumpy, DOC, Bashful, Happy, Sleepy and Prince Charming but most of all by Ramsey Bettencourt.

Although it is unknown when this particular doll took residence in the Bettencourt house we know she will be greatly missed. She is survived by 2 Belle Barbies, Cinderella, Ariel, Bath-time Ariel, Hannah Montana, Hippie Barbie, Diamond Castle Barbies and many, many, many other friends.

The family suggests memorials be to: K-9 dog training (see photo's below)

(yes, that is Annie's head creeping in to get her, again)

I guess I should look out for 2 feet and a hand in the yard this week!

BAD ANNIE!



on second thought, I think I will skip the memorial service and "bury" Snow White myself to see how long it will take Ramsey to notice she is gone.

Itchy

I did some yard work today (GASP!) and half-way through I noticed a bunch of ants where I was working. So, all day long I have been itchy and paranoid that the ants are still on me.

that is all.

Asleep while standing....sort of.

Dude, kindergarten is tough.
Usually she waits until Wednesday or Thursday to crash on the couch but this is how I found her after being home just a few minutes.

Super-Woman kind of day

Dude, I got a lot done today and am feeling pretty good about it. If only I would have made it to the gym but that wasn't in the works today.....there's always tomorrow!

I took care of the kids drop-offs, went to Walmart and Walgreens, folded laundry, PUT LAUNDRY UP (I stink at doing that!), stripped the beds upstairs, dusted and vacuumed the downstairs, started some more laundry, unloaded the dishwasher, started dinner, bought my bible study book and a few cards and even had time to stop at Sonic for an ice cold Diet Dr. Pepper!

It's AMAZING to me the amount of stuff I can get done without the kiddos around. Which works out perfectly because now I can hang out with them instead of running around working on the house! It's a win/win!

Oh, and Bryson is now a pro at Mother's Day Out....he doesn't cry at drop off and is happy all day according to his teachers! Praise God!!!!!! I was so worried about this transition.

Block Party, Bible Study and Round Rock

• We were invited to a "Fox Meadow & Friends" Block Party this weekend. Fox Meadow is a street away from us and apparently it is where all the cool people in the neighborhood live! They were all very nice and welcoming to us and we had a great time! It didn't hurt that there was a margarita machine there to break the ice....hopefully I didn't make a bad impression on them.
• I am starting a bible study tomorrow night and haven't ever been so excited to start a new study. I just really have a great feeling about this study and the girls participating. I am sure we are all going through different things so I am really looking forward to seeing how God will work in our lives throughout this time period. I am ready for it!
• We are headed to Round Rock and San Marcos this weekend for Baby Nate's baptism. We are so thankful that we can be there for this special occasion as well as see Lolli, Pops and Auntie Ang! Plus, I think we will get to see my aunts and uncles so that is a great bonus too!!! I am riding with my parents down there so wish us luck! I really hope Bryson behaves in the car.....that's what Reece's pieces are for right!

"No, I do it"

I hear that phrase at least 2,194 times a day from Bry. He has immersed himself into the independent stage in which he can do anything and everything by himself. Including making his own lunch. I try not to get in his way too much but it sure does add a lot of work to my day to let him "do it".

And yes, that would be a french onion dip sandwich that he made......which I later traded out with a PB&J! He never even knew!

Starving artist

Do you remember those commercials where the "Starving Artists" were coming into town to sell their paintings, photographs, etc? I used to wonder how they could afford to travel from town to town but yet they were starving.....I still don't get it.

Anyway, here is my favorite drawing to date from our little Ramsey.

My Family

Ramsey Bettencourt

September 2010

my favorite part is that our eye lashes are on our eye brows and not our eyes! TOO CUTE!

Mr. Bryson

• We seriously think this kid is hilarious.....like the funniest kid on earth.
• He LOVES Annie.....like they are BFF's.
• He HATES drop-off at school.....like he throws a fit and screams my name
• He is a picky eater......hopefully this is just a stage but it drives me crazy.
• He LOVES his crib and we have NO intention of taking him out of it until he asks.
• My friends think he is an "easy" boy.....I want them to take him for a week and then see what they think!
• He is talking up a storm and it is so fun to have "conversations" with him.
• We need to put him in gymnastics, this kid will hang from anything and will try to do a flip off of it too.