my birthday wish

Today is my birthday. And what did I want for my birthday? Only one thing. Only the impossible apparently. I just wanted to surprise my husband. You see.....he always puts so much thought into things he gets and does for me. And I try hard to do the same for him, but he always either tells me what he wants....or he just goes and gets it himself. So my goal....my one and only wish for my birthday this year was to surprise him for his birthday. And since our birthdays are so close together, I thought I had the perfect plan. I asked his Mom to tell him that she and my good friend, Heidi, were planning a surprise party for me, and that all he had to do was get me there....and all the while I was planning this surprise party for him. It was the perfect cover. But I blew it...or so he says. He says that I left my emails up.....and that he found out from an email from one of his friends. I don't quite buy it all, but that's another story. So...it wasn't quite the surprise I thought it was going to be, but it was a super fun night nonetheless.

So we both had a birthday cake.



So everyone sang to us and we blew our candles out, and then we ate and visited.



What he was suprised about was who all I had invited. He was so excited to see who all was there.



Our dear friend Karen.

His good friend and counselor, Ryan.

Mike (his duck hunting buddy) and Elaine Kohler.

Jim May, who was probably the biggest influence in Aaron's decision to serve in the Marines.



Josh and Dan, his best friends from high school.



Zack, who he shared an unforgettable night with in Colorado years ago that has bonded them forever. Hahaha!



Mr. Gene and Mrs. Nell, who he loves dearly.



And Adam came in from Austin. Aaron was very surprised and excited to see him.



Johnny Colbert, who Aaron loves and admires so much.



After everyone left, he discovered another surprise. Weeks ago I had sent out letters to people that mean a lot to him and asked them to send him a card or letter for his birthday. My goal was to get 40 cards from dear friends for him to read on his 40th birthday.



He was so touched by the sweet memories and stories that were shared.



His "brother from another mother", aka, Mark James, sent his this picture of one of their hunting trips from years ago with his letter.



So...a huge thank you to everyone who helped me make this happen. It really means a lot to have such wonderful friends and family in our lives.



And even though it didn't turn out quite as planned, it was a lot of fun. And....I still love you honey! Even if you are impossible to surprise!

Christmas with Grandma

We celebrated Christmas a little early since Grandma was here. And the kids didn't mind at all.



John David was so excited to see what Grandma gave him.



He is all about Iron Man right now.



Cutest Iron Man ever!



Sarah was pretty thrilled to open her present too.



She loves her new headphones!



Katie doesn't look as thrilled as John and Sarah, but she was.



She loves her new password journal from Grandma!



And Aaron loved his gift from Mama too. It's his priesthood line of authority framed.



She and I have secretly been working on these this past week. We made them for my brothers and brothers-in-law too. They turned out so nice!



And a Christmas apron for me to do my Christmas baking in. Thanks for the thoughtful gifts Mama!



After opening gifts, we took Grandma out to see some Christmas lights.



She and Katie were being silly in the back seat. We sure enjoyed having Grandma here. It was so much fun to have her here this time of year, since she has never been here for Thanksgiving or Christmas. We sure love you Grandma and look forward to your next visit!

Guess who's back?

Freddie made his first appearance of the Christmas season this morning.



And he even brought a note and some treats for us! What a thoughtful little guy! We love you Freddie!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

We finally got our Christmas tree up tonight. After lots of trial and error, we finally got the tree all lit up. The kids were so excited!



Especially John David. He was all about putting the decorations on the tree.



And of course, the girls were excited too.

They had a race to see who could put the most ornaments on the tree.



I just love this time of year, and I'm so glad my kids do too.



My favorite picture of the night was this one of John David putting the musical nativity in his room. He was so excited about having the baby Jesus in his room. Priceless.

Dear Daddy,

Three years today...but it seems like much longer sometimes. Time has lessened the pain, but the hole is still there. Today is Thanksgiving and Mama is here with us. I sure wish you were too. You would have loved Johnice's cornbread dressing we ate at our Thanksgiving lunch today. And we had a Turducken tonight when our friends came over. You would have liked that too I bet. I wonder if you celebrate holidays there? Or birthdays? Or are you just too busy for such things? I wonder. I thought it would be harder having mama here today, but it has been okay. I talked to her and tried to make sure she was okay, and she seemed to be. I hope she really is. She has been amazing since you have been gone. It has been hard for her, but she has done really well I think.

I wonder if you know how much I have struggled with so many things lately? I wonder what your advice for me would be? Sometimes when I am trying to go to sleep I think about you in hopes that you will visit me in my dreams and we can just talk and you can tell me everything is going to be ok. I wish you could write me a letter. I wish I could just see your smiling face and hear one of your corny jokes. I wish you could give me a father's blessing. I wish.


You know something that I have worried about is my children forgetting you because they were all so young when you died, especially John David. But, a month or so ago, he was at the freezer getting a popsicle, and out of the blue, just said, "Grandaddy likes popsicles." I said, "Yes, he does. Grandaddy LOVES popsicles!" I wonder how he knows that? He was only 9 months old when you died. I wonder. I hope you know I still miss you every single day. I hope you know how much I love and respect you. I hope you know how grateful I am to be your daughter. I love you always Daddy!

Lynetta

Thanksgiving Day

We spent the better part of Thanksgiving Day over at Kent and Johnice's house. After our delicious, traditional Thanksgiving feast, we enjoyed the beautiful day. The men played horse shoes.

I enjoyed this beautiful view from the hammock.



That is....until my kids joined me and we all ended up on the ground. Oh...the joys of a hammock.



Aaron tried to sneak in a few Zzzzzs.





But eventually the cousins took over the hammock.



We enjoyed Maw Maw Mire reading "Pete's New Shoes" to us.



I love that John David sat and listened to the whole story.



Then we played tug of war.



John David really got into it.



Everyone was having a blast.....until the rope broke. That was quite entertaining to watch, but I didn't get a picture of it because we were laughing so hard.



And we enjoyed my mom's company for Thanksgiving this year. It's the first time she has been here with us on Thanksgiving. We loved having her here, but she (and her dressing) was greatly missed in NC.



But the best thing about the day was just being together! I love my family!