Merry Christmas

To all those we couldn't send a Christmas card to, Merry Christmas! Love the Spicer Family

Make The Mantel Christmas 5x7 folded card

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Happy Birthday Kate!

My little girl turned two on Sunday. I cannot believe that it has been two years already. Kate is such a little joy. She loves her brother and does absolutely everything Kallon does. Kate is his shadow. When we drop Kallon off at preschool Kate immediately points to his car seat and asks "where's nawnee?" (what she calls Kallon) They sure do have a lot of fun together but they have also started fighting. What on earth do a four year old and a two year old have to fight about? I will tell you, blankets, who took who's, snacks, toys, and Kallon's spiderman chair. Now that issue is resolved because Kate got her own chair for her birthday. So there has been no fighting over the dang chairs. Thank goodness! Mostly Kallon teases Kate and Kate gets so angry she just screams at him and attempts to hit him. Oh the joy. Kate is talking really well, which is so nice because there are not so many meltdowns over her being frustrated. She loves her blanket which she called de-de and now has changed it to dinky. Kate can count to three and will count at Kallon like I do when I am going to put him in time-out. She loves to play hide and seek and says here I come. She is always asking me if I am watching while she does a trick mostly jumping or dancing, which she loves to do. If there is music around with any sort of beat you can bet she is dancing right along with it. I am so grateful to be her mom, she makes me smile every single day.
On Sunday we had a quiet little party for Kate. Our friends Jason and Sherise came over for birthday pumpkin roll. Kate had no idea what to do about the candles she just stared at them until finally Kallon blew them out for her. She was pretty surprised too when they went out. She definitely understood opening her present and with a lot of help from Kallon got it all unwrapped and open. So far she loves her little chair and the best part about it is I don't have to listen to them fighting over the one chair anymore.

Merry Christmas to YOU!

Shutterfly has a Christmas gift for you this year. They are offering 50 FREE Christmas cards if you give them a little shout out on your blog. This is just the push I need to get my family Christmas photos and cards done. I was really thinking about just bagging it this year and then came across this deal on a friends blog. Now I am excited to send out our Christmas cards. There are so many cute cards to choose from I don't know how I am going to narrow it down. Last year for Christmas I used Shutterfly to make a photo book for my parents and my in-laws gifts. It turned out so cute, it was very easy, very affordable, and my parents still talk about how much they enjoy looking at it. I love this time of year with the lights, food, and time spent with friends and family. I especially love receiving picture cards from all our loved ones. I wish the Christmas season lasted just a little bit longer. Here are a few of my favorite cards so far. Which one do you like best? Go to shutterfly and check all of them out for yourself. I posted the link at the bottom of the page.









Which one do you like?? Go here to get your fifty free Christmas cards.

To see more adorable cards go here

If you don't want to do a photo card they also have really cute regular cards too.
http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-cards

Daddy's Leaving?

The other day we were running errands and drove by the hospital. Here is the conversation that Kallon and I had:

K: Mom, that's dad's school right there behind the hospital, right?
Me: Yep, it is.
K: Mom, why doesn't dad have school in the hospital?
Me: Because there wouldn't be any room. Right now dad is learning about bodies and how they work and how to make people better when they get sick. He has to go be in a classroom. In a couple years dad won't have to be in class all the time and will go back and forth from school to the hospital.
K: He is going to be a doctor at the hospital and help people get better? Like when I go to the doctor?
Me: Yes
*long pause*
K: Well when dad is a doctor is he still going to be my daddy?
Me: What? yea of course!
K: Is he still going to live at our house with us?
Me: Yes but there will be times when he is really busy so he might be as much.
K: Oh

That was the end of our conversation. I have no idea why Kallon thought he wouldn't have a daddy if dad was a doctor. Too funny. Where do they come up with this stuff??

Halloween 2010

I have been meaning to do the required Halloween post for a while now but just could not find the motivation to sit down and type. So this post is going to be mostly pictures. We had a fun Halloween this year but again I was slacking so the kids, well Kate, had a not very imaginative costume. Kallon on the other hand LOVED his. He still wears it and I have to beg him to take it off. Not bad for only twelve bucks! Thursday night we carved pumpkins. Kallon was grossed out by the pumpkin insides and Kate was all over it, even sticking her head inside the pumpkin. On Saturday night we went to our wards Trunk or Treat which the kids loved. Kallon knew exactly what to do and was all over the place collecting candy. Kate was a little more hesitant at first and didn't quite know what people we giving her. Once she figured out it was candy she got better and better at holding up her bucket. Both Kallon and Kate ate candy to their hearts content that night. It was hard for me to let them "have at it" but I think they had their fill because the next day neither one asked for any!

Things I am tired of saying.....

Don't jump on the couch.
Close the door.
Don't push Kate.
Don't jump on the couch.
Don't pull Kallon's hair.
Don't hit Kate with your sword.
Stop jumping on the bed.
Give him/her a hug and say your sorry.
Turn the t.v. off.
Don't jump on the couch.
Is dad home yet?
Eat your dinner....all of it.
Don't headbutt me please.
Please eat your food instead of playing with it.
Swallow that bite.
Don't pound on the piano.
Don't drink the bath water.
Keep the water in the tub.
Leave Kate alone.
Give Kate/Kallon back his/her blanket.
Get back in bed.
Close the door and go to bed.
Get back in bed.
Get back in bed, pllleeaasssseee.
GO TO BED NOW!!

Then we do it all over again the next day. Does anyone else feel like a broken record?? Anyone? And I wonder why Kate says "don't" all the time, hmmmm. She couldn't have learned it from me.


Don't let their cuteness fool you. :)

Homeownership: The Good and the Bad

We have absolutely loved having a house and a yard and a garage and all the other nice things a house offers. We have also discovered there is a not so fun side of homeownership too.

The good:
Having a backyard for when mommy needs a break



Planting a garden and flowers

More room to play and make mess


The Bad:

Yard work: the not fun kind like mowing the lawn and raking leaves.
More home related bills
Unexpected water pipe cracking

the hole we dug was about 2 feet deep


Not even close to being finished



Thankfully the crack in the water pipe turned out to be not a huge deal. Just a few hours of Cory and I digging up a section of our yard to find the leak. When the city worker knocked on my door to let me know he suspected a leak he also informed me that it had been going on for about 24 hours and leaking 3 gallons a minute!!! Thank you for telling me that yesterday. I am just grateful we caught it before the bill got too big and that the leak was relatively easy to get to. Despite all the fun we had digging up the pipe I am still so grateful for our house. I know that Kallon has sure enjoyed being able to go outside whenever his heart desires. Now if only Santa would hurry up and get that swing set here so the kids will stay outside a little longer.

Soccer

We are now soccer parents. After I decided to withdraw Kallon from pre-k I thought he needed some sort of organized activity. I was all ready to get him signed up for swimming lessons when I received a phone call from a local soccer organization. Kallon was so excited when I told him about it. That same night we went out and bought a ball, socks, and shin guards. He has had a few team practices and one game so far. Let me tell you it is about the funniest thing I have ever seen. The kids play three on three and switch out players every time a goal is made and there is no goalie. Three kids from our team line up in the middle of the field facing their goal and three of the other team facing the opposite way and when the whistle blows its mass confusion. All six players are on top of one another pulling on each others jerseys with feet flying every where...so funny. Kallon did so good but wore out quickly. I don't blame him it was very hot and humid that day. He had one assist and got to throw the ball in many times. After a while he became frustrated that he couldn't get the ball away from the purple team and was a little pouty the rest of the game, but he still had fun. Its all about having fun, getting some exercise, and team work. He is already gearing up for the next game. Kallon's team has green jerseys and the kids decided on being called the grasshoppers, haha. I am so glad we have found something that he is really enjoying. He has also been learning a little piano when I can get him to focus. He loves it, and is doing quite well, he is flying through the lessons. I am so proud of him. Its so fun to be able to watch him grow and learn new things.I am so grateful I have been given the opportunity to be his mom, what a blessing he is in our home. My baby is growing up way too fast.




Do I have to get my picture taken?

Primary Program

My baby boy had his first Primary program today at church. I have always been excited for the day when I would be able to watch my own children participate in the program. I still can't believe I have one that is old enough though. I was so excited to watch Kallon up on the stand singing along with the other children. He even had a speaking part that he worked on memorizing. I had this perfect image in my head of Kallon being reverent, singing all the songs and saying his one line in the microphone. What really happened is a different story. All the sunbeams stood along the podium wall in front of the other kids on the stand. There was the sweet little girl in her pink dress with her hair in pigtails with pretty little bows standing with her arms folded and singing her little heart out. Next to her was a boy wearing a vest and tie, his hair combed, and arms folded, attempting to sing the primary songs. Then we have Kallon. His outfit was cute but for some reason unknown to any of us he likes to pull his pants up Erkel (?) style. They were pulled up so high you could see the top of his ankles. I promise I fixed them and just when he got out of my arms reach he looked back at me with the look of "oh yeah, mom" in his eyes and gave his pants a good yank. His white shirt was half un-tucked and his tie had been pulled to the side. He also has a butchered hair cut thanks to me not knowing what I'm doing. Maybe saving the eight bucks isn't worth it after all, especially when he has to stand in front of our entire ward the next morning. I tried to fix it but it was just not happening this morning. To top it off Kallon liked to turn around and face the other kids and watch them sing so his back was to the congregation. His teachers tried numerous times to get him to turn around, he would but only for a few minutes. When he did turn around he had his lovely little finger up his nostril!!! Must have been something good up there because his finger was in the nose for most of the program. UGH! I kept trying to give him hand signals to knock it off but my efforts were ignored. He didn't sing, didn't even try, but his speaking part went okay. He didn't really talk into the microphone so you couldn't hear him very well. Considering I didn't even think he would actually go up on the stand with the other kids we can count his first program a success.



Our sweet little Kallon

Fashionista

Kate dressed herself today, doesn't she look cute!?







I think she may grow up to have a career in fashion. Wouldn't you want her picking your outfits?

Hot Date

A few nights ago a couple from our ward and Cory's class offered to babysit so Cory and I could go out. It was a much needed break. We went to this really good restaurant called The Dead Fish Grill right on the shore of Lake Belton. It was so yummy. We were eating our dinner right at sunset and had a gorgeous view from our table. Literally this place is about ten minutes from our house right on the lake, and yes I am bragging about it. I have never lived so close to a lake before. Now if only we could afford a boat and a car to tow it with. We could take out another loan for that right!? Anyway earlier that day our neighbors invited us to his show at a local coffee house. We thought we would be good neighbors and friends and decided to go check it out. It actually was really good, this guy is so talented. It made Cory miss his band days! haha It was a fun evening out with my man, thanks Jason and Sherise!!



See how smooth the water is? That is boating water for sure!!

Hurricane Hermine

The past two days it has rained and rained and rained some more. I have never seen anything like it. Its not just sprinkling like we get in Idaho but raining, for over forty-eight hours!! I am loving it! This past Saturday Cory and I worked in the yard all day and had planted grass seed which is to be kept moist until it starts to sprout. What a pain especially in the Texas heat but we were diligent and watered it twice daily until yesterday when the rain came. It has been so great, I am happy to let the rain do my work for me. I just hope that the grass seed hasn't been drowned and floated away in our pool of a yard! Our county has been under a tornado and flash flood warning since Monday night because hurricane Hermine that is moving through Texas. Cory even had some classes canceled yesterday. They couldn't video conference in the college station students because of the crazy weather. I actually love the rain and hope it continues just a little bit longer. I wish you could see in these pictures how much water there is but its hard to really tell. I promise that when I stepped into the grass the water came to just above my ankle!








Our would be garden is now a mud pit.

Project

Cory and I had big plans for the little extra money we had after purchasing the house, like buying a new entertainment center. When we found out we had to put an extra four-thousand down on the house or lose it the new entertainment center was out. I was a little upset by it, okay a lot upset but I am sooo grateful we had the extra mulah to put towards the house, that is what was most important. Anyway we had already thrown our old 1970's record holding entertainment center away and had said goodbye and good riddance. A few hours later Cory, Luke (brother-in-law) and I got to talking about furniture and saving money and Luke suggested we just paint the old one. That was the plan when we had moved to San Antonio was to just paint it but then when we arrived in Texas two years ago and I felt the smoldering heat and humidity I wasn't going to deal with sanding and painting furniture. So we lived with our awesome e.t. center. We needed to save any extra money we had and decided that yes, we would just paint the thing and pray that it looked half decent. Luke and Cory left the apartment, took it out of the garbage area and loaded up into the Uhaul. This thing has like nine lives or something every time we go to get rid of it we just can't, it keeps coming back. I had also been trying to sell it for about 20 bucks before we moved but had no takers. Now I am grateful it didn't sell because with a little sand paper, paint and a late night arguing discussing with the husband over painting techniques it looks great! Its amazing what a little paint can do. I have never been into re-doing furniture or had any desire to get into it but now since we have done it I just might be hooked!



I can't find a before picture but I promise, it was not too easy on the eyes.

White Coat Ceremony

A few weekends ago was Cory's White Coat Ceremony in College Station. Cory's parents came to Texas to go to the ceremony. We had such a fun weekend with them. We went to Schlitterbahn, out to eat, to the lake (that is five minutes from our house), and other fun things. We are so glad they wanted to come. The ceremony was really good and I enjoyed the speaker and the kids did awesome! It was so good to see Cory walk across that stage and receive his first white coat. After four years of applying we are SO happy that we waited it out and that Cory didn't give up, I am so proud of him!! Although the first week of school was crazy he was gone most of the time but we will adjust...I hope. One week down three years and about thirty-six weeks to go!! But who's counting?! We are adjusting, just slowly it's hard when we have been gone most the summer. The other day I was laying down with Kallon before his nap and he said "mom, we need to get me some friends." Haha It was funny and sad all at the same time. This last Sunday was the first time in our new ward because they switched the boundaries on us while we were in Idaho. I think we will really like it and Kallon can make some friends. He starts preschool in two weeks and I am freaking out a little. I can't believe he is old enough to go. I am excited though and he asks me everyday if its the day for him to go.
Kate is growing up way to fast too. She has really started talking and communicating with us. Her new words are I poooop, no way, amy (which she calls me instead of mom), fachi (breakfast), nok (milk) and lots of others. She is so fun and cracks up at everything Kallon does and says. Kate loves her brother and follows him everywhere even though he teases her pretty good. They are so fun and I am so thankful to be their mom.
We are happy and healthy...life is good!



Cory receiving his white coat

Univited House Guests

I have been finding a ton of these in my house since we got home...



I'm not sure how I feel about it!

We're Back!

What a crazy/emotional/whirlwind of a summer and its not over yet! It all started June 4th when we drove to Temple to close on our first home. We left early in the morning to make it by 9:00 am to sign the closing papers. At about 8:55 am we received a phone call from the title company saying we couldn't close. Got another call from the loan company telling us what the problem was and why we couldn't close that day. To make a very long story short we ended getting the problem fixed while driving back to San Antonio only to turn around the next morning to drive back to Temple to sign the papers and close. Yay! About two weeks before this happened Cory went to get his med school physical and we found out that he might have a shunt(a hole) in his heart...not good. He had a few tests done and we waited and waited to hear the results but none of the doctors ever got back to us, so frustrating especially when it could be something so serious. In my mind one thing led to another, I tend to get a little dramatic when things happen. I thought oh no, Cory has waited four years to get into school and now he won't be able to start because of this heart problem, and he will have to have surgery that we can't afford, and we just bought a house we won't be able to pay for because he won't be going to school and we won't get loans and he won't be able to work and I will have to work and put the kids in daycare and on and on. I was really, really emotional those few weeks, my poor family thought I had lost it. Finally one of the doctors got back to us and told Cory he need to see a Cardiologist, I was a little relieved but not much because we still had no answers. About a week later we went to his appointment and the doctor said as far as he could tell there was nothing wrong but just to be sure he wanted to schedule a T.E.E(transesophoegeal echo) basically an ultrasound of his heart with a tube down his throat. The only time they could do it was about a week later so we scheduled it. After the appointment we drove to the apartment loaded up the car and drove to Temple to start on the renovations in the house. In six days we ripped up tile to find vinyl underneath so we had to tear that up, then laid new tile in the kitchen, entry and laundry room. We also painted, put in new baseboard and added a chair rail and cleaned, cleaned, cleaned. It was insane but we got everything done thanks to our brother-in-law Luke. If he hadn't come down Cory and I would probably still be in the kitchen trying to figure out how to lay the stupid tile! haha Or I would be in the corner crying while we swore at each other, either way I am sure it would not be finished if it had just been the two of us. The next morning after we got back to San Antonio we headed to Cory's appointment at 6 am. We got him checked in and changed and they came and rolled him away. About an hour later the doctor came and and told me that everything was fine and that there is nothing wrong with his heart!!!!! I hadn't heard such good news in a long time. Instantly all my stress was gone, and all the emotion I had been trying to keep inside for so long came pouring out. That poor doctor probably had no idea what to say so he just said thank you and left. haha I went to see Cory and he was pretty out of it because he had to be sedated, but I told him the results anyway. I expected him to be excited even in his lethargic state but instead he was angry! He was so mad that nothing was wrong and he was mean. I have never in the twelve years that I have been with Cory seen him that mean. He was giving me dirty looks and telling the nurse the procedure was done wrong. I was laughing so hard. For about the next hour or so he kept asking "there is nothing wrong? I'm fine?" and was mad about it. We made it home later that day took it easy, finished packing and the next day loaded up the uhaul and moved to our new house. We were in our house for about a six days in which we got most of the unpacking and setting up done. A week after we moved in we loaded up the car again and made the lllloonnnnnggggg twenty-five hour drive to Idaho. We drove it straight all day and all night and the kids did awesome but coming home is a different story. We spent three and half weeks in Idaho with friends and family. We went out to eat, watched movies, played outside, swam, went boating, shopped, ate some more, played tennis and a little golf. It was so nice to not have to worry about renovating, or moving or health problems. It was a much needed get a way but I am glad that we are back in our own brand new house. As of today Cory has two days of medical school under his belt and so far so good. We have already met some classmates and their wives and they all seen so nice. We are all happy and healthy I think we will really like it here in Temple minus the humidity! :)

It has happened...

Kallon has cut his hair! We were eating breakfast together this morning and he says "mom, I have some hair sticking up on my head I need to go fix it." After he said it he ran into my bathroom. I was thinking he was going to use some gel or hairspray or even water and comb to fix his hair. Boy, was I wrong. He came back sat down at the table and continued to eat his food like nothing had happened. I asked him what he did, and he just put his head down on the table. That's when I knew he had done something bad. I took a closer look at his hair and there was a little bald spot where before his hair was sticking up. He had found the scissors and cut those sticking up pieces right off. I thought it was so funny. The whole time I am trying to tell him the scissors are off limits and he shouldn't be touching them I was laughing. Talk about your mixed messages. So to fix his self given trim I buzzed his head this morning. Its not my favorite look for him but in this San Antonio humidity I bet his head will be a lot cooler! I'm just glad he didn't take the scissors to Kate's hair, but I am sure the fateful day will come.


See the big chunk of hair missing?



Naughty, naughty




Kallon's new do

Busy, busy, busy!

So much to do and so little time to do it. I have been a blogging slacker mainly because I just have not had the energy to write or even think for that matter. We have been so busy getting ready to close on the house, picking out paint and tile, getting the apartment packed, keeping the kids entertained and so on. This past month has just flown by I look back and think where did the time go? I thought I had all this time to get ready to go, pack up and say goodbye to friends but the time is here! I can't believe it. We will close on our first home next week! I am excited, scared, nervous, and ecstatic all at the same time. In other words I am basically a mess. What a process it has been. I am so excited to continue on with our lives but sad to leave some of the wonderful friends we have made here in San Antonio. If you would have told me a year and half ago I would have been sad to leave I never would have believed you. Don't get me wrong I still despise the humidity and the long hot summer that never ends but we have met some wonderful people that really made this adventure to San Antonio easier on me and my family. We have truly made some great friends and will be sad we won't see them on a regular basis. I have loved living in a bigger city that actually has fun family entertainment and any store you could possibly imagine! In Idaho I used to have to plan a day to drive forty-five minutes to Idaho Falls and back just to visit Old Navy or Dillards. To think we are moving ourselves right back into the same situation. Temple has one mall and I think the biggest store is JC Penney! Oh well I guess it will keep me from spending money! :)
Pictures of what we have been up to the past few months.


Poteet Strawberry Festival


Camping Garner State Park- our son the nudist, he was completely naked about five seconds after this picture.



Camping


Getting along



Not getting along



Family pics- don't we look thrilled!!

Quality Naps

So glad Kallon and Kate woke up from their naps so cheerful today. Happy Monday to us!