Operation Clean Out!

So I have decided that my life is in major need of a clean-out.  I'm a little late for "spring cleaning" but I was otherwise engaged this past spring so summer will have to do.  Besides, we can't go outside in this heat so what else is there to do?

My cousin Beth is a fabulous organizer.  She is so sweet to help me organize my closet and get rid of some of my clothes.  I tend to hang on to things unless someone is there to tell me that I won't be wearing that anymore so her assistance is much appreciated.  We made lots of headway today while Christopher was napping. Here are some pics.  Keep in mind, these first pictures were taken halfway into the process.  I don't live with my closet like this!!

What a mess!!

This is the GIANT pile of clothes that I am getting rid of.  I can't wait to go shopping to replace them all!!!!  LOL!

This is just a small sampling of the hangers that I collected throughout this process.

Here are all my clothes (and a few of Cory's) that are going away.  It may be hard to tell from the picture, but there are 15 shopping bags of clothing there!

Here is how Christopher kept himself entertained while we worked.  That is the top of one of my big tubs that usually stores some sweaters.  I may ask him to do the same thing to all of my others...I love how colorful it is!!

Stay tuned to see the finished project.  Next in the list is the playroom.  I'm tired just thinking about that job!!!

Happy 3rd Birthday Christopher!

I can't believe that I have been a mother for three whole years.  Today my baby boy turned three!! He has been excited about his birthday for some time now and I think today lived up to all of his expectations.  We celebrated with family and a few friends and Christopher had a ball.

Cory and I are both absolutely crazy about our little boy.  He fills our lives with happiness and our hearts with joy each and every day.  This past year, we have watched him "grow up" in so many ways...

• We took him to school for the first time
• We moved him from his crib to his "Big Boy Bed"
• He gets his own seat on airplane trips (and behaved beautifully for 10 hours over seas)
• He wears big boy underwear and tells us when he needs to go potty

But my favorites have been...

• Watching him meet his baby sister for the first time
• Watching him be a big brother and see the genuine love he has for his sister
• Hearing him say "Love you Mommy" before bed each night

Christopher Allen Locke

July 27, 2005

Christopher Allen Locke

July 27, 2008

Happy Birthday Christopher!  I love you more than words can express and am so thankful God chose me to be your mommy!

My Precious Babies

I took the kids to have their picture taken at The Picture People.  This is one of my favorites.

Tribute to Abilene

Today we hung out with some of my very dear friends from high school, Tiffany, Misty, and Sherry, as well as their significant others and husbands. We all live here and try to get together every now and then to catch up and talk about old times. It's always so fun to see them. We spent the afternoon at Misty's enjoying some yummy food and pool time.

It is hard to believe that I met these girls when I was just about Christopher's age! I think it is so neat that we have been able to maintain our friendships over the years. I could write the longest post telling of many of our fun times together but instead I came across these pictures...

Tiffany and Misty are second from the right with Tiff standing and Misty on the couch.  I'll let you all figure out which one is me!  Sherry is not in this picture because I actually didn't meet her until 6th grade (see pic below).  

Sherry and Steph before some type of junior high dance (I think).  Wow, I can't believe I am posting that picture!!

And here they are today, some of my oldest and dearest friends.

From left: Tiffany, Sherry, and Misty.

No Pictures

So, some of you (Meredith) may be wondering why I did not post any pictures of the family Reunion.  The truth is, I don't have any.  My mom is the "official" Reunion photographer so I just never have had to take them myself.  However, this year Cory took lots of video.  So here are a couple of video clips from the 29th Annual King Family Reunion.  If you are not part of the fam, you might find these videos boring and completely random but I have never posted video before and I wanted to try it out...  

The first clip is one of Christopher trying out his new golf club, we think he might be the next Tiger Woods! The second is the winning couple of the dance contest we had this year. Many of you know that my family always comes up with a silly game or contest to do every year. This year, dancing was the method to our madness...

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

"A good time was had by all!"

My mom's side of the family has been gathering down in New Braunfels for the past 29 years and it truly is one of my favorite things about summer.   We spend our days at the pool, going to Schlitterbahn, and toobing down the river.  There is lots of eating, hanging out together, great conversations, playing games, and more eating.  I love it!

Christopher made his first trip to Schlitterbahn this year and he seemed to have a great time.  We opted not to let him go toobing this year since he still hasn't had any swimming lessons, but maybe next year...

I am so thankful to be a part of such a wonderful family.  We all get along so well and have a great time together.  Some of my most favorite and treasured memories come from Reunion and this year was no exception.  As we like to say in the King family, "A good time was had by all."

My Bags Are Packed!

As many of you know, we are leaving tomorrow for my family reunion.  I've been spending most of my day running around trying to get things done and get myself and two children packed...not a small task.  This afternoon, I was working on getting all of my things into my bag.  I had sorted out all of my clothes into piles and had them on the floor next to my bag.  I walked back into my closet to gather a few more items and I heard Christopher say something about helping Mommy (he had been watching a movie on my bed while I was trying to get organized).  I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this.  He proceeds to pile all of my neatly folded clothes into my bag.  After each trip to go get another pile, he crunches down what he had already put in there.  Half of me is cringing with the thought of all my clothes getting so wrinkled and the other half is just filled with joy over how sweet my little boy is to try and help!  I'll have to wait until tonight when he goes to bed to re-pack as I don't have the heart to do that in front of him.  Fortunately, things are very casual at the King family reunion and I don't really care if my clothes are wrinkled!

I don't think these pictures do the bag justice of how messy my clothes are in there...

In other news, I have been trapped upstairs, along with the kids of course, to escape a wasp that somehow managed to get inside my house.  For those of you who know me well, or if  you read this blog on a regular basis, you know of my extreme fear of wasps and bees.  This does not bode well for my "to-do" list of things that need to be done before we leave town tomorrow morning, hence why I seem to be finding the time to blog right now...

Well, since it will be a few days before I will post again, I'll leave you with a new picture of Lucy I took this morning.  I LOVE this little outfit on her!  It is from my cousin, Julie.  Thanks Julie!

3 Months Old!

Miss Lucy is 3 months old!  She is such a sweet little baby and is really developing her little personality!  She is already proving to be such a girl with real emotional mood swings!  When she is happy, she is all smiles and loud squeals and when she is upset about something she is quick to let you know with her cry.  The really funny part is that these moods will sometimes fluctuate by the second!  She is eating and sleeping great.  She tends to eat 4 or 5 times a day and is sleeping for about 10 or 11 hours at night!  

I hope to add another album to the Shutterfly collection of some more of Lucy's 3 month pics but it is really hot up here and I am about to melt!  See previous post...

HOT!

UGH!  Our air conditioner broke today.  In 100 degree July weather, nice.  

Welcome Home Hardin Family!

One of my best friends and former college roommate, Noelle, has recently relocated to Dallas with her husband Stephen and baby boy Anderson!!!  I am so excited to have them here.  Granted, they are truly living in Dallas, not the burbs like us, but still it is better than being several states away!  Welcome back to Texas Hardin Family!

Noelle and Anderson

(not pictured: Stephen and Marlie Mae, the dog)