Dale and Mondie

2nd Try

2009-12-29T15:57:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving, Peyton's Birthday and a Snowy Christmas

2009-12-29T15:41:00.000-08:00

It has been so long since I posted, I cannot remember everything that has happened. We celebrated thanksgiving at my house with our kids, Mamaw, Granny and Glenna and Donald. We also celebrated Peyton's second birthday that weekend. We had Christmas at Glenna's this year. All the grandkids were there and we had fun. Good thing we were celebrating there because we had a blizzard and lost our electricity for 12 hours. We were just moving beds into the living room to sleep by the fireplace when the electricity came back on. We had 8 inches of snow. I will just post a bunch of pictures to tell the story.

Weekend with Our Little Cowboy

2009-10-28T17:18:00.000-07:00

Peyton was visiting this weekend. He had his chaps that he is wearing for Halloween. He had to wear his cap because his mom forgot his hat. My boss gave us this little gator. He would drive a little ways and get out to work on it. He is our little sweetheart. He is talking a lot more and clearly. Cannot believe he will soon be two.

Little Cowboy

2009-10-26T15:33:00.000-07:00

Guess what? Peyton came to visit. He is a little cowboy. He now has chaps, but his mom forgot his hat. He loves to pretend like he is riding bulls. He is growing up so much and has gotten much bigger. He talks a lot and we can understand most. Not too much news , but I wanted to post some pictures. My boss gave us the little gator and all we had to do was buy a new battery.

Summer of 2009

2009-08-25T16:35:00.000-07:00

It is really sad that I have not posted for three months. Where did the summer go? Right after school was out we drove to Virginia for a Farm bureau meeting. We took a longer route through Kentucky and several other states. We visited and walked on the track where they run the Kentucky Derby. One night Thomas Jefferson spoke at one of the gatherings. We saw colonial Williamsburg. It was fun, but it seems like that was a long time ago. Dale and I celebrated 30 years of marriage and I got a new wedding band. I am very fortunate to be married to such a great guy. Peyton stayed with us the whole month of July. He is so much fun, but boy is he busy. We also worked on being potty trained. some days were good and some days were not. He loved being outside riding the lawnmower, tractor and four wheeeler. As you see from the pictures he love shis hot sauce. I made several trips to Odessa for court. It was a trying experience, but Shelbi's divorce is final and she has all rights to Peyton. Shelbi and Peyton were with us 2 weeks before they moved to Denton where Shelbi will finish her schooling at TWU. I worked on refinishing some furniture for Peyton. It was my bedroom furniture then Kevin's and now Peyton's. Kevin is still in Houston and we did get to make a trip down to celebrate his birthday. I also forgot that we spent much of the summer working on a new set of cattle pens. They are nice and I can certainly say I am glad they are almost done. I am in my second week of school. My classes are a little larger, but I think they will be ok. I forgot to mention in the meantime my mom had shoulder surgery in Dallas and we have been helping her out. She is doing well. That is just a hodgepodge of things and I will post a few pics. too.

End of School Shelbi and Peyton

2009-05-28T16:13:00.000-07:00

School is finally almost out. One more day then a nice break. Shelbi and Peyton have been staying with us for a while. Shelbi went floating the river over the weekend and we kept Peyton. I was in school during the day, but we still had some fun. That boy is precious and shelbi is ok too. Peyton is obsessed with tractors. We spent a great deal of time riding on the lawn mower, four wheeler or the real tractor. He is a sweetie , but all boy. He even tt'd on the potty several times.

Mother's Day Weekend

2009-05-11T16:07:00.000-07:00

I had a great weekend. Kevin and Shelbi both came home on Friday. Of course Peyton was here too. we had a great weekend. We all ate too much, but we had fun. Justin surprised me and came to see us Saturday night. I could not have had a more wonderful weekend. I have to get off the computer because Dale is taking it to Waco.

Easter

2009-04-19T13:56:00.000-07:00

We had a very nice Easter. Shelbi and Peyton were able to come, and we celebrated with my sister's family. It was lots of fun. The weather was cooperative and we spent some time outside. Kevin had just been home a couple of weekends before, so he was not able to make the trip. Shelbi allowed Peyton to stay with us a couple of extra days, so Dale took him home Wednesday. I even took off Monday afternoon and Tuesday to spend time with him. That is a big deal for me to take off work. We bought Peyton a big wheel. His legs are not quite long enough to peddle even though it is tiny. His pops bought him a little rope. He is seldom without tha cowboy hat. He is a very good little boy even though his favorite word right now is stop. He says shoes, cows, dog, juice, Nana, Pops, momma, hat, as well as stop. We had a great time playing with the other kids too. It was a great weekend.

On another note. I have one Taks test behind me. My 8th graders have finished and hope to have results soon. MY seventh take it next week. That will relieve some pressure.

Best and the Worst

2009-02-17T16:22:00.000-08:00

This was a great weekend. We had three people spend the weekend with us that we really love. Shelbi and Peyton came early Friday afternoon. Justin came late Friday night. We visited and played with the little man. Saturday we just caught up and Shelbi and Justin went to see a movie. Dale and I just played with Peyton. He is so fun. He is talking more. He says ball juice and hat a lot. He has a cowboy hat and he loves it. It put it on and off a million times. He is very independent and wants to feed himself. The funniest thing was Dale would say Ahaaa and Peyton would repeat it. Shelbi had a new haircut, but we forgot to take a picture. It looked really cute. She is back in school and doing well. We are proud of her. Keep trying to convince her to move closer to home, but no luck. Everyone had gone home by 2 on Sunday. As good as it felt to have them here, it felt twice as bad when they left. Seems like it has been a bad week at school but some of it is due to the depressing feeling when those you love leave and you do not know when or if you will see some of them again.

Thanksgiving

2008-12-05T15:31:00.000-08:00

We had a nice Thanksgiving. We spent Thursday with Dale's family. Four of the five children were able to be there. Peyton and Shelbi came too. That always makes it special. Dale and I can still here him saying dog. Everything is a dog. He can say stop and we did get him to say cow. He is so smart and walking better. He is such a little joy. He eats almost anything, but he loves those mashed potatoes. We took him to visit Santa. He was not sure about him, but he did not cry.

November

2008-11-18T15:00:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since I posted. I read everyone's blogs daily, but I do not take the time to comment, but I do look forward to seeing all the pictures and getting the updates.
Last weekend shelbi and Peyton came home for an early celebration of Peyton's birthday. It is not until the 20th, but we will not be able to be there. I cannot believe he is a year old. He is so sweet and walking everywhere. Shelbi cut his hair all by herself this time. He says dog very clearly and attempts a few more words. He is still having trouble with his ears. The specialist is putting tubes in on Dec. 4th. Hopefully he will get some relief.
We are planning to go to Kevin's this weekend. He just opened his new store which is twice as large. He has been very busy. He will not be coming home for Thanksgiving because he has to open the store on Friday. We are going to help him a little this weekend.

Movie

2008-10-05T14:34:00.000-07:00

Dale and I had a date. We went to see "Fireproof Your marriage". I do not think any of the actors will be receiving academy awards, but it has a great message. I do not think many left the theater with dry eyes. We had a good time.

Fun Week

2008-09-30T16:08:00.000-07:00

Shelbi let me bring Peyton home for the week. Mamaw and Tammy Clark helped out while I worked. He is such a fun little guy. He is always busy and into everything. He did not sleep well, because he has asthma and we found out he has ear infections in both ears. Dale and I have not bought him many toys, so we bought him a riding toy. It is Lightning from the movie "Cars". It has all the bells and whistles. He loves it. When it plays music he moves to the music.
Kevin is recovering from damage from the storm. He has been repairing fence and trimming trees. He and some of his neighbors had to clear trees off of power lines and the road so they could get to work, because the power company could not get there. One of the men was an electrician.
Shelbi has her first court date on Monday, so please pray that all will go well for her and Peyton.

Mamaw and Peyton

2008-09-01T16:00:00.001-07:00

Shelbi and Peyton Dancing

2008-09-01T15:59:00.000-07:00

Eating Wedding Cake

2008-09-01T15:56:00.001-07:00

Nana and Peyton

2008-09-01T15:53:00.002-07:00

Shelbi and Peyton

2008-09-01T15:53:00.001-07:00

Pops and Peyton

2008-09-01T15:49:00.000-07:00

Hand Feeding the Cows

2008-09-01T15:47:00.000-07:00

Labor Day Weekend

2008-09-01T15:34:00.000-07:00

The weekend is almost over. Today Dale and I caught up on yard and housework. Dale is heading out to do a little dove hunting, so I thought I would update the blog. Shelbi and Peyton came in Friday afternoon. She had been off work a few days because he had another flairup with allergies and asthsma. Luckily he was feeling better and we got to enjoy him. Friday night we went on our regular cattle feed tour. He and Shelbi got to feed the heifers by hand. Peyton loves all the animals. We put color on Shelbi's hair. She went from light red to mahogony color. Since Peyton her hair has gotten very dark. Saturday afternoon we headed to Krum for Courtney's wedding. We had a good time. Courtney looked very pretty. As always Peyton was a big hit. The photographer probably took at least 10 pictures of him. He is such a good baby. I woke up with a sick headache Sunday morning so I did not get to go to church, but Dale,Shelbi and Peyton did. Mamaw came out to see Peyton. He always likes to see her. They headed home about 3. Quiet again. She will be making decisions soon about whether to stay in Odessa or move. Her cousins in FT. Worth and Krum really were trying to get her to move there. We are hoping for there or Abilene. Anywhere closer.

One Last Visit

2008-08-06T19:02:00.000-07:00

Well surprise everybody this post will be mostly about Peyton, but first of all I will tell you about our trip. We just returned fron two days at the Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo and a few days in Red River with the Farm Bureau fieldstaff. While in RedRiver we did the 2 man kayak. It was a class three ride and we only turned over once. They call the 2 man boats divorce boats, but we are still together. We swung by and picked up Peyton on the way home and he has been keeping us busy. It went by so fast. Dale took him home today. I took a 3 hour nap. He is pure joy except he still does not sleep through the night. He has 4 teeth and jabbers a bunch. He pulls up on everything and rarely fusses. It looks like Shelbi may chose to not move closer to home and boy we will sure miss seeing that little guy. I will not have the flexibility that I have enjoyed this summer. Kevin and Chelsi are blowing and going. Kevin stays busy with sales. He is a selling machine. Chelsi is headed to Singapore for a long trip with her job. I am including a bunch of pictures of Peyton. Justin spent the night with us while he was in the area with his new slaes job, so he is in some pictures also. I am having trouble uploading my photos, so it may be later.

4th of July

2008-07-13T15:02:00.000-07:00

We spent the fourth with Dales's family at the lake. We enjoyed having Shelbi and Peyton home. I think Shelbi enjoyed the sea-doo and tubing with her cousins. We miss them so much. We hope they will move closer soon. Peyotn has a tooth on bottom now and has ear infections in both ears this week. He pulls up on everything so he keeps his mom jumping. I am including a picture of Peyton and his mom. He made his hat at daycare. Smart,huh?

Peyton Gets Behind the Wheel

2008-07-03T19:31:00.001-07:00

Projects

2008-07-03T19:25:00.001-07:00

I finally finished painting the utility room and have the bedroom pretty much finished. The painting above the bed was my dad's, so I am glad to get to use it.

Peyton

2008-06-24T06:42:00.000-07:00

It seems my posts are always about Peyton. He got his first haircut. Actually he has had another , since I got brave enough to cut more off. It looks better without his little cinnamon roll on the back.
He is going everywhere now. It always seems like they want to crawl close to all the places they can get hurt. He sits up well now too. We are enjoying having him, but I know his Mom really misses him. You guys keep Shelbi in your prayers.
I have things moved into the bedroom after we painted. I will post some pictures of the partially finished room and you guys can give suggestions.

2008-06-13T15:40:00.001-07:00

Peyton Goes Swimming

2008-06-13T15:31:00.000-07:00

Peyton came to stay a few days with Pops and I. He swam in his little pool some today. It actually only had about an inch of water in it. He splashed and put his face down and did not seem to mind the water in his face. His swimsuit comes down to his ankles. It was the smallest one we could find. He has been good. Pops and I have shown him the cows, dogs, and horses. He loves to be read to, so we read many of Kevin's and Shelbi's old books. He still does not sleep all night, so I had to take a nap with him today. He does an army crawl. He can move pretty fast when he wants to get something.

The Fence is Finished

2008-06-08T13:23:00.001-07:00

Last night Dale and I finished our fence. I am glad, but guess we will just find more work to do.
I am going to try to add pictures the way Whitney showed me. We are experimenting taking some sunset pictures with our cattle. I am re-doing a bedroom with western. I bought a cowhide to use on the bed. I am open to suggestions and ideas.

New Heifers

2008-06-01T13:43:00.000-07:00

Dale and I bought 12 new heifers. They are cute. This is the first time we have bought any cattle that were not black.

School is Out.

2008-05-30T18:58:00.000-07:00

Today was my last day at school. I love my job, but it is definitely time for a break. I will miss my girls that I teach with everyday.
Dale and I worked on some more of our projects. We have been doing some fencing. I mowed and put out fertilizer and weed killer. we still have a lot more to
do, but I see some progress.
Kevin and Chelsi came in for Colby's wedding last weekend and we got to visit with them. We also had Peyton, so Chelsi and I focused on him. Kevin is still not too sure about this baby thing.

Peyton

2008-05-19T14:32:00.000-07:00

Poor little Peyton is sick again. He has strep throat. The dr said it was not bad yet. Poor Shelbi has to worry about him and worry about missing work.

Catching Up

2008-05-14T12:22:00.000-07:00

First I wanted to tell everyone what a wonderful Mother's Day weekend I had. Busy, but great. Shelbi, Chad and Peyton came for a visit. Peyton had grown so much. They gave me a pretty necklace and Shelbi gave me the sweetest card. We had other guest Saturday from Austin that stayed with us and went to Kaci's wedding. We had lunch at the Cagle's and got to catch up with all of them. Chelsi called and wished me Happy Mother's Day and then I got to visit with Kevin. That night Justin called and wished me Happy Mother's Day too. It was great to know they all thought of me. That is really all any mother could ask for.
Dale and I have been working like crazy trying to clean up some land we bought. We have already hauled away about 6 trailer loads of junk. I took off Monda afternoon and we loaded junk. We had just as much fun as we do when we go somewhere for fun. It was nice to be away from school and outside. I will have to add pictures later.

Pictures

2008-04-27T16:04:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we had Dale's mother's 80th birthday party. I am including some pics from that and Shelbi's apartment.

TAKS Results

2008-04-23T18:25:00.000-07:00

I got my test results. 98% of my students passed their test. Only one student failed. The pressure is off. I had to do the chicken dance on my desk, because I had promised I would. They did it with me too. We had fun. I am proud of them.

Busy week

2008-04-17T18:04:00.000-07:00

I just returned from Odessa. Peyton got sick with bronchitis and could not go to daycare. I volunteered to go and babysit. We had a lot of fun. He is a super baby. He is not crawling really but rolls over quickly and gets around. Shelbi was suppose to take her PSB test this morning, but when she got there they told her it was cancelled. Poor thing. Actually I brought Peyton home with me. It is over 4 hours in the car, but he is a trooper. Dale's mom is having her 80th birthday party this weekend. Kevin and Chelsi are coming home for it. Everyone will at least get to see Peyton. Dale has a meeting out around Odessa Tuesday, so he will take him home Monday night. I know Shelbi will miss him. They are really close. When I get the pictures downloaded then I will post pictures of he apartment.

Quiet house

2008-04-07T11:55:00.000-07:00

We took Peyton to Odessa this weekend. We helped Shelbi get everything finished in her apartment. It looks cute. We took pictures, but left the camera in Odessa.
We went to church on Sunday morning and met some very nice people. People gave her phone numbers and told us they would watch out for Shelbi and Peyton. Even though I was very sad to leave them there, I felt better knowing there were people she could call upon for help. Janet came over to see her and invited them to dinner tonight. It helps knowing she can always call her too.
It was the saddest when we got home and the house was quiet. His nursery water bottle was on the cabinet and there was a little bib left. I know we will adjust, but we will surely miss them.

Sad

2008-04-02T07:26:00.000-07:00

Shelbi left to go to Odessa yesterday. I did shed a few tears. I will really miss her. It has been a blessing to have her over the past few months. We have fought some, but really I will miss her sooooo much. We are keeping Peyton till Friday. He is so sweet. He has figured out how to make loud noises and is so proud. He rolled from his back to his stomach last night when he was playing. I do not think it will be long before he crawls. He can scoot some now. He has so much personality.
The one good thing about all of this is my house is getting bigger. It is amazing how much stuff Shelbi and Peyton have. Shelbi's apartment is about to get a lot smaller.

Weekend

2008-03-29T06:10:00.000-07:00

Kevin and Chelsi arrived about 5:30. We enjoyed a meal and visited. They bought Peyton some cute little John Deer boots, books and a little Fastenal pick-up. I was hoping the weather would be nice so we could do something outdoors, but it does not look like it. Everyone is asleep right now, even Peyton.
By the way I just want to put out a disclaimer. I know how to spell and use grammar correctly, but my typing is horrific.

Learning Something New

2008-03-27T17:59:00.000-07:00

I figured it was about time I started my own blog. Shelbi helped me get started. Kevin and Chelsi will be here tomorow, so we had to clean.
We have not seen them since Christmas. I got a new bedroom suit today. It looks strange because it is bigger. when I get it all decorated then I can post a picture. This is really a stressful time. Shelbi is getting ready to move away and I have one more week before I have to give the TAKS test. This year my students have to pass to be promoted. Guess I will go watch the Apprentice to see who wins. By the way, you guys keep your blogs going. I really enjoy seeing them.