Deck the Halls

I know it's New Year's Eve, but I'm just now getting around to sharing some of our Christmas pics. We spent so much time celebrating throughout December, that there was no time left to share our celebrations on the blog. So, I've got plenty of photos stored up to make Christmas last at least another week, on the blog, that is. 

This year, we weren't home for Christmas, and there just wan't enough time to decorate, so most of our Christmas accessories didn't make their way from their Rubbermaid tub homes this year. I wasn't even planning on getting the tree up, but Daniel insisted and put it up one night while I was at a PTA function. Unfortunately, we never did get around to our annual family decorating night, so it was never completed. It was a pretty tree, filled with silver beads, silver and gold ribbon garland and all sizes of glass balls, but it wasn't our usual tree filled with ornaments Daniel and I have been collecting the past 30 years. We are fortunate in that each of our parents gifted us with an ornament every year. We've continued the same tradition with Abigail and Cooper.  And, we've added to our collections by picking up ornaments everywhere we travel and live. Needless to say, we have a lot of ornaments. We love decorating the tree each year and reminiscing about the teacher's class we made the popsicle sled or the silly hobby we were into the particular year we received that ornament or the thoughts of a long ago vacation in places like Vegas or the several Hula Santas we accumulated over Christmas 2003 in Hawaii. 

I never did get a picture of our tree this year because it just didn't look like "our tree," but I did snap a few of the other arrangements around the house.

The dining room...

The Living room mantle...

The kitchen table...

The kids' trees...

I first did this last year and loved the outcome. For Abigail's, I used some pricess-themed party favors. I transformed tiaras into ornaments and feather boas into garland with one of her play tiaras as the tree topper. The pink tulle tree skirt was an obvious decision.

For Cooper's tree, I used leather ribbon to transform a bag of cowboys and Indians figurines into ornaments, made garland from twine rope, topped the tree with a red cowboy hat and used a yard of burlap for the tree skirt. 

There was also a cowboy nutcracker placed under Cooper's tree, but his gun is now broken off and he's been put away for own safety. 

Tuesday Treats - Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake

My specialty around the holidays is dessert. Yeah, I can handle the rest of the meal, but what I truly enjoy are the pies. My most-requested recipe is Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake, a recipe I snagged from my mom who snagged it from her friend Sandy. Thanks Sandy for being the source of many compliments I've received!

The first thing you need to do is prep your springform pan by wrapping the bottom and sides with foil. I recommend the widest and thickest foil you can purchase. I usually add three to four layers of foil. Then, I use a tin roasting pan to create a water bath.

CRUST:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup sugar

1 stick butter

dash of cinnamon

Combine ingredients and press into bottom of pan.

FILLING PART 1:

3 (8 oz.) packages of cream cheese (softened to room temp)

1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

3 eggs

2 T vanilla extract

Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in milk until smooth.  Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Separate 1 cup of filling and set aside.  Set aside remainder of filling.

FILLING PART 2:

1 cup canned pumpkin

1/4 cup sugar

3/4 t cinnamon

1/4 t ground nutmeg

Mix pumpkin, sugar and spices together. Add pumpkin mix to main filling (not cup set aside) and mix well. Layer half of pumpkin mix and half of cup of reserved mix in pan. Repeat layers. Cut through batter with knife several times to create swirl effect. Bake in water bath at 350 degrees for one hour. 

Movie Monday

I'm hoping to give myself a bit more structure on my blog, and am adding a couple of mandatory subjects that will (hopefully) make it easier to post on days when I feel like I have nothing to write. Of course, I have plenty of stories to tell and pictures to show from the holidays. But, I'll have to get to that later in the week. Today, I'm debuting Movie Monday. 

It's been about a month since I saw Ben Stein's Expelled, and I'm still finding ways to tell people it's a "must see" flick. Of course, I'm an uber-fan of Stein's.  He's a former political speech writer (my dream occupation), hosted an entertaining game show (I'm a Game Show Network watcher.), was a frequent guest on Glen Beck's CNN show (the show's demise was tragic for me) and an all-around smart/funny/witty guy. Of course I had to see a movie he made. 

The movie, co-written and narrated by Stein, investigates the idea that educators and scientists are being stigmatized for believing and/or teaching any form of Creationism. What is intriguing to me is that religion plays little part in this movie. The scientific evidence and historical links to the subject are more than interesting. I was most intrigued when Stein ventured into the subject of the Holocaust and discussed how Hitler's view of Darwinism led to the atrocities committed against the Jews. In all my years of history classes, I've never once heard a professor make that connection. Yet, it just makes sense once you hear it. 

If you're at all interested in documentaries or even just another view of the Creationism vs. Darwinism debate, I highly recommend checking out Expelled. Stein isn't giving away his money or looking for Ferris Bueller, but he's entertaining and enlightening.

Hardyisms

After working nine straight 12-hour night shifts, Daniel finally has a day off today. Why would he sleep when he could entertain us?! Here's a scene from today as he works to install a garage door opener at our house:

Daniel: Have any of the neighbors borrowed any tools lately? I can't find my stud finder.

Stephanie: Shawn has the tall ladder next door but no one's been in the garage. I have no idea where the stud finder is.

A few hours later...

Stephanie: Did you find your stud finder?

Daniel: Yeah. I just walked around the garage until it went off.

A New Faith

I've kept the blog light-hearted and carefree, but there is a post I've been wanting to write and can't seem to shake it from my mind. So, I'm straying from the light-hearted comedy and photos of the kids today. Although, it's still a happy post.

It was a year ago this week that Cooper had his tubes put in his ears. It's such a common occurrence these days with so many young ones, but for us it was a major turning point with Cooper. Let me take you back to the beginning...

After being on bedrest for almost six weeks at the end of my pregnancy with Cooper, my obstetrician removed me from the strict guidelines and declared me ready to have a healthy baby. Cooper was born just a couple of days later, at four weeks premature. Technically speaking, he was not considered premature, but if he had been born the day before he would have been labeled as a preemie. There was something wrong from the beginning and the nurse began giving him oxygen. They took him away and we didn't know anything for several hours. Eventually, the neonatologist came to visit us and let us know, in his long speech, that Cooper was having trouble breathing. (Sidenote: at this point he was just Baby Hardy because he was so early that we had not yet decided on a name. He remained Baby Hardy for three days.)

I remember our many visits with this man over the course of the next seven days. He was a strange man. He spoke quietly and had odd mannerisms. I was hoping for someone comforting and reassuring. Yet, this man would begin his reports by detailing every horrible, fatal issue Cooper could be facing. After 15-20 minutes of death-speak, he would sum it up by saying, "I don't think that's what we're facing with this babe." If I could go back to this man, I'd let him know that his bedside manner could use some work. 

In that first visit with Dr. McScareUs TooMuch, he described Cooper's problem as mild, with just a bit of fluid on his lungs. This was familiar, as Abigail was born in the same situation and was fine after a couple of days under the oxygen hood. Yet, it was still a difficult situation. I never had to make the choice of whether to have my babies in the hospital room with me or not. That decision was made for me both times, as they stayed in the NICU. I ventured out into the NICU as much as possible, but it was very frustrating to not be able to hold a baby I had been holding for 8 months straight. My strongest memory from these days was watching the new mothers drop their babies off in the nursery and then step outside to the courtyard for a smoke break. I assumed they hadn't been cigarette-free for the pregnancy if they couldn't even wait until they checked out of the hospital.  I was more angry at these moms than I've ever been with anyone. I couldn't help but think that it wasn't fair that they had most likely smoked while pregnant and they now had a perfectly healthy baby. I never so much as had caffeine while pregnant, and now had a very sick baby struggling to breathe. Whether it was because of these women or not, I didn't spend every waking minute in the nursery. Daniel spent more time in there. I was too frustrated to just sit there and watch Cooper.  

It was Friday afternoon that we first got the report from Dr. McScareUsTooMuch. However, by Sunday the report had become more grim. The diagnosis had worsened and was now labeled as premature lung disease. Again, he scared us with his whacked out doom and gloom only to tell us that they had to up the oxygen and would leave it that way, while adding more meds into a line in his umbilical cord. We would revisit the oxygen levels in a couple of days. This was frustrating because I was to be discharged from the hospital that day, and we were not pleased with the idea of leaving Cooper at the hospital. The nurses were so kind and informed us that insurance paid for the room for the day, so we didn't have to leave until midnight. We took them up on their offer and stayed as late as possible. 

The next day, I found myself in an awkward place. Life had to go on, but it was so surreal. A new mom should be home caring for a baby. But, we had so many responsibilties and no extended family nearby to help. Daniel headed off to the hospital early that morning while I took Abigail to a doctor's appointment. In the midst of the baby drama, Abigail had somehow embedded something like glass in her foot and it had become infected to the point that she couldn't walk on it. So, just three days after giving birth, I was without a baby and out running errands. It was such a strange feeling. Once Abigail was taken care of and I was able to hand her off to my sister who was visiting to help care for Abigail, I headed to the hospital for the afternoon. By this point, the nurses had become comfortable with us and were letting us change Cooper's diapers and feed him. I can't remember why, but he had to have bottles so I was pumping milk and leaving it in the nursery's fridge. It wasn't until later in the week that I was able to begin nursing. 

When we arrived at the hospital on Tuesday, we were shocked to find that they had turned down Cooper's oxygen over the night. He had surprisingly begun to get better much sooner than anticipated. We were not surprised that he was getting better, but had braced ourselves for a longer haul and were elated at the good news.

Each day that week, his health rapidly improved and we were able to take him home much sooner than ever anticipated. 

Throughout that hospital stay, I have to say that I learned how to pray. There is nothing like being helpless as a mother. The complete feeling of being at the mercy of God is something so indescribable that I had never experienced. As a couple, we had certainly never been through that. We had easily survived military deployments and long separations, but never felt so powerless and in need of God's mercy. I write all this today to describe how thankful I am for this experience. I never had faith in God like what I have now. Of course, we went through many illnesses and testings for everything from cystic fibrosis to food allergies with Cooper. For a while, we had a medical scale in the house and had to weigh him before and after every meal. He was sick much of the first 17 months of his life, and we were back and forth from the Children's Hospital to our pediatrician. But, never once did I ever question or doubt my God. I can even chuckle as I recall overhearing our pediatrician chatting with an intern about Cooper. He was describing Cooper's miraculous recovery from every issue they had been testing him for. Dr. Stadalsky would tell me every visit that it was God in control, but I think even he was amazed at how symptoms disappeared, and Cooper all of a sudden became a growing, thriving, baby with no medical explanation in sight. 

I'm so thankful that God allowed us to go through that with Cooper, and not only do we have a perfectly healthy, happy son, but also a tested faith and strengthed prayer life. 

This has so strongly been at the forefront of my mind because I see the tubes in Cooper's ears as the last step in that journey. A year ago this week, Cooper did not walk or talk as a 17-month-old child. The day after the surgery, we saw a miracle. It was so amazing to watch him hear sounds for the first time, and be able to walk because he could balance himself. And, not only do we have these memories, but this new faith that will take us through whatever God may show us. 

Victory!

This isn't quite blog-worthy, but I'm so excited that I had to share the news with someone...

For our first anniversary, Daniel gifted me with gorgeous 1.5-ct. certified diamond studs in platinum settings. The setting was even gorgeous as it was an unusal three-prong setting. I've worn the earrings ever since receiving them in 2002, until this summer... You guessed it, they're gone, well at least one of them, but what good is one diamond stud unless you're Coolio? 

I lost it while swimming at my parents' home in Odessa. To everyone's credit, we all played a part in looking for the dang earrings. I snorkeled, my mother-in-law snorkeled and my sister snorkeled. My parents each searched the pool's filter, vacuumed and searched the water from the vacuum. It was a lost cause. 

Fortunately, that set of earrings is the only piece of jewelery I have an insurance policy on. After providing detailed accounts of the loss to the jewelry insurance company, I received a letter today telling me to go pick out a new set of earrings at a local jeweler of my choice and the insurance company would foot the bill! Woohoo!!! The policy has only cost me $30/year and it's certainly paying off. Of course, I won't ever have the sentimental value of the anniversary set, but I'll still have some diamonds!!! Yippee!

Too Too Cute

A week ago I fell in love with tutus at the Austin Junior League Christmas Market. I even saw a little girl wearing one with a t-shirt, leggings and Converse, and she looked adorable. I've seen them on the Internet paired with tank tops or even a t-shirt and jeans. I knew Abigail would love to have at least one of them.  They were being sold in almost every booth at the market, but I certainly wasn't in love with the $75 and more price tags. My friend Sunni told me I could easily make them and inspired me to get busy. 

I threw this one together Sunday afternoon. I choose the gold and black because Abigail already had a Christmas t-shirt that would match it right now, but I also can't wait to pair it with leopard print leggings and a black tee after Christmas. 

I made this second one Sunday night while the kids watched a movie. I need to find a different tee for it, but she's got plenty of tights and leggings to pair with it. 

I can't wait for her to wear these out with jeans, leggings and printed tights. They've already been a lot of fun around the house.

Black Friday

Last year was the first time I've ventured out into the Black Friday madness, and it was well worth it. I headed out at 4 a.m. and was home by 7, but saved more than $400 on some big ticket items. I decided that I would have to add shopping to my annual Thanksgiving traditions.

This year, my sister joined me and we beefed up the list of stores and developed a strategy for our assault on the stores. We combed through the ads finding the items we were interested in. Then, Kelly Ann ordered the ads in a stack based on store opening times. We headed out at 11:30 Wednesday night to hit the large outlet mall a few miles from my house in Round Rock. I was shocked to see the parking lot already full and jumped in line at Gymboree and waited until the store opened at midnight. I still have no idea why there was a line because once the doors opened, the crowd converged in a not-so-orderly fashion. I assigned Kelly Ann to the girls side of the store and instructed her to pick up everything in a size 6 that I would be remotely interested in. I took the boys side. We met up at the back of the store, and KA took the stack of clothes we had gathered and jumped in the growing check-out line. I went back through the girls' clothing and selected a few more items and then swapped with KA. The line was very long and not moving so KA went to another store while I waited. KA perused the Ann Taylor store and made a trip around the entire mall due to getting lost before finally finding me still in line and in the same exact spot as I hadn't moved in 45 minutes. To give some relief, a store clerk gave us the option of leaving our items on hold and coming back in a few hours to check out. I quickly took that option and headed out to the other stores with KA. We perused the rest of the mall, snagging great deals in many stores, and then headed back to Gymboree at 2:30 only to find the line still very long. We stepped back out to grab some Starbucks (double shot, please!) and listen to the live band playing Christmas music. Then, I made the plunge at 3 a.m. and jumped back into the cazy moms line at Gymboree as I had no choice and had to get it over with. I waited another 40 minutes and finaly left with my purchases. 

We then headed to Georgetown where the nearest Kohl's is, about 15 minutes away, and couldn't believe our eyes when we saw the line waiting to get into the still-unopen store was a block and a half long. We didn't even look for a parking place but just drove around laughing at the people in line at the stores. The line at Best Buy had people seated in lawn chairs, Office Depot had customers waiting with their kids in a tent. I'm still wondering what the guy was itching to purchase at PetSmart that warranted waiting in line by himself.

We weren't interested in the Kohl's madness and turned back South and headed to Austin to hit Macy's that was opening at 5. We got sidetracked and stopped at an Old Navy and Family Christian Bookstore. How can you beat $5 Veggie Tales movies?! 

We did finally make it to Macy's around 6 and made the rounds at the Lakeline Mall, stopped at Wal-Mart and Ulta on our way home and picked up donuts to have breakfast with my family by 9. But, after KA had a quick power nap she was ready to head back out. My mom joined us and we picked up some deals at Tuesday Morning and Bed Bath & Beyond before sleepily making it back to the house. 

Of course, I was miserably tired the rest of the day, and jealous that KA got to sleep in the car as my family headed back to Odessa. But, I'll do it all over again next year. I can sleep all the other nights of the year.

Thanksgiving Melee

As I've mentioned before, Thanksgiving is a hallowed day at the Hardy home. It's Daniel's favorite holiday and we always treat it with style. We were disappointed when we found out Daniel would be working a night shift over Thanksgiving and considered different options for the day. I wanted to celebrate the weekend before that actual holiday. My mother suggested having a dinner before Daniel went to work instead of lunch earlier in the day. Daniel didn't want to change any of our traditions and insisted that he would be fine with our traditional celebration.

The desserts were the first course to come together. Wednesday morning I put together a pumpkin cheesecake, cherry cream pie, lemon cream pie, pecan pie and pumpkin pie. The pumpkin pie was a never-before-tried recipe featuring molasses and I ended up throwing it out. (We all tasted it by digging in during desssert. I'm sure my mother was mortified by us each sticking our forks into the pie instead of each slicing a piece.) It was so horribly wrong, and I'm glad the pumpkin cheesecake was there to save the Pumpkin Day. 

Wednesday evening before heading out to work, Daniel put together the dressing, readied the turkey, cooked the cranberries and made some tea. This is where the maladies began. As he poured the hot tea into a glass pitcher, the pitcher bottom cracked and split the pitcher in two, leaving tea everywhere, even in the island's cabinets. 

Thursday morning, Daniel arrived and began readying the feast. Normally, I do my best to stay out of his way on Thanksgiving. I take care of the pies and side dishes, leaving the major parts of the meal to him as he is very particular about the meal and prefers to do it himself. Since he had insisted on doing everything the same as we always have, I continued with this. I put together my sweet potato casserole (which was awesome, thanks to the best recipe from Ted Moore - father of our great Maggie) and green bean casserole. Daniel didn't seem to be in much of a rush as he lounged in the living room watching the parade with my family and the kids. We had planned to have lunch at 12, so at 11 I nervously began questioning him about some of the items he normally takes care of. I asked about the bread, Wheaties rolls he always makes with a recipe from his grandmother. I assumed he had mixed up the dough the previous day and wanted to know if it was time to begin baking it. However, I had assumed wrongly, as Daniel had completely forgotten to make the dough. It was now too late and we were headed for our first Wheaties roll-less Thanksgiving ever. Then, I asked about the ham. He hadn't thought of it either. I immediately took it from the fridge and found that it unfortunately needed to cook at least two hours. I hurriedly prepared it and threw it in the oven, but was disappointed that the meal was already being pushed to the afternoon, as Daniel needed to get to bed. (Fortunately, this was the best ham any of us had ever eaten. Whew!) I then began boiling water and searching for the potatoes to peel for mashed potatoes. Daniel had insisted that we had potatoes and removed them from my shopping list earlier in the week, but that was a mistake because there were no potatoes in the pantry. Another item was scratched from the menu. 

Then, Daniel began his turkey frying, which is absolutely delicious, but the fourth malady of this event. For the first time ever, he mistakenly removed the bird too early as this was the biggest bird he'd ever fried. As he was quickly trying to carve the bird and commence the meal, he realized it was not thoroughly cooked. 

As Daniel was realizing the pinkness of the bird, I was taking a plate from the cabinet and also pulled down a small glass bowl someone had mistakenly placed atop the stack of plates. The glass bowl fell from the cabinet and shattered into many pieces in the sweet potato casserole and green bean casserole. You guessed it, Daniel is the one who many times puts dishes whereever he wants to in the cabinets and had hidden this gem of a bowl in the wrong place, only to be discovered at the very wrong time. I began cleaning glass from the floor while my mother, father and sister were removing glass chunks from the caseroles. I was sure they were inedible, but they all kept insisting the glass had been removed. My dad thought that shining a light directly on the dishes would help us detect the glass easier. We couldn't find a flashlight anywhere (yeah, Daniel's surely getting a set of flashlights from my Dad for Christmas) and resorted to a living room lamp with the shade removed. 

We decided the dishes had been salvaged and fortunately didn't have any mishaps during the meal that resulted in internal bleeding or trips to the ER for injested glass shards.  Daniel also salvaged the turkey by putting it back into the fryer, and it was delicious.  Overall, the meal was wonderful and we all survived and even enjoyed ourselves.  

Daniel did get to catch a couple of hours of sleep before heading back to work that night and the rest of us cheered on our Longhorns to a great win over the Aggies. 

Thanksgiving Thankfullness

Abigail's class celebrated Thanksgiving grandly by making placemats, feasting on every student's favorite food and making/wearing Indian headbands and pumpkin seed necklaces. I didn't carry over the headbands, necklaces, or cereal straw treats into our Thanksgiving meal, but did work with Abigail, my mother and my sister, Kelly Ann, to make placemats for everyone at our feast. I was so impressed with Abigail's handiwork that I wanted everyone else to have the same table decor.

We worked Wednesday night to create the construction paper turkeys. Each turkey feather was perzonlized with an  item the person is thankful for. The self-laminated construction paper designs didn't exactly contribute to the candles, silver charger plates and china dishes on Thursday, but it was a fun way to share what each of us are thankful for. 

The Mariners t-ball season (FINALLY) came to an end after 10 weeks of play. Abigail is sad to see the guaranteed snacks on Tuesday nights and Saturday mornings come to an end. However, I think we're all happy to take a break from oranized team sports. We'll stick with swim practice through the winter and give t-ball a break. 

We didn't have a great coaching situaion as Coach Joe only made appearances at practice and games when it fit into his hunting schedule, which wasn't very often. Needless to say, the kids lost interest when they realized they were being ditched so often and the parents were making do with what we could figure out.

At last Saturday's game I treated to kids to baseball cupcakes and couldn't have anticipated the outcome. Of course, they were delighted with the treats. But, the parents got the biggest kick out of the red icing adventure. Once the kids took a bite into the "laces" on the "baseballs", they immeditely began to look like they had just made out with Marilyn Monroe, smearing red lipstick all over their faces. It was hilarious.

It was nice to end the season with a laugh.

Hallelujah!

I wish I could cue the Hallelujah chorus as these images load onto your screen. Granted, these were taken almost two weeks ago, and gas is as low as $1.68 per gallon around here now, but this was a landmark day in my mind.

I remember in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina that the pundits were spouting off saying that gas would never dip below $2.00 per gallon again. I can't say I didn't believe them, but I'm elated they were wrong.

When I was driving my suburban from South Carolina to Texas in June, it was painful to have to run my check card twice just to fill my tank up. Since most stations cut off purchases at either $75 or $100, it was quite some time that I either left stations with less than a tank of gas or had to make two transactions to fill up. Now, I can fill up and not even come close to $100 or even $75! That's enough to put a smile on my face.

Thoughts from a 4-Year-Old

Abigail: Mommy, are God's hands big?

Stephanie: I'm not sure, Abigail. I've never seen His hands, but I suppose we'll find out one day.

Abigail: I'm pretty sure they're really big because we all live in God's hands.

Seven Years...

Today marks the day of our wedding seven years ago. Time flies when you're having fun but, there have been times that weren't so much fun, going back even more than seven years ago.

Eight years ago Daniel was stationed in Charleston, SC, and I was living in Odessa, TX, working and going to school. We were in love and not enjoying the long-distance relationship situation, and discussing marriage quite often. As he was planning to come home for Christmas, I was secretly hoping he was bringing a ring with him. Knowing that he's not much on keeping secrets or planning surprises, I asked him daily what he was getting me for Christmas. And, he always replied that he had gotten me some red shoes. I was sure that was a joke to avoid the discussion...

Once he arrived, I was so excited to see him that I drove to Dallas (more than 5 hours away) to meet him at the airport even though his sister lived in Dallas and was planning to pick him up and deliver him to Odessa. The next day we made the trek to Odessa, with the "red shoes" comment coming back up several times. 

We spent Christmas Day with my family and headed out to New Mexico that night to join Daniel's family for skiing and visiting at his grandparents' mountain home. But first, we made a pit-stop at his parent's home to exchange gifts amongst ourselves. I was shocked to open the only box there was for me and see a pair of the ugliest red sandles I'd ever seen. Not wanting to look up, I just kept staring at the shoes trying to decide if this was a joke or if he actually thought it was a good gift. Did I need to put on my "you're not going to fool me"or "aww.... how sweet" look? I pulled one of the shoes out, only to see that there was more in the bottom of the box. Yes!... Oh, wait. It's a book... Wait for it.... IT WAS WEDDINGS FOR DUMMIES. I looked up, and Daniel was down on one knees with a ring box open in his hand. 

Looking back, I think he deserved more ridicule than I dished out for his humorous "romantic" notions. Really, do I look like a dummy? I think any bridal magazine would have served the same purpose. But, his plan had been well-orchestrated. He later revealed that he had purchased the ring several months before the proposal and spent months praying and contemplating the decision. (I think it's worked out well so far.)

So, engaged, in love and on cloud 9, we jumped in the car and headed towards New Mexico. (Although we weren't married yet, we were already suffering through the "who's family do we spend this holiday with" and "did we split up our time evenly" issues.) The five-hour drive to Ruidoso started off well but hit a snag about 45 minutes into the trip. The weather worsened severely, and our speed crawled to a snail's pace as cars were going off the road left and right due to icy conditions. Not far over the Texas border, the DPS put us out of our misery (or so I thought) and closed the road. We ended up in a small town (or what I'd rather call an intersection of two country roads with a few businesses that cater to oilfield workers), Tatum, and snagged the last vacant room in the only motel (not a hotel or even an inn). 

Thinking we had lucked out, we got into our room and learned that we might have been better off sticking it out in the car or turning around and heading back to the last town. The only thing to eat was a fried bean burrito from the Town & Country. The door to the room didn't meet the ground, and snow was blowing into the room from outside. The room was supposed to be heated via a small gas furnace that I was sure was not safe for anyone. And, to top if off, it was Christmas Day, for pete's sake. This was the first day of the rest of our life together, and Christmas, and we were in this roach motel with snow blowing in under the door! I was sure this was a bad omen, or at least a sign from God, and not a good one. 

We decided to just try and get some sleep and hope the roads would be open in the morning. When the lights turned off, my horror grew as I learned that the so-called cute flannel pajamas I had purchased for the mountain trip were actually glow-in-the-dark. I was aglow with sheep jumping from head to toe! The sheep were the final straw, and I could no longer hold it in. I ended up crying myself to sleep that Christmas night.

The next morning, the car was completely frozen shut. Even the doors would not open due to the thick layer of ice. If there had been an ice scraper stowed in my car, we couldn't have gotten to it. But, I wasn't that prepared anyways. (Needless to say, since that trip I've had an ice scraper in every car I've owned.) We used a razor blade cartridge to gradually chip and scrape the ice from the car. We weren't in much of a hurry because the roads weren't open yet. By the time we were able to pry the doors open and see through the windshield, we headed to the roadblock and joined the others already waiting. Showing our maturity, we threw snowballs at the roadblock sign to pass the time.

Eventually, the road opened and we were able to slowly make our way through the rest of the trip. Seven hours later, we happily arrived and ended the worst roadtrip we had ever taken (up until then, but that's another story). 

December 27, 2000 

Fortunately, I didn't let the glowing sheep, hazardous furnace, snow or ice talk me out of the engagement. Almost a year later, we sealed the deal, and have been happily married since. 

Although I do still own them, I've never slept in the sheep pajamas again. And, I've never worn them, but I also still have the ugly red shoes, but I still have the ring and wear it gladly.

November 10, 2001

A Conversation From Today...

Abigail: What is that?

Stephanie: I don't know.

Abigail: Do you remember the other day when you told me that you're smarter than me, and mommies know everything? 

Stephanie: Uhhhhh.....

Abigail: Well, obviously you don't know everything.

Pumpkins & Corn Husks & Gourds, Oh My!

I've never decorated for any season other than Christmas, but was inspired by a variety of pumpkins being sold at the grocery store to take a stab at fall decor this year. I'm not anywhere near crafty, so this was my first attempt at gathering items and assembling decor such as centerpieces and a mantlepiece. It was fun, and I'm certainly enjoying the finished product, especially the apple-orange scented twigs added to each piece. Between the scented candles and twigs, the house smells wonderful!

The front yard,

...the front door,

... and the dining table in the kitchen,

... and the dining table in the dining room,

... and the fireplace mantle in the living room.

Fancy Nancy

Abigail's class focused on classic stores such as Goldilocks & the Three Bears for the month of October. They read, performed and put on puppet shows to tell their favorite stories. As part of the unit, the class had Storybook Character day a few weeks ago when the children dressed as their favorite characters, parents joined them for a picnic breakfast, and they paraded through the kindergarten classes displaying their costumes.

Abigail chose a modern character, Fancy Nancy. If you don't have a little girl, you're probably not familiar with this dolled up young lady, but she's quite the character, and a perfect match for my little girl. We've collected a few of this series' books and always enjoy reading them.

Nancy is the daughter of two plainly dressed parents usually seen in jeans and t-shirts, but never shows herself in anything less than party dresses, full jewelry and curled hair. Not only does she assume the appearance of "Fancy Nancy," but chooses her vocabulary similarly. In narration and when speaking to others, she uses the most multi-syllable words she can think of, then defines them by explaining what word is a less fancy version.

Abigail donned a silk shantung pink dress with a tulle petticoat, slept in sponge rollers for the curled hair, added her best tiara and bracelets, and headed to school. She was fully into character as she greeted her teacher dressed in a Snow White dress, saying "That's a gorgeous dress, Mrs. Borman. That's a fancy word for pretty." Oh, Abigail.

Then, I met her for breakfast a bit later, bringing only the fanciest of take-out breakfasts, Starbucks.

She loved the Starbucks, but I was not impressed. Apparantly, the found the fanciest cow in the pasture to milk, because the price of a cup of milk was certainly the fanciest! I digress...

The kids then lined up for their costume parade and made the rounds through the kindergarten classes.

And, Abigail has stayed in Fancy Nancy mode ever since. She chooses her words carefully and is constantly inquiring about "fancy" words.

"Mom, do you know what a fancy word is for broken? Damaged."

"Mom, that sky is spectacular. That's a fancy word for beautiful."

:Mom, I'm exhausted. That's a fancy word for tired."

Mom, mom, mom, fancy, fancy, fancy... I think you get my point.

Movie Night

Anyone who knows our family very well, knows that we don't celebrate Halloween. The origins of the event are enough to make us find something else to do. Here's a brief synopsis of the "holiday": It began as a festival when Celtic pagans would take stock of their supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores.  The ancient Gaels believed that on October 31 the boundary between the living and the deceased dissolved, and the dead became dangerous for the living by causing problems such as sickness or damaged crops.  The festivals would frequently involve bonfires, into which bones of slaughtered livestock were thrown.  Costumes and masks were also worn at the festivals in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits or placate them. 

So, there you have it. It's not something either Daniel or myself are interested in encouraging the kids to partake of. I know, I know. You don't have to give me the speech about it just being kids dressing up in cute costimes and getting lots of free candy. In my opinion, I truly believe that Satan must get even a tiny bit excited about having so many people join in an event which comes from evil origins. You don't have to agree with me, but we're very set in our Halloween avoidance ways. We don't even attend the church events. They call them safe alternatives to Halloween, but why are they called alternatives when it's the same darn thing! Kids are dressed up in costumes and getting candy on October 31! Just because it's in a church doesn't mean it's an alternative. It's just a scenery change. 

On top of that, why would I tell my kids that ghosts, spiders, witches and running around in the dark are things to be celebrated? No thanks, we can find something better to do with our time.

Abigail is fully aware of what Halloween is for other children and doesn't mind letting them know that she doesn't dress up or trick or treat. She certainly didn't mind when I told her that we would find something fun to do instead of Halloween. Daniel was working, so the kids picked out a new movie for our home collection and we hosted our own movie night.

Plenty of fun was had hanging out together in our comfy pajamas and watching Madagascar. It was so good, we watched it again on Saturday! I'll take an evening of snuggling with my babies and watching animated animals sing show tunes over Halloween any day.

Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow

I'm back! It's not that I actually went anywhere, but I've been mostly absent from the blog for the month of October. Hosting four rounds of company in one month took almost all the spare time in the Hardy home. Needless to say, we are happy to send October packing and usher in the new month of November.

This time of year is our favorite at the Hardy house, as we celebrate this season of thanks. We've hosted a large meal for many friends (and a few times family) when we've often run out of room at two tables and had friends feasting around a coffee table. It's been cramped (in our 1-bedroom apartment in San Diego), tropical and crowded in our duplex in Pearl Harbor and cold and rainy in Charleston. No matter what, there has always been a large meal and invitations set forth to everyone we knew. A few times, we've been privileged to host family at this time, but most Thanksgivings at our home have been filled with co-workers with their families and neighbors. No matter who the guests have been, we've always focused on the reason for the season and celebrated God's blessings.

Now that our children are growing up, we want to pass this on to them. We have a book, gifted to us last year by my mother, that we've already brought out for nightly readings. I pray that Abigail and Cooper both grow up learning about God's blessings for us, and this is a perfect time to focus on that. Throughout this month, we will record a reason to be thankful each day. At the end of the week, Abigail will tell us something she is most thankful for, and we will collect those items until December.

After focusing on the blessings God's given us, in December we will begin focusing on the greatest blessing of all, Christ, and teach our children of the love God showed us by sending us His son. We'll find some charities for Abigail to donate the items she collected during November, and hopefully begin teaching her to show God's love to others. We never want Christmas to be about Santa Claus or anything commercial, and we'll look every year for a way to focus on giving, as God gave to us, which is our greatest blessing we are thankful for. Until then, we'll keep focusing on giving thanks.

I hope you'll also not make this month about turkey and pies, but about giving thanks and praise. If not because I've asked you to, but because a man much wiser than I am, declared it. It was 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln set aside the last Thursday of November as a day of national "Thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens." Surely we can spare a month out of the year, and not just a day, to focus solely on God's blessings.

Tour of Texas - Day Three

On Saturday, we ventured north to Dallas to partake of the food, sites, and food of the Texas State Fair. Yes, yes, yes, it was also the grounds of the Red River Rivalry that day. We weren't so lucky as to score tickets to the awesome OU/UT showdown, but could listen to the game and see highlights as we passed by many TVs on the fairgrounds. What a glorious day of football, and Cooper had the best shirt to say it all.

Since we couldn't get into the game, the day became about the FOOD. Daniel kicked things off with a turkey leg as soon as we entered the fairground gates.

But, we really hit the jackpot when we stepped into the Texas Food building. Free hamburger bites were awesome! They were made with the Nolan Ryan beef, and I've got to find where to buy that stuff. It was delicious! Then, it doesn't get any better than free ice cream. Needless to say, we parked ourselves in front of the free cone line for a bit while we all enjoyed the gift.

We did try the chicken fried bacon and couldn't pass up on the famous Texas State Fair Corn Dogs, but we didn't punish ourselves. Our will power was intact and we were able to pass up on the fried treats, including PB&J sandwiches, moonpies, lattes, coke, s'mores and cookie dough! I have to say, we all gave ourselves a nice pat on the back for that display of willpower.

There were sites other than food...

Abigail showed us her "Hook 'em Horns" sign atop a longhorn.

We were all impressed with the African Acrobats. They danced, made pyramids, and flipped around. But, this guy's limbo skills were amazing. He was actually walking on his ankles as he cleared this crazy-low limbo bar.

The auto show was interesting, as usual. Maggie and Abigail decided they were going to get the 2009 Hybrid Tahoe. I checked out all the new hybrids, and Daniel was happy to find a beer vendor in the second auto show building.

The kids enjoyed the animal displays. Daniel, ever the rulebreaker, ignored the many signs instructing not to handfeed the animals, and led Abigail to do the same.

Cooper was obviously excited about this ostrich.

And, both Abigail and Cooper enjoyed petting the pigs. (Ironically, it was just across from this building that we bought chicken friend bacon. Coincidence?)

We aren't much for the midway, but when the game was over, we made our way into the midway to escape the crowd of very unhappy OU fans and ecstatic (and drunk) UT fans. Abigail was the only rider, as she rode her first roller coaster. Not a bit scared, she waved fromt he second caterpillar cart every time she came around to our view.

To end the day, we took a ride on the landmark ferris wheel. Here, you'll see Daniel looking highly annoyed at me for being afraid of heights and not trusting a 212-foot ferris wheel, most likely not operated by the smartest engineers the state has to offer.

We did make it around the wheel a few times safely, but it was almost a tragedy. When Daniel was the most annoyed with me, he decided to prove to me that I had nothing to worry about. As we were resting atop the wheel, he jostled the door of the cage planning to prove we were safely locked in. BUT... we weren't! The door easily opened, and his point was not anything close to proven. Making me look silly, the kids enjoyed the ride and weren't a bit scared.

We capped the day off with an impressive bird show off with an impressive show of exotic and rare birds. A few even swooped down on the show, descending from atop the massive ferris wheel!

Overall, the day was a success! UT climbed atop both national ranking polls, we enjoyed the sites of the fair and especially the food, and still had some cotton candy left over for the three-hour ride home.