Family

Eternal rest grant unto her O Lord; May the Perpetual Light shine upon her. May she rest in peace.
Mom- 1-30-06

The great ice storm of '07--South Texas style

Everything is bigger is Texas... except the icicles. Everybody down here thinks it it is a pretty big deal. No school, no work, and Court's show wasn't on because of "continuing artic blast coverage." One positive note out of this Geoffrey got to drink hot chocolate with his dad out of mimi's snowman mug.

Stay warm...

Concert

Geoffrey, La-La, Courtney and Mackie went to the DBops concert in Houston last Saturday. Had a great time and really jammed. I don't know if the kids will remember much but we got some pics to help.

Colorado Dreamin'

The snow followed the Hemphills to Kansas for Christmas. I thought these were great shots of all of them sledding at the farm New Year's Eve.

Birthday Girls

Abbie turned 10 on January 2 and celebrated with a Slumber Party. Painting the pillow cases with fabric paint was a huge (and thankfully stain-free) event. After some giggling, a movie, giggling, four packs of popcorn, a pillow fight, giggling and a midnight visit from her mother, Abbie and her five cronies settled in for the night. All in all was a fun b-day.

Nattie Ruth started off her day by singing in the church choir and telling everyone she was "2"! The cantor even had a little competition during the Alleluia verse. Zoe says she could hear Nattie singing from the pews downstairs. After falling asleep on the chair watching her beloved "Do Do," we had the neighbors and Kylie over for supper and birthday cake. Natalie loved her Cozy Coupe and a new phone that features the "Elmo's World" theme as its ring tone.

Of course, we will never forget the party at mom and dad's featuring Taco Soup slow cooked over the gas flame and the delicious apple crisp baked on the grill. I've always known mom could entertain under any circumstances -- no matter how difficult -- and pull it off beautifully. This just proved it once again. Thanks for everything each and every one of you did to make the girls' days special ... the gifts, phone calls and b-day wishes helped make each of their days memorable. We love you!

Family

Here is a Christmas picture to enjoy. Adam and Joe I hope you had a safe and fun trip. Take care. Hopefully I a doing this right,

Love, Courtney

Bye, Roo!

The year we had you back in Kansas went much too quickly. A lot happened ... we lost Grandma, Natalie began to talk, Zoe learned to read, Abbie started playing basketball, Anne got a haircut from hell, Doug discovered the joy of gardening, a new life began.

We certainly shared a lot of big moments. But it's the simple ones I will forever cherish. Natalie squealing, "Roo, Roo!" whenever you walked in the door after work. Sipping wine while we debated the true meaning of the Bread of Life gospel passage in the backyard. Making salsa. Eating hummus. Going for walks. Pizza nights. Guitar lessons.

My brother came to live with me and my family last January. And one year later, one of my best friends moved back to California. Thank you for being both of these special people in my life. I love you.