Onya Christmas Party

Teri so graciously hosted an Onya Christmas Party with nine of twelve “Onya’s” present.  We missed you LaJuan, Katie and Sally! Can you tell that we had a great time?  Laughter is one of the best parts of our get-togethers….good food being another.  I love each of you “Onya Sisters”.  I pray that there are many more years of celebrations.

Heather’s 34th Birthday Party

Since Heather’s birthday(12/15) is so close to Nathan’s (12/12), they celebrated together.  Heather received a beautiful green cashmere coat (among other gifts) which she modeled for us.Hope you had a special day!

Nathan’s 4th Birthday Party

Nathan celebrated his fourth birthday on December 12th.  Family gathered for dinner, dessert and gifts. We had a great time at your party and hope you had a very good 4th birthday!

Birthday Wishes for Heather

Heather, we sincerely wish you a very special birthday.  Your Dad and I just can’t be old enough to be the parents of a 34-year-old!  I am in the list mood lately, so following are a few things that make you so special:

• you have joyful spirit
• you are a loving wife and devoted mother
• you do not hold grudges
• you look for the positive in people and situations
• you learn from your mistakes
• you live in the day and trust God for the future
• you love the Lord and desire to grow in Him

Heather, we love you and so appreciate your joyful spirit in our lives.

I Love You Most First

Got ‘cha Nathan.  He loves to say “I love you most first” and then just burst out in a big smile.  Nathan is the second “joyful spirit” in our lives.  His mother being the first.  Following are some of my favorite things about Nathan:

• you are always smiling
• you are not moody
• you are very loving and affectionate
• you are a good sport…not always insisting to be first
• you have gorgeous blue eyes
• you don’t mind being the baby of the family
• you are all-boy and love to roughhouse

In the midst of the Christmas season, it is a joy to pause and say Happy Birthday to a very special grandson.  We love you Nathan!

Austin’s 13th Birthday Celebration

Austin celebrated his 13th birthday with family on Thanksgiving weekend.  We went bowling and had a great time.  Melissa led all bowlers with a 172!We then headed for Wings for dinner.  Followed by cake and ice cream at our house. Austin opened his gifts which included movies, Aggie shorts and wall sign, video games and a surprise gift of a metal detector.  His pappy (Billy Hodge) has promised a trip to east Texas to go treasure hunting.  We had a great time honoring Austin on his 13th birthday.

Family Photos

Every Thanksgiving (whether they like it or not) we have our yearly family photo.  The following photos are from the photo shoot.  The whole family:  Steve and I:Hodge family:Hodge Boys…Austin, Nathan and Ty:

Alexander Family:Andrew and Kylie: Melissa and David Hollon: Grandkids…Andrew, Kylie, Austin, Nathan and Ty:  Shauna, Melissa and Heather:    Steve, Jana and daughters: We love documenting the years with family photos and hope to continue this tradition for many more years.

Thanksgiving

Another holiday come and gone…..a wonderful day to remember to be Thankful!  Here are a few pics of our day.

First, my sister Kay and niece Stephanie.Our brother-in-law Dennis came after work…we were just glad that he could come.Austin, Ty, Kylie and Steve enjoyed a game of bean-bag toss.  Austin was doing a little boogie dance to celebrate a bean-bag victory.   Ty was really catching on to the technique.Papa and Kylie fist-bump after a great toss.

And following are pics of my three favorite daughters and their husbands.  Heather and Kevin…Shauna and Mark….      And Melissa and David.We had the traditional turkey dinner, played games which included: the aforementioned bean-bag toss, Wii Sports Resort and Catch Phrase.  But most of all we just enjoyed being together on Thanksgiving.

Austin’s a Teenager!

Austin has added so much joy to our family from the moment he was born.  It is hard to believe he is thirteen!  Following are some things to note about Austin:

• He has an infectious laugh
• He loves food….so much so that he may become a chef
• he loves Jesus and is learning to trust Him more
• he is concerned about his friends’ salvation
• he is a handsome dude
• he LOVES football
• he is good at math
• he loves video games
• he frequently does not feel well, but he rarely complains about it
• for the most part he takes what the Lord has given him (even his chronic illness) and does not dwell on the negative, just takes life in stride
• he is loved greatly by his parents, brothers and his extended family

Austin, Papa and Nanie love you and are praying all God’s best for you.

Elephant Walk

These elephants were a part of the traditional “Elephant Walk” at Texas A&M University.  It is a long time tradition and if I tried to explain the tradition it would sound even more silly than it is.  It has to do with the graduating seniors being as useless as an elephant and the juniors moving up to take their place.  Anyway, there were two elephants just a short distance from my work where the students could get their photo taken with them.  The trainer was giving lots of interesting information about elephants and you could feed them and get really close to them.  Steve and I took a morning break at work and stopped by to see them.

Alexander’s 10th Anniversary

Shauna and Mark’s love story starts way back in sixth grade.  At the end of that school year, Shauna said that she was “going with” Mark Alexander.  At the time I didn’t think much of it…they were only 12 years old at the time!  At the end of the summer I asked Shauna if she was still “going with” Mark and her reply was “I don’t know…I haven’t talked to him all summer!”  Well, that began a casual “I like you” relationship through 7th and 8th grade and by 9th grade they were boyfriend/girlfriend.

This photo is from Homecoming 1993 when Mark and Shauna were in 10th grade.  They continued to date through high school with only a brief break-up during their freshman year in college. November 26, 1999 was their wedding day.  And here we are ten years later…thankful for a very happy marriage and two beautiful children.  May the Lord continue to bless your marriage.

Kansas Hunting Trip

This year’s Kansas hunting trip bagged some birds, but also found the guys keeping busy with other activities.  Steve and DeWayne Taylor were found:

• shopping at a hunting supply store (lusting over new guns)
• going to a land auction
• eating multiple times at Big Ed’s
• harvesting soybeans and corn
• hunting for pheasant!
• playing Scattergories
• enjoying fellowship with brother Sam and family

This is a picture of our beautiful land in Kansas.

  The mighty hunters….They said they saw lots of pheasant.There was a snowstorm on Sunday, but they braved the elements and went hunting anyway!

It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like…..

I know, I know, it’s not even Thanksgiving, but in the interest of time management I helped Melissa put up her tree and begin to decorate her house for Christmas!  While Steve was in Kansas hunting, I went down to Houston to visit David and Melissa.  Since they are going to be out-of-town for the next two weekends we went ahead and decorated.It kind of got me in the mood to maybe get out a few things next weekend and begin the process at my house as well.  Not too much will go up before Thanksgiving, but it really made me realize that the holidays are upon us.  First things first though….I need to be prepared for all my company at Thanksgiving.  So much to do, so little time.

Happy 9th Anniversary

Heather and Kevin have quite a long history.  I remember distinctly in 1989 when Heather came home from spending the night with her friend Tiffany announcing that she really liked someone.  “Who”, of course was the question, to which she promptly answered, “Kevin”.  I said “You mean Tiffany’s younger brother?”…..and here we are 21 years later.  The photo below is from Homecoming, October 1991.  Heather was a sophomore and Kevin a freshman in high school.  Heather was soon to be 16 in December and Kevin was turning 15 that month.  They look so young!Here is the happy couple on their wedding day, November 11, 2000.  The years between their early dating and their wedding are quite a story.  There is no doubt that God saw their end from their beginning, because many years in-between would not have given a clue that they would end up together.

And here they are nine years and three children later.  Their lives fuller than could be imagined so many years ago.  Our hope and prayers are for many more years together.  Happy Anniversary!

Kum bay ya

Singing songs around the campfire is a great childhood memory.  With the fabulous cool weather, we decided to have a campfire and cookout last weekend.  The Hodge family joined us for the evening.Austin and Nathan were Papa’s helpers in getting the fire started.  They helped with adding newspaper and some small sticks.

Ty and his dad took advantage of the waning light to play some football. Nathan paused with his sweet smile for the camera. The fire was toasty warm and the kids are always fascinated by it.

We roasted hot dogs and toasted marshmallows for s’mores.  They were delicious.  We are hoping to share a another campfire with the family around Thanksgiving or Christmas.