Our Trees Are Up!

I realize they look like they are on fire...but for some reason I like these poor quality pics from my cell phone! I love decorating early...it seems like if we don't get it done the day after Thanksgiving it just isn't up long enough to really enjoy it! It's not like we are elaborate decorators anyway...just one tall tree in all silver with white lights and then a small tree with colored lights for the girls. This years decorating went so much better than it did last year. Let me recap last year's experience:
It was Friday evening and the mood was set....Christmas music playing, fireplace lit, kettle of water boiling for hot cocoa....etc. So, Jerry set out to get the boxes of Christmas decorations/trees/stockings/wreaths..the works! He climbed into the upstairs attic...hmm...no xmas boxes there, so he climbed into the garage attic...hmm...no xmas boxes there either. So he figures he must have put them in our storage building out back. Jerry gets the keys and heads out there a little frustrated at this point. When he returned and told me that he couldn't find our xmas boxes out there either, I thought he was kidding! We had just moved in to this house in July, so the wheels in our heads started turning. We had moved out of our E. Dallas home in May....and stored our things in various places...while we lived with family and house hunted. Could we have left the boxes in one of our two storage buildings? Did we forget some of the things we stored at Jerry's parent's home? Or, did we never move them from our old house at all!?!? At this point we were worried! When you think of your Christmas things, so many of them are irreplaceable...our first Christmas ornament (which still doesn't have a photo in it 9 Christmases later)...okay so maybe that isn't so special, but Lily's first baby ornaments, precious antique ones, the stocking Jerry's grandmother knitted him when he was a boy, and countless other treasures...were they all gone? We were on the phone immediately...first to our family to see if we had left these items stored with them, then to the people to helped us move to see if they had any recollection of getting things from the attic...and finally to our realtor so we could get in touch with the new owners of our old house. We spent an entire weekend not knowing the fate of our special Christmas things. Then finally we were in touch with the new owner...he had noticed all of the boxes in the attic shortly after moving in, but somehow couldn't get in touch with us...huh? our realtor had our cell phone numbers....oh well! We were just so thankful that he hadn't thrown them out or something...he figured we would track those boxes down eventually! Looking back, our panic seems silly...especially when considering the true meaning of Christmas...Thank You, Jesus, for being born and giving us reason to celebrate...YOU are our true treasure!

A Special Day, A Special Dress

Our First Family Photo with Jade!
3 Generations of Manthes that have worn "The Dress"

It has been a little over a month since we had Jade dedicated at church! Honestly, I was glad baby dedication time came around when it did because otherwise she may not have fit in "the dress". The dress you see her wearing above is a sixty year old baptismal gown that my dad wore first (yes, boys do wear baptismal gowns...Jerry still doesn't get it!), then my sister, then yours truly, then Lily and most recently Jade. If you are wondering why Avery isn't pictured above, she, like Jade was blessed with the chub and probably wouldn't have fit in it! The first three of us who wore it were baptized in the Lutheran tradition and therefore baptized quickly...you should see my mom in my baptism photos...just 14 days after giving birth to me! Lily was baptized at 5 months....she was tiny....in the Presbyterian church....my relatives thought we were never going to get around to it! And now with Miss Jade we are attending a church that dedicates babies...which is all new to me. After the initial shock to the family, it really went well....my mom didn't run up there and sprinkle water on her (like she threatened...jokingly...I think) and the only comment my dad had when he overheard me talking to someone about the special gown, was that it is NOT sixty years old...yet, just 59!!!

I was a little unsure of the whole baby dedication vs. infant baptism debate, but my friend Mandy encouraged me correctly that the heart motivation of parents is the same in either! On October 13th we brought Jade before the Lord to recognize that she is actually His...and we promised to pray for her and teach her to love and follow Christ and hope that one day she will trust Him as her Savior....after all...not any outward act of man can save our child...only the Lord can do that!

Enjoy this slideshow from this very special day!

I love the verse on her certificate...."For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to Him. Therefore I have lent her to the Lord, as long as she lives, she is lent to the Lord. I Samuel 1:27-28

And I couldn't resist pulling out some pictures of Lily's baptism in February of 2005. See below!

Jerry Won the Jackpot!

No, we haven't made an escape to Vegas! Did that once and neither of us feel the need to go back! 2 months ago Jerry put $10 in the pot at work for a weight loss contest. He has been weighing in every Wednesday since then and staying near the top. You had to put a quarter in any time you gained a pound, and I think he only did that once. Last week he was in third place, so he put it in high gear for the finish!

We've been working on losing weight together. How is it that husbands always gain baby weight too? I don't actually gain much in pregnancy...mainly due to losing so much via puking in the beginning (my friends joke about my pregnancy diet), so I guess the extra I'm carrying around is just the "maternal store"?!? Who names these things? Or maybe its just because we're 30+ now and our metabolism is slowing down. Anyway, we've been cutting back on "bad carbs"...the refined sugars and starches that make your blood sugar wacky, and adding plenty of vegetables and lean meats. And, it has paid off! Literally! Jerry brought home $207 this afternoon!

So then the next question is...where are we going out to eat tonight!?! Lily heard us talking about this and put her votes in for Peter Piper Pizza and McDonalds, I voted for Mexican (but any of you who know Jerry know that this was vetoed...my husband is the only person I know that will actually order a hamburger at a Mexican restaurant!), and then Jerry mentioned SNUFFER'S!!! We have a new one in town and all decided that Snuffer's Cheese Fries are calling our name!

Must go get my fingers greasy and enjoy tonight...it's back to eating right again tomorrow!

Don't Pack Up Those Summer Clothes Yet!

At least not if you live in Texas anyway! This weekend we experienced temperatures almost 20 degrees above normal...highs in the mid 80s! Having such warm weather in mid-November prompted an outing to Life's a Beach...lovingly known to Lily as "The Sand Restaurant"! This is the best place to go when you want a date, but don't have a babysitter! I guess the owners created it to be a place for sand volleyball, but in this area families with young children took over once again. So basically it is the largest sandbox you've ever seen! You just sit out on the patio and eat great food while the kiddos play. When it's hot they've got the misters on and when its chilly the patio heaters are going...it's the best thing ever!

You'll be able to tell from the pics that a) it was windy (hair in our faces) b) it was bright (we're all squinting) and c) my skin is as white as the sand!! Unfortunately, I'm always that white!! Except for that bad phase in the early 90's that I frequented the tanning booths...mom, why did you let me do that!?! That reminds me...I need to make that dermatology appt!

Membership Has Its Privileges

We're ready to go mommy...sporting our animal prints!

Isn't that an old American Express ad? I'm not referring to AmEx though, I'm talking about our membership at the Fort Worth Zoo! November is "member appreciation month", when we can bring other visitors for free, get in early (who can get there w/two kids prior to 10AM is a mystery to me), ride the train and carousel for free, etc, etc, etc! So anyway, I invited my sis and niece to venture to the zoo with Lily, Jade and I, while we left daddy home to mow lawn, trim trees and that sort of stuff! Thanks, Daddy!

Lily looking at the elephants!

The girls just liked to climb up and look over...no way to get a picture of their faces!

Jade...happy as a lark on the train ride!

Not so happy riding in the zoo stroller!

We even ran into Amy and Sophie! Stalkers! Just kidding Amy!

Lily's favorite animals...the "mingos"!

It was fitting running into Amy out there...I think we bought both our zoo and Dallas Arboretum memberships together! The best privilege of membership is that if your kids start acting cranky soon after your arrival, you can leave and not feel like you wasted any money! Not that my kids ever fit in that category!