Daniel and Birdie fell asleep on the way home, so Ashley put out the milk and cookies for Santa all by herself. I tried to wish Ashley good night, but she told me she was trying to go to sleep so Santa could come.
Before we left, the kids spread their reindeer food in the front yard.
Last night, Brian and I attended the Meriplex Holiday party. It is a great opportunity to dress up, eat great steak, and see my family (like I don't see you all the time?)
Mom, Shelly, Leah, & Me
Bryan, Brian and David
Dad & Mom
I know we all took pictures w/our spouses by the tree, so I will post the others as you guys send them to me.
(I don't know what the weird shadow is across me...)
The kids all had a great time, the only thing missing was her teacher, Ms. T. She has been ill since Thanksgiving and out of the class. The kids all miss her very much. We will keep her in our prayers that she will be well enough to rejoin the class in January.
While I'm catching up on birthdays and other events, I should mention how are kids are growing like the weeds they are. Birdie had her 15 mo well check back in November - she weighed in at 24.5 lbs and 30.75 inches long. Right between Ashley & Daniel for weight but much shorter than they were. Everyone is teasing me saying we might have a "normal" size kid instead of our other two giants. BTW, she does still have the heart murmer.
Oh, one more thing to report. We finally had our first Emergency Room visit at the end of October. Which child you ask? It was our fearless oldest. She slipped and fell getting off one of our barstools landing on her arm. At first I thought she hit her funny bone, but after about 2 hours of crying I started worrying. Brian came home and took her to an Emergency Room for x-rays after talking with our pediatrician. They came home 2 hours, 3 xrays and you don't want to know how much money later saying it was just a bone bruise. I started wondering if she had been faking the pain just a little (since she wasn't moving her arm at all without crying out in pain), so while she was sleeping, Brian moved it. She immediately woke up whimpering about her arm. The next day we kept her home from school (I couldn't see sending her when she couldn't or wouldn't move her arm enough to pull up her pants after going to the bathroom) and put her in a sling to immobilize her arm. The next day was Wednesday, Oct 31st. She went to school with her sling, but discovered - ta dah - she didn't "need" it to go Trick R Treating. Imagine that? She's been fine ever since.
Of course, another great option is to send something directly to a soldier serving overseas. This year, a Phi Mu Alumnae from my collegiate chapter is serving in Iraq. Courtney Hall. If you want to send to a specific soldier, but don't know anyone over there, I can send you Courtney's address. I first met Courtney while she was President of our Phi Mu Chapter at University of Houston and was very impressed with her. I've gotten a few emails from her since she has been over there and she greatly appreciates all the support she has received. 
He is so proud to have gotten moved up again. The goals for this class (as stated on their website) include: Master swimming width of pool (30 ft) independently using only side breathing, swim length of pool (60 ft) with little assistance, quick shallow "racing" kicks, shallow dives, and backstroke the length of pool.
After seeing his first day as a "Marlin" on Monday, I don't expect him to remain a "Marlin" very long. Then it's off to "Kingfish." Seems like a long way from where he started as a Guppy! And the best part of all - he LOVES IT!
The 5 Jones
The Henley's
The Caddell's
Daniel & Ashley
Mom, Granny & Ashley
Ashley, Pat, Gigi & Laurie
