2008 Christmas around the house

This year we put a tree up

It was pretty last minute, so we didn't really decorate it with as many ornaments as we would have liked to,

but there was one ornament that was super special :)

I also put some lights up above the kitchen cabinets

and we had a miniature Rosemary herb christmas tree on the dinner table, with a Cowboy Santa.

I HAVE to take a picture of the LED lights we put up on the row of 12 Leyland Cypresses we have on the front fence, as well as the big tree by the entrance, for a later post.

We had to go to Brownwood yesterday

It wasn't a trip David and I had thought we would have to make..

It had to do with our immigration stuff, and even though we had already had our adjustment of status interview, and were waiting patiently for my green card to come in the mail, what we got instead was a stack of papers telling us that I needed to repeat my medical checkup. And I needed to send it in by January 12th or my case would be dismissed, and I would have to go through the whole process of applying all over again...

I KNOW!

Couldn't they have told us this at the interview? Their reasons for needing a repeat medical exam? Apparently the doctor who did my medical checkup in Abilene, who was AUTHORIZED as a Civil Surgeon at the time of my physical, is no longer doing that. Like, SO??????? He was authorized WHEN HE DID IT! *rolls eyes*

So now there were no more Civil Surgeons available in Abilene, and we had to travel 2 hours to Brownwood Regional Medical Center, the closest place with an authorized civil surgeon, to have it done. I had already had all my vaccinations with the previous medical exam, and so I didn't have to get any more shots, and also, we used the lab results for HIV and RPR ( Syphillis ) from my recent OBGYN visits, so I didn't have to have blood drawn.

BUT I did have to have a chest X Ray done. I had had a positive tuberculin test the last time we had the checkup done...and speculate that it may be because of my BCG vaccination as a child that gave it a false positive because the chest x ray that was done right after that was clear. However, once you've had a positive tuberculin test, they want you to have another chest xray if a year has passed, or something to that effect. After discussing it with my doctors, we decided to go ahead and have the chest X Ray done with a lead shield protecting Junior. We didn't want to give the immigration department any reason to delay or ( heaven forbid ) dismiss my application after all this time and effort.

So that was yesterday, and we're waiting on the clinic to mail us the completed forms, so we can mail if off to immigration as soon as we can, and get this over with.

Bleh.

We ARE thankful though, even if at first we were totally stressed out, in disbelief and completely disappointed, that it was not more complicated than it was. Thank you LORD!

Christmas Cowboy Style

I don't think I am jaded yet,

having been in Texas for ( merely ) 5 years, of all the different "western" motif things around me. Which was why when my FIL offered us tickets to the Paramount for Abilene stop of the Flying J Wranglers' Christmas Tour, I said, "sure". Of course, it clashed with Monday Night Football, ( and not being a football fan, I didn't realise that ) but the concert was entertaining and enjoyable, so David couldn't be too miffed about it :)

Letti Thursday

Gah, should have done what David did,

and had some Beano before dinner.. which was

Slow Cooker Ham Hock and Beans





Yellow and Zucchini Squash





Crunchy Corn Bread




San Sucre Sugar Free Low Fat Cheesecake Mousse Pie with No Sugar Added cherry filling.

A Family That Eats Together

Stays Together..

That was one of my dad's "maxims" in life, and in the last week or two, we've been doing a bunch of that.. and not just eating with david's family for Taco Tuesday and Letti Thursday, but with the Abilene community in general!

First there was the Annual HEB Feast of Sharing, held at the Civic Center in Downtown Abilene, an annual "giving back to society" free dinner sponsored by the HEB grocery chain...

and then yesterday was "Breakfast with Santa" at church, with our preacher, Terry, making a very jolly Santa indeed!

Baby Bounty in the Mail

We haven't started a baby registry yet,

so when we came home from shopping at Sam's yesterday, and I was putting stuff away in the shed/pantry, I was very surprised to find a pretty big package from TARGET, sitting there, in my way. My first thought was "ooo baby stuff". My second thought was "eh? I haven't even set up a registry or nuffin', and I didn't get anything online from Target, and David doesn't ever shop at/from Target, so what the hey?".

Anyway, I lug it onto the landing by the steps up to the house, and David comes walking out to help unload stuff. I point to the package, and he's like, "EH!??"

Long story short, it was a baby gift from David's friend and attorney from Dallas, Clay, and it was a Boppy Bouncer! I had been talking to David the night before about redeeming a baby bouncer with our accumulated credit card points, and lo and behold, the next day, what should arrive but a baby bouncer! Very cool.

And if that was not enough, ANOTHER gift came in the mail today, in the same Target packaging, ALSO from Clay and his wife, Chrissy! This time, it was a Shopping Cart Seat protector. That was really neat.

It did point out to us though, that we seriously needed to get the baby's room in order, even if it's just to start storing baby stuff. Right now that's the spare room that's the "catch-all" store room and seriously needs the Extreme Makeover gang's help, I kid you not.

ANYWAY, Thank you, Clay and Chrissy for your sweet sweet gifts! Junior will enjoy them for sure!

T'is the Season for..

Christmas Parades and Lighting of Christmas Trees

After Taco Tuesday this week, David and I went for a "cheap date" downtown to see the Christmas Parade and then on to the Civic Center where the there was orchestral music and "live rhythm and bluesiness" followed by the "Official Tree Lighting" by the mayor of Abilene.

Letti Thursday

It's been quite a while

since I've done a Letti Thursday post.

There was the time we were in Vegas, then there was Thanksgiving, and then there was the week I forgot to take photos, when we had Dirty Rice, Duckling with Gravy, and I forget what else...

ANYWAY, tonight we had

Croissants or Crescents





Chicken Fried Chicken with Gravy





Creamy Spinach Casserole, and





Cantaloupe.

Hey, I just realised it was a "C" menu today!

Doctor's Orders

We had a doctor's appointment today

Everything is progressing along well, and both mommy and baby are doing excellently ( other than mommy's angst over pregnancy weight gain ). One thing the doctor had told us to do a few weeks ago, though, was to get me a flu shot.

So, after the appointment, we swung by David's dad's house, picked him up and went to the Health Department for our flu shots. It wasn't too bad of an experience. The staff was nice, and Walter even teased the nurse some. :)

Afterwards, we went for Taco Tuesday ( yup, that's still going on ) , and David and I drove downtown ( for what David would later call "an extremely cheap date" LOL ) to enjoy the annual Christmas Parade as well as the lighting of the tree at the Civic Center. Will sort the photos out later to post tomorrow.