We Are The Morgans

I'm back!

Of course, Corinne had to be right in the middle: monkey see, monkey do.

My man: this was before we realized that my dad had, in fact, left his staple gun for us on the front porch. Clark was hooking the lights into last year's staples, then gently hammering them back into the roof. At my suggestion. :)

Happy Holidays everyone!

During our trip to Gulf Shores way back in September, we made so many stops at McDonald's that we managed to collect almost all of the Wizard of Oz dolls they were giving away. (And can I just say that I actually feel my blood sluggishly pumping through my arteries as I think about that...)

The other day Corinne and I were playing with the Lullaby girl, the Lollipop guild boy, Dorothy, and Glenda the Good Witch.

I had to laugh when Corinne picked up Dorothy's skirt and went "shew!" like I do when she has a stinky diaper.

"We wish to welcome you to Munchkin Land!"

I finally got around to planning and initiating a Morgan Family Night around here. I feel like Andrew is definitely old enough that he will enjoy this and Corinne will learn how.

For our first family night, we raided Grammy's Disney DVD's (thanks!), got into our pajamas, opened the popcorn Grammy gave us (thanks, again!), and made ice cream sundaes!

You have no idea just how excited Andrew and Corinne were about the ice cream - forget popcorn, pajamas, and a movie!

Note: Hoss does not have a glass eye - that is a weird reflection of my flash.

Our plan is to attempt a family night every Saturday evening. We know this won't always happen, but if we atleast plan for it we're ahead of the game, right?

Recently, I got on a kick of making smores at home. Since we have a gas stove, I just light it up, roast a mallow over the flame, then stick on a graham cracker with some chocolate. Yum.

One day, after Corinne had gone down for her nap and before Andrew went in for quiet time, I made him one. He was so flippin' excited. I had to take pictures.

Why do feel like I'm posting about food all the time???

I know, I know. I missed two days of blogging, but I'm not down for the count. I am still going to try and blog every day for National Blog Posting Month.

It's just that my computer is having another one of its meltdowns. You may remember that this same thing happened awhile back and I just pray that it doesn't happen again.

I've got too much Christmas shopping still to do and I need the internet for a lot of it.

Speaking of, I haven't actually started my Christmas shopping yet, so I guess I've still got all of it to do...

I'll be back soon with pictures and more videos!

Andrew said two things today that really made me laugh.




First, we got lunch at Sonic after church and he told us he wanted a cheeseburger. Once we got home, he had changed his mind. He asked if we had gotten him a stick dog.





Second, he and I were playing and cuddling before his quiet time this afternoon, and he started to play with my hair right on top of my forehead. He said, "You're hair looks like grass. Brown grass."

I could think of someone else who's hair looks like brown grass, too...

The dancing ladybug and the shy, or slightly distracted, cowboy!

*NOTE: turn down the volume big time on the last clip. Corinne was digging the loud, live band at the Fall Fun Fest.

On Friday, I took the kid to Corinne's playgroup for a Halloween get together. All the kids wore their costumes and we tried to get the best group picture we could. There are few missing off the side of the couch, but total there were about thirteen kids there!

Andrew was a cowboy and Corinne was a ladybug. Andrew decided he did not want to wear his guns and holster at the playgroup, and Corinne only wore her ladybug "vest" at playgroup because it was so hot!

Here's Andrew with his good friend Tessa. These two are like peas in a pod, bacon and eggs, peas and carrots... you get the picture!

Apparently, blogger or my computer hates me because every time today that I've tried to start a post and insert pictures, everything freezes up! You have no idea how much that infuriates me.

So, we had a ton of fun Friday night for Halloween. Wish I could show you some pictures, but maybe tomorrow...


Is anyone excited that Christmas is coming up??? I totally am! I see Thanksgiving as a really fun holiday for my family to get together and have fun, but really its just something to help me get past my impatience for Christmas to get here already! Really, I love any holiday that my family gets together because I love my family so much, but Christmas, oh my word. It's so fun!

I actually can't stand buying gifts too early because I inevitably end up giving them to their intended recipient way before Christmas. I just can't wait for them to have this wonderful thing I bought for them to enjoy. Similarly, Clark has learned not to even mention that he knows what he's getting me or that he's already bought it because the pestering, it will never cease.

However, this year, Clark has a very bad rotation the month of December. Very. Bad. Chances are he won't even be home for Christmas. So, I've determined that I absolutely have to get all our shopping done before November is over. Its gonna be crazy.

I started making the list today of things I want and things I want the kids to get. I find Clark to be a very difficult person to buy for. But this year, I know exactly what I want to buy him. And it's gonna be great!

So, I'm going to end this rambly post by apologizing for the lack of pictures and Halloween content and encouraging you to stay tuned for those and updates on the Christmas shopping.

Love ya!

Two weeks ago today Clark and I were on our own in a rental car driving north on Highway 4 towards Gainesville, FL. No Wiggles music, no little voices talking - just a good book and quiet...

Oh my, we had a great trip to Orlando two weeks ago. Let me just go ahead and say that there isn't much to do there outside of Disney, a little fact I was not aware of. But, Clark and I still managed to have a fun trip. Just being alone with my man and not having to follow any schedule was awesome.

Well, Clark did have a few things to attend at the American Society of Anesthesiologists National Conference, but we still had lots of free time.

Clark's aunt and uncle were there as well. Also, his cousin Jeremy, who we haven't seen in about 10 years. We got to meet his wife Rachel and their new little guy, Jonathan, who gave me lots of sweet smiles and conversation.

So, I've been putting off the ole' blog here lately, and I'm not really sure why. There isn't much going on, so there isn't much to update anyone on.

There are no other words to describe this vacation - it truly was great! We could not have asked for a better week (a longer one, but not a better one). I am still amazed at how well the adults and children got along. And I still want to be friends with all of them! :)

We did have to delay our trip by a day b/c of Hurricane Ike. There was a surprising storm surge in the area where our house is, so about 4 feet of sand got washed up under the house and over the driveway and streets in front of it. Yikes! We went ahead and left Saturday morning, met up with Joel and Alice in Shreveport, then Mike and Carrie in Vicksburg, then stayed the night in Jackson, Miss. It was a lot fun despite losing a day at the beach.



Highlights include:

• Clark getting to spend so much quality time with the kids, especially Andrew - we have underestimated how much they both need that
• catching up with the Fankhausers - such great friends who we love so much!
• seeing Andrew and Silas become best buds
• watching Corinne run around in the sand
• having family pictures made
• spending almost every afternoon in beach chairs with Alice and Carrie having "stare and share" time!
• bonfires on the beach after dark - plus smores! Thanks Carrie.
• sharing such a special place with family and friends - the beach is like breath to my lungs, it was a much needed vacation

The only difficult part of the trip was that the day before we left I found out someone very special to me had unexpectedly passed away. My youth pastor's wife died from a blood clot after surgery while in Bangkok, Thailand. They had just moved to China with their three youngest boys to teach.

I'll have to write another post about Ruth and how special she was and how much she means to me. I'm still processing a lot, and trying to reconcile her not being here anymore.

However, her passing did not overshadow this vacation. It encouraged me to enjoy life with my family and such great friends.

It was a great week. :)

Number 11!

Erin, that's you!

I hope you'll share with Baby Cara!


I used random.org to generate a random number, so all was fair.


Thanks so much for all your comments! I have a huge reading list now, and I've already checked out half of the books you suggested from the library. I can't wait to read through the entire list.

Let's do this again y'all!


P.S. - Katy, I bought "The Shack" like the day before you commented and I'm already reading it!

P.P.S. - MIsty, I read "Snowflower and the Secret Fan" after you suggested it last Spring, and I really liked it a lot.

P.P.P.S. - Kim, I read "Peace Like A River" last Spring, I think, and thought it was really good, too.

For real(s).

In order to win this super cute bag I whipped up today, you have to leave me a comment with a good vacation book recommendation.

We're leaving for Gulf Shores on Saturday, and I need some reading material folks.

And here's the prize:



It is the first bag I have ever made in this style, so I hope y'all like it. It measures 11in x 6in x 4in. There are also three pockets. And it has a ribbon tie closure.

I'll stop accepting comments Thursday at 8pm. Sharp. Then I'll either use a random number online picker thingy or ask Clark to choose a number to pick the winner.

Then I'll annouce the winner Friday morning!

Good luck!

*I need to give a shout out to Katy!

A few weeks ago, just by a fluke of his schedule, Clark was off on a Tuesday. We decided to take the kids on the train into downtown. It was really fun and they were both excited. We also enjoyed getting to show Andrew where Daddy works because the first stop into downtown is the hospital. He's always asking me when we are driving if random buildings are where Clark works.

at the fountain in front of Union Station, Dallas Morning News, WFAA, and Belo

Two weekends ago, Clark's mom took Andrew and me to see the Wiggles! It was so fun! Thanks Grammy!

(if you're reading this in Google reader, open our actual blog to get the full musical effect!)






I had to take a picture of this grandpa sleeping during the extremely loud concert!