Partied All Up

Ryan and I have partied it up the past few weekends. 

First, we hit up the Margarita Ball in Arlington.  I always look forward to seeing lots of old friends there, not to mention the free margaritas. 

Then, we attended XTO's Christmas party at the Omni in Fort Worth.  XTO always does a great job with their functions!  The food is delicious (and the meat is free-range, which a big plus for me). 

Both nights I danced like a fool with the girls.  Fun stuff! 

(Ah-hem, and yes, I did wear the SAME thing to both parties.  Different crowds.  So what?!)
Two of my three brothers (Mark and Shane)

 I wanted him to smile!

 I wanted him to dance!  (look how red his face is!)

 My future sis-in-law.

Breaking it down

Girls do this with their hand when they dance ALL THE TIME! 

The girls with crowns were both Miss Something-or-Other.

XTO Christmas Party (See?  I have bangs here.)

 The glass on the window was funny.

But, let's try to take a picture now. 

 One more try.

Woop-woop! 

 A permanent fist pump.

 Ryan was comfortable in Jay's lap.

 I shared some of my hair with Jay.

My frey-ins.

The night's theme was "get inside of Mer's dress". 

 Cheri wanted to share it with me.

Cheri and Candice BOTH wanted inside.

I tried to fight them off!

Matthews, Family of Four

It is complete. (Play catch up here.) 

The state of Texas now recognizes what we knew all along -

RYAN IS CHRISTIAN'S DADDY!

What a happy day this is!!!

(We weren't allowed to bring cameras to court, so I used my iPhone.)
Christian played video games while we waited for the judge to call his name.

Ryan was so excited to sign this very special piece of paper...

  The Certificate of Adoption!

 Ta-dah!  The boys with our attorney.

The judge gave Christian the sheep she had sitting on her stand.
  

What a very happy day!

Our court meeting was really sweet.  Usually, I can't stand our whole legal process.  But, the judge was very happy to grant this adoption (after a handful of divorces).  She gave Christian her own stuffed animal, which made it even more special.  As we walked out of the court room, a man awaiting his own divorce hearing congratulated us with a huge smile on his face.  It really was a great day.

Boy, n.: a noise with dirt on it. ~Not Your Average Dictionary

I have so many projects going on right now. 

• paint new porch cover
• finish damask wall stamp in bedroom (1/4 of the way done)
• repaint window ledges (almost done)
• paint white stripes in living room
• sew ruffles on Taylor's leggings (1 down, 3 to go)
• finish Taylor's applique shirts (3 down, 4 to go)

So, I like to work on these things when I have to stay home with the kids because they are sick or whatever.  Instead of convincing Christian to hybernate all day, it is much easier to find tasks to keep him entertained. 

I had CK work on this birdhouse while I painted in our bedroom.

 This is something I came up with after I realized we had too much food coloring filled candy.

 This is something he did while my sister was watching him.  His handwriting has really improved!  Compare here

It really is hard trying to do house projects with an impatient four year old.  There is only so much he can do to "help".  So, while he is occupied with his projects and Taylor is taking one of her two naps, I tackle one of the things on my to-do list.

I found this bench in all its purple glory, painted it black, and added an "M" to it.

 While I was painting the bench, I spotted a painter across the street working on one of the new construction houses.  I asked him to paint my door for me.  It, too, was purple-ish.  Blah.

I hung up a "G" hook (grown ups) and an "L" hook (little ones) as a way to stash our bags for an easy grab on the way out.

 I found this leather chair and had to have it, so I rearranged a little to create this reading area.

 Since we never use our fireplace, I put a little sitting area there.  Its weird, I know.  But it works!  Can't have too many seats.

I found these old school desks for the kids. Christian already uses his quite a bit.  I snazzed them up a little with initials that I made (traced them off of the computer screen). 

To milk or not to milk?

I know a lot of health nuts and naturalists are not so into milk these days.  My family loves milk - we eat cereal like its going out of style.  Ever had Cascadian Farm's Multi Grain Squares, Mom's Best Mallow Oats, or Kashi Honey Sunshine?  We looooove them!  Soy milk just isn't good for people since it converts to estrogen.  Coconut and rice milk taste like water.  I like the real deal, yo!

So, I sent myself on a mission a few months back to find a milk that is A) fully nutritious (like it was in the olden days),  B) yummo!, and  C) easily accessible.   My solution?  All Natchur L Farm in Cleburne, TX.

It was guuuurrr-eat!  I took the kids as a "field trip" so they could learn about where milk comes from and how it all works.  (I am not sure how much of that learning experience Taylor actually absorbed, but I will quiz her later and let you know the results.) 

We went with our new friend (our doctor's wife) and their three little ones - Carmyn, Josh, and Enzo.  Carmyn almost made it to the farm, but the bumpy road did her in.  She vomited all over their rental car and her clothes.  Luckily, I had a toddler sized shirt in the back of my car.  I had planned on returning it a few weeks ago, so hooray for procrastinating!  Janice, the farmer's wife, saw Carmyn's accident and came back with her daughter's skirt and leggings.  She said they were too small anyway.

The farm was uber cute!  As soon as we pulled up and saw the adorable red barn, I knew I was going to like this place.  We were greeted by two of the nicest people ever.  We were given a thorough lesson of the whole milking process and took a tour of the entire farm, meeting many animals and friendly folks along the way. We learned how pastuerized milk loses its vitamins in the heating process and how nutritious raw milk is, even helping to cure autism and other illnesses.  I think its fascinating that most lactose intolerant people can drink raw milk without a problem.

They told us to come back any time, no need for an RSVP.  I do plan on returning to let the kids run around, play on the playground, pet the animals, and spend some time outside.   Janice said she homeschools her daughter, which is something I am very interested in.  What a great place to raise children!   

We came home with 3 gallons of their delicious milk and a bag of homemade cheddar cheese.  They work from an honor system, so their "store" is basically a refrigerator, a dry erase board for thank-you's, and a tin can full of money sitting on a table. 

This little calf is rare because she is "blue" in color.  She is only 4 days old!

She was hungry and liked CK's finger!

This is their massive mule, and boy was she massive!

She was bigger than the horses!

This baby is only one day old.

Carmyn didn't mind her make-shift outfit one bit.