SURPRISE!

Mom and Pops definitely surprised us on Christmas! We had no idea they were coming down; but at about 4:20pm on Christmas ---SURPRISE!

It was so special having them here for three and a half days. And as you can see John was attached to pops the entire time! He loves his PaPa.

Christmas Eve

The family that was here spent Christmas Eve over at moms house. That included nathan, Myself, John, Jerret, Mom (of course) and Grandma.

John had a great time opening his presents. last year it was all about the bows and tissue paper; but this year he really got into tearing the wrappings off!

This is the new sweater I got for Christmas. John approved of it right off the bat!

Grandma has been asking for a bible for quite some time now - in fact, every time mom has seen her it's always the first question. "Where is that book store Sara said had the bibles?"

Mom knew exactly where it was, but had to fumble around the question for weeks; until one day they where in a store and grandma wanted to go look at the book section for her bible. Mom insisted that they had no bibles there and right before they where going to check out grandma say an employee there and wanted to ask him if they had any bibles. Again mom insisted there were no bibles there, but grandma was not going to take no for an answer and mom finally had to "hint" at the fact that "perhaps you'll get one for Christmas." And what do you know! She did!

A White Christmas

Can you believe it! Snowing in Texas on Christmas Eve!
I actually talked to one of my neighbors who has lived here over thirty years and he told me he couldn't remember any Christmas when it had snowed (let alone any year that it has snowed this much)!

Coming up on mom's house right after the snow had started.

John's very first snow bound adventure. He was so funny checking out this white stuff all over the ground before he tenatively took a step.

Here the snow gathered on the tops of his shoes. He grabbed a handful and came running to show me! He was so excited to be the first person to discover this winter wonderland!

Bucky the Buck

No it is not a typo! Mom actually named the buck -- Bucky! We pride ourselves for our dynamic ability to think outside the box!





Awww, he's so friendly! Or is it rutting season?











Once we found out about his voyeuristic tendencies we decided this was a situation that needed a professional.








Get 'em Bobbi !!

I'm the sheriff round these parts

Okay, Okay, Okay!!! John's first halloween get together and this is the only picture I got of him the entire night.

But --- he's a cutie!

Birthday Boy

Cole turned one year old during our visit so of course we had to have a party!



This is the Hartman community center where we were able to hold the event.



The birthday boy - waiting and ready.

Mommy (Tiffany) helping to open the presents (as if he needed any help!)

Finally!! To the good stuff.

And believe me it was, I had three pieces!

Pops taking John for a spin at the playground next to the community center.

Colorado September

I haven't updated this for quite some time (and mom keeps reminding me of it), so I had better get on the ball. In september we went to Colorado to visit family and about four days after we got back I caught some kind of stomach bacteria. i was down for about two weeks! YUK!





John and I went out walking the "busy" roads of Hartman. You can see Hartmans Co-Op in the back.



Grammy Palmer is showing John how to gallop on his pony









John and his new found friend Cole playing together at the park in Lamar. We met a couple of our friends there for a get together.




Boys will be boys! Nathan, Buck and Darrell














Most of the clan. Buck, Tiffany and their son Cole; our family; and Darrel, Mariann and their brood!

Labor Day Weekend

Here are some pictures from our trip to Amarillo, TX over the holiday. Our main reason for going was to see Grandma Halbert before she moves back to Indiana.




We Didn't make the best choice for our hotel so John is helping me pick up the trash outside our room.








Which he got quite proficient at and has now made it a habit to pick any and all trash he sees no matter how much mommy cringes.










Even with the rough exterior and hands like bear paws; John knew Pops was going to be a push over!










After we settled in Esther, Pops and grandma Halbert gave John a little present. He loves his books and truck toy!








Swimming with daddy. He loved standing on our shoulders and jumping in to make a big spalsh.


(Yes, we had ahold of him the entire time)





We also went to Palo Duro Canyon. It's the second largest canyon in the U.S.





It was truly beautiful there.









These rocks are called "Spanish Skirts" because of the coloration and "wavy" look they have.













This is Nathans uncle Phil and his two kiddos.








Grandma Halbert








Four generations.

Telephone Talk

These are pictures of John talking to Grammy Palmer in Colorado. Usually with the cell phone he more or less just pays attention to what's in his hands - so we tried the bluetooth. It was adorable to watch him interact with Esther.

She asked him where his eyes were and he started blinking; the she asked where his nose was and he pointed to it. Esther also asked him what certain animals say then make the sound ~ one of Johns favorites ~ then he would try to copy her.

It was fantastic. Nathan and I were amazed how interactive he was!

Clapping for himself for getting the question "where is your nose?" correct!

Looking at us to help answer the age old question -

"what does a cow say?"

MOO!

One for the Baby Book

I love this picture! I was trying to get him ready for his tub time, but he saw his cowboy hat on the way there and had to have it.

After parading around for a few moments (long enough for me to get my camera) I caught him on the way to the bathroom.

I can't wait to show this to the future; very distant future; Mrs. John Palmer!

Sara Home Maker

Nathan thought I had better post this before it gets "lost" like things tend to do sometimes. He wanted to make sure everyone got the opportunity to see me at the table with - yes - MY sewing machine.

He's SO proud of his little lady home maker!

More Swim Time

Over at grandmas house playing in the pool.

Who's having more fun?

It was a good day to cool off. I think it reached 106 degrees.

Getting a little bit tired of all this splashing.

John taking a little rest before resuming the horseplay.

Grandma Time

Grandma E. reading John a book before his nap.

John loves his time with Grandma. He gets to learn so much.

Just wanted to see if anyone knows what kind of a bird this is. They have built a nest in moms pear tree and are very territorial. They dive-bomb the cats and have recently gotten brave enough to actually grab their fur.

Anyhow, I think it looks like a Grackle, but they are usually dark birds.