Those funny looking Nails

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T14:38:00.002-06:00

Baking Cookies with Mumzeh! Part II

2011-12-24T14:47:00.003-06:00

After stepping on lots of sprinkles, telling Micah several times to stop eating the cookies, and a good clean up, here is the result!!!

Micah had a great time delivering the cookies to the neighbors in his new Gator from Nana and Papa. He felt just like Santa Clause. :)

Baking Cookies with Mumzeh!

2011-12-23T11:23:00.003-06:00

It is 2 days til Christmas and we still have not done anything for the neighbors. Thankfully Mumzeh came to the rescue with a bag full of baking dishes, icing, sprinkles, and cookie cutters. I think this is a treat the neighbors will LOVE!!!

It's been a while!

2011-10-23T13:44:00.006-05:00

Hi everyone! It's been a while since I last updated you all on the Nail household. Over the past few weeks, I have been busy with football season, Shaun and I competed in the Muddy Buddy again, and Micah got his first real hair cut.

As I started to notice Micah having a hard time seeing because of the hair in his eyes, I realized it was time for a hair cut. As I picked him up from school and drove to the hair salon, I was prepared for the worst with suckers and toys to distract him, but surprisingly, he did great. He sat in the chair with his head down when the stylist told him to, and looked up every time the camera was in his face saying, "Cheese." He was a real natural, and now we can see his cute little face again. Even with mosquito bites, he is still pretty cute. :)

Last weekend Shaun and I competed in the Muddy Buddy. Shaun had his usual partner Phillip, while I went hoping to find someone who needed a partner last minute. Surprisingly there was someone who needed a partner last minute. She was a 15 year old girl whose mom was going to do the run with her, but had gotten sick. She was dressed up as a cow, had a kids bike, and we went by the name of "Utter Destruction." :) As I completed my second mile run and jumped on the bike for my second mile bike, a stick got caught in the wheel and broke the chain, so as if riding a kids bike was not tough enough, I was now running with a broken kids bike. This will definitely be a year I will never forget. Shaun and Phillip did great placing 3rd in their age group.

Happy Fall!!!

2011-09-05T16:00:00.003-05:00

Micah is obsessed with the Movie, "Rio." This is probably his third time to watch it in one day, and every time this scene comes on, he is up on his feet and dancing. It is definitely the highlight of our day. PS: He dressed himself!

July 4, 2011

2011-07-04T20:45:00.004-05:00

Happy 4th of July America!!!

Our fourth weekend was spent at Mumzeh's where Micah got to chase "choo choo's" and check out the ladies at the river telling them to "Shake your booty," and asking them"How you doin." He even got his first crush at a German restaurant where he got to hold hands and dance with a girl, who was a few years older then him I might add. What can I say, he likes the older women.

I think the highlight of the trip was actually getting to ride a choo choo. How many people does it take to take one 2 year old to Landa Park to ride a train you ask, well 6 actually. 4 grandparents and 2 parents. :) That's right, Nana, Papa, Mumzeh, and Pappy Nail all loaded up with us to ride the train with Micah. He was pretty much in awe the entire time.

Once we got home on the 4th, we took Micah to see the movie Cars 2. It was his first theater trip and he didn't do too bad. He looked like a pro the first hour with his pop corn and drink, but after that ran out, he was ready to run around. Not sure how the last half of the movie went, but now we know, Micah is not quite ready to sit through a 2 hour movie. :)

It's Official!

2011-06-26T21:34:00.003-05:00

Just received my Master in Education Degree in the mail. Whoo Hoo!!!

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T17:44:00.003-05:00

Our neighbors decided to clean out their garage and since their kids are getting older, they decided to give Micah their Green Machine. Micah is still not quite big enough to reach the peddles, but Shaun sure is. Micah loved riding on Shaun's shoulders and racing his daddy with his John Deere. There were a few wipe outs when Shaun was showing Micah how to fishtail, but overall it was a great Father's Day gift!!!

My latest project!

2011-05-26T13:08:00.003-05:00

Hey guys! Thought you all might want to see the Silver Stars Drill Team uniform. It is a custom uniform that I got to create with the help of Ms. Lesby Ray who designed and made my high school uniform! This has been quite an adventure with fitting it in my budget and getting approval from my Principal, but thankfully it all worked out and I can finally say, "This is the Silver Stars Uniform." Hope you will get to see it in person! Go Wildcats!!!

God Bless the USA!

2011-05-02T15:25:00.006-05:00

After 10 years, Bin Laden is dead, he caused so much pain for our country.

A relief? YES!!! God bless the USA!

Osama was a leader to so many that are lost, and now their leader is dead. One cannot help but worry about them retaliating. God knew this was going to happen and only He knows what is to come. All we can do is continue praying for our President, country, and all those service men and women out there, for their job is far from over. Praise God for these individuals fighting so that we can sleep in peace at night.

God tells us in Proverbs 24:17-22, "Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice..." Praise God for providing us with His word when we are not sure what to do and how to feel when situations like this happen.

Love you all and would love to hear your thoughts on this!

Our Little Genius!

2011-04-20T13:04:00.003-05:00

Yesterday Shaun stepped out of the kitchen for just a few minutes, and when he came back, this is what he discovered on the fridge. Micah had grouped all the alphabet letters into greens, reds, yellows, and blues. We have worked with him on his colors, but never grouping them together! He's so smart to come up with this on his own! GENIUS!!! Notice how the blue, red, and green are all touching creating an almost straight line. I wonder who he gets this from. :)

Photos of my dance room!

2011-04-08T15:18:00.005-05:00

Girls locker room and auditorium

My office, dance room, and the entrance to TMHS!

Bonjour from Paris!

2011-03-31T12:58:00.002-05:00

Our tour de Europe is going well. We’ve seen the Grand Place in Brussels and the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Champ Elysses and Arc de Triomphe in Paris. We’ve also drug our luggage across much of Paris as our travel app had our hotel in the wrong location!! Enjoy a few pics below or click on the slide to the right for the full album.

Au revoir!

Busy, Busy, Busy!!!

2011-03-24T21:54:00.003-05:00

Wow, it has been a while since I have updated all of you on the Nail household. Many things have happened over the past month.

1. I have been hired on as the first Tomball Memorial High School Drill Team Director. TMHS is a brand new school which will open in August 2011, starting with just freshmen and sophomores this first year, building into an expected number of over 4,500 9th-12th graders within the next 3 years. I was hired on March 2nd, and we have already completed our tryout clinic, and will be having tryouts Friday, March 25. I have 45 9th and 10th graders, to be, trying out and I am expecting to take about 30, but we will see if the judges I am bringing in agree. Eventually, when we have 9-12, we will likely have over 60 girls. Man that is going to be a lot of babysitters to choose from. :) www.tomballisd.net - Select Schools, High Schools, TMHS

2. Shaun and I will be vacationing in Paris, France to celebrate our five year anniversary.

3. Micah pulled down his pants at the park and started shaking his hips and laughing in front of some 7 year old girls who responded with an "ewe", then he ate dirt in front of them (which he has never done), and threw up. I guess this was his way of showing off. :)

Happy Birthday Micah!

2011-02-20T20:07:00.006-06:00

It is hard to believe our little man is turning 2 tomorrow! We can't even remember him being a baby, being so busy and active from the very start. Micah's birthday was spent at the park in our neighborhood with family and friends. He had a great time playing with the grandparents and his Uncle Sky. I'm not sure if he even noticed anyone else there. :)

The highlight of the evening was definately the after party. As soon as we got home, Micah discovered a very special present from mommy and daddy. A TRAMPOLINE!!! As soon as he saw it he was in awe and could not believe it was all his! Every time we tried to get on and jump with him he would say, "no!" After jumping for several minutes, he was pretty worn out and had a great nights sleep! I have a feeling this summer is going to be spent entirely outside enjoying his new toy!

Great first day!

2011-01-04T07:52:00.006-06:00

When I left you all yesterday, I was in my conference period thinking of my little man, Micah. The rest of my day went pretty smoothly, getting to meet more of my students and a few other teachers that are stuck in the back of the school where they keep it freezing cold. The current temperature of my classroom right now is 65, and will probably get to a high of 66 by the end of the day. As long as I keep moving, it's all good!
The best part of this job, other than teaching dance, is that I am done at 2:45!!! As I left the school, I was very anxious to pick up Micah, but chose to knock out a quick 3 mile run before I went to pick him up.
When I arrived at the day care. Micah was running around, discovering all the new things around him. As soon as he saw me, he started cutting his eyes and biting his lip to keep from crying. As he got closer to me, tears filled his eyes, which of course made me tear up a bit, and he gave me a big hug! Surprisingly, the teacher could not believe he had never been in day care before. Micah was the first to line up on the wall and sit down for learning time, and as soon as the matts were placed on the floor and the lights were out, he was cuddled up with Blue Bear saying, "night night!" He never once cried or threw a fit. Overall, he was in a great mood!
The day care gives us progress reports every day telling us what they learned, ate, how long they slept and their diaper changes. Micah learned the letter "I," the shape rectangle, the number 8, and the color brown. He slept 2 hours and ate all of his morning snack, lunch, and afternoon snack, which they provide. He also colored me a picture of a green alligator, which is hanging proudly on the fridge!
I was so relieved to hear thay Micah had a great first day and I pray it continues!

First day of school!

2011-01-03T10:58:00.004-06:00

This morning I woke to the sound of my alarm clock at 5:30 AM. It was a very stange sound that I have not heard in the last few years. I must say, believe it or not, the sound of a crying baby is a much more pleasant sound. I left the house at 6:15, and when I stepped outside, it was still dark, which was another new experience for me.

I arrived at the school at 6:45, thinking it would take me longer to get there. At 7:15, the school bell rang and first period began with 13 excited, energized girls ready to dance and talk, talk TALK!!! First period is Drill Team, so I got to get to know the girls, see their dance style, and tell them what they are doing wrong. :) Just kidding, it is only the first day, tomorrow I will do that. Second period is Dance I. The Dance classes are for girls that do not want to take PE, and are not on the dance team. This class, again, was full of excited, energized TALKATIVE girls who were ready to dance. Unfortunately for these girls, it was just sit and review for their final next week. BORING!!! But part of the review was on the history of dance, and I got to talk all about Gussie Nell Davis and The Kilgore College Rangerettes! It was way more exciting for me than it was for the Dance I class. :)

Now I am sitting in my conference period missing Micah. Shaun dropped him off this morning at day care and said it was much harder than he thought it would be dropping him off. Micah just kinda held onto Shaun's pant leg and did not interact with the others. He was a big boy and did not let his daddy see him cry, but he was still very sad. Boy am I glad I do not have to drop him off. Having to be at work at 7AM is much better than having to see my little boy sad.

Please say a prayer for us! I am praying that God will wrap his arms around Micah and keep him safe and know that I will return, and that I can use this opportunity to shine a light on these girls that might be lost and do not know who their Savior is.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-26T13:07:00.007-06:00

We hope all of you had a great, safe, and merry Christmas! Ours was spent here at home with my parents and grandparents, Memaw and Pepaw!

Friday night, Micah got to sit with us in church during Chistmas Eve service, where he loved listening to the music and seeing all the lights. However, there was one particular light that bothered him when the singing was done. It was the only light left on (that he could see anyway) when all the others went out and he kept saying "uh oh, light, off, broken, light, down, broken, light, off, uh oh." When the lighting was not to his liking, Papa decided to hang out with him in the lobby for the rest of the service. We have decided if he is not performing on the stage, then he will probably be the lighting director and it will be PERFECT!!!

Saturday was spent in our sweats while we enjoyed watching Micah open presents, eating yummy food, and of course napping. Micah loved all his new gardening tools and is looking forward to working in the lawn with his daddy.

This week, we will have another Christmas with my wonderful in-laws! We are really looking forward to seeing Mumzeh, Pappy Nail, Aunt Jessie, Yang, my Nanny Ann, Miss Molly, and Sam and Stella!

This will be my last week at home with Micah as I am going to be teaching Dance and Drill Team at Caney Creek High School. Micah will be starting day care on the 3rd, so please keep him and me in your prayers as we make this transition.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

Micah's Christmas List for Santa!

2010-12-07T14:14:00.003-06:00

Dear Santa, I have been a very good boy this year and would like:

trucks

choo choo's

tools

work bench for all my tools

movies (anything with trains, trucks, or puppies)

sand box

toys for my sand box

sand for my sandbox

baseball glove

hand held leapfrog games so I won't get bored in the car and scream at mommy. (They say ages 4 and up, but I know I can figure it out.)

A small bounce house

Plastic balls for my bounce house

Mommy says that I also want:

clothes

rain gear (boots, hat, jacket)

lunch box

back pack (small)

-A few Santa's have already gotten him lots of tools, including: a hard hat, power tools and tool boxes with all the works. They have cool work benches at Wal-Mart, Target, or Toys-r-us that I know he would love. Also, Craigslist or Ebay are always a good place to start for that kind of stuff.

-He has a train table with tracks that fit the Thomas the Train wooden trains that have the magnets that hook the parts together. They also have cool stuff like bridges that go with the track.

-He wears size 24m in clothes and a size 7 shoe.

The Story of Jonah

2010-12-05T21:21:00.003-06:00

People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them. Mark 10:13-16

Hope this video encourages you to have a childlike faith, just as God instructs us to. Thanks Mimi (Dixie)

http://vimeo.com/16404771

Thankful!

2010-11-28T15:36:00.006-06:00

We had a great Thanksgiving with Nana, Papa, Pappy Nail, Memaw, and Pepaw. Wednesday night we helped make Thanksgiving dinner for those less fortunate. Well, I was chasing a little 21 month old around and thankfully Memaw and Pepaw were there to step in for me and help Shaun. Thanksgiving day was spent cooking, eating (with Micah under the table poking at our feet and laughing hysterically), cleaning up, and of course napping. Mumzeh was very much missed, but she and Aunt Jessie had a great time in Pearsall.

This morning's message at church really hit me pretty hard. The message began with the question, "Determine Whether or Not the Gospel is TRUE for YOU." My immediate response was YES, and then I started to think about those that might say NO and my heart breaks for those. If your answer is YES, then as believers you should:

1) Develop Your Trust in God.

All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

In Paul's letter to the Corinthians, he writes, " No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him - but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit." 1 Corinthians 2:9

The best way we can communicate with God is through prayer, and when we pray, you develop trust in God.

2) Allow God to Mold You.

"So I went down to the potter's house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best for him." Jeremiah 18:3-4

There are two principles here. One being, give Him permission to mold you. Second, stay in the potter's hands to develop into what He wants you to be.

We naturally create this picture of how things are going to go in our lives, but sometimes the pieces come a part and the picture changes. When you develop that trust in God, no matter what has happened or what heartaches you have gone through, you realize God still loves you. He can change you in a very deep and personal way and use you in ways you never thought possible.

3) Imitate Jesus. (This is a very bold statement)

In John 5:17-20 Jesus says, "My Father is always at his work to this very day...Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nohting by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed."

What we plan is sometimes different than what God has planned for us. When you give your life to Him and let Him mold and shape it, amazing things can happen.

The speaker we had today shared his story about when he lost his 17 year old daughter in a car crash. This was not part of his plan for his daughter, but it was for God. From his loss, he learned how to truly trust in the Lord. He wanted to create a memento for his daughter and her friend that was in the car with her. All he wanted was a tree and a bench, but through his journey of picking the right place and the right thing to remember her by, God placed people in his life; in the end, the bench and tree became a bronze statue that is now in The Market Street area in The Woodlands. It is now an inspirational piece that represents the importance of family and the relationship between a parent and child.

I am so thankful for my family and the family that God has placed into my life through Shaun. I pray that each of you answered YES to the question, Determine Whether or Not the Gospel is TRUE for YOU. If any of you answered no, or were hesitant to answering yes, I pray that God will help you to come to a confident conclusion that the Gospel is true for you. I pray that each of you will take the knowledge that God has given you and that you will use that to reach out to your neighbors and friends that do not know who He is, for you never know when our time here on earth is done and eternity with our Father in Heaven is upon us.

Family Photos 2010

2010-11-11T21:32:00.006-06:00

Here are a few of my favs. Micah was not as easy this year as he was last year on smiling at the camera. He was a little too distracted by his goldfish, ducks, and the playground. :)

Baby Micah!

2010-11-07T16:38:00.002-06:00

So I was playing on facebook a few days ago and decided to look through one of my friends photos, when I saw a picture of this adorable baby boy that kinda looked like Micah. When I looked down, the caption read, "Micah." I immediately got a little teary eyed because I do not even remember this picture being taken, and I barely remember him being that small. This picture was taken at our church during one of our small group meetings, so Micah had to be less than 8 weeks old because we did not have him in the nursery yet since he hadn't had his shots. I started to remember those looks he used to make with his face. It was before he was sitting up on his own and every time he would start to tilt forward he would raise his eyebrows, as you can see in this picture, and his forehead would wrinkle. I remember telling Shaun, "He must think his eyebrows help to raise him up and keep him from falling forward."

Well, I'm sure I've got a few of you crying, at least the grandparents anyway. :) Our little boy is growing up!!!

Happy Halloween from The Rubbles

2010-10-30T21:18:00.007-05:00

Barney, Bamm Bamm, and I (Betty) met up with the Flinstones this afternoon for some dinner, games, and of course CANDY!!! There were several others at our little gathering, including a few star wars and toy story characters, Minnie and Micky Mouse, Daphne and Fred from Scooby Doo, and of course a lot of beautiful princesses. There were several contests going on at the Flinstones' house, including a costume contest and bake off. We tied with the Star Wars family for "Best Family Costume," and I got first runner up for my Sopapilla Cheesecake (which is pretty good for those of you who know I am not much of a baker). Bamm Bamm had a great time and was pretty wound up from all the suckers, cupcakes, and candy corn. Getting him to bed so far has not been very easy, which is why I am getting to write this blog, while Dada gets to deal with that. :)

Muddy Buddy 2010

2010-10-26T16:42:00.006-05:00

Shaun and I competed in the Muddy Buddy again this past weekend with my good friend, Laura, and with Shaun's annual partner, Phillip. Shaun and Phillip were the Crawl Dads again placing 6th in their age group, while Laura and I, aka The Slim Jims, placed 8th in ours. For those of you who are wondering,"why the Slim Jim," during our sophomore year at Kilgore we decided to dress up as the Slim Jims for our Halloween practice where we wore the full outfit with the meat on our heads and all. Ever since then we have referred to ourselves as Slim and Jim.

Many of you may recall the Muddy Buddy is basically 6.3 miles of leap frogging with your partner between biking and running. When you switch off between the bike and the run, each partner has to do an obstacle (climbing a rock wall, blow up slide, jumping through tires, and crawling under nets). Once each partner gets to the mud pit, they must crawl through it together going under the ropes, as you can see from the pictures, forcing you to get a little mud in your face.

For some reason we think this is fun and I am sure this is an event we will continue to do for years, and hopefully Micah will too.

Back to 7 Acre Ranch

2010-10-06T14:03:00.007-05:00

Micah and I went back to 7 Acre Ranch today to see the pumpkin patch they had setup out there. Micah got to visit some of his old animal friends, play house, ride a boat (aka Micah's Ark), sit on almost every single pumpkin, build a pumpkin man, and ride a tractor.

Dragon Boat Race

2010-10-06T13:45:00.003-05:00

Last weekend Shaun and I participated in the YMCA Dragon Boat Race with out Married Life Group at StoneBridge Church. The Dragon Boat Race is a team building event with not only dragon boat races, but also dodge ball, human foosball, minute to win it, water slide events, and much more. We placed third overall and had a great time, and a great workout.

Washington, DC

2010-09-20T21:30:00.007-05:00

Shaun and I had a great time this past weekend in DC.

Nana came to our house Thursday night to spend a 4 day weekend with Micah so Shaun and I could enjoy a much needed vacation. We originally planned this trip for Shaun's cousin Kevin's wedding, and decided to make it a 4 day vacation for ourselves.

We left on Friday morning, around 6:30 just before Micah woke up, and made it to the airport just in time to board our flight at 8:30. We made it to Georgetown, where we stayed at the beautiful Hyatt Hotel, around 12:30 and met up with Grandpa Rusty and Mumzeh for lunch. Later that evening we attended Kevin and, his new wife, Allyson's rehearsal dinner. Saturday morning was spent at the Washington Monument, Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, and the Vietnam Veteran Memorial Wall. Around lunch we headed back to the hotel to get ready for Kevin and Allyson's wedding at Georgetown University in one of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen. The rest of the evening was spent eating, dancing, and celebrating the marriage of an amazing couple. On Sunday, we got to see The White House, The Capitol, The American History Museum, and The Natural History Museum (This was the best, they had diamonds for me to see and dinosaurs for Shaun).

By Monday, it was time to get" back to life, back to reality" (which I sang in the car ride home). We got home around 3:30 to find Micah napping on Nana's lap. Later, Micah showed us all the new toys Nana bought him and his awesome new kicks. Overall, it was a great trip, wedding and more importantly A GREAT BREAK!!!

"She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy..."

2010-09-11T09:06:00.004-05:00

Nana and Papa came up this weekend with a little surprise for Micah. IT'S A JOHN DEERE TRACTOR!!! Micah was a little skeptical at first, but was soon driving around, loading up the sticks from the yard, and jammin to the radio. Yes, it has an FM Radio. This should get the ladies lookin his way...

Still Tall and Skinny!

2010-08-24T11:56:00.003-05:00

Micah and I went in for his 18 month well child checkup today. All went well, except he pretty much screamed every time the nurse touched him, and bit me once or twice when they were trying to give him his shots. "Totally normal at this age," the nurse said. I am hoping she was not just telling me that since I was almost in tears.

Micah is 34 inches tall, 90%. 23 pounds 14 ounces, 25%, and his head is in the 80% measuring 49 cm.

Rollie Pollie Ollie

2010-08-16T13:36:00.002-05:00

Last week I showed Micah how to do a front roll. Then, I got him to tuck his head down, then I lifted him at the waist and rolled him over. It took me only one time to show him how to do this, and now, he is a pro.

My neighbor has her 12 month old in gymnastics, who still needs assistance on her front roll, and she said most of the kids in class that are Micah's age still cannot do a roll on their own. Her daughter is Layla, and it is hysterical how we will just enter a room and Layla will have her head on the ground with her booty in the air waiting for someone to flip her over. Who knows how long she can stay in that position before someone comes along to help her out.

It's a little scary how coordinated he is. It could either go towards dancing or sports. I have to add, Micah has added the front roll into his dance routine, but we are still hoping he will lean towards sports.

A few more new words from M...

2010-08-01T14:18:00.002-05:00

Micah is now saying:

hot - which he says for every type of food that is placed in front of him, or car that he sees. He likes to reach his hand out, then yank it back in and whispers, "hot."

car - working on truck, but everything is still car right now

light

He is also saying dog much better now. He is finally get the "g" in there.

Micah goes poop!

2010-07-22T07:32:00.004-05:00

So Micah has started telling us when he is going poop, which is great, we just wish he would tell us before he was going instead of during so we can get him to the toilet. However, yesterday, he almost got it right.

We were in the living room and all of a sudden he runs into the bathroom yelling "poop, poop." So I followed him into the bathroom and he had raised the toilet seat and was standing there, grunting. When he finally finished, he flushed the toilet, clapped, and ran out.

Now if I could just get him to wash his hands.

Farm livin is the life for me...

2010-07-14T12:55:00.008-05:00

Today we met up with our good friends Noah and Mrs. Rachel at 7 acres ranch for some farmin good time. We got to ride a tractor, play some putt putt, pet a few animals, play in the sand, and even visit a small town. Micah squealed the entire time. I think he was saying, "This is the best day ever!"

Our little talker

2010-07-09T12:40:00.002-05:00

So Shaun and Micah like to get into these yelling wars where they shout "Dada" and "Micah" back and forth. Micah usually starts by saying "Dada" at a normal toned voice, then it gradually gets louder and louder. This can last a good 5 minutes, which gives me time to sneak off and clean or take a shower. Here are a few other words M is saying:

Dada, meaning Dada

Dada - Mama

Mmmmo00mmmmm - Mommy I need something NOW!!!

Da - meaning ball

Do - Dog

Do - Deer

Du - Duke (the neighbors dog)

Woo Woo - Woof Woof

Uh oh - uh oh or mommy pick that up

Hi - Hi (in the girliest voice I have ever heard)

Go - Go (usually said the entire "Go Studio" song)

A du da a ga goo goo - something really serious he is trying to tell us

I can't believe it is July already!

2010-07-05T19:22:00.005-05:00

Our 4th of July was spent celebrating our independence with our family and friends at "The Island," where we had lots of fun, heat, freezing cold river water, babies, and of course food. Shaun, Micah, and I drove over to New Braunfels on Friday and got to catch up with cousin Molly, Sam, Stella, Uncle Eric, Aunt Shanna, Uncle Sky, Nana, Papa, Pappy Nail, Mumzeh, cousin Brian, Melissa, Geoff, Jennifer, Laila, Jayden, Paul, Yang, Aunt Karon, Wes, Raye, and too many others to name. Saturday morning we woke up early to ride in the Fourth of July Parade. Micah did not show much excitement during the parade. He simply sat in my lap, ate his sucker, and watched as we drove past all the kids screaming for candy. Since sitting still is not really M's thing, we got back and took his temperature, only to discover he had 103 fever. I have to admit the day was nice not having to chase him around and just hold him and let him nap all day. It was just a 24 hour thing, so he was back to his crazy self by Sunday. After the parade, we headed back to Mumzeh's for some yummy food and, of course, river time. On Sunday we had a slow start and my mom and I made a quick shopping trip to Gruene, then came back for some of Papa and Uncle Sky's fried fish. Oh how I miss their delicious food. Then, of course, back to the river we went. On Monday, the three of us loaded up and headed back home. Micah refused to take a good nap for us on the drive, so it gave us an excuse to get him out and take the Blue Bell Ice Cream tour in Brenham. I have to admit, we were only in it for the two scoops of ice cream at the end. For all you Butterfinger Blizzard lovers, the Butter Crunch tastes just like it, maybe even a little bit better!

Family Reunion

2010-06-29T14:30:00.005-05:00

This past weekend we all three loaded up and headed to New Braunfels for the Gill Family Reunion. Thankfully Micah slept the entire 3 hour drive there, and and about 2.5 hours on the way back.

We had a great time at the reunion getting to see everyone, especially the twins, Stella and Sam. Although, Micah was not much of a fan when mommy and daddy were holding them. (In this pic, Shaun is having to block Stella from Micah's pitching arm). I think he likes being an only child. Cousin Molly was missed, but we are looking forward to seeing her next weekend at the NB 4th of July parade. That's right, we are loading back up and heading that way again this weekend. Something tells me Micah will not nap as long on this next trip, or maybe he will prove me wrong. (Please prove me wrong, please prove me wrong).

Micah also loved the freezing cold river water. He jumped right in without any fear. Mommy on the other hand was a little hesitant. Hopefully the camera will make it down to The Island this next trip so we can get some shots of him swimming around and throwing rocks into the river.

Videos

2010-06-20T20:06:00.003-05:00

We're finally getting around to loading several of Micah's videos to youtube. View our channel to see all the other clips we've uploaded.

http://www.youtube.com/user/clavo40

Micah dancin'

2010-06-19T14:26:00.000-05:00

Here's the latest on Micah cutting a rug...

The never ending cruise!

2010-05-19T10:39:00.004-05:00

Well, we have decided that we will never take a 7 day cruise with a 14 month old again. While the trip had a few relaxing moments, Micah was not a big fan of being on a ship for 7 days. He did not really care for the crowds, having to share a room with mommy and daddy, sleeping in a tiny crib that squeaked every time he rolled over, and the sand on the beaches when we would actually get to get off the boat. He did however enjoy the kiddy pool when noone else was around, chewing on the ice that he carried with him everywhere, playing in the casino and arcade, and running up and down the halls at 3:30 AM. Yes, that is right, 3 IN THE MORNING! Let's just say we were all very glad to be back home.

Easter!

2010-04-07T16:02:00.003-05:00

While I am loving this weather, the humidity is doing nothing for my hair. Gotta love the curls! :)

We have had a great spring so far. I have been getting everything ready to step in as the new Drill Team Director at Magnolia High School, and Shaun has been training for the MS 150. Micah is continuing to grow so fast and running even faster.

Shaun and I looked at a day care this morning. I am still having a tough time with putting him in a day care, but the one we looked at today seemed to calm all my fears. I am just trying to be thankful for the time that I have had with him and am grateful that I am getting to do something I love and have missed so much, DANCE!

Micah had a great Easter. We went to our friends, the Browns, house on Saturday for some hunting, food, and fun! Micah ran to the first egg he saw and just wanted to get to the good stuff. That evening, I ran in the Muddy Trails run and placed 3rd in the 20-29 female age group. Then, Sunday morning, myself, Micah, Dada, Nana, and Papa all got ready for church. Micah got a nice knot on his forehead when he decided to go into a full on sprint, trip, and fall, hitting the corner of the door stop.

Happy Birthday Micah!

2010-02-20T18:29:00.006-06:00

Micah had a great FIRST BIRTHDAY full of family, friends, fun, laughs, presents, and of course cake!

Merry Christmas

2009-12-26T22:07:00.006-06:00

Christmas was filled with so much fun, excitement, love, family, praise, toys, and more!

Nana, Papa, Mumzeh, Grandpa Rusty, Nanny Ann, Memaw, and Pepaw all came to visit us to celebrate Micah's first Christmas. Poor Uncle Sky was sick so he and Aunt Maegan were not able to make it.

On Christmas Eve, Nana and Mumzeh went with the three of us to Christmas Eve service where we celebrated the birth of our Savior. Celebrating our Lord's birth was very emotional and reminded us of what Christmas is truly all about. Now that I am a mother, I have a completely different view on Mary's experience in giving birth to her Savior and Lord. He deserves all of our praise! I give complete thanks to Him for the gift of eternal life, my family, my son, my friends, good health...the list can go on and on.

Micah had so much fun opening his gifts. He got lots of new clothes, pj's, socks, stuffed animals, and of course toys. Nana even had a star named after him! We had a great time visiting with family and are looking forward to seeing Aunt Shanna, Uncle Eric, cousin Molly, Stella, and Sam next week!

Ole St. Nick

2009-12-21T17:31:00.008-06:00

Micah had his first rendezvous with the big guy. We had a Christmas block party and Santa dropped in to see what all the music was about. Micah did pretty well with him and was more confused than anything else. The block party went really well. We had a full band on the deck (and the deck didn't collapse!) with lots of food and even a warm fire in the yard. We all had a lot of fun... including the nightcap of pulling and pushing a van out of the mud!

Thanksgiving

2009-12-05T19:37:00.005-06:00

Micah had his first Thanksgiving. He had a sample of most of the food that we ate and he loved it. But what's new... we haven't found much that he won't stuff into his mouth!

It was a great time as we had all the grandparents, a few of the great-grandparents, great-great-aunts, great-aunts & uncles and cousins...a motley crew to say the least. I fried my first turkey and it turned out well enough to eat, so that's good news since I had no back-up plan. All-in-all, it was a pretty good holiday!

As of today, Micah has his second tooth! He was very grumpy today and didn't take much of an afternoon nap, so we're thinking he worked it out over the last day or so.

Micah is 9 months old!!!

2009-11-23T15:33:00.007-06:00

Well, Micah went in for his 9 month check-up today. He is 29.5 inches long, which puts him in the 88% for height. He is in the 30% for weight, weighing in at 19 pounds 2 ounces; and his head is 46 cm, which is in the 70%. So basically we have a tall skinny kid with a big head, just as he was destined to be. :)

So everything looks good on that end, but he does have his first ear infection as well as a sinus infection. :( However, he is handling it pretty well, except for the fact that he is even more attached to mama's hip.

Micah is still crawling everywhere and getting into everything. He hates having to lay down and get his diaper changed, and being strapped down in his carseat is the worst thing ever for him. He is such a boy!!! He is walking along the furniture and standing on his own. He LOVES pushing his little car around. We predict he will be walking by Christmas. Oh and he finally got his first tooth. It is his bottom left tooth, and he got it on the 21st, which is the day he turned 9 months old. Pretty cool right!?!?

Also, we had our Family Photos taken last weekend by a friend of ours in Creekside Park. Micah did so good and smiled for the camera every time. We did get rained on a little bit, but overall we are really happy with how they turned out. These are just a few of my favs. If you want to view more, you can go to http://www.rosebudreflections.com/. Select Client Proofs tab, then Client Proofs again. Then select the third one down titled Nail.

Muddy Buddy

2009-11-18T10:30:00.006-06:00

A few weeks ago Shaun and I competed in the Muddy Buddy in Dallas. Shaun was partnered with his buddy from last year, Phillip. My buddy was Phillip's sister-in-law, Nicole, who thankfully jumped in at the last minute.

As you might remember from last year, the muddy buddy is a partner race where one team-member rides a mountain bike for the first leg while the other partner runs. At the first transition area, the biker leaves the bike, completes the obstical and then begins running the next leg. Once the runner gets to the same transition area, then they complete the obstacle, find the bike left by the partner, and then bike the next leg, leap-frogging along the way. This continues several times until the whole course is done. In the Dallas Muddy Buddy we had five legs, totalling 6.3 miles. At the very end of the race, the biker drops the bike and waits for the runner. Once they meet up, they complete the last obstical together, crawling through a mud pit!!!

Nicole and I made pretty good time completing the course in 56 minutes and 7 seconds, placing 11th in our age group of 53 partners. Shaun and Phillip completed the course in 47 minutes and 40 seconds, placing 12th out of 58 partners in their age group.

I think the best part was bathing in the freezing cold lake!

Silly Little Monkey

2009-10-31T20:20:00.003-05:00

Man Halloween is so much more fun when you have a little one to dress up. Micah was a Silly Little Monkey for Halloween.

Friday night we went to Panther Creek Shopping Center where we met up with some friends of ours, Logan the Mouse, Parker the police officer, and ladybug ladies Ali and Avi. Micah loved seeing all of the costumes and he even let mommy and daddy sneak a few of his treats. Halloween night we just walked around the neighborhood with Nana the pirate, while daddy stayed home with a 103 fever. :( It is looking like he has the flu. Please say a prayer that he will recover soon and that Micah will not get it.

You can view more pics in the slideshow to the right.

Enjoy!!!

Our little man!

2009-10-12T11:38:00.006-05:00

Hello all! We are so glad that Fall is here, but Micah and I (Samandra) could do without the cold and flu season that Fall brings along with it. We have been sick for almost a week now with a runny nose, sore throat, and cough. Micah has been smiling through it all. Every time I blow my nose he just laughs. I think he thinks an elephant is in the room.

Micah will be 8 months on the 21st. Can you believe it? As you will see from the random pics to the right, some of his favorite things to do right now are helping daddy change out the diaper genie, sorting the mail, pulling all of his books off of the shelf, eating his shoes, smiling for the camera, and attacking the camera.

This pic of him trying to get the camera is my favorite!

couple of things

2009-09-10T21:02:00.006-05:00

OK, so it's been about a month since we've updated the blog. Here's a quick update:

Micah had his 6 month check up on the 22nd of August. He weighed in at 16 lbs, 11 ozs (45th percentile) and was 29 inches long (95th percentile). Everything is good with him. He has started crawling and is now beginning to take off and get anywhere he wants. He also pulls himself up to his feet. He began doing that in the crib so we had to lower it so he wouldn't pull himself over.

I've also started a small project at the house. We've been planning on adding a deck and, as it turns out, Micah loves being outdoors, so the planning was put into action. Sam has helped me a couple of weekends and Philip chipped in during the week. So far, it's coming along pretty good. There's still some joisting to do and then the decking can begin to be laid down.

There are more pics of all the latest happenings on our picasa page.

Micah's trip to the Island

2009-08-04T21:16:00.001-05:00

Micah had his 2nd trip to the Island in New Braunfels this last weekend. He did much better this time near the water since we took hot water and mixed it with the cold Comal water in his little boat. He hung out in the river with everyone. It's quite funny to see how quickly Samandra got in the water up to her shoulders considering she's scared to get in the kiddie section that comes up to her ankles!

He did really well on the drives to and from New Braunfels. He was awake most of the time and only napped a few minutes during the ride.

4 Month Check-up

2009-06-26T07:53:00.004-05:00

Micah had his 4 month check-up. All is well. He's sprouted big-time since going to formula. He's 14 lbs 4 ozs (40th percentile), 25.5 inches (75th percentile) with a 17 inch head (75th percentile). This weekend we are visiting Mumzeh in New Braunfels. Micah will experience his first trip to The Island and dip in the cool Comal. We'll have updates later this weekend.

Father's Day 2009

2009-06-21T17:51:00.007-05:00

We celebrated our first Father's Day today. Micah had a busy weekend with visits from his Memaw and Pepaw, Mumzeh and a surprise visit from his great-grandparents, Yang Yang and Paul! There are more pictures in the gallery (click on the slideshow on the right) and at www.rosebudreflections.com

Summer Time

2009-06-19T09:17:00.002-05:00

Micah is getting ready for "The Island."

Picasa Web Albums

2009-06-17T17:01:00.003-05:00

If you ever want to check out more pics, simply click on the slideshow to the right and select the shaun's gallery tab located at the top.

Look What I Can Do...

2009-06-17T15:49:00.004-05:00

Micah has been doing all kinds of new things these last few weeks.

He is sleeping 8-10 hours, holding his head up during his tummy time, walking in his exersaucer, lounging in his bumbo, and rolling over. Well, he has only rolled over once, but HE DID IT!!!

Mothers Day Weekend

2009-05-15T17:03:00.004-05:00

We had a very eventful Mothers Day Weekend.

On Thursday, Grandpa Rusty came by to visit Micah, and he and Shaun got to hear his first laugh. Unfortunately Mommy was not there and Daddy just loved rubbing it in.

Friday night Mumzeh, Nana, and Papa all came in and took the night shift so we could get some sleep for the YMCA 5K Trail Run Saturday morning. Luckily Micah is down to just one early morning feeding now. We have been putting him down around 9 and he tends to wake up around 3 or 4 AM, but is right back to sleep and up around 6 or 7 AM. Not sleeping through the night yet, but we are working on it.

Early Saturday morning we all headed to Conroe for the YMCA Trail Run where we both placed 4th in our age groups, and yes there were more than 4 in our age groups. Shaun with a time of 23:41 and Samandra with a time of 28:28. Once we got home and cleaned up, the boys worked in the yard while Aunt Ashley and baby Cole ( who is turning one this weekend ) came for a visit. Also, Micah got me a heart necklace with his birthstone in the center for my Mothers Day gift. He is so sweet!

Sunday morning Micah was dedicated at church and yawned during his dedication. :) The pastor apologized for boring him. It was great to have the family there.

Micah's Check-up

2009-04-25T15:55:00.002-05:00

Micah had his 2 month check up on Wednesday, the 22nd. Everything went well and he's in good health. He measured 23 1/8 inches long (55th percentile), 40 cm head circumference (50th percentile) and weighed 9 lbs, 12 ozs (10th percentile)! So, the Nail genes are really taking hold!!

He also received his first round of vaccines; 5 shots and an oral med. With the first prick, he immediately busted out in a pain cry. My distractions and pinches elsewhere did nothing to confuse him during the shots. But, after about 30 seconds after the last shot, he was back to his normal content self (with slightly red eyes). He didn't have any adverse reactions, so we're very happy!

Micah's First Easter

2009-04-12T14:06:00.017-05:00

Micah's had his 1st Easter celebration this weekend. Nana and Papa (Samandra's parents) came to visit and spent the weekend with us . Micah really enjoyed the extra time being held and we really enjoyed them taking the night shift on Thursday & Friday night!!

On Saturday, we went to the Brown's house for an Easter Egg Hunt and some time visiting with friends. We all had a good time and wore Micah out.

Since Micah had worn Nana and Papa out on Thursday and Friday night, they were going to take the 1st feeding on Saturday night and we (Samandra, actually) would take the 2nd feeding. It would seem that we got the short end of the stick in that deal, but Micah turned the tables. He went down at 8:30 Saturday night and didn't wake for his next feeding until 4 AM! That is his longest sleep to date! Now, if we could only wear him out like that everyday! Problem is, the ratio isn't very good... it took 4 adults all day to wear out 1 nine pounder, and he wore us all out just the same!

5 weeks.... and counting

2009-04-01T22:47:00.006-05:00

OK, so, Micah has kept us busy and tired so we haven't updated the blog or pics as often as we'd like. Quick update on the last 5 and a half weeks...

Micah had his 1 month follow up on March 24th (31 days old) and he was 22 inches long (70th percentile) and 8 lbs, 8 ozs (20th percentile)! So, he's definitely a Nail... long and skinny. His belly is growing, but other than that, he's still skinny! He doesn't have any rolls on his arms or legs. His head, though still oblong and a bit funny shaped, measured 38 cm and was in the 45th percentile.

He's been to a couple of softball games (with all spectators ready to jump on him if any foul balls came anywhere close), to several lunches/dinners with family and friends, to church and even shopping trips to the mall. He does really well as long as we plan out the feedings so he's full and content during the excitement. I've loaded more pics of him on picasa, so you can click on the slideshows on the right and see all my shared folders (click the 'my photos' tab at the top of the page to see all our albums).

This weekend will be our first trip away from home as we'll be traveling to Galveston for the Lone Star Tri on Saturday. I'll be participating and am looking to improve on my tri performance last August.

More Micah Pics

2009-02-23T13:46:00.001-06:00

I've uploaded more pics of Micah to picasa. You can click on the slideshow on the right and view them all.

2009-02-21T06:12:00.003-06:00

6:10 AM 2-21-09: 7 lbs 5 oz 20.5 inches long; born at 5 :47 am. Everyone well and happy and the most beautiful baby ever! His first word was "Papa"....Sam heard it.

2009-02-21T05:54:00.000-06:00

5:48 AM, 2-21-09 He's here!!!! and what a set of lungs!

Micah's on his way - really, this time!

2009-02-20T22:36:00.006-06:00

4:30 AM, 2/21/09 - We're here at the hospital, Nana, Papa, Shelle and me, Mumzeh.....Samandra looks good but exhausted, Shaun is nappy-haired, but had gotten some sleep....and Micah is looking for his way out. We all went into the birthing room and checked out the monitors depicting his heartbeat and the contraction waves...very cool.

4AM, 12/21: Samandra has begun to push. The doctor is on her way so it shouldn't be but a couple more hours before Micah is here.

10:30 PM, 12/20: After our false alert on Tuesday night, Samandra continued to have contractions. They were anywhere from an hour to 5 minutes apart. On Friday morning, we headed to the hospital at 3AM and were monitored for a while. Samandra was 2cm dilated and fully effaced, but after no further progress for 3 hours, they sent us home again. Samandra was pretty exhausted since she hadn't been able to sleep since Monday night, but was able to get a couple of hours after we got home. We spent today timing contractions and counting Micah's movements and at about 7PM, our doctor told us to head on in to the hospital. They checked Samandra again and she was then at 4cm so they moved us into a room. Samandra has now received an epidural and is at 6cm, so she's progressing smoothly. It won't be long before we'll have pics of Micah posted here! Keep checking back and we'll keep everyone updated.

Micah's on the way!!

2009-02-18T03:25:00.004-06:00

OK, so, Micah faked us out. It's 8:15 and we're not going to the hospital after all. After contractions for about 5 hours (that I was awake for), Samandra stopped feeling them between 5 and 6 AM. We're not sure what that was all about last night, but whatever started seems to have been put on hold. We'll keep you posted!

Well, it's 3:22 AM and we've been tracking Samandra's contractions since just past midnight. They're under 5 minutes now and have been for a little over an hour but we're waiting them out a little longer before we head to the hospital. It doesn't look like it will be too much longer before we welcome Micah to the world! Stay tuned for more updates....

Micah's Nursery

2009-02-08T19:18:00.002-06:00

We have added new photos of Micah's room. You can click on the slideshow on the right titled Micah's Nursery to view the photos.

We still cannot believe he will be here next week. The bags are packed and the car sear is latched in and ready to go. All we can do now is wait and see when God and Micah want the birthday to be. Thanks for all the prayers and we will keep you all posted these next few days!

Baby Showers

2009-01-18T20:56:00.006-06:00

Well, all the showers are over, Micah's room is just about ready, and I do not think my belly can stretch anymore. All that is left is for Micah to get here.

If you click on the slideshow to the right, you will see photos of all the showers. The first set of photos are from Shower #3 hosted by my friends from Rangerettes and my cousin Sandy. I was 35 weeks pregnant at this shower. The hostesses are Sandy, Cassie, Laura, Ashley, and Courtney. The second shower, I was 30 weeks pregnant, and it was hosted by our small group from church. The hostesses are Melanie, Brooke, and Melissa. The last set of photos are from the first shower and I was 26 weeks pregnant. The shower was hosted by our Honeymooners group from our old church in Tomball. The hostesses are Rhonda, Beth, Suzanne, Jami, Jeanette, and Erin.

I am 36 weeks pregnant now, 4 more weeks to go, and everything looks great. We had a doctors appointment today and Micah is in position, head down, and ready to go.

Love you all.

Muddy Buddy 2008

2008-10-26T21:07:00.005-05:00

A buddy of mine from church asked me to fill in for his partner in a race called the Muddy Buddy. I said sure so the 3.5 of us (Samandra/Micah, Philip and I) headed up to Dallas on Saturday morning.

A little background - the Muddy Buddy is a partner race where one team-member rides a mountain bike for the first leg while his/her partner runs. At the first transition area, the biker leaves the bike, completes the obstacle and then begins running the next leg. Once the runner arrives at the same transition area, he completes the obstacle, finds the bike left by his partner and then bikes the next leg, leap-frogging his partner along the way (hopefully). This continues several times until the whole course is done. In the Dallas Muddy Buddy, we had five legs totaling 6.2 miles. At the very end of the race, the biker drops the bike and waits for the runner. Once they meet up, they complete the last obstacle together - crawling through a mud pit!!!

We made it through in pretty good time... 52 mins, 20 secs. We finished 19th out of 61 teams in our heat. Overall, I think we did pretty good, though the hardcore racers finished in 36 to 42 minutes... impressive!! There are some pics in the slideshow on the right titled Muddy Buddy. Click to view larger photos!

Micah Jay Nail's Nursery

2008-10-20T20:59:00.007-05:00

After finding out the sex of the baby, Samandra's parents and my sister, Shelle, came into town and we spent most of Saturday painting the to-be nusery and putting up a chair rail. You can see the nursery in the slideshow on the right.

Feet, Head, Between legs shot, and Profile

2008-10-20T20:46:00.004-05:00

We have Micah's first pics that really look like a baby. You can see them in the slideshow on the right titled Micah's first pics'.

It's a BOY!!!

2008-10-20T20:34:00.004-05:00

Well, it's a boy! His name is Micah Jay Nail. We like to call this photo his "thinking man" pose.

The ultrasound went great! Micah was moving all over the place. He would tuck his legs in then kick them out, he also enjoyed playing with the umbilical cord. He weights about 1 pound now and we are thinking he is going to be a soccer player.

We have registered at Target, Baby's R Us and Pottery Barn Kids. So let the shopping begin!!!

Baby Bump at 20 weeks!

2008-09-29T21:09:00.004-05:00

Well, we are half way there. 20 weeks Pregnant!!! The baby measures about 5.6 to 6.4 inches from crown to rump and weighs about 9 ounces. He or She can hear sounds by now so I try to talk to the baby often. The baby can even cover his or her ears now when daddy sings too loud in the shower. I can feel the baby move every now and then. Mostly between 2 and 4 AM or when I am on the treadmill. :) The baby is able to twist, turn, wiggle, punch and of course kick. If it is a girl she better start practicing her high kicks. My uterus is just about even with my navel and my waistline has pretty much disappeared. But I have promised myself and Shaun that it is just temporary.

Ike - the unwanted visitor

2008-09-15T08:22:00.008-05:00

Well, Ike has come and gone and here's an update on us...

Harris and Montgomery counties didn't call for a voluntary or mandatory evacuation except for some specific zip codes, so Samandra and I decided to ride out the storm at home and leave the roads open for those that had to get out.

Saturday morning at about 3:30 AM the storm woke us and took out the electricity. We listened to the winds for a little while from our bedroom and once they picked up pretty good, we decided to take shelter away from windows. We moved the couches near the utility room and half bath so we could have a quick exit to a safe room if needed. We napped on and off throughout the morning; waking when big gusts came and the trees bent over.

At one point I heard a big gust kicking up and looked out the window to see a tree in the lot behind us snap about 2-3 feet up the trunk and fall harmlessly into the lot. A tree about 200 feet away snapped and fell across the utility lines, bringing them down completely. Since there's more than just a transformer or circuit to be repaired in our neighborhood - lines are down in several places - it may take some time to get power back to us.

The storm was a little nerve-racking during the night, but once the sun came up and we could see the trees moving in the wind, it made it easier on the nerves. We had the (false?) sense of security since we could 'see' what may be coming at us. The rain and wind continued well into the afternoon. I think the winds died down around 2PM or so. The rain continued to fall a little beyond that and then stopped.

Our house didn't have any visible damage nor did most of our immediate neighbors. Every lot around us lost at least one tree and several of them lost 2 or more trees, but none fell on their homes. That wasn't the case of other homes in the neighborhood. We were pretty blessed that we only lost branches from our trees and all of those missed the house when they came down.

We still have water and gas so we were able to cook and clean and shower at the house on Saturday. We then realized that, even though we have water, our septic will not pump without electricity; so more showers (indoor, at least) were not an option.

Sunday morning we were awakened at 4 AM by the loudest thunder I've ever heard... that and Samandra screaming and jumping on me - I can't wait to have a 2 year old along with a 25 year old that's afraid of thunderstorms! The thunder was very loud and must have struck within a few hundred feet of us. After getting back to sleep, we woke up after sun up and began cleaning the yard a little bit in the light rain. There are a ton of pine cones, pine needles and small pine branches everywhere!! ( I hate pine trees!!!!) After getting the front yard raked into piles and a little drenched by the rain, we figured we should head out to some place that had electricity so we could shower.

We loaded up and went to College Station to stay with our friends, Chris and Kelly. We're going to stay here for a couple of days until we hear that we have electricity at our house or until our offices re-open. As of now, they are without electricity as well and closed.

We'll update the blog occassionally and let y'all know when we're back in the house. We took some video of the neighborhood and will try to load that once we get back to our computer. Thanks for all the calls, texts and prayers. We made it through golden and just have a little cleaning up to do.

"Baby Bump"

2008-08-10T17:39:00.007-05:00

Well, everyone is starting to ask about the baby bump. Here is a photo of the belly at 13 weeks.

At this point, the baby is fully formed and measures 2.6 to 3.1 inches from crown to rump. The baby weights between half an ounce and seven-tenths of an ounce, about the size of a peach. The head is still disproportionately bigger than the body, but that is expected with my large head and the "Gigantic Nail Brain." However, the rest of the body is starting to catch up. The face is starting to look more human, with eyes moving closer together. Toes and fingers are clearly separate, and ankles and wrists have formed. External genitalia are becoming visible and intestines are shifting into their proper place.

We will find out the sex of the baby the week of September 22. Don't worry, we will let you all know as soon as we find out so you can start your shopping. :)

Baby Nail

2008-08-09T09:10:00.004-05:00

We heard our baby's heartbeat at our last doctor's visit (12 weeks). Everything is OK and Samandra is transitioning from the nausea stage to the head-ache stage. Baby's first pic is from
our previous visit at 8 weeks. We're scheduled to have a sonogram the week of Sept. 22nd, at which time we'll find out the sex of the baby.

Shaun's First Tri

2008-08-09T07:03:00.016-05:00

Well, it's all done... I competed (and I say competed lightly) in my first triathlon in New Braunfels on Sunday, August 3rd. It was a lot of fun and I did well (especially considering that my goal was to finish without soiling myself!), but there's definitely room for improvement.

The day started early at 5:15 so we could get there by 6AM for registration. Once I got registered and set up my transition area, it was time to wait for the 8AM start! I started the swim in the 3rd heat of the morning in the men's 30-34 age group.

The open water swim was interesting...getting out of the crowd took a little work along with the fact that you can't see anything in the murky water. There were 102 competitors in my heat and I think at least half touched my booty during the swim!

Once I finished the swim, I transitioned to bike. The transition went OK except for the part where I forgot to put my helmet on! Luckily, I realized that before I crossed the line that would have disqualified me for not having it securely on.

The cycling went very quickly; the first distance marker I saw said I was at mile 8, already past the halfway mark. Coming into the transition from the bike, I had a little bit of an issue...I couldn't find my rack! I had been told by my pseudo-tri-coach, Col. Furg, to count my rack from both ends, but I failed to do that. The racks were labeled down the center aisle, but after the cycling, we entered from the end, where no markings existed!! After running around for 20-30 seconds, I finally found my spot and changed into my shoes.

As I headed out of the transition area beginning the run, the overall leader came in from the run and headed to the finish line, smoking my time by about 35 minutes! The run was immediately a little rough. My legs were pretty tight and it took about 1/2 a mile for them to loosen up, but even then, I was still slow. I was cramping for most of the run, but once I made the half-way mark (1.5 miles), I was energized to finish. As the finish line came into sight, I was very excited and covered in chill bumps...maybe that was just my body trying not to soil itself - either way, it was pretty cool! I sprinted the last 100 yards or so (probably equivalent to a slow walk for others, at this point) and crossed the line. I was greeted at the line by some of my family and had to catch my breath while I took it all in.

Overall, it was a lot of fun, especially because of all my 'fans' that were there to cheer me on. Thanks to all of you that helped... from my family that supported me and were there at 6AM with me (Samandra, mom, dad, Brian, Shelle and Pat) to Kelley in all the pre-race advice to Chris for the loaner bike (it would have been extremely brutal on my mountain bike).

Results:

I finished 388th out of 811 overall and 61st out of 102 in my age group. Full results are available at http://www.jacksgenerictri.com/. I also have some pics posted at kodakgallery.com. Click here to view the rest of the pics.

Wii Smackdown I

2008-02-24T15:15:00.002-06:00

For those of you that do not know, we have a new addition to the family. We are the proud owners of a young, fun Wii! We challenged friends of ours from church, Travis and Beth, to a Wii Smackdown.

After a few games of bowling and tennis (unfortunately, the Nails can't claim victory), we took a shot at Guitar Hero III. We were booed of the stage after our first couple of songs, but then we got the hang of it and finally ROCKED IT!!!

Beth and Travis rockin out!!

Shaun hitting the whammy bar...Samandra and Shaun let the crowd know what they think of getting booed off the stage!!

Hello everyone we love!

2008-01-16T10:42:00.002-06:00

Shaun and I keep saying we need to start a blog since we have such interesting lives. I was bored at work one day and finally decided to do it.

Here is an update on my hot husband: Shaun has been promoted to Finance Manager at Huntsman. He just got a pressure washer for Christmas so he has been enjoying writing his name on the driveway (and yes, the driveway really was THAT dirty!!!).

Update on Samandra: I have been working for Progressive Insurance as a Claims Adjuster for about 6 months now. I have become a scrapbook freak. Mimi got me all new Scrapbooking stuff so I finally did my Rockette scrapbook that I have been putting off for a while now and am working on the Rangerette one.

Shaun and I have completely redone the house. For those of you who have not seen it, photos will be coming soon.