More Flour?

Merry Christmas

Christmas Eve cookies and milk for Santa. They also put carrots outside for the reindeer. Rudolph made a mess in our backyard.
Catherine on Christmas Eve. She slept through her 1st Christmas too.

Christmas with the Greens. Catherine meeting Great Nana and Great Papa Green for the 1st time. She is their 11th great grandchild.

Christmas at Nana and Papa Gammon's house.

William is going to be a protective big brother. He was so excited when Eric came into the waiting room at the hospital to tell everyone about Catherine's arrival. William couldn't wait to tell mommy! :-)

It's A Girl

Catherine Abigail arrived December 21st at 12:24p.m. She is 6lbs 13oz and 19 1/2 inches long.

Above picture of Dr. Sheryl. She is the baby's doctor and a good family friend. We were honored to have her in the delivery room with us. She did a great job cutting the umbilical cord!

The kids are so excited but hard to tell from this picture because they stayed up till 3a.m. at Nana and Papa's house the night before!!

Enjoying our last hospital meal.

2nd Grade Music Program

Sarah had fun this evening singing all her songs from music class. She has been singing them to us everyday after school for the past few weeks!
We borrowed a robe from our church for her to be the gospel preacher in her class performance. Her beautiful smile lit up the room.

4th Grade Christmas Concert

Elizabeth performed this evening in her school choir. They did an awesome job!
She was excited to have her nanas and papas in the audience. Above picture of Elizabeth and Nana Gammon after the concert.

Let It Snow!

We were a little late to school this morning. Way too much excitement in Texas!!

Hanging Of The Greens

Thanksgiving Day

We spent Thanksgiving Day at my brother's new home. It is beautiful. William had so much fun playing with his cousin, Gary. They are a few months apart in age....double trouble! While playing upstairs they found lots of Santa toys hidden in a closet....Oops!! It was a good day except for the A&M loss to t.u.

Basketball Tip Off

Tonight was the annual basketball Tip Off dinner for Eric's basketball program. Above picture of the kids with Nancy Lieberman! She was the keynote speaker and did a phenomenal job!
Eric introducing his varsity basketball team. They won their home opener last night. He is off to a great start with a 1-0 record! :-)

"L" Day

William has been working hard on the letter L. He has to bring a snack to school that starts with L. We had fun making Lemon jello shapes. It's the littlest things that make the biggest smiles!

Surprise!

My mom planned a family get together this weekend. I had no idea that they also had been planning a surprise baby shower! The kids have also known about it all week and didn't say a word. Even William kept it a secret!!
We got so many wonderful gifts. The girls are so excited about all the little girly things. They are going to be great helpers. We are blessed to have close family and friends to do this for us.

My cousin Lorrin brought some funny games. Above picture is my girlfriend Denise tasting the poopy diaper. She was determined to win!

All of my close friends were able to make it this afternoon. It was nice to visit with everyone. My stomach is sore from laughing so much. (or maybe I ate too much!!) Thank you for a great and memorable day.

Happy Halloween

Carving pumpkins and making a mess!
We made the rounds visiting grandparents. It was nice having Halloween on a Saturday this year and getting an extra hour.

Trick or Treating in our neighborhood.

Field Day

Today was Field Day at our elementary school. The kids all look forward to bragging rights on the Tug-Of-War Event. Sarah's class won the championship for 2nd grade!
Elizabeth's class had a little trouble!

Double Digits!

Elizabeth is turning 10! Wow, a decade old!
She invited two classmates to join us for a lunch celebration at Magic Time Machine. The kids loved the magic potion drinks that bubbled and steamed.

Our waiter was Dennis the Menace. He did a great job with the kids. The girls asked for his autograph. He decided to use a lighter on Sarah's card then put the fire out with Eric's Dr. Pepper! It was a mess and he had the kids giggling the entire time. Dennis also escorted the girls through the restaurant announcing to everyone that they had to go potty! Several of the characters sang Happy Birthday at the end and Elizabeth was glowing.

State Fair of Texas

We went to the State Fair on Sunday with my parents and their friends. We didn't realize till we were in the middle of a crazy crowd that Oprah Winfrey was also there taping an upcoming show! What a day we chose to attend the fair!
The best part of the fair, of course, is all the food! We also enjoyed the shows. The kids liked getting in the new cars at the Auto Show.

Their favorite part was the Skyway Ride. The kids were also excited about all their prizes they won playing the Midway Games.

Great Birthdays

Happy Birthday Great Papa and Great Nana Green! We went out for a nice dinner this evening and celebrated birthdays. Great Papa turned 93 on Monday.
Great Nana turned 29 on Friday!

Great Papa Davis

We are saddened this week by the loss of Eric's grandfather, Marvin Davis. Today we attended a beautiful service. It was a new experience for the kids as they have never been to a funeral. Eric's dad wrote the following eulogy that was read during the funeral and has touched us all.

Marvin was a part of that generation who was tempered by the trials of the Great Depression and World War II. Throughout his life he reflected the values of "America's Greatest Generation." He was always proud of his country and his service to it. One of the earliest remembrances of both his grandsons, Eric and Andrew, was of raising and saluting the flag on the pole that stood at his home in Greenfield, Indiana, and then later in Arkansas. God, Country, Family - these are the embodiment of the values of Marvin and those of his generation.

His life always centered around his family or in this case his families as he was blessed to have two. He was happily married to his first wife, Janet, for over 45 years. They had two children - Richard and Barbara - and lived and worked and raised a family in Greenfield, Indiana, until both Marvin and Janet retired to Hot Springs Village, Arkansas. One of the reasons they moved to Arkansas was to be closer to their beloved daughter, Barbara, and their two grandsons - Eric and Andrew - who resided in Texas. After Janet died in 1991, Marvin married Emma Jane and together they enjoyed their senior years living in Hot Springs Village and then later in Thomasville, Georgia.

The light of Marvin's life was always his daughter, Barbara, and grandsons, Eric and Andrew. He was particularly proud when Barbara graduated from Texas Women's University and received her degree in Education. Teaching and learning were important to Marvin and he felt teaching was the noblest of professions. Marvin was in College Station when Eric and Andrew graduated from Texas A&M. He was proud of his two Aggies - but maybe secretly wished they had gone to his adopted state's University and become Razorbacks.

He very much enjoyed his grandsons, Eric and Andrew. He would take them fishing at Lake DeGray or at the lakes in Hot Springs Village. They never caught much but whatever they caught was a big deal - big enough that the memories are still vivid. He liked to play baseball with them and taught them to throw a fastball into his old catcher's mitt. He would take them to play miniature gold and taught them to play checkers - somehow the grandkids always won. Once when Phil, Barbara and the boys left Grandma and Grandpa's house to return to Texas and inadvertently left the boy's pet turtle in Arkansas, Marvin jumped in the car and raced ahead, flagged them down, and successfully returned the turtle to his rightful owners. He was proud that both Eric and Andrew played high school basketball since he was 6'4" tall and played high school basketball in Illinois. He often attended games when the boys played and later when Eric became a high school basketball coach.

Marvin took pleasure in the simpler things of life - whether it was swinging Barbara on the swing in the Black Walnut tree in Greenfield, taking drives on Sunday afternoon, going to a baseball game in Cincinnati, playing Rummikub with Jane and his family, reading a book, nodding off to sleep while watching the Atlanta Braves on TV, holding his great-grandchildren, planting flowers in his garden, sitting under the Oak trees at Susina, or eating a good meal at a family gathering. Marvin lived a good life. He lived a long life. He was fortunate to have two loving wives (at separate times, of course) and wonderful children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

His grandson Eric put it best, "... at 5:15pm on Tuesday my mom, Andrew and I held his hand as he took his final breath on this earth and joined our Lord. He was 90 years old. He no longer suffers and was very peaceful when he passed away. He waited for Andrew to get here from San Antonio today and for me to get to his home from work this afternoon. Then when we were all there he decided that it was time. Still you know whether the person is 9 or 90 it is never easy to relinquish a loved one."

"My grandfather was a good, very uncomplicated, man. He loved his country and his family...He served our country in the Pacific Theater of World War II and took very seriously his role as an American. He is part of the greatest generation that our country might want to look to for life lessons. His generosity in always trying to give Andrew and I things that were meaningful to him was a part of every visit it seemed. I am proud to have known him and proud of what he constantly tried to teach us about life."

"This was a new experience for me. Watching a person leave this realm and pass on to the next is a sobering experience. Everyone knows this already but, in our busy lives, it bears repeating. My grandfather left this world with literally nothing. And it will be the same with us. Life is not about material possession - it is about creating experiences for our families and our loved ones. That is the legacy and remembrance we leave."

Marvin Davis - husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather - God has blessed. Rest in Peace.

The Honor Guard presented Eric's mom with his American flag.
We had a celebration dinner after the funeral. The kids were excited to have RC Cola. This was Great Papa's favorite drink. Ashlyn is also holding Great Papa's favorite candy.

William and the girls!

Baby Shower

My Bible study gave me a beautiful baby shower today. The gifts were so adorable and the cake so yummy!
We are slowly getting ready for this sweet baby girl.

Rainy Weekend

Sarah's team was ready to play in the rain last night but the other team didn't show. We decided to go to Starbucks and they gave the team free hot chocolate! Above picture of them trying to get warm. William had his first loss and Elizabeth's team was on a roll with three wins before they canceled her tournament. :-(

Master's Degree

Eric completed an 18 month online master's degree through his school district and Lamar University. We surprised him after work today with a family celebration. Eric's parents, my parents and the Great Greens helped us surprise him and we enjoyed a nice dinner together.
He will graduate with a master's degree in Educational Administration. Pending grades on the class submitted last night, Eric should graduate with a 4.0! We are all very proud of his accomplishment! He hasn't had much sleep the last 18 months so hopefully he can get a few good night's rest before the baby arrives!

1st Soccer Games

William played his first soccer game today. He is so excited to finally be old enough to play sports too!
William celebrates after one of his goals. He scored 4 times and won his first game 6 to 4. Way to go Red Raiders!
Sarah started her 7th season with the Fire today. She scored 7 goals and her team also won 10 to 6!