Not just a Pink Christmas...

Have you checked out the link on the side of my blog to the Pink Christmas blog? If you haven't now would be a great time to check it out. And if you are interested in participating next year then bookmark the site so you can sign up in July. Anyway, my new online friend Jen Cowsar had my name. I was a good girl and actually waited and opened my presents on Christmas morning. If I didn't I was afraid I wouldn't have much to open. What a wonderful surprise to get from someone I hardly even know. She gave me the Payne sign which I love because it has the names of each member of the family through it. Then I was surprised to see two more really great gifts. This ornament is big and beautiful and has bling on it which I love. She copied the profile picture from my blog and made this tile. The cool thing is that this tile has a felt picture frame back on it. It stands by itself so I don't have to have an easel to go with it.

So the day after Christmas Jen emailed me to see how I liked my gift. I don't think she will ever know how wonderful and personal I thought this was so I wanted to do something nice for her as a thanks. When I found out that the girl who was supposed to send Jen a gift dropped out at the last minute I knew I had to be her pink Christmas friend. So this is my chance to make something personal for Jen in hopes that she will love it as much as I loved my gift. Thanks again Jen! And even though you didn't get a pink Christmas I hope you enjoy a Pink New Year! It is going in the mail tomorrow but here is a sneak peek. The flowers in the pail are actually blue ink pens. I couldn't resist since you love pink like I do. Oh and one more thing Jen, I already replaced the e with an a. Thank Heaven for Undo! Happy New Year!

Christmas for my dad...

My awesome brother Ryan made this really cool video of the pictures I sent him for my dad for Christmas. The first link is of just my family. If you know Shanna and Ryan's families then you might enjoy their links too. The link that says "allsmall" is of Shanna, Ryan and I when we were little. They are pictures I borrowed from my dad a couple of years ago and scanned into my computer. Ryan made a great DVD of all of it. Anyway, they are all about 5 minutes each I think so make sure you have time to watch it before you click on it. Enjoy!
http://rfgd.com/deannasmall.wmv
http://rfgd.com/allsmall.wmv
http://rfgd.com/shannasmall.wmv
http://rfgd.com/ryansmall.wmv

New hair-do, Libby's funny face and Amy...

Well, I finally got my hair styled again. I love and hate the fact that my hair grows so fast. If I get a bad cut it doesn't take long ot grow out. However, the bad thing is I wish I could get a cut a have my hair stay that way until I give it permission to grow again. I hate getting hair cuts. My friend Tami recommended her stylist and she is very inexpensive and really great. So maybe it won't be so bad getting it cut often. So if you don't recognize my new do, it is the style of Alice's hair on Twilight. If you havn't seen that movie go see it. Great flick!

Amy was sitting in my craft room the other day and I was looking at how pretty she is. I just snapped a picture and decided I need to share. It has been a while since she has been featured on my blog. Oh and something great about her. She is the best big sister in the whole world.

Liberty came in to show me her face the other day. My camera was sitting next to me so I made her make the face again. The other picture is just her looking cute and waiting to go to my friends house. I had to tell her not to smile and take the picture quick before she could say cheese. She usually has the CHEESIEST smile.

Twice in One Week...UGH!

Well, I just got home from the ER again. Ok so I never posted about our first trip there on Sunday. We were playing in Grandma Payne's backyard and Emily carried Liberty across the yard full of crunchy leaves so her bare feet wouldn't get poked. Instead of setting her on the porch she tried to step up onto the porch and tripped. She came crashing down on top of Liberty. Liberty cried for a good 5 minutes while I rocked her in the porch swing. Within 10 minutes she was asleep. She slept for about 1 hour and when she woke up she grabbed her head and said OWWW! She cried for a while and then vomitted all over me. She threw up 5 times that night and each time it seemed was when I was jostling her. Anyway, I took her in to have her checked out and the doc said she was just needing to be watched and so I could do that from home. About an hour after we went home she seemed to be back to her old rowdy self.

Tonight Emily lost her balance and fell backward onto her arm and buckled both her radius and Ulna. Those are the bones in your forearm just above your wrist. It was swollen and deformed. She had it xrayed and that made her cry because it hurt so darn much. Then they came in and cast it in a soft cast and sent us home. We were only there 2 hours tonight. I am impressed. Anyway, I will post a picture of Emily tomorrow. Too tired tonight.

Check this out!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

2008 Christmas Cards are finally finished!

Well, I finally took a picture and made these cards a few days ago. I only ordered a few and due to a tighter budget this year we aren't mailing them except to friends and family that we know don't use email. Since William is working out of town already I decided that this year we would feature the kids instead of the family on our card.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Funny Jib Jab videos

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Elf Yourself is back...

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Beware of the Doghouse...

My mom sent me this funny video today. I think everyman needs to see this. It is funny how much my wants have changed over the years. I would love a new vacuum and I would love new memory for my computer. But the older I get the more I am thinking that sentiment would be nice. However, I think I have trained William to shop practical for me. Maybe that is a mistake for down the road. I usually shop practical for him too. Not a good example I know. Anyway, this is a funny video. Check it out!
http://bewareofthedoghouse.com/videoPage.aspx

One of the funniest things that is hard to catch. Pause the video when you see the man in front of the board of review and read what it says on the seal on the desk. Hahaha!

Good News and Bad

Ok the good news first. We think we have a house to rent in Farmington NM that is nice enough that we won't miss this house so terribly and large enough that we won't be cramped for the next couple years until we can start building again. The bad news... The buyers we had for our house fell through. Darn it! So we listed with a realtor. The other bad news... we are going to have to stay here in Las Cruces without William until our home sells. We just can't afford to make two house payments on one income. So we will stay here for now and the kids will finish school here. Unless of course the house sells sooner than the end of the school year. Gone are the times when houses fly off the market so patience will be my greatest struggle right now.

Oh and more good news... My mother in law Lauana has been taking her medications correctly and eating right. The doc put her on an anti-depressant so she is functioning much more like the mother in law she was when William and I met. This is the one I LOVE. She has been a joy to be with again. She plays hard with the kids and loves on them and smiles and laughs again. What a relief. I think things will be easier with William gone now that she is easier to deal with too.

Designer's Holiday

I got an email from a gal today who started a blog for her new business venture. I can't believe how amazing and adorable some of her ideas are. I wish we were able to decorate the kids rooms now cause she gave me tons of ideas for some awesome rooms when we move. Anyway, here is a link to her blog. She should have an actual website up and running soon enough. I will probably add her site to my sidebar when she emails it to me. So check back here later or you can bookmark her blog yourself. http://www.designersholiday.blogspot.com/