Stella

So, we took the plunge and decided to get a dog. I found this cute dog to adopt, Stella. Her foster parent brought her to our house on Memorial Day, so we could meet her, and, of course, the the kids fell in love with her. She seemed to have such a great temperament. So, Jim and I decided we could keep her. We went out and got all the essentials: food, leash, chew toys, kennel, etc... Jim and the kids wanted to take her to the annual Dallas Symphony Orchestra conert/ fireworks at Flag Pole Hill for Memorial Day. She did such a great job around all the people and kids.

The kids have had lots of fun taking her for walks, taking turns feeding her, and giving her lots of hugs and kisses. Unfortunately, throughout the week Jim has come to the conclusion that he is allergic to this sweet dog. I had to contact the foster parent and tell her that this arrangement was not going to work after all. The kids are taking it pretty well, but I think it's going to be pretty heart breaking when the foster parent comes to pick her up today.

We hope Stella finds her forever home real soon, and that we can find a dog to which Jim is not allergic. That's been the one bit of hope that has made this transition better for the kids. Bid us good luck in finding our forever dog!!!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow... NO MORE!!!

On February 11, this is what it looked like in our neighborhood. It was one of the largest snowfalls Dallas had seen. Our poor kids did their best to have fun in it, eventhough we are totally not equipped for snowy weather. Ruby wanted to make a snow angel, and then she was pretty much done, but Jim, Zoe and Tristan were on a mission to build snowmen and a snow fort. They had lots of fun doing it, but we were so happy when it finally got back to normal around here with warms temps, and sunny days.

Then... the second day of Spring and here are the remnants from our back yard of the 3rd, but maybe 4th (I'm starting to lose track) snowfall of the "season". We didn't get a chance to play in it or get good pics because church starts at 9:00am for us, but I had to get a quick snapshot before it all melts for proof to all those who used to live in Dallas, and can hardly believe that we have had as much snow as I am claiming. It was supposed to be just a dusting, but I guarantee we cleared off more than just a dusting from our windshield before church this morning. It is fun, and I am glad that it clears out so quickly around here. Hopefully we can get back to our sunny days and warm temps... the way Dallas is supposed to be!!!

Gramps came to visit...

I'm a little behind on some of the posts I've been wanting to make. Here's for catching up... At the end of January, my dad (aka: "Gramps") came to Dallas for a short visit. Wish it could have been under better circumstances, for Gramps was here to speak at a funeral for a dear friend of his. Nonetheless, we enjoyed having him come and spend time with us. We were able to fill him up with lots of hugs, kisses, and a little Tex-mex to top it off. We sure love our Gramps!!!

What a catch!!!

This is Tristan, Madeline (my kids' cousin), and the wide-mouth bass Tristan caught. Tristan spent the night with Maddie, Sam, Uncle Nick, Aunt Katy, and all of Katy's family. Katy's family owns a house on a small lake east of Dallas, and they had been out all week relaxing and fishing for Spring Break. Tristan joined them on Friday when Nick went out to spend the last night with his family. They pulled out the Spider Man fishing pole for Tristan to use, and wouldn't you know, he caught the biggest fish of the week, a 2 pounder. He had a great time, and was proud to tell us about his big catch!!!

Tristan turned 7...

This year for Tristan's birthday, he had a friend party at Planet Pizza, but we, unfortunately, forgot to take the camera. He had loads of fun playing on the super-sized jungle gym, playing the arcade games, and the fun rides with his friends, not to mention the yummy birthday cake and ice cream (Blue Bell... YUM YUM)!!

Then on Feb 15, his REAL birthday, we had the family over for cake and ice cream. We did have the camera to capture this, thankfully! It's just so hard to believe sometimes, that our little guy is growing up on us!! What a special part of the family he is!!

Christmas Eve Tradition

Christmas Eve tradition for the Hastings' is to go to Grandma and Grandpa Hastings' house to read different versions of the story, "T'was the Night Before Christmas". All the grandkids come dressed in their new Christmas pj's and the daddy's take turns reading the different books (Texas, Louisiana, and traditional versionsof the story). Then Grandpa Hastings ends the night reading the passage from the Bible. Grandma Hastings usually has hot chocolate and cookies as a treat. The perfect night for making memories!!!

All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth

I really wanted to post this before Christmas, but life was just too crazy! Anyway, the week before Christmas Tristan FINALLY lost his upper right tooth. The last of his "front teeth". I have never seen a child hold on to his teeth the way Tristan does. He likes to wait for his tooth to be so loose it practically slips out on it's own. He must have walked around with his super loose tooth for about a week before we could convince him to let Jim or I to take it out. He finally gave in, and Jim was the one with the magic fingers this time because he was the one Tristan entrusted in taking out his tooth. Tristan was then qualified to sing the song, "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth..." He is getting so big and growing so fast, I can hardly keep up!! Just thought it would be fun to show pictures of his toothless smile.