Wishing you a Merry Christmas!

"Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:10-11

Wishing you and your family a very merry Christmas and time to revel in the Greatest Joy!
-- Leanna, Joe and Ryker!

A piece of cake?

A piece of cake? I think not. Way too simple a phrase for this decadent baked good.

This from-scratch Chocolate Truffle Cake should be more like "a piece of holy cow, I went and ate the whole thing because it tastes and smells so good, so please roll me to the door and grab a carton of milk too!" cake.
Yes, that is it!
This little beauty is accompanying Joe and I to our church group's Christmas party tonight. It's gotta taste as good as it looks, right? I sure hope so. If all else fails...we'll just eat the chocolate truffle icing and ganache in between the THREE layers...

Now taking orders! =)

Congratulations Jon!

Just wanted to give a shout out to Lydia's husband, Jon, who graduated from Seminary this weekend! He is officially a real live preacher. And even more exciting than that, he's done with school! (at least for a while!)

Jon, we're so proud of you and happy that you'll get to enjoy this Christmas season with your beautiful wife and the wonderful Caleb...without the worry of books!

Yea!

How about that!

Thanks to Sew, Mama, Sew for hosting their first Giveaway Day last week, you know why?? I won something! It was so neat to see all of these crafty people out there in the world and so honored that they would share their creations with their jealous skill-lacking compatriots like myself.

Well, I just so happen to comment on the most precious birdie wristlet at Empty Elizabeth, and I won! How fun, how fun! And thank you so much, Elizabeth! I can't wait!













Who's excited for Giveaway Day '09! I am! Heck, maybe I'll contribute too!

Just Say No to PreK

This is my new motto after the oh-so-interesting day of subbing I had this morning.

I accepted a special ed job for a half a day this morning, figuring what's the worst that could happen. (last time I was surprised with a class of autistic kids). Well, today I go to my school sign in and ask for the room number. They say, "Oh, she's not here in the morning she's at this Discovery place." Oh, ok, I guess this is an alternate learning campus....so they give me directions and I head on over.

Oh, what? It's a private day care!!! What??? Yes, this teacher splits her day between this day care and the school. So I walk in, looking for some place to sign in and someone to tell me what to do, because I do NOT do little kids...what am I even doing here????

This security guy at the front desk just says, "Ummm, she gets some kids off the bus, then you'll go to the fourth room down the hall." Um, Ok...do you want to know my name? Do you need me to sign in anywhere? No, great...glad those security measures are in place.

So, this CISD bus comes with 4 really cute quads, and they guy again just points. So I go down the hall...NO ONE IS THERE. I'm stuck with 4 short people and I have NO IDEA what to do. Other kids start coming, but no adults. WHAT!

FIFTEEN MINUTES later this other teacher shows up with about 10 more kids and the chaos begins. The morning is filled with glitter glue, tiny people getting angry at each other and screaming, potty breaks, potty accidents, changing of pull-ups (ick) and weird-colored boogers!

EWWWWWWWWW!!!!!

Needless to say, I am NEVER doing this again, and I did not appreciate being blindsided by 16 short people with runny noses this morning. ugh.

Welcome Mr. Caleb!

Caleb Alan Norvell made his arrival this Thanksgiving after a long and laborious labor by his trooper-mom Lydia, along with his ever-encouraging daddy, Jon.

Joe and I got to visit Newbie Friday morning, along with a few of Lydia's family. It was so wonderful to see this baby we've all been praying for, wishing wonderful things for, and guessing just who he'll look like.Well, let me tell you, he's a cutie. With long legs, feet, toes and fingers...he's definitely got his daddy's height. And with a beautiful nose and delicate lips from his mama!
I was also blessed with the chance to baby sit yesterday and assist mama, and it was so much fun. He's a scrunchy little baby that likes to nestle right in and get all warm and snuggly and stay that way. I'm sure this will all change soon enough, but for now, oh, how sweet you are to hold Mr. Caleb!

We are so excited you are here and can't wait to see the man you will become. We have so many fun things to show you and to teach you...but most importantly, we're content just to love you! --Love Auntie Leanna and Uncle Joe