tech??? oh well, go OU!

the folks at texas tech have officially lost their minds. good luck to you, mike leach.

and sad for baylor, because it sounds like our bears are about to lose their coach...

to lubbock. poo.

oh well, i'm just happy today is OU's bowl game, BOOMER SOONER!!!!!!!

christmas, round two and three...

oh-what-fun!!! we have had the best christmas ever because of our sweet link. we have had two christmases with my family (in order to celebrate with both of my brothers' families), one with jay's parents - and one more to go with jay's brother and sis-in-law this week. and it has all been so special. not to mention the fact that jay's awesome boss-men, scott and doug, are wonderful enough people to give the employees time off from the 24th through the new year! it is beyond fun and so special having jay here everyday to enjoy this time with link and me.

gosh, seriously. i promised myself i wouldn't be one of "those" people that talks constantly about their kids, their blog shifts from being about wonderful vacations and crazy experiences to pics of kids and conversation regarding them. but guess what? YOU CAN'T HELP IT! and i don't care...it's fun. :)

don't get me wrong, we have definitely had fun with friends, had some fun parties and time to ourselves, had our annual pritchard-holiday-party-bus-light-extravaganza (hope to get pics from someone soon - but i forgot to take any!) with 30 of our closest friends...but my favorite parts this year have been the moments with link - seeing twinkling lights catch his eyes, watching him grab the toys he's been given, seeing him giggle with delight at all his grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, and most of all, us! gosh, i'm just overcome with how in love with our precious son we are - he is truly our little miracle!

the funniest story is from the christmas eve service at my parents church. i had link on my lap and he was FASCINATED by all the lights, candles, music, people - just loved the whole experience. a soloist was singing the line, "sweet little jesus boy..." and just at that quiet, holy, sweet moment...BURP! way to go, link! my dad was sitting next to us and we were both in tears laughing, along with everyone around us. gosh, it was so funny.

and to add to all the fun on jesus' birthday, link turned 3 months old! in ways i can't believe it's only been three months, and in ways i can't remember our lives without him. all i know is, our lives are richer, fuller, and we feel so incredibly blessed to have this precious boy in our lives. thank you, sweet boy, for enriching our lives beyond all comprehension! your dad and i love you with all our hearts!

our 3 month old son!

christmas morning with the grinch!

look at all that snow! since we were at jay's parents, our neighbor was nice enough to send us a pic of our house with all the snow! wowser, this is big for dallas.

my mom's new maltese, gracie - she doesn't even register on a scale she's so small, not even a pound! it was her xmas present and she is precious!

christmas, round one

we have already had a busy christmas season with parties, baby life, and starting now, we begin the journey of christmas with our families. whew, we are a scattered bunch this year, but we will all get together, no matter what it takes! this weekend was christmas with my brother, josh and his family from tulsa. we had dinner at the new babe's in cedar hill on saturday night - yums! then today after church we had christmas lunch and presents at my parents home. oh-what-fun! owen made his debut with his tulsa cousins and they could not have been more excited. there really is nothing like a golden with kiddos. it's oh-so-sweet. mckenzie was a trouble maker spreading her yorkie fiesty-ness to all who came near and sporting her xmas cheer. and sweet link even got to play santa...and proceed to get more gifts than the rest of us combined. ; )

asher, carter, and link

caroline and owen

auds and link

mckenz and linkers

josh, link, auds, and carter

owen and link, big buds!

sweet link, post bath - he LOVES bathtime

things are going well with our new pup. we officially adopted him as of monday after our trial run. he is really sweet, so laid back, and seems to be getting along well and happy with us. link is starting to notice the dogs, he either smiles or laughs when he sees them or they lick him. so sweet. ; ) in keeping with the theme of sooner-named dogs, we are going with the name owen (for owen field, where the sooners dominate! or if you like, for owen wilson, after all, they are both blonde. haha) for this pup. it sounds enough like his old name that he recognizes it and we think it's cute. we feel 100% confident that norman would totally approve of owen to take care of us. and that he will, i am sure. such loyal and sweet guys.

link is charging on like a champ. he is starting to get a more regular schedule and still sleeping great (usually from about 8 or 9pm to about 7 or 8am). everyone tells me i am lucky that he sleeps so well, and i say i'll take it! he and i have both had stuffy noses this week, but seem to be coming out of it slowly. wanted to share my favorite - watching them fall asleep (of course) but then the moment when their little paci slips out, and they continue the motion like they are still sucking on it. OH MY GOSH, so adorable. gosh, i could just eat him up, can you tell?? he is so happy and we are enjoying him more every day - i swear he gets cuter every second!

bad quality pic - but wanted to show mckenzie cuddling with owen, so sweet already!

my boys!

link playing with sophie the giraffe. he giggles everytime it makes the "squeak" sound.

big day!

first, i can now officially tell everyone that i will not be returning to the bank, instead i will be staying home with link! i talked to my boss this morning to let the bank know. it has been a difficult decision as we will have to make many sacrifices in order to make this happen, but in the end this is what is best for us and we are feeling so great about our decision. i will be taking on some consulting work starting in january that will allow me to work from home about two days a week. this will start out being a three month deal and we will see what it works into...more details on that later. for now, we are so thankful that God has blessed us to allow me to stay home. happy tears in my eyes just thinking about it!

second, today, after many walk/jogs since being cleared to run a month ago, i officially completed my first 5K without stopping! i don't think i could have done it without the cheering of my running partner, link...his smile pulled me through. :) anyway, it's a small personal victory on my goal of getting back to running 5 miles on a regular basis, but hey - it's just over 3, so we are more than halfway there. :) yay for me!

third, tonight we are starting a 5-day trial period of adopting a golden retriever. he is the pet of some friends of friends of ours and they are no longer able to keep him. he is adorable, we met him last night. i can't wait to welcome him into our home. we are adopting a dog rather than buying a puppy because we want to honor norman's life by rescuing a dog that is in need of a home. we are excited about this process and hoping that it all works out. more on that and pics to come later...

i told you it was a big day! :)

(of course, some pics of link had to accompany the post - these were taken this morning during storytime..."we're going on a bear hunt, we're going to catch a big one..." i love that book. anyway, i thought these were cute, with all his stuffed pals.)

sweet audrey

my oldest niece, audrey, just turned 13. wow. that's so unreal to me. her parents have started a tradition (w/ carter last year, yes, he is now 14!) that on their kids 13th b-days, we have a family birthday party with the aunts and/or uncles and give a special gift, write a letter, and have a fun weekend together.

this weekend was audrey's girl weekend. she and her mom drove to dallas from tulsa on friday and we all met to take audrey shopping and to mi cocina (her fave!). it was so much fun to see audrey with different generations of people that all know she is oh-so-special. after mi co, we had a birthday party complete with sprinkles cupcakes. each of us gave her jewelry and the letters we had written her, complete with words of wisdom from her aunts and grandmothers. basically we made her feel like the princess she is and let her know that we are all here for her as she begins her life as a teenager. oh-what-fun!!!!

i really just thought i would share because i think it is such a great idea - something for people like me, who are just starting as parents, to put in our minds for future use. i don't think it's ever a bad idea, at any age, to celebrate the kids in our lives. happy birthday, audrey! i love you, girl!

auds at our wedding

auds swimming with norman a couple of summers ago

tiny audrey and me

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