Just gotta do a little bragging on my husband...
I loved the beautiful flowers that he got me this week...in honor of his "Yellow Rose of Texas" (me!). Then, I got to enjoy a movie with him (Fireproof...it was great!), and some delicious popcorn. We were going to head out to dinner afterwards, but we ate small and enjoyed some time shopping at a couple of stores before heading home a little early to see Gabrielle before her bedtime. After that, we exchanged gifts...I got him some pj pants, a guitar t-shirt and several CDs he's been wanting. I got the Willow Tree figurine "Anniversary" and two Christmas CDs (Sara Groves and Barlow Girl) that I am listening to today. Thanks, honey for being a wonderful husband and daddy for Gabi too!
My beautiful flowers!
Yesterday she was trying to get her shirt off over her head in the middle of the livingroom. Luckily, she hasn't mastered that yet!
This morning after we sat on her potty chair (first thing in the morning), she ran back into her room and hopped on her rocking horse...she's looking quite ornery in this picture, don't you think?
Oh, so much fun! Just thought I would post an update after we had Gabi's speech evaluation this morning. First of all, we want to thank those of you who have been praying for our patience with her, and for her to develop in God's time. Since she's 19 months old and saying very few words, our pediatrician was fairly concerned. Unfortunately, our insurance doesn't cover any speech sessions for her, and we would have to pay full price out of our pocket (ouch!). So, next best option was to take her to see a church friend of ours down here who is a speech specialist at one of the local elementary schools. After about an hour with Joni, she decided that Gabi is on track for her age in all areas except for her verbal communication. And, she actually scored high enough that she wouldn't be able to qualify for special Preschool services. Wonderful news! The next step is for Nick and I to continue using some basic sign language with her, as well as trying some picture cards to get her to communicate better with us as to what she wants. And, we are to encourage her to be as LOUD as possible...she's pretty quite most of the time, so this might be a challenge for us.Thanks again for your continued prayers, and I know that God has a plan...I just sometimes want to get it all in my time-line (oops!).
So, I was home by myself yesterday eating a quiet lunch when Nick called to inform me that the Flint Hills Resources (Koch) chemical plant here in Odessa that he works at is shutting down--permanently. Whoa! So...guess that means that I'll be seeing more cardboard boxes sometime in my future again. Just so that you don't get too excited about anything, we could still be here for up to a year. There aren't any specific dates set for when everything will happen, and most likely Nick will have plenty of work to do after most of the workers leave (tearing down technology and shipping it to other plants that can use it).
I just put new batteries in this book this week, and this is Gabrielle's new favorite thing to play with. We caught her "singing" with the music as she was "reading" through the book. Too cute if you ask me!
Before I start this post, I just wanted to thank you for keeping up with our family through our blog. If you regularly check our blog (I know who some of you are), could you just leave us a note down below by clicking on the the "comment"? AND, can you believe that this is our 200th post already? Crazy!
Gabrielle going for a pony ride after trick-or-treating.
My grandpa made this wooden horse for me on my first birthday.
Just checkin' behind to see if she's winning the horse race.
Here's a little video of her on her horse that I hope you will enjoy as much as I did watching her the first time.
I don't have a problem with the KU cheerleading outfit as long as she can wear the Bethany hat too. Nick and I agree to disagree on where we think she should go to college--go figure! :)
I was sick with the flu for a couple of days, and still trying to relax on the couch Friday. Gabi wanted me to wear the hat, but then immediately decided that she needed it back...great picture, huh?
Gabi wearing the trash can as a hat--
My two Jayhawks.
Eating some chicken nuggets and apples before we headed out to our church for their "Night of Light" festival.
There were some FABULOUS costumes on kids as well as adults.
And, who knew that Blue Man Group was going to be there!
Ivanna and her son, Noah enjoying the festivities.
Some of the fun...
More of the fun...
And still more fun... 
They even had a rock climbing wall for the youth and adults. 
Inside one of the game tents. I can't wait for Gabi to be a little bit older to enjoy all the fun (may be next year?). 
We saw a LOT of our TX friends at the festival. In the wagon are Maddie and Haley (who Gabi had her 1st birthday party with) with Maddie's mom, Alison (who sings on the praise team at church with us, and her husband plays bass guitar too). Keep Haley's family in your prayers as they are going through some medical issues--Amanda is on bedrest, Jayson has psoriasis problems, and his dad's cancer has come back. 
Posing for the camera...
At home after we went out trick-or-treating to a few of our neighbor's houses (some of whom we haven't talked to since last year at Halloween!). 
Gabrielle decided that there was probably something really great in the candy basket that Nick had been using to pass out candy at our house. 
Oh, so many to decide from...
Playing clean-up before she headed to bed for the night. 
