Getting Ready for Christmas!

We are excited while we get ready for Christmas! Robert and Danica will be here today and so long as the Seattle airport stays ahead of the snow the Covarrubias will be here on Thursday. It still is very cold here and we are hoping for snow sometime this week. There was a bit of moisture in the air today which was really nice.

Making more cookies, daddy needed a BIG candy cane cookie.

Not much cookie making going on here, but she has a lot of fun anyway.

Samuel and Kellen at their preschool Happy Birthday Jesus party.

Enjoying some fresh cold air at a park.

The beginning of the gingerbread house.

And the final product, very proud!

Happy Birthday Denny J!

Happy Birthday Denny J! 18 today...18today!!! We love you so much and are so blessed by you in many ways. Have a wonderful day!

Happy Birthday Grandma Taylor!!

We hope you have a great birthday Grandma! Here is your unedited, because sometimes that is more fun, birthday greeting from OK!

Papa Den

My aunt emailed this out yesterday as it would have been her father's, my grandfather's, 85 birthday. Papa Den was an amazing man whom I wish my brothers could have met and who I wish could have held my babies. I will say no more, thank you Aunt Denise!






Today is Dec 15, the day Denny James Merideth Jr. was born. He was born in Caruthersville, Missouri in 1923 to Dennie James Merideth Sr. and AttieLorene Buchanan Merideth. D.J. (as he later became known) was the only son of Dennie and AttieMerideth. He had an older sister, Flossie. He had another sister, DorothyOpal who died before he was born.

D.J. (or Daddy - as I called him), was well liked and popular with all. Heplayed football in high school graduating in 1941. Years later, one of his teachers would share with me how well liked he was. He had a very infectious smile, and with blue eyes and black hair he was very handsome. Seems like he enjoyed the girls as much as they enjoyed him.



He first went to school at Arkansas State University, but left there to enlist in the Air Corps of the Army in Nov of 1942. He flew B17's and according to his combat record he flew 35 missions from England over Germany. He was awarded the Air Medal and an Oak Leaf cluster to the AirMedal. He ended his military service in 1945 and returned to Caruthersville.



Following his return to Caruthersville, he entered the University of Missouri in Columbia where he met our Mother. When it came time to graduate, a fluke in his transcript prevented him from graduating due to a lack of a few hours. He and Bonnie married in Nov of 1947 and moved toCaruthersville, into the house where we were raised. (Where Barbara lives now).



He began farming with his Dad. Daddy was active in his community, serving on the RIII school board, the Pemiscot County Hospital Board and several other organizations. He ultimately ended up in politics by running for Presiding Judge of theCounty. There were many times, the "kids" would go "politicking" by ringingdoorbells or knocking on doors, posting signs or standing close to the voting areas. Daddy basically never met a stranger, approaching them with his outstretched hand.



As kids, Daddy would borrow a friend's plane and on Sunday mornings wouldfly us to Reelfoot or Dyersburg for breakfast and then would fly us backhome for Sunday School. As we got older, he would attend church with us, sitting in the balcony at the Eastwood Memorial Methodist Church. He and mother would attend a monthly dance club and he played couples bridge with mother and several other couples in Caruthersville.



Known for his practical jokes, Daddy would do what he could to elicit a laugh. He called mother "Bonnie Mae" even though she acted like she didn't like it. He would wear red socks with his suit and sit on the stage at graduation for RIII. (He would hike his pants leg up so Mother could see the red socks). He loved surprises. His Christmas shopping was always putoff until Christmas Eve. Most of the time it wouldn't be wrapped, but he would bring it out on Christmas morning and "toss" it to the person it belonged to. (Sometimes he gave me Denny's or vice versa).



Daddy was one of the most loving men I know. He was fair and honest and extremely patient. He enjoyed his kids, all four of us, from the time we could hardly walk until we were adults ourselves. Sometimes, as kids, you could see us riding on the bumper of his truck as he was driving down the gravel road. (This would drive mother nuts). He had high expectations for us and the desire that we all would do good.



There is so much more that I could share, but I'll save some for another day-- like how he could cook a mean omelet, or swim forever under the water with us on his back, or how he and Aunt Barbara would fuss over the Christmas gravy, or he could lay on the floor at Ma Attie's and take a quick nap while we washed the dishes .

For those of you who never met him - or don't remember him -- you missed agreat man. Today he would have been 85. And I know he is smiling down on us all and wishing us a happy life and a wonderful Christmas.



God bless you all - Denise

We are deceived!

Oklahoma can be a tricky place...we bundle up, head outside and within minutes we are back inside. The sun shines but it can still be 20 degrees!!! The kids were so excited to take the Jeep out yesterday and we made it as far as the mailbox then Samuel said, "Mom, my mouth is cold!" and that was the end of our venture outside. This morning it was 15 degrees, I think if it were a bit warmer it could snow!

Denny Rocks!!

I, Erin, had the privilege of escorting my little brother Denny to Missouri for an interview last week. Danica was able to go as well and prepared us for the drive from OKC to MO and then back to Dallas in two days. The interview was for a nomination to one of the military academies. I really don't have the words for how great of a kid, he will be 18 in one week, Denny is. He is SO much fun to be around and love just oozes from him. He is all about YOU and what YOU need. He is amazing and we are so excited to see where he lands come next summer. We love you Denny!We brought Denny and Kristofer's motorized Jeep back from MO, the kids were very excited. It will be a fun thing to have at home
Thanks for the fun time and memories sis and bro!

Cookies, cookies, cookies!

We had lots of fun making Christmas cookies with Ms Nancy and Isabella the other night. The rolling and cutting lasted a good hour or so, us moms were very impressed, it was fun.

Sugar comatose while watching a show.

Samuel's First Race

Samuel was in his first official race yesterday, a 50 yard dash down the streets of downtown OKC. He was super excited for it all week, put his "fast" shoes on, and donned the Santa hat for the occasion. He had a lot of fun and hopes to try to win next year. Maybe he will be up for the 1 mile run!

Game face is on.

And they are off!

There he is #27 getting ready to cross the finish line!

The "trophy", a gift from Santa.

Sharing the goods with sister.

Great Food & Christmas Fun

We had a great Thanksgiving with Grandma Paula, Roger, Uncle Robert and Danica here from out of town. We also had our good friends Tom, Nancy and Isabella who moved here from Seattle as well as John, Marc's assistant, and Sabrina from the Thunder. It was a very nice relaxing day with wonderful food and decent weather to spend some time outside.

We had a "pretend" Christmas, for a lack of a better explanation for the kids, with Grandma Paula and Roger. Both Samuel and Merideth are very excited for Christmas this year, it was a lot of fun. Thank you to Grandma and Roger and Robert and Danica for the great food and most of all for the wonderful company!!

Danica brought some great Christmas head attire!

Is this a hat?! Nope Merideth it is a coffee cup and you better give it back to Danica so she can have her coffee!

Samuel and Merideth love being with Danica, she makes them feel very special.

Time to open presents!!

Love the bear Grandma!

Fireman Sam to the rescue! He will not hesitate to squirt you with his mini fire extinguisher!

Waiting for the boat parade on the OK River.

Hunting for the perfect Christmas tree.

It was a chilly day so the kids stayed VERY close.

Lots of space to run!

We stopped for a nice cold visit to a park near Arcadia Lake.

Arcadia Lake is where we hope to take the boat out next summer.

Making ornaments at a fun Christmas program at church. The kids got to where their pjs which was a huge hit.

Putting their ornaments on the tree for all to enjoy!

Happy Birthday Kelley!

Happy Birthday to our wonderful Kelley! We miss you so much and hope you have a wonderful day filled with EVERYTHING you love! We can't wait to see you!

"Yeah, my seashell!"

We were outside playing basketball after dinner and Samuel crouched down, grabbed his side and said "ouch!" I said, "Oh bud, do you have a cramp?" And he said, "yeah, my seashell!" He thought I had said crab, so we had a little lesson on cramps and how they are completely unrelated to sea life...he keeps us laughing!

Happy Birthday Danica!

We hope you have a wonderful day today Danica! We are so thankful for you and the love you give to ALL of us. We are blessed being closer to you and can't wait to see you soon!

Now here is your silly birthday greeting:

"Thanksgiving Meal Concert"

Samuel had a Harvest Program at his school the other night which he was calling the Thanksgiving Meal Concert. It was a lot of fun watching 220 preschoolers and kindergartners singing and doing the hand motions. It took a couple of songs for Samuel to warm up to it but as you can see in the video below he got into it.

It has been a struggle to get anything on Samuel that isn't "comfortable" or "hard" or "tight" or "jeans" for the last few months but I was determined to get him into something decent for the program. He came home with a little note from his teacher reminding us of the program and I added in my two cents that it said that he had to wear nice clothes for the stage. I laid out three different outfits for him to choose from and he chose a shirt from one and pants from another, not too bad. Then he remembered he has a few ties from his uncles in a box under his bed. I wasn't too excited about it at first but then I thought it would make for great pictures and a great memory, and at least it somewhat matched. He did still wear his crocs, I didn't want to ruin how well it was going. Anyway, in our opinion he was adorable and he had a lot of fun!

Merideth, Isabella, and Samuel after their rock star performance.

Pig Tails and All

When I first saw this picture of Merideth I immediately thought of the picture below of me when I was about Merideth's age. I don't often notice that we look similar, but this made it happen!

Happy Birthday Uncle Robert!

Happy Birthday Robert! We are thankful to God for you and hope you have a wonderful day!

Crossings Community Church

We have found a great church here in OK. We can't quite say we found the church we will go to forever due to the fact that this is only the second church we have gone to, but it feels right. The pastor is very geniune, we enjoy the music, there is a large range of ages, lots of families, great children's program (according to numerous sources), Samuel and Merideth feel comfortable there (it is also where they go to preschool), it feels good. I felt led to even tell you about the church because I/we have really been touched by the sermon series; and the notes, video and audio of the sermons are available at: http://www.crossingsokc.org/resources/archive/index.html
The series is going through the beattitudes from Matthew 5. We have all heard these, read them, seen them on various gifts, but Pastor Grubbs is great at making them real. Check them out if you feel the need!

Random Pics from the last few weeks.

Just a little update of pictures before I organize them into their folders, enjoy!

Danica, Samuel, and Merideth trying their hardest to help this man push the ball up a big hill (Bricktown, OKC).

Samuel's first day of preschool. We think a tradition has begun; last year he got stung by a bee on his nose the day before the first day of school, this year he fell off his bike and skinned up his chin. Maybe just by writing that it won't happen next year!

Shopping with baby of course and needing a picture to prove it.

Wheel barrow race at a fall party put on by Samuel's school.


Samuel, Isabella, and Merideth excited at a Thunder game.

99 Balloons

I was looking on Oprah's website today after Marc mentioned that an acquaintance from Seattle will be on her show sometime this week, and I saw this little guy's picture and it said that it was a story that made Oprah cry. Why I clicked on it I really don't know, because if it made Oprah cry then it would make me go into a crying fit...this video is an amazing testimony to living and loving EVERY day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th6Njr-qkq0

Happy Birthday Kailas!!

A Happy Birthday message to Kailas! We hope you have a wonderful day! We miss you a ton!

Happy Halloween!

We had a fun Halloween; started at Marc's office trick or treating around there, then went to one of our friends neighborhood's for a little before dark trick or treating, then back to our house to hand out treats. We got to meet a lot of our neighbors and the kids really enjoyed handing out toys and treats. Samuel had to be sure everyone got one of everything, so by the end of the night we were digging in Samuel and Merideth's bags for stuff to give out. Last weekend we went to the Storybook Forest which is a fun program put on by the parks at one of the lakes. They had little sets from stories such as the 3 little pigs, sleeping beauty, Rapunzel, etc. They had games and a hay ride as well. We enjoyed that on a colder evening, Halloween's weather was very nice, perfect for being outside to meet people.

Merideth was Tinker Bell and Samuel chose to be a skunk, same costume as last year. We did buy him a Peter Pan costume but it just didn't feel right, he was much more comfortable in the skunk.

The Storybook Forest with Isabella.

Skunk, Mater, and Tinker Bell.

Samuel and Merideth enjoyed putting together these pumpkins a bit more than the actual Jack-o-Lanterns. Some of you were lucky enough to see them on the web cam!

Samuel is 4!

4 years old!!! We had fun celebrating Samuel's birthday. Grandma Paula, Uncle Robert, and Auntie Danica were here to help. We also had our friends, Tom, Nancy, and Isabella over in the afternoon. It was a fun day. Birthday breakfast!

"Checkered flag here I come!" Quoted by Isabella who is a huge fan of the movie Cars.

Thank you Grandpa and Grandma for the new bike!!

Uncle Robert "helping" with the new toys.

Auntie Danica and Samuel enjoying the new garbage truck.