Best of 2008

We have had an amazing year and I thought I'd recap our best moments of 2008 (in no particular order).


~ Finally, after years of legal drama, we were awarded full custody of Jordan.

~ My sister, Jamie, moved back to Ft. Worth. Unfortunately, it only lasted 10 days, but at least we got to visit with her for a little while.

~ I got a new job with more reasonable work hours. (We will be putting this to the test come tax season!)

~ Keith went to his 20 year high school reunion in Ozark, Alabama.

~ Jordan scored his first touchdown!

~ Watched Julia experience all her firsts - first bath, first food, first tooth, first time to crawl, first step, etc. What unforgettable moments those were.

~ Saw several great concerts - John Mayer, Graham Colton, Van Halen

~ Jordan spent several fun weeks in Nashville with Philly and Jerry over the summer.

~ Cheered for my mom and Jamie as they crossed the finish line of the 3-day 60 mile walk for Breast Cancer. What a tremendous journey it was for them.


There are too many great moments to list them all, but these are the ones that come to mind when I think about the past year. I hope the year to come is filled with as much joy and blessing as 2008 brought us.

Christmas Morning at the Skeen House

Julia was up bright and early on Christmas morning.  

She got tired of waiting on Bubby to get up, so she crawled (with a little help from mom) onto Jordan's top bunk and woke him up!  And boy was he glad she did!

Julia loves the Elmo chair that Santa brought her.  He giggles and vibrates when you sit down so Julia stands up and sits down over and over again. 

It's hard to tell, but Jordan was really excited about the stereo he got from Philly and Papa Jerry.

Julia feeding the baby she got from Grandma. 

When asked if he had a good Christmas, Jordan's face says it all.

I hope everyone had as wonderful a Christmas as we did.  See you all next year!

Four Generations

We had four generations of women together over Christmas.  From left to right - Sharon (my mother), Julia, me and Memaw (my maternal grandmother).  

Mattie's Christmas Party

Friday night we went to Ms. Mattie's Christmas party. Ms. Mattie runs Julia's in-home daycare and we absolutely adore her. It is comforting to know that Julia is with such a sweet and caring lady while we are at work every day.

Julia loves Ms. Mattie.

The kids sing along with Mr. Guy.

Julia and Klein listen to Mr. Guy play the guitar.

Julia making her way over to daddy.

Julia spent most of her time observing everyone else at the party.

And another perfect photo op with Santa.

All I want for Christmas . . .

. . . is for someone to get me off this scary man's lap!!!

The Music Box

This video is rather long, but I thought you would enjoy it.  Phyllis gave Jordan a little Christmas music box one year and Julia discovered it the other day.  She is fascinated that the music turns on when you open the box and off when you close it.  It's fun to watch her explore her surroundings and discover new things.  

Walking to Jordan's Room

Julia is walking all over the house now and getting into everything.  It's time to finish baby-proofing the house!  Here's a little video of Julia walking to her favorite place - Jordan's room.  He always has fun toys laying around that she likes to get her hands on and they always go straight to the same place - her mouth. 

Mavs Won!

KPMG invited a few people from my company to a recent Dallas Mavericks game so me, Keith and Jordan went. We had box seats and it was incredible. Great food, comfortable seats, and an awesome view of the court. It was nice to visit with my former co-workers and spend some time with my family without Julia. Don't get me wrong, I love having Julia along too, but she sometimes takes up so much of my attention that I miss out on quality time with Jordan and Keith. Anyway, we had a great time at the game. Here are some pics of the box we were in and the goofy boys having a great time.

All About Me

Nicole did this on her blog and I thought it was a really neat idea so I decided to play too. Below is my version of Nicole's list. The things I've done are in bold. This was really fun so I hope you decide to play too.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris (Paris, Texas – does that count?)
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child (not officially, but would adopt Jordan in a heartbeat if given the opportunity)
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted (sketched, but I think that counts)
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie (No, but was in a Radio Shack commercial)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies (No, but I’ve bought and eaten more than my share)
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (just a fish, but it was a big one!)
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous (Evander Hollifield, John Lithgow)
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby (au natural)
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

These weren't on Nicole's list, but I wanted to add them.
100. Joined the army
101. See a glacier in person
102. Swam with a dolphin (haven’t done it, but would love to)

Touchdown!

Jordan is playing flag football this year and he is having so much fun. His team is really good. They have only had 3 games so far, but they have won every one of them! At the last game Jordan actually scored a TOUCHDOWN and the extra point. Unfortunately, Julia and I couldn't go to that game so we missed it! I hope he has another chance to run the ball again so we can see it! Here are a few pictures of his team in action!

She's Walking!

BREAST CANCER 3-DAY

My mom and Jamie spent the last three days doing the 60-mile walk for breast cancer.  What an amazing journey they endured and we are so proud of them.  Despite blisters, fatigue and aching muscles, they walked the entire 60 miles in just three days.  They spent two very cold nights in tents and showered in large trucks with all the other women.  Amazing.  I took the kids to watch them walk the final stretch and it was very emotional.  My dad and Jon Jon were there to welcome them home too.  The crowd was amazing and you could see the pride in everyone's eyes as they watched their loved ones finish the walk.  

Here's Jordan relaxing before the ceremony started.

Julia was excited to show off her walking skills too.  Not quite ready for the 3-day, but maybe in a couple years.

Julia joined in with the cheering and excitement of the crowd.

Julia and Grandpa.

Jordan got on Jon Jon's shoulders so that he could see the walkers as they passed by.

We are so proud of you Grandma and Jamie.  What amazing women you both are.

Day with Aunt Jamie

We didn't want to send Julia to Mattie's yesterday because she was running a fever. Since Jamie was in town for the Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk this weekend, she agreed to keep Julia for us. It is so hard to leave your baby while you go to work, especially when she doesn't feel good. But I knew she was in good hands. Jamie sent me pictures throughout the day to ease my worries and let me know that she was okay. It was so exciting to get a new picture because I knew exactly what my little girl was doing at that moment. Below is a recap of the day that Julia spent with Aunt Jamie:

10:08 am - "She's so sweet."

11:32 am

11:50 - "Playing with her boat."


12:33 pm - "I like my sghetti mom."

2:18 pm - "Sleeping Beauty."

3:42 pm - "Your new babysitter." (Jon-Jon)

5:53 pm - "All packed and ready to go."

Despite being sick, Julia had a great day with Aunt Jamie. I wish Jamie would be our full time nanny. Thank you for taking good care of my baby girl Jamie! We are thinking about you and mom on your walk today. Wish I could be there with you! Good Luck!

Gotcha Day!

Gotcha Day is a tradition we started to celebrate the day we got Jordan. It’s kind of like a birthday because it marks the day Jordan became a part of our family. When I flew to Ohio to pick him up I didn’t know what to expect. I had only seen him a handful of times and I didn’t expect that he would remember me. I bent down and looked into his eyes and introduced myself to him. He looked up at me with a great big smile like he had known me his whole life. From that moment, I knew everything was going to be okay. We had a couple hours to kill before our return flight home to Alabama so my friend, Mike Perkins graciously let us spend the afternoon at his home with his sweet family. On the way to Mike's house Jordan exclaimed that he needed to go to the bathroom. On instinct, Mike pulled in to the nearest McDonalds so Jordan could go to the bathroom, and to our surprise, Ronald McDonald was there. They snapped a polaroid picture of Jordan and Ronald McDonald together and it was our very first picture of little Jordan.

As I look at it again today, I am taken back by how happy he was despite all that he had been through and how unsure he must have been about his future with us. What a remarkable child he is. We are so proud to have Jordan as part of our family. This Gotcha Day is especially important to us because after years of emotional struggles, we finally have legal custody of Jordan. We are so thankful that we are able to give him the security of a stable family. The years of instability and drama that he experienced prior to joining our family are over. Now he has the comfort of knowing where he is going to lay his head each night and the security of knowing that we will be here when he wakes up in the morning.

I would like to personally thank everyone who helped us when we first learned that Jordan was going to join our family. We had only a week to prepare ourselves financially, emotionally and spirituality before we had to go pick him up. We could not have done it without the overwhelming generosity of family, friends and even complete strangers. When we first decided to do this, we did it to make the life of one little boy a little easier, but we had no idea of how he would change our lives. He has opened our eyes and our hearts to a love we had not known before we met him. What a blessing it is to have Jordan in our family.

The Birthday Princess

We had Julia's birthday party on Saturday and it was tons of fun. I dressed her up in a pretty little dress and big fluffy hair bow. Keith thought the bow was absolutely ridiculous, but I thought she looked like a little princess. I was surprised at how good she did at the party. I was expecting her to be overwhelmed by all the people, but it was like she knew it was all about her. She pranced around in her little dress and made sure everyone knew that she was the Birthday Girl! I haven't had a chance to go through all my pictures, but here are a few of my favorites so far.