Snow In Texas? Thank You Global Warming!!!

Friday many residents of Texas left for work with sleet or snow falling around them. What a beautiful and awesome sight! Some fretted and others just watched awestruck. We couldn't believe the steady large amount of snow falling the entire time it was snowing. In East Bernard, it started snowing about 7:20 and stopped about 3 pm. Below are some pics I took throughout the day to show the progression. Yesterday, the kids and I went to the church to help decorate for Christmas and couldn't believe the snow that was still left after a day of beautiful sunshine. Fairly decent sized snowmen were still standing and large grassy areas still were blanketed with snow. I only wish I had my camera with me. Enjoy pics of God's awesomeness (& I'm not talking about the cars and buildings in the photos! LOL)!

Photos from Granny's 90th Birthday Party

Granny & Great Aunt Georgia

Party Guests

Cake & Family Time

Thanksgiving at Dad's

Sunday we had lunch at Dad with the Ellisor side of our family. Fred and all his family, Judy & Stephanie, Dad & Erica, Meemaw, Mike & Laurel and Ronnie, the kids and I were all there to celebrate together. Colt is getting so big and more mobile every time I see him. He was crawling around everywhere and loves to give hugs. Andrew kept making him give hugs.

Colt really liked playing with the play center Courtney brought for him. It had lots of lights and sounds to keep him entertained.

We were especially blessed to get the chance to talk to Dawn, Jason, Lauren and Justin. Mostly we chatted with Lauren and Justin. Every time I talk to them Justin is talking more & more and Lauren is singing more & more in Dutch! She is so smart! How I wish they were here. Only 19 more days until they arrive back in the states!

When Judy got to dad's, she had a host gift for him...a jar of pickles that Betty Sue had put up. What a wonderful gift. Dad was very touched by her gift. This is our first holiday without Betty Sue and just wasn't quite the same. She brought such joy and laughter to our gatherings and I didn't realize just how much I would miss that until today. Who will do the Bill Cosby impersonations and tell the funny stories now? Fred...Sharon? The rest are retired or work with high school students...where's the humor there? Ha Ha!

Of course, what would be Thanksgiving without the talk of deer hunting?! Ronnie, Trey, Aliska and Andrew all went to the deer lease with Ronnie's parents. Aliska got her 1st buck, a 7 pointer. Ronnie got a smaaallll 8 point buck. He says it shrunk up on him after he shot it...ha, ha! Fred, Wey and Blake had gone hunting too and had a successful hunting trip as well. I'm sure hunting stories are like fishing stories; the bucks get bigger each time they tell their stories.

We had a great time visiting with everyone and especially can't wait til Christmas. For the first time, it will be at Fred's and then we will be leaving to go skiing. YEAH!! The kids just love to go to Fred and Sharon's. Heck, we did too as kids. Hope everyone had a wonderful, blessed Thanksgiving and remembers daily all that we are to be thankful for!

Elijah Thomas Gober

Monday, we experienced a miracle...the miracle of childbirth! God's little children are so very precious and the experience of being there for the birth of a baby is absolutely amazing! Sidney and Jeffery's little miracle, Elijah, made his appearance at 6:55 weighing in at 7 lbs 12 ozs and measuring 20 3/4 in. He has what appears to be blue eyes and light brown/dk blonde hair. Mom and baby are doing just wonderfully.

It is so bright out here!

Proud Grandparents

Our New Lil' Miracle

Granny Meuth's 90th Birthday...WOW!!

Can you even begin to imagine all the changes that Alice (E-liska, AKA Granny) Meuth has seen throughout her 90 years of life? She has been a loving, caring, strong, Christian daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother and great-great grandmother. From refrigerators that use large blocks of ice to keep them cool to ones that make their own ice, from having to get out of the car to go up a hill if there were too many people in the car to having the horse power to pull large travel trailers, who would have thought there would be so many changes in technology in the 1900's alone. Through it all Granny has been the same wonderful person she always has been. We are so blessed to have her in our family and wish her many more birthday blessings. We Love You GRANNY!!

Industrial High School Reunion

Nov 6th I took dad to Industrial High Schools Big "60" Reunion. The reunion was for all 60 classes that have graduated from IHS. There were so many people we haven't seen for years...especially dad. He was able to visit with many past athletes he coached and previous neighbors that lived near us in Vanderbilt. Mom went Thurs and stayed the night with one of her dear friends Genevieve. Friday we met up with mom at the reunion pep rally. There are so many former students that now are part of the faculty at IISD and many of the traditions they've had for years are still going strong. It was like going home again, bringing back some of the many wonderful memories of our time living there. After the pep rally we watched a presentation on IISD - Past, Present & Future followed with a tour of the new high school facilities.

We had lunch with Colleen Rozsypal and Miranda Poppe at Cobra Corner. Mrs. Gabrysch was working and visited with us for a bit. Dad and I drove out to the Utz's after lunch and so enjoyed our time with them as well. They like a part of our family when we lived there and we still consider them so even now.

That evening we went back to the school for bbq dinner (where Andrew fell asleep-I think we his play date at the Roszypal's wore him out!) and the game...where the Cobras blew away Danbury in a shut out! It was great seeing everyone and hope it won't be so long between visits in the future.

Summer Fun Out West

This summer Ronnie, the kids & I ventured out west. The night of July 4th we set out for our family vacation. Ronnie hasn't traveled as much as I did growing up and was truly amazed at the beautiful scenery our drive allowed us to see. Our 1st overnight stop was Silver City, NM and night 2 was Jacob Lake, AZ. As we neared Jacob Lake the scenery was even more awesome. The drive just before Navajo Bridge was neat in that there were the Vermillion Cliffs to one side and Echo Canyon on the other. On our hike to Jacob Lake, we ran into Daniel Chudleigh & his sons. We were to meet them there and spend the next 4 days of our trip with them. Day 3 was Ronnie's birthday so we surprised him with breakfast complete with a Dr. Pepper (his coffee). That day we went all around the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. All I could say was...what an AWESOME GOD we have. The views were spectacular.

We then went on to Kanab, UT & stayed in a townhome there with the Chudleigh's. While there we went to Zion National Park 2 days. This is currently my favorite park. The cliffs, the river, the trails, the Emerald Pools, the history...WOW! The kids were real troopers. Next time I would love to see Bryce Canyon National Park as well. The last night we were together, Aliska made a cake for Ronnie & Daniel since they both celebrated their 40th birthday while we were together.

Various views from the shuttle ride to our stops.

Falls into Lower Emerald Pool & View from the shuttle

View from the Weeping Wall

Kids playing at the Middle Emerald Pool, climbing from rock to rock. They kept trying to catch one of the hundreds of tadpoles.

Looking down where we started; the bridge that crossed over the Virgin River. Our family at the Weeping Wall.

On the 10th we headed back home. We stopped that night in Alamogordo, NM and had dinner with my dear old friend Sherri. I can't tell you how happy I was to have been able to see her again. She was one of my best friends in high school. The next morning we drove out to Whitesands National Monument. Most people would have taken plastic sleds out there, but we aren't most people. While we were there, I decided we could make Ronnie's Budweiser box into our sled. What a redneck sled that was, but hey, it worked. The last night we stopped in Junction, TX. Dinner that night was real interesting. We ate at a hole-in-the-wall joint that actually turned out to be quite entertaining and delicious.

The final day on the road was...STRESSFUL!!! Ronnie had no clue, but waiting at the house for our arrival was about 65-75 people ready to surprise him for his birthday. Unknowingly, he was going to get us there WAY TOO EARLY; so the kids & I had to perform some major stall tactics. They ranged from a fake stomach ache, anxiety attack and extended trip to Wal-Mart. Luckily, we arrived just on time. He said this was the best birthday ever and couldn't believe we pulled it off without him knowing. I accomplished my goal for his 40th birthday...for it to be the best ever for him. He got to see a good friend from high school and then the surprise party of the century. Most of these pictures to are from Zion, but I will post ones from the Grand Canyon & Whitesands later.

Granny & Her Girls...and Mr. Justin

A week ago Granny, her 2 daughters, 5 of her granddaughters, 2 of her great granddaughters & 1 great grandson gathered for a great time of reminiscing & laughter. Of course there was great food...even Steph's punch concoction turned out pretty tasty. You are DEFINITELY a Meuth. They can whip out something using everything but the kitchen sink. I think I missed that gene. Granny, Lauren & Jolee played a game of Wahoo. Believe it or not, none of them could remember who won?! I can't wait to work on kolaches with everyone in September!

Enchanted Rock

The Barta Clan, Schmidt Gang & stragglers from the Ellisor bunch went to Enchanted Rock just before spring break. The hill country is so beautiful and E-Rock is absolutely amazing. We had to work hard with all the walking, climbing and caving, but it was worth it (unless you ask Ronnie). This was definitely something new for the Schmidt Gang. Uncle Steve & Aunt Mary Jo were very generous and treated all to sweet treats at Dairy Queen after all the hard work. True to form, Steve just had to have his nightly popsicles. Against Mary Jo's better judgement (since we didn't have a freezer), Steve bought a large box and shared with everyone. The Schmidt kids each had at least 4! We always have such a great time when we all get together. How blessed we are!

Enchanted Rock

Let The Games Begin...

Tonight Trey & Aliska both had their first basketball games. Both scored points in their game and both of their teams won. Trey was stealing balls left & right; he played point guard also. Aliska played some point guard and played great defense. It helps them both that they have to stay with dad after school and pick up things he tells/shows the varsity team.