The Hortons

1.5 years

2011-08-18T10:07:00.004-05:00

I can't believe it! Our little boy is 18 months old. He is really getting to be so much fun and I'm so proud of him! He "graduates" to the toddler room at daycare on Monday. He will get to use a big-boy mat and really start learning things! He does well in nursery at church because Grandma and Aunt Melanie are the nursery leaders!

He says only a handful of words, but his actions are the funniest! He'll say Dada, Mama, Papa (Grandpa), More (sounds like "Mo"), Go, and Three (loves it when I count one, two...THREE!!!)

He knows signs for please, more, milk and all done.

He LOVES watching Finding Nemo and thinks it's hilarious when the H20 intollerant seahorse sneezes and when Dori gets stung by the little jelly fish! It's so funny to watch him crack up!

We're really starting to see his personality develop. He laughs and points and "talks" all the time (just like his sister). One of his favorite things to do is grab one of our cell phones or the baby monitor and "talk" on the phone. He's quite funny to watch :) He knows the pouting game, too. It's funny when he wants something and we tell him no and he goes into the kitchen to pout next to the diswasher so he can watch himself cry...silly boy!

But he's so sweet. He's starting to understand when he hurts someone and will give a hug and a kiss to mom and dad to say sorry :) He gives knuckles and hi-fives to just about everyone and says "Hi!" to everyone while riding in the cart at the store...Takes after his Grandpa Horton ;)

Taylor is growing up so fast. She turns 12 in November and is looking forward to going into young women's. She's decided to play the clairnet in band and is still into everything that has to do with horses.

Kelly is starting "football season" at A&M with his sister next weekend. The next few months will be long and hard for him and I know he sacrifices so much to make us some extra bucks ;) Thanks hun for supporting us and working so hard!!!!

My cake business is starting to take off. I've got 2 orders this month with a possible third and a wedding cake order for October 1st. Here are a couple of cakes that I have done in the past couple of months.

Well, that's about it for now. Take care and maybe in another month or so I'll update this blog ;)

Weekend

2011-05-02T09:19:00.005-05:00

OK...this weekend was GREAT! I got so much done, but now I'm paying for it.

This is what took up most of my weekend.....

All week I did something on the wedding cakes. Thursday and Friday were the longest days I've had in a long time. I was up until 1 am on Thursday and 2 am on Friday. Then I had to be up at 6:45 am to get ready to deliver the them an hour away.

Oh my gosh, I was so nervous! I kept praying and praying that the cake wouldn't fall or anything on the way there. Funny thing is, Kelly was more nervous than me :) He told me yesterday that he was glad I was done with that cake because wedding cakes are such a big deal and people flip out over them. ;) He's so funny.

Anyway, The bride's cake was White cake with Bavarian cream filling and butter cream icing. I made all the gum paste calla lillies for the cake ahead of time and put them on (with the topper) at the wedding.

The groom's cake was a chocolate cake with chocolate butter cream.

All in all, these cakes turned out good...I think so anyway ;)

There are a lot of things I learned from this experience, so I was very grateful for the opportunity to do it. I also found my favorite cake recipes. My butter cream skills are getting better but I like making fondant covered cakes the best ;)

You would think that after all that, I would just take it easy....nope. I CLEANED my house when I got home. The kitchen really needed it the most, but I cleaned from about noon until 4 pm!

Needless to say, I am WORE OUT! I am grateful to Kelly for getting me that foot message machine (with heat!!!) while I was pregnant, I used it Saturday night and pretty much all day yesterday. I seriously thought about bringing it to work today ;)

Anyway, I'm glad it's over, but I'm excited for the next job!

So, who's next ;)

Demo

2011-02-18T12:50:00.004-06:00

Ok, so here the next project we are working on.

It's hard to describe, but where you see the closets and cupboards now...there will be a new wall that will will extend all the way to the second upper cabinet to enclose the space for the pantry with a new kitchen door.

We will be replacing the kitchen door with an exterior/metal door to help with energy costs...right now we just have a regular door which is so odd to me and Kelly.

It was SOOOOOOOOO much fun to demo this wall! Kelly let me do most of it, and we only had one incident...Kelly cut his finger ;)

I am really looking forward to this, because our Kitchen is so tiny and we don't a lot of tall cupboard space. This will help tremendously!

We'll keep you posted on our progression.

A New year

2011-01-04T09:22:00.004-06:00

The Horton family had a wonderful christmas this year!

Kelly got his Craftsman multi-tool he's been asking for. I got money to get a new pair of running shoes (my resolution...to get back to running). Taylor got a ton of western-style decorations for her room. And Myles got a ton of toys that make lots of noise ;)

Kelly has been steadily working on the house. He has removed yet another wall in our house. This time it's the wall between the laundry room and the "weird" room. Now we have a very long laundry room :) which we will add a wall of cabinets for storage (eventually). Kelly also moved the laundry room door over, which will give our living room better flow... I have the bestest husband ever :) Now we only have one more 1/2 wall to remove...the wall between the kitchen and dining room to make a breakfast bar...but we won't be tackling that until we get ready to remodel the kitchen.

Kelly has also told me that he's going to build me...wait for it!.... A PANTRY!!!! WOOOOHOOO!! He's graciously giving up part of his garage to expand a wall to give us more shelving/storage for the food and all my cake decorating stuff. Isn't he just amazing?! :)

Taylor is busy twirling and riding horses, so she's keeping very busy. Myles will turn a year old in a month....good gracious, time flies when you're having fun....and I'm already starting to figure out what to do for his birthday.

As for me...I'm going to try to expand my "cake portfolio" this year and get more experience. So, if anyone reads this and wants me to make a cake, just call me and I'll be glad to do one. (I'll probably only do cost of supplies maybe 6 months, or until I get at least 5 or 6 more) I'm really interested in making a wedding/bridal shower cake. I'm also going to be busy helping Kelly with the house. We have a lot of projects to do this year, so I'm way excited to work with Kelly to "get-er done ;)

New Design

2010-11-10T08:57:00.004-06:00

Hope everyone likes the new design of our blog. I think this one will work better. I'm working on getting a family photo taken this month so be on the look-out.

Myles is ok... He's got a cold and is using a nebulizer for a while..THANK YOU AMY AND ANDY!!! The doctor thought it was RSV but we got lucky this time.

Kelly is great. He's doing the Texas A&M games with his sister, Melissa, again this year, so he's been really busy and gone for a few weekends. Next weekend is the last game, so we'll be happy to have him stay home for a while.

Taylor's 11th birthday is next weekend as well. We are all going up to college station to be with Kelly since he's going to be gone. I'll pick up Taylor and Myles after I get off work next Friday and we'll drive up there. We'll go see the new Harry Potter movie for her birthday on Saturday, so it's going to be awesome!

I'm doing great too.. I have started a new job. I work for an appraisal company as their office manager. I really like working there and think it's a huge step...no LEAP... above my last job. Funny thing is, this is the same appraisal company that appraised our house when we bought it a couple years back. I'm also running again. I'm training to run a 5k. My hip hurts the day after I run, but I'm going to keep up with it. Kelly says it's because I'm getting old...jerk ;) hehehe I'm on week 2 of the 8 weeks training, so I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Our house is still a disaster/remodeling zone but we are all happy and loving life. We're looking forward to the holidays coming up and especially Myles' first Christmas.

Cake

2010-10-26T13:24:00.003-05:00

Ok, here's another cake I made.

This one was for Brianne's 7th birthday. She said she wanted a "flower" cake so this is what I came up with. I had never made sugar flowers before, so I thought I would give it a try. They aren't great, but I think they don't look too bad for my first try. :) I will do somethings differently next time when I make flowers, and I don't think I'll do them all the time. They are very time consuming. Anyway, the top cake is yellow with a raspberry cream cheese filling. The bottom cake is chocolate with cream cheese filling. I have to say that the yellow cake was my favorite this time...chocolate is usually my favorite.

I think my next cake will be something fun for christmas unless someone else asks me to make one. ;)

Hope you like it!

Life at Home

2010-08-16T12:29:00.005-05:00

Well, things have been happening around the Horton house.

Last month, I (Charis) became jobless and I have been job searching ever since. I am, however, enjoying this time with Myles. I get to watch him grow and play and I am thankful for this opportunity.

Taylor spent the month of July with us. We had so much fun together. She played with her cousins and loved being with Myles. She loved going to the library and going swimming.

Kelly has had kind of a rough time lately. Last Saturday he started feeling bad with a sharp pain in his back. Last Monday, he went to the doctor...under our good friend Candy's advice...and found out he has shingles. He's still recovering and we hope he gets better soon.

Myles is growing like a weed. He just had his 6 month check up and is doing great. He's 17 lbs 5 oz and 27 inches long. He's started sitting up this past couple of weeks...with Mom's help of course. :) Now he's showing signs of commando crawling. We are going to be seeing him moving around sooner than later I think. He's so much fun and we love the spirit he brings to our home.

I'm not teaching seminary this year. I've recently been called as the CTR 4 teacher. I have anywhere between 5 and 8 4-yr-olds each Sunday. They are funny but a handful. :)

I have a little more time on my hands, so I'll try to update this more next week.

Morning Mohock

2010-05-31T10:25:00.004-05:00

Mom was having fun with my hair...don't I look so cute? hahaha Mom thinks I look like Jack-Jack from the Incredibles :) Oh and don't mind the finger...I don't know any better :)

2010-04-06T13:33:00.002-05:00

My little innocent sleeper ;) Myles at 3 months old. Don't you just love the Little Mermaid pillow he's sleeping on? haha

So Very Happy

2010-02-25T13:11:00.004-06:00

Today is just another regular day, but I don't think I've ever been happier! I was just sitting her thinking how very, very blessed I am.

I have a wonderful Husband who is a good example to others and is worthy of bearing and using the priesthood which he holds.

I have a beautiful daughter, Taylor. I will never think of her as my step-daughter. She is and always will be our oldest child, and I love her.

I have been blessed to have born a son! A handsome little boy, Myles. He's healthy, strong, and wonderful!

I was looking at Myles yesterday and just broke into tears because I was so happy. It's probably got a lot to do with all the hormones going on in me, but I'm more weepy these days than I've ever been. I wouldn't trade it for the world! Giving birth really is a miracle. Holding a newborn, my newborn, is the most gratifiying thing that has ever happened to me. I'm sure other things will be just as rewarding, but for now, I'm happy and content with what I have in life.

On a lighter side............ Myles lost his umbilical cord stump yesterday! He's got an inny/outty ;) Not sure if that's possible, but it looks like it's going to be partially in and partially out. Kara calls it a cinnimon roll. Hahaha!

Also, a big thanks to LeAnn for the very cute shirts! We are working on getting pictures taken in them, but for now here are the pictures of the "Skeeter-ware!" Thanks LeAnn! We LOVE them!
We are getting ready to have a full house next weekend. Myles is going to be blessed and it looks like all of my sisters (except Kendra), their families, and my dad are planning on coming. This will be the first time I've had any of my sisters here. I'm so excited! It will be be a nice reunion and a great time for me to show of my cute little boy! Yeah Myles!

2010-02-18T14:14:00.001-06:00

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Myles is here

2010-02-18T12:58:00.010-06:00

Well, we did it! Our little boy is finally here.

Myles Davis Horton was born Friday, February 5, 2010 at 3;43 pm in Port Arthur, TX. He weighed in at 8 lbs 10 oz and 20 inches long.

Kelly and I checked in Friday morning at 6:00 am so the doctor can start inducing me. He came fairly fast once the petocin kicked in. All I can say is...thank goodness for modern medicine and Epidurals!!! I knew it was going to be painful, but I don't think I really realized how much it would hurt! Wow!

We hung out Friday and Saturday at the hospital and waited for the doctor to release us Sunday morning. The pediatrician wouldn't release Myles until he would pee! We kept feeding him all day and still nothing. Poor Taylor was so sad. We had her that weekend but they wouldn't let any kids under 12 into the Maternity ward so we didn't get to spend any time with her. She was so excited that she would be able to hold her baby brother before she had to go home on Sunday, but she could only see him through the nursery window. She even brought him a cute little stuffed dog! That weekend didn't go as planned with Taylor but we made it up to her during the week.

Myles was dry until Monday morning when they finally let us go. We were able to pick up Taylor on Thursday. Kelly got her at 6 and she came over for dinner. She wasn't much interested in dinner :) Taylor had so much fun holding Myles and did such a good job! She's such a good big sister and I know she's going to be such a good help!

Myles is doing great. He had his first check up last Friday. He lost 10 oz while in the hospital but had gained 5 oz back at his appointement. He is doing so good. We are still trying to get on a good sleeping schedule, but we are doing pretty good.

Tomorrow, Myles will be 2 weeks old. He's already changed so much. He's more alert and awake and now smiles and coos at us. :)

I'll post more on Monday after his 2 week check up. Hope you enjoyed the pics!

27 weeks and all is well!

2009-11-07T17:04:00.003-06:00

13 weeks and counting ;)

Well, I went to my doctor yesterday for my monthly check up. Both baby and I are doing well. he's just gone through a really big growth spurt and my tummy can sure tell it....as well as everyone else. ;)

I took the glucose test about 2 weeks ago and found out that everything is normal. No gestational diabetes!!! Yeah!!!! I didn't like that test, by the way! Yucky stuff to drink...blahhhh. Not to mention getting by blood taken twice, but having to be stuck 3 times because the second lady couldn't find a good vein.... It doesn't matter....baby is fine and that's all that I care about. :)

We are getting ready to celebrate Taylor's 10th birthday!! Wow...we can hardly believe it. I met Taylor for the first time 3 years ago this month when she was turning 7. It's amazing to see how she's changing and grown....like a monster! She's so TALL!!! hehehe she's all arms and legs and Kelly and I enjoy every moment we have with her. She's been so excited about having a baby brother. She's already making pictures for his room and getting him stuffed animals. She said she's even going to crochet him a hat for when he comes home! She's so cute! :)

After Taylor's birthday, we have to start getting ready for Thanksgiving. We're going to College Station again this year so Kelly can work at the A&M game. We'll have "Thanksgiving" when we get back, at his parents house. After that, we have to really start getting things ready for the baby. Painting will be a huge priority as well as getting up the rest of the old tile in the bedrooms. We'll probably still be walking on cement floors, but at least the messy job will be done. Then, of course, there's Christmas. We have Taylor this year, so I'm sure it's going to be tons of fun. :)

Well, that's about it for now. I'll try to update after all my appointments, but nobody hold your breath. ;) hehehe That will be every two weeks now that I'm in my 3rd trimester.

Love to you all,
Kelly, Charis, Taylor and baby :)

Say Hello.......

2009-09-09T20:38:00.007-05:00

...........to Baby Boy Horton! ;)

Yep, it's true! We're having a boy! I had the ultrasound a month ago and had some technical difficulties getting these on here.

I wanted to put the movie of the ultrasound on here, but I can't get it to work. Hopefully I'll get it up soon.

I just want to say that technology is the coolest thing ever! The technician recorded the session for us on a DVD that we brought with us. I didn't know this was possible, but Kelly, apparently, overheard another couple on our last visit saying they could record it. He surprised me with a blank disc when he met me at my work to go to the appointment. What an amazing, thoughtful husband I have!!!! ;) I love you, babe! xoxoxo

The whole thing was also quite messy! That tech got that gooey gel stuff everywhere! ;) hehehe

It was amazing to see that little guy squirming around in there! Now I know I'm not just going crazy when I feel something poking me in the tummy ;) hehehe I'm truly amazed and thankful for such a wonderful and exciting opportunity. I can't wait until February now! It all seems so much more real! :)

Now I'm really feeling him move around. He's even started kicking me hard enough that I can see my stomach flutter!!!! It's so weird! It looks like I have major twitches in my belly. I it's so amazing to know that I have a little boy poking around in there!

No, we don't have any names picked out yet....or any that we agree on. Kelly is set on Skeeter mostly, but he also likes Oz, Zane, Xackery, Briggs, Coltrane, and (the only semi normal name) Curtis. I told him that he's crazy and not allowed near the birth certificate when the little guy gets here. I'm going to make sure that all the doctors and nurses know that no names will be given without my full and un-drugged consent! ;) Kara has lovingly told Kelly that he's fired from the naming position! Go Kara!!! ;)

Let me know if you have any cool names. I like Gavin, Landon, Miles, Wyatt, and Davis (after my mom's maiden name). Since Kelly's not going to be much help :)

Everything seems to be going good. I have my 24 week appointment on Tuesday so that means I have more tests.

The only other thing that's happened lately is that I fell. I was going to work and fell backwards out the front door. No laughing here....it really sucked ;) I twisted my ankle really bad and got road rash on my elbow, but I was OK. Kelly was really worried there for a minute because I couldn't walk for a bit. I got up and my ankle seemed to be OK other than it really REALLY hurt. It blew up like a balloon and looked like (as Kelly told me) a Cabbage Patch Kid foot. Nice huh? ;) It's been 2 weeks now and the swelling has gone down completely...thank goodness.

I think I'm just about ready to post some pics, but I don't like how big I am. I guess I should just get over it....it's only going to get worse :) I'll try to be brave soon :)

Take care and I'll try to update this next weekend after my appointment.....don't hold your breath ;)

--Charis and Kelly

New addition to the family

2009-07-31T12:59:00.002-05:00

Well, it's about time that I post my announcement on here...only thanks to my sister Kara who told me it's time to update my blog ;)

I'm Pregnant! Yippppeeee!!!!
I'm just into my second trimester...3 months along for those who don't have a clue what that means (I didn't before I looked it up, hehehe).

On the 13th of July I had my first appointment with the doctor and Kelly and I heard the heartbeat. It was completely amazing. I told Kelly, "Do you hear that? There really is a baby in there!" Before then it just didn't seem very real.

I should be getting my first ultrasound on the 11th of August at my second appointment. I'm really excited for that. People keep asking me if we're going to find out ahead of time what the sex is.... HECK YEAH!!! Now or in 6 more months it will still be a surprise! We just get more time to be prepared for the little one to come. Anyway, I think we're going to need a lot of time to come up with a name. We'll start a "Is it a boy or girl?" pool soon. Winner gets bragging rights ;)

We've had Taylor the past month and have had tons of fun. This is her last weekend with us, and we're really going to miss having her around all the time. She's really excited about having a brother or a sister. At first, she really wanted a sister, but I think I have her convinced now that her dad needs another boy around ;) She's all ready changed her mind and says a boy is what she really wants now. :) Of course, we'll be happy with whatever we get, but I think we're routing for a boy. :)

June Update

2009-06-03T21:42:00.005-05:00

Well, it's been a while. And, thanks to my sister Kara, I'm updating the blog....so I'm not a slacker any more ;) Thanks, Kara!

Last weekend we went fishing for the first time. It was great. Taylor caught 2 catfish and some perch and Kelly did the same. I, however, only caught one fish....and a sunburn. ;)

I finally sold my little car. Yeah! I'm a big girl now!!! hehehe

here's a picture of my "new" car.

I LOVE IT! :)

Now we are dilligently searching for a truck for Kelly. He's so sweet, he traded in his truck for this :) I love him....and not just because of that!

Thanks, babe! :) xoxoxox

I'll put more on here later, but this should make my "readers" a little more happy.

New Busy Year

2009-02-16T12:13:00.002-06:00

Well, the New Year started out with a bang. Lots of things happening.

On January 8th, I was laid off at Orgain Bell & Tucker, and had to start looking for work. It wasn't an easy time for me and I was very depressed. Fortunately I didn't have to wait too long. I started going to every temp-agency in Beaumont and within a week I had two job offers. It was a hard decision, but Kelly and I decided that I would be happiest working for an Electrical Contracting company located in Beaumont. What drew me to it most was the work schedule...Mon-Thurs 7:30-5:30 and Friday 7:30 to 11:30. Half days on Fridays??....heck yeah! I really like it and they are starting to introduce me to their HR Department. Eventually I'll be the HR Director's Assistant :) Right now I'm the receptionist/front desk girl getting to know their system and everything else.

As for our house, it's coming along nicely. We have finally finished the back yard digging projects, so now we have been concentrating on the fence. Kelly, Ray, and Andy got all the new posts in and then Kelly and I got the new gates up (without the boards on them). It's been raining a lot so we haven't had a chance to start putting up the boards yet.

We've also started to tackle some of the indoor projects we've wanted to do since we moved in. We've knocked down a couple of walls in our living room/dining room and it's really opened up the place. I'll post some pictures ASAP...when I remember to ;)

Taylor finally got the basketball goal she's been asking for. We've all been enjoying it and Taylor is getting better each week she comes over. Her confidence and ability are getting stronger every day. It's great to see her getting so big, but it's so sad to see her grow up so quickly. Taylor came over a couple of weeks ago with a new hair cut...to her shoulders. She's also starting to be more conscience of how she looks when she goes into town. She's turning into a teenager before Kelly and are are really ready :)

That's it for now. Hopefully I'll get some pictures up soon. Keep an eye out...I'll probably get to them this weekend since Kelly is going to Wood Badge with the Scouts this weekend.

End of the year up-date

2008-12-30T09:58:00.003-06:00

News update.......

Good-The electric company is coming today to move the electric under ground
Bad-- The back yard still looks like someone went digging for something but couldn't find it and left big holes which are now filled to the brim with water from all the rain.

Good- We got a bid on the roof from Lowes which we like
Bad-- Still no roof

Good- We got Lowes contracted to come out and replace out bedroom window
Bad-- Still no bedroom window

Ok, enough of that. We do have some really good news. Kelly's Brother and his family moved here from New Jersey just before Christmas. Andy and Amy bring with them 2 little kids, Carter who is 6 months, and Xander who is 2 years, and Brandon (Amy's Brother) who will be 16 next month.

Santa brought us a new TV and DVD player for the living room! yeah, now we can have people over to watch movies. It was kinda hard to have friends over...it might look funny if we all climbed on our bed ;) Taylor got a basketball and a promise that we'll get her a portable hoop soon (all sold out before christmas). Santa brought her a new bed set that feels like horse hair. Kelly says that the TV is really his, but Santa brought him some cool drinking glasses. ;) Santa brought me the scraps for Taylor's room so I can make her more stuff if she wants. Kelly got me a bunch of cake decorating stuff, so I'm sure that will keep me busy this next year. Pennie and Ray gave us a Nintendo Wii for christmas and the Mitchell's (Kelly's sister's family) gave us a Wii Fit. Now we have lots of fun, but have not done much of anything else :) We love it! Thanks everyone!

We want to wish everyone a Happy New Year and hope that you'll all find peace, love and joy in all that you do.

My first Fondant Cake

2008-12-19T16:21:00.007-06:00

Hey everyone. I just wanted to share with you my first EVER fondant cake. I even made the fondant instead of buying it. I don't like the taste of fondant, but this is made from marshmallows, so it was really good. I got this cake idea from a picture off of Good Food.

It's a 2 chocolate cake mixes made in a round pyrex bowl (had to bake them seperately as I only have one bowl...would like the wilton ball pan someday). I was hoping to come out with a round ball so I could make it look like an ornament, but I goofed in putting it together. Now it's just a pretty snow covered hill....or at least I think it is. :) Chocolate fudge is the filling and then I covered it in buttercream. I was afraid that you'd be able to see the dark icing beneath the fondant, so I just made it white buttercream. Then I made the snow and piped the snowflakes in royal icing.

Like I said, it's not perfect, but not bad for the first time. Next time I want to get the fondant really smooth, so I guess I'll have to work on getting the cake smooth first....Ahhhhhh the joys of learning.

The BEST place EVER!!!

2008-12-09T12:53:00.006-06:00

Being a home owner sucks sometimes....but most of the time it's great!

Kelly and I are STILL working on getting a new roof for our house. We've got the insurance money now we are searching for the best deal. We got a couple of quotes from some well known roofing companies in town, but we didn't like either one. Kelly knows quite a bit about pricing on stuff becuase he does all the ordering for his company...and he's just stinkin smart! :) He just couldn't believe that both quotes were so high on some of the supplies needed for the roofing. So, Kelly and I decided to head to Lowes to find out what a general price for ridge vents, shingles, etc....

We started looking around and found that the roofing companies were quoting us WAY WAY more than the prices we found at Lowes. After that we starting looking around at shingles and trying to figure out which color we liked best. As we were looking at all the samples, we found a small sticker saying they would install a roof for about (a rough guess)$2000 less than the other two companies using their quotes as a guideline. JACKPOT!!!

We went to the Projects desk and got more information. For $35 they will come and give you an estimate on the roof and which goes to the price of the roof if you take the offer. Not only that, but this is the same for any project they quote you on. So we asked if they installed windows (our bedroom window needs replacing). YEP!!!! However, we were so excited about the roof that we forgot to get the quote set up for the window. :)

Ok, all this was Saturday. On Sunday they call us and set up a time for Today! (WOW!!! SO FAST!!!) They said the quote should be done by tomrrow at the latest. Needless to say, we are liking Lowes more and more.

So, last night we set up a time for the guy to come out and give us a quote on our bedroom window!! YEAH!!! Things are starting to look up.....sort of any way.

So, now all we need to do is somehow stop the rain so we can finish digging the ditch in our back yard to finish burring the pipe for the electric line. It was quite sad to wake up to see our ditch filled in with water....all the way to the top...and realize that we have to wait even longer until we can finish it. Then we can get someone to grind down the stump of the tree so we can put up the fence. Does the list ever get smaller???

Sweat-Equity

2008-11-25T13:09:00.005-06:00

Well, Kelly and I are in the process of working on the house after the hurricane. We started on one of the projects that we thought wouldn't be too bad.....thought is the operative word.

Ok, so when the tree was on the house it knocked over our weather head where the electric wires came into the house. Instead of replacing it, Kelly called the Electric Company to see what it would cost to bury the line. They said they would do it for free (becuase of the hurricane) as long as we bought the pipe and dug the ditch and got it all set up for them to run the new electric line. What a good deal, right!!!!??? Yeah, we thought so, too.

So, we bought the pipe and borrowed a tractor and back-hoe from our good friends in Buna, the McCallon Family. We start digging and it's much more wet than what we thought. Not only that, but our soil is really sandy. We got the trench dug and then it started to CAVE IN because of the rain (buckets and buckets of it) and because of the sandy soil.

With the help from Kelly's dad we finally did end up with 3/4 of the pipe laid and burried...which Kelly and I did before we left for Arkansas for Thanksgiving. It was really weird because I could see the earth move like water waves when the tractor rolled over what he covered with the front-end loader.

So this is what our back yard looks like now.

A "pond" (hole left by the previous owners where a pool was) with water and mud and brush from the tree.

A big muddy mess where the tractor went all over the yard.

Bits of the tree we cut off the house lying all over the yard.

Missing fence.

Tree stump sticking out of the ground.

And a half-dug trench.

By the way, we learned our lesson.....we're never going to do this again!!!!

Happy Birthday Taylor!

2008-11-17T16:17:00.003-06:00

YEAH!!!!! Taylor turns 9 this week....on the 19th. So, we decided to celebrate her birthday a week early on our weekend to have her. She loved her cake, but she liked her presents more. We got her a Nintendo DS--Pink one, her favorite color! She screamed and laughed and couldn't stop saying thank you! It was so cute.

She Got Birthday Spakin's from Dad ;)

2008-11-06T10:42:00.002-06:00

It's been a while, but we are still alive and doing well.

Rusty is doing much better. He's now able to stand and we can walk him out to use the bathroom. Sooooooo much better than what we've been doing for the past two weeks!

We finally got the tree off our house. Kelly and one of our neighbors (who used to remove trees for a living....how handy huh??) took it down in one afternoon. We saved SOOOO much money doing it ourselves so we'll use that money from insurance somewhere else. :) So now we just wait for the insurance money to fix the roof on the house and shed, our bedroom window, and the fence. I'll post pictures of what we've done so far soon. I just keep forgetting to download the pictures. :)

Kelly has started his calling as the 2nd counselor in the Silsbee Ward Bishopric. This takes up quite a bit of his time, so we don't get to spend as much time together as I'm used to. I'm sure I'll get used to it soon....or at least I hope so.

Taylor is turning 9 on the 19th, so we are getting ready for her birthday. I'm not sure what we're going to do for her birthday, but I'm going to attempt to make a Horse's head cake for her. She really wants a different themed room so I'm thinking about re-decorating her room with a pink and brown animal (horse/dog/cat) theme. She's been asking for a while now, so hopefully I'll be able to figure something out soon. If not for her birthday, then maybe for Christmas.

We're headed to College Station for the last football game this weekend. This is good and bad....good because it takes up a bunch of time and makes us really tired, and bad because it's always nice to have a little extra cash on hand :)

Oh, and we're going to be in Arkansas for Thanksgiving. I'm really looking forward to it. This will be the first time back there since we got married. :) I'm really excited to see all my family and friends again.

Dogs and Cars don't mix

2008-10-25T11:23:00.002-05:00

We have some sad news. Our poor dog Rusty was hit by a car on Thursday. Kelly too him to the vet and found out that his pelvis is crushed. There's not much the doctor can do for him. So, there's no cast, no pain medication (found urine in his blood) for at least a week, and he can't move/walk for at least 6 weeks. The poor thing cried and yelped every time we had to move him when we were using sheets and blankets (has to use the bathroom lying down). The first day I ended up doing at least 5 loads of laundry. But Kelly has made Rusty a temporary "bed" out of wood and window screen material. This way it's like a cot that we can put training pads under him to keep him and everything else clean and not so smelly! Kelly really is a GENIOUS!!! What a good guy.

We are up and down most of the night awoken by Rusty screaming becuase he moved or tried to get up. Poor thing :( He can't tell us what he needs or what we can do for him, so last night I made a pallet on the floor next to him and tried to help him stay calm and down. We have tile floors so not much sleeping happened for me. I guess it's kinda like having a baby...sort of.

I'll post some pictures of Kelly's contraption soon.

Hurricane Ike

2008-09-20T16:27:00.001-05:00

Photobucket Album

Melissa's Wedding

2008-09-20T16:04:00.001-05:00

Photobucket Album

After Ike

2008-09-19T17:40:00.003-05:00

Well, we are alive and well after hurricane Ike. We did have some damage, but nothing major.

We have a tree lying on our house at the moment, but it's not in it. A great blessing!

I'll have more pictures up soon. Thank you to all of you who have prayed for us and for your support and love. We have truly felt it.

1st Day of Seminary

2008-09-04T08:17:00.004-05:00

Wow...5:15 came really fast....and early! ok, well, 5:20 was when I actually got up, but I just have to hit snooze or I wouldn't be me.

Kelly and I got the white board hung in our den last night, but I don't know if it will stay. We got some wall anchors just in case we couldn't match up the holes on already in the board to the studs in the walls. Well one side isn't holding and Kelly thinks that we took a big chunk out of the drywall. I trusted stud finders before this ordeal, but now I'm not so sure....or maybe it was the previous owners bad construction of the porch. I just hope it stays on the wall while I'm at work today and tomorrow. We'll try to get it secured this weekend if it just holds! :)

Seminary went well...or at least I think it did. 11 kids showed up. I can already tell who will be the biggest help and who will be my trouble-makers. But I think this will be a great year.

We talked about our names today and the name of Christ. We read Mosiah 5:7-11 in the Book of Mormon. I told them that this year we will be talking about Christ, and who he is. We talked about his name and what it means to them. We talked about covenants and why Christ's name is important in covenants (baptism for one). We talked that we will come to know Christ better. But I also emphasized that we will also come to know who we are by learning of him...we will know our names and to whom we belong. It was a great discussion and there were some very insightful comments from some of the kids. I have a feeling I'm really going to learn a lot from them...thank goodness!

Tomorrow we're going to talk about the helps (Bible dictionary, topical guide, maps, etc) and how the New Testament will help them. Pretty cool, huh??? I'm so excited. I've already learned so much. I just hope I can keep up the energy...5:20 is really early :)

Surviving the Game and Gustav

2008-09-03T13:17:00.004-05:00

Kelly, Ray (Kelly's Dad) and I left for College Station, TX, on Thursday after work. We got there around 10:00 that night and stayed up talking for quite a while. We spent the entire day Friday preparing for the A&M game day on Saturday. Kelly's sister, Melissa, works for a company that sells snow cones and so we go help her during the football season. (A little extra income never hurts!)

On a side note...I love going there because they always stay at the same hotel....the Marriott TownePlace Suites. Oh my goodness...I love their beds! Kelly and I have been considering buying a new mattress set for our room since and we think we have both decided that we like the one at the hotel enough that we're looking into getting one. It was heaven sleeping through the night!

Ok, back to the story. Friday was full of work, work, work. We ate Chinese food at around midnight while I'm doing laundry at the hotel...why you ask??? Well, cuz I forgot to pack Kelly's underwear! I don't know how that happened because it was the first thing I packed! However, I did have to repack once, so I might have thought it was extra and put it away. So anyway, while he was in the shower, I ran down and put a load of whites in the laundry. We ate while his clothes dried and then went straight to bed. Saturday we got an early start back at the stadium. We worked through the game (Arkansas won...can you believe it???) and got back to the hotel around 10:00. Once again, I had to do laundry, but this time we stayed up forever watching the weather channel. We had heard that Gustav had turned into a category 5 hurricane, so we called a good friend of ours and found out that our county had issued a mandatory evacuation. At this point in time, we didn't even think we were going to get home. We kept a watch on the weather, and saw it was going to land sometime Monday only going to skirt our area . We decided to brave it and head home...besides, I was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to be at home.

Sunday was uneventful. We stopped at a Wal-Mart on the way home to pick up a few non-perishable items (Last time everything was gone from the stores 2 days ahead of time). Then we topped of the gas tank just before we got home. We got there and it was creepy! Hardly anyone was there, all the businesses were closed (yep, even Wal-Mart!) Kelly and I packed a couple of days worth of clothes and headed over to his dad's house. We stayed the night there and on Monday waited for the worst.

We kept waiting...all day. Nothing. Not a drop of rain...at least until the evening when it rained for like...10 minutes.

Because of the Mandatory evacuation everything remained closed, as well as my work. Tuesday, I spent the day cleaning and doing laundry and getting set up for Seminary. I love days like that because I can get so much done but at the same time it makes me want to quit my job and stay home!

Well, that's it for now. We are doing great and are very glad to report that absolutely no damage occurred in our little neighborhood. What a great blessing.

2007 Horton Review

2008-08-28T15:24:00.001-05:00

2008-08-21T08:42:00.003-05:00

Here are some recent photos of Rusty. He's getting so big now. His back comes to my knees now and his head to my thigh/hip. He's about 25-30 lbs. He loves fuzzy toys and loves anything that squeeks. He's just about house trained...thanks to Kelly and the doggie door that he installed. He's just recently learned that he has a voice and will "talk" to us if he wants something. He loves to go for rides in the truck/car. He can sit, fetch, and "wait" for his food until we say ok. (we had to teach him that because he would knock us over when it was feeding time when we first got him) I've tried to go jogging with him, but he just drags me....mostly it's a workout for my arms. :) We're thinking about sending him to training school (PetSmart offers one) in a few months so he'll walk/run on a leash better.

Some after Pictures

2008-06-18T09:29:00.005-05:00

Here are the long-awaited Pictures of the house.

Here's the Entry Way. Notice the ugly wallpaper is gone. We had to add texture, so it took a little longer than we expected.

Here's the Kitchen. Eventually it will be blue with silver/stainless steel accents.

Here's the Master Bedroom. We changed all the trim and added decorative pendants on the corners of all the doorways. Crown Molding will go up soon.

Here's Taylor's Room. She likes pink and Hello Kitty, so it worked well. One pink wall and 3 white walls with Hello Kitty decals and butterfly nets worked well. She loves it.

Hope you like it :)

New Addition to the Family

2008-06-06T08:30:00.005-05:00

Meet Rusty, everyone!

A German Shorthaired Pointer. He's almost 8 weeks old now and tons of fun. He sleeps all day so he keeps us up all hours of the night (not so much fun). ;)

These are some pictures of him on the ride home from getting him.

He's already grown and is much more active, so we'll post new pictures of him soon.

P.S. We are still working on the house, but I should be able to take some "after" pictures this weekend and get them posted.

New house

2008-05-12T10:07:00.009-05:00

Here are some "before" pictures of the new house. I forgot to take a picture of the master bath, laundry room, and storage room. Those will be up soon. Hope you like them

Kitchen/dining room

Living room
master bedroom
Spare room

Taylor's room

garage

garage

hall bath

Kitchen
Kitchen

Dining room

entry way
entry way
Family room
Family room

New Home

2008-04-24T08:16:00.002-05:00

Well,

It's been a few months, but things in Buna are progressing wonderfully.

And now for our grand announcement....
WE'RE MOVING!!!

Kelly and I couldn't be more excited to get out of Buna. ;) We've had fun here our first year, but it's time to move on. Wow....it's almost been a full year since we've been married. Time sure does fly when you're having fun.

We have been wanting to move ever since Kelly's parents moved here. We will be living in Lumberton, about 5 minutes from Kelly's parents!!! It's a good thing, becuase we spend most of our evenings with them anyway and driving back to Buna every night gets expensive and old ;)

We close on the house next Wednesday, so this week is full of sorting and packing.

Kelly and I have been so blessed. We just want to thank everyone for their support, love and prayers while we were looking for a home. We love you all!!!

Kelly and Charis

P.S. Here is a link to our new home. We'll take before and after pictures and post them as soon as we can.
http://beaumont.texas.remax.com/listings/ListingDetail_r4.ASPX?LID=38805601

Catching up

2008-01-11T08:50:00.000-06:00

We had a pretty busy end of the year! October came too quickly! Taylor had tons of fun at the ward trunk-or-treat dressed as a spider countess.

Kelly and I finished up the football season in College Station with Melissa, Ray, and Pennie. We had so much fun! We fried a turkey in the hotel parking lot on Thanksgiving Day and had a small, but fun Thanksgiving dinner....Thank goodness for instant mash potatoes, pre-made rolls, gravy in a jar, and easy to make microwave stuffing! The day after thanksgiving was game day...Texas Tech vs A&M...and it was cold! We sold a ton of hot chocolate!

We finished all the clean-up Saturday and drove home. Melissa, Pennie and Ray came down too. Pennie and Ray finalized house buying in Lumberton and Melissa just hung out. My dad, Ronnie, and his wife Ruth, also came for the baptism. It was so nice to have everyone there.

Sunday was Taylor's baptism. Kelly was able to baptize her but her grandfather was given the privilege of confirming her. All in all...it was a busy week, but we had fun.

Then, all the sudden, it was Christmas. I got the tree up and put up a few decorations I've had from the past. Kelly had a stocking and a cute little hanging from him mom. Christmas eve was fun. We had food and read from the bible. Kelly read "Twas the Night Before Christmas." and then we opened a few presents. Kelly surprised me with a treadmill, Taylor got a set of scriptures and tote from us, and Kelly got a cool chess/checkers/backgammon set and a new wallet. On Christmas morning, Santa left Taylor a bunch of horse books, candy, and an MP3 player. Santa brought Kelly and I a 22" flat screen for our bedroom :)

Now that the new year is here, we have high hopes for an even better year. We hope you enjoy the pictures and our news. Hopefully we'll post again soon.

Love,
Kelly, Charis, and Taylor

First Ever Blog

2008-01-02T12:21:00.000-06:00

Well, the Hortons are finally with the "in crowd." We decided (actually I, Charis, did) that this would be a great way to keep everyone informed and let everyone see pictures and the latest updates.

Please pass on this blog to everyone who would enjoy a look into the life of the Hortons.