Do you feel lucky...punk?

I don't typically consider myself a lucky person. Blessed, absolutely. The main things in my life are all blessings from a very gracious Father. But lucky? Not so much. I'm not the one to win door prizes or drawings, find money on the ground, or any of the things that are usually left to chance. In fact, I can be quite unlucky...if you consider 30 hours of labor, or having the wrong leg operated on unlucky, that is. I do. (Again, distinguishing bad luck from the really hard things which are better termed "trials" or "sufferings" or something serious.)



Anyhoo, this past weekend was one I had been looking forward to for awhile. For Christmas, my parents gave me and Chris a voucher for a night's stay in a hotel with a fancy Sunday brunch while they kept the kids. We haven't left the kids overnight since Ryland was born, and they've been getting up a little early lately, so it was a good time for a break. I had scheduled the weekend once, and had to reschedule because my grandmother came in town, so we were chomping at the bit by the time Saturday came. We gave instructions to my parents, kissed the kids goodbye, and drove to the hotel. But as we started checking in, the guy behind the counter pauses suddenly and says, "Okay. I need to let you know about the situation with your room..."



At this point I'm thinking, "I have a reservation. There cannot be a situation with our room!!!"



"...you see, we sold completely out for tonight..."



"RESERVATION.!!! I. HAVE. A . RESERVATION!!!"



"...So we had to upgrade your room to the luxury suite for the same rate. I just didn't want you to go in there and be worried that you were going to have to pay extra."



The luxury suite? SCORE!!! So I'm excited to find out what that means. I guess it's got a little nicer amenities, and I'm sure it's a little bigger, right?



Chris and I got in the elevator and went to the top floor (clue #1.) Our suite was right there when we got off (clue #2.) We opened the door and gasped.



It was bigger than our house. And had more bathrooms. And more TV's. With cable! (Okay, that's not a luxury, exactly, but we don't have cable, so it's cool to us.)



WHOOHOO!!!



There was an upstairs and downstairs, a sauna, and the softest bed I've ever been on. It was so much fun! The only bad thing was having only one night to stay there!



Now if we'd gone our original weekend, we probably wouldn't have gotten this deal. And we're not sure why we were chosen for the upgrade anyway. So maybe I can have a little good luck now and then. Or maybe it was Chris' luck. We all know he's the luckiest man around. After all he's got me! Oh wait, that's a blessing.

Christmas Pictures

How's this for Christmas excitement?

Ryland is easily amused
Cade was lovin' the presents!
Grandma gave us cowboy hats!
Cade's got the posing thing figured out.

Pre-Christmas Pictures

Here are some long overdue pictures of the Horner goings-on:

My project that occupied most of my evenings this fall. Being a novice sewer, this was a very big deal.
And here are my projects that occupy my days...they still need some work!
My college friends at Melanie's wedding. The far left bridesmaid is expecting her third son, the far right just had her second son, I have two boys, and the girl on the back row in red has four boys; thus, the previously mentioned 11 boys. The others don't have kids yet, so no girls!
What Ryland thinks a vacuum is for. Giddy-up! (Random, I know)

Where Have I Been?

Should I be embarrassed that my friend had a baby and blogged on the same day and I can't manage to blog for almost two months?

Nah.

Here's the good, the bad, and the ugly for the last couple of months:

The Bad (who wants to end with the negative stuff)

Too much sickness and runny noses this winter. A funny story, though. Ryland caught a stomach bug one week when Chris was out of town. The next night, after going to bed a little queasy, I woke up at 2am to hear Cade crying and throwing up in his room. I brought him to my bathroom because I was going to be sick, too, but I had to wrestle him to get him to throw up in the trash or in the toilet. When my turn came, Cade watched me "aim" into the toilet and started saying, "Good job, mommy. Good job!" Never thought I'd be complimented on my barfing abilities.

My grandmother passed at Thanksgiving. I couldn't decide whether to put this in the Good or Bad section because it is a good thing for her. She's been waiting to go home to the Lord for a long time. But it seems too weird to put in the Good section. It's hard to see my mother lose her mom.

The Good! (Not remotely an exhaustive list, just a few hightlights)

Finished and am happy with my stockings! I'll post a pic when I get my pictures sorted out.

Got to see all my best college friends at a wedding in early December. So fun to catch up with everyone! I miss seeing those girls more often. Interesting note: there are four of us who have 11 boys between us, and no girls! Bets are on for who will have a girl first! (I hope I win!)

Had a great trip to San Antonio to see Chris' family for Christmas! It's really great to have in-laws who I truly enjoy. They are so good to us! Pictures of Christmas to come...

The Ugly

Our credit card bill after Christmas...

Well, it's not that bad, but I had to think of something to write here. Mabye I should have written "my blogging abilities!"