More about Dexter...

It has only been about 10 days, but it feels like Dexter has always been here. Our "trial" period is over, and it was a huge success. Dexter is now a permanent part of the Norvell family, and we couldn't be happier. Here's a little more about Dexter so that you can feel acquainted.

He LOVES to play, especially with his ball. This past Friday we went to PetsMart to get a few things, including a few extra toys, an food and water bowl, and tags with his new information. We bought him a stuffed squeaker toy that looked like a mouse, and just like his previous owners had told us, he went nuts for it. He had torn it up and taken out all the stuffing within an hour.



He also loves to nuzzle and sleep in the strangest positions. For some reason, snuggling up right in between Dave's legs is a favorite right now. In the morning when I am reading, he gets in my lap and sprawls his legs all over. So cute.



the Rawhide bone is also a favorite. He gave us a scare the other night when he swallowed a huge chunk of rawhide. My thoughts automatically went back to my dachshund Jake, when swallowed a piece of sock he was chewing on and had to have extensive surgery to fix it. Luckily, it looks like rawhide is completely digestible. So far, no problems.




Dave seems to think that Dexter likes me best. I just think that right now, in the adjustment period, I am the one he sees the most, so he is comfortable with me. As you can tell from this picture, Dexter seems to favor his dad too.


In other news, I actually wrote two pages of my thesis yesterday. That's a big accomplishment considering my confidence level for this particular task is low. My hope is that this first two pages will turn into about 2 each day, giving me a steady pace to finish by spring break. Speaking of spring break, Dave and I decided to celebrate our anniversary in March by spending the night at the new Great Wolf Lodge that opened right across from the Gaylord Texan Hotel and Conference Center. The Great Wolf Lodge is known for it's huge indoor water park and rooms decorated like cabins. While this isn't the most romantic of anniversary trips, it will be way fun and we are looking forward to it. Our room has a Whirlpool Jacuzzi right outside the bathroom! I am very excited. We are staying from a Monday to a Tuesday so Dave will have a long weekend. I'll be sure to post lots of pictures!

Meet Dexter!

This is why we spent some time cleaning up the backyard! Dexter is a 5 year old Jack Russel Terrier that we are hoping will become our first pet! Right now he is on a "trial" period to see if he can make the adjustment, but Dave and I are both confident that all will work out.
I'll post more about Dexter and his story later (I have to go to work!) but we are so excited he is here!

Bits and bobbs

So I left many of you hanging with our last post as to our recent addition to the house. While some of you may have been thinking something like a baby, dog, new car or something else really significant, I was talking about our new chair! It's a recliner!!!!

For Christmas, Dave and I asked mainly for money to buy some things to fill the bare spots in our new house. Well, we were extremely surprised at how much our families responded to our request. Our original thought was to get a dining room table and chairs to fill our empty dining room (right now there is just a china cabinet). When we realized how expensive they were, we decided to look for some other things now and hope for a really big tax return to get a table. Our living room was slightly bare. We needed some kind of shelf to display some pictures and books, once we took the wreath down from Christmas there was a huge bare spot above the fire place, and most importantly, when the tree was taken down, a huge hole was left. So we did some shopping, saving a certain amount for a chair and a certain amount for some odds and ends. Well, to make a long story short, we found the chair for way under what we had set aside for it, which left some extra cash that Dave said I could spend at some of the after Christmas sales. Needless to say, the chair is a recliner and is the perfect shade of brown to fit into our red, cream and brown living room. I have already taken several naps in the reclining position.

In other news, this week started what I like to call my "weekly school routine". I decided the best thing for me this semester was to take a "sabbatical" from working for McGraw-Hill. As much as I love my job there, the work is sporadic, and what I need most this semester is routine. So, I was able to work out a permanent schedule with my boss at Starbucks that will leave me 4 days a week that I can devote to my thesis and other school work. So here is my Monday-Thursday schedule:
7-8 AM- wake up, drink coffee, quiet time
8-9 AM- this is my hour for any kind of chore/house work/wife responsibilities to get accomplished
9-10 AM- exercise!
10-11:30 AM- get home, shower and clean up, get ready for the day (it doesn't really take me an hour and a half, but I gave myself the extra time in case I was running late)
11:30 AM-3:30 PM- SCHOOL WORK!
When Dave gets home at 3:30, I am finished with school work for the day and just enjoying my evening. I am allowing myself some flexibility between 8 and 10 AM. If there is some extra chores that take me a long time, or if I was up late the night before and need some extra rest, those hours can be flexible. Anyway....it is a little hard for me to realize that for the next semester all I have to look forward to during the days is 4 hours at my computer, but it will all pay off in the end. Think about me when you are all leading your exciting lives raising kids, taking breathtaking photos, working with foster parents, teaching eager young minds, counseling people through their troubles, selling advertising on the Internet, working in the garden or in the wood shop, creating new graphics for life insurance, or just having fun!


I leave you now with what Dave and I did for about 3 hours on Saturday morning. We collected all this....
To get some really good looking this.....

all for something that I will post about on our next blog this weekend (if you already know, don't spoil the surprise!) Oh, and my back is still sore from all the raking.

Christmas in Branson!

Hi Family and Friends,
I wanted to share with you some of my favorite pics from our Christmas trip to Branson with the Norvell family. For those of you not familiar with Branson, it is a fantastic city filled with all kinds of shows and attractions. The main attraction, espically for the Norvell family, is Silver Dollar City, a christian owned and operated theme park set in the late 1800s. The whole park is set up and decorated with turn of the century rides and themes. They have all kinds of shops dedicated to early trades, such as glass blowing, metal working, caprentry, pottery, etc. Each shop has a "master craftsman" on staff who works on site all day for you to watch, ask questions, etc. The shops are filled with all of their creations for sale. On top of that, what makes Silver Dollar City so amazing, is their food! It's not like Six Flags where you buy a burger and fries....they almost pride themselves on offering quality, hearty food that fits the theme and environment. One of our favorites where their hash skillets. They have these huge cast iron skillets, almost as long as your dinner table, out in the open where they make all kinds of hash meals. The one I ate had sausage, potatoes, corn, bell peppers, and onions. They make their own potato chips, and at Christmas, they have wassail and hot chocolate stands everywhere. I even ate a foot long sausage on a stick! All this to say, the Norvells have been vacationing in Branson since the boys were little, and it is quickly becoming my favorite place to go as well.

Here are the Norvell women in front of just a few of the hundreds of Christmas trees in the park. They had over 4 million lights decorating the park for Christmas.

Mom and Dad Norvell!

Dave and I after one of the shows!

We all met in Branson at this cabin on Christmas Eve. This is us opening Christmas gifts the next morning.

My new sweater, courtesy of my hubby.

The boys each got a headlight for...um, well, I don't really know exactly :>).

I love this picture of all of us. We are car weary, tired, but thankful to be together for the holiday!

I hope you all had a great Christmas too! I have loved reading all your posts and looking at your pictures. Look for another blog very soon featuring some of our recent Christmas additions (do I have you wondering??)