Standing the Test of Time

It's really nice to have friends who have stood the test of time. On the far left is Kathy Jones, Krystal's mother. Kathy spent a fair amount of time grounding Krystal from spending time with both Camden and me. And yet, here we all are again, spending time together as thirty-something women who are celebrating the pending arrival of baby Reece.

We gathered this evening for good food and some good fun and conversation at El Guapo's restaurant. How great it is to have love like this! Here sister in law joined us as did her friend Amanda. We were all very grateful for a girl's night out and for a reason to celebrate. We're very much looking forward to the arrival of Reece Joseph Williams! Buenos Noches!

Emily's Visit to T-Town

Seeing long time friends who have long since moved away is always a wonderful thing to find time for. I'm always amazed at how busy we all are and how much effort seems to be involved in making a simple phone call, sending an email, god forbid we mail a written letter and never mind that we hardly ever have time for a girls luncheon. But we did it when Emily Alice visited her hometown and we're very glad we did.

As you can tell from the photo, my daughter joined us on our outing. And it was sort of funny to me that my four year old asked to go when I told her that I was leaving to meet some of my girlfriends for lunch. "I'm a girl", was her response. She wanted to go bad and I was grateful that Emily and Tonya didn't mind her accompanying us on our date. We went for sushi which wasn't exactly a four year old choice but she eventually ate some of her chicken and oranges. The tofu in the miso soup and the fancy presentation of the main course was a bit overwhelming to say the least.

She brought her Dora the Explorer toy and Tonya was gracious enough to loan her the Power Ranger figurine from her purse. Elle was a champ and I was grateful to have her there. I look forward to sharing many more girly lunches with her in the years to come.

10th Annual Doctor Family Christmas Party

It's so hard to believe but it's been 10 years that we've shared the Christmas Party tradition with our friends and a few family members. We hosted our first party in our home on College Ave. It was a 1,000 square foot starter home with two bedrooms and one bath and yet it managed to accommodate our guests just fine. Several years and a couple kids later, we did it again in our new(er) home that's capable of accommodating more people and yet the coziness of the get together remains the same.

Now we're 30 something's having the bulk of our conversations about our children, our jobs, our hobbies, new cars, new appliances, etc. and yet the special spirit of this tradition is alive and well. Perhaps it's the stress of this time of year or because we're all so busy with our lives that some people don't REALLY want to go to the party (or any party for that matter), but everyone rolls out and a few beverages later, we're relaxed, laughing, reminiscing (Camden has a memory like no other) and usually we end up getting our grove on in the middle of the family room. And sometimes, a guest manages to throw in a little surprise.

For example, this year Beau hid "surprises" in his BBQ wieners and god only knows what they were going to be or who would find them (it turns out they were toy badges...as in sheriff, police, BEEF INSPECTOR). And Jason put KJ to task on his E.R. duties when his pink eye got so out of control that KJ had to "flip his lid" to determine if it was infected. And never mind the rabbit. Those of you who were there know all about the rabbit.

It's with great gratitude that I write this entry. I'm very grateful for our wonderful friends, their memories and their love. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

The Afro made an appearance.

Party Animals!

Mr. Robato

Mr. Singing Christmas Tree (he's 10 years old now and still works, just has a bit of a gimp eye)

Kid's At Play

My friend T.G. brought her kids over for a play date tonight. The grown ups were watching OU football on TV while the little ones entertained themselves upstairs. After a short while of loud and then quite and then loud again playtime, T.G. went upstairs to see what the rascals were up to. And here you have it. My daughter has disrobed (surprise) and her friend W is wrestling with her on the top bunk. I guess that the good news lies in knowing who your future in-laws might be.

Camden's Bachelorette

After several years of courtship, a perfect couple got engaged and later married on June 9, 2007. Camden and Matt are great friends of ours and I couldn't have been happier than to have hosted her bachelorette weekend at my parent's lake house. Camden, Leslie, Krystal and myself enjoyed lots of time on the boat, in the sun, shootin' guns. Yes, you read correctly.

Papa Mike built a shooting range and gave us lessons with 5+ weapons. What a weekend! This was the same weekend that Leslie announced her pregnancy and we reiminised about Krystal's bachelorette lake weekend as well.

Miscellaneous Pics from Spring/Summer 2007

Krystal and Me at Barry's Bowling Party

Doc and Sean at Elle's Birthday Party

TG and Hank...chillin

The Brannons and The Boomershines

Matt Bearden's Birthday Party - 3 bars later

Camden and Me at bar #2.

Camden and Matt at bar #1.

Tonya and Mom at Hank's Baby Shower

Dilene and Me at Women of Faith Conference

Like Father Like Son

Jason's buddy Sean came over for a boys night. As you can see, the Bud Light was the favorite amongst the guests.

Krystal's 31st Birthday

For Krystal's birthday, Barry arranged for a fabulous surprise. Me and two other of her best friends arrived at her house to wisk her away for a girl's spa day! We drank wine and Barry catered food for us. We had Front Door Spa all to ourselves. It was a fabulous experience with lots of girl talk!

9th Annual Doctor Family Christmas Party 2006

Every year we host a Christmas party for ourselves and our friends and every year it's a ton of fun. 2006 brought a few new guests along and several of the regular were in attendance. It's always an unforgetable reunion and celebration.