Did you ever just have one of those mornings............


*Old picture - now snow, but I wanted a visual


I woke up this morning, going through the morning routine....Max is looking past me out the front door with a very concerned look on his face. He's stammering, trying to speak. He gets out, "George in Mickey's yard". I look and both horses are in our neighbor's yard on the other side of our house from the barn. I tell Max to get Daddy and I suit up and head out. No lead ropes or anything, but I DO have treats in my pocket!! :) I get to George and start giving him treats. Now if you get one of the horses, the other follows. I grab George, cuz, well Minnie's a bitch and I don't like to deal with her unless I have to. I didn't even know where they got out, so I didn't know where to get them back in. I see soon after that, that the electric rope is down and we can just walk right over it. We do, and all was well. I get George up to the barn and Minnie is following, but slowly. Once I get the hay out and she sees it, she'll come. Of course, she doesn't remember where to get back in the fence, so she heads towards the road - ARGH! Now, I have to open the gate at the top of the pasture to let her in, meanwhile, keeping George from bolting out to be with her. What a hot mess we all were. Finally, after a lot of running and arm waving, both horses are in the gate. WHEW! So, how was your morning??????

What a great day.

Do I think Barack Obama is going to make a difference and be a great president? Yes I do. Do I think he alone will be able to take credit? No, I do not. I realize he has "rock star" status and to a certain degree I think it's justified. He is our nation's first African American president. That is huge. That is wonderful and so very exciting! I think almost as much as a hero to African Americans, he is a hero to a new generation of people who have never had an interest in what's going on in the country. However, what I think is also happening is that he is exciting people to the degree that WE will be the ones to change this country. We may have more pride, a larger sense of responsibility and a heightened willingness to sacrifice for our country and planet. I don't necessarily have a lot of confidence in politics. I think it's a very broken system. I don't see it changing a whole lot, either. Any changes that can be made in the next four years will be a feat of monumental proportions. I will pray for Obama's safety and that he will, indeed, live up to even a fraction of the hype. Godspeed, Mr. President.

* Through my tears (yes, I AM hormonal....so?) I had to laugh waiting to see people wipe out while gingerly walking across the Washington Memorial reflecting pool. Can I not take anything seriously?!

After the holidays, I'm looking foward to some of my favorite shows coming back. Still love my stand-by's - Samantha Who, Grey's, Law & Order SVU, Friday Night Lights, Army Wives and CSI; Vegas- so sad to lose you, Grissom!!! However, there are a few more that I have to add.


I watched "House" off and on for awhile, so I would have to say that it qualifies as a fave.

30 Rock has always, well, rocked. Have I mentioned how much I love Tina Fey?! After the Sarah Palin phenomenon, I'm thinking 30 Rock will finally get some much deserved recognition. I'm sitting here laughing at some of the things that Jack (Alec Baldwin) says...........

"The Mentalist" - Awesome show. Simon Baker is a cutie!

The kids watched the first round of auditions with me and were loving it. I may have some new Idol buddies to watch with me!

"Life On Mars". Very creative. A cop from the present falls into a coma and finds himself in 1973 (I think). The way they think, dress and talk seems pretty authentic. Very funny.

I thought one of my faves wasn't coming back this fall, but I was wrong. *Thank you, Paul, for straightening me out :) "Life" is one of our favorites and seems to just get better.....

*Something else I was wrong about? (Yeah, I know, but it does happen every once in a while - I'm wrong twice in a short amount of time) I could have sworn I was told that this was SNL's last season. It is not.... At least as far as I know ;)

* Also, I have to put my thoughts out there on Grey's.....I loved Denny and was very sad when he died. However, dead Denny having sex with Izzy?! Huh? Even my love for ghosts and ghost stories cannot include this story line.
***Oooh. Oooh. I just read that the abc president is defending the Dead Denny storyline. He says as far as ghost stories go, that's not what's going on. He's implying Denny is not a ghost and that the storyline is really smart - the viewers will be the judge as to how creative this direction is for the show. Hmmmmmm............

Oh...my....word. This past summer I read a book called "Chosen By A Horse" and commented that I was glad I read it before I got on the airplane because I bawled like a baby. I have just finished another tear-jerker. This book was about a woman who ends up starting a horse rescue. She just started out wanting to get a horse to ride, and now owns a 300+ acre sanctuary in Arkansas. In the book, she tells how they acquired some of their horses. One miniature horse was abused so badly, when they tried to touch him, he would shake uncontrollably and urinate on himself. WTF?! Then, a story about a draft horse that was beaten with a 2x4 in the head to the point he was knocked unconscious and dealt with seizures after. I was so heartbroken reading these stories, but the silver lining was that they were all taught to trust again and shown a great amount of love from the writer and her husband. If you would like to see beauty like you have never seen before, visit www.horsesofproudspirit.com - Click on Our Horses and there is a short video of their horses running, grazing and playing on their property. They are kept as a herd with no stalls and are left to just be horses. I know I am partial to horses, however, I feel anyone would enjoy this book.

The cousins all together - they have so much fun!!

What's with the serious expressions, you ask?! It's because we were trying to find all the items in "I Spy". 'It's ok Jax, Aunt Monica and Grammy will find them.......eventually". True humiliation is the 2 yr. old finding them before you.

Ally presenting Papa with her Santa Shop gift.

What a motley crew!!! :) We look forward every year to visiting with my college roommate and her family! I can't believe how big her kids are, which reminds me of how big mine are! I remember when her oldest was just a baby!! Now, he's taller than I am!!

*Reverse these two photos and you get the idea of how much egg drop soup Max ate!!! I only helped him out with a couple of spoonfuls.

This is Ally's Playmobile circus santa brought her. The pony show and trapeze was attended by the Jedi Force's clone troopers.... on leave?!

More Christmas pictures.....
Here is Jay getting the millennium falcon. I had no idea what this thing could do. I have to say it's pretty cool. He thought so too, and is pushing Ally out of his "limelight". Oh what Christmas spirit.....

Eric and Max playing Rockband2. The Wright's got this for us. My only desire to get a Wii this year was so that I could play Rockband. Wouldn't you know, Max starts up right away with percentages in the 90's. That little shit makes me not want to play with him. *whiney, whiney, whine whine*. Yeah, but I get to practice while he's in school (evil laugh) Again, with the Christmas spirit..............

You can't really tell from the picture, but there are tears in Max's eyes when the Wii was opened. I think I actually pulled off a surprise on the kid. He's so hard to trick , lie to and deceive! (which is what gift giving is really about, right?) SEE, the true meaning of Christmas is alive and well in the Schreiber house!

"All I wanted for Christmas was my two front teeth, but now legs would be nice!! " Here's one happy horse-lover. She got a whole box of thoroughbred horses - like the child needed any more horses, but she was very excited as you can see.

So, we finally got some snow......then some freezing rain on top of that. This made for some pretty slick sledding. Normally, I would be fighting the kids for the snowboard, but this year I just watched and took pictures.

These next pictures were taken maybe a month ago when we didn't have snow, but did have below freezing temperatures for many days. The ice on the pond was about 5 inches thick. Again, I mostly just took pictures.

Yeah, that's "curious George" in the background - always has to be checking things out......

We survived Christmas! Yay! I have many photos from our own family and the grandparents, which will all be out of order. Trying to keep track of all the pictures we take on two separate computers is quite a feat. But, technology can most of the time..rock!! (more on that later). This series is from the Miller Christmas in Tipton.






When was the last time you put your 9 year old kid in a wrap? My dear sister was demonstrating the different ways to use this wrap to carry a baby. (BTW, my brother and SIL will be getting their baby right around the same time our Vivi is due. It's very exciting to think of these two babies growing up together.) Anyway, Max asked to be carried. His wish was granted by Uncle Chris.

Ally opening a very cool gift. Beside her is my sister, Meleah. Behind her is my brother, Nick and his girlfriend, Rachel. I think Nick had fun buying for the nieces and nephews this year. He has some awesome help in Rachel. He had a homerun with everything.

Miller family picture. I will try to name them in an orderly fashion.............do you really care? Probably not, but I'll do it anyway.

Front Row: Papa John with Tessa, Ally, Hattie, Mom (Linda), Meleah, Dave (hubby)

Stairs: Me, Eric, Max, Nick, Chris, Jay (with the traditional goofy smile) and Crissy
*If you look closely at Jay and Uncle Chris behind him.....notice Chris's ornry face? He put Jay up to his goofy grin. Those two together - so much trouble potential.