Christmas Time

We spent Gentry's first Christmas here in good ol' Nacogdoches.  Carl's parents, Gil and Sher, came into town from Nashville on the Friday before Christmas and stayed until the day after Christmas!  We spent time watching Christmas specials, going to church and eating!  

Santa came!  We left out sugar cookies that Carl, Gil, Gentry and I made.  They weren't pretty but Santa ate them all and drank all the milk too!  I helped Gentry write a note to Santa and Santa wrote back!  He left some toys for Gentry and all of our stocking full!

  

We out some water for Rudolph and he drank it and it made it red and sparkly!   

She loved her Santa gifts!  

Daddy helped Gentry open her stocking.  Her favorite part were the super hero Little People. 

Gentry opened her gifts from Buddy and Gigi.  Such a spoiled girl.

She sat and took a picture of all of her goodies from Santa, Mommy, Daddy, Buddy and Gigi!  Clearly, the ribbons and bows were her favorite.

Gentry and I left on December 26th for Dallas.  Gil and Sher headed back to Tennessee and Carl went out to Pirtle Boy Scout Camp.  We arrived just in time to take pictures in the snow!  

That night we had Christmas with Tilly, Lolli, Pops and Uncle Evan.  Tilly even unwrapped her gift from her little sister.  A squirrel to chase even in winter.

My brother, Evan, got copper mugs to drink Moscow Mules.  Gentry wanted to try them out too!

We gave her water and she loved drinking it from the copper mug!  Surprisingly she loved the cold, cold drink!

Gentry painted a picture for both sets of grandparents.  

Unkey and Pops played with all the new toys.

Here she is with all her loot from Lolli, Pops, Harper and Unkey Evan.

The Friday after Christmas we met up with Bevin and Olivia for a girl's lunch!  Olivia and Gentry had a lot to talk about!

We had a great 1st Christmas

Christmas Card Outtakes

We saw Santa at Bass Pro Shop!  It was the only way I could get Carl to go!  Gentry wasn't too impressed.  It was free and we got a free print.  This was the only shot I got.

She was hard to excite.  That's me trying to tickle her thigh.  Nothing.  I think she was overwhelmed by all the rednecks.  By rednecks I mean part of my family.  They were there.

Then we got a picture with the taxidermy polar bear to round out the trip.  Gentry was still unimpressed.  That was until her Dad took her around the store.  When Carl and I met back up he said that she expressed to him her Christmas List.  It is oddly similar to her Dad's list.  We had a good time!

OFFICIAL CHRISTMAS CARD OUTTAKES

Leggings too close to flesh color.

Distracted by ornaments.

Over it.

Shiny.

Look at that head.  

No wonder she can't sit up for more than a few seconds by herself!

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I love this face!

Gentry and the Pumpkins.

Easter in Pictures. Very bad pictures....

Merry Christmas from Tilly

I got my new camera. Just in time for Christmas! Merry Christmas Everyone!

Merry Christmas From The Hankes

I lost my camera at the end of the summer. I am getting a new one thanks to State Farm. It won't be here until after Christmas. This will have to do as a family portrait. Carl forgot to put on his glasses and Tilly is at my mom and dad's house. That 's why she's not in the picture!

Happy Belated Birthday Evee BoBo!

The guy using his scary eye stare to will the dice to give him a lucky roll is my brother. He turned 24 on Pearl Harbor Day. That is December 7th in case you didn't know.

He came into this world early in the morning and FAST! The story goes that when my parents came into the hospital that very cold morning in San Antonio Texas the delivery ward was full. Evan wasn't stopping his entrance any and the nurses were literally pushing him back in because the doctor wasn't there. To this day he gets a red mark on his head when he's pissed. It's the birth story of a legend. No doubt my brother will be a legend some day.

Some of the best memories I have are of us fighting. Yes, I said they are some of the BEST memories. Our fighting was epic. Daily. Hourly. Minutely. But it mostly ended the same way. We were forced into our respective rooms to a sort of time out but because our parents didn't believe in closing doors we would call each other across the hall. It would go something like this.

Evan: "Mom is mean."

Me: "Go ask her if we can come out of our
rooms"

Evan: "No, You ask her."

Me: "I can't. She will be mad."

Evan: "That's why I can't"

Me: "Do you think she will care if I just go
into your room to play?"

Evan: "You wanna play cars or Legos?"

Me: "Doesn't matter to me as long as I can
be the mom who takes care of the sick ones"

At least that's how I chose to remember it.

Evan was a pretty scrawny kid. He didn't care to learn how to tie shoes, use the potty, or to bathe. He was too busy for that. There was a lot of bike riding, Lego building, fort playing, dirt digging, ball kicking, bug and rock collecting, back rubbing, video game playing in the early years. In Elementary School he announced that he was going to be a Lego builder when he grew up. I am sure that was a defining moment in his life.

In Middle School the girls were falling all over Evan. But like much of his life, he didn't care. He was too busy for that. At the time I of course didn't know why anyone would think my dorky annoying little brother would be cute! Now I know it's because he has a sweet and caring nature that is mixed perfectly with a little smart ass. He was the class clown that teachers loved.

In High School, Evan made sure to be his own person. He wasn't the little brother in his sister's shadow. (He may disagree) He doesn't know the amount of girls that would come and ask me if I was Evan's older sister. After I would reply yes I would be met with squeals and "Oh he's sooo cute". He did band for one year. Just like me. The year where there was a trip. Smart guy. After he quit band he joined the soccer team. He did very well until his knee went out. During High School he dated the best looking girls and treated them nicer than they should have been treated. He was more popular in high school and in college than I would ever be. Again it's that sweet caring nature mixed perfectly with a little smart ass.

In college, Evan came to SFA! Just like me. I was so excited! I didn't want to show it though because I knew that would turn him away. I prayed that he would stay even though SFA was supposed to be only temporary until he got into A&M for Engineering. (Remember he had Legos to build) He stayed. I had the pleasure of once again sharing two years at the same school as my brother when he changed his major to Accounting and decided to stay at SFA. Once again he made a name for himself! He joined a couple of fraternities. Made friends. Even had a few ODD jobs (wink wink). Ask him about his work with the Art Department! We didn't really even see each other as much as I would have liked but it was nice to know that family was around the corner. He did make it a point to come to Wednesday night worship at Wesley. Wesley thought we were weird for taking turns rubbing each others hands during worship. But in true Evan fashion, he didn't care.

Now Evee BoBo is all grown up at 24! He's done with school. Now working with a big ol accounting company and wears a tie most days. Which I find very funny seeing as how he never cared to learn how to tie his shoes and now he has to tie a tie everyday!

He's still my little brother and I love him.

He has a sweet, caring nature mixed perfectly with a little smart ass.

Happy Birthday Evee BoBo!

Long Time NO Post....

Wow....

It's been a while. Here is a quick update. Bulleted....because I like bullets.

• I am still on my diet. I cheat a little more but I am generally sticking to it! I've seen a little bit of weight loss and feel TEN MILLION times better. I actually have no problem with giving up bread which was a shock for me! Cheese is a little harder.



• Carl is still in school. May will hopefully be the end of school!



• Tilly is fabulous. She is about to spend the next month with my parents. My mom's dog, Ginger, was put down in October and I think she misses having paws in the house. This is also a gift for Carl.



• I lost my camera. That's why the posts have been few and far between. Pictures are better than words. I miss my camera but not enough to buy another one just yet. Maybe when Carl graduates and gets a job.



• I still love Andrew to death. We had a great Halloween. Andrew was a cow and Tilly was a pig. He was so precious (i stole a picture from Kelly and it's featured below)



• I am so excited about the holiday season!

Love to all!

Remix

WHAT HAVE THE HANKES BEEN UP TO?!?!?!

Let me break off a little REMIX!

*We had a visit from a Chinese Boy Scout! His American name was Gary. It's the "COOL" American name he picked for his English classes in school! That made me laugh. Carl and Regan gave him a "Cooler" name. B. P. or B***h Puncher. Sounds horrible right?!?! It's funny when an asian says it though! We went out and showed him how we Americans party. At Bullfrogs. Drank beer and played pool. Fun times.

*The next weekend my cousins Tyler and Rachel came for the weekend for some cousin fun! We showed them a good time. Drank beer and played pool. JUST KIDDING! We drank Coke and played Wii! The highlight was playing with dry ice. Kelly gave us some to take home and play with. It entertained all of us for a few hours and Carl made his SPECIAL milkshakes for the event!

* Carl and I went to my parent's house for the 4th and to celebrate my birthday. We had a good time hanging out with my parents, brothers and soon to be sister-in-laws. Tilly was cute as always!

*Finally this is a picture of my beautiful Peppermint Hibiscus. I am so proud that I have kept something alive long enough for it to bloom! It reminds me of Mr. Peppermint. Does anyone remember that children's show? I think it was only for the lucky kids in Dallas! Mr. Peppermint ROCKED!

P.S. A picture of Andrew for good measure!