Kendra Babbles

 After a couple hours delay at DFW, we made it into the air for our eight and half hour journey to London. We enjoyed some movies during dinner, then I promptly fell asleep for at least 4 hours! Great way to pass the time. We landed in London around 10:30 a.m. (4:30 a.m. Dallas time), wound our way through the UK Border Agency and customs, collected our bags and shoved all of our stuff in a taxi. I wish I had taken a picture of our creatively arranged baggage in the taxi, it was definitely an accomplishment!

A few minutes after making it to John and Michelle’s flat, we all thought it was time for a nap. Now we are forcing ourselves awake so we can sleep better tonight. It’s 4:00 now and almost dark outside – this could take some getting used to! We are heading out for some dinner and then are planning on a quiet night in, since our train to Edinburg leaves at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow.

The last few months have just been crazy.  Between training for the San Antonio half, volunteering, work and life in general, Christmas just snuck up on me.  All the sudden it was December and I was not feeling the Christmas Spirit.  All I was really feeling were the remnants of a cold I caught in November - not exactly something Christmas movies are made of.

Every December I try to find a new way Blake and I can contribute to make someone else’s life better.  Last year I went with a food bank.  The year before it was the ASPCA.  This year I read an article about the Salvation Army Angel Tree in the Dallas Morning News.  Turns out they had 8000 more angels this year, but fewer people were adopting the angels and they were starting to worry.  Normally the angel tree is not really my thing.  I have no idea what to buy for kids and it seems my money never goes as far with the angels as it could with a food bank or pet rescue.  But the thought of a poor little boy or girl not receiving any Christmas gifts because of the economy was just unbearable.  So I talked to Blake and he agreed, and we adopted an angel from the nearby mall.  After some head scratching in the Target boys clothing section, and much debate over which WWE wrestling toy was the better choice, we bagged up our gifts and I returned them to the mall.  It is true that what I budgeted for charitable donations did not go as far with the angel tree, but I think maybe I got more out of it this year.  I’m feeling very Christmas-y now knowing that a little boy is going to have a warm coat and two awesome wrestling toys to open on Christmas day.

But just as I thought I could check this off my list, this shows up in the mail from the SPCA.

How am I supposed to turn down these adorable faces???  Sigh.  Now I’m off to find more money in my budget.  I’m a sucker for a puppy face.

*Depeche Mode

Shelby and Tucker finally got to meet Santa Claus!  I’m not sure they were very impressed, as they spent more time trying to get out of his lap than anything else.

Shelby just looks terrified.  Really she was just so excited to be out and around all these other dogs that she was doing her pet-store puppy cry and was just shaking with excitement.  She could not have cared any less about Santa.

 Tucker’s picture is more impressive, but he is looking at the squeaky toy they had above the camera and not actually at the camera.  He has his priorities.

So they aren’t set for modeling careers, but it was all for a good cause.  Donations generated from the picture session go to Paws in the City to help them with their vet and boarding fees for the dogs and cats they rescue.

*Elvis’ version is one of my favorites