Happy Thanksgiving . . .

This thanksgiving has turned out to be an interesting one. Shaw had to leave early Thanksgiving morning for work and Lee got off the day after Thanksgiving. So what are Heidi, Michelle and Cooper and Allie to do? Thanksgiving just seems like a family day. Despite the many invites from friends in town Heidi and I yearned for an adventure. Why not visit our cousin, Amanda and her family in Pensacola, Florida for the day. Amanda and Jason only live 3 hrs. away and we always tell each other we'll visit more. What a perfect opportunity! Please pray for our safe traveling. Happy Thanksgiving!

What 5 things are dear to you?

Hurricane season has been officially over for almost a month. Around our house we look forward to Nov. 1st because we know first hand how devastating a flood can be. I have been hurting for the families who have lost their homes and belongings due to the fires in California. When Hurricane Katrina hit we like many others didn't pack our sentimental belongings because we had just evacuated a few weeks before from a hurricane that later was down graded to a tropical storm. Packing and unpacking takes a lot of work. We just didn't think Katrina it was going to be a big deal. We were very wrong. This got me thinking that if I could do it over again or if I had warning of an natural disaster what would I rush in the house to take with me? (Children, animals, and photo's are of course a given)



Here are the top 5 things that are really important to me that I would rush in to save ...

1. A little card from Lee that I have framed. It came with a dozen

roses on our 1st month wedding anniversary.

2. Lee's mom painted Cooper and Allie an original watercolor piece for their rooms. I'd grab both of them.

3. Heidi my sister made and had Cooper give me this card on my 1st mother's day. I often look at it and pray for the kind of man Cooper will become.

4. My wedding dress! My wedding dress was almost destroyed by Hurricane Katrina - mold, mud, and it just smelled terrible. However, a dear friend secretly salvaged it and had it restored for me. Yes - it was a tearful day. I will not make that mistake of leaving it behind again.

5. These 3 crosses that my mom designed the layout - Lee made the frame.

Just reminds me of God's love.

I wonder what 5 things are dear to you?

Allie-girl you're 9 months old!

Allie just turned 9 months old. We call her Allie-girl around our house and I don't know why. What a little blessing she is! Her favorite pastime is laughing at Cooper and being pulled in the wagon for our daily walk. I can't quite figure out her personality yet. Sometimes she loves to be right in the thick of Cooper's play and other times she just screams when he comes close to her. Yep, she's a girl. Cooper even says, "You're OK Allie!" when she is too dramatic.

She isn't thrilled about eating from a spoon, she doesn't have any teeth yet, she isn't interested in crawling or rolling around so there's not too much to report. I guess she'll decide in her own time when everything's about to happen. However, she's is pretty content little girl and not too high maintance. Can't believe that in only 3 months we'll celebrate Allie's valentine birthday. We love her so much!

Oh Rats!!!

Lee has just built a beautiful new deck. However, something else has recently enjoyed the space under our new deck - a family of Rats! I have seriously debated as whether to blog about this but after some consultation it's a "go". So if you are squimmish you might just want to skip this post.

Late one night Lee saw a rat eating Duke's food. So then the challenge was on . . . we can't have nasty rats living in our backyard beneath our beautiful new deck. It just made me shiver thinking about it. Of course all the rat catching had to be done while Lee was home - no way was I going to be taking dead rats off of the traps.

Amazing how guys get a thrill out of the man vs. nature stuff. Lee was particularly proud of the 2 header catch. Even Cooper has alerted us to the family nearby: "I see mouse" is what he said one day. We've been catching only little baby mice recentlybecause we hope we've killed all the adults. We've been at it a week and we know we are gaining on them!

A BIG Catch!

Lee, his mom and his dad went out fishing and pulled in a big catch! They had a great day and even a small injury! No fishing trip is complete without an injury - you know. I am told that the injury happened before the beer was opened but who knows if that is true. Lee got his line stuck on the train tracks near Hwy. 11 and when he yanked on it it came flying back and struck him in the gut. He was really thankful it didn't come flying back a little lower than his gut.

There is something manly and caveman-ish about fishing. Empty coolers full of ice in anticipation of the catch, smelly bait to lure the catch, waiting for it and then wrestling to reel in your catch with pride about bringing home the bacon to provide for the young'ings (whether or not they like to eat fish). It is real drama! Did they bring a camera this time - when the catch was the biggest ever? NO - What were you thinking Lee ... I have to have a new blog page! Ha ha ha (The photo's are from the camera phone).

Lee cooked the fish on the BBQ. It was delicious!

Lee doesn't get to go fishing all that much with his dad. Just a trip every couple of months. I look forward to the day when Cooper enjoys fishing with Lee as much as Lee enjoys fishing with his dad. (I will instill in Cooper the importance of remembering to tote a camera for mom's blog page though)

Bite Me . . .

Allie has experienced her first war wound from Cooper this week. Her first of many I presume!

This is how it went down . . . we are all tickling each other on the fun-est (I know that's not a word) bed in the house - mom and dad's big bed and having a ball. Laughing, giggling, snorting good time then I see it . . . Cooper is going to give Allie a kiss on her cheek - odd timing but "oh how sweet'. Then Allie is crying loudly, screaming, sobbing, and then Cooper starts to cry too. What has just happened??? Then I see that the kiss on the cheek has teeth marks. Yes, we were having such a good time Cooper got so excited that he bit Allie on the cheek. After a short explanation, some time in his room and "Sorry Allie" we were back at having a fun day. I couldn't help to think this all was a bit funny until a few days later when I was tickling Cooper and hanging him upside down that he buried his head into my arm and bit down on me. Well, now it's not that funny. We are now exercising extreme caution when we are having such a grand time. LOOK OUT!