Happy Thanksgiving!

In just a few short days it will be Thanksgiving! This past Saturday we had an early celebration with my family. Although not all of my siblings were not able to come. My brother & his family moved to Hawaii a few months ago, it was alittle far for them. My little sister & her family have been dealing with sickness so did not drive up from St. Louis. The gathering seemed rather small with them gone. We all fit around Mom & Dad's table, which is a very rare occurance. After lunch, we had a pinata for the kids and then Dad took us on a hayride. It was alot of fun. Bob & I were trying to think of the last time we had been on a hayride and decided it was probably right after we got married....so it's been a few years. My sister & I got out some photo albums and enjoyed showing my "little" brother's wife funny pictures of Tim. We had one picture that had him "dressed" in sweet potato vines. We had dubbed him "Sweet Potato King". We thought it was funny then and funny Saturday. Guess Tim didn't find humor in it either time. LOL He endured alot from his 3 sisters. We dressed him up in anything we thought would be funny. Poor kid.....well, not really. That's what happens when a boy has 3 older sisters.
Bob just got home and we are going to go on a walk before it gets to dark.
So, until next time...................

Well, I think we have finally gotten a few days without rain. The crops are coming out in the fields around our house. We can hear the tractors and combines late into the night. I am sure the farmers are very greatful for the dryer weather. The last few days have actually been nice.

Have you ever had a dog rip the pad off their foot? Our poor dog, Roman some how managed to get part of the pad ripped off his back foot yesterday. Poor thing is limping around now. Don't know what to do with him. Should I just leave it be or bandage it up (something he'd just chew off anyway). He's outside limping around in the leaves. I'm guessing the crunchy leaves don't feel to good on that foot.

Faith is working on her reading. She's sounding out little words now and is making great progress. She likes to go through the store sounding out the words she sees. She's going to take off here real soon and be reading. I'm afraid once she starts reading really well she's going to be like her mother - a bookworm! I have actually stopped reading as much as I did. I have a tendancy to start a book and not do anything else until my book is finished. So, it's very seldom now that I pick up a book just for fun.

I think I mentioned about a month ago that Bob was in a car accident and the car was totalled? Well, Friday Faith & I went and bought a new car. Yes, it was actually just Faith & I. Papers were signed and check wrote before Bob ever saw the car. That being said, he knew what I was up too and trusted me enough to send me off to make the purchase while he was at work. He likes the car so all is good. 8-) Ironically enough, it's another Malibu (what was wrecked).

That really sums up what has been going on. Faith is watch "Word World" on IPTV right now. It's the only thing she gets to watch. I was sceptical, but I have actually noticed a progression in her reading and letter recognition/sounds since she started watching it. I think it is helping to reinforce what Mom has been trying to teach her. She sees "Duck & Frog" sounding out words like Mom tells her to do and BINGO - it clicks. I am sure the next child will be totally different!

Speaking of next child - no news.....we are just waiting until it's time. Time we don't know when will come. Could be a couple of weeks to a couple of months. We'll keep you posted if we hear anything.

Until next time..........

November 1

The year is certainly ticking away. Christmas is just 8wks away (not to cause you panic!). I don't know about you, but our fall has certainly been wet. I am not sure we've had 3 rain free days in a row for awhile. That being said, today is a beautiful fall day. We went out and attempted to take some family pictures in the leaves. Do you know it is very difficult to take a family picture when you are in it! I made the comment that I was hoping we'd get atleast one good one. Bob replied "Oh, they'll be fine, they are being taken by a professional!" My comment to that was that while that might be the case, the "professional" couldn't actually see what she was taking a picture of - so it doesn't exactly count. It was more of a point the camera where you're going to be. Jump in the picture, smile and hope it turns out alright. And I couldn't ever see if Faith was looking at the camera and smiling or if she was looking off somewhere else and making faces. (Which turned out to be the case a few times.)

No adoption news to report - still waiting.

Bob & I took over teaching Sunday school with the change of the quarter. I have the 1st graders and he the 3rd-5th graders. It's been interesting. I have been taking Faith into my class with me. Suprisingly enough she is not the most talkative child in there. Can you believe it?!? And what's even more amazing is the most talkative are the boys. I know, that's fall off your chair shocking! Faith being out talked by the boys! Don't be fooled though, she certainly does her share and we have had to mandate the "raise your hand to talk" rule. (It is not that the boys can out talk Faith. Faith's mother is the teacher, and Faith knows when Momma says "shhh" Momma means "shhh". Therefore she doesn't say everything she would like too!) Sometimes the teacher can hardly get a word in edge wise. At lunch today, Bob was asking Faith what she had learned in S.S. class this morning. To my delight & amazment she was able to tell the story of Shadrach, Meshach & Abednigo with a great deal of detail and accuracy. She told him "And when they came out of the fire they didn't even smell like smoke!" She was paying attention!!!

Well, I think I fancy a quick Sunday afternoon nap. I will probably nod off just about the time Faith wakes up. But it's worth the try. You would think that getting an extra hour of sleep last night would have elimnated the need for a Sunday nap. That may have been the case if Faith had not woke up over an hour before the alarm was to go off, determined that it was morning and time to WAKE UP. I told her it was to early..."But MOM!! I'm HUNGRY!" I can't say as that I got much sleep after that.

Until Next time........