Happy 49th Birthday Mom

December 1st 1959 ~ She would have been 49 years old tomorrow.

Happy Birthday - we wish you were here.

Our Christmas Tree

Our Christmas tree is now up and looks beautiful!

Joe and Alexis helped with the decorations so it seemed very chaotic with the 3 of us

all placing ornaments but the end result is what counts. I must admit...I moved a few of

Alexis' ornaments after she put them on because they were all in the same spot, practically

on the same branch.

Tomorrow is the first day of December and the kids will start counting down to Christmas.

What a magical time of year this is.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

While I worked today, Clint worked too - He got our outdoor Christmas decorations set up!

Above is a picture without the flash - I also added one (below) with the flash so you could see the snowflakes falling......they really set the mood.

We have one other item to get set up outside and then we will get the tree up on the inside!

I love Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving From Our Home To Yours

More Than A Day
As Thanksgiving Day rolls around,

It brings up some facts, quite profound.

We may think that we're poor,

Feel like bums, insecure, But in truth, our riches astound.
We have friends and family we love;

We have guidance from heaven above.

We have so much more

Than they sell in a store,

We're wealthy, when push comes to shove.
So add up your blessings, I say;

Make Thanksgiving last more than a day.

Enjoy what you've got; Realize it's a lot,

And you'll make all your cares go away.
~By Karl Fuchs

Joe's Orchestra Performance

At the beginning of 5th grade Joe told us that he wanted to take Guitar lessons.....I told him that if he shows interest in a instrument and really practices and plays it that we would think about the lessons.

So about two weeks into the 5th grade he comes home and tells Clint and I that he has decided to play
the bass in Orchestra. We supported his interest and he reminded us of the deal - play and practice an instrument
and get guitar lessons. Little did we know that the Bass will NOT fit into our car - to take it back and forth to school we have to roll the window in the car down and let it stick out....When he brought it home the first time it looked like a giant body bag laying in the living room ~ I asked Joe if we have to feed it too!

Needless to say - he has dedicated two days a week after school to practice his Bass and this evening he was able
to show off his playing. He did an outstanding job ...I was really impressed. Here are some pictures of him below.
Click on the image for a larger view.

Joe's 5th Grade Performance

Jessup Elementary has each grades musical performances throughout the school year so
not every performance has to be during Christmastime. This year the 5th Grade class' musical
was solving a mystery - the thieves were their teachers....It had to do with the freedoms we have
as Americans and it was WONDERFUL.

We were very proud of Joe - he had lots of great parts. He had singing parts, a solo narrator part,
he played the hand bells and did two dances. It was packed full of great entertainment and of course I
thought Joe was the best!

Here are some pictures of him below - Click on the collage for a closer look.

My Grandmother's Surgery

For all who knew, and those who didn't, my Grandmother had been informed that she had a large brain aneurysm on the left side of her brain. She went in for surgery on Thursday morning of last week. Her surgery went well - it took a little longer than expected due to the hardening of the outer part of the aneurysm. But, overall it was a successful surgery.

She was in ICU until yesterday and came home from Casper today. They could not get her blood pressure stabilized enough to have her in a regular room. She has a large scar but it is in the hairline so it is not very noticeable. (Women are very sensitive to that) Thankfully, yesterday she was able to move to a normal room and today she moved to Life Care Center for transitional care (here in Cheyenne) so they can continue to help her work on her strength and monitor her progress. As soon as she is stable and can use her walker "all" of the time while she is mobile she should be able to go home.

The bad news is that in addition to the one on the left they also found one on the right side of her brain. So they will need to, in approx. 6 weeks, go into the other side of her head and fix that one too. They also have found one in her stomach which will need to be surgically repaired as well. Needless to say, it is extremely hard on her and stressful for everyone else. Please keep her and those around her in your thoughts and prayers to get through this stressful and critical time.