Happy Thanksgiving Day

What Cole is thankful for....

What Alyssa is thankful for...

Following the Macy's parade and the National Dog Show we headed to Mima and George's house for a new turkey tradition...deep fried turkey.  George keeps guard with his fire extinguisher and of course a beverage.

Mima changed up the seating arrangement this year.  Instead of the kids in one room and the adults in another, she put us all together at one table....great idea!

As we wait for the turkey to finish (which only took an hour). We posed for some pictures.  I think Brady is officially taller than mom...he has a bigger attitude than mom (and dad) too!

 

 

Mima changed the Thanksgiving prayer a bit this year as well.  Alyssa has been added to read a little portion.  All the kids take turns praying.

Before we begin to make pigs of ourselves we take a quick family portrait. 

DIG IN!!!  Delicious! 

Brady and Katy get the wish bone this year.  Uncle David explaining the rules and referees.

And the winner is.....KATY....we hope your wish comes true!!

11/17/09 Prematurity Awareness Day

Born too soon in America:

One in eight babies born in our country is premature. The rate of premature birth in America is higher than that of most other developed nations.

1 in 8 Babies is Born Too Soon
Premature birth can happen without warning and for no known reason. To fight this problem, the March of Dimes launched a national multiyear, multimillion-dollar Prematurity Campaign to raise awareness of the problem of prematurity and to reduce the rate of premature birth.  In 2005, 1 in 8 babies (12.7% of live births) was born premature in the United States.

Banding Together

The March of Dimes mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects. A virtual band was created in honor of Cole and in memory of Christopher who were born too early.  This Virtual Band was created in order to help band together with individuals from all across the nation in support of one goal, saving babies. Your donation will go toward life-saving research

To view our band see the link below

Virtual Band in memory of Christopher and in honor of Cole

WOW! What an honor!

Franklin County

Deputy of the Year

Brian received this prestigious award today.  Just think...of ALL the Deputies in Franklin County...he was THE Deputy of the YEAR of 2009!!!!!  That's awesome!!

Brian and Sheriff Jim Karnes listen as one the Chief Deputies states why Brian is deserving.

Sheriff Karnes congratulates Brian and offers him his plaque.

A professional photographer took a close up picture of Brian and the Sheriff.  Once we get a copy, I'll be sure to post a better picture!

Happy 37th Birthday Brian

This past weekend we celebrated Brian's 37th birthday with a lasagna dinner (which Alyssa helped cook).  Happy 37th!

 

Flashback Friday

It has been such a nice fall.  Indian summers and lots of sun!  Although, the cool weather is sure to come.  When it does, Brady would like to encourage you to use chapstick to help keep your lips hydrated and your face and your forehead......

Brady began his obsession with chapstick at the age of 4, thanks to his Aunt Liza.  Half the time I had to keep him from eating it.  Here he obviously fell asleep after lathering his lips, face and forehead with cheery chap stick...delicious. 

Halloween Rituals

We started October 31st with a creepy lunch.  Witches bloody fingers (apples and caramel) and spooky mummy dogs.

Then carving of the pumpkins and digging in pumpkin guts for seeds to cook later.

 

Notice the pumpkin head in the background!

Trick-OR-Treat

After several pictures, I realized (actually Brian reminded me) that I didn't even put the bunny's cute little pink nose and whiskers on!  Much better!

 

We reminded them SEVERAL times to walk on sidewalks and driveways and NOT to run through yards...that didn't last long, notice them running through the yard and totally avoiding the sidewalk from the door!

Then off to a neighbor's party.  Brady took an appetizer of nachos, that we wasn't planning on sharing with anyone.

Alyssa was the first one to try out the hot chocolate loaded with marshmallows, whip cream and chocolate sprinkles.

And Cole was sure to follow.....is that a beer I see in front of him in the black cup???  I think I left my beer on the kids goody table....oops!

Thanks Kendall and Brian for a great after trick-or-treat Halloween party!