May I Introduce . . . .

. . . the two new additions to our household!



Patches


and



Belle


They have been a pure delight!

In Memory

My beloved cat, Jingle passed away today. It was quite a shock, considering he was only seven and still very healthy. The vet cannot explain and wanted to do an autopsy but I couldn't bear the thought. He thinks it could have been a stroke or maybe some heart problem.

I am terribly heartbroken this evening. He was such a wonderful cat.

I am going to miss him terribly. He loved to nuzzle, he used to butt his head into me wanting attention.

My precious Jingle:

Many Reasons to Give Thanks

Phew - what a month! Thankfully - I have a week long break for Thanksgiving. It's always nice to have a few days to regroup and relax. .


Halloween was a trip this year! Back in the day, when I was in high school, I really loved listening to all those heavy, metal, hair bands. One of my favorite guitarists was Slash from GnR. Well . . . David has gotten into learning about all the famous guitar players from the past to today - also, with a little influence from his Guitar Hero III - I introduce . . .

Slash Jr.! Here is David with his cousin, Amanda, at a local church's carnival. What's funny is that David said - all the people my age - early to mid thirties were the only ones who knew who he was!

Steven in true fashion, lived up his part splendidly!

Steven believes in 'living' his costume.

Last weekend, Kevin and I hosted a couple's baby shower for his brother and sister in law. They're due to have a baby this coming February. I made them an Ohio Star block baby quilt.


When we were planning the dessert - we wanted to do something a little different than the traditional cake. So we decided to make cupcakes and decorate them with all different designs. We had a cupcake stand, borrowed from my sister (Thanks sis! ) I think it came out really cute!



Go Bears! David's football team are the city champs!

He also made the basketball team - there were only fifteen slots and twenty five boys - we're mighty proud of him.

Also, may I introduce our new Deputy Black Belt! His new belt will be half black and half red.


We are still in line for Lily - Kevin and I have become quite patient about the whole process. In a few short months, our dossier will be in the review room. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers that our dossier makes it through the review room without any delays. This is the one step of the process that can be the most terrifying - China rejecting your dossier. But, we have faith that everything will come out okay.


There is much to give thanks for - so to all - I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!

Phew! Has it been that long!?

I cannot believe that it has been longer than a month since I have last written a post! Goodness!

David celebrated his 13th birthday! He has gotten so tall.


David has also started football this year. It is so hard to get a teenager to smile for the camera but, I caught a good one today after the game!

I truly love this picture - I was quite lucky to get it! He never stopped walking!

Steven is doing well. He is staying busy with Tae Kwon Do and his neighborhood pals.


I have not updated my weight loss ticker because I haven't been weighing myself! I'm going to get back on track this weekend. I'll soon starting updating the weight ticker. Hopefully, I haven't gained back too much of what I had lost.

Bathrooms, Fishing, Volleyball and Referrals . . . Oh My!

Kevin finished remodeling our main bath this past week. It looks so awesome! Here's a pic!

It still needs some kind of window treatment or blinds.

Kevin, Joe (my father in law), the boys, and I went fishing the other night. The boys and I didn't really catch fish we could keep but we caught some other stuff.

David caught a ribbon fish.


Steven


I caught a crab!

My brother is head volleyball coach at one of the local high schools. Last night they played another local high school, which is where Steve and I both attended. Anyway, the big showdown game between the two schools was last night. There was an article written in the paper about a reunion at the net - 'Coach Steve J., first year volleyball coach, going up against his high school alma mater. . .' - yada, yada. It was an awesome game. His girls held out - the game went into overtime and the other team won, but only by 2 points. I am so proud of my brother.


Steve's hard to see - but he's in the background talking to his assistant coach.

Lastly, referrals came in! CCAA matched families with babies that had LID's up to Nov, 25, 2007. It was only 4 days of LID's but it was a huge number. Rumor has it that the pace of referrals will pick up once November 2005 is all matched.

My Birthday Weekend!

Yea! It's a 3 day weekend! We have Monday off because of Labor Day; which also happens to be my birthday.

The boys are both doing very well at school - David is loving football and Steven is busy playing with the neighborhood kids.

I have lost 7.6 pounds - 2.4 this week! I'm quite surprised because I wasn't really 'on' this week like I should have been. Oh well, not complaining.

I started decorating my house for Harvest and Halloween. David asked me last night, "You do realize Halloween is two months away, don't you?" (Don't you just love those raving hormonal teenagers?!) I love Fall! We don't really get the changes here in South Texas like people in the north do. Leaves really don't change color and the weather still stays hot. So, I have to celebrate it inside my house!

I took some pics! Enjoy!

My beautiful birthday flowers from Kevin. Isn't that pitcher gorgeous?


My Halloween Table - Boo!



Our entryway - my mother in law made that beautiful greenery arrangement for my birthday. It's perfect!


It was a great birthday!

Michael Vick pleaded guilty

I just wanted to comment on this real quick because I know I had written a blog about this.

Michael Vick pleaded guilty to charges that had been brought against him for the dogfight and abuse towards dogs.

This makes me very happy. The NFL has indefinitely fired Vick from playing football in their league.

Vick had it all - money, fame, and a future. Far from where he started - football was his ticket to successful and rich life - he didn't even need the money from the dogfights! That was pocket change compared to his multi-million dollar deals and endorsements!

This is why a case like this is important. Many people say, "It's just dogs, not humans. I wish the courts cared as much for children as they do for the animals."

Okay, this is my opinion. Any person who is willing to torture any animal - through electrifying, suffocating, and shooting - is capable of hurting anyone. They have no respect to the nature of life. Behavior like Vick's and his 'partners' may not stop at just dogs. There has even been studies on human behavior of aggression towards animals that can lead into aggression towards humans.

So, the courts are looking out for children when they sentence and send these types of people to jail.

As for the people that are mad at the courts, because their team, Atlanta Falcons, lost one of their star players. They need to rethink their priorities. The anger should be directed towards Vick - he's the one that let his team and his fans down. He is responsible for his actions, regardless of how good he plays and how highly he thinks of himself.

Here are just a few victims of dogfighting:





I want to leave this on a good note - here are some wonderful and happy Pit Bulls!
They truly are wonderful dogs - big teddy bears - even though I don't own one - I have known some gentle and loving ones!





I know this was supposed to be short - but I got carried away!

New School Year

Countdown has begun to the first day of school. I have been staying late at school trying to get my classroom and lessons ready for this Monday. We had 'Meet the Teacher' last night and 17 of my future students showed up! That's pretty amazing, usually only ten or eleven show up.

The boys also start on Monday. Steven is going into 4th and David into 8th. This will be David's first year in public school. Kevin and I are trying to make a smooth transition for when he goes into high school. We're letting him play football this year. I don't think he's going to get much playing time - he went yesterday to get his equipment and gym locker and he told me last night that most of the other players were taller and bigger. They were talking about what they did over the summer to get ready for football season - Timed sprints, working out. Now ask if David did timed sprints and worked out - umm . . . no.

We were saved from Hurricane Dean - it stayed on a west movement course and went into Mexico. Hurricane season isn't over yet though. Almost. Hopefully there will not be anymore hurricane scares!

Hurricane Dean

There is a category 4 hurricane churning out there in the Caribbean. Projections are having Hurricane Dean hit in Mexico - But it could hit South Texas - so we're keeping a tight eye on that!


Living in a coastal town my whole life and Kevin too - we've never been through a hurricane - so with that said - we are really unsure of what to expect from one.

School is getting ready to start also - that mean's they would have to push back the first day of school. Which I'm sure that all the kids don't mind!

I guess we'll just have to be prepared!

Quilting Projects

I have been very busy this summer! I have done so much piecing and quilting - I truly enjoy it! When the school year starts I don't have the time to do as much. Anyway, I attached some pics of recent projects. Enjoy!

Salazar's tank cover




My mom's birthday present - a table runner


I've got some more projects to work on. I'll post those when I'm done.

No news on Lily! We're still waiting!