Thanksgiving Blessings Continuing

Is it just me or does anyone else ever experience the after the holidays slump? All the preparations, gatherings, going and visiting and then it's over. I had a great pick me up last night after Ashley left to return to school! I had a visit from the family of one of the adoptive couples we met in Russia. To make it even better Ondrea's family was visiting other family members less then 10 minutes from us. It is such a small world. It was such fun to met them and swap stories. I loved hearing the grandparents of these precious children talk about getting to know their grandchildren. Ron and I will be grandparents in a few weeks and we can't wait!

Things are interesting at the moment for Ron who left on Monday to start his first hitch in India. Thankfully, he was in London for business meetings when the attacks broke out in Mumbai, and BP placed a travel ban to all locations in India for 14 days. So that's the good news on Ron, but the bad news is that while walking today with some friends from Russia Ron felt something pop in his knee. He had been having trouble with his knee for several weeks but we thought it was "Arthur Visiting" and all the manual work he was doing around our place here in Alabama. This has to be painful for him as he has decided to return to the states and get his knee checked out while he is waiting for the security issues to settle in India.

Hope you all had a wondeful Thanksgiving!

GO BAMA GO!!!

Ron and I graduated from the University of Alabama in 1977 during the Bear Bryant reign, and it has been a really long time since Alabama football fans have had a lot to cheer about. So far, this has been a great year for Bama and we made this diaper cake for an upcoming baby shower! It not a great picture but you can kinda get the jest of the cake theme. The dad-to-be is a huge Bama fan. Hope the mom is!?!

Now if Bama could only beat Auburn in a couple of weeks!

BP found us!

It appears that BP has found us, and want Ron back in the grind:( I knew this "garden leave" would not last forever, but timing on the new assignment could not be worse with holidays approaching and the arrival of the grandbaby. Ron is now working on medical release and visa requirements for a rotational position in INDIA! It looks like he will be headed off for his first hitch around Thanksgiving and returning before the New Year. The good news is that I will probably go with him to London over the Thanksgiving holidays for a few days. Really can't complain about a side trip to London can I?



Ron and his mom share a giggle during her birthday lunch.

Rotating seems like a good position for us at this time in our lives. I will remain in Alabama so I will be around when the grandbaby arrives, and the days off for Ron sound great also. Since we have been back in Alabama we have both noticed a decline in the health of our Mom's, and we are considering moving my mom in with us full time. My mom is 96 and has been in Assisted Living for several years. Ron's mom is 84 and still drives and lives alone. Right now we check my Mom out of Assisted Living on Monday and have her spend the night with us and most of Tuesday. This seems to give her something to look forward to.



We recently bought a golf cart for tooling around the yard, and discovered this week that the faster you go with my mom the more she smiles!

A friend recently put things into perspective for me when she told me that Ron and I have had some amazing opportunities to travel and see the world, but extra time with our moms will be just as special!


This is one of my favorite recent photos of "The Queen"



My mom loves to be outside on warm days when she can dig around in flower beds


Our family will welcome 5 new babies between November and February so I got creative today and created a diaper cake for an upcoming shower. Ron was really surprised as he has never seen a diaper cake before. The main thing I would do differently would be to use larger diapers on the next try. This cake probably has around 60 diapers. I used Sesame Street and Beanie Babies for my theme, and was pleased with the outcome especially considering it's my first try!



Best wishes to all for a wonderful holiday season!