Good Time, Good News!

Last Sunday B, Elle, her parents and our newest grand puppy, Zoe, came for a little "Thanksgiving" gathering since we will be in Nashville, TN with our other children on Thanksgiving Day. We had a nice visit with the kids and Elle's parents. Unfortunately, I was hit by the "upper respiratory infection bug" later that evening. It really it me hard. In fact I missed 2 days of work and even called the doctor. That alone tells you I was a pretty sick individual. Smitty has been undergoing some test just in the past few weeks that had us a little on the anxious side. Today we got some good news that has relieved us of our worst fears. The growth found inside his leg bone is benign! We still have to do some periodic checking and monitoring, which may require surgery if the growth continues to grow, but for now the news is good. We have so much for which to be thankful this Thanksgiving season and we just got to add another thing to the list.

B, Elle, and Zoe (Vega stayed at home)

Go West Young Man (or Woman)

I am a little delinquent in posting the events of last weekend, but not because it wasn't enjoyable. Smitty and I headed west to visit my brother and his wife in Midland. We both took a half day of vacation from work and headed into the sunset (literally) on Friday afternoon. We arrived in time for dinner and the beginning of a nice weekend with Geoguy and Ginny. Most of the time they are the ones that head this direction. After many, many "wish you would come to see us" we decided it was time we made the long trip to see them. We had a good time catching up on the events in our lives as well as doing a little shopping and fine dining. It was good to see some of the new artwork that they have acquired as well as just spending time in their beautiful home.

Sassy, Geoguy and Ginny

Weekend Project Complete

We have been working on remodeling and redecorating our home for over a year now. We are getting VERY close to finishing phase 1. (The master suite is the next phase, but it may be some time before we undertake that BIG job). Most of the work has been contracted out, but this weekend Smitty had some time to work on replacing the faucets in the guest bedroom bath. Several weeks ago we had purchased the faucets and needed supplies in order to be prepared when a free weekend was available. After spending several hours in a small, tight space, and finding no dripping pipes, Smitty declared the project complete. Good job husband dear, only one more to go!

New look for an older bath!

Pumpkin Carving Contest

Smitty and I have taught a Sunday School/Adult Bible Fellowship class of married couples between the ages of 30 to 40+ for several years. It has been our goal to have a monthly fellowship in someone's home. We recently met for our 2nd annual pumpkin carving contest in the home of a couple in Alvarado. We began the evening with a delcious fare of chili frito pie and then retired to the patio to begin the pumpkin carving extravaganza. These younger couples take pumpkin carving very seriously and the competition was very stiff. After having just returned from our fall foliage trip, we were inspired to venture from the traditional halloween- themed pumpkin as evidenced by the pictures below. I good time of food, fellowship, and friendly competition was had by all.

Our carving took 3rd place. The scary cat and strobe light just couldn't be beat.

Cool looking even in the dark!!

New England "Leaf Peepers" & More

Smitty and I were in much need of a week away for rest and relaxation. We spent the past week in Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts. This was a trip with no itinerary except to see as much beautiful fall foliage and pretty scenery as possible. We started each day with no particular activity scheduled and no end-of-day destination. This is something new for us, but it worked well on this trip. Early in the week it became evident that we were not only looking for the autumn colors and beautiful scenery, but finding as many covered bridges as possible. Smitty actually got into it more than I did because of the different engineering styles. It became somewhat of a challenge each day to "find" the bridges that were marked on the road maps. Trust me, some were easier to find than others. Church steeples became my thing. There is just something about coming into a small New England town and seeing from a distance the white steeple mixed in with the beautiful autumn colors on the hillside. Check out only a few of the 400+ pictures of bridges, steeples, and God's wonderful colors and creations in the pictures below. I will be working on my infamous vacation photo journal this week to share with family and friends.

October gave a party.

The leaves by hundreds came.

The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples.

And leaves of every name.

The Sunshine spread a carpet.

And everything was grand.

Miss Weather led the dancing,

Professor Wind the band.

--GEORGE COOPER

Happy B'day to Dear Friends

September has been the month for birthdays. We have celebrated KLee's, Nephew B's and Little G's all earlier this month. Most recently we celebrated two of our very best friends' birthdays as well. Friend "B" celebrated her birthday first. She still is a young thing (we are the same age), but husband "W" got to celebrate a BIG one. What fun it was for his children and wife to pull off the big surprise. Gotcha "W"! Hope all you with September b'days have many, many more!

Smitty, Sassy, "W" and "B" together long before the big 60!

Labor Day Weekend

I am a little behind on posting, but still wanted to share with you our Labor Day weekend with the kids. We had a wonderful weekend. It had been 3 months since our last visit and we were ready for some big hugs and kisses from all. J had declared this a project weekend. He realized that Pop really liked doing something other than just sitting. So we spent the weekend making and hanging drapes for the living room. The fabric had been puchased a year ago, and we finally got around to completing this project. If I do say so myself, KLee and I along with J and Pop did a pretty good job. Pop and J spent time working on Americanizing the Brazalian hammock. Another project that took a few years to complete. Sunday night a Bradford Pear in their front yard decided to come down. J and Pop spent most of Monday cutting up the branches and uncovering our rent car that was parked on the street. Fortunately, there was NO damage to either house or car.....just a pretty sad looking tree. KLee, LilE and I supervised most of the activities for the day.

Pop and J hanging our handywork.

Thankfully, no damage to the rent car.

Hugs for Mimi.

LilE "picking" flowers for Mimi.

Happy B'day KLee

31 years ago today a beautiful, healthy, baby girl came into our lives. She has brought us much pride and joy through all these years. Today she is a beautiful woman, wife and mother. We want to wish her a very special day today.

KLee's 3rd B'day

Why Sassy?

You may wonder why I chose to use the "sassy" side of life. Webster's Dictionary defines sassy as

• impudent, saucy (surely not!)
• vigorous, lively (maybe in earlier years)
• distinctively smart and stylish (a work in progress)

but I have to say, I prefer the simple word of a 2 year old who just couldn't say her "L"s.......thanks little C.

Little C, LilE and SC

An Old Dog CAN Learn New Tricks

Well, I have added another aspect of technology to my repertoire by creating my own blog. My children will be proud. (Thanks KLee for all your help.) I'm a little concerned about keeping up with this on a regular basis, but thought it would be good to try to keep at least my children, members of my family, and friends updated on what is happening in our lives. We seem to be delinquent in keeping up with everyone through traditional means of communication so hopefully the blog will move me into the 21st century. I will do my best to have pictures and short, interesting stories to share. Remember to add your comments to each posting so to keep us in the "know" with your life as well.