WISHING YOU A VERY HAPPY, HEALTHY & PROSPEROUS 2009 ! ! !

As we approach the beginning of the New Year, may the Lord pour out His blessings upon you & touch your heart each & every day. May God bless you & keep you in all your ways.

From our home to yours,

our best wishes for a very happy, healthy & prosperous New Year

John & Patty

We may be SWIMMING on Christmas Day ! ! !

Temperatures are expected to reach 80 or higher on Christmas Day soooooooo we may be swimming while waiting to have Christmas Dinner . . . how cool is that ? ! ? !

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas . . .

That's our Godchild Jamie . . . yeah, the cute one in the middle looking right at you . . . how can you miss her? She's our little princess (and she knows it too).

Well, everyone I invited for Christmas Dinner will be here & I couldn't be happier . . . it's always nice getting together with friends and seeing Jamie & Ander (he's our friends' son & I think he has a crush on Jamie lol).

We still haven't gotten our tree but this weekend is the deadline, don't you think?

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas & a New Year filled with blessings ! ! !

IT'S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR ! ! !

As we get ready to celebrate the birth of the King of Kings, we would like to wish all our friends a most joyous & peaceful Christmas season.

This year we are once again hosting Christmas Dinner . . . so far we've gotten 2 yes's, one maybe (which I am hoping will become a yes) & still waiting to hear from one more. I'm planning on serving Honey Baked Ham (& possibly a turkey too). I will also make the most delicious Micro(wave) Scalloped Potatoes, Pecan & Pumpkin Pies & friends will bring other side dishes to complete the feast.

Wishing you & yours the peace of the Christmas season . . .

Merry Christmas ! ! !

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Since as far back as I can remember, I've been surrounded by family & friends @Thanksgiving. Many of my friends had no family close by so I would always invite them to join us. "No one should be alone @the holidays' I would always say.

Since John & I don't have family here, we have carried on this tradition with friends. This year, however, is a little different for us. It was going to be just John & I and our friend James but friends have invited us to join them for dinner. What a wonderful surprise ! ! !

I can remember by sister-in-law Maureen saying how strange it felt not to be cooking and now I understand what she meant. I feel like a fish out of water not cooking but it'll be nice to sit back, relax and enjoy the food and fellowship.

I sincerely hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with family, friends, good food, lots of laughs & good times.

Much love to you and your family this season in which to give thanks . . .

THE HEATER HAS ARRIVED ! ! !

Now it has to be installed (plumbed in) and then we have to get an electrician to put in a 60 amp whatever and then we just have to wait until March to use it.

I am so very excited . . .

The heater is coming . . . the heater is coming ! ! !

Wahoo ! ! ! Our pool heater will be delivered & installed on Friday and then we'll need the electrician to run the line. Then we'll be ready to go except that we are experiencing unusually cold weather right now but it'll be here when it warms up again . . . hip hip hooray ! ! !

I am sooooooo excited ! ! !

LOOK HOW THEY MASSACRED MY TREES

In the first picture, you can kinda get the idea of how the trees looked (yes, there's a tent in your way).

In the ones that follow, you can see how they look now . . . I'm sick I tell ya, sick.

JAMIE'S FIRST CIRCUS

Well, I'm finally getting around to posting pictures of Jamie's first circus . . . unfortunately, none of the pictures I took inside the arena came out so we'll have to settle for these.

She absolutely loved it though . . . she was very excited about seeing the clowns who only came out once in a while.

Afterwards, we stopped at Wal-Mart so Jamie could see "the witch" ah ah ah. She is such a blessing to us and we are so very blessed to have her in our lives.

TO THE CIRCUS WE GO

We are getting ready to take Jamie to the circus . . . I will post pictures later. I am really excited as this is the first time we have taken her anywhere without her parents.

She is coming to the age where we can enjoy more & more things with her. Next week we are all planning to go to "Dog Lovers Day @Adventure Landing. Dakota will absolutely love it as it is a water park & she will be in her element ! ! !

I'M WIRELESS AGAIN ! ! !

John was able to figure out the problem and I am wireless again . . . I am, however, keeping the cable @my desk in case I have to "direct connect" again.

WHAT AN ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL DAY

It was gorgeous out today. After lunch, I laid on the lounge chair and read while also working on my tan (lol). It was absolutely gorgeous ! ! !

The pool temperature has dipped a little but it is refreshing.

TELEPHONE SERVICE LOST & NOW I HAVE COMPUTER PROBLEMS

We lost our telephone service yesterday for about 24 hours. When I got home today, it was back on but my wireless connection is gone ! ! ! I am directly connected right now as we cannot see our "wireless connection" and can't figure out exactly what is wrong.

I am up and running but no longer wireless :O( John will continue to work on the problem.

Any suggestions ? ? ?

Fun in the sun AND in the pool

Chris & her grandchildren were over yesterday. James joined us as well. We had lots of fun in the pool and then sat down to lunch . . . Owen & Shelby are like little fish, they just love the water and WOW can they eat ! ! ! Owen kept telling me the burgers cut like butta (butter) and he had to have another. So did me & James . . . they were good ! ! !

John worked some in the morning and when he got home, he joined us and everyone had such a great time . . . we were out there in the pool for literally hours (11:30 till about 4:00 or so).

Dakota took a fancy to Owen and followed him around all day . . . she was able to catch the dive sticks but once they got into the water, she knew she couldn't get to them. Maybe one day she'll learn to dive.

James was the first to leave; Josh picked up the kids @5:00 in a GORGEOUS restored Red '63 Chevy Impala . . . sweet. Chris stayed for dinner.


I love having company but lately, it just hasn't worked out . . .


P. S. Maybe next time I'll have some pictures (sorry)

Going Back to Work

After a long long time, I am finally going back to work. I saw an ad for an Executive Admin to the CEO & I applied for it. It is a part-time temp position & the hours are just perfect for me.

I went on the interview today & by the time I got home, the agency called & said I got the position . . . sweet

Once this assignment is over, I'll look for another as I think I want to temp for a while to see what I really want to do.

Tropical Storm Fay Hits Jacksonville . . . again & again & again

Tropical Storm Fay hit Florida on Monday and continued her path of destruction throughout the week finally stopping in Jacksonville for 24 hours. During this time, she caused massive power outages, beach erosion and flooding.

At our house, she took down a part of our fence and, because the power was out, our pool overflowed, our patio enclosure flooded. Our street also flooded, causing water to come up our driveway. John had to park the CRV around the corner as the street was impassable. We also believe we have damage to our roof because we have water spots on the ceiling in the living room.

Yes, I panicked seeing water coming toward the house from two different directions.

Dakota & the neighborhood kids loved it though . . .

Our Daily Thunderstorms

Well it's that time of year again . . . daily thunderstorms ! ! !

We need the rain but I sure wish the wind would blow west instead of east. I'm constantly cleaning up pine needles, pine cones and "other crap" from the neighbor's pine tree and when it rains like this, it's so much worse.

Sometimes I think it would be worth the cost to take down the enclosure and screen the pool and patio . . .

Pool Time - Current temperature: 90 degrees

James and Chris & her grandchildren have been coming over every day for swimming & lunch . . . it's fun having people enjoy the pool.

Dakota's Birthday Party

We will be celebrating Dakota's 2nd birthday tomorrow at her daycare. We will be serving Apple & Banana cake to all the puppies who come to join in the festivities. The cake is actually made by someone who makes doggie treats, goodies, etc. For the adults, I will be serving some Fourth of July type cupcakes.

Join us if you can, we'll be there @11:30 (probably for about 30 minutes . . . maybe even less).

F I N A L L Y ! ! !

The doctor has cleared me to go in the pool ! ! !

Hip Hip Hooray

I hope everyone has a very happy Fourth & a MAH VE LES summer . . .

WELCOME TO THOSE HAZY, LAZY, CRAZY DAYS OF SUMMER ! ! !

Summer is here and I couldn't be happier ! ! ! Spring is always the most beautiful time of year but summer has always been special to me.

It takes me back to the days of my childhood when school was out and you had all the time in the world to just have fun.

We would bike ride all over the neighborhood; spend day & night @Farragut Pool; go to the stables and ride horses on the beach . . . it was an absolutely wonderful time to be a kid.

In my late 20's, weekends were spent in the Hampton's . . . West Hampton Beach (Dune Road) to be exact. Beach by day; party all night . . . those were the days.

Now, I spend most days sitting on my patio reading or enjoying our pool. I love to have company over for barbecues and fellowship. Yeah, summer is a good time of year . . .

The Pool . . . So Cool ! ! ! (or should I say hot?)

The water temperature got up to 87° today before the rain . . . it's getting close to "bath water" lol

Jamie & Ander

Here are some pictures of our niece (& God child) and nephew. Neither are blood relations but who cares, we love them anyway ! ! !

Jamie was born on January 4, 2006 and adopted by our good friends Martha & Mike on August 10, 2007.

What a day of celebration ! ! !

Here she is on her way to becoming "ours".

Ander was born on November 2, 2005 to our good
friends Cinda & Craig.

He is incredibly smart (and he knows it too . . . lol). Tell me this didn't make the perfect Christmas Card ! ! !

Hope you enjoy their pictures as much as we enjoy them ! ! !

Update on my leg

I'm finally finished with physical therapy although I was given a HEP (home exercise program). I must continue to wear the air cast for another month (when I see the doctor again).

The Saga of My Boo Boo Leg

I am finally walking without crutches and doing fairly well considering my knee gets stiff and doesn't seem to want to cooperate :O(

AND, just when I thought I was finished with physical therapy, Tim, my therapist has requested another prescription from the doctor for an additional three weeks ! ! !

That's it for now . . .

The Big Day

Well, it's finally here . . . the "big" day. The day I find out if I can finally drive after six, count 'em six, long weeks. I see the doctor @10:20 a.m. and am hopeful he'll let me take this HUGE boot off and replace it with an air cast which will allow me to drive.

Keep me in your prayers ! ! !

UPDATE:
I am out of the boot and in an air cast. The doctor said I could drive but I HAVE TO PRACTICE FIRST (lol). Physical therapy for at least three more weeks (yikes).

Dakota's Leg

Dakota's leg isn't broken after all & she is back in daycare . . . all glory to God who answered my prayers ! ! !

BUT, she came home limping so John took her back to the vet who said ite may have been a little premature to put her back in daycare so, she's home with Mom for another week.

Like Mother . . . Like Daughter

Here's are some pictures of me & Dakota with our boo boo legs . . .

John & I celebrated our 11th Wedding Anniversary today ! ! !

Dakota Puppy, Little Girl & The Jinx Cat

Hello everyone . . . I've decided to create this blog to show off our kids.

Our puppy "Dakota" is the newest addition. We got her in September 2006 when she was only 8 weeks old. She is now 19 months.

She's a black lab mix (with, we believe, golden retriever). In the beginning, I really didn't want to keep her; she was wild and driving me absolutely crazy. However, we took her to Pet Smart for some puppy training and I have to admit, she is wonderful.

She goes to Doggie Day Care five days a week to help with the energy she has. From what I understand, she'll have that for quite a few years.

Dakota has two sisters: Little Girl (a Ferrel cat, now completely domesticated) and Jinx who we inherited from my nephews. She was a little aggressive for a while there but has calmed down considerably and has turned out to be a wonderful addition to our family.

I hope you enjoy the pictures of our kids . . .


P. S. As I continue to learn how to navigate in "blogger", I will put some verbage next to all the pictures (not just under them)