Allison

When I took this picture Allison was sick with 5th's Disease and out of School. I was at work on "location" taking some pictures of a house to sell. I guess you can say we had a "take your daughter to work day" Allison didn't find it too exciting.. but I though the azeleas were pretty anyway.

Allison has learned a new trick!

Daddy taught me to ride my bike with no training wheels!

I can even do it in the dark...

Poor daddy he ran and ran and ran. But it was worth it!

THE PRO!

The prettiest birds have found our feeders

Peter's First "Unsupervised" Crawfish Boil

Laissez les bon temps roulette!

"Who dat Yankee cookin' dem crawfish??"

"skeptical"

"Bravery"

Interesting thought of the day...

An Extra Quote of the Day… I hope you will all read to the end. Jay Leno puts it into perspective and makes us think about the pathetic negativity. That's right, Jay Leno!! Jay Leno wrote this; it's the Jay Leno we don't often see....
"The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some poll data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true, given the source, right? The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country i s headed, and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the President. In essence, 2/3's of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change. So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, ''What are we so unhappy about?'' Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week?Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter? Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job?Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time, and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?Maybe it is the ability to drive from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state? Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter? I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provides services to help all, and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital. Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home. You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames thus saving you, your family and your belongings. Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes, an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss. This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90 percent of teenagers own cell phones and computers.How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world? Maybe that is what has 67 percent of you folks unhappy.Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S., yet has a great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have, and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here. I know, I know. What about the President who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The President who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same President who guided the nati on in the dark days after 9/11? The President that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks? The Commander-In Chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me? Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show? Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn't take a look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad? Think about it ... are you upset at the President because he actually caused you personal pain OR is it because the "Media" told you he was failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful behind every day.Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom. There is currently no dr aft in this country. They didn't have to go. They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general'' discharge, an ''other than honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario, a ''dishonorable' ' discharge after a few days in the brig. So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans? Say what you want, but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds, it leads; and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations. They offer what sells, and when criticized, try to defend their actions by "justifying" them in one way or another. Just ask why they tried to allow a murderer like O.J. Simpson to write a book about "how he didn't kill his wife, but if he did he would have done it this way"...Insane!Stop buying the negativism you are fed everyday by the media. Shut off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your birdcage. Then start being grateful for all we have as a country. There is exponentially more good than bad. We are among the most blessed people on Earth, and should thank God several times a day, or at least be thankful and ap preciative."With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, "Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"

Happy Birthday Nathan!

Blowing out candles (second time) First time Layke did it for him plus I wasnt' ready for the shot!
Thanks Uncle Adam! Just what I wanted!!! Jurassic Park the TRILOGY!!
I dont know what this is about!
Thanks Mom & Dad. You got my Spinosaurus! (and thank you Ebay!)

Happy Birthday Nathan! We are so proud of you!

We had the 8th birthday this year at Strike Zone in Southaven.

In attendance:

Mom & Dad, Allison

LeAnn Lory & Preston Malone

Tracy Bill Sam & Reagan Wilson

Beth Brian Taylor & Caitlyn Stephens

Amanda Keith & Drew Vaughters

Brandi Shannon Layke & Laycee Spencer

All the kids had a great time.

Easter 2008

Winter's Finally arrived

Friday 1pm. Kids get out of school early for "Spring Break" Due to incoming BLIZZARD.....

The kids found an interesting but foreign object in Gramps & Grancy's garage. Gramps says it will ride on the snow.... Hey this is fun.. who knew?? I bet we're the only kids in Mississippi with a snow sled...

Allison's Deep Thoughts

" Mom when you get to be 100 years old you die."
" well, you know some people live to be over 100."
"And how did they do that?", she questions.
"I suppose they eat healthy and laugh alot and get enough exercise."
"well, ok, that's good, but mom....."
"yeah honey"
"I really like to eat snacks.... and they're not so healthy"

Gas bill blues..

Well the Gas company stopped by the other day to inform us they need to make an appointment to read the meter.

We installed a fence about two years ago in front of it and apparently they've not made any attempt to read it since, thanks in part to Daisy....GUARD DOG!

Stay tuned and I'll let you know how many thousands of dollars we will owe them.
Any and all donations will be accepted.

For all of you that I bragged to about my low gas bill....Keep smilin!

Lorrie

Lipizzaner Stallion Show

We took the kids to see the Lipizzaner Stallion Show today.

http://www.lipizzaner.com/
It was different. I can say I've done that one now.

Nothing much else going on here. Allison had a birthday party to go to and it was at Bath Junkie. If you get an opportunity to go to one of those stores I highly recommend. I got Daisy some Mutt Mist (she's been smelling aweful lately) I guess the weather has something to do with it but we really can't bathe her like we want b/c it's so darn cold.)The girls got to pick flavors and mix some bath salts and do girly things. The products smell WONDERFUL. Allison & I are suffering from Pink Eye. Nathan's got a bad cold. So far Peter's dodged the bullet. I guess we're due for some sickness around here. The kids have been pretty healthy since they had Tonsils/adenoids removed two years ago. So I can't complain.
Nathan's doing great in school, not that he's enjoying it but at least we're making progress. Allison is loving kindergarten. Hope it lasts once she goes to first grade!
Megan & Allison at Bath Junkie

Merry Christams Everyone!

Nathan Allison & Santa 2007

Thanksgiving 2007

Halloween 2007

The plans were: Nathan would be a Karate Kid with a painted face by dad to be a scary pumpkin.
Allison was to be LSU Cheerleader. painted face.
1 hour to Trick or Treat they'd both decided to forgo all the plans and they dressed themselves. Allison was a "Barbie" cheerleader. No paint on face. No makeup... Nathan was a dinosaur (again) this was his old costume from last year. I dont even know where it was. He found it and insisted on wearing. Dispite the humid 70 degree temp that day. Anyway we started at dusk and GOD LOVE the Neighbors on Amanda Cove cause they loaded us up buckets half full on the first street .. .WHOOHOO!

We even saw a "baby elvis"

Halloween 2007

Brian I finally got my Fire wire installed and it works! I thought you might be proud. Here's the Halloween fun...

Dying Professor's Last Lecture

Very Inspirational Message here. After the video check out his website http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/news/index.html
see how he's doing today.

Nathan....

I peek in at him late at night lying in bed, fast asleep; my no-longer-little guy sprawled out across his bed. I see his unruly mess of hair and I smile. I smile because he is incredibly full of personality. He is so different than me in many ways, different than what I expected, different than the little boy I had always imagined I would have. And for that I am grateful. He’s his own person, he is picky and he knows what he likes and doesn’t like. I look in at him, peaceful and innocent while he sleeps. His body and mind are resting. He’s gone full force for the last fourteen hours, he needs a break. Homework was hard..... AGAIN.
I like it that he pushes the limits, like it that he questions everything, because one day he’s going to do something magnificent. Along the way, he’s probably going to make some huge mistakes, but he’s going to live large and dream large. Underneath the spunk and goofiness is a heart not only lined with gold, but filled with it. It is large and feeling, and it wants to do good and have a good time doing it.
That is my son sleeping there. It is just now that I realize that I am the one who needs to change, because I am not going to change his nature and no one else will either. He is stubborn and strong willed. I have realized that he has certainly been given to me so that it would be me that will do some changing. He has taught me more about living than I ever thought anyone could do.
That is my son. He makes me angry sometimes, makes me frustrated. Then he makes me laugh outloud like no one else can, and as I look at him, he makes me cry. He is a wonderful creation. He is my son. He marches to the beat of a different drummer. Thank God

In Loving Memory of Gary

Gary lived a happy life—sleeping, grooming, getting petted, wheedling snacks (especially broccoli,carrot sticks, croutons, salad mix, and sunflower seeds), plotting escapes, running on his wheel, arranging everything in his cage just so, rummaging through his food dish to find all the best bits so he could carry them off to stash in his little plastic igloo, dashing around the house in his hamsterball (I’ve seen him do five or six circuits of the coffee table at top speed), and having random spells of passionate digging that left bits of cage litter scattered for several feet in all directions. He pursued all these activities with heartfelt diligence.

Unfortunately Friday morning I found him spread eagle in the bottom of his cage. Mortified I picked him up and pronounced him dead. Took him to Nathan and he said his good-byes. I wrapped him up and took him downstairs and began our morning as usual but with sadness. Allison wanted to kiss him good bye before she went to school so I unrapped him and he took a breath! I thought that maybe if I wrapped him up in a towel and lay him on a heating pad that he'd pull through. Amazingly he started breathing steadily for a while although very labored about an hour later he passed away. It was very sad. We got suprisingly close to him in the short amount of time we had him, He was a sweet little creature. Never bit us and was very playful.

Peter buried him in the common area behind our house and made a cross.

So True

This email was sent to me today from My Dear Friend Candi. I swear I do this ALL THE TIME it is SO SO TRUE!

I have always said you should learn something new every day. Unfortunately, many of us are at that age where what we learn today, we forget tomorrow.
But, give it a shot anyway!............


I decide to water my garden.

As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide my car needs washing.

As I start toward the garage, I notice that there is mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mailbox earlier.

I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.

I lay my car keys down on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full.

So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first.

But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox, when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my checkbook off the table, and see that there is only 1 check left.
My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of Coke that I had been drinking.

I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the Coke aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over. I see that the Coke is getting warm, and I decide I should put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.

As I head toward the kitchen with the Coke, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye--they need to be watered.

I set the Coke down on the counter, and I discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning.

I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers.

I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly I spot the TV remote someone left it on the kitchen table.

I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I will be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers.

I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor. So, I set the remote back down on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill.

Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day:

----the car isn't washed,

----the bills aren't paid,

----there is a warm can of Coke sitting on the counter,

----the flowers don't have enough water,

----there is still only 1 check in my check book,

----I can't find the remote,

----I can't find my glasses,

----and I don't remember what I did with the car keys.

Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled be cause I know I was busy all day long, and I'm really tired.

I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail.

Do me a favor, will you? Forward this message to everyone you know, because I don't remember to whom it has been sent.

Don't laugh -- if this isn't you yet, your day is coming!

GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY

GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL.

LAUGHING AT YOURSELF IS THERAPEUTIC.

P.S. I just remembered.

I LEFT THE WATER RUNNING IN THE DRIVEWAY!