We Sure Do Love Library Time. . .

Richard really looks forward to Thursdays. If he has had a good day at Mrs. Beth's he can go to see Mrs. June at the library....I'm not sure which part he likes the best - singing the songs - playing with the shakers - listening to Mrs. June read - arranging the magnets on the board - reading the board books - playing with the balls - or checking out videos to take home: it is all just plain ole kid fun!! HOWEVER, I could NOT be Mrs. June - I do NOT have the patience - seems the secret is out and it is now beginning to be very crowded - I think we are considering switching to a different day. Anyway, most days all of "Beth's kids" go - today Kate was sick so she and Claire were not there, but we had a new member in our midst: today was Emily's first day to go - thankfully she slept through most of the ruckus....Mrs. June even had mats out for everyone to sit on...now only that worked as good in reality as it does in theory! LOL Thanks to Amy, Cindy, and Robin for always adding to the fun by going on Thursdays....we look forward to next week.

p.s.haveno idea whytheone picturned itselfsideways while uploading - sorry.

Weekend Fun . . . .

When the children woke up Sunday morning we decided to let them have a treat - jumping on the air mattress before it was deflated and packed away - wow - permission to actually jump on the bed!!! of course they had to play with the trains and cars one last time as well. We had so much fun with Michelle, Shawn, and Emma - I wish there was a way to GREATLY reduce the distance between here and Memphis....it is always great to spend time with great friends - we promise to make the next road trip.

Birthday Fun at Home. . . .

After our party at Pump It Up, we headed to the house with MeMe, DD, and our friends from Memphis - the Fyes. We all enjoyed a bite for lunch and then watched Richard and Emma play. Soon it was nap time and once the kiddos were down, Michelle and I headed out to run a few errands and to take Manze's bday present to her (can't believe I forgot to take it to the party). Emma LOVES Richard's trains and they enjoyed his new cars as well. We headed to Ruby Tuesdays for supper and the kiddos were SUPER well behaved - wahoo - you win some and you lose some - it was nice to have a peaceful dinner and have time to catch up though.

Birthday Buddies. . .

Manze Ball turns three on the eighteenth and Richard turns three on the nineteenth. . .last year we celebrated together at the PlayPlace and this year at Pump It Up. We had so much fun!!! Since Richard and Manze both go to Mrs. Beth's house they share a lot of the same friends (in one way we are trying to spare the moms two birthdays in one weekend, but really we have a LOT of fun and t is very economical - we can do a much nicer party than we could otherwise do if separate). One of Robin's friends made Richard's "smash" cake - he LOVED that it had Lightning McQueen on it. We had the staff at PIU alternate the Cars plates and cupcakes with the Pink and Princess cupcakes - too funny! Thank you to ALL of our neighbors and friends that made Saturday so much fun.

P.S. Notice the cute shirt that Robin made for Richard - she made the navy one AND the one in the next blog - check out her work - go to my friends (the ball family) and then go to her link for her business - BallPoint Designs - yes one of these days I will learn how to link things.

Happy Birthday Emma...

Thank you for inviting us to your party - it was great practice for our party in two weeks...note to self - wear something comfy and shoes that can slide off when you need to "retrieve" your child out of the jumpy. Richard had a great time, although we had to go have a "talk" twice for being impatient with other children playing. He didn't know how to navigate the climbing part at first but quickly figured it out....he was totally frustrated at the tall wall that he wanted to climb to the top of with his ball, but that isn't the point of that inflatable. It was GREAT to see Wes, Claire, Emma, and Manze - we will see y'all Monday at Mrs. Beth's - poor Mrs. Beth with having to get them back in routine, but hey hopefully she will parade them all to the potty to keep going with what we have all been working on during the holiday. It was also nice to see the Holloway crew and the Killough's (Kara, I really do want a tutorial session)...thanks for the fun time Emma. We are excited that you will be back at Mrs. Beth's this week.

Visit With MeMe and DD...

After meeting Ty for lunch, Richard and I headed to mom and dad's for the rest of the day -I was hoping it would make Richard not realize that Daddy didn't come home from work. Mom and Dad are always good to save "duck food" for our visits - Richard had a great time. He even crawled up in MeMe and DD's bed and took a long nap with MeMe. Thanks for the fun times MeMe and DD.

One Perk of Being a Teacher. . .

It is such a treat to see Ty in the middle of the work day. We met at the mall and had a quick bite to eat and then Richard rode a few of the rides...it wound up being quite a traumatic trip because Richard did NOT want his daddy to go back to work, but I really wanted him to see his daddy since Ty was heading to his parents for the weekend to help out with Poppa. We love you Daddy - you are the best daddy Richard could ever want!

New Year's Eve 2008!

Well, it didn't go exactly as planned...mom and dad were going to keep Richard overnight so that Ty and I could go out, but my brother and his family decided to come in a day early so there went our babysitter... we decided to head to Chili's because Richard is usually fairly entertained there because of the TVs and if you sit in the right booth you can watch the traffic lights...well, we weren't even down Old Fannin when I glanced back and saw Richard sound asleep..we continued on and just took him in with us and amazingly he continued to sleep no matter the noise of everyone watching the bowl games. He did wake up and have supper with us and we went ahead and left at half time since LSU appeared to have no way of losing. We came home and watched "the ball drop" and then waited for "our" midnight and Ty shot fireworks for us to enjoy. Thanks hunny - you always make the holidays fun and memorable.

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Getting Ready for 2009!!

Snowball started his year off by getting a bath and haircut! He HATES the process, but absolutely struts around when he gets home - it is too funny to watch! Snowball is NOT a silent kitty - in fact the info card when we adopted him described him as being "verbal" - boy was that an understatement!!! Anyway - as he was meowing on the way to be groomed, Richard kept patting the pet carrier and telling him it was "okay, baths are fun" - I know his eyes look evil, but he really is a pretty cat - crystal blue colored eyes.

And yes, it doesn't take very much to make me happy these days! I LOVE using my holiday time to get my house organized and cleaned up!! We took an entire car load (trunk and all) full of donations, but my project I am most pleased with is my kitchen. PatPat has dish stackers and I decided I wanted some...no one explains to you that when you have a child you LOSE cabinet space - first to bottles, then sippy cups and plates and bowls - I had so much fun finding everything a new home!! Yeah WalMart - MUCH less expensive than the ones I had my eye on at the organizational store!! And on top of that, I used a gift card that one of my students gave me so it really only cost me half of what it would have been.

Poppa and Richard Time. . .

Richard is Poppa's little buddy - he enjoyed reading books with Poppa, eating snacks with Poppa, working in the garden with Poppa, rocking on the front porch with Poppa, and taking a nap with Poppa. For some reason, Richard "re-discovered" his crown from Burger King which we just cracked up over - we often call him Chief Sullivan or King Sullivan!

I LOVE the picture of Richard walking hand in hand with Poppa and PatPat - isn't that how it is - they so completely trust us to lead them and guide them in the ways that they are to go?!

Poppa's surgery went well and they removed all of the lymph nodes in his upper left leg - he has been in a lot of pain and is still in the hospital, but his spirits and outlook are great. He might be able to go home this weekend - Ty is headed back to Baton Rouge after work and Ty's brother Shane will be there as well....after some time of recovery Poppa will have to have chemo and the lab work analysis of the lymph nodes taken out has not yet returned - please continue to lift Poppa (Dick) and PatPat(Patricia) up in prayers - it has been a difficult year for our parents healthwise, but God continues to be faithful through it all.

Christmas at Poppa and PatPat's House. . .

After lunch we headed to Poppa and PatPat's house. Richard enjoyed opening more presents and I think the favorite for Christmas in Louisiana (for all the Sullivan men) was the remote controlled Hummer - he only needed Ty's help for a few minutes and then all we heard was "No, I do it myself!" - hmmm, what a fast learner and strong willed child!! Richard also received his very own "first computer" - he LOVES the letter games on it - he also enjoyed "racing his cars" down Poppa's LONG hallway. We made a trip over to the Mall to see if there were any deals we couldn't resist (one pair of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse rain boots and a Toy Story shirt), but we didn't want Richard to be in sensory overload so while Ty and I went to the Disney store he rode the Tiger carousel with PatPat and Poppa watched and waved and rested.

Off to MaMaw's House We Go . . .

The only living grandparent for me or for Ty is his dad's mom - Ada Chandler - she is the most giving person I know...she goes to the nursing home to help take care of people that SHE taught when they were in grade school as HER students - she will be 94 this year and is still "going strong."

This is the first time in the ten years that I have been part of Ty's family that so many of the family were there - the ONLY person not there was my brother in law Shane - he had to work a 16 hour shift at the hospital - every other child, spouse, grandchild, and great grandchild was there.

Poppa is the oldest child so he led us in a time of scripture reading and then laid out the plan of salvation -then he shared with the family that he has been diagnosed with cancer and was scheduled for surgery the Tuesday after Christmas...he told everyone that he wants to be here for every day he can and he plans to fight this, but he doesn't want to be one day late for the roll call of his name in Heaven. Needless to say there were many tears flowing - Poppa's sister in law Kermer is also battling cancer with some fantastic doctors and experimental treatment from M D Anderson.

We took the opportunity of so many family members being present to take some really special pictures....the "children" - the "children with their spouses" and the cousins (minus Shane and Ricky).....Richard enjoyed having a "young" cousin (Viane) there to play with.

It has been an emotional Christmas, but one that has made me even more thankful for my family and the times that we share together - NONE of us has the promise of tomorrow so as Poppa reminded us, we ought to ALL be living each day as if it is our last!