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!

Christmas Morning at the Sullivan's . . .

The first time that my eyes opened and the clock said 6:20 I rolled over...the second time that I saw the clock and it said 7:30 I knew we HAD to get up - we needed to leave the house no later than 9 or 9:15 in order to get to MaMaw Ada's house in Livingston LA....and we still had a sleeping boy, presents to open and play with, a car to pack, and the whole getting dressed bit...and NOT much time!!!

Richard was SOUND ASLEEP when I peeked in his room so Ty thought a good idea would be to have his Mickey Mouse racetrack talk - sure enough, after having it "talk" a few times, a sleepy headed Richard came wandering out of his room rubbing his eyes....the race track was what he headed straigt towards (he had drooled over it every time that we had been to WalMart) - he also enjoyed the presents that Mickey Mouse sent from Disney World - a backpack, a jacket, a sweatshirt, a tshirt, and a coloring book...he also enjoyed the art supplies and two big hits were his new "Cars" and his new Poingo book - I LOVE it - it has a reading pen that "reads" the text on the page as you run pen over it - as you go over the illustrations it either asks you questions or gives you tidbits of information....he LOVES it - the starter kit included the Cars book and Nemo...what fun is in store and now mommy doesn't have to read EVERY single book (although I LOVE reading to him.) We cooked some biscuits while opening presents and then quickly headed out the door for Louisiana.

Christmas Eve at MeMe and DD's house. . .

Christmas Eve day I had planned to go on over to mom and dad's while Ty was at work, but I wasn't feeling very well so Richard and I didn't get there till about 2:30. Richard had fun baking cookies with MeMe, but the hit of the day was mom's train - he LOVED playing with it and was so gentle. Ty joined us when he got off of work and we enjoyed Christmas Eve supper as a family..although I didn't eat since I still didn't feel well - OOPS - then I got sick and realized it was not food poisoning from supper the night before - I had a virus!!! I felt TERRIBLE - not only physically but emotionally that I had brought germs to daddy's house and he still has to be sooo careful...I just tried to keep my distance from him. We exchanged and opened our presents (Richard LOVED his Buzz Lightyear from mom and dad) and then Ty led the way home, mom drove my car with me and Richard home, and daddy followed us in his car so that he'd be able to bring mom home. Even though I was sick I enjoyed our family time - I continued to be sick the rest of the night so poor Ty had to be an elf pretty much by himself till about 4am getting everything ready for the next morning.

P.S. Thank the Lord, neither mom nor dad got sick!!

MeMe and DD lovin' during the holidays...

Richard enjoyed just a bit of "extra" MeMe and DD loving during the holiday season...we met mom and dad at the mall one day,and another day they came out to the house to spend the afternoon...this year has been even more special due to a renewed sense of family - after the health issues that daddy has faced this year I am even more thankful that daddy is healthy and has the energy to play with Richard unlike the earlier part of this year. We love you MeMe and DD!!

I Can't Believe It!!!

Ok, so I know that this post is out of order chronologicaly, but I did want to include it. I cannot believe that I am 35! I don't feel 35! My birthday was December 10th and I gave myself a gift I have not given myself in the last 15 years - I took the day off of work...I know some of my friends thought I was crazy because I spent the majority of the day cleaning my house (sweeping, mopping, dusting, vacumming, laundry and such) but that is what truly made me happy: you see once I reach my bday the rest of December is just a blur because of the holiday season. I also was able to have lunch with Ty - such a treat!! That night, Ty and Richard had a cake for me and we went as a family to see Bolt. Unbelievably Richard sat through all of the previews and the entire movie without moving an inch...good flick....good birthday.

Precious Christmas Gift. . .

A sweet couple, Rusty and Diane, live across the street from us....they are like grandparents to Richard. Mrs. Diane brought Richard his Christmas present over a few days before Christmas - it was the book "The Crippled Lamb" by Max Lucado. It is THE SWEETEST story - the main character is Joshua a little crippled lamb - his friend Abby the cow is always encouraging him that he has a special purpose or plan - the shepherds decide to take the livestock to different pastures but due to his leg he can't make the journey so he and Abby stay in the barn - that night he hears a strange sound and discovers that it is a baby crying - he goes over and snuggles the baby and keeps it warm - just then Joseph comes back in with some rags to keep baby Jesus warm, but Mary shows him that Joshua has already provided the warmth that was needed - then the shepherds enter the barn and see baby Jesus and Joshua keeping him warm...if Joshua had not been crippled then he wouldn't have been there in the barn that night to provide the newborn King the one thing in life he needed - to be kept warm. All throughout the rest of the holiday, Richard would look for and "find" Joshua everytime that he saw a nativity scene.

Christmas party at Mrs. Beth's House. . .

This year we had the Christmas party at Mrs. Beth's house on Thursday since Friday would be a half day. Santa came and delivered presents and each child had the chance to sit on his lap and tell him what he/she wanted for Christmas. They had sssoooo much fun (and this year Richard absolutely adored Santa), but Emma was missed - she hasn't been coming to Mrs. Beth's because of the chance that she might bring germs home to her preemie sister Emily (see blog friend the Beckwith family on my sidebar.) Thank you for coming Santa and I hope that you liked the Rudolph cookies that Richard made for you the day before. Emma we look forward to seeing you soon!!

Cookies and a Babysitter that loves a good laugh!

Beth told me when I dropped Richard off that she would let him come in that day, but she wasn't sure about the next time that I dressed him in his LSU attire (she is a die hard Ole Miss fan) - she said that it is bad enough when I send him in his MSU or Arkansas razorback stuff....about mid-morning she texted me and asked if my in-laws could take a joke - I said sure - so she sent me these pics with him in his Tiger outfit but sitting on an Ole Miss blanket and holding a Rebel football. That night Richard asked if we could make some cookies so of course I said yes...what mom wouldn't want to spend special one on one time with her little boy!

"Mrs. June's Library"

Richard absolutely LOVES to go to the library - most weeks Wes, Claire, and Kate go as well. Mrs. June always has fun books to read, songs to sing, magnets to arrange on the board,

toys and balls to play with, and "free-time" with the board books.... Richard loves every single second of it!! When we were helping him count the weeks till we went on our trip to Disney World I made a calendar that had a picture of the library on each Thursday and that way we could count how many more "library times" we had before we went to see Mickey.

Happy Birthday Jesus!!

Merry Christmas everyone!!!