Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello, everyone. We've had a short absence, partly because we had an accident involving our camera and a bottle of Gatorade. With some persistence and a flathead screwdriver, we can now get our camera to turn on, but it takes a while.

In the past week or so, Gabriel's gotten into his karate class, Patty's been sworn in as a court-appointed special advocate (CASA), and we've finished our dining room. We also had a death in the family but would like to keep that private. If you'd like to learn about Alzheimer's Disease or to help find a cure, please visit this web site. Now to focus on positive things, because after all, it's Thanksgiving!

Tomorrow, we will cook and eat and nap, and then Friday we leave for the great white north for Emily and Miguel's wedding. Woot! M just put the turkey into the brine solution, and it will marinate for the next 10 hours until it goes into the oven. Here are some assorted photos from the past week. Please to enjoy.

Here's the miracle ice cube that I found in my water last week. It had a long part sticking up out of the water, with a perfectly round tiny ball balanced on top. The ball fell off just before I took this picture:

Here's our CASA class after we were sworn in by Judge Miller. Skye is next to me in the tall section (aka the back row), oh, and I'm the one with the hot scarf and the black Ralph Lauren pumps with patent ribbon trim (hee hee):

Here's the dining room. It's a combination of antiques from both sides of the family and the store: Here's G's Native American headdress that the three of us made together one night last week (nice expression, right?): We went to Banana Republic today, and they remembered him as "Our Indian Boy." They're very nice there.

Now on to figure out what prayer I'm going to say for grace at the reception dinner. I'm thinking of making it a revival and inviting people up to be healed. After all, I do speak Southern now, y'all.

Now the list:

Five Things For Which I Am Thankful

by Patricia Angle

• Matt and the family we've created
• that my parents and Jack/Jen live here
• that we are financially secure so I can stay home with G
• that we are healthy so that we can enjoy every day
• that we have some really, really wonderful friends here
• that the world is big enough for variety but small enough to explore

Did you really think I'd stop at five?

Ahhhh-complishment!

Guess what? The Easter basket is out of the dining room!!! The glasses are off the dining room table! We have finally finished the buffet and brought that and the china cabinet upstairs. Here are photos of the finished product. And just for Nancy, my CASA folder:

New Member Of The Family

We'd like to announce the addition of Charkie (pronounced "Sharky") to our family. He's a chocolate lab, just like Choco, and they already get along great. Here's his adoption certificate:

G is taking great care of him (through the Webkinz web site). He gave him a cool rocket bed, a yard to play in, toys, and lots of yummy food.

Seriously, this Webkinz thing is pretty neat. There are learning opportunities in which he can earn "money" to care for his pet, and it's a fun activity to do with Mommy and Daddy. He's learning about what living things need, and he's learning about earning and spending.

Tomorrow, G will start a karate class, and we know that several of his friends already take the class. That means that we will feel right at home with the other families - something that's happening more and more these days!

Happy Halloween!

Well, it was for us, anyway! Here are a few photos from Halloween, as well as one from G's birthday in July and a couple from our trip up north.