Thanksgiving 2008

We enjoyed a very quiet Thanksgiving. My aunt and uncle and my cousin and her husband and little boy, along with my mom and dad spent the day together. For the second year in a row, we ate at the country club. This could be a habit I could get use to. I love not cleaning up. Anyway, it was a nice day, and now the run is on for Christmas. Hope you all are making plans for a wonderful Christmas. I got a call from William today, and if the excitement in his voice over getting their tree up is any indication of what it is going to be like at Chase and Laura's house, it is going to be crazy.


(Front) My Aunt Georgia with Buttons, my cousin Jennifer and her son Colby, my mom
(Back) My Uncle J. C., me, Lance, my dad. Obviously my cousin's husband is taking the picture.
In the next picture, he is in and I am out.

No, I Am Not Thankful for the THE BUG

Okay, I was overjoyed when Laura asked if we could take care of the kids this past week-end since they had an event to attend Friday night and ballgames to attend on Saturday in Starkville. Lance and I met Laura in Stewart on Friday, picked up the "grands," and headed back to Inverness for fun times. After naps on Friday, we shared supper with Cindy and Grace and Bill and Gale. Grace and the boys enjoyed playing together and getting play dough all over the den.

Hey, Mama. Kakki said I could bring this play dough home!

Can I? Can I?

William's biscuits that he and Poppa made made using train-shaped cutters

Saturday was a busy day with Mamoo and Poppa Taylor's coming over to spend some time with the boys and my getting ready for our Thanksgiving lunch at the church on Sunday, plus our church hosting the Community Thanksgiving service that evening with a reception after. The kids are familiar with our church, so they played in the nursery and ran back and forth between it and the fellowship hall, endearing themselves to those helping get stuff ready.

Did you know you can stuff a whole cup cake in your mouth?

Told ya it would fit!

Sunday morning we headed to SS and Church, where William made a turkey out of rice crispy treats and fruit loops (Thanks, Mrs. Amy). We had a great lunch and then went home for naps. The big boy and the little boys were exempt from the evening service, after which I returned and gave baths and got the little people, as Laura calls them, to bed. I fell promptly to sleep on the couch and later stumbled to bed.

Monday morning started early at 6:45 a.m.; that's early for me, anyway. I didn't feel very peppy, but that is usually the way I am in the morning. I have to work on getting up, but when there are two little ones, I have to hit the floor running whether I want to or not. As the morning wore on, I could not shake the queasy feeling, and then it hit, THE BUG!!!!! You know the kind--you don't know if you are to sit on the commode or to hang you head over it. It was down hill from there, and Lance was now in charge. I literally died in the bed and did not know day from night. The only thing I did know was the path to the bathroom.

Later in the afternoon, Lance began to get sick, but being the martyr I am not, he did his best to take care of the boys on his own. Our only saving grace was that Laura called to say she and Chase thought they would come on to Inverness on Monday and head to Madison on Tuesday, instead of making a long trip of it on Tuesday. I know that Lance must have thought, "THANK YOU, LORD!" The reason I know this is that we have been studying in SS how important it is to be thankful in our daily lives "always and in everything" and because he was soooooo sick.

The kids got here and I did not lay eyes on them until Tuesday morning just before they got ready to head to Madison. They packed up and headed out to smiles and waves all around. As the taillights headed away from Inverness, Lance fell in the bed not to get up until 3:00 in the afternoon.

By mid morning I was among the land of the living and ready to get my house back in order. You know how I am about order in my life. Anyway, all is good now, and there is peace and quiet in my house except for the wonderful music playing on my new Ipod dock that Laura brought to me as a belated b'day present. Right now "How Beautiful the Body of Christ" is playing, and I am looking forward to the visit of family tomorrow for Thanksgiving.

There are so many things I am thankful for this year, and as think on them, I hope you will think on yours too and be sure to thank God for all those blessings. But I find it hard to say, "Thank you for the bug." Lord, you will have to help me with this one. Happy Thanksgiving to all.

P. S. I also found out that Lance and I were not the only ones to get THE BUG. Several members of our church have been fighting it or should I say giving in to it. I don't think there is any way to conquer it.

A Few Pictures

Well, the Halloween season is over and the rush to Thanksgiving and Christmas is on. Not a whole lot is new with the Baria house. Here a few pics from the last two weeks.

Riding to the punkin' patch. Wes is on the look-out for his pumpkin.

Wes trick-or-treated in Inverness this year. I guess it could be called that. We went to 2 houses.

Could there be a more precious cowgirl ( Katie Arrington) and cowboy?!

"I've heard bumble bees have cooties. Wouldn't want to get too close."

Grace and Wes showing off their costumes before shedding them for some play time.