We got back home yesterday, and are all back in to our normal routines of school and work. I have started decorating for Christmas and found this picture that I love from last year. It is Uncle Matthew and Sam at my parents' house playing Christmas carols on the piano. I love this time of year and find joy in remembering holidays past with loved ones. This picture gets me in the mood to enjoy this special time of year.

Spending the Night in Tuscaloosa, AL

We drove halfway home and are staying in a Hampton Inn In Tuscaloosa. Clemson v. Carolina football game starts at 6PM so we are glad to be able to watch the game and cheer on Dick's alma mater. Driving went well today, Dick drove first half and Kyle drove in the afternoon. I avoided driving altogether so I was glad. Right this minute Dick,Kyle, and Sam are wrestling on the other bed while I am blogging here in the hotel room. Going out to dinner soon, we'll be glad to be back in our own beds tomorrow night.

Playing Flashlight Tag

How much Fun! We ended our week here in SC with a family game of flashlight tag in the dark. I can't believe that the kids convinced Dick and I to hide along with them. I don't remember the last time I was hiding in the bushes in the dark...if ever. The kids kept saying, "just one more time...I haven't got a chance to be it!" We really made some good memories. Our nephew Jake dove in to the bush I was hiding and didn't realize I was there too. We giggled and tried to keep quiet, until we were discovered with the flashlight. I'll never forget it.

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Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours. We are enjoying our visit to Meme and Poppy and will be driving home in 2 days. Take care and remember how much God has blessed all of us.

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We have been enjoying our visit with the SC side of the family. We have eaten school lunch the past 2 days with 2 of our nephews. I am making a spaghetti dinner feast tonight, because Nate is coming to visit us for a few days. Kyle, Dick, Poppy, and Steve played golf yesterday. The weather is very balmy in the 70s to 80s. I think we are going to try and decorate Meme's house for Christmas. Kids went to Aunt Julie's to ride four wheelers, horses, etc. So far we have had a great time and have been playing alot of Phase 10. I haven't taken any pictures as yet. Hope all is well with everyone...

Thanksgiving in South Carolina

Dick, Sam, Kyle and I leave today after Dick gets off work to drive to Meridian,MS to spend the night. We are continuing the drive across the South, on Saturday and plan to get to Dick's parent's home in SC, on Sat night. I hope we can listen to college football on XM radio while we are driving. We are mostly packed, and are looking forward to the week off from school/work! I am unsure how to blog while I'm on the road, but maybe I'll try and figure it out. I hope so. If not, from us to all of you, have a great Thanksgiving with the ones you love. I included this silly picture of Kyle pretending to eat a live millipede when we went camping this fall.

More from Baton Rouge

Here is a picture of Kyle with the binoculars. We got some light rain during the game. Kyle wouldn't be caught dead in a LSU rain poncho though. He is still mad about the Ohio State loss. He has been "trash talking" at school with his LSU fan friends about his beloved Buckeyes. Pray for him on Monday when he has to face them all at school....

We had seats the third row from the top. Nosebleed seats. This is a view of the marching band. They were excellent. The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs lost 58-10, but they put up a really good fight. We cheered for them as much as we could being surrounded by tens of thousands of rabid LSU fans. We got some dirty looks and three teenage girls behind us screamed in our ears, "Geaux Tigers, LSU!" everytime the crowd did that cheer. Dick and Sam are in this picture and wearing their red and blue. Click on any image to see it close up.

Our trip this Weekend to Baton Rouge.

The LSU marching band was awesome and stopped to play for us before going into the stadium. We are just getting word via cell phone, about this time, that our beloved Buckeyes have been beaten by the Illini. My dad is thrilled! GRRRRRR.

These are the "Golden Girls", and no Bea Arthur is not one of them. They led the parade of the band. Kyle thought they looked like amazons since they were so tall. Below are pictures of the LSU tiger mascot: Mike VI who was heavily guarded by state troopers. I don't know who would try and steal a team mascot as fierce as a tiger. (not Greg Brady for sure). The real tiger lives in a multimillion dollar habitat on campus. I heard that you can look at him on the internet anytime you want.

This is the best picture of the ones that I took of the football players. This is Trendon Holliday whose family was standing in front of us. There were some pretty big boys.

This is a picture of the LSU stadium, known as "Death Valley" and a hot air balloon. We are waiting with thousands of other people for the LSU football players, cheerleaders, and band to enter the stadium. We were some of the few that were not wearing yellow and purple.

Sam and Stephen are posing for this picture while tailgating with the family. They were having a great time.

Kyle, Sam and Stephen were throwing the nerf football in the parking lot. There sure were a lot of serious tailgaters down there. There were only a handful of LA Tech supporters like us. We were called "Tiger Bait" too many times to count by the LSU fans.

Dick and I took Kyle and Sam to the LSU vs. Louisiana Tech Game in Baton Rouge this weekend. We had never been to Death Valley, and we had friends who went as well. We knew that Tech didn't have much of a chance in beating #2 ranked LSU, but it was a fun opportunity to see the campus. (It is kind of like having Lakeland Community College play Ohio State.) We got there in plenty of time to tailgate with some of our friends, Ross and Missy. Ross is a former LSU offensive lineman and works with our youth group at church. Here is a picture of Kyle and Ross.

Here is a recent picture of Nate and Dick when we went camping with our Sunday School Class last month. We had a great time. The kids went tubing behind a friend's ski boat. Nate entertained everyone around the campfire at night with his guitar and voice. Nate is here this afternoon for the weekend. (Yes, he brought his dirty clothes home from college.) He is helping me learn how to navigate my blog and change fonts,etc.

Stay tuned...

Here is one of my favorite pictures of Kyle and me. He LOVES being taller than me. My little boy is all grown up.

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Here is the best part of Sam...his smile.

He got his braces off, just in time for the first day of middle school.

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Kyle turned 16 this year and saved money to buy himself a 1986 Jeep. He was so excited that he slept in it the first night. (It was in the garage). Here are Dick and Kyle checking the oil in it after church. Kyle is on the road so much, it is hard for us. "Where's Kyle tonight?" is heard often at our house. Part of letting go, I guess.

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this is kind of fun to try and organize my thoughts and write.

Here is Nate on his 20th birthday this year. He is a junior in college and is such a fine young man. We couldn't be prouder of him. He is majoring in marketing and comes home to do his laundry, so we can visit with him. He is such a good musician. He sings and plays guitar...learned on his own. Music is his life...

My very first blog...

Today, I will start my blog. I do this in response to stay more connected to those of my family and friends around the country. Today is Wednesday,Nov.11, 2007. This is a picture of Kyle age 16, Nate age 20, and Sam age 11. I can't believe how fast they are all growing. At times I feel like they will all be gone before we know it.