Tis the Season

I have always wanted to be one of those people who have it all together. You know the ones, their Christmas cards are addressed by Thanksgiving, most if not all gifts are wrapped and ready by December 1st and the Christmas decorations are up and perfect. Every year I tell myself this is the year I will be more organized and have it all done early so I can actually enjoy this season without any stress. Again it is not happening. We still don't have our family tree purchased, boxes of decorations are everywhere but none of it is out in any kind of order, my dining room is a landing zone for any and everything that we don't feel like dealing with which is a LOT of stuff, our Christmas cards are finally addressed but sitting on my desk because I haven't gotten to the post office to buy stamps and mail them, and the list goes on. HO HO HO

Mastectomy Law

I got this in an email from my mom's sister who is a two time breast cancer survivor. I have already signed this petition but if anyone reading this hasn't already please consider it.

Mastectomy Law Please read
Please Read and forward to all your friends...It could be you or someone you love.
Proposed Mastectomy Law Change (written by a surgeon); I'll never forget the look in my patients eyes when I had to tell them they had to go home with the drains, new exercises and no breast.. I remember begging the doctors to keep these women in the hospital longer, only to hear that they would, but their hands were tied by the insurance companies. So there I sat with my patient giving them the instructions they needed to take care of themselves, knowing full well they didn't grasp half of what I was saying, because the glazed, hopeless, frightened look spoke louder than the quiet 'Thank you' they muttered. A mastectomy is when a woman's breast is removed in order to remove cancerous breast cells/tissue. If you know anyone who has had a mastectomy, you may know that there is a lot of discomfort and pain afterwards. Insurance companies are trying to make mastectomies an outpatient procedure. Let's give women the chance to recover properly in the hospital for 2 days after surgery. This Mastectomy Bill is in Congress now. It takes 2 seconds to do this and is very important. Please take the time and do it really quick! The Breast Cancer Hospitalization Bill is important legislation for all women. Please send this to everyone in your address book. If there was ever a time when our voices and choices should be heard, this is one of those times. If you're receiving this, it's because I think you will take the 30 seconds to go to vote on this issue and send it on to others you know who will do the same. There's a bill called the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act which will require insurance companies to cover a minimum 48-hour hospital stay for patients undergoing a mastectomy. It's about eliminating the 'drive-through mastectomy' where women are forced to go home just a few hours after surgery, against the wishes of their doctor, still groggy from anesthesia and sometimes with drainage tubes still attached. Lifetime Television has put this bill on their web page with a petition drive to show your support.. Last year over half the House signed on. PLEASE! Sign the petition by clicking on the web site below.
http://www.mylifetime.com/community/my-lifetime-commitment/breast-cancer/petition/breast-cancer-petition

How Cute are They?

sitting around the campfire

Lacie and her purse

Meg loves a dog.

Sometimes in the chaos of living I forget to sit back and appreciate the little things in life. Mom kept all the kids for us a few weeks ago so we could work and in the case of Mere and Bill, attend a forestry convention. When I arrived to pick up my brood this is what I found. The kids had built their own little camp ground in the back yard, complete with campfire. Now look closely at the fire, they ripped up red, orange and yellow paper and stuck it between the sticks they had gathered to make it look real. It is amazing the things children will think up. How great is it to have a Grammie who will allow you to act on those impulses that would make this mom cringe because of the mess. Life is so so good.

BOO

So Halloween has come and gone again and to be perfectly honest I am thrilled to have it over. I am not much of a fan of that particular holiday. I love cool Fall weather, fires in the fireplace, snuggling under blankets, hot cocoa with the kids before bed and all of the colors of the season just not the junk of Halloween. Anyway...my sweet mom made costumes for most of her precious grandchildren. Sara Abbett chose to be a car hop. How cute is that? Joshua my sweet boy decided to be a football player for his school party then changed his mind and refused to dress up at all. He wears a football jersey every day of his life so we weren't being too creative there. Anna Grace and Mary Ellen said they were planning to be geisha girls but were only fooling us. They, in cahoots with mom, put together these crazy rock star outfits.
We were invited to two Halloween parties so Tim and I divided up. He took Josh to his friend Sam' party while I took the girls to another one. We all had a great time and were completely exhausted at the end of the night.

A Girl Scout Halloween

On Friday night the Girl Scouts had their annual Halloween party at Miss Doris' church. The little ladies did some dancing, played some GS trivia and of course did a little eating. Doris always goes all out for everything and this was no exception. Although it is a good time it is also a chance for the girls to give back to those less fortunate. They took up new socks and panties for the children who have been placed in foster care. I hope my babies understood what it was about. Life is good.

cowgirl Rabbie

scarecrow Gracie and Dorothy

For some reason this picture makes me think of Sissy in Urban Cowboy.

girls love to dance

Halloween Parties at School

A good time was had by all on Friday! The kid's classes all had their Halloween parties. Josh's first grade class had a nice tame party. They ate weenies on a stick, had a cupcake eating contest and played a fabulous game of Let's Make a Deal. Rab's class made masks and ate some good party food. Gray's class painted pumpkins and ate some junk too. I ran from class to class trying to make my presence known to all three of my precious angels and not getting many pictures. Life is good.

Mr. Incredible and his weenie on a stick.

cutie

wild man

Josh competing in the cupcake eating contest.

Zeke does not like to have me take his picture.

Rab working on her mask.

the finished product

Raggedy Ann loved having her picture taken.

Fun On The Hay Bales

As I said in my previous post I allowed the children to bring home some friends after our visit to the Cotton Festival. Being the ever patient mom who loves to have kids running like wild animals through her house I sent them to the yard to play. The hay bales are always a draw for kids and this crowd was no different. They ran and jumped and posed for me until the rain came and we were forced to come inside and make brownies. I do love the friends my children have chosen. All well mannered and well behaved. Life is so GOOD!!!

Cotton Festival

Last weekend was the annual Lee County Cotton Festival.

On Friday night we went to the rodeo. It was a first for all of us but I think it won't be the last. All of the kids, big and little, enjoyed it. Saturday we went to the pet show that "Miss" Doris coordinated. I was not too fond of the snakes and spiders that some people choose to keep as pets but it was fun to watch. There is a tree in the yard at the pet show that is, in my opinion, perfect for putting kids in to photograph them. Following the pet show we met up with Josh's pal Jenkins and his mommy in front of the church to watch the parade. Interesting is the only way to describe a cotton festival parade. You just have to attend one to understand. Since I was cold I forced the kids to leave after the parade but did let them bring some friends home with us. Life is so good.

Thats my baby Rab with her softball pals on their parade float.

my second favorite (after Rab of course) entry in the parade