Thanksgiving weekend pics

Here is Chase and Lil M. She's got the funniest look on her face, but he has a great smile!

Much better big smile from my girl!
Aiyee Mimi telling Lil M she *can* fly!!
Chase requested I hold Lil M up in the air!
DinnerLil M set up for the big dinner!
After dinner cuddle before I am-scram to go shopping!
Oh, forgot the HAT! She wanted to pick the hat up, but it was too heavy.... so, Sis and Grampa put it on her for a photo op. haha.

Peace.

After Thanksgiving

So... we did turkey day at my Dad's house. It was very good. My brother was there for the first time in years and years. It was also Lil M's First Thanksgiving!! :)

However, I did something I haven't done in probably 8 years... I didn't do the Turkey Trot. :( It was pouring rain here even at 4am, 'cause I woke up in the middle of the night. Sis and I said that if it continued to rain in the morning we probably wouldn't go because I didn't want to take Lil M in the rain. I *will* get one of those plastic covers for my running stroller, but hadn't had time to get it before the race.

I tried to call my friend Joe, but didn't get him. Not sure why, but now I feel bad 'cause I haven't heard from him... So, Joe, if you're reading this, I did try to call, but didn't hear back. I wrote you a message at like 2am telling you about the rain. I hope you had a great run, and will write or call you very soon, I promise.
Back to Thanksgiving, when I did get up, I was very grumpy that I missed the run. Even though, it seemed logical in the middle of the night. We did have Chase, and too him to Dad's. After dinner, Sis and I came back and I took a 2 hour nap. Lil M stayed over at Gramma and Grampa's house!!! That was a first! I thought I was going to be very stressed, but we all did ok. :) She had fun, and got to hang out with Uncle Joe for quite awhile. I was very happy about that!

Sis and I started our *Black Friday* shopping at 1am Friday morning. Yes, 1am. We went to the first store that opened and ended up going to Value City, Kohl's, Radio Shak, Ace Hardware, Walgreens and then I went to a Pottery place. We were done at about 11:30am. I went to get Lil M and then we went to the Pottery place, so she got to also go on her first-ever black friday shopping trip!! hahaha.

Sis and I have been VERY tired since last night!! I didn't sleep for over 24 hours, and neither did she. But it was fun and was definitely worth it. We got almost all our Christmas shopping done, and even got her a cool Christmas tree (for $19.99, 6.5' tree, with lights!!), which was the best deal we could find! I'm trying to convince Sis that we should go ahead and put it up today, but that hasn't happened, yet!!

Really, black friday shopping can be worth it if you know what you are looking for. The prices can be fantastic!! :) The lines, however, not so much. ha. But, it wasn't as bad this year. Last year we stood outside in the freezing cold for 3 hours. We didn't dare do that again this year! And we still got some great deals.

Anyway, I hope you all had a very happy Thanksgiving!!

Peace.

Little Video

Down on the bottom right of the page... there is a little video I added of Lil M opening a present! Don't mind the baby talk! LOL

I would have added it here, but it is too big for the section.

Added: I had to remove the video because it seems to mess with my page. I will try to add it again, but smaller or something. Thank you for the comments on and off my blog!! :) You can also see it on my MySpace page - www.myspace.com/missmelissa41076


Peace.

First Present

Gramsey and Grandad sent Lil M a present yesterday... just because!! Look at that SMILE!!! She loved it!! Gramsey didn't want me to wait until today, but I'm glad I did and let her open it with me!!! :)






Peace.

Way back when

Here are some oldies but goodies... Y'all know I'm a twin. Here we are!!! First pic, I'm on the right. 2nd pic, I'm on the left.
Third pic, I'm on the left, sitting with my great-grandfather. Sis, is with our great-grandmother.
Sis and I with Grandpa Hunt!!! We miss you and love you Grandpa. He was *surely* the strongest man I EVER knew.

Look at the dolled up women-folk at our graduation!!!!! Grandma Heaton!! We love you! Me, Sis, MOM, and Mommaw (We love you too!!!) This is likely my FAVORITE all-time picture, because it has ALL of us in it!!!!!!!!

Peace.

Advice or Poll

I need some advice. This is sort of work related... but was hoping someone could help me!!! LOL.

How do you get...

1. new people you work with to understand how smart you are (besides waiting for them to figure it out)?

2. someone to come off their high horse and realize the team they have is valuable?

3. 'faster to market', 'higher quality' AND 'cut costs' at the same time? Isn't is really two of the three at any given time?? How do you get people to understand this concept, or rather, misconception?

4. your 14 month old to eat sweet potatoes after they LIKED them a week ago, but want nothing to do with them now?

Peace.

New Digs

At work I have a new cube, desk space... whatever you'd like to call it!! :) It is nice to have a window seat... but I miss my old cube-mate and all my other team members. They split up our group and I feel quite alone over here!! boo.

Lil M is doing well. I kind of upset her this morning by wanting to take her pic in her cute little outfit. Nothing fancy, but it is one of the ones I got in China. I'll post more pics soon.

I've got to get the house ready... Thanksgiving is NEXT week!!! OMG!

Peace.

Typical weekend

I'm a slug. ha. Actually, I felt like we needed some down time, so we're staying in this weekend. I'm still sad about my Mommaw's passing and am dealing with some emotions from that.

I've been cleaning a bit, and am going to try to get the whole house in fairly good shape by tomorrow. As sad as it sounds, I can hear Mommaw tisk tisking me for not having my bed properly made. But you knew by now I'm a goof, right? Really, I just can't stand to be so cluttered. So, I've been working on that.

The dogs and kitty are good; so is Lil M. Well, she seems a bit cranky, too. We're fine though. We're getting back on track.

Now, to the finances... definitely need positive vibes and prayers for that.

Peace.

Whiney Butt

Thanks for the feedback last night!! :) I love to hear from you all. Sometimes I blog for myself and to keep things for Lil' M... and other times, it is really great to hear from others!! 'Cause it makes feel like I'm not so alone in all this.

Peace.

I must be boring

I don't get many comments anymore.... booh. Nobody loves me?! haha

Really, I know my posts lately have been a bit on the sad side... Hopefully, I'll have some good pics and stuff to post with the holidays coming up.

Peace.

PS. It is Maggi-Moo's FIRST birthday!!! Woohoo!

A Little Better

Well, they say every day gets easier when a loved one passes.... not sure that *every* day does, but over time it happens. So, today vs. last week has started to feel a little better. I'm still sad. But, as with all things, I can't sit here and get stuck in the sad spot. So... there ya go.

I'm glad to have had the time off I needed to grieve. Let's see how work goes when I go back tomorrow. As usual, prayer would be nice....

Lil' M and the pups are doing well, as is Manna. Lil' M didn't take a nap at daycare today, so it will be an early night for her. I'm going to try to make it an early night for me, too.

It was nice to see referrals come in. I can't believe that there are people out there who have had to wait 24 months. I thought 18 was long.... well, some days. And then other days the time flew by. But I'm so happy to read about the referrals!!! I hope they are as happy as I've been!!!!! :)

Peace.

Flowers

I received a beautiful arrangement of fresh flowers today. They were sent from my friends at work. That was so sweet and unexpected. Thank you all.

Peace.

Dinner and Family Time

We wore purple in honor of Mommaw. She was laid to rest in lavendar, and we wanted to show our respect. I am glad we did. She loved purple.Mindy and her new dolls.
Aunt Gay Gay and Me with our dolls.
Aunt Bonnie, Me, Mindy, Aunt Gay Gay and Myra Jo with all our dolls!!! Oh, how Mommaw loved her dolls. We'll have to display them for her.
Chase. He loved the countryside and the drive. We took TONS of pictures on the drive down and back.

It was really good for all of us to spend a few hours together after the funeral. It was a very tough few days for me. Mommaw was SUCH a huge part of our lives, and I still feel guilty for not being able to see her as much as I wanted. It was very comforting to hear how much she talked about Lil' M. Apparently, she carried her pics around and just went on and on about how much she loved her. That just makes my heart melt. You know, adoption is perceived differently than birth, by some. And the fact that Mommaw, in her 90 years... loved this child of mine, and gave her the same love she gave the rest of us is just heartening. There is hope, indeed.

Mommaw had something special set aside for each of her Grandchildren. She had jewelry for the Ladies and her quilts for the Men. Mindy and I were overwhelmed, because we weren't expecting anything. And, definitely nothing as special as the jewelry we saw here wear EVERY day!!! Amazing. So, I'm not the proud owner of the beautiful pendant she wore all the time, and Mindy has one of her rings. Words can't express how this makes me feel. I feel loved.

Mommaw also had her baby dolls that she collected over many, many years that she wanted us girls to have. This again was just for the grandchildren... even though, she had great and great-great grandchildren. Aunt Bonnie did give one of the dolls to Mia, and that just was so nice of her. :)

All of my heart goes out to my family and to Mommaw. May she be sitting with Jesus in a beautiful purple gown with lots of purple flowers and family she hasn't seen in a long, long time!!

Peace.

Resting Place

Mommaw started out a "Boone". So, it was befitting that the funeral took place at the Boone-Nickell Funeral Home. Our whole family was there, sans Mom and Uncle June. Even Uncle Lynnie was there. He is not doing well himself, as he has Colon Cancer. But we were so glad to see him and that he was able to make the trip. It is 3 hours or so from Dayton, which is where we all started our trips from.

Mommaw's first husband passed away the year before I was born. She wanted to be buried next to him, and you can maybe see the "Beckett" name plate, but she also has "Hunt" from my Grandpa who she loved very much. God, we are going to miss her.

This is me walking through the area to go back and see what they were going to do with the flowers. There were MANY fresh flowers. She was buried with a purple and pink rose, along with some family pictures and a small quilt I started the day Grandpa went to Hospice. I never got to finish it, but I wanted her to have it.
This is where my Mom's side of the family is laid to rest.

Amazingly, from Mommaw's grave, you can see Marcy's house, who was her Niece. They were very close, and it was comforting to see one of our family homes overlooking Elizaville. This is where we had some family time and dinner after the funeral.

Peace.

The Long Drive to KY

Mourning

Today, we go to the Viewing for my Grandmother. Sis' ex finally called and said he was sorry he had said Chase couldn't go... so, Chase can go with us now. THANK YOU for all your prayers. It is already going to be a very long, draining day. I'm glad we don't have to worry about that now.

Tom asked how we're doing... well, just this morning, I've been feeling panicky, overwhelmed. It's been a tough morning. Breathe, Melissa, Breathe..... that's my mantra.

Thank you again for your thoughts and prayers. I can, without a doubt, say this is the hardest, biggest loss in my life since my nephew passed and my other grandparents. Both of which, happened years ago.

God is good, and we will get through this. I have amazing family and friends. Oh, and Skippy. :) He's been hanging close to Mama these days. What a good boy!

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In Memory

My beloved Grandmother, Mommaw, passed away last night. There was so much I wanted to write and to share, but I'm keeping a lot of it close to the vest right now.

Mommaw was amazing. She lived a very long, fruitful 90 years. But that wasn't all of it. She outlived both her husbands. She bore 4 children. She had quite a few grandchildren, and way more great-grandchildren who loved her.

Her favorite color was purple. Her favorite drink was sweet tea. But when we were kids she always had those little Cokes for us to drink out of a bottle. She had endless love, and butter bowls for us to play with. She let us sleep in the purple room. She always made sure we had what we needed growing up, which sometimes included a roof over our heads. She made the best ice cream, pies, dumplins, and corn of anyone I *ever* knew. She was an awesome cook. She comforted us when our Mom couldn't. She had a huge heart and a lot of love for her family.

This happening was very sudden. She fell and hit her head, they think because she had a stroke, but aren't sure. Her passing was quick and painless, but will leave a lasting mark on everyone's heart that new her or loved her. And there are many, many who loved her. For that, she is my hero.

May I live as long and fruitful life, filled with love and children. I love you Mommaw. You will always have a piece of my heart.

Peace.