It's beginning to look a lot like . . . .

Christmas! Coop's first Christmas!

Two weekends ago, we had a wonderful outing sans little man for the Processes Unlimited Holiday . . . nope, Christmas Party. We all had a great dinner and saw the ice carvings at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine. Very, very cool . . . figuratively and literally. Thanks ProU!

A gingerbread house made of ice. I've been in quite a few ice houses . . . never one quite like this.

Holly's always wanted a goat. This one seems pretty easy to care for.

We had fun this last weekend meeting Santa (Ken) at the Allen Harley Shop.

Cooper did really well . . . unfortunately, the smiles didn't show up in our pics.

The smiles were certainly plentiful on the other side of the shop. We both thought that a new scooter would make a wonderful present! Oh, what color should we pick?

And look, they have mirrors too! Smiles at the Harley shop, smiles at Bass Pro, digs big ole slobbery dogs . . . I believe Cooper's going to make a great co-conspirator. Heehee!

Bath time (aka, swimming) is the best . . . for us all.

I hope the rest of your week and weekend are wonderful. He's checking his list, checking it twice . . . .

December . . . really?

Yes, it's true. December is upon us. I really miss the winters in God's Country (that's the Texas Panhandle for you non-believers). Not that I miss them, but a distinct change of seasons better synchronizes my mental calendar. My biological programming believes that falling leaves and a low 30°F overnight temps are more indicative of football season in early October . . . not 20 days until Christmas.

As always, I'm behind on the blog updates. I love making the posts and will continue to do so. But due to the volume of pictures, the blog really doesn't very well facilite viewing and distribution of piles of fun memories and silly moments. I hope to set up an online photo album before the year's end. On to the random fun!

Silliness with Mom and Bro in Plano!

We had an awesome Thanksgiving / early Christmas with the Huntsville gang. Thank you! Pics of Coop's raindeer outfit will come in very, very handy someday.

Hope to see you again sooner . . . rather than later! TGIF!

She's wearing her wings

When I started this blog thing, our wish was to share our little present, Cooper, with friends and family from a far. Unfortunately, life sometimes throws you lemons.

Cooper's Gigi (aka, Gloria, Gloria Faye, Faye, Momma, Mombee, and my Plano mom) passed away early Tuesday, Nov 18th after an 8+ month battle with pancreatic cancer. Her pain is no longer, and I know that God just received a proud new officer in his "Welcome Home" committee.

Throughout her life, her desire to serve God and others never ceased. And, her compass was always true through fun times and rotten ones. Her life and actions touched the lives of hundreds of friends and acquaintences due to her tireless, selfless, and caring nature. She was the perfect example of "to have a friend, you must be a friend."

She was amazingly strong throughout her awful illness and treatments. Her goal over her last months was to set an example for Holly and her nieces . . . to teach them to be strong through the worst in life. Once again, I really think she humbly underestimated her influence . . . she had been setting an example for us all throughout her life.

After several rounds of treatment in Plano, she went to MD Anderson for further consultation. Unfortunately, complications halted further treatment. After "the talk" - you know, the one that we all fear - she expressed concern for her doctor for having to regularly deliver such bad news to his patients. His response was so fitting. He explained that if it weren't for these tough situations, he would never meet people like her.






We were blessed to have been loved by her. Until we meet again . . .