Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Most of you know that St. Patty's day holds a special place with us, considering Dave and I met on this festive day. What's shocking is that it was 10 years ago this year!!!! I had no idea he was that old!!!

We celebrated a bit early this past weekend by participating in the Chasing Snakes 10krun/4k walk to benefit some of the local churches' community efforts. I think it goes without saying that we chose the walk this year. Lily did great and got a handful of extra beads which are by far one of her favorite things. Lambie, of course, had to come for the ride. We were just so thankful that the rain held off for such a fun morning! May the luck of the Irish be with you! Oh yeah, just as a reminder Lily was born on 07-07-07....

Catching up

Well Mrs. Mattie took another two week vacation, which of course meant that we called in the troops so to speak. Nana and Papa graciously came down to provide stellar grandchild care for a week. We loved having them as usual and as always are so appreciative!

They had many adventures throughout their week. Luckily, I was finally not working on a Saturday and was able to join them on a quick trip to Asheville. Dave was unfortunately out of town. Tupelo Honey Cafe, The Biltmore, the Grove Park Inn and the Mellow Mushroom were all on the agenda. The pics are from downtown Asheville, The Biltmore and the last is on the porch of the Grove Park. (Big thanks to Anna for the free passes to the Biltmore!!)

Recipe for Wild Time

Flour....check (and some even in the bowl)! 2 year old....check (that's 2 and a half Daddy!) Block tower.....check! Dog with cone head.....check! Sugar....obviously!

At this point we interpreted the "teaspoons size rounded balls" as more like guidelines than rules.


The outcome...one cool 2 and a half year old with crab sunglasses and delicious sugar cookies!

Castle!

Mattie has been out of town this week, and thanks to the flexibility of a professor's schedule, I can do most of my work from home. So today and tomorrow that is exactly where I'll be! Lily and I started off this morning with a little castle building....you can see, she's very proud of it! She is responsible for all of the creativity and design, I generally follow behind her and "stabilize her vision".

Indignation

Poor Thatcher had to go to the Vet yesterday to have some work done. He had three growths removed, and his teeth cleaned. Fortunately, all the early indications are that the growths were benign. The Vet is sending them off to the lab just to be sure. The procedure went fine, but he sure was funny while the effects of the anesthesia lingered. He was so tired, but did not want to lay down, so I'd scratch his jowls until he just about fell asleep standing up! He seems much more himself this morning, as his look of indignation illustrates in the photo below. The problem is that Thatcher is a bit of a licker (I know I'm not shocking anyone with that statement). And he has already been licking his stitches, so the space helmet had to go on. We'll see how long he stays fixed in that spot on the stairs....and of course, how could you not feel better getting the personalized attention of our little doctor!

We "Heart" PB&J

Sesame Street Live

Several weeks back we went to see Sesame Street Live at Freedom Hall with the Harrelsons. Elmo was a highlight of course!

Snow 2.0

Fortunately, our second big snow of the year was not accompanied by any 6 hour commutes. Emily was safely on call at the hospital last night, while Lily and I buttoned down in the house. We ended up with about 4 inches....and by the time Emily's shift ended this morning the roads were clear. So since we were not stuck out in our cars somewhere, it left plenty of time to play in the snow with the boys this morning! After Lily and Thatcher were finished eating their share of the snow, I believe our net snowfall declined to 3 inches!

Note: the blur of black ears in the first picture is Thatcher....apparently the old chap still has some legs!

Goofy

Not sure what brought on this display of her "funny face" but she was quite happy to pose for a picture with it!

5 years

To live in the hearts we leave behind is not to die. -Thomas Campbell

It was a clear sunny cold day, just like today, this day five years ago.
I'm choosing to take comfort in that. I take comfort in my father's memory
every day.

Christmas continued

Assorted Christmas Pictures

Better late than never I suppose....