The Secret to Having it All......: November 2017

Thursday, November 30, 2017

{Rowen - 2 MONTHS}

11.29.17

Rowen is 2 months!! At his last appointment, he weighed 13 lb. 2 oz. and measured 24" tall!

BIG BOY!!

He still loves bath time and being swaddled when sleeping.
His new favorites are: jungle gym mat, froggy seat, being bounced, and watching cartoons.
He's gooing and smiling more and more each day---so sweet!
He's sleeping all night (usually) from around 9 p.m. - 8:30 a.m. and usually takes one long nap (early evening) for a few hours and cat naps the others.
He is not a fan of wearing hats!

What a sweet sweet boy!!!

xoxo

{thankful november - day 22 -30}

Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Jaxson......you had the sweetest personality and you were so smart....you brought us 11 years of joy and we loved you like a family member....we are heartbroken and we are going to miss you sooooo much!!!

This took us completely off guard.....we started noticing that she was acting lazy/sluggish last Sunday....not eating as much.....still lazy on Tuesday.....I called the vet and they said to bring her in on Friday morning. Peter started giving her canned cat food on which she would graze at, but at least would eat some of it. By Wednesday night, her breathing was getting a bit labored...still super lazy....but getting up to eat [a little] canned cat food and go to the bathroom. All day Thursday, more of the laying by, but she did come and sit in our laps when we came home from Thanksgiving dinner that night. She did great on the boat ride and then in the car [she's normally not the best traveler], and we even felt like she had perked up a bit. We dropped her at the vet and told them everything and they took our cell number and told us they would call. We really thought she might have pneumonia or something respiratory [I've had a bad cough and cold and thought she may have picked up a virus too]. I had only been in Home Goods 10 minutes when I looked up and saw Peter coming my way with tears rolling down his face. He had gotten a call while waiting for me in the truck. He said the vet started talking about cancer, and making a choice to put her down.....

We were in shock as we drove back to the vet's office, and as soon as we got there they took us back in this little room to talk about Jaxson. He showed us x-rays of her lungs and explained that they were filled with fluid [he showed us a vile of what he collected and it was not clear as it should be]. She had lymphoma sarcoma and it was very far along. We had two options---take her home with steroids, and she could possibly live through the weekend, maybe a week, but she would suffer a lot until she passed, or we could have her put down [certainly not a choice we ever thought we would face]. They let us bring her in with us and we got to be with her for over an hour. It was so so sad, but I'm so glad we had that time to say goodbye to her.

We got Jaxson on September 20th 2006 [B/D July 4th].

Funny story about getting her is.....We had our old cat, Nooks, but Nathan wanted his own pet to bond with, so Peter started looking for a male tiger-striped cat. He found brother/sister kittens at Petsmart and adopted the brother, Jack leaving the sister, Missy behind. We switched his name to Jaxson, and immediately fell in love with our new kitty. The playful kitten in Jaxson drove our old cat Nooks crazy, but they were good together. Over Christmas break, we started to notice that Jaxson was acting strange and realized it was time to get him fixed. You can imagine our surprise when Jaxson turned out to actually be a female kitty!!!! Yep....the tags on the brother/sister had been switched somehow and we had actually brought sister Missy home!! LOLOLOL

Long story short.....Jaxson turned out to be our favorite kitty ever! You hear people say things like, my cat has a great personality or my cat is so smart.....I know {roll eyes}....I have done the exact same thing numerous times when other cat lovers start talking about their "fur babies" LOL

BUTTTT.....Jaxson really was super smart and she did have the sweetest personality, and she did do "tricks" like show Peter where the toy mouse was hiding, then go sit in the doorway ready to pounce when he told her to go get in her place, and she would pop her tail in the air as she passed by Peter if he said "pull your tail", and she would touch Peter's arm with her paw to get his attention then beg for treats. When I would FaceTime Peter, she would hear his voice and come from another room and sit on my lap and look at him on the screen....yep, she was pretty smart. We will miss her sooooo much!!

In our 34 years of marriage, there has always been a cat in the house....Jaxson was cat #3....and she was our favorite. While we can never find another as special as her, another little tiger-striped kitty will be running around our house again......SOON!!

Thursday, November 23, 2017

Thanksgiving 2017

2017

new additions.....new traditions.....

A lot has changed since last Thanksgiving, including having another sweet daughter-in-law and a precious new grandson!! Along with these additions, came lots more family!! This year, we took a break from our yearly Thanksgiving tradition of cooking and eating at Mom & Dad's house, and celebrated the holiday at Nathan & Kayla's new home and combined our families together. :O)

guest list

Nathan

Kayla

Rowen

Liv

Brian

Peyton

Madi

Weston

Rose

Ernie

Peter

Nan (Donna)

Pop Ern

Gran (Peggy)

Pop (Bruce)

Derek

Mitch

Liz

(wow! the list really grew from the 5 we had last year)

We all divided up the menu, I had the turkey, gravy, corn pudding and pies.

I cooked the turkey yesterday and even though I haven't cooked many turkeys, I've become quite confident......my secret to success....Reynold's Turkey Roasting bags! NO FAIL!! :O) :O)

And the gravy.....again.....easy peasy.....no drippings gravy recipe...

GRAVY

4 cups broth (warm in saucepan)

1 stick butter

1/2 cup flour

salt & pepper to taste

In a pan, melt butter and add flour. whisk until incorporated. add salt and pepper and slowly add warm broth. Whisk until thickened. I add a drop or two of Gravy Master for a darker color.

CORN PUDDING

3/4 cups sugar

2 T corn starch

2 eggs

1 can cream style corn

1 can evaporated milk

Mix sugar and corn starch in mixing bowl, add eggs, mix. Add corn and cream, mix well. Pour into a buttered casserole and dot with butter.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hr.

(I doubled it and put in a 13x9 pan)

I made the usual pumpkin & pecan pies.

Of course, it would have been perfect if Logan, Lindsey, and Kamry cold have been here!!

They spent Thanksgiving with her family, having dinner at her brother Robbie's house. I always ask for pictures to save on my blog! How can our sweet girl be sooooooo big????? She had a great time hanging out with her cousins, Zach, Clay, and her buddy Kate!

<3 <3 <3

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Every Thanksgiving I get super nostalgic and I feel like my heart will just burst with love, happiness, and thankfulness for the many, many blessings the Lord has given me!! I am thankful for my new extended family and the laughter and good times we have already shared.

New additions, new traditions.....what a great year 2017 has been!

Happy Thanksgiving & Goodnight from our little turkey!!!