~/~ Let Us Give Thanks ~\~

Our 2007 Thanksgiving was spent out at my brother, Gary's, house...Zoie helped Grandma make the stuffing, but ended up 'stuffing' herself with the bread instead! We had a beautiful turkey, too!






We enjoyed the wonderful food that we were blessed to have (as always!), with Zoie learning the art of putting pitted black olives on her fingers!




We also did a little post Turkey day shopping, watched the train wreck that WAS Nebraska Football (hopefully they'll get someone new in to get things turned around!), played some games and spent a bit of time around the family dining table coloring - yes, I said coloring, as with crayons - Thanksgiving & Christmas pictures. It was a great creative outlet and we had fun talks at the same time that we were coloring beautiful pictures - and it was something that Zoie could be involved in, too, so that was awesome! Zoie also loved being around the boys and all the doggies & kitties, too!







We're very Thankful for the blessings the Lord has given us, including wonderful family & friends, shelter, food, warmth & love. We pray for those who aren't as fortunate as we are and for those who aren't able to be with their loved ones over the holidays for whatever reason. We pray for those who don't realize what they have in their lives to have their eyes opened and that they be thankful they haven't missed out on anymore than they already have. Thank you, Lord, for all You do and give us - and for what You don't!

Lots of Love,
Heather, Zoie & Indie

Fall Down, Go Boom & Raking Leaves

Zoie took a good tumble the other day...fell off the couch and hit the coffee table by way of her cheek...she had a good scrape that developed into a lovely purple bruise and black eye...she took it in stride though. She still looked pretty darn cute for lookin like such a toughie! You can kind of see the effects in one of these pics of her enjoying a big pile of leaves and helping Grandma pick up & bag the leaves!!

Hope this finds all well with all our family & friends...

Love,
Heather, Zoie & Indie

We Got Poo Poo in the Potty...Cha Cha Cha Cha Cha Cha

And the long journey of potty training begins...dum dum duh dum! Zoie made it obvious that she was trying to go #2 and, as usual, she was fighting it...we let her set on her new potty chair and read books about using the potty, etc...but to no avail. So, we decided to help her relax and went ahead with night time bath...well, she was in the tub only a short time when I could tell she was ready to let it go so I grabbed her out and set her on her potty and plop plop...there it was...poo poo in the potty! I don't think she knew what to think at first, but Grandma & I were SO excited that she got caught up into it, too! I offered to let her dump (what a pun!) the contents into the big toilet, but she just said, "Uck!" (she really IS a smart kid!)...anywho, I emptied it and we flushed and we bid the poo a fair adieu! We shall see if this changes her anal retentiveness (and I mean that...she tries desperately to keep the poo in usually)! I'm hoping the cute little big girl unnawear that Grandma bought & showed her will be some incentive as well! Stay tuned for the adventures of Princess Poo (aka Zoie)....

Love to all,
Heather

Heather's New 'Do!

They (whoever 'they' are) say that the only thing constant is change...and I was in need of one, so I got about 6" of my hair cut off, colored it and got my brows waxed...voila! A new woman!

Zoie's 1st Dentist Appt!!

Yep, that's right...Zoie went to the dentist for the first time on Monday, November 12th! She is just growing up too fast! I meant to take some photos of this monumental event, but when we walked back to the exam room, she pretty much freaked, so needless to say photos fell by the wayside! After it was obvious she wouldn't sit in the chair by herself, we tried going at it with me sitting in the chair and her on my lap...which wasn't as bad, but still she was scared...then 2 hygienists & the dentist all put on face masks and were standing there staring at her...well, then I didn't blame her for being scared! Talk about aliens! Ha! So, I tried to put a mask on, too, to see if that would make her feel better - not so much! So we lost the mask and finally, I sat up and we laid her in the dentist's lap and reluctantly, she let him view her teeth with the little mirror and then he brushed her teeth, which she did very well with, and he put flouride on them - they used the suction tool and I thought that might throw her over the edge, but she seemed intrigued by it, so that was a relief! They let her keep the toothbrush, she got a bracelet & a sticker and was happy after that...especially when we walked out! Basically, the dentist said that her teeth looked awesome and she has two more that need to come in so she almost has all of her baby teeth already...sheesh! We'll be going back in 6 months - can hardly wait!

Love you all,
Heather

Enjoying Autumn

We've been blessed to have such a beautiful fall this year...Zoie, Indie & I try to get out and enjoy it as much as we can! These are just some photos of those fun times...enjoy and Happy Autumn!!

With Lots of Love,
Heather, Zoie & Indie

-^- Halloween 2007 -^-

What a bootiful & spooktacular Halloween we had this year! We made jack-o-lanterns galore (even thought the squirrels made a grand feast out of them all)!!





The Uni-place neighborhood businesses had a trick-or-treat night and this was our trial run for the big event...Zoie's costume involved a hat AND a wig so I wasn't sure she'd keep it on and I wasn't sure she'd carry her pumpkin bucket, but after the first store we were at, she really seemed to get into it and grasped the idea that people were putting "canny" in her bucket very quickly!



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Grandma also got into the sprits (of Halloween, not the alcohol) and did some fun decorating at the house, she even added her own special touch to a couple of our jack-o-lanterns! After all, ghouls just wants to have fun!!!


(Apparently, her decorations were SO good that many a trick-or-treater was frightened by her "tricky" witch!!)


Our next outing was a first...Grandma, Lindsay, Zoie & Mommy attended the annual Boo at the Zoo event at the Lincoln Children's Zoo - and we met Auntie Wendy, Uncle Porkchop and Piglet (aka Piglet) there!! While waiting in the long lines, they had the Lincoln cloggers performing and Zoie was very interested in what they were doing. Although I might think twice about going to this next year, it was definitely fun to see all the other costumes that the kids - and adults - had going on. They really decorated up the zoo and it was fun to walk through. Zoie even got cozy with the Lincoln Salt Dog!








Next...it was time for the big she-bang! It was the 31st day of October and we were ready to haunt! We first met Vonda, Jeff & Connor at our church for their annual Trunk or Treat. It's a really great idea where they block off an area of the parking lot and people decorate their trunks, truck beds & suv's and then the kids trick or treat out of the there in a safe zone. Next we visited friends & Lindsay & Mommy even got into the mood and had costumes - although, what exactly they are, I'm still not sure of! (Still waiting for pics from the friends' house but they've been busy having a baby, so...I guess I'll let it slide for now!)






All in all, it was one of the funnest & most activity filled Halloweens I've experienced in a long time!