February...Leap On Outta Here!

I don't know if had something to do with this being a leap year, but February kind of leaped in & out quickly, leaving it's mark. First of all, as is normal for Nebraska, it was SO cold! I have to say that, for me, the winter blahs set in early this year! I've been working hard and keep learning more & more everyday but I find myself yearning to go to Margaritaville and have a cheeseburger in paradise on some beach somewhere (get all the song references there? lol). Early in February, Zoie & I started on a special Valentine's Day project - little flower pot photo holders - which we both enjoyed - she loved painting!


For the actual Valentine's Day, I was a good mommy and made cupcakes for all of Zoie's daycare friends (and for us at home!) and Zoie 'wrote' on all the cards that she gave to them. We also were treated to an early Valentine's Day gift from Grandma Lucy and she took us to Zoie's first theater experience at a local college who was putting on a production of Rudyard Kipling's "The Jungle Book" - and we were seated in the FRONT row! It was a great production (no photos) and for the most part, Zoie was enthralled until the character of "Shere Khan" (the tiger) came out and he was quite menacing. It scared her a bit at first but then she really enjoyed it. The play was interactive and the characters (especially the monkeys) were in the audience - at one point Zoie, a little girl next to me and I had to hold the rope that was capturing Mowgli! Very dramatic! After that we had a tad bit of a rocky period...Zoie got sick with what I thought was a cold but then it kept going and had high fever (almost 105 at one point - yikes!!), achiness, etc - so I was getting very concerned that she had the flu especially since the vaccine they gave this year didn't end up covering what it was supposed to. So, we went to the doctor and he said it was probably something more viral or bacterial and we got some meds that she was on for 10 days and that helped immensely...she still has a little nagging cough and a runny nose, but for the most part, it's gone. She did, however, keep her sense of humor and fashion during the whole thing as you can see by these "cheeky" pics...


In the middle of Zoie being sick, Grandma Lucy got really sick...so I was really getting worried about them both...mom did all she could here at home to try & get rid of it, but she was in a bad way and finally went to the doctor as well after a couple of weeks into it...he gave her some instense antibiotics but she is still very weak and coughing and experiencing a shortage of Vitamin D so she's going to start a new 'script of that to see if it takes better than the once a week dosage they tried before (with bad results)! I myself have been avoiding them both as much as possible (hard when Zoie was a second skin) to stay healthy using the hand sanitizer like it's going out of style, keeping my fluids up and resting as much as I can and - knock on wood - so far, so good. Oh - and to add to all this fun - mom's cat, Godiva had ringworm that constituted vet visits (which means $$$...grrr), medication that she hated and keeping everyone away from her! Somewhere in all this, I had another birthday - #37 for the curious few - and I indulged myself in a haircut, color & eyebrow wax to feel a little more human....ahhhh. My dear friends - Swister Wendy, Porkchop and Piglet - were gracious enough to watch Zoie so I could go and get that done and relax while doing it! Zoie loved being with them - especially all of Piglet's ride-on trucks,toys & balls - to the point of not sharing! But she thanked him often with kisses aplenty!



Another nice thing for February is a visit from Mitchell who was out this way for a National Honor Society college visit trip and he was also on Spring Break at the same time so he just stayed here with us and will head back with his friend, Allyn (who Zoie LOVED!). He's a senior (and learning to fly a plane!) so pinning him down for visits are getting few & far between and we are very happy that he got to be here.





That pretty much wraps up the month for us - and you can understand the lack of photos, but I tried to get a few in here...we're looking forward to a much better March - it will finally be spring after all! Woohoo!

Blessings to all of you and hope you're safe, healthy & happy!!

Lots of love,
Heather, Zoie, Indie & Melody

Happy February Birthday Wishes also to:

Uncle Gary
Linda K
'Aunt' Susan N
'Auntie' Michelle P
Friend Connor H
Vonda H

Picture of the Week!

We had a little bit of excitement the other day...a photo of Zoie & Indie that I had submitted to the "Everyday Moments" segment of Channel 10/11 here in Lincoln was selected as the picture of the week and was featured on TV as well as their website...pretty cool. Here is the 'winning' photo and a screen shot of the website:

Just Some Fun Pics...

Aunt Chris & Cousin Brandon came to visit for a couple of days...we had fun taking a few pics...and it just so happens that the day we took these was the day Zoie turned 21 months old...only three more months to the Big Number 2!!

Holly Jolly Christmas & hApPy NeW yEaR!!

Zoie's 2nd Christmas holiday already...it doesn't seem possible! We were blessed to spend the holidays with lots of family & friends, but as always, we couldn't do it all. We weren't able to (again) make it to the Barnett Christmas in Kansas for Christmas Eve...and Zoie & I were going to make a road trip south to TX with stops in Wichita & OKC, but that fell through also - due to illness (read on), bad weather, & tight funds (as always)!

So, what DID we do? Well, since we knew we weren't going to make it to KS, we (Mom, Zoie, Indie & I) took off for my brother, Gary's, house on Dec 23rd and arrived there late that evening...and we were SO glad to get there! My car was jam packed to the gills! Poor Indie had to squeeze into the space on the floor behind my seat and rode most of the way with a box (luckily not a heavy one) on him! We now know how Santa feels...but at least we'd made it! Christmas Eve was a nice relaxing day...with snow! Gary had to work that day and we thought he had to go back in that night but he had a nice surprise when he got home and didn't have to go back to work until midnight on Christmas so he got to have a real holiday! As usual, there was a bounty of food, gifts under the tree and laughter...we always think we're having hard times and then we're blessed with such abundance...we were in a nice warm house, with a roaring fire & a big beautiful tree surrounded by loved ones in the spirit of Jesus' birth...oh, what would we do if we were faced with only a stable and a manger of hay for a bed? Again, our cup runneth over! It was still a joy to give gifts and see the smiles & surprises - and sometimes tears - on everyone's faces - especially sis-in-law Chris who was 'tricked' and became the recipient of the traveling Doxon Fruit Cake! Ha! Yes! I did it! I really had to outdo Brandon from last year when he really got one over on me...it becomes more of a challenge each year and we all really look forward to it! Zoie was and had a lot of fun this year, but still was a little reserved about the decorations & gifts...she did like to read the story of the baby Jesus though, and really liked to talk about the donkey that gave Mary a ride to Bethlehem. She got excited about Santa Claus - as long as he was on TV, in pictures or at a distance in person...up close, she latched onto me and looked away from him when she said "Hi Sanna" very quietly! Luckily, she wasn't over spoiled (well, ok maybe a little) on Christmas...she got a bouncy Inchworm that you ride and bounce on, a Fairy Cottage shaped like a big boot & people that go with it, and - her favorites - crayons & books, along with a few other awesome things like her annual ornament from Grandma Doxon. One of the sweetest moments was when we put her Santa hat on her and she promptly said "Ho Ho HO!" I think most of all she liked being around my nephews and Gary & Chris...she even willingly gave Uncle Gary lots of hugs & kisses on this visit...and very quickly had him wrapped right around her little finger! Poor Brandon wasn't feeling too great when we got there and a few of us seemed to catch the same thing - a stomach flu type thing...NOT fun! Luckily, Zoie didn't get it then, but I think had a touch of it since. It snowed & iced a couple of different times while we were there, but I have to say even though it affected travel, it was beautiful to have snow on Christmas Eve & Day. Ok, so now onto some photos!














We extended our stay at Gary's by a couple of days and then came back to Lincoln - the kitties were missing us (thank you to Jim for watching out for them and keeping them company)!! We then had a couple of get togethers with Jim's family - his parents on the Saturday before New Years, where there was a visit from Santa that Zoie unfortunately missed because Santa arrived right during her naptime and was gone before we got there! :( Then we had a really nice Christmas brunch with Jim's kids & grandkids on the Sunday before New Years.








And last, but not least, we bid adieu to 2007 & welcomed in 2008! I thought I'd be putting Zoie to bed and watching TV til I fell asleep (most likely before midnight), but my friend, Lindsay, & I had a nice relaxed late dinner at Misty's here in Lincoln (an AWESOME restaurant, in case you didn't know - steaks that cut like butta!)...where I got hit on my the bus boy who just turned 19 on Christmas Day and was only about 5 ft tall, but 10 ft tall on sweetness. He definitely made my year end on a happy note! :) Then, Lindsay & I went back to mom's and I got Zoie in bed, and, bless her heart, Grandma graciously stayed home and Lindsay & I went to a small town tavern near Lincoln to have some champagne and some ok karaoke! It was fun and I really look forward to so many more adventures in 2008 - for Zoie & me, as well as for my friends & I and Mom, too! Let's hear it for auld lang syne!





We wish all of you many blessings each and every day in 2008!!

Love,
Heather, Zoie, Indie, & Melody

Latest Addition (#2)

OK...so Heather has Indie, Grandma recently got kitty Godiva...but what about Zoie?! This is where our latest addition, Melody, comes in!!


Melody came to us from a woman and her 17 yr old son who had only had her about a week when the mother's asthma and unknown cat allergy hit with a vengeance so they had to find her a new home. Zoie absolutely LOVES the kitten, who is about 9 wks old, because she will play with Zoie and not run from her!! They played for about a half hour straight with the string on a stick...it was great entertainment for me and Grandma!! She is a sweetie and full of energy for sure!!

Our Family is Growing!!

We have been blessed to have a special addition to our family...a sweet kitty cat!! She came to us from a household that was moving and was not going to be able to take her and we'd been talking about getting a cat again for a while...so perfect fit!


Her name is Godiva and we'll call her Diva for short...but so far she is anything but a diva! She's a very calm cat and is taking her time getting familiar with the house. She doesn't seem to mind Zoie at all and has let Zoie pet her, which Zoie was SO excited about! At first, Diva was hiding under my bed so Zoie would just look under the bed and come back up and just laugh! Then she reached under the bed and said, "Kitty, kitty...I hold you!" Getting used to Indie is a little different...she's not so excited for him to be near her like he is!

We've Been ELFED!!

As Christmas gets closer by the day (22 days away!), this was inevitable!

Check us out at:

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1145206718