MEET THE LOVELY FERN!

I was already feeling somewhat better today. THEN I received some REALLY sweet comments on my last blog post. It's amazing how much a bit of sympathy and kindness can help! THANK YOU to all who offered those kind words! LOVE YOU, LOVE YOU, LOVE YOU! Next, I actually managed to eat about a fourth cup of chicken gumbo soup and a lil' yogurt cup! Ahhhhh! My tummy was receptive! And after all THAT, I received a delivery from UPS! Talk about feeling better FAST - this did it! Look what I got from my other fabulous partner in the Quaint Old-Fashioned Doll Swap! Isn't she a BEAUTY? Pam, the creator of this amazing sweetheart, has - like Jen - become part of my life! She and I are totally convinced we were paired for a reason! So I would have loved ANYTHING she sent. Truly! But when I opened the box, my big old mouth just FLEW wide open! Notice the DETAIL on this gorgeous lady! WOW, WOW, WOW! And here's a funny thing. She (Pam - not the doll) had told me to look at the attached envelope FIRST before opening the doll. Well, I couldn't because I didn't FIND an envelope. So I opened the doll! And the instant I saw her I said, "OMG! That's FERN!" Fern was not only my favorite music teacher for the 3 years of middle school (then called Junior High School) but she became a FRIEND all the way till she crossed over when I was in my 30s. I loved her. Now Fern was what kids back then called outdated. LOL! She WAS a bit old-fashioned, but I adored her. Like ME, she believed rules have a place in this world. I used to wonder how she looked as a young woman, but it wasn't till I was about 25 that I saw a photo of her. Looking at Pam's doll was EXACTLY like looking at the younger Fern Morris. When I finished oooohing and aaaahhhing over every aspect of the doll, I checked out a whole box of goodies (sweeties) Pam sent. Yum, yum!!!! I have to be veeeery good and eat only the white chocolate pretzels because the rest are chocolate and - as some of you know - I'm majorly allergic. But I'm PRETTY sure my housemate will step up and be helpful by eating the chocolates. LOL! FINALLY I saw the envelope buried under the bottom layer of box padding. It had apparently wandered down there in its travels. What had Pam written? Well, besides trying to convince me that the doll has imperfections (HA! NOT A CHANCE!) she said that the doll had not told her her name. But it's all GOOD, lil' Pam! Fern IS her name. For sure! AND I LOVE HER!!!!! I haven't yet found the right place for her, but I think I am getting a feeling about her new space! I want her spotlighted! THANK YOU, Cindy Owens for pairing me with two lovely, special human beings who sent me wonderful dolls! Thank you (again) Jen, for my darling dolly who lives so happily in my lil' bedroom and makes me smile! And thank YOU, Pam, for Fern, for the goodies, and most of all, for being my new friend! This is WAY better medicine than Nyquil!    

POOR, POOR PITIFUL ME! POOR, POOR PITIFUL ME! THIS OLD FLU WON'T LET ME BE! LORD HAVE MERCY ON ME! WOE, WOE IS ME!

That blog title? It's an old song. Well, except for the part about the flu. Today I am plain old SICK. Tried to convince myself it was just a cold. Naaaawwww. It's the freakin' flu. Aching muscles, fever, not able to eat (or even - gasp - drink coffee) cough, headache - the whole 9 yards. UGH, UGH, UGH! I'm stubborn and I keep TRYING to do stuff anyhow, but just trying to answer emails wore me out earlier. I know this creeping crud is going around, but I hope NONE of you will get it! Well, I already know my friend Sandy has the cold part of it, but my Jan also has the flu. No fair! No fun! When I get good and sick, for whatever the reason, I also get weepy and/or nostalgic. I was weepy yesterday. Cried over the DUMBEST things. Tv shows, my bald head, EVERYTHING. Today I am nostalgic - missing my family. So I thought I'd just post some very recent photos of them. Sigh ... I need orange juice and chicken soup and fluffed pillows and hugs. Yeah, right. Or maybe I just need to stop playing on the computer and get my Comanche behind to my room for a nap. Yep. That's what I need. Nighty night, all! (Oh, wait! Wash your hands after you read this so you don't catch my cyber germies. LOL!)   

BRADLEY, LOVIN' THOSE LOLLIPOPS

JACOB WITH FIANCE VANESSA AND HER SON 'NEO'

LEAH ON VALENTINE'S DAY

MEGAN AND HER LONG-TIME SWEETHEART, CODY

AND MY CRAZY-DARLING JESSICA (BRADLEY'S MOMMY) BEING HER SILLY LIL' SELF

SATURDAY SURPRISE

A SIMPLE CAN, PAINTED AND BEADED, EMBELLISHED, & ADORNED! WHAT A BEAUTIFUL CREATION! WHAT A BEAUTIFUL FRIEND TO SEND IT!

How's THIS for a lovely, lovely surprise on a droopy old day when I have what seems to be the flu? I've been dragging my weary bones around in a feverish stupor for at least 48 hours, falling asleep in the middle of doing everything from cleaning to cooking to watching tv to drinking tea (which is all my tummy can handle right now.) A little earlier today my housemate came inside with the mail saying I had a package. Hmmm ... Pam's doll from our swap is coming Tuesday via UPS. Not EXPECTING any other swaps. Didn't ORDER anything. It's not a holiday. But there it was - a package for ME! It was TOTALLY unexpected, making it all the MORE wonderful! AND it was from my friend, Anita, making it even BETTER! Just LOOK how CLEVER! Anita is really an incredible artist. She took a can and turned it into the prettiest, most feminine art! I love it, and already hung it on my wall! THANK YOU, ANITA! You just made my Saturday brighter!

INSANITY RUNS IN THE FAMILY!

I thought I was the only daring insane person left of my family. I mean, in high school, a friend dared me to hop out of the car at midnight on the way home after a trip with the chorus and jump in to do a lap around the Mecombe Fountain. Now, the Mecombe Fountain in on the cusp of downtown Houston, and stands right in front of the Warwick Hotel which USED to be THE hotel for bigwigs. They didn't think I'd ever do it. I was a rule-follower (still am) a 'good' girl (still am ... sorta) an avoid-trouble-of-any-sort kinda girl. But I also LOVE a good dare. And unless it's one that will hurt someone else in any way, I'll generally accept it! So, I did it. Oh, I failed to say I had to jump in my underwear. It was a relatively quick trip in and once around the perimeter of the fountain. But some twitty old spoilsport employee of the Warwick reported me AND my two friends who had stopped right in the middle of Main Street while I took the dare. Oooops! I didn't even make it out of the water before a badge- wearing officer was there to 'help' me out. Went very much like this:

Police: Young lady, do you know that's against the law?
Me: No sir. I didn't know. But I guess it must be.
Police: (Handing me the dress my friend brought over) Slip this on. (Waiting) Okay, now. Have you been drinking? 
Me: Yessir.
Police: How much alcohol have you consumed this evening?
Me: None! I was drinking Coca Cola! Smell my breath! I had 4 Cokes so I'm sure I have Coke breath!
Police: Well, why are you in the fountain? 
Me: My friends dared me. 
Police: Suppose they'd dared you to run across the freeway in heavy traffic. Would you have done it?
Me: No sir. But this sounded fun. (By this time I was beginning to rethink my actions. A LITTLE bit.)
Police: Well, you have no business stopping in the middle of the street and jumping unclothed into a public landmark in front of hotel customers. What do you think I should do to you 3 girls?
Me: If I promise never to do it again, maybe let us go?
Police: Have you ever been arrested?
Me: No!
Police: Are you in school?
Me: Yes - I go to Bellaire High. We just finished a choral concert at 8 tonight. We were on our way to stay over at my friend's house.
Police: Whose idea was this mischief?
Me: Uh - Debbie's mom invited Gwen and me to spend the night.
Police: Not the sleepover.
Me: Oh! Sorry. Well, Theirs, sir (pointing to my friends) but I was the idiot who actually DID it. They had no idea I'd DO it.
Police: (trying not to laugh) Well, you seem like a pretty good kid. Not one of those hippies. (HeeHee!) So I'm going to let you go on your way. But I don't ever want to see you in that fountain again. You got that clear?
Me: Yessir! THANK you, Sir!
SIGH ...
The good old days. I was ALWAYS a sucker for a dare. It went against everything I believed about rules to take SOME of the dares but ... you know! And I never did ANYTHING really illegal, dangerous, or hurtful. Just STUPID. Now it looks as though blood is coming back to haunt me. My daughter and grandkids live in Wisconsin. Sunday they took the Polar Plunge (a quick jump into frozen water) to raise $$ for Special Olympics. She, Megan (my granddaughter) and Jake (my grandson) took the challenge. They raised over $800! Check it out below! 

THIS SAYS IT ALL: CRAAAAAAAAZY!

Yep. Insanity. It runs in the family!

THEN THE BOOKS

NOTE: FOR WHATEVER THE REASON - MOST LIKELY MY WONKY BRAIN AND EXHAUSTED SIGHTED EYE - I MANAGED TO PUBLISH THE FOLLOWING 2 POSTS BACKWARDS. GRRRR! PLEASE, READ THE POST BELOW THEN RETURN TO THIS ONE! THANKS FROM THE GOOFBALL!

What? You thought the editing and craft room straightening was IT??? Don't I wish! Nope! Here is the guest room. It's where I have to keep all my books. Smallest room in the house, but when the books are finished being organized, it will be a sweet lil' place!  What I did was pull down every single adult (as opposed to YOUNG adult) book, stack them in piles according to author's last names, remove duplicates or ones I received from publishers as advanced copies to read and review, and (after scrubbing the shelves) replace them in alphabetical order. Below, the first 2 photos show the completed adult books. That isn't ALL of them, but those are stacked in 4 piles in a photo further down so I can finish reading what I have in my room, then grab another stack. Don't they look nice? Pat, pat, pat! (Me, patting myself on the back.) Next will come the young adult books. O.M.G.! THAT'S going to be a monumental undertaking. I have three TIMES as many of those. It won't happen in one day. But it WILL happen!  

THIS IS THE SECOND SHELF OF ADULT BOOKS. I WAS FORCED TO TURN A COUPLE OF THE BOOKS CATTYWAMPUS BECAUSE THE SHELVES WEREN'T QUITE SPACEY ENOUGH TO STAND THEM UPRIGHT.

FIRST ADULT BOOK SHELF. VEEEEERY NEAT!

SIGH. TWO SIDE-BY-SIDE SHELVES OF YOUNG ADULT BOOKS JUST WAITING TO BE DONE.

SECOND SHELF OF YOUNG ADULT NOVELS WAITING FOR ORGANIZATION. SEE THE 4 STACKS OF 14 BOOKS EACH ON THE FLOOR BETWEEN THE SHELVES? THOSE ARE THE NEXT 4 WEEKS OF READING FOR ME. LOTS, HUH? WHAT CAN I SAY? I LOOOOOOOVE READING!

When I complete this hideously large, eye-killing editing job and finish the guest room, I'm going to spend a WEEK just PLAYING! Wait and see! I'm serious!

MY CRAFT ROOM - FINALLY IN ORDER

Edit. Edit. Edit. But in between , I managed to finally complete the dreaded ... straightening of the craft room! EEEEEEEEEW! What a job! But I'm happy because NOW everything is neat and in its designated space! Ha! Let's see how long THAT lasts. My guess? About as long as it takes for me to set out supplies for my NEXT endeavor. LOL!

MY CRAFT TABLE

CONTAINERS WITH PAPER MACHE, LACE, AND STYROFOAM SHAPES

JARS OF THINGS LIKE BUTTONS AND DOLL/ANIMAL EYES AND SPECIALTY YARNS

CONTAINERS WITH - WELL - CONTAINERS! DARK BLUE TUB IS ALL CLAY AND CLAY PRODUCTS. PAINTING AND STAMPING STUFF TO THE RIGHT OF CLAY TUB ON THOSE SHELVES. I FORGOT TO PHOTOGRAPH THE 2 BIG CONTAINERS OF WOODEN THINGS.

DOLL SUPPLIES, CHENILLE STICKS OF ALL KINDS, COUNTED CROSS STITCH FABRIC, AND A TON OF FELT IN THESE 4 CONTAINERS

SPRAY PAINTS, VARIOUS PRODUCTS SUCH AS GLOSSES, VARNISHES, MOD PODGE, ETC. NEXT TO THAT IN THE WHITE CONTAINER, ENOUGH GLUE TO CONNECT ALL OF US TO EVERYTHING. AND UNDER THAT TUB, A MILLION SMALL ODDS AND ENDS



SMALL SHELF HAS 3 CONTAINERS WITH BRADS, BELLS, AND A VARIETY OF ODDBALL THINGS I USE FOR MY ODDBALL CREATING.



DARK BLUE TUB HAS A LOAD OF CROWN MAKING STUFF. ON TOP OF THAT ARE ALL CROCHET PATTERNS, BOTH LOOSE AND IN BOOKS. OBVIOUSLY SOME OF MY YARN TO THE RIGHT OF THAT. 



YARNS AND FELT WOOL/DOLL SKIN FABRICS  

RIBBON, PURSE MAKING THINGS, AND FABRICS




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BOTTOM HOLDS PAPER FOR MY OFFICE. MIDDLE IS SCISSORS OF ALL KINDS, STAPLERS, CRIMPERS, AND MISCELLANEOUS PUNCHES. TOP IS MARTHA STEWART PUNCHES, PAPER CUTTER, AND CIRCLE MAKER.

 

MORE OF MY ADDICTION: YARN!

 NOTE: The photo above with no caption is all art supplies and paper for art stuff.
 



WOE IS ME! IT'S DRUDGERY!

  Okay, so Christmas IS over, and Bah, Humbug MAY be a little melodramatic. But, HEY! I FEEL pretty darned GOOD under the circumstances! My craft room is SOOOOOO nice and neat and clean! I have a few NEW goodies recently acquired from both Michael's AND Hobby Lobby.  I was all set for a lovely weekend of creating when I received ... NOOOOOO! ... a HUGE editing job! WAAAAAAH! Not fair, not fair, not FAIR! Sigh. So I thought I'd let you all know that if I seem absent (bliss for YOU, lovely Bloggers - Kai will be QUIET) for about 4-7 days, THAT'S WHY!!!! I'm HERE - just will have my nose to the grindstone. I'll check blogs when I'm able; email IF I'm able. But mostly I'll edit. And edit. And  ...! It's not a BAD thing, really. The job is very appreciated! The PAY is even MORE appreciated! LOL! But, oh how I WANTED to play!

MORE SWAPPYDOODLE PICTURES

   It's Valentine's Day so the FIRST thing I want to do is wish you ALL a holiday wrapped in red-and-pink ribbon hugs and  rich chocolatey smiles!
   It's ALSO the day the last swap packages will arrive at their destinations! Whew! I won't actually publish this post till I'm certain UPS has placed those boxes on the doorsteps. But I'm writing it now to get ahead.
   This first doll went to Cindy Owens, the ALWAYS fabulous swap hostess who is about the sweetest thing ever! And I thought, in honor of Valentine's Day, I'd expose myself! Eeeeeeewwwww! NO! Not THAT kind of exposing. I'm going to tell you that this (and the NEXT) doll are all smoke and mirrors. Yes, indeedy! The small hostess gifty below began as a glass votive holder, a drapery pull, porcelain head and hands, and a wad of painted Apoxy Sculpt. LOL! See the base of her skirt? The votive holder. The drapery pull was cut into several pieces and rearranged (still using ALL of it - just in a different way than it was originally designed) to form a body, a body shape, and the appearance of a dress. The Apoxy came into play with the shrug around her shoulders. A couple of ribbon roses, and - VIOLA! -  a small doll.  Okay - I must admit it - I really LIKE this young lady! I would, wouldn't I? Weird critter, this old Comanche!
  

FRONT OF CINDY'S LIL' DOLL

SIDE VIEW

BACK VIEW

And now for my second swap partner, Jen's doll! Jen likes red. Me, too! AND 'art' dolls. Me, too! So I decided to just pull out my doodads and PLAY. Here is the result.

JEN'S OLD-FASHIONED DOLL

Beneath the outfit is a veeeery plain wooden candlestick onto which is screwed a wooden ball. They are attached to a base. Out came the Apoxy Sculpt again. Suddenly we have a face (albeit a VERY flawed one because Apoxy Sculpt - to ME - isn't as easy as clay to use for faces) and Apoxy hair (which I LOOOOOVE) plus a padded out body form. Lots of painting. Wrapped lace and trim to outfit her. A fur stole, don't you know, my dears? A hat. And gloves - flat but a representation of hands in 'proper' attire.

FROM THE SIDE

HAIR



AND THE BACK VIEW

Smoke and mirrors - the stuff of which Kai's dolls are created. But, OH, the fun I had creating them! I hope Cindy and Jen like them!

TWO OF MY SWAP PARTNERS SHOULD HAVE THEIR GOODIES!

I no longer send my packages via USPS. Whyyyyyy, you ask? Because they have managed to lose, destroy, or delay 90% of EVERYTHING I sent through them the last year! It only got worse as the holidays approached. So a couple of months back I found the nearest UPS mailing center. It's only about 10 minutes from the house! AND Andy and William, the two guys who work there, are so dependable and REALLY nice, not to MENTION things actually get to their destinations in the time periods printed out on their receipts. Imagine THAT! All of those things make the small added cost SO worth it. On top of all that, I hand them the items and addresses, and THEY wrap everything - really, really well! I LOOOOVE UPS! Anyway, two of seven packages I mailed Tuesday morning at 8 have arrived at their new homes. One is for Michele, my swap partner in the Winter Fabric Collage Swap. Because she AND her mom run the blog together, I decided to send them EACH a collage. I'm not too certain that will thrill them - I never claimed to be a collage artist. BWAHAHAHA! But I enjoyed myself tremendously, making my interpretation of Winter. Michele told me she has no favorite color/s and tho' I'm ordinarily NOT a blue kinda gal, I saw these as Winter colors!

WINTER SNOW: A collage with day-blue snow fabric, flakes, a moon fading into the background as the daylight enters, lace, an ice blue feather, and touches of silver.

FRIENDS ON A WINTERY NIGHT: A deer and a 'snow bird' meet and greet in the dead of  a very snowy night.

 In a TOTALLY different vein, so to speak, one of my two swap partners for sweet Cindy's QUAINT OLD-FASHIONED DOLL SWAP, the adorable Pam Davis, has HER dolly from me. Ohhhhh, this naughty dolly was a TRIP. I know Pam prefers larger dolls. And YOU all know ... I. Don't. Sew. Worth. Beans. Still, I was determined to do my VERY best and that's exactly what I did. LOTS of flaws in the end, but I worked on 'Ms. Thang' for exactly 2 and 1/2 WEEKS. She was SUPPOSED to wear Pam's favorite color, purple, but she had a regular HISSY fit and INSISTED on this black and white. Honestly, these diva dolls think THEY are running the show! (And I suspect it's TRUE!) I just HOPE Pam sees the LOVE, if not the expertise, in my swap doll. (LOVE you, Pam!) 


Lace and Satin in black and white with wine-colored trim.



back of doll

Obviously, a side view

Do NOT, dear friends, feel the need to say sweet things about her because I KNOW how flawed she is. If ANYTHING, just give me credit for ATTEMPTING a doll. THREE dolls, actually because on Tuesday at the latest, I'll torture you with show you my doll for my OTHER adorable swap partner, Jen Ingle AND the lil' hostess gift doll for Cindy Owens of ThimblePrims Studio! Just one last thing: Do you think I'll have ANY friends left who'll be my swap partners after this?EEEEEKS!

SWAPS!

Yesterday I mailed my two dolls for a swap, as well as my collage for another swap! The other day I received my collage from the Winter Fabric Collage Swap! It's absolutely lovely! The rules stated we must cover a 5"x7" canvas or something with FABRIC then embellish it with anything we chose. But it had to somehow signify Winter as we see it. I don't DO collages as a rule - not very good with paper or mixed media things. But it sounded fun and I wanted to challenge my dried up brain. LOL! So I joined. I was lucky to get, as my partner, the talented Michele Murray. She and I had never crossed paths before this swap, so while we DID get to know each other a bit, we are still pretty much strangers. I was thrilled with the beautiful collage I received from her because she picked up on my color preferences AND the fact that I love to read! Just LOOK at the lovely creation below! Red toile is her base fabric, and she incorporated pinks and lace and all the girly thing I happen to adore! I immediately hung it in my room and it looks so nice there! She added a cunning pocket with handmade tags and a sweet glittered paper rose! Isn't this a stunning piece? Just LOOK at all that gorgeous lace and detail work! thank you, Michele!

  I was lucky enough in Cindy's QUAINT OLD FASHIONED DOLL SWAP to get not ONE by TWO amazing partners, Jen Ingle and Pam Davis. They are both the sweetest things! THANK YOU, Cindy! I gained TWO lovely new friends out of your swap! And about an hour and a half ago I got home from having chemo (UGH) to find a package from the ever-lively, always cheerful Jen aka Jingle.

Take a LOOK at this li' darling! She even comes with her own doll-sized copy of Snow White! Is that COOL or what? AND she sent me the clever lil' birdy stamp! I predict some serious stamping coming up around here! But WAIT! There's MORE! Yes! I saw and especially admired this luscious card Jen made and had posted to her blog! In fact, I'd fallen in LOVE with it! Isn't it the most feminine card??? (I know, I know! Kai is a big old lumpy-round, goofy looking, currently bald critter! But I confess to LOVING very girly-girl things! Never had them as a child and always craved them.) So - like the collage above, this card REALLY wins my heart! And I have to tell you - so does JEN. OMG! That lil' ball of energetic happiness just makes me SMILE! I feel as though we are going to be better and better friends as we go along! THANK YOU for being my partner, Jen! I hope you like my doll as much as I like yours! 
   All in all, a cold, rainy, chemo-y day which began not so great, has become SUPER! Swaps are terrific, aren't they?

UPS AND DOWNS AND UPS

Life. It takes so many unexpected turns it's sometimes overpowering. Friday afternoon I received a frantic call from my daughter. My daughter calls (1) when she NEEDS something, or (2) when something is wrong and she needs her mommy. This was the latter. Joe, her ex-husband - the biological father of my granddaughter Megan; the man who adopted Jake and unofficially adopted Jessica - had just shot himself in the head. He had been ill - diabetes and he had a pacemaker - but he had not received any untoward medical news, nor was he in horrid pain. He had not lost the ability to get around easily; he still did all his normal activities. All of the prior statements have been confirmed. He WAS, in fact, recently engaged and quite happy. This I know because he and I have always been like mother and son. Joe was a good, good man. I loved him. He and my daughter lived only 12 minutes apart so they could both have the kids around. When Leah called, she was sobbing and said, "How am I supposed to tell my kids that their dad committed suicide?" And how was I supposed to answer her? I didn't KNOW. I told her to be gentle but honest, and to just hold them. Friday night I cried and cried. I'll miss Joe and his Wisconsin dialect. (Wis-CAN-sin. LOL!) The children will miss his always being there for them. His poor fiance???? And his sister and elderly mom (his sister is who found him - can you imagine?) are devastated. They all three had houses on one very large property. Yesterday, after some of the tears were gone, I was angry. Yes. REALLY angry. To me - to my PEOPLE - suicide is not only a waste of a gift - one's LIFE - but a selfish and cowardly thing to do. For several hours, I ranted to myself like some sort of crazy person. Finally, today, I am at the point where I can honestly say, "Rest peacefully, son. Whatever reason you had for your actions is unknown, but it's too late now to blame. You will not be forgotten because the family loved you." 

   That unexpected shock threw a real monkey wrench in the joy of the past couple of days. Then, I did my 'Kai' thing -  I started looking for reasons to feel happy. Here are some:

1. The temperature is above freezing so no more water has to be left dripping to protect pipes! 

2. The house is clean, the food is prepped for later, the grocery shopping is done, the laundry is done, and my swap items plus the rest of February birthday gifts are wrapped and ready to be sent via UPS on Tuesday at 8 A.M.!

3. I had a vanilla cappuccino this morning. A BIG one! Yum.

4. I received TWO long, wonderful emails from my beautiful best friend last night. 

5. My youngest granddaughter, Jessica, wrote to me and said she loves it when I write on her Facebook page because her friends think she has the COOLEST, CRAZIEST Grandma. BWAHAHAHA! (I don't know about the COOL part, but the CRAZY part is spot on!)

and

6. This morning ON Facebook, I found this. I LOVE it! It  really resonated with me so I will share it with you. 

 She can deal with stress and carry heavy burdens. She smiles when she feels like screaming, and she sings when she feels like crying. She cries when she's happy and laughs when she's afraid. Her love is unconditional. There's only one thing wrong with her. She forgets what she's worth! Pass this to every beautiful woman you know.

Life. It's a whole BUNCH of ups and downs. But it's MORE UPS than downs, and I'm going to remember that ANYTIME I feel overwhelmed. You remember that, too! Promise? GOOD! Now go find yourselves some reasons to be joyful today!

OOOPS! YES! I DOOOOO STILL HAVE A FAMILY! HAHAHAHA!

In a recent email, my sweet lil' friend, Cherie aka Chirp, mentioned that I haven't bored you all to death with shown any new photos of Bradley (I call him Lil' Man) my great, great grandson. I explained I had been afraid I was driving everyone crazy with all the pictures considering I am so totally in love with that sweet-natured lil' boy! But it HAS been awhile since I posted anything about him! So here you go - new family pictures, all taken within the last month! TA-DA! (Captions beneath the photos will identify everyone!) 

Brand new haircut - my daughter, Leah, 1 hour ago

Lil' Man LOOOOOVES his Uncle Jake!

Megan introducing Mr. Bunny to Lil' Man

Lil' Man and Aunty Meggy



Jake and his sweetheart, Vanessa

Grandma Leah and Lil' Man

I need to remember to do this more often. It made me so happy looking through these to choose the ones I wanted to show! Thanks, Chirp!

BONUS PICTURE: Look what Megan did to that poor lil' boy's hair! LOL! He looks like Pebbles Flintstone!