Snow...in Raymond????

According to the locals, Raymond WA has not seen this much snow in over 10 years! In about 2 days we got over a foot of snow. It stuck around for a while. I was housebound for about 5 days. Here are some fun pictures of Reid in the snow...it was the first time he saw and felt snow. I think he liked it.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Pictures (I know I am over a month late posting these, but what can I say, life is busy this time of year)

Reid and papa were tired, so they took a nap together. Aren't they cute!?!?!

Reid really loves his grammie, can you tell? (And I am pretty sure she loves him!)

Rudd and I spent Thanksgiving with my family in Corbett Oregon. It was great being with everyone. Reid loved the mashed potatos. He was happy seeing all of his family.

It was our first Thanksgiving without my Grandma Lenore, but I know she would be happy to see us all together. I am sure she was smiling down on us that day.

Here are some things I am thankful for this season:
Rudd... he is always there for me when I need him, he is my best friend
Reid...he brings so much joy to my life, I can't believe I have lived this long without him! I look forward to many more Thanksgivings with him
My Mom...even though she is recovering from a stroke and getting ready for Dialysis, she still has a smile on her face.
My Dad..we have our differences, and rarely see eye to eye, but I know he would be there for me and my family in a second. He shares his love for baseball and the Yankees with Reid. I can't wait for the two of them to go to Reid's first Yankee ball game.

Mouse Up Date

We caught a mouse in my car. Rudd put a "sticky" trap in my car and in one night we got the mouse. We also caught two more in the garage. We may be doing some spring cleaning early! I didn't think it would be appropriate to put a picture of the poor mouse from my car on here. I am sure you can picture a little mouse on a sticky trap.

Fun House...NOT

Reid has his first ear infection. Acutally it's a double ear infection and his eyes are infected too. We would have never known his ears were infected by the way he was acting. The only reason we took him in to the doctor was because his eyes were red, swollen and GOOPY. I finally got to the doctor yesterday and discovered I have strep throat! and my eyes are infected just like Reids. Then Rudd decided to go to the doctor and found out he has tonsilitis. Reid Rudd and I are on antibiotics, and Reid and I have eye drops. Have you ever tried to put eye drops in a 9 month old? Its worse than putting drops in our pugs eyes! I can't wait until we are all feeling better. Maybe then we can get our Christmas decorations out. Christmas is in 6 days and we don't have our tree up...no wonder it doesn't feel like Christmas!

REALLY???

I was looking through my Coach purse, a gift from Rudd "just because" that I got this summer(I love the bag, it is my favorite purse) and noticed that my tissues were all crumbled up. I didn't think much of it. Then I got into my new Vera Bradley Tote bag that I use for my school stuff, and found more pieces of tissues crumbled up. I thought to myself, this is weird, it looks like a mouse got into my bag. As I was getting stuff out of the trunk, there were bits and pieces of Ricola cough drops scattered about. I made a mental note to talk to Rudd about a mouse being in the garage and getting into the car. The next day, I got a dollar out of my Coach bag to buy some popcorn, and discovered that the dollar bill was chewed, yes chewed. I called Rudd freaking out, telling him therehad been a mouse in my new Coach bag that was eating my money and tearing up my tissues. So this weekend, Rudd cleaned out my car for me, looking for signs of a mouse. All he found was more cough drops stashed under my emergency roadside kit. When I went to look in the glove box, this is what I found:

How disgusting is that! To think a mouse was running around INSIDE my Coach bag, eating my money, and making a nest in the glove box of my Volkswagon, ...only in Raymond. So the moral of the story is...don't leave your purse in your car if there is ANY trace of food. I am just happy that I haven't come across the little creature while driving! Now we have to ge the car looked out to see if we can find the bugger.

Lighting candles

Although I was raised Catholic, I still have a lot to learn. I usally call my grandma Lenore when I have questions. Now I pray to her (and search the internet). Last night we went to Mass. We prayed for the names in the Memory Book at the back of our church, which now holds the names Lenore Winters, Austin Winters, and Olivia Rose McElroy. At the end of Mass we lit candles for Grandma Lenore, Austin, and Olivia (It was Olivia's birthday-and I remember when Olivia was born I lit a candle for her and her family -at the time, I called my Grandma Lenore and asked her what I was supposed to do when I lit a candle in the church). So this time I knew what to do, but when I thought about it, I didn't know EXACTLY why people light candles. I knew it was because we are praying for them, but there had to be something more. This is what I found: "Often you can find them(candles) near a statue or icon of Mary. These are called votive candles and indicate that someone is praying about something particular, either for themselves or on behalf of someone else. The word "votive" can also refer to a promise to pray for someone, as well as a wish or desire for a certain outcome on behalf of someone, such as recovery of health." As I was lighting candles, I knew there were many more people I could have lit candles for, I pray for them as well. Loved ones I have lost, family members who are ill, and dear friends who have been through so much. I love you and promise to pray for you!

8 months

Reid is 8 months old today. He is crawling, standing up, has 4 teeth (and I think some more on the way), knows what he wants (aka throws fits when he gets mad), and is eating finger food. Tonight Rudd and I had to move the mattress down on his crib because we woke up this morning to our little man standing up in his crib looking over the edge.