In disbelief (a long one, just a warning)

I am in complete disbelief that Thanksgiving has already come and gone and that Christmas (yes, I still use the word)is only a little over three weeks away! I only have 3 gifts bought out of the many more I need to buy!!!

Thanksgiving was great for us this year. We spent it in Kingsport with John's family. We had lunch at his mom's house with all kinds of wonderful food and dinner at his cousins house with even more wonderful food. Blay ate his turkey (with barbeque sauce of course) early on Thursday so I could get him down for a nap before everyone arrived. Since he was still sickly, he really needed his nap.

He slept for a good while and then got to play with all his cousins...ages 7 months to 15 years old. He didn't want to leave to go to his other's cousins house. He had cousins at this house from age 27 months to 17 years old. His favorite one at this house was his cousing Blake who is Blay's age. They are actually about 2 weeks apart.

I didn't get to do much shopping on Friday. I decided against getting out with all the 'crazies' (no offense to you but I ran into several when I did get out) at 400 in the morning. Shopping could of started at midnight at Toys R Us but I decided against it.

John and I got out at 10 and I did get a couple good deals, like a present for my step mom and my cousin. My best deal was the $3.99 movie at Target. The two things I really wanted I had just missed at Target. I even missed one of them today at Walmart. What is it? A dual screen portable DVD player. I am running out of luck on them for some reason!

Saturday on the way home, John's dad and step mom wanted to take the grandkids to Black Bear Jamboree Christmas Spectacular in Gatlinburg. So on the way home, we stopped in there with them and enjoyed the show. I have already been there but not for the Christmas show. As usual, it was a great performance. And I was very surprised by Blay. I thought he would nap on the way there since the show was at 2 and we left at 1130 to go. I stopped once in Gatlinburg because he was hungry and he ate a little more at the Jamboree. What amazed me even more is that he was wonderful throughout the entire performance. The only time he cried or got fussy is when he would get in trouble for jumping or hitting his cousin. HE LOVED LOVED LOVED the Jamboree!

I am looking at taking him to see the Christmas Lights at Rock City soon. He loves the lights and trees, etc and I really think he'll enjoy it. We even partially put up his tree last night. I have to put lights on it tonight because I forgot about it last night. His face just lights up when he sees it in his room!

So precious!

Travel time

Yep, it's true. It's that time of year where everyone is traveling. Whether you are traveling or someone is traveling to you. The noise, lights, and don't forget the traffic. That is what I dread most about this time of year. Traffic is bad enough with 'crazy' drivers out but add out of town drivers and it's just chaos.

Pray for us as we travel today and during the week. Pray that Blay is patient and sleeps most of our traveling today. He wasn't feeling to good this morning so I hope he is in a better 'traveling' mood when we pick him up shortly.

John kept Blay last night while I went to a business dinner. We all ate at a restaraunt in town called Blue Water Grille! It was amazing. It had a nice atmosphere and the decorations to make it feel more like a 'seafood' restaraunt were classic and just right. And their food? Great. I had never had a salad with sugar coated pecans on it but I have now. It was delicious. You can check them out online at www.bluewaterchattanooga.com

I pray for traveling mercies for all you my friends and family not only this week but throughout the rest of the year.

Also, if you go shopping on Friday and find any great deals, let me know about it. I am very interested and I will share mine with you!

What a weekend!!!

Was it ever a very long and unfriendly weekend!

Friday night wasn't that bad. We got home and played some while I made some Chicken and Rice in the process. After we ate, John went to finish putting up some insulation and pipe wrapping while Blay and I played. I then remembered Dad down at his 'newest' house working and thought I'd see if he wanted some dinner and he did. So, Blay and I got him some Chicken & Rice together and took it to him. Blay loved seeing his Papaw!!! I think Dad was glad for the break away from the claw foot tub too!

Saturday, Blay got up but didn't eat as good as usual. John was gone hunting so it was just me and little man. I had my day planned out as to what we were going to do and was looking forward to spending the evening with Blay at the Family Fun Fest that evening after his nap. Well, during the morning, he was unusually tired and a little whiney so I put him down for his nap a little early after he ate a really good lunch.

After over four hours of sleeping, I went to get Blay out of bed. I wasn't going to wake him to get him ready for Fun Fest but did eventually have to wake him up at 515. He was so hot! I waited for his body temperature to aclamate since he was under the covers in long sleeves and pants. After John & I ate a good chili dinner, Blay still felt really hot. I finally got his temperature under his arm and was very alarmed. 104.4!!!!!

I immediately called the doctor's office and the nurse called me and told me not to 'panic' until it was over 105. To strip him down to diaper & t shirt and give him some meds for the fever. He was soo pitiful. He would just lay in either John or my arms eyes half open and not move. I had never seen him so helpless! I just wanted to cry and wish it was me doing that and not him.

Blay and I slept in our guest room that night. I wanted to keep a close eye on him. Needless to say, between his fever and his sleeping habits, I didn't sleep well. Sunday, he was still running a fever of 101 (much better) so we stayed home from church. John went to the store for me so we could have some food while I continued to try and nurse Blay.

I finally got him to take a shower and he had a big spurt of energy for a while after that. He still wasn't eating but was doing a lot of drinking so I wasn't too worried about it. I put him down for an early nap and he slept for a couple hours. Waking to yet another fever. We battled the fever on and off all day. The awful looking runny nose started to and a bad sounding cough.

Monday, I took Blay to the doctor after another bad night of restless sleep for both of us but his fever did finally break over night Sunday night. The doctor tested for strep and the flu and was shocked Blay didn't have either, especially since his throat was red and swollen. The diagnosis? Adnovirus...

Now, on this cold Tuesday morning, Blay woke up in a great mood and ate almost all his blueberry wheat waffles. I didn't have a battle with him at all this morning during breakfast, teeth brushing, medicine giving, day care going morning! He was so sweet when I dropped him off at school and wanted a hug and kiss from me. Oh how I am going to miss those days in a couple years!

Now, I am sick and snotty and treating myself with all kinds of goodies. Please continue to pray for Blay and myself that we will recover and stay healthy the rest of the year!

Love to all,

Show Us Your Life - Pets

This week's topic for Show Us Your Life is our pets. So please allow me to introduce you to the two furry members of the Duncan family.



Meet Kai. Kai is a full blooded black lab who is 8 years old. She will be 9 years old in January. The above picture was taken at Harrison Bay State Park where John would take her to work. Work? Yes, retrieve her bumpers and ducks from the water. These are things she learned in her dog training soon after John got her.

I met Kai a little over 7 years ago and she melted my heart because she is such a fun loving, excited, hyper, playful dog. She can also be protective of me. I remember when I was pregnant she guarded me like crazy. She would not eve like for our deceased cat T to be on my belly or any where near it! She is protective of Blay now too!

I was worried about how she would react to him when he came. At first, she was a little jealous. She tends to be that way if you don't give her the attention she thinks she deserves. But, she quickly warmed up to him and tries to play with him. The only problem is that she doesn't quite understand how strong she is when she tries playing with even me. Overall though, she is just a big baby girl who loves time and attention, not to mention her belly being scratched.

And then, there's Chloe.



John surprised Blay and myself at the end of July with this pretty girl! He did this because while we were gone out of town over the Fourth of July Holiday, T, our outdoor orange tabby cat disappeared. Her name was 'Lucy' but John didn't care for it so after a day or throwing out names, we decided on the name Chloe for her. She was 6 months old when John brough her home. John found her for us on Craigslist. After we got her, we had her declawed because John deemed her as our inside cat. Now, I think he regrets that decision!

She is a very friendly, fun-loving, and very playful kitten. She is also very good with Blay, although, she doesn't like it when he decides he wants to pull her tail as he's dragging her through the house. She does like to playfully scratch and bite but she has never intentionally just bit you. 'She's only a kitten' is a phrase I have to repeat a lot with her, especially to John. She tends to get on his nerves about once a day.

We've are/had to try to teach Blay to be nice to the kitty. We are trying to teach him not to pull her tail or hit him because she will just bite him right back because he's being mean to her. She sleeps with us at night and follows me around the house in the mornings. She's a momma's girl. Probably because I am the only one who actually loves on her daily and don't mind her being around. I think John now regrets his decision of an indoor only cat. I hope to keep her around for a while because she is a very sweet cat, when she wants to be. It's just the kitten phase they have to get out of right???