November 2006

The hound dogs. The black one is Obi, short for Obediah. The brown one is Val or Valley Girl, short for Valentine.






















Brother and sister getting along well.

Friends came over to help us rake leaves. It took 3 weekends and over 40 bags by the time we were done. Yikes! Thank you Brian and Julia!


Mae is getting over her 3rd set of ear infections since we've been home. I am waiting for the doc to start discussing tubes. At least she takes her medicine well. She is even getting through doctor visits without too much fuss. We still drive a 1/2 hour to the group of doctors we saw before we moved. It is a good set of doctors. None of them specialize in adoptions, but I like them a lot and they listen to me and my concerns.

Thanksgiving was nice and quiet. We had the grandfolks over and a friend who has no family in town. Oma and Opa took the kids Wednesday night so Erich and I could get stuff done around the house that night and the next morning. It was great. More family came over for dessert later in the afternoon. We played cards and had a great time. The kids did great all day.

I love watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. A co-worker went this year as an honored guest. They got quite soaked. Another co-worker went up a couple of years ago with her family and were balloon handlers. They said it was a neat experience. Eventually, I'll get to go, maybe when the kids are teenagers or something.

The Day-After is also a big day for us - and no, not shopping. My parents since Karen and I were kids would take us to the train display in downtown Cincinnati and out for lunch. As we got older and stopped going, they started taking the grandkids. They said both kids behaved very well. Erich entertains the guys at the house. Normally they play Civilization which apparently can last 7 or 8 hours. The ladies and I go scrapbooking at Archiver's. I go early and try to stay as late as possible (11 PM). This year I wasn't feeling as well so we left at 4 PM to join the guys for games.