Epitaph for a Mouse (Inspired by Desperaux)

Little mouse, little mouse
Not in my house
oh, little mouse

What's that?
Your tummy aches?
something toxic that you ate?

And now you sleep
and slumber deep
I wonder
Will your family weep?

But no more
will we wonder
As my kitchen
you do plunder

So, goodbye
our furry friend
This message we do send
That all others'll share this end

Beautiful Tessa

Bubbles, a breeze and a little girl...can't get much sweeter than that.

Christmas with the Cowleys

Better late than never, right?! Our dear friends, the Cowley family, came for a visit from Mozambique and stayed with us for two whole weeks in December! What a treasure. We spent Christmas morning with them and enjoyed a delicious breakfast, stockings for the kids...and a few presents too! We are so thankful for the time our families had together. (Snapshots are by Tim and Ginger)





Emily gives Audrey her gift.






Gabe enjoys his new Webkinz with our dog, Mickey.







Mika looks on sleepy-eyed.















Tessa digs in her stocking.

















Tim and Naomi, happy and sleepy.

Magical Houses

Our whole family enjoyed our yearly gingerbread house creation. Only this year it happened AFTER Christmas!


















































This photo was taken by Audrey. :)











Alex and Lily built this whimsical creation.

Grandpa

Grandma and Grandpa Trudgen in 2001







Chris's Grandpa Trudgen was a dear man with handsome features and kind eyes. I hear he was as stubborn as a mule, but I never got to see that too much. In fact, the only defiance I remember is the stiffening of the jaw and a silent wave of the hand if he was protesting something. It was quite cute. And he always called me "Honey." Can you tell how fond I was of him? He was also an excellent gardener and a lover of roses. He had about 200 bordering his home at one time. He nursed little seedlings in his basement until they were ready to plant outside. He was quite a joker too. I'd try to get gardening tips from him and it always ended up in some mythical seed or plant story. He was a man who stayed married to his wife, who raised 2 children and lived to see 7 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren (three of them are mine!). He was 85 years old and he and Grandma celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary earlier this year. Sixty three years! I will be honored if the Lord allows Chris and I that achievement. Grandpa passed on December 5th. We love you, Grandpa, and we will miss you dearly.

Grandma and Grandpa Darling

My parents came out for a couple of weeks from FL. We enjoyed our time with them immensely. Lily couldn't get enough of Grandpa and all of us savored each other's company. There were 11 of us all together for our Thanksgiving feast, which was possibly the best ever due to my fabulous husband and my awesome brother-in-law, Matt. My only regret is not photographing the food and the table setting. It was beautifully done.











Grandpa reads to Lily.















Mom's surprise 60th birthday party.

Cousins

My sister, Gidgett (yes, we are Gidgett and Ginger, believe it or not), and her family came out from upstate NY for a week. What a wonderful time we had together! The three older girls hung out most of the time, while the two youngest (my Lily and her Gavin) were best buds. The artwork was profuse and I would say a colossal waste of paper except for the fact that it was worth every bit of creativity! We enjoyed every minute of their stay and have lots of new memories to celebrate.









Morgan, Lily, Alex, Gavin and Audrey















Lily and Gavin