My Dog Gunner

This is the memorial video Meagan made for Gunner.

Our Little Man

It has been a night of many tears and much sadness. Our "Gunner Man" ran out in front of a truck tonight and was killed. Although we spent a lot of time yelling at him...."get out of the way"....."don't touch me"....."ooooo...slingers"..... "you stink"..... "your breath smells like a dead animal", we still loved the big ornery pup. He was the biggest lap dog you've ever seen...a 180-pound baby. He loved to climb up in our lap when we were sitting at the table. Instead of barking like a man to be let in and out, he whined like a baby. He LOVED chocolate frosting. He loved to play in the snow. His favorite spot at meal times was under the table at Leah's feet. We are going to miss him terribly.

Gunner when he joined our family at 7 weeks old.

Gunner looking up to Elly.

Nanna with Gunner.

The gangly pup

Spoiled rotten

Meagan's "kids" - Christmas, 2011

Our Little Man

(His nickname from the very beginning....kind of outgrew it, didn't he?)

A Baby Shower for Krissy

We used the Peter Rabbit theme for the shower.

We were a little afraid that the snow storm on Friday would put a damper on the shower Saturday afternoon, but we had a pretty good crowd. Everyone had a good time. Krissy received many nice gifts for Ryan. She should be all set for Ryan's arrival in a few weeks.

Happy Birthday, Meagan!!

Mmm-mmm! Look at all that steak and gravy!

Meagan turned 21 today! Her order for supper was more complicated than Erin's last week, but it sure was good! Erin requested unbaked, refrigerated pizzas from Murphy's. Meagan, on the other hand, requested fried cube steak, mashed potatoes & gravy, and corn with yellow cake with homemade chocolate frosting for dessert. She's so predictable. I wonder how many years in a row I've fixed that for Meagan's birthday. Happy birthday, Meagan!!

Another Teenager in the House

Erin turned 13 on Monday, January 9th. She made her own cake with ice cream sandwiches, chocolate pudding, oreos, and coolwhip. Mmm-mmm good!

Erin has become a big help to Mom since her 3 older sisters are gone most of the time. She babysits, cleans, helps teach the younger ones, cooks supper sometimes, and bakes some awesome bread! She has just taken up the hobby of crocheting. She made the cutest hat for her nephew when he arrives. Erin is looking forward to going shopping with her Grandma & Grandpa Sanders this Saturday. They take each of their granddaughters shopping on their 13th birthday & buy them a new dress and take them out for lunch at the restaurant of their choice. Happy birthday, Erin!!

Autumn's Bridal Shower

The bride with her many, many lovely gifts.

Krissy decorated the cupcakes and arranged them so artistically.

Autumn made chocolate pianos filled with mint chocolate notes, treble & bass clef signs, and sharp & flat symbols to match the napkins that looked like piano keys.

We spent a fun afternoon this past Saturday hosting a bridal shower for Autumn. Including all of the Cooper girls, we had 33 here. Autumn & Nathan received many nice gifts to begin housekeeping with.

Busy Days

We've spent the day today putting away Christmas decorations and taking the tree out, doing laundry, cleaning house, baking, and all kinds of other jobs. There will be many busy days ahead. The wedding is just 5 weeks from tomorrow. Autumn's bridal shower is Saturday. Gifts are arriving in the mail. Plans are being made....and changed. :-) Autumn & Nathan went to put an offer on a house tonight. Please pray for God's leading in their new life together. As I was listening to Autumn play the piano tonight while I was doing the dishes, I got a little melancholy thinking that I wouldn't be hearing that as often in a few weeks. Time is marching on! We did get one thing settled tonight. The girls were teasing Nathan at supper that he's going to have 8 sisters-in-law in 5 weeks. And I chimed in with, "And the best mother-in-law in the world." And Nathan wisely agreed. :-)

A New Year

We spent a quiet evening at home on New Year's Eve. We usually have Gary's family here, but many of them were sick with the stomach flu this year so it was "just us". We acted like "old fogies" and had our punch at 10:00. We were all tired from a busy day and had to get up early for church the next morning.
God brought us through some very tough times in 2011. Maybe one of these days I'll write a book about what I've learned. Right now, I don't feel like reliving all that in my mind.
We are looking forward to some life-changing events in 2012....happier ones than 2011. The first will be a wedding in February. Since this is our first one to get married, we will become a mother-in-law and father-in-law. Then our first grandchild is due to arrive in March, so we will become "Gammy" and "Pops". Then we will celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary in June, and we will become.....old! And, NO!, we're not having another party or re-enacting our vows. One wedding this year is enough. We're going away ALONE, all alone!
We wish you all a Happy New Year and a prosperous 2012! In my book, prosperous doesn't mean amassing a lot of money, a new car, or a prestigious job. I think you can prosper by gaining wisdom, faith, friends, increasing your prayer life, and so many other things. Let's just pick one thing to "prosper" in this year.

Tempting Truffles

We spent Saturday evening trying different truffle recipes and taste-testing them. This one was mint oreo. Mmmm! Very yummy!! I guarantee you won't want to miss the wedding....or at least the reception!! :-)