Merry Christmas from the Bourne's

My Family..these were forced smiles..as they were about to all go shopping with me!!!YIPPEE!!

This is how we do yard work...work really hard to make a pile then see who can mess it up the fastest.

Running and jumping in the leaves...

I am sure the next couple of days will be a little bit hurried and crazy..so I wanted to go ahead and say Merry Christmas, to all of my friends and family. The Bourne house is quite a bustle right now. Ella and Austin are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Santa. They have their moments, but for the most part have been really good. Ella and I have been a bit under the weather with a cough and cold..so we have been trying to rest. Yesterday Austin and Ella didn't even get out of their pajamas, and stayed in bed all day watching HOME VIDEOS. They love watching them. The shopping is done, so I am hoping tomorrow we can sit back and enjoy the day. Christmas day we will open gifts and then go to Columbia for a few days to spend time with family.

I am posting a few pictures of the last few days or so.. We got a new camera so I am trying to figure it out.

I wish everyone a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Snow Day Play

Austin and Ella finally got home about 11 today to play in the snow.. It was WET AND COLD! Obviously! But, that didn't stop them from getting out for a while and playing in it. Ella had gone out at school too, and even had to change her clothes because she was running in it and fell and got all wet. She was all smiles, though! It was still snowing heavily when I picked them up, and for about 2 hours after we got home. They were so excited.. I was too! We attempted to build a snowman, but it didn't really work out too well. It was so wet. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

White Christmas..well almost!!

view from our backyard

Our house

view down the street

It is snowing!!! Snow is falling in Brandon now. The kids are at SCHOOL still...and I am home alone trying to enjoy this by MYSELF! I don't know if they will let them out or not, but the conditions are beginning to get worse around here. But, it sure is beautiful!

A Look Back

Junior Cooper Shelf aka " the elf on the shelf " or as Ella calls him "SHELF"

Ella putting the finishing touches on our tree!

Austin and his 8 point BUCK!!!!

Ella on Thanksgiving Day.

All the McCraw grandchildren...back row: (l to r) Stella, Tina, Emily, Heather..front (l to r) Abbey, Tye, Amber...this is going to be a Christmas present to my Granny (all of her grandchildren)

Abbey, Emily, Amber...taking pictures in front of my granny's old house.

It has been a while since I have posted, so I wanted to recap a few things we have done over the past couple of weeks. We went home to Columbia for Thanksgiving, and had a really good time. We spent Thanksgiving lunch with my Granny and my dad's side of the family. And, afterwards went to Rob's sister's Damea, for lunch/supper again. We ATE alot that day! Austin was so excited because he got to spend the night with Damea's 4 boys, which we didn't plan, so it was a great surprise for him. He had so much fun, and had LOTS of FUN stories to tell the next day.

I am not sure that they slept a whole lot, but that didn't matter, because he had a blast.

Before we ate lunch at my Granny's, all the grandchildren met up at her old house in Foxworth and took a picture together. I don't know if we even have a single picture, other than this one, of all of us together. It will be a gift to my granny on Christmas.. which I think she will really enjoy.

Austin went hunting with Rob on Saturday night, I think, and shot a 8 point buck. They came home from hunting and knew that they had shot something, but it was not a very good shot, or something like that, so they had to wait to go back and look for it. Rob said it was a big doe.. but when the deer was found, it was a buck. He called and told me to get the camera ready, but wouldn't tell us what it was..so when Austin saw it he was extremely excited. This makes his 3rd buck..he has shot a 4 point, 7 point, and now an 8 point. It made his weekend.

When we got back home, I started pulling out the decorations. We get a real tree, which may change after this year.. because ugh..they are a mess..but Austin, Ella, and I decorated the tree and put up the other decorations.. things really look like Christmas around here. The kids are getting excited...On Saturday they awoke to find that the elf on the shelf had come to visit us. Ella was sooo excited. She had told me about this because her teacher had told them. A Special Elf comes from the North Pole, and spends the day with them, and then at night goes back to the North Pole to report to Santa about their behavior, etc. They decided to name him Junior..then Ella added the name Cooper, but she calls him SHELF, in lieu of ELF. So his given name has become Junior Cooper Shelf. And, they have enjoyed looking around and finding him the past few mornings.

We have been a little busy..but at church sunday morning, Chip, the preacher, was talking about just that..the holidays getting too busy and losing the real meaning of the season. I hope this year that I can be reminded daily that it isn't about the toys, and the food, and all of the hustle and bustle that goes along with Christmas, but that the true meaning is of Jesus, and his birth.

I read a great book to Ella last night, about the Crippled Lamb. It has such a wonderful message of being where God wants you, and it may not really be where you want to be, but God has a special purpose for each of us. The lamb was crippled, and because he couldn't go where the other lambs had gone, he was in the stable where Jesus was born, and was one of the first to welcome Jesus. He realized that God's purpose for him was to be there, and witness Jesus' birth. So sweet. Ella said when I closed the book.. "I really like that book." That is what Christmas is all about.

James 1:17..."Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."

Thanks

1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18....Be joyful always; Pray Continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday. Alot of us, may say Christmas, and I love Christmas too. But, thanksgiving is somewhat of a laid back holiday where we can just stop and reflect on how thankful we are. Last year at this very time, there was a lot of concern, questions, in my mind about moving and Rob starting a new job. I was experiencing doubt, fear...I felt conflicted. I am thankful to say this year that God took control of that situation, and I am very happy about that move. We have such great friends here. Some old, who have been our friends forever, and some that we are now forming greater friendships with. All of that I have to be thankful for. Ella and Austin are adjusting so well here. They both are enjoying their new school, and making new friends.

Thanksgiving for me is also a time to reflect on those we miss, those no longer with us. I am reminded that even though we no longer see them, they are still present in our lives. This picture above is a picture of my Christmas Cactuses, that were given to me by my mammaw. She is no longer with us, but every year around this time, I can catch a glimpse of her when I see my cactuses bloom. Her birthday is in November, and without fail they always bloom in November. It always brings tears to my eyes.. because I remember the day she gave them to me.. and how she explained the care for them. I know that her hands touched the very plants that I see blooming, now.

It is also a time to cherish the family and friends that we do have. Family events and meals are so much fun, just to be around those that we don't always have time to be around. Our families continue to grow and it gets harder and harder for everyone to get together, but when the effort is made, it always seems worthwhile.

It is so easy to take for granted the things that we do have, that somebody else would be so happy for. I try to be grateful for all of those things.. and to express to Austin and Ella how thankful we should be for them. We are not promised any of this, and tomorrow it could all be gone. But the one thing I know of that is forever and never changing is my salvation... I know that no matter what I am going through on this earth, that I have a God that loves me and protects me and that I can call to no matter what. Even the days that I don't feel so thankful, I have a God whose love is never changing.

To all of those who are apart of my life, the old friends, the not so new ones, the new ones, my family, those that we don't see as much, and those we will only see in heaven, I am so thankful for them, each and every one. And, just like the Christmas Cactus, that brings a reminder each year of my grandmother, may this Thanksgiving be a reminder to all of us of what we do have to be thankful for.

Psalm 118:28-29...You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you. Give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his love endures forever.

Blue Angel Weekend, Pensacola Florida

Blue Angels..this is just about the best picture that I got..very hard to get them moving that fast.

At the Blue Angel Airshow... it was cool and very windy!!!

Emily (younger sis) and me...we look like twins with our matching shirts..!!! Emily had hers first!

Austin and Ella in front of the Blue Angel plane. They got to go in it and sit too...pretty cool!!

The whole crew (MINUS ME) headed into the air show.. we had a very long walk! I am always the one taking the pictures...

Okay.. Rob would hate me for putting this on here.. but I liked this picture..we took a few on Friday while at the beach.

Austin and Ella on the beach.... attempting to get pictures for Christmas card...!


Our weekend trip last weekend was great.. We stayed in Gulf Shores from Thursday night to Sunday. My mom and dad.. Emily and Jay.. and our family went on Thursday night. Austin and Ella were excited because they got to skip school on Friday. Amber would have come too, but Grant was working off shore, and Audrey and Madison were sick with pink eye and colds..so they were unable to come.

We have been to a couple of blue angel airshows.. which are so much fun. We realized that the last one we went to in Pensacola was 17 years ago. Rob was a junior in high school and playing football at the time. He went along with me and my family. He was playing football in Stone County the night before the show and we went in FREEZING cold temps to watch him play, then pick him up to go on to Florida with us. I remember he was sick as a dog, and had sat almost the entire game on the sidelines. He had been looking for us so we could leave early, but all of our crew had moved to the HOME side to avoid the windy weather..and he was unable to find us. Anyways..long story short, it has been a while since we have seen a show. But, we knew that Austin and Ella would probably really enjoy it.

Friday we went shopping at the outlet mall..it was beautiful, 80 degrees.. Ella even went swimming. But, by Saturday morning, the day of the air show it was COLD and very WINDY.

Nonetheless, we had a great day. It was a HOMECOMING show for the Blue Angels.. their last show of the season. And, it was a tribute to the veterans..so very entertaining.

We topped the day off with a great STEAK dinner at one of the best restaurants in the world.. Mesquite Charlies. The only part of the day that didn't go just right, was a part in the air show that just threw Ella for a LOOP. They had a pyrotechnic(sp.?) part, where there was a lot of loud booms and explosions.. and Ella can't even handle a bottle rocket on the 4th of July. She was on Rob's shoulder at the time, and came crawling down him faster than a snake, and jumped in my lap, screaming....and crying "Take me back to the beach..take me back to the beach!!!" She had had all she wanted. Thankfully, though, she recovered and the rest of the day went well.

Austin and Ella got to go through several planes and sit in the cockpits of a few. We saw tons of soldiers, which really impressed Austin. And, oh yeah..the worst part of the day was standing in line for 35-40 minutes and paying $40 for 4 cheeseburgers (and I mean cheese and bread), and 4 cokes. It was a very PLAIN expensive $7 hamburger, and a $3 bottled coke. But the airshow was FREE..so what can I say? They had to make money somehow!!!!

Happy Veteran's Day!

This is a picture that was taken just moments after Rob unloaded the bus when he returned from Iraq. It was his first time to see Ella, as he was serving our country in Iraq when she was born. She was 3 months old at the time. Austin as you can see, was chewing his fingers, as he was a little nervous since it had been over 6 months since they had seen each other. He was 2 1/2 when Rob got home.

It is such an honor to say that my husband served our country. And, although, I can not lie, I am grateful that he is out of the military now. I will always have a special place in my heart for those who have served, those now serving, or those who will serve our country. Amber told me recently that on her trip to Boston she saw a young soldier leaving his family and boarding the plane, to undoutedly serve his country.. and she said, that he tried his best to remain brave faced and strong, but that he let the tears flow when he was walking down the runway to board the plane. She said it brought tears to every one who saw.

I don't want to get political, because Lord Knows.. there is enough of that going around. But, I do want to say that our military all are doing a great job defending our freedom and serving our country. We may not all agree with where they are or how long they should be there, etc.. but one thing we should agree on is that many of them are sacrificing their own lives for ours. It is real easy to forget about them and that we are still at war, because it has been going on for so long. I remember when yellow ribbons were tied on almost every tree. You don't see that as much any more. Soldiers are right now serving our country, who will miss their families this Thanksgiving, and who will miss spending Christmas at HOME. I hope that during this holiday season, and esp. today on Veteran's Day, that I can at least be mindful of this great nation that we live in, and to be thankful to those who have helped keep it that way.

Rob and I have many friends that either have served or are still serving. His father, Mr. Robert, also served. To all of those, I say thank you for what you have done for me.. and I am very grateful on this Veteran's Day to be an American. There will always be a very special place in my heart for those in uniform.

Look Mom... NO Training Wheels!

Ella's fish face.. which seemed to help her concentrate!

Saturday morning, for some reason, Ella woke up and said that she thought she needed to learn to ride her bike without training wheels.. Well, I agreed, and was all encouraging of this, esp. because I already had plans on Saturday and knew that Rob would be the one to start this new learning process.

Also, Rob has been promising since her birthday to put the baby carrier on the back of her bike, (which was given to her as a birthday gift), and so he did!

When I returned home Saturday afternoon, she was proud to show me her accomplishments.. which were a little wobbly, and very short lived, but she was riding!

Christi, and I had the pleasure to continue working with her late Saturday afternoon. She did very well.

I remember this so well, trying to teach Austin how to ride in Grenada. I thought he and I would likely kill each other, before he finally accomplished the task, and learned to ride. I remember the tears that he and I both had.

With Ella, it has been much easier. She is very persistent. Yesterday, Monday, she made it a good way on the street, by herself. The only problem is that she doesn't know how to brake yet. Which means that we are going to need a new pair of shoes soon, because she uses the tops of her shoes to stop herself.

At one point, which I thought was very sweet, I saw her with her head down leaning over her bicycle. I asked her what she was doing, and she said praying! I guess she took a cue from me, because I told her, she just had to be brave, that God would help her! And, so He DID!

And, If I had a dollar for every time I said, "Just Keep Pedaling" I would be a rich woman!

More Halloween Photos

Gage, Mark, and Rob, enjoying hot dogs/chili after trick-or-treating was complete.

My sweet friends..Brenda, Christi, Katie, and (Me)!

The whole crew...we had a clown, a fireman(girl), batman, witch, football player, cheerleader, and forgive me, but I think, some star wars person.. We couldn't take Andrew seriously, because of the mask.

On the truck...

My little witch!

My Tiger!


Halloween night was fun! My family always had a tradition on Halloween, in that we always had hot dogs/chili, rice krispy treats, fritos...etc. So we have always carried on the tradition.. this was the first year, I think, that we have had friends to join us.. So we had fun!

Okay.. I'm Back!!!

The one and only Halloween picture that I got with my camera, before the battery died. Austin, the lsu tiger football player (go figure) , and Ella, a witch.

Ella and Austin helping to clean the playhouse. They had fun.. Austin spent most of his time trimming bushes in the front of the playhouse.

My mom, on her birthday.. cleaning up cobwebs, and everything else.

And, the endless pile of clothes, that never seem to get done.. they get washed, dried, folded, and the next day they are back in this very state.... Neverending!

I know it has been a while since I have posted. It seems that we have been very busy these last couple of weeks. But, I am back and have a couple of pictures to update with.

Halloween comes on the same day every year, I know, but for some reason it seems that I am always without batteries in my camera when I need them.. which is no different than Halloween night. We trick-or-treated in Brandon on Thursday night, the 30th.. and had a really fun time. The crew we went with were.. Christi, my best friend since 2nd grade, Gage, Christi's twin brother, Gage's wife, Carrie, and their two girls, Lainey, and Cailey...Not done yet. Brenda, Mark, and their kids, Maggie, Jacob, and Hudson, (who are also our neighbors), Steve, (who is Christi and Gage's brother-in-law), and his children, Andrew and Addy. Steve is Stacey's husband.. Stacey is Christi and Gage's sister. I should say that Stacey was hating that she was missing this, but she was in the airport trying to get home from a business trip. And, last but not least.. Gage, Christi, and Stacey's younger brother, Brent, and his wife Katie... WHEW!!! If you got all that you are good.! Anyways, we loaded up on Mark's truck and Steve and Rob drove us around on the back of the truck (in a very safe neighborhood), to trick or treat.. The kids had a great time. And, I think the adults did too. Christi, remembered..Gage not so much, but me and Amber, Gage and Christi, all used to trick or treat together in Columbia when we were growing up. It brought back memories. Christi took some pictures for me, and when I can I will get them from her so all can see. After trick or treating we came back to our house and had hot dogs and chili.. yum yum!

On November 1st my mom had a birthday, so we went to Columbia to help her celebrate. Saturday morning we woke up and decided to clean out a playhouse that used to be Emily's when she was growing up... there were, well, you don't want to know what all junk was in there, but it didn't really take long, and Madison, Austin, Ella and Audrey had fun playing school in it the rest of the day.

On Sunday me, Ella and Madison got dressed and went to church. The girls were way more interested in the little girls behind them than they were at actually paying attention.. but they did okay. We played musical seats a few times because someone wanted to sit by this one or that.. but we survived. Sunday afternoon, we went to Rob's parents, and had coffee on the porch out back while Austin and Ella played in the yard.. it was a nice weekend..

And today I am trying to get caught up on all the clothes that didn't get done this weekend.. but you see what I am doing.

Peyton Field and Swimming

See Grant... Audrey really wants to be a TIGER!!

Audrey, Madison, and Ella swimming in a freezing swimming pool

All of us at Emily's

Audrey just watching them being crazy!

Hey.. let's use Emily as a trampoline!!!

Audrey trying to get away from me.. see Grant she has the LSU cap on AGAIN!!!! I told you she wants to be a TIGER!

Columbia Wildcats..

Austin and Jay.. making their plans!

Enough of this.. I am too hot...!

Two bits, 4 bits, hey, 6 bits a dollar..all for the wildcats, stand up and HOLLER!!!

Austin in front of the statue

Jay, Austin, Ella, and Madison, with the Walter Peyton statue...

Okay.. so we go to Columbia all the time.. but for some reason have never visited the Columbia High Football Field, so to speak! After leaving the park on Saturday we crossed the street to Peyton Field and Austin got to play on the same field as Walter Peyton. They now have a statue at the end of the field in his honor. Jay and Austin spent a little time playing.. I think Jay did more running at 12 o'clock in the heat of the day than he really wanted to, but he was a great sport about it. Austin ran 60, 70 yards for touchdowns.. and was so excited! He also got to go in the locker room to see where the Wildcats put their helmets, etc.... cool..cool! Meanwhile, Emily and Audrey had made their way back to the car to get the drinks, and Ella and Madison spent their time cheering for the Wildcats!!! (What do you want? T D, What's that? Touch Down!) They had a fun time.. and all in Columbia!!

After we all had more heat than we could stand.. we went back to Emily's for a while. .. They had fun playing "pile on" Emily. And, then, when we got back to the house, they all decided they needed a swim.. well, all except Austin who was waiting on going to the USM football game. Ella, Madison, and Audrey all wanted a quick dip in the pool... they almost skinny dipped... panties, and birthday suits...it was freezing.. but it didn't bother them one bit! Rob and Austin later went to the USM game. Austin was in heaven.. not that he is a huge fan of USM, and don't worry, LSU was being tivo'd..(but we know what happened to LSU). He got to go on the Eagle field and form a rally line, which the players came back through after half-time. He and Reagan, his cousin, had a blast.... Okay..so that is our weekend. It was a fun, eventful weekend.