Kalee's new "Do"

I took Kalee to get her hair cut today. She was only going to get a trim, but Rich has been telling her for a while that she should get a bob cut. So, before we left she asked how much hair she would have to cut off for a bob...I was shocked!! We talked about it, and I left it up to her. Well, we got to the salon and she decided to go for it! It isn't quite short enough to qualify as a true bob, but she did get a lot cut off. It is super cute!

It's Christmas Time!

So, Kalee and I broke out some of the Christmas decorations today. We aren't putting out everything, since we will be in Florida for CHRISTMAS!!! We had a lot of fun! Kalee loves her new tree, and was feeling a little silly, as you can see!

Midnight wants to break out of Jail!!! She has been a wonderful puppy, so far! She sleeps in the crate at night, in Kalee's room. She's done a great job of using the newspaper, for her, um, needs, when we aren't paying close enough attention! She is still recovering from being spayed, but is getting a little more playful every day. Kalee is having a lot of fun with her. We had a little scare tonight, when the neighbor's dogs came up while Kalee was outside with Jade and Midnight. I came downstairs to a hysterical child...these are the same dogs that got a hold of Jade a month ago and took a bite out of her neck. Luckily, Kalee knew to come inside and Midnight went and hid. Of course, Jade followed Kalee inside and stood guard on the safe side of the door! Midnight came out of hiding after a couple minutes and boy, was I relieved - I was sure the dogs had snagged her! Needless to say, Kalee will not be going out alone until we deal with those dogs!

Kalee's new puppy, Midnight!

So, Hunter ended up going back to live with Rich's Aunt and Uncle, permanently. We decided that their house is a much more suitable environment for our sweet little puppy. It was sad, but Kalee handled it well. We went out last Saturday to search for a new dog. I tried to convince her that we should adopt a dog that was a little older, but once she met this puppy, she was DONE! So, here we go, again! She named the puppy Midnight, and she is pure puppy...we are going to have a fun few months (ha!). We rescued her from a local animal shelter - we have no idea "what" she is, but she is cute, and she has small paws, so I'M hoping she won't be any bigger than Jade!

Laying out the house!!!

We met with the builder yesterday to lay out where the house will sit on the property. That was exciting. I haven't really been on our part of the property in a while - I like to wait until the weather gets cooler...that way most of the animals/creatures have gone into hiding! At least I hope so!!! In the pictures you can see where the posts are - we placed one at what will be each corner of the house. We have been approved for the construction loan, but are still waiting for one last thing to get cleared up with the land - the county is slow!!!

This is what our view will be from the front porch...beautiful!

This picture shows the posts that are the front 2 corners of the house.
This picture shows where our driveway will be and the 2 front and one side post/corners.

This picture shows the 2 side posts. Yes, we will be losing all of these trees, but we hope we will be able to save a beautiful oak on the other side in the front. We had to shift the house over a little farther than we originally planned, but it is a beautiful tree!

Jade's secret friend!

Jade decided to snuggle up to Rich tonight - she is so cute - especially when she wants Rich's attention.

Kalee wanted to play in the leaves last fall, but we never got around to it. Well, today we went over to Crystal's, to pick up Hunter, and the first thing Kalee noticed was the leaves. So, right after we picked up Hunter it was back to Aunt Crystal's to play in the leaves. She loved it!

Charley didn't love the leaves quite as much! Check out that lip!

Charley also likes to stick her tongue out...it is too cute!

Our Winter Garden

Rich planted Broccoli, Cabbage and Romaine Lettuce in our winter garden. My mom has tried some of the lettuce, but said it is a little bitter and tough. So, who knows...maybe it needed to be in the garden longer, or maybe we left it too long! It looks like the broccoli is getting close to being ready to pick...I hope that is good!

We miss Hunter!

Rich's Aunt Kyle (and family) has had Hunter the last few weeks to see if she can work with him on his people hating issues! He is just the sweetest little puppy, but he is absolutely scared of people. He responds well to me, accepts Kalee and puts up with Rich, but other than that don't even think about coming near him! We went to FL a few weeks ago and Hunter stayed outside (in GA) the entire time we were gone because he refused to come through the door for my mom...and she couldn't get close enough to him to pick him up! She finally put his crate & bed outside, so that he could at least sleep in it. Anyway, Aunt Kyle met him and wanted to try to work her "Dog Whisperer" skills out on him! We can't wait to go pick him up next weekend! Poor Jade, she was just getting used to him, and is just getting used to him being gone...won't she be surprised when he comes home!!!

Arlene - Teresa is in Zambia for a missions trip. I don't remember the exact length of her trip, but she left last Sunday and will be gone for at least another week, I believe!

A message from Teresa (Miller), from Zambia

For those interested, here is an e-mail that I received from Teresa this afternoon...

HI! KIDS,AND EVERYONE! WE MADE IT INTO ZAMBIA THIS MORNING SAFELY. IT IS 8 O'CLOCK HERE AND I LITERALLY HAVE NOT HAD MORE THAN A FEW 5 MIN FITS OF SLEEP SINCE WE LEFT. TODAY WE WENT TO SEE A COUPLE OF THE WORKSHOPS, SCHOOLS, BUILDINGS, ETC. THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN BUILT ON PREVIOUS TRIPS. THEN WE WENT TO A LITTLE MARKET AND GOT TO HAGGLE WITH PEOPLE FOR THEIR WARES. IT TRUELY IS AN ART. BECAUSE I AND EVERYONE ELSE ARE SO SLEEP DEPRIVED WE ARE ALL ZOMBIES, AND SLAP-HAPPY. FLYING INTO THE COUNTRY WAS AMAZING IN ITSELF...EVEN THE CLOUDS LOOKED DIFFERENT. THE PEOPLE ARE VERY POLITE AND HAPPINESS IS LITERALLY PART OF THEIR CULTURE, IF THAT MAKES ANY SENCE.I AM SO BLESSED TO HAVE BEEN ABLE TO MAKE THIS TRIP. ALREADY I SEE HOW IN AMERICA WE HAVE SO MUCH, BUT SO LITTLE.... I MAY NOT BE ABLE TO SEND OUT ANOTHER E-MAIL FOR A WHILE, BUT WILL WHEN WE ARE BACK IN E-MAIL LAND. I LOVE AND MISS YOU ALL VERY MUCH. KISS ALL THE GRAND BABIES. TERESA, COULD YOU FORWARD THIS TO AND ? thanks!! love MOM, GRAMMIE, TERESA

A Seven Pointer!!!

Rich and Kalee got up @ 6:30 this morning to go sit out in the tree stand. They came back in around 8:45, empty handed! Not long after they came in Rich noticed a deer (turned out to be a buck) out in the yard. He tried to sneak outside, but the deer heard him and went right back into the woods. A couple hours later I was letting Jade back in the house and noticed another deer, so Rich snuck back outside and shot him right from the back porch! We knew it was a buck, we just weren't sure how big. Turned out to be a 7 pointer! I had to post this picture...I LOVE the look on Kalee's face!