Christmas 2009

Well, another Christmas has come and gone...I swear 2009 just flew by!!! My parents were able to fly out on 12/17 and so we really enjoyed spending Christmas with them. Jarod and Lindsey came down Christmas Eve day and we all went to 5:00 candlelight church services then came home to enjoy Cleos' homemade cheese soup, shrimp cocktails and misc. goodies. We then opened one present each (which has always been a family tradition of ours) and then it was off to bed to wait for the BIG GUY to make an appearance. And an appearance he did make...we were spoiled (well at least me!) and enjoyed opening presents with the family. Jarod cooked a prime rib on the outdoor cooker, which was really yummy, and then he and Lindsey headed back up to the city to have Christmas night with her family. It was a really great Christmas and we are so thankful that my parents were able to be here with us to enjoy it. The only thing that would've made it better was having our other kids and grandkids home with us---maybe next year (hint, hint!!).

So today, I drove my parents up to Jarods so they could spend the day/night with him and Lindsey. I came home and decided to finish taking my Christmas decorations down---the tree came down on Saturday because it had been up for 5 wks. and was getting pretty dry! I love Christmas, but when it's over--it's over and I like my house to be clean and clutter free again. I have the downstairs completely done and am waiting on Cleo to get home and help me put everything in the attic then I can finish cleaning the upstairs.

2009 was REALLY good to Cleo and I. Cleos' kidneys are hanging in there and still not at the transplant stage yet and he continues to feel great. We are looking forward to a new granddaughter sometime in February and getting to see family in May when we head to Wyoming. We pray that 2010 will bring much happiness and good health to each and everyone of our family and friends.

Thanksgiving 2009

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with family this year. Cleo and I drove up to North Carolina (near Winston-Salem) on Wed. afternoon to spend Thanksgiving with his niece Stacie and her family. His sister Tami and her husband and youngest daughter Kylie flew out from Idaho and so it was really nice to get to see them all. Tami and Eric cooked a super yummy traditional turkey dinner complete with her wonderful homemade rolls and 3 different kind of pies...Cleo and I were in heaven!! They went to a lot of work and we really appreciated it all. We stayed up pretty late Wed. night catching up and then ate and relaxed on Thanksgiving Day. We did go for a walk (before dinner--not sure why we didn't go after!) around the neighborhood and that allowed us to not feel as guilty eating so much for dinner :) Thanks Stacie for inviting us..we sure do love y'all.

We had to leave on Friday morning and head back to Georgia because Cleos' brother Tom was headed our way on Saturday afternoon. He had been in Florida with his wife and their 3 kids and all their grandkids at DisneyWorld and they decided to drive back to Texas thru Georgia...yes, I know it's out of the way...that's what made it so special for us. Anyhow, they arrived on Sat. around 4:00 and their daughter Amber and her family came too. They (Ambers family) only stayed for dinner and then headed out as they needed to be back in Oklahoma on Sunday. We thought that was super sweet for them to stop by as well. Thanks Amber and Wayne...we sure love you guys!! Cleo and Tommy went out and checked out all of Cleos' hunting spots behind the house and by his job at the PTC airport on Sunday and Cindy and I went shopping. Cleo put a pork butt on the spit/grill Sunday late afternoon and it turned out yummy. After dinner we watched 4 Christmases and ate popcorn and chocolate. We sure do miss having Tom and Cindy close as we used to do tons of things with them when we all lived in Wyoming. We love you guys and want to say thank you for coming our way...we're headed your way next!!

It was just a really great 5 day weekend for us and we just want our family (all of our family) to know how much we love you and how thankful we are for you in our lives. We are also blessed with wonderful friends and not a day goes by that we don't give thanks for ALL our blessings. We hope that each of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving as well and that this Christmas season will bring good health, happiness and prosperity to each of you.
Cleo had his belt attached to Elizas' scooter so she wouldn't get away...Eric pushing Addie in stroller

Uncle Kevin (Cleo) and Eliza napping

Kylie, Tami and Eric relaxing after dinner

Tami and Cleo

Cleo, Royal, Wayne, Mitchell, Amber, Spencer and Marcy

Cleo and Tommy

Cleo, Marcy, Cindy and Tommy

Texas Nativity that Audrey made for Cleo and I...how stinkin' cute is it???

What's Cookin???

Well, in my house it's anybodys' guess anymore!! We had to buy a new grill a few months back and although Cleo does most of the grilling at our house I have been known to grill as well. Our old grill was a gas grill but you could also use charcoal which we did most of the time. So a while back I decided to cook some ribs on the grill...how hard can it be right? I put them on this new rib rack I bought and was so excited to have ribs when Cleo got home from work...but, as you can see by the picture below things didn't turn out so well!! Really, that's an understatement...they completely burned in less than 10 minutes. I'm talkin' when I went to pull them off the racks, they totally disintegrated in my fingertips. I checked and I had the gas on low so I'm not sure what happened. Then last week I decided to try some veggie kabobs and fish on the grill. It was almost the same story...black veggies (not edible) and the fish was pretty crispy as well, although it was edible.

I used to pride myself on being a decent cook but lately this has not only been happening on the grill, but in the kitchen as well. I seem to overcook, burn or just simply ruin the most basic things. Maybe this is secretly my way of getting Cleo to start doing the cooking...LOL...we all know that won't happen!!! Anyhow, I hope this is just a "slump" and things will get back to normal soon..,but if anyone has suggestions on how to improve my cooking skills...DO TELL.

FASHION FAUX PAS!!!

I'm sure you are wondering what in the world this blog is about...bet you can't guess??? As it turns out, my daughter Sara has a sick and twisted sense of humor and along with her Dad they thought I needed to share this story with y'all so here goes...

I warn you this could be a long story as I'm kinda known for not being able to tell a short story--you just gotta get all the facts in there and set the mood, right?? So anyhow 2 weeks ago yesterday I was on the phone with my best friend Tammy, Cleo had just left to go hunting for the evening and all was well. As I was talking I started to have this really strange upper abdominal pain and thinking it would just pass I kept talking. About 10-15 minutes later it got pretty intense so I told Tammy I needed to hang up the phone. The pain got really intense, I started to get really sweaty and generally just hurting pretty bad. I decided to try to take a cold shower to see if this would help but by the time I got my clothes off I was getting really light headed so I layed on my bed. The pain got really intense and started to move into my chest so of course I panicked thinking I was having a heart attack. My neighbor wasn't home and I knew that I couldn't drive myself to the ER so I called Cleo and told him I was calling 911. By this time I was having a full blown asthma attack brought on by the panic and the intense pain. The Coweta county firefighters and the EMT crew arrived really quick (did I mention I was in the nude???)They worked really quickly to get my breathing under control but they were unable to establish an IV line so they were unable to give me the good drugs. Once again I must mention I HAD NO CLOTHES ON!!!---Sara are ya havin a little deja vue???(inside joke). By this time it was decided to give up on the IV and just get me to the hospital. One of the firefighters was so sweet and asked me if I had a robe he could put on me...after pointing to the bathroom (unable to talk at this point) he grabbed my cute little yellow terry cloth robe and put it on me. He then asked if I had slippers (which I do but they don't match!) well he couldn't locate them so just grabbed pink flip flops! So here is the fashion faux pas...a yellow robe with pink flip flops...SERIOUSLY???

Cleo had been in touch with the 911 operator this whole time and actually beat the ambulance to the ER. After blood tests, EKG and ultrasound it was determined it was my gallbladder that was seriously inflammed so they admitted me and the next morning I was off to surgery to remove the gallbladder. Now I gave birth naturally, without epidural and that pain didn't compare to this...but the good news is I healed really quick and feel great now. After 2 days in the hospital I was allowed to go home...lets face it with this flu season, the last place I wanna be is in the hospital with all those germs.

I have seen the Coweta County Firefighters around town lots...in restaurants, stores, etc. and have always said how young and good looking they are---seriously, they could definately make a calendar (if ya know what I mean). The EMT's weren't bad looking either---young and athletic and yet somehow knowing they all saw me without clothes makes me wish they were older and maybe not so easy on the eyes!!! So the moral to this story is: unless you wanna have your own fashion faux pas, i.e. fashion blunder---get a robe with matching slippers or better yet just keep your clothes on!!!

SCORPION...EWWW!!!!!!

So I have learned in my 21+ years of marriage to Cleo that I am in charge of killing spiders in our house. He is so skittish when he sees one and rather than kill it...he either tells me to or just ignores it. I am not usually afraid of them just kinda creeped out by them, but I'd much rather kill them than know they are in our house. So this morning as I walked downstairs past the front door, something caught my eye and as I looked closer I realized it was a small scorpion!!! Of course I yell for Cleo to come look and of course he doesn't budge so I ran to the kitchen, got a small container and lid and headed back to pick it up. As I was doing so, I realized it was still alive!!! and so I had to kinda squish the head to stop it and scrape it into the container because of course first thing Monday morning my "bug man" will be gettting a call from me and I need proof to show him. I'm not sure why the picture turned out so blurry, but you get the idea. Anyhow, thought this was an appropriate post for Halloween month.

P.S. Cleo and I got our flu shots and a pneumo vaccine yesterday and my arm is KILLING me! Did they put kerosene in one of those vaccines or am I just a wuss??? Just thought I'd add that little bit of info to generate some sympathy because I'm sure not getting any from Cleo :(

Meeting Miss Kenleigh

I just got home from a week in SLC to meet our newest granddaughter...Miss Kenleigh Mae. I must tell you, she is AMAZING!!! She is so sweet and lovable and already has a super cute personality. She does have her days and nights somewhat mixed up, but then again, how is she to know the difference when it's been all the same for the previous 9 months. In time, I'm sure she'll get it right...or at the very least, keep her Mama and Daddy on their toes. I loved every minute of getting to know her and feed her and hold her and love on her and just simply watching her every movement. Sara and Zach are the cutest first time parents and are already doing a great job with her. It's already hard for them to be away from her for even the shortest time...but once again, in time, that will change too and they will be begging someone to take her..haha!! and I will be the first in line to do so.

I enjoyed hanging out with Sara and talking all day and night about everything and nothing and laughing and sometimes getting teary eyed. I love you Sara Mae and miss being able to do those things with you more often but I'm always just a phone call away. Zach, you are such a great husband and father and thank you for letting me invade your space for a week. You're the BEST!

On Saturday, Cleos' nieces Brooke and Michelle came over and we went to lunch. It was really fun to see little Luke and Kenleigh side by side and also to get to see Morgan and Sage again. We had a great time at lunch and enjoyed catching up with them. I took my camera with to lunch and totally forgot to have the waiter take pics so I only got a couple at Saras' house of them. Cori was able to stop by briefly after she got off work with Launa and Teiha so they were able to see their cousins as well. Thanks to you Brooke and Michelle for stopping by...it was fun.

On Monday, my parents and sister came from Wyoming to meet Kenleigh for the first time as well. It was fun to see them but it was a short visit. My pictures of them didn't turn out so well, but it was really great to see Kenleigh with her great grandparents and great aunt. Thanks to y'all as well for driving all the way for just a few short hours...love ya tons.

I think Cleo was glad to see me come home, but yesterday he told me I was getting on his nerves and he was ready for me to go again!!! Gosh, I was only home for 3 days and he's already tired of me...HOW RUDE!!! Just kidding...it's always fun for me to take little trips but I love coming home and it's nice to feel needed at home.

Nana and Kenleigh Mae....don't ya think she looks like me???

Meet the Parents...they are so cute

Kenleighs' "Let me think about it" pose

Morgan and Sage...how cute are they??

Brooke and Luke...he looks just like the other 3 and Brooke told me her and Jeff had one mold and used it all 4 times. Super cute little man!!

Pig Roast...YUMMY!!!

Jarod and Lindsey came down yesterday afternoon for a pig roast...and I gotta tell ya it was really YUMMY!!! Seriously, I was a bit nervous to eat the pig that Cleo killed last weekend. I mean, a wild pig...come on now that's just wrong. Considering where they live and what they eat how good could it be? Well, I was WRONG, it was really good and come to find out they are fed corn along with their regular diet (of who knows what?). We had to buy a new grill a couple weeks ago and we got the spit attachment and Cleo grilled it slow (about 4-5 hrs) and basted it with bbq sauce. He also grilled corn on the cob and it was the best. Doesn't this look too good???

Just call him Emeril...he did such a good job that I now think he can take over the cooking duties full time at our house. He was very glad that I liked the pig as he now thinks he will be able to go on another pig hunt...silly guy! Jarod and Lindsey spent the night and we really just had a very relaxing time with them. Thanks for coming down guyz!!! Hope y'all are having a great Labor Day.

Pig Hunt & Yard Project

This past weekend Cleo was able to go on a wild pig hunt with a couple guys he works with. They got up early Sunday morning and headed over to Dublin Georgia and hunted all day. Cleo shot his pig pretty early and then he just "chilled" while the other people hunted theirs. He said it was a hoot and he would definately do it again. We're excited to try it and see if it's any good. We just had to buy a new grill so we got the spit attachment for it and we're gonna grill up one of the roasts this weekend when Jarod and Lindsey come down. I'll let ya know how it taste!!! The gang with their bounty...and yes, that's a girl on the end!!!

Cleo and a couple other hunters

Not a huge pig (maybe 75-80 lbs.) but he was sure proud of it :~)_

Also last week we had our last (well maybe) yard project for this year done. Cleo cut down the clump of trees to the right of the house as they were looking pretty sickly and then we had a guy come in and grind the stump and then we laid sod. It looks pretty nice and will be much easier to mow without having to go around that mess! We then had concrete curbing put around the 2 little trees in the front yard as well as the flower beds...we took out all the old red mulch and replaced it with chocolate mulch which looks much nicer and goes better with the brick on the house. We had the little area that was in the front porch (small flower bed) removed and concrete laid there as well...as soon as that cures for a couple weeks the guy will come back and lay a texture over the porch and put some color in it. We now have a much bigger entry and it will be nice when it's all done. I bought 4 solar lamps and lined the porch with them and they really look pretty...especially at night when they're lit up.

Grinding the stump

The new patch of sod...will look nice next year when it blends with the other grass

Concrete curbing...the color matches the brick on our house and looks great!

Front flower bed...I purposely didn't take pics of the front porch as I will do that when it's done in a few weeks. We're pretty sure this will be the last project for this year...but then again, we always manage to find something else we want done!!! I think we need to give the wallet a rest for now :~)

Kenleigh Mae Howarth

She's here!!!! Sara and Zach had little Kenleigh Mae last night at 6:33. She weighed 7 lbs 2 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long with red hair. She is gorgeous and both her and Mommy are doing great. We are so happy for both Sara and Zach and know they will be amazing parents...little Kenleigh is a very lucky girl. We can't wait to see her in person and give her lots of loves. I will update as I get more pictures of her.

Lifes Good

Life is good at the Cheney homestead...this was the scene in the backyard on Wednesday afternoon. This sweet little fawn was following her Mamas' lead and checking out the corn feeder. I couldn't get any closer to take the picture or I would've scared her off. There are 2 doe and 2 fawns that regularly come to the feeder around 4:00 each afternoon. The turkeys are also starting to show up again...their babies are growing fast this year. Cleo and I love sitting on the hunting porch and watching the wildlife that play in the yard.

We're also really excited to welcome our third granddaughter into the world...should be in the next 2 weeks or so. I think Sara is quite anxious to get her here and have the pregnancy behind her. I know that she will be a sweet little princess and will have her Grandpa wrapped around her little finger immediately (just like the other 2!). Cori also found out that she and Brandon will be having another little girl in Feb. (their 3rd). We are super excited for that as well...guess the Good Lord knows how much Cleo loves his girls and felt it only appropriate to bless him with a few more!!!

We're going to the Braves game with Jarod and Lindsey tonight (that dang rain better hold off!!!). We haven't been to a game since their home opener so are really looking forward to this one. I absolutely love the Braves...win or lose...they have always been my favorite team and always will be. Gotta love Bobby Cox, a man who minces no words and says it like it is!!

Hope y'all have a great weekend...

Guys Getaway

The first weekend that I was gone to New York, Cleo went on a fishing trip to Mexico Beach, Florida with a bunch of guys he works with. I think he said it was like a 4-5 hour drive down there on Friday night and then they had to get up super early Sat. morning for a 2 hour boat ride out to the fishing area. They fished all day and then had a 2 hour boat ride back and then back home to Georgia...Whew, makes me tired thinking about all that. He had a great time and they caught lots of fish. The crew on the boat gutted and cleaned all the fish and then filleted them all for ya, so all Cleo had to do when he got home was divide it into freezer bags. We have a ton of fish in the freezer now and are looking forward to grilling some this weekend...YUMMY!!! This is Cleo with the Amberjack he caught. He said it took 20-25 minutes to reel them in and his arms were pretty sore the next morning. What a hoot....

Red snapper and grouper caught and ready to clean.

The "Massana Gang" with all their catch. I'm really glad Cleo was able to go so he didn't have to sit home and miss me too much...hahaha! Hopefully, they will make this an annual event and he can go again next year.

Girls Getaway

I just got home on Monday night from a 10 day trip to New York State with my best friend Tammy. I only had 4 dull days after Cori, Brandon and the girls left to get my house back into order, do the yardwork and get packed for this trip...but I made it!!! We had been planning this for several months and I was really looking forward to some relaxing time with my best friend because no matter where we go or what we do, we always have a good time. So she had flown in 5 days before me and spent some time with her son and his family...she picked me up at the airport in Rochester on 7/24 and we headed down to the southern tier to be with her mom and sisters and spend the weekend at the Canal Fest (an annual arts/crafts festival) which was actually near Buffalo somewhere. It was really a fun time, but I only found one thing to buy :(
Apparently the economy kept a lot of vendors from participating this year, but we still managed to have a good time. Then on Sunday night we headed back up to Rochester to spend the week at her sons' house. They just bought their first home and Tammy and I helped them to do some decorating.

On Wednesday, Tammy and I headed up to Niagara Falls, Canada to shop, eat and play for a night. I had been there once before about 7 years ago but it was in October and super cold and rainy so I didn't enjoy it much. This time the weather was much nicer although it did rain that afternoon but only for about 2 hours and then cleared up and was gorgeous the rest of the time. We had a really great time and I really miss hanging out with Tammy so it was great to just catch up and hang out.
This was the fireworks from our hotel balcony. About 3 nights a week during the summer months they have fireworks down at the falls, but we decided to watch from our balcony instead. It was really gorgeous!

This was actually a live person!!! I know..he looks just like a statue, but he was most definately human. He was just selling the beads you see hanging from his hands...weird, huh???

This looks like a ferris wheel, but it's actually called the SkyWheel and those cages are enclosed and like a glass elevator box and you can see the entire falls from above...pretty cool and it was right across the street from our hotel and we could see it from our balcony...it was really pretty all lit up at night.

During the 2 hour rainstorm the afternoon we got there, we decided to go over to the casino and see if we could win anything...NOT!!! It didn't take me long to lose my money but Tammy won a little and so I just sat and watched her (as well as the people...love to people watch!) until she finally lost her money too. It was a great way to kill a few hours. This was Tammy playing the Wheel of Fortune slots.

Beautiful view of the Big Falls from the Canada side. They took my breath away and were so much prettier than I remember them being the last time I was there.

This is a night view of the smaller Falls from the Canada side.

The boat you see is called the Maid of the Mist and will take you right up to the Falls. We didn't do it because I didn't feel like getting super wet and then having to drive for an hour and a half to get back to Tammys' sons house. If it hadn't been rainy the first day, we probably would've done it, but maybe next time.

Not a great picture of me (wind blown hairdo!) but Tammy looks good.

We had a really good time, but I'm glad to be home again. I think Cleo really missed me because he told me 10 days was way too long for me to be gone...AWW, so nice to be loved and missed! Thanks to you Tammy for the great trip and can't wait to plan another one.

Good Things Must Come To an End...

I'm a little late posting on the 3rd week of our grandkids visit to Georgia...so here goes. The girls were really interested to see where Grandpa works so one afternoon I took them out to his job and they were able to "play" on the big equipment with their Grandpa whom they idolize. Teiha wasn't intimidated by the size of the equipment at all and once Launa was up on the first one and safe on her Grandpas' lap, she wasn't either. They had lots of fun and got to "operate" a big tractor, a bulldozer and a backhoe. They came home nice and dirty but happy! Grandpa and his girls...

Teiha on the tractor with Grandpa

Launa on the backhoe with Grandpa

Teiha doing her beauty queen wave...guess she thought she was in a parade or something!!

Launa on the bulldozer with Grandpa. This was one of the last things we did with the girls before their last weekend (before Cori and Brandon came). On the last weekend, we took them up to Atlanta and they stayed with Jarod and Lindsey for 2 nights. They totally spoiled them as well and had a great time with them. I don't have pictures of that weekend but it sounds like they had a great time with their Uncle Jarod and Aunt Lindsey. They were here for 2 days short of 3 weeks before thier parents came out and for only being 4 and 6, they did amazingly well. They kinda started getting homesick (really just missing their parents) a couple days before Cori and B got here but they were really fun to have and we sure enjoyed spending time with them.

On Sunday the 12th Cori and Brandon flew in for a week...and once they got here Launa and Teiha were different kids (i.e. monsters!!!) No seriously, for the first 2 days they were so beasty we could hardly stand it, but then my Mom said that's how we always were as kids...as soon as our parents showed up we were monsters, so I guess that's just how it goes. They really are sweet, funny, and bright little girls and even though they had their moments, they were awesome to have around. We really enjoyed having Cori and Brandon here for a week as well. It's the most time we've ever spent around Brandon and we got to know his personality a lot better. We hope y'all had a good time and wish we could've done more while you were here but it just makes us look forward to many more visits in the future. We had a bbq on their last day here with Jarod and Lindsey and it was a gorgeous day and we had lots of fun in the backyard. Of course we made Jarod cook ribs and Cori and B made stuffed mushrooms which were amazing (love it when the kids come and cook!). We really enjoyed spending time with everyone and wish Sara, Zach, Kyle and Mikell could've been here as well...maybe someday!!

Brandon was kicking a ball for the girls to chase and it got stuck in this tree

Brandon climbing the tree to get it out...took him a good 10 minutes to get it loose, but the girls sure thought he was a HERO when it finally came down.

Lindsey, Brandon and Teiha playing cornhole

Launa playing with Georgia....Launa absolutely loved Jarods' dog and I'm sure Georgia was really worn out after spending the day with the kids!

We couldn't wait til dark to do s'mores in the backyard firepit...Don't ya just love Georgia eyeing the s'mores makings in my hand???

Thanks again Cori and Brandon for letting the girls come out and spend time with us and also for your week visit with us. We love y'all and can't wait to see you again...