p.s.

the house progress
#1
the storage pod in our front yard was moved yesterday -
thank goodness!
#2
the painter was BUSY painting the outside of the house
yesterday when I got home!
Wooo-hooo!
(who knew it had to be around 50 degrees to paint the outside of a house ???
It has not been that warm since before Christmas!)
#3
after 2 and a half hours of ironing the new curtains - JD and I decided it would be
best to take them to the cleaners to get pressed!
#4
pictures are coming soon of the new and completed house!
#5
we are LOVING our "like new" abode!

a new plan

our little man has had a cough since before Christmas. YUCK!!

I took him to the doctor twice over the break, they assured me
it was his allergies - BUT gave me an antibiotic and a strong cough
medicine. They just didn't seem to work!

Poor baby just coughed and coughed at least 2 times every 15 minutes.

we called his allergy doctor in Jackson on Monday and she was SO alarmed she wanted
me there at 2 the same day!
I panicked - for the obvious reason BUT also because JD was in D.C!
I drove all the way to Jackson holding back tears, and probably would
have cried the whole way but Ashleigh insisted on riding with me, so
I was able to hold it together a little better.
I had myself convinced we were going to end up here...........

his lungs were CLEAR and the doctor came up with a new plan to
get him back on track.
Thank goodness!
this is what the little man takes each day -
NEW
4 breathing treatments
med for reflux
PLUS the OLD
nasonex
spacer with inhaler twice a day
zyrtec

His own little medicine cabinet! :(

here is the little man with his breathing machine.
he does great job, BUT today he was really embarrassed about doing at school.
thankfully, they let JD give it to him in the teacher workroom.

we spent Tuesday at home getting used to our new treatment
plan and resting..............
such a sweet thing!

he fell asleep watching his movies he picked out on his very on.
too CUTE!

our fingers are crossed and prayers are said daily that our little man gets
these allergies and coughing asthma under control before we head back to
Jackson in a month!

don't crack the egg!

KD represented her school in the "Mission Eggcellence" project at MSU.
Her team placed 1st at our school, and she was SO excited!

They built a car using plastic parts for your egg to ride in down a ramp.
The object is for your egg not to break when
landing at the bottom of the ramp.

THE TEAM

THE CAR

THE COMPETITION

Her team made it to Level 3 and then the egg cracked! :(
They did a great job, and she LOVED
every minute of it!

when the cat is away the mice will play

these mice LOVE to have pallet parties, when their cat is away!

they know that it doesn't matter if it is a school night or weekend night -
if the cat is away momma always lets them pile in to sleep together!

how can it be ???

this little, sweet thing is now 10 !!!

Where does the time go???
A sweet friend sent this to me on facebook made me teary eyed
and at the same time smile.

We love our big girl!

NEW Year, but good OLD traditions!

New Year's is spent with the whole Dumas clan!

Here are a few traditions ALWAYS present
at the celebration!

COUSINS............

Notice lots of blonds and my one and ONLY brown KD!

And what about the fact their are not many boys?
That is because there is more than TWICE as many girls as boys!
the count -12 girls and 5 boys

Daddio and his boys

GOOD FOOD...............

BEIGNETS.............

YUM!!!

(homemade by Irene)

OYSTERS...............

AND KICK BALL..............
everyone youngest to oldest gathers round
(with a few exceptions)

team 1
"Chatawa Swamp Monsters"
The CHAMPS!!

team 2
"Gumbo Ya-yas"

everyone LOVES to get their kicks on!

the cheerleaders
Virgina Boyd and Phelps

Stella's comment had us all rolling..................
Irene said, "Everyone is going to play kickball, let's GO!"
Stella replied, "Hey, I can't wait to see Grandy RUN!!!"


The Original Dumas Family

(I personally LOVE this one of Russ!)

Just the kiddos!

(sorry Russ you were making funny faces in all the pictures!)

just our little Dumas Clan and Mr.Bill

lots of laughs, good times, great food, and many memories
that I am sure will last FOREVER!

snow day = FUN DAY!!!

the snow day did not last very long, but long enough for everyone
to play a little in the SNOW!

playing in the snow was mostly spent finding enough snow to make a snowball,
finding someone to throw it at, and running!

I LOVE this picture of KD!
You can even see the snow falling!

We all laughed until it hurt, when KD climbed on the slide and
was talking (imagine that!)............

She slipped and

slid!!!

She had a safe landing though!

We even dug out our sled in HOPES their would be enough
snow for some sledding, but unfortunately there wasn't. :(

LJ had the bright idea maybe she could just slide down the deck stairs............

but then decided against that.
Thank goodness!!

Little Miss wasn't to sure about the snow, but had a
great time with her nose pressed up against the window from inside watching
everybody else!

all bundled up!

Then - of course, they all had to have hot chocolate !

YUM and nice and warm!

I would even call them "HOT CHOCOLATES SUPREME"!

LJ pulled out marshmallows, chocolate syrup, and whipped cream for toppings!

They all agreed their drink was delicious!

Phelps picked out her clothes and what more appropriate than
a snowman shirt!

Wish we had more snow days!

how to make a snowball

This is how you do it.......

Watkins' Style

#1
Look hard until you find a place with enough snow!

#2
when you find it - start piling it up

#3
you have to work hard - make sure you have enough to make a big ball

#4
push all the snow together and put it in your hands to make a ball

#5
then AIM at your sisters!!!

Repeat steps #1 - 5
to do it again to get your neighbor!