Happy new year all!!!

For all of our friends...

...and everyone!

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne?

Chorus:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
We'll take a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

And surely ye'll be your pint-stowp!
And surely I'll be mine!
And we'll take a cup o' kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

We twa hae run about the braes
And pou'd the gowans fine.
We've wandered mony a weary foot,
Sin' auld lang syne.

We twa hae sported i' the burn,
From morning sun till dine,
But seas between us braid hae roared
Sin' auld lang syne.

And ther's a hand, my trusty friend,
And gie's a hand o' thine;
We'll tak' a right good willie-waught,,
For auld lang syne.

-Robert Burns

May 2007 best 2006!

Part of our pre-occupation recently...

...has been Andrew.

Some of you may or may not remember this but back in February of 2005 I posted a brief note to this very young blog regarding our 6 yrs. old nephew, Andrew. He's the one wearing the red jacket in this 2003 photo. The other two are our grandkids.

He’s bpbil’s son. “J” (the wife) and I raised him for the first three years of his life until his alcohol and prescription drug abusing mother convinced the court in Washington State and subsequently Georgia that she was fit to properly care for him.

Needless to say, she wasn’t. Though it took almost three years for the courts to realize they screwed up again!

Well, we have Andrew back in our custody… at least for the time being. Evidently the Georgia courts have had their fill of his mother and her outrageous antics. I’m not sure what she did this time… we never really know but whatever it was it was enough for the judge to realize Andrew wasn’t being properly cared for by his mother and needed to be placed in a more nurturing, secure environment.

Andrew had been placed into a foster home “off and on” over the period of time his “mother” was supposed to be caring for him.

He did luck out though. He was well cared for by his foster family. Miss Maree and her friends provided fantastic support and love for him throughout the past two plus years.

Early in December of this year we got the call from Georgia authorities. They wanted us to fly back to Georgia and spend some time with Andrew before any decisions were made as to whose care he should be placed in.

So, on December 15 the wife and I flew to Atlanta.

From the start it was an uphill battle. On the night of December 14 we experienced one of Washington’s most destructive storms on record. Our flight was scheduled to leave Seattle-Tacoma airport at 11:55 a.m. the following day and we were scheduled to arrive in Atlanta at around 7:00 p.m. (Georgia time). We didn’t get out of Seattle until almost 7:00 p.m. (Washington Time). By the time we arrived in Georgia, got our rental car and drove to the motel it was 5:00 a.m. (Georgia time).

Needless to say we were a half day behind schedule before we even got out of Seattle.

The following days went great, we went to court on Tuesday, December 19 and the judge awarded us temporary custody of Andrew. Andrew flew back to Washington with us the following day.

And he’s here… for Christmas with his cousins, aunts, uncles and friends.

We are indebted to Miss Maree, Mr. and Mrs. Davys, Miss Eilene, Jesus, Ebony and all of Andrew’s friends and foster family in Lawrenceville, Georgia. Without their love and support who knows what would have happened to him?

Yep, it’s a merry Christmas!

Bailey, Hannah and Andrew are inseparable. They're inventive and are making up for lost time!

It's nice to hear Andrew laughing again. Very nice!

The child knows far to much about courts, foster care and the legal system. He deserves an opportunity to simply live a kid's carefree life, grow up, learn and have fun, knowing he's loved and supported.

Everyone, please have a Merry Christmas and a safe and happy New Year!

Okay, about this Santa fellow...

...you're telling me he slides down that little chimney over there?

C'mon, who do you think I am? I mean, I was born on September 5 not yesterday.

I've seen pictures of that jolly fellow. I've sat on his lap. I saw how large he is and you're telling me he can fit his... errr, how can I say this delicately... rather rotund body down that sooty little chimney?

I don't think so!

And what about that sack he tugs along with him everywhere he goes? How the devil does he get that thing down the chimney?

I mean, I'm just curious.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not skeptical... just a bit curious as to how he does it.

Okay, I have to admit I'm a bit skeptical.

A little bit but hey, that's a logical reaction isn't it?

Besides, the thought of him trying to get down that little sooty chimney really does conjour up some rather humorous visions... mental images of sorts.

Actually, it could lead to a downright hilarious scenario if you just apply a little imagination.

I mean, think about it... our little chubby friend slides down the chimney in his clean, furry, best red and whites lowering his bag of goodies before him as he descends.

Just as he's about to plop onto the fireplace deck he realizes no one opened the damper. Now that would lead to a rather difficult and challenging predicament.

And... if done without any lingering negative after affects it could be funny as all get out.

Now that's funny, yessiree!

At least to me... in my own little world.

But then again, my cousins might enjoy it as much as I would.

The trade off would be that the goodies won't get delivered. So, in the long run it's not worth it.

Someone just needs to remember to keep the damper open. I mean, why push the issue if it doesn't need pushing?

Grandma!!! Grandpa!!!