Brylee's Has Her Own Room

As many of you know Spike Jones our iguana of 16 years passed away back in September. The room he was in was once Jennifer's playroom. Then it was her study that she shared with Ralph our snake. Then Jennifer & Spike shared the room. Then Spike took it over & it was his room/ junk room.

Many asked if I would turn the room into a grandchildren room once we heard we were going to be grandparents. I told them no because for one reason Spike's cage was to big to move out. Another reason was we knew the Family would be moving & to walk into that room after they left would make the move harder on me. Actually I had planned on making it my room. Okay a guest room done in a Native American Indian theme. With a white cedar post bed & all.

Well after Spike died I started putting ideas down for the room. Well my thoughts kept going back to Brylee needing a bed which meant a room of her own. One she could play & sleep in. Her pack & play was set up in the reading area of our bedroom. I loved to wake up listening to her talk or play the weekends she stayed with us. She could not sleep in the pack & play forever. I thought of getting her an air mattress & putting it in the room but that would not work for long & she would need her own space. So after sitting down with Bryan I decided to make the room into the grandchildren room, or for now Brylee's room. I tried to keep it a secret from Jennifer but when packages started coming to the house she asked what were in the boxes & I finally told her my idea. She seemed to love it & I told her I would not tell her anything else until she saw it at Christmas.

I had to be sure the room would be decorated so anyone would feel comfortable staying in it. Male/female. Young/old. I had to be sure that the room would and could reflect additional grandchildren. Thanks to all my friends & family I think we did it. They either let me bounce ideas off them, or helped me make something for the room, or giving me web-sites to look at. It was fun! This room is not finished & will not be for a few years. It will grow with Brylee & any other grandchildren we might have.

Of course I had to add some personal touches. I sanded & painted a step stool that Jennifer had as a child so Brylee could use it to get into the bed. I painted the light switch in stripes to give the room a personal touch. I really need to just cover it in cloth but Jennifer said to leave it. As we come across items through out the house we go put it into Brylee's room.

It was so hard not to mention anything about the room to Jenn. There were times I wanted to bounce ideas off on her. To make it special for Brylee, we got her a Christmas tree to decorate. A purple Christmas tree. Brylee is too young to understand what went into making this HER room. To her it was just another room she plays & sleeps in.

Bryan & I went through the room & made all plugs had covers. We got a hide a rail for her bed to keep her from falling out. of the bed. I was worried that it would not be tall enough but once we put Brylee to bed the first night I was okay with our choice. Brylee was now a big girl with a big girl room.

So, now after 16 years this room has a new identity, it is now Brylee's room!

On January 20 1978, God blessed me with a tiny crying little girl. I was so scared because I had this little life in my arms & I was responsible to keep her safe. To teach her life lessons. I gave her what I knew best... LOVE. She is now a beautiful young lady. She is sweet. She is very caring. She is talented. I'm proud to tell the world she is my daughter!!!! She is also my Best friend!!! Thank you GOD, for such a wonderful gift. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENNIFER!!
The above is what I posted on FB.

Jennifer I wish I could tell the world what a wonderful daughter you are!!!! I mean it. You were just about the most perfect child growing up. Problem free. I sometimes wonder if it is due to us treating you as a little people. Letting you make your on decisions with a little bet of guidance. Listening to you. I tried to put myself in your shoes so that I could understand what you needed at each stage of your life.You are a very carrying person to humans & animals alike.

We called you Angel before you were born since we did not know if we were having a daughter or son. You know I really think the name fits because you show GOD's love every day in so many ways. That is not easy these days. Please stay the way you are don't change, you are the perfect daughter!!!!

Thank you for being our Best friend! We love you!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Jennifer Marie Jarvis McFadden!!!

Dad' Gathering

Our dad has said many times he wished that he could have all his children together in the same place at the same time. Well with 8 children that is really hard. Well I thought I would see what I could do.

So in November I texted, e-mailed or called everyone to see if they would be able to make it around January 7th. I had to asked dad his schedule up to 2 weeks before the gathering if he would be off on January 7th. I then started contacting everyone to let them know it was a go for the get together. I asked everyone to let the grandchildren know so if they could come it was the icing on the cake.

Bill & I talked about flying Toney home to surprise both mom & dad. I knew he would not fly because, well Toney does not fly! We called & made him the offer but NO, he was not getting into a tube & flying 25000 feet above the earth. Yep that's Toney.

Dad knew I was coming & bringing lunch. Bill used the excuse to come look at dad's computer. Dad started suspecting something when mom got up & started chili beans & home made rolls. She would ask him to vacuum & do a few other things around the house. He even told me he was thinking about calling in to work to ask to be put on the schedule. He even threw out that he needed to rake the leaves. I told him I would help him with the leaves after lunch. That never got done. :) Mary & Weid showed up & said they were in the neighborhood & thought they would drop in. Then Debbie & Kenneth dropped in to return the air mattress. Dad would throw out comments to see if anyone would let on what was going on. I mean really all of us showing up at the house at the same time? Dad even said he texted one of our sisters that we were all there & that she had texted back, why was she not invited to the fun? Richard & his family came in & this really got dad. Once we made sure everyone was there I told dad that we had tried to make a wish come true & have all of his children one place at the same time. We told him how we talked to Toney about flying in to surprise him & mom. The look on his face was PRICELESS.We told him that due to family illness 2 of our sisters could not make it. Well he loved it!

The bonus points were that one of the smoke alarms was chirping. So all the sons made sure to change out all smoke alarms batteries through out the house. Weid asked if any light bulbs needed to be changed out. (We did not need either dad or mom falling through a window again.) There is a joke in the picture if you can find it.

I understand that dad talked about it for days. I wonder how many times he told his co-workers? I guess that means we made his day.

Thanks everyone for bringing food or drinks. The cake was delicious! I'm still waiting on the recipe. I believe we all enjoyed the visit & watching dad try to figure out what was going on. We really need to do this again soon.

Love you Dad!!

Project 52: 02/52 Snow

Snow in Texas does not have much of a chance.

Project 52 01/52 Eggs

I should have asked if they wanted a blindfold!

Welcome 2012!!

Well it looks like the Jarvis FunHouse blog will be a little more active. We are going to join many of you in the Project 52. I will try to add little Jarvis FunHouse news as I can.

Watch out 2012 here we COME!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving 2011

Wow can you believe it is Thanksgiving already? As many of you know we are not having Thanksgiving at our home this year. We are a growing family & with that comes changes & new traditions to be made.

You know I will miss not having all our family & friends together. That is what we enjoyed most. We could invite anyone we wanted to. Friends, family, co-workers & friends of family and/or friends. There is always next year. I loved planning the meal so this year I did a different type of planning. Almost done. I still looked at crafts to do, maybe we will do one at Christmas. So you would think that I would just relax. You are so FUNNY!!! I still cleaned the house & worked in the yard like I would any other year. The only thing missing is the fresh flowers in the house. LOL. So since I have been behind most of the year, I will say that I'm getting a head start on Christmas. :)

May each and everyone of you have a Wonderful, FUN & safe Holiday. Don't eat too much. Don't spend all your money on Black Friday. When you are counting your blessing I hope they multiply.

Remember you are a blessing to us & we love you very much.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Phase III

As many of you know we have lived in our home for 28 years. The last time we painted was 20 years ago. To be honest the paint held up really well but it needed to be freshened up. Our home is a lot like us. Getting older. It has a few bumps & imperfections like we do as we get older. We have had leaks in the ceilings that have stained a few areas. It also has kept us safe, warm, protected. So we thought it was time to give it some TLC back.

I have been planning & thinking & re-thinking all the little details of the changes I would like to make to our home when & if we ever had the chance. Well here we are!!!! Oh don't think it is over yet we still have Phase 4 this will be taking down the rails in the living room, building up the living room floor & putting in tile & wood floors. But we are talking of NOW not 4 years from now.

WOW what a change!!!! Now most of the rooms just got a fresh coat of paint ceiling & walls. The doors & trim are now painted. New nickel hardware. New electrical outlets. The only rooms that did not get this nice update is Spikes room & the Master Bathroom. The bathrooms was done a few years ago so we though t we would save some money & wait. Spikes room, well we are waiting out his life before doing it. It will be a guest bedroom so there will be a lot of taking down shelves & removing carpet, etc...so we are waiting.
Jennifer's room got new closet doors.
The Living Room & Dining room had a lot of changes. Not only did they get a fresh coat of paint but we took down the brown beams & added new light fixtures. The Dining room also now has accent walls, no more wall paper!!
The Kitchen also received a change. No more plastic diffuser light. We have opened it up & added track lighting. This was an easy change & made such a huge difference!
The table in the kitchen received a new light.
Now for you Cary, Eric, Tommy & other tall people in the family we have changed out the ceiling fan in the Den. It is more of a flush mount style so we can all wall under it.

As I have said in the past this house holds A LOT of memories. Even now it brings back a favorite one from about 20 years ago.......the beautiful little girls walking down the hall sing......
"Don't touch the wall, uncool, don't touch the walls,uncool.......... :)

What a Year so for

What a year!

I’m not sure about you but The Jarvis FunHouse has already had a busy year and it is only June! Jennifer, Cary & Brylee moved to Maine. Kim, Tommy & the girls to Ohio. Erica, to a new home in The Colony. Dad & Barbara moved to Little Elm. Spencer is now an Eagle Scout & will be graduating soon. Eric got a promotion. Bryan & I had our first holiday out of Texas. Bryan & Jeff won The Brian Collins Memorial Award. Bryan & I had a very busy 2 weeks with visits from Toney & Angie. Then Jennifer, Cary & Brylee came in 5 days later. Let’s throw in the Texas LAFS Convention. Ashton is now wearing his new leg & doing well in Pre-K.

We have had to say goodbye to love ones & hello to new little angels. We were honored with being invited to the wedding of a young man we watched grow up. So many more changes are on the horizon.

One that is VERY SPECIAL to us, Thanksgiving, will not be held at The Jarvis FunHouse this year. Bryan & I will be in Maine with Jennifer & Cary. Jennifer will try her hand at preparing the Thanksgiving meal this year. She does not have to worry - she will have plenty of help & advice. Maybe more than she would like. I’m sure you are all invited but you will need to let her know how many will be coming. If you can’t join us but also don’t want to cook and would like to enjoy some familiar faces for Thanksgiving, Bill has offered to host Thanksgiving @ his place. He lives in Euless. He has the same concept as we do here at The Jarvis FunHouse & that is, everyone is invited & if you know someone who does not have someplace to go bring them along. Please just let him know how many. Some of you may want to start your own Thanksgiving Tradition(s). I hope you share them with us. Yes, there will be other Thanksgivings here @ the Jarvis FunHouse, just not this year of 2011.

This is really just a heads up to let you know if you had planned on joining us this year we will be traveling. I will be making M&M cookies in Maine so I can watch Brylee enjoy a favorite family treat. Oh, what about your cookies?!? Erica has been baking M&M cookies since I put the recipe out on the blog. Bill can do the No Bake Cookies, so it sounds like you are all covered. I would just contact them & ask them very nicely if they will make your favorite treats. HEY! I’m not sure I like this, you will not need me for Thanksgiving any more. L The upside is that Jennifer & Cary, along with Brylee will start some of their own Thanksgiving traditions, along with a few of you.

However, it does look like we will be having a Texas Christmas here this year. Mark your calendars if you think you would like to join us. I will send out more info closer to the holiday.

Remember we love all of you & it will be a little strange not seeing everyone, even stranger possibly having a White Thanksgiving! But the times, they are a changing…..

So now on with the rest of the year………….

Bryan & Tressia

{Bryan wants Thanksgiving Lobster in Maine!}

Elma E. Cummons

Elma E Cummons 01/16/21-04/15/11. It is the Dash between the years that matter. She lived them to her fullest. She was a sweet, kind & caring person. She was an Angel on Earth.
You will be missed.

Airline Delays!

Well let me tell you about our plane experience coming & going.
The airline we used will remain annoynomous. Our friend Jeff offered to take us & pick us up from the airport. This was great since we had the baby & he was sweet enough to help us with the luggage @ the airport. Having Brylee it was a BIG help and allowed one of us to focus on Brylee. Thank You Jeff!
Going through security was not too bad. There was a nice gentleman that helped us push all the tubs we had through the x-ray machine. I did have to step aside to allow security to check the bottles of milk I had packed for Brylee. They just had to wipe a strip over the seal. The agent was nice & was very polite.
While walking around with Brylee there was an announcement that our plane was not at the gate yet. This was the first plane out & they had not even started to bring it from the hanger area. Bryan comment was " they need a course in Hanger Management". Brylee was getting hungry so we gave her a bottle & off to sleep she went. Once we got on the plane another announcement was made, "we are sorry but we are experiencing electrical/mechanical problems & we have requested a mechanic". 20 minutes later another announcement was made, "we are still waiting on the mechanic". During this time Brylee is restless but not too bad. We had a great woman sitting in our row that offered & got down bags when we needed them. She offered her blanket if Brylee got too cold. Very sweet person.
Well, we finally were able to start our taxiing when another announcement was made. We had to have the weight of the plane re-calulated. WHAT!!!!!! Well, once we got off the ground everything went a little better. A few passagers were upset that they would still have to pay for a snack since we were delayed 1.5 hours. Not a problem, Brylee had her snacks & she was happy so we were too!

Coming home...
We started to the airport a little early so we could get a couple of Geo Caches before getting to the airport. We stopped to eat lunch & I could tell that Jennifer was getting really upset & I decided that we would go on to the airport & they would drop us off. Cary said no, they would stay with us until we left. I did not like my little girl being upset. The weather from their house to the airport was rain, some sleet & some snow. Bryan & I wanted them safe at home. So we went to the airport to say good bye. As I got out of the car Brylee started crying & reaching for me as to say don't go! That broke my heart!!!! Then I hugged Cary & asked him to take care of my family, all 4 of them! I hugged Jennfer & told her I love her & we would see her soon. We stepped inside the airport & waved as they finally left. A few minute later Bryan's phone rang & you could hear Brylee doing the Super Chicken song....all is better!
We picked up a couple of magazines & went to the gate & waited. Then there is an announcement that the plane coming in from DFW is 15-20 mintutes late. So once we get on the plane & settled in there is another announcement, we will be delayed while they de-ice the plane. Well I could accept that! Once we get in the air the pilot annouces the route home to make up time for the delays. We were to land at 7:05. We landed at 8:05. We get on the ground & another announcement was made that there was a plane at our gate that was not able to be moved & they would be looking for us another gate. Well, after sitting for 15-20 mintutes they were able to move the plane. Bryan had texted Jeff that we were down & Jeff sent back one saying that there were a lot of people at the baggage claim waiting on luggage. It seems there was a problem of some kind. Fortunately we had our bags on the plane with us & by the time we got off the plane the baggage area was cleared.
Well, I guess I better get use to delays & problems...I have some very important people I need to visit!

Week with Brylee!

As many of you know Brylee spent the week with T-ma & Poppy recently. Since we knew it would be some time before we had the chance to play & have a good time we centered everything & everyday around her. Here are a few things we did that week: Saturday: Went to Ham & Eggs to have breakfast with Jennifer & Cary before they started on their long road trip. After the tearful goodbyes we started to get thing ready for the day. Sarah (a friend's daughter from the fire dept. Sarah is very special to us & we love her!) came over to bring us our Girl Scout Cookies. She played with Brylee & even read a book to her. She was wonderful with Brylee & she enjoyed the time. We went shopping for some cooler clothes since she had winter clothes but we are in Texas & the weather was going to be in the 70's most of the week. We played at the Vista Ridge play area & the a couple older girls wanted to play with her. We stopped to play in the Mom's Lounge, for just a minute. Since this area had no one in it & she could enjoy herself. Went to the grocery store. Read with Poppy. Sunday: Enjoyed breakfast & tried to feed self. Of course we shared our orange juice with her. Played with Giggles on the computer. Went to the Grapevine Mall & played on the interactive screen. The interactive screen had scenes of balloons, cocoa with marshmallows, peacocks plus 4 more. This took up about 20 minutes as we entered the mall & as we left. We went to Build a Bear where she did not care about a stuffed animal but wanted to run out in the mall & be free. Now once we picked a bear & started the process she was okay except the stuffing of the bear. The special reason for going to Build a Bear is so Bryan & I could record a special message for her. The message was "Go Brylee, Go Brylee, Go Brylee, T-ma loves you!" then Bryan recorded "Remember Poppy loves you too!" We wanted a special outfit for it & found the best one, a Stars Player uniform. Perfect. We had the chance to Skype with her mommy & daddy that evening. Monday: Poppy & I took her to her last Mother Goose Time at the library. Not only was it due to the move but the class is for up to 15 months old & she just turned 15 months old. We went to the mall & played in the play area for a little while.
Playing around the house & chasing each other around the house. Tuesday: We, including Poppy, went to the big girl class of Toddler Time. She was not impressed with it because there was no parachute time. But she did try to participate the best she could. We ran an errand to Tom Thumb to pick up the Turkey steaks & she got an Elmo "boon" Amy dropped by to deliver more Girl Scout cookies & to see Brylee 1 last time before she moved to Maine. Went to Fry's to pick up some monitor screens for Poppy's Corporate office. Ran around the house with a picture of Chester. I had to take it away from her a few days later when she started eating the paper.
Was playing Giggles & sneezed this time she hit the table across the bridge of her nose. BIG OUCH!!!!!! Poppy & T-ma taught her the Super Chicken song & yes she is still going around saying it. Wednesday: Went to the Play Area @ Vista Ridge Mall. Ate spaghetti be herself. A little messy but she ate & feed herself. Played with the instruments that we have in the Study. Lots of singing & dancing going on. Thursday: This was a quite day. Played with her jewelry & a lot of Valley girl talk going on. Reading of books. Playing with Giggles. Chasing and being chased around the house.
On Friday I woke up @ 1:45 going through a check list in my head, did I have everything for Brylee packed? Did I pack everything I needed? Do I have the animals cared for while we are gone? So I finally got up @ 2:15 & Brylee got up at 2:30. So we started getting everything around & a good friend Jeff came @ 5:30 to drive us to the airport so we could take Brylee to her new home. The week was the best I have had in years. I LOVED reading to Brylee. To play with the jewelry & talk "Valley Girl" with her. Chasing her & she chasing me around the house. Bryan & I teaching her Super Chicken theme & 123 UGH! Getting the instruments down & enjoying the time to play, sing & dance.I did notice that she began to get clingy earlier in the week. This could be good or bad.
I had always hoped & dreamed that being a grandmother would be a lot like this. I want all of Brylee's visits either living close or far away to be just like this....FUN!!!. Looking forward to our next visit!!

As many of you know Brylee has been a JOY for Bryan & I. She is the sweetest little girl. On Monday Night the kids came over and had supper with me. Jenn cooked so I came home & was spoiled! Well I was following Brylee around & we went into the bathroom, one of her favorite rooms in the house. She loves to sit on the scales. I tell her to quit showing off! She weights 17.8 pounds, light weight. Well she started just talking & chattering suddenly she had this expression on her face & she took her voice up higher & her hand jester changed. She had me laughing so hard! I'm just not sure what she was saying but she got really into it. Her mama came to check out the laughter & Brylee did not do as much once her mama can to watch.
Well we made our way to Jenn's room & she pulled out a couple of juggling pins & started hitting them against each other then would hit the floor,then do a little dance step or two.(It reminded me of the group STOMP) She was really getting into it. Her mama came in & she sort of stopped performing.
So I decided that she was just entertaining me that evening.So with Jennifer cooking supper for me. Brylee providing the entertainment. Cary & Chester being themselves & being there enjoying the evening, it was a PERFECT evening!

God's Hand

Wow what a 24 hours! We had bad weather come in on Tuesday Feb 1st. Even with the sleet hitting every window in the house I went to work. I put some cat litter in the back of my car "just in case."

I got to work and finally found the parking space lines to park my car. I walked up to the doors & got blown to the side twice before I got to the door. The front door was hard to open due to the snow/sleet/rain build up. I finally got in. We had to watch the front door because of the build up, but we got everyone in & out.

Work went well & 6 of the office employees showed up. The RSR were sent home because it was too icy to be out. The phones were basically dead except from the calls forwarded from our East Texas office. (They did not have same weather we did)

We decided to go home @ 2:00. Yes! I will get home, put on some comfortable clothes & relax. Well just getting out of the parking lot I had to put out cat litter 2-3 times. Maria noticed we were not behind her so she tried to call, but I was working on getting us out of there. (Dawn & I carpool on the way home) As we came out of the parking lot Maria came back to check on us.

We did good on the main streets, slow & easy. As we entered the apartment complex I had a thought to let Dawn out in the front, but I did not want to make her walk in the cold. She later told me she had the same thought. Well guess who tried for an hour and a half to get out of the complex? ME!

It seems the complex did not think to put out salt & sand for the inclines at the exits of the complex. Yes there are 2 exits & you could not get out at either end. I was not the only one having problems. 2 Verizon vans & a pizza delivery guys was having the same problem, along with other vehicles. I slid so close to parked cars. I slid sideways. I had to go in reverse so many times. I finally gave it up & went inside Dawn's apartment, shaking from the cold & relief of being safe.

The thrill of the night was not watching everyone else slide around trying to get out but a pick up truck that slide into the complex & barely missed a park car. Once he got stopped he could not move at all. After a lot of work & apartment staff & neighbors they got the pick up truck to move BUT then I saw STUPID!!! come out. The people helping were standing between the pick up truck & parked cars trying to guide the pick up away from the other cars. I was a nervous wreck watching. I only could imagine someone being pinned between the vehicles.

Well, God was watching over everyone & they got pick up truck moved but not parked correctly. After shaking from cold and/or relief I was able to get a plan together. I called my neighbor & asked him to take care of Vader @ 5:00 if I did not get home. I asked Dawn to ask her husband just to part in the front of the apartment complex so we could walk up & he could take me home. I wonder if the 2 Verizon Vans & 1 pizza delivery guys ever got out. They were still there when I left @ 4:45. Well, the plan can together. I got home to be with my children (the 4 legged ones).

I also discovered that the pipes in the kitchen froze up even with the cabinet doors being open. So since I'm home I have the faucet fully open so that maybe once they thaw out there will not be too much pressure & the pipe will not bust.

When Dawn & Craig went home they decided not to park out front but into the parking area. (I wonder if part of the decision was made because there were no parking spaces in front of the complex) Well they can not get out now.

So what did I learn from all this? This was God's work. He knew I would get out this morning & get to work as early as I could. God wanted me to stay home today. Taking away my car was the only way he could do it. He wanted to keep me safe & sound!

I did get up @ regular time this morning. I knew we would be going in a little later so I took the time to washed 2 loads of clothes. Took care of the flowers Jenn gave me for her birthday. Prepared some mail to go out. Have my lunch really to throw into my lunch bag. Well I'm still here. So I guess I need to warm up some lunch & maybe a nap this afternoon. Enjoy the day that God gave me.

Thank goodness the Ground Hog is predicting an early Spring!!!!!

Maine or Bust!

Well, as many of you have heard, Jennifer, Cary, Chester & Brylee are moving to Maine. Those of you that read my Facebook at the first of the year saw the post of "lots of changes & challenges" are coming to the Jarvis Fun House". Well this is one & probably the biggest.

This is something we have expected for a long time. Moving out of Texas has always been a dream of Jennifer's so when Cary had the same dream it was bound to come true. Some friends & family were very surprised that when Jenn & Cary announced they were expecting I did not completely transform a room for the baby. Nope, I knew they would be moving & for me to have a room for the baby would have made it even harder for me once they leave. Actually one of the first questions I asked after they told us they were having a baby I ask, "will you be here or up north?"

Oh believe me Brylee never needed anything when she came to visit. She had her bed, high chair, toys, changing table, etc. Brylee took over the WHOLE house, not just a room. So who needs a room when you have the house!?

We are also losing our support team. To turn around & not see Jenn or Cary when Ashes & Petunia are doing appearances will be a little different.We will miss our newest member,L'ashes. The upside to this is that they want to take the LAFS program up north. Since the area has more Volunteer Fire Depts then paid this would really benefit the area. Of course Bryan & I will now help support them in this effect & do what ever we can to help them.

We are still facing a lot of changes & challenges. So while we take care of things here Jennifer & Cary will be getting us a "Closet" for the times we need to get away to catch our breath. What better excuse than it's time to visit the family!!

We are looking forward to the Fall beauty. A White Thanksgiving. A White Christmas. Visiting the New England states. Visiting Canada. Us planning a road trip one Summer. We plan on going one direction to get there & a different direction for the trip back. What a wonderful way to see our beautiful country! Who knows, we might even have a special little person with us!

We have also talked about when we order gifts online for Jenn, Cary and/or Brylee we will just have it shipped straight to them. Most of them offer gift wrapping. We might even talk with Brenda & Gary to see if we can ship things to their place so prying eyes can not peek.

Bryan & I have talked about the ways we can make Brylee's visits here even more special. Dessert First Wednesday. Picking out flowers for the yard. Making tu-tus. Staying up late. Visiting with family & friends. Visiting all the attractions that D/FW can offer. We hope to make a tradition while visiting Maine by making bird feeders out of pine cones and/or string fruit or making shortbread cookies for our little feather friends.

I think the hardest part will be missing the physical hugs & kisses we love to share with Brylee. Or just holding her while we read to her. Of course is not like it was 100-125 years ago that when family left & you might hear from them once a year. We are now in the 21st Century! We have phones, e-mails, blogs, Facebook & SKYPE. I think SKYPE will be my favorite!

So as you can see we are trying to approach this with a positive attitude. Yes,there have been & will be more tears.

All I can say is that the Jarvis FunHouse is now on the move. Not only will we wreck havoc in Texas but now in Maine! Watch out Maine here we come!