Goose

My cat has had several names over her little lifetime. Her real name is Bella Bean. Have we ever called her that? Umm.. maybe like 4 times when we first got her. I really thought that was a good cat name and something that would stick. Yeah...no. I never call her Bella. I have this thing where everything has a nickname (Cody has millions), and just like everything else, as soon as the cat came to live with us, she got nicknames! My mom still calls her Bella or Bella Button.. haha.

Most of the time she's Kitty. Then it transformed into Kitty Boo. Then just Boo. Then there are others that just come out of my mouth like Kit Kat, Kiky, Kiky Boo, Boo Boo, Girly and there are lots more I can't think of right now. As she got older, she started doing really crazy stuff, and I would say she was being a silly goose or that she was loosey goosey. And that's when we (I) started calling her Goose. Somehow, that name is sticking more than any other name.. and it's a name of another animal! I asked Cody if we could officially change her name at the vet (like having her name on the vet file makes it official), and he said no. Oh well... she'll probably do something else to make us have a new nickname for her soon anyway..

And this is what she thinks about me and all of the names I have for her.

Out With the Old, In With the New

At the end of August, I said goodbye to the old mustang. I got this car in the summer of 2004, and had it paid off for a year before we started looking for something new. For most of the time that I drove this car, the driver's side window wasn't able to be rolled down without popping out of place. I went for years without rolling it down and not going through drive thrus for years!! I finally got it fixed this past summer, and was able to put the convertible top down again. Now that's it's gone, I sort of miss it... but not that much!

Hugging my car goodbye right before I handed over the keys at the dealership....

About a year ago, Cody and I started talking about getting a new, bigger car for me to drive. We wanted something family friendly, but not a van, and something that would last for a long time. We talked about several different midsize SUV's but we finally found the perfect one! I had this desire for a long time to get a Tahoe, but it was just a little too big. I really wanted that 3rd row that the Tahoe had to offer because I picture myself being that mom that carts my kids and their friends around... I know.. that's way in the future.. but it was in the back of my mind! After talking about it for a while, we just decided to get an SUV with 2 rows. Well after looking around and test driving some, I drove the Toyota Highlander. One of my main wants in my new car was to ride super smooth. The Highlander not only ran perfectly, but it had a 3rd row!!!! : ) I was thrilled! I knew instantly it was the car I'd be getting. It's perfect, I love it, and I'm so thankful Cody loved it too! Every time I get in it, I get excited! I even picked something up out of the back seat the other day and got so happy about how much space there was back there and about how I didn't have to turn sideways and duck under a seatbelt to reach the back floorboard (like in my Mustang). So I got upgraded to my perfect car - my Highlander!

Ain't she pretty??

Can you see my 3rd row back there.. haha.. it really is one of my favorite parts of this car! : )

Southern Sudan with the Lewis Family and Toposa People

One month from today, I will begin my journey to Southern Sudan. With 7 other people from church, I am headed to Sudan to meet up with the Lewis Family who moved from Beaumont to Sudan to be missionaries to the Toposa tribe. Shannon Lewis used to be our missions minister at Calvary, and his wife, Carrie, was a nurse at St. Elizabeth. While he was on mission trips and she worked nights, I would babysit for them every now and then. I'm really excited to see the boys again!! In preparation for this trip, I've have to take an oral typhoid vaccine and get 3 shots (Hep A & B, Tetanus and Yellow Fever). I'm also going to have to learn how to pack everything I will need for 10 days in 1 suitcase and 1 backpack and it all can't weigh more than 44 pounds.... that's a little scary if you know me.. I'm a heavy packer usually taking 10 outfits to choose from for even a 2 day trip! : ) We'll see how I do!

While I'm there, I get to do some homeschooling with the boys while the group goes out to the villages in the morning. In the afternoon, I will be going out with the teams to the villages to tell stories from the bible using the story cloth. The story cloth goes from creation to the resurrection in 42 stories.
I'm SUPER excited to go!!! I'm also extremely nervous, too! I've never been out of the country, and to have Sudan be my first trip is a little scary - but I'm ready for the challenge! God is going to do great things while I'm there... I can't wait to see that family too... I miss them a lot!!!

Pray for the team that's going with me! They are Don Bush, Justin Edgerly, Gordon Fontenot, Clay Jones, Eliot Pages, Giles Sigler, and a mystery woman! The mystery woman can't be named until Carrie finds out who she is.. it's a surprise to her. : )

Don't you love on my map it says "Somewhere in Southern Sudan?" I don't even know where I'm going.. haha!! I just know I'm staying with the Lewis family... wherever they may be in the bush.

Yes, I Do Remember How to Write on My Blog

I'm back... it's been a while! I just never had anything fun to write about, so I've been such a slacker! I posted 2 blogs below... maybe I'll keep up with the blogging... we'll see!

Lamar Football

For the first time in 21 years, Lamar is playing football again! We got season tickets along with Carrie & Justin and Chris & Theresa. We went to Lamar's first game at McNeese last night, and we had a great time! I personally was totally pumped and excited at the beginning, and after halftime, I was soooo sleepy! It was still so much fun though, and we hope that there is that much energy for the whole season! We didn't end up winning though. McNeese beat us 30-27.. SO CLOSE! Next week is the first home game.. should be exciting!

Walking to the stadium...

We finally made it to the stadium, and we were super pumped to watch the game!

LU football players coming on the field..

TOUCHDOWN!

The Cards playing foosball

Chris & Theresa

Cody and me

Carrie and Justin

Final score - we did pretty good for our first game!

Put up your LU fingers!

ha...Carrie and I got pictures with the mascot!