The aromas of Thanksgiving permeate the house.   Not the "hard" stuff like turkey, dressing, or gravy; rather, the sweet smell of freshly baked pecan and coconut cream pies.

Yes, we went over to Travis's Saturday afternoon and collected about 10 pounds of pecans, leaving 100's more behind.  Johnna also dutifully assisted with shelling the pecans ( Read more... )

An incident occurred just before Christmas that still has mixed emotions rolling through me.

We began paying Johnna an allowance from the first week she moved in with us.  She earns the money through chores, so it's not a free gift.  This sweetheart wanted to buy her mom and dad's Christmas presents with her own money, so I took her out one ( Read more... )