Its A.....

Happy New Year (a few weeks late). I have posted a couple of pictures from a photo shoot that my parents set up when they were in town for the holidays. With my dad finding out that he has prostrate cancer he really wanted to get a family picture taken. It was a great experience as you can see by the pictures. So my dad has been meeting with doctors and is starting treatment. It sounds like this has been caught very early and he has a great chance of beating it. Christy and I went to the doctor on Monday 1.12.09. The appointment was for her last big ultrasound. The baby is healthy, heart looks good, brain looks good and everything is on track. We also found out the sex of the baby while we were there. It is going to be a ……….Girl. Palmer is going to have a "sissy". Talk to everyone soon. Love ya

Happy Holidays. Have you ever seen the movie Parenthood? It’s a movie that came out in 1989 staring Steve Martin and a huge cast. There is a scene in the movie that totally describes how I feel right now. I think it was during a dinner scene and the Grandmother had the following dialog:

[Gil has been complaining about his complicated life; Grandma wanders into the room]

Grandma: You know, when I was nineteen, Grandpa took me on a roller coaster.
Gil: Oh?
Grandma: Up, down, up, down. Oh, what a ride!
Gil: What a great story.
Grandma: I always wanted to go again. You know, it was just so interesting to me that a ride could make me so frightened, so scared, so sick, so excited, and so thrilled all together! Some didn't like it. They went on the merry-go-round. That just goes around. Nothing. I like the roller coaster. You get more out of it.

Life really does feel like a roller coaster right now. My Dad was recently diagnosed with Prostrate cancer. The good news is it sounds like it has been caught early and treatment will begin in a few weeks. My Dad has beat cancer before so I really feel optimistic about him beating again. My Cousin has been in the hospital for the past 14 days with a strange hand infection that multiple doctors have not been able to identify. You see people going through pain and it really makes you appreciate your health. The roller coaster had been going up the last couple of days too. At Christy's most recent doctor appointment she was told that everything looks great with the new baby. Her next big appointment is on 1/12/09. I am 99% sure we will be able to find out the sex of the baby and also look at the chambers of the heart and all that other good stuff. Wed night dinner at church was a little more special this week. After dinner all of the kids & parents built Gingerbread Houses. Here are some pictures.

So keep on enjoying the roller coaster ride it is way more fun than the merry-go-round. Merry Christmas. Love ya

Thanksgiving 2008

We just got back from a great few days off. We spent the night in Pensacola on 11/25 and enjoyed most of 11/26 with my grandparents. Nanny had apple pie all ready for us when we got there. While Palmer played with Nanny I helped Pawpaw add some music to his MP3 player. My grandparents are pretty tech savvy. Not only do they have a Netflix account, but they both have MP3 players….by the way my grandfather is 81 years young. We headed over to Spanish Fort Alabama late on 11/26 and got everything unpacked. We stayed with Christy's grandmother who also hosted Christy's Mom & Dad. As soon as the "pack and play" was set up and the bags were all in place Jerry and I enjoyed a nice cigar and 2 hours of football, golf and politics talk. Thanksgiving day was packed full of family. Tom provided the turkeys again this year. Turkey #1 was cooked on the "Big Green Egg" wow it was good…however Turkey #2 took the blue ribbon. Turkey #2 was deep fried. This method of cooking is becoming more popular and there is no doubt that word of mouth is convincing people to give it a try. I would never try to do it myself, but if you have a chance to try a deep fried turkey you should. After turkey at Christy's grandmothers house we made our way over to Fairhope Alabama to see Christy's other grandmother and that side of the family. It was a full house, everyone was in town for the week. The guys got up early to play golf while the girls went shopping for black Friday deals. I got to play a nice golf course called "Timber creek". Got off to a really slow start, but squeaked out a nice little 87. Palmer got a cold while we were away. Christy and I both think this was caused by being off of her schedule for so long. She woke up Sunday morning around 4:00 am ….so we packed up the car and headed back to Atlanta. It is so nice leaving that early there were zero cars on the road. I took some great pictures during the week. I will post some here in the next couple of days. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving Holiday. It is hard to believe that Christmas is only 3 weeks away. I better start shopping. Talk to you soon. Rick

November Birthday's 2008

What a great weekend!! I got to see so many family members. Nanna and Granddad came into town on Monday and were here all week. Here is a picture of uncle Gordon and his new dog Emma. Emma is such a good dog, she loves giving me kisses.

There are three birthdays to celebrate in the month of November. Granddad's birthday is on 11/11, MeMe's birthday is on 11/13 & Mom's birthday is on 11/19.

We went out to Walter & Sandra's house to celebrate. I got to see everyone. We had such a great time.

On Sunday Gran and Pappa came into town while Mom & Dad went to the Falcon's game. I had so much fun reading my new Elmo book and playing with my toys. I am really looking forward to going to the Gulf for Thanksgiving. This is such a great time of the year. Talk to you soon. -Palmer

Trick or Treat 2008

Trick or Treat 2008!! I went trick or treating for the first time on Friday. I dressed up like a tulip fairy and had such a good time. There were so many kids running around the neighborhood. Mom & Dad told me that I am going to be a sister. Mom is going to have a baby on June 1st 2009. This is very exciting news. Talk to you soon. Love Palmer

Pumpkin Pickin 2008

WOW, Daddy is really a slacker. There has been so much going on in the past few weeks. Palmer has asked me to type this entry for her. Where to begin…. Christy and I just got back from Las Vegas. One of my best friends got married on 10/10/08. We had a blast & made some serious memories. A big thanks goes out to Jimmy & Connie Portwood. The dinner after the wedding was one of the major highlights for us. We are already looking forward to the reception in November. Before we went to Vegas we went to pick out a pumpkin (as you can see). It was kind of sad because it was one of the last times we will be hanging out with Connor and the rest of the Willingham's. They are moving to Belgium for 18 months. I hope we get a chance to visit them in the summer. So what is new on the Palmer front…. Well she is no longer "cruising" she has moved into the walking/running stage. She has added a few words to her vocabulary…. "ELMO" & "Papa" are the ones that come to mind. We are still looking for a Halloween costume. It is going to be hard to top the lady bug from last year. My Nanny & Pawpaw are coming into town for a night on 10/24. A few weeks after that my Mom & Dad (Nanna & Granddad) are going to be in Atlanta. We cant wait to see everyone. I am sure there are 100 more things to say, but I cant think of any of them right now. Talk to you soon. Love ya Rick, Christy & Palmer

St. Simons 2008

We just got back from Saint Simons Island. I got to spend time with my friends Connor & Blake. My dad did not do a very good job of putting sun screen on me and I got sun burned. From now on I am only going to have mommy put sun screen on me. It is hard to believe that summer is almost over. I have all of these cute outfits that I cant where now because Labor Day has passed. I hope we get to go to the beach again soon. Here are some pictures from the weekend. Love ya -Palmer