Grandpa Bates has 'fallen asleep'

My grandfather (Grandpa Bates) passed away on Monday night. He had lived a very long and happy life, and seems to have 'fallen asleep'. I am sad that I haven't seen him in over a year, but am rejoicing in the fact that I will see him again in heaven. He was a man who loved the Lord and served God most of his life. He leaves behind his dear wife, and 3 sons, plus grandchildren, and many great grandchildren. All who know him have fond memories of him. My two oldest children remember laughing the las time they saw him as he was pretending to use his walking sitck as a rifle and played 'cops and robbers' with Samuel on our last visit.

Samuel's (6 year old son) initial response to the news of his great Grandfather's death...."Wow...he was nearly 100 years old!" and "I can't believe I know someone in heaven now!"

Please keep the family in your prayers. I will be taking Aleah with me to Florida for the funeral and to spend some time with my grandmother. We leave Saturday (2/2) and return the following Saturday.

Saturday Morning

Saturday mornings in the Dryden household include....dancing to 'High School Musical 2' while unloading the dishwasher,wrestling with Daddy on the bed....Aleah comes prepared as you can see!...and everyone having a turn on a computer!

We hope that you all have a fantastic weekend! Enjoy the little things in life...we certainly do!

Dissertation Completed!

Dean has finally finished his dissertation. After being literally locked in the bedroom with a rocking chair, tray table, and laptop for a week and a half...he has emerged!!! Much to the relief of me and the kids! The paper was due today at 5pm and that is exactly when it arrived at Oakhill!

Dean has been wearing the same pare of jeans the whole time he was working on the paper. (Kind of like a lucky sock.) These are now known as his DJ's - Dissertation Jeans.

It has been a long hard week and a half. But God is good and He gives us what we need...like my Mom being here for most of that time to help with the kids and to take my mind off the stressful situation we were in. I only had to deal with this stressful life for a weekend by myself after Mom left, and that was more than enough for me. It now almost seems like a distant memory! HA!

Toothless

Sammy is now officially toothless. His second top tooth came out on New Year's Eve! The tooth fairy has been working overtime this Christmas!

SPOONS!

Today we spent the day playing games indoors. Dean is working on his dissertation, and it was very cold outside! We had a great time playing SPOONS...we just wish that our American family could be here with us to a a SPOONS CHAMPIONSHIP game. As you can see, Aleah tried to join in our game as well. She certainly would cheer for everyone as they grabbed a spoon.