N - Independence Day

Mary, Joel and I drove to Houston for the holiday weekend. We stopped in Arlington on the way down to pick up Mary's uncle David. David's daughter, Mary's cousin, Jana Kay lives in Kingwood near Mary's parents. Jana Kay and her husband welcomed their first child on July 3, Jayden. We were still a couple of hours north of Houston when she made her arrival but we got to see her several times over the weekend. She's a very pretty baby girl. We enjoyed the Kingwood fireworks on the 4th. Here is a family picture before the fireworks started.


Joel already enjoys watching sports on TV. Now I've started teaching him to like to play sports. No golf clubs yet but here is a picture of Joel going after the basketball.


Joel is really active now, especially in his crib. Here is a picture of him in the process of getting ready for bed. He's a really happy little guy about 98% of the time.

M - Ferguson Family Fun 2008

We had our annual family get together a couple of weeks ago.  This year we went to Lake Tenkiller.  On Saturday we got up in the morning and went to the marina where Darrell and Willa Rae rented a pontoon boat for the family. Baby Joel took a while to settle down.  Mostly we just had to take his life jacket off. Shhh, don't tell.  

That afternoon, we took all the kiddos to the pool.  Baby Joel decided he really likes the water there, and now, he splashes me all the time when he takes a bath.  Lily had no fear going down the water slide, and Liam is quite a diver off the diving board.  

In the evening there were steaks, potatoes and smores to eat.  Don't you wish you were there?  Sunday at lunch a big storm came through making grilling difficult.  Uncle Joel had his handy wok though.  So, he saved the day by cooking on the range.  The smoke detectors only went off once!  Here are a few pictures.

Neil and Joel in their shades

Joel and Stefani on the pontoon

Aunt Di and Lily

Uncle Joel grilling inside

Uncle Matt and Luke fishing.  

They're the only ones who caught fish, I think.

M - A day at Granny & Grump's

A few weeks ago, Neil had a conference in Tulsa.  So, Joel and I went with him and stayed at his parents house.  While Neil was busy working, Joel and I were busy having fun with Granny and Grump.  

His favorite thing was the swing at their house.  Who wouldn't love a swing that is attached to a branch much taller than the house.  

My camera doesn't record sound, but here is a video of the swinging from a distance.  You just have to see how far he goes in this swing.  

M - Bible Class in McAlester

Nick is Joel's cousin.  He was born three days before Joel.  He weighs somewhere between 2 and 4 pounds more than Joel.  He is seriously one of the sweetest babies in the world.  Even when he was crying after getting shots, Nick still managed to smile at the nurses.  He went to Bible class for the first time in McAlester over Memorial Day weekend.  He and Joel sat by each other.  They look happy don't they?

Approximately 4 minutes after this picture was taken, I was back in the room because Joel was heard by literally everyone in the auditorium screaming at the top of his lungs.  What was wrong?  His sweet, precious cousin kept taking his pacifier away from him and he had enough.  When I picked up Joel, Nick gave me the biggest grin.  

M-For he's a jolly good fellow

On this Father’s Day, I’d like to take a moment to reflect on some of my favorite things about my dad. It’s no secret that we’ve bumped heads a few times, but what else can you expect from two pretty stubborn people. So, here’s a list of five of my favorite memories.

1. We used to go out in the evenings in the cul-de-sac and play Frisbee together. He’s really shockingly good at Frisbee. It may have been only a few times that we did this, but for some reason it really made an impression on me that he came outside to play.
2. On my 18th birthday he bought me my own fishing pole and took me to a friend’s lake house. We spent the whole day fishing together. This is by far one of my favorite days.
3. During my junior and senior year of college, he used to call my cell phone almost every day on his way to work. He’d leave me a message saying how proud of me he is. There were definitely times when I erased the message before really listening to it, but there were other days when I saved them and listened to them over and over.
4. One year he came to Dear Ole Sooner Youth Camp as a teacher. I was pretty nervous that he would cramp my style, but really it was great to have him there. Secretly, I wish he’d come again.
5. There was a time when he commuted to Kingwood from Edmond every week. My mom and I would go to the airport each Friday evening to pick him up. He never failed to save his peanuts from the flight for me.

These are just a few moments in a thousand spent that I could write about. Instead, I’ll stop here and say, I love you, Dad!

M - A little catching up

I apologize to all of our fans out there for not keeping you up to date on the life and times of our little family. I'm pretty sure I'm only addressing my grandma and my dad. I think everyone else gave up on us a long time ago.

I made it through my first Mother's Day with only a few tears. Neil had a cradle blanket that belonged to Grandpa Emmitt framed with a picture of Grandpa as a baby and a picture of him holding Joel. It was the perfect gift and definitely made me cry.

We've started tearing up our tile floors. There's a little dust in the air and it's not fun to walk around in bare feet. But, it means progress. We've had four tiles torn out for a year, and we've finally started the replacement process.

Apparently, the people who lived here before us didn't bother to get all the glue off before they laid their tile down. So, that means we have to go through two layers of glue before our tile gets to be put down. It's such a mess!

Here are a few pictures of Joel enjoying some of his favorite things.

The Johnny Jumper

The ExerSaucerThe Swing

I know he doesn't look like he's having fun in the swing, but that's how he fell asleep in it. This last picture is purely for me, and those of you who claim to know me will know why.

N - David Witthoft, I Salute You

If you haven't heard of David Witthoft, he is a 12 year old boy from Connecticut. He received a Brett Favre Green Bay Packers jersey for Christmas 2003. He wore the jersey on December 25, 2003. He wore the jersey on December 26, 2003. He wore the jersey on December 27, 2003, and every day thereafter until April 23, 2008 when increased fashion awareness prevailed. That's one thousand five hundred eighty one consecutive days, SAME SHIRT! He's the Cal Ripken of jersey wearing; the Bob Barker of same shirts; the Methuselah of "my favorite tshirt". Honorable mention goes to David's devoted mother who washed his beloved jersey every other day and mended it when necessary.

Makes me wonder what I would wear every day if I could get away with it. Mary has accused me of wearing my Durant Lion Classic tshirt a little too often. I got it around January 1990 and still don it on occasion . . . OK, maybe she has a point there. Tough call but given the opportunity I bet I could come up with something.