Let the Decorating Begin...

Welcome to our home! We decorated the mantle and put up the family room Christmas Tree. Pretty!! How I love to decorate with Christmas music in the background. Bixby even sat still for the one picture of the fireplace! She is a big girl, almost 9 months! Happy Holidays!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving meal at my sister's home. She is the best cook evah!! My brother and his wife and son joined us and a good time was had by all.

My mom was not feeling well and left early. I called this morning and she is feeling much better. She is 89 and battles congestive heart failure. She went to the ER on Wednesday morning and she has bronchitis. Let's hope and pray that she doesn't end up in the hospital.

I hope everyone enjoyed Thanksgiving as much as I did. I am so thankful for many things but most of all my family!!

It's time to start Christmas shopping!!

Cabo Trip

Here are a few pictures from our trip!

Dinner with the Beach's and the Persinger's!

Cooking class with Kim and Linda.

Tim and Dan's tattoos!

The famous arch.

Our Cabo trip was wonderful! We stayed with the Beach's who were the perfect host and hostess. We met new friends and ate wonderful food. A good time was had by all.

We are sad to be back to the real world. Tim has a stomach bug and he's not feeling well.

Here are a few pics from our trip.

Another great weekend...

This past weekend we went to Elgin, IL to see Amber play with her Chicago Bandits team. They were playing the Akron Racers and it was a tough series. The Bandits lost both Saturday and Sunday, BooHoo!

We saw great softball plus we saw AMBER PATTON and Jennie Finch and Crystal Bustos! Three of the greatest softball players in the world!!!

We met Abby and Carl for dinner on Saturday night at Wildfire. I had the BEST roasted vegetables, they were really good! After dinner, we all went to Amber's game and enjoyed the festivities at the ball park!

It was a great weekend! Thanks Amber for your hospitality!!!

I'll end with a picture that was taken by the Bandits photographer on Sunday.

Donna

Chicago + 4th of July = Perfect Weekend

Our weekend started on Saturday with a trip to Wrigley Field and a Cubs game. We went with Dale and Rita Colee and met Lynn, Susan, and Logan Grider at the game. We enjoyed drinks at Murphy's before the game, after all, it was 5 o'clock somewhere! It was a little early to start drinking but heh, it was the 4th of July!!

Pictured in the front row: Amber, me, and Rita.
Back row: Susan, Logan, Lynn, Dale, and Tim.















We decided we to go into the stadium where we were seated in the 3rd row behind the Cubs dugout, awesome seats!!

Tim and I at the game!

Dale and Rita at the game.

Picture of Theriot.

We stayed at the Standard Club and took pictures in the Lobby. We then cabbed it to Maggionos, where we enjoyed italian family style dining. YUMMY!!!

Picture of Amber and me.

Picture of Tim and Donna.

Picture of Amber and Tim.

On Sunday we enjoyed brunch at the Palmer House and on a whim, the Colee's suggested going to see the play, Jersey Boys. We went to the 2:00 matinee and it was a great play, with great music, LOVED it!

After the play we ate at California Pizza Kitchen and then off to Amber's Bandit game in Elgin. Abby and Carl joined us for the fundraising game for the Susan G. Komen Cancer Foundation. I am wearing my DePaul breast cancer t-shirt.

We said our goodbyes to Amber, Abby and Carl and left for home. It was a late night but so worth it! Overall, it was a great weekend with great friends, good food, and a great time!!!

Donna

Amber's USA debut...

Amber is in Chula Vista, California this week training with the 2009 USA National Team. She is on the 2009 Japan Cup Team which will be traveling to Japan to compete on July 28th through Aug. 3. I think these are the correct dates. How exciting is that!!!!

The first picture is Amber's profile picture that is posted on the USA Softball website which you can find here. http://www.usasoftball.com/bios.asp?uid=4901

The second picture is the 2009 National Team with the girls from Lifetime's Diet Tribe. How cool is that!!! Amber is first girl on the left on the bottom row. We have talked to her and she is very tired. She has been living out of her suitcase for 2 1/2 weeks so she will be ready to go home to Chicago tomorrow.

As for other Patton news, Bixby had her second haircut yesterday! She is so stinking cute!!!

I wanted her hair cut shorter because of the hot weather and she looks very skinny and much more like a puppy!! We adore her, she is a wonderful puppy even though she chewed up my favorite Croc sandal. It is pictured in the photo where she is sitting. Oh well, it was time for a new pair of Crocs, ha ha!!! Tim and I are heading to Chicago town this weekend. We are going to take in a Cubs game on Saturday and then on Sunday we will travel to Elgin to watch Amber play in a Susan G. Komen fundraising game against the 18 and under Northern IL Lightning. Ashley has to work so she will be staying home with Bixby. I hope everyone has a happy and safe 4th of July! Donna

A Fun Weekend It Was

This past weekend was a very busy one for the Pattons. On Saturday, our oldest daughter, Abby had a shower for her friend Cynda. Cynda is Abby's high school friend so she and the other bridesmaids held a shower in Springfield, IL in Cynda's honor. It was an outdoor shower and the weather was perfect along with everything else. I helped Abby with the Candy Buffet and the decorations. Here are some pictures of the shower and Cynda.

On Sunday, we had a college graduation party for our daughter Ashley. We decided to have a tent with lanterns hanging from the ceiling of the tent. Ashley likes bright colors so she picked out the plate, napkins, and tablecloths. We set up the food table in the dining room and the dessert table on the kitchen table. Ashley helped decorate and make the food for her own party! Abby and her husband Carl also were a tremendous help! Everyone pitched in and everything turned out perfectly. The weather was hot and humid so not all the guest enjoyed the outdoor tent. Some of the other guest braved the muggy weather and stayed under the tent only to venture out to get refreshments and the occasional game of bags. We rented a slushy machine and served strawberry daiquiris, this was a huge hit! Here are some pictures of the party! Enjoy!

Have a good day and I will post more later!

Donna

Bixby is getting bigger!

Our Bixby Belle is getting bigger everyday! She went to see Dr. Bill at Brush College Animal Hospital on Monday. She weighed in at 21.9 lbs. He said she would probably be losing her baby teeth within the next 2 to 3 weeks. BooHoo, I want her to stay little with little teeth, LOL!!! She is potty trained and rarely has an accident. She loves going outside and especially playing with her buddy Gunnr, the next door neighbor soft coated wheaton terrier. They are so cute together!! Here is a picture of Miss Bixby Belle!

In other news, Ashley has a job!!! I am so proud of her!!! She will be working at the Decatur Conference Center and Hotel. She will be the new Front Desk Supervisor! She is so excited and can't wait to start! In fact, she starts tomorrow!!! We are having a small graduation party for her on Sunday in our backyard. I will post pictures of the graduation girl on Monday.

Have a great day!

Donna

DePaul’s Amber Patton Named to the 2009 USA Softball Japan Cup Team - Welcome to DePaul Athletics

I am so proud of Amber! She made the USA Softball Japan Cup Team!!! She will be traveling to Japan while representing the good ole US of A, how cool is that!!! You can click on the link below and read the article.
Donna

DePaul's Amber Patton Named to the 2009 USA Softball Japan Cup Team - Welcome to DePaul Athletics

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Abby, Carl and Chief came home this past weekend...

Abby and Carl along with Chief came to visit this past weekend. It was the first meeting for Chief and Bixby Belle. Bixby Belle was scared at first because Chief is so big but once they got acquainted, they were fine with each other. Here they are on the back deck.

On Saturday we drove to Springfield to Southern View Park to celebrate our niece (Kadie) daughter's(Bella) 2nd Birthday Party. It was so windy at the Park but we ate and had a great time.

On Sunday, Chief and Bixby went for a swim in a little kiddie pool that we bought for Bixby. Bixby loves the water and Chief didn't seem to mind but he didn't like the hose. Bixby will chase the water from the hose for hours if we would let her.It was a fun weekend and we were sad to see it come to an end.

I'll post more later.

Donna

A Couple of Firsts for Bixby Belle

Last night Bixby went to her first puppy class! It was filled with fun and puppies and people! Just what puppy classes should be...yep! The class was teaching the pupppies how to sit and walk on a leash. Our Bixby Belle already knew how to do both so she was a STAR!
Here are some pictures of her class.

Meeting a new friend that looks like Marley in Marley & Me, the movie!

Today was Bixby's first haircut! Here is a before and then an after! She looks so fluffy in the after. The groomer, Linda, said Bixby was shy and she did very well for her first time. She has been asleep on the kitchen floor ever since we arrived home from the groomer. Getting your hair done really tires a girl out!!!

I'll post more later!

Donna

She's Here...

Ashley and Bixby Belle.

Well, we finally picked up our Bixby Belle on Sunday May 10th. She has been a joy!!! A little bit of mischief mixed with an adorable personality also so stinking cute, that's our Bixby!!! The above picture is of Ashley and Bixby on the day we brought her home! We have had her for a week and a half and she is really doing great with potty training. Yea!!!

Amber's softball career came to an abrupt stop last weekend in Columbia, MO during the softball regionals. DePaul couldn't get their bats working and the other did had some timely hits and just outscored DePaul. Amber was upset but now she will be playing for the Chicago Bandits. We are so proud of her! Last highfive of here college softball career. Amber is #12.

Ashley stayed home last weekend while we were in Coklumbia, MO, to take care of Bixby Belle. Ashley had a dentist appt. and volunteered to stay home so Tim and I could go to the tournament. Thanks, Ashley, you are the best! Ashley graduated 2 weeks ago from EIU and now is looking for a job. She helped me put lattice on the bottom of the deck so Miss Bixby wouldn't hit her head on the bottom of the deck. She also helped me surpervise the installation of our new fence. It's finally in and looks great! Check out the photos below to see the fence in the backyard. First photo is the right side of the backyard, the second photo is the left side of the backyard. Hard to see the fence but it is there and it blends in so nicely! Looks great!

While the fence was going in the plumbers were here installing a new tankless water system. When we arrived home on Sunday evening, Ashley informed us that we didn't have any hot water. So now we have endless hot water, heaven!!! I promise, I won't post a picture of the tankless water system, LOL!

This picture is Bixby's favorite place to sleep during the day. On the kitchen floor! She is getting so big!

Enough for now, I will post more later!

Donna