Baby McClain

Sono Pictures9 weeks 11 weeks

13 weeks

14 weeks

14.5 weeks Baby parts!

Here are two legs and something in the middle.

Now we are not 100% sure yet.

But, this is looking very suspiciously like a boy!

Me? I should to start a book club?

Ok, so I feel totally like 3rd grade starting a "club". Should we have a secret hand shake?

Here are the thoughts behind what I would love to see for this Book club. This is an opportunity to read a great Christian inspired book at your own leisure We will have no formal meetings and all correspondents will be through email. My idea is to pick one book every two weeks or so, (depending on how long it is) and as a group read it together. If anyone has questions, insight, or anything they would like to share just email the group. This should be a non-stress and enjoyable time for all. If you wish to be involved please email me back, (lap2173@aol.com) also feel free to email other friends who you think would also enjoy a good read.

The first book: The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis"Screwtape is an experienced devil. His nephew Wormwood is at the beginning of his demonic career and has been assigned to secure the damnation of a young man. Their letters are one of C. S. Lewis's most brilliant imaginative creations".

We will begin reading at the beginning of next week to give everyone a chance to find a copy.

Baby McClain 14 Weeks

Presenting Baby McClain!!

Now 14 weeks and three days!

The Laughlin Officers' Spouses' Club

Annual Charitable Auction

February 7, 2009

5 pm until midnight

Vintage Monte Carlo

Club XL LAFB, Texas

Ticket Price $15 is advance, $17

at the door

Dress: vintage formal encouraged

but not required

Family Picture

Another year and another need for an updated family portrait. We are a very professional family so we took this ourselves! You can pick out your favorite and paste it as your wallpaper!

Happy New Year!

Creation Museum

The Creation Museum presents a unique and unparalleled experience, a walk through time portraying significant, life-altering events of the past, illuminating the effects of biblical history on our present and future world.
http://www.creationmuseum.org/

Ever since the Creation Museum started advertising that they were planning to build, I have wanted to go. I was so excited this year when Mom, Erin, Beth and I finally got the chance to visit.

An idea of what the world was like before the flood and when dinosaur and people co-existing.

Beth loves the aquarium, we had to visit it more than once.

Here she is looking at the 1% scale model of Noah's Ark. Is she chewing the railing...gross!
The workers were hard at work building the Ark.

How long did they work on the Ark?
According to: http://www.gotquestions.org/Noahs-ark-questions.html

The Bible does not specifically say how long it took Noah to build the ark. When Noah is first mentioned in Genesis 5:32, he was 500 years old. When Noah entered the ark, he was 600 years old. The time it took to build the ark would depend on how much time had passed between Genesis 5:32 and the time that God commanded Noah to build the ark (Genesis 6:14-21). At the absolute most, it took 100 years.

The tour only took about 2 hours. We could have stayed longer but our tree year old company was ready to hit the road. I would recommend everyone to go visit.

Mistletoe Christmas Gifts

We recently were educated by Gran-T that Mistletoe grew along side the roads in Texas. Well, after about driving off the road looking for mistletoe in every tree we passed we finally decided to pull over a get some for ourselves. As you can see the mistletoe is the green lump in the otherwise dead tree. My brave hub climbed trees to get to this precious resource.

It may be the only "good" to come out of West Texas.

Our stash.

And just in case you were wondering: The History of Mistletoe.

The Christmas custom of kissing underneath a branch of mistletoe goes back hundreds of years, certainly to the early 17th century. But legends about the curious plant go back even farther, even to the time of Christ and earlier. One legend has it that the wood of the cross of Christ was made from mistletoe, and supposedly for that reason the mistletoe plant has been doomed to live as a parasite, and is so classified today, making it condemned to live on the goodwill of other trees. Shakespeare in Titus Andronicus called it “the baleful mistletoe,” no doubt referring to the fact that in large quantities the waxy white berries are toxic. On the other hand, ancient Druids thought the plant had healing, even magical, powers.
Back in Roman times in Britain, Pliny the Elder referred to the habit of Druid priests of cutting away mistletoe from oak trees where it attached itself, using golden sickles and spreading white cloth on the ground under the tree lest the trimmings touch the ground and risk losing their powers. The Druids elevated mistletoe to sacred powers, even using it in ceremonies of human sacrifice. Unlike other plants, mistletoe retained its fresh green color, and the evergreen therefore became a symbol of fertility. They also hung it over doorways to protect against evil.
Because of the Druids’ use of mistletoe, Christians banned its use in their churches in England. Because mistletoe grows primarily on apple, lime, poplar and hawthorn trees in the midlands and up to and around York, it was a local favorite there long after the Druids were in decline. So in the famous minster at York, its use during the holiday season has always been retained.
In the York cathedral the minister placed the branch on the High Altar and proclaimed “public and universal liberty, pardon and freedom of all sorts of inferior and wicked people at the minster gates, and the gates of the city, towards the four quarters of heaven.” In the 21st century the Dean informally hung a bunch of mistletoe and holly from the High Altar at noon on Christmas Eve, although the custom was more general good will than intended as an encouragement of kissing in its presence.
Strictly speaking, kissing under the mistletoe was never to get out of hand, and often nearly did. To prevent abuses, the custom was defined as a man might steal a kiss under the hanging branch, but when he did, one berry was to be plucked from the plant and discarded. Once the berries were gone, the kissing charm of the mistletoe branch was spent, although that aspect of the custom is rarely recalled in these days. During the 19th century abuses of the kissing custom were prevalent, according to a verse written and called “The Mistletoe Bough.” Interestingly, during uptight Victorian times, the custom came into full bloom!
Despite the mixed lore regarding Viscum album, the English mistletoe plant, its culture is a profitable business in Great Britain today. All through December mistletoe farmers carefully cut boughs from the mistletoe in their apple orchards or on other host trees. Unlike the Druids with the golden boughs, hook
the mistletoe sprays with a long pole, careful to leave some bunches behind to ensure a crop the following year. It is mostly birds who propagate the mistletoe , however. Some farmers call the birds “the professional” in promulgating mistletoe, while they themselves are the amateurs.
Each year large numbers of Druid followers came to celebrate the winter solstice in fields full of mistletoe in the orchards of Hertferdshire. Their orations and music fascinate local farmers, who often adapt bits of the folklore of this “special branch.” One farmer kept his mistletoe decoration from one Christmas to the next. When he had brought in the fresh sprays, he burned the old and ran around as many of his fields as possible with the flaming brands, in the belief that the ancient plant would bless each field with a prolific harvest. Another legend has it that a sprig of mistletoe placed over a baby’s cradle will ensure that the child will never be kidnapped. While much of the plant's history is shrouded in untold tales of the past, it is undeniably blessed with certain sacred associations and perhaps even occult powers.
When the farmers and gypsies who have been gathering wild or cultivated mistletoe are ready with their annual crop for selling at the end of November, they gather at auctions in the towns of the Midlands and thereabouts and sell. The current crop went for up to 1 Pound Sterling per pound, a decent price for a priceless branch. http://www.essortment.com/all/mistletoehistor_rljx.htm

Christmas Social

The OSC had a Christmas social this year at the Herald. The Herald may be the nicest and only place in town where I have not got food poisoning.

As Historian I am required to take pictures of all our events. A confession: I probably do not take as many pictures as last years historian, hard to believe I know, but she was a quickie sure shot camera queen.

Some amazing ladies that only you can met at Laughlin!

Student spouse Rep. and Charitable Treasurer. I like to call BA "Mrs. Money Bags!"

Perfection at it's finest with these two ladies!


I was able to capture some lively conversation too!

Christmas with the gals

Our Bible study group got together for a Christmas goodie exchange. We are not just a FAIP wives Bible study :-) We like to include anyone who would like to join us for a little Bible reading and great fellowship!

We had a relaxing evening visiting with friends and eating too many sweets!

Thank you again BA for willingly opening your house for over a year to us.

Wishing everyone a belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Valley Fever

Our Charlie dog got very sick!

After ruling out trachyitis and a sprained ankle the Vet decide to test him for Valley Fever. Sure enough Charlie has it! he started with a cough, then started limping about a month later. During that time his appetite decreased and he was grumpy! We could tell he was hurting and unable to bare weight on his left back leg. We didn't realize that he was running a temp the whole time and that a fungal infection was growing in his lungs and had already spread to his joints. If left untreated or not caught soon enough, the infection would spread to his spine and brain. In that case the disease is fatal.

We hope that we caught Charlie's illness in time, but only time will tell. The Vet said he could easily be on meds for a full year to his whole life. Currently, he takes an anti fungal, anitpyretic and anti inflammatory. We are hoping that he continue to show signs of improvement. And, in the mean time wanted to share this information with our friends and family.

The following article is taken from: http://www.vfce.arizona.edu/VFID-home.htm

Yes, dogs get Valley Fever! Like people, dogs are very susceptible to Valley Fever. Dogs primarily contract Valley Fever in the low desert regions of Arizona, New Mexico and southwestern Texas and the central deserts of California. Dogs accompanying people traveling through these areas or wintering in these warm climates have about the same chance as their owners of being infected.

Dogs comprise the majority of Valley Fever cases in animals.

Valley Fever is caused by a fungus that lives in the desert soil in the areas described above (Del Rio). As part of its life cycle, the fungus grows in the soil (saprophytic cycle) and matures, drying into fragile strands of cells. The strands are very delicate, and when the soil is disturbed - by digging, walking, construction, high winds - the strands break apart into tiny individual spores called arthroconidia or arthrospores. Dogs and people acquire Valley Fever by inhaling these fungal spores in the dust raised by the disturbance. The dog may inhale only a few spores or many hundreds.

Once inhaled, the spores grow into spherules (parasitic cycle) which continue to enlarge until they burst, releasing hundreds of endospores. Each endospore can grow into a new spherule, spreading the infection in the lungs until the dog’s immune system surrounds and destroys it. The sickness Valley Fever occurs when the immune system does not kill the spherules and endospores quickly and they continue to spread in the lungs and sometimes throughout the animal’s body.
About 70% of dogs who inhale Valley Fever spores control the infection and do not become sick. These dogs are asymptomatic. The remainder develop disease, which can range from very mild to severe and occasionally fatal.

After talking with friends I have found three people who's dogs have had Valley Fever. They all have live on base. Another guys wife got Valley Fever and nearly died from it.

For more info:

http://www.pethealthpharmacy.com/valley.htm

http://www.dlrrphoenix.org/vf.html

The Oasis on Lake Travis

After graduation we went to The Oasis on Lake Travis.

http://www.oasis-austin.com/
The Oasis reminds me of what Austin love to claim. "Weird Austin" The restaurant had several different decors running throughout and tons of interesting sculptors. I highly recommend it to everyone!

I got to meet hubs babysitter from when he was little and they lived in San Antonio. She was a wonderfully sweet lady and I am thankful that she opened her home to us.

Trying to get my niece to crack a smile for the camera.

The newly hooded Master and her Hub. You can see the shinning waters of Lake Travis in the background.

Me and my guy! So handsome, such shadows.

The gals! Check out those Christmas trees behind us! Aren't they weird!

Mr. and Mrs. Claus

we had a great dinner with friends and family and looking forward to seeing you all again soon.
I couldn't resist taking this picture! Look at all the stuff on that tree. I think the main theme is peacocks and butterflies. It looked gorgeous up close.

Thanksgiving

"Thanksgiving day is a happy day and we say thank you God" This thanksgiving was a treat! I had to work the night before and I was given instructions that I needed to go right to bed when I came home and when I woke up dinner would be served. I am so blessed! Hub made the potatoes au gait the day before and the sausage stuffing. The day of he only had to make the turkey and the cranberry sauce. It was so good! For someone who picked up culinary skills a year ago, I think his cooking is above average.
We had to get dressed up for Thanksgiving because our goal was to get a decent Christmas card photo out the the event. We tried different poses and still have not decided which one to use! My favorite part was after we finished taking pictures Hub says, "Okay get all this nice stuff out of the way, I'm not eating off it!" I had to laugh! So there I had set the table with the good china, but we used our everyday dishes instead. This is the more serious side! And, this the expression I usually get after I suggest we change our outfits so that we have more pictures to choose from!

We had a great little thanksgiving and hope that you all did too!

Master in the House

Can you guess where sister in law got her master's?

In what field did she graduate with her masters ?Yep, that's right! Congrats! We love you and are so proud of you!
Waiting in line to be hooded.
Almost there.

Adjusting the hood. Looks like a good fit!

The walk, the shake and the diploma.

Awww, all done! whew...


When should I do back from my doctorate??



Friends make the whole thing easier. Congrats we love you!