Thought I would send you all some pictures of Melissa. She is changing so much. She plays very well by herself, and she can even roll a ball! She really enjoys playing in her bathwater — she has discovered the fine art of splashing. In my last email I had mentioned that Melissa had a fever; it turned out that in the few days she ran a fever that it peeked at 102.9 degrees. I still don’t know what caused it. She only had a fever; no cold or anything else. Jason and I were going to go to a fine arts production, but I ended up staying home with Melissa while Jason went to go hear the famous classical guitarist. She is much better now. She also wore her first hair bow “barrette” a week ago Sunday. There is a picture of it in this email. If you see a black velvet headband anywhere she could use one for family pictures in a couple of weeks.

I am busy with different things. I am in the process of making a dress for Melissa. She won’t be able to wear it though till she is much bigger. Mrs. Hicks and I are going to throw a shower for Louis Franklin. Her and her husband have wanted a baby so badly for many, many years. They have tried to adopt, but it has fallen through many, many times. Well, they now have custody of Daniel who is a year old, and the adoption is supposed to be finalized in March. They are so excited and we are so excited for them. The shower is scheduled for November 19.

This weekend is the couples retreat in Fort Walton Beach. Melissa is staying with the Hick’s overnight (first time ever! — I hope I do all right) Dr. and Mrs. Roberson are the guest speakers. It will be a lot of fun. Jason took Friday afternoon off, and we will drive over early and go to the outlet mall and enjoy a nice dinner before the first session begins. We both are really looking forward to it.

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Okay this is the third time today I have tried to write this. The first time the power flicked and the computer shut down. The second time Joe shut the computer off while I was writing, and now for the third time. They say third time is the charm.

The weather here has been beautiful lately. The days are in the 70’s with clear blue skies, and the nights are in the 50’s which is perfect for snuggling under the comforter. Wednesday afternoon Jason, Melissa, and I were able to enjoy the day outside — we went to Milton and had a picnic lunch and then went for a walk on the hiking/biking/rollerblading trail. We ended up walking 3 miles. Melissa got a ride the whole way.

Melissa has gotton so many clothes lately. It seems I finally get them all put away how I want them, and then somebody will give me a new bag of hand me downs — It’s wonderful! She has been very trying today. I think she might be sick or something — I don’t know what. This morning she had a fever of a little over a 100 and she is just really fussy. It’s times like this that I get really frusterated. A crying baby wears on you after a while. Right now she is sleeping. She is getting really good at sitting up. I will sit her up, and give her a plastic box of toys. She will make her way through all the toys — the box ends up empty, and there is a circle of toys strewn all the way around her. She is just so cute!

Jason worked last Saturday and some of Sunday so he had Tues and Wed. afternoons off –that was nice especially since I did not have Joe then. Hope you all enjoy the pictures!

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Things have been really busy here lately, well at least for me they have been. We got Melissa’s pictures back from Olan Mills and they are so adorable. She is getting better at sitting up now. She sat for 20 minutes the other day without falling over. She also has added broccoli to her diet as well. She has also taken her first bath in the bathtub this morning. She did not stay in there very long though, because she decided to go poop in the bathwater. She is also going through this I don’t see my mommy stage and she cries. She also cries if I am not the one holding her. It gets very frusterating at times.

Jason is keeping busy like always at work. On Sat. he has to go in and do so upgrades and things. I hope he will be able to take some extra time off next week.

Last weekend was the Parade of Homes here in Pensacola. We went to a few of the sites and got some information. We really want to get a house, but I don’t think anything will happen with that till next year. If you think about please pray that God will give us direction in this area. I don’t have very many pictures to share this week just because I haven’t taken very many. I do hope you enjoy these ones though.

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Hi! There is lots to tell in this email. First off, the weather has been very interesting to say the least. A few weeks ago tropical storm Hanna blew threw. Not a lot of damage was done; however, two college students from PCC went surfing at the beach even though red flags were flying to keep out of the water. The one brother made it out alive, but the other brother drowned. Then last week tropical storm Isidore came ashore in eastern LA and we got quite a bit of rain as a result. Here in Pensacola we got 11 inches before the storm even came ashore. I don’t know what the total rainfall was. Once again no damage. Wed. night church was cancelled, and the college students were restricted to the dorms. Now Hurricane Lili is making its way into the gulf. They forecast it to hit central LA. I suspect Mike and Liz will feel heavy effects from it. They are predicting that it will be a level three huricane when it reaches land. It has been a very busy weather season lately.

Melissa had her 6 month checkup yesterday. She is now 14lbs 4oz. and 26 1/4 inches long. I sure thought she would weigh more. She also got 4 shots, and Jason held her down while the nurse administered the shots. She is now eating 2 “real people” meals a day. She has had baby oatmeal, carrots, squash, creamed corn, sweet potatoes, and today she had peas. She is getting to be a pretty good eater. My neighbor gave me a Johnny Jump Up for Melissa. I am not sure what she thinks of that; she doesn’t seem to hate it, but she doesn’t seem to really love it either. I think Joe enjoys pushing her in it though. Friday we get her pictures back from Olan Mills.

Jason has been very busy at work. In fact he was able to take Monday and Tuesday afternoon off because he had worked so much extra. Monday we went shopping at the outlet mall in Foley. That was a lot of fun. We both got some things we really needed, and Melissa got a new pair of denim shorts and a hot pink tank top that says “Sweetheart” on it. Even though it was recommended that Jason go to San Francisco in November, he will not be going. We both thought he would go, but his boss decided not to send anyone this year.

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