Our Nickels' Worth: Waiting on monkey wrench #3 and our cat, Possum, who thinks he's a dog

Don't faint...yes, I am updating my blog. We have had quite a month. This upstairs has been constant work for us. We both enjoyed it, but are so over that now. We just want it to be done, move everything up there, and close on the refinance. We have worked our tails off. My mom has been a jewel. She has kept Meredith for us on Gray's days off when I got off work so we could work upstairs. We couldn't very well hammer and bang around up there while Meredith tried to sleep...and we have put in quiet a few late nights. Monkey wrench #1 - Gray got the flu. Monkey wrench #2 - I got swine flu. These things come in 3's...so we are holding our breath. Speaking of monkey wrench #2...the swine flu is for the birds! That was the most miserable I have ever been...I have never in my life been so weak. It took incredible effort to talk. I am fine now, but ugh...I still haven't taken pictures of the upstairs. Sorry. I am getting to that. Promise. Meredith is absolutely loving Aunt Jo's. She has the best time. That is such a comfort to a mom, knowing she is not miserable at a babysitter's. Aunt Jo takes up so much time with the kids. Meredith knows her colors, ABC's, and can count to 20 now! She is growing too (finally)! She has almost outgrown all her 12 and 18 month clothes. She weighs 20-21 pounds and is 32 inches tall. She has such a sweet spirit. She will come up and hug my leg as I cook dinner and tell me she loves me...just out of the blue.

Grouchy Murdiff

Valentine's Day party at Mother's Day Out

Snow Day...going to ride the 4-wheeler with her Daddy...wearing Gray's old coveralls from when he was little! They are still too big, but served their purpose!

Gray and I will feed anything with a heartbeat...meaning we have been known to take in a stray or two or three or...well, anyway. We have 2 official dogs, Sadie and Suzy, and 1.5 official cats, Willie Mac and Possum. Possum is a kitten that showed up at our house when Meredith was about 9 months old. He would only come out to eat at night and brought his friend, a real opossum, with him to eat on my front porch. The real opossum suddenly suffered some blunt force trauma on the highway and left only the cat, Possum. He became a regular around our house. Meredith would even include him in her prayers at night in the long, long list of "thank you, God for's..." Right before Christmas 2009, Possum disappeared. I figured since he was a stray he just ran off. Gray parks his truck at a house in Batesville and picks up his patrol car there when he is on duty. One day he called while getting in his patrol car and told me he saw Possum at the house (10 miles away from our house). I couldn't believe it! That cat must have ridden 10 miles in Gray's truck to Batesville and hopped out at that house. We know the lady that lives there and she is worse than we are about feeding strays. She actually feeds raccoons every night!!! I took comfort in knowing that Possum was eating...and probably better than we were since Miss Patty usually feeds the animals scraps. About 3 weeks ago, Gray came home from work and I ran to the mailbox. On my way back to the house, what did I see?!?!?!?! POSSUM. That darn cat rode back home with Gray in the back of his truck! He must think he is a dog!

Possum Nickels