Doe, Hoo-Ray, and Me Baby

(Craig and his Doe, December 31, 2009)

Doe

My Darling husband killed another deer. This one was a little doe and good for eating. That brings his deer kill up to 2 and he's still only provided the two hogs. I've tried several recipes with all of his kills now and my favorite wild meats are as follows: Turkey - this is actually delicious and versatile. I've turned it into enchiladas and turkey nuggets. Hog - it doesn't cook like the store bought hams, but it's good all the same. I wouldn't spring for it over the store bought stuff, but it does save us from buying it and it's quite edible. I've turned it into roast loin, and a ham stew. The stew I ended up burning but the roast loin was quite good. And then deer - my least favorite because it's gross. I don't know what it is exactly about deer, but no matter how I cook it, I know what it is and I taste the rancid deer blood. Craig has tried frying it, stir frying it, roasting it and even turning it into patties. The roast is the best by far, but I could definitely still taste it! But I'll eat it.

(Brother Matt Buckley loves babies!)

(Sister Tina Buckley throws the best parties!)

(Forest and Kevin are playing Sorry Sliders)

Hoo-Ray

New Years Eve was quite fun. We went to The Buckley's where they threw a party. They grilled up some burgers for everybody and we all enjoyed hanging out. Bro. Buckley loves babies - maybe he loves ours in particular, but I don't blame him, she's very cool. Craig and I didn't stay up until midnight though - well, we did New York time! Charlotte certainly didn't make it, but she did try again around 3. She's beginning to teethe and so she's been a little fussier than normal, but she's still just an angel! She's starting to do the most fun stuff! The other night, and I hate myself for not capturing it on video, she laughed! It was little and low and quite unsure, but definitely a laugh! Also, she's gotten very grabby - when she's tired and I lift her to my shoulder she throws her hands around my neck and grabs on to my hair and yells in my ear - as if I wasn't getting the picture. Sweety pie!

Me Baby

I know it's not proper English - my headings that is - but I was trying to go with a Doe, Ray, Me theme. We finally got her blessed. Sunday, January 3 at the Lonoke branch, Billy, Brad, Craig and Ross gave Charlotte a Father's Blessing and it was beautiful. Many people came just to see her get blessed, but I didn't bring my camera and so have no pictures of the occasion to share. I know my mother and mother-in-law were smart enough to do so, I'll have to get pictures from them and then get them on here to show off. She wore my dress from my baptism 23 years ago. It was in perfect condition thanks to my mom. She let Michelle and Rachel wear it for their baptisms and now it's truly a family heirloom. I gave it back to my mom to preserve - she knows what she's doing and that way it's in a central location for whoever has the next baby girl. Could be me, but wouldn't it be nice if Charlotte had cousins on her mothers side? Like from Uncle Ryan and Aunt Shelby? No pressure guys.

We hope everybody had a wonderful New Years and stayed safe. As soon as I get all this technology figured out, I'm going to be uploading some video's of Charlotte and Family, and friends and hopefully capture that silly laugh that she does. I can't believe how much she's growing!