Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Wordless Wednesday

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Go Gators!




Our trip to Williams Brice Stadium in Columbia, SC was a complete and wonderful day! The only problem was Skylar on the crutches, and that only slowed us down a little bit. The kids had a blast tailgating with our friends. Alex learned the finer points of playing cornhole. We were able to make it to the unloading of the buses in time to get some great pictures. As we were in line waiting for the gates to open, we were priveleged to meet Mr. Tebow, Tim's dad. And the GATORS won!


Alex playing cornhole.


Tommy and Skylar


Gators Coach Urban Meyer


Defense Coach Charlie Strong


Superman Tim Tebow

Oh, and just in case you were wondering...Yes, it is true what they say in Cola, SC about Willie B...IF IT AINT SWAYIN', AINT NOBODY PLAYIN'!! The upper deck swayed the entire night, especially when they played "Sandstorm" or as I call it, the "Hamster Dance" song.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Tomorrow, Tomorrow...

I love ya, Tomorrow. You're only a day away....

We are going to the FL/SC game tomorrow in Columbia, SC.

We are leaving Sparkle City around 9 AM. We shall be following our friends, Kristen and Lee. We are going to set up tailgating camp around 10:30 or so. I can't wait!

This will be Skylar and Alex's first ever college game. Alex is so excited that I'm not sure that he will sleep at all tonight. Skylar is excited as well, but being as she injured her knee again tonight, she will be on crutches for the weekend. That has taken some of her excitement away. She'll be ok once we get there, I'm sure. She'll hold court as Princess of the Tailgate once we get there and have all of the grown guys at her beck and call.

I have been baking since I got home from work. Cupcakes and brownies. Alex and I made Orange cupcakes with blue icing and some blue cupcakes with orange icing. I have just put the last batch of brownies into the oven.

Hopefully, we will be able to find where the Gators will be walking into the stadium so we can get lots of great pictures.

Go Gators!

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Alex

Sticky fingers. Kool Aide smiles. Lizards. Turtles. Snakes. Alligators. Football. Baseball. WWE wrestling. Cub Scouts. Camping. Night Owl. Picky eater. Rocks hidden in any available pocket. Candy wrappers in pockets. Broken pencils in pockets. Knees worn out of blue jeans. Tennis shoes surviving only a few weeks. Stuffed animals taking up half of the bed. Superman comforter. Sleepy little boy. My little boy. Giver of the best hugs in the world.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Veteran's Day

Today is Veteran's Day.



My husband is a veteran. He was in the Navy during Ronald Reagan's terms as our president. He was stationed in Central America. Fortunately, it was not during a war. He crossed the Panama Canal a couple of times. Thank you, Tommy, for helping to keep our country safe.

My cousin, Jeff, is a veteran. He recently retired from a 20 + year career in the Army. He served both Iraq wars, Afghanistan, Germany, Poland, Alaska, Texas, and many other exciting/dangerous places. His last post was at Fort Hood, Texas. He and his wife, Bernadette, and their two sons, Grayson and Ethan, reside in Killeen, Tx. Although he has retired from the Army this year, he was offered a civilian position on base at Fort Hood. We were on pins and needles last week when the shooting occurred. Thankfully, although Jeff was, in his words, very close to the area, he was safe. Thank you, Jeff, for serving our country in times of war and times of peace.

My cousin, Tony, Jeff's older brother, is a veteran. Tony served our country in the Navy. Thank you, Tony, for your service to our great nation!

My cousin, Shannon, Jeff and Tony's youngest brother, is a veteran. Shannon served in the Marines. He was a helicopter pilot. He flew Marine One, the helicopter that shadows Air Force One. Thank you, Shannon, for your service to our great nation!

My Uncle Roger is a veteran. He served in the Army during Vietnam. Thank you, Uncle Roger, for your service to our great nation!

My father-in-law, Howard is a veteran. He served in the Navy. He was one of the original Frogmen, a prequel to the current SEALS. He served in Korea, Vietnam, the Bay of Pigs, Spain, Italy, and many other places. He was stationed on the USS FORRESTAL with AZ Senator John McCain when the rocket hit McCain's plane and exploded. Oh, the stories he passes on to us as we are gathered around the dinner table each night! I truly hope that Skylar and Alex are listening closely when their Grandpa shares his stories. Thank you, Howard, for your dedicated service to our country and defending this great land that we are privileged to call home.

God bless each and every one of our military personnel. Thank you for answering the call of duty from your country, for without your service, we would not be the country we are today. Without your service, America would not be the home of the free and the brave.

God bless those service men and women who have laid down their lives for each and everyone of us. They have paid the ultimate price to ensure our freedom.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Mental Preparation

I'm in the office. On the other side of the wall is Alex's room. All I can hear is a steady stream of giggling because he is watching America's Funniest Home Videos. It is his new favorite show. I'll take the sound of his giggles and guffaws over his usual whineyness anyday!

I was helping Tommy with a paper that he has to turn in tomorrow in his English class. I was proofreading and making grammatical corrections, when he dropped a bomb on me.

He said as I was reading, "If I ask you a question, will you promise not to go all crazy on me?"

"No. I reserve the right to go crazy at any time for any reason. What?"

"Have you been mentally preparing yourself for when your mom dies?"

"Yes. I don't want to talk about it. Drop it. Not a good time to discuss that right now. One more word and I will go Psycho bitch on you. And you asked for it."

"Ok."

Now, why would he ask a question like that? Well, let's see. My mom is a very bad diabetic, has high blood pressure, and is in the final stages of kidney failure. She had surgery on her left arm in September to create a fistula in preparation for dialysis. Last week, she contracted the flu (not the H1N1 flu, just the regular seasonal flu). This week it has morphed into pneumonia. Her family doctor did not admit her to the hospital but did take blood to check her kidney function. Her O2 level is very low and has been dropping each dr visit.

So, yes, I am trying to mentally prepare myself for when the time comes. I hope that it is not for many, many years but I need to prepare myself.