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Monday, January 28, 2008

Curly Mary

As much as Mary loves to play with Power Rangers and Star Wars toys, she is still a sweet sugar and spice kind of girl! She loves to have her hair curled and just glows with all the attention she gets from the end result. Last night I was French braiding Olivia's hair and Mary asked if she could have a hairdo too. So she got the sponge curlers and we rolled her hair. I have to admit, her hair takes to curl very well. And it stays. It will stay curly until I wash it, which probably won't be until tomorrow. She asked me to take pictures of her curls and then asked to do a video. What a ham!



Today I went to a Body Pump class by myself. Yeah me! It was tough, there was a lot of sweat but it felt great afterward. Pam was there too but we didn't end up near each other. After the 55 minute class I went upstairs to ride the bike for awhile. I am just so thankful that I don't get sore anymore. That was one rough week! Okay, maybe two weeks!

I took Alex to school today because he missed the bus. We had to take care of a lot of stuff this morning and we just ran out of time. He has been getting a lot of nosebleeds lately - more than usual for him. I'm thinking it is, of course, from dry air but after he has a bleed, it dries up in his little nose so the next time he sneezes or blows his nose, the "scab" comes off and causes another bleed. So this morning we cleaned things out real good (use your imagination!) and so far he has been great. He is waiting for Jeopardy to come on as I type. Bless his little heart!




Sunday, January 27, 2008

No news is good news...

Nothing too exciting going on here. Just the same old, same old. I've been trying to find a math tutor for Liv but am having a hard time. All the names that have been recommended to me already have full tutoring schedules. And the search continues....I know there is a tutor out there for us!

I subbed for Wendy on Wednesday night. I helped run the Cherub Choir - man, oh man! What a handful of little spitfires. They were all bouncing off the walls! I ended up subbing for Keri too so I stayed in the 2-3 year old class and helped out. Not as bad. Another reason to stick with the older kids!

Jay and I have been so good about going to the gym. We went several times this week together. We both like to ride the bikes. It gets easier each time. I still like the Body Pump classes and will probably go to one tomorrow after I drop off Mary.

We used the Outback GC that Bob gave us - it was so good! We went out on Friday night after dropping the kids at my dad's house - totally the kids' idea, not ours! So it was an unexpected date night and it was nice to get out w/ the old hubby and spend some quality time together.

And tomorrow is Monday...again.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

More Snow

Well, I really didn't believe the weather man when he said it was going to snow again today. The kids were all set to spend the night at my dad's Friday night but since there was a threat of inclement weather, we postponed it. We woke up this morning to...nothing! It was damp, cold, but there was absolutely no snow. Soon after it started drizzling. Then I heard sleet....could it be? I was cleaning the kitchen as I looked out the window and saw some of the biggest, fattest snowflakes falling! I waited until it was snowing pretty hard before I called the kids' attention to the window. They were so excited but smart enough to wait until there was actually some on the ground before they went outside to play. We dug out the gloves, mittens, scarves, hats and out we went. It was fun, fun, fun!






We played until we couldn't feel our fingers anymore and then Mary went to Ashlyn's to play while we all went inside to get warm and dry. The day involved lots of changes of clothes! We had just gotten comfy when Tara called to let me know that the boys' soccer game had not been canceled and we had 30 minutes to get there. It was snowing pretty hard at that point but the streets were absolutely fine. No accumulation and no frozen spots. So that was a first for us - a soccer game in a snowstorm! (note: it was INDOOR soccer!!!) It is supposed to freeze over tonight so I am certain that I won't go out tomorrow. Praise God for the snow/rain but hopefully it will be a calmer, quieter day than today was!

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Olivia

I finally managed to load videos so here is another one. This was taken the same day as Olivia's Citizen of the Month ceremony. The 5th grade chorus gave a preview concert of their Capitol concert (which is supposed to be tomorrow - weather permitting). The video is not that great but at least you can hear those precious voices. Great job Olivia!

Snow Baby!

It finally snowed! Alex and Mary have never seen snow so it was a very exciting afternoon. We drove to church and the further down the road we got, the harder it started to snow. They were SO excited! And, I have to admit, so were we.



And this is Alex and Mary praying for more snow.




By the time we were coming home, it was only raining. There is still the possibility that it may freeze over but we will see. It was fun to see the kids' reaction!

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Funny Story

Last night on the way to church, the three kids had their Gameboys going in the car. Mary and Liv were sitting next to each other and were each checking out the others progress in their games. At one point, Mary leans over to Liv's game, notices the words on the screen are in red and says, "Oh Olivia, is that Jesus talking to you in your Gameboy?" LOL!! That was part 1 of the funny. Part 2 was that Olivia immediately knew exactly what Mary was talking about and calmly said, "No Mary, that's just in Bibles".

You have to love those little brains that are working so hard!

Monday, January 7, 2008

Fun Day at the Park

Four days ago the temps were below freezing. Today? High 60s. That's Georgia in the winter for you! We took advantage of the beautiful weather by going to the Grayson Park across the street from Mary's school. We asked McKennah to join us and it was a fun time for all. Mary and McKennah play so well together - we just love her.

Here's hoping for another beautiful day tomorrow!








PS - I just love, love, love my new camera!

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Happy Birthday Mama!

Today was my mother's birthday. Our tradition since she passed away has been to all gather at one of her favorite restaurants and eat together in her honor. We have always chosen O'Charley's, since she and my dad had many a meal there, especially when they used to babysit Olivia. And so it was today. Me, Jay, Liv, Alex, Mary, my Dad, Fred, Renee, Hannah and Kayla - the 10 of us.

The food really wasn't that good and so we have decided to choose another of her favorites for next year - maybe Outback or Red Lobster. But it was still good to continue the tradition.

I much prefer to "celebrate" or acknowledge Mom's birthday rather than the date she passed. That date has so many sad and painful memories associated with it that it is best to keep it under lock and key until there is a time when I feel I can reminisce and wade through the raw emotions by myself. It seems like there was so much of the bad there at the end. It's ironic how it absolutely feels like all this has only ever happened to you and you are certain that there isn't another person in the world who can relate. There was nothing special about my loss. Except that it was mine. And it turned my world upside down for a long time.
I think about her every single day. I miss her smile, her laugh, her touch. I miss how she unconditionally loved my kids and would show that love every time she saw them. I miss the phone chats we had everyday. I miss going to the Nenas with her. I miss shopping with her. I miss the connection that I had with her. No matter how hard we try, there will always be a piece of the puzzle missing in our lives. The presence of her absence is sometimes too much. I miss her asking me what I cooked for Jay. I miss her helping me plan birthday parties. I miss her baking and decorating cakes for us. I miss her watching the Food Channel (maybe that's why I watch it all the time now!). I miss hearing her music. Whenever I hear the distinct sounds of Andean music, she is there. Whenever I see certain clothes in my closet that she bought me, she is there. Whenever I see the spoon in my kitchen, she is there. **Jay - I bet you didn't even know about the spoon, did you? Sometime, somehow, she must have brought a spoon over to our old house, or maybe I took it home by mistake. I don't know. But I still have it. It is with the rest of our spoons - its pattern is distinctly different from ours. It will randomly come up to be used and each time it does...she is there.** I am thankful for these memories, they always bring a smile to my face. I am thankful for her rest now because I know that her suffering was not God's will. I know that in the worst moment of her suffering, and later of my own, there was a choice to make and I am thankful that I made the right one. It was in the darkest of those days that I know, somehow, I was sustained. In the midst of the tearful nights, I knew that joy would come in the morning - and it always did. And when there were absolutely no words to describe the sadness, I knew that He would eventually put a new song in my mouth.
So, on this special day...Happy Birthday Mama! Thank you for the joy your memories bring to me. And if there are tears too, well, there wouldn't be tears if there hadn't been so much love. Like Olivia always says, I love you all the way to God!

Friday, January 4, 2008

Citizen of the Month

Olivia was chosen as Citizen of the Month for her fifth grade class. Jay, Mary and I enjoyed a brief celebration this morning at her school where she was presented with a certificate. Her chorus also sang for us in preparation for their January 17th concert at the Capitol. We were very proud. This was Olivia's second time receiving this honor - there is only one chosen each month and there are only nine school months. With 22+ kids in her class, well, not everyone is able to be chosen. And since I finally got my new camera (!) I was able to take some good shots and also to take some videos of them singing. Now hopefully I will be able to upload the pics and video to the blog.

Olivia receiving her certificate
from Dr. Epperson


Liv and her certificate (upside down!)


Mary and Olivia

In other random news, today was Mary's first day back at school and my first day back at work. I had to struggle to remember my class schedule - it seems like forever since school let out for the holidays! Someone had the cute idea for the teachers to have "secret pals" and give anonymous gifts in January and February. I received one today. It's a nice idea and kind of fun to wonder who had your name, but we are limited to $1-$3 for each gift. What can you possibly get for that amount? And I have a teacher that I've never even met before. But I do have a list of her likes and favorite things.

Otis went out the other night and stayed out for 24 hours! He chose the coldest night of the season to go catting around. We were all very worried about him and the kids were especially anxious. He came home wet, cold, and with a partially frozen tail. And starved for food and attention. Needless to say, he hasn't gone out at all today.

We went over to the Turner's for dinner tonight. Very casual...pizza, sodas, playstation...it was all good.


The boys playing silly games



The kids playing in Ashlyn's
playroom



And just because she's cute...


Mary with her dog Coconut.

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Happy New Year!

Goodbye 07 and hellooooo 2008! I can only pray that this year will be an awesome year for our family. 2007 wasn't the best (we won't get into that now!) but it was also full of some very good times for us. The beginning of last year found me and the kids in Bolivia - we spent 22 wonderful days there over their Christmas break. It was the first time I had been there since my mom died and I thought it would have been extremely difficult for me. Surprisingly, it wasn't. It was a peaceful time full of a lot of laughs, a lot of memories, and a whole lot of love. It will never cease to amaze me how I have this huge extended family over there and I can not see them for years and years, but the second I go back for a visit, it is almost as if I had never left. It is almost like home. I loved, loved, loved it. And I loved being able to share all of that with my kids. They were able to realize how lucky they are to be a part of two completely different cultures. They adapted well and have many great memories of their trip.

Last night we celebrated here with some friends - Tara and Phil, Natalie and Allen - and all of their kids. We missed Lisa and Joel but Ashlyn was sick and Joel had to work. We ate, drank, and played games. I love Game Night! All of the kids managed to stay up until midnight, there was the unfortunate "Truth or Dare" incident (LOL), and we had a pretty good fireworks show at midnight. All in all a good evening.

I can't wait to see what 2008 will bring to our family!