Daddy's Girl

Friday night was a night full of mixed emotions! We dropped Walker and Brody off at Tucker's house for his birthday party. Me, Kevin and Avery were going to go to Athens to the BBQ cook-off that Kevin's boss was participating in to eat dinner. Troy asked if Avery could stay with them and that would give me and Kevin some time alone. We don't get that very often, so it was nice being able to talk in a normal tone and not having to talk above the screams of 3 kids. :) So we went. The food was great! Shaun, you are an awesome cook and you make the best shrimp around! I called Troy to check on Avery, and he said she was sitting on the potty. Now you should know that she showed the slightest bit of interest about 3 months ago and then just said NO all the sudden. So I let it go and thought I would just let her start back when she was ready. I'm on my 3rd kid now, so I'm not panicked at all. So I'm sitting there talking to Troy on the phone and he yells, "She peed, she peed"! Or something along those lines.... I was so excited that she actually peed, but then again I was sad because she did it for Troy of all people? Nothing against him, but what in the world was she thinking? Anyway, I'm proud of my little Avery for doing that. We pick her up later that night and she's all hugged up on Troy and won't have a thing to do with her daddy. I can see the absolute heartbreak on his face. He tries to play it off, but I can read him like a book. We take her home and she only wants me. Kevin can't get her out of the car, take her in the house, rock her to sleep or anything. She won't have any of it! The next morning Troy brings the boys home, and Avery is still asleep. He asks to wake her up, and we let him. He takes her straight to the potty and sits there with her for a good 7-8 minutes waiting on her to potty. It was actually very sweet, but still killing her daddy on the inside. About 10:00 that morning, she finally gives in to her daddy. All is well! The day is saved and we can continue to have a good weekend. Thank goodness because he was getting hard to handle!

Kids say the darndest things!!!

Kindergarten has been an adventure, to say the least. Walker has learned so much in these months, and I am very proud of him! They write sentences and spell the words out based on how they sound. As I was going through Walker's book bag last night, I came across some sentences that he wrote yesterday. Here is what he wrote, along with the correct interpretation.

"I see a pig"

"I see a pruty dog" ( I see a pretty dog)

"My Dab is niss" ( My Dad is nice)

"My dog is clen" ( My dog is clean)

AND DRUMROLL PLEASE...............

"My mom is drty" (My mom is dirty)


Yep, I'm dirty. I asked Walker about it to make sure I was reading that right, and I could tell by the little monster grin on his face that I was. When I asked him why he thought I was dirty he just shrugged his shoulders, smiled and ran off. But I don't take offense to it. I think it's cute!!! So parents, be prepared for what lies ahead when your children go off to school!!!!

Happy Birthday!!!!

Today is Kevin's 33rd birthday! He's becoming an old fart like the rest of us. His birthday is a little bittersweet though because he is a pall bearer at Donald's funeral today. I'm hoping a trip to Sarge's tonight will make up for it! For his birthday, I got us tickets to see Rodney Carrington when he comes to Huntsville. We can't wait to see it! He is so funny! A little raunchy at times, but funny nonetheless. So HAPPY BIRTHDAY Kevin...

What does that dream mean?

Have you ever had the same dream over and over? Or at least a dream that has to do with the same thing? I have had a reoccurring dream for as long as I can remember about a tornado. It's in the same house, with the tornado forming in the same way and coming from the same direction. My house in the dream is quite large with a basement, which can be accessed by stairs or a chute of some sort. Strange, I know. Well, in my dream last night, we had over 200 people trying to squeeze into my basement to take cover from the tornado. And then some out in the greenhouse??? I don't think that glass is gonna protect you!!!! Anyway, the tornado came and the last thing I remember is everyone scrunching down to take cover. I have no idea if anyone lived, died or what? I hate this dream....

When it rains, it pours...

We got the news this morning that Donald (Kevin's friend mentioned in a previous post) passed away early today. It saddens me that his life ended this way. I don't know his religious beliefs or if he was saved by God's grace, but I can only hope that he was. Kevin was upset when I told him. He just recently lost his grandmother, and that hit him terribly hard also. But we cling to the things we do have and the hope that we will see them both when we die. Please say a prayer for this family....

Brody and his best buddy Ryan! I call them Trouble 1 and Trouble 2 (you know, like Thing 1 and Thing 2). They are so cute!

Weekend Wrap-Up

It was another busy weekend for us! Both boys played ball in Ardmore Saturday morning. Walker's team won big, and Brody's team lost their game. They lost by 7 runs...sounds like a lot, but it really wasn't. The other team is all 6 year olds, and Brody's team only has one player who has every played before and 3 four year olds on the team. So I thought we did extremely well! And they had a good time!
Our sweet babysitter Jessica kept Avery for us so she didn't have to get out in the cold. They had a great time together. She painted Avery's fingernails and toenails a flourescent orange, which Avery loved! She has been showing them to everyone and saying that "Jeka" painted her nails! It's so cute...
We had a surprise birthday party to attend for one of our friends, Chris Hughes, on Saturday night. He was so suprised! I think he had a good time! All the kids were there playing together so that gave us adults time to socialize, which is so nice. :)
We had church on Sunday, and then we all took a much needed nap. During dinner that night, we got a call from my friend Christie saying that her cousin Donald was in ICU on life support and would not make it long. This was terribly upsetting to Kevin because he and Donald were best friends through elementary and middle school. They took him off life support last night, and I have not heard anything since. So please keep that family in your thoughts and prayers!
I also want to mention Matthew Wiese. I have not been able to go visit him in several weeks. I feel bad about that, but with sick kids and school and ball, I just have not had the time. But I have got to make a more concerted effort to get over there. I still pray for him daily and think about him all the time. They need help with giving him his physical therapy every night. If anyone is interested, please let me know if you can help, and I will put you in contact with the right person. I promise you that you will feel God's presence when you walk in that house and you will most definitely receive a blessing. Continue to keep Matthew and his family in your prayers.
Off now to do a little work....

Another night at the ball park

Walker had a practice scheduled at 5:00 last night, but when we got there, no fields were available. So they walked down to the batting cage to practice and do a little fielding in a fenced in area. Not sure what good that done. Other than to blow another $20 at the park to feed the kids! :) Then we watched a 7-8 yr old team play a game against East. Ardmore won that game, so we were very happy for them.
Brody has a practice scheduled for 5:30 tonight, but I'm secretly hoping it gets rained out to give us a small break. We'll have to be at the park tomorrow for a few hours, so just to be at home doing nothing will be nice. Unless we have to take cover from a looming tornado!
Until next time...

That piece of fish cost WHAT?

We had a retirement lunch today at Connor's for a co-worker. Lucky him! I have been dying to try Connor's because I have heard the best stuff on that place. The waitress went over the specials for the day and then the fresh fish of the day...either Salmon or Sea Bass. I chose to eat the Sea Bass. The food is good, she brings me my ticket.....and that's where the fun stops. My little piece of fish costs $27.00. Are you kidding me??? It was good, but it sure wasn't that good. I sit there in disbelief. My ticket was $42.37 total, just for me. That included my fish (which should be made of gold), a $1.00 fee for swapping from broccoli to asparagus, sweet tea for $2.25, $3.00 for a side salad and the tip added in for a large party. I was actually nauseated at that point, and still am somewhat. How can you possibly charge that much for fish at lunch??? Needless to say, I suggested to the waitress from now on that she and the other waiters let the customers know up front how much their food is going to cost them if it's not on the menu. And I also wrote them a letter that I'm going to stick in the mail tomorrow. It may not do me any good, but at least they'll know that someone isn't happy.

Inflation at the Ball Park

It's spring time so that means that baseball is gearing up. But so are the prices!!!! Don't get me wrong, I love being at the park watching my boys play ball. But it costs a fortune to be there. Hamburgers are $2.50, popcorn is $1.00, etc... Hamburgers are up 50 cents from last year, and I don't think they are any bigger or taste any better. So what gives? We have to pay $10 per child for concession fees before the season starts, and then they make a killing on the food and drinks they sell. I know the Booster Club has to make money, but do you have to break us while doing it? I know, I know..you're sitting there thinking to yourself "Just don't buy anything". Well, it's hard not to when you're there 4 days out of the week, and you're there at lunch time and dinner time. What am I gonna do? Let my kids starve? So until the season is over, I will just suck it up and keep dishing out the cash.

UGH!

I am so tired of crying! As I said in my earlier post, I cried all day yesterday over lil' Ethan. And then I start out doing good today, but then I read my comments that a couple of friends have left and it makes me start crying all over. What is wrong with me? Maybe it's PMS... Whatever it is, I am SICK of it! :)

Why?

Why? It's a question we all ask when something terrible happens. Especially when it involves children. A friend of mine told me about Ethan Powell, a little boy in Louisiana who was fighting Leukemia. She gave me his website, and I checked it almost daily so I could get updates on him. He was diagnosed at 2 months old, and he was such a little fighter. His last bone marrow test came back negative and said there was NO LEUKEMIA! What a blessing that was! But then he started to develop an infection and he started retaining fluid around his heart and lungs. My heart would break every time I logged in and read those updates. It just kept getting worse and worse, and finally his little lungs couldn't take anymore, and they shut down. Little Ethan died in his parents arms on Saturday morning. His short life touched so many people, and he touched mine more than I could ever tell you. Even though I prayed so hard for him all the time, I can't help but think I let him down. Maybe I didn't pray enough or maybe I prayed the wrong prayer. Why did God take this little boy? Why do his parents have to live without him? Why did he survive leukemia, but then ultimately die from an infection? Why did God put Ethan in my heart? I spent the majority of the morning yesterday crying over this little boy. There's a reason God burdened my heart with Ethan. It may never be clear to me why or it may hit me like a ton of bricks. But whatever the reason, I have to trust God's purpose in it.

I also want to mention Neil Elkins. His cousin-in-law just told me that he was diagnosed with Leukemia yesterday, and he will be spending a month in the hospital. I don't know where or why or any details. But please remember him and his family in your prayers. He has a wife Tisha and a 3 yr old daughter Saige.

I didn't know it was such hard work

My friend Vikki told me she had a blog. It reminded me of how I wanted one also. I don't know why I do... maybe it's to vent my frustrations, to share stories of my kids, or just to run my mouth with senseless rambling. Whatever the reason, I now have one. It was no easy feat, let me tell you. Setting up this blog was probably supposed to be real simple, but I seemed to have turned it into a near possible act. What should have taken 5 minutes took close to 20. But hey, I never said I was computer literate. But anyway, it's done!!!! I will gladly pat myself on the back in a little while...once I see that this first blog actually does post on the front page :) Thank you Vikki for reminding me just how bad I wanted a blog!