How do I say goodbye?

As wonderful as our Thanksgiving was, me and my family in Mobile, ended the day on a sad note. My grandfather, Cliff, was found deceased in his apartment on Thanksgiving night. Sure, he was in his 80's and had several medical issues. However, he was still able to get around. But even so, is it ever easy to say goodbye to a loved one? Cliff and I were very, very close. Unlike a alot of children, I got to spend a huge amount of time with my grandfather. He was the one who would make me have those big belly laughs as he tried to "count my ribs". I'm not sure he ever made it past 4, because he had to start all over again because of my uncontrollable laughter. He was the one who taught me how to skip rocks across a body of water. I never got it quite right. But he cheered me on and said it was the most perfect "skip" he'd ever seen...even when the rock quickly plopped in the water and sank to the bottom. He taught me how to cook the perfect twice dipped fried chicken. He even had me thinking that I had actually written the words to the song, "Away In a Manger". I'd stand on the step that went into the kitchen and perform that song like I was on stage. He'd clap, whistle and give me standing ovations every time...even when I messed up a little. Saddly, I didn't get to see Cliff that often once I got older. But when I did see him when I'd visit Mobile, he'd give me the biggest hug and kiss and we'd talk about the fun we use to have at the park, and how he'd take me to the TG&Y store to buy toys. We loved laughing about how he and his mother, Mama Gaitwood were the only ones who could get me to drink milk...by giving me powdered donuts :-). Regretfully, I'm not going to be able to attend my grandfathers funeral because of my broken ankle. And knowing him the way I did, I'm sure he'd understand. But even with his understanding, how do I say goodbye? I guess I have to have faith that he knew how I felt about him and that I love him dearly. I'm sure gonna miss you, Cliff. I love you!!

Giving Thanks...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Wow, I can't believe that it's already THAT time of year. I simply LOVE Thanksgiving. Not only for ALL the wonderful food. But mostly for the fellowship with family & friends. We hosted Thanksgiving this year and I think at any given time there had to be at LEAST 50 people here (my husband has a huge family). Everyone was on time...well, almost everyone. I've noticed a trend...people are usually on time when there's good food involved, huh? I have to admit though, it was a little more work than I thought it would be. Oh, we've hosted this feast before and had just as many visitors. But this time was a little different for me because...remember...I have a broken ankle!!! So I hobbled around all day. Boy was I in pain. But THANKFULLY, I got through it without having to self-medicate :-). I had SOOO much help and had just as many people telling me to sit down and elevate my foot. Sure, I put up a fuss...but that's my job :-). I was so thankful to see so many family members we hadn't seen in a while, including my oldest daughter, Briyanna. I think everyone had a really good time and left with a full heart as well as a full belly. It's so nice to have a moment, even amongst all those people to just stop and listen. You hear stories being told, you hear reminiscing about old times and about those who are no longer with us, you hear laughter, you hear children playing and of course you hear football and grown men yelling at the TV. What a treasure to have a close family and to see love being spread throughout a home. No wonder it's called Thanksgiving. Because that's what we were doing...giving God thanks for giving us family to share our lives with. What a blessing!

Things most people don't know about me..

First of all...I got (stole) this idea from my new friend, Adrienne. Thanks girl!!

1. I'm pigeon toed
2. I ADORE Dr. Pepper
3. I think my gray hair is gorgeous
4. My favorite color is purple...it inspires me.
5. I hate yard work
6. I love to read magazines...over & over& over again
7. My favorite store (at the moment) is The Scrapbook Clearance Center (and Target)
8. I love lava lamps and I have 2 purple ones
9. My favorite foods are shrimp & ceasar salad (but not together)
10. Did I mention that I LOVE Dr. Pepper?
11. I tried (along with my husband) for 11 years to have a baby. She'll be 4 years old tomorrow!
12. I don't like conflict...could be because I don't know how to fight.
13. I don't like white shoes (except for sneakers)
14. I absolutely LOVE scrapbooking!!!
15. I love scolding hot food and showers
16. I broke my ankle at the soccer field...and I wasn't even playing!
17. I have emailed my new friend EVERY day since we met a little over a week ago (yes, she has replied)
18. I hate cold weather
19. I don't like the smell of fresh cut grass or rain..yuck!
20. Christmas is my favorite holiday.
21. I LOVE to type.
22. Dr. Pepper...did I mention that yet? Hee Hee
23. I love chocolate on raisins, pretzels, strawberries, coconut, and...nevermind!
24. I was born in New York
25. I cry very, very easily...sniff, sniff
26. I L-O-V-E being a mom & a wife
27. I think GOD is totally amazing. I wouldn't want to have to do His job!
28. I love the ocean
29. I love being me!
30. I'm glad you took the time to read my BLOG!

4 Beautiful Years Ago...

On 11/20/05, it will be 4 years ago since my BABY was born. My goodness how time has flown by. No words can explain how awesome it is to see life and the world through the eyes of a toddler/pre-schooler. The sky is bluer, the grass is greener and life in general is just more fun & facinating. To be honest, it actually saddens me that my baby will be 4 years old tomorrow. After 11 years of trying and praying for this child, it seems like she is growing too fast. I sure hope I haven't missed too much. Thank God for the craft of scrapbooking. I am now able to look back through the (4) albums I've done over the course of Jayla's sweet little life and watch her grow all over again. I can read the words that I wrote about something she did or said and it will make me laugh all over again. There are no words to describe how I feel about this little girl. Her daddy experiences the same difficulty. All we can say is that we are so proud of her and thrilled beyond imagination that she's in our lives. I'm smiling now as I watch her "talk" on her Princess "cell phone". What an amazing person she is. I thank God everyday for her and I look forward to what He has in store for her. You are truly a blessing, Jayla and Mommy loves you!!

Happy Birthday To Me...

Wow, has it been a year already since my last birthday? Better question, have I really been on this planet for 39 years? What a strange feeling. I remember as a kid I use to think that people in their 20's were old. Then when I got to my 20's, I thought people that were 40 were old. Well, HELLO!!! I'm almost there now. But you know what? It's not so bad. I don't feel any different today than I did yesterday...or last year for that matter. I have a little gray hair now...ok, quite a bit. But for the most part I'm healthy, extremely happy with my life, in love with an awesome man, wonderful kids and an amazing family. If you ask me, life doesn't get much better than that. Oh wait, yes it does...if you add awesome friends, both old and new, to the mix...that's just icing on my (birthday) cake, so to speak. Ya know, I have no complaints about being 39 today. My husband gave me some gorgeous roses, my dad sent me a lovely plant and my good friend Stacey gave me 2 of my favorite things...Raisinets and Dr. Pepper. What's there to complain about? Turning 40 next year? BRING IT ON!!!!

This one's for you Adrienne...

The Quiz:
2 names you go by
1. Dawn
2. Mommy

2 things that scare you
1. Dying and leaving my kids without a mom
2. Getting lost

2 of your everyday essentials
1. The "Pill" :-)
2. Dr. Pepper (I can go a couple days without it)

2 things you are wearing right now
1. My ankle cast (ARGH!!!)
2. Grey shorts

2 of your favorite bands or musical artists (at the moment)
1. Anita Baker
2. Mercy Me

2 favorite songs (at the moment)
1. I can only imagine (by Mercy Me)
2. He loves me (from the movie, the Fighting Temptations)

2 things you want in a relationship (other than real love)
1. Romance
2. True emotion

2 truths
1. God is REAL!
2. I love my family

2 physical things that appeal to you (in the opposite sex)
1. Cute hynie :-)
2. Seductive eyes (that is physical, isn't it?)

2 of your favorite hobbies
1. Scrapbooking
2. Scrapbooking :-)

2 things you want really badly
1. The Cadillac SRX (wooo, SEXY!!)
2. Unlimited scrapbooking supply cash flow

2 places you want to go on vacation
1. Hawaii
2. Greece

2 things you want to do before you die
1. Travel with my husband in our RV
2. See my kids' children

2 ways that you are stereotypically a dude/chick
1. I'm VERY emotional and cry very easily
2. I talk alot and may give a little too much detail

2 things you are thinking about right now
1. What I'm gonna fix with the steaks we're having for dinner
2. What scrapbook project I'm gonna work on next

2 stores you shop at
1. Target
2. JoAnn's

2 people I would like to see take this quiz
1. Stacey
2. Mandy

What are the odds?

What are the odds? My kids made it through their soccer seasons without a single injury. And on the very last game of their season, I break MY ankle. Go figure!! Would've been different had I gotten hurt in their last practice when the parents play against the kids. But NOOOOOO! I was innocently taking my 3 year old to the bathroom and stepped in a hole. I knew it had to be serious when I hit the ground and heard a "POP". Hmmm, that can't be good. And to add a little humor to the situation, my daughter was a little upset that I'd rather sit on the ground grabbing my ankle instead of taking her to potty ("Mom, so you're NOT gonna take me to da potty??") Don't you just love toddlers? I had a friends daughter finish the journey to the potty for me as I hobbled back to my seat and finished watching our 10 year olds game. The second wave of pain didn't really hit until I tried to walk the 10 feet to my vehicle. Who knew I could cry so easily? I successfully sat through my daughters game then onto the doctor we went. Only to find that our suspisions were correct. My ankle was broken. Not serious...but broken nonetheless. Now I have to wear a removable cast and use crutches for 6 weeks...ARGH!!! Oh well, it could be worse. I could've broken my arm and wouldn't be able to scrapbook for 6 weeks. Talk about a nightmare!!! :-)

Too cute for words

Well, that season sure went by fast! But look at the final result, just TOO cute for words!. Jayla simply had a BLAST in her first season playing soccer. Although she's still a little confused with the difference between practice and an actual game, she did great. Fortunately, at this age, they don't keep score. But Jayla made it very well known when she "won" the game by scoring a total of 8 goals for the season :-). Assuming she'll play in the Spring, we'll have a few things to work on with the little Cheetah. With the help of "Coach Daddy", she will need to work on kicking the ball in the right direction - perferably towards her goal. And the biggest thing will be to try and keep her from "posing" for me every time she sees me trying to take a picture of her "naturally" playing. That one's gonna take some work :-). We're so proud of you, Jayla! You're such a cute little Cheetah!

Trick or Treat...or NOT?

Our family, along with most other Americans, just observed Halloween. Notice I didn't say "celebrated". When I was a child, my mother actually decorated a little, got candy and dressed me and my sister up in cute little costumes. She let us walk up and down the street we lived on and gather as much candy as we could from our neighbors. Things are so different these days. Now, I am the mother and my views are different than those of my "back then" mother. My husband and I have chosen not to let our kids dress up in costumes or "celebrate" Halloween. These days, it seems a little scarier for the kids and borders on being a little "demonic" at times. We don't even give out candy. As a matter of fact, sometimes we try not to even be at home the evening of Halloween. We'll usually take our kids somewhere like Chuck E. Cheese and let them play for a while. We are Christians and have decided that this decision is best for OUR kids. However, (isn't there always a "however"?) We are so blessed to be a part of a neighborhood that respects our decision. Not only that, our neighborhood also has an annual "hayride" for the kids. Basically, one of our neighbors hitches a trailer up to the back of his vehicle and fills it with hay. The kids, some in costume, pile up in the back on the hay and Mr. Eric drives them slowly through the neighborhood, let's them jump off and run to the houses with the lights on and get their treats. Prior to this past Halloween, we hadn't participated in the hayride. After a short discussion, my husband and I decided to allow the kids to join their friends in the hayride this year. They didn't dress up in costumes, they were just their cute little selves. A friend of ours let them borrow "pumpkin buckets" for their candy. They had a BLAST! My husband even rode on the back with them and raked up hay as the kids jumped off and back on the ride. I'm torn as to whether we still "celebrated" Halloween or if we just "participated" in a neighborhood event. Hopefully, it was the latter. Either way, our family had a wonderful time with our neighbors and I think the kids won't soon forget it.