The Tradition

(Our first picture together taken not long after the story I'm about to tell)

So, OK... I'm a little sentimental... so kill me. What in the world am I talking about, you ask? Well, way, way back, a long time ago... after many months chasing me around, showing up everywhere I went, trying to flirt with me (yes, a wee bit of an exaggeration but not too far off the mark!), my future husband finally talked me into going out with him on the weekend after Thanksgiving. It was a great first date -- I even started to think, "Hey, maybe that guy whose been after me all these months ain't so bad after all." (In his defense, it really had nothing to do with Jonathan... I was just at that place in my life where I thought ALL guys were trouble and I just didn't want to be with any of them -- a hiatus of sorts) ... ANYWAY, when he left he said I'll call you in the morning, and I thought... "Yeah, right, that's what every guy under the sun says."

And then the phone rang... He was asking me out that night to go pick out his Christmas tree and decorate it with him. And so we did. And so we have.... every year for 14 years we have gone to get our Christmas tree on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. I hope we always will. I loved every minute of hearing the stories behind all of his ornaments from his childhood -- yes, his mother kept them all!!!

Maybe it has something to do with never really having that "family" I always wanted growing up, I don't know. But it's so important to me to keep that tradition and all the others that have followed since we've had children. The gingerbread houses, making ornaments, playing Christmas music, reading stories about the 1st Christmas, making gingerbread men cookies & all the other sweets, and even riding around with hot chocolate and finding every redneck display of Christmas lights we can find in a 10 mile vicinity! I love it all -- I hope the kids always remember those things... I hope it always makes them love and look forward to this time of year.

So things have changed a little over the years.... we no longer pick the trees out by ourselves... we now have three more of us in tow, giving their opinions, arguing over which is the best tree, and asking for us to buy every gaudy Christmas display in the store!!! So it's a little more complicated these days, but a tradition nonetheless, that I love and cherish.

Oh, please, mom! Just this one little toy! I REALLY want it!


Jonathan loading up our 15th Christmas tree

And I couldn't help but post this little picture, too. Yes, that's my Macy getting into the Christmas spirit. One day she'll be really mad at me for posting pictures like this!

Merry Christmas everyone, and I hope you all enjoy celebrating your own traditions this wonderful blessed season!

Thanksgiving Holidays

So Wednesday, after lots of laundry and baking and packing... I was finally ready to make the trip to Decatur to visit Jonathan's parents for Thanksgiving. His sister, Donna, and her boyfriend came up too, and we had a wonderful dinner (as usual, Betty!). The next morning we all loaded up and went to Chattanooga to visit another sister and lots more family. Jacob had a great time playing with his cousins, Caleb & Ryan. And we all love seeing Alli -- we miss you, girl!!!

Madison, Alli & Macy

Hanging out after the big meal

Jacob, a little camera shy, Macy & Caleb

Macy performing for everyone -- very impressive, I must say -- and, of course, her sidekick, Jacob, performing his own rendition of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star."

I hope you all had a wonderful, relaxing holiday yourselves!! See ya soon!

Thanksgiving at Preschool

Jacob and his buddies had their Thanksgiving program at school today. I never understand why he is always "on stage" at home, performing every night while Macy plays her guitar, and yet when he really gets on a stage he just clams up! But nevertheless it was a cute program and we loaded up on lots of sugar afterward. It's going to be a crazy, busy week with all the places we go to for Thanksgiving, so maybe all that sugar will give us that extra boost we'll need to make it through!

Macy's New Love & Camp for Madison

Here she is... My little Macy Grace with the new love of her life... her guitar. We've struggled for months with these guitar lessons... never wanting to practice, frustrated that she's not improving... so much so that I finally said, "Macy, if you're not going to practice, mommy's going to have to stop paying for lessons." And she was actually fine with that. But then Wade, her guitar teacher, let her use his guitar at her lesson and she sounded so much better! I couldn't believe it. He told me that she really needed another guitar... hers is basically a toy & it just won't stay in tune.

I was trying to wait til Christmas for the brand new guitar, but after I heard the difference in how she sounded on his guitar I couldn't wait to buy her the new one. So I surprised her one day after school... gave her the guitar she wanted and I was amazed at the turn around. She's practicing every night! We're leaving her guitar & amp in the den and every night she plays all of the Christmas songs she's learning. I'm so proud of her, and it's so great to see her excited about her progress. I'm a sucker for that kind of stuff.... working hard and feeling that enormous sense of accomplishment that naturally comes from that effort.

And Madison, well, she's had her own struggles lately. A couple of weeks ago, she starting checking out of school with very strange symptoms.... stomach aches, nausea, lightheadedness, shaky arms & legs. It always seemed to happen during tests, but that was weird to me too because she's my child who never seems to care whether she makes a 100 or a 60. And then she started talking about camp and how she may not want to go. At Ogletree, the 4th graders go every year to a 3 day 4H camp and it was coming up in a couple of weeks. So then I started putting two & two together and realizing that this might all be some kind of anxiety about camp.

So between me, the teacher, the nurse and even the principal, we have all been worried and as patient as we could be with all the drama of the unexplained illnesses, which by the way, the doctor could find nothing wrong after running every test he could think of. And then the day came for camp. I've been telling her that if she would just go, she would love it. I've always thought Madison needed to go to camp... I think it would help her believe in herself more and stop relying on me so much -- it would help build her confidence in herself. So we sent her off with lots of hugs & kisses & well wishes (and a lot of cell phone numbers for from the teachers and parents who would be there with her), and she actually went. I guess I kept expecting a phone call telling me to come get her, but it never came. She did great! I can't tell you how proud of am of that little girl. She loved it. Here she is packing her new suitcase (it's a miracle that we fit all that stuff in that one little bag!).





And here she is getting off the bus coming home. She was so tired, but it was so good to see her!

Here Comes the Bride!!

To my dear friend Stacy,
My how life can change in a year!!! A new business, a new house, a soulmate. How I've watched you turn the worst of times into the best of times is nothing short of amazing to me. And that's exactly what you are.... an amazing person and friend. Thank you for helping me through such a difficult year.... thank you for being there for me. And thank you also for showing me how to turn those lemons into lemonade. You are everything I admire in a person... hard working, smart, driven, and you won't settle for second best. You are a great mother and like I said before, a loyal friend to everyone. I have such a deep respect for you, and I am so happy for you and Kevin. I hope he knows just how very lucky he is!! So, my oh so hilarious friend... I am wishing you the very best in your new life with your new beau... may you walk through this world hand in hand, loving and laughing together all the days of your life.

No More Thriller Music! Aren't cha glad??

So I haven't blogged in a while. Many reasons why... most of which I won't go into here... but I will say that the last few months have been very difficult and somehow, I don't know... I just didn't feel like it. Maybe I just didn't want to share... maybe I've lost faith in things I believed in... whatever the reason I'm so glad a good friend, knowing me well, prompted me to add a few fall leaves and a few new photos to the old blog I've loved and cherished for most of this year. I thought about what she said and I realized that she was right. I can't give up on things that were so important to me. So I'm moving on... forward... and praying this morning to accept the things I cannot change, and trying my best to come to a place of gratitude for the struggles I've been given.

If I've learned anything in my 38 years it's that without the hard times, I wouldn't be the person I am today. And as many things about myself as I know aren't perfect and I beat myself up for far too regularly... I have finally learned to love myself. And the good Lord knows how many years that has taken!! I have worked very hard to overcome things from my past that although I'd like to say I was over, I finally realized that some things will never stop affecting me -- those experiences are deeply entrenched and become a part of who I am. I'm finally proud of that. We are all the sum of the life we have lived, the challenges we've faced, and the people that we have encountered along the way. Some of those people have brought us encouragement and love, and others have brought us pain and heartache. But all have been beneficial. That's how we learn and grow and become exactly who we are at this very moment. So like I said before... it may have taken me a very long time to be able to say this but I am proud of the person that I am and the challenges I've faced. And I'm now at a place where I KNOW that every bump in the road will only help me... build my character... encourage me to work on things about myself that need to be changed... make me stronger.

I found this poem this morning and I thought about all the wonderful friendships I have made in Auburn. I have loved this town and the peace it has brought to me and my family. And that's not because there's no crime or there's a football team here or it's small or whatever other people say they like about Auburn. I have loved this town because of the people in it. The people... and especially the close friendships I have made. Friends really do make the world go round, and I have felt so blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life. So here's the poem...

"What is a friend? I will tell you. It is a person with whom you dare to be yourself. Your soul can be naked with him. He seems to ask of you to put on nothing, only to be what you are. He does not want you to be better or worse. When you are with him, you feel as a prisoner feels who has been declared innocent. You do not have to be on your guard. You can say what you think, so long as it is genuinely you. He understands those contradictions in your nature that lead others to misjudge you. With him you breathe freely. You can avow your little vanities and envies and hates and absurdities and, in opening them up to him, they are lost, dissolved on the white ocean of his loyalty. He understands. You do not have to be careful. Best of all, you can keep still with him. It makes no matter. He likes you. He understands. You can weep with him, sin with him, laugh with him, pray with him. Through it all - and underneath - he sees, knows and loves you.

A friend? What is a friend?

Just one, I repeat, with whom you dare to be yourself."

May we all cherish those friendships, accept one another despite our faults, forgive one another of our transgressions, encourage and support one another, and most of all, LAUGH TOGETHER! Sometimes the world out there gets kind of crazy & ugly... what a comfort it is to know we have each other.

Stacy's Getting Married!!!

Stacy Evans, AKA... The Chicken Salad Chick, is getting married to her business partner and soulmate, Kevin Brown. We all couldn't be happier for them! Stacy is a true light in all of our lives and we are all so proud of her. She is one of those remarkable people that I think deep down we all wonder... how in the world does she hold it all together so well. Stacy has been through probably the hardest year of her life, and yet somehow she always remains positive... and yes, of course, HILARIOUS!!

So we all took her out to celebrate the big day at Moores Mill Country Club. We had a little lingerie shower for her, and it was uncanny how we all must have the same idea of what her "private life" should be. Every single one of us bought her red lingerie!!! So, Kevin... I hope you like red! And Stacy, at least the sexy red high heels I got you will go with EVERYTHING! We love you & best wishes!!