You've Turned Me Into "That" Mom!

 

 

Happy 2nd  Birthday my sweet Gracie!! I honestly can not believe how quickly this year has gone by. I wish I had the power to push a pause button on life.  I sit back over the last year and think, "WOW!, she has turned me into THAT mom." The ones I made fun of and thought to myself  NEVER would I put my girl in that if I had one. Now I find myself making tutus, putting crazy hats and bows in, frilly outfits, pink everything, TRYING TO LEARN TO SEW!!! WHAT!!!???? Crazy, I know. Your dad makes fun of me and says he remembers me swearing I'd never do that if I ever had a girl. I still sit back and look at all the toys scattered everywhere and think to myself, never ever did I think I would see that. Dolls, pink horses, pink wagons, play baby stollers, My Little Ponies, the list goes on. Or when I fold clothes and there is pink and purple in the pile. It still takes my breath away at times, and I get that swell in my heart and know how truly blessed we are to have you. 

 

 I have to say that God really knows what he's doing.  No matter how much pink I put on you, or frilly clothes, he made you PERFECT for our family.  You are dramatic. Your personality gets bigger and bigger by the day. You'd rather be outside with Tuckers chickens, jumping on a bed, riding 4 wheelers with papa, playing with hot wheels cars and army men, and dirty from head to toe. You love Mickey Mouse and Disney World just as much as your dad. You are a mixture of sassy and sweet.  We couldn't have picked a more perfect girl for our family, and we adore and love you so much. Happy Birthday my sweet girl! Now SLOW DOWN!!!!!!

Confessions of a Caregiver

It has been 5 months and 19 days since my sweet papa has passed and 6 days for the love of his life, my Mema, to follow. For 3 Years I have been their caregiver and have realized how easily it is at "the end stages" to do nothing but remember the hard times. The last couple of years I have had the thoughts "why?", or "I'm to young for this responsibility".


Why did this happen to them?
Why can't they just remember?
Why am I stuck with this responsibility by myself?
Why? Why? Why?

Deep down I knew it wasn't their fault. It just got so hard to see the dreaded word, "Alzheimer's" take over their lives. It was just so hard seeing the 2 people in my life who were like my parents, get taken over by this dreadful disease. Now that it is all over I realize how this disease can take over and make the "caregiver" remember nothing but how hard it was. I am choosing to get over it and blog about the good. I refuse to let it get the best of me. I want to remember the Mema and Papa that were my whole heart...the ones I looked up to growing up.....

I was rotten. I believe I have the only Mema who would set a blow up pool in her backyard and boil water to warm it up and put in the pool in SOUTH GEORGIA so I wouldnt get cold.

I NEVER heard my papa cuss....except the one time in the middle of the night when I was in High school and was crying b/c I had my heart broken by a boy....he called him an as&@"!?.

I rememeber from the time I was little till the day I got married papa saying "Ive said since the day you were born, I'll be your daddy, I'll be your best friend, and I'll be your papa".

Memas shopping days before school started.

Mema going and buying me EVERYTHING she could find for me to wear to my first NKOTB concert

Mema and papa letting me drive them to church WAY before I had a license just because they couldn't tell me "no" :)

Them taking me to church and the the yummy meals afterwards. My fave being DQ with all the "old" people

Going to gospel sings and papa trying to tell the group how good I could sing when I TOTALLY couldn't sing....but he made me think I could :)

Watching Little Mermaid and Bambi, even in high school, on my "sick days" with Mema

The first time I went on a date with Matt and BEGGED them not to embarrass me but as we drove away there stood papa with his dog at the door making the dog do bye bye moves with his paws.

Getting home from my first date with Matt and Mema saying "that's the boy you are going to marry"...I thought she was crazy...

Getting married and moving away and looking so forward to visiting them b/c they would spoil me.....yes, I was rotten.

Having kids and getting excited to visit them b/c I knew the whole weekend I was there the kids would be taken care of and I wouldn't have to change a diaper....like I said I was spoiled. :)

After having 3 kids, I remember my visit to see them and tried on my wedding dress for kicks and it ZIPPED!! WHOO!!! That was after lots of sucking in and papa zipping it up with Cheeto fingers. Yes, the Cheeto stain on the back is still there.

I could go on and on....the point of this blog is that it is SO easy to remember the hard stuff. I want to try and rememeber the good. What a blessed girl I was to have Mema and Papa, a priceless example of what true love is.

Happy Birthday Sweet Gracie!

Wow! Already a year has passed. If you would have asked us 3 years ago if we would ever have a girl the answer would have been "NO"! We just never thought it was in the cards for us.  Even now we randomly look at each other and say, "Can you believe we have a girl?'

 Oh what joy you have brought to us sweet Gracie. You have every one of us wrapped with that sweet crinkled up nose smile and the sweet little random girly noises you make.  Your brothers think the world of you, and part of the joy this year has been watching them take care and love on you CONSTANTLY. So much so that sometimes you see them coming and start fussing, and other times you see them coming and get jump out of your skin giggly excited. It's a pretty neat thing to watch and we just sit back and feel like our heart is going to explode because it is filled with so much happiness.

God has surely blessed us with you. I know no one is perfect, but you come pretty close. From sleeping through the night at 3 days old, to being the smiliest, happiest baby with  the best personality. You are a cuddle bug and give the best slobbery kisses.  Your "uh oohhh's,  dot daaaaaaaawwwwwwg!, ya you, and oh wow!" makes us grin and laugh constantly. I could go on and on. 

Happy Birthday sweet girl, we love you so much! Thank you God for blessing us so much with her and allowing us to be her family!

Thoughts In Albany

Well, I am sitting here in Albany a.k.a. Agony, Ga., and I thought I would write a few of my thoughts and going ons. Hopefully after this trip I won't have but one or two more to go. For those of you who don't know, this is where I am from, and last year I was FINALLY able to get my mema and papa moved up closer to me so I could watch over them.

Papa has Alzheimer's and I am pretty sure mema has it to. They were like a mom and dad to me growing up and now it is my turn to take care of them. They are such a testament to life and marriage and I am so lucky to have them. Just a sample of their sweetness.....For Valentines Day I bought a dozen roses and a card and took them to papa. He doesn't even know what day of the week it is, let alone V-Day. I took them in his bedroom and told him what day it was and that these were for him to give to mema. His smile was priceless and even though he has a hard time remembering most things, he filled out the card by himself and wrote the same thing he has for the last 50 years, "To My Little Lady, From Your Man". How awesome that he still remembers that! He came walking down that hallway into the living room holding the roses and card so proud, and with the sweetest grin. I thought "man they can drive me crazy sometimes, but moments like this make it worth it!!"

Anyway,I have finally gotten the house (45 years of never throwing anything away) cleaned up, and tomorrow I am meeting with another realtor to get this house on the market. Kind of bitter sweet....ready to get it all over with, but sad to see the house I practically grew up in sold. I wouldn't have it any other way though because I finally have them near me!

So, as much as I say Agony, Georgia, I really can't complain to much. It was where I grew up, had and still have great friends, and met the love of my life! For that, I am grateful for this little south Georgia town. I may bid you farewell for good soon but old Albany will always be in my heart! Till next time.....

Man, I Stink!

So, I started this blog and have gotten fussed at because I haven't blogged since Thanksgiving! I stink... I know! I am going to try my best to stay on top of this though!

This year has already FLOWN by. It is now the beginning of February and it is so crazy to me how the older I get the quicker time goes by. I am currently sitting on the couch looking at Tucker with all his stuffed animals under the blanket with him. Out of all the boys he is the only one who has always, since the day he was born, gotten so attached to a stuffed animal. He takes them with him everywhere he goes, adores them, talks to them, fusses at them, and makes sure every night they are cuddled up under the covers for the night. I LOVE it....it is just sweet to see it.

Ty and Tanner are busy busy. Tyler got accepted into the gifted program at school, which was exciting for him because Tanner has been in it a few years and Ty now can experience the excitement Tanner gets from it. It amazes me the things they are learning and the difference it is since I was in school. Ty in 4th grade is doing things that I did in 7th grade and Tanner in second is doing things I did in 5th grade. It also amazes me the things I have forgotten :) But I won't get into that!

Matt and I have just been riding out this thing we call life. The ups and downs and everything in between. It is such a blessing to have a partner and best friend that I adore to experience the ups and downs of life. Of course, I must brag! We flew to Disney for Matt to do the half-marathon. He did a great job! Our whole family went and his brother did the full marathon. We all had the best time. Matt and his brother have already signed up for the "goofy" challenge for next year, which is the half marathon on Saturday and the full marathon on Sunday....yep....I think they are crazy! :) But I can't wait to root them on!!

Anyway, my goal is to not let so much time go in between blogs this time. I hope you all are doing wonderful and are enjoying your new year so far! Until next time....

Things I Am Thankful For

Tomorrow is Turkey Day, and as I sit here getting my recipes together to start my cooking I thought I would blog about things I am thankful for.......

-first and foremost my family and God
-sweet stinky snotty kisses
-great friends
-my home
-this awesome little town of Jasper
-my church
-chocolate
-cozy socks
-nights at home with my husband doing nothing
-fingerprints on my walls
-slobbery kisses from Millie
-coffee
-the mountains
-having the best neighbors in the world
-walking outside and seeing the cows right at the fence
-fall
-winter
-snowmen
-snow days at school when we cozy up and make hot chocolate
-having the sweetest, most loving, and unselfish husband
-knowing that every morning when Matt leaves he wakes me up to kiss me bye
-vacations
-life
-my neice, Caitlyn's, prayers
-having my grandparents close by and knowing they are happy
-sitting on Aunt Lu's front porch
-Miss Lynn's words of wisdom
-shoes
-peanut butter and jelly
-my boys getting mad if they are going to miss church
-Tyler taking his money to Atlanta and giving it to homeless without me even knowing
-Tanner's freckles and sweet smile
-Tucker's red hair and personality that keeps us smiling
-and again GOD and My Church, Revolution, where I have learned so much in the short time of going there

Hope everyone has an awesome Thanksgiving!!....now I am off to cook

Priceless

A few weeks ago Tucker went from saying his prayers to singing his prayers. His own tune and all. Every couple of days he changes the tune up, but the other night I caught it on video. Enjoy!

Living In A Small Town

So, it has been forever since I have blogged, and I remember standing on Main Street during the marble festival parade and thinking I have to blog about this. As I get older I realize how much quicker life seems to be going by. So, I am trying to consciously "take in" the little moments.

Every year, the first weekend of October, Jasper has the Marble Festival. They start it off with a 5K in the morning followed by awards ceremony and then parade before the actual festival begins. As the morning started I had reminder after reminder of the reasons I love living in this place called Jasper, the First Mountain City. Here they are....

- I love the marble festival-I love getting up early and going to root on my family and all the runners-I love that I know almost all the people
-I love the cool morning-I love the "competitiveness" of some of my friends and who is going to beat who
-I love Coach Morris, Tyler and Tanners P.E. coach, pumping the kids up and hoping we have the biggest turn out of all the elementary schools
-I love Main Street-I love walking to Main Street after the race to see the parade
-I love that I am so blessed to have Aunt Lu with us every year to enjoy these things with
-I love the excitement of all the kids waiting for the parade, mainly just for the candy that gets thrown
-I love the "small town" feel PERIOD!

I could go on and on about why I love it here. This to me was just a reminder that we made the right decision a few months ago when we made the decision to not take a job 5 hours away! So that is all for now....I will blog again later about Ty's surgery and our beach trip!

Kodak Moment

I have a really bad habit of forgetting my camera and not having it with me at the right time. This weekend was no exception. We were on our yearly extended family trip and I remembered my camera, but I left it in the car the whole weekend. So, needless to say I missed out on alot of pictures of the whole family together. The last day we always go to this Apple House place for breakfast and I DID remember my camera! I believe I got the best picture of the weekend! The picture above is of my sweet little niece Molly and Tucker. They are two peas in a pod and have the neatest little bond. I love having them together! They are so much fun and this picture is the best picture I think I have ever gotten of them and I don't think I will ever get a better one! They are about 6 months apart and at the funnest age. I wish I could just put a pause button on the two of them and keep them just the way they are right now. So, even though I forgot my camera for most of the weekend, this picture says it all. I got my "Kodak Moment" :-)

We had a great time as always. The boys really look forward to this trip because they get to see their cousins. I think there were 22 of us in all. I think we were all a little worried that the hurricanes may dampen the weather, but it turned out to be beautiful weather the whole weekend. We had an awesome time and are so blessed to have such a good family that we can enjoy these times with.
Hope you all had a wonderful weekend as well....until next time....

Tuck's First G.T. Game!

Thursday night we took the boys to the Tech game. It was fun getting back into college football mode and all the excitement that goes with it. The boys were so excited (matt wasn't at all) :) It was Tuck's first game and he did SO good. We were a bit concerned on it keeping his interest, but he literally sat there the whole time! Must be a boy! His only concern was the noise. He spent alot of his time with his hands over his ears worrying that there might be fireworks. Other than that I think he enjoyed it as much as the rest of us.

The boys are truly die hard GT fans. GT fans are few and far between and it makes for fun when we get around family on Matts side and mine, who are all HUGE bulldog fans. I am afraid no matter how hard people try to waiver them, they won't budge AT ALL! Even this weekend we were at Uncle Danny's house and he had out his Georgia chairs while we were cooking out. Tyler came to sit in one and said "I don't want to sit here, I am afraid I will get contaminated", so he goes out to Matt's truck and gets his own chair. This is a child who at 3 could sing the WHOLE GT fight song. I think they just look up to their dad so much that at this age they want to be "just like dad" and go to Tech like he did. Wonder how long that will last! Anyway , below are some pics from the game...Enjoy!!

Tuck Dancing At Blues Brothers Restaurant

I finally figured out how to post videos without going through youtube! Here is Tuck dancing at the Blues Brothers restaurant in Orlando

Getting In Trouble

Tuck being the youngest, seems to get away with alot more than his brothers did. He actually has been our easiest, so he doesn't truly get in trouble very often. I caught this on camera last weekend on the front porch and thought it was pretty funny and kinda sweet.

Tuck getting in trouble

Broken-hearted & Pouting

Daddy telling him he loves him

Making Up

And now it begins....AGAIN....

Beautiful weekend! Wish we would have gotten some rain with all the wind, but the wind made it so relaxing to be outside. I have been getting Fall fever the last 3 weeks and am afraid it is just teasing us....BUT maybe there is hope. The acorns have started falling at our house and they are HUGE! They say that is a sign of a hard winter! That might not excite some of you, but it excites this south Georgia girl who didn't even see her first snow until she was 21!! Last year the acorns were small and we had a very mild winter, so maybe there is some truth to it. I love the snow, the anticipation of snow, school being canceled, Tyler asking for hot chocolate, snowball fights, and building a snowman with my boys. WAIT!!....I am getting way ahead of myself. It's not even fall. Oh well, my point is I love summer but am ready for it to move on.

Anyway, the last couple of months have been pretty laid back as far as sports. Now it begins again.....Tyler soccer, Friday and Saturday practices then games will begin. Tanner, fall baseball, which all we know right now is every Saturday afternoon. I guess we will find out more in the next week. So, it begins again,....I just wonder how we will juggle it once Tuck starts! It seems like alot when we think about it, but once it starts we love going and watching them. They are only young once so we have to enjoy it while we can! Anyway, hope you all had a wonderful weekend..until next time...

You Couldn't Pay Me Enough!

So, yesturday I had to get the boys out of school early to get to Alpharetta by 3:45 for a pediatric ENT appointment for Tyler. I picked them up at 2:00 and hit the road. Arrival time at docs office 3:48. WHAT!!?? Then off we go hitting the road to be back in Jasper by 6:00 for soccer evaluations. We left at 4:48...arrival time in Jasper.. 6:24. Now, this drive should only be about a 50 min. to 1 hour at the most. As I sat in traffic with these people I called Matt and said you could not pay me enough to do this everyday. I would have to pray for my patience and to not have road rage! The funny part of it is I realized how truly impatient Tyler is also. He stressed the whole time about him being late. I sat back and thought how funny it is to see the difference in all three boys. Tyler stressing and saying over and over how late he was going to be, Tanner sitting in the back informing me of every opportunity to get in the lane beside us b/c they were going 1 mph faster.."mom put the pedal to the medal and you can make it! They won't hit you!"..my daredevil..then little Tuck sitting in the back in his own world just going with the flow without any care in the world. It just amused me in the midst of my frustration.



On another note, the doctor was wonderful! He played around with all three boys and was just a really nice guy. The verdict....Tyler has a deviated septum. Our next step is to get a CAT scan to see how severe it is. Apparently, the doc doesn't like to do this surgery on someone his age unless it is absolutely necessary. So, we will see. Our ortho is ready to start treatment on Ty's teeth but he says this has to be treated first. I have a feeling when all this is over Tyler will have ALOT of money invested in this mouth. Then he will probably fall and knock all his teeth out :)



Anyway, I have vented and will now close! Till next time...

ALIVE!

Our church has been doing a series called "ALIVE" for the past couple of weeks. Basically it is about if you had 30 days to live how would you spend it. Making us realize that you are never guaranteed tomorrow and we should live each day to it's fullest. I'm not even doing it justice trying to explain it, but it has really hit home for me and Matt. It makes us realize the importance of family and not our jobs, how much money you make, or what you have on this earth. (you can't take it with you anyway!) So I have been trying to make a list of the things I would hope I have done.

1) I would hope and pray that I have instilled in my boys as they grow up the importance of faith and knowing that as long as you believe in HIM anything is possible.

2) That my family knows that no matter what their past has been I am thankful for them and wouldn't be the person I am today if not for them.

3) That my husband knows how much I love him and that I think I am the luckiest girl in the world that he picked this CRAZY, loud, aggravating, South Georgia girl to be his wife. He is such a genuine, sweet, caring person and the most wonderful father in the world. Our boys and I are so blessed to have him! I have grown so much since meeting him and strive to be as good of a person as he is.

4) To leave this world with no regrets...trying to be a good friend, mother, wife, and most important a good Christian.

The list will continue I am sure, but for now I will close. In reality I know that it is hard to do and be those things 24/7. I'll just take it one day at a time.....Till next time....