Birmingham Botanical Gardens

Mom and I decided we needed a break, so we went to the Botanical Gardens last Wednesday. The weather was perfect, most everything was in bloom, it wasn't too crowded and I had spare batteries! Enjoy!

A Miraculous Healing?

 April 2010

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted..not that there's anyone reading this...*looks around*.
I've been so busy helping Mom clean and rearrange furniture, getting ready for Nana to move in with us. 
*Quick side note: Nana is my maternal Grandmother and she is 87 years old. She has Altzheimer's and it has been steadily getting worse. So, my Mom decided that she needed to come live with her. And recently Nana had taken a spill and couldn't remember what had happened...so it was definitely time for her to have some assistance!*

When we got to Nana's house on the 12th (2 weeks ago) Nana seemed pretty excited to come to Mom's house. She was ready to load up in the car and go as soon as we got there! Mom and I loaded up her bed, chair, food necessities, clothes and a few other odds and ends. Then we loaded Nana up and headed to The Ville. 

Nana liked the house when we got her there..She didn't like that it was so far for us to drive. And she didn't really understand who we were. :(
She was here all of 3 days before she decided she wanted to go home. She was more aware of who we were, even if she did get our names wrong most of the time. And Mom hated to see Nana unhappy, so the next Monday, the 19th, we reloaded Nana's stuff into the truck and took her back to Gadsden. We left her and she was content.
A day or so later and it was like, to quote Nana, "A window had been opened" and she could remember things and she felt better....
Our prayers were answered. Nana was happy and could take care of herself again. (There are neighbors that check in on her everyday in case she needs anything.) Of course, we will still go to Nana's every week, but for now....she is happy where she is! 
Please pray that she stays this way and continues to improve!

Dats Girl Stuff.....

Today, while his Mommy and Aunt Marsha were getting their nails done, Booger and I went to Wal-mart to see what he might "need"...
We looked over the clothes section and found two cute outfits for him and then we went to the toys...
I would hold up a toy and ask if he wanted it, and he'd look at me, smile and shake his head no....
"You want a tiger?"
Booger shakes his head no...
"You want a dinosaur?"
Booger shakes his head no...
"You want a zebra?"
Booger shakes his head no...
You get the idea....
As we were going up and down the aisles looking for something he might like...we ended up on the girls' toy aisle....
I told Isaac, "We don't want any of this stuff. It's "girl stuff". He looked at me matter-of-factly and said, "Girl Stuff"! I was surprised, because usually he doesn't repeat what you say right away. I am so excited for him to enter the pete-repeat phase!! (I love hearing my best friend's little boy and girl repeat whatever we ask them to say! It is so precious!)


Now we have to be more careful what we say....you never know what specific phrase Booger will pick up on....

One cool little dude

Remember when phones worked both ways?...

I'm not one to talk on a phone...I don't like not being able to see to whom I am speaking...but lately, I just want to pick up my phone and call Afghanistan and have a nice long chat to whomever is in charge of things. 'Cuz they're not doing that great of a job!!!

It seems like only yesterday that I was able to just pick up my cellphone and call my husband. Now I can't. I think of something funny and want to tell him and I can't. I have a really tough day, like today and I can't call him and vent. And then just as I'm thinking all this, he calls. And then, I can't remember half the things I wanted to tell him, because I'm just so giddy to talk to him. :) Yes, he still gives me butterflies and I'm sure when he comes home, we'll still be going through the "honeymoon" stage. I can't wait...

So, I actually just got off the phone with my sweet hubby. And hanging up is so sad...everytime. I just don't want to let him go. I love him so much and we can talk forever just like he had been here all along and as if he might be coming home at the end of the day. It really makes me so angry that they've moved him for the third time!!!!! And now he has even more of a sub-standard living situation and no internet to boot! I really miss our daily Skype calls. Being able to see him as I'm talking to him makes a world of a difference. Does he complain through all this unfair treatment?? NO! I'm the one on the soap-box ranting and raving because of all the unfairness! Why should he be singled out to be moved to God-knows-where and away from all of the guys in "our unit"? Oh how I wish I were in charge of that whole situation!.....ugh. And don't forget that when I have something really important (to me anyway..) to tell him, I can't...and I can't even shoot him an e-mail describing my day and all the important things that I wanted to tell him. Because, chances are, I'll talk to him over the phone before he'll be able to check his e-mails. He has to go halfway around the country to use someone's else's internet. And then it's only for a few minutes. Not nearly long enough to read the book I've written to him and view all the cute pics of our nephew that I included in the attachments....and you can forget replying....THAT'S not gonna happen anytime soon. He'll probably be home before he even sees those pictures of Booger...

I guess I can come down from my soapbox now...

Wait..one more thing. I sent that sweet Soldier of mine a St. Patty's Day card and just in the nic of time, I found a four-leaf clover (after searching for two days) to put in the card for good luck...He tells me he got the card (s) (Because I sent two! =)) and the package I sent that same week and I ask him about the four-leaf clover that I looked so hard for...and he says, "What four-leaf clover?"....and "Where are my socks?"

Really?.....

"No Way!"

....says my nephew Booger. It's his new saying, as is, "NO MA!"

He cracks me up! I have no clue where he learned it. I've never heard my sister, his "MA", say it before. She certainly doesn't use it frequently enough to warrant him repeating it. He's still stuck on the "pappy" as we call it. So he mainly mumbles whatever he's saying. But "NO WAY" and "NO MA" are plain as day! 


I don't know what his Ma and Dada are gonna do when they've got two pacified toddlers running around mumbling. That's right, Amanda is expecting again. She's actually due August 4th and it's a GIRL! No doubt  Booger will be extremely jealous. He already demands all the attention. But he's a cutie, so you can't blame him for it. He gets by with lots! I can't wait til he starts repeating everything we say. :) 

How to Tell Spring Has Sprung...

You can finally let your feet breathe.....

...The "yellow-bell" is in bloom and the clouds move quickly in the breeze....

.....The Bradford Pear Trees' Blooms are more frequent than it's leaves...

...Spring flowers are blooming everywhere

...The Peach Trees are blossoming and the air is a little sweeter...

...And even the Cardinals seem to be in a better mood...





But most importantly...there isn't any more of that white stuff covering the ground!!!!

Sips-N-Strokes with the girls...

Instead of having our regular FRG meeting, we decided to have a girl's outing to Sips-N-Strokes...the e-mails were sent out well in advance but when it came time to actually go, only 5 of us were able to attend. But we had a blast! I picked Colby up in Oneonta and she and I went shopping at the Galleria, where we ate lunch @ Ruby Tuesdays and I saw Stephen! Haven't seen him in ages. He's working there now apparently. 

 Colby and I each chose 2 appetizers because we were both really hungry. LOL. 

She had the mozzarella cheese sticks and the queso dip with chips. I had the cheese quesadillas and spring rolls. It was all really good except the queso dip, which was too greasy. Thankfully we didn't have to pay for it. :)


After we ate, we shopped around a bit. We spent a lot of time in B&BW smelling all the air fresheners and then to Yankee Candle where we smelled all the candles. It was so awesome, but of course, my sinuses started to protest. I did however buy $10 worth of votives. :) They smelled so great, I couldn't resist. I got one that reminded me of Jeremy. :) (I miss him so!)

After we were through shopping, we left for Sips-N-Strokes which was only 10 minutes away. We met up with Suzette, Brenda and Alice and checked in. We got our canvases and paints and chatted until the instructor started talking. We had a blast! I was so scared of messing up my painting. LOL. 

  

I was afraid to put too much of one color on there..and of course you can always fix it...My background turned out pretty good if I do say so myself. Of course it changed a lot before I was completely finished with it...For one..It looks like a sunset in this pic. But it's really water and sand.




When it came time to make the girl, we had to draw a yellow oval for her head..I didn't want it to be to big, but one of the ladies that worked there came over and said to just do it fast, so I did and it turned out pretty good. 

I didn't get to take many pics, because the instructor was going so quickly. I messed up my little girl's arm, but I fixed it so it wasn't so fat. LOL. It still isn't in proportion to her body..but oh well.

I can't wait to do it again! 
Everyone else's paintings turned out really great too. Mostly it was a lot of fun. 






Afterwards, we (minus Suzette who had to get home to her precious little boys) went to a local sports diner and had cokes and appetizers...well I had a yummy salad. :) Then we sat around talking and stood in the parking lot talking until we were too cold to anymore. Brenda and Alice had rode together, so they left and I took Colby back to Oneonta and came home. 


All in all, it was a great day! I can't wait to do it again. I knwo that Colby's artistic side has been sparked again and mine as well. We are all in agreement that next time, the painting will be more simple. LOL.