2008 is almost here!

Ethan David & I

So I suppose it's time to make resolutions once again. And probably the same ones. I rejoined SparkPeople.com a few days ago and have done relatively well the last two days. It's an online diet/health program. It lets me track my foods and calories, as well as exercise....well, it will let me track my exercise if any when I decide to start doing any!


Reflecting on 2007, I must say that once again God has richly blessed me and my family. We have a healthy new grandson; we have good health; we have a good home......and we have each other. Andy and I celebrated 25 years of marriage in 2007.....I look forward to the next 25.

That which was lost is found.....

Bailey came downstairs at 5:30 this morning, eyes swollen from crying and announces she has something she has to tell me. She has lost my engagement ring. The one Andy gave me 26 years ago this month when he asked me to marry him. She had found it in my jewelry box months ago and asked if she could wear it and I told her yes.

We retraced her steps (she had already torn her room and bathroom apart) and she remembered having it at Starbucks last Friday. She was in the bathroom and took it off to wash her hands (who takes off their rings to wash their hands?!). She thinks she left it on the sink.

So I call Starbucks at 6:00 am. Chris tells me they did find a ring, but she can't get into the safe to see if it's the same one. She tells me to call back at 10:00. I call back at 10:00 and talk to Chris again. They get into the safe, I describe the ring, and yes! It's MY ring!

I picked it up after work today and literally broke down in tears when they handed it to me. They have no idea who the honest soul was that turned it in, but I am forever grateful to that person.

Tiring Weekend....

Weekends are supposed to be for relaxing, right? Well, then I think I should get a do-over.

I got a phone call at 4:00 am on Saturday...Guy was taking Ashley to the ER so could I come over and stay with Ethan? Of course! Colin was his "other" grandpa's in Vincennes. She ended up needing emergency surgery (I won't go into details here) and they didn't get home until later that evening. I spent the night so that I could take care of the boys...Colin had made it home by then....and so that they could both get a good night's sleep.

I came home around noon on Sunday, with Colin in tow. He wanted to see his Papaw. He spent the night last night. Andy is going to take him to pre-school today and then he is going to go spend the day with Ashley to help with the baby.

I did finish reading "To Kill a Mockingbird" on Saturday. It was good. I wouldn't say it's the best book I've ever read, but it was good. I'm glad I read it. Now I'm going to have to watch the movie, according to Andy anyway. LOL

Thanksgiving is over......my feasting is showing up on the scales this morning. Yay.

The Day After Thanksgiving....

It's Friday, but we just had our traditional Thanksgiving dinner with Andy's family tonight......loud, rambunctious and lots of fun. A house full of kids, including 5 new baby boys born into the family this year.....we all have a lot to be thankful for.

We're still reeling from the death of Andy's brother. The official results still aren't in. We are anxious to see what the toxicology reports state. We just found out he was taking Chantix and, in extremely rare cases, can cause extreme depression, suicidal tendencies and unnatural aggression. The officers at the scene are saying it's likely that alcohol was a factor.....I am praying it wasn't.

Bailey made it home from National Youth Convention today just in time for the family dinner. She had a great time but I missed her so much while she was gone.

Colin is spending the night with his other grandparents, so he wasn't at dinner. But Ashley, Guy and Ethan were.....Ethan is the spitting image of Ashley when she was a baby. He is so adorable.....and tiny!

God has truly blessed Andy and I.

Tragedy

Andy's brother was killed last night in a car accident. We found out this afternoon that he hit another vehicle in the side, killing a mother and 4 of her children. The father and another child are in the hospital.

All reports so far indicate he was drunk. Witness say he must have had a "death wish" because he was driving down the wrong side of the road at speeds in excess of 80 mph and had run several other vehicles off the road.

Andy had lost contact with him after their father died (they are actually half brothers, same dad, different moms). Once the estate was closed and his brother received his part of the inheritance, we rarely saw him.

But we did love him. And I've learned through this that we need to stay in touch with our families and tell them we love them every chance we have.

When children disobey their parents, smoke cigarettes, and make war on each other, the seasons change....

A quote from To Kill a Mockingbird. Good gravy....if that were true, we'd have a new season every week! LOL I'm enjoying the book.....Scout is quite a character. I love the way it's written. I'm up to the part where Jem has to read to Ms. Dubose every day.

Bailey and I stopped by to see the boys yesterday. Colin just wants to pat Ethan on the head all the time (something for which his mother is constantly tell him to stop). But Ethan doesn't seem to mind....he just sleeps through it.

Mother/Daughter Day Out

Bailey and I went shopping yesterday and had such a great time. She is leaving for National Youth Convention in Nashville, TN, in the morning and wanted to try to find some new things to take with her.

I ended up buying myself a new sweater, a Snoopy fleece jacket (at KMart, no less!), a pair of snow boots, and a new black skirt. I spent way too much on myself, especially with Christmas coming up, but I just couldn't help myself. It was all stuff I needed.....well, except maybe the Snoopy jacket. LOL

I also started up with the sniffles yesterday. Yay me. :-(

To Kill a Mockingbird

One of Andy's favorite movies is "To Kill a Mockingbird". He was shocked years ago when he found out that I had never seen the move.....or read the book.

So today I have begun reading it. Of course, Andy said, "Why don't you just watch the movie? It won't take as long."

But I have a thing about books made into movies. The books are always better. I realized this the first time I read "Gone With the Wind". I had seen the movie several times and was shocked at how different (and better) the book was. If you just watch the movie, you are missing out.

I've made it through the first 3 chapters so far.

How cute is this?

Colin spent the night with us last night and we took him to the hospital this evening to see Mommy, Daddy and Ethan. Ethan started crying and Colin said, "I think he's say 'I want Colin!'".......too cute!

BTW - Ethan's feet are humongous....check out his footprints! And he is so adorable.

They are coming home tomorrow afternoon. We dropped Colin off at Nana's (Guy's mom) on our way home. I told Ashley I would make her roast and potatoes tomorrow for supper....her favorite meal.

Ethan David Fisher

Our newest grandson made his debut at 3:32 this afternoon, weighing in at 6 pounds, 2.7 ounces, and measuring 18.5 inches long. Lots of dark brown hair and absolutely adorable, of course.

Ashley was admitted to the hospital at 6:00 am. They were "insanely chaotic" - apparently lots of babies decided to come today. They broke her water at 8:45, gave her an epidural at 9:15 and started Pitocin at around 9:30.

Guy, Guy's mom Debbie, and I were in the delivery room. It's so amazing. I am truly, truly blessed.

It's Ethan's "Birth Day"

In a few hours (hopefully it won't take very long) Ethan David Fisher will be here. Ashley is checking into the hospital at 6:00 am.....I told them I would be there by 6:30. They are inducing labor this morning.

Life is about to change yet again. Colin will not be the center of our lives....he is going to have to start sharing that spot with a new baby brother. He's already shown me all of his old toys he is giving to Ethan, he has shown me Ethan's bedroom, and he's told us how he's going to teach Ethan to ride a bike. He's excited to be a big brother.....we'll see how long that lasts! LOL

So anyway, I'm up at the "butt crack of dawn", as Bailey so eloquently calls it, because I couldn't sleep and in a few minutes I'll be leaving to watch my oldest daughter give birth.

Happy birth day, Ethan!

Halloween has come and gone.......

and I didn't even post any pictures here! Here's Colin & Andy.....Andy just got home from work. BTW....Andy spent all day on the Monday before Halloween getting Colin's costume "just right".

And then, of course, there's the jack-o-lantern that Colin drew the face on and Andy cut it out exactly as it was drawn.....a funny little guy!

Colin Andrew

Colin is such a joy in our lives....I absolutely love this little man!

Diggin' holes.....

Have a group of kids you need to keep busy? Give them each a garden tool and tell them the first one to find a worm gets $1.....at least it worked with Colin, his cousins Preston & Kinley, and the neighbor kid Tashz. Plus....no one found a worm so I wasn't even out a buck!

They did find a beetle....who met an untimely death at the hands of Colin....they also found lots of rolie polies, spiders and ants!

Decisions....decisions....decisions.....

We met with the realtor yesterday. She thinks our house would sell quickly and that we could make about a $40,000 profit from what we bought it for.....which is good since that's about how much we've put into it.

She took us out to look at house she currently has listed. I have to say, if Bailey weren't still living at home, it would be perfect. It's only two bedrooms and one bath.....I would prefer 3 bedrooms. Also, right now we have a dining room, living room and sitting room. The house we looked at only has a big living room, but we could put our dining room table at one end of it and still have plenty of room for "living".

It was a nice house but I didn't fall in love with it. I think I could happy living there though. It's right outside town. She also thought we could buy that house for about $30,000 less than what we can get for our current house.....that would be some nice pocket change.

Of course, then I came home and looked at my big, old house and thought "why would I want to sell this place?".

I hate making decisions.

A realtor is coming! A realtor is coming!

Don't get me wrong. I love our house. It was built in 1915...it has two original stained glass windows and lots of leaded windows. It's beautiful. It's full of old oak woodwork. It's a beautiful home.

But it's too big. I never clean the upstairs because I simply don't have time. It's a dusty mess up there.

So. A realtor is coming this morning to take a look at it. One potential problem? Location. Location. Location. Not many people want to move to our small town.

The girls are upset with us because we are even considering selling. This is the house they grew up in.

Anyway, she will be here 28 minutes. We are hoping we can sell this house and find something smaller out in the country....maybe 1 or 2 acres with a smaller house. And if we can't sell....that's fine....we'll just stay here and I'll keep ignoring the dusty upstairs.

Times Flies.....

when you're having fun....or so they say.

I've been back at the school since the beginning of June. I'm so glad to be back...although we're facing a year of tremendous change. The high school principal (my boss) is leaving and our superintendent has been arrested for official misconduct....two things I knew were probably going to happen before I decided to return.

So why did I want to go back? A genuine love for my school and my community. After all...I graduated from MHS, my mother graduated from MHS, my grandmother graduated from MHS.

And just what do we do now in the midst of all this turmoil? We move forward. We embrace the challenges we are facing with a new outlook and with lots and lots and lots of prayer.

It's a......

BOY! Ashley and Guy are having another little Guy in November - the due date is the 18th. She is 19 weeks along and the baby weighs 11 ounces right now. Bailey and I both got to go in with her for the ultrasound - absolutely amazing!

25 Years of Marriage

Andy and I celebrated 25 years of marriage on May 29th. I have to say, it's been a pretty easy 25 years......thanks to him mainly. He is the most easy-going person I know. He puts up with me. He stands by me. He supports me. He's my best friend. And I thank God every day for giving me someone so wonderful.

And why do I feel guilty about that?

My sister also recently celebrated 25 years of marriage, this past January. She just left my house after spending the last six days with me. She has left her husband. He cheated on her. An affair. Can you believe that? An affair! After 25 years of marriage!

Their 25 years have been the exact opposite of mine and Andy's. It has been rough-going from the start. I always wondered how they managed to stay together, but gee whiz, after 25 years, I thought they just had it figured out and would be together forever. So 4 kids and 3 grandbabies later, they are calling it quits. He doesn't want to. He wants her to forgive him and stay with him. She told him she can forgive him, but she'll never forget....and she just wants out.

I was surprised by her this weekend. I've always been the strong one of the two sisters, even though I'm the younger one. She's never had much self-confidence......I've always had it spilling out of me. She's the quiet one.....I'm the one who always has something to say. She's the one who always calls me, crying, her heart ripped out by either something her kids or her husband had done......I was the one who always listened, always gave her advice, always encouraged her to hang in there. She has always said I was her hero and she wished she were more like me.

This week I saw a different side of her. Angry? Yes. Broken? No. She said the fact that she finally knew he was having an affair was like having a burden lifted off of her shoulders and she's ready to move on......without him. She is like a different person. Yes, sad by what she's lost.....but excited about a future life where she gets to call the shots, where she gets to finally be herself. Where she gets to be.......happy.

If it were me, and I had found out that Andy had cheated on me, I'd be, well, broken. Devastated. Angry. Vengeful........

But she is none of those things. Oh yes, she cried a few times while she was here. But the strength and dignity with which she is handling this has been mind blowing to me. I am in awe of her. I think I have a new hero.

My Guys

Andy has always been such a great dad to the girls and now he is a great Papaw to Colin. I absolutely love to watch them together. I snapped this picture today while they played ball in the yard.

A little disappointed (okay...a LOT disappointed!)

My parents always come up over Memorial Day Weekend from Arkansas and spend the week at our house. It's always hectic week with lots of company, but I love it. I've been incredibly homesick lately to see Mom and was especially looking forward to them coming this weekend.

But.....they've had a family emergency and are unable to come. When I refer to "my parents", it's actually my mom and step-dad, William.....but he has been more of a father to me than my biological one.

Anyway, his sister-in-law has cancer and isn't expected to live. She was married to William's brother, Raymond, who died suddenly a few years ago. Mom and William are very close to her and don't feel that they can leave her at this time. In fact, Mom just called and said she is worse and is not expected to make it through the night.

If you read this, whisper a prayer for Donna.

Weight Watchers

Some more news! I joined Weight Watchers in March and have lost a total of almost 13 pounds so far - I am so excited!

It's coming off slow. I have good weeks and bad weeks....good days and bad days. One week I'll lose, the next I've gained....but I am still losing overall.

It feels great!

Changing jobs (again)

After much thought and discussion with Andy (and lots of prayer), I've decided to return to the school where I worked for 11 years. While I love my job at the hospital, the school tugs at my heartstrings. The lady who took my place resigned and I was asked to come back. It was too difficult to say no. And, with gas prices at $3.29/gallon, working only 4 blocks from home again is very appealing!

I've been assured by different individuals that things are different there and it looks like there are some more major changes on the horizon. I can't say much about them here just yet, but a change in administration is probably coming.

I put in my notice at the hospital last Monday, crying the whole time (I'm such a baby). My boss was disappointed, but understood. She asked if there was anything she could do to change my mind and I told her no. But the other lady in our office has been completely strange about the whole thing. She spent Monday crying, but by Tuesday she was completely horrible to me. In fact, she said some pretty ugly things to me in front of a couple of other people and I received a phone call at home that evening from one of those people, asking me just what the heck was going on down in our office.

The next morning my boss talked to me and apologized for the other lady's behavior and promised it would stop. Things were more bearable on Wednesday and Thursday, and by yesterday (Friday), it was much better. Still a little tense, but better. She is at least speaking to me now.

I am taking a week off between jobs - Mom & William will be here that week. I am going to put in a few hours at the school that week, helping to get honor day and graduation pulled together, but other than that, I am looking forward to having a week with Mom.

I haven't posted since January 7th!

Yikes! Where does the time go? It's already mid-March.

First - excellent news to report.....I'm going to be a grandma again! Ashley and Guy just found out they are expecting their second child. We are so happy and excited!

Second, some sad news. We had adopted a yorkie, named Max, but were unable to keep him because he was so rough with Sidda. This past Saturday they got into a pretty heated fight and we thought he had broken her jaw. So Andy told me he had to go (Andy was not happy about me getting him in the first place.) Anyway, I gave him to my neighbor, but she is unable to keep him either because he did the same thing to her other dog. She told me she has someone who wants him. I'm just worried about him moving so much - I don't want to traumatize him! He's really a sweet dog.....just not around other dogs.

Let's see.......what else.......my job is going great. I am getting added responsibilities all the time and am loving it. This past Tuesday was New Employee Orientation and I did the morning session. It was fun.

That's about it for now.

One week down, 51 to go!

It's the end of the first week of the new year.

I had a hectic week at work, but am still loving it. There are rumors swirling (gotta love a small town) that I am returning to the school but, at this point, they are only rumors. A huge part of me misses the work and the kids - I still have kids come up and hug me and ask me to come back. Time will tell if this will happen.

Colin is growing and talking.....too much. He's been peeing in his potty for a while now, but always sitting down. Last Saturday, Andy taught him to pee standing up. So last Sunday during church, I took him to the restroom and he peed stand up. The following conversation ensued:

Colin: I'm gonna tell Papaw I peed in the potty 'tandin' up!
Me: No Colin, don' t you dare go out and tell Papaw that. You can tell him that when we get home.
Colin: But I have to tell Papaw I peed 'tandin' up!
Me: Colin Andrew, I'm warning you....don't you dare go out front and tell Papaw that.

We leave the restroom and before we are even halfway to our seat, Colin announces in a very loud voice, "Hey Papaw! I peed in the potty 'tandin' up!"

Good Gravy.

We are also at the end of our first week of our 37 Days of Consecration at church, which I am thoroughly enjoying. We are reading the New Testmament through during this time. I got behind yesterday, but am all caught up this evenings. It's average 6-7 chapters a day.

I also began teaching a new age group in Sunday School this week - the 10-11-12 year olds, which in this case, is a group of all girls and one boy. Today the "one boy" was absent, so it was just us females - and we had the best time! I am so glad that God has allowed me to be a part of this class - they are definitely going to be a blessing to me, as I pray that I will be to them.

Also, had a miracle happen to me today. I woke up with a horrible, nauseous headache that my Imitrex wouldn't even touch. I thought about staying home from church, but decided to go, staying only long enough to teach my class and then come back home and crawl back into bed. After I got there, I begun feeling much worse so I caught my Pastor in the hallway and asked if he would pray for me right then and there. He did and immediately I was healed. I want to give God praise for touching me in such a great way!

If you read my blog, may your second week of the 2007 be blessed!

January 1, 2007 - 37 Days of Consecration

37 Days of Consecration begins today at our church. I am totally looking foward to taking this opportunity to draw closer to God and find His direction for my life. Today began with prayer and reading Matthew, Chapters 1-9.....it will also be a day of fasting. By the end of these 37 days, we will have read the New Testament in it's entirety. The 37 days signify 10% of the year.

I am also excited because I have been given a new Sunday School class - ages 10, 11 and 12....it's a class that consists of mostly girls and they are excited that I'm going to be their teacher. This makes about 22 years of teaching Sunday School class for me and is something that I continue to hold dear to my heart. I can recall all my Sunday School teachers fondly and always pray that I am making a positive impact in the lives of these children.

On a personal note, what would New Year's be without a resolution to lose weight and get into shape? I have a couple of incentives this year....my 25th wedding anniversary and 25-year class reunion are both coming up in May. Twenty-five years?! Where has the time gone?

I wish everyone who reads my blog a very happy, healthy and prosperous 2007!