More Buddy the Elf

Buddy has been entertaining us all Christmas season!  

Here are some pictures of where we have found him each morning! 

Around the House

Here is a little tour with a few pictures of our Christmas decorations around the house! 

The tree and mantle. I love all the ornaments on our tree.  We get them on every vacation and it brings back such great memories when we decorate it every year.  

Louise's old Carollers!  I love having these and I truly think of her every time I look at them. 

This year I didn't put up the village and just have the singers next to the tree that my Aunt Alice made for me. 

The mantle with Santa and the baby Jesus!  I love this picture over the mantle.  My boys gave me this picture last year. 

The armoire is covered with snowmen. 

The living room along with the Pepsi Santa that was a tradition in Hubby's house. 

My Nativity Set.  I love it.  My favorite Christmas decoration. 

Our wooden lockers with more snowmen. They are everywhere! 

Here is the hutch in the dining room with the majority of my snowman collection.  

There are many, many, many snowmen! 

The front door.  

My snowman cookie jar with the great wine bottle light my mom made!  

I did not take a picture of my favorite little tree that was made by my Mom's friend Ms. Brown. It lives on my dining room table and I didn't take a picture because my table is a HOT MESS with all kinds of wrapping paper and ribbon everywhere!  I will take a picture when it is clean!  

That is the quick tour!  I love our house at Christmas time.  I know for sure that I will not feel that fondly when I have to put all this stuff away!!  

Hope you enjoyed the tour! 

Something to Celebrate

We have had some really good news over the last couple of days...help me celebrate!  

Shout out some praise!  Kick up your heels!  Do a little jig!  I have done all of that!  (Well maybe not kick up my heels, cause I really don't understand how that works!) Anyway....

 Lana's biopsy came back normal!  YAY RAH!!!  

 Bob's PSA numbers are super low after his surgery!  YIPEE! 

I thank God every single day for blessing me with such wonderful parents and a family that I adore!  And I thank each of you that prayed along with me for their well being!  God is good!   

Good news on their health is at the very TOP of the blessings I am most grateful for!  Now maybe my stress rash will clear up! 

Can't wait to celebrate Christmas surrounded by the people I love!  So blessed.  So very, very, very blessed! 

Band is a Blast

Our little Chipmunk is a trombone playing fool!  He had his school beginning Band Christmas concert last week and it was so fun!  He was ready and had practiced all of his songs over and over and over and over and over and over again (do you see the pattern here?)  Band requires a tremendous amount of practice.  But it is not too bad when your kiddo really likes it! 

They put on a great little show and from what I understand by the time Spring rolls around they are going to be leaps and bounds better!  

Here are some pictures of our excellent night! 

I would like to forewarn our Alabama relatives that Chip has an Extra Credit project that requires the signature of all the people he performs a concert of his Christmas songs!  Get your ears ready people!  You are about to be wowed by my trombone player!  

Thirty Years

I posted this yesterday on Facebook:

Something to celebrate...thirty years ago today was the first of many dates with my husband! So proud of the precious family we have and the life we have shared! We are blessed for sure! 

So two of my four regular readers are already on Facebook, but not Sandy or Martha!  This is for you, girls!

What I didn't say on Facebook that I will say here is....WHERE IN THE HELL DID THIRTY YEARS GO???????

My goodness!  Thirty years ago that young boy (a wee bit older than Harry is right now) was waiting in the living room talking to my mom.  His sister's Firebird running in the driveway (cause his Camaro wouldn't start!) so it would be warm when we got in.  We went to El Palacio for dinner.  We laughed when he tried to speak Spanish to order his food.  His three years of high school Spanish never paid off. We saw a movie.  We went to feed the ducks.  We talked on the phone until the wee hours of the morning.  Then the next day he sent me a dozen pink roses.  Sealed the deal.

We were just babies.  Now we are staring fifty in the face.  Time must fly when you are having fun!  

I just laugh to myself when I flash forward to this morning when he says "Huh?" to me one too many times and I almost go into orbit.  "Huh?" is his new favorite word.  I think he doesn't listen.  He thinks he might be losing his hearing.  Either way, it is obvious that things aren't perfect and being in a relationship for thirty years takes determination, patience, a sense of humor and a good deal of persistence.  I am glad we seem to have those in abundance. 

Hope you holidays are rocking along!  We have just about wrapped up our shopping! YAY!!   

  

What's Buddy Been Up To?

Engaged!

My fabulous niece Malarie and her wonderful guy Brett got engaged tonight!   So exciting!

Not the best picture in the world - but that was an epic Christmas morning with magical snow and is just one of my favorites!

Look at this gorgeous ring!

I was so excited.
Thrilled for them.
They are a great couple.

Then I cried.
Cause she was just born.
Like five minutes ago.
And I remember the day she came home from the hospital like it was yesterday.

Such an exciting day.
We decorated their condo with streamers and posters.
She was a precious baby.
I loved her.

Then she was a precious toddler.
Cutest damn kid ever.
We made her say cute words that sounded like bad words.
I loved her.

Then she was kind of a brat.
But in a way that you couldn't help but laugh at.
I loved her.

Then she was in school.
Had gobs of friends always around her.
I loved her.

Then she was a teenager.
There were boys and parties and school.
I loved her.

Then she graduated from high school.
I was dumbstruck then at how fast the time had gone by.
I loved her.

Then she went to college.
Joined a sorority.
Got smart.
I loved her.

She moved into her first apartment.
It was sketchy at best.
I worried about her.
I loved her.

Then she met Brett.
They moved to Tuscaloosa.
Set up their little family.
I loved her.

Now she is an adult.
Working a job.
Being a stepmom.
Getting married.
A genuine, sincere, hysterically funny, beautiful adult woman that I have loved for a long time.

So tonight there was crying.
It was ugly crying.
And there was snot.

I sent her a picture of my face, with the tears and the snot.
It was not pretty.
She laughed like I knew she would.

Then she showed it to Brett and....
I got uninvited to the wedding for a short while due to the snot situation.
But I think I am back in.

I already feel like Brett is part of the family.
He fixes stuff that shouldn't be fixed.
He goes all in with Nerf wars with my boys.
He takes ping pong a little bit serious.
He loves Alabama football and lets my Harry cuss about it when he needs to.
He tries EPIC stunts.
He is a keeper.
I love him too.

They are both so lucky to have each other.

I can't wait to see how the rest of their fairytale plays out!
Just thrilled to be part of it!

Congratulations!!!

Top Ten Tidbits

Okay, okay, okay...the pressure is on!  My four sweet readers have sent me some not so subtle kicks in the pants to get back to blogging!  I have pictures to upload from Thanksgiving and our little Buddy the Elf antics around the house, but let's not procrastinate any longer waiting on pictures.  Let me just pound out a quick Top Ten Tidbits so something brand  new will pop up when my tiny but fiercely  loyal group of blog readers check in for an update:

1. Christmas parties make my pants tight.
2. Cold weather is awesome when you get to sit inside next to a roaring fire and drink gobs and gobs of hot coffee.

3. Cold weather is not awesome when you have to go outside for any reason.
4. Christmas shopping in a panic makes you spend a little more than you normally would.
5. My husband was a legit hero this weekend.  He somehow managed to fix my Dad's laptop problem over the phone.  Seriously, that is nothing short of a Christmas miracle.  Seriously. No, I mean for reals.  No joke.
6. Can I possibly root for Auburn in the National Championship game?  I just don't know.
7. Harry will be performing in the Madwoman of Chaillot this coming week.  Am I the only one that has NEVER heard of this production?  I am sure he will be fabulous.  Can't wait to see it!
8.  Chip has his first ever Band Performance on Tuesday evening.  He is going to rock that trombone!  He has been practicing and sounds great.  Hardest part will be wearing jeans to the performance.  Chip hates jeans.  Based on number one above...I am also currently not a fan of jeans.
9.  Please send up a little prayer for my Mom that she gets awesome results on a biopsy being done on the 16th!
10.  Work is going to be busy this week, but after that I think it will slow down for a while. I am very much looking forward to slowing down!  Just in time to enjoy the holidays!

11.  A bonus number eleven.  One day I hope I can share the cell phone and candy corn stories my parents shared with me over Thanksgiving.   Laughed so hard...but in a way that almost made me want to start checking into some assisted living for the two of them!  My goodness they crack me up!

Have a great week - stay warm if it is cold where you are!

Thanks for missing me.

Weekend in Review

I hope your weekend was enjoyable.   Ours was nice.   Not to busy.  We were all home a lot.  Weather was wonderful.  Here are the highlights:

Hubby and Harry went to see the Spurs on Friday night.  Chip was supposed to go with them, but he stayed home with me and barfed.  Me and Chip watched Monsters University between cleanup sessions so it wasn't so bad.  Chip felt fantastic on Saturday so it was just a weird little stomach bug. 

Saturday, I got in a great walk with Beth on Saturday morning and then did some serious housecleaning.  It was overdue.  The boys cleaned their rooms really well.  Hubby cleaned up the garage.  I cleaned the fridge within an inch of its life and then went to the grocery store it filled it to the brim.  Made some football game snacks and a big batch of turkey chili.  Yummy. 

We got the Halloween decorations put away and the Christmas decorations out of the attic - we haven't put them out, but the storage bins are now in the guest room so they will be easy to get to when it is time. 

We watched the Bama game and it was outstanding.  A little too close for comfort - as is the norm.  Funny how the score after the game always seems like it wasn't a nail biter when in fact it was very stressful.  Happy we pulled that one out.  Now to get by that damn Auburn!  When did they get so good?  

Harry's girl came over to watch the game and she is just adorable.  She even wore an Alabama shirt, so bonus points for her!  She was very out going with tons of personality.  Does not appear to have a shy bone in her body.  She jumped right in to our crazy Alabama watching shenanigans without batting an eye.  And they won, so maybe we can ask her to come back again.  

I walked with Beth and Annette again this morning and we were busting a move.  I think we walked a little over 5 1/2 miles or so both Saturday and Sunday and did it at a 15 minute per mile pace.  That is hoofing.  My hips were really talking to me afterwards. 

I found and bought a new couch today!  Yay!  Placed my order and it will be delivered on Friday.  Now to figure out what to do with the old couch.  It is not in very good shape, but not something you can just take to the curb.  Hmmm.  Need to figure that one out.  Of course getting a new couch leads to needing a new rug, throw pillows and some lamps in the den.  It is always something, isn't it?  Should be fun to change things up a bit.

I hope your weekend was great and that you can find some joy in the Monday ahead!  I know I can! 

Hello again.

I have not been writing for a couple of reasons.  I have been busy.  I have had some big things going on that I didn't think I was ready to talk about and all the other regular day to day stuff just didn't seem worth the effort.  Turns out that I miss the regular day to day stuff. 

So, I am ready to get back to it.  Ready to get back to writing pretty regular.  Ready to get back to the trivial and funny.  Back to the day to day memories. Let's deal with the big stuff in short order and then we can move on. 

Bob's prostate test wasn't great. 

My Granny died.

My mom lost her mom.  That makes me sad.

Bob had his prostate removed and some biopsies taken.

Bob's biopsy came back a little off.

Bob is going to have radiation.

My sweet Harry is going to graduate and go to college.

That makes me so happy, proud, petrified and also gives me a giant hive on my back.

I am calling it my college hive.  It is large and itchy.  I hope it doesn't stay with me the whole time he is in college. 

That is the big, scary stuff that has been happening around here - but I have sat on it, stewed on it, worried over it long enough and now we are going to get back to the regular stuff.  Let me think back over the last few weeks and give you some highlights.  It will be a ten tidbits mini version:

1.  Harry got a great scholarship offer from Arizona State.  I think he has just about decided that is where he is going to go to college.  One more visit scheduled to Phoenix just to be sure. 

2.  Chip was named Super Band Member of the Week at his Middle School!  He was so excited.  And we were so proud of him.  

3.  The very next week, he tripped in the band hall on a girl's trombone and crushed it to smithereens.  Like really crushed it.  He was mortified.

4.  Harry has this disease call "senioritis" - it is a disease where you are already accepted in to a college and so you don't give a crap about the rest of high school.  I thought that might rear its ugly head the last six weeks of school or so....apparently it has struck a little early. 

5.  Chip came home from school today barfing.  He is still barfing at least once an hour.  I love being a mom. Actually, there is not much sweeter than a boy who wants his mom cause he doesn't feel good.

6.  We have the perfect storm happening at work.  Three big fat hairy hard projects all at once.  All with deadlines.  All with big volume of work.  It is fun.

7.  Thanksgiving is less than three weeks away.  What???  How did that happen??

8.  Harry's girl is coming over tomorrow to watch the Bama game with us.  I hope they win or she may not be invited back.  Would that be rude?

9.  Bob sent out a hysterically funny email about having his tubes removed after surgery.  I will be sharing it. You should check back...it will be worth it.

10. Baseball is over.  Flag football is over.  We have nothing this weekend.  It is a beautiful thing.  I am going to clean out the fridge - then fill it up again.  

Glad to be back.  Hope to be back regularly.

Sweet Memories

I love this picture that my Aunt Gail took of my Mom and Granny.  

Precious memories.  

My Granny

My Granny passed away yesterday.  She was 94.  Tough as nails she was.  Relatively healthy until the last few months.  She had a run in with bypass surgery many, many years ago - but was still raking leaves, digging up bushes, organizing pantries, cooking like a beast, moving boulders and any thing else in her way for a decade or more after her heart surgery.  She was a pistol.  She loved a HOT meal, her talk shows, talking politics, bragging about the mile she cranked out on the treadmill and how healthy she had eaten that day.  It wasn't always healthy cause I have a fair amount of memories of her unzipping her pants after a meal cause she ate too much.  Don't even get me started on the Granny bathroom stories.  There are many.  She was fighting a little dementia toward the end...but did I mention that she was 94?  She was a bit ornery, a bit critical, a bit gassy....not exactly a Grandma from the movies.  But she was mine.  And I loved her.

She was my Mom's mother.  And my mom and her sister were by Granny's side for the last few weeks. Mom said it was very hard.  I bet it was.  My mom's sister, Gail is a Hospice Nurse by trade so she was very prepared for what to expect.  Granny lived with Gail so she had already been caring for her for several years.  They made sure she was comfortable.  They shared some laughs and some special time together.  What a treasure.

Those two sisters stayed by their mom's side until the very end.  What a gift that is to have people who love you right beside you as journey through the final stages of life.  I know it was their honor and privilege to be there with her.

When I got the call that she had passed my first thought was of my mom and my Aunt Gail.  I knew they were so sad to say goodbye to their mom. My second thought was of Jesus meeting Granny at the gates of Heaven.  I imagined him saying "Good grief Wanda, you are hard headed.  Now get in here and let me love you for eternity."  I bet he did too.

There aren't many like my Granny.  She was loved and will be missed.   Rest in Peace, Granny.

Harry's Homecoming 2013

Harry is on a date with his girl tonight!  They are going to the high school Homecoming Dance!  

Here are the good pictures of the cute couple.

And then Chip got in on the action! 

And here are the outtakes, just because there always has to be outtakes!  

Harry planned up a special night for them.  It involved a pickup truck, a dvd player, bacon,  and macaroni and cheese.   I will leave it at that!  I hope they have a fantastic, memorable evening!