Rainy Monday Night Fun..

well, it's a rainy, stormy night here in Alabama. Lots of tornado warnings. My daughter's basketball game was cancelled and our oldest made it home safely from his voice lessons. Don't know where he got it, or why, but he came down the stairs with a net (like you get apples or oranges in) on his head. Guess he was trying to scare Brett, but he thought it was funny. We figured we'd all give it a shot...so, here's how we spent our rainy Monday night.

Brett

This is our youngest son, Brett. He is five years old and attends Moody Elementary School. He just started talking about a year ago and is just now starting to put sentences together. He gets off the school bus every day at our work. He even has his own Clayton Homes name badge; where it should say "General Manager" or "Sales Professional" his says "Wild Man." (His nickname given to him by my husband's sales staff.) Once he hits the door in the afternoons it's nothing but trouble. His Godmother is an Assistant Manager at Walmart, where he has his own name badge for there too....it says "Brett, Manager in Training." When we go grocery shopping he has to wear his Walmart vest and name badge and is constantly 'zoning' the aisles. (He'll tell you, "I work here," and has even asked Daddy one Saturday morning if he was gonna take him to WalMart to his work. Unfortunately, his first sentence was "big butt, bring me my beer." Daddy made the mistake of telling a joke to someone else with Brett sitting in his lap and that was the punch line.
Well, now I've posted all of my children...and the oldest has just brought "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" in with him, so I'm gonna go watch it with him....for the 5th time!

Photo Friday Yellow

Well, this is my entry for Photo Friday's "Yellow" subject. I contemplated many different things...flowers, leaves, my car, even the shirt I'm wearing. Finally decided I'd just "throw something together!"

Thanksgiving Angels...

Well, Thanksgiving is over and the majority of people have spent today out fighting crowds in the malls trying to get that "must have bargain." I, for one, just cannot get into the whole "After Thanksgiving Sale, Let's Go Fight For A So-Called Bargain" game. I'd rather stay home in my nice quiet livingroom! I figure I can find it on the internet just as cheap and have it shipped right to me, or heck, give 'em money.
Anyway, Thanksgiving was a good one. I got up and cooked my first batch of traditional "Southern Cornbread Dressing." It turned out pretty good, but still wasn't a match for my Daddy's. We went to my parents' around lunch time, visited with family and ate ourselves silly. It was nice to see family I don't get to see on a regular basis. Once home I finished my Thanksgiving meal and we stuffed ourselves again. We watched "House of Wax" (not too bad a movie for someone who usually doesn't like horror films) and "Crash" which was EXCEPTIONALLY good. You have to be able to stay focused, but it was well worth it. Might just watch it again before it has to go back to BlockBuster!! I'll just say this about it, you will definately think twice about racism, ethnic boundaries and how you treat your fellow man. Everything goes full circle. We are all linked.
Anyway, the picture in this post is of my two great-nieces at my parents' Thanksgiving dinner. I rarely get to see them and they have grown SO much. Micah is on the left and Zoe is on the right. I LOVE YOU GIRLS!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!!

Hope you all stuff yourselves silly!

Everyone likes to dream...

I've always fantasized since I was little that I lived in a late 1800's early 1900's Victorian Home. I've spent countless hours daydreaming of how I would decorate it, plant flowers in the yard, etc. I guess everyone has a dream, but I've actually "stumbled" upon that house, exactly how I've always pictured it in my mind, except for the color. If I had this house the very first thing I would do is paint it white and put up some green shutters. One Sunday while me and my husband were out taking a "Sunday Drive" we drove past it; temptation got the better of me and we pulled in the driveway for a look around. My husband has never been one to shy away from anything, so he went right up to the back door and turned the knob. Just his luck it wasn't locked so we went in. Everything about it was beautiful. The porch wraps all the way around, and the master bedroom has a door onto the porch also. The staircase and window are magnificent. Now I keep the realtor's listing in my favorites and check it everyday to see if it has sold. Guess I'll keep on dreaming until the day I check the listing and it says "Sold." Don't know why the previous owner felt the need to paint it blue and mauve, but to each his own I guess!
Good Night Everyone....off to decorate my dream house....

Melissa Shelby

Here is my posting of our daughter Melissa. She is 14 years old and stands 5' 10" tall. I'm going to have to put a brick on her head if she expects to find any pants to fit her next school year. She attends Victory Christian Academy where she is on the basketball team, drama team, studying to be a student leader (there are actual lessons and bible tests you have to take before you can become a leader.) and very active in the church's youth group. With basketball practice, games and 2 youth meetings a week she spends the majority of her time at school. She also loves softball and has played since she was in the fourth grade. She is named for my first sister-in-law who passed away at a very early age from a disease called saccharidosis. She was the most giving, caring person you could ever meet. Although I was young when she married my brother she always made me feel like one of the "grown ups," writing me letters (which I still have) and sending me little gifts (which I still have too!) If my daughter can grow up to have half the personality, talent and values she had I would be very happy.
Melissa can be very mischievious too...the other night she Saran wrapped the toilet before my husband came home from work, he's usually blind as a bat, but noticed the glare from the Saran wrap, so that attempt of practical joking was foiled. Never to be outdone, she just took the roll outside and wrapped his car. You could see the glare the minute you walked out the door. Darn, another attempt failed, so she put shaving cream under his door handles. Finally, success!
She is also a big Green Bay Packers fan. (Hmm, think my husband brain washed her into that.) For Father's Day last year she put on every article of Green Bay Packers clothing she owns, down to her "Packers Girl" hat and had her pictures made for my husband's Father's Day gift. We framed them in yellow frames with green mattes and they hang in his office at work. She has hit the "boys aren't so yucky after all" time in her life, so I feel a few more grey hairs sprouting out. Regardless, she brings much joy to our lives and we are very blessed to have her as our only daughter. (Although she can be worse than all the boys put together when it comes to that mischieviousness sometimes!)
Melissa Shelby I LOVE YOU!!! Mama
Within the next few days I will post a picture of our youngest son, Brett. (Yes, he's named after that good 'ol Green Bay Packers Quarterback, Brett Favre!)

imperfectionORperfection

This is my entry for Photo Friday. When I read the topic I was at a loss at first. Then it came to me as I was getting out of the shower this afternoon. I retreived this little wagon out of the dumpster (yes! dumpster diving, but hey, one man's trash is another man's treasure!) at my husband's office. It had been thrown away because of the missing wheel on the front. My intentions were to make a new wheel for it and use it as a planter in my yard. Now the more I look at it I think the missing wheel gives it character and I will leave it as is. I took pics from a few different angles, but still could not get it to look how I had pictured in my mind. Hope some of you at least enjoy visiting my entry. As for me, the only thing running continuously through my mind now is that old childhood song..."you can't ride in my little red wagon, front seats broke and the axles draggin'."

Prayers for Daddy

This is my sweet Daddy, he had surgery yesterday to remove his gallbladder. Then today he had an endoscopy which revealed "sludge" (as the Dr. called it) in his bile duct. Most of it was removed and a drain inserted. There is one spot the Doctor is unsure of, which may be a tumor or a spot where this "sludge" is being produced. He will have an Endoscopic Ultrasound and biopsy performed within the next 2-3 weeks. I am asking that each person who stops by my blog to please say a prayer for my Daddy, that the Lord keep him strong and well.
Thanks to all.

Good Morning from Alabama

It is a cold 29 degrees here in Alabama this morning, but stepped out on my back porch long enough to take this shot of the sun bursting through the trees in the woods of my back yard.

Music & Movies

Thought I would post some links to a few of my favorite sites. Like my brother, I enjoy music and also films. My oldest, Josh, is taking voice lessons and is currently learning the theme song to the movie version of "Rent." We visit the site often and play the trailer of this song. To hear it for yourself visit:
http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/rent/
Click on "Enter Site," then "videos," then play the teaser trailer. He is getting pretty good at this song, but still needs some practice.
I've also discovered the world of Tyler Perry after watching "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" and now I'm dying to see some plays of his instead of the movies. You can check out his webpage at:
http://www.tylerperry.com/
and the official site to "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" at:
http://www.diaryofamadblackwomanmovie.com/
if you haven't seen it I strongly suggest it. My favorite character is Madea (played by Tyler Perry). You can watch Exclusive Clips on this site.
Good Evening to everyone.

Josh

This is my oldest son, Josh. I am posting this picture because it is one of my favorites of him besides some of his Senior portraits. He looks as if he could be SO quiet and serene in this photo, which is the exact opposite of his true nature.

All Pooped Out...

This is my first image for Photo Friday. My favorite dog Chester on one of the kids beds after they had left for school. I especially like the way his tongue always hangs out when he sleeps.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Well, both my brother and sister posted Birthday Greetings to our Mother on their blogs. Figured I would too. I LOVE YOU MAMA!!
(she's the first one standing on the bottom left, and probably the smallest, in this school photo.)

My First Blog

Hello from me! I created this blog just to be able to post comments to some other blogs. Have never had a blog before, so I really don't know what to say. I'm 35 years old and have lived in the State of Alabama all of my life. Woudn't want to be anywhere else. I am the youngest of four children and the mother to four wonderful kids ages 5, 14, 15 & 18. (Yeah, what a gap!) For my age I have way too many grey hairs, but believe they started to show around the time the oldest hit his teenage years! My oldest (a boy) is in college studying to be an Accountant. He also takes voice lessons and wants to be a singer. The 15 yr. old (also a boy) is a sophomore in High School and wants to attend the University of Alabama at Birmingham's School of Dentistry after graduating. Our only girl, 14, attends Christian School where she is on the Drama Team, a Student Leader, on the basketball team (she's officially hit the 5'10" mark) and very active in the school's youth program. Our five year old son is in kindergarten and thanks to his Dad and some of his employees is a wise crack. (When ordering his drink when eating out you can always count on him to look at the waitress with a straight face and say "beer" although no one in this family drinks beer!) So I guess that's about enough for today........