My Hunter

Since I'm going to be out of town until Sunday and won't be blogging for a few days (no internet or computer in Stuttgart, AR) I wanted to make sure I documented exactly what makes my heart happy right now. This is it! Hunter does! Even though he's in Manhattan Kansas right now - just seeing these pictures make me smile.

If I close my eyes & try really really hard, I can smell his little baby scent, and feel his sweet soft touch. Oh my, how I miss this wonderful miracle grandson of mine! me

It's Over

Well, it's over. Christmas I mean. And if that didn't mean that the kids had to go back to Kansas, and Brittni had to go back to work & her own life-I'd be happy that it's done with this year. Nothing seemed to "feel" right about Christmas this year. There was just so much going on. Barbara Lee passing away, my grandma being diagnosed with colon cancer, the Christmas party that was supposed to be at my house with my mom, sister, dad, step mom, nieces was cancelled, Hunter spending 24 hours in the ICU at Northwest...it was just too much for one month! There are many many wonderful things about December 2009 also though, HUNTER LEE coming early - meeting Brittni's new boyfriend & seeing her so happy, spending extra time with my dad, grandma, mom showing off pictures of the new baby, David getting to put in several days of work right before Christmas... it's one of those times where if I just remind myself of all the blessings, it's not so bad! And hey, Tammy - it's NOT SO BAD! I'm just really missing the kids right now. Especially Hunter. I got to spend so much time with him the 2 weeks they were here, that now I think I'm having withdrawals! But as usual, it's David to the rescue. Tomorrow after work we are driving down to Stuttgart. We haven't had Christmas with his dad yet. And of course duck season re-opened the day after Christmas, so David can get in 4 days of duck hunting while we're there. He's got a couple of friends from up here that are driving down for the weekend to hunt, so that should be fun. And for some reason this year, he's talking about going out on New Year's Eve. "Out" in Stuttgart means going to the Wildlife, it's a bar that a friend of his & his dad's owns. Not sure if we'll actually go out, or go to bed at 8 or 8:30 like we usually do down there.We really don't drink much at all anymore, and NEVER do we go out & drink. There's just something about getting old(er) that makes all those thoughts run through your head about how stupid it is to have even one drink & then get out on the road-with all those other people that have had God knows how many drinks! Also, remember, to duck hunt you have to get up at 3:30 or 4 in the morning! So I doubt we'd even make it til midnight to ring in the new year! Either way, a visit to his dad's means relaxation. No worries, no running around trying to get everything done in a hurry, none of the hassles of every day life. It is awesome. And peaceful. And just what I need right now. And as usual, David knows that! me

Random-ness

Happy Wednesday, although it doesn't feel much like a Wednesday at all to me. You see, I work for a wonderful company that has been generous enough to give us all 3 days off for Christmas, and if you count Sat & Sun-well, that's 5 whole days off from work!!! Next week we will work Mon thru Wed & be off for another 4 days. We are going to leave Wed night & head down to Big David's to celebrate Christmas with him, and of course, to DUCK HUNT! We'd originally planned to go down Friday afternoon & spend the weekend, but I just could not leave with the kids still here. They are planning to head back to Kansas on Sunday. Eddy has to go back to work on Monday. I am enjoying them entirely too much! I know it's going to break my heart when they go home and take Hunter with them. I've really tried to convince them they should just leave him here with me & David. I told them they could come & visit every weekend, but they just don't seem to want to go along with it. I can't begin to imagine why, can you?
I'm feeling much better about the world today. It is only 2 days til Christmas. Nope, still haven't done any shopping but I plan to take care of that today. David got to go in and work some today, so we woke up at 5 and had coffee together & discussed the whole shopping fiasco that will be taking place. I'm sure he'll be home before too long, it's not even 8 a.m. yet but it is POURING down rain, and he can't work in the rain. I've been pretty productive this morning. There's laundry in as I type, got most of the house cleaned up, folded 3 loads of clothes I've been avoiding & burned some more DVD's to give to our parents for Christmas. With all that's going on, I haven't mentioned this yet, but David has mastered making DVD's from our pictures (new and old). And, he puts music on it so songs play while you watch your life before your eyes on the TV. It is great. And I think they'll make great presents for everyone. Well, I need to go change out the laundry & peek in & see if Hunter is missing his grandma yet - so....Merry Christmas everyone! me

The Big Confession

I have a confession to make. I have known now for a long time that my one true "sin" that I commit over & over & OVER again, is WORRY. I worry about everything. EVERYTHING. I worry about money, I worry about David, I worry about the kids, I worry about being overweight, I worry about smoking, I worry about David being laid off, I worry about not making any/enough sales....I could go on & on but you get the picture. And I call this sin, because I KNOW I am supposed to trust God with everything. And that includes all my "worries". I'm supposed to "Give it/them to God". And I try, I really, really do. But somehow, I always ending up "taking it back from Him" to worry about some more. But believe it or not this post today is not about worry. This post is about another little (or should I say HUGE) personal trait (or problem) that I have. Are you ready? Here goes my big confession: I want everything and everyone to be perfect. Actually, perfect is way too strong a word. To put it plainly, I just want everyone to be happy & get along. I can not stand conflict, confrontation, anger towards one another, tension...none of it. And it absolutely kills me if I find that I've hurt someone's feelings or made them angry.(Even if it was unintentional or needed to be said) I also want everyone in my entire circle to get along. To not be upset with one another. To not say things that might hurt each others feelings. And sometimes in my effort to "fix" everything & everyone, I make it worse...or end up feeling worse than if I'd just left it all alone. If I feel like there's conflict between Eddy & Brittni - I try step in, and explain to both of them individually exactly why I think the other one said/did what they did. I try make sure they see the other persons side. I do this with David & the kids too. I do this with my mom & my sister. I do this with David & his Dad, I do this with EVERYONE -great - now I'm making it sound like no one in our family gets along - and that is defiantly NOT the case. For the most part, everyone gets along really well. And I know that in families, there will be differences of opinion. But IF I really know that, why oh why do I try so damn hard to "fix" everything. I realized today at lunch while I was driving, that IF I'd just accept that I can not please EVERYONE all of the time, I would have a lot less personal stress in my life. I also realized that I spend a lot of mental energy trying to fix things that don't really need to be fixed. And that IF I spend the rest of my life trying to make everyone else happy, (and by that I do not mean my husband and kids and grandson- I will always do everything in my power to make those 5 people happy) but if I spend the rest of my life doing things I don't really want to do, just to make other people happy - I will not be. So many times I just go along with what I feel like people want me to do, just to avoid conflict. And that's creating conflict within myself to make someone else happy. I just don't want to do that anymore. I realize that I'm rambling here...and it's almost intentional rambling. See, I have a very good friend that once told me that blogging can be very therapeutic. And today, I felt like I needed some therapy. And to give myself a good strong pep talk. About not being able to make everyone happy. And about that being okay. I get the feeling now that maybe, just maybe, I should realize something else. That this too - I should give to God. Wish me luck! me

Weekend Recap

Friday evening when I got home from work, it was time to get David packed (sort of) for him to drive down to Texas. Our very favorite cousin, Barbara Lee passed away last week. She was only 48, and had been fighting cancer for 3 years. It was a six hour drive down to Longview, TX. All week we had just felt like we couldn't afford to go. Thursday night Billy called David (that's Barb's son) and then he talked to Steve, Barb's husband. When he got off the phone he said, Baby, I HAVE to go. So the plan was, he & Brittni would leave at 3 am, go to his mom's, and three carloads of family would leave out & all drive together. I stayed home with Eddy, Des & Hunter. I just can't get enough of them right now. And there wasn't really room for 3 of us in our truck. We had a wonderful day together Saturday. I just loved on the baby, oh, and cleaned house. David & Brit got home about 8 that night. The NEXT morning, at 5 am, David & Eddy went duck hunting & killed 2 ducks! Right here at home! We drive 5 hours to go to Stuttgart hunting, and all along David could've been hunting right in Centerton! HA! They got home at about 10 a.m. They had SO much fun together. I'm so glad they got to spend some quality alone time together this time! And what has more quality & male bonding in it than HUNTING!
The night before, we had invited Brittni & her new boyfriend Jeremiah over for a late breakfast! (Yes, I said boyfriend, and yes, I think it may be serious, but I'm not going there right now.) I can't even begin to tell you what kind of personal heaven I was in, standing in my kitchen making bacon & sausage & eggs & biscuits and gravy for my whole ENTIRE family! The girls always hang out in the kitchen & help me & it's so much fun. Then we got our Christmas tree & decorations down & all put up the tree together (finally). Before I knew it, Britt & Jeremiah had to leave. I was sad, but at least she's starting to bring him around the family, so hopefully we'll see a little more of her now. There's a bunch more to tell about Sunday afternoon, like Eddy getting my dad 2 very expensive trained bird dogs (for free), us all loading up & taking said dogs to Fayetteville & watching my dad's face (he had said he wasn't getting any more dogs - but had changed his mind sometime after we got Boogie) visiting with my step-mom Debbie & watching her love on Hunter...getting home late, going to bed late...yada yada yada.... but all in all, it was a wonderful wonderful weekend, one I wouldn't trade for anything in the whole wide world! me

How Hunter Ended Up At Our House

One quick story I have to tell...Eddy & Des had to take Hunter to the Dr. on Monday morning. The plan was, if - IF - he'd gained enough weight & everything was ok, they were going to leave right after the doctors appointment & head to Arkansas for a week or so. All weekend long I kept thinking about seeing Hunter. (And Eddy & Dez too). It was the l.o.n.g.e.s.t. weekend ever! The only thing that made it better was that the kids seem to call me a lot more now that they have a new baby! It doesn't even matter when they call me at almost midnight to tell me he has the hiccups, and how can they get rid of them? Or at 1 a.m. when Eddy calls freaking out because he thinks Hunter has "google eyes" (his term), and I have to reassure them that newborns eye muscles aren't quite developed yet. I LOVE those calls. Anyhoo, they were going to be at the dr's office at 8:30, and at 9 I couldn't take it anymore so I had to call them. Eddy answered. And told me - that Hunter's doctor said he hadn't gained enough weight & they needed to see him again on Wed. I was suspicious. So I called David & told him to call the kids & see if they were just playing with me. About 20 minutes later he called me back & told me they were not coming. I kept telling myself that maybe they were just playing one of their jokes. But that if they weren't, and the doctor needed to see Hunter on Wednesday, then they needed to stay in Kansas & I shouldn't feel so bad about it. I waited a couple hours & called Des. She said she was feeding Hunter. I went on about my day, down in the dumps, wondering now if they'd even be able to come on Wed. About 2:30 Dez called, to ask me about something at her house... and I knew then, they really really really weren't coming. You can only imagine my reaction about 10 minutes later, when I turned around in my chair at work & there stood Dez, with Eddy holding Hunter! You got me guys, you got me good! me p.s. Hunter had only gained an ounce & 1/2... the doctor hoped for two. Yesterday, they took him to the doctor up here, he'd gained weight. He now weighs 4 lbs, 14 ounces!

Catch Up - Continued

I'll start where I left off...we went to Eddy & Dez's house to get some rest. When we walked in the door, the picture at the top is the first thing I saw. Have I mentioned yet that my one & only son will be leaving for Iraq in March? Talk about hitting home...this did. And with all the emotions of the baby, the stress of the ice road trucker trip...it about did me in. The tears just started falling. But my sweet husband reminded me of something. To be THANKFUL that he has this ?Kevlar? to keep him safe. It's all his bullet proof stuff. And, I am thankful that my baby at least has that to protect him. It's just that my heart keeps telling me he'd be SO much safer, here at home. The second thing I saw was that they hadn't unpacked. At all. (Well, maybe a little, the bed & dressers were up, the crib was up, the bathroom was done, and the few dishes they have were put up). BUT - remember, they've only been in Kansas a week. And Des WAS 8+ months pregnant. So I knew immediately that Brittni & I had our work cut out for us. We were determined that Hunter & his mommy & daddy would come home to a spotless unpacked house to start their new life together. But first things first, we had to get some sleep. After we got up, we made a trip to Wal Mart for groceries, then came back & me & Pudge went to work! As much as I wanted to just be at the hospital, there was no reason to, they would NOT let me in. And if Eddy stayed in the waiting room visiting with us, he wouldn't be able to be in the room w/ Des & Hunter. Brittni & I worked all the rest of the day, and up until close to midnight getting everything unpacked & setting up the nursery. I know we probably didn't put things where Des would have, but at least everything was unpacked & put up & out where she could find it when she got home. We went to bed EXHAUSTED Tuesday night. They said if everything was good Wed a.m. that Dez & Hunter could come home that morning. I was SO excited & ready to get my hands on that baby! BUT - Eddy called about 9:30 with bad news...Dez's blood pressure was still too high for them to release her. I hung up the phone and told David- well, get ready to stay another day, because I did not come all this way to leave without holding my first grand baby, and hugging Desi - lou! We went up to the hospital and took the kids a few things they needed, made ANOTHER trip to Wal Mart then went back to their apartment. I had BIG plans, but-was too tired to do much but watch TV with David. We went to bed early. The NEXT morning, they let them come home. We dug Dez's car out from under all the snow & ice - it took David & Britt about 1 hour to thaw it out, and went to the hospital. I wanted to grab Hunter from the nurse when she finally walked out those doors with him, but she wouldn't let me. I had to wait until we got home to hold him. And hold him I did! And loved on him, and kissed him & changed his diaper, and fed him & started telling him first thing, that I love him more than ANYBODY else in the whole world loves him....and that when he gets old enough to talk, he just needs to remember that for his birthday, Christmas, Valentine's Day, Columbus Day, Martin Luther King Day, whatever day, all he needs to tell his mommy & daddy is that "All I want for ___ is to go to my Grandma Tammy's". Then I promised him once he gets here, I'll get him anything he wants or needs! Ha! me

A little bit of catch up

Happy Friday everybody! I'm sorry I haven't blogged in like - FOREVER - but for the first time ever, I have a REAL honest to goodness excuse! You see, Hunter Lee is at my house! And, he has been since Monday afternoon. AND, he WILL be, until the Sunday after Christmas. And anybody that's a new grandma knows, you can't waste time typing your blog when your brand new GRANDSON is at your house! (Just for the record, you also can't waste time cleaning, doing laundry, cooking, putting up Christmas decorations or Christmas shopping!) Yes, I did just admit that I do not have my Christmas tree up yet. And it's oh, only December 18th! Christmas is one week from today. ONE WEEK. And did I also just admit that I haven't done any Christmas shopping yet? Not that I have a lot to do this year. We have decided to buy for the children only. I am going to put to the test the phrase I've heard every year for 20 years from family members that said, "Oh, you don't have to get us anything, Christmas is about spending time with your family, not spending money on gifts". I'll let you know how that all works out, okay? So I want to document a little bit about when Hunter was born, because now that I'm a grandma my memory is starting to fail me, and by the time he's a year old, I don't want to say, who are you? when were you born? was I there? hee hee. So last Monday (December 7, 2009) Desiree had a doctors appt. She hadn't been in 3 weeks, because they were moving to Kansas, and her dr's office forgot to fax the paperwork to her new doctor, so when she went to her first appt the week before that they reschedule it (to wait on the fax) and sent her home. Well when she went in, her blood pressure was up- way up. So instead of sending her on her merry way, they sent her & Eddy straight to the hospital. (Yes, Eddy was with her. Her appt was at 2 that day, and at noon, they approved him for what the Army calls DITY leave....which refers to their move -"Do It Yourself" leave. He was gonna be off 10 whole days to get everything unpacked & moved into their apartment). So they call me & let me know they're going to the hospital. AND THEY WERE SCARED TO DEATH. But you know me, I'm keeping it cool. And I'm telling them and myself, that it's just a precaution, and they will watch her for a little bit and send her home. So I go about my workday (No, I don't prepare & bring stuff home just in case). And I go home at 4:30. And we talk to Eddy every 15 minutes for the next 5 hours. And, I call EVERYBODY -and let them know what's going on. Every time Eddy calls, it's to tell us that Dez's blood pressure is still going up, even though they're giving her medicine to bring it down. At about 8pm, I call Brittni. To tell her if she wants to go with us, even though we probably aren't going anywhere, cuz the baby probably isn't coming right now, that she should probably come to our house when she gets off work at 11. Just. in. case. At 9:30 the phone rang. It was Eddy. and - they've decided they have to get Hunter out of there NOW. They've decided that Dez has preclampsyia and that it's dangerous for her & the baby. Hey - did you hear me? THE BABY IS COMING!!!! THE BABY IS COMING!!!! And my kids are 5 1/2 hours away! And I don't have a bag packed. And Brittni is still at work. And what am I going to do with the dogs? And WTF just happened? So, needless to say it's a total madhouse. But, within 30-45 minutes we were on the road. I can't breathe. Eddy is calling wanting to know where we are every few minutes, he doesn't like it when I say, oh, Bella Vista, we'll be there in 5 hours & 20 minutes! BUT - we won't. Because guess what? In Kansas City we hit snow. Then the snow turned to ICE. Then traffic slowed to a crawl. THEN, the traffic in front of us started running off the road. BIG TRUCKS we're sliding in the ditch. A Kansas state trooper bounced off the concrete divider in front of us. Then, then - we were the ONLY VEHICLE on the road. And we were going maybe 20 mph. And David says, "We're not gonna make it, we're going to have to get a hotel room & wait until daylight". And I said (through gritted teeth & kinda with an exorcist growl) just keep driving - we are not stopping. Needless to say, several hours later, we were in Manhattan. Thanks to my husband & his driving skills. I'd been talking to Eddy every 30 minutes. And at about 4, Des called. She said, "hey, whatcha doin?" just like she was at a party or something. I couldn't believe how good she sounded. I asked her if she was hurting, and she said not too bad. I told her we were almost there. Then, we were on the road right before the turnoff to the road to the hospital, and my phone rang. And it was Eddy - with Hunter SCREAMING in the background. He was here! And, we missed it - by 10-15 minutes. David was disappointed that we were at least at the hospital when he was born. But it really wouldn't have mattered if we were. Because of the flu & swine flu epidemic, they wouldn't let ANYONE except Eddy, past the waiting room. For the whole time they were in the hospital. So when we got there, Eddy came out. His eyes were so red from crying and he was shaking soooo bad. And he showed us a video of them cleaning Hunter up & weighing him, and Dez holding him for the first time, and then Eddy holding him for the first time. Wait - right here I have to say thank you to my husband. Because when we were deciding what to get them for the baby shower, we knew we wanted to get them that digital camera. But I thought it'd make a better Christmas gift, and David talked me into going ahead & getting it then, even though we really couldn't afford it right then. THANK YOU David, because if we would have waited- it would have been too late & we'd missed all those videos & pictures. And since videos & pictures were all I had for 2 1/2 days....well yeah. You were right. After we stayed in the waiting room with Eddy for a little bit, he gave us the keys to his apartment & sent us to his house to get some rest. I think I'll stop right here for now and get to work. Next post to come soon....me. Oh, and the picture? That's as we're walking in the hospital at 4:45 A.M. See the snow???? me

Hunter Lee Allen is HERE!

He was born December 8th, 2009 at 4:33 in the morning. He weighed 4lbs 9ounces, he is 18 1/2 inches long. And HE IS OUR WHOLE ENTIRE WORLD! That is all I can say right now.... me

Bayou Meto Arkansas

See, I told you it was beautiful, didn't I???? For me, it's the most peaceful place in the world. Life there is so much calmer, slower, more easy going. There's no competition to have the biggest house, nicest clothes, most money. Everybody there is so laid back. The world moves at a much slower pace. Unless, you're in the boat with your husband & father-in-law. And they decide to drag an old duck blind back to the bank to fix up. And there's trees in the way, that your father-in-law just runs right over in the boat, and the dog jumps out of the boat trying to catch the fish that are splashing up all around you, and you get hit in the head with a bunch of tree branches, or get splinters in your hands trying to keep the tree branches from hitting you in the head, and you think you're gonna get thrown out of the boat when you hit those trees. Yup, it's peaceful, I tell ya! me

My Soldier's Home

So we got to pick Eddy up from the airport in Tulsa Monday night. His flight came in at 11. It made for a long long night & a hard day at work, but let me tell you it was worth it! I miss him so much when he's gone. And when he's here, there's so much for him to do and so many people to see, it flies by like you wouldn't believe. We left the airport & everyone was hungry, so we stopped at Waffle House. The reason I mention this is because of what happened there. The four of us ate & visited and then the waitress brought us our ticket. It was $38 total. Eddy looked at her & asked her if they offered a "military discount", and she said, we sure do! Give me your ticket back. When she brought us our new ticket, it was $13 and some change!! She thanked Eddy for his service to our great country, said drinks were free & meals were 1/2 off! I just think that is great & amazing that places help our soldiers & their families out like that-and that the story was worth telling.

Next: David, both his brothers, and his mom took off yesterday morning at 6 a.m. to go visit his cousin Barbara Lee in Texas. I'm sure I've said this before, but she is absolutely my very favorite cousin out of all of David's cousins. And, she is very very sick. She has cancer, and is back in the hospital & they're not sure if she's gonna make it this time. David & his family all are very close & they just felt like they needed to go put their arms around her. I wasn't able to go, I had to work, but that's ok. I'm sure their little road trip brought back lots of childhood memories for all four of them. And it may be the last time that the four of them have an opportunity to take a road trip & spend time together like that.

Since David was gone last night & my soldier was home, Eddy & Dez took me out to dinner, just us three. We went to the Celtic Grill, (which is probably my favorite place to eat). We had such a good time. We laughed and joked & talked for a couple hours. Then we stopped at the video store on the way home & rented a couple movies & sat up late watching movies together. I had to catch myself a couple times...I wish nights like that could last forever.

Tomorrow: Tomorrow we are leaving for Stuttgart. We will be gone for 10 whole days! I really REALLY need the break. Saturday morning is opening day of duck season, I'm sure I'll have lots of pictures to share when I get back. We went down to David's dad's last weekend. I walked in the door from work & David said "You wanna go to dad's for the weekend?" Since Eddy wasn't coming in on Saturday as planned (They shut Ft. Eustis down because of Hurricane Ida, and he couldn't graduate until Monday morning), and since it was David's birthday, and since we had ZERO plans for the weekend, I said "sure". We threw some things in a suitcase, loaded Boogie in her kennel & took off. Let me just say this - I drove. When we got on 540 heading south, every thought, every worry, every stress, just left me. I didn't think about work, I didn't worry about money, nothing. We got down there about 11:30, visited a while & went to bed. The next day we got in the big flat bottom boat, and all three of us rode down the bayou. It is BEAUTIFUL. I have pictures. I'll put them on my next post. Anyway, for the entire weekend, I didn't have a care in the world. We had SO MUCH FUN! And I was at peace. Until we hit about Fayetteville on our way home. Then, it was back to normal. Life! It's something, isn't it? me

HAPPY 41ST BIRTHDAY DAVID!

Today is my husbands 41st Birthday! Happy Birthday baby! I love you so much!
And, to top it off - he is SICK. Sooo sick. The reason I'm able to sympathize with him so much is because I GAVE IT TO HIM! I had to leave work about 10:30 Wednesday morning, the stomach couldn't handle it any longer. And I was out sick yesterday. David took such wonderful care of me, and now, instead of being at home taking care of him, I am stuck at work. I did run home to check on him at lunch, and he is not feeling very good at all. Mr. Dick & Sharon were planning on taking us out for dinner tonight to celebrate his birthday, but at lunch I called & cancelled. There is no way he's going to feel like going. Anyway, that's about all I've got time for right now, gotta get to work. me

Trojans, Worms & More

I spent my lunch hour (and an additional hour) today on the phone with the Dell Support Help Desk people. No, they are NOT located here in the good old U.S.A. however, Mukeeshaieekrha, or whatever his or her name was, was very helpful. It seems that my husband, in his boredom, decided to surf around on some unsafe websites. And then we were attacked by Trojans, and Worms & all sorts of ugly things threatening our security, our computer, and the history of our lives which are stored ONLY on said computer. For the low low price of only $185, Dell came through! This time, at least, I purchased a one year plan. So for the next 12 months, should David browse a dangerous website that attacks with more exuberance than a mountain lion, it will only cost me two or more hours of my life to get it fixed and back to normal. And THAT-was my day! me

The Baby Shower

Here's a couple pictures from the baby shower we had Saturday for Dez. She got so many wonderful gifts. My grandma (Hunter's great-great grandma) made him 2 quilts & several receiving blankets & burp rags, etc. The older I get the more I appreciate all the love & time that goes into the things my grandma makes us. David & I went shopping Friday after work to find the "perfect" gift for Hunter. We ended up with what we thought was the perfect gift for Eddy & Des instead. We got them a digital camera!! There is something selfish in the gift we chose, I must admit. It has to do with the kids & new baby being 300 miles away. They didn't have a camera of any kind. This way, they'll have a nice camera that they can take many many pictures of the baby with, then they can download them on their laptop & email us pictures EVERY DAY! Smart thinking, huh? Leave it to me to have an ulterior motive! me

The Weekend & A Baby Shower

It's Friday - again. I can't believe how fast this entire year is going by, nor can I believe the changes that have come with it. Tonight David & I must go baby shopping! How fun does that sound? I mean, really, I have a grandson on the way! In less than 2 months! I CAN NOT WAIT! To hold him & kiss him & love him & well, I guess you get the picture. The shower is tomorrow, so not much time left. And what better way to celebrate a new life than by having all your friends & family get together? Short of the shower, no other plans as of yet. Of course, that is always subject to change. me

Horse Races & Halloween!

Let me backtrack to the weekend & tell ya'll about the horse races we went to/worked at. Our friends had their very first "Horse Training Sessions" last Saturday. It's called a training session, because we all know that you can't just open up a horse track out in the middle of nowhere & charge people to come in & start betting. I think that is completely illegal. What you CAN do however, if you have the land, the equipment, the facilities & the horses, is have horse race "practice" or training. David & I showed up bright & early Saturday morning at our friends place. They have many many acres out it the middle of the country. They had everything set up. My plan, of course was to sit back & watch while David worked "security". We ended up sitting at the bottom of the hill working the "gate". Basically that meant when a car/truck came in, we handed them a flyer, collected $15 A PERSON! from them, David had to say "No guns, no alcohol, right?" a hundred thousand times, he had to check each vehicle, then we'd let them through & send them up the hill. We got set up & ready for our first car about 9:00 a.m. At 11:30, we'd sent approximately 3 to 5 cars up the hill. We were starting to get worried. What if nobody came? Our poor friends would be out all this time & money. Not to worry. By noon, we had a line of cars backed up from here to Springdale! Oh my word! I can not tell you the pressure! It was great! We worked the gate until 3:30, and by then, we'd sent over 200 cars in! Did I mention that our friends are Hispanic? And that we had to have an interpreter with us to translate? Finally, Alex sent a couple guys down to take our place & we got to go up & watch the races. Well, I watched ONE race. It was very exciting! Except the part where I got hit in the head by a big clump of dirt when the horses sped by! I was pretty much done standing by the rail at that point. So I went to the tent to hang out with my friend Yolanda. She was selling home made tacos & tamales & cokes. $1 each! I'm not sure, but she probably made even more money selling her amazing food, than we made for them at the gate! If ya'll have never had REAL AUTHENTIC Mexican food, you don't know what you're missing. Since I speak little to no espanola, I pretty much watched her & her friends work. Occasionally I would understand something like "dos cokes" & would run over to the cooler & hand her a couple Cokes, but for the most part I was totally useless. David spent this time by walking around & making everyone pour out the beer & alcohol that wasn't allowed (and we're still not sure how they managed to sneak it in). By 5:30, we were exhausted, so we said our goodbyes & collected our pay for the day. We made a whole $100 between us. Not too bad, I thought to myself, until I figured it up & realized we made less than $5/hr apiece! Oh well, we were helping friend & I got to see my first horse race! We were both SO tired, I didn't even want to stop & get candy for the trick or treaters on our way home, but David convinced me we didn't want our doorbell to ring & us have nothing to offer all those HUNDREDS of kids that would surely be there soon! So, we ran in to our local Harp's (insert overpriced local grocery store here) & spent $30 on candy. Candy, I might add, that David picked out himself. We got home, I called Dominoes for dinner, because I knew I'd be so busy handing out all that candy - and I was so tired - I wouldn't be able to cook. At 6:30 our first trick or treater showed up! He was an adorable little guy, the son of a lady I work with, so I gave him lots of candy. (But not too much, I needed to save some for the rest of the kids, right?) Then I waited...And waited. At 7 the doorbell rang again! I jumped up & grabbed my huge bowl of candy & opened the door to....the pizza guy. I had to go back & get some $ & pay him. Then we ate. And waited. And waited. And waited. At 9:00 we gave up. Turned off the lights. Went to bed. ONE. ONE. I-HAD-ONE-TRICK-OR-TREATER! ONE. It hurt my heart. David however, was fine. Because remember? He'd picked out all the candy. And he picked all his favorites! Me

The Weekend is ALMOST Here!

Guess what? It's Friday! Yeah! Tomorrow morning we are going to wake up & head to the horse races. David is working security there. I can't wait. Don't know what I'm gonna do there, not sure how to "bet" on a horse, but I've never been to a horse race so I'm expecting it to be lots of fun! It's always great to see our friends Alex & Yolanda. We just don't get to spend as much time with them as we'd like to. Then of course tomorrow night all the little ghosts & goblins will (hopefully) come out of the woodwork & ring my doorbell & yell Trick or Treat! This is the one time each year that I really REALLY wish I had a glass storm door, or at least glass window panes on our front door. I get so excited when the doorbell rings & so flustered, I don't pay enough attention to the cute little ones in their costumes. Then it's all over, and in my mind it's just a blur. That's the first thing I said & thought about when we moved to a subdivision (or house orchard as David likes to call it)-I'll finally have trick or treaters! When we lived in Prairie Grove we lived waaay out in the country, same thing when we lived in Missouri. We still don't have very many, but I'm hoping this year we'll have more. Now next year, NEXT year, I'll have a little grand baby. And if Hunter & his mommy & daddy still live in Fort Riley, KS, you can better believe me & David will be Trick or Treating THEM up there! Ha! But, a lot can happen in 12 months time, so we'll just have to wait & see. Happy Halloween! me

God is So GOOD!

Today when I came into work I was sitting at a zero for the week. Those of you that know me, also know that is not LIKE me. I prayed on my way to work this morning (I always pray when I'm driving). I thanked God for all my blessings, the ones that are obvious, and the ones that aren't. God knows our needs. And I put my fate in His hands & said, You know what we need Lord. Not what we just "want" but what we NEED. It's up to you. I'll do my part, but in the end, WHATEVER LORD. I trust you.


It's the cut off for the next paycheck.

By 2:45, right down to the last seconds....I ended up with 4!

Thank you Jesus!

me.

The Baby is Moving - to Kansas.....

I have avoided sitting down & actually blogging about this little piece of information for two VERY good reasons. Reason #1: We just found out 3 days ago. Reason #2: It is most definitely BREAKING MY HEART! (Well! I'm glad I got that out of my system!) I am a planner. Not really, but I like to think I am anyway. The original PLAN was as follows: Eddy graduates from AIT in Ft. Eustis, VA. He was supposed to get a 10 or 20 day leave. He would come home. Then he was to report to Ft. Riley in Kansas. He would live on base, Des would continue living with us & either go visit him up there on the weekends, or he'd come down here for the weekends. (Keep in mind, this put MY house as the central location). Des would stay here until a couple of weeks after Hunter was born. She could keep her doctor, quit her job if it became too hard for her, and have the baby right here in NWA. THAT was the plan. In my head, I pictured her going into labor, us calling Eddy telling him to get down here now, THE BABY IS COMING...us doing that crazy furious drive to the hospital in the middle of the night, you can envision my thoughts, I'm sure. Now - I have to reorganize those thoughts. Now the picture in my head is this: Des moves to Ft. Riley. She is ALL alone, (during the day at least) because Eddy is working. Des is not working, because she can't find a job because she is 7+ months pregnant & no one will hire her. She doesn't know anyone there except for Eddy, because they will not be living on base. And since they're not living on base, they/she cannot cultivate those friendships like they show on Army Wives. Let's switch states now, moving back here to Arkansas. It's 3 in the morning. I'm cuddled up beside David, (probably dreaming about the baby coming, or something crazy like work & contracts) and the phone rings, and it's Eddy...and he says "THE BABY IS COMING-YOU NEED TO GET HERE NOW!" Have I mentioned yet that it is a FIVE HOUR DRIVE to Ft. Riley Kansas? I think I'm going to need to have a bag packed & ready to go. I should do that soon, like the night that they move. Oh, and I need to figure out what to do with Boogie. And how were going to handle that at 3 o'clock in the morning. And money, did I mention money? Because it's going to take money to drive to Kansas. And buy baby presents. And food. And coffee. And a hotel. Or maybe not a hotel. Maybe we can stay at Eddy & Des's house. And sleep on the floor. I should probably bring pillows & blankets. And food. Dear Lord. Look where I'm going. See what I'm doing. Maybe I have OCD. Or ADHD. Or some chemical imbalance in my brain that makes thoughts shoot off in all sorts of different directions, like a tree, a family tree. Like the one I'm helping David work on. See! There it is again...my thoughts are going crazy!!! Back to the kids. In all honesty I totally understand where they're coming from & why they're doing this. If - God forbid - Eddy gets deployed (to oh, I don't know, AFGHANISTAN), right after the baby is born, they'll regret not spending this time they could have spent together now. I know if I had to choose between living with David, or living with my mother & father in-law, I'd choose living with my husband. Especially if I was pregnant. But - I'd choose being & living with him over any one else in the entire world. (Not to mention the uncertainty that's there about how long they actually have before he gets deployed-his sergeant said it's not IF he gets deployed, it's WHEN). In the bible it says something about when you get married, you leave your parents & join your husband/wife & become ONE. (There's also something that uses the word "cleave" I just can't remember it exactly) I just don't know if it has any advice or rules for me (as the parent that's being left), on how to cope with it all! The point is, even though I can rationalize all of this in my head, and make it make sense in my head, my HEART is not listening very well. And I KNOW what to do, GIVE IT TO GOD! One of my favorite sayings is "GOD is in charge of this mess!" And he is. And He knows our heart, and our needs, and only HE can help us. Any of us. Eddy, Des, Hunter, David, Brittni, even (or especially) ME. So again, I find myself on my knees asking for His grace. And the peace that passes understanding. And then, if only for a moment, I feel a little better - just a little! me

Haunted Houses & Deer

Happy Monday! Yes we survived another weekend. And this past one was more eventful than usual, so I've actually got stuff to share today. Saturday morning - Nope - didn't get to sleep in. (Why is it that I talk about sleeping ALL the time?). We woke up at 6am, I fixed breakfast, then David convinced me that we just had to sign up to Ancestry.com. And we did. And for the next 8 or more hours, we researched his family tree. He's trying to get his brother Jeff involved in this too. So we invited them up for dinner Saturday night. After dinner, out of the blue, David suggested that we all pile up & go to the haunted house that's by my office. So the six of us all hopped into Diane's trusty mini-van & it was off to Bella Vista to visit the ghosts. I don't know if I mentioned that my niece & nephew are VERY young. And I was worried that this would be waay to scary for them (and me) I am NOT a fan of haunted houses. I like the IDEA of going, but I don't actually like to be scared at all. The line was unbelievable. And - it cost $12 per person. But - we were all determined to wait. And it was worth it. The bus ride alone was awesome. They have you load up on a bus & there's a big screen TV in the back, they show parts of Jeepers Creepers & sling you around in the bus. It was pretty cool. The haunted house part was too, the part I actually saw. I kept my eyes closed as much as I could. David promised that if I'd just go, he'd hold on to me the whole time. He L.I.E.D.!!! For started, there was only enough room to go through single file. And he had Thomas in front of him, leading the way. I held on to his belt loop when I could, but man-I was kinda freaked out. When it was all said & done, yes I was glad I braved it & could say that I went. Then, on the way home we were on Central St. & a deep jumped right out in front of us! I screamed "Deer" but it was too late. We hit it. Poor Diane was really upset, but David just hollered, pull over, back up, pull over. So we did & he drug it out of the road & we went home & him & Jeff went back & picked it up. I made a call to the police dept. to see what we needed to do, they had me call Arkansas Game & Fish to report it (at 2 in the morning!) and they said it was fine for the boys to keep it & clean it. Needless to say, Jeff & Diane & kids spent the night. We didn't go to bed until 5 a.m. We were all so tired, we didn't get up until after 9. But - when we did get up Jeff & I fixed biscuits & gravy, scrambled eggs & fresh fried venison back strap! Then David did his best to fix the van enough so that they could at least drive it home. All in all it was a pretty good weekend. And so far, no nightmares from the haunted house! Maybe I'm not as big of a baby as everyone thought! me

Hunting Indians & Loving Fall Weather

Friday is here again - yeah. And fall is definitely in the air. I love love love the fall colors, trees, the way it feels outside, yep, fall is for sure my favorite time of year. Until next season, and then WINTER will be my favorite, then spring, you get the picture. But today - TODAY it is cold, there's a rainy-drizzly kind of stuff falling, the trees are BEAUTIFUL, and the work week is almost over! Hallelujah! I haven't blogged this week because at home in the evening's we've been busy. David is trying to track down his people. Like how/where/when they came to America. Since he's not working, I've told you he's bored stiff. So he got the idea to start tracing his history. And boy have we been surprised by some things. Like for example: All his life he's been told he is Indian. That his dad's mom was full blood, which makes his dad 1/2, which makes him 1/4 ...which in turn, would make Eddy & Brittni 1/8! (Is that right? I'm not sure if I really know how to figure this Indian thing, but it made sense to me). Anyway, he's gone back - waaay back. To like Scotland, Ireland & Germany. Guess what? NO INDIAN! The internet is an amazing tool, isn't it? His dad is NOT very happy that all the stories he's told & been told in his life about his great grandpa being a big Indian chief isn't panning out. But - fear not. He's/we are not done yet. We are NOT giving up searching for Indians & such deeper in the family tree. Only God knows what we'll find out next. I'll keep ya posted. But for now, I guess I have a phone call or two to make. My kids think they're Indian too! HA! me

To blog, or not to blog...

That is the question I keep asking myself. Again, it seems like I should have oh so much to say, but alas, I do not. I normally do a "recap" of our weekend on Monday, but with a sick puppy at home, there was not much to recap. We basically stayed at home & watched Boogie to make sure she didn't try to jump up on anything or tear out her stitches. Saturday morning, David had breakfast with Mr. Dick & Joe to discuss their new business "ARS" which stands for: Alternators, Radiators & Starters! Cute huh? Mostly, they discussed how they wouldn't be opening until sometime after November 1st. (Hello, Duck season starts 11/22/09 & he/we plan to spend at least 10 days down in Stuttgart). And yes, the vet said Boogie will be 100% by then & ready to hunt for the very first time. They also discussed a trip to Arizona (I think) to pick up some equipment. I know SO little about what's actually going on. In the meantime, poor David is bored to death! I went home for lunch & he'd fixed us hot dogs, so I had lunch with him & after hearing him say "I'm so bored" for the 20th time, I took him to the laundry room & taught him how to use the mysterious washer & dryer. (We'll see how that goes, we've been married 22 years, he doesn't do laundry-so far anyway). I feel sorry for him being laid off & at home ALL the time, it just HAS to get old. On a much more positive note: Hunter Lee is growing SO much inside his mommy's tummy. We're trying to get a baby shower planned for Des on November 14. So much to do with the holidays, a baby & everything else coming up. But somehow, we'll manage to get it all done, the important parts at least. We always do! me

She's NOT "Just A Dog"

While we were at the emergency animal hospital last night, David found this poem framed on the wall of the waiting area. He asked me to see if the receptionist would make him a copy of it. She did, and since it touched his heart & hit so close to home, and because we'd heard the phrase "she's just a dog" several times today, I wanted to put in on my blog. Here goes:

"Just a Dog"

From time to time, people tell me, "lighten up, it's just a dog," or "that's a lot of money for just a dog." They don't understand the distance traveled, the time spent, or the costs involved for "just a dog." Some of my proudest moments have come about with "just a dog." Many hours have passed and my only company was "just a dog", but I did not once feel slighted. Some of my saddest moments have been brought about by "just a dog" and in those days of darkness, the gentle touch of "just a dog" gave me comfort and reason to overcome the day. If you too, think it's "just a dog," then you will probably understand phrases like "just a friend," just a sunrise," or "just a promise." "Just a dog" brings into my life the very essence of friendship, trust and pure unbridled joy. "Just a dog" brings out the compassion and patience that make me a better person. Because of "just a dog" I will rise early, take long walks and look longingly to the future. So for me and folks like me, it's not "just a dog" but an embodiment of all the hopes and dreams of the future, the fond memories of the past, and the pure joy of the moment. "Just a dog" brings out what's good in me and diverts my thoughts away from myself and the worries of the day. I hope that someday they can understand that it's not "just a dog" but the thing that gives me humanity and keeps me from being "just a man." So the next time you hear the phrase "just a dog", just smile, because they don't understand.

Surgery For Boogie The Duckdog

We've had a scary couple of days at the Allen household. Wednesday when David picked me up from work, he said Boogie wasn't feeling well & that she'd been throwing up all day. I didn't think much about it, went home, cooked dinner - she seemed okay to me. Until - she started getting sick. And KEPT getting sick. I'm a firm believer that you can find out any & every thing on the trusty Internet, so I fired up our computer at home & started doing searches. 2 1/2 hours later, I'd diagnosed that she had heart failure, liver cancer, brain cancer, stomach ulcers, OR she just had a virus, you name it, I found it on the internet. NOTE TO SELF: When you're worried about a family member or pet that is sick, do not, I repeat, DO NOT do random searches on the internet about their symptoms. It will only make YOU sick in the process. By Thursday morning, I was on the phone with the Vet at 7:30 am. Our appointment was for 9. By 10:30, we were kissing Boogie goodbye & telling her she'd be just fine, as she was on her way in to SURGERY! Dr. Halbert did an X-Ray & thought she'd swallowed something. As it turns out, no she didn't. But she did have the beginnings of something I can't pronounce, let alone spell & it was a good thing we let them do the surgery after all. We had to pick her up at 6 last night & transport her to the emergency animal hospital in Springdale where they kept her over night to administer pain meds & antibiotics in her IV & just basically keep a good close watch on her. Our vet called at 11pm last night to let us know she'd called the hospital to get a report on Boogie & she was doing okay. 4:30 this morning? We're up drinking coffee & getting dressed to head BACK to Springdale by 6am, to pick Boogie back up & take her back to our vets to spend the day. I feel like a shuttle service/ambulance for canines! Really, I'm just kidding. The sweetest thing I've seen in a long time happened this morning when Boogie looked up at David & he said How's my girl? and she just leaned into him & her tail was wagging like crazy! She has total trust in that man & her world revolves completely around him & him alone. Later in the truck I told him that, and also, that whether he believed it or not, I felt the same way about him. He just smiled. Hopefully all goes well with her today & we can take her home tonite & take care of her ourselves. Right now, I'm running on zero to little sleep, and feel like a zombie, so that's about it - for now. me

Not So Much

There's not been much to blog about the past few days - never thought I'd say THAT when I decided to start blogging! But alas, it has happened. I could tell you that I had practically the ENTIRE weekend to myself, David didn't get home until about 3pm on Sunday afternoon. I could tell you that my plan all week long was to SLEEP IN on Saturday & Sunday - no matter what - but I didn't. Why is it that on weekdays, when I HAVE to get up early & go to work, all I want to do is sleep? But on the weekends, when I could sleep in, I don't/cant? At 5:30 Sat a.m. I woke up. I laid in bed trying so hard to go back to sleep, but at 5:45 I just gave up! I got out of bed, made a pot of coffee, and cleaned out all sorts of weird things! Like, the linen closest, my bathroom cabinets, the pantry, spare bedroom-everything I could get my hands on! And I got it all finished. I made a big pot of home made stew. I watched TV - A LOT of TV. That night, I went to bed & watched more TV. I didn't sleep so well. I woke up at 6 a.m. Sunday morning. I didn't have anything to do, because I'd done everything already! I went grocery shopping. I came home. I watched TV - again! I was SO glad when David got home. 5 days IS too long to be gone. Let's see, since then - well, Brittni got a promotion at work & a raise - she's now the Asst. Manager at the Rogers Subway. Way to go Pudge! Congrats! Desiree flew back in from Virginia & her visit with Eddy. She got back in town yesterday afternoon. I think they had a good time, but I know that the reality of having a baby & being a daddy is starting to hit Eddy - finally - it's about time! That's about it really. It's just been go to work, go home, fix dinner, clean up, shower, go to bed, get up...well you get the picture. But, since my whole reasoning for starting a blog was to document the Allen's life (or lack there of)...here it is in a nutshell. Until next time....me

At Last....

At last it's Friday! It couldn't come soon enough. I remember someone telling me (waaay back when I was in my 20's) that I was "wishing my life away". It was said after I'd stated yet again, "I wish it was Friday!" I think of that ALL THE TIME - as I'm wishing my life away still! And honestly, I don't know why I'm so excited that it's Friday afternoon & my work day is almost over. It's 3:00 & here I am still at my desk. I haven't worked this late on a Friday, since summer hours began here at work in June! And- it. is. killing. me.! But, no worries, I'll make it I'm sure, at least til 3:30 or 4:00 ha! Not much to blog about with David being gone. We did have a semi-eventful night last night. Brittni came over to keep her mom company. We were watching a marathon of "House" when the electric went off. Glad Britt was there to keep me company. I scare myself easier than I like to admit. It finally came on about 10:30 Yeah! Anyhoo, for now that's about all I've got to say. Amazing, isn't it? me

When LIFE Gets In The Way

So, I've been wanting to blog all about our little five day mini vacation in Stuttgart, the Wings Over The Prairie Festival (it's the Duck Dog Challenge event we entered Boogie in), all the wonderful fun we had while we were gone, etc. BUT - somehow, somewhere, LIFE managed to get in my way. David & I got back Sunday afternoon from our trip. I somehow managed to do ALL our laundry down at his Dad's BEFORE we got home, so when we got home I simply had to unpack & put everything up. Which I actually DID! :) We ordered pizza so I didn't have to cook, and relaxed & unwound. Then Monday it was off to work for me. (David has been laid off yet again, so he got to make another wonderful trip to the unemployment office). Then on Tuesday night, around 10:30 our phone rang. Anyone who knows us knows that we go to bed at our house EARLY - like 9pm. And we're usually sound asleep by 10. (It's just a bi-product of getting up at 5 a.m. every morning) So I knew that a ringing phone at that hour was bad news. It was his dad, calling to tell us Aunt Jessie passed away. Uncle Bob, her husband, died in August. It was very unexpected, and hard on all of us, but I think she just couldn't live without him. So with all the business that must be done when a loved one dies, and all the "drama" that seems to surround such an occasion in Stuttgart, poor David ended up asking me to throw some clothes in a bag while he loaded up the kennel & Boogie, and at midnight after many many phone calls, he headed out on the five hour drive down to the farm. I feel like I should be down there helping them make arrangements (Big David is the only one left, her children were notified, but will not be making the trip), but alas, I have to stay here & work. I took Dez to the airport yesterday, she's flying to Virginia to spend 4-5 days with Eddy! 7 months pregnant - yikes!!! So I am alone! ALL ALONE! But please don't feel too sorry for me, I love having control of the remote, watching all the silly girl stuff I want to on TV, and having hot dogs for dinner because I don't have to cook for anyone. I don't love: missing my walks with David each evening, sleeping alone, waking up alone, having no one to drink coffee with in the morning, or come home to in the evenings & tell about my day. But, I'll make the sacrifice. Big David could not handle everything alone down there. AND - it's only for a little while, I'll survive. I also have big plans to really clean the entire house, vacuum, dust, bathrooms, all that good stuff that drives me crazy not to do, IF I somehow manage a few hours home alone. With all this yucky rain coming down, and the forecast calling for rain for the next 100 years (or few days), I may just curl up on the couch & watch TV. Who knows, I might even get caught up on my blog, and post pictures & videos of our trip! We'll see. me

Macks' Prairie Wings

The Man I Call "BIG DAVID"

Again, this is a catch up post, but I took some pictures down at David's dad's (weekend before last) that I really want to put on my post. Mainly because Stuttgart is so much a part of our lives. David's dad lives there & although we go there often, sometimes it still doesn't feel like often enough. We'll be leaving tomorrow at noon & be down there until Sunday night, remember it's "Wing's Over The Prairie" time! Can't wait. Anyhoo, I got a few shots of "Big David" and even one of him & his dog Trucker! I've known David's dad since I was 14. And just like with David's mom, to him, I am just as much a part of his family as the 3 boys. I am his daughter. I can (and have) ask him for anything, and he'll do his best to make sure I have it. I realize, as I spend time with him, that my husband is very much this man's son. And, watching him is like a glimpse into the future. He's "mellowed out" a lot as the years go by, and that's a good thing. He was a wild one (an "outlaw") in his younger days (remind you of anyone?-my husband). But- I love him in spite of it (or maybe because of it), and I wouldn't trade him for anything! me

The Arkansas River in Ozark

So, I'm really behind on my blogging, at least on the documenting things we've done lately. This is a mini-catch up post. On our way home from Stuttgart (weekend before last) David & I decided to drive back a different way. Of course I can't remember which highway it was we took, all I know is that it definitely was NOT Interstate 40! I know I-40 from here to Little Rock like the back of my hand. I can tell you which mile marker each town is, where the rest area's are, where EVERY Cracker Barrel between here & there is, you name it. Anyway, we took our time & did a little sight seeing when we got to Ozark. And let me tell you, it was WELL WORTH the extra time. We found a new place to camp next year, a new place to fish, a whole new get-a-way. All in the tiny town of Ozark, AR. Here are some of my pictures from that day.

I LOVE a Productive Weekend!

We actually got so much accomplished this weekend it was unbelievable! I took off at noon on Friday and the weather was so beautiful & fall like that David & I decided to work in the yard. (It was also badly in need of mowing!) So we spent the afternoon together weeding, mowing, weed-eating.. everything! We have the best lawn on the street (for now) & I love it. Saturday morning we got up & did our garage sale thing. We found 4 neighborhood sales, and walked them all. I got a pair of "duck boots" for down south, a few picture frames-nothing really to write home about. But - it was a fun inexpensive way to spend the morning. We were both really really tired by noon. Saturday afternoon...hmmm, other than doing some laundry & cleaning, ??? We took Desiree to Lin's for Chinese for dinner Saturday night...yum! Sunday we slept in, I made breakfast, then finished with all my laundry & cleaning. We are leaving Wednesday for Wings Over The Prairie in Stuttgart, so everything had to get done this weekend. David & I are SO excited-we both really REALLY need a mini-vacation. Anyway, we finished yesterday by grilling outside since the weather was so great! Today - it's back to work. Another day, another dollar. me

HAPPY 20TH BIRTHDAY PUDGE!

20 years ago, on September 19th, sometime around noon, our baby girl Brittni was born. She was, and is, the most beautiful, smart, funny, independent, amazing girl in the whole entire world. Britt was our second & last child. She likes to pick on me for things that I remember about Eddy's birth, but don't remember about hers. Here are some things that I remember about being pregnant with/and having Brittni ...I had absolutely ZERO morning sickness with Brittni. I actually LOST weight while I was pregnant with her...and ended up gaining only 11 or 12 lbs total by the end of my pregnancy. I worked for the State of Arkansas at the Area I Office throughout my pregnancy. I had Brittni on a Tuesday. (The Monday before was my last day at work). My office had a baby shower for me. I had an ultrasound with Brittni...KNEW she was our baby girl. Back in the old days, if you had one child by C-section, they made you have the rest by c-section too. We got to pick Brittni's birthday 9-19-89. We had to be at the hospital EARLY Tuesday morning, BUT, on our way, we stopped by Mamaw & Papa Cline's house (David's grandparents). I couldn't have ANYTHING to eat or drink, but Papa had gone down & got donuts for them for breakfast, your daddy had coffee & chocolate donuts (my VERY favorite) while I watched them all eat. We had you at Washington Regional, and EVERY ONE of your grandma's & grandpa's came to the hospital to see you (except Papa Allen, he was out on the truck). When I had you, they had to put you in baby ICU, your lungs weren't developed all the way. Your daddy got to hold you for just a minute before they took you away, I did not get to hold you until much later. My VERY first picture of you if through the window of the ICU...and all you can see is a blur-but I've kept it all these years anyway, because I KNOW it's my first picture of you. When we brought you home from the hospital, they only let Daddy have 1/2 day off. So he drove us home & had to go back to work at Cargill. That left me, you & Eddy on our own for the rest of the afternoon. Grandma Purser started coming over every weekday morning after that. She would help me with you, do laundry, make our lunch, make something for dinner for when Daddy got home from work, then take Eddy outside & let him play & run run run. That way, she could put him & you both down for a nap before she left. Grandma Carnahan (my grandma) thought you were an angel sent from heaven. You loved your "bubby" from day one. And he loved you so much and gave you hugs & kisses & wanted to hold you all the time. He was only 20 months old when I had you, you two were so close you were like twins. You wrapped your daddy around your finger from the moment he held you. He helped with you a lot more than he did Eddy. He'd feed you, hold you when you cried (which was not very often), and, he'd even change your diapers. THAT is where/when you got your nickname Pudge. One time, he was changing you & you rolled over onto your stomach. He looked at you, then me & started laughing. He said, look at that girls "pudgy" little butt! From that moment on, you became Pudge! You used to love your nickname, then when you got a little older, 5th or 6th grade, you announced you didn't want to be called that anymore (we tried not to call you that around your friend, but still did at home). Somewhere, about 9th grade, you came home with #7, "Pudge" on your softball jersey! And you've been Pudge ever since. You've had several nicknames...you used to say you were: Brittni Dianne Allen Pudge, Giggles-A-Lot, Buffalo Butt, Biscuit Butt, BB (which covered EVERY name ANYONE ever called you! I just call you my favorite - girl! I love you. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! me

The Women In My Family

I've only got time for a short post tonight - I'm not feeling very well (did I mention I've been exposed to the flu?), plus it's almost my bedtime. But I have something to say. The women - or females (cuz the girls are both 20-well, Pudge will be 20 Saturday) they AMAZE me. The way they/we flock together in a time of need is just awesome. Without going into ANY detail, yesterday we had a little family emergency. One of us was dealing with something hard, VERY HARD. And with one phone call, it set off a chain of love & support that was immeasurable. It's very reassuring to know that my daughter will come at the drop of a hat - in her pajamas - to my house, without question. My mother-in-law is just a phone call away. I have a job that I can announce "I have to go home-I'll be back tomorrow!" and it's okay. My job is still there & secure that next day. That we all rally around & support one another in a time of need. The support comes from love, a kind of love that has grown over years & years. And it is endless, it knows no bounds. It's a little bit like God's love for us. And is leaves me speechless. me