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Vintage Glee Christmas Card

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'Tis the Season....

of trying to get that "perfect" Christmas card photo. As if the past 6 years weren't hard enough with only 1 and 2 children, this year we have been blessed with a third. Having an 11 month old to try to photograph is sure to be an adventure to say the least!

Thank goodness I only have to take the pictures! The awesome people at Shutterfly have made the rest easy, with their amazing selection of literally HUNDREDS of designs to choose from! I have already ordered 4 photobooks from Shutterfly to give as gifts this year, and if my little sister will get her act together, we will be ordering at least 4 more for our side of the family. If she procrastinates too long I will probably opt for calendars instead since I can get them designed a little faster or I could do a completely cute photo mug!

One of my favorite cards so far is this one because I adore the simple elegance as well as the ability to fit five different photos on the front. Now if the kids will cooperate long enough to GET those five different photos!

I'm also considering ordering Thank You cards this year for the kids to send to the people who took the time to get them gifts. I have ordered them in the past for birthday parties and people really seemed to appreciate them.

Here are a couple of images from last year's Christmas card photo session, and I love them so much I wish I could use the same ones again this year. These were professionally done by Mika at Photos by Mika.



















Since I am going to do photos myself this year I feel like they will most likely look more like this one that I used for Valentine's Day one year.

"Pop"

Friday morning we lost Matthew's grandpa, Pop. His name was J.W. Greenwood and he was technically his step-grandpa, but he was probably more family that some of the blood relatives. I've been around a while, and I met Pop when I was 14. He was a very sweet, goofy, loving man. So much so that he built me a cedar chest for my high school graduation. It is and will forever be one of my most prized possesions because not only did he think enough of me to get me a nice gift, but he put so much work into making it so beautiful and I'm sure that he worked until he got it just the way he wanted.

After Matthew and I got married in Nov. 2002, Pop (and Mom) were the first visitors we had down in Del Rio. They hopped on an Amtrak train in February and spent 24 hours making the trip that took us only 12 hours driving. They stayed for a week and at first that seemed like it would be a LONG time, at least to me, who was having to entertain my grandparents-inlaw. We had alot of fun. I didn't have an iron skillet, so we went all over town looking in second hand shops and antique stores for one that was already seasoned. We found one for $5 in an antique store and Pop got it for me, cleaned all the rust off of it, and it is to this day a wonderful skillet for cornbread and doesn't even stick! We ate with our good friends, Kelly and Norma, while they were visiting and Norma taught Pop how to make pico de gallo which he loved so much that he made more and carried it back on the train with him.

I remember once, when Matthew and I were dating years ago, he (Matthew) asked me if I'd get him a Coke from the fridge. I stood up to go and get it and Pop said, "if you go get it, I'll break your leg." It was a typical Pop statement. He waited on Mom hand and foot and apparently expected Matthew to treat me the same. Then there was the time when I was the only girl left at the deer camp and we were all sitting around the fire one night. Well, Pop farted, and I mean....FARTED. He had this goofy smile on his face as he looked around waiting for someone to congratulate him, but Matthew said, "POP, BRANDY IS RIGHT HERE!!!!" He was so very embarrassed, but it was hilarious.

About three weeks after they spent that week with us, Pop was going to have open heart surgery. During his surgery, something went wrong and he lost oxygen to his brain for a few minutes. He has never been the same. We have watched the man we all knew and loved deteriorate over the last 7 years. Our kids never got to meet the real Pop. They only knew the Pop who rode in a motorized wheelchair and lived at Wagnon Place. That in itself is heartbreaking to me. He was a special man. He took care of his brother, Sonny, until a couple of years ago. He helped Mom care for her parents when they were in the nursing home. He was a dad to three boys who weren't really his own, although I'm not sure he ever thought about that fact. He was a terrific grandpa to eight grandchildren and I have seen that with my own eyes. I wish that he'd had the opportunity to be that for his five great-grandchildren. He will be missed greatly.

Love you, Pop

I joined the Girl Scouts today!

Yes, you read that right. I, a 29 year old mother of 3, joined the Girl Scouts today with my 5 year old! I took her to sign up and wound up as a co-troop leader. I am actually very excited. I was a Daisy when I was little and I remember some meetings, selling cookies, earning a couple of patches, and attending a Day Camp at Tri-County Lake in Fordyce. I also happen to remember attending the Girl Scout 75th anniversary celebration that was held...in Warren? I remember a big white and green cake and releasing white and green balloons with our names and addresses inside. I'm excited to get started and get the girls' vests ordered!!!

I joined the Girl Scouts today!

Yes, you read that right. I, a 29 year old mother of 3, joined the Girl Scouts today with my 5 year old! I took her to sign up and wound up as a co-troop leader. I am actually very excited. I was a Daisy when I was little and I remember some meetings, selling cookies, earning a couple of patches, and attending a Day Camp at Tri-County Lake in Fordyce. I also happen to remember attending the Girl Scout 75th anniversary celebration that was held...in Warren? I remember a big white and green cake and releasing white and green balloons with our names and addresses inside. I'm excited to get started and get the girls' vests ordered!!!

School...and other things to worry about

So my "baby", Abby, is about to start Kindergarten. I have plenty of anxiety about that one single satement. Add to that the fact that I know NOTHING about her school, teacher, the way it all operates, hardly any of the parents of any Kindergarten students....and it's enough to drive me mad!

We went to orientation last Friday and my anxiety was compounded by 100%. Her teacher seems nice enough, and has been teaching quite a few years. The school has an open classroom setup, which is odd to me. None of the classrooms are actual "rooms". They are all divided off by bookshelves, boards and other things just no actual walls. I, personally, found it distracting because Abby's teacher was softspoken while the lady next to her was quite loud. Not to mention the parents in our class were talking among themselves and not even attempting to listen to the teacher as she explained a few important topics such as how important it was for her to know how each child gets to and from school.

Yesterday I took Abby for a haircut and mentioned my disbelief at the rude parents to the lady who was cutting her hair because I knew she also had a child starting Kindergarten at that school. She was amazed that something like that bothered me! She said, "well, most of us have done it all before and we don't need to hear it again." She went on to say that she hadn't listened to her child's teacher, but she and the person she had been talking to weren't rude about it but that she didn't hear the part about reading and points and needed to go back and ask. The whole point of orientation is to tell all 15 parents crucial info so you don't have to repeat yourself 15 times!

I am going to stop now before my blood pressure goes up. My point is, if the parents don't care....how will their kids learn that education is important? And meanwhile, MY child is stuck in the middle and I am not excited about that at all.

What can I DO?

Lately I feel the need to DO something. I mean, sure I'm a stay at home mom of 3, so technically I have plenty to do and can't get caught up.

I would like to start babysitting and at least I would be contributing financially to our family while still being with my kids. I am also looking for a way to give back to others. I really think that I would like to volunteer and help foster children in some way. I think if I could give foster parents some relief by babysitting or something similar it would be perfect. I just really have no idea where to find out how I can help. If anyone knows of volunteer programs in Louisiana, please pass along that info.

Dear Alzheimer's....

I am not a fan of yours.

My sister and I, along with our 5 children, visited our grandma tonight at St. John's Place in Fordyce. I'm not sure that Mamaw ever knew who any of us were. It broke my heart. Mamaw is a tough woman, and I feel like the nursing home has broken her spirit. She so badly wants to go back to her house and tend to her flower beds and be with her dog, Fluffy. She just wants to be outside during the day. I have no doubt that she would work herself silly if only she had the chance.

Mamaw will be 86 in about 3 weeks, and I wish there was some way for her to be at her own house these days. If I lived closer I would happily stay with her 24/7 so that could be a reality. She enjoyed visiting with us, and she loved Sophie. She gave her a bottle, burped her, and Sophie being her usual jovial self cooed, laughed, and played with her. It seemed to make Mamaw happy. I hope that it did. At 86, I hate to see her so unhappy and I hate to be the one to have to make sure the door closes when we all leave. She so badly wants to get out that darn door and always asks me to tell her the code.

It's so hard to see such a strong person in such a helpless situation.

Teachers...

Lately, as Abby is learning new things it brings back memories of when I was in school and my favorite teachers. I was one of those kids that LOVED school. From day one I loved it. Much of that was because I had the very best Kindergarten teacher a child could ever have. Her name was Miss Linnie Grice.

I will be 29 in a couple of days and I remember exactly what Miss Linnie smelled like. I remember that she kept her paddle (yes, teachers had paddles when I was younger) under a big stuffed puppy dog on top of the filing cabinet. I also remember Drell Rainey had more meetings with that paddle than I'm sure he ever wanted to. I remember at nap time on days when it was raining Miss Linnie would leave the door open and I would listen to the rain.

I remember a pair of monkeys Miss Linnie had above her door that said "left" and "right" and sometimes when I'm thinking really hard about something those monkeys pop into my head. I remember where her alphabet chart and counting chart were hung. I even remember that the bathroom in our classroom smelled like tempra paint.

I remember many times when we sat around the piano in her room singing fun learning songs as a class. I remember making butter in a Mason jar. I remember cleaning the glue off the tables with shaving cream....boy was that fun! Snack time was always fun, and whenever I have to take snacks anywhere for kids I think of Mrs. Ruby Hamilton's peanut butter Rice Krispy Treats. I also remember Miss Linnie making me taste a mushroom at some kind of taste testing thing we did and how gross it was. I still don't like mushrooms no matter how much I want to.

As I sit here thinking I am full of nostalgia and tears are likely at any moment. I can't think of any single bad memory from Miss Linnie's classroom. Well, unless you count one day when I had to stay in at recess to re-color a picture of a blue bird that I rushed through and scribbled on. I find it strange that I don't remember exactly which kids were in my class, although I remember Drell Rainey, Veronica Tolfree, and Vincent Stroud with perfect clarity. I mostly remember Miss Linnie and how much I loved her.

Thanks, Miss Linnie, for all the great memories!

Abby can READ!!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday my biggest baby, Abby, came home from school with "sight words" on flashcards. She's in a little preschool here and yesterday she won the phonics game with 61 words! Today she read me 3 books from this set:

http://www.leapfrog.com/en/preschool_toys/sing_along_read_along.html














She is so excited! She's waiting for Daddy so she can read to him.

Heartache

I have a tremendous heartache lately as I worry and pray for my baby brother. I am the oldest of three kids, and my brother is 17 months younger than me which makes him 27. He has always been a stubborn person, you can't talk to him without him getting mad and he has a horrible temper. He first got into trouble when he was about 16 when he got a DUI. Since then he's had at least one more of those, along with at least one arrest for posession, and who knows how many tickets for other acts of extreme stupidity.

For several years my prayers were that he would simply grow up and act like the man that I know he was raised to be. Recently though, since we've been closer to home I worry even more because I can see the destruction that he is causing himself. Because I can see it myself it worries me more. It is causing my parents and grandparents grief that they do not deserve, and that breaks my heart. I love my brother and I don't want to see bad things happen to him, yet I am seeing them with ever increasing regularity.

Part of me wants to punch him and tell him to really look at what he's doing to himself, and the other part of me wants to hug him and tell him how much I love him and that I don't want to watch his self destruction anymore. I have no idea what to do....I mean, you really can't help an adult who doesn't want to help himself, right?

All I know for sure is that I feel sorry for him on some level, and I know that it hurts to watch someone you love do such awful things when I can't do anything about it. I just want him to stop the drinking and the drugs and get his life right. Somewhere beneath all of that is a good person, one of the most tender hearted little boys I've ever met. A boy who loves elderly people so much that when he was 10 years old, instead of playing with Clint, he would go next door and talk to Aunt Grace for hours. And I don't want to have to go to my baby brother's funeral. Especially one where I will feel sorry for the preacher who will have to lie about the person that he was. I just wish it didn't hurt so much.