Our First Lesson

This evening we had our first tennis lesson.  I know what you’re thinking… we’re a little obsessed.  We decided if we were going to play this much, we may as well take lessons so we don’t teach ourselves a bunch of bad habits.

The lessons are done in groups of four, so Jodi and I got Lorna and another friend, Renee, to join us.  We were a little nervous, but after about 15 minutes, we decided to just go with the flow.

When we met the tennis instructor, Karen (who is probably in her early 70s, ha!), she looked at me and asked “is that your real hair?” (what, as opposed to a wig??? I assured her I wouldn’t purchase a wig that looked like this!!)

Before we left, I asked Karen to take our picture (which produced a few groans from the girls). Here was her first two attempts…

  Then, she finally got one with our whole heads…

(L-R: Renee, me, Jodi, and Lorna)

On another note, I secretly wished in the Bachelorette last night when Reid showed up that Jillian would say “yes” to him!! I liked Reid!! I’m watching “After the Rose” now, so we’ll see how it all played out.

Can You See Him? Can You Make Him Feel Alright?

Like many of you, my mind and my heart have been on Baby Stellan all day (well, actually for the past few days).  It reminds me so much of the heavy heart I had when Harper was born. 

Jodi and I have talked about how strange it is to care so much for a baby we’ve never met.  I “met” Stellan when he was still in his mother’s womb.  I had seen a link on another blog about a sick baby and that began my journey of getting to know Stellan.  That was a year ago.  He is now a PRECIOUS nine-month old baby who is absolutely adorable and loved deeply by his family and, I dare say, by most of the world.  Jodi and I both wear the orange Stellan bracelets I bought a while back.  They say “Stellan WILL live.”  Today, Stellan is very sick.  His mother has been at his bedside watching as his little heart beats too fast for survival.  I have two boys that are not so small any more.  But, the empathy in me as a mother FEELS her pain as I think about her watching her child struggle for his life. The song, “He’s My Son” keeps playing through my mind as I pray throughout my day for God to protect Stellan… and give his mother (and father) the comfort of knowing that HE can see them on their knees for their son. 

My babies are now 22 and 20, but there is no better time to tell them how much this momma loves them and is so very grateful for the gift of being their mother.

Please continue to pray for Stellan!

I'm down on my knees again tonight
I'm hoping this prayer will turn out right
See there is a boy that needs Your help
I've done all that I can do myself
His mother is tired
I'm sure You can understand
Each night as he sleeps
She goes in to hold his hand
And she tries not to cry
As the tears fill her eyes

Can You hear me?
Am I getting through tonight?
Can You see him?
Can You make him feel all right?
If You can hear me
Let me take his place somehow
See, he's not just anyone
He's my son

Sometimes late at night I watch him sleep
I dream of the boy he'd like to be
I try to be strong and see him through
But God who he needs right now is You
Let him grow old
Live life without this fear
What would I be
Living without him here
He's so tired and he's scared
Let him know that You're there

Can You hear me?
Am I getting through tonight?
Can You see him?
Can You make him feel all right?
If You can hear me
Let me take his place somehow
See, he's not just anyone
He's my son

Can You hear me?
Can You see him?
Please don't leave him
He's my son

We May Be Wimbledon Bound

Jodi commented yesterday that I haven’t posted in a week.  I can’t believe how fast time passes.

I've talked before about my love for all things tennis, well, a week ago Tuesday, Jodi and I decided to try our hand at it.

Ha! Funny, I know. 

Ever since then, we’ve spent almost all our non-working hours on the tennis court at our local park.  I’m sure we’ve given the town-folk lots to talk about!!  Seriously, this week alone, we’ve played over 7 hours of tennis! (which could explain the lack of blog posts.)

Last Friday evening, we ordered “to go” from our favorite pizza place and took it to the park to eat and play tennis.  Jodi and I conned David and Gary into coming and so did Tyler (who plays often) and another couple (Danny and Lorna) came along, too. Danny and Lorna started playing recently too, so we’re all newbies. The only thing Gary does with a passion is work and fish, so we were surprised when he was willing to play, but Dave wouldn’t even attempt it.  Even so, it was so fun and Dave enjoyed visiting.

Last night, we went back to our pizza at the park plan and for the first hour Jodi and I played, then we took a break for our pizza. After eating, Danny and Lorna joined us, and we played couples tennis.  Even Dave got in on the fun this time!! There were 6 of us, so we had mini tournaments (ha!).  We ended up playing for over 3 hours.  I don’t think we’ve laughed so hard in years!

Here are a couple of (blurry) photos I took after dark with my Blackberry.  If we further our tennis hobby, I’ll have to get some better photos.

Lorna and Dave

(Proof that Dad really played, boys!)

 

Hope y’all are having a fun weekend!

A Little of God’s Handiwork

Jodi and I decided to try to play another “round” (loosely used) of tennis yesterday after our evening workout but our plans got thwarted by a thunderstorm.  So, I headed for home. 

Have I mentioned that I live in God’s Country??

Anyway, here’s what I got to see.  I kept stopping on the road to take pictures.  I wish I had Kale’s amazing new camera because mine just couldn’t do it justice…   I was trying so hard to capture the vibrancy of ROY G BIV. He outdid himself.

Can you see the double rainbow? You don’t get to see those very often.

      I could see both ends of the rainbow, but never could fit it all into my viewfinder.

   Beautiful!

We’re supposed to have amazing weather in the low 80s for the next week or so.  It’s a wonderful reprieve from all the HOT temps we’ve been having and a good time to get outside and enjoy the weekend!

Why I Love It

After I got home from church tonight, I turned the TV on the Discovery Channel and found a show called “The 650 Pound Virgin”.  I had seen David Smith on the Today Show one morning last week talking to Matt Lauer.  His story is incredible.

His weight loss and life transformation began back in 2003.  He had reached rock bottom.  He had been abused, bullied, and ridiculed most of his life.  He even contemplated suicide.  Then he decided to do something about it.

He contacted, Chris Powell, a personal trainer and began a nutrition and exercise program and lost over 400 pounds in 26 months.  All naturally, by sound nutrition and exercise.  No surgery.

I always weep at stories like David’s.  I weep on pretty much every episode of Biggest Loser for the same reason. Stories like these are the reason I became a personal trainer.  I’ve never been 50 pounds overweight, let alone 400, but when I began my health and weight loss journey, I found that there are so many people who are on similar journeys.  I wanted to help other people find success in their efforts.  It’s so exciting and rewarding to me.

If you ever feel like you have too much weight to lose, or you don’t know how to get started, think about David Smith.  He made the decision to change the direction he was going and to fight for his health and his life.

David has his life back from the depths of despair today.  He and Chris are now best friends and roommates.  He is also a personal trainer, paying it forward.

What a great story.

I Would Have Kept Reid

Aside from the fact that I absolutely despise the “fantasy suite” date nights (wish they wouldn’t “orchestrate” that type of behavior) … I’m in lament today over Jillian’s choice to send Reid home “last night”.   He was my favorite!

So, it’s down to Kyptin and Ed (aka “Richie”). 

Shall we mention the shorts? Normally, I think Ed dresses nicely, but he pretty much messed up in the wardrobe department last night on a couple of occasions.  In my humble opinion.

AND, did any one else think Reid could be related to “Chandler Bing”?

Escaping the Quiet (and laundry)

I think Dave might’ve felt a little sorry for me because he overheard me telling Jodi that the house seems way too quiet for me these days.

As an aside…

I know some of you moms feel like you will never have your space or alone time back and that life is so hectic you just crave a few minutes to yourself, but believe me when I tell you that time goes so quickly and soon enough your home is quiet again.  My children are now in the early stages of adulthood and they both are exploring all that is being opened up to them.  While there is SO much joy in sitting on the sidelines watching it, there are moments of wishing I had them back in my nest as the precious little boys that I was blessed to raise.

Anywho…

I think in light of my whining, David asked me yesterday morning if I wanted to go for a drive.  Our Saturdays typically consist of him working the cattle or cleaning up at our property about 20 minutes away, while I stay home and catch up on housework or laundry OR totally skip that fun and go to a movie or something.  I prefer the latter.

David wanted to take me to the James A. Gaston Visitor Center which serves as the primary contact point for visitors to the Bull Shoals-White River State Park.  It overlooks the dam and is in a beautiful location. 

 

We watched a movie that gives the history of the area and the building of the dam.  It is so interesting to see the changes that this area has gone through over the years.  And we saw some familiar faces… (I took these shots of the movie as it played)

Hello, Jeff! (the young fisherman)

Forrest Wood talking about the construction of the Bull Shoals Dam in the 1950s.

After visiting the center, we decided to hit a few flea markets and thrift stores.  We didn’t find much, but I was grieved to see three “Body For Life” books for $5 each.  I couldn’t pass up the third one… so I now have an extra copy of one of my all-time favorites.  I also saw countless “Dr. Phil” Weight Loss program books – no grieving there.

We also previewed an estate auction that was to take place last night, but didn’t see anything of interest, so we headed to Subway for a bite before going home.

I finished off a good day watching a couple of chick flicks… “The Holiday” and “Failure to Launch”.

On another note… I was SO excited to see Big Brother 11 premiere this week.  Three nights a week!! 

Anyone else a Big Brother follower??

One of those days

Yesterday was one of those days.  Nothing horrible, just a few goofy things to deal with.  We’ve been having trouble with the air conditioner in our office for the past week or so and I had the repairman come last week and it seemed to be fixed.  The unit is behind the wall my desk is against and it had pushed water all into the floor of my office.  The A/C man thought he had it taken care of, but yesterday afternoon I saw more water in the work room and turned off the unit and called the repairman again.  He came by and determined the floor drain is backed up, so I have to call a plumber.

At noon, Jodi came to get me to go workout.

Can I just say how HAPPY I am that Jodi is back from vacation and I have my workout partner back!

Anyway, I popped the trunk to get my gym bag and workout sheet out and noticed the sheet felt moist.  After we got back from the gym I got into my trunk and realized the cooler that we left in there from Friday had leaked all the melted ice out into the trunk!  (Kale will be happy to know my trunk has been relieved of all the junk that I had in there, including the 15 and 25 pound kettlebells.)  I aired out the trunk for most of the afternoon and finished the job after work.

I had a training appointment at 5:30 and hadn’t left work to go to the bank or the post office yet, so about 5:05 I gathered the mail and the bank bag, and just as I was about to leave Kale called.  I grabbed my cell phone and left the office with full hands.  After I got in the car, I turned the ignition and … nothing.  I don’t have to have a key in the ignition to start my car, it just has to be somewhere in the car, but that’s not possible when the key is in my purse in my LOCKED office.  Thank goodness, I was on the phone with Kale, because at least I had my phone to call someone.  So, poor Judy had to come rescue me.  I think I’m getting old. But, THANK YOU, Judy for coming to the rescue!!

Here’s hoping for a smooth Tuesday…

Hard to See Them Go

Jodi has been camping for what seems like a month, but I think it’s actually been about 9 days.  Now that my nest is often, but not always, empty, my world is getting quiet. Most days, that’s okay by me, but sometimes it just seems a bit too quiet.

I got to feeling a little sorry for myself last Monday or Tuesday evening realizing Jodi and Gary would be gone for the holiday weekend and knew that I’d be bored out of my skull, so I texted Kale that maybe he could come home again if he didn’t have other plans.  For about 30 minutes I didn’t hear back, but then came the sweet sound of the chime from my Blackberry and the text from Kayla read, “We’ll see you Thursday!”  I was so excited… a long weekend with the kids. 

They came in Thursday evening and one of the things on Kale’s list was to pick up some board shorts.  So, we hit Walmart, apparently a little late in the season, because this was all he was finding…

Friday morning we got up and Kayla and I ran to the thrift stores.  We got a bargain sport coat for Tyler at $1.25!  We also stopped at Stage and got Kale some swim trunks.

Late afternoon, while Tyler was still at work, we loaded up and headed to the lake.  I haven’t been to the lake in forever and it was fun just hanging for a while.

Before we left the lake, we took Kayla by the Peel Ferry, the last operating ferry in the state.

Afterwards, we met Tyler for supper at our favorite pizza place (Breadeaux Pizza).

After supper, we went to Jodi’s house (actually her driveway) to watch the fireworks.  They’ve got a good view of the town firework show from there.

Saturday, Kayla and I went to see “The Proposal”.  It was a MUCH lighter movie than last week’s “My Sister’s Keeper”, and we had LOVE for it too.  It was one of those movies you don’t really want to end because you’re enjoying it so much.

That Sandra Bullock is just so darn cute.

Saturday evening we went to my folk’s house for a cookout.  We spent the evening sitting out on the back deck in beautiful weather enjoying each other’s company.  There were 33 of us there and three of my siblings and their families weren’t even able to come.

Today, after church and visiting Miss Charlsie, Kale and Kayla had to go back to Fayetteville.  It’s always hard to see them go, but I’m thankful to have had them here.

I hope your holiday weekend was filled with family and fun and a true appreciation for this great country and those who are fighting for it.

26 Years

Today is our 26th wedding anniversary.  Saturday will mark 27 years of “togetherness” for me and the man.  We started dating on the 4th of July in 1982 and got married the 2nd of July 1983. 

We were just young pups then.

I like this picture because I look a little like I just won Dave at auction or something… and I’m carting him off.  Poor feller!

And, I’m happy to say that Kale and Kayla just came in this evening for a LOOOOONG holiday weekend! Oh, that makes my heart sing!!!