Go Gators!

Andrew is in his 3rd year of Recreation Football (tackle, not flag). His team is the Gators, as in the Florida Gators. He has been on the same team all three years (next year he will move up to the older group of boys). The first year they were the Longhorns. But then the coach's son decided that he like the Florida Gators better, so our entire team had to change. Seriously!!

Anyway, since he would be on this team for two years (coach promised he would not change it again) we decided to get the team apparel to support our team. Now, being that we live in Louisiana, most people don't appreciate the fact that we would wear such things!
I have heard comments such as, "Did you get that shirt on Clearance? (with a look of disgust). Is there nothing else you could have worn." and "You need a new shirt!" (again - the look of disgust).

But I wear my shirt with pride! Because I know that I am not supporting the college football team, but instead the group of young boys that we love so much. (Even though it really is a Florida shirt with their logo on it.)

I even had to wear my shirt to Enrichment (because I left the game to go to church). The timing was not good. It was only 2 days before the real Florida Gators would put a beating on the LSU Tigers. Ouch! sad, sad, day Ironically, two days after the college game, my little Gators would play the LSU Tigers. We cheered our boys on to victory as the Tigers suffered a shut-out. sad, but true

In fact our boys have done really well this season. They are 5-0 and have only had one touchdown scored against them all season!

Bobby would like to burn our Florida Gator things when the season is over. I think my friend Angie took offense to that. She said, "It means something to Andrew and to the rest of us"
She's right. Maybe I'll just give my shirt to Andrew. :)

So for the rest of the season I will wear my shirt with pride and say,
"GO GATORS!! GO GATORS!! GO GATORS!!"

They call him the Streak

Here he comes, look at that, look at that
There he goes, look at that, look at that
And he ain't wearin' no clothes

Oh, yes, they call him the Streak
Look at that, look at that
Fastest thing on two feet
Look at that, look at that
He's just as proud as he can be
Of his anatomy
He goin' give us a peek

Oh, yes, they call him the Streak
Look at that, look at that
He likes to show off his physique
Look at that, look at that
If there's an audience to be found
He'll be streakin' around
Invitin' public critique

The Streak by Ray Stevens



I was excited to get to go to Enrichment last Thursday.  I had to leave
Andrew's ball game early (but they were winning 38-0).
Spencer came with me and headed to nursery.  One of our young
women were in there with two other little boys.
We were having a lesson on 72 hr kits (emergency preparedness)
when I saw the speaker turn her head toward the door and let out a
gasp.  I looked toward the door and saw a little blond head bobbing
along.  When he finally came around the table full of women to where
I could see him, I understood.  Spencer was wearing nothing but his
little t-shirt.  My sweet little two year old boy was happily (almost
skipping) streaking all of the ladies.  He was delighted to be free of the
sitter and his diaper.
Of course the room was full of mostly mothers and grandmothers,
so they all thought it was hilarious.  Very entertaining.  It was the
highlight of my evening.

I can't say that I am totally surprised.  Okay, maybe surprised that he
did it at church.  But we are having trouble keeping his clothes on him
at home.  The stake president was at my parent's house one night and
Spencer walked into the living room with everyone and started stripping.
He was trying to tell Grandma that he wanted to go swimming.   :)

When it rains.....it pours

My dear sweet husband had the morning off. He, my father and a few other men volunteered to help fix someone's roof this morning. As far as I can recall it really hasn't rained very much, or at all, since Hurricane Ike. My husband reminded me of this a few days ago when the Christmas tree growing in our front yard died. :(
So he got up quite early and headed out to do a good service. Right now, it is raining. Not just a little drizzle, it is really raining. Quite hard. It has absolutely been pouring for over an hour. I wonder what he is doing right now. As we listen to the thunder and lightning. I just watched my neighbor's trash can float across my front yard. I couldn't even drive down my street right now if I wanted to.
So what does he do? Does he climb up on someone's roof in this weather? Or does he sit back and watch the rain pour in? I don't know yet. I'll just sit hear listening to the thunder and wait for him to call.


Update: When he got home he was completely dry. Apparently, they were finished with the roof by the time the rain reached the part of town where he was at. By the time it hit, he was sitting down in Subway enjoying an early lunch.

The Sweet Life

Shawn turns 9 tomorrow! He is so excited about his birthday. I saw today that he is really living the sweet life.

He came home from school and got his homework done right away. Then he enjoyed some time on his Nintendo DS. I walked into the living room to see him lounging in a big, comfy chair playing his game. His 5 year old cousin, Kaylie, was standing behind him massaging his shoulders as he played. He looked quite relaxed! :)

I grabbed my camera to capture the moment. Unfortunately, it was a 35 mm camera. They are not nearly as fun as they used to be. I'll have to snap some more shots so I can get them developed.

Happy Birthday to my sweet Shawnie!

Irish Eyes Are Smiling

My grandmother, Edna Butler, passed away a week and a half ago.
My Maw-Maw Nina. That's what we always called her. She was an amazing woman.

I remember countless trips to the Audubon Zoo. We loved it! My grandparents kept a membership there so we could go anytime we were with them. My Paw-Paw would make corned beef sandwiches to take with us. Yum! I still love those sandwiches.

During my elementary and jr. high school years, we lived about an hour away from them. So, we got to see them quite a bit. I would lazily walk home from school each day, but if I spotted their maroon Oldsmobile in our driveway I would break out into a run.

Memories I love.

• Hanging clothes on the clothes line
• Trips to the Esplanade Mall (the biggest mall I had ever seen as a kid!)
• Making cookies and brownies in her big, pink, mixing bowl.
• Going to church with her. She always lead the music. In Primary, Sacarament and Sunday School opening exercises. She would stand up and say, "Good Morning!" And everyone would answer back in unison, "Good Morning Sister Butler!"
• I loved learning and hearing stories about all things Irish, English and Scottish. She was born in Belfast, which is part of the UK. She and my mother even got me involved with Scottish dancing when I was younger.
  
• Her grandfather clock, chiming all night long, when we slept over.
• She would hand us little dixie cups and a bag of M&M's. We would count them out one by one to make sure everyone got the same amount.
• She always had tons of stories to tell. She had a fantastic memory.
  
• "Swimming" in her jacuzzi.
• Saying prayers with her at night.

The summer before I started high school we moved. We were now three hours from my grandparents. They were getting older and by the end of my freshman year they moved in with us! I loved it.

I remember one time my parents were out of town and I was sick. I felt absolutely miserable. She sat on the edge of my parent's waterbed ( not always the most comfortable place to sit for too long). I held her hand and then placed it under my cheek and fell asleep. When I woke up again, she was still there. That still amazes me. She stayed there the whole time while I napped because I loved the way her hand felt on my face.

She has been very hard of hearing as long as I can remember. I loved to talk to her about things that were going on. She wanted me to tell her all my secrets, she promised she would keep them. Of course I believed her, but considering how loud I had to talk so that she could hear me everyone in the house would already know! :) So then, I had to wait until everyone else was gone.

She died on Tuesday, September 16th. My mother called me that morning to let me know that she thought it would happen soon. When I got there, two of my brothers were there. I have one brother and one sister that live in the Houston area, which had just been hit hard by Hurricane Ike. My brother's house still did not have electricity, but he and his wife are both school teachers and didn't have any school all week as the city tried to recover. They wanted to come as soon as possible, but the lines at the gas stations were 3-4 hours long. Knowing that they had a 3 hour drive ahead of them, they couldn't wait that long. They had to siphon gas from other vehicles so they would have enough to make the trip. They made it in time. Maw-Maw Nina was surrounded by family who loved her dearly when she passed.

A couple of days ago someone told me, " I'm sorry about your grandmother." I just smiled and thanked her. But then I think to myself, "Have you heard about my grandfather? He got the love of his life back. One year, four months, and two days. That's how long he waited to be reunited with his eternal companion." I can only imagine the joy he felt that night. We cried, but I'm sure he was smiling.

My grandfather's funeral was really hard. I think that's because he was the first to go. Her funeral was different. I alternated between feeling sad and smiling. To me it truly felt like a celebration of her life and good-bye for now. My parents had bagpipers play as they put her in the hearse and at the cemetary. They played two of her favorites, Amazing Grace and Danny Boy. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful service.

Remember Rita

That's what our local officials are saying. Remember the storm that ripped through here 3 years ago. I don't want to remember Rita. I don't want this thing to be anything like Rita.

Rita was the first storm I've ever evacuated for. Ever. When I was growing up and a hurricane was forecast, my job was to scrub the tub and fill it with water. So when my phone rang one morning and my mom asked what were we going to do, I was confused. People were leaving and I didn't understand that. After going to a gas station and finding out that they ran out of gas just before I got to the pump, I was in full panic mode. I remember the stress, the tears and trying to get my family ready to leave as fast as I could.
My parents still had Katrina evacuees at their house when we headed out of town. We drove as far as Athens, Texas that night and got some sleep. The next day we made it a little further North into Texas. After the storm had passed, Bobby headed back to help and I went to Plano to stay with a friend.
I remember being in Wal-Mart when Bobby called and said that we had some damage to our porch but our mobile home was fine. Such sweet relief. More tears right there in the middle of Wal-Mart. Tears of relief.
It would be two full weeks before Bobby let me come home with the kids. We still did not have electricity, but my parents did. We stayed with them for a few days and then we had electricity and could go home.
As I drove back into town after people had worked for more than two weeks cleaning up the damage, it was worse than I thought it would be. More tears. This is our home town, our community, our neighbors, our friends. It was so hard to see.
I know that we were very lucky, especially since we lived in a mobile home at the time. So it's not my personal experience with my home that makes comparing this to Rita so hard. It's that I really don't want our community to have to go through that again.

My little hummingbird feeder

We had never had a hummingbird feeder before. I never really thought about it. Until one day, several months ago, Bobby came home from Wal-mart with one. I thought, "That's really kind of ugly." But he seemed really pleased about his gift for me, so whatever. We hung it up right outside our big kitchen window where I stand to do dishes.

I can not tell you how much I have enjoyed our little feeder. The boys absolutely love it too. They get so excited when the little hummingbirds come around. It has been quite common to see one or two birds feeding there each day.

Yesterday, when I looked out the window, I could not believe how many I saw. They were flying all over the place. After some had flown off and I was able to get a good count, there were 6. I think there must have been about 10 when I first looked out.

Now, I cannot imagine not having a feeder for them. I love it! Thank you Bobby.