my husband rocks~the mall~

Anyone who knows me knows I've never been much of a shopper. As of late, I've done quite a bit, but mostly for the house. I decided I needed some new fall clothes so I made plans for a shopping spree. I usually like to shop alone because I am picky, indecisive and hard to fit. So when I shop with someone I feel pressured to buy what I don't like or buy nothing at all out of frustration.

Branson would be staying overnight at a friends house on Saturday, so it seemed like the perfect choice. Michael was also completely disinterested in tagging along because the Alabama game would be starting at 2:30pm.

He did need to run a quick errand so we were able to meet for a lunch date @ Red Lobster:). After a yummy meal we headed off to our separate destinations. I touched base later in the afternoon to find out the score and he was in THE MALL! WHAT! He said he got caught up in the moment and decided to do a little shopping too.

When I got home that afternoon he had 5 shirts, 2 pair of jeans, 3 pair of khakis, a jacket, and 3 pair of shoes. You know what I had? 1 pair of shoes and 3 shirts.

Maybe I should tag along and let him give me some pointers.

New Do

I'm getting my hair done at a new salon. I'm giving her a try because she did a really cute cut on one of the girls at work. I'm taking her this pic , although I'm not going this short. I've been trying to grow my inverted bob out so I'm mainly looking at the color and the bangs. I'll post a pic of myself later to show you how she does. If she does a good job I might reconsider growing out the locks and let her cut the style also.

Honor Roll

Report cards are here and Branson pulled out with all A's. He is still working on his conduct scores and lucky for him conduct doesn't apply toward the Honor Roll. He did get a ribbon for his effort and a certificate for a free meal from one of the local restaurants. We make a deal a couple weeks back to give him $5 for every A, so I guess I'm out a Jackson.

kickin' myself

I guess we all have our moments when we feel were not meeting the expectations of our loved ones. Wether it's our spouse, our children, our parents or our friends. I want to say this is a hard post for me because I am not used to exposing my feelings in this way. I am posting because I think I'll feel better if I talk and I want to be real to my memories when I look back on them.

Today I am feeling especially weepy. I guess you could say I have the need for the appearance of perfection. Now, I'm not so far gone to believe I have perfection, but it's the appearance of perfection that seems to be a guard for me. (It's funny how things work out because God knows I am embarrassed by this type of emotional weakness, so he arranged it so my co-worker had an event to go to for a couple of hours this morning.)

I've never seen myself as weak. I've always, always thought of myself as a strong person . I'm the one who takes whatever comes, shakes it off, looks on the bright side, makes the lemonade. I'm the get over it, move on girl, but then it all catches up and I feel myself begin to surrender to the burden.

Now don't panic, this isn't some major catastrophe, it's just everyday life. I wonder am I a good wife? Will Michael look back on our lives and say I was everything he needed? Do I take opportunities to lift him up or am I quick to tear down? Do I cook enough? I worry if I am creating the best homelife I can for my husband and child?

Another thing weighing on me lately is my parenting skills. I wonder am I spending enough time with Branson? Do I read to him enough? Do I allow him too much t.v. and video game time? Do we laugh, tickle and play enough? Am I picking my battles wisely or am I frustrating the situation by setting my expectations too high? Am I too permissive? Does he know how deeply I love him? Does he see my dicipline as love or does he think he'll never measure up?

I wonder how are all these things molding him into the man he will become. I can only pray for wisdom in this area, hope I am doing the right things and let God fill in the gaps. Help me Lord to be able to teach and discipline him without wounding his Spirit and guard his heart in the times I fail.

~my husband rocks~the grill

My husband rocks because.....

the boy can cook and he looks good in an apron.

Pink Project

My hospital hosted its first ever walk for Breast Cancer Awareness on Saturday, Oct. 17th. It was a 4 mile walk from the parking lot of the hospital to the parking lot of our Surgery Center. It seemed to be a huge success with over 100 participants ranging from the very young to over 70yrs of age. We even had two from the canine family. There were tons of door prizes given away at the end of the event along with lunch donated by lots of local businesses. To top off the event there was a balloon release in memory of those who've lost their battle and for those still fighting. It was a beautiful sight and I spent much of the day drying my eyes.

Most of the girls from our department participated in the day either by walking or set-up.We all work in ultrasound or radiology so we often see cancer up close.It felt great to be a part of something much bigger than myself. I know the event raised alot of money for the cause and I'm already looking forward to next year's event.

~my husband rocks~giving

My husband rocks because I can trust him fully when it comes to our finances. He is very smart with our finances and has always had our families best interest at the top of his priority list. Several times in our lives he has given up things that were special to him, like his motorcycles and full-size trucks because he knew it would be the smartest thing for our finances. I feel truely blessed to have a man of this caliber in my life in a world where statistics show the majority of divorces are caused by money problems. Thanks ,Baby! You Rock!

Too Close

Way too close. Here's the story.....

It is time to plant mums for the fall season and I needed my gardening tools. We usually keep them in the far corner of the garage so I made my way over to start my search. Those of you who know us are probably laughing right now because I don't always keep all my stuff organized and you also know the state of our garage, nuff said? So, I'm standing there searching......and searching.... looking for my hand tools when I look down and one inch from my flip flop clad foot is a coiled up Copperhead!

Now... fight or flight instantly took over and I jumped like a gazelle on the Nile River at the height of a crocodile feeding frenzy. I screamed Michael's' name at least 10 times and I'm sure he knew immediately the implication in my voice(we've had lots and lots of snakes). He came running and killed the snake with a really, really short hoe. I know it was difficult given the distance his feet were from the snake.

When I settled down from the terror of the moment, I thanked God I had not been bitten and we went on with our day. As we were enjoying various moments during the rest of the weekend I was reminded of just how fragile our lives can be. I kept thinking I could be in a hospital right now instead of tossing the baseball, instead of grilling burgers or taking communion. Our outcome might have been drastically different if it wasn't for the protection our Lord provides for us daily. Psalms 91:14 says the Lord will rescue me because I love him; he will protect me because I acknowledge his name, he will answer me when I call upon him; He will be with me in trouble.

Don't you agree a copperhead in the garage next to my foot is TROUBLE!

school update

Michael and I went to Branson's 2nd grade parent-teacher conference. I was pleased with the over-all vibe of the meeting especially given the conduct grades Branson has been bringing home. Mrs. Robinette said Branson is a very bright student and is scoring above average on all his SAT scores.She said he tends to finish his work quickly and this gives him a lot of free time at his desk and this spells trouble for an already over-active student. Branson has struggled with his conduct since he started school and we have worked with him continually on this. I had hoped his misbehavior was mainly talking and the teacher did confirm this for me. I wanted her to know we are working with her from home and disipline him when he receives poor grades. When I asked what we could do to help in this area she suggested we encourage him in reading. If we can get him interested in a series of books he will have something to occupy him when he finishes his work. This will also help him in his Accelerated Reading Program. The AR program has the students read books then take a test on the computer afterwards. If they reach a certain point goal and accuracy within the 9 weeks then they get to participate in special activities like jump-a-roos, parties, and in the 2nd grade they go to the movies and take special field trips.

Mrs. Robinette thanked us for coming and mentioned how nice it was to have both parents attending the conference. I have to say I left there with a much better feeling about the year than I went in with. I had the idea she had a sour taste for Branson because of his conduct but I didn't get that impression at all. She was delightful and encouraging towards him. I know he is a challenge in the classroom but a good teacher will be able to harness his energy into something positive.

~my husband rocks~while I'm sleeping

My husband rocks today because while I was nursing a migraine he took down all the light fixtures, cleaned them and replaced the bulbs. I estimated it to be around 30 globes in all, most of which require the ladder to reach. I appreciate this because it is hard enough to keep up with the day to day maintenance let alone get to the things no one can see with a full-time job, church, soccer games and homework.
If you like this idea and want to uplift your husband check out the concept for my husband rocks Fridays here.

Soccer

Fall soccer is well under way and the Green Dragons are doing great. I see a lot of improvement from the spring season and they are really working together as a team. It is so awesome to watch your child transition from a place of complete self-centered behavior to a real team player. Although, it is a huge thrill to see your child score a big goal the reward is even bigger when you see their character growing. I saw the willingness to pass the ball to another player growing in Branson last season, but now I see it as part of his game. I'm so proud of you Baby. Play Hard!

Project 365

I saw this idea while reading a magazine the other day. It immediately struck my interest and knew it was for me. The concept is to post a picture a day for 365 days. You'll also add a small bit of journaling to explain the photograph. I love taking pictures and am constantly photographing my surroundings. Although I do not have a really good camera I do the best I can with my Kodak Z710. I hope to invest in a new camera soon because my passion is growing everyday for this hobby. You can check out my project here.

~my husband rocks~Fridays

I found a really great idea while on another blog one day. It's called my husband rocks Fridays. The idea is to do a post or photo every Friday to document why your husband rocks. When I saw the idea I knew it would be great for me because 1)I want my husband to know how much he means to me and 2)I'm not that generous when it comes to verbalizing my appreciation for all he adds to my life. So, I thought this idea was the next best thing to renting a blimp to fly over our city. So look for my posts about Michael each Friday and see just why I think my husband ROCKS!

Today my husband rocks because...

We just had our 2nd grade parent-teacher conference with Mrs. Robinette.( I'll post more detail about the actual conference later.) Michael was running a little late so I went ahead to the teacher's room to let her know. On the way I was noticing all the other rooms, how the doors were decorated, the children's artwork on the walls and also lots of other parent-teacher conferences taking place. I began to notice that there were only women at each conference, no Dads. I couldn't help but smile and swell with pride knowing my husband was on his way. At the same time ,I also felt sad for the Dads who couldn't be there or just don't understand the importance of being a part of these type moments. Michael has made every effort to attend Branson's school events and he has never missed a parent-teacher conference. All of Branson's teachers have commented on how nice and how rare it is to have both parents attend these type meetings . We are both very blessed to have jobs where we have to ability to prioritize our children at the top of our lives.