THE YEAR'S BEST (actual) HEADLINES OF 2005:

[I have not included all of them – only my favorites!]

Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers
[Now that's taking things a bit far!]

Is There a Ring of Debris around Uranus?
[Not if I wipe thoroughly!]

Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over
[What a guy!]

Miners Refuse to Work after Death
[No-good-for-nothing' lazy so-and-sos!]

Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant
[See if that works any better than a fair trial!]

War Dims Hope for Peace
[I can see where it might have that effect!]

Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures
[Who would have thought!]

Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges
[You mean there's something stronger than duct tape?!]

Man Struck By Lightning: Faces Battery Charge
[He probably IS the battery charge]

Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft
[That's what he gets for eating those beans!]

Kids Make Nutritious Snacks
[Taste like chicken?]

Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half
[Chainsaw Massacre all over again!]

And the winner is....

Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead
[Did I read that right?]

Lesson's from the Ice Cream Man

I was reading my daughter-in-laws blog http://thehubbardtabloid.blogspot.com/
If you don't want to go read it for yourself here's a quickie - she was talking about the ice cream truck being in the neighborhood. Her aunt said her son who is 3 had a toy ice cream truck but because they do NOT have ice cream trucks where they live he would need to come visit to enjoy the experience.

That made me think of the lesson's I learned and still remember to this day that has to do with the ice-cream man. So thought I would share them.

Lesson Number One: When one parent says NO - you CANNOT go ask the other parent.

When I was maybe 2nd grade, I was playing in the yard and heard the lovely music that could only mean the truck was near! I ran to daddy and asked for ice cream he said it was too close to supper and not today. So I went in the house to ask my mom who said YES!! she gave me money I went out front (it was a different world back then - it was a SAFER world) and bought my ice cream sandwich. I came around the house eating it - and I'm sure taunting my father. He walked up to me asked where I got the ice cream and I told him (as only a young child who got her way could) that mommy said yes and gave me the money. He took it away from me and ate it in front of me. YES HE ATE MY ICE CREAM! I went inside in tears and my mom while comforting me said that when they got married they became ONE so when one of them said NO it was a NO for both of them unless they discussed it and came back with a changed heart. This is a lesson I tried to teach my children without EATING THEIR ICE CREAM - but a very valuable lesson just the same.

Lesson Number Two: A mothers sacrificial love.

My sister, mom and I were fixing supper (I was just setting the table - cause I was still too young to actually cook) when we heard the wonderful melody from the ice cream truck. Mom said lets go get ice cream for dessert tonight. So out the front door we went and waited by the curb for it to arrive. It arrived and mom ordered 4 ice cream sandwiches - I stated that I wanted a Nutty Buddy (a.k.a drumstick and Sundae on a cone) and mom said they were more money and she'd only brought out the money for ice cream sandwiches (which I might add were/are extremely more expensive than it would be to buy a box at the store - so we were splurging anyway) anyway I demanded in my 5 year old voice that I WANTED A NUTTY BUDDY! So she said I could have it. When we had finished dinner she got out our dessert there was an ice cream sandwich for my sister and for my father, then in front of my wonder filled eyes she opened my Nutty Buddy just as I was taking a bite I realized she had no ice cream. I asked her where her sandwich was and she said she didn't want one. I watched my dad cut his in half and share with her. It was only later that my sister who was 7 said that mommy had not gotten dessert because my dessert was more expensive and she didn't have the money for hers and the Nutty Buddy.

This is a memory that came back when we were hanging out with a neighbor one summer (because we were much too old for a babysitter we just hung out with the lady across the street who had 4 young children) We all loaded up in her sister's volkswagon (pre-seat belt age) understand in a small VW bug we had 2 adult women, my sister who was going into 7th grade, me who was going into 5th the lady's 4 kids 7, 5, 3 & 2 her nephews who were 2 and a baby. (boy does that alone make my heart shudder to think of the possibilities of mass bodies in a wreck). Anyway we ran all over town that day and when we were complaining because of thirst she stopped at a convient store and brought us out one free cup of water for the 6 of us kids to share, a soda for herself, one for her sister, and one for my sister. And I just remembered how my mom gave up dessert for me and this mother only bought for herself and the grown ups.

I hope my kids grew up thinking of me as a sacrificial mom not a selfish one! I also pray that my teachings will be passed on down to my grandchildren and they also will know the difference!

'Twas the ..........

'Twas the Week after Christmas,
when all through the house
Not a creature was snoring,
well except my spouse;

The stockings and decorations
were put away with care,
Knowing that next year they
would still be there;

The children were home
all snug in their beds,
While Grandma was miserable
with a stopped up head;

Okay you get the idea – We didn’t exactly RING in the New Year. My Mamaw used to say that whatever you were doing on the New Year you would be doing all year long. (If this is the case I hope she meant whatever you put forth the effort to do cause I WILL NOT BE SICK ALL YEAR LONG!) But if she meant that it was to be your choices that follow the whole year - 2006 will be restful and filled with Worship and spent with Family and friends.

Let’s back it up first –
Christmas Randy had some kind of bug it was yucky and seemed to settle in his back but it was MORE so MUCH MORE than just a sore back! It hurt him to move, it hurt him to stand, it hurt to sit, it hurt to lay down – he was coughing and that hurt. So Christmas Eve program I went to church ALONE – Due to NO NURSERY AC & Trace were impromptu actors in the Christmas Eve program since RC was directing traffic and they couldn’t very well stand in middle of the street with him. Brittney & I were in the program (as extras non-talking rolls) so we just took a boy each and the SHOW WENT ON! It was wonderful! Eric & Julie and the boys were at the first service and they liked it. Stephen and Emily had just arrived from Texas so they took Trae’ to her mom’s put him down for a nap (bedtime whatever) and they came to see the second service it was great having Family from Texas with us. After the service I went home and Randy and I opened up our gifts. It was very nice! Randy and I got up Christmas morning made some breakfast and then went to Church (Randy still felt AWFUL but he was the only one there to run sound). After church Britt and Family came over we had Christmas with them (WILL POST PICTURES Later) Put the boys down for a much needed nap and played some UNO ATTACK. Everyone minus Randy went to Steve and Vicky’s to see Trae’ and family after the boys woke up which was about 2 hours after we should have been there but Vicky was very understanding and we did call to let them know.

Eric and Julie and boys came over on the 26th for our Christmas together. That was a bunch of fun cause Randy was finally feeling human again. Again we played Uno Attack. SO MUCH FUN! Tuesday the 27th we met Emily, Stephen & Trae' at the International Mall to walk around and spend time together (everyone was off that day except RC). THAT LITTLE GUY TRAE IS TOO CUTE! Such a good baby.

Rest of the week was pretty normal and then Saturday morning I woke up with the crud/crop/sinusittus whatever - I couldn't breath and my head was so stopped up my ears, teeth, and eyes hurt! Yet my nose was running and I couldn't quit sneezing. So instead of going to Eric and Julie's like we normally do Randy and I were in bed by 10:30 p.m. Went to church where Emily, Stephen, Trae, Steve and Vicky all met us. Went to lunch and told them goodbye (sad day - wish they could stay longer!)

I took a nap on New Years day for about 3 hours which was kind of good but kind of bad because now for the last two nights I couldn't sleep. New Years night it was after 4:30 before I went to sleep and so I made a point of not napping yesterday but it was still after 2:30 a.m. before I got to sleep. So needless to say I'm at work and ready for a NAP!

Hope all had a good and much more exciting holiday season than we did - but I do have to say it was great and relaxing and Randy and I won't complain about the kicked back time - (Minus the illness)- but we did miss all the family that wasn't here!

Bragging

Thought I would share cute things from each of the grandkids.

Rylee who is now 18 months old - went missing the other night. Mommy (Nyki) decided she was too quiet so she went to check on her and to go ahead and put her to bed because it was that time. She picked up her favorite stuffed animal and started looking for her blanket, she didn't find it in the living room where it was earlier. So she goes ahead and goes to Rylee's room and finds Rylee in bed covered with her blanket sound asleep. TOO SWEET! Hopefully she will always be that easy to get to bed - since she will have a new brother or sister this summer.

Trace who is now 2 years and 2 months - was leaned up against his Mommy (Britt) who is now 6 months pregnant and moved forward and turned to mommy and said. Andrew (baby in womb) is knock knocking on me. Which Andrew was kicking his big brother. Britt told him it was to say HELLO.

AC who is now on the down hill side of 3 racing towards grown came out of his room and told his mom (Britt) that nothing is wrong with Trace he's just in there screaming like a GIRL. Now some people may think this makes him sound sexist but he actually picked up that bit of a saying from me his GRANDMOTHER, when they squeal around the house I asked "Why are you screaming like a girl?" I'm thinking I need to find a new saying! Before I get him beat up by the girls in school.

Everytime I talk to the girls I'm reminded about how fast the little ones are growing and how WONDERFULLY SIMPLE life is for them. There's nothing greater than looking at life through a childs eyes!

To Baggly Go Where NO Man has Gone Before!

Well at least to Baggly go where No man from this family has ever gone before! Randy is home - a day late. He was supposed to be in Friday night at 11:30 p.m. but due to mechanical problems with his plane from Detroit to Cincinnati he missed his flight to Tampa. So he actually got in Saturday around 1 p.m. - his luggage well that was a different story. He was told that they would be here when he got in. They weren't - after much tracking they were located at airport code FRA - that for those of us who didn't know is Frankfort Germany. They are finally in Tampa - having seen a country that their owners would love to see. Maybe some day we can go also!

This week has already been CRAZY! I woke up on Sunday morning at 2:30 with a MIGRAINE to top all Migraines - no matter what I did I would only have a small time frame of release. I was afraid that I would live through it more than I was afraid that I would die from it! I felt better Monday morning so I came to work by 10 I was dying again - but had a 3 o'clock conference call so I tried to brave it out. I sent Randy an email to come get me prior to the actual end of the call and went home at 4. After taking 2 Tylenol sinuses, 2 Aleve and 2 Excedrin Tension within 30 minutes of each other it finally subsided enough for me to "Sleep" it off. Hopefully not to return.

The rest of my week consists of having to get billing done 2 weeks early this month - 2 more conference calls and everything else that is in a normal week. YUCK!!!!!!!!! But hey I can handle it my hubbies’ home and my world is righted again!

Fa ra ra ra ra - ra ra ra ra

'Tis the season to be .............

A. Stressed? I'm getting the feeling that lots of people are beginning to stress already from my family, to my friends, to my company (who just layed off a bunch of people) and even strangers I meet on the street.

B. Pushy? Obviously that is the way everyone in the stores and on the road are feeling because every place I've been someone has been obnoxiously pushy

C. Lonely? I guess that one is understandable especially for people who have lost loved ones this year or are living so far away from family.

D. Jolly? I think thankfulness should lead to Jolly-ness. We need to remember that Jesus is the Reason for the Season. Not the GIFTS we are getting or giving.

Fa ra ra ra ra -ra ra ra ra.

Okay having had my speal about the season and been able to sing my favorite Christmas Carol from my favorite Christmas movie. I will get onto the whole blog update.

I have decided that Randy is not to be out of town the same week my boss Dave is on vacation - I cannot handle having no one to talk to during the day & during the evenings! I called and talked to my mom for almost 2 hours the other night which was nice. (Even though I must learn that is a long time when you haven't eaten supper and I need to switch ears every once in awhile or my right ear begins to actually ache and turns really red!) I also talked to Nyki & Shawn the same night.

I must also learn to take sleeping pills or something when Randy is gone 'cause I don't sleep very good without him and when I am sleeping I keep having nightmares. Like Tuesday night I kept dreaming that something was wrong and I couldn't get a hold of Shawn or Tasha - So Shawn got a phone call at 6:30 their time just to touch base with him, luckily he's used to my freaking out and was very patient about it.

Well that's kind of been my week. The weekend should be kind of crazy - I have AC & Trace tomorrow night, so mommy can watch daddy at his Softball Tournie. The boys normally go with them but they have stuffy noses and coughs and it's suppose to get cold (NOT LIKE TEXAS COLD) but cold for Tampa so they will hang with me and go to get Grandpa from the Airport if the parents aren't back in time. Randy is due in around 11:45 tomorrow night. Saturday night we will have the boys (and possible Julie's if her dad isn't feeling better) while parents have Christmas parties. We may bake cookies......hmmmmm. Send them home on Sugar & maybe some Mountain Dew! Then Sunday afternoon we have Ethan's birthday party so by Sunday night we will be exhausted!