A Special Thanksgiving Vacation

We have had an amazing week. It all started last Sunday, November 23. We woke early to drive to Nashville. That was Scout's 14th birthday present - Tickets to the Jets Vs. Titans Game. Brett Favre did not disappoint! He played great and the Jets broke the winning streak of the Tennessee Titans. Sad for Titan Fans....exhilarating for Favre fans.

Yes...that is a Jets Favre jersey...with the Packers Cheesehead combination. He's good with the compromise.



We enjoyed some time in Nashville - even though it was short. Kelly made a Thanksgiving dinner for us and we enjoyed being with our family.

Great food and fun as usual with this crew.

The next day, we woke early again to drive to Washington DC for a week of major site seeing and family time.

This vacation was so different for us. For one, it was during Thanksgiving and we are always with with other members of our family for Thanksgiving. As I was thinking how different this was for us....I began to remember that this is the way it was for me growing up. My family always took a family vacation the week of Thanksgiving. We would go to Navarre Beach every year. The special thing for me, was that there were other families who did this same thing and for years, we would go in anticipation of seeing these friends that we only saw once a year. My parents made friends as well and they would gather during the week and play cards in the sun room of the hotel we stayed in while the kids ran wild. It was GREAT! I loved my Thanksgivings. This vacation - was a perfect Thanksgiving for us.

We stay so busy with everyone's schedule that sometimes we don't have as much downtime as we all would like. The boys can nag each other TO DEATH at home. It can be crazy!! But this past week - they hung together and laughed constantly. The boys had a hotel room across from our room. Every time we went over there, there was wrestling, laughing, being goofy....just fun stuff. When we take them out of their environment.....they become the best of friends. Such a blessing for me and Kevin to see that.

Its neat to see them growing into young men and how their personalities are changing and growing too. Coming home, I'm determined to not put off trips like this anymore. We had an amazing time with tons of memories we will share for YEARS to come. We are already planning something for the spring....we hear Wyoming is wonderful....and I want to see my boys enjoy the site of the buffalo and those amazing mountains and valleys. Seeing my kids enjoy something new is a priceless gift. Experiencing new cities and sites together is special. It makes me wonder if that is a tad of what God experiences when we take delight in his word....and his world. He enjoys, enjoying life with us just like we do with our own families. Just a small reminder of how good God is.

There are some funny moments that stick out from this past week -



During our Thanksgiving Dinner at Hard Rock Cafe, our server gave Max a coloring book and set of crayons, he politely put his hand up and said, "oh, no thank you, I'm 10 now". The server, who had a GREAT personality, said "Oh! I see, so you don't color anymore! You are too grown up for coloring, huh???". We all laughed. Then Max said, "Well, you know, I am 10, but I still have a little left in me sometimes".
Typical Max.


Walking to the subway after dinner one night. Max saw this statue in the window of an antique store. He walked up to the window of this shop, pointed to the statue and yelled, "Look at this guy!!!! He looks awful!!!!" As soon as he did this, a man sleeping against the door in a sleeping bag rolled over....Max's foot was literally an inch away from his sleeping bag. None of us had noticed the man,until he rolled over and the sleeping bag moved. Only Nick, Kevin and myself noticed the movement and we grabbed Max and walked away quickly. I know...where was our Christian compassion? My first reaction was mama bear mode - move my child, because I didn't know who was in that sleeping bag and was not sure how safe we were. I feel bad now...seriously. But, back to the story - When we told Max what had happened - he didn't believe it at first and thought we were kidding him. But then he got really sad because he thought the man might have thought he was talking about him when he was really talking about the statue. (His brothers might have put that in his head too) Max talked about the man the rest of the way to the subway and then on the way to our hotel too. The next day while in Chinatown, we saw many homeless people. One man asked me if I had any spare change that I could give. My first reaction was no, but then I stopped and Max said, "mom you don't have any change you can share with him??" Of course I do...was the answer. I took out all the change I had in my purse and gave it to the man. We had walked almost a block and Max said, "Mom, I want to give that man my $7. Please mom". He had $7 left of his souvenir money. My first reaction was to tell him to save his money, but I could see that this tied into his experience from earlier in the week. He was thinking about the night that he woke the homeless man and his concern that he had hurt the homeless man's feelings and the fact that the man was sleeping on the sidewalk in the first place. I asked him if he really wanted to give all the money - and he said yes, and then ran all the way back to that man by himself to put his $7 in the man's cup. My eyes just welled up with tears as he ran back to me. Max smiled and said, "I feel good Mom, I think he's happy. He needs $7 more than I do". We thank God for his sweet spirit, tender and generous heart. We pray God continues to speak and work through Max as he grows up and that he always listens when the spirit tells him to move, give and speak.

Well, like I said, we are back and this day holds much laundry and some Christmas decorating for me too. I better get busy. But not too busy to enjoy my quiet house for a moment....everybody needs that the day after vacation right?

A Wii bit of fun!

Ok, so I'm out of town and I've really missed my Wii Fit. Seriously! We've been looking for one since they came out months ago! Kevin surprised me last Sunday morning when I saw one advertised in the paper. I saw it and told Kevin we needed to go see if Target had them in because it had been weeks since they had even advertised them in their flyer! The next thing I know - I go downstairs for more coffee....and BAM...there on my coffee table is a Wii Fit. So fun! Let's just say we all enjoyed Wii Fit that day....some of us more than others. Its becoming obvious that our youngest finds this to be more work than fun. He likes some of it...but I think he prefers the 'old school' sit and veg games to the active Wii. If you have one of these you know what I'm talking about. Two days of Skiing downhill....my thighs were amazingly sore! Embarrassingly sore actually. I thought wow....all of this pain because I was playing a video game. Pretty cool.

Anyway, The funniest part of this whole experience for us is when we each made our health profile. On the Wii, you create people to look similar to you and use that person to play the games. During the health evaluation, we found that not only did we give them our height, but standing on the Wii Fit Board gave them our weight and overall BMI. I was first - we didn't know what to expect...or I would NOT have been first in front of my boys. Let's just say my cute little Wii girl dressed in a pink tshirt on my HUGE tv set......plumped up just a bit after I completed my evaluation. I thought...what the heck. Why make the Wii person gain weight? I mean, couldn't my girl look thin on the Wii??? After the big reveal about weight and where you should be based upon age / height - you learn that as you play the Wii Fit and as you weigh each week and lose weight...your Me person does to! So, now I feel responsible for not only myself....but my sweet little Wii Me dressed in pink to! Insane....ingenious and incredibly fun! I just wish some of you could have been with us when this happened in real time. The boys totally cracked up when my gal changed sizes. It was funny. Kevin had this inner conflict going on. Laughing....unsure if he should enjoy the laughter...but still laughing! Again, this was a gift for me right? Was it supposed to insult me too? HA! Oh, and that picture above is not our family. Our would be the entire clan...the five of us....and they all look pretty similar to us as well!

I thought I would post a few pictures of the Wii Fun. Just for fun of course.

The picture turned out kind of dark. I'm still learning to use the settings on my camera. But Kevin was loving this. Hula hooping is actually harder than you think!

Scout was a pro! He could actually do everything great and when this thing evaluated his sense of balance...he was pretty much dead on! His Wii Me did not get chubby....Duh....

Honestly....I miss having fun with my guys tons more than I just miss the exercise. Its things like this that we do together....and continue to knit us together. Sounds corny....but it is so true. Whether its cards at the table, watching the Packers together or playing Wii Fit as a family - even when Nick says he so doesn't want to do this! He does. Its family time and is always fun. Makes me thankful for my family and all that we can share together. One day, we'll be sitting around a dinner table one holiday....and one of my boys will recall how hard they laughed watching their mom's game character plump up on the TV and how funny that was. And we'll all laugh again.....I think. I hope I'm just not in full blown menapause and begin to cry....ha! Just kidding..... I hope I can always keep a good sense of humor with my kids no matter how old we get or how crazy I get.

Psalm 128: 1-3

1 Blessed are all who fear the LORD,
who walk in his ways.
2 You will eat the fruit of your labor;
blessings and prosperity will be yours.

3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house;
your sons will be like olive shoots
around your table

I read that verse in my quiet time earlier this week and I thought...you know, that is me. I love my life and am so thankful for the many blessings the Lord has given me. Enjoying my family is one of those blessings. I thank God for my husband, who loves me like crazy and my boys who love me and enjoy life with me. God is good...all the time...and all the time...God is good!!! And...so is exercise on my Wii Fit!

Fall, Football and Fun!

Ok....so tonight was the perfect football night. There was a chill in the air and there were friends and fun.....but there was no win for the JV at Spain Park. This past Friday our Varsity Team was killed by Mountain Brook. Tonight, the JV lost to the JV Mountain Brook team at the very end....by a hair! It was painful!

Though the loss was really bad...there were a few things that made me laugh. I thought I would share.....



Kevin and I love to read these signs. Somehow they never seem quite fierce enough. We typically see something like, Hook the Bucs, Pave over the Panthers....but tonight.....the misspell sign totally owned us. I still don't get it. I really, really don't. But somewhere.....earlier today, there was a cheerleader who thought it would be a great idea! For the record...I apologize in advance if I am talking about your daughter...I am sure she is really cute. Seriously....



This picture just seemed funny to me because its like they all heard the play call and said, "What???". I liked that. Seriously, look at them all....in sync.

I like this next picture too...not because its funny - but its really cool. It's not from tonight...it's from our last home varsity game. You know how most football teams tear through the paper sign and run out yelling toward the other team? Well, the Spain Park Varsity Team likes to walk out in one big mass, almost marching in military style, to some really jamming music. Welcome to the Jungle by Guns 'N Roses is a popular song.




Cool- fun for the Varsity guys. I guess a big step up all the way around from JV ball in many ways. Wow, they don't even threaten to misspell another team's name. That's something right there!

* Thanks to my girl Mel who called me this am (laughing) and told me I misspelled...misspell. Yeah....its edited now!

Skating 101

My youngest son will soon turn 10. He has decided he wants to have a skating party. Where did he get that idea? (I have mentioned having one for myself next year....that might have something to do with it!) My curiosity as to why he would think skating party for himself is because.....he does not know how to skate. When I first thought about that I was just dumb founded. I mean when I was his age...I was in love with the roller rink. I remember at 10 I was already collecting skates, pom poms for my skates....and begging for days at the rink. If you grew up around the Center Point, Huffman area all I have to say is Skate Haven. Did the memories start flooding in? For me...Oh Yeah! I loved to skate. Anyway....

So, I took Max and his buddy skating yesterday. Max loved it. He totally got into the disco lights and music, that is right up his alley. He thought it was funny they played Earth Wind and Fire. He keeps that one going on his CD player. What a hoot! I laughed, laughed and laughed.....and also fell on my rear a couple of times. I could blame it on the skates....the wheels did seem a bit cockney, but I am sure the technique had something to do with it. It took Max and his friend Camryn a long time to get around the rink. I could do 2 in their one. Max was pretty impressed. He loved watching his mom skate. However, I was not as good as I used to be. Remember the cross over with your feet you would do at the turns? Mine is now just a long stride around the corner. Yeah...not as flashy. Couldn't backwards skate anymore. But I could do the whole turn backwards and stop thing still. At least that was something.

My big fall came when I was trying to teach Max and Cam how to skate. How to glide. I was exaggerating my movements and I felt it happening. I leaned back and fourth a few times, something happened with my knees and I literally had my feet fly up and I landed hard on my bum. Max's eyes were HUGE - Cam kind of laughed...but he didn't want to. Max began to laugh, he too fell, and we were all laughing. I had amazing hot pains shooting all up my lower back. Furthermore I had a skin burn on my elbow and I noticed the palm of my right hand was hot too. I had busted 2 blood vessels in my hand. (my friend Julie is a nurse and she looked at it and told me so) Anyway, I got up...and we kept on going for about another hour and a half. What I continued to notice is that there were a whole rink full of kids that really didn't know how to skate. I swear its a lost art. It was also a great workout and Max absolutely loved it too. He wants to go back every week. I think we will!

My favorite part of the day, was when Max told us in the van that he had the best day ever. I was thinking probably because he spent the day with his bud Cameron. When I commented on that, he agreed that was cool, but the best part was spending the day doing something fun with his mom, like skating. Wow, you know, you think you do a great job of spending time with them but sometimes life gets busy and we just let day to day craziness get in our way - and I think sometimes that if they have their buddies with them, they are great with that. But this just reminded me that Max still wants to 'do something' with me. He wants to go skate with me. He even grabbed my hand a couple of times. Granted...it was because he was holding on for dear life. But...its been a while since one of my boys has done that in public on their own urging.

Taking care of business and responsibilities is good thing. But the battle is constantly measuring the amount of time that we directly spend with our children. Even when I think I am doing a good job, a comment like the one Max made has me evaluating my time and who gets more of it. Is it my husband, children, family, friends...work?? Who gets more. If I were to take each hour and write down what I do in a 24 hour day.....who sees me more? Who has more influence on me and I on them? I could go on, but you get the picture. There is a great book by Andy Stanley entitled, 'Choosing to Cheat'. Check out that book for a moment and read a quick review of the book. It sounds crazy at first right? But the whole book discusses each day we 'cheat' somebody out of something with our time. So, make a wise choice in who that will be. Make sure its not the ones that love you dearly. Not just work related decisions, but also serving within good things too. Ministry can sometimes fall into this scenerio too. If you are active within your church community, you know what I'm talking about. It's a great book and I've picked it back up for a refresher and for some encouragement in using my time well! A reminder that sometimes you have to say no to some really good things in order to say yes to the very best things in your life.

Last week, I just happened to schedule a massage appointment for Monday. Seemed kind of a random thought, but its been a while since I've visited my spa and I try to go every so often to keep up with what is going on. yeah, one of the hardships of my job. Anyway, I thought then, that it would be for just relaxing. Well, today I'm enjoying my appropriate dose of ALIEVE and I can totally see that my back needs a bit of work from that fall. Because God does see all and knows all....I wonder if that was my 'divine' suggestion allowing me a gift of recovering on Monday. I'll say yes.... God is good.

I love that it's Friday!

YYYYYEEEEEAAAAA!!!!! I feel like I made it! It is the weekend and there will be some time for fun. I am looking forward to some 'high school' tailgating tonight and then hopefully a Win for Spain Park! Saturday will be fun too - our plan is to go skating to see if Max can skate. Why you ask? Because for his 10th birthday, this November he is thinking that he wants to have a skating party.....but he wants to be sure he can skate first. What a hoot!

Update; Nick gave the girl the CD.....she loved it and said yes. They seem to be a couple....I mean with one question.....the relationship changes. I saw them last night at Scout's football game and after the game, she came up and was bubbly as usual. This time, though, she greeted me with a smiley "Ms. Shannon!!" and then walked up a couple of bleachers to give me a hug. Nick smiled like a proud parent. I like her....I love Nick's heart more.....I hope this is a good life experience for both. I am praying!!!! Nick told me last night that she shared her CD with the girls and they said that is the most awesome way anyone has ever been asked to Homecoming. He then followed up with the fact that he would always ask his dad for suggestions. He sees now...that his dad truly does know what girls/women want! Go Kevin!

Ok...a friend of mine, Tony had this insane.....wacky picture on his Facebook profile. I seriously, enjoyed laughing at it. He had some fun at this website. You MUST do this! It's not hard...and it is beyond fun. Kevin and I stayed up past midnight one night making pictures of ourselves.....thought I would share a few with you! You MUST email me a pic of you...if you enjoy the random funness of this site!


Me in 1966. My face is big.....but its pretty funny.

Kevin in 1954

1958

1970

I am glad I met him in 1991~ Whew...that was fun.


Today, I love that I am going out to start my day with joy and expectation of GREAT things. I love that I had a sweet time alone with God this morning. I praise Him for this joy!!

Psalm 16:11
You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Blink

Um.....its Thursday? Where did my Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday go? I truly feel in the blink of an eye I lost 3 days! I am on day 4 in my week. Seriously....I don't remember everything I did! I do know that we've attended a JV game for Spain Park, I am looking forward to another game tonight and one tomorrow night, attended Nature Night for Weeblos, worked on two trifold board projects and a power point......I might have worked a bit.....did I eat or sleep? Not sure....but I think you get the picture. Whew...I'm tired.

It's mornings like this I have to ask myself...did I enjoy my family so far this week? If I haven't...I need to make that a priority. Did we laugh..play...or do we need to run away and make that happen? Spontaneous get aways are great for that. Sometimes that family time I crave can only happen when we leave everything behind. I am getting that feeling. The only problem is...the older my kids get, the more responsibilities they have that don't allow them to just pick up when we get an idea to run away. Nick has football games every Friday night and works most Saturdays. We are part of a church plant group that has commitments every Sunday night. Hmmmmmm, when are we going to run away? We'll just have to note it on the calendar and choose somewhere close so we don't spend our time away....in transit!

This week also held a 'Big First' for us. Nick has had a really good friend (a girl) since middle school. They've been in classes together since the beginning of high school. They've talked each other through girlfriends and boyfriends.....and made fun of each other for 'liking' him or her. Well, this week Nick told us that he has more than just friend feelings for this girl. He's felt them for a while....and now he wants to let her know. But he's scared because she really is one of his best friends and he doesn't want that to change like it can when you date. His hopes are that she stays the same...they can still be silly...fun and try dating at the same time. This girl is sweet, a Christian that loves to share her love for Jesus and an active member of her youth group at church. She also cheers on our Varsity squad so they see each other all the time. Well, he is asking her to Homecoming today. Gulp...I am nervous for him. He says he's not nervous about asking her...but I think he is. So, while we were busy with lots of stuff this week, Nick was busy trying to think of how to ask her to Homecoming. You see, now days, you can't just ask the question...the pressure is on to do it creatively. Kevin gave him great ideas as he is the 'King of Romantic Ideas'. Nick wrote a song that he has been telling his friend about. She has asked him repeatedly to let her hear it. He told her last week he would record it so she could. Well he did.....and in the middle of the recording, he stops playing the guitar and says, "________ Will you go to Homecoming with Me?" I kind of thought he would say something more....but it was short and sweet. I wonder what she'll think??? I'm not worried too much about the outcome though. I have the inside scoop that she has felt more for him for about a year. My source? The mother.
I love this pic. Kind of cool - he could spend hours in the guitar store. He and his friends actually go there to hang out and play guitars. In my day...we hung out in parking lots. Yeah.

So....it may go by fast....but I'm trying to hang on to each happening and enjoy the moment. This whole week makes me think about that Country song, Don't Blink by Kenny Chesney. Sounds corny....but the lyrics are pretty good.

Don't Blink

I turned on the evening news
Saw a old man being interviewed
Turning a hundred and two today
Asked him what's the secret to life
He looked up from his old pipe
Laughed and said "All I can say is."

Don't blink
Just like that you're six years old and you take a nap and you
Wake up and you're twenty-five and your high school sweetheart becomes your wife
Don't blink
You just might miss your babies growing like mine did
Turning into moms and dads next thing you know your "better half"
Of fifty years is there in bed
And you're praying God takes you instead
Trust me friend a hundred years goes faster than you think
So don't blink

I was glued to my tv when it looked like he looked at me and said
"Best start putting first things first."
Cause when your hourglass runs out of sand
You can't flip it over and start again
Take every breathe God gives you for what it's worth

Don't Blink
Just like that you're six years old and you take a nap and you
Wake up and you're twenty-five and your high school sweetheart becomes your wife
Don't blink
You just might miss your babies growing like mine did
Turning into moms and dads next thing you know your "better half"
Of fifty years is there in bed
And you're praying God takes you instead
Trust me friend a hundred years goes faster than you think
So don't blink

So I've been tryin' ta slow it down
I've been tryin' ta take it in
In this here today, gone tomorrow world we're livin' in

Don't blink
Just like that you're six years old and you take a nap and you
Wake up and you're twenty-five and your high school sweetheart becomes your wife
Don't blink
You just might miss your babies growing like mine did
Turning into moms and dads next thing you know your "better half"
Of fifty years is there in bed
And you're praying God takes you instead
Trust me friend a hundred years goes faster then you think
So Don't blink

Naw, don't blink
Life Goes Faster Than You Think

Happy Grandparent's Day

Today is Grandparent's Day. I have had wonderful grandparents and great grand parents that have loved me dearly. The funny, wonderful lady in the picture is my Nana. I love this picture. I think it shows so much of her personality. I hope I am like her in that way. She loves life!!! She is a riot and has always made my life fun! I feel blessed to have a Nana that loves me the way she does. She has always been present and active in my life. I remember when I was younger, my sister and I would spend the night with her often. My Nana always had satin sheets on her bed. We thought that was the best thing in the world. It was the 70s and that was the trend. Anyway...when we would spend the night with her, she always made sure we would get satin sheets on our bed. We loved that. I remember playing in her jewelry box - almost no limitations, and trying on her long dresses for impromptu Debbie Boone shows. How many times did I sing, 'You light up my life' while my sister pretended to play the piano. We also had a great rendition of 'Don't go breakin' my heart' by Elton John and KeKe. (was that the girl's name?) Anyway, my grandmother....my Nana is so special to me and I thank God for her and what she has been in my life. Soooooooo special and still is. She is in her 80s and battles Alzheimer's. I cannot tell you how hard that is. I don't see how my parents manage some days. Though she can't remember alot of what happens on a day to day basis....one thing she has never forgotten is me. Each time I see her, she can recall to me exactly the day I was born and what a special day that was for her. I made a mark on her heart....and in turn, she made one on mine by always letting me know how much I am loved.

My kids with Nana

Nick and Nana playing the piano...she will often chime in on something he plays!

I love what I have with my grandmother and I am thankful the boys have two sets of wonderful grandparents! Grandma and Grandpa Johnson love sharing time with the boys. They wish it could be more and so do we. Its a shame that we get so busy it is a challenge to drive 5 hours to see someone...but that is the way our life is right now. In the past, the boys have enjoyed weeks in the summer by themselves with Grandma and Grandpa Johnson. They have great memories from those trips. Visiting their home in North Georgia is always wonderful. Walking to the ABC store - where you can find anything is a highlight. Its like a town store - and Grandma and Grandpa Johnson always have a few dollars for them to spend. A highlight from their house was when the boys, mostly Nick, was given the OK to shoot the squirrels on the porch that were getting into Grandma's bird feeders. Ha! It was squirrel season. Anyway...enough of that story for now...but they had fun. The boys enjoy playing games and talking with them, catching them up on whatever is going on. I know that even though we may not see them as often and they see my parents, they never fail to remember to pray for my boys and we always look forward to our visits!!!

Grandma & Grandpa Johnson with their sons and families! (could my boys not keep on their suits...just ONE more minute? they are just not suit kids!...can you tell?)

Mema and Papa....aka my Mom & Dad

Its a Southern thing. As I named my grandmothers (because I'm the oldest grandchild...and the words just came out...) Nick named his. I think my mom wanted to be called Meme - but as the word Mema came out of Nick's mouth - my mom was in love. That became the name and she was more than fine with that. So, Mema and Papa it was. I am amazed at how my mom has adapted to her grandsons. She raised two girls...so the boy thing was amazingly new to her. She learned to fill her house with tinker toys and boy stuff! She now has a baby girl to love on too. Peighton was born this past May and is the only grand daughter. She will be spoiled for a while to come! She is precious. And though she loves that....she is also the grandparent that has been able to score two Joe Nammoth autographs for her grandson Scout - believe me, she gets the boy thing now!

My mom and the boys

Mom and Peighton

My dad is a great Papa. If you know my dad, you know he loves his whole family. I was recently at a local restaurant and was walking through - when I noticed this man staring at me. Kind of creepy I thought....but proceeded to walk through anyway. He reached out and touched my arm - and I thought...Oh great....what now? He then asked if I was Wayne Ratliff's daughter. When I said yes...He told me he was a good friend of my dads and that my family's picture was all over my dads desk. That fact is evident in the way my dad shows up to almost every football game the boys have had. I guess we are running on 5 years now. Seriously, my friends even notice how frequent he is. He has taken them aside to discuss girls, grades and obedience. He takes them fishing, for burgers.....and like yesterday...the driving range. Anything he thinks they'll be interested in, he'll try it. I think this is his way of getting 'boy time' since he raised two girls with my mom. He is making up for lost boy time!

Dad grilling at Nick's 16th Birthday party.

All of that to say that I am grateful for the grandparents in my life and my children's lives. They are a blessing and make our lives so sweet.

So, Grandma and Grandpa Johnson, Mema, Papa and Nana.....we love you! Thank you for making our lives special. I can't imagine life without you!

The words on that sign...say it all, about last night anyway!

Well, it was out first home game at Spain Park and we were so excited! Tailgating in the parking lot...wearing my jag shirt.....thinking we would celebrate a victory. Ah....not so much.

The Pelham Panthers put up a huge fight. GREAT GAME. I had heard the sports casters say that from our 6A division, Hoover, Spain Park and Pelham were the teams to watch. To be honest....I was surprised Pelham was there. I mean...Pelham? Where did that come from. They played strong against Oak Mountain and won last week and last night. They were on! We tailgated with some friends that have kids at Pelham. They were great enough to sit in the 'blue' JAG side with us, but that didn't stop them from cheering. And truly...that had every right....their guys were playing good. At one point in the 4th quarter, the Jags ran a touch down that would have won the game for us. Only to find that a flag would be called on the play....and that would seal the game. Ahh....

Well, here are some pictures for you to enjoy. We had a great time...but honestly....the best part for me was definitely, the hanging out with good people. Oh! And the people watching for sure. My dad likes to say that I take pictures just to prove I was watching part of the game. :) Maybe....there is some truth to that. I do enjoy my watching...and the talking too!

Hanging with some friends! The kids loved throwing the football and just hanging out. If you come to a Spain Park game...look for us early!

Kevin grilling some really tasty hot dogs.

Nick is #35. Go Nick! So cute...I mean manly.


This is right before the second half of the game.

The pep talk after the loss....it breaks your heart to see those big guys come off the field with tears.....whew....can't everyone win? That is why moms aren't coaches!


Max and his buddy at the game. There is a story I'll blog about later...who knows its raining and I might even do it later today. I don't plan on being out and about today!

No rush to leave after the game!


Ben & Josh after the game. I wonder if Ben is thinking, 'Dude...don't get that paint on me! I prefer Pelham gold and green!'

Ooops!

Laughing...is a big part of what we do around here. This morning, Kevin and I tried NOT to laugh as we were enjoying coffee in the kitchen waiting on boys to have some breakfast. Max walked in the kitchen holding up a zip lock bag. The moment he held it up.....it hit us...Oh yeah, that is the bag he showed us last night, BEFORE HE PUT HIS TOOTH IN IT AND PLACED IT UNDER HIS PILLOW! I felt horrible...Kevin started giggling and turned around, which then gave me the giggles too. Max was not laughing.

Anyway, Max just stands there, holding it up...kind of tapping his foot and says, "uh-huh...this is exactly what happened to Alex, 5 times in a row!". Now some of you may be thinking that he is much too old for this. I know he is in the 4th grade - but we enjoy it as much as he does. To this day....we have not had the Santa talk. We love it as much as he does. Now, we totally know he knows there is no fairy giving cash for teeth....(I hope he knows this) nor is there a man in red suit leaving presents. He has two older brothers...and probably knows more than I know that he knows! But anyway....in our house, as far as Max is concerned, the tooth fairy lives on. So, as Max headed for the bus this morning, we hear, "I'm leaving my tooth under my pillow again, in case she comes while I'm at school". Ah....suggestions!

So, just like when Scout was 5 and we forgot the tooth fairy visit....our tooth fairy leaves very nice - customer service apology letters. We really did write one to Scout that totally apologized and gave him some money the night after we forgot. I thought I would share this one that the tooth fairy is leaving for Max today while he is at school.

Dear Max,

Please accept my apology for not visiting you and taking your tooth last night. I now have more than 400 million teeth that I collect on a nightly basis. As you can imagine, the work is overwhelming. I've tried to hire assistants and they never really work out. I usually get reports from children that the assistants I've hired don't collect the teeth or give the children money - but instead they play the kid's video games and use the money to buy presents for themselves. Good help is so hard to find.

I don't usually make afternoon house calls - too risky for me usually. But I understand you are concerned about being skipped over 5 times like your friend Alex. That is a situation I feel I should explain more to you. Have you seen Alex's room? He has Legos covering his floor. I actually tried to see him, but while entering his room I thought I had the wrong place because it looked to be just a junk room. To my mistake he was inside! Anyway, it took me a while to get him back on the schedule. So, my advice to you is keep the Legos off your floor and things like that might not happen to you. Thank you for the tooth! I think we are just about done with our visits aren't we? I don't think you'll be losing too many more teeth. I kind of hope not anyway. I'm sad....I've enjoyed visiting you. You are special and a really cool kid!

Love, The Tooth fairy

My life is gooooood.....quote from Nacho Libre.

This weekend, we went to Nashville to my brother-in-laws 40th Cuban Bday Bash. It was GREAT! If you know my sister in law - you know the decor was FAB and the party scene was like something out of a magazine. Very FUN! I am sure my sis-in-law Kelly will post some pics on her blog soon, if not already. She took some great ones! The party was awesome and even included a tribute to Ken with videos and pictures - awesome stuff! The cups for the party were custom made with a picture of a pig being roasted and the line...My Life is Gooood, by Nacho. If you have not seen that movie...staring Jack Black. You've missed a fun one. Now, I will warn you -- major boy humor and lots of 'gas passing'. BUT...I cannot tell you how many times that movie is quoted in my house. And as you can see, its a family thing - over in Nashville too! Don't count it out...its fun if you have older kids and you like pointless, silly humor!

I took a few - not many...and plan to play them on a slide show and add to my facebook for fun too. But for now...here are few just for fun of what we did yesterday.

The birthday boy is the one on the left - my brother in law Ken. As guests arrived, the men received Fedoras and the ladies, flowers for their hair or to pin on their clothes. Max still has his on today!


To make this an authentic Cuban Party, they built a pit for a whole pig. Yes, they went and got the pig...carried it home....gross....had to do some stuff to get it ready....and then...it was eaten. I will say it was amazing and everyone loved it. Just gross to look at!

Ok..this one is totally for my friend Laura. I am laughing now thinking of your reaction!

Nick and my nephew Alec playing yard games. I think this is funny - because both of them...have really girly mom's that like to look cute...like to MATCH for goodness sake. They did not get their fashion sense from their mothers. Kelly...can I get an AMEN????

Like I said...it was just a great time...wish it could have been longer! But...we'll enjoy time with them again soon I hope! Oh...my nephew who is a Sophomore at Ravenwood High school in Brentwood, TN - is playing for the Varsity Team there. If you click on Kelly's blog, you'll see some great pics of him too! Don't you love blog surfing and coffee at night????? Alright....bye for now!


My dog Abby - riding shotgun while Nick and Max slept in the back. What is she saying? "My life is gooooood....rrrreeeaaaaalllll good".

All GREENS are not Equal

Just ask my husband!!! If you have not heard, (and you might not care....) Brett Favre has joined the NY Jets. In the middle of the craziness with school starting - they've been glued to ESPN.

Scout is not as upset as Kevin is. You see, Scout is a JETS fan because of Joe Nammoth. And he also likes Bubba Franks, a former Packer. So he is pretty ok. This is TONS better than Favre joining the Vikings. Now, I ask you, do I sound like a woman who lives with all men???? I can sound good, but I have no idea what I'm really talking about, I am just repeating. Anyway, Scout may have the best of both worlds now. It seriously could have been worse. Brett could have been starting the football season in purple. That...would have been amazingly traumatic!!!!

No matter where Brett plays this year...I know one thing, we'll still be yelling Go Pack!!!!

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Don't these guys look good in Packer Green???



This so would not have worked well with Jets Green. Right Kevin???

Laughter is good for the heart!

Thank you....thank you very much...... could you hear that in an Elvis voice when you looked at the pic? Yeah, kind of creepy but my husband loves it! Those of you who know my husband know that he is a HUGE Elvis fan. I mean HUGE. We love that about him. I love that about him. He has some fun hobbies. His interest in Elvis and his creative mind led him to start a website for Elvis Impersonators a few years ago. It actually brought in money for our household through some of people that advertised on his site. For him personally, it has enabled him to tour Graceland with a 'press pass' and some VIP credentials. All fun for KJ. Let me just end with all that by saying if you have NEVER been to Graceland, call Kevin to be your tour guide...he truly is the best! If you have some free time, visit the website he started. It's been a while since he's added anything, but there is a short film he made with some Elvis Impersonators.

www.eimpersonators.com

I was there for the filming, working as Kev's assistant. That in itself is a story for another day. It's still very surreal for me. Some of those people live in another world. The video is called A Hunk of Burning Elvi. You're intrigued now aren't you???? Kevin, if you are reading this, I truly love your fun side and I love how you are passionate about the interests in your life. (namely me!)

Anyway, I've shared in past blogs that my husband is a great gift giver. That being said, I like doing sweet things for him too. This Elvis Robot Head was my chance to do something really fun for him. We were flipping through the paper this past weekend and found that they were going to be at Tuesday Morning WAY WAY below what they were selling in the stores. Kevin saw it....and I could see it happening. He was thinking....Oh yeah....I need that! (If you were an Elvis collector you would understand. If you are not... liken the need to seeing that new animal print Dooney and Bourke and you'll feel the need...oh wait..that might be me....ANYWAY) So, what did I do? I made sure I was the first in line to get my man his Elvis Robot! :) I love you Kevin Johnson!

We set him up last night and all agreed....it's creepy...but fun. We had some friends over for food and fun....and Elvis! What a trip. Thought I would share some of the fun with you. I'm still laughing, and kind of freaked out when I go downstairs and see the Elvis Head.


Kevin and his new friend.


David was teaching him to play cards with us!



Question: Where do I now put this head? Seriously..... We need an Elvis Room!

Oh the places you will go....

Isn't that the name of a Dr. Seuss book??? I think yes! I have to say from time to time I get tired of my job. I guess everybody does. But I do enjoy getting out and talking to people. Yesterday after I wrapped up a trade show, I dropped in on a client who has truly become a friend. She is a meeting planner for a large church in Atlanta, whom I'm convinced is a gift from God to me!!! I love it when God drops people in your life like that...don't you?

Anyway, as we were leaving her office yesterday she told us we were just in time to avoid the shut down of I75 for the President! Well, my work friend and I thought we were just in time to grab a Starbucks and enjoy the action. We are so touristy! But we had fun. Although, I had to tell my friend Sheri several times to PLEASE quit talking about anything terrorist related......let's just watch the fun....I don't want to be questioned! Here is a picture of the President's ride into Atlanta! It was cool.



You can see the President's limo in the back...the third car I think. There were several motorcycles and helicopters everywhere.

Something just for fun

Ok...so my brother in law is a HUGE Beatles fan. I mean HUGE! If you know me, then you also know my husband loves Elvis.....that's the same kind of love that Ken has for the Beatles. Now you might get it. Anyway.... Ken saw this one picture of The Fab Four and thought...hey...we have 4 cool looking kids....let's see what we can do. One hour on a Sunday and BAM.....here is our tribute to The Beatles...Johnson Style. Enjoy!





Who are these great looking boys??? From left to right, there is Nick, Alec, Scout and Max Johnson. Now get the JohnSONS? Ha! We had fun....they, surprisingly had fun too!