Emotional Overload

This morning I woke up feeling really gross.  I attributed it to nerves because there was so much happening.  The thing is it never got better so I had to let Aubrey know since I had a session with her and the sweet Willow.  I did not want to get Willow sick so I let Aubrey make the call.  Needless to say we had to reschedule.  When it comes to babies I would always rather be safe than sorry.
This morning I saw the house I grew up in for the last time.  It came down today.  Definitely no thanks to the City of Clay, but that is a story for another day.  I have so much that I want to say about this, but right now there is not enough time and I have to admit, I am exhausted.  The flood of memories will flood the blog soon though so beware.  The thing is my heart is just sad.  So many memories.  The good news, memories cannot be torn down, the bad news is that there is no trigger there anymore.  Somewhere to drive by and remember that is where I came from.  It is just gone now. 

Danny had his last pack meeting today as a Bear Cub, he is now a Webelo.  It has all gone by so fast.  I still remember how proud he was to be following in his granddaddy's footsteps when he became a Tiger Cub and got his uniform.  Now it is time for a new uniform. 

Danny also had his basketball party, which meant a trophy.  He was pumped to play some Basketball with his teammates and get an awesome medal for the great year that they had.  GO SAINTS!!!

 We went by the new house and the electricians were there!  YAY Progress!!!  Also the porta potty had been delivered for the workers and this was so exciting for the boys, in fact they each had to go before we left. 

Well, it has been a long one and since I am behind I am going to move on. 

Just Another Manic What Day?

No not Monday...Saturday!

The past few weeks we have been so busy on Saturdays that we do not know when they start and when they end....this week was no exception!

Only Danny had a game. 

Again it seems that on Saturday every single team should be playing at the ballpark.  I get that some teams might have to play twice, but that is okay.  They all should play.  We should be at the park from morning till dark.  Maybe the park will grow some and next year that will happen.  Maybe they will put me on the board so I can have a say.  I was elected 2 years ago but then they decided to go a different route and not have an elected board.  Mainly because the City wanted control.  Stupid, if you ask me.  Anyway enough about all that.

Danny's game went good.  There were some bad calls, but whatever.  They played a great team and they lost.  Maybe next time.  I do hope that they get at least one practice in this week.

The cub scouts were camping out todanight at Zamora so we were running back and forth until after we were done at the park to make sure that all was well.  It was so awesome to be at Zamora after so many years.  I have a lot of really awesome memories there!  The cub scouts made some today too!  They are working on getting the pool open, so swimming did not happen.  Well some managed to get in the lake.  LOL!  It is so great to see my boys making memories and having fun at the smae places where I spent so much time growing up.  They fished, they ate, they cooked smores, they played on the play ground, they all had a blast.  I hope that everyone really did so that we can do this more often.  It was so simple to work with the Shriner's and it was great to be there.  Anyway, I will work on getting feedback next week and I will make it all happen again soon I hope!

We missed Brian and Christen's couple shower, but they know (I hope) that we love them.  We wished that we could make it but circles is what we ran today!  We love you both!

Photo Shoots and Practice

So I am definitely glad that Monday came, which is not something I would normally say, but it is truly how I feel. I have been so busy this weekend, and I just needed some normalcy. While I am not sure that it was normalcy it was much closer to my schedule which is extremely important.
The boys had great days at school. John Michael started off the week and the month with a green face! I hope that he keeps it up. Danny finished up his testing, which I think made him pretty happy. I cannot believe that in two months I will have a 1st grader and a 4th grader. Time is seriously flying by.
I had two photo shoots today. One was at Morris Avenue and the other was at the Civic Complex in Gardendale. They both went great and I cannot wait to get started on them. Keep an eye out on my blog at www.monicaannephotography.com
The boys both had practice today. They ended up practicing till almost 8:30. That is REALLY late for us. I have so much to do even when I get home. Plus they are done after about an hour and a half so two and a half they were really done. Then we still had to have showers and all that fun stuff.
I spoke to the City of Clay and to one of the board members at the park to let them know about the A$@ that runs the concession stand. I can assure you of this the concession stand will be getting no business from me nor will Deerfoot Cleaners. More on that when I am not falling asleep typing. It has been a long one.
Know that you are all amazing to me and I cannot wait to see and hear about all of the wonderful things that are happening with you all!

Mud Surfing...Maybe?

So today I decided not to send the boys to school. With the weather as nasty as it was we needed the extra hands to get as much packed as we possibly can. I was worried that the weather would get bad, and I just needed us all together. Maybe it was selfish on my part I really do not know, but tomorrow they will go back.
The packing got started hard and heavy today and progress was made. The kitchen is almost done. Mom's bedroom is completely done. I still have to do her bathroom, but I will aim for there tomorrow. My old room was already pretty much done, but now all but the closet is done. The living room has been packed up. And well, progress was definitely made.
The rain today was not fun, it turned my mom's yard into a muddy mess. Walking down her little hill seemed more like a mountain covered in ice. I had to laugh because I had gotten a new pair of black pants for myself for Christmas. They are now mud and insulation covered and have several holes and well by the time this is over they will definitely make great work pants. They have been comfortable though, and for that I am very thankful. Pants can easily be replaced.
Thank you so much to Amy and Chandler, and to Beth for coming and helping. Through the tears, which were minimal it is just hard for anyone who grew up in Clay to be here and not be emotional. Through the laughs, because if we did not laugh we would cry. Through the rain and mud, and buddy that made everything a little more difficult. Just through it all, thank you so much.
Beth and I uncovered a few hidden treasures that I knew would mean a lot to my mom, and it did. One example was the knife from her and dad's wedding that we looked and looked for when Brandon and I got married. Now we have it and she is thankful. When Brandon and I renew our vows we will definitely be using it. Just something positive to think about.
Today the activity around was definitely lighter, the rain kept most people indoors. I cannot say that I blame them.
To the American Red Cross, thank you for the hot meals. To Beth, Amy, and Chandler thank you again your help and the boxes meant so much. To Nick, thank you for the Durango. To everyone and anyone who I forgot thank you. Anyone who has ever been through this knows that there are no words to describe how much everyone's help means to all of us, but I will keep trying. Oh yeah, thank you for the people at Metro who helped so much with getting mom storage for this interim period.

The First Flood

This morning was the first school Mass that I missed. And while I wanted to and feel like I needed to go I also knew that I was needed at mom's and I know that God knows that. The boys' said that they would definitely thank Jesus for keeping so many people safe and to please continue to do so.

After I dropped the boys off I picked mom up. She was ready to go. We made our first venture down Old Springville Road since Sunday. This was a horrific sight and one that will forever be with me. Nothing is the same. The landscape has forever been changed. So many amazing memories, learning how to drive for one that all seemed to take place on Old Springville Road. While the road is still there it does not look the same.

Now to mom's.

So today we waited and waited on the insurance man. In the meantime we cleaned out the deep freezer and the refrigerator and freezer and took inventory so that she can get reimbursed for everything that she lost. This was the easy part of the day.

When we made our walk through for the morning and the rest of the ceiling in my old room had come down and was on the floor. This was unbelievable sight to see. She had her China and Crystal from when her and dad got married there and it was also on the ground. While there is a monetary value, the sentimental value for her cannot be matched.

Brandon headed to the attic to see what he could get out and down came my childhood or what was left of it. I guess when I was about 13 and wanted a "big girl's room" I packed up all of the things that I could not get rid of to save for when I had a little girl. Well, there was no saving them. While the value was all sentimental except for my Little Women Madam Alexander Dolls there is a lot to be said about watching it all come down.

When I started to really go through I had gotten the boys from school. There was actually a few things that they wanted so we boxed them up as they looked salvageable, just need some good cleaning. So many things went to the garbage. 6 bags of my childhood.

My first jewelry box. i remember dad buying it for me when I got my ears pierced. My Valentine teddy bear that daddy gave me when I was almost 8 years old. The baby doll that I had and played with so much that her head had to be reattached several times, even when I went to daycare for the first time and the wicked woman was so mad that I was up asking her that she locked me in a closet. My cheerleader uniforms from the days of cheering for the Huffman Raiders where I met some of the most amazing people that I am still in contact with. This list could go on for day, but that gives you an idea of where I was on memory lane all day. There were a few things that made me laugh, and that is what I chose for the picture today.

I would like to thank again all of the volunteers who have given of their time and talents to help. Thank you to Home Depot who took the time to come out and bring boxes full of things that will definitely be useful. Thank you to Chick-fil-A for the HOT chicken sandwhiches for lunch. Thank you to Shane Shirley who took the time out to get look at mom's house and give an opinion from a builder's perspective. Thank you to all of the people that I know I am forgetting. You have all done so much and it means so much! Thank you Mr. Ken and Lance for the boxes, they will definitely be useful as we start this packing process hard and heavy tomorrow.

Well, again a shower and the bed are calling my name. Until tomorrow!

Thank You

While the emotional roller coaster is definitely running fast, there is more than enough time to say thank you. I am a little behind in posting so this is for Tuesday, January 24th.

Thank you to the power company for working around the clock to get the lines down cut off, new poles up, new lines run, and risking your own to be there for others. While I know that there is a pay check involved, these men and women are going through and not only working they are there for the community and they are risking their own safety to get things done. While we cannot turn on the power at mom's because of the wiring in the house being ripped and the risk of fire being high this is something that is small and means so much.

Thank you to the Jefferson County deputies who are working tirelessly to keep people out who do not need to be in these areas. They are out offering help, directing traffic, and doing all that they can to ensure the safety of all who were affected.

Thank you to the endless stream of volunteers. Those cutting trees, cleaning debris, bringing food, bringing water, helping to tarp, and everything else that you are all doing. You are selflessly giving of yourself. Many of you have taken off work just to lend a hand.

The list goes on. So many people have been wonderful and I know that I am leaving people out. To all of you, thank you so much.

Thank you to my friends and family who have offered to do whatever they can to help.

My post for the next few days, weeks, who knows it could be months will probably contain some type of thank you or problems or whatever. For now we are hoping that the insurance adjusters make it today, with the rain coming tomorrow we want to be able to get as much as we can out, but they are telling us we need to leave what is in there so that they can see all of the damage.

Thank you all for prayers, for thoughts, and for everything that you have done. The picture is of the boys helping move limbs after school. They have been so worried and wanted to help so we gave them some gloves and let them help.

The House that Built Me

Since I first heard Miranda Lambert's song The House that Built Me I was in love. There are so many things about the house that we grow up in. Maybe where we had our first kiss? Maybe where we said goodbye? Maybe it was where we learned how to walk? No matter what the memory they are powerful and there is a strong association to the memory and the house.



At 2:00 this morning I was up watching the weather and praying for God to keep my family safe. At 3:00 we started to call our family to make sure that they were awake and watching the weather. At about 3:20 we got the boys up and headed downstairs to watch the weather. From there my timeline is off and there has not been anytime to read the paper, no Internet to read online, even my 3G was up and down which took out the cell option. But what I know is we got into the closet under our stairs when it was coming through CenterPoint. We got out to try to find out where it was. We thought it was past but not sure. We started to try to call and text but the lines were so jammed. As we did get to people we were thankful that they were safe but the story was just getting started.



The tornado ripped through Clay, AL. This is my hometown. This is where my family lives. This is where Brandon's family lives. Friends and their families all in this one town that until today was still a place in Alabama that so many people did not know existed. It is an amazing community, it was before it was a City, and is today. Clay is a family and today they showed it.



We knew that Brandon's mom, pop, Aunt B, and Meemaw were safe and that they had no damage. We knew that mom was safe as well as my grandmother and uncles who live down the street. We knew that friends and family were safe despite having nothing left. The tears of loss, the anger of the destruction, the fact that everything has changed in a few seconds will come but today we were truly thankful for the lives that were spared. To say we were blessed is an understatement. The fact of miracles were ever present today as house after house the words we are okay were uttered.



The first time I arrived on my mom's street it hit me that the house I grew up in was going to be gone. While it is still standing the foundation has cracked in several placed, and that is just the start of the damage. The thing is the woods that I used to "get lost in" with friends, just so we could make getting out an adventure were gone. The basketball goal that I learned to play 21 on was gone. The landscape was changed and my heart was broken. I am so thankful for the safety of everyone that is what cannot be replaced, but there is something about walking down a street that you know as well as you know your own hand and finding out that you have never seen it before.

There are many pictures I could have used, but this is of my old bedroom.

This is not a message that ends tonight, but for tonight I am done. More to come soon. I am exhausted, a day behind, have lots of company, and well, I just need to get a shower and get some sleep so we can get back to it tomorrow.

Welcome to September

Wow! So I woke up this morning still not believing that September is really here. WOW! Yep, that is about all I have to say. I am looking forward to this month though and all of the amazing blessings that I know it will be bringing.

The boys had a great day at school. Thursday papers came home, and I was super pleased. They both seem to be doing really well. I cannot believe that they have covered so much. Danny is rocking and rolling with 3rd grade, and John Michael is with Kindergarten.

Today was soccer day so after I got them in the car we parked, worked on homework, changed John Michael, and then headed to practice. It was another hot one. I was going to walk while he practiced but the mederal dose pack I am on has the heat really beating me down. I love the heat and summer, but those two are not mixing well. hopefully next week will be better. He did great at practice. He is really into soccer and is doing really well considering he has never played. I just love knowing that they are having fun.

After practice we had a quick photo shoot for Poshy Tots and an outfit that they needed done. Thank you Ashlyn for being such a great model.

PS....City of Clay you need to do something about the small playground!!!

On a serious note, I am asking that you all pray for a special child. Cali is her name and her parents had to make the decision that would only be possible with Faith and love from God. Cali has been on life support and it will be turned off tomorrow. It has been a long hard fight and in her short five months Cali has moved so many people and touched so many lives. It breaks my heart that she will be leaving this earth, but she has done so much in such a short period of time. While I do not know her personally, but through a mutual friend. Her story has touched me in ways that I cannot express. Please pray for Cali as she goes to play with the angels tomorrow. Also pray for her family.

Well, I am off to bed. It has been a long day and one that has drained at my heart. I love my time with my family and it is moments like this I want to cuddle with them all and never let go.