Practice...

This morning was Danny's practice for his First Communion. I cannot believe that he is about to make his First Communion. It does not seem like it was that long ago that he was Baptised. He did not want me to stay for the practice because he wants me to be surprised by what he is doing. He is funny like that. He likes me being there and being involved but sometimes he just wants to surprise me.

While he was at practice Brandon and I took John Michael and got breakfast. Then we just hung out it in the parking lot. I finished my book, the new Jodi Picoultti (sp?), which was a great one. I love her books. She has such a unique writing style and I cannot wait for a new one. Right now I am caught up with hers. I have several other authors that I enjoy but if anyone has any recommendations I am an avid reader. Not picky on genre either!

We went to Pratt City today and saw the devastation. It was truly a sight that will never leave my eyes. It was heartbreaking and also promising. It is hard to explain. I have heard so many people talking about the war zones and that is a statement that probably describes it best. I cannot wait to help out. As I am sure you all know and please share with everyone I am doing all photography for these people across the state for free. When they are ready they can have any session or event that they need covered. I know that it will not replace what they have lost, but I do hope that it can help them start to rebuild. I will travel so all they have to do is call.

Tonight my boys took me to dinner. Brandon did not have to go to Homestead Hollow today, and is not sure about tomorrow, so we went out for Mother's Day tonight. We went to Munoz. I have to say that I love their margaritas. It was a great dinner. They then took me for doughnuts...BTW The Hot and Now Sign is always a guaranteed smile.

While we did not get to get everything done today that we wanted to we all had a great day. I hope that tomorrow is as good. We are planning on the 8:30 Mass and then we do not know. If Brandon does not have to go to Homestead Hollow we will hopefully make some progress where we did not today. If he does then hopefully the boys and myself can get something done. We shall see.

Well, I am off to bed. All of my friends and family are in my prayers. I hope that all of the Moms, Godmothers, Aunts, Grandmother's, etc. have an amazing Mother's Day tomorrow.

A Friday to Forget

So today is Friday, this is the obvious. Usually Friday is a good day, laid back and just fun. Today I thought was going to be great. This was my first mistake, I should know better than to predetermine my day.

Danny wanted to be at school at 7:20, he did not want to go in until closer to 7:40, but he wanted to make sure that he was there. The class that does the PodCast was going to do something special for the summer birthdays. This is how I knew it would be a good day. Well, we woke up a little late, not too bad, but it just meant we had to hurry to get out the door in time to get to the parking lot by 7:20. He fought the whole morning. This has gone on all week. I am not sure if he is overtired or what, but it is OLD!

Brandon got paid today so I was going to pay some bills, but seriously with he cost of gas our bills are getting harder and harder to pay. I am working as hard as I can to get things paid off, but seriously a break would be nice. So pay day was here and gone well before lunch time. Oh well, I am thankful that he has a job.

I picked up Danny and asked him about the birthday announcement. He filled me in and was super excited. Then I asked him about homework. I told him when we got home to go on and get it done. This lead to him yelling at me, and pitching a fit something I will not put up with. So he ende up grounded and will remain that way until his homework is done, and his room is clean. I am so tired of the same fights EVERY single day. He knows the rules, you would think he would just go with it. Maybe one day. Hopefully sooner than later.

Brandon is working Homestead Hollow with his mom. He enjoys cooking with Dale and spending time with his mom and I am glad that he was able to do this. Tomorrow and Sunday they will play by ear though mainl because it was so slow. I love him being home with us and we have a lot to do this weekend, but I hope that it picks up and that they need him as we could really use some extra money to get us through this rocky time. We shall see.

I am hoping that tomorrow is a better day. We have Danny's First Communion practice, and we also have a birthday party, the fishing rodeo and possibly Mass. I have not decided whether Saturday night or Sunday morning would be better. We shall see what tomorrow brings. I am hoping to get Danny's teachers present as ready as possible so that I can wrap it up and get it printed and shipped after next weekend. We will see.

Well, I am off to bed. Actually I have to fold all of the laundry that I have done today that I just piled on our bed so that we can go to bed. Oh well, it is all good. I will say a prayer for all of my family and friends tonight. I hope that you all have an amazing weekend!

Cinco de Mayo

So today is Cinco de Mayo. Just in case you did not know.

It has been a hectic day, and one where I feel I spent more time in circles than I did anything. I am working on editing a lot of pictures from different things for different people and different reasons. I am making a dent though. My house is a complete disaster and I just cannot stay focused long enough to get anything done. I will get there though, there is just a lot happening, and this weekend is not looking any calmer. You would think no baseball would mean something, but that would be a big nope. It will all get done though, one way or another. I am trying to enjoy each day and not stress...baby steps! I have to say that this blog and making sure that I take a picture each day is helping.

I have Mrs. Hays' gift ready and in hand. Now to get it wrapped. It looks great and I am very pleased. I hope that she is too. Now to finish up Danny's Mrs. Hayes' gift but that will be next weekend as that is when they make their First Communion. I have a few things that I have to find to make it happen but I know that it will all come together.

Danny had a ball game tonight, John Michael did not, which meant we did not have to be at the ballpark from 5 until 10. Just kidding I really do like it. Anyway, they played the Tigers again, and tonight they won. My Dannyman had an amazing game. He is the catcher, for those of you who do not know, and he caught 2....2....foul pop flies! He hit every time he got up to bat! I was so so proud of him, especially for those catches. He has been working so hard to catch a foul, and tonight it paid off. YAY! The picture is part of the celebration after the catch!

Anyway, we are home they have had showers and baths and are now in bed. Now I am off to bed. Danny wants to be at school early in the morning because they are going to be doing something with the summer birthdays and he is pretty pumped. He has to be there by 7:40 so he wants to be in the parking lot by 7:20. I will make it happen. Please know that my prayers always include you all. There are so many things that I talk to God about every night and not once do I leave all of you out. We all have needs and wants and whether you have asked for them or not prayers are the one thing that I can and do give to you all.

Check Up Time

From Yesterday...

John Michael had his 5 year old check up and he did great. When the nurse pricked his finger not even a tear. He loved going teetee in the cup, he loves talking to Dr. Lytle, but when Dr. Lytle left and we did not he knew what was coming next. The nurse with the shots. He was over it. I felt like mom of the year when he was begging to leave and I told him we couldn't. I told him to morph into one of the many superheroes that he becomes, but he said he couldn't. It took me and the nurse to hold him down, but the shots were given and he was ok, once we left the office and he knew that was it.

He wanted to stay home so I let him but before we went home I had to go to the store. Milk is one of those needed things, especially with Brandon in the house. Anyway, while we were there he wanted a prize since his leg was hurting. Of course I am a sucker and I said ok. He ended up with some crazy candy making kit that was WAY too expensive, but it made him happy. So we came home and made suckers and hard candy.

Danny had a make up game so we went to the ballpark at 6:30 and froze. Craziness. I DO NOT like the cold weather and in May it should be over, but I was so wrong. They ended up losing, but Danny hit a dang rocket! I was so proud of him. He was tickled too.

Anyway, hopefully I will be back on schedule with the blog tonight, but again we will be at the park and it will just depend on if I pass out getting the boys to sleep again. :)

Rained Out

Today started off slow, rainy days always seem to make it a little harder to get into gear. My plan was to drop off John Michael and go to the store, but the bottom decided to drop so I came on home. Brandon was not too happy that it meant another night with no milk. I am going to go tomorrow though. I am hoping that I can get this couponing thing figured out sooner than later too, it sure would be nice. The cost of gas is absolutely killing us.

Well, heading out to get the boys was not any better. It was just nasty and rainy. I was also very weepy today. I miss my dad a lot. It seemed that today everything and everyone reminded me of him. I heard the other day that the grieving stops but the sadness does not and this is so true. Also the rain and the VERY cold May temperatures broke my heart for all of those trying to recover items that mean something to them. I guess it was just a day.

The ballpark closed the fields meaning that the 2 games we had tonight were canceled. Danny will make his up tomorrow night, but I am not sure when John Michael's make up day will be. There are several games to make up so we will see how it all works out. I just hope that they are able to play this week, as they are not scheduled for another game until Tuesday. It is not easy for these little guys to remember everything when they have not been on a field in a while.

I am super excited too, we received the letter today that John Michael was accepted and will start kindergarten at St. Francis next year. This means one schools schedule to maintain and one trip in the mornings and afternoons. Any of the parents there who want to meet me there about an hour before pick up in the afternoons and walk let me know. I am looking forward t adding this to my daily schedule!

Since we were staying in for the night we did whatever for dinner. We had to clean out the refrigerator so all leftovers were warmed up. It was nice to get it all out. We are having taco soup for dinner tomorrow night. I froze it a while back and will be throwing it in the crock pot tomorrow. Seemed fitting since it is still going to be cool.

The boys love the Danimals Crush Cup commercial...crush, crush, zig zag lick....I think that is it anyway. So the pictures are of them recreating it with their popsicles. A treat since they were sad that there was no game.

Well, I am off to bed. There is a lot on the to do list for tomorrow. I hope that you all have a great night and have sweet dreams. Know that all of my friends and family are in my thoughts and prayers! We all have days where we are sad, or down, and today for me my emotions were definitely matching the weather but the small things that I was so thankful for today were numerous! Including avoiding a wreck this morning when some idiot on 459 decided to try to kill several people!

The Headlines..

Last night before I went to bed I waited to hear the speech that Obama was coming to give. To hear that Osama Bin Laden was dead was something that seriously made me sleep a little better. But what I did not like was the fact that he took credit for his death. While he might have given the go ahead this was carried out by men and women in uniform for the United States of America. This was something that these men and women have been fighting to do in order to give some closure to all of the citizens who were affected by the events that unfolded like a nightmare we could not wake up from on September 11, 2001. This was not something that he should be given the credit for, as an American, he should be humble enough to thank all of the men and women who have died fighting for our protection.

I am concerned about what these people will do seeking retaliation. These are people who are extreme, and an extremists in any area of life is never a good thing. Passion is one thing, but extremists take things to a level that no rational person would go. I pray for all Americans as this news travels the globe. I pray for our men and women overseas who could become even more of a target for these people who hate us because we are free.

To all of the men and women who fight for us, past, present and future. Thank you. Thank you for the freedom to write this blog, to tuck my children in at night, to say my prayers, to attend the parish that is near and dear to my heart. Thank you for all that you do so that I can vote, and so that I can complain when the votes do not go my way. To their families, these are the troops that we do not talk about the ones who stay at home and become single men and women to have a happy home waiting on the return of their soldiers. Thank you all. You are the true American heroes and you all deserve the credit! Thank you and know that you are never forgotten!

Now, to the tornadoes that have truly left a scar on this state. The Aeriel footage shows where this state has been hit but not at the heart, in fact people are coming together which is what makes Alabama and the South so amazing. Tonight I watched a video done by one of the Fox 6 guys and I have to say I have never been more humbled. The sights, the song, it was just amazing. What was captured was not what was lost but the heart of so many, their tears, their hugs, and in spite of all that has been taken from so many their faith. I cried hard watching this. It was so moving and so real and that is something that is not seen everyday. This same video was shown on the news tonight at 6, and I am sure at other times and I hope that you were all able to see it. If not it is worth finding on Fox 6's website.

Well, I am off to bed. I end by saying that I am proud to be an American and an Alabamian! There is an amazing atmosphere in the South and if you want to meet amazing people please visit and offer a hand! So many people are suffering, yet themselves they have put second to others! Please, thank you, mam, and sir, y'all, grits and sweet tea might be what people think when they think of the South, but know if you have never been you are missing out on a spirit that stands strong and together. Tonight I will pray for all of my friends and family as I do every night as well as the soldiers, their families, and all who have been affected and are assisting with the devastation across the South. I also pray that Obama realizes that his lack of humbleness is not something that goes unnoticed. A nice suit and speech does not make you the one that got the job done, it makes you a messenger. Know that a little humbleness can go a long way!

Welcoming in May

So May is here, WOW! I know I said it yesterday about April being gone but I am saying it again about May being here. I can remember thinking how crazy adults were thinking that time flew by when it seemed to crawl, but now I am right there and I understand. I do not know if it is because of the right now lives that we all live or if it is just a part of growing up, but regardless I understand.

Today Brandon and the boys cut the front yard and got the riding lawn mower almost ready for the back yard, which will be nice as it is a lot taller than I like! I am looking forward to it being done, maybe tomorrow? We shall see, expect an update sooner than later!

I kicked off May with a wedding, with Terri Melvin. We had a great time and I think captured the day for the bride and groom. I hope that the day for them was everything that they had hoped and more. The wedding was at Aldridge Gardens in Hover. It was very pretty. I am including a picture of the grounds for my blog, but it is raw. Edited pictures will follow in my other blog. Sooner than later I hope. I have some product shots and prom pictures to get finished up! Needless to say I know what I will be doing this week!

Well, I am off to bed tonight. I am exhausted. I will remember you all in my thoughts and prayers! I hope that as time flies and things may seem dark that you are able to enjoy life and find the silver lining that I have been told is always there!