John, Susanne and Lindsey Williams

Finding a Place to Call Home

2011-03-08T22:24:00.000-06:00

When I moved back to Bryan four years ago, I never thought it would take so long to feel connected again within my own community. I attributed much of this to my telecommuting, not feeling like I “clicked” at church and a constant feeling of being overwhelmed with all of the changes in my life. I thought since I wasn’t working outside the home, the next best thing would be to volunteer. I searched for what seemed to be forever for something that felt right. I was amazed at how difficult it was to find a volunteer opportunity. I was floored when I was once told for a church function that they had too much help. No offer to put me on a list and keep me in mind for next time, no offer to direct me to another area I might be able to help. Just a no, which quite frankly surprised me. In all of my volunteer efforts at my old home church and the areas I used volunteers at work, I would NEVER turn down help. I also received some weird comments when I decided to help with a fundraising event at the church school. Committee Member(CM): “What grade is your child in?” Susanne: “She isn’t in school yet.” CM: “Why are you helping?” Susanne: “Just because I wanted to.” CM: “Oh, really, hmmm, interesting.” Word got around I didn’t have a child in the school and from then on, once again, I just didn’t seem to fit.

Things just started to click sometime late last year. I joined a Bunco group with a great group of ladies, I started volunteering at the hospital as a Eucharistic Minister, I began to work with HelmsBriscoe and I finally found a place to call my volunteer home, The Children’s Museum of the Brazos Valley. In January I began serving on the Board of Directors. It is a great group of people who really want to see the Museum thrive. In addition to a terrific Board, I have also had a chance to interact with a fantastic staff. These people are totally dedicated to ensuring the children in our area have a safe, interactive, affordable place to learn all while having fun. They work on a shoestring of a budget, often times well over 40 hours a week, but always seem to find some way to put on terrific programs for kids. The best part is that I am able to use my fundraising and event planning skills which makes me extremely happy.

So I guess the purpose of this post is two-fold. 1) Don’t give up when you are trying to find “your place.” Although it was frustrating, all of the things I tried led me to where I am today, a place I feel “at home.” 2) You will be seeing posts from me about upcoming events and fundraising efforts. The Museum has the potential to grow and offer more exhibits and interactive events for kids of all socioeconomic levels, but we can’t do it alone, we need your help. Of course, I would love for all of you to buy a duck for the Great Texas Duck Derby, but just as important as financial help, is your help to spread the word about the Museum. If you haven’t been to the Museum in a while, drop by for a visit. Make sure you check out our new, interactive website at www.cmbv.org. Become a fan on Facebook (The Children’s Museum of the Brazos Valley) so you can participate in some of our exciting contests we will be launching this week. Even if you are from out of town, take part, I can always mail a prize or personally deliver it! ;)

Have a great week everyone!

Frosty's Butt "n" Nose

2010-11-29T13:15:00.000-06:00

Lindsey has been very busy practicing for her Mother’s Day Out Christmas Program. Her class will be singing Frosty the Snowman. For the most part, we practice in the car so I don’t get the full affect of the performance. The other day though, she was practicing with John. As they were singing, John noticed she kept patting her butt and then her nose. He finally asks what she is doing. “Dad, the song says he has a butt and a nose, so butt (slaps butt) “n” nose (taps nose.) And I thought we were going to have to explain the corncob pipe! We can’t wait to see the performance. :)

Happy Halloween!!

2010-10-29T12:45:00.001-05:00

Last night after we went to vote, we visited a local favorite for delicious Mexican food. I wish I could tell you what it is called, but I have no idea. I just know it as “the little taco place on the corner.” Lindsey loves is because there is always music playing and at the same time Telemundo is blaring on the TV, there are parrots hanging from the ceiling and she gets chips and salsa. We love it because it is delicious food at really inexpensive prices. The only drawback is that no one speaks English, which really isn’t a problem unless you want to try something new on the menu and you can’t read Spanish. Anyway, I have taken the long road to get to my point, but seriously if you are in town and want to stay away from crowds, call me and I will take you for some tacos.

Lindsey loves the jukebox in this place. She loves to push the button and make the cd’s move around. Yesterday was one of those, “I am going to test Mommy all day and see exactly how much I can get away with” days. She begged for money to put in the jukebox and I kept refusing. Then she gets really quiet. I find her under the table looking in her purse she just happened to bring with her. She opens up the Barbie wallet and pulls out a dollar. “That’s okay Mommy, I have my own money.” I wish you could have seen it, the hand on the hip, the way her mouth was all squished together. Surely I am not the only mom to get the squishy mouth?? I almost laughed out loud. So she proceeds to put the money in, make her selections and provide us with a delightful show of dancing and trying to sing along with the Spanish words.

Her fascination with the Dukes of Hazzard continues. She walks around singing, “Just a good old boys, never meanin no harm.” She loves to say Roscoe P. Coltrain (sp) and tell me he is bad news. It was parent’s day at dance this week. If I can figure out how to get the video off my phone I will post it. Oh, who am I kidding, I still have three years of video trapped on my real video camera that I don’t know how to post yet. We also made treat bags for her classmates at school. Oh my goodness, you should have seen their faces. It was like gold was being brought in. The jabbering started instantly. I saw stickers, I saw M&M’s, can we have them now? Poor Ms. Marian, she had a long day.

This week has been challenging. Our schedule has been wacky and she has not gotten enough sleep. She is a dramatically different child on not enough sleep, just as I am a dramatically different Mom on not enough sleep. This by no means is an excuse to behave badly, just an explanation of why it is happening and it makes me feel terribly guilty that I let her stay up and carve pumpkins or that we got home late from running errands and there was no nap. Although the time change seems crazy, I can’t wait because it means John is back to getting off at 6 pm. So instantly we are an hour ahead of schedule! Dinner at 6:30, bath at 7, Dad and Lindsey can play and we are ready to head to bed at 8. We all need this, not just Lindsey. I need a few minutes of down time to myself. I so miss reading for myself. I am ashamed to say how long it took me to finish “Big Russ and Me.” I want to start my next book and not have it take me three months to finish it. Another goal is to start exercising in the morning again. Late night running kills me as I am wired for sound afterwards. Working out in the morning worked for many years, there is no reason I shouldn’t be able to get up 30 minutes earlier and incorporate that back into my routine. This is where having a workout partner would be really helpful. Hey, if anyone is up at 6 and wants to give me a call each morning to kick start the program let me know!

Guess that is it. I need to save my energy so I can complete the Cat in Hat costume this evening. ;) Another busy weekend ahead. Happy Halloween everyone!

Busy, Busy

2010-10-18T16:28:00.002-05:00

Goodness, it has been a busy couple of weeks and yes, the other morning it was so chilly I actually had to put a light jacket on!! Of course, I am back to shorts this week, but we are making progress! It is kind of hard to even remember what happened over the past few weeks, but here goes. (I really have to start keeping my journal again!)

We have been pretty busy at work, so busy that I have been out in the shop working. I know, desperate times call for desperate measures. My skills are expanding, but my outside shop skills are still pretty much limited to cleaning, edgebanding, moving materials around and I am the master of painting fabulous door ventilation holes. I will try to take a picture of these things and if any crafty person has suggestions to make this process easier, I would soooooooo appreciate it. I have tried my finger, regular paint brushes, pouring the paint through and currently use small spongy craft brushes. For the love, there has to be a better way!! Anyway, we just completed a store in Grapevine and are ready to move on to the next project.

The past few weekends have been packed. Since returning from my adventure run, on top of our regularly scheduled programming, there has been something every weekend. We celebrated Betty and Ray’s engagement and Ray’s birthday, my brother-in-law Robert’s birthday, went to Ray’s family reunion, celebrated my birthday and hosted the family reunion for my mom’s side of the family this past Saturday. Whew, I am partied out. I am ready for a Saturday where I can just relax!!

Honestly, I guess it is good that it has been busy. I have to admit October is a hard month. I handle most holidays pretty well, but since my Mom passed, there is something about my birthday that always makes me melancholy. (and no, it’s not my advancing age) We were the birthday planners, cake bakers, party shoppers. We both had so much fun doing these things for each other and other family members and now it is just me. I don’t mean to say no one makes my birthday special, because I have an amazing family and friends who do a terrific job of making me feel loved and special. I wish I could explain it, maybe I just sound weird. Maybe it is that she is the one who put me here on this earth and I miss her celebrating with me. I don’t know, but I am hopeful one day this dull ache in my heart will ease.

Speaking of advancing age, I hit 39 this year. Wow, I don’t know how that happened!! Surprisingly, it hasn’t affected me. Some people are so concerned with a number, I am more concerned with how I feel. I think I feel better now than I did at 29, which was an incredibly hard year. I am healthier, I sleep better (most nights), I have a better hair lady, eyebrow lady, eat better and exercise more. So, maybe 39 is the new 29. I know, check with me again next year, when it is actually 40 and we will see how I feel!

And of course, no post is complete with a few Lindsey stories.

Lindsey and I are eating our afternoon snack of yogurt. I was trying a new flavor, Strawberry Shortcake, complete with the little picture of stacked strawberry shortcake. She looks at me and asks, “Is that hamburger flavor?” I guess it does kind of look like a hamburger.

“Mommy, can we go play in the foot puddles?”

As Lindsey is “driving” the forklift with me she honks the horn several times and says, “Hurry up people, we are going to the circus!”

Hope you all have a fantastic week!

.

Got Dirty, Had Fun, Did Good!

2010-10-07T21:26:00.002-05:00

I did all three of these things a few weekends ago, with a strong emphasis on HAD FUN!!!

Several months ago Marti called me and somehow convinced me that we needed to Run the Jailbreak together. I seem to recall something about what a bonding experience this would be and that we would be helping third world countries obtain clean drinking water. It didn’t take too much arm twisting because the bottom line is I would get to see my bestie. And so the training began. I started out so strong, diligently following the Couch to 5K training program. Listening to Suze’s squeaky little voice motivate me as I desperately tried to prepare this old body for the race. Unfortunately, as the temperatures increased, my training decreased. I was running at 9 pm and the temps were still in the 90’s. So somewhere along the way, I would say about week 4 or 5, I got stuck. I still managed to get in runs here or there, but I would have to admit I was ill prepared the Run the Jailbreak.

We are off, for 3.8 miles of adventure! I guess the beauty of adventure racing is that at least there are obstacles that offer a break in the actual running part. (Thank goodness) The first obstacle was a series of hills with a mudpit at the end. Thankfully we watched the wave before us take off and we saw that there was a serious mudpit beyond the last hill. With a little planning we managed to miss that one, however there were about 13 obstacles after that. So we run a little and on to obstacle two, what appeared to be a long ditch full of water and what seriously smelled of poo. Oh well, what is one to do but dive right in, then on to a long stretch of running and then onto another pit full of mud. It was then we approached the lake with the water cannons from which we emerged pretty much soaked from head to toe. It was after this adventure that Marti’s right side met the hard, cold ground. I have to say she is a real trooper because it was a hard hit and I don’t know that I would have wanted to go on. We did however and managed to make it through the Mustang Maze, climb a mountain of hay bales, run through more mud pits and water holes and even climb up the side of the river bank covered in tires. I am sure the last obstacle is Marti’s favorite. She was so graceful as she dove into what we both learned the hard way was a mud pit with a bunch of gravel on the bottom. And then, we were done, crossing the finish line together.

I can honestly say it was one of the most fun things I have done in a long time. Although it was a bit tiring and physically challenging I was thoroughly enjoying myself. I mean when was the last time you threw yourself into a mudpit? Seriously, I spend a good part of my day trying to keep my three year old clean and here I am covered from head to toe in mud!

I learned several things from preparing for and running this race.

1) Set a goal for yourself, even if it is something that you think you can’t do. I never imagined I would ever participate in a race like this or anything that involved running. And although my time wasn’t record setting, I finished and I figure I can only get better.

2) Have a partner to motivate you when you are training and to run the race with. The race would not have been nearly as exciting if I hadn’t had Marti there. I have to admit when we weren’t saying, “Are you serious, we are going to run through that?” or dropping a few choice words, we were laughing.

3) If something like this isn’t on your bucket list, it should be. I think it will be an annual event for the Prison Pirates Running Club, at least I hope it will.

4) If you do a race like this and you have to drive three plus hours home, go ahead and spend the money to get a hotel so you can shower afterwards. Although I changed clothes, I did get a few odd looks when I made my pit stops.

5) I am still working my way up to be a real runner, but if you have a chance, hang out with real runners. We had a few in our group, one of whom won our wave! (Shout out to Joey!) It really is motivating and makes you want to do better.

6) Real runners probably don’t carb load at the Fort Worth Stockyards with Miller Lite, but man I sure had a good time!

7) Have fun! Find something that you enjoy. Although I would probably enjoy relaxing on the beach with a beer in my hand, I really have started to enjoy running. It is peaceful. When I am running, it is just me. I am doing something for myself and I don’t feel bad about it.

Well, I guess that is about it. Oh, wait, the Do Good part. The money raised from this event benefited Sower of Seeds International Ministries and helped drill water wells so people can have clean water to drink. Sad to think that there are people who still don’t have clean water to drink. Happily about 10,000 people helped them not only reach, but exceed their goals. There is another race in May 2011 near Austin. Visit www.runthejailbreak.com if you are interested in signing up. We just might see you there!

A Week of New Things!

2010-09-03T18:21:00.002-05:00

Another few weeks have flown off the calendar and a busy few weeks they were. The hottest topic in the Williams’ household is Lindsey starting Mother’s Day Out. I am happy to report that Lindsey LOVES “school.” The night before she started, we picked out her outfit and prepped what we could for lunch. The next morning as soon as I rubbed her back and asked if she wanted to go to school, she was out of bed and ready to go! We managed to eat a little breakfast, brush our teeth and most of our hair and change our clothes. We kissed Daddy and out the door we went. We arrive to the sweetest welcome. Everyone not assigned to a classroom is at the door greeting people and there is fun children’s music playing throughout the hall. Lindsey’s smile was even brighter. We get to the classroom, put away her lunch kit and backpack and sign her in and then without hesitation Lindsey runs in to play. Ummm, hello, it’s me Mom, I am going to need a hug and kiss before I leave. She runs back and provides me with my last snuggle for the next six hours! Don’t cry Susanne, you are a big girl, turn around and walk away, she is obviously fine. I turn to leave, drop the sunglasses and hold the tears until I am safely in the car. As silly as it sounds the tears would not stop. I had to call my bestie Marti to talk my down from my moment. My, oh my, could you imagine what I would have been like if she would have been a screamer like that little boy when I dropped her off (I will address screamers in a moment). Each Tuesday and Thursday since then, Lindsey has excitedly prepared to head to her big girl school and have fun!

We also started dance class last week. The class is fairly small and Ms. Cheryl is very nice and patient and seems to know what she is doing. Lindsey was a little apprehensive, but once the parents left the room she seemed to do ok. The class went well, even though we had a screamer in that class too. Although I think everyone was ready to leave when the hour was up. The screamer was Lindsey’s concern with going back this week. She said she didn’t want to go because “that girl is gonna scream again.” Secretly I was hoping she wouldn’t be there, but I said maybe she was just nervous and I bet it would be fine this week. She was there and although there was less screaming and sobbing, she didn’t really participate with the class.

Please don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to sound judgmental about screamers, because it is only by the grace of God that mine wasn’t the screamer. I guess I just think that the teachers are the professionals here. I am certain these two children weren’t the first screamers they had. They know how to handle these situations and we as parents, as hard as it may be, need to listen to these seasoned veterans. If they tell you to step out, step out and let them do their thing. Ms. Emily said as soon as the parent leaves the little boy calms down, but it is hard getting the parent out of the door. Oh, I know, I am bad, I shouldn’t say anything at all, but it really is a good lesson in trust and a lesson I will try to keep fresh in my head in case Lindsey is the one with the meltdown next time!

Let’s see, what is new with John? Well, he had a decent month (thank you Lord!) and as always stayed busy at home. I think he felt a little defeated at not being able to clear the clog in the kitchen sink. We tried everything, Liquid Plumber, a plunger and a hand auger with no success. It warranted a trip from not only the plumber, but Brazos Valley Sewer as well. And for the record, it wasn’t the potato salad I put down the disposal. The plumber said it was probably build up about 45 feet down the line at the T in the pipe. He said it just happens in older houses. Of course John probably still thinks it’s my potato salad, but I feel a little better about the whole situation now! A note on hand augers, those little boogers are painful to use. My arm was so sore the next day. If you have the money, just call the plumber right off the bat! Oh and let’s not forget it is dove season. John is busy prepping for some bird hunting and of course the annual guys Deer&Beer Fest.

I completed my first day as a Eucharist Minister at the hospital. Oh my stars, was I a nervous wreck. I was so scared I was going to say the wrong thing or worse drop the Eucharist! My mentor was with me to answer any questions and guide me a bit. I had to read off the card each time as I couldn’t remember the order of everything. The look of thankfulness on the patients’ faces and those of their families were the greatest reward ever. I remember how important this was to my mom when she had to spend so much time in the hospital and how disappointed she was when they didn’t come by. Hopefully this will help make someone’s day better.

I also broke my ban from soda on my 131st day. I had read earlier this summer that Dr. Pepper was going to be celebrating some anniversary by putting real sugar back in the soda rather than high fructose corn syrup. I told everyone if I found this soda, I would have one and help Dr. Pepper celebrate. So, on our last day of vacation, in a small town in the middle of nowhere, I found a can. After dreaming of what this would taste like, with a large dose of guilt, I took a sip. It was well, okay. Not sure what I was expecting, especially since I didn’t drink real soda before I gave it up. I stayed clean for another two weeks and decided to have a diet cherry limeade from Sonic. That was pretty disappointing too. It tasted really bad. So, I am back on the soda free thing and I really am okay with it. However, if I do decide to drink one, I already know that it will be a diet Dr. Pepper with cherry from Sonic. ;)

And let us not forget that in a mere 16 days I will be trying to force this old body to cross the finish line when Running the Jailbreak. I think Marti calculated that there is an obstacle about every ¼ mile. On one hand that is good, but who knows what the obstacles really hold for us. Anyway, say a prayer, cross your fingers, giggle a little, whatever it is you do and hope for the best for us! Honestly I could really care less about the race, the real treat is getting to do this with Marti!

Have a great weekend!

The Dog Days of Summer

2010-08-30T08:46:00.003-05:00

I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to post something that starts with, “My it is so chilly today I needed a light jacket.” Yep, it’s still hot. When I left work the other day the reading in my car was 109. Yikes!!

A few weeks ago we had a fun-filled, somewhat relaxing, almost week of vacation. We set off on our journey on a Thursday evening to meet up with my sister and her family for our annual weekend getaway. We met at a friend’s lake house outside of Huntsville. This year our getaway involved a bunch of nothing. We sat around and enjoyed the cool breezes off the water, we ate, we played pool, we ate, we played Wii, oh did I mention we ate??? We could have fed an army. The menu consisted of hand-cut ribeyes, bbq ribs, hobo dinners, tailpipes, baked beans, potato salad and yummy breakfast foods. I have to brag on myself for just a moment. My nephew Robert, who is pretty low key, not much excites him and rarely expresses wow moments, told me that my chocolate chip pancakes were probably they best pancakes he ever had. Now of course he might have just been trying to be nice, but I think it was sincere. WOW!!!! The highlight of this leg of our journey for Lindsey was the neighbors dog Belle. If she could have hidden her in her suitcase I know she would have!

On Sunday we packed up and headed to The Villages at Flint to meet MiMi and Ray-Ray. Our schedule included more nothing, tossed with mini-golf, lots of swimming and a waterpark visit, reading and my new favorite game shuffleboard. Have you played this, the one on the ground with long poles and pucks? (not sure of the terminology) It was a blast and I can’t wait to play again. I think I liked it so much because it is one of the few games that John didn’t immediately pick up and beat me instantly. The trip to the waterpark was fun, but definitely still a lot of work with a three year old. Lindsey and I both are not fans of the big bucket that fills up and dumps out on you every five minutes. Maybe I should have just known this was going to happen, but my Mommy radar must have been malfunctioning and I was barely able to grab Lindsey’s arm before she was almost completely knocked down by the force of the water. One of the highlights of my trip was actually being able to read for more than two minutes at a time without falling asleep. I started Tim Russert’s Big Russ and Me. This book is amazing and in my opinion a must read. It is a book of how life used to be, a book of family values, basically of book of common sense. Thanks to my Mimi for sending this my direction.

We ended our trek with a quick trip to Nacogdoches for lunch with Aunt MaryAnn and Uncle Bo-Bo. We had a great visit and marked the second highlight of Lindsey’s trip, Aunt MaryAnn and Uncle Bo-Bo’s rat terrier Little Bitty. Lindsey fell in love the moment she saw her with a delighted squeal and a “She looks like Sissy!” I am certain Bitty was ready for us to leave when we did as she is not used to that much activity! Then back to reality and a big load of laundry!

It was so nice to be off for a few days and just relax. No real plans, just play it by ear. That is usually pretty hard for me, so all in all I would say I did okay. I love the fact that we were able to drive through some beautiful Texas backroads and enjoy the scenery. My dream is to drive to Yellowstone or the Redwoods. Maybe it is because we never went many places growing up that this sounds so appealing. I was blessed with a job that allowed me to see a lot of places, but it was always fly in fly out for the most part. The load up the car, stop at the rest stop for a sandwich and drive until you just can’t go any longer is what I want. I know, I know most of you think I am crazy. When this actually happens I will make sure to report back!

Have a great week!

Weekly Wrapup

2010-08-08T21:01:00.000-05:00

I began this on a peaceful Saturday morning. Sitting listening to some new music I downloaded with my two year old iTunes gift card, drinking a cup of coffee with real sugar, deciding what to do with the day. I am completing this with my sweet little girl in my lap, patiently waiting to watch a little Caillou before heading to bed. Ahh life is good.

Work is still busy. We just finished a big job that will be going to Santiago, Chile! It is still hot. Oh, I unloaded my first shipment of “expensive” stuff! I did well and nothing was lost or broken!!

I still have not had any soda. I am trying to cut the artificial sweetners out altogether, but it hasn't been as easy as the soda. I will get there though.

I began my volunteer work at the hospital. I will be serving as a Eucharistic Minister one day a month at the hospital. I shadowed my mentor last week. I am so nervous, but excited at the same time. Will I remember exactly what to say? Will the patients be receptive? I go again in two weeks with my mentor and then I am off on my own in September. I really am excited to help out. Still looking for something else to fill that void, hopefully something will come along. I miss planning events, I miss feeling organized, I miss being part of a group. Why was it so easy when I moved to Rosenberg? It has been challenging here.

I had another “I have turned into my mother” moment the other day. The very first time I remember thinking this was when rather than crumbling the little foil yogurt lid and tossing it, I carefully scraped every last bit off and enjoyed it. There have been many since, but this week I made “rags.” Yep, I pulled out the old scissors and went after some old t-shirts. I had never done this before. I watched Mom numerous times, but never paid attention to her technique. Oh well, I am assuming the rag police won’t be coming by to inspect my work. I did have to laugh though when after putting my rags away, I saw the handy little Swiffer duster I won at MOPS. Yep, that probably would have worked too.

Friday we took a big step, we signed Lindsey up for Mother’s Day Out. She will attend two days a week. We met several teachers and the headmaster for a tour. The facility is really nice and it is a very small program. They have a curriculum, art, music, computers and most importantly a playground! Lindsey seemed very excited. As she followed one of the teachers, the teacher said, “Lindsey, I think you might be a leader.” Lindsey replies, “Yes, I think I am.” I couldn’t stop talking about it last night, but today I have a little knot in my tummy. It will be good for both of us, that is what I keep telling myself. I don’t know when they sealed the deal for John, but they had me at, “We watched this one Mom as she left the building, we knew she was going to cry, she did wait until she got to the car and we went out to comfort her.” So hopefully I won’t be the only blubbery mommy.

Of course I will close with a Lindsey story. She has run around all day singing, “Work your body, everybody.” I have asked her repeatedly to stop, it just doesn’t sound right. I am wracking my brain trying to figure out when I had the radio on, is this even a song, I don’t recall it. Well, as I was walking through the living room this evening, I hear the song on the TV. It is from Sid the Science Kid on PBS. He is talking about how important it is to move around and be active. Okay Mom, get your mind out of the gutter.

Hope everyone has a great week!

The Evolution of Sisterhood

2010-07-11T20:49:00.001-05:00

Thankfully, many of us in this world are lucky enough to have sisters. Depending on your birth order, I guess how you feel about sisterhood may vary. I am lucky enough to not only have a sister, but I have a big sister.

Now if you would have asked me 30 years ago if I was lucky, I probably would have rolled my eyes and given you an exasperated no! I would have told you about my sister having long hair and sitting on top of me tickling me with her hair. I also would have filled you in on how she would scream for my mom to have me stop touching her when we had to share a bed. You see, sisters just do that sort of thing. (For the record, I was only touching her a little, with my toe, just to make sure she was there)

It seemed that the gap between us grew wider for a while. Being a little older than me, she experienced all sorts of things before I did. Career, boyfriends, marriage, children. She knew about all of these things and I was just stuck in my own little world. At times this annoyed me, but now I am grateful. Someone has walked the road ahead of me and can share their experience. You see, sisters just do that sort of thing.

I guess I always knew my sister was there for me, there are numerous stories I could tell you, but there is one that sticks out in my mind. It hadn’t been too long after Mom died, maybe a couple of weeks. I was back at work and had a terrible day. All I wanted to do was cry. At the end of the day I got in my car and started to dial my Mom. I couldn’t. My Mom wasn’t there, she couldn’t answer and solve the dilemma of my day. It hit me like a ton of bricks. I mean, I knew she was gone, but this was the first time I really needed her since she passed. I called my sister hysterical, literally sobbing as I drove down Highway 6. I told her I simply couldn’t do this, I was not going to make it without my Mom. I don’t know how she did it because she was completely calm, and told me that it would be ok and that she would be right over. I told her no, but lo and behold as I pulled into my driveway she was there. So as I crumbled into a mess standing in my garage, she held me and I swear spoke just like my Mom would have. She told me that we would make it, that we had each other and that although it was going to be hard, we would be just fine. Where did you come from? Have you always been this wise? Did I just not listen before? How did you not fall apart when I know you were hurting as bad as I was? Well, I don’t know how you did it Rosemary, but I am thankful you did because I really did believe we were going to be okay.

So whether you are a big sister or a little sister or you just love someone like a sister, be grateful for that relationship. Treasure your similarities and your differences, it is how we learn and grow. It is how we help torment, teach, love and lift up each other. You see, it’s just what sisters do!

Summertime!

2010-06-25T11:24:00.003-05:00

It’s June, it’s hot, it’s typical Texas. I really do love living in Texas, I just love it a little more say from November to April. Working in the shop has given me a new appreciation for air conditioning.

Speaking of the shop, I was recently promoted. I have now been entrusted to drive the forklift to empty the trash barrels. I am planning on working my way up to actually being able to take deliveries of expensive materials off of the trucks. That situation has actually gotten me into a pickle before. Some delivery drivers are not authorized to unload material and when I am the only one out on the lone prairie it causes problems. Now there is no raise or anything that goes along with the promotion, just the sheer honor of being able to say, I can drive a forklift. Like I said in an earlier post, my toolbox is becoming full of all kinds of versatile talents. Oh and did I mention I could do this all with a three year old on my lap?

This past week my sister and brother-in-law have been out of town on business. As a result I have been playing mom to a houseful. Four kids at one time. All I can say is hats of to all mothers of more than one. I haven’t had all four together in a long time. Granted, my nephews and niece are very self sufficient being 18, 17 and 11, but still I feel as though I need to be on my best mommy game. Just the sheer volume of laundry has been amazing. Cooking for a family of six everyday, wow. Getting teenagers and pre-teens up early in the morning so we can head to work, oh my! I can honestly say I have a new appreciation of being tired when I lay my head down at night. It has been fun though and I am thankful that I am in a position to do it. My house is alive, alive with laughter and activity. How many people desire that and don’t have it?

Lindsey will complete her first week of swim lessons tonight. Out of the five kids, she has been the most apprehensive. She did okay the first day, but the second day when they wanted her to put her face underwater the teachers met her firm NO headshake. Finally the teachers had to take control and “helped” her go under. I am happy to report, for the past two days she has gone under on her own. We even went to the pool last night to practice and she showed me how hold my breath under water and blow bubbles. :)

So as usual, I will end with my favorite Lindsey stories of the recent past.

We are pulling into the Target parking lot in College Station. Mommy, I want to go to forks. What, do you mean Spoons, that is down the road a bit but we can’t go today. Nooooo, Mommy, forks. We go back and forth until I finally take her out of the carseat and she turns quickly and points. I have never in all my years in this town paid attention to the Gattitown sign. It does indeed use a fork for their W. I am waiting to see what location will be dubbed Knives.

Fedex man is making a delivery. He asks Lindsey, “What is your name?” She responds, “My name is Lindsey. This is my Mommy, her name is Mommy.”

We rescheduled Lindsey’s swim lessons. As she is jumping for joy and squealing she says, “Mommy, this is great, I am so exhausted!” Guess I need to work on exhausted and excited meanings.

The other day I was dressing Lindsey to go to dinner with Mimi, Ray-Ray and one of MiMi’s friends. I was very nervous as she was accompanying them on a dinner to the country club, the very quiet, country club. I dressed Lindsey in one of her “really cute” outfits and put her white dress shoes on. She knew she was going to dinner so she asked, “If we are not going to Jesus’ house, why am I wearing my Jesus shoes.”

Until next time friends! Have a wonderful weekend.

Sissy - Little Dog, Big Heart

2010-05-27T10:12:00.004-05:00

About 16 years ago, a tiny black and white furball came bouncing into our life. Sissy was an amazing friend, so I thought it was appropriate to pay tribute to her.

The background to bringing Sissy into our lives is special to the Williams’ family. John’s dad, Lonnie, was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s a while before I met John. As the disease began to really take hold, everyone was looking for something to help. Some of the things recommended were items that made them comfortable, possibly something from their youth, something they could help take care of, something to help them feel in control. The two items I remember reading about were dolls and dogs. Aside from the doll who he walked arm in arm with for almost forty years, Lonnie wasn’t much of a doll man, so a dog it was. Betty and Lonnie set off to find a suitable pup. It was decided a Rat Terrier would be the new addition to the family since Lonnie had Sissy the First as a young man and had trained her and they were faithful friends for years. This was no easy feat though, finding a Rat Terrier. Kennels, breeders, pet stores were scoured for what seemed like forever until they found our Sissy. I think it was love at first sight for Lonnie as Sissy came home with him a bit sooner than she actually should have. He couldn’t part with her from the start. And so it began, our love affair with our small furry friend. Small enough to fit in a ballcap, loud enough to make you jump, slightly unruly…that was Sissy in the early years. We knew she was a fighter, having battled cancer and a broken leg within her first year, we just never knew how tough she was until later in her life.

Lonnie and Sissy were inseparable from the start. She was with him constantly, on his lap or at his feet. Both content with each other’s company. I remember when Lonnie had to go to the Manor. Sissy was so depressed. Her friend had left her. In the beginning, Sissy actually had visiting privileges at the Manor. Lonnie’s face would light up when she would trot up to see him. It was magical. We soon lost our privilege when a nurse tried to do something to Lonnie as Sissy was in his lap and naturally she tried to protect him. No injuries were sustained, but that was the last time they saw each other. (Really, if we had just explained how protective she was of him, why would you lean over and try to touch him, seriously, it could have waited) Anywhoo…

So how did Sissy end up with us? Quite by surprise actually. You see, you may find this hard to believe, but I wasn’t always Sissy’s number one fan. In fact there was a long time that I would say we just tolerated each other. She loved John and Lonnie, but I was another story. Anytime I got too close to either of them, she looked a little disgusted. In fact, one time she nipped me in the rear when John and I got a little too close! John talked about Sissy moving in with us and I refused for a long time, that is until she came to “visit” for a few weeks when Betty went to Europe. In those two weeks, I fell for her. She was my dinner companion and reading buddy on those many nights that John worked late. She kept me from being scared when I had to go to bed by myself, plus she kept my feet warm. Believe me, I was as shocked as John was when the words came out, “Let’s keep her.”

I think Sissy enjoyed her life with us. I guess I have to admit she was pretty spoiled. She ate more people food than she probably should have. She probably had more toys than a dog really needs. And yes, we even left the TV on for her during the day so she wouldn’t get bored. (Food Network was her favorite)

There are so many stories I could tell. Like the time I tried to take Sissy for a picture with Santa, how she would always jump into my Mom’s lap as soon as she rolled into the house, how she got into Uncle Johnny’s ashtray once, how she just loved me trying to put a pumpkin costume on her, how she whole heartedly loved to play hard in her younger days…they go on and on.

One of my favorites is that Sissy was the one who really started John’s interest in building things. One night Sissy was jumping into bed and didn’t quite make it. (Yes, she slept with us) She fell and dislocated her leg. I had never in my life heard such a terrible cry. We bolted out of bed, John is trying to calm her, I am crying hysterically, not able to see the phone book to find a dog emergency room. I finally call my neighbors, avid dog lovers, waking them up. They run over to help, but by the time we open the door, Sissy’s leg had popped back somehow and she greeted our neighbors with a nice bark and a kiss. Peter and Sherryl must have thought we were crazy. I think John was a little scared by my lack of composure. The next day John was late coming home from work as he had run by Home Depot to get everything he needed to make a dog ramp for Sissy so she could walk up into the bed with us. Sissy never took to the ramp, but we did finally find a good use for our ottoman. So thanks Sissy, John has turned out to be pretty crafty all because of you!

So life moves on and so do we back to Bryan. Once again Sissy takes it in stride, moving back in with Betty as we prepare to welcome our little one, finally losing her spot in our comfy bed. I think Lindsey’s arrival worried many people. Afterall, Sissy had been an only dog for what, almost 13 years now? Sissy did so well with Lindsey, it was amazing. I read up on what to do with introducing them. We took a baby blanket Lindsey was wrapped in overnight and let Sissy have it so she could smell her and get used to it. We never went so far as buying the CD with the crying baby so she could get used to the noise. Their first meeting went well with Sissy smelling her like crazy and trying to lick her. Sissy never really showed too much enthusiasm for Lindsey, but she was kind and gentle and let Lindsey pet her and play with her even when I am sure Sissy didn’t feel like it.

The last three years were challenging for all of us. Sissy had heart trouble, lung trouble, she coughed like she had been a smoker for 50 years, she was deaf, she had benign tumors all over her and I am pretty sure she was starting to have trouble seeing. Thankfully, there is a tremendous team at Van Stavern Small Animal Hospital. These have to be the most caring, compassionate team of animal specialists out there. Dr. Dennis is not only super smart and helped diagnose several situations, including the dreaded reverse sneeze case, but she has a heart as big as gold and the most amazing bedside manner. Lori and Pam kept us going with our, what seemed to be weekly visits for medication, always with a smile. I know there were others who cared for Sissy over the years, so thank you to everyone. You made Sissy’s final years easier and more comfortable for all of us. You helped us let Sissy go with dignity and let us be with her in her final moments. Bottom line, you cared and it showed.

I worked for a vet throughout high school and part of college. Countless times I watched as families brought their faithful companions in one last time. I watched as they said one last good-bye, feeling sorry for them, but never really understanding how their hearts must have been breaking. My heart was breaking as Sissy slipped off the sleep, but the amazing peace that came over her body made it worth it. And although it was a hard decision, I am thankful that we can release our little furry friends from a painful, irreversible situation.

So here we are now, going on two weeks. I get through most days without crying. The silence in our house is overwhelming. I still slice a couple extra cucumbers for her. John saved a bite of chicken for her the other day. Probably the hardest part has been explaining this to Lindsey. We told her Sissy went to Heaven to be with Jesus. Sometimes I think she understands and then she will shock me and tell me she thinks that Daddy might bring her home today. She has only cried once as she told me she wanted Sissy to come home and be done at Jesus’ house because she really missed her. So that day we just cried together. Yesterday, we donated Sissy’s food and treats to the animal shelter. As we were leaving Lindsey said, “You know Mom, I am pretty sure Sissy is going to be mad you gave away her food. She liked those things!”

So I just wanted to say thank you my loyal friend for everything. For taking care of Lonnie, for keeping my feet warm, for helping me “clean” my kitchen floor, for loving Lindsey and never hurting her, for always knowing somehow when I needed someone to just sit by me and make me feel better. I am sure there is a special place for dogs in heaven. Rest in peace my friend.

Happy Birthday Lindsey!!!!

2010-04-29T16:46:00.002-05:00

So tomorrow my baby turns three. There is this part of me that is jumping for joy, wohooo, we have made it this far. Then, there is this little part of me that is sad. My baby is growing up. I know I blog about this often, how it is joyful and painful at the same time. It makes me think of the Darius Rucker song, “It Won’t Be Like This for Long.” One day she won’t be able to climb up into my lap and snuggle up with me and what is worse is that one day, she probably won’t want to snuggle with old mom.

The terrible two’s as they are called were merciful to us. I can honestly say we had a blast. Of course, we had our moments, but for the most part each day was full of new adventures with relatively few tense moments. As we head into the three’s, I wonder they are not called the terrible three’s. We seem to be more in a stage of wanting to test authority or see exactly how far we can be pushed. However, we are so amazingly curious and so excited about learning new things it seems to lessen the severity of our challenges.

Rambly thoughts for sure, my norm it seems at this point in my life. So I don’t forget though, some of my favorite Lindsey moments from the recent past.

1. As we were lying in bed one night reading books, Lindsey was trying to get her father’s attention. “Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad, Uncle John, Uncle John, Uncle John, Uncle John, JOHN, JOHN, JOHN, JOHN. Are you there???” It cracked me up that she was so persistent and finally he did answer. Poor girl.

2. John was doing book duty one night. He started to read A Pocket for Corduroy. He flips the pages and Lindsey stops him, turns the page back and says, “You have to say Corduroy Gets a Pocket, by Don Freeman.”

3. We are driving home from work and Lindsey is daydreaming. I ask what she is doing. Just thinking she replies. About what I say. Oh, just about agribating Speed Racer. I have tried in vain to this point to explain the word aggravating, but she still doesn’t get it. She does however love to use the word.

4. At church last Saturday, Lindsey placed her arms around my waist and patted my back through a good part of mass. I have no idea what the homily was really about as I was lost in my mommy moment. It was blissfully quiet and my baby was holding onto me.

5. Lindsey constantly wants to help me with whatever I am doing. Cooking, laundry, cleaning. If I could just bottle this enthusiasm and give it back to her in about ten years. Sometimes, it is hard, I just want to get things done. I have a note on my fridge that says, “Mom, I know you can probably do things faster and better, but please let me help, it is how I learn.” I have to look at it sometimes to remind myself how important it is. So I am happy to report that Lindsey is my official laundry sorter, lint tray removal expert, wash cloth folder, dishwasher starter and unloader, table setter, and dog feeder.

Words can’t really explain how being a mom is the most fantastic job in the world. There are so many little things I wish I could tell you that make my heart jump for joy, but you would probably think I am nuts. So with that, I will close with a heartfelt Happy Birthday to my little girl!

Easter Memories!

2010-04-05T13:44:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was a fantabulous day! My family celebrated together with an old fashioned picnic. It was reminiscent of my younger days when every Easter my family would come together at Charlton Park and we would eat, play ball, hunt eggs and visit. Simple things that brought so much joy to all those who attended the celebration.

Yesterday, we gathered in Navasota at Rosemary and Robert’s place and began to make wonderful memories again. Against a backdrop of beautiful blue skies and exquisite wildflowers, we ate delicious food under a large shady oak tree, hunted eggs over and over again, played horseshoes, Frisbee and baseball and visited with each other. I have to admit that I did a lot more visiting this year than I did playing ball or horseshoes, but it was joyful. Seeing my daughter hunt eggs with her cousins was amazing, the wide smile across her face, the giggles as she found the eggs.

The entire weekend was amazing. My aunt came to stay with us and it was so nice to have her there. We didn’t really do too much besides cook and visit, but we had an amazing time. It was kind of like I had my Mom there with me. Comforting. I am sure there was much more activity than she is used to, but I hope we didn’t scare her too much and that she will come back for another visit.

As I get older and now that I have a child, I guess I long more for family. I want Lindsey to know the joy and importance of family gatherings. I want her to appreciate her family and to help carry these traditions on, traditions that are fast becoming lost for many families. I want her to be so happy tired that she falls asleep before we get out of the driveway. I want her to have what I had as a child…wonderful, happy memories!

Dear Mom

2010-03-20T10:33:00.002-05:00

Wow, five years. Some days, it feels like yesterday and somedays it feels like forever. It is hard not to feel a little sad today, but I try to let the happy things outweigh the sad. John and I celebrate 11 years today. I remember you saying I love you as you gave me away at the end of the aisle, that sneaky second tag on your dress and the way you smiled at the reception. We all had a great time! Nancy turns 17 today. Can you believe that? All of these "little" kids growing up. I think I am what I considered old when I was their age. Yikes!

Anyway, just wanted to say that I am okay.

I love you and I miss you...still, always, forever.

Thanks!

2010-03-01T15:43:00.000-06:00

So I am back from my big weekend adventure. I am feeling relaxed, refreshed and ready to take on the world again. I am going to blog about the weekend, but before that I wanted to take a moment to say thanks to my bestie.

I am ashamed to say this, but it had been three years since I had seen Marti. We talk everyday, so it really didn’t seem like that long, but it is terrible that we let it go so long. John and I met Marti and Coy in 1996 (I think) and life hasn’t been the same since. The day after we met, we were at their house eating steaks. Two days after meeting Marti, I accompanied her to Austin to get her car fixed. We rode all the way to Austin and back and never once had the radio on. We haven’t stopped talking since! From the beginning, it was like I had known her forever. Distance came between us quickly, but it only seemed to make our friendship grow stronger.

Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks for being there for me through all the good stuff and the bad stuff that life dumps on us. Knowing that I can call anytime and get some encouragement means the world to me. Oh and thanks for helping my find my adventure again! Oh and I am so proud of you for running the 5K! Oh and I promise not to let it be three years again! Oh and I love you!

Hello 2010!

2010-01-22T10:19:00.009-06:00

Here we are, almost a month into the year and I still can't stop myself from writing 2009. How did it get to be almost the end of January? Slow down the train friend, time is just speeding by. Kind of reminds me of Lindsey's new favorite TV show, Dinosaur Train, where the train speeds backwards into prehistoric times, except this one is speeding forward with me holding on white knuckles and all. We could call it the "Crazy Mommy Train." (Except that we don't use the word crazy anymore)

The year ended with a beautiful Christmas celebrated with family. So much better than last year, for so many reasons. Although Lindsey still does not like Santa and we didn't even attempt to take a picture, she did love the play kitchen he brought her. Everyday I am lucky enough to eat delicious meals prepared with such pride! We opened presents Christmas Eve, which I am still not a fan of, but it was necessary. Went to Pearland to celebrate with with my cousins. It was just the four cousins and their families. These celebrations used to consist of anywhere from 30 – 50 people. The 15 of us made the best of it and had a wonderful time, complete with some dice game that was hilarious.

Custom Woodcrafters is officially operating in our new facility! No more being gone four or five days a week. I was so excited about being home more, but it has taken some adjusting too. I am working everyday now which is hard. I have had to re-sharpen my organization skills, meal pre-planning skills and my getting up at 6:30 a.m. skills. Yuck! Lindsey has been a champ through it all, loving the “Big Shop” as she calls it. She has 15,000 square feet to run though, stairs to climb, acres to roam and most importantly plenty of cows and horses to admire. Hopefully the excitement will last for a while.

Lindsey continues to amaze me daily. She is so full of energy and personality. Her vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds. Most of the words I am happy about ;) Some of my favorites right now are, “No, way, Yes way,” “Do it again, do it again,” “Mommy, do you understand me?” and the always favorite “Mommy, you are making me nervous!” We continue to work on counting, colors, the ABC’s. She can count to 14 most days, sometimes getting hung up on eleventeen. She loves to go to the Children’s Museum, to ride the escalator at Macy’s, to play at the “Big” McDonalds and to read. This girl loves books! When it is time for bed, I often find upwards of ten books waiting for me. She has started to “read” to me as well. She knows almost the entire “Big Dog, Little Dog” book and reads it to me. What a nice change of pace. She has definitely begun to test me more regarding discipline, seeing how far she can push me. It is frustrating sometimes. John can just count to one and she pretty much stops what she is doing. When I count to one, she follows with two, three and smiles at me. I am trying to implement time outs, but it is tougher than it looks. We will make it though, I will not have a wild banshee for a daughter!

So with a new year comes thoughts of resolutions. Hopefully it doesn’t sound too selfish, but I kind of want to find me again. Sometimes, I feel like wife, mommy and employee have taken Susanne and are holding her hostage. Where did I go? John called me Susanne the other day and you know what, it felt good! No one calls me Susanne anymore. Even at work, we are all related so I am Mommy or Aunt. Don’t get me wrong, I am not blaming anyone but myself. I have let it happen. So I will try a little harder because I think everyone will be happier with a little bit of old Susanne back in the mix. This is probably something that a good night out at the Chicken, playing pool and having a few adult beverages would fix. :) Ohhh, and I will also find a place to volunteer this year. I so miss my Catholic Daughters at home!

So, maybe I should lose weight, maybe I should be more organized, maybe I should do a better job at budgeting, maybe I should decide what to do with that closet full of suits that stare at me in my home office. How about I just do the best I can and that will have to be good enough!

Knock, Knock. Who's there?

2009-12-16T10:38:00.003-06:00

Unfortunately, this isn't a joke. Christmas is just a little over a week away. Yikes. I have never in my life been this far behind this close to Christmas. The Christmas cards aren't mailed. Heck I don't even have a picture I want to use yet. The presents aren't wrapped. Well, that could be because I haven't bought them yet. I haven't been to the grocery store to purchase what I need for the Christmas meal. I am so going to love those long lines at the grocery store. John's birthday is Friday, the big 4-0! Am I prepared? Nooooooo.

I was getting ready for bed last night and slowly working myself into a tizzy. I stopped to read Lindsey her books. We are reading a Christmas collection and as I turned to the story of Little Robin Redbreast, The Little Donkey and the story of the birth of Christ, I slowly began to calm down. Jesus was born for me! Talk about the ultimate gift. How lucky am I? The presents and Christmas cards are nice, but they really don't matter. I am so fortunate to be alive, to have a wonderful family and friends, to have a roof over my head and food on my table and to have Jesus in my life.

So as I wrap up and get ready to jump back into the hustle and bustle of the season, I am going to try harder to keep this in mind. To really remember what is important and try not to get upset if something doesn't go as I planned. Wish me luck!

A Letter to Lift Me Up

2009-11-22T12:17:00.004-06:00

My mother gave me many gifts, not just the material kind. She gave me faith, hope, eternal optimism and most of all love. I found this letter this morning. It made me smile and cry at the same this. This is why I am who I am. I don't remember what this letter specifically addressed, but I know I was preparing to graduate and head to A&M in the fall. I was very worried about my Mom, she would be all alone. She wrote this to me, probably as scared as I was at the upcoming change, but you would never know it from her words. Thanks Mom and dear Lord, please give me these kinds of gifts to give to my daughter.

Princess Butterfly

2009-11-12T07:59:00.011-06:00

Halloween turned out the be a blast this year. The week of Halloween Lindsey told me she wanted to be a butterfly. I was so excited! She wants to dress up. So I quickly start making plans for her costume. Buy the cardboard to make wings, and whala, we have a butterfly. Thankfully I found cute hot pink wings at Wal-Mart for $5 so I didn't have to make wings.

Thursday, Lindsey says she wants to be a princess. She said please. Well of course you can. However, Mommy is on a budget so I can't bring myself to spend $30 on an outfit we will wear once or twice. I Google how to make a tutu and we are off to Wal-Mart again to find netting and supplies for me to make a tutu. I found some hot pink netting and ribbon and off we go. Making tutu's is actually pretty easy. Having a two and a half year old helping has its challenges, but it turned out okay. Since we had the wings, we put them on together with a black turtleneck and black tights and the tutu. Roll the music...we have Princess Butterfly!

Lindsey wore the outfit to the George Bush Presidential Library for trick or treating through the library on Friday. (What a neat event) She did well, even saying trick or treat and thank you. She was actually excited to put it back on again and go trick or treating down our street. She even added "Have fun" for all the people handing out candy.

Now it is done. Another Halloween under our belt. I am thankful she had fun. Thankful she didn't try to eat all of her candy that night. Thankful she is willing to share her candy with her family ;) Thankful she will let her Mommy throw a wild costume together. Thankful I have the sweetest little girl in the world!

PS - The plan to have the manager at Wal-Mart (see previous post) take the heat for the lobsters really didn't do much. It is slowing down, but anytime we are in or driving by Wal-Mart a lobster discussion is a given!

Can I Get a Manager, Please?

2009-10-29T16:13:00.003-05:00

I like routine. It is a good thing. When something happens to change our routine, it takes a while to adjust.

Super Wal-Mart is a normal spot for Lindsey and I to visit. Unlike most, I have no problems with the place. In fact, it seems as if I spend more time in line at Kroger than I do at Wal-Mart. Anywhooo. Our Wal-Mart routine consists of a slight struggle to get Lindsey into the basket, we visit the lobster tank, proceed on to the moo-moo cow pictures in the dairy department where we usually enjoy a string cheese, check out the kid's clothes for clearance and then head to check-out. Simple and easy...until a couple of weeks ago when we turned the corner in produce and saw an empty space. "Mommy, where are the lobsters. I need to see the lobsters. Please Mommy, get the lobsters." Oh gosh, you can't be serious, you have taken the lobsters away? I ask the seafood man about them and he tells us the dreaded news, the tank broke and since the store is slated for a complete remodel they have decided the lobsters would not go with the new design. Wait, no one asked me, dont' I get a vote, I don't need a new and improved Wal-Mart, I need lobsters for my little girl!

Every trip since then results in the same questions about the lobsters. Well, last night she asked about the lobsters as she was going to sleep. We are in the stage of asking "Why" right now. I could not get her to stop so I told her that we would ask the manager why they took them away next time we went. I thought she would forget overnight, but no such luck. First thing this morning, "Mommy, let's go get the manager and talk." Oh goodness, what have I done? All day I heard about the manager. So, since I needed milk anyway we headed to Wal-Mart. I was thinking of just telling her the checker was the manager, but lo and behold guess who was out roaming the store, the store manager, the big kahuna, the man with the power, the man with is picture on the wall. I explain our situation and he expresses heartfelt sympathy to Lindsey and explains the lobsters weren't safe because their tank was broken. (Must have kids of his own) He tells us that other children have been upset since the lobsters departed and if there is anyway he can get them back safely he will. She said okay and it is the last I have heard of the manager and the lobsters! Hope this is a long term solution! :)

Random Things to Remember

2009-10-15T18:42:00.002-05:00

One day when I am old, hopefully I will look back at this blog and things that I have written will make me smile. I had been writing in my journal faithfully for almost three years, but recently I have lost steam. The little things I had been capturing on a daily basis seem to slip by and I don't like it. My goal is to get motivated again so I don't lose these precious memories. So in no particular order, here are this week's highlights.

1.) We are still trying to potty train. We were at work and did not have our potty seat with us. Needless to say, it was our first and hopefully last trip into the toilet. Not fun, but I guess I should be grateful it wasn't at the mall or a gas station, uggg.
2.) Lindsey seems to be developing a stronger bond with Maxwell. Maxwell is her stuffed dog. She called him puppy forever and then one day I heard her talking to him. I asked what his name was and she said Maxwell. We have no idea where it came from, but there is always a chair for him at our table.
3.) Lindsey saw a grasshopper for the first time this week. He was on the glass door at work. She studied him for a long time. I am imagining all of the things that could be going through her mind. She turns to me and asks, "Mommy, do gasshoppers eat mac and cheese?"
4.) Lindsey was busy coloring while I was working on the computer. She stood up to show me her art. The look on her face was full of fear. She started to limp and hang her foot. She froze, unsure of what was happening to her. My best guess is her foot fell asleep. How do you explain this to her? It's okay, it will go away, just hang on. Of course, it passed quickly, but it is so hard when things we as adults totally understand happen to them for the first time.

Ohhhh, the stories are endless, but I smell dinner so I better get back to it and make it look like I have been busy! ;)

Delicious Autumn!

2009-10-02T16:17:00.005-05:00

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a
bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.
~George Eliot

What a great quote! I love autumn. Our leaves really don't turn like they do in the East, but the cooler temperatures are certainly welcome. I was able to work in yard today in a t-shirt and jeans and I didn't die of heatstroke and soon the mosquitoes won't carry me away!

We pulled all of the fall decorations out last night. Lighted pumpkins, plastic pumpkins, painted pumpkins and of course pumpkin candles. Yummm! I even made a pumpkin roll for MOPS yesterday. That is another thing about fall, MOPS starts back up and I am able to share time with other moms. What a great program!

Halloween is fast approaching. I wonder if Lindsey will wear a "real" costume this year? Then it is time for Thanksgiving. Yummy food and the perfect time to be thankful for all of our many blessings. Then, yes, it will be here, Christmas. I almost fell over in Target the other day when I saw Christmas decorations out. It was like September 25. Come on, put the brakes on, enjoy this season, it has so much to offer!

Anyway, this is a totally random post. Mimi will understand because I think she loves autumn as much, if not more than I do! Hope you all have a terrific autumn!

I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane

2009-09-21T23:20:00.005-05:00

The good news is, I do know when I will be back again. My much awaited trip to Atlanta (yes, the land of overflowing rivers and torrential thunderstorms) is here. I depart tomorrow morning. Today has been a whirlwind of preparations and a whirlwind of emotions. Printing brochures, packing, making sure my instructions for Lindsey are as complete as possible, being excited, being nervous, just plain being tired.

So much races through my head right now. I am so sad that I won't see Lindsey until Friday. It feels so odd, so wrong honestly. I know she is in good hands, John and MiMi Betty will be fine with her. I just keep thinking what will I miss, will she forget me, will she be sad? Crazy thoughts as John puts it, but I just can't help it.

This trip does make me put things in some perspective though. I am thankful that I don't have to do this on a regular basis. At one time, my old job had me on the road quite a bit. I can't imagine leaving my baby girl on a regular basis. I am also grateful that I am on the exhibiting side of the meeting. Having been on both the hosting/planning and attending side of a trade show, I can say it's much easier being the exhibitor! This trip also made me think, this is what John does go through on a weekly basis. Every Monday through Thursday we are in Rosenberg working. I wonder if his heart aches a little bit when we are gone?

So, I guess I just need to try my best to focus on dazzling potential clients and signing them up for business. :) Just remember honey, Lindsey likes the yogurts pops in the freezer and there is such thing as too many mandarin oranges.

Waiting For the Leaves to Change

2009-09-05T16:25:00.002-05:00

It is September. Wow! Part of me is thankful because it means cooler temperatures are getting closer. Part of me misses summer, because although I love Aggies, (afterall, I am one of them) I hate the traffic that the students bring back to town. The town does seem to have more pep with everyone back though, especially now that football season is starting.

I seem to find myself in this position alot these days, trying to catch up in one big blog what has been happening. I keep telling myself I am going to be better, but alas something else seems to come up.

1.) Preschool was a blast! Lindsey loved it and continues to talk about going to school. She made some terrific crafts and enjoyed her monkey lunch kit. I also loved my "time off." It really is amazing how many things you can get done all by yourself.
2.) We have been without our shaw for more than two months now. I am thankful that it went smoothly.
3.) Lindsey continues to obsess over Speed Racer. She constantly wants to watch John's DVD's. Her speed racer coloring book must go with us everywhere. He also must lay under her head when she falls asleep. Together we can pull off most of the theme song. I must admit, I did not like Speed Racer when my brother forced me to watch it 30 years ago, but I am trying to me more understanding since John and Lindsey both seem to love it so much! ;)
4.) Lindsey's vocabulary is amazing. I am so proud of her. It is a constant battle as a parent though to not let things slip. Not even really bad things, just little things I sometimes don't even realize I am saying. One of her favorite things is, "Are your surris?" and "Surrsly" (seriously) When I get annoyed at something I tend to say these, obviously more than I thought. She also likes to say, "Who is that guy/girl" whenever we meet someone new. She pats my back when I hug her and says, "I love you so much." Melt, melt melt. I don't want to forget these things. I want my video camera on all the time.
5.) Sissy has been having more health issues. We have had to up her medication again, but for the time being it is working. Maybe I need to ask Obama to offer a pet option in the new health plan.
6.) Work has been incredibly busy. We are putting several stores in this fall in addition to moving our headquarters. I can't wait for this. Due to so much happening, I have been spending three to four days a week in Rosenberg working. It is getting hard. I am ready for the move so I can spend more time at home with John and stop living out of a suitcase. I am excited about an upcoming trip to Atlanta where will be exhibiting. I am excited because I feel like I might finally be able to contribute something. I mean, I know what I do matters, but this is more like what I did in my previous life. Only drawback...four days away from Lindsey. Must admit I am a little nervous about that.

I am sure there is more, but John will be home soon. Off to have some family time! :)

Preschool Fun Days

2009-07-09T13:45:00.002-05:00

Earlier this year I signed Lindsey up for her first preschool adventure. For each Thursday in July from 9 am - 12:30 pm, Lindsey would be playing with friends and Mommy would be out of the town. I have been dreaming about this for months. Three and a half hours of doing whatever I want!

After a rough night (we haven't had our "shaw" in almost a week, but last night she really, really wanted it) I had to wake Lindsey up to get ready. I asked if she wanted to go to school and she literally sat straight up and said "Yes!" We got ready and headed out the door. As we were getting out of the car and I put her backpack on and put her lunchkit in her tiny hands, it hit me. My baby is going to preschool. School will be next and oh my gosh, one day I will have to send her to college! I signed her in and took her to her class, she hands everything to her teacher, says bye bye and is off to play. I turn to leave and it starts. I quickly lower the sunglasses to hide the tears. So I sat in the parking lot, cried and called Marti to discuss these Mommy feelings. I knew John would just think I was crazy as all I could talk about was my three and a half hours of whatever.

After reassuring words from my veteran Mommy resource I was off for my whatever. Today's whatever included a pedicure and trips to the bank, optical shop, Office Depot and James Avery. I picked Lindsey up and was thrilled with a huge hug and a Mommy squeal. She was asleep before we made it to the house and I am now waiting for her to wake up so we can play.

For some it may sound silly, tears over preschool and one day a week for one month at that. This is a good thing, for both of us. However, it is yet another sign that my little baby is growing up. How time is flying.

Gone But Not Forgotten

2009-06-21T19:59:00.006-05:00

I didn't want to let the day go by without remembering two important people. My Dad, Sigmund Lipinsky and John's Dad, Lonnie Williams.

So much of what I know of Lonnie is from stories from friends and family, as Alzheimer's had already taken his spark when I met John. He was a remarkable man. The stories always mention Lonnie's love for life, his giving heart and a joyful attitude. I know they are true because I see these very same qualities in John. A note about the picture of Lonnie and me at my wedding. As I planned our wedding, I realized April 24 was going to be a Saturday that year. This was my parents and my grandparents anniversary and I was thrilled that I would be able to share the same day. As it turned out, our church was booked all day and I had to select another day, March 20. How thankful I am it turned out this way as Lonnie's illness took a turn for the worse very shortly after our wedding. Had we married on the 24th Lonnie would have missed a day that he truly enjoyed. He was dancing and laughing and dancing and dancing. The man loved to dance! You could see the joy in his eyes.

The stories of my Dad come from family and friends as well. My Dad was quiet and reserved, dedicated to his family and his church and one of the hardest working people around. Since he passed when I was so young, I don't remember many specific stories of my own. I do remember him having surprises tucked in his nail pouch when he would come home, learning to polka while standing on his feet in the middle of our living room, him playing the accordion, snuggling next to him at church on Saturday night and us all going home and eating popcorn while watching Emergency on TV. (This was the real popcorn too, he made it in a pan with oil and everything!)

We love you and miss you both very much!

Our First Weekend Getaway

2009-04-20T08:52:00.007-05:00

Here I go again, trying to catch up on all the craziness that is happening with the Williams family!
John and I had a fantastic time on our first parents only weekend getaway to San Antonio to celebrate out 10th anniversary. I admit, I cried when we dropped Lindsey off. At least I didn't let her see my cry. She was happy as a lark, playing with cousin Robin and Aunt Ro-Ro. The first few miles of the quiet were very weird, we just sat there, looked at each other and sighed. A few more miles into it we decided, hey we can listen to loud music, roll the windows down without fear of getting too much wind or just have conversation without spelling out words.

The Marriott was fantastic, right on the Riverwalk. We looked out onto the river from the 28th floor, what a view! That night we had dinner at The Chart House on top of the Tower of the Americas. If you are in San Antonio, eat here! The food, service and view from the top of the second tallest freestanding tower in America are amazing. We bought Lindsey a cute stuffed tower.

We woke up early to maximize the day. Had a delicious breakfast at the hotel (part of our amazing package), visited the Buckhorn Museum, ate lunch at Taco Haven, visited the Alamo, the Marketplace, cathedrals, hat shops, the mall and toured the Riverwalk by boat. Needless to say we were pooped! We walked over six miles, not including what we did at the actual attractions, so we simply relaxed on our balcony with an adult beverage and enjoyed a beautiful evening.

Sunday, we were up early again, ate breakfast and took the boat ride during the daytime for a different view (again, part of our package). We actually headed out pretty early to pick up Lindsey. It is so weird being without your little one. We would see something and both say "Oh, Lindsey would love that," What do you think she is doing now?" or simply stare at another child about the same age. It was odd not hearing the quiet sssshhhhh of the monitor, not hearing "Mama" first thing in the morning. Although it was difficult and there was part of me that didn't want to go, if you are a parent and you haven't had some alone time with your spouse, GO! It is amazing what a few days alone can do for your relationship with your spouse and with your child, I think it makes you appreciate them both a little bit more.

Lastly, a big Thank You to Rosemary, Robert Sr., Robert Jr., Richard and Robin. This would not have been possible without them. Not only did they surprise us with this fantastic weekend getaway, they took care of Lindsey. There is nowhere that Lindsey would have been more well cared for or would have had as much fun! So thanks for everything guys, we love you and appreciate what you did! :)

Teaching Conservation

2009-03-31T18:50:00.002-05:00

It is true that with motherhood all hopes of privacy seem to fly out the window. We have begun to potty train in the Williams' house. Not hardcore training, but let's just say I don't spend much time in the bathroom alone. With that being said, I will go ahead with my story.

Although Lindsey is young, we are trying to teach her simple things like turning off the water when brushing her teeth, putting recyclables in the blue bin and to take only the amount of paper she needs when going to the bathroom or drying her hands. Since she really doesn't potty in the big potty yet, I only give her one square of paper for her to "wipe with." I am happy to report that she has she paper thing down. I just wish she hadn't figured it out after she managed to pull the toilet paper dispenser off the wall and was holding the paper hostage. After I pleaded for some paper, she conceded...and handed me one square of paper. "Here go Mommy!" Thanks!!!

The Best Mom Ever

2009-03-19T21:58:00.004-05:00

Tomorrow will be the fourth anniversary of my Mom's passing, although it feels as if its been a million years since I heard her reassuring voice and felt her sweet hug. Those who really know me, know that my mom was my best friend. She is the woman that I admire most in this world. She practically raised me alone since we lost my Dad so young and I can only strive to be half of the terrific Mom that she was.

I always feel a little blue as we approach tomorrow (happy and sad as it is my wedding anniversary too). I got a little pick me up when I got home today though. My mom had beautiful amaryllis plants in her front yard. She transplanted them when she moved from Houston to Rosenberg. These spectacular plants always bloomed for Easter. It didn't matter when Easter was, they just always bloomed. My mom passed away on Palm Sunday that year and it was the first year that I can remember the amaryllis plants didn't bloom. After she passed we dug them up in hopes of replanting them again. These poor little bulbs have been shifted from pot to pot, moved from city to city. A few weeks ago they finally arrived here to our home. I put them out on the back patio. The glorious rain last week really helped these little guys and to my surprise today I saw two of the plants getting ready to bloom! Now I imagine they will bloom before Easter, but I am so happy that it looks like they will bloom. The first time in over four years! John said they knew they were home now and that all was well. I like that idea. I kind of like to think that it is my Mom looking down on me and smiling.

Anyway, I just wanted to pay a little tribute to her today... the best Mom in the world!

PS - The two photos were favorites on my Mom's. Otherwise, the giganto hair of the 80's picture would not be posted. Check out the height of the hair.

Daddy Daughter Dance 2009

2009-02-09T11:01:00.008-06:00

What is sweeter than seeing the man you love and the daughter you are head over heals for all dressed up and ready to dance the night away? Not much!

On Friday, John and Lindsey attended their first Daddy Daughter Dance. John was decked out in his suit and Lindsey was sporting her new red velvety dress with a little bow in front. John's best friend Blair and his daugther Bailey were also attending. We all met up at the Childrens Museum around 5:45 for pictures. Several moms were lingering outside ohhhing and ahhhing at every little girl and daddy that went in.

John said it was very well organized and amazingly not too crazy inside given that there were probably 50 - 75 little girls under the age of 6! They had a catered dinner, dancing, crafts, t-shirts and door prizes. Lindsey was a little young for most of the activities, but she seemed to have a great time and even made me (with some help from Dad of course) a pretty little picture holder. She fell in love with this one room with a large tree house in it and even started to go down slides!

We picked up our loved ones at 9 pm. They were still full of energy and not ready to go home. As Lindsey made a break for it to get back inside, John informed me she was tough to keep up with. I couldn't help myself, I had to say it, "You know I do that everyday, all day, right?"

After a quick detour to visit MiMi Betty and a quick change into our PJ's (note to all Moms out there, if you are not already packing PJ's and toothbrush in a bag in your car, start now. Thanks to Brandi for teaching me that!) Lindsey was out before we made it to the first stoplight and slept until 10 am the next morning.

At first there was a part of me that was sad that I couldn't go in and watch them. Looking back now, it was good for us. It gave John and Lindsey some quality time together, gave John a better appreciation of what I do on a daily basis (I hope anyway) and gave me a much needed opportunity to go to dinner, have adult conversation and drink a real soda without having to worry about someone wanting a sip!

My Favorite Handy Man

2009-01-23T17:43:00.002-06:00

When I married John, it was for many reasons, far too many to list :) Never did I imagine in my wildest dreams that he was such a handy man!

We both knew when we bought a house built in 1969 there would be a lot to do. I hate to admit it but the majority, well pretty much all of it has fallen on John's shoulders. He has worked tirelessly to make our house more of a home, a home that doesn't look like it was built in 1969. He has:

Revamped our interior doors (door work is tricky, don't let anyone fool you, anytime you take something that has been on a hinge for almost 40 years you are bound to have problems)
Stripped, sanded, primed and painted almost half of the exterior trim (thanks to our understanding neighbors who are kind enough to put up with a half and half house)
Textured and painted our guest bathroom, as well as hung a mirror. Yeah we can see ourselves. (Here is one of the few places I helped, I stripped the wallpaper off! Uggg)
Worked to get our yard back in shape. It was pretty neglected for a long period of time and has needed some TLC. He recently trimmed back the holly bushes in front of the house and it looks so different. Why do people plant holly bushes anyway?
Organized our office, complete with hanging pictures and connecting all of my docking station components. It looks amazing and was such a sweet surprise.

There is more that he has done, but these are the big highlights. There is still more to do, but I just wanted to say thank you to my favorite handy man for being so sweet and doing so much for me and Lindsey.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T14:31:00.003-06:00

Merry Christmas everyone! Things here have been completely crazy. I guess everyone has a different feeling about family. Despite all of the craziness we are having a good time. Christmas dinner is in the oven and the guys are heading out to play a game of horseshoes. After a strong fight against falling asleep, Lindsey is taking a much needed nap. This year was so much fun with her. She really enjoyed opening up her presents. How sweet kids are!

I hope that each and everyone of you has a very Merry Christmas and a safe, happy and healthy 2008!

45 Hours... Continued

2008-12-23T09:24:00.010-06:00

It is now 10:25 am in beautiful Martha's Vineyard. We are all safe, warm and ready to spend some fun family time together. It is obvious that we are here so if things didn't continue to just spin out of control, I would leave my post from yesterday as our story. I just think you need to hear how fun our day really was.

After sitting on the plane for several hours with no food or water we departed at 1:30 pm and arrived in Boston at 2:15 pm . Continental decided to compensate us for the past two days with a generous $8 meal voucher. After learning that we would have to wait three hours for our van service we decided to enjoy a delicious Fuddruckers hamburger. After that we claimed our many pieces of luggage and enjoyed an hour of hilarious people watching in the baggage claim. One bright spot in the day was that our 15 passenger van turned into a stretch limo. So at 5:45 pm we loaded up, turned on Starsky and Hutch and headed to the ferry. We arrived at 8 pm just in time to make the last boat of the evening. After placing our luggage on the cart, we walked on the ferry. Another bright spot in our day was the ferry ticket taker only taking three tickets and handing them back to us and telling us to have a nice day. We enjoyed a nice cup of hot chocolate on the way to the island.

Michael and JoAnne arrive at 9:30 pm to pick us up and hugs and kisses are exchanged. JoAnne sees she has a headlight out, but there is nothing that can be done we must get home. We drive roughly two miles and we see the lights of the State Trooper who is pulling us over. Our caravan stops. At this point Lindsey is thoroughly unhappy and frankly screaming her head off. Her shaw is in the other car. At this point though I am hoping that the screaming will help the officer make his decision to just let us go. We sit patiently trying to calm Lindsey. The officer returns five minutes later to give us a warning (Whew) and I run to the other car to retrieve the much needed security item. We get "home" to the nice house Michael and JoAnne have arranged, drop our bags and head over to their house for a few snacks and some much needed adult beverages. At 11:45 pm we head back to "our" house for the evening. My sister needs her glasses and contact stuff which had been put in my pretty Java Blue Vera Bradley bag. John reaches in and pulls out some nice snowflake blankets and some Vitamin water. Ummm, guys, I didn't have Vitamin Water. There is no way this can be happening to me. This is not my bag. All of the stockings my Mom made by hand for each of us was in that bag. Uggggg!!!! After composing myself, I look for something with a name. Her wallet is there! (Seriously, why would you put your wallet with cash and a checkbook on a cart for anyone to handle? I mean thank you for doing it, but I wouldn't do it myself. I am guessing she was just tired like we were.) The cell phone on her check is off. We look them up in the phonebook and I make the call at 12:15 am. She answers and is happy to hear we have her bag. We agree to exchange bags at 8 am. I sleep through the knock at 8 am, but thankfully my sister makes the exchange and accepts the homemade cookies the nice lady brings us.

So, now it is 11:15 am and I am sitting here enjoying a cup of coffee with Rosemary and Robert. Everyone else is still asleep. Yes, even Lindsey is asleep.

Although this trip has been full of craziness I am thankful to be here. I am thankful to be with my family, thankful to God that he helped us get through here safely. I will end with a quote from my oldest nephew Robert, "This is the best trip ever!"

45 Hours Into A Five Hour Trip

2008-12-22T19:41:00.003-06:00

It is now 8:50 p.m. and I am sitting on a ferry to Martha's Vineyard with a motley crew of eight very tired, slightly dirty, pretty upbeat people. Our group consists of me, John, Lindsey, my sister Rosemary and her family (Robert Sr., Robert Jr., Richard and Robin) We are nearing the completion of a journey that started some 45 hours ago in Houston, TX. Below is a brief synopsis of the past two days events.

Sunday
3 am - alarm goes off in Houston, TX so we can ride the hour to the airport
5:30 am - group arrives at Houston airport for a 7:15 departure, all is well despite taking more than 30 minutes to check in
7:50 am - we depart for beautiful Martha's Vineyard for a 11:50 am arrival
12 pm - the first round of bad news arrives, we must circle Providence before clearance into Boston is granted due to poor weather conditions
1 pm - low on fuel we are diverted to Bangor, Maine (look on a map, there are a few states and several airports on the way to Bangor
1:15 pm - we arrive in Bangor and are told we will fuel up, de-ice and get back in the air
3 pm - still on the plane, we notice the snow is coming down a bit harder
4 pm - fueling is complete and we are de-iced, we sit on the runway anxious to to take off, after 10 minutes, we are informed we are iced over again and must return to the tarmac
4:30 pm - our pilot informs us that we will be spending the night in Bangor
5:30 pm - we finally deplane into 15 degree weather and wait in line for hours for information on flight and hotels
7:30 pm - we are informed that our flight will depart at 6 am so we must arrive at 4 am
8 pm - after much frustration and very little food our four pizzas arrive to baggage claim
9 pm - we begin our journey to a hotel 5 miles away, oh, did I mention that there was a blizzard in Bangor
10:30 pm - we arrive at our hotel after plowing through several snow drifts
12:30 am - we turn in for the evening, whew, what a day

Monday
2 am - our wake up call so we can get on the 3 am taxi to get us to the airport by 4, it takes this long in 20 inches of snow
3:45 am - we await in line to re-check in, only to be told that we were not on the flight, oh yeah, tell a lady with a 19 month old, two diapers left and no milk, that I am not on that flight. Needless to say, we made it on the flight.
4:30 am - we are waiting at the gate to board
5:30 am - waiting at the gate
6:30 am - waiting at the gate
7:30 am - waiting at the gate
8:30 am - board the plane, we are on our way, yeah, right

Okay, I know the suspense is killing you, but I am about to hop off the boat and see my brother Michael and his wife JoAnne for the first time in two years. He is going to meet my Lindsey. I am so happy and frankly could almost cry at this point. I will complete the story of our journey tomorrow if possible, I even have pics! Was it Harley Davidson that says something about its not where you are going, its all about the journey? Oh please!!!!!!!!!!! Good night all.

How Time Flies

2008-12-13T11:57:00.003-06:00

It seems like just yesterday I held my oldest nephew Robert just minutes after he was born. Richard wanted to make a grand entrance into the world and decided to arrive very quickly, so even if my sister had told me she was in labor and had stopped me from driving back to College Station to start the Spring semester, I probably would have missed it. After waiting a few years, my precious little niece Robin arrived. Just look at them now. How can this be? (Richard, Robert, Robin)

Family Pictures

2008-11-21T13:38:00.003-06:00

A few weeks ago we took some family pictures. Aside from my muffin top and my dark hair, I am very pleased. Hats off to Michael Kellett. He had to work very hard for the smiles. He does a great version of "Singing in the Rain" with a baby doll and an umbrella. I highly recommend him!

http://www.kellettphotography.com/

Click on "Recent Events" and then Williams Family Portraits. :)

All Clear!

2008-11-17T15:10:00.002-06:00

I am happy to report that I received good news from the doctor. The mole was nothing. Yeah!!! The anticipation of waiting was terrible and I am glad that it is over. I had my stitches removed today and thankfully I can shave! John just knew if I tried to shave we would end up in the emergency room getting new stitches. Here is to healthy skin and clean armpits! :)

Wednesday Rambles

2008-11-12T23:07:00.003-06:00

There are so many things I want to blog about so I guess I will just give a brief rundown of the events of the past few weeks.

Halloween was a blast. After many failed attempts of getting Lindsey to wear a lady bug costume, we resorted to plan B. Mommy made a piggie costume complete with curly tail. My pictures are stinky, but thankfully the video is pretty good. We all went around the neighborhood. Lindsey managed to get out "Tri Treat" and even snorted for some lucky neighbors!
After many weeks of smooth drop offs and pick up from MOPS, Lindsey cried when I left her in the nursery. It was horrible. One of the worst feelings in my life. She also cried when I picked her up. My heart broke for my little girl and I was just thankful that I did not have to do that everyday.
Lindsey got rave reviews at her 18 month check up. She is 22 pounds and 32 inches long. The doctor asked me how her vocabulary was and thankfully Lindsey was very happy to show him that day. It is amazing how many words she picks up on now. We are working on please (peeeze) and thank you (nank you). It is so fun.
We are on day four of Operation No More Bottles. The transition has actually gone pretty smoothly and for that I am thankful. I just hope that it continues to go well. We have also pulled out the potty chair. She knows to go sit on it, get toilet paper and to flush. Now we just have to work on explaining the actual using the potty part. These things are all huge milestones and although I am so thankful because I think life will be easier, not to mention cheaper, it is a little sad. My baby is growing up so quickly!
I am out of places to put things in my house. I think I might just need to build a shelf right by the ceiling. Climbing on top of things is very popular right now, as is going into my underwear drawer and wearing them around her neck. How does stuff like that get started?
John has been off since Monday and I have loved having him around. He has done several home improvement projects despite of the yucky weather. I am so thankful I have a husband that is willing and able to do so many things to make our house look even better.
I had a mole removed on Monday, so I am currently nursing a few stitches on/in/under?? my right underarm. Let me just say that this is a terrible place to have stitches and not bending or moving your arm is not an option, not to mention that fact that going without deodorant is just plain gross. It is standard for them to biopsy these things, but it makes a little nervous. Feel free to pray for good news! :)

Go Big Blue!

2008-10-17T17:16:00.006-05:00

A few weeks ago we attended John's 20th High School Reunion. (I still find it hard to believe that it has been that long) After a few disappointing experiences with my high school reunions, we almost didn't attend. I am so glad we did though because both of us ended up having a really great time.

The organizers did a spectacular job. They had a section for us at the pep rally, a great happy hour and football event for Friday night, a family picnic Saturday afternoon and a nice semi-formal event Saturday night. Even though the Vikings lost in the cross-town showdown, we had a great time. The picnic was so much fun with great activities for the kids including a train, bouncy thing, sand art and pinatas. Lindsey even had a little male suitor chasing her around. He would come over and touch her and just giggle. So cute...but hands off buddy! It was fun to get dressed up a bit for the evening event since my normal uniform is jeans and t-shirt these days.

Just a few thoughts on pep rally's. I went to a school that had little school spirit, a band that consisted of about 12 people and a football team that lost almost every game. Therefore, I had some preconceived notions about pep rallys. Bryan knows how to do it! The band was so loud, the kids were screaming and crazy excited, it was fun to see. You could tell all of us old folks though as we gasped when some of the cheerleaders did a few of their moves. Wow, we certainly didn't do those sort of things when we were their age, did we? ;)

Pregnancy Does Not Cloud the Brain...Ha-Ha-Ha

2008-10-10T15:17:00.002-05:00

I recently had a conversation with a friend of mine who is pregnant. We had a little chuckle over some of the things that happen to pregnant women. So, when I read this article I had to laugh.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081010/hl_afp/healthaustraliawomenpregnancy

I am all for girl power and I really believe that we are the stronger sex where it is really important, but I think that the researcher has not had children. I believe that our mind shuts down to non-important things like how we usually drink our coffee, whether our clothes are on inside out and if we only managed to get mascara on one eye that morning since we are growing a little life in us and we must prepare for the challenging days ahead of motherhood. Maybe I am just crazy and only my friend and I have experienced the "Duhs" of pregnancy...but I doubt it!

A Constant State of Being Behind

2008-09-24T11:16:00.004-05:00

Once again, I have fallen far behind in the blog department. Do not worry however, it is not the only department that is suffering. It is right there with boxes still cluttering my house, pictures trapped in my digital camera, birthday presents still not mailed. It is official, I am in a constant state of being behind. Since I haven't posted pictures in a while, I thought I would do so. Granted these are old, but something is better than nothing. The first is a picture of Lindsey and John at Greene's Smokehouse. Lindsey fell in love with the stuffed armadillo that could hold a beer bottle. The second picture is of Lindsey right after she was finally big enough to turn around and face the front of the car. Can you tell she was happy about this? :)

Besides being behind, life is great. Sixteen months is such a fun age. Lindsey pretty much runs everywhere. She is talking up a storm. We can't understand everything of course, but her vocabulary includes: Mommy, Daddy, Sissy, Ro-Ro, Ra-Ra, (Ro-Ro and Ra-Ra are my sister Rosemary and my niece Robin), doggie, woof-woof, meow, easy, cat, bye-bye, hi and the always favorite, diddle-diddle. There are others she has said once but these are the ones we have mastered ;) Currently Sissy is her favorite word. First thing in the morning she runs to Sissy's room (our master bathroom) and stands there and yells, "SISSY, SISSY, SISSY!" It sounds bad to say this but I think it is a blessing that Sissy is deaf and can't hear the craziness.

We start Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) tomorrow. I am so excited. It is going to be a good experience for us both I am sure. Lindsey goes to the nursery and there are programs for the moms. Lindsey has no problems with separation, but Mommy might so we will just hope for the best!

Lindsey's Eye

2008-09-05T10:22:00.002-05:00

Good news! For now, it appears that we are not going to have surgery on Lindsey's eye to open her tear duct! :) Isn't that great?!?!

It seems that our a frustrating experience with the doctors, multiple trips to Temple and several co-pays was all for a reason. As Murphy's Law would have it, when we went to see the new doctor, Lindsey's eye was clearing up. He saw a little inflammation so suggested we go ahead. Well, that was back in July and her eye has been clear ever since! No medicine, no yucky morning eye boogers...just my pretty baby girl smiling up at me.

Our pediatrician says there is no medical way of knowing for sure if it has really opened, but we are taking the chance for now and just saying NO to surgery. Thanks to all of you for your prayers.

Hair Trauma

2008-09-02T17:02:00.004-05:00

For those who know me, they know that I have battled the attack of the grey hairs for many years now. I had a stylist in Houston who was amazing. My higlights were pretty darn natural looking, the cuts were great and the best thing of all was that she was so affordable.

So after going for almost ten months and coming close to looking like the Cousin It from the Addams Family, I embarked on the task of a finding a new hair stylist. It is no easy task. After grilling several friends and family members I settled on someone.

Let me begin by saying that I really liked her, she was fun and spunky. I should have known when she said, "You have really pretty eyes, we just need to do something to bring them out." She recommended full color rather than highlights to give me more coverage. She said it would be really natural and very close to my natural color. Now, I know I had highlights and maybe my natural color was a little hard to detect, but I don't recall ever seeing black in my hair anywhere. Okay, it is not really black, but it is sooo dark I scare myself in the mirror sometimes. Several people say I look much younger, but then I just think, man, did I look that old?

Anywhoo, it is just hair, it will grow out and until then I guess I will just enjoy this new Susanne. :)

Just a Little Behind

2008-07-17T15:22:00.005-05:00

Well, lets see it has only been about four months since my last post. Much has happened in this time and I will have to take some time to put a nice, informative post together complete with fun stories and pictures. For now however, I just wanted everyone to know that we did not fall off the face of the planet.

Some of the most exciting news is that Lindsey turned one! Okay so that happened 2 1/2 months ago. We celebrated with "The Big One" theme and partied with friends and family until we feel asleep in our cake. Well, really, Lindsey is the only one who fell asleep in her cake!

We also purchased a home and after what seemed like months of painting and carpeting and cleaning, we are officially moved in. I still have boxes left to unpack, but it is slowly, slowly getting there. This is the first time I have unpacked with a 14 month old and it definitely adds a new dimension to the project! I will post more on the house later, but Casa Williams is officially open for business and welcomes all visitors!

Thankfully, we are all well. We will have to correct Lindsey's clogged tear duct with surgery so please say a little prayer for her. Although this is considered a "simple procedure" it involves anesthesia and that scares her Mommy a little bit.

One last bit of good news. A dear friend of mine is pregnant! I am so excited for her and so thankful that she is going to be a Mom. There are few people in this world who I can think of that will be a better parent. Say a little prayer for her too that she will begin to feel better and that the arrival of her little bundle of joy arrives safe and sound.

Enough for now. Once I figure out the wireless internet at the house and get back to work on my computer I will post some pictures.

Happy Anniversary!

2008-03-21T00:13:00.007-05:00

Our wedding was many years ago.

The celebration continues to this day.

Gene Perret

Nine years ago I married my best friend. On one hand it seems like yesterday, on the other it feels so long ago. I think about when we first met 15 years ago and I think wow, 15 years, that is such a long time, almost half my life. (Okay, not really but pretty close!) We were babies and such different people. How we have grown and changed. Love seemed so different at 21 than it does now. We have been through so much together ~ changing jobs, moving away from home, losing parents, buying homes. All of the things you have to do as a grown up. I can say it is so much easier to do all of these things with a loving, supportive person standing next to you and sometimes holding you up when you simply can't do it alone.

I thank you John, for being such a fantastic husband, for loving me even on the days when it isn't so easy, for balancing me out and making me realize I don't need to worry if the sun is going to come up ;), for allowing me this time to be home with our daughter, for being a great provider. The list could go on and on, but I will end with this. I love you and can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you.

Grow old with me, the best is yet to be.

Robert Browing

Confessions of a Human Kleenex

2008-03-06T09:22:00.002-06:00

****Warning-This post is graphic and not for the faint of heart****
Over the past ten months, I have been pooped on, peed on, thrown up on, burped on...I think that is it...and you know it is true, these things get to where they don't bother you, I guess some sort of badge of motherhood. ( can you see the merit badges for those things!) I remember the first time I got poop on my hand, how I quickly wiped it off with a baby wipe and ran to to sink to disinfect my hands. Today, it's like, oh there is poop on my hand, I better finish putting this diaper on before Houdini makes another great escape!

I guess it was inevitable that at some point Lindsey would get a cold. It has not been a terrible ordeal by any means, mainly just a cough with a runny nose, but it is the nose that is getting me. Why is there never a kleenex when you need it? It is like a little faucet that won't stop running...and when she sneezes, watch out! I guess everyone has those moments that make them really feel like a mom, getting sneezed on by a baby with a cold is definitely one of those moments.

I know this seems like a silly post and I guess what prompted it was as I was getting ready for bed the other night, our second night of almost no sleep, I looked at my clothes. I had booger residue on both arms of my shirt, across my chest, down each pant leg and yes, even a spot in my hair. I sat on the bed, laughed and thought to myself, it is official I am a Human Kleenex. The great thing is, I wouldn't have it any other way!

Attack of the Flu Bug!

2008-01-22T18:59:00.000-06:00

I guess it had to happen, one of the Williams was bound to catch a bug at some point. I went to Houston to work with my brother-in-law for a couple of days last Thursday. Who would have thought it would be Tuesday and I would still be here. John called me on Friday and told me to stay away because the flu bug had attacked him. He was achy, his head was pounding and he had a really high fever. Thankfully the doctor got him on Tamiflu quickly but it has still been a long process to get him well. His mom has been taking care of him. It is so hard to be away from someone you love when you know they are sick and could use your help. Hopefully, the flu shots Lindsey and I got will help protect us from the nasty bug!

PS - Another good lesson for me to remember, always pack more clothes, diapers, formula, etc than you ever think you could possibly use! :) Thank goodness I am at my sister's house and it is easy to do laundry!

Lessons from 2007

2008-01-08T21:15:00.000-06:00

Out with the old...in with the new! It is so hard for me to believe that we are already in 2008. Remember when we were little and the year 2000 seemed so far away?

2007 was a year full of lessons. Some of them were happy and fun, some of them were miserable and scary. The biggest and best lesson of all has been becoming first time parents. My mom was right when she said there is no greater thing than a mother's love for her child. It is amazing how that happens, all of the sudden, boom, this little life comes in and takes over your world and you fall head over heels in love. I am so thankful that we have been blessed with a baby, but not just any baby, a baby who is really, really happy! Everyday is a learning experience and it just gets better and better.

Hard lessons stink, but they make us stronger. I learned many things this year.

I moved away from my family and friends. Even though you only live 100 miles from them, sometimes it seems like a world away when you just need a friendly smile or a warm hug. (Thank goodness for IM!)

Hearing "You know she is smiling down on you from heaven," falls flat as you are celebrating having children of your own and want to share that joy with your parents.

I learned that women still do get fired for having babies. Hard to believe that still happens in this day and age. I also learned that people you respect and who are supposed to be leaders can turn out to be the biggest liars of all and can hurt you more than you ever expected...if you let them.

I have learned, okay am still learning, to accept help from others. Having watched my mother struggle to take care of us, I learned quickly to be independent and try to make things work on my own to help take the load off of her. I pride myself in not needing to rely on anyone to support me financially. So, this not working, staying home to take care of our daughter has been difficult for my pride. I know this is the most important job I could and will ever have, but it still makes me struggle sometimes. Feeling guilty about wanting to spend any money is a new concept for me, but I will get over that ;)

I guess if you read those four things above you might think I am complaining or unhappy. What is weird is that I am happier than I have ever been. I think the struggles of the past year are just making me stronger and preparing for whatever is in store for us this coming year. Each night when I say my prayers I thank God for all of the wonderful blessings he has given me and I want all of you to know that I count you among them!

Lindsey's First Christmas

2008-01-07T22:20:00.000-06:00

Okay, so we are only what a little over 2 weeks over due with our Christmas wrap-up. Oh what fun we had on Christmas! Honestly I have no real clue of how Lindsey enjoyed her first Christmas, but she did look like she was having bunches of fun. I can say for certain that John and I had a blast. Now with a little one, the anticipation of Santa is so much fun again.

We traveled to Rosenberg on Sunday to spend the holiday with my sister and her family. John was off on Christmas Eve for the first time since we have been married. It was so nice to have a leisurely day rather than hustling around trying to finish everything. We went to the Christmas Eve Vigil mass in East Bernard which is where my brother-in-law was born and raised. Holy Cross is a beautiful little church and every year they put on the Christmas pageant. The school children act out Mary and Joseph's journey and the pageant ends with everyone singing Happy Birtday to Jesus. It really is uplifting.

We went back to opening gifts on Christmas morning. I know it makes things hectic, but I really do enjoy it more. Lindsey woke up to the delightful surprise of finding out that Santa had left her a musical rocking lion to match her nursery gear, a musical walker type thing that can help her continue her path to brilliance ;) and last but not least, she got a fantastic tri-cycle. She is still a little small for the tri-cycle, but it is something she can grow into and will be perfect for when we build our house. I do have to say that Santa left quite a mess on the carpet with sooty footprints everywhere. I will have to ask him to wipe his feet next year. After the festivities at my sister's, we headed over to my cousin's house to spend the day with my Mom's family.

I did finish Lindsey's stocking. After a few late nights, early mornings, sewing in the truck all the way to Rosenberg and one last minute visit to my Aunt's house (thanks Aunt Veta and Cindy!) the stocking was complete on December 24. Whew!

Our First Trip to Santa

2007-12-11T21:15:00.001-06:00

Tonight was the night we have been waiting for. Okay, tonight was the night that I have been waiting for! We went to visit Santa for the very first time.

It was classic. Lindsey was so happy, smiling for the crowd, giggling for everyone. Then, it was our turn. She did fine on Santa's lap...for a little while. She was interested in him. I think she liked his beard at first. And let me say, he was a fantastic looking Santa! Then all of the adults spring to action, the rattles come out, the trusty frog toy, we are pat-a-caking like mad. She just sits there! My daughter never just sits there. Then it starts, the lip starts to quiver, she starts to turn red (definitely my daughter), and Houston, we have tears. We did up end up with a pretty good shot if I do say so myself. All in all, it was still a fun experience and a tradition that we hope to continue. Just the picture part that is, not the tears!

The little plaid dress in the Santa and family shot is from MiMi Betty. The other dress is one I picked out in honor of my little 94 year old friend, Velasta. She wanted to buy her a dress but wasn't able to go and pick one out. The shoes are really special and have a sweet story behind them too. My sweet Princess Marti sent Lindsey those shoes. They are Italian leather and even have a little arch support in them. The best news is they are a little big so she can wear them again and again.

Catching Up

2007-12-08T21:59:00.000-06:00

Much had happened in the past few weeks. John was off this week. We had such a fun time being together as a little family. Monday we set off for Nacogdoches to see Uncle Bo Bo and Aunt MaryAnn. Although not related by blood, Aunt MaryAnn and Uncle Bo are part of our family. They met Lonnie and Betty long ago when both couples were young and recently married. They are like a second set of parents to John so naturally that would make them honorary grandparents for little Lindsey. We had a really nice time visiting with them. John and Uncle Bo went out on Lake Nacogdoches and Aunt MaryAnn and I stayed at the house and visited. I can't forget to mention Little Bitty, their adorable rat terrier. (I think she is much like Sissy, please don't tell her she's a dog!)

We are still on second foods. She has tried peas, carrots, green beans, peaches, pears, applesauce, bananas, apple vanilla granola and her all-time favorite...Sweet Potatoes! We usually aren't this messy, but Lindsey was really trying to feed herself tonight. It is bath night anyway so I decided to let her try a little on her own.

Lindsey continues to amaze me daily. Her smiles, her laughs, the soft little baby sighs she makes as she is drifting off to sleep. Have I mentioned lately that I am the luckiest person in the world!

There is much more I could post but I better get busy. Time to go splash in the water!

And, She's Off!

2007-12-08T21:49:00.000-06:00

Last Sunday, we reached another milestone. Lindsey is officially crawling! She had been taking a few wobbly crawls here and there, but Sunday she was off to the races. I of course was not home as I had gone with MiMi Betty to the Dillards Private Sale. (If you ever get a chance to do this, you must go! It is so much fun...food, discounts, free gift wrapping. Special thanks to MiMi Betty for taking me) Anyway, John called me in the middle of the event to tell me all about it. As I walked in the door, there she was crawling around the living room. It is so exciting and a little bit scary. Another exciting new thing we can due is pull up on all of the furniture. Time to pick up all of the glass in her reach. Poor MiMi Betty's house may never be the same!

Way To Go Ags!

2007-11-23T23:03:00.000-06:00

What an exciting game! The Texas Aggies beat the T-sips 38 - 30 at Kyle Field. This was the kind of football I remember from when I was a student here. The players seemed to have such an energy and drive. It made me wish I was actually at the game.

The big news of course was the resignation of Coach Fran, something that most everyone was expecting. I felt bad that this overshadowed the game. Coach Fran did not look really happy during the press conference. It will be interesting to see where he lands. I am hopeful that we get a coach who will bring the old Wrecking Crew spirit back to life. WHOOP!!!!

Lindsey's First Thanksgiving

2007-11-23T12:37:00.000-06:00

This year, we stayed in Bryan for the holiday. We joined Betty's good friend Rose for Thanksgiving lunch at Briarcrest. It was a wonderful buffet complete with shrimp, turkey and dressing and prime rib. Yummo! Lindsey did very well. I heard a baby screaming in the other room and I was so thankful it wasn't her.

This was a new experience for me this year. We usually are with my family for Thanksgiving with everyone bringing their specialties to someone's house. The day usually concludes with some game playing and some grazing on the leftovers. It was different to dress up and go somewhere. That is what life is all about though, new experiences. It was fun and it was nice to be with John's family and friends. Although I do really miss having leftovers! I see a turkey in my future.

A note for those who heard my oven rants the other day, I wasn't crazy. The oven registers 50 degrees hotter than it actually is! So my baking abilities didn't fly out the window when I moved here!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-21T17:28:00.000-06:00

What a wonderful day we are preparing to celebrate! I love Thanksgiving! How can we not be thankful for all of the wonderful things in our lives. I am so blessed and so thankful. I have a fantastic family, especially our new little addition who will be celebrating her first Thanksgiving. I have friends who really care about me and constantly lift me up. I have a roof over my head, clothes to wear, food to eat. What else is there? This year has been full of lessons for me, but one thing I have really learned is that even though I may not understand something and I may think that something is not supposed to be happening, it is all part of the plan. It is all for a reason. So as we all prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving in our own way, I just wanted each of you to know that I appreciate you and am thankful that you are in our lives! Love to all!

Trying to be Crafty

2007-11-08T21:19:00.000-06:00

Lindsey is now ready to sit in a high chair! My cousins Tom and Nelda loaned us Tom's high chair from when he was a baby. (I think I know how old it is, but I won't tell on Tom!) It is a beautiful, wooden high chair. Once Lindsey is a bit older she will be able to use it as a play area as the top part disconnects and it makes into a cute little desk type thing. I mean you don't seem to see things like this anymore. Everything today is made of plastic and has a built in cushion. Well, wood is hard and pretty slippery so I decided we needed a cushion for the chair. Good luck finding anything like that. I tried Babies R Us, Target, Wal-Mart. I even bought a chair cushion but it was way too big. So my Aunt Veta suggested going to JoAnne's and buying a piece of foam. What a great idea and something that hadn't even crossed my mind. So I bought the foam, but that really wasn't good enough. It really needed to be cute and girly. So, I also bought some fabric and ribbon. Now mind you the extent of my sewing abilities starts and ends with sewing on buttons. As I was trying to figure out what to do with all of this I was really wishing that Aunt Veta or my super crafty friend Mimi would magically appear. Below you will see the before and after pictures. Have yourself a good laugh! The good news is this is for short term use. The bad news is that my next project is making a Christmas stocking for Lindsey. My mom handmade stockings for all of us from felt and sequins. Wish me luck!

The Williams' Pumpkin Patch

2007-11-05T16:45:00.000-06:00

Okay, so we are only a week behind with our pumpkin patch pictures. The day before Halloween, John and I set out to take Lindsey's photos at our local pumpkin patch. We arrived, the proud parents, child and costume in hand. The man looked at me funny as I inquired about the pumpkin patch. I was met with a look like I was a complete idiot. How was I supposed to know they took the pumpkin patch apart the day before Halloween?

Slightly disappointed, but not defeated we left. I knew what I had to do. I would make my own pumpkin patch! I headed to Wal-Mart and bought a few pumpkins and some indian corn. We all know that I am not that artistic or creative, but I did the best I could. Then it was time for photos, a difficult task with just me and Lindsey. MiMi Betty arrived in the middle so she was able to assist with some of the photos.

Could It Be...My Daughter is a Bow Head?

2007-11-02T16:35:00.000-05:00

Since John and I decided not to find out what our bundle of joy would be before the big arrival, we did not have many froo-froo (sp) things as I call them. I purchased one outfit with a small bow and wasn't really crazy about it. Well, I think I may be hooked now. Honorary Grandpa Ray's sister Joanne found these fantastic bows and Lindsey doesn't get mad when I put them on her head. I can't resist slipping one on her now, they are so cute. Here are a few pics to hopefully brighten your Friday.

My Dog Has What?

2007-11-01T22:58:00.000-05:00

Today was a traumatic day here in the Williams' household. Everything is okay, but let's just say we had another "episode" with our little Sissy. Today as I was replanting an ivy, (Yes, you did see correctly, Susanne Williams was working with a living plant) Sissy just started heaving and wheezing and coughing. It was terrible, I thought she was having a heart attack! So I quickly gathered our belongings, had MiMi Betty watch Lindsey and we were out the door to the vet. Of course, as soon as we walk in the door to the vet she stops. So for almost two hours we are investigating, doing x-rays, bloodwork. At one point the vet and I are trying to replicate the sound. Two grown women making honking, coughing sounds, "So, did it sound like this? ACHHKKCCCAAA. No, I think it was more like a UKKKCCHHAA." Anyway, after exhausting all of our coughing sounds, Sissy finally does it again. The vet looks up, smiles slightly and says, "That is a reverse sneeze." A reverse what??? You're telling me that dogs reverse sneeze?? A sneeze caused this panic. Honestly, I was happy with the diagnosis since momets before we thought she was near death given her history and I was crying in the office. Anyway, two hours and $300 later we had an answer and Sissy happily left the vet's office wagging her tail.

I Want to Be Like Mike!

2007-10-26T21:06:00.000-05:00

For those of you who know Mike, all you need to do is look at the pictures! I have waited for so long to put Lindsey in these pants. MiMi Betty watched Lindsey for a few hours and when I came back guess what she was wearing? Why her Mike Leake pants of course! Trying to find something to coordinate with the pants is proving to be a bit challenging. They are still a little big, but she looks pretty darn cute if I do say so myself. She is ready to go to the golf course with Dad.

Lindsey's First Family Reunion

2007-10-24T19:32:00.000-05:00

Every year for the past 30 years, my mother's family, The Bono's, have gathered to celebrate being a family. What a wonderful tradition that those before us started! This year was Lindsey's first reunion. She appeared to have a wonderful time. She handled being passed around from family member to family member quite well. I always say I am going to take more pictures and I never do. I am too busy eating or talking.

Attack of the Boll Weevils

2007-10-18T22:10:00.000-05:00

For the past few weeks I have been working with my brother-in-law at his shop. We are located in an industrial office park in the country with several other businesses. Everyday about 4:30 I see this army of trucks returning to the office. I am talking like 50 - 100 trucks! I finally realized what these trucks were. They are part of the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Program. What the heck is a Boll Weevil exactly and why do we have such a problem? Do other states have an overrun of Boll Weevils? Where were the Weevil Eradicators when I had a problem with a tainted bag of pasta full of Weevils at my house? I realize this is a crazy post, I just can't help but laugh when I see this steady stream of trucks coming in for the day after a long day of eradicating the Boll Weevils.

A Joyous Day - Lindsey's Baptism

2007-10-16T12:18:00.000-05:00

We baptized our baby girl on Sunday. It is hard to put into words what a joyous day it was. Being a mom has brought out so many new emotions in me.

We had a nice crowd turn out for the big event. Rosemary and Robert (my sister and brother-in-law) are Lindsey's Godparents. Their kids Robert Jr., Richard and Robin were all there. Also in attendance were MiMi Williams (I have to clarify because to me, there is only one Mimi!), honorary Grandpa Ray, Aunt Veta, Uncle Rob, and cousins Tom, Nelda, Nancy and Maggie.

After the baptism we all headed to Another Time Soda Fountain for an afternoon of Build Your Own Burgers and Sundaes. Yummy!

A special note about the baptism gown: My Grandmother Bono made this dress by hand 52 years ago. All of my generation and all of our children have been baptized in this dress. That is lots of little babies! The detail work in the dress is amazing, hard for me believe someone did that by hand!

I am guessing I should keep this short rather than write a novel so I will stop. Can you tell I am a new blogger?

Our First Post!

2007-10-16T12:07:00.000-05:00

Okay, well here I am in Blogland. I finally gave in to peer pressure and created our blog! I am actually pretty excited about it. I am going to work on our Baptism post now :)