It's ME!!!!!

I don't even remember the last time I blog, I think close to two months ago. I've just been busy and involved with things. What can I say, my world hasn't changed any, I still live in a zoo. I'm talking all we need is a lion and we would have one. We have the tigers, they are all over the house. We have the clowns, Allyssa and Jimmy (my 72 year old cousin) have decided to become and duet duo. They like to sit in the kitchen while they are eating and sing the song by Barney (the purple dinosaur) I love you, you love me. It probably wouldn't be so bad if they didn't try to see who could sing the loudest.
Then there is mother..... before it's over the the people at the bank are going to think I'm nuts. She told me on Friday that she didn't have any checks and she knows she ordered some. Not that she goes to the bank to do these things. I knew that she had been charged for a box of checks and so when I went by the bank on Saturday I said something to the lady and she told me she would check on it first thing Monday. She calls today and mother answers the phone and told her she didn't know what she was talking that she had a box of checks. When she hung up I asked her where the checks were and she said in her drawer and sure enough there was the box of checks that she claimed never came. (I now have the box of checks)... I told her today I was going to go to Silver Spoon and pick up some chicken salad for lunch. I pick my purse up and start out the door and she says while you are out running around why don't you get us something for lunch. I told her sure I'd be glad to......(at least she ate some when I brought it back home) more than I can say for the barbeque chicken from last week that she had me cook.
Oh well, that's about it from my little corner of the world.
I did have some rooms painted and mother says I like white.... well tough because they are now truepenny (burnt orange).....you would think that Longhorn fan would have liked that..

Zach

I can't take credit for this blog, it was written by Lesli about her cousin....


I got a call at 5:30 Saturday morning from my mother. Everyone has a mental time frame of when their family can call to chat and when they call and you know something has to be terribly wrong. This was one of those times and in the split second that it took to register that my phone was ringing I tried to mentally prepare myself for what I was going to hear. I assumed that my Gram had taken a turn for the worse...I never imagined it would be my 21 year old cousin. After, what we believe to be an accidental overdose while spending time with friends, Zach was clinging to life through machines at a Nashville hospital.
I was the closest family member in proximity and there was no question that I should be the one to go, so I hurried around in a state of shock to shower, eat breakfast, pack a small bag and get on the road. For 3 hours I rode in my car going over the details in my head. Holy crap, what the heck has just happened? I felt stunned and numb except for the pit in my stomach and prayed for a miracle that only our God could make happen.
When I arrived I was embraced by my aunt who reassured me that he was fighting. Of course he was fighting, fighting was his job. Zach was a solider and he had spent time in Iraq, jumped out of airplanes and studied at West Point. These thoughts flooded my brain and as I watched him in the hospital bed I kept secretly thinking wake up, wake up, please please wake up. It would have been just like Zach to wake up, look around and crack a joke about being late to the party.
Zach never did wake up & our hearts are all broken on so many levels. I was thinking on the way home, and it's hard to swallow, that our family will never be the same and there will always be a void. Zach and I had a special bond {Justin & I were married on his birthday} & I am grateful for our memories. I keep thinking fondly back to the time that Zach came and stayed 2 weeks with me while I was in Austin. We ate lots of Chick-fil-A and watched hours of Laguna Beach. I laugh thinking of his impersonation of Kristin Cavillari. "SteeePHEN"
As a family of Christ followers, the Lord has affirmed to us that Zach is with Jesus in heaven and that brings a calming peace that gets us through the moments of questioning and the stunned disbelief. It was Zach's wish to be an organ donor, so his organs will go first to help any solider in need and then Nashville, TN and beyond. It is my prayer that the 20-50 people that will benefit from this special gift will live their life with the vitality, fearlessness & gusto that Zach approached every situation he encountered in his life.


Natalie Grant's lyrics keep playing in my head & now I fully get their meaning ~ Held
This is what it means to be held
How it feels, when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive
This is what it is to be loved and to know
That the promise was when everything fell
We'd be held

TGIFT

I was sitting here thinking I really need to update the blog, but couldn't decide what to talk about. All I have thought about for the last week is Thank God It's Football Time. I love football, it's been apart of my life since I was 8 months old. My parents started taking me to Texas High games at that age. I've been a fan ever since then. It's been a good weekend, THS won, Dallas Cowboys won, Baylor won, and Texas is up 51-10 in the 4th so I'm sure they will pull this one out. I brought my kids up on football, Lesli started going at 5 months and loves it as much as I do. Like me she loves College Gameday and pretty much plans her Saturdays on who is playing and when.... it isn't a good idea to join this family if you don't love the sport. There are some that have discovered this through the years. They have tried to change things but have never succeeded.
My mom went to the hospital on Monday with a bladder infection. Her doctor came in her room on Wednesday and told her she could go home and she would see her at the ballgame on Friday night. Obviously, everyone knows how much this family loves football, and don't even think about trying to change us....

Sometime during my youth and childhood I must have done something really bad.. As I sit here writing this my mom has just put on a second load of clothes with only 5 items in it. I'm not sure why she is so obssessed with running the washing machine. I change the dog's food to can today and everytime I've walked in the kitchen I've noticed that the dog has dry food in her bowl. Either Dusty is filling her own bowl up or mother can't handle the dog bowl being empty. Last night we went to the THS ballgame and she fussed all the way there, it doesn't matter about what but everyone in the car was in a bad mood by the time we got to the stadium. I made her ride the elevator to the platform in front of the pressbox and sit up there. She kept saying that she couldn't see, I'm not sure why since it's like having a luxury box above everyone else's head. You aren't crowded you have a comfortable seat to sit in and if you need a bathroom and anything else you just walk in the pressbox. Did I mention she has her own parking space right at the gate where the elevator is located. She fussed all the way home because I wouldn't turn the lights on bright because she couldn't see. I finally said mother I can see fine, it doesn't matter if you can't see, you aren't driving. Once again, she told me that she wished they had shot her when they made her quit driving. They did this in 2005, and I have heard that everyday since then. I'm about to have that arrange (for someone to shoot her).... Oh well, she's gone to bed so there is peace and quite then we will start over tomorrow. Maybe things will be different tomorrow, after all tomorrow is another day.......

Are you ready for some football...

What a beautiful morning it was today, low 60's, just perfect for football.. I took mother to the coach's chat for lunch, so she could get all the info on the team this year. She was more interested in who all was there than what will be going on on the field come Friday night. She is so determined to once again climb 16 rows to her seat, I'm praying come Friday night she will decide to ride the elevator and sit on the platform in front of the press box. Who in there right mind would want to have to climb that many rows and sit crowded when you could have what is like a luxury box. They have even told her she could get food out of the press box if she wanted it. I think it's the fact that she wants to be seen so everyone will know she's still making it to the games starting her 63rd year. Her eyesight and hearing are going, but she will be there on Friday night still fussing at the referees on the bad call they made, even if she didn't really see it. Hope everyone has a great season and all the players stay healthy. As for me I'm ready for College Game Day, I love that show....and college football. Let's go LONGHORNS!!!!!

What A Blessing...

For those growing up in Texarkana, sometime during your life you would have met a man named Dr. William E. Shields, fondly known to many of us as Doc. This man was a fabulous surgeon by trade, but more importantly he was a devoted Christian who served his Lord. Those of us that grew up at First Baptist Church, he was always a part of our lives. We spent hours in his home and many miles traveling the USA going on mission trips. We have listened to him sing in the choir, in the Seven Last Words, and many more things. He turned 90 years old yesterday and he sang in church this morning. The tenor voice is starting to fade but he still blessed everyone that heard him sing "Amazing Grace" in our morning service. His body is crippled now but he is still praising his Savior. When he got up to sing I looked at the girl next to me and asked if she had a kleenex because I knew the tears were going to flow. As they did, a flood of memories washed over me. Not only did this man save my life when I was 15 from appendicitus he taught me what missions was all about. Thank you Doc, for being a part of my life.

Old Friends Are Best

It's been a rough couple of weeks around here so I haven't posted anything because you probably wouldn't need to read anything that I would have to say about my life. This week I've had trouble with my blood pressure (more than likely Jamie's fault). For some reason he thinks he's on vacation and doesn't like how the hotel is treating him so he calls me and complains.....
Anyway, I was sitting here today reading and the phone rang and this sweet male voice said what are you doing. At first I thought, yeah an obscene phone call, but then I realized I recognized it just as he said his name. It was a precious friend from high school that I had not seen in nearly 40 years. He was in town and wanted to stop by, it didn't matter to him that it was one of those days that I didn't bother to put make-up on. We had a wonderful visit, he was thrilled to see mother. Our parents were friends so we were more like brother and sister than anything else. We talked old times and what had been going on his world. He's lost both parents, I remember his mom was one of the most beautiful women I knew and his dad was a hoot to be around. They both had so much class and it rubbed off him. He will be back in a few weeks for his 40th class reunion, which I'm going to crash. Yes, he's married, but I can't wait to see him again. Love ya Dudley!!!