Expanding

For the record, I am not talking about the size of my stomach even though the words huge and ginormous could apply to it as well. We just completed, with the help of a local fence builder, an expansion of our backyard. When we moved in we always said at some point we would put up a new fence as a safety precaution. Our house backs up to an alley that people seem to think is an interstate with the corresponding 65 mph speed limit.


A not so good shot of the before from last summer--it does show how the yard was divided though

The new backyard--we (meaning Jeremy of course) still have to remove the old sidewalk that ran alongside the chain link fence. The new sandbox will be here Friday and sometime in the next 6 weeks we will have the swingset. No, it isn't that grand of a set, there is just going to be a slight delay in construction since the job foreman will be busy elsewhere.

On the other side of the house we pulled the fence out to the edge of the house instead of where it was located.


another shot of the fence

A Little Dirt Never Hurts

Hutch had the best time playing in the dirt a few nights ago. He had to be bathed immediately upon entering the house and even had dirt in his ears.

Happy Valentimes Day

Hutch Update

Since I have been so chatty this month I thought I would add one more update. This one is all about the Hutch man. Lately he has been a trip to be around. He is attempting to talk more with the occasional "Hi, Bye, Coco, Finny, TeeTee" and a LOT of "Mama and Dadda". He is officially walking although in some instances he still prefers crawling. He can climb on the ottoman and the bottom bunk of the girls' bed. He has developed an intense desire to self-feed especially when he can use a spoon.



He still gets a bottle before bedtime but I think we will end that soon. He needs to get a little more used to his cups before we totally cut it out. Besides, it really helps to knock him out for bedtime.



He still gets into a mess of trouble on a daily basis. Throwing things into the trash can, sinking toys in the dog's water bowl, and rearranging my bathroom cabinet are some of his favorite activities. When he isn't doing one of those, he likes to make noise and play with cars and blocks.

So Uninspired

I am not sure what my problem is but boy have the days been long. It seems like every day is get in the car get out the car eat get in the car get out of the car eat wash rinse repeat. There has been very little going on that is picture worthy and other than photographing stacks of clothes, my camera has stayed mostly in my bag. I do have a couple of pics though and then a few more words to add.

This is from 2 weeks ago at 23 weeks. As you can see I have quite the belly already and, according to the doctor, I am measuring 2.5 weeks ahead of where I am supposed to be. I know that the tape measure isn't always accurate but yikes. I really really hope that when I go back in a couple of weeks things are as they should be and not larger. Maybe I should lay off the cookies and Sonic until then. Well, after today of course.

Chloe modeling an outfit for me before MDO. We had a head to toe ensemble going until she demanded to wear her awesome pink boots. They go with another head to toe cuteness overload outfit we have, with which she will only wear her crocs. I love her independent fashion sense. And really, does it matter if red and green Christmas socks with polar bears are teamed up with Matilda Jane on Sundays before church? Not in the least.

And when we haven't been busy with school and dance, we have been showing our Upward Spirit and cheering on the teams playing basketball.

Maybe in February I will have tons of pictures to post and wonderful stories to tell, but until then this will have to do.

Toy Story III Movie Night

The girls received this movie for Christmas and I wanted our first in-home viewing to be special. So I pulled together a few special snacks for us and turned it on.


deputy star cookies


planet Zerg cookies


rexy chicken nuggets


hamm pigs in a blanket


self explanatory

Finley was so impressed and excited about it that she drew this picture in school this week. It's Andy playing with his toys-- Buzz, Bullseye, Woody, Jessie, and Rex.

There is this boy

Now I know it has been ages and ages since I graced the halls of dear old Cowart and AMS. Those are the schools that are intertwined with my first memories of him. My alma mater, AHS, was where most of my favorite memories happened. And for the last few days I have been there again. I see the lockers and the library with Mrs. Greer standing watch. The cafeteria and the Sun-Drop machine that always had the longest line. I really miss that thing. Even more than that I miss the feeling of invincibility I had. Sure bad stuff happened to my family and even to those who walked the halls with us. But those 4 years, however tough, never stole my feeling of being able to do it all, to fix whatever went wrong. I was pretty dumb. I can't fix something that stinks and it isn't Hutch's latest diaper. That I have covered. It is my old friend Will. He and I lost touch over the years as I got away from Athens one city at at a time. I think I last saw him in Tuscaloosa walking across the campus of Alabama. Since I haven't lived in Athens in a long time, I don't know Will now. I haven't run into him at Wal-Mart or seen him at church. I don't think I have ever met his wife. In fact, I didn't even know he was married until la couple of years ago. That is just what happens I guess but it doesn't change the fact that Will, along with many others, were a big part of my past. AHS wouldn't have been the same without his smiling face. I can see him strolling through the halls in a football jersey before games. We didn't always share classes and we didn't hang out on the weekends. What we did do was laugh and joke our way through accounting. We had some crazy wild fun in Mrs. Wills class with Scott, Donna, Cory, Kim, David, and Oliver. If you were in a bad mood and around Will for any length of time, the bad mood wouldn't last. There are people who leave an impact on you and for me Will is one of those people. When I first found out he was sick, I mailed him a card and a little package. Inside was a pack of mechanical pencils. Now, most people would find that to be a ridiculous gift for someone battling cancer but it was important to me. You see, for as long as I can remember Will always carried the same type of pencil. It was yellow with a pink eraser and a tan tip. His parents must have bought them by the case. Every single time I would see a pack of pencils hanging in a store, I would think of Will and wonder how life was treating him. It didn't matter that ten and now more than fifteen years have passed since I have seen him use one, those are Will to me. And I wanted him to know that he had mattered to me. I wasn't lucky enough to be able to really help with fundraisers or the kickball tournament, but he had my prayers every day. I followed the updates and hoped for a miracle. It seems now that he got that miracle early this morning when he reached Heaven. He deserves nothing less. Willpower!


I have been working on this post for days unsure if I wanted to post it or not. Today is the day many of the same people who were with me in the halls of AHS will gather to say one last see you later to Will. How I wish I could be there. I am pretty certain that today is going to be something special to behold. That's the way it just has to be, because it's Will Haney after all.