Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Two years ago today my life was turned upside down. Two years ago today my mother died. Since 6:00 pm last night, I have relived every single moment of my last days with her. I know I shouldn't do that to myself, but in a way it helps. It's amazing to me how I can recall details like it was yesterday. I remember what I was wearing, what I ate, what I said to her when I left the hospital that night. I remember packing her bags for the hospital thinking she'll need something comfortable but presentable because she'll have visitors. When I cry, sometimes I cry because I am so jealous that she is in Heaven with our Lord praising him like I know she always wanted to. Sometimes I cry because I am so sad that my children are not going to know her. Bexley got to meet her but he was barely a year old when she died; he'll never remember how much she loved him, and as much I tell him, he'll never understand how special he was to her. Most of the time I cry because I just miss her so much. I miss calling her with recipe questions, with medical questions or with parenting questions. No matter what, she was always right. I miss her hands, her smile and her skin. I miss the way she smelled of latex gloves when she came home from work or of onions after cooking dinner. I especially miss the way she would laugh until she wet her pants!! Words can never express how special my mother was and that's what I'm most afraid of. I will not ever be able to share with my children how special she was. She was not only the best mother, but the best wife and I can only dream of being the kind of wife to my husband that she was to my dad. Most people knew my mother as a nurse and a wonderful nurse she was. She was an even better mom. I miss her more and more everyday. She was my biggest fan and the best role model I ever had. Now I have comfort knowing that she is now my Guardian Angel. I love you, Mom.

Friday, January 8, 2010

What A Christmas

Well this year was probably one of the most memorable Christmases EVER! Brye and I decided last year that Santa would be coming to our house from now on instead of Grandparents. It was very hard for me to make that adjustment given that the rest of my sisters would be at my dad's for Christmas morning. Our plan this year was to wake up Christmas morning, have our family Christmas then drive to Childress for Christmas with my family. Due to Brye's work schedule we were not going to be able to make it all the way up to Canyon this year, so Brye's parents decided to come to McKinney to spend Christmas here with us! They arrived on Wednesday afternoon and Jo and I made Christmas candy together and got to do some last minute shopping. Christmas Eve day it began to snow some. It rained a bit first then a few flurries came here and there. We again had some errands to run so about 1:00 pm while we were out and about my sister Julie sent me a text. She and her family had set out for Childress around noon that day. Her text stated they had to pull over and ditch the luggage rack from on top of the car due to the blizzard. They were packed full! She said they were only about an hour away!! The snow started to get thicker here and only about 30 minutes later Jodi called. The highway to Childress was now shut down. She and her family who were also on their way to Childress were just entering Dallas. They have a six month old and didn't want to risk it by continuing on and were too far to turn back around. She asked if they could stay with us tonight. Of course! I wouldn't have it any other way. Julie and her family were now stuck on the highway somewhere between Decatur and Wichita Falls. Every now and then we would get a text from her, they haven't moved, they had moved at maybe 5 miles an hour. The snow here was really starting to come down. Jodi and her family got to our house around 3:00 pm. Julie had still not budged on the road. At 5:28 pm Julie's text said they still had not moved at all. It was beginning to get dark and now we were worried. Brian passed around a 12 pack of Coke to other stranded passengers on the road. Throughout the evening still no movement. I have never felt so hopeless. All I wanted to do was go and get them or take them some coffee or hot cocoa, but nothing could be done. Semi trucks were jack-knifed and blocking any flow of traffic. Rescue crews could not get to them and snow plows were getting stuck as well. At one point Julie stated they reached the Jolly truck stop which was only about 15 miles from Wichita Falls. They were stopping to rest, bathroom, etc, but as soon as they pulled in all the power went out. There were stranded people everywhere; out of gas! Finally around 11:00 pm Brye read online that the military was going to send 10 HumV's out to help. It had only been 12 hours!! We had to go to bed and no sleep was to be had. The worry of my sister and her babies out in the middle of no where was too much. We awoke, or got out of bed rather, around 7:00 am and I had a voicemail from Brian's sister from 3:30 am stating Brian and Julie's cell phones were dead and she was trying to reach my dad to let him know. I called her immediately and asked what was going on. She said they reached a Wichita Falls around 3:00 am and by the grace of God found a hotel room and stayed the night. I just broke down in tears. They were safe and warm! I called my dad and told him the news and he too just cried. It was a feeling of relief I have never felt before. I've never in my life been so worried and helpless and hope to never experience it again.
The snow here was beautiful and we had a great White Christmas morning. Santa brought presents for the boys and filled stockings for the girls as well. He took their big presents to Childress ;). We spoke to Julie and she informed us that Santa came to the hotel!! The Highway Department was still reporting road closures around Wichita Falls so we took our time getting ready to leave. Julie and Brian set out around 10 am for Childress from WF. We headed out around noon. We were cruising pretty well until we reached Bowie, then all the sudden the roads became nothing but ice! It was horrible. Traffic slowed to a crawl of about 5 to 10 mph, stopping every now and then. I began counting cars on the side of the road. It was an amazing sight. There were even cars that I assume had run out of gas just sitting in the middle of the road. We reached Wichita Falls and the bridge to enter was at a stand still. Jodi was a bit ahead of us and said to take the 287 loop around the city so we did. The roads on the other side of Wichita Falls were not much better. We finally reached Electra and as quickly as the road became icy, it became clear. Our normal four hour drive to Childress was already at 4 hours and we were still 1 1/2 hours away. We finally made it to Childress around 7:00 pm. Julie and Brian got there around 4:00. It was such a relief to be home. Brye and I had questioned if it was worth it but I couldn't imagine not being there with the rest of my family so yes, it was worth it! The rest of our weekend was great. We had good food, great quality time with everyone and the cousins had a blast together. Needless to say, the drive home went by very fast!! However, when we approached DFW Bexley started to notice the snow had melted and he himself had a meltdown. We scraped together the snow that was left on the ground and made a tiny little snowman! He loved it.
Oh and the final stranded tally?
Cars: 195 (and I am not kidding!)
Semis: 35
Snowplows: 1
Dropped trailers: 3
Snowmen: 2





























Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Bexley's 3!!!

My little Bexley is now three years old. It has gone by so fast and I am loving this age. Bex is such a talker and can really carry on a good conversation. I so wish I would write down some of the things he says so I'll never forget. One of my favorites that I can think of right now is if I get upset with him and raise my voice or punish him in any way, he'll simply ask, "Momma, you happy?" If I say no, he'll respond with, "hugs make us happy" and give me the biggest hug ever. Sometimes, I tell him I'm not happy just to get a great big hug. He is absolutely amazing and LOVES his momma. He loves his daddy, too, don't get me wrong, but man is he attached to me. He is still attending school two days a week and recently had his Thanksgiving program. Needless to say, he did not actually participate besides standing where he was supposed to and staring at the crowd. A little stage fright never hurt anyone, just ask Barbara Striesand. My dad, Poppa, was able to come down for Bex's birthday this year which was a lot of fun. Matt and Tanya and Bentley also got to be here. We had a pancake breakfast and everyone got to make their own pancakes. We had chocolate chips, cinnamon apples, blueberries, and bananas. They turned out really good. Grandpa and JoJo didn't make it this year but came for Thanksgiving the following weekend so he got to open more presents!! We splurged on the little guy this year and finally got him that four-wheeler he'd been wanting. We had promised it to him for successfully potty training but when your birthday is two months away, I had to hold off. He has enjoyed his four-wheeler a lot, but now that the weather is getting pretty cold, it's been parked in the garage for a while.
Bex is becoming such a good big brother too. He and Beau are now taking baths together and Bexley asks almost every night if Beau can sleep with him. Not too much longer, Buddy and he can. I can't imagine my life without my Bex. He makes me laugh and has taught me so much about patience and parenting :) Love you as big as the sky Buddy!!

Halloween; better late than never

So once again, another update. At least its something, huh? Let's see, my last post was October 28th so that means I am behind by 4 holidays and a birthday! How am I ever going to catch up. First things first; Halloween. Not much to say really. We trick or treated with Julie, Jordan and Case in our neighborhood this year, which was a lot of fun. The weather was great, the kids had too much candy and the dad's, well, they got to stay home and pass out candy. In addition to Halloween night, we also attended Fall Festival at the country club with the Palmers. Bex and Korbin had a blast hula hooping, getting faces painted and in the bounce house. The Haunted House was not so fun. Here are a few pictures, but most can be found on facebook.