We miss Daddy!

This week I have been on my own as D. has been in Augusta working. He left Monday and will come home tonight. It sure has made me appreciate single mothers and those moms whose husbands travel a lot. I have enjoyed staying up a little later (D.'s a night owl) and not being awakened early early in the morning, but I have missed those things too. I know the kids will be so excited to see him tonight, as I sure will. It's a good reminder that absence makes the heart grow fonder!

We have managed to keep busy though. On Monday my friend Jill and her son Jameson came over and we had a slumber party! The boys had a great time playing the Wii mostly, and Jill and I were able to have girl time just vegging out.

We've been up to the usual other than that. School, church, meetings, shopping, etc. Trying to get Mallory to drink coconut milk or soy milk or goat's milk. She just doesn't like them. So say a prayer that she takes to something soon.

I have been able to scrap quite a bit lately and that has made me happy. These are a few of my latest layouts. Today I am going to start working on a Valentine garland. I'll post pics when it's finished!

Sad Goodbye

I am sad today. I don't want to turn this into a political rant (because I most certainly could), but I am so sad that we are saying goodbye today to one of my favorite presidents, George W. Bush and his beautiful wife Laura. I have been so thankful for the way they have led our country with such dignity and integrity. I am thankful for the way that President Bush has relied on his faith to guide him through such difficult times. I am thankful for the fact that our First Lady has stood up for women and girls around the world, and been such a support for our President. She is the epitome of elegance and grace. So, as we move into a different direction I just wanted to publicly thank President Bush and First Lady Laura for their service to our country. I wish we could have 8 more years with them.

However, having said all that, this is a good test of my faith and a reminder that my trust must be in our Lord Jesus and not in our political leaders. They will change and fall, but God will stand forever. And someday everyone will know who is the real King of Kings. So even as I am sad, I can rest in the knowledge that my future is secure because I know who is really in control of our country and our world. Thank you Lord.

Sweetness

Sometimes when you're a mom, things just happen that melt your heart. As Mallory gets older, I am seeing the relationship between Aubrey and Mallory blossom. Now I know that they will not always get along. I mean, Leah and I had knock down, drag out fights when we were younger, (I'm sure you can't imagine that) but right now Aubrey is pretty sweet to his little sister. And since I always wanted a big brother when I was younger, I think it's neat.

The other day Mallory wanted to look at "book" so we went in her room to read. Aubrey climbed up in her chair so of course Mallory wanted to get in the chair too. Aubrey scooched over so she could sit with him. Since Aubrey has heard me read many of our books over and over he pretty much has them memorized. So he sat and "read" to Mallory. Mallory would just look up at him and grin and giggle. It was so incredibly cute. I had to get my camera. Then Aubrey put a bow in Mallory's hair, and she kept it there, which she never does for me. She loves that brother. So sweet.

Woo Hoo! Go Gators!

I am so tired, but it was so worth it. I didn't go to bed last night until 1:30, which for me is extremely late. I stayed up watching my beloved Florida Gators win the BCS National Championship game. Today I have watched and read many pundits and journalists disect the game and bowls vs. playoffs. I have heard so many people talk about how you can't tell that Florida is truly the best team in the nation. Well, that gets me going obviously. But, I read this article and thought it was really worth posting.

Is Florida Really The No. 1 Team? Pete Fiutak / CollegeFootballNews"Excuse me. l'm askin' Your Honour, is this justice? ls this justice?""Never stop fighting till the fight is done.""What did you say?""l said, never stop fighting till the fight is done.""What?""You heard me, Capone. lt's over.""You're nothin' but a lot of talk and a badge.""Here endeth the lesson." ... I cannot believe I have to write this because it's so obvious, but apparently, I have to take time from my post-season nap because of all the dopey talking heads out there, along with an incoming president who needs to spend every waking second figuring out how to come up with 3 million new jobs, who can't seem able to compare and contrast teams by actually turning on this new-fangled thing called a "TV" to watch them play.Florida is the best team in America for 2008 by every and any measure you want to go by. Period. End of story. National champion, Florida Gators. Done.If you want to rail on the system, go right ahead, but your day was a month ago when the final BCS standings came out. If you want to debate Florida vs. the rest of the country, as the Clovers would say, bring it on.This is not an anti-USC, Utah, or Texas argument, but today, and this season, is all about Florida. And here's why ...1. Florida played 11 bowl teams. 11, and that doesn't count Tennessee or Arkansas. Take a step back and let that one sink in for a moment. It beat two No. 1 teams, and outside of the loss to Ole Miss, before the SEC championship game, no one came closer than 24 points.2. If you're going to bring up the Ole Miss loss as evidence of anything, you either a) didn't actually watch the game or b) are totally incapable of putting that game in the context of the other losses out there this season. From a blocked extra point, to two missed touchdown passes late, to Tebow getting stopped on a fourth and inches, to a blown coverage, several things had to happen for Florida to lose to the eventual Cotton Bowl winner, and 15th ranked team in the final polls, by one point. Absolutely, a loss is a loss, but it's not the indictment you probably think it is.3. Stop bringing up the fact that Utah beat Alabama by 11, just like Florida. No, I don't believe Bama beats the Utes if Andre Smith was playing, but if you can't understand how vital the No. 2 pick in the NFL Draft and the best left tackle in college football is, and how Utah was able to destroy the Tide offense that was down to a third string left tackle, then I can't help you. Also, Florida beat the Tide without Percy Harvin, arguably one of the five best players in America. If you don't think that matters, you didn't watch the national title game.4. Again, notice the margin of victory in the Florida games this year. Utah needed missed kicks and an epic late drive to get by a TCU team that Oklahoma throttled. The Utes also got pushed by a miserable Michigan team and played three other games this year decided by seven points or fewer, including a 13-10 tussle with New Mexico. If you think that Florida's defense, the one that held the greatest scoring machine in the history of college football to 14 points, couldn't deal with the speed and precision of the Utah attack, then again, I can't help you.5. USC couldn't handle Daryll Clark and the Penn State offense in the second half of the Rose Bowl, so what makes you think for a split second that it could stop Florida's offense? Don't you dare. Don't ... you ... dare ... suggest that USC's D took its foot off the gas in the second half of that game, because then I'll have to give you a helmet and a shiny ball of tin foil to play with over in the corner. If you try to bring this up, then you simply have no clue about the pride of a USC defense that wanted DESPERATELY to make an all-timer of a statement against the Nittany Lions.6. USC would've beaten Ohio State no matter what, but it has to keep being brought up ... if you can't tell the difference between the Ohio State team that battled Penn State and lost to Texas and the one that soiled itself against the Trojans, again, can't help you. If anyone out there actually bothered to watch the 17-10 win over Arizona, the 17-3 win over Cal, the 28-7 win over UCLA, the Oregon State loss, and also watched the entire Florida season, and yet still wants to make a case that USC is the best team in the country based on speed, talent, and any other measure, then again, can't help you. If you want to thump your chest over shutting down Arizona State, Washington State, Washington and Notre Dame, and you want to compare that to beating 10 bowl teams and two No. 1s including an Oklahoma offense that scored over 700 points ... yeah. You know.7. In deep down places you don't talk about at parties, when you watched Texas need everything in the bag to get by Ohio State, did you really think that this was a national title team? If the Ohio State defense could keep the Longhorn offense in check, and if a still-emerging player like Terrelle Pryor, who wasn't allowed to throw the ball five feet in front of him, could get the offense moving just enough to get by, then can you imagine what Tim Tebow, Brandon Spikes, and the motivated Gators would've done? In the end, yeah, there's no dogging the Texas win over OU or the Longhorn season in any way, the Texas Tech loss might be the most forgivable big-game defeat of the regular season, but the second best regular season win was against ... Oklahoma State? Missouri? Don't laugh, but Rice? If the Big 12 turned out to be exposed this bowl season, and the SEC turned out to be strong, then Florida has to be given more than just the benefit of the doubt here. People, it's not like I have any horse in this race. The last thing I need in my world is yet another off-season of dealing with jazzed up SEC fans who don't believe the rest of the country plays college football, and I'm going to waste at least 19 days of total time in 2009 explaining to them that teams like USC, Texas, and even Boise State, going into next year, really are fantastic. If the shoe was on the other foot, and USC had done what Florida had done this year, I'd be Mr. Trojan right now (keep your comment to yourself). But for otherwise knowledgeable media types (cough, Mel Kiper, cough) and others to claim that there isn't a No. 1 team is absurd.Florida won the national title. Don't like it? Then play up to your talent level for 12 games next year, USC, and you'll get your chance to knock the big boys off the throne. Win all your games in blowout fashion you non-BCS team, so fartknockers like me will sit here and beat their heads against the wall defending your case. Beat Oklahoma again next year, Texas, and you'll get the benefit of the Big 12 doubt from everyone.The issue was settled on the field this year. Debate over.

I know some of you aren't Gator fans at all, but I know you love me anyway! I'm going to be scrapping this weekend, so I'll post some crafty stuff soon!

There's something different about him

This morning as I was getting the kids ready to leave the house (in a rush as usual) I was brushing Aubrey's hair to get rid of the bed head he always has. I thought the front looked funny, but his hair always grows kind of jagged, so I just thought it was from being asleep and went on. We went to the dr. and then met Jill and Jameson for lunch at Chick-Fil-A, our favorite lunch date. When Aubrey walked into Chick-Fil-A with Jill while I got Mallory out of the car, Jill said, "Aubrey, did you cut your hair?" Aubrey replied, "Yes, I did it last night but my mom doesn't know!" When I walked in the restaurant, Jill was cracking up. She said, "Did you know that Aubrey cut his hair?" I started laughing, and then realized that's why it looked so funny to me this morning. Obviously I hadn't had my coffee that early this morning. We laughed and laughed, both at him doing it and at me not noticing it.

When we got home I asked him where the hair was. He told me it was still in Mallory's toy basket, and sure enough, there it was. He said, "That's a lot of hair, isn't it Mom? It looks cool, kind of brownish like yours." He was so proud of himself. So once again we had to talk about how scissors are for cutting paper only. I just chalk it up to one more childhood milestone we have now reached.

Mallory had her 18 month check up today and she had not gained very much weight at all. She fell on the growth chart for weight. We believe this is mostly due to her being allergic to milk and not being able to eat many foods that are high calorie/high fat. The dr. is going to talk to a pediatric nutritionist to see if we can find other ways to help her get some meat on her bones. Other than that, she is doing great.

On another note, I am getting pumped up about the Gators playing in the BCS National Championship Game this Thursday night. If you don't know anything about Tim Tebow, our quarterback, read this. Besides being a Gator, which already makes him way cool, he is a wonderful Christian young man. (Calling him a young man makes me sound really old, doesn't it?) Even some of my Gator hater friends (I know, that is an oxymoron for me isn't it?) admit that they like and admire Tebow. So, I'm not sure if God pays attention to football, but I do know that He honors those that honor Him. Maybe that will work in our favor this Thursday. If you don't hear from me for a couple of days after the game, you'll know I'm in mourning. Mallory's already getting ready for it too. Isn't she precious? I'm hoping the game will be a bright spot in this dreary, rainy week! Go Gators!

My Sweet Friend

My friend Jenny (or Jen as she now goes by - she'll always be Jenny to me) has been my friend longer than anyone else. She and I met in Mr. Brinson's 7th grade Geography class. We didn't become close until high school, but she has been with me through thick and thin (literally and figuratively!) She and I even traveled to Venezuela and lived through a coup attempt together on a mission trip there. We have many, many fun memories and also some not so fun. If you want to know some of my most embarrassing moments, ask Jenny. You can also ask her what she thinks about my taste in movies. (; After high school Jenny went to Columbia Women's College in Columbia, South Carolina when I went to Brenau Women's College in Georgia. We were fortunate that my sister was living in South Carolina near Jenny's school, so we were still able to see each other. Now we live about 2 hours away from each other and try to get together as often as possible. Sometimes it's quite awhile between visits, but it's still wonderful, and she's still such a sweet part of my life. She has been a blessing to me for a long, long time.

Yesterday the kids and I met Jenny halfway at a Cracker Barrel for lunch. Of course both of them had to throw up on the way there, and it was raining and 37 degrees, but totally worth the trip. It was so nice to see her and catch up. Talking on the phone is fine, but seeing friends in person is so much nicer. We of course had a great lunch, and had fun talking about all the friends we have found from high school on Facebook. I finally convinced her to join, and we have had a blast finding people we haven't seen since graduation. I wish she lived right next door so we could do things like that all the time like the old days. But, we'll take what we have and enjoy the times we can get together. Aubrey, 4, took this picture of us and I think he did a pretty good job! Jenny, I love you and am so thankful for you!