What does 'warm up' mean to you?

We had a great trip, arriving in Cancun around 12:00. It is sunny and warm here. We are a little cold at night in our wet swim suits but it is worth it!

We ate some lunch at a buffet, changed into our swimsuits, and hit the pools and beach. We have a couple of funny stories to share:

1. Utah wanted a hot dog and they had a bacon wrapped hot dog in the snack buffet. However, it was not warm enough for him to enjoy and I ask a waiter if they could 'warm up the hot dog'. Well, he said 'of course' but he did not take the hot dog with him. We were very confused. The waiter returned shortly with some Mexican hot sauce! Funny!!!

2. Then we asked the waiter if they had 'chocolate shakes'. He said 'of course' and returned shortly with some chocolate milk for Utah! It is quite funny!

We are looking forward to a great night's sleep and some fun at the pool/beach. We might even try to swim with the dolphins tomorrow or Friday!

We miss you guys! Happy Thanksgiving!

Oompa Loompas?

Spray tan fun... when Tuesday showed up at the school.. she was SOOO orange! I don't know what the difference was in how it was applied or mixed... but she was sooo orange (I was that orange the last time I got a spray tan). Now, please do not panic! The orange you see is only the tinting that is added to the spray so the person applying the spray can see where she has already applied the spray tan. It washes off in the shower and leaves behind a tan!

I don't look as orange also because my picture was taken inside under normal lighting.. Tuesday was showered with fluorescent light and by a window... it is a great picture, though!You can hardly tell I have a spray tan in the picture... but this oompa loompa is a much closer picture of what we look like prior to washing off the tinting/bronzer!

I will take some more pictures and post them.. maybe even before we leave so you can all see how it looks after the shower. It only lasts 5-7 days.. so we are hoping to get some sun while in Mexico this week...

What was I thinkin...

We leave for vacation very early on Wednesday morning and I have done NO PACKING.. not one thing... I am making a list.. but that is all!!!

Christmas Shopping

Can you believe it is time to shop for Christmas?! Before you start, stop and say thank you for all the blessings you enjoy each day and remember we are celebrating Jesus' birthday!

The shopping begins soon... so pause now and remember why we enjoy such a merry holiday...

Now... here are some of the things I have looked at for people I am shopping for... see anything interesting....

Thankful..

I am thankful for so many things... sometimes when I pause to say thank you I have the compulsion to think of large, enormous events or items to say thank you for, when really, there are so many small things that make our lives a blessing and I want to say thank you for those silver linings...

Tuesday morning is Cougar Christian Outreach meeting.. we meet at 7:15am. There are teachers and students all together in a classroom listening to a student prepared devotional and prayer. It is no coincidence that my Tuesdays are always calmer and focused. It is another blessing... from God.. through students...

My co-worker, Karen. WOW! She has such high expectations of herself and she keeps my type A, 42 year old self on the ball and I LOVE IT! She is encouraging, motivating, uplifting, and trusting. I am at such ease when we bounce ideas off of each other and benefit from her willingness to fill the gaps in my knowledge of literacy! We work in such a positive, encouraging, and challenging culture... it is truly a blessing to be a Kirksey Cougar teacher and the mother of a Kirksey Cougar student! I do have a friend that had a stressful day at work today and she is in my thoughts and prayers tonight!

Tuesday spent last weekend with us. She gave up the opportunity to go to a concert with friends (and we even offered to pay for the gas) so she could be at home and spend an evening with Utah and ease our mind about what Utah would be doing while we were out with friends. She ate breakfast with us Saturday and took Utah and a friend to Fastlane on Sunday before heading back to Fayetteville. She is volunteering at a school in Rogers and is now helping the Kirksey Cougar girl's basketball coach with practice a couple days a week. She is doing all of that while holding down two jobs and the frequent babysitting gig and she is taking 16 hours in school! Good thing she is young... a schedule like that would kill me! Tod is on his way to meet her and a friend at Subway - she locked her keys in her car :-)

Utah is such a sweet kid.. he is doing great in school.. has good friends and is looking forward to off season football...

We miss Hannah.

Our 5 day vacation is coming up and we are getting excited (though we will miss our family during Thanksgiving).. we are making hair appointments, pedicure appointments, spray tan appointments... anything to look like we aren't surprised by the sunshine and bathing suits! We will post lots of pictures! We wish Tod was coming with us but at the time we booked the vacation we didn't have anyone to board the dogs... now we do, but there aren't any vacancies.... he is going to get an awesome Christmas present...

Christmas shopping... yikes! I started this week.... some gifts are very obvious.. others are more challenging...

I spoke to my sister Elizabeth and we are hoping for a visit to Springfield between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I have really enjoyed the frequent emails and phone calls and having a sibling so close to home. She is a level headed role model that I took for granted, struggled against, and now have come to deeply appreciate!

Sarah would have been 16 on December 2nd. WOW! Tod selected our Christmas Angel from the Salvation Army tree and we will go shopping as a family for her some presents. We do this in memory of Sarah and in honor of her life.

On a lighter note... here are some pictures!

This is the jacket Tuesday picked out while shopping... when she asked if she could have a yellow wool coat, I was a little nervous.. but it is beautiful and she looks gorgeous in it, of course!

Silly Saturday morning with a HUGE 8 month old puppy!

Loved ones absent..

I miss each of these loves ones each week.. but this week has been more lonely that usual. I think maybe it was a devotional given during a Bible study I attended this week. I thought maybe posting a picture of each would remind me of the memories and love we shared and the anticipated reunion that awaits us in God's time...

My mom with Sarah shortly after her birth, December 2, 1992. Mom is about 63 years old in this picture and is a timeless beauty. She passed away in 2002. I miss her. I can still hear her say, "Oh, Catherine!". I also remember how she saved money for my college and always made sure I was independent and responsible. She was an exceptional seamstress and made me beautiful clothes as a child and young adult.My father with Sarah at her dedication. He was my hero and I miss the sound of his voice each day. I hope he is with Sarah right now. He was a hoot and by far one of the hardest working, generous human beings I have ever encountered.My Uncle W.A. (Bubba) on the day of Sarah's dedication. He was my pastor most of my life. Sarah was named after him. His name was Wilson Avery and Sarah's middle name was Avery. I adored him and remember his advice at Sarah's funeral. Grieve, but do not grieve without hope. He also said that I can be mad at God... God can take it and take me through it. He was right, as usual. He prayed with us when Utah had eye surgery at Arkansas Children's and we visited him as often as possible. He was truly a man of God.

It is no mistake that each of these family members is pictured with my Sarah. I cannot even cope with commenting on her absence... but she is a part of who I am and the core of my being aches for her each day...

Thank you for letting me share...

Ramblings...

We met with a dog trainer on Saturday named Nick Rangel (http://www.akadog.com/aka/Home.html) and have decided to have him train Hubb. We are mainly wanting basic obedience and some off leash training. It is going to be lonely having Hubb gone for 3 weeks at a time but it will be worth it to have him be well mannered. We want him to behave himself when around other dogs in public, around children at home and in public, and when we have company! We also want to be able to comfortably walk him on a leash and he is so big, if he decides to bolt.. well, we all bolt!

We did not get to go deer hunting this weekend. I am so sick and it just wasn't possible to make the drive. We will try again in another couple of weekends. Utah was disappointed but he understood. It was difficult for me to chose to disappoint him because he had such a rough ending to this year's football season. His confidence took a big hit and he needed some time away from the situation. However, Utah and his Dad talked and he seems to be in better spirits. Being a Kirksey Cougar was a ton of fun overall and he learned a lot about work ethic and how to cope with disappointment. He is focusing on next year's season and plans to begin training after Thanksgiving. We are hopeful we can get our house sold so he can play at RHS with so many of his friends and coaches that we know. We will just have to wait and see what God has planned...

Utah had a fun weekend anyway. Friday night Tod took him and some friends to the Mountie game. Saturday we all went out for breakfast while a potential buyer looked at our house a 2nd time. Tod and him hung out Saturday night because I went to be around 8:30. Sunday is going to be another relaxing day. I might try to take him and some friends to Fastlane just to get them out of the house! We drop off Hubb at 10am this morning.

I still feel awful and this z-pac is doing nothing and it is making my stomach hurt all the time! I will have to go back to see the doctor and get something else. Between the coughing, headache, stomach ache, fever, runny nose, and itchy eyes.. I can't figure out what is wrong with me! I have bronchitis but it seems that my allergies are also acting up at the same time.. isn't that nice?

One of my very close friend's mother was diagnosed this week in very late stages of a rare cancer that has gone unnoticed and undiagnosed for an extended period of time. Treatment is not even being considered and they are moving her straight to hospice once she is out of the hospital. Right now she remains in the hospital because of a chest tube keeping her lungs from filling up with fluid. She is such a kind and generous woman. She makes the best cinnamon rolls in the world.. they are delicious! She always remembers my kiddos birthdays and sends them a gift card to McDonald's. She is a blessing to all that she meets.

Halloween Weekend

Obviously Utah is NOT a morning person.. but that didn't stop the rest of the boys from digging in..

THIS HAS BEEN A NIGHTMARE MONTH OF STRESS... that has ended on a very positive and fun Halloween night! Utah had some friends over (in the pictures). They went trick or treating in a neighborhood with a lot of other friends until about 10pm. Then the boys came to the house and spent the night. Saturday morning I made a triple batch of pancakes and they ate all of them but one!

Utah and I are heading to Leola next weekend to my sister's house. Utah will deer hunt and hang out with his Uncle Jimmy while I will hang out with my sister, hike, and ride four wheelers. Their house at the farm is really small and we will have 6 people staying in it.. so as much time as possible is spent outside.

I will also make the drive into Little Rock to visit the cemetary where our daughter Sarah, my parents, and my grandparents are buried. Tuesday went this weekend and cleaned things up while she was visiting friends in Conway. I will take some things with me to put on the graves.

I am hopeful this long month coming to an end will also bring the stress and chaos of October to an end. I spent the entire month being challenged by situations with ethical dilemnas, worked a lot of after school and weekend time (conference month), dealt with some Utah drama, put our house on the market so we can move into the RHS district (and we love our house and are sooo sad to have to put it on the market), and still teaching and trying to make sure students are challenged and doing their best can be very labor and time intensive!

We leave for the Mayan Riviera (resort Barcelo) the Wednesday of Thanksgiving break and return on Sunday. We are really excited.. the trip preperation is a tad bit stressful, though. We are looking forward to relaxing on the beach... and just hanging out together. We are sad Tod cannot go but we were unable to board our dogs and did not think it was fair to ask someone to housesit over Thanksgivng weekend. We will take a lot of pictures, though!

I am not sure why people say that when we set the clock back an hour we get an extra hour of sleep - I can never sleep pass my normal wake up time! AGH!