Andy came thru the sugery with flying colors...he should have full use of his neck and that "blasted" brace is gone. Can I get an AMEN to that?! :) He is resting.
Thanks be to the Lord.
As you may have noticed, Daddy and I deal with stuff by writing it down. It's a therapy of sorts, I guess you could say. I have spent my life believing that the stories of our lives hold immeasurable value--that our stories are woven together in a tapestry that extend down through the course of time and that there are things to be learned from every story and every experience. We are not simple observers...we are each characters in every story, to varying degrees.
All the world is a stage...and all that.
That's what "Love Letters Illustrated" was about before Andy became the focus. Preserving the stories...
With that in mind, I'm dividing the rest of this post into two sections. Here's part one of some random, back-story thoughts that I've been writing:
Wounded Warriors
The term "Wounded Warriors" is common-place at Walter Reed Army Medical. It's on the walls, on the signs, used by the caregivers and staff and is even found on t-shirts and mugs. The first time I saw it on the WR website, it hit me in the chest like a load of bricks. It just seems like those two words are the most unlikely pairing of words imaginable.
While I understand cognitively that Andy is wounded, as his sister--particularly his older sister--I have trouble (still) with the warrior part of that phrase applying to him. I saw the film at his bootcamp graduation 2 years ago showing clips of his class preparing to fight a war--preparing their minds with the strategies and equipment of war and training their physical bodies for the rigors of combat. It was not particularly graphic, but it was very personal as even to me, they seemed so very young. Thoughts plaugued the back of my head like flies...do they really know what they are getting in to, I wondered. Do I really know what he's getting into? Probably not.
Andy is 13 years younger than me so in some ways I still have some motherly feelings towards him. He's 6' 3" now and weighs about 190 but when I say "he's my little brother" it's mostly because that's how I think of him. He was 5 when I got married and in some ways he "got stuck" in my head as that cute 5 year old boy with the flaming crazy red hair who would go and go and go until he just crashed out. When Andy ran out of gas, he would simply sleep, wherever that happened to be. My mom has a picture of him asleep in the dirt under a tire swing...that's just how he has always been. He goes full-tilt.
On that hot day in June 2006, as we gatherred in Lawton to witness his bootcamp graduation, I cried sweet tears of pride for his first real Army accomplishment, while at the same time I pushed away the fear that had started growing on Thanksgiving Day the year before by telling myself "he's going to be a medic".
My brother will be the medic.
He will jump out of the belly of a plane wearing a parachute for kicks but his main job will be to patch up broken soldiers. He will be the Band-Aid Boy. (Sometimes older sisters have the right and responsibility to be disrespectful, right?)
He's a medic.
He's a medic.
He's a medic.
This was the mantra I clung to. And then the photos started to come in via his myspace page and his facebook page. You know me...I craved photos. His first assignment was Italy. "The photos will be so cool", I thought. He will visit Venice and Rome and spend his downtime enjoying being abroad. He did those things...he even surprised me with photos from a snowboarding trip in the Alps, but he also started sending back photos of his men.
Other soldiers...groups of soldiers.
On tanks, with big guns.
And progressively, the guns got bigger and bigger.
The smile on his face changed...and then finally disappeared altogether.
No more smiles.
No more Italian sights.
As his crew was deployed into Afghanistan the photos slowed and each new one that did appear, showed somber serious, grown-up Andy with other somber, serious grown-up guys and guns that looked way too big for one to carry while being a "band-aid boy".
My image of him as a medic wasn't withstanding the test of time very well. I wanted to think that his guys would protect him because they needed him. I knew in my head that I wasn't getting the real picture of all he was doing. I felt like a slackard sister for being content to wallow in my lack of accurate knowledge. I was afraid to ask and Andy didn't volunteer. Our IM sessions were jagged. I wanted to know he was OK...but we couldn't get past the small talk. Whether that was for his security or for my lack of guts, I just don't know.
I don't blame him--I know he thought he was protecting all of us by keeping quiet about his "job" and the inherrent dangers. I have a feeling that this is a common theme among Army families and maybe it's not completely unjustified. Maybe he needed to feel like he was protecting us from the knowledge of things that we have no ability to process.
I think I knew that there was more going on than Band-Aids by his first visit home. I knew but I didn't ask him to confirm it. Denial can be a very cozy place.
7.29.2008
Surgery
Andy's surgery is scheduled to begin at 8am Eastern and they've been told it could take as little as four hours or as many as 8. Pray for Mom and Dad and Daniel as they do that horrible task of waiting and wondering. Pray for Andy and the hands and hearts of the medical team. Pray that this procedure incurs no setbacks to the progress that Andy has worked so hard to achieve already. Pray that healing begins today in completely unexplainable ways.
In other news,they finally got permission to let him receive mail, so I will be changing the address in the sidebar to reflect a more direct route for cards and letters.
Psalm 103
Praise to the Lord of Love
Of David.
1 All that I am, praise the Lord;
everything in me, praise his holy name.
2 My whole being, praise the Lord
and do not forget all his kindnesses.
3 He forgives all my sins
and heals all my diseases.
4 He saves my life from the grave
and loads me with love and mercy.
5 He satisfies me with good things
and makes me young again, like the eagle.
6 The Lord does what is right and fair
for all who are wronged by others.
7 He showed his ways to Moses
and his deeds to the people of Israel.
8 The Lord shows mercy and is kind.
He does not become angry quickly,
and he has great love.
9 He will not always accuse us,
and he will not be angry forever.
10 He has not punished us as our sins should be punished;
he has not repaid us for the evil we have done.
11 As high as the sky is above the earth,
so great is his love for those who respect him.
12 He has taken our sins away from us
as far as the east is from west.
13 The Lord has mercy on those who respect him,
as a father has mercy on his children.
14 He knows how we were made;
he remembers that we are dust.
15 Human life is like grass;
we grow like a flower in the field.
16 After the wind blows, the flower is gone,
and there is no sign of where it was.
17 But the Lord's love for those who respect him
continues forever and ever,
and his goodness continues to their grandchildren
18 and to those who keep his agreement
and who remember to obey his orders.
19 The Lord has set his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over everything.
20 You who are his angels, praise the Lord.
You are the mighty warriors who do what he says
and who obey his voice.
21 You, his armies, praise the Lord;
you are his servants who do what he wants.
22 Everything the Lord has made
should praise him in all the places he rules.
My whole being, praise the Lord.
In other news,they finally got permission to let him receive mail, so I will be changing the address in the sidebar to reflect a more direct route for cards and letters.
Psalm 103
Praise to the Lord of Love
Of David.
1 All that I am, praise the Lord;
everything in me, praise his holy name.
2 My whole being, praise the Lord
and do not forget all his kindnesses.
3 He forgives all my sins
and heals all my diseases.
4 He saves my life from the grave
and loads me with love and mercy.
5 He satisfies me with good things
and makes me young again, like the eagle.
6 The Lord does what is right and fair
for all who are wronged by others.
7 He showed his ways to Moses
and his deeds to the people of Israel.
8 The Lord shows mercy and is kind.
He does not become angry quickly,
and he has great love.
9 He will not always accuse us,
and he will not be angry forever.
10 He has not punished us as our sins should be punished;
he has not repaid us for the evil we have done.
11 As high as the sky is above the earth,
so great is his love for those who respect him.
12 He has taken our sins away from us
as far as the east is from west.
13 The Lord has mercy on those who respect him,
as a father has mercy on his children.
14 He knows how we were made;
he remembers that we are dust.
15 Human life is like grass;
we grow like a flower in the field.
16 After the wind blows, the flower is gone,
and there is no sign of where it was.
17 But the Lord's love for those who respect him
continues forever and ever,
and his goodness continues to their grandchildren
18 and to those who keep his agreement
and who remember to obey his orders.
19 The Lord has set his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over everything.
20 You who are his angels, praise the Lord.
You are the mighty warriors who do what he says
and who obey his voice.
21 You, his armies, praise the Lord;
you are his servants who do what he wants.
22 Everything the Lord has made
should praise him in all the places he rules.
My whole being, praise the Lord.
From Daddy on Monday
Dear Andy's Family,
It is the end of the day on Monday. It was a bit of a rough night last night. They called me about 1:30am at the hotel and said that Andy was somewhat confused and agitated. They asked if Donna or I could come back to the hospital and reassure him.
I was in the process of getting ready to go when the hospital staff called back and said it would probably be OK. But, at that point the only thing that would make it OK for us was "eyes on." So, I grabbed a cab and headed out.
Andy was hallucinating again. He explained to me the other day that these times are not exactly nightmares. He is just still working in the battle zone in his mind. He is just still mentally doing his job as a medic. So, he barks orders and fixes problems and makes it happen in his mind just like he did on the battlefield.
That was what I found him doing when I arrived at the hospital. Then, his present reality merges with all of that and it becomes very confusing to him and it robs him of very needed rest.
Andy also told me the other day that sometimes at night he had problems of one kind or another just being comfortable but he said he had trouble communicating the problem. It is not unlike what a stroke victim sometimes goes through. He know what he wants to say but other words or ideas substitute themselves. And again, it's frustrating.
So, because he had given me that information when he was lucid earlier, I knew that what he was dealing with might not be the actual problem. He was asking me to remove a pulse lead that was lightly taped to the end of his finger. It could not possibly have been a source of discomfort so his nurse (Xavier - a great nurse) began checking the leads on his other arm. Sure enough, his IV had gone bad and the fluid was collecting in his forearm. it was hard to seen in the darkened room. Xavier replaced the IV quickly and and Andy calmed down a good bit after.
However, we have had concerns about the psychotheraputic medicine that they are using for a couple of days. It is supposed to help with the dreams etc, but observation seemed to indicate that it makes things worse. So, when I came into the room at one point this morning Daniel was having a serious though gentlemanly conversation with the doctor and the word I heard him use was "unacceptable" concerning the drug in question. The doctor changed the drug shortly after. I cannot say enough about the sensitivity and pro active demeanor of this staff. If it needs fixing, they fix it immediately.
And I cannot say enough about the heroism of my other son. Daniel has been amazing. When he first arrived here, he discovered that Andy did not have the dexterity to push the button on his pain medicine. He immediately got with some of the hospital staff to get him some supplies and he built an assembly that held the pump and only required Andy to bump it with his hand, which he could easily do.
He has entirely plugged into the hospital staff and environment. We are constantly hearing from one staff source or another when they meet us how impressed they are with our older son. He actually has a bit of a reputation here in his own right, and rightly so. He seems to be daunted by nothing and stays constantly ahead of the game, whether it is administration, checking on Andy's needs, dealing with hospital staff, or navigating this huge facility to discover new resources. And always the kind gentleman. What a blessing to have two heroic son's.
Tomorrow is surgery day. The big event is at 8:00 AM. They have scheduled the operating room for 8 hours, but the doc said it could take as little as four. The main issue is of course to fuse the damaged vertebrae, but they will also do some other less serious things to basically tie up "loose surgical ends."
Thanks so much for your enjoined faith during this time. We are bound in Christ through Andy. It is a wonderful thing to experience this level of human kinship. It is a high plane of existence.
----------------------------------------
It is the end of the day on Monday. It was a bit of a rough night last night. They called me about 1:30am at the hotel and said that Andy was somewhat confused and agitated. They asked if Donna or I could come back to the hospital and reassure him.
I was in the process of getting ready to go when the hospital staff called back and said it would probably be OK. But, at that point the only thing that would make it OK for us was "eyes on." So, I grabbed a cab and headed out.
Andy was hallucinating again. He explained to me the other day that these times are not exactly nightmares. He is just still working in the battle zone in his mind. He is just still mentally doing his job as a medic. So, he barks orders and fixes problems and makes it happen in his mind just like he did on the battlefield.
That was what I found him doing when I arrived at the hospital. Then, his present reality merges with all of that and it becomes very confusing to him and it robs him of very needed rest.
Andy also told me the other day that sometimes at night he had problems of one kind or another just being comfortable but he said he had trouble communicating the problem. It is not unlike what a stroke victim sometimes goes through. He know what he wants to say but other words or ideas substitute themselves. And again, it's frustrating.
So, because he had given me that information when he was lucid earlier, I knew that what he was dealing with might not be the actual problem. He was asking me to remove a pulse lead that was lightly taped to the end of his finger. It could not possibly have been a source of discomfort so his nurse (Xavier - a great nurse) began checking the leads on his other arm. Sure enough, his IV had gone bad and the fluid was collecting in his forearm. it was hard to seen in the darkened room. Xavier replaced the IV quickly and and Andy calmed down a good bit after.
However, we have had concerns about the psychotheraputic medicine that they are using for a couple of days. It is supposed to help with the dreams etc, but observation seemed to indicate that it makes things worse. So, when I came into the room at one point this morning Daniel was having a serious though gentlemanly conversation with the doctor and the word I heard him use was "unacceptable" concerning the drug in question. The doctor changed the drug shortly after. I cannot say enough about the sensitivity and pro active demeanor of this staff. If it needs fixing, they fix it immediately.
And I cannot say enough about the heroism of my other son. Daniel has been amazing. When he first arrived here, he discovered that Andy did not have the dexterity to push the button on his pain medicine. He immediately got with some of the hospital staff to get him some supplies and he built an assembly that held the pump and only required Andy to bump it with his hand, which he could easily do.
He has entirely plugged into the hospital staff and environment. We are constantly hearing from one staff source or another when they meet us how impressed they are with our older son. He actually has a bit of a reputation here in his own right, and rightly so. He seems to be daunted by nothing and stays constantly ahead of the game, whether it is administration, checking on Andy's needs, dealing with hospital staff, or navigating this huge facility to discover new resources. And always the kind gentleman. What a blessing to have two heroic son's.
Tomorrow is surgery day. The big event is at 8:00 AM. They have scheduled the operating room for 8 hours, but the doc said it could take as little as four. The main issue is of course to fuse the damaged vertebrae, but they will also do some other less serious things to basically tie up "loose surgical ends."
Thanks so much for your enjoined faith during this time. We are bound in Christ through Andy. It is a wonderful thing to experience this level of human kinship. It is a high plane of existence.
----------------------------------------
7.27.2008
Undaunted
My dad referred to Andy as "undaunted" earlier today.
"What a great word", I thought. I knew basically what it ment...but I looked it up anyway. Here's what the great Mirriam-Webster had to say as the definition of the word "UNDAUNTED":
"courageously resolute especially in the face of danger or difficulty : not discouraged"
I kept looking for Andy's photo to pop up as a reference. :)
Be undaunted, my brother!
"What a great word", I thought. I knew basically what it ment...but I looked it up anyway. Here's what the great Mirriam-Webster had to say as the definition of the word "UNDAUNTED":
"courageously resolute especially in the face of danger or difficulty : not discouraged"
I kept looking for Andy's photo to pop up as a reference. :)
Be undaunted, my brother!
7.26.2008
Saturday
I'm going to stop trying to think of catchy titles...I'm "all thunk out" these days. We'll just stick with the day of the week, if that's OK with everyone. Also, I'll start using the label system for Andy posts so that if you want to easily find all the posts related to Andy, you just click on his name in the small print under any post.
For those of you who are new around these parts, the latest entry always stays at the top of the page, so you'll always see the most up-to-date message first. And the final piece of house-keeping news is that I usually wait until my boys are down for the night to check in with Mom or Dad and then blog...so generally you can expect new posts between 10 pm and midnight (Central time).
In news of a favorite soldier, Friday night was difficult for Andy--lots of dreams and only fitful sleep. Saturday morning brought orders to eat at least 2000 calories a day (again to promote the healing of the neck) as well as a record-high fever. A new CAT scan revealled an infection in his pancreas. This is a development of major concern because if the infection is not able to be controlled right away, Tuesday's surgery will have to be postponed. Andy has his heart set on this surgery on Tuesday...because that will allow him to have the restrictive neck brace removed soon after and the work of real physical therapy to begin.
So, there is only one prayer request tonight--pray that the medications will get the infection under control ASAP so that the surgery will not have to be delayed.
In other news, Mom and Dad printed out several emails to read to Andy before they left home. I will continue to print more and send them up in bundles. The more the merrier. :)
Last Sunday, my pastor, Scotty Smith (Christ Community Church, Franklin, TN) spoke about Why We Pray in response to a question posed by one of our members:
I'm not going to repost all that he said but if you should like, you can listen to the entire service here. It's a worthy listen.
Psalm 5:1-3
Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my sighing.
Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God,
for to you I pray.
In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait in expectation.
__________________
May the Lord bless each of you with a worshipful Sunday!
PS I've been getting bundles of emails.
I'm working my way thru responding but it's a little slow.
Thank you for overwhelming us all with your compassion and concern.
For those of you who are new around these parts, the latest entry always stays at the top of the page, so you'll always see the most up-to-date message first. And the final piece of house-keeping news is that I usually wait until my boys are down for the night to check in with Mom or Dad and then blog...so generally you can expect new posts between 10 pm and midnight (Central time).
In news of a favorite soldier, Friday night was difficult for Andy--lots of dreams and only fitful sleep. Saturday morning brought orders to eat at least 2000 calories a day (again to promote the healing of the neck) as well as a record-high fever. A new CAT scan revealled an infection in his pancreas. This is a development of major concern because if the infection is not able to be controlled right away, Tuesday's surgery will have to be postponed. Andy has his heart set on this surgery on Tuesday...because that will allow him to have the restrictive neck brace removed soon after and the work of real physical therapy to begin.
So, there is only one prayer request tonight--pray that the medications will get the infection under control ASAP so that the surgery will not have to be delayed.
In other news, Mom and Dad printed out several emails to read to Andy before they left home. I will continue to print more and send them up in bundles. The more the merrier. :)
Last Sunday, my pastor, Scotty Smith (Christ Community Church, Franklin, TN) spoke about Why We Pray in response to a question posed by one of our members:
If God is sovereign and knows all things, why pray? If
prayer doesn’t really change God’s mind, or change anything else, why
pray? It’s getting easier and easier not to pray.
I'm not going to repost all that he said but if you should like, you can listen to the entire service here. It's a worthy listen.
Psalm 5:1-3
Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my sighing.
Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God,
for to you I pray.
In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait in expectation.
__________________
May the Lord bless each of you with a worshipful Sunday!
PS I've been getting bundles of emails.
I'm working my way thru responding but it's a little slow.
Thank you for overwhelming us all with your compassion and concern.
7.25.2008
Progress and Ponderings
Andy is progressing. He is eating solid foods and sat for a short time in a large chair yesterday. The chair was quite uncomfortable and completely exhausting...but he did what was asked of him. The MRI is done and the second surgery is scheduled for Tuesday. The goal of the surgery will be to fuse the two shattered vertebrae to the nearest good ones, above and below, to secure and stabilize his spinal cord. Once that is done and healing, Andy will be allowed to start the real intense physical rehab practices. He's very anxious to get to that point.
Mom and Dad arrived yesterday safe and sound and Andy was very glad to see them. He reached out to hug Mom with both arms--that's no small feat for him. He's already been introducing Dad to everyone and telling the staff how much having his father around has helped him and is going to help him.
Yesterday the doctor told Andy that they had to get his caloric intake up to promote the healing of his injuries and get his body fully functioning before the surgery on Tuesday. The doctor told him if he didn't want to eat, the feeding tube could be reinserted. At that point Andy informed him that he would eat anything and everything they put in front of him all day and all night...he'd eat dirt to avoid that tube going back down his nose. (He had major personal issues with that tube from the get-go and that's one of the few things he has really complained about.) Eating and drinking is still slow business and he tires easily from it...but in what has come to be "Andy style", he's ready to tackle it.
Mom, I forgot to tell you that when Andy got his first bowl of Jell-o, Daniel and I were there with him. Daniel told Andy he had to swish the Jell-o around through his teeth, like we used to do as kids to aggravate you. As an explanation for everyone else, it was one of those funny brother-sister-brother moments that made all three of us laugh because we were all three raised by the same woman who h-a-t-e-d when anyone swished Jell-o.
I'm sworn to secrecy on whether or not Andy actually swished his Jell-o... :)
In other news, I'm getting my bearings again at home. I told Joal that I'm not sure how to integrate being the wife and mommy who's going on about her regular fairly-normal life with the sister who has seen and done so much out-of-the-ordinary stuff in the last five days. I feel a little like I've stepped off the constant roller coaster of information and back into that world where the phone could ring at any minute and the news could be good or it could be bad. For the life of me, I can't figure out which side I'm more suited for. I have gone straight to bed just after the boys for two nights in a row (that's totally unusual for me...I'm my Daddy's daughter when it comes to being a committed night-owl.) and I still feel like I could sleep for about three days.
One of Andy's buddies came by day-before-yesterday for a visit. "A" is a fellow soldier who is also from a small town in Texas. Apparently, they were pretty close friends and Andy was grateful to see him. A told Andy that all the rest of their guys were now safely in Italy, which was a great relief to Andy. His concern for "his men" (the group of men for whom he was "Doc", the medic) was quite obviously laced in Andy's brain these past few days. He has welcomed each new wave of visitors with gladness and some trepidation, because of course he knows that if one of his men is standing in his door, that man must also have been wounded in the fight. While Andy's glad to see them present and accounted for in the here-and-now, it's a club of sorts that he doesn't want to see any of his guys be members of.
If you want to see a photo of Andy (taken at his request and shared with his permission) you can click on the link below. If you know Andy personally, be prepared for seeing him in a whole different way. He's laying in a large hospital bed, with tubes and feeds and lines, and he's wearing a steel brace with a chest plate that prevents him from moving his head and chest, almost completely. I cropped out he equipment in hopes that the photo would be less crazy and overwhelming. Take me seriously...it's intense.
Photo of Andy.
Did I tell you yet about the box? One of my duties as "first family member on the scene" was to assess Andy's belongings and go through the backpack of stuff that came in with him. The backpack came with him from Germany and it contained some paperwork, a notepad and pen, several t-shirts, a pair of pajama pants, a small uniform-clad teddy bear with a gift card for any incidentals he needed, and a small box that looked like a necklace box. A necklace box?
My brain was not fully engaged while I was going through these things so I snapped open the box top (it was hinged) without much thought about what might be inside. I quickly realized that there was not enough oxygen in the room for what I was holding in my hands. I am well-practiced these days at feeling huge waves of uncontrolled emotion come barreling out of me in the blink of an eye--sometimes there's a reason for the fresh waves and sometimes they just randomly appear. I was standing at the foot of Andy's bed and so I worked hard to get it all under control or "squared away" as he says...before I got in his line of sight again. I held in my now-trembling hand the box that contained a purple heart. My brother's purple heart. The medal no one really wants. The bar for his uniform and the actual medal. I have to say, it's a very humbling thing and I was not prepared for what I felt.
From Wikipedia:
Per United States Army regulations, the Purple Heart is awarded in the name of the President of the United States to any member of the Armed Forces of the United States who, while serving under competent authority in any capacity with one of the U.S. Armed Services after 5 April 1917, has been wounded or killed, or who has died after being wounded.
I told Andy and then I showed it to him. He scrunched up his face and squeezed his eyes closed for a moment--a look I had already come to know as Andy trying to hold back his emotional outbursts. "Random misfires" he calls them. A few tears slipped out and rolled down his scruffy face. That's something else I was not prepared for--seeing my Army Andy cry on a regular basis. or perhaps more accurately, seeing him attempt to hold back the tears and not succeed. After a moment, he asked me to hold it up closer so he could see it better. I did and he sorta nodded his head so I snapped the lid closed and set it down. I kissed him and told him how very insanely proud of him we are--not for the medal, although we do honor the tradition of all those men and women who have given of their bodies in the service of this country and now wear the purple heart insignia, but because it's an indication of the kind of man he is.
Committed
Worthy
Strong
Honorable
John 15:13--Greater love hath no man than this,
that a man lay down his life for his friends.
There was no ceremonial presentation, there was no saluting--no brass band, no pomp and circumstance. I snapped open a box and was freshly astonished to realize yet again how much our country and those who serve her mean to me as an American. All of them...but especially my brother.
I asked Andy if he wanted me to take it with me for safe-keeping and he said "no, I'd like to keep it here" so I left it in the backpack. And I resisted the urge to tell every person inside a fifty mile radius "Andy has a purple heart"--not to brag but just to say it out loud. This is not a medal that anyone really wants...but it's an acknowledgement of what has been given and the sacrifice--sometimes temporary and sometimes permanant--that have been made on the field of battle.
It's in moments like these that you realize you either belive in something greater than yourself or you don't. There's is no half-heartedness here. Get in or get out of the way.
Years ago (1998) when the movie, Saving Private Ryan came out, I couldn't watch it--it was too much for my heart (even then, long before Andy thought about enlisting). However, I did catch the first and last few minutes of it and Joal filled me in on the rest of the story.
I feel like now I understand more of it all.
As I walked the halls of Walter Reed and saw soldiers of all kinds--in all sorts of physical conditions, I sometimes had to fight the urge to begin shouting to my fellow Americans... "My brother and so many others have given of themselves so deeply...we owe it to them to--as Captain Miller implored the young Private Ryan--earn this."
Mom and Dad arrived yesterday safe and sound and Andy was very glad to see them. He reached out to hug Mom with both arms--that's no small feat for him. He's already been introducing Dad to everyone and telling the staff how much having his father around has helped him and is going to help him.
Yesterday the doctor told Andy that they had to get his caloric intake up to promote the healing of his injuries and get his body fully functioning before the surgery on Tuesday. The doctor told him if he didn't want to eat, the feeding tube could be reinserted. At that point Andy informed him that he would eat anything and everything they put in front of him all day and all night...he'd eat dirt to avoid that tube going back down his nose. (He had major personal issues with that tube from the get-go and that's one of the few things he has really complained about.) Eating and drinking is still slow business and he tires easily from it...but in what has come to be "Andy style", he's ready to tackle it.
Mom, I forgot to tell you that when Andy got his first bowl of Jell-o, Daniel and I were there with him. Daniel told Andy he had to swish the Jell-o around through his teeth, like we used to do as kids to aggravate you. As an explanation for everyone else, it was one of those funny brother-sister-brother moments that made all three of us laugh because we were all three raised by the same woman who h-a-t-e-d when anyone swished Jell-o.
I'm sworn to secrecy on whether or not Andy actually swished his Jell-o... :)
In other news, I'm getting my bearings again at home. I told Joal that I'm not sure how to integrate being the wife and mommy who's going on about her regular fairly-normal life with the sister who has seen and done so much out-of-the-ordinary stuff in the last five days. I feel a little like I've stepped off the constant roller coaster of information and back into that world where the phone could ring at any minute and the news could be good or it could be bad. For the life of me, I can't figure out which side I'm more suited for. I have gone straight to bed just after the boys for two nights in a row (that's totally unusual for me...I'm my Daddy's daughter when it comes to being a committed night-owl.) and I still feel like I could sleep for about three days.
One of Andy's buddies came by day-before-yesterday for a visit. "A" is a fellow soldier who is also from a small town in Texas. Apparently, they were pretty close friends and Andy was grateful to see him. A told Andy that all the rest of their guys were now safely in Italy, which was a great relief to Andy. His concern for "his men" (the group of men for whom he was "Doc", the medic) was quite obviously laced in Andy's brain these past few days. He has welcomed each new wave of visitors with gladness and some trepidation, because of course he knows that if one of his men is standing in his door, that man must also have been wounded in the fight. While Andy's glad to see them present and accounted for in the here-and-now, it's a club of sorts that he doesn't want to see any of his guys be members of.
If you want to see a photo of Andy (taken at his request and shared with his permission) you can click on the link below. If you know Andy personally, be prepared for seeing him in a whole different way. He's laying in a large hospital bed, with tubes and feeds and lines, and he's wearing a steel brace with a chest plate that prevents him from moving his head and chest, almost completely. I cropped out he equipment in hopes that the photo would be less crazy and overwhelming. Take me seriously...it's intense.
Photo of Andy.
Did I tell you yet about the box? One of my duties as "first family member on the scene" was to assess Andy's belongings and go through the backpack of stuff that came in with him. The backpack came with him from Germany and it contained some paperwork, a notepad and pen, several t-shirts, a pair of pajama pants, a small uniform-clad teddy bear with a gift card for any incidentals he needed, and a small box that looked like a necklace box. A necklace box?
My brain was not fully engaged while I was going through these things so I snapped open the box top (it was hinged) without much thought about what might be inside. I quickly realized that there was not enough oxygen in the room for what I was holding in my hands. I am well-practiced these days at feeling huge waves of uncontrolled emotion come barreling out of me in the blink of an eye--sometimes there's a reason for the fresh waves and sometimes they just randomly appear. I was standing at the foot of Andy's bed and so I worked hard to get it all under control or "squared away" as he says...before I got in his line of sight again. I held in my now-trembling hand the box that contained a purple heart. My brother's purple heart. The medal no one really wants. The bar for his uniform and the actual medal. I have to say, it's a very humbling thing and I was not prepared for what I felt.
From Wikipedia:
Per United States Army regulations, the Purple Heart is awarded in the name of the President of the United States to any member of the Armed Forces of the United States who, while serving under competent authority in any capacity with one of the U.S. Armed Services after 5 April 1917, has been wounded or killed, or who has died after being wounded.
I told Andy and then I showed it to him. He scrunched up his face and squeezed his eyes closed for a moment--a look I had already come to know as Andy trying to hold back his emotional outbursts. "Random misfires" he calls them. A few tears slipped out and rolled down his scruffy face. That's something else I was not prepared for--seeing my Army Andy cry on a regular basis. or perhaps more accurately, seeing him attempt to hold back the tears and not succeed. After a moment, he asked me to hold it up closer so he could see it better. I did and he sorta nodded his head so I snapped the lid closed and set it down. I kissed him and told him how very insanely proud of him we are--not for the medal, although we do honor the tradition of all those men and women who have given of their bodies in the service of this country and now wear the purple heart insignia, but because it's an indication of the kind of man he is.
Committed
Worthy
Strong
Honorable
John 15:13--Greater love hath no man than this,
that a man lay down his life for his friends.
There was no ceremonial presentation, there was no saluting--no brass band, no pomp and circumstance. I snapped open a box and was freshly astonished to realize yet again how much our country and those who serve her mean to me as an American. All of them...but especially my brother.
I asked Andy if he wanted me to take it with me for safe-keeping and he said "no, I'd like to keep it here" so I left it in the backpack. And I resisted the urge to tell every person inside a fifty mile radius "Andy has a purple heart"--not to brag but just to say it out loud. This is not a medal that anyone really wants...but it's an acknowledgement of what has been given and the sacrifice--sometimes temporary and sometimes permanant--that have been made on the field of battle.
It's in moments like these that you realize you either belive in something greater than yourself or you don't. There's is no half-heartedness here. Get in or get out of the way.
Years ago (1998) when the movie, Saving Private Ryan came out, I couldn't watch it--it was too much for my heart (even then, long before Andy thought about enlisting). However, I did catch the first and last few minutes of it and Joal filled me in on the rest of the story.
I feel like now I understand more of it all.
As I walked the halls of Walter Reed and saw soldiers of all kinds--in all sorts of physical conditions, I sometimes had to fight the urge to begin shouting to my fellow Americans... "My brother and so many others have given of themselves so deeply...we owe it to them to--as Captain Miller implored the young Private Ryan--earn this."
7.24.2008
Love you Lieutenant Colonel-ly
I arrived at Walter Reed shortly after Andy did on Sunday evening and fortunately, got to see him right away. Daniel came on Monday. We stayed there together on Tuesday and I was scheduled to leave for home on Wednesday morning very early, given that I would be driving the 700 mile trip straight through. I originally planned to say my goodbyes on Tuesday night and leave from the hotel before the sun came up on Wednesday morning, but when Wednesday morning came, I just had to see him one more time.
I stood quietly in the SICU, memorizing his face, holding back ugly tears, and rubbing the top of his head--he said that was the only place that did not hurt. We talked quietly for a few minutes despite the people moving around us doing their jobs, and then it really was time for me to go. What do you say in that moment? I had already said the "I love yous", the "I'm so proud of you" and "You will make it through this."
Andy's my youngest brother and he's been a cut-up since the day he was born. He does serious from time to time but not often and not for long stretches. Serious was all around us, in that room and in his life, but I was determined, serious wasn't gonna be the way I left it with him. More than anything, we needed a moment of light...of laughter, in the midst of everything. Serious needed to take a hike, just for a moment.
Lord, just give me a smile.
I stood up and gathered my things. I moved to the side of his bed and stretched up on my tip toes to reach him. I got right near his ear and said "Julian always says 'Moma, I love you majorly.' So Andy, I love you majorly."
He grinned a little--as much as he could. "I love you Lieutenant Colonel-ly, sister." he said. It must have been clear by the look on my face that I didn't immediately get his little joke and it was no small miracle that he noticed this. In true Andy fashion, he rolled his eyes because of course, there's nothing worse than having to explain your joke. "Lieutenant Colonel is the next rank higher than a Major." he said, as if this was a fact I should have known.
And then for just a moment, we both laughed. In the midst of absolutely nothing funny--most everything terrifying--there was a moment of laughter shared with my brother. That smirk is something I hold onto even though I'm pretty sure he doesn't even remember it. The drugs were heavy and the pain almost unbearable. He was in and out, back and forth...mostly out and that was probably a good thing.
I, on the other hand, was grateful beyond words but I knew in that moment that the damn was about to break and I had to get out of there, or risk being the sister who couldn't keep it together. I kissed him on the head and walked out the door. I made it to the car before the birrage of tears came and I cried all the way home to Tennessee.
I stood quietly in the SICU, memorizing his face, holding back ugly tears, and rubbing the top of his head--he said that was the only place that did not hurt. We talked quietly for a few minutes despite the people moving around us doing their jobs, and then it really was time for me to go. What do you say in that moment? I had already said the "I love yous", the "I'm so proud of you" and "You will make it through this."
Andy's my youngest brother and he's been a cut-up since the day he was born. He does serious from time to time but not often and not for long stretches. Serious was all around us, in that room and in his life, but I was determined, serious wasn't gonna be the way I left it with him. More than anything, we needed a moment of light...of laughter, in the midst of everything. Serious needed to take a hike, just for a moment.
Lord, just give me a smile.
I stood up and gathered my things. I moved to the side of his bed and stretched up on my tip toes to reach him. I got right near his ear and said "Julian always says 'Moma, I love you majorly.' So Andy, I love you majorly."
He grinned a little--as much as he could. "I love you Lieutenant Colonel-ly, sister." he said. It must have been clear by the look on my face that I didn't immediately get his little joke and it was no small miracle that he noticed this. In true Andy fashion, he rolled his eyes because of course, there's nothing worse than having to explain your joke. "Lieutenant Colonel is the next rank higher than a Major." he said, as if this was a fact I should have known.
And then for just a moment, we both laughed. In the midst of absolutely nothing funny--most everything terrifying--there was a moment of laughter shared with my brother. That smirk is something I hold onto even though I'm pretty sure he doesn't even remember it. The drugs were heavy and the pain almost unbearable. He was in and out, back and forth...mostly out and that was probably a good thing.
I, on the other hand, was grateful beyond words but I knew in that moment that the damn was about to break and I had to get out of there, or risk being the sister who couldn't keep it together. I kissed him on the head and walked out the door. I made it to the car before the birrage of tears came and I cried all the way home to Tennessee.
7.23.2008
Home
It's Wednesday evening and I am finally back home in Nashville, after 13 hours of driving. I saw Andy before I left this morning and he said he had managed to get some longer periods of sleep last night--a major blessing. He thought he might have slept as long as an hour at the time a couple of times...not consecutive hours...but that's still a big leap from sleeping only minutes at the time for the past 5 days.
There was a bloodclot in his lung discovered yesterday which necessitated a filter to be put in today--a very painful process. Andy had some moments of discouragement but also moments of goodness during visits from other members of his company and regiment that are also receiving care at WR.
Today we are happy to report that their was much ice cream and jello being consumed. Did you know that Andy loves ice cream? Butter pecan to be exact...but in a pinch, vanilla seems to do well too. :)
Daniel was with him today and our parents will arrive in DC tomorrow afternoon. Pray for their smooth and safe travel and their strength as their day of traveling will end at Andy's bedside--and in those moments a whole new world will begin for them. I can not yet put into adequate words how it felt to walk into that surgical ICU room for the first time and to see my brother in his current state. I am fumbling around with a journal so I can remember...but coherency is not my gift at the moment. Seeing him the first time was kinda like having a convulsion and an out-of-body experience all at the same time.
Hours after my arrival, Andy asked me to take a photo of him to show him what he looked like and to post on his myspace. Now that I'm home, I can post it (tomorrow) but I'm going to post it somewhere else and link it here, that way it won't load unless you click on the link. It's pretty intense, and I don't want people who know and love Andy to be caught off guard by the image.
Now that I'm home, I will post updates here with more regularity. Feel free to pass around the blog address...who knew my little love letters blog would go from primarily scrapbook pages to love letters of a different sort? I'm now the self-appointed information officer/public affairs office for all things Andy since I am now at home for a few weeks, away from the hub of activity. I want Daniel and Mom and Dad to be able to focus on taking care of Andy and managing their lives away from home and--quite honestly, I need something tangible to do to be helpful.
My email is devendorf@bellsouth.net. Use it at will.
Quite a few people have asked if Andy can receive cards. At this point, we are directing all cards here to me and I will send them in bundles to Daniel. Andy loves photos so feel free to include photos of yourself too. We will see that all cards and photos are prepared so that they can be hung up in his line of sight.
Address for Cards, photos, letters, notes, etc...
Andy Burnett
c/o Sarah Devendorf
7408 Harness Drive
Nashville TN 37221
I will print all emails...between all of us, we already have a few hundred emails of thoughts and prayers to print for him from people all over the world--most that we know and a few that we don't. Don't underestimate the value of these to us and to Andy.
I realized on my drive home today--down through the most beautiful hills of central Virginia--that my hands no longer smell like Andy and this crazy realization made me sob. I know that must be an odd thing to read about...it's also an odd thing to miss it already. Andy came straight into the hospital in Afghanistan from a combat field, where he'd been on a mission for a few weeks. One of the first coherent things he said to me was "I'm sorry I stink. I haven't had a shower in two weeks." At that point, I could not have cared any less about his smell, not had I really even noticed it and I told him so. Given the severity of his wounds, I'm sure that all the medical personnel around him at every step had far better, more important things to contend with than making sure he smelled nice. And believe me when I say...I did not care how he smelled at that time. At all.
His hands and elbows were still caked with bits of dried blood and dirt (that's probably as close as I'll ever get to Afghani soil). His feet were soldier-ish. His beard was overgrown and his hair matted. His forehead was sweaty and grimey. One of my first tasks was to find a wash cloth and wipe off his forehead. I was grateful to have a task and to find anything that might helphim to feel comforted, even a tiny bit. Given the state of his body, the only place available to touch him at that time without causing pain was the Army-short hair on top of his head. So that's what I did for 3 days--rubbed his hair. Alot.
After repeated washings with a wet cloth, by myself and the nurses, his hair started to look more normal, but my hands were bathed in the smell I came to associate with him--it wasn't bad, it wasn't worth bottling and selling, it was just Andy. :) The smell of Andy on my hands seems like a silly thing to be sentimental about but it's just part of the experience that didn't even register until it wasn't there anymore.
A quick lightweight story...
Andy is a medic for the Army but as my dad has already said to many people, it's not just a profession for Andy. He was an EMT before he even joined the Army. Being a medic is who Andy is wired to be. Never was that more clear to me than on Monday afternoon when one of the doctors was putting in a new a-line (an access point in his forearm). Because of the immobilization unit on his neck and chest, Andy couldn't see what the doctor was doing, so he said to me "take a picture of this so I can see...I've never done one of those.".
Photographing a medical procedure involving blood and very long needles was a completely new thing for me... I don't think it's going to be something I make a habit of. :)
And on a final light and personal note--I (she who does not like to drive at all) drove on the famous (or perhaps infamous) Washington Beltway! Yes, me. And survived.
LBJ in Dallas--check
That stretch in Atlanta that I can't remember the name of--check
and now, the Washington Beltway--check, check...
Next time I'm there I'm going to hunt down Dupont Circle. :)
Tomorrow.
There was a bloodclot in his lung discovered yesterday which necessitated a filter to be put in today--a very painful process. Andy had some moments of discouragement but also moments of goodness during visits from other members of his company and regiment that are also receiving care at WR.
Today we are happy to report that their was much ice cream and jello being consumed. Did you know that Andy loves ice cream? Butter pecan to be exact...but in a pinch, vanilla seems to do well too. :)
Daniel was with him today and our parents will arrive in DC tomorrow afternoon. Pray for their smooth and safe travel and their strength as their day of traveling will end at Andy's bedside--and in those moments a whole new world will begin for them. I can not yet put into adequate words how it felt to walk into that surgical ICU room for the first time and to see my brother in his current state. I am fumbling around with a journal so I can remember...but coherency is not my gift at the moment. Seeing him the first time was kinda like having a convulsion and an out-of-body experience all at the same time.
Hours after my arrival, Andy asked me to take a photo of him to show him what he looked like and to post on his myspace. Now that I'm home, I can post it (tomorrow) but I'm going to post it somewhere else and link it here, that way it won't load unless you click on the link. It's pretty intense, and I don't want people who know and love Andy to be caught off guard by the image.
Now that I'm home, I will post updates here with more regularity. Feel free to pass around the blog address...who knew my little love letters blog would go from primarily scrapbook pages to love letters of a different sort? I'm now the self-appointed information officer/public affairs office for all things Andy since I am now at home for a few weeks, away from the hub of activity. I want Daniel and Mom and Dad to be able to focus on taking care of Andy and managing their lives away from home and--quite honestly, I need something tangible to do to be helpful.
My email is devendorf@bellsouth.net. Use it at will.
Quite a few people have asked if Andy can receive cards. At this point, we are directing all cards here to me and I will send them in bundles to Daniel. Andy loves photos so feel free to include photos of yourself too. We will see that all cards and photos are prepared so that they can be hung up in his line of sight.
Address for Cards, photos, letters, notes, etc...
Andy Burnett
c/o Sarah Devendorf
7408 Harness Drive
Nashville TN 37221
I will print all emails...between all of us, we already have a few hundred emails of thoughts and prayers to print for him from people all over the world--most that we know and a few that we don't. Don't underestimate the value of these to us and to Andy.
I realized on my drive home today--down through the most beautiful hills of central Virginia--that my hands no longer smell like Andy and this crazy realization made me sob. I know that must be an odd thing to read about...it's also an odd thing to miss it already. Andy came straight into the hospital in Afghanistan from a combat field, where he'd been on a mission for a few weeks. One of the first coherent things he said to me was "I'm sorry I stink. I haven't had a shower in two weeks." At that point, I could not have cared any less about his smell, not had I really even noticed it and I told him so. Given the severity of his wounds, I'm sure that all the medical personnel around him at every step had far better, more important things to contend with than making sure he smelled nice. And believe me when I say...I did not care how he smelled at that time. At all.
His hands and elbows were still caked with bits of dried blood and dirt (that's probably as close as I'll ever get to Afghani soil). His feet were soldier-ish. His beard was overgrown and his hair matted. His forehead was sweaty and grimey. One of my first tasks was to find a wash cloth and wipe off his forehead. I was grateful to have a task and to find anything that might helphim to feel comforted, even a tiny bit. Given the state of his body, the only place available to touch him at that time without causing pain was the Army-short hair on top of his head. So that's what I did for 3 days--rubbed his hair. Alot.
After repeated washings with a wet cloth, by myself and the nurses, his hair started to look more normal, but my hands were bathed in the smell I came to associate with him--it wasn't bad, it wasn't worth bottling and selling, it was just Andy. :) The smell of Andy on my hands seems like a silly thing to be sentimental about but it's just part of the experience that didn't even register until it wasn't there anymore.
A quick lightweight story...
Andy is a medic for the Army but as my dad has already said to many people, it's not just a profession for Andy. He was an EMT before he even joined the Army. Being a medic is who Andy is wired to be. Never was that more clear to me than on Monday afternoon when one of the doctors was putting in a new a-line (an access point in his forearm). Because of the immobilization unit on his neck and chest, Andy couldn't see what the doctor was doing, so he said to me "take a picture of this so I can see...I've never done one of those.".
Photographing a medical procedure involving blood and very long needles was a completely new thing for me... I don't think it's going to be something I make a habit of. :)
And on a final light and personal note--I (she who does not like to drive at all) drove on the famous (or perhaps infamous) Washington Beltway! Yes, me. And survived.
LBJ in Dallas--check
That stretch in Atlanta that I can't remember the name of--check
and now, the Washington Beltway--check, check...
Next time I'm there I'm going to hunt down Dupont Circle. :)
Tomorrow.
7.22.2008
Tuesday morning
Andy had a difficult night and is having a difficult morning. It's a roller coaster for sure today. He needs rest and a clear head. Pray for these things.
7.21.2008
PS to the peas
continued thanks to all the peas who have been posting good thoughts and prayerful wishes for Andy...I can't seem to log into the pea site here are Walter Reed so I can't actually post to peas...but I am reading the thread.
Thank you so much.
Thank you so much.
Hi from Walter Reed
Hi all.
It's Monday evening (I think).
Andy arrived at Walter Reed Army Medical in Washington DC on Sunday afternoon around 4:30 and I was holding his hand by 5:30 pm. He's receiving round-the-clock care in the surgical ICU. I only have a few minutes on the computer so I'm just going to give you the super-light version. Basically, there are three areas of concern, which I have dubbed the three F's so I could keep track of it all....
fever--his fever has been on a roller coaster since he arrived here, which may be an indication of infection.
fragment--there's still a fragment in his spinal column, which they are still attempting to determine the best course of action on.
flem--which I realize doesn't actually start with an f but I needed a system for remembering...there's some drainage into his chest which is difficult for him to expell given that he a) doesn't have muscle control below his armpits and b) can't really cough due to the the immobilization unit the prevents about 98% of his head movement.
I list these three areas so that you can pray specifically.
Pray for Andy's emotional healing as well as his physical strength. There's so much to handle...and he's heavily medicated and doesn't have the full use of his mind, which he finds extremely frustrating!
Do not underestimate the power of your prayers.
The sniper's round was--in the words of one of the doctors here--a big a$$ bullet. It severed a portion of his spinal cord and there is still a small fragment of that round in his spinal column. It's not likely at this point that they will attempt to remove that frag. He may be facing another surgery--the goal of which would be to stabilize his spine, by fusing at least three of them together.
Andy has quite a few buddies that are also here in the hospital with a variety of injuries. It's a mazing to me the depth at which the connection runs between this band of brothers. It's almost sanctified...he gets emotional when they show up. It does them all good I think. He asked me to take pictures of everyone who comes to vist. He wants to post them on his myspace. ((Crazy boy.))
My other brother is scheduled to be here in a few hours, for which I am very grateful. I know how deeply good it will be for Andy to have his original brother here too...
I will be coming home with newly developed and perhaps even slightly sculpted muscles in my own arms from all the stretching Andy and I have been doing. He's deeply concerned about keeping the strength and use of his arms and hands and he tries constatly to stretch his upper body out to keep the blood flowing. I've learned to work his arms around and given that he was already quite muscular, that's no small feat. :) He keeps telling me it's not good enough unless it hurts...and I have a difficult time "hurting" him. We've already seen significant improvement in the upper body abilities, especially in his arms...just since yesterday. Glory to God.
Pray for the speech people...they need to get moving and Andy's ready to tell them so in no uncertain terms. He's in dire need of ice cream and the speech team is holding that accomplishment up.
Pray that neuro can find the right kind of immobilization unit for him...it's a long story...
More as I can...
It's Monday evening (I think).
Andy arrived at Walter Reed Army Medical in Washington DC on Sunday afternoon around 4:30 and I was holding his hand by 5:30 pm. He's receiving round-the-clock care in the surgical ICU. I only have a few minutes on the computer so I'm just going to give you the super-light version. Basically, there are three areas of concern, which I have dubbed the three F's so I could keep track of it all....
fever--his fever has been on a roller coaster since he arrived here, which may be an indication of infection.
fragment--there's still a fragment in his spinal column, which they are still attempting to determine the best course of action on.
flem--which I realize doesn't actually start with an f but I needed a system for remembering...there's some drainage into his chest which is difficult for him to expell given that he a) doesn't have muscle control below his armpits and b) can't really cough due to the the immobilization unit the prevents about 98% of his head movement.
I list these three areas so that you can pray specifically.
Pray for Andy's emotional healing as well as his physical strength. There's so much to handle...and he's heavily medicated and doesn't have the full use of his mind, which he finds extremely frustrating!
Do not underestimate the power of your prayers.
The sniper's round was--in the words of one of the doctors here--a big a$$ bullet. It severed a portion of his spinal cord and there is still a small fragment of that round in his spinal column. It's not likely at this point that they will attempt to remove that frag. He may be facing another surgery--the goal of which would be to stabilize his spine, by fusing at least three of them together.
Andy has quite a few buddies that are also here in the hospital with a variety of injuries. It's a mazing to me the depth at which the connection runs between this band of brothers. It's almost sanctified...he gets emotional when they show up. It does them all good I think. He asked me to take pictures of everyone who comes to vist. He wants to post them on his myspace. ((Crazy boy.))
My other brother is scheduled to be here in a few hours, for which I am very grateful. I know how deeply good it will be for Andy to have his original brother here too...
I will be coming home with newly developed and perhaps even slightly sculpted muscles in my own arms from all the stretching Andy and I have been doing. He's deeply concerned about keeping the strength and use of his arms and hands and he tries constatly to stretch his upper body out to keep the blood flowing. I've learned to work his arms around and given that he was already quite muscular, that's no small feat. :) He keeps telling me it's not good enough unless it hurts...and I have a difficult time "hurting" him. We've already seen significant improvement in the upper body abilities, especially in his arms...just since yesterday. Glory to God.
Pray for the speech people...they need to get moving and Andy's ready to tell them so in no uncertain terms. He's in dire need of ice cream and the speech team is holding that accomplishment up.
Pray that neuro can find the right kind of immobilization unit for him...it's a long story...
More as I can...
7.19.2008
I Just talked to Andy
I was able to speak to Andy for a few minutes this morning. He sounded good, despite the drugs and the sore throat.
Looking forward to seeing him tomorrow.
Looking forward to seeing him tomorrow.
7.18.2008
One last note before I crash...
Andy's waking up post-op and Mom and Dad talked to him on the phone for just a bit this evening thanks to the generous cooperation of a very sweet nurse in Germany and an Army information officer in Virginia. (Isn't technology grand?!) He is pretty groggy and worried about the other soldiers in his unit...and how much of an imposition this is going to cause his family. Typical Andy stuff.
Mom asked if he was in pain and he said "No, the drugs are good."
The doctors said they pulled a 3" long Russian-made sniper round out of his neck. The doctor said that this is the kind of round that pierces brick buildings...so it's no small miracle that Andy's still here. There's extensive damage to several vertebrae and while they are not for certain yet what the outcome will be, it's likely he will have limited use of his legs. Swelling, infection and other factors will determine the extent of the damage over the next few days. I guess you could say that we are trying to prepare ourselves to deal with the worst--seeing him permanently injured--while still expecting healing and complete recovery as a gift straight from the hand of God.
Whatever the case, God is God and Andy is Andy and when the two get together...mountains move.
Daniel and I had a long talk tonight about all this and came to the conclusion that Andy has--since very early childhood--operated under the belief that if he wanted to do something, he could do it. He could find a way...call it what you will...stubborness, determination, strong-willed, bull-headed, whatever...he's always been that way. Andy is 5 years younger than Daniel but Andy has always believed that he could do absolutely anything Daniel could do--even when Daniel was ten and Andy was 5 and the height/weight difference was decidedly in Daniel's favor...I digress. I think these traits will serve both of them well in the coming days.
At the last report Andy is likely to be on a flight from Germany to Walter Reed Army Medical by Sunday afternoon. It is my plan for Daniel and I to be there in time to meet Andy's plane. I simply can not abide the thought of him arriving without someone to meet him. I'm hoping to fly (there are a few direct flight options from Nashville to DC) but if I have to, I will drive. I am the closest to DC (Daniel is in Texas) geographically...I intend to be there.
On his last leave back in the spring, Andy ordered a custom motorcycle helmet (he really does have a big head, even with the Army's haircut) and had it shipped to Daniel to keep for Andy when he got home. The helmet arrived last week. Daniel's bringing the helmet when he comes and I'm taking a new pair of motorcycling (is that a word) gloves. It's symbolic, I suppose, about an unwaivering belief in him and his future. Andy's not in the habit of not doing whatever he pleases and we expect no different of him now....one way or another.
I'm rambling...Please forgive my spelling mistakes...I'm working on my second 2-liter of Diet Coke...I've been up for almost 30 hours.
I did happen to find this article on the military news site about the attack on Chosen Company. Our prayers are with those 9 Chosen Company families who received a very different kind of call from the Army. Our hearts ache for their losses and we morn for them and with them.
Mom asked if he was in pain and he said "No, the drugs are good."
The doctors said they pulled a 3" long Russian-made sniper round out of his neck. The doctor said that this is the kind of round that pierces brick buildings...so it's no small miracle that Andy's still here. There's extensive damage to several vertebrae and while they are not for certain yet what the outcome will be, it's likely he will have limited use of his legs. Swelling, infection and other factors will determine the extent of the damage over the next few days. I guess you could say that we are trying to prepare ourselves to deal with the worst--seeing him permanently injured--while still expecting healing and complete recovery as a gift straight from the hand of God.
Whatever the case, God is God and Andy is Andy and when the two get together...mountains move.
Daniel and I had a long talk tonight about all this and came to the conclusion that Andy has--since very early childhood--operated under the belief that if he wanted to do something, he could do it. He could find a way...call it what you will...stubborness, determination, strong-willed, bull-headed, whatever...he's always been that way. Andy is 5 years younger than Daniel but Andy has always believed that he could do absolutely anything Daniel could do--even when Daniel was ten and Andy was 5 and the height/weight difference was decidedly in Daniel's favor...I digress. I think these traits will serve both of them well in the coming days.
At the last report Andy is likely to be on a flight from Germany to Walter Reed Army Medical by Sunday afternoon. It is my plan for Daniel and I to be there in time to meet Andy's plane. I simply can not abide the thought of him arriving without someone to meet him. I'm hoping to fly (there are a few direct flight options from Nashville to DC) but if I have to, I will drive. I am the closest to DC (Daniel is in Texas) geographically...I intend to be there.
On his last leave back in the spring, Andy ordered a custom motorcycle helmet (he really does have a big head, even with the Army's haircut) and had it shipped to Daniel to keep for Andy when he got home. The helmet arrived last week. Daniel's bringing the helmet when he comes and I'm taking a new pair of motorcycling (is that a word) gloves. It's symbolic, I suppose, about an unwaivering belief in him and his future. Andy's not in the habit of not doing whatever he pleases and we expect no different of him now....one way or another.
I'm rambling...Please forgive my spelling mistakes...I'm working on my second 2-liter of Diet Coke...I've been up for almost 30 hours.
I did happen to find this article on the military news site about the attack on Chosen Company. Our prayers are with those 9 Chosen Company families who received a very different kind of call from the Army. Our hearts ache for their losses and we morn for them and with them.
Andy's always been the kind of man for whom the world was just barely big enough to hold. Everything he's ever done he has done with bigness. When he plays, he plays hard. When he takes something on, his red head is in it to win. When he fights, you can plan to lose. When he loves you, you know it down deep.
The surgery is done and prelim reports indicate that his legs may have suffered some damage. Several vertabrae in his back are in bad shape. He's not yet awake from surgery.
He may be to Walter Reed by Sunday...or as late as Tuesday.
I'm grateful for the notes and prayers and I will in time respond to each one. I will write the stories that have already come out of this experience and I get the feeling that there will be many more. Writing is kinda what I do...but right now, I just wanted to post the basic info so as not to leave ya'll hangin'.
Daddy says that no matter what comes Andy's way with regards to any physical damage, legs do not define a man. What has always defined Andy, can not be taken away with a bullet. It's far more eternal than that.
The surgery is done and prelim reports indicate that his legs may have suffered some damage. Several vertabrae in his back are in bad shape. He's not yet awake from surgery.
He may be to Walter Reed by Sunday...or as late as Tuesday.
I'm grateful for the notes and prayers and I will in time respond to each one. I will write the stories that have already come out of this experience and I get the feeling that there will be many more. Writing is kinda what I do...but right now, I just wanted to post the basic info so as not to leave ya'll hangin'.
Daddy says that no matter what comes Andy's way with regards to any physical damage, legs do not define a man. What has always defined Andy, can not be taken away with a bullet. It's far more eternal than that.
As of 9ish Central Standard Time on Friday, Andy's in surgery. Several of my 2peas friends have assured me that Ramstein/Landstuhl is staffed by the military's finest and he's in the best place for care, well, next to being in the hands of the Father, of course.
Two Sundays ago, during worship at church, my heart was overcome with the truth of these few phrases from Amazing Grace...so much so that I came home, printed it out on a piece of cardstock and hung it over my desk. I've been clinging to it for many things lately, and now even more. I realize it's not scripture, per se, but that song is such a part of my life and always has been, that it has much the same divine power as scripture does, when it comes to my heart.
The Lord has promised good to me.
His Word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be.
As long as life endures.
7.17.2008
Army Andy
Army Andy on the left, with our parents.
Andy (currently deployed to somewhere in Afghanistan) called Daniel (my other brother) this morning to say he's been shot. It's just like him to want to make the call himself. We are waiting by the phone for more info...but your prayers are appreciated.
According to the medic, who assumed the call when the drugs started to kick in, Andy will go to the local med unit for stabilization then it would be a 10 hour flight to Germany for surgery. The Army will call Daniel from Germany.
Waiting and praying.
6:45 PM Central UPDATE:
Not much to update except that the Army has contacted my parents and my brother and are begining the process of arranging transportation (although it's not clear where to yet). His assessment in Germany is pending...not sure yet if he's arrived there or when he will. Hurry up and wait has a new meaning.
7.15.2008
Acrylic Purse
A few weeks ago I was completely inspired by Nichole Heady's blog to make a purse out of something non-purse-like. The same day, I went to Bed, Bath and Beyond and ran across this cool acrylic container...and it seemed to fit the bill.
I started out with this project trying to use a different paper but I wasn't feelin' it. I couldn't find the right ribbon to go with the paper...if you only knew how nuts it is thatI didn't own the right ribbon. LOL!
Anyway, yesterday my first installment of the Little Red Scrapbook kit arrived containing beautiful papers from October Afternoon. Oh I am so lovin' these papers. Cardstock-weight and double-sided...
Happy Tuesday.
7.14.2008
Waitin' on a Woman
Brad Paisley's Waitin' on a Woman
I think this is positively one of the best videos of all time! Enjoy! (Not to mention that it was filmed at The Factory in Franklin.)
Speakin' of waitin...Have you seen Layle's blog lately? It's just overflowin' with good stuff coming out from Scenic Route this summer! Pretty pretty pretty.
Happy Monday!
I think this is positively one of the best videos of all time! Enjoy! (Not to mention that it was filmed at The Factory in Franklin.)
Speakin' of waitin...Have you seen Layle's blog lately? It's just overflowin' with good stuff coming out from Scenic Route this summer! Pretty pretty pretty.
Happy Monday!
7.08.2008
Just when I think I've seen it all...
Up pops this genius creation on Etsy...boy, doesn't that look like fun. :)
7.04.2008
A very happy fourth!
We watched fireworks this evening with some friends and Joal's parents. This was the best fourth of July I think we've ever had. It wasn't outrageously hot or humid...it was comfortable in fact. Friends and family...that's what it's all about.
It made me think of my brother in AFG, who sees a different kind of fireworks too often for my liking. I'm counting the days until August. (Godspeed little brother.)
Have you used the QK Exotic Island font yet? I ordered it tonight for the 08 Cruise book...can't wait to get it. Speaking of my cruise book project...I am so overwhelmed by it right now. This big stack of photos is just looming over me like a basket of bricks...I can't seem to pick it up and get started. Maybe a new QK alpha will help. :)
I have a bazillion things to do next week, the most dreaded of which is to clean out my MSN mailbox. I've had my MSN address for years...like maybe 6 or 7. It has thousands of emails in it.
Yes, I said t-h-o-u-s-a-n-d-s. Some I need to keep which means they have to be forwarded to my new account. Some can be trashed. Ugh. Tediousness makes me nuts.
Anybody need some ribbon? I have some ribbons that need new homes...leave me a comment telling about your favorite use of ribbons and I'll send you some ribbons. :)
7.03.2008
Make It Home
I can't figure out how to disable the auto start on my regular playlist, so you'll have to manually stop it by clicking on the first small button with the two vertical lines...then start the Mark Shutlz video.
Happy Independence Day...
7.02.2008
Pretty Colors
Yes, I gave in to the pretty colors.
Even tho it has Martha Stewart's name on it and it's sold at Walmart...I had to go there for something else...and this just was too good to pass up.
So hang me.
Closed Circuit to my sister, Deb-- this is the car I was telling you about. Whadda ya think?
Did you know that July is National Ice Cream month?
Yep.
And we celebrate it heartily at the Dev...household.
Truth be told...we don't need a reason for ice cream.
I took some schweet pics to day of the boys "celebrating" with Nutty Buddies...I share them when I get the page done.
Really.
Could there be a better "holiday"?
6.30.2008
Hello Mr. Goody. You misnamed your store.
We have the most interesting and entertaining conversations in the car.Here's an installment from today:
Me: There's the Goody's, but I sure thought there was a Ross over there too.
Little Dude: Can we go to Goody's?
Me: Why do you want to go to Goody's?
Little Dude: Because I need some goodies.
Me: Really? What kind of goodies do you think Goody's sells?
Little Dude: Umm. Idunno.
Me: Goody's is kinda like Khols. They sell clothing and shoes and bags and stuff.
Little Dude: They don't sell goodies?
Me: Umm, well not really.
Little Dude: Well, why is it named Goody's?
Me: I think maybe becasue it was started by a man named Mr. Goody. I'm not really sure tho.
Little Dude: I wonder if we could meet Mr. Goody?
Me: I don't know.
Little Dude: He should have named it 'Clothes and Shoes-s'. Since he doesn't sell any goodies.
--------------------I tried to keep the laughing to a minimum.
I really did.
It wasn't easy.
:)
We never did find the Ross store we were looking for. I was hoping they would have some "goodies" for the wedding. LOL.
Stopped by the produce stand on our way home...picked up an out-of-this-world watermelon, a bucket of tomatoes, a bucket of okra and a bucket of peaches. I am introducing my children to stewed okra and tomatoes tonight...can you say "Mississippi Soul Food"? My arteries are clogging up as we speak.
Just after college, I worked at Kroger, in the floral shoppe. (You should probably know that Kroger's flower shoppes in Mississippi are a big deal. Way bigger than they are here in Tennessee. I was surprised to learn that when we first moved here 9 years ago. My local Kroger flower shop has one part time person...my flower shop in Mississippi had a staff of 4 full-time people and was responsible for a full 25% of the store's sales. Not that this really has anything to do with the story.)
Next door to the Kroger was a tiny "meat-n-3" eatery that had been there for 40 years. It was quite a ledgendary local place! The lady who owned it was a traditional southern black lady (named moma bee) who started working there when it first opened although I'm sure she wasn't a cook when it opened. When I became a regular there, she was the owner and head cook, and might I say that she was ancient and sassy and all about good southern food. When she hugged you, you saw your life pass infront of your eyes. :) One of her special dishes was stewed tomatoes and okra--made on Wednesday mornings and sold out by Wednesday night. My mouth waters just thinking about it. A quart could be had for $1.29 and came with 2 sliced of cornbread. And let me tell you, I had many a quart. Oh. my. goodness. It was positively healing.
Anyway, while I am perfectly inept at measuring up to Moma Bee's stewed tomatoes and okra...what I can do is manageable. A little bacon, a little bacon drippings, a handful of chopped onion, chopped garlic, a can of whole kernal corn (drained), roughly chopped fresh tomatoes, chopped okra and some broth for it all to swim in. Cook on low for at least two hours. Salt. Hot sauce is optional. Don't forget the cornbread to sop up the juices. :)
As a side note, I went googling for a recipe and found one that called for Extra-Virgin Olive Oil in the place of beloved bacon drippings. That just seems wrong. Check. That *is* wrong. Heretical maybe. Stewed tomatoes and okra is not a dish that should be "fancied up" with EVOO. No hig-falutin' oil here. Go bacon or go home. :)
My honey is in Nebraska for a few days...and is having a hard time finding a hotel because the Olympic swim trials are happening there. How cool is that?
So now you know.
PS See that thing on the right side of my blog that shows where people come here from? In theory, it's a cool idea to know where your readers are from...in reality tho, it's driving me up the wall. It's sending my curiosity into overdrive. It may not stay for long.
6.28.2008
I didn't react very well.
I am the mother of two boys.
I should know better.
I should expect these things.
I forgot.
Big dude and little dude were playing outside.
I was intently writing on the computer.
They came in very animated and loud.
Big dude runs over to my space and thrusts out his arm.
"Look what we found, Mommy." he says loudly.
I couldn't help myself.
There was a neon yellow Caterpillar inching it's way up his arm.
It was furry. Yellow.
Huge.
(((shuddering)))
I heard myself yelling "Get that things away from me right now."
"But Mom, look." he pleaded.
"I can't look. Get it outside." I say in a weird freaked-out voice.
He complies, begrudgingly.
Deflated.
I hate myself.
I am the mother of two very boyish boys.
I should be used to this stuff by now.
He just wanted to share his "find".
I have made it a practice over the years to act cool even when I don't feel cool about creepy things.
And I never actually feel cool about creepy things.
Never.
I feel this intense need to go take a bath.
It was furry, for cryin' out loud.
And yellow.
I lost my cool.
My fake cool.
Gone.
Right out the window.
Over a Caterpillar.
Ugh.
I should know better.
I should expect these things.
I forgot.
Big dude and little dude were playing outside.
I was intently writing on the computer.
They came in very animated and loud.
Big dude runs over to my space and thrusts out his arm.
"Look what we found, Mommy." he says loudly.
I couldn't help myself.
There was a neon yellow Caterpillar inching it's way up his arm.
It was furry. Yellow.
Huge.
(((shuddering)))
I heard myself yelling "Get that things away from me right now."
"But Mom, look." he pleaded.
"I can't look. Get it outside." I say in a weird freaked-out voice.
He complies, begrudgingly.
Deflated.
I hate myself.
I am the mother of two very boyish boys.
I should be used to this stuff by now.
He just wanted to share his "find".
I have made it a practice over the years to act cool even when I don't feel cool about creepy things.
And I never actually feel cool about creepy things.
Never.
I feel this intense need to go take a bath.
It was furry, for cryin' out loud.
And yellow.
I lost my cool.
My fake cool.
Gone.
Right out the window.
Over a Caterpillar.
Ugh.
After a moment, I grabbed the camera and did what I do.
6.27.2008
Yadda Yadda Yadda
Wanna guess where this "S" came from?
So what's up with you?
Me?
I'm a bit bored.
It's hot and I am so not a fan of hot weather unless there's a beach nearby. :)
Joal worked a few days in Houston this week--did I mention how green with envy I was for this trip? Houston is the home of Tracy Keith's little scrapbook establishment. I want to go there so desperately. But I digress.
His plane was late getting in last night, so everything got pushed back. We didn't go to bed until nearly 2am. Which threw us all into an exhausted, grumpy state for most of today.
Now of course, I drank some Diet Coke this afternoon and now, even tho I am tired, I am so amped I can't sleep. ((Sigh))
*Jennifer McGuire's got some really cool card/stamp videos on her blog. I really like this one.
Me?
I'm a bit bored.
It's hot and I am so not a fan of hot weather unless there's a beach nearby. :)
Joal worked a few days in Houston this week--did I mention how green with envy I was for this trip? Houston is the home of Tracy Keith's little scrapbook establishment. I want to go there so desperately. But I digress.
His plane was late getting in last night, so everything got pushed back. We didn't go to bed until nearly 2am. Which threw us all into an exhausted, grumpy state for most of today.
Now of course, I drank some Diet Coke this afternoon and now, even tho I am tired, I am so amped I can't sleep. ((Sigh))
*Jennifer McGuire's got some really cool card/stamp videos on her blog. I really like this one.
*And this collection of tags made me want to go to town punching up some scraps.
*My sweet husband is leading worship at our church this Sunday...and I get to be there. I think I'm more excited than he is. He plays acoustic guitar with the band pretty regularly, but this week he's leading. Leading. the. whole. shoting. match. The worship pastor (I forget what his official title is) is out this week, as are both the senior pastors, but they've left the morning in very capable hands. I had forgotten how much work it is to heard volunteer musicians. :) I can not imagine having the wherewithall to get up and lead hundreds of people in worship...it's all I can do to sit in the middle sometimes, but Joal--man Joal loves it.
*My Quickutz binders and baskets are in a mess...totally. If I don't clean them up, I'll never find anything. Does anyone need some foam? I seem to have an excessive collection of 4x4 foam sheets. If you need some, let me know.
*My in-laws are coming down from PA for the 4th. I'm excited about that.
That's all for now. Happy Saturday.
6.24.2008
History
"History, Agnes always told her students on the first day of school, was
not a matter of dates and battles, but rather one of stories. She would tell
them stories, she announced, and they would listen. But as Agnes put her pen and
paper away, she wondered this: Is imagination dependent upon experience or is
experience influenced by the imagination"
I'm reading a book from which the above comes. I'll tell you more about that later--when I've finished the book, but I just had to write down that quote and question.
6.22.2008
Local.
If you are a local scrappy person...and you would like some scrapbooking magazines...free....we need to get together.
The scrapping yard sale was a really good idea--I should have done that years ago. I'm happily spending some new cash and feel like I've got a much better handle on my space and the smaller amount of stuff in it. I also met several new scrapbookers from my neighborhood and a lady from my church (she recognized Joal) who's part of the home school community.
But of course, I have the luck of ...well, let's just say that I am perpetually unlucky. I chose to have my yard sale on the one Saturday of the month that proved to have 9 other sales in my neighborhood and 2 huge famous church tag sales on our side of town. Ugh. I missed the best yard sale day of the year...because I was having a yard sale!
In an effort to make myself feel better, I attempted to get Joal to agree that I should officially be allowed to add the $$$ I *didn't* spend at the other garage sales that I missed to the total I brought in. That's sounds perfectly logical to me...yes?
I did finally get rid of that stack of horrendous non-Bazzill cardstock I've been storing for years. One lady took it all (the whole 5" stack) for use with her Sunday School classes...or at least that's what she said. I hope they enjoy it.
I also have a couple of totes that didn't sell...if anyone is interested in totes. At a really good price. But you must come get them. I'm not into the shipping thing lately.
Aren't these note papers gorgous? I bought these today for half price at TJ Maxx. Found here...
Happy Sunday, all.
6.19.2008
I can't think of an appropriate title for this post.
My favorite little scrapbook store is closing it's doors at the end of the month. I can't tell you how much this saddens me.
I've been processing this news since Saturday and I don't seem to be getting anywhere with it.
Scrapbooking is a hard business.
OK, truthfully, any independently-owned small business is a hard business, but especially scrapbooking. There's lots of competition, the industry is fast-paced and fickle, customers aren't loyal and they are pretty demanding. Times are changing and I think this loss of small businesses is a sad but inevitable reality.
I wish it had ended differently for Scrap'n Memories. It was my honor to teach there and I will miss it.
It's official now...I live in scrapbooking-no-man's-land again. (That's a story for another day.) The nearest store is 38 miles away! And the store with the best Scenic Route and Quickutz is about 50 miles away. Fifty miles each way. Ugh!
Picture me, stomping my feet, and sticking out my lip, like a child, saying "that's just not fair."
It's just not fair.
In other news, Heather, my friend...you have to see this!! Is there something you need to tell me???
I've been processing this news since Saturday and I don't seem to be getting anywhere with it.
Scrapbooking is a hard business.
OK, truthfully, any independently-owned small business is a hard business, but especially scrapbooking. There's lots of competition, the industry is fast-paced and fickle, customers aren't loyal and they are pretty demanding. Times are changing and I think this loss of small businesses is a sad but inevitable reality.
I wish it had ended differently for Scrap'n Memories. It was my honor to teach there and I will miss it.
It's official now...I live in scrapbooking-no-man's-land again. (That's a story for another day.) The nearest store is 38 miles away! And the store with the best Scenic Route and Quickutz is about 50 miles away. Fifty miles each way. Ugh!
Picture me, stomping my feet, and sticking out my lip, like a child, saying "that's just not fair."
It's just not fair.
In other news, Heather, my friend...you have to see this!! Is there something you need to tell me???
6.17.2008
Make a Card Monday...and stuff.
It's true.
I've been missing out.
DSL has allowed me to be able to use YouTube for the first time.
Can you hear the angels singing?
What a cool thing!
My favorite, by far, is Make a Card Monday. I've watched every single one.
There are other crafty, cardies on there, but MaCM is the best. Most people who do ste-by-step directions...seem to do too many directions. Let's face it. If you are watching a crafty person on YouTube, the chances are great that you are crafty. Or they hem n haw around. Get on with it.
I like this.
and in other news, last week the dudes and I trekked over to Arkansas to spend a few days with my parents. It was a good trip. Mom and I took the boys to the Discovery Place...
And if, by chance, you love Gerainiums, as I do, you must see SuzieBeezie's post from April (yes, I'm just now catching up on some missed blogs).
Praying for today's weather to carry into Saturday for our scrapbooking yard sale...
6.15.2008
In other news...
Churches.
When did I become a church-cynic?
I've had reason to check out several websites belonging to different churches lately and I have to say...
get a clue.
Why would a church build a website about itself and not use any pictures of itself or it's people. What does it say about a church that they use stock photos on their website?
Online giving...h-a-t-e this feature. Kill it. Auto-drafted giving is bad enough. Seriously. Giving is not a function. It's an act. Do not steal the joy of giving by making it a brainless, thoughtless, purely functional act done by computers. If you are too busy to make it to church to make your donation in person, perhaps you are too busy.
If you can't keep it up to date, don't keep it. 'Nuf said.
What's with all the lingo and abbreviations? Is there no reason to believe that non-members may be perusing your site? How will they be able to know what's going on if every sentence is laced with abbreviations and church-ese. Please. Write it out.
If you are going to have a testimonials page (which I think is a fabulous idea), please please please have testimonials from folks in every age group and stage category. Unless every single member of your church is a 67 year old male, please don't let his be the only testimonial on your page. Find some others. Bribe them if you have too. Perspective. People want perspective. Lots of perspective.
And finally, when you have your website in place, ask a few of your friends who are not members of your church to take a moment and browse your site. Get their feedback and perspective on the "outsider" take on your site. You might benefit from some additional perspective.
I'm available...and will gladly tell you what I think.
LOL!
When did I become a church-cynic?
I've had reason to check out several websites belonging to different churches lately and I have to say...
get a clue.
Why would a church build a website about itself and not use any pictures of itself or it's people. What does it say about a church that they use stock photos on their website?
Online giving...h-a-t-e this feature. Kill it. Auto-drafted giving is bad enough. Seriously. Giving is not a function. It's an act. Do not steal the joy of giving by making it a brainless, thoughtless, purely functional act done by computers. If you are too busy to make it to church to make your donation in person, perhaps you are too busy.
If you can't keep it up to date, don't keep it. 'Nuf said.
What's with all the lingo and abbreviations? Is there no reason to believe that non-members may be perusing your site? How will they be able to know what's going on if every sentence is laced with abbreviations and church-ese. Please. Write it out.
If you are going to have a testimonials page (which I think is a fabulous idea), please please please have testimonials from folks in every age group and stage category. Unless every single member of your church is a 67 year old male, please don't let his be the only testimonial on your page. Find some others. Bribe them if you have too. Perspective. People want perspective. Lots of perspective.
And finally, when you have your website in place, ask a few of your friends who are not members of your church to take a moment and browse your site. Get their feedback and perspective on the "outsider" take on your site. You might benefit from some additional perspective.
I'm available...and will gladly tell you what I think.
LOL!
Something about Color.
I'm picky about color.
I think perhaps that's why my attraction to Bazzill is so strong--I can be picky about my color selections in Bazzill paper because they offer so many blooming choices. :)
But sometimes being perpick-ity about colors makes one (me) feel indecisive. Having so many options means color selection can become a time-consuming process.
To combat this, I've been looking for a way (or a few ways) to speed up the process...some alternative to using the same faithful color groups all the time. My little town library offered up this book that was perhaps the worst idea book I think I've ever read.
I finally came to realize that there is a very easy way--a very obvious way--to make color selections without an act of congress.
((((drumroll please)))))
seriously
this is big
worth waiting for
are you prepared
maybe you should sit down
ok
here we go
my big reveal
prepare to be amazed
dutdutdutdut tah dah dah!!!!
----the Stampin' Up catalog and the Close to my Heart catalogs. Sheer color genius at work. All I have to do is copy it.
Yeah. I know. I let you down. Smack me in the forehead. It's OK. I've already done it for you. :) But seriously, the color groupings in these 2 catalogs are consistantly right on the money. Easy to use...no thought needed.
Who knew?
OK so that was a rhetorical question. I get that everybody and their brother probably already picked up on the usefulness of stamp catalogs for color groups...I'm always late to the party.
I think perhaps that's why my attraction to Bazzill is so strong--I can be picky about my color selections in Bazzill paper because they offer so many blooming choices. :)
But sometimes being perpick-ity about colors makes one (me) feel indecisive. Having so many options means color selection can become a time-consuming process.
To combat this, I've been looking for a way (or a few ways) to speed up the process...some alternative to using the same faithful color groups all the time. My little town library offered up this book that was perhaps the worst idea book I think I've ever read.
I finally came to realize that there is a very easy way--a very obvious way--to make color selections without an act of congress.
((((drumroll please)))))
seriously
this is big
worth waiting for
are you prepared
maybe you should sit down
ok
here we go
my big reveal
prepare to be amazed
dutdutdutdut tah dah dah!!!!
----the Stampin' Up catalog and the Close to my Heart catalogs. Sheer color genius at work. All I have to do is copy it.
Yeah. I know. I let you down. Smack me in the forehead. It's OK. I've already done it for you. :) But seriously, the color groupings in these 2 catalogs are consistantly right on the money. Easy to use...no thought needed.
Who knew?
OK so that was a rhetorical question. I get that everybody and their brother probably already picked up on the usefulness of stamp catalogs for color groups...I'm always late to the party.
6.08.2008
Look at this!
So you know how much I love to see examples of scrapper's who get inspired by everyday items, right?
Well, even if you didn't know...I do.
Love it.
Especially this colorful GEM by digital scrapbooker (and pea) Kim Riverton.
In other news, I'll be blog-less for a few days...taking some time off. Enjoy.
Well, even if you didn't know...I do.
Love it.
Especially this colorful GEM by digital scrapbooker (and pea) Kim Riverton.
In other news, I'll be blog-less for a few days...taking some time off. Enjoy.
6.07.2008
The Book I Should Have Written
I've always fancied myself a writer but I'm much too impatient to actually sit and write a whole book (other than the one I wrote *by hand* in high school). So, I've taken to collecting titles of books other people have already written that sound like something I would have written, if I could focus for that long. (I know you are waiting with baited breath right...)
So here's my list...
of the
B O O K S I S H O U L D H A V E W R I T T E N
The Hair-Raising Joys of Raising Boys by Dave Meurer
Trespassers Will Be Baptized: The Unordained Memoir of a Preacher's Daughter by Elizabeth Emerson Hancock
Make Your Creative Dreams Real: A Plan for Procrastinators, Perfectionists, Busy People, and People Who Would Really Rather Sleep All Day by Sark
The Bacon Cookbook: More than 150 Recipes from Around the World for Everyone's Favorite Food by James Villas
Quit Your Job And Move To Key West : The Complete Guide by Christipher Shultz
and finally, for those days when you just don't feel like being a sentimental journaler... Unjournaling: Daily Writing Exercises that Are NOT Personal, NOT Introspective, NOT Boring! by Dawn DiPrince and Cheryl Miller Thurston
So now you know.
So here's my list...
of the
B O O K S I S H O U L D H A V E W R I T T E N
The Hair-Raising Joys of Raising Boys by Dave Meurer
Trespassers Will Be Baptized: The Unordained Memoir of a Preacher's Daughter by Elizabeth Emerson Hancock
Make Your Creative Dreams Real: A Plan for Procrastinators, Perfectionists, Busy People, and People Who Would Really Rather Sleep All Day by Sark
The Bacon Cookbook: More than 150 Recipes from Around the World for Everyone's Favorite Food by James Villas
Quit Your Job And Move To Key West : The Complete Guide by Christipher Shultz
and finally, for those days when you just don't feel like being a sentimental journaler... Unjournaling: Daily Writing Exercises that Are NOT Personal, NOT Introspective, NOT Boring! by Dawn DiPrince and Cheryl Miller Thurston
So now you know.
6.06.2008
Classic Supplies
So I was over at Scrap in Style this beautiful morning and I noticed in the boutique that there's a page called *All Time Classic Products*. I've always wished for stores to do this. Seriously...there are just some things that are really classic and will never go out of style.
On my personal list would be:
Close to my Heart leather albums --just can't beat them.
Zig Glue pens
Buttons
Black and white check ribbon
Van Dyke Brown Ink
Bazzill paper
Circle punches or dies
Fiskars Soft-touch scissors (both sizes)
Making Memories silver brads
Scenic Route Background papers
vellum
Fiskars trimmer
paper piercer
tape adhesive
Xyron "X"
Heidi Swapp chilpboard letters in jet black (even tho they don't stick)
ric rac (any color, any size)
DYMO label maker with black tape
Kraft-colored cardstock
black and whilte polka dot paper
What's on your All-Time Classics list?
And now a bit of house-keeping: After eons of dial-up, I have upgraded the current surfing capabilities to DSL with Bellsouth. Oh. my. goodness. It's the technological equivalent of going from outdoor plumbing to a bathroom at the Ritz Carlton. Or from a bike to a jet plane. There just aren't words.
Why do I resist technological advancement so much?
Oh well...we'll ponder that question later and get on with zoom zoom zoom...
Closed Circuit note to Heather: I can watch YouTubes now...instantly. LOL!
On my personal list would be:
Close to my Heart leather albums --just can't beat them.
Zig Glue pens
Buttons
Black and white check ribbon
Van Dyke Brown Ink
Bazzill paper
Circle punches or dies
Fiskars Soft-touch scissors (both sizes)
Making Memories silver brads
Scenic Route Background papers
vellum
Fiskars trimmer
paper piercer
tape adhesive
Xyron "X"
Heidi Swapp chilpboard letters in jet black (even tho they don't stick)
ric rac (any color, any size)
DYMO label maker with black tape
Kraft-colored cardstock
black and whilte polka dot paper
What's on your All-Time Classics list?
And now a bit of house-keeping: After eons of dial-up, I have upgraded the current surfing capabilities to DSL with Bellsouth. Oh. my. goodness. It's the technological equivalent of going from outdoor plumbing to a bathroom at the Ritz Carlton. Or from a bike to a jet plane. There just aren't words.
Why do I resist technological advancement so much?
Oh well...we'll ponder that question later and get on with zoom zoom zoom...
Closed Circuit note to Heather: I can watch YouTubes now...instantly. LOL!
6.02.2008
One Shot Wonders
I've been feeling really bad the last couple of days...sleeping alot...trying to feel better. Today Joal had a great day at work by 10am so he came home early to be with us. One of the things I had to get accomplished this week was to get an Immunization form from the health department for G's school. To get the form, I have to go downtown...something I hate doing. So Joal decided we would take care of this together today. Essentially, he took care of it and the boys and I rode in the car with him.
Yes, I'd rather be the one sitting in the car with two boys than have to deal with a government agency and their paperwork.
But I digress.
While we were waiting in the car, I started looking back at the photos I have on my (new) camera--taken over the last few weeks. There's some pretty good stuff on there, if I may say so myself. :)
Here are a few examples:
Yes, I'd rather be the one sitting in the car with two boys than have to deal with a government agency and their paperwork.
But I digress.
While we were waiting in the car, I started looking back at the photos I have on my (new) camera--taken over the last few weeks. There's some pretty good stuff on there, if I may say so myself. :)
Here are a few examples:
5.31.2008
I love stamps.
I love stamps.
I own a decent collection.
I own quite a few stamp catalogs.
I read many many stamping blogs regularly.
I admire stamp artists.
I have designed stamps and had them made.
I read stamping magazines.
I know alot about stamping.
I browse stamping sites and boards.
I own an embossing gun and embossing powders.
I have attended stamping conventions and taken classes.
And yet...
Oddly enough...
I almost never actually do any stamping.
In fact, I stamp so rarely that most of my ink pads have given up their goodness.
I'm not sure why. I just don't think of actually doing it very often.
I was drooling over this stamping blogs this very day...what visual candy!
But I don't stamp.
Why is that?
I own a decent collection.
I own quite a few stamp catalogs.
I read many many stamping blogs regularly.
I admire stamp artists.
I have designed stamps and had them made.
I read stamping magazines.
I know alot about stamping.
I browse stamping sites and boards.
I own an embossing gun and embossing powders.
I have attended stamping conventions and taken classes.
And yet...
Oddly enough...
I almost never actually do any stamping.
In fact, I stamp so rarely that most of my ink pads have given up their goodness.
I'm not sure why. I just don't think of actually doing it very often.
I was drooling over this stamping blogs this very day...what visual candy!
But I don't stamp.
Why is that?
5.27.2008
It was a good weekend...
We had a great weekend--I hope you did too.
Joal worked part of Friday and came home early.
Saturday morning Joal attended the funeral of Maria Chapman and while that's certainly not the way anyone ever wants to spend a holiday weekend, it was, from all accounts, a wonderful, beautiful celebration of her life. He came home so deeply moved and what he shared with me was so redemptive and loving. I am so constantly amazed by the power of God's grace--there just aren't words.
Later on Saturday we had some friends over for a traditional cookout. Six adults and six children (and 2 babies on the way) in addition to the 4 of us...it was quite the adventure.
The menu consisted of:
Grilled Hamburgers and Hot Dogs, with all the appropriate trimmings
Grilled Herbed Vegetables--Potatoes, Squash, Onion, and Zucchini
Fresh Black Bean and Corn Salsa
Cole Slaw
Shells and Cheese
Fruit and Spinach Salad with Vinaigrette Dressing (made by one of our friends)
Fresh Fruits
And for dessert, another friend made a banana pudding that was not only beautiful but also delicious! (I'm thinking we should make Banana Pudding Lance's standing contribution to all future gatherings!)
It's possible I am pickier than most people about entertaining at our house. See, I was raised by a woman who truly demonstrated the gift of hospitality to so many people all throughout my life and she taught me well. It's a big deal to me to put together a gathering. I plan and plot to make things just so. I make lists. Honestly, it's exhausting but I do so enjoy it. It means a great deal to me...maybe because we don't live close enough to our family to get together with them very often and I miss that. Friends are an important part of our circle (especially these particular ones) and I am renewed by being with them.
We ate together, and we played together. The children who range in age from 12 (Julian) down to about 16 months get along remarkably well. They enjoyed lots of bubble-blowing, chalking on the patio and throwing around the balls. I took a ton of pictures with the new camera and got some great shots. We had a time of singing, with Joal playing the guitar.
It was a great afternoon shared with our favorite people.
The rest of our favorite people will be coming over on Wednesday evening and we will do it all again.
Yesterday, I picked up my cruise pictures from the printer. All 320 of them! I've had a horrible time finding a new photo lab...I finally just paid the extra $$ and went to the local Wolf Camera. Prints cost more there but the quality is absolutely superb and far better than anything else I've tried.
Last night Joal and I watched a movie--Dan in Real Life. It was good...funny. Sweet. Steve Carell has a similar dry acting wit as Billy Crystal from the days of When Harry Met Sally. My only objection to this movie was that the main character's teenage daughter was allowed to be a complete yutz towards her father...more than we necessary. I would have smacked her. But in the interest of a good movie, we'll suspend the need to be a parent for a bit. Ya'll know that I n-e-v-e-r recommend movies because it inevitably gets me into trouble with someone...but I liked this movie. That's all I'm saying.
And surprisingly enough, Joal was the one who picked it. His movie-selection-credentials had previously been on the verge of being revoked due to severely lack-lustre choices he's made recently...but I'm thinking he may have been redeemed with this one. Or at least gotten on the road to recovery, although I'm pretty sure I'll never completely get over his choosing of Pursuit of Happyness. :)
So now you know.
PS I did get my space cleaned and organized. It's so nice to work in it right now. :)
Joal worked part of Friday and came home early.
Saturday morning Joal attended the funeral of Maria Chapman and while that's certainly not the way anyone ever wants to spend a holiday weekend, it was, from all accounts, a wonderful, beautiful celebration of her life. He came home so deeply moved and what he shared with me was so redemptive and loving. I am so constantly amazed by the power of God's grace--there just aren't words.
Later on Saturday we had some friends over for a traditional cookout. Six adults and six children (and 2 babies on the way) in addition to the 4 of us...it was quite the adventure.
The menu consisted of:
Grilled Hamburgers and Hot Dogs, with all the appropriate trimmings
Grilled Herbed Vegetables--Potatoes, Squash, Onion, and Zucchini
Fresh Black Bean and Corn Salsa
Cole Slaw
Shells and Cheese
Fruit and Spinach Salad with Vinaigrette Dressing (made by one of our friends)
Fresh Fruits
And for dessert, another friend made a banana pudding that was not only beautiful but also delicious! (I'm thinking we should make Banana Pudding Lance's standing contribution to all future gatherings!)
It's possible I am pickier than most people about entertaining at our house. See, I was raised by a woman who truly demonstrated the gift of hospitality to so many people all throughout my life and she taught me well. It's a big deal to me to put together a gathering. I plan and plot to make things just so. I make lists. Honestly, it's exhausting but I do so enjoy it. It means a great deal to me...maybe because we don't live close enough to our family to get together with them very often and I miss that. Friends are an important part of our circle (especially these particular ones) and I am renewed by being with them.
We ate together, and we played together. The children who range in age from 12 (Julian) down to about 16 months get along remarkably well. They enjoyed lots of bubble-blowing, chalking on the patio and throwing around the balls. I took a ton of pictures with the new camera and got some great shots. We had a time of singing, with Joal playing the guitar.
It was a great afternoon shared with our favorite people.
The rest of our favorite people will be coming over on Wednesday evening and we will do it all again.
Yesterday, I picked up my cruise pictures from the printer. All 320 of them! I've had a horrible time finding a new photo lab...I finally just paid the extra $$ and went to the local Wolf Camera. Prints cost more there but the quality is absolutely superb and far better than anything else I've tried.
Last night Joal and I watched a movie--Dan in Real Life. It was good...funny. Sweet. Steve Carell has a similar dry acting wit as Billy Crystal from the days of When Harry Met Sally. My only objection to this movie was that the main character's teenage daughter was allowed to be a complete yutz towards her father...more than we necessary. I would have smacked her. But in the interest of a good movie, we'll suspend the need to be a parent for a bit. Ya'll know that I n-e-v-e-r recommend movies because it inevitably gets me into trouble with someone...but I liked this movie. That's all I'm saying.
And surprisingly enough, Joal was the one who picked it. His movie-selection-credentials had previously been on the verge of being revoked due to severely lack-lustre choices he's made recently...but I'm thinking he may have been redeemed with this one. Or at least gotten on the road to recovery, although I'm pretty sure I'll never completely get over his choosing of Pursuit of Happyness. :)
So now you know.
PS I did get my space cleaned and organized. It's so nice to work in it right now. :)
5.25.2008
We Remember
On this Memorial Day weekend, we honor and remember those who serve currently and those who have served their country--this great United States.
We acknowledge their great sacrifice and show our gratefulness always.
Happy Birthday Dixie Carter
Happy Birthday Dixie Carter!
I love her.
I think she totally rocks!
In a classy, southern woman kind-of way.
:)
5.20.2008
Give Me Liberty
It's a good day.
I have Scenic Route's Liberty in my hot little hands.
I wish there was an auto ship program for Scenic Route.
Layle, are you hearing me?
Every new release, just send me a brick.
Seriously.
Surely, I'm not the only one.
In other news, I'm seeking a different kind of liberty or maybe freedom...from clutter. We are having friends over for a meal on Monday and I want my space to be completely organized and pleasant by then. Cross your fingers for me.
I have Scenic Route's Liberty in my hot little hands.
I wish there was an auto ship program for Scenic Route.
Layle, are you hearing me?
Every new release, just send me a brick.
Seriously.
Surely, I'm not the only one.
In other news, I'm seeking a different kind of liberty or maybe freedom...from clutter. We are having friends over for a meal on Monday and I want my space to be completely organized and pleasant by then. Cross your fingers for me.
5.17.2008
Can I order up another Saturday please?
What a day.
Got up early and hit some yard sales. It was the perfect spring Saturday morning for treasure hunting. Made 12 stops and found a handful of goodies: a large collection of vintage books (both children's story books and cookbooks), a hat, a zipper binder for Julian, a toy boat that Julian declared he needed, and a yard tool. All in all, a good day. There were many in my own neighborhood today...I like those that don't require too much driving. Otherwise, it kinda defeats the purpose, ya know. :)
The car was in need of new tires, brakes and a few minor upkeep measures, so the men and I trekked it down to Franklin to the Toyota dealership (the only one in the area open all day on Saturday). While we were waiting, we had lunch at Jason's Deli. I like going there and I wish there was one closer to us.
The car upkeep took a while longer, so I dropped Joal off at the dealership to wait on it and I brought the boys home. We totally intended to go over to the Touch a Truck event...but I forgot. Ugh. The boys would have loved it. We were right there...it just slipped my mind. Looney, I tell ya. I'm headed that way fast.
When Joal got home later in the afternoon, I went to pick up a new camera and a home printer. I'm hooking it all up right now...it's so exciting. Now I can print my own pictures. How cool is that? I never imagined...Remember when we had to mail off the rolls of film and wait for weeks for it to return? Not anymore. I know, I'm a little late with it...others have been printing at home for years...but I'm always a little behind the times with techno stuff.
Then after we got the boys into bed, I went to buy groceries. It's exhausting to go at 9:30 pm, but it surely isn't crowded and I don't have to contend with little people adding things to my buggie. :)
I got alot done today, but I sure could use one more Saturday to catch up at home. Anyone have an extra I can have?
So now you know...
Got up early and hit some yard sales. It was the perfect spring Saturday morning for treasure hunting. Made 12 stops and found a handful of goodies: a large collection of vintage books (both children's story books and cookbooks), a hat, a zipper binder for Julian, a toy boat that Julian declared he needed, and a yard tool. All in all, a good day. There were many in my own neighborhood today...I like those that don't require too much driving. Otherwise, it kinda defeats the purpose, ya know. :)
The car was in need of new tires, brakes and a few minor upkeep measures, so the men and I trekked it down to Franklin to the Toyota dealership (the only one in the area open all day on Saturday). While we were waiting, we had lunch at Jason's Deli. I like going there and I wish there was one closer to us.
The car upkeep took a while longer, so I dropped Joal off at the dealership to wait on it and I brought the boys home. We totally intended to go over to the Touch a Truck event...but I forgot. Ugh. The boys would have loved it. We were right there...it just slipped my mind. Looney, I tell ya. I'm headed that way fast.
When Joal got home later in the afternoon, I went to pick up a new camera and a home printer. I'm hooking it all up right now...it's so exciting. Now I can print my own pictures. How cool is that? I never imagined...Remember when we had to mail off the rolls of film and wait for weeks for it to return? Not anymore. I know, I'm a little late with it...others have been printing at home for years...but I'm always a little behind the times with techno stuff.
Then after we got the boys into bed, I went to buy groceries. It's exhausting to go at 9:30 pm, but it surely isn't crowded and I don't have to contend with little people adding things to my buggie. :)
I got alot done today, but I sure could use one more Saturday to catch up at home. Anyone have an extra I can have?
So now you know...
5.16.2008
Working on Cruise Stuff
This little place is on one of the inlets of Grand Cayman. It was FOR SALE when we were there in March. We saw it as we were leaving the island for our swim with the Stingreys and our Coral expedition. I took about 20 pictures of it...afterall, what more could a girl want in a piece of real estate? It certainly made my heart skip a beat. Palm Trees, shutters instead of windows, a three boat slip, a view of the ocean :) and of course, a guest house for a sister...LOL! Can you imagine the scrapbook retreat possiblities?
The Navigator of the Seas employs about 1200 people to staff each cruise. Two of those people are full-time food decor experts. Seriously. This kind of thing, along with ice sculpting is their sole responsiblity. But don't go thinking they aren't pulling their weight. These beautiful and ultra-creative food sculptures and carvings are all over the place in all the dining areas of the ship. Hundreds of these in all kinds of shapes and sizes are made for each cruise. Every day something different.
And oh my, are they fast. I took this photo following a demonstration of the food carvings and it took maybe 5 minutes to turn this out. It was amazing.
In scrapbooking news, check out the product review on this page at scrapbook.com. I think I have a new hobby...reviewing products. It was fun and it earned me ten dollars...which I promptly used on paper! Of course.
On an unrealted note, does anyone know where I can find a simple tutorial on how to apply a digital brush or frame overlay to photos without Photo Shop? I use Microsoft's Picture It for photo editing and I don't have time to learn Photo Shop right now. (Someday...) Any ideas? I just want to do some very simple frames around some of the beach photos...
Many thanks...and
Happy Saturday.
5.15.2008
5.14.2008
Come Meet the Child
Come meet the child
Who loves to be free,
Warmed by the sun
And kissed by the sea.
Come meet the child
Who watches each sky,
Searching for rainbows
Or objects that fly.
Come meet the child
Who hides from the dark,
Bees that can sting
Or dogs that will bark.
Come meet the child
Who’s eager for praise,
Told she is special
And loved many ways.
Come meet the child
Who’s so hard to see.
Come meet the child
That lives within me!
--Jean Warren
© Warren Publishing
Pre-K graduation last night...
5.12.2008
Excitement on Briley
Monday, AM
So there we were driving along the almost deserted Briley Parkway in relative peace when out of nowhere the passengers in my backseat went absolutely beserk. Beserk. Bezerk. I have no idea how to spell it but you know what I mean. Crazy. They went crazy.
Like little girls seeing Hannah Montana.
They craned their necks and begged me to speed up as she passed. Um yeah. Might I remind you that this is your mother's 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee with 167,ooo miles and --lovely as she is--she does not do "catch up" with a Porsche. Ever. In a million years. Sorry to disappoint, my loves.
What were they freaking out about? A little blue Porsche. The world-famous "Miss Sally" from the movie, Cars.
Shrieks of "Mommy, it's Miss Sally!" could be heard for miles. It was the highlight of our trip to the bread store.
I wonder if drivers of blue Porsches (what's the plural of Porsche? Porschi?) know how special they are to children who love that movie. I suppose drivers of Porsches have always garnered a certain amount of attention...but now it's certainly a different kind of attention...like say smiles and shrieks and pointing from little boys ages 5 to 12 and their Jeep-driving Moms.
"Boy, you're in a heap o' trouble now."
So there we were driving along the almost deserted Briley Parkway in relative peace when out of nowhere the passengers in my backseat went absolutely beserk. Beserk. Bezerk. I have no idea how to spell it but you know what I mean. Crazy. They went crazy.
Like little girls seeing Hannah Montana.
They craned their necks and begged me to speed up as she passed. Um yeah. Might I remind you that this is your mother's 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee with 167,ooo miles and --lovely as she is--she does not do "catch up" with a Porsche. Ever. In a million years. Sorry to disappoint, my loves.
What were they freaking out about? A little blue Porsche. The world-famous "Miss Sally" from the movie, Cars.
Shrieks of "Mommy, it's Miss Sally!" could be heard for miles. It was the highlight of our trip to the bread store.
I wonder if drivers of blue Porsches (what's the plural of Porsche? Porschi?) know how special they are to children who love that movie. I suppose drivers of Porsches have always garnered a certain amount of attention...but now it's certainly a different kind of attention...like say smiles and shrieks and pointing from little boys ages 5 to 12 and their Jeep-driving Moms.
"Boy, you're in a heap o' trouble now."
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