It's All About Her

There's someone that you've probably heard of, and I must say she has done pretty well for herself. The problem is, she can't seem to get over it. The other night, I decided that it was time that I voice my thoughts about her. Sure, I've occasionally watched her giveaway things, like cars to her entire audience, but Oprah just can't seem to get enough of herself.


A few months ago, Oprah was in Kosciusko, Mississippi where my little bro Bobby lives. He was her "bodyguard" while she was there for the grand opening of HER boys and girls club. She came up with a very catchy name for the club, The Oprah Winfrey Boys and Girls Club. Why couldn't they name it after her grandmother whom she loved so much?


The other night, if you chose to watch it, you could watch her journey to the opening of the leadership academy in South Africa. Once again, what might be a good name for the school? Surely something with her name in it, would be best, don't you think?


When it came to publishing her own magazine, she graciously called it just "Oprah" magazine, but she did require that she be the cover photo on each magazine.

Apparently Oprah had Fantasia on her show today. She is the new star of "The Color Purple" on Broadway and ironically Oprah is footing the bill for production. Now, the Web site, says that Oprah is really excited about the new show opening. Of course, if I had invested millions of dollars in something, I would probably be pretty excited about it too.

Whatever happened to the good 'ole days when Oprah was humble. She had odd clothes, big glasses and didn't constantly use her name to describe everything she did. Back then, she wasn't nearly into herself, I mean back before she made it huge, she did name her production company HARPO. For those of you who may not realize it, HARPO is OPRAH spelled backwards. Yes, those were the days.

At The Car Wash

I went to the car wash today after work. The van was dirty and we had to get it clean. I really like going to the car wash, because it is a lot of fun to watch the cars go through the soap and suds. The van pulled onto the track and the little doohickies popped up and started pulling the van through. A really nice mercedes convertible followed behind the van. A man walked in and stood in the hallway beside me watching the cars move through.

I thought that the man looked familiar, but Abbey says that I think that everybody looks familiar. I continued to watch the car go through and the man watched his go through. He eventually went on, when I heard someone say, "Hey Toby." That's when it hit me, the man was Toby Keith.



When I got out to where they clean the windows, Toby was talking to some producer guy and they were really getting into the conversation. I have complained about not seeing anyone famous in Nashville, but I am starting to believe that I am just not quick enough to recognize them.

Funny Pictures and A Day in Review

Today was not all that interesting, so there is not a whole lot to report. Abbey had school and then she had a "girl's club" thing that they are doing for the girls at the school. I was very busy at work, trying to meet a deadline, and I think that I am going to actually be a little early. Not a lot early, only about a day, but hey, it is early!

We went to Cracker Barrel for supper tonight, although we had planned on eating at home, but because a mother forgot to come and pick up her daughter (Yeah, that's what I thought too!) it was too late.

Now, Abbey is working on her school plans for this week and I am working on the laundry. It is REALLY amazing how much laundry two people can make in one week! I cannot imagine what is going to be like once we get a baby. Maybe Reed won't spit up (Ha!).

I think that is about all! Enjoy the funny pictures.

Reed's Latest Elephants

The Global Bazaar selection at Target was not very exciting this year. There were several elephants available and we thought they may be nice to have when they went on sale.



Last week, we went in Target and found them 75% off, so we bought a couple of them. They are pretty cute and I think that they will fit into Reed's room quite well.

Of course, Abbey is a little upset, because we don't have a bookcase or anything for Reed's room for us to put all of his elephant decorations.

Our friends Jimmy and Meyline told us today at church that they were at Target last night and had found the cutest bedding and they thought we would love it. They said it was green with elephants on it. Imagine their surprise when we told them that my parents had already bought us all of that.

When I was little I used to want Santa to bring me a pet elephant. I wonder if God is bringing me what I really want, not as an elephant but as my son.

a DIFFERENT kind of night

Well, we had dinner with the Sprinkles again tonight. Today was "Abbey Day," which means that after Handbell Festival (I am getting a little better, I think), we stayed in Mount Juliet and explored the shopping options at the Providence Shopping Center. First, we hit Target. We decided that we were going to buy Abbey some clothes, so I loaded down the cart with things I thought she might like and then she tried everything on.

She found a few items that she liked so we bought them. I did not get anything from Target. Then we headed over to Old Navy where it seems there was a plethora of clothing items just waiting to be purchased. Almost everything that Abbey tried on worked perfectly, so we bought them too.

Then we headed to Rack Room to buy some shoes. I got a couple of pairs and so did Abbey. They had a really great sale.

From there we went to Belk, because Abbey needed eye make-up and it's Clinique bonus time. Finally, after spending a whole Volvo's (see previous post) worth of money, we headed to visit with the Sprinkles. We went to eat at the WORST McAllister's in all of the world (Gallatin, TN) and then headed to Panera for a little dessert and coffee. That's where everything became different.


Abbey opened everything up by sharing with the Sprinkles that there may have been a time in my life when I wore Pajama pants to class. If said actions did occur, it was while I was wearing a pair of blue and green plaid polo pants. Said pants, may happen to be the thread-bare ones that are pictured in this blog. It might also be noted that pants were not so widely spread at the time, as it seems marriage has really worked to cure my inability to gain weight.




It also came about through conversation that Abbey had WARNED her parents before I met them, that I was, how to do you say it, "Different." Now, what is that supposed mean? Am I different or just misunderstood?

Baby, Volvo, and Lots of Laughs

First of all, it is my sincere pleasure to introduce to you, my nephew or neice, Peanut. His or her name will probably not be Peanut (especially since Bobby told me the names last night, but I don't know if he wants them published), but right now, he or she looks a lot like a peanut, so that is what we will call him or her for now.

I don't really like it when people call baby's It, so I am going to try to refrain from using it when refering to Peanut, whom I plan to teach to act EXACTLY like my little brother did growing up. Good luck Alyson.



A few days ago, I heard about a great deal on what seemed to be a good car. Acting in my normal implusive way, I aggreed to purchase the car for a small amount sight-unseen. The car was a 1990 Volvo, and boy you would not believe the harrassment I got last night about it from my loving, caring wife and our dear friends the Sprinkles.

They were relentless, especially when they found out that I didn't actually buy it because the person who was letting me have this "great deal" called to tell me that the radiator was busted. Now, you may be wondering what I was planning on doing with a car that we don't need? I was thinking of some friends who might could use it and we could give it to. So, I did have other people in mind, however, they are just going to have to wait.

Once all of the drama was over about the car, Abbey made me promise never to purchase a car like that again without asking her. Does that mean that I can never surprise her with a new car in the garage for her birthday?



Last night we had dinner at our favorite restaurant with some of our favorite people, the Sprinkles. The meal at Demo's was great, and the company was wonderful. We laughed until we cried. It was a lot of fun. It's good to have good friends, isn't it?

The Carpet Phenom

The results are continuing to come in. We are still not sure what the outcome will be, despite the Goodlettsville Delegation's assertion this contest has been rigged. (Well, it was rigged, but now Abbey is telling me that her decision is not as solid). Some have requested additional information, we might get around to doing that sometime this weekend.

Some interesting things that we have gleaned from the contest so far are that if you are 40 or over, you generally choose choice B and if you are in the 25-35 range, you generally choose choice A. That's interesting isn't it. Should I mention that this carpet has a 25 year warranty. Supposedly, if there is ever a stain that will not come out in the carpet, they will replace it, for 25 years! That's a rather great warranty, don't you think. It's got me thinking we might be living here for a while.



I wanted to give you a hint of what we are going to be posting on the blog tomorrow with the above picture. It's an X-ray of sorts, it's the first picture of our nephew or niece.

New Carpet: Your Chance to Vote

I did the taxes today, and although I thought it was going to be somewhat of a bear, it wasn't quite as bad as I thought. I was a little worried because of my job change, but everything turned out alright. Since that's done and I am not going to be refinancing our blog to pay the taxes, we have decided to start looking at new carpet for the house.

We have chosen several options and we are going to let you, our faithful readers vote for your favorite. It is a frieze carpet and we have always wanted that type.


Choice A is a caramel color.



Choice B is a dusty tan color.



Choice C is a chocolate color. (We think this one is really nice, but probably too dark for our house.)


And a comparison between the three. You can see the different colors really well with this one.

A Fun Visit from Family

Ava and Brookie are here and in honor of their visit we ordered a great dose of snow. It was beautiful. Yesterday morning, there were humongous snowflakes falling. It was really great. I had a conference in Hermitage and it was really well attended considering the weather.

Abbey attempted to take some pictures of the snow actually falling, but they really didn't come out so well. You will just have to enjoy the pictures that she took from inside our house.




Ava and Brookie got here yesterday afternoon and we went to Hendersonville. We went to HomeGoods to look for Ava and Brookie a rug for their living room. They found one that they liked, but it was on hold by someone else. I tried negotiating with the clerks, but they would have none of it. We did not get to get the rug.

We then went to Genghis Grill and Target. After leaving Target, we went by Starbucks. By that time the snow was starting to stick to the ground again and so we headed home. We watched "Million Dollar Baby," which we had on Netflix, but it was no the most "uplifting" movie we have ever watched.


Here's a picture of Brookie's boots.

Happy Feet and Other Happy News

After begging and pleading, Abbey finally let us go and see Happy Feet tonight. We went to the Springfield Theater with the Sprinkles. It was a really cute movie. It was really neat, but a little political as well. I sometimes wonder if Reed is going to know what cartoons were like when I was a kid. I mean what happened to animation like the Snorkles or the Smurfs?

All of the "animated classics" of recent are high def movies. But, I must say that I really enjoy the new format myself.

Another person who I don't think is going to understand what traditional animation is, is my neice or nephew. That's right, Abbey and I are going to be an aunt and uncle. My little brother Bobby and sil Allison are having a baby. They are supposed to be sending us a "picture" (sonogram) so that we can put it on the blog. I am not sure what the due date is yet, but will let you know soon. Reed will have a cousin to spend time at Christmas with.

The Valentine's Day Report

I was going to post video report of the things that we got for Valentine's day, but Abbey told me that you all don't care for videos, so I just did pictures. I am sure that when we get Reed, she will change her mind.

For starters, we went absolutely overboard for Valentine's this year. It is ridiculous, but maybe it's because we are not going to have a lot of extra money this time next year after having a child.


Abbey got me several articles of clothing, however, the favorite gift is this green cashmere sweater that she got me. I have always wanted a cashmere sweater and it is so nice and soft. She even got me a coordinating green shirt to go under it because I have to have a collar at work!


She also go me two long-sleeved polos. These will be great, as I can also wear these to work! They are really nice. I especially like the brown one.



Abbey got Vera Bradley for Valentine's Day. She got a new pattern. The new pattern is called Peacock. She got a new purse, key chain with a card holder on it, and a pair of flip-flops. I think she is getting set up pretty well with the new pattern.



Finally, she got flowers from Sherry's. I asked for unique and she delivered. I think it was a little to unique for my taste. It is almost strange, no, it is strange.

We went to eat at Famous Dave's for supper and then we went to Hobby Lobby where I patiently followed Abbey around for what seemed like eternity. She got some good ideas though, I think.

Now, we're settling in with a little American Idol.

Balentime's Eve Recap

Sorry for the lack of update yesterday, we were so busy that I didn't get it completed in time. In all actuality, I filmed a video of the present using the new Mac, but I have not been able to figure out how to put in on the blog.

Yesterday, Abbey got the "Vera Bradley Cookbook." It only seemed fitting that a woman who loves to cook and loves Vera Bradley would own one.

She also got a cute Hallmark card this morning.

I will save the rest of tbe Balentime story for later on this evening. Hopefully, I can figure out how to add video!

Happy Balentime's Day!

It's almost time for Balentime's Day and before we go any further let me explain that I know that it is not Balentime's Day. We know this person, who despite her ability to read and the fact that she probably knows phonics, she still says, "Balentime's."

For Abbey's first Valentine's present, she was led up the stairs.


She was wondering why I wanted her to come up the steps, but I kept asking her to come up. She was still trying to figure out what was going on.


Surprise! I think she liked it.


Back at Christmas, I got a coworker to start making some stained glass crosses for our bathroom windwow. She let me pick out the patterns and I told her the colors that I would like and she took it from there. She really went to work. She made some beautiful crosses.


I came home and immediately got to work hanging the crosses in the window. When Abbey got home, she starting preparing supper and then I beckoned her upstairs. She was surprised. Do you think she is going to get anything for Valentine's tomorrow? We'll have to see. Stay tuned.

A New Shower Door, Or Lack Thereof

For quite sometime, Abbey has hated our shower door. It was not the most attractive shower door you've ever seen. About a month or so ago, we noticed that the shower door was starting to pull from the place where it was attached at the top. Abbey decided that it would be great if we took the door down and just put up a shower curtain instead.

That was my weekend project, this weekend. Well, actually it didn't take the whole weekend, in fact, it didn't take that long at all. I was able to remove the shower door fairly quickly, caulk in the little holes where the screws were, put up a new rod, and hang the curtain in a fairly short amount of time.

Now, I have a question. Does any actually know what we are supposed to do with the shower door that is now in our garage? I don't think that I have ever seen one in the garbage and I am pretty sure that I have never seen one in Goodwill.


Jack is so excited that his Aunt Ava and Uncle Brookie are going to be here this weekend. He said that he hoped that Aunt Ava would rub him on his neck.


This is the picture where he was asking, "Aunt Ava, are you going to bring me a present this weekend?"

Like Father, Like Son

Last night we went to eat at the Catfish House. We were planning on going to see the East Robertson Jr. Varsity girls play basketball at "The Center" in Springfield, but we got done with supper earlier than we needed to be at the game. So, what do you do in Springfield if you need to go and kill some time? Go to Wal-Mart. We needed to pick up a few groceries and so we thought that would be the perfect place for a little "time killing."

We decided to walk through the baby section where we found a swing, a stroller, a high chair and car seat that we like. They are brown and blue. I know that's a big surprise, right? As we were exiting the baby department we saw this big rack of shirts and pants for $1.50 each. We decided we would buy some for a local ministry, as they would probably make really cute Easter outfits. We picked up the ones that we wanted and went to the other side and they had smaller ones for babies. They were little onesies.

Of course, being the dad that loves clothes and loves a good buy, I had to pick some out for Reed. I love stripes, so we got him several striped sets.


Although I am not quite an athlete, I do love baseball style shirts, so we got him a couple of those.



And although screen-prints are not my favorite, we could not pass up the little froggy one.


Here is a close-up of the print. I think that Reed is going to love his new clothes. Maybe we will mail him some before he gets to us.

Not a lot on the agenda for today. Abbey is going to be working on her writing assignment for Sunday School, and I am going to organize all of our tax papers so that I can take them to the tax-preparer. Normally, I would do the taxes myself, but I think this year is going to be a hard one, due to my change in jobs.

By the way, we made it to the game. It was exciting but the girls lost.

Side Note

Abbey told me that I was going to confuse all of you out there if I kept putting pictures of cute little Asian babies on our blog. Just for the record, none of them are Reed and NONE OF THEM ARE AS CUTE as he is going to be. Happy reading.

-The Management

Dear Reed

Dear Reed,

As the days pass by, we become more and more excited about your arrival to our home. It's amazing that we don't even know if you are born yet, but we do know that we love you.

In the past few weeks, we have been very busy getting things ready for the adoption agency. It's been a long and crazy process for us, but in reality, it's not been nearly as long as many people's process. Thankfully, we had Lisa work very hard to complete your homestudy.

Each time we got any information from the agency that is helping us to get you that needed to be changed, Lisa was very quick to mail it back to them. You have so much stuff in your bedroom. I really hope that you like elephants.

There is a song called, "Somewhere, Out There," that I have thought of a lot since we have begun this process. I know you are out there somewhere. I hope you know there has not been a day pass since we first decided that you would be our son that we have not prayed for you, that we have not talked about you, and that we have not loved you.

love,

dad

She's Home, She's Home!

I finally got to get my dearest wife home tonight. She did not need diapers, pepper spray, and a bb gun to get home. She was happy to come just like she was. We even got to go to the car wash, again, and get the van cleaned from all the salt.

I haven't shown her the photo feature yet on the new computer, but I am sure that she will enjoy it as much as I do!

Adoption Update

There is really not a lot to report, however, we have been receiving a lot of emails from the agency over the past few days. We received one today asking for a copy of our passports. They preferred color, so being the "on top of things" expectant parents, I immediately went to the scanner and scanned them, then printed them, then emailed a copy to the agency, then mailed the printed copies. That should cover it, right?



We also received an email confirmation from the caseworker to let us know that we are indeed officially on the list. However, we were told that just because we are high up on the list, that does not guarantee that we will receive a referral in the order that we are in the list. There are a variety of "for instances." The one that our worker chose to use was that one birthmom had specifically requested a Christian home. I am sure that she was just sending an example of a "for instance" but I quickly emailed her to let her know that we are a Christian home.

A Little Too Much Caffeine

Okay, so the new Mac has a camera on it and boy can it take some really funny pictures. Here are few to enjoy!
Do I look famous or what?
If I don't stop eating so many carbs and drinking so many sugary drinks, I am going to look like this.
The world's greatest nightmare ... TWO OF ME!

A little twisted don't you think?