A Request and A Few Extra Thoughts

I know that this time of year we are all reworking our budgets to make Christmas happen for our own families. I am hoping you might be able to find a little extra room in yours to make a difference for a very special and deserving family.

My school has set up a foundation to help our staff and students in times of need. At this time, we are hoping to help a certain family who is struggling both emotionally and financially.  As my sweet friend Marnia has said, "Recent days have called for many tears and prayers."

If you feel led and are able to give to our school's foundation (we will be using some funds soon to help them through this journey), please follow the steps and link below.

GO TO:

Cobb Schools Foundation (www.cobbschoolsfoundation.org)

At the top click on Contribute

In the center of the page click on Donate Today

Enter a dollar amount - anything you can give would be incredible!

Under Program Designation - use the drop down menu to select Fair Oaks Elementary

Choose Donation Type

Click Continue and follow the remaining prompts

Thank you all for your kind words and most importantly, prayers. HE is teaching me to look for His hand and to fall on Him when my heart is breaking. Please continue to keep my sweet girl and her parents in your prayers. I am in constant amazement of their unwavering faith in God, their unrelenting pursuit for a cure and their dedication to their daughter.

Help

I know I have been an absent blogger.

The last few weeks have brought on a myriad of emotions. I've struggled with how to write about what is happening, and which pieces I want to (or should) share. I have been holding this post in "edit" for over a month.

I have learned to value a certain degree of privacy as it relates to my job. It's easy to share the funny anecdotes, but when things are not so funny I feel compelled to "protect" my students. Suffice it to say that this has been the most challenging year of my teaching career.

Every year, I wonder how God will use the sweet faces from years past to prepare me for the bunch that enters my door in early August. I spend weeks telling myself, "These children are with me for a reason. HE saw it fit to entrust me with these hearts for the next 9 months." Every year, I fall in love with all 35+ faces and I cry when they leave me. I obsess over how they're doing in 4th grade, 5th grade, etc..

I was so underprepared for this year. I want you to meet the brightest star in my heart:

 Ruby

I wish I had a better copy of this picture because it doesn't show an iota of how beautiful or wonderful this sweet face is. Ruby is one of the best things to ever happen to my classroom or my heart. She was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) at the end of her first grade year. She was able to come to school for 2 days during her second grade year. Michelle and I were blessed to have her in our class for most of last year. She missed days for treatments, but was healthy for the most part. We sent her up to fourth grade to our friends Aileen and Kristin. During the fall break, she had been in remission long enough to have her port taken out. Within a week of returning to school after the break, Ruby was back in the hospital. 

She has been there ever since. It has been more than two months. This is her third relapse.

I don't feel comfortable sharing much more of her story. It is her family's story to share. I am starting to feel like a broken record, but time with Ruby is the best part of my week

Her family is in desperate need of prayer. As you read this please lift Jesus, Maria and Ruby up. Pray for Ruby's doctors, for her nurses, for anyone who comes into contact with her family.

Posting in Spite of Protest

I will preface this post by saying that Bryan does not approve of my putting his humor on the world wide web.

Too bad. :)

Tonight's conversation during Simpsons:

B: What should we have for dinner tonight? More pizza? Cookies? Or pizza AND cookies?

A: I don't care. I'm not really hungry.

B: Well, how 'bout you get up and fix it anyways.

A: Um, no.

B: Well, can you at least come over here and pour wine in my mouth?

A: (laughter)

B: Can I at least have one of those cups with a top and a thing that comes out of the side?

A: What are you talking about?

B: You know, a cup with a top and a spout. So I don't spill. And I don't have to get up.

A: A teapot? A sippy cup?

B: Yes.

A: Which one? The teapot or the sippy cup?
Note: I knew which one. I just wanted to hear him say it.

B: (Laughs) Yes.

A: (Laughing harder) The teapot or the sippy cup?

B: People might call it a sippy cup.

A: I think I might have to tell people my husband has a drinking problem if you start drinking wine out of a sippy cup. Especially since we don't have kids. Which means we would have to buy them especially for that purpose.

(Lots of laughing)

B: You're not going to put this on the Internet, are you?

Of course not.

A Parental Apology

Dear Daddy,

I must apologize for my terrible behavior last weekend. I know that you raised me to have taste and class.


Taste and Class

However, you know that when I married my sweet boy, I inherited a brother-in-law who loves those awful Wolfpack things.

EW.

Let me be clear. I love my brother and sister-in-law. I just never thought I would end up here:

NC State vs. GA Tech

I was torn. I didn't know who to root for! As a loyal Tarheel, I've been taught to loathe both the pesky insects and the rabid dirty wolf-dogs. As a Bulldog, I've learned to harbor much more animosity towards Tech. I was quite disturbed when I found myself wearing red and high-fiving members of the Wolfpack Nation! (Bulldog fans wear red and black.) It was actually quite terrifying.

In case you can't tell, the dude in the this picture is wearing a tail.
That's right, a tail.
And his name is TK.

So, I confess all of this in hopes that you will be able to forgive me. I am, in fact, a Tarheel. You did raise me right. I'm also just a good sister-in-law.

In case you were worried, I did not:
smoke a cigar
wear any kind of Wolfpack memorabilia
or
make that ridiculous hand sign.

Love,

Abigail Lee

PS: Please don't tell Mama.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Boy!

I started this post as a tribute to my sweet boy, but got caught up in preparing for his birthday/Oktoberfest party. So, this will end up being a combination of our party and a tribute! :)

We stayed up late (3 a.m.) on Friday night food shopping, decorating and doing some of the cooking. B brought home a bunch of Oktoberfest decorations from work and put those up while I made his birthday cake (Black Forest) and two of the side dishes - cucumber dill salad and krautsalat.



Rachael Ray's Krautsalat and Cucumber Dill Salad

 Poor B had to get up and be at work by 8!! I woke up around 9 and immediately had COFFEE, swept the deck and patio, wiped down the outdoor furniture and cleaned the house from top to bottom. I ran a few party errands and met B back at the house around 4:30. He helped me put the kielbasa kebabs and German potato salad together. Our awesome friends Neeley and John came early and helped us set up the rest of the food.



Kielbasa Apple Kebabs



The Oktoberfest spread!

Warm German Potato Salad

We had a great time celebrating with our friends, watching football, playing Wii and laughing late into the night.


Serious Wii golf competition

Victory!



I know there are a few other bloggers out there who have done this before, but I wanted to make a list of 35 things I love about Bryan for his birthday:

35. On our first date, he taught me to play pool. My sweet boy can't sit still for long, so most of our dates involve us "doing" something. I get to try a lot of new things this way!
34. He makes family a priority. I knew early on when I saw Bryan's devotion to Nanny and Grammy that I would be in good hands.
33. He absolutely holds no record of wrongs. This may be because he can't remember anything, but it still makes me love him more. :)
32. He has a scale for how "horrible" or "fun" something is. For instance if I ask him to watch Private Practice with me, he'll say "No way. That show is 1,000 terrible!" Or, we'll be riding in the car and a song he loves will come on. He'll look over at me to smile and say, "This song is like 1,000,000 awesome."
31. He is very budget-conscious. Don't get me wrong, I can set up a budget. I just don't like to follow it. He makes sure that we follow the budget. :)
30. Keeping in line with #31, we often make decisions about where to eat out based on another one of B's "invented concepts" - Millionaire Food. For example, Wendy's and Taco Bell are completely acceptable but Chick-Fil-A is "Millionaire Food." Subway is okay, but Atlanta Bread Company is "Millionaire Food." As in, only millionaires can afford to eat there. All of this, of course, is subject to Bryan's discretion.
29. He never makes me mow the grass. :)
28. He cooks for me on Tuesday nights (his day off) and it is always yummy.
27. On the nights he doesn't cook, he almost always helps me do the dishes.
26. He even folds clothes!

25. Bryan makes me laugh every day.
24. He has taught me to love the Falcons and the Braves.
23. He always answers my questions about baseball patiently - even if I have asked the same question 2 or 3 times before.
22. I love the way he "yells" the answers during Jeopardy. He says that's the only way Alex will ever hear him!
21. As a "trade off" for the 100+ Braves games I watch every year, he watches Grey's Anatomy, Glee and Law and Order: SVU with me.
20. He doesn't "let me win" when we play Wii games. Victory feels better when you earn it!
19. He kills all the creepy-crawlies, even at 5:00 am.
18. He never, ever chases me with the dead creepy-crawlies.
17. He kicks ass at trivia. It's actually kind of disgusting how much random knowledge he has in his head.
16. He takes really good care of me when I'm sick.
15. He's never afraid to try something new. Even if it's crazy.
14. He has more hair than any man I know.
13. He is always calm when I am not.
12. His eyes disappear when he smiles. :)
11. He bought me a magic wand.
10. He cleans his own bathroom.
9. He tolerates a lot of "teacher talk" when my friends and I get together.
8. He helps me entertain 30+ 3rd graders every May at our house for our annual end-of-the-year party.
7. He may not be naturally "handy" but he is learning to do lots of things around the house - replacing the deadbolt and tiling the basement recently.
6. He also knows when something is more than he can handle. He knows when to call a professional. :)
5. He has loved me through some of the most difficult parts of my life.
4. He taught me to love Phish!
3. He has learned to love naps.
2. He always makes me feel appreciated and special.
1. He's mine! :)

A Weekend of Awesomeness

We got in late Friday night after a stop in Waynesville to visit with Aunt Tanna. It was supposed to be a quick in and out, but we ended up sitting and having the best talk. I love being in her house. It holds so much of my family's history in it and it's right next to where Bryan and I got married. 

We woke up Saturday morning to Mama making French Toast, bacon and LOTS of coffee.  In the afternoon, we headed to Hendersonville for the annual North Carolina Apple Festival. Nattie had to work and couldn't go, so we had fun in her honor. :)

Mickey Mouse balloons

Sisters

Trying to avoid a brain freeze?

 At least he shares!

On our way home Kadee and Jennie rode with me, and Chris and JP rode together so we could finish some last minute birthday shopping for Nat. We stopped at CVS so we could pick up birthday cards and it was there that hilarity ensued. 

Jennie had walked off, and Kadee and I were looking at cards. Kadee found a particularly funny card that may or may not have had a poop reference. When she showed it to me, I laughed so hard that I let out a little (but loud!) toot! We stared at each other for a millisecond and then laughed so hard that tears were running down our faces. (I told you!) Kadee dropped to the floor because she had to pee, and was trying to stop it from happening in the middle of the greeting cards section. 

I was smart enough to get my camera out. 

And yes, by this point, we are both on the floor trying not to pee our pants.

We recovered and went home and showed the card to everybody else who also thought it was hilarious. We had to warn my dad before he read it, because he had surgery to repair his ninth (yes, that's 9!!) hernia on Friday. It didn't help. He still laughed and it still hurt. What can I say? We're a family that laughs at poop jokes!

After dinner, we went out in Asheville with Nattie and her new boyfriend, Drew to a restaurant/bar called Usual Suspects. I don't think we were all home for her 21st birthday last year, so this was the first time we had all gone out together to get "grown-up drinks". 

 

New boyfriend Drew. 

We like him.

He can stay.

This is why he can stay:

1. He makes Nattie happy. 

2. He is silly. (Boone girls like silly boys.)

 Kadee and JP

We are such a serious family. 

The youth minister and his wife did not have grown-up drinks. 

They had water. Lots of it. With lemon.

They live on the edge.

 3 days of sister time = A full and happy heart.

I Know...

You miss me. You want stories about my weekend in Weaver-Vegas.

I will post them tomorrow. I promise.

And, because I've had *a* glass of wine, I will even promise to tell you about the toot in CVS that led to almost-peed-pants.

It was, indeed, a weekend of awesomeness.