Me and Zach...before the prom

More pictures to come. I want to play around in PhotoShop before I publish them.

He was a very handsome boy...he cleans up well :)

Another Football Post....

I know...

how creative of me....

another football post.

Imagine that?

Zach was one of the team captains for the first home game.

This time of year we spend a lot of time at football games...Thursday night JV games and Friday night varsity games. Practice the rest of the week means late suppers or a trip to the drive-thru. Too many trips through the drive-thru....

A little face mask action going on. The referee didn't catch this one btw.

The next week will require a lot of travel time. Zach's game is over 94 miles away. Adam's game is around 60 miles away. Needless to say, we're all zombies around here by Saturday morning.

We won the first game and lost last night. When the other team has a player who can run a 4.2, and can somehow wiggle out of every tackle....it doesn't bode well for the opposing team. Zach tried to chase him down but his 4.7 just couldn't keep up with a 4.2.

So far, Zach is having a great season. In his first game, he had 65 yards receiving and 1 interception. According to the stats in the paper, he had T-2, A-4, TFL-1. (Don't ask me what the numbers and letters represent. I have no idea.) He was Defense Athlete of the Week.

However, the one award he is most proud of is the Wood Award.

A sweaty, tired, but happy football player after the game.

This is an award the defensive coaches hand out each week for the "hardest hit". He added another Wood Award to his growing list.

To say he enjoys tackling is an understatement :)

A Sharpshooter

We traveled to the 4H State Shotgun competition this weekend. Adam hit a perfect 25 at district which qualified him for the state competition.

He hit 20 at the state meet. He was a little disappointed but my "eternal optimist" was already planning for next years meet before we left.

By the time we gathered the group together for a picture, he was back to his cheerful self. He was "striking a pose" in the picture above. He planted those hands on his hips, stuck out his chest and announced to the world that he was ready for his photo shoot. One of his coaches turned to me and asked, "Who does he get that from?" I just shook my head and said it was some weird DNA mutation.

I love this boy.....he is a delight.

Adam's Gift

Adam made this bird feeder for me....with a little help from Papa and Dad. What a treasure...both the bird feeder and the sweet young man who made it.

I don't know about you but those dimples melt my heart.

Merry Christmas 2010

Just a few pictures from Christmas 2010 at the Williams' Arena

Adam playing his new Washburn acoustic guitar. He was just a wee bit excited. Actually he was blown away. He posted on facebook that he got the "best Christmas present ever!"

This picture is for the in-laws in Iowa. We had plans to travel to Iowa next week but the snow is keeping us at home. This was the third or fourth shot. They were actually smiling in the first two pictures...unfortunately someone had their eyes closed in each picture. By the time we managed to get a picture with everyone's eyes open, the smiles were gone. I didn't press my luck and ask for another picture.

From our family to yours - Merry Christmas!

His "Happy Place"

Clay came home last night with an armful of boxes and a big grin on his face. It seems he had made the "purchase of a life time." He had several boxes of Mustang car parts that were going to make his truck run faster. *ahem*

He was out the door early this morning to get more needed parts for the truck transformation. Something about having to design and build a one-of-a-kind air filter...

I looked out the back door and this is what I saw. I thought to myself, "Well, Clay's found his happy place this morning." My next thought was, "and he's working in his new jeans and shirt." Ughh....

Oh my goodness, how I love this boy. He is such a delight.

He assures me he will stay clean and not ruin his clothes. I have my doubts.

Here's my kitchen table with all the "goodies" spread out.

His automotive genius can't be bothered right now with cleanliness and organization :)

An Early Christmas Present...

Picture taken in front of the Pettigru Place Bed & Breakfast

This year I bought the guys ground floor/Pit tickets to a Toby Mac/Skillet concert. We traveled to Greenville, SC for the concert. We stayed at a Bed and Breakfast just two blocks from the Bi-Lo Center. Bob and I walked with them to the concert, turned them loose, and then went back to our room.

Here are a couple of links to the bands. While I love Toby Mac, I'm not sure I could handle two hours standing in front of the stage. Not to mention I would stand out like a sore thumb...a rather old sore thumb :)

17

Today is Zach's 17th birthday. He was born on a Monday morning (2 weeks early) before Thanksgiving. It was a quick and easy birth. We arrived at the hospital around 7 AM and he was born around 9:30 AM. He was tiny. 6 lbs, 9 oz. and barely 18.5 inches long.

The nurse handed him to me and I was blown away by his blue eyes...not the ordinary dark blue eyes of a newborn. His eyes were a bright and clear blue. I remember thinking, "where did those come from?" Through the years I've actually asked that question, or a similar version, many times.

"Where the heck did that come from?"

"Where did he learn that?"

"Where does he get that from?"

When he was a little boy, he loved dinosaurs. Bob will tell you that Zach was not a little boy, he WAS a dinosaur. He could imitate dinosaur noises perfectly. If he wasn't pretending to be a dinosaur, he was pretending to be some type of animal. He wasn't really a truck and tractor kind of kid. He loved animals and videos of animals. His childhood hero was the Crocodile Hunter. He would put his stuffed animals in the middle of the floor and pretend he was Steve Erwin. I remember watching him "wrestle" an alligator. Fun memories.

He's my roller-coaster riding partner. He's my heart-stopping daredevil. He's the one who always got into trouble in elementary school for talking too much and not keeping his hands to himself. Now his teachers talk about how quiet he is and are shocked to hear how often he got into trouble in elementary school for talking. He's just traded talking for texting. (Remind me to tell you sometime about the cell phone bill he had in 8th grade....the one that took him a year to pay back.)

17. This is the age when you realize adulthood is just around the corner. Suddenly it is time to get serious about the future and life after high school. He's starting to think about what he'd like to do everyday for the rest of his life. He wants to play football after high school and he recently started talking about the Army. His 7th grade LARTS teacher, Mrs. Cattanach, was convinced he would grow up to be an Army Ranger like his dad. She wrote in his yearbook that she wanted an invitation to his Ranger School graduation. Who knows? If he does decide to go into the military, you can be certain Mrs. Cattanach will get an invitation!

I pray that he will follow the path God has chosen for him. I pray that he will seek God's will and be willing to accept the guidance.

I pray that I will know when to step in and help and when to step back and let him figure it out for himself.

Happy Birthday Zach....we love you!

14

Today is Adam's 14th birthday. He's smart, funny, kind, caring, easygoing.....I guess you get the point. He's a great kid.

The eternal optimist in a family that suffers from an overabundance of pessimist genes.

He goes about life at his own pace and very few things upset him.

Not a bad way to live.....

Happy Birthday Fuzzhead...love ya'

Thursday Football...anyone notice a trend?

Football has taken over at our house. One middle school player, one high school player. Middle School game every Thursday and High School game every Friday night. Practice. Practice. And more practice.

Here are some pictures from Adam's game this week. They won 21 to 7.

His team is undefeated. He plays linebacker and is starting this year.

He had several good tackles in this game.

His first home game is next week but we have to travel on Friday night for Zach's game. His game is across the state line in NC. We are playing a school that is literally in the sticks. Which is kinda funny since most folks think we live in the sticks :)

Friday night football

Here's a few pictures from last night's game. We didn't win.

It wasn't a region game. We played against a neighboring system that is a division above us. It is the school system where Bob and I started teaching.

One of the coaches was a former student of mine. I didn't feel the least bit *old*, nope it didn't bother me at all to find out a former student is now 31.

Quotes of the week

You know how your kids say something really funny and you think you'll remember it forever? Well, no matter how hard I try to remember, I forget. Then I wish I had taken the time to write down those funny moments. So here's my feeble attempt to keep up with those funny moments...

Adam: "Clay is amazed with his new truck. I rode with him the other day and all he could talk about was how amazing his truck was and all the things it can do. I think he's in love with it."

Adam: (A little background: my dad was complaining about the traffic in a nearby town) "Well Papa, you know the reason they are all in town is to celebrate Mom's birthday. It is a national celebration you know!"

This one wins the "snarky" comment of the week. Background....it is 11 PM on a Sat. night. He's hungry and tired which make a deadly combination. I hear him scratching around in the kitchen looking for something to eat. He comes to my bedroom door to ask if we have any mayo. We don't because I'm trying to get rid of the preservatives and I made a batch of homemade mayo. He isn't too pleased with my efforts to rid the kitchen of preservatives...

Zach: "What do you do when you go to the grocery store? Stand and stare at the wall for 30 minutes?"

OK, for some reason that one just cracks me up. Maybe is has to do with the fact that I can go to grocery store and within 5 seconds of walking through the door completely forget what I needed to buy.

A day playing at the lake

Adam and I gathered up my niece and nephews for a visit to the lake. This lake is close to my parent's house. When I as their age, I spent many hot summer afternoons swimming in the cold mountain water.

It's fun to watch your kids make their own memories at places that are special to you.

Adam and Colton

Cage. He has sand on his face because Colton kept trying to throw sand toward the lake...but his aim is a little off. It wasn't safe to be within five feet of him when he was throwing sand.

Adam, Avery, and a friend on the dock. They are probably planning their next cannonball. They splashed so much that I'm sure the lake level dropped a few inches.

The twins spent most of the afternoon digging in the sand. I borrowed a couple of serving spoons and plastic containers from my mom. Just the things to keep a couple of two year old boys busy.

A graduation party

We celebrated Clay's graduation last night. Lots of good food, laughter and fun.

Adam and Jared. Jared will be entering the military in August.

On the front porch, the guys were discussing past escapades and planning future ones. There was some mention of jumping off bridges....I gave them the "evil eye" and reminded them of Darwin's law. My heart always skips a beat when I hear these stories....

Zach and Grayson.

..but I'm truly grateful that my boys have good friends. Tried and true friends who stick beside each other. They have strong values and are remarkable young men.

Cage and Colton were fascinated with this pretty young lady.

I realize we all say that the years fly by and babies grow up overnight. Looking at the memory board that I had made for Clay really brought home this fact. Lots of great memories. It seems like only last week I was stressing over a four-year old thumb-sucker....I remember being so worried that he would suck his thumb forever :)

While his dad gave the blessing for dinner last night, he thanked God for protecting Clay all these years and blessing us with a fine young man.

I agree.

Congratulations Clay! May your future be filled with love, opportunities, and adventures.

A graduation quote....

Clay's graduation quote: "Either do it right the first time or don't do it at all." ~Dad

Happy Mother's Day

Please disregard the slice of cake that is missing in the back...I couldn't help myself.

I baked a Sour Cream Pound Cake today in honor of Mother's Day. The recipe came from a treasured cookbook given to me several years ago as a Mother's Day gift.

Adam made the book in 2nd grade. He was so proud of the cookbook. The week before Mother's Day, he kept hinting about a "special" gift he was making at school.

The one recipe from the book that he really wanted me to make was the Sour Cream Pound Cake. I'm not sure why that particular recipe was the one he wanted me to make first but it does make a delicious cake.

So today, in honor of Mother's Day, I followed the carefully handwritten recipe of a seven year old boy.

Happy Mother's Day.

District 4-H Shotgun

Adam competed in the District 4-H Shotgun Meet today. This is his first year. He's watched his brothers compete for several years and has been patiently waiting for his turn to compete.

He saved up his own money to buy the shotgun. It took him almost a year. He's proud of the gun and takes very good care of it.

We could have bought the gun for him but I think that would have spoiled the joy of buying his first gun with his own money.

He had to shoot 16 out 25 skeet to qualify for the state meet. He shot 18 and placed third in the Junior division. We'll travel to the state competition in a couple of weeks.

Senior Prom

Clay's senior prom is tonight. He spent the morning washing, waxing, and polishing his grandpa's truck. Then he spent about 10 minutes getting dressed. I guess you'd say he has his priorities straight :-)

Clay & Jennifer

My favorite picture.

Adam's $100 Haircut

We had Easter dinner at my Aunt's house today.

After dinner, my brother and Adam made a bet that if Adam was willing to shave his head, he would give him $100. After several minutes of serious negotiations and proof on his uncle's part that he had $100 in his wallet, Adam shook hands with his uncle to seal the deal. They headed out to the garage.

Adam wanted a "before" photo. I think this is the only time he has ever requested I take a picture.

At this point, we were all laughing so hard I could barely hold the camera still. The looks on his face were priceless.

Here's the "after" photo. He's proudly showing off his earnings....which he'll need to purchase sunscreen to shield that white head from the sun :)