Keep Calm And Carry On

"Keep Calm and Carry On"...that's what I keep telling myself. It's not working but I can try, right?

I am in full on freak out mode. Why? You might ask....well it's here. The moment I have been dreading for 5 years. My baby girl starts Kindergarten in a mere 3 days. That's right I said THREE DAYS!!





How is it possible that this is the same little girl we brought home from the hospital 5 years ago? How did she grow so fast? How did she get so smart? How? How? How?

I am also SICK to death of people saying--"My little baby starts college this year, how do you think i feel?" Or "My baby is graduating HS this year, how do you think i feel?" Do you really, truly want to know how I think you feel? You asked for it.




I don't. Really. I could care less at this point about your baby. I mean I'm sorry for you, and all that jazz. But geez, let me get through this Kindergarten thing. Let me show and talk about my emotions. I'm sure people let you do it when "your baby" started school. So for God's sake sympathize, tell me your sorry, reminisce about how fast kids grow. But don't give me the story about how your "baby" story is better than mine!

I had some well-meaning soul (and I use that term loosely) say "Honey teachers deal with kindergarteners every year it's not a big deal". The hell it isn't. I'm fully aware that teachers deal with it every year, I too went to school thank you very much. BUT, this teacher has never had my baby. Mine!!!

That teacher will have like 20 or more children in her room. How will she ever,ever know how special Sydney is? How will she ever learn all things about her that I know? The sad answer is she won't.

But for my own piece of mind I'm going to list SOME of the things I love about this girl. Only some mind you because I don't have days and days and months and months to write them all down. Geez, I'm crying like a newborn here.

Sydney I love you more than life itself. I have no idea what I am going to do with my days off of work now that you are going to be in school. Like, seriously NO IDEA. There'll be nobody to play CandyLand or Chutes and Ladders with. Nobody to snuggle up and watch an episode of the Golden Girls or Barney with. Nobody to do all the things we do together with. Except Daddy and I don't think he'll play CandyLand with me. Or Cooper and he refuses to play by the rules. :(

--I love that you catch on to things so quickly. For the most part we show you something once and you don't need anymore help you can do it alone.

--I love that when I cut off my long hair you were so upset. I wasn't Mommy without long hair.

--I love that you are smart.

--I love that you are funny.

--I love that you are kind.

--I love that you are caring.

--I love that you are tenderhearted.

--I love that you are beautiful INSIDE AND OUT!!


--I love the way you say music. You pronounce it musKICK. So cute!!

--I love that you watch the Golden Girls!

--I love to hear you say "Picture it Sicilly 1928...."

--I love that you are in constant motion.

--I love that you love Cooper so much. I also love that Cooper loves you back. I don't know what we'd do if he didn't. Because you sit on him, make him stand on his back feet, torture him by not giving him his squeaky toy etc etc etc

--I love that when your fish died, you tried so very hard to understand "why the fish chose to quit swimming" and cried your heart out,but eventually accepted it.

--I love that you love wearing cut off Levi's. Even if the strings hanging down drive you bonkers!

--I love that when you took swimming lessons no amount of coaxing from us or the teacher could persuade you to #1 float on your back let alone try swimming that way and #2 put your face in the water. However we went on a MINI MINI vacation to Charlotte yesterday and while in the hotel pool. You taught yourself to float on your back and swim and put your face in the water. Words cannot express how proud I am of you for that.

--I love that you absolutely have to have a notebook and a pencil/marker/crayon with you at all times in the car. You draw and draw and draw.

--I love that you like to go sit in the field and watch Papa's cows. You sing to them, tell them stories and draw them pictures.

--I love how when we are at Nana & Paw's and after supper they both have a cup of coffee you have to have one too. And drink it blazing hot right out of the pot.

--I love that you sing to yourself all the time.

--I love that you do little plays in your head and out loud all the time.

--I love that you dance whenever the mood hits you.

--I love when you laugh. I love when I make you laugh.

--I love when you call me your best friend and say that we'll be best friends forever and make me pinky promise that we will.

--I love when you want me to snuggle you at night before bed.

--I love that you think if you put your stuffed Barney in the shower and close the curtain that when you open it again, he'll be the real Barney. Because that's how it is on your Barney movie. No matter how many times it doesn't work you keep doing it. That's faith sister!!!

I love so many things about you Sydney, but I can't keep writing them here because I'm crying so hard I can hardly see the screen. And I'm at work and one of the deputies is starting to look at me strangely.

Just know that these reason are only a few out of billions!!! Out of scillions.
We're best friends. Forever. I pinky promise!!

Only In America

Only in America.....can a little girl walk down a dusty dirt road in the middle of a hayfield. She has no worries, no fears. She doesn't have to worry about where she is going to sleep tonight, she doesn't have to worry about where her next meal is coming from. She knows she is safe. Knows that she has people who love her and would die to protect her.

Everytime I see this photo of my baby girl it brings tears to my eyes. It touches me like no other picture I've ever taken has. I'm not sure why. But it does. And it makes me think of this song every single time!

"Drivin' down the street today
I saw a sign for lemonade
They were the cutest kids
I'd ever seen in this front yard

As they handed me my glass
Smiled and thinkin' to myself
Man what a picture perfect postcard this would make of America

It's a high school prom
It's a Springsteen song
It's a ride in a Chevrolet
It's a man on the moon
And fireflies in June
And kids sellin' lemonade
It's cities and farms
It's open arms
One nation under God
It's America

Later on when I got home
I flipped the TV on
I saw a little town that some big
Twister tore apart
And people came from miles around
Just to help their neighbors out
I was thinkin' to myself
I'm so glad that I live in America

It's a high school prom
It's a Springsteen song
It's a ride in a Chevrolet
It's a man on the moon
And fireflies in June
And kids sellin' lemonade
It's cities and farms
It's open arms
One nation under God
It's America

Now we don't always get it all right
There's no place else I rather build my life

Cause it's a kid with a chance
It's a rock and roll band
It's a farmer cuttin' hay
It's a big flag flyin' in the summer wind
Over a fallen hero's grave.

It's a high school prom
It's a Springsteen song
It's a welcome home parade
It's a man on the moon
And fireflies in June
And kids sellin lemonade
It's cities and farms
It's open arms
One nation under God
It's America"

"It's America" By Rodney Atkins.

Couldn't have said it better myself Mr Atkins. And now after living in a town that a twister came through it makes me double proud to be an American! Because this town came together just like that. And we've had people come from thousands of miles around to help. It's amazing.

Thankful today and everyday for the American Soldiers past and present who have given to this country.

Independence Day

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

The 4th of July always makes me happy!! My heart just swells with pride on this day. I love riding around and see beautiful American flags attached to houses,trees, fences and anything else creative people come up with.
Of course I am working today :( so I won't be able to enjoy any festivities. 12 hour shifts makes that pretty impossible ya know. But I'm still happy. And proud!
Proud to be an American!!

I don't know

Well,once again I've been slacking. There's just been so much going on. There is ALWAYS something going on around here. ALWAYS!!
With a 4 (pert near 5) year old around, who is attending pre-school there is never, a dull moment. I am trying to spend as much time with her as I possibly can. Because come September she'll be heading off to kindergarden and then everything will change. Life as we know it will never be the same again. And just thinking about that makes me want to fall over in the floor and start sobbing.

I just love that little girl. I don't even know how to explain it. I just don't. She is my life. My reason for living, well the main one anyway, there are several others. The thought of her not being around during most weekdays just kills me. Like I said it is gonna be a hugemongous change. And I'm not sure I'm ready for it. However, I have 8 ish months to get used to it. Ain't gonna happen but it sure sounds good.

Christmas came and went and to be honest it seemed different this year. I mean seeing Syd open her presents was awesome!!! And she was into it this year. Really into it. Seeing the excitement on her face was priceless. But I don't know I didn't get the opprotunity to listen to Christmas music like I usually do which didn't help me get into the true spirit. I don't know I just didn't feel it this year. Boy, I sound really whiny. Sorry.
It wasn't just the Christmas music. I went through some big upheavels at work just prior to Christmas, which just floored me, couldn't get over that long enough to really think about Christmas. I also had to work the nights of the SO party and dinner. So that didn't help. I also worked almost all of Christmas Eve. Just different I guess.
But regardless it has came and once again gone. So I can't change it, but I vow that next year will be different. It can and WILL be different!!

Before Christmas I had some head/chest cold that wouldn't turn me loose. Even with lots of anti-biotics it took forever to get over.

Then, I was so excited to have New Year's Eve AND New Year's Day off this year. But just to prove I shouldn't get excited about things such as this, nature played a cruel trick.

December 31st at 3 a.m. little Syd woke up puking her guts out. Fever, body aches, chills the whole 10 yards. At 645 Scotty reluctantly left for a 24 hour shift, and at 2 guess what hit me like a runaway train?? You guessed it the same GI virus that Syd had.
Pitiful girls were we. Laying in the bathroom and hallway floor taking turns praying over the porcelain God. Taking hot bath after hot bath to try and ease our aching muscles.

THANK THE GOOD LORD that Scotty miraculously found someone to come in and work for him so that he could come home. If he hadn't I'm not sure what would've happened to us!! I was delirious with fever and Syd was just lethargic to a scary point. But somehow we made it through. And are on the backside of it feeling a little better but still pretty blah.

I'm back at work tonight, but we decided to let Sydney take another day off of school since her immune system is already compromised. Don't want her catching anything else ya know.

But anyway HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you!!!