Wednesday's Walk - Grandaddy Style

Jack is very blessed with lots of grandparents who love him!! They are all nuts about him and he's crazy about them too. Ben and I are so thankful that he has that in his life. Today I was thinking about a really special relationship Jack has with his Grandaddy (my father). From a very early age, Grandaddy was one of Jack's most favorite people and that continues to be true. I'm an only child so Jack's the only grandchild in my family. My dad just went crazy over this kid and there was nothing that Jack wanted that he didn't (and doesn't still) get with Grandaddy. Most of the grandparents are like that with him, but my dad is the only one who would actually get ANGRY with ME when I didn't give in to his every want:) They have a very special bond and they also share a name. Some of their favorite things to do together are: ride the golf cart; go to the "tractor store"; feed the deer; work in the garden; amd swing on the porch and so many, many more!

My dad had surgery last week and got to come home from the hospital today. (Thanks to all my friends who have been praying for him!) I've been thinking about him a lot this week and for my walk down memory lane, I was thinking of a couple of summers ago when my dad went on a mission trip to Nicaragua. He went with a group of about 12 people and helped build a church and Christian radio. I am very thankful that he loves my son so much, but more than that, I am thankful that my son has that kind of example in his life - a Godly man who knows the importance of serving others in Christ's love. Here's a picture of Grandaddy Jack and his namesake Jack "B" with their shirts on my dad got for them on his trip.


Jack will always be able to look back on this picture and know that his grandfather knew the value of loving and serving others and that a relationship with Jesus is so important that it's worth going to other countries and building churches and radio stations and roads just to have a way to tell others about that relationship! He will know that his grandfather knows that being on mission with God is not only our great priviledge, but it's also far greater than anything else this world offers! I'm very thankful to have this memory to share with my son!


For more walks down memory lane, visit The Goodwin Family.

Little Reminders

Not Me Monday!

I decided to link up with MckMama again for a fun "Not Me Monday" since last week was full of such fun things that I DIDN'T do:)

I did not have a pretty good and full weekend despite the fact that my Father had surgery last week and my parents are still at the hospital (he is doing well for all you folks that know and love "Grandaddy Jack"). I did not take my two year old to the hospital to spend the ENTIRE day Thursday. I did not take every type of candy and snack food in our house - PLUS a DVD player and DVDS - PLUS a laptop computer - PLUS a bag full of books and toys. The others in the waiting area were not thrilled that I did not bring all this with me to keep my two year old entertained throughout the day. I was not running so late getting to my dad's surgery that I dressed my child in a blue bunny shirt, green shorts, and red shoes. On a side not, I don't dress my child in clothes that don't match a lot of the time anyway! It was not too cold that day for a t-shirt and shorts despite the fact that none of it matched:) I was not very encouraged and thankful for such sweet friends and family to wait and pray with us (I really, really was actually!!)

I did not have a fantastic experience at the Caleb, Kutless, and Casting Crowns concert Friday night (which I'll blog about later). I did not fall in LOVE with a little boy named Charles from Zambia who has become an immediate member of our family. I did not so enjoy spending this time with my husband. I also did NOT eat at McDonalds in two different towns this weekend b/c they are rebuilding the one in my town and I'm not going through SERIOUS withdrawals!!

God did not speak to me in a new and fun way at a marriage conference on Saturday. I did not have fun spending time with other couples in our church. I also did not yell at my husband when he was late getting to the conference even though he had to go all the way to town and get our child AND pick up lunch for all 40 couples at the conference!! I would NEVER do that especially when I'm on my way to a marriage conference:) My husband and I did not start laughing during the recommitment ceremony and then make our friends laugh too. We could never be so bad and uncontrollable!! The nerve of some people, right??

And most of all, I did NOT get so excited Saturday night simply b/c my child told me he wanted to throw up!! I would never have gotten so excited by the fact that we may finally be at an age where we can prepare for this action instead of cleaning up after it. I mean, I would ceretainly have been more concerned about the fact that he did throw up (and could be sick) instead of the fact that he TOLD me he had to!! I would never continue to tell him how proud I was and not ask if he was ok!! I'm a much more concerned mother than that!

Finally, I did not fall in love with this little girl all over again when my husband held her for the first time:

I do not LOVE, LOVE, LOVE me some Ella Charles!!!

Hope you guys have a great "Not Me Monday" too!

Easter Eggs

Jack B and I decorated some Easter Eggs Saturday. We did it the "old school" way with colored dye and the egg wrappers - remember those?? What has been amazing to me is that Jack has played with these eggs nonstop! They are all cracked now and we'll have to make some more but he is having a blast with them!

We're doing all we can to get ready for Spring and Easter around here!!

It's Just Not the Same

An aside to my blogger friends: This post is dedicated to a good friend of mine and most of it will only be unstandable to seven other people, but please, feel free to read it anyway. There are funny pictures if nothing else:)

A lot of you know that I'm a social worker. I have been a social worker for four years now, but I've had a social work job for almost nine years. I got my bachelor's degree in psychology and a good friend of mine told me about a job with the United Methodist's Children's Home in their family preservation program. My friend was (and still is) the supervisor of the foster care program so, on her recommendation, I had the job before I ever interviewed. After a few years, I got my master's degree in social work while contining to work with UMCH.

I don't talk a lot about my job on my blog (mainly b/c there's not a lot I'm allowed to talk about:), but I can talk about the people I work with. There are seven of us - well, there WERE seven of us until a couple of days ago. I mentioned that I work on the family preservation side. There are five of us on this side - a supervisor, staff assistant and three caseworkers. The line to describe what we do is this: "We work with children who have been abused or neglected and provid servies in the home (parenting, anger managment, etc.) in order to assist families in remaining together as a unit and not having to place children in foster care." We are contracted through the Department of Human Resources. There's a lot more to it than that, but that's the line we use. We also have a foster care unit made up of two people - a supervisor and a caseworker - and that's what I'm writing about today.

You can imagine that there are negative parts to the job. You see a lot of sadness, abuse, anger, poverty, hunger, uncleanliness, drugs, and on and on. Because of this, it's important to have a strong support system within your agency. That is my most favorite thing about where I work - the people. I have worked with the same seven women for 6 years now. That was the last time we got a new worker in our program. It has been wonderfully different and an experience I've never seen from another work environment. There is so much drama on the outside with the families we work with, but there isn't any between us. We just all genuinely like each other. And, more than that, we know how to make it fun - at least some of the time!

But, we've lost one this week. My friend and coworker, Phyllis (who is the comic relief around here) worked her last day earlier in the week. She was the caseworker with the foster care unit. We all sort of took her last day to love on her and send her off in style, but it was difficult! She went to a new job for reasons that made sense and were best for her and her family, but I've decided that I am still protesting - even after the fact!! So, I've dedicated this blog post to her. I'm going to bombard her with pictures and memories to make her miss us like crazy:) I just wanted her to know that we love her! She has been (and still is) a wonderful friend, a helpful coworker, a spoiling aunt to my child, an exceptional social worker, and most of all - an unreplaceable part of the "in" crowd.... :)

Me, Phyllis, and Jo Ann at the annual Social Work Conference (I think this was 2002 or 2003 - this picture made me realize that I have known these girls a good bit longer than I've known my husband! WOW!)


Jo Ann and Jack B in Carolyn's office - 2008


Carolyn, Haley (another special UMCH staffer's child) and Jo Ann riding the paddleboat at Lyndi's:


Phyllis and Jo Ann at the annual TFC Christmas party:


Phyllis and her son Tay at the annual TFC Christmas party: (you wouldn't believe how big this kid is now!)


Dancing at one of Phyllis's famous New Year's birthday parties:


TFC Picnic Luau:


Jack B with Jo Ann and Phyllis - Christmas 2008


CPI Training 2008 - This is what we do:)


Look at that sweet smile Phyllis has!! That's her supervisor she has in a safe hold!

Getting ready to deliver Christmas presents to our kids. The Methodist Church in our town partners with us to get the children we serve Christmas every year. Great ministry - and one of the best days of the year for us:



I think you can see what a different kind of work environment this is, but, of course, the best memories are never caught on film. Here are some more just for Phyllis:


false teeth on the table

black bears on the nature trail

Jo Ann's graceful tumble

"Walmart trips" to the Dreampark

hunting for crab meat

pizza at midnight

"fixing" Secret Santa

Secret Pals and African art

the delicacy of raisin pie

And of course, being the other "mean girl" :-)

Here's the whole crew:

We are doing ok without Phyllis and I know she's doing ok without us, but no matter who replaces her and how great she does at her new job.... It's just not the same!

The United Methodist Children's Home is a great non-profit organization that helps children and families all over Alabama and West Florida. For more infomation about my agency, you can go to www.umch.net.

Wednesday's Walk - It's All About the Cake

Some of you know that Jack's birthday is coming up in April, just a few short weeks away. We are, of course, having a train party. If you're not familiar with our train obsession, you can read about it here and here. I've got the whole party planned..... except the cake! I don't eat cake or any sweets really, but I am very serious about having a really cute birthday cake!! So, I thought as an inspiration to myself about how to make a really cute train cake, I would look back on our last two years of cake. Let me clarify that I don't intend to bake the cake myself - I just want to be able to give someone else ideas about a really cute cake:)

Interestingly enough, I did bake Jack's first birthday cake. We had a Candyland party and I really wanted to be able to say I made his first cake. I was concerned about people actually eating the cake, but my mother said, "Lori, nobody is going to eat the cake with all that awful candy on it anyway - just make it cute!" so I stopped worrying about it so much. The kids did eat it though.

For Jack's second birthday, we had a carnival!! We had a petting zoo (sort of), pony rides, and all sorts of fun. We won't mention how my child did not exactly ENJOY his party!! And we had a really cute cake!


So, now I'm getting ready for another party and I can't belive my child is about to be three!!! Maybe I'm thinking about the cake to keep from thinking about how fast it's all going!

For more walks down memory lane, visit The Goodwin Family.

It's Just the Simple Things

The Simple Woman's Daybook:

Outside my window... it looks like a very pretty day.

I am thinking... about lunch:)

I am thankful for... tv on dvd and wheat thins (and Diet Coke in the mornings after a night of tv on dvd and wheat thins)

From the learning rooms... Jack is learning about his letters today

From the kitchen... a new hanging light fixture, but sadly, no food

I am wearing... tennis shoes, brown pants, embroidered shirt (this ensemble is only slightly better looking than it sounds)

I am creating... a biopsychosocial assessment

I am going... to lunch soon

I am reading... Plantation: A Lowcountry Tale and The Mitford Bedside Companion and On Mission with God and The Lords of Discipline (I am a reader of books:)

I am hoping... for warmer weather and a relaxing week

I am hearing... the sounds of employment

Around the house... are many little cars and many little board books about cars

One of my favorite things... is a lazy day

A few plans for the rest of the week: church; a birthday party for a special little girl; saying goodbye to a sweet friend; and hopefully some lazy days!

Here is a picture for thought I am sharing...

We are going to see this famous mouse again Saturday and somebody's excited!!

If you want a little more simplicity, go here: http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

Wednesday's Walk

Jennilee over at the Goodwin Family has started Wednesday's Walk so we can all share a memory. I decided to share a memory from before I started blogging. I'm thinking back to the Summer of 2008. Jack had just turned one and was starting to really have this fun and "unique" personality. Ben and I were just realizing that we had a child who was a little unusual, but in the most wonderful ways:)

Here are some of my favorite pictures from that summer:

Jack's first encounter with corn on the cob was a rave!


And he did not appreciate anyone trying to take it away from him!

I think he ate two or three pieces of cob that night:)

He realized this summer that he LOVED playing outside - it was the first time he could really run and have fun and he loved being outside - it didn't matter how hot it was. He would stay out there forever - and still will! (He also had the blondest hair - look how light it is in these pictures. The more we stayed outside, the blonder it got.)


He had a fascination with flags - much like his later fascination with big trucks and trains. He was so excited when they would put all the flags out in town for July 4th and Memorial Day.


And I realized this summer (when I took this picture) that my baby had the prettiest blue eyes I've ever seen!


Enjoy this walk down memory lane:)