20 Random Facts About Me

A lot of friends are doing a top 25 list of random facts. I made it to 20, but need to get some sleep, so I'll stop there!

*I forgot one that I'm now adding: When I was little, I loved my bus driver and every day when I would get off the bus I'd give her a hug and kiss. One day I was excited to tell her goodbye and I stood up before the bus came to a complete stop. I was thrown to the front of the bus and busted my lip.

1. I go through the Dunkin Doughnuts drive through so often, they call me by my first name.
Although Karen has only one front tooth, she makes a mean caramel coffee!

2. When Samuel was born I started really getting into routines, so much so that I
even began wearing the same pink sweatshirt every time I nursed.

3. When I go for walks, I have a habit of waving to neighbors too early or speaking
to them when they are too far to hear. It makes for a more awkward encounter once
you actually catch up to them. My husband picks on me about this all the time.
Now he says, "Wait, wait, wait...GO!" It's really hard for me because I don't
want them to think I'm being snotty.

4. I made friends at my local Harris Teeter. They were so nice and I swore I'd never
switch stores because of my loyalty. Well, flash forward to a new baby and a new
HT less than 40 seconds away and so long loyalty. I always felt bad for ditching
them. Then one day my nightmare came true. One of them showed up at my new HT and
caught me--I felt so ashamed!

5. I have a hard time ending a phone conversation. I now have several phrases down
that are good closers.

6. I wish my love language was something besides quality time! It seems easier to
have touch or affirmation be the top LL because it takes less time.

7. I made Brian read The Five Love Languages and the temperament book before we were
married. He's never been so self aware:).

8. I love amusement parks and fairs...everything about them. I love the thrill of
the rides and the fattening greasy flavor of the food. Three years ago I took
Brian to his first fair and lets just say he will joining me no more. He saw a
man sweeping, smoking and making our fried blooming onion all at the same time.
He also couldn't believe I'd ride things that are supported
by rusty metal.

9. I am a scary movie junkie! From the time I was 12 I would watch horror films with
my dad and to this day I love the shock of scary things which brings me to #10.

10. When I am startled whether it be from a scary movie or someone pulling out in
front of me, etc.., my body always has the same reaction. My armpits get very
tingly and itchy. I try to not scratch them b/c it's embarrassing, but I have
too!

11. It makes me cry to see kids bullied. One time I was in Target and there were 3
stock boys working. One of them was a little slow and the other two were teasing
him terribly. It made me so angry I finally said, "How would you like it if
someone treated you that way? You should be ashamed of yourself!"

12. I have an extremely crooked left big toe. I also have a brown mole on the tip of
my nose. When I worked at Billy Joe's people used to always tell me I had
chocolate on my nose.

13. I was a terrible big sister and started feeling guilty about it once I left for
college. I have spent the last 14 years apologizing to Wesley for being so
bratty. If you are reading this, Wes, I'm still sorry!!

14. In high school I skipped school with a friend and went shopping. While we were
in a store our PRINCIPAL made a stop at the same store and caught us in line. We
were in big trouble--be sure your sins will find you out!

15. My freshman year of college I was still majorly stuck on Disney (SO
EMBARRASSING!). I had mickey mouse sheets, notebooks and pencils. However, that
doesn't even compare to the fact that I carried a SYLVESTER the cat water bottle
with me at ALL times(Rachel, you gave me that water bottle and I did love it!).
Finally Mary hid sylvester in the
ceiling from me and gave me a much needed makeover--still owe you for that one,
Mary!

16. I was holding my sweet grandmother's hand when she went to be with the Lord. It
was 4a.m. and I told her it was okay if she was ready to go to heaven. She took
two more breaths and did just that. My heart still aches for her!

17. This is so embarrassing, but when I was a teen, I thought my calling was to be a
HAND MODEL!! I would only clean or do dishes with rubber clothes as to not
damage my assets. (Thanks, Mom, for being supportive even thougth I was nuts!)

18. I tried out to be a cheerleader my Junior year and made the squad even though I
could not do a cartwheel or split (still can't).

19. Brian and I got engaged on August 31, 2002; however, it would have been sooner.
I found out he was going to propose while we were in CA earlier in the summer
and I told him if he was planning on doing it, NOT to because I wasn't ready.
When our trip to CA came, I WAS actually ready and so sad he didn't ask me. On
our last night there we went to meet up with some of his old CA friends for
dinner. Right before we went in he told me that it was supposed to be a surprise
engagement dinner:(.

20. I'm a very good listener.

Okay, that is it---I'm getting tired, but it was fun to write this list!

Baby Shower, Reunion and lots of fun!

What an incredible couple of days! On Friday, Samuel and I arrived in Lynchburg, VA for 5 days with my best friends and their kids for our annual reunion and a shower for our dear Dolly. It was SO FUN to watch our kids play together while we played together!:) The first night we had a pizza party at the Reber's and then prepped for Dolly's big day. The shower was so much fun and we really enjoyed spoiling Dolly. Saturday night we went to a local favorite--Osaka's for dinner and met up with some more of our old college friends--Joel, Joy and their new baby, Jett. Sunday night Dolly and Leland hosted a fun cookout with family and friends. It was fun to have the babies together and just catch up for a few hours. We had another dinner party on Monday night at the lovely Johnson home. It was a great few days. Thanks to everyone who made our time in VA so nice. A special thank you to Dawn, Dolly and the Reber family for hosting us all!




Below are tons of pictures, starting with Dolly's shower. Here are Mary and Teecy about to hang the balloons--sorry, Teec, I didn't notice your eye were shut until I downloaded the picture.
We served a plated lunch of chicken, tuna and egg salad with cheese, fruit and bread. Dawn ordered the chocolate on chocolate cake which was also a hit.
Here is Dolly with Caroline, Annabelle and Lola-Reese. They loved watching her open gifts.
Dolly received so many nice things! Little Michael is set!
Could she be ANY CUTER? Talk about a HOT MAMA!

15 years of friendship....What can I say? I love knowing no matter how far apart our lives geographically take us, we can aways count of one another for anything.
I look forward to a lifetime of friendship with you girls! Samuel and Roy Austin had a little time to play together.

Mary and I took the kiddos to Liberty for a little tour of our old stomping grounds. What numerous memories we've made on that campus! It was surreal thinking back to when we were college kids as we strolled our own kids through the buildings.

Future LU students.... If they attend Liberty, Samuel and Dolly-Jane will start the same year! Is there are future for these two? Time will tell:).
More bonding....
After a crazy, fun-filled, active five days, this boy was T-I-R-E-D! He was such a good boy during our trip. I admit I was a little nervous going without Brian for so long, but it was actually uneventful--thank goodness!


The following videos were taken during the trip and we figured family would especially enjoy seeing them. The first two feature Samuel babbling. He can say babababa, mamamama, and dadadada, but his obvious word of choice is captured in the videos.

This last video features my friend, Kim Handy, making Samuel giggle--he loved her!

Happy Birthday Brian and more updates...

Happy Birthday, Brian!! Well today my sweet husband celebrated another year of life. He is a wonderful husband and father and we love him dearly. I appreciate how hard Brian works at every thing he does. This guy does not have a half-hearted bone in his body. We love you, Brian!
To remind him of his big day, I sang "Happy Birthday" (Marilyn Monroe breathy version) each time we spoke on the phone. That gave him a good laugh during a busy work day! We had a nice dinner tonight at one of our fav's--Bonefish Grill. After that we came home and I gave Brian his gifts and birthday cake. We are about to devour it.:) Yep, that's right, we have double the dessert! Our dear friend and neighbor, Jessica, made Brian a homemade cheesecake for his birthday. She is a GEM! Two weeks ago she brought over homemade apple crisp. She is an OUTSTANDING cook and we reap the benefits. We love you, Jessica!
Below is a picture of my sweet Samuel on his 8 month birthday taken yesterday--where has the time gone? When I rock him at night and he cuddles up to me I just close my eyes and try to freeze the moment....I know he is growing up so fast.
This picture was taken tonight as we played. He gets tickled at the funniest things, like a strange sound we make or when we play peek-a-boo. It's so fun to hear him laugh!
"Don't worry, Dad, I have these nifty handles to hang on too."
Today Samuel had an allergic reaction to something (not sure exactly what). I snapped this pic for the doctor even though it's hard to really see the severity of it. He's had these reactions a handful of times and they are so random. We did find out he is allergic to milk.

Below are some pictures from a play date with Jessica and Henry. When I first brought Samuel home, Henry wasn't so sure of him because Henry had always been my buddy and here I have this new little guy in my life. However, we've pushed through the growing pains and there is enough love for all! Henry is still my buddy!

Here are the two buddies posing nicely.... (check out Samuel's bottom teeth!)

Samuel: You sure are big and cool!

Henry: I like you, little dude, but you're embarrassing me!
Samuel: Seriously, I can't believe I'll be as big as you one day!

Henry: Don't worry, I'll show you the ropes.

Samuel: I like your nose (he LOVES noses).
Henry: Let's PLAY!

Friends forever....

God Bless America!!

Hope everyone is having a fabulous 4th of July weekend! We spent the day at my mom's house and had a good ole fashion BBQ with all the fixin's:). We are going to relax today and tomorrow and have friends over for another cookout. It's so nice to have a long weekend with the family. Here are some snapshots from yesterday:


Here we are on the porch before leaving for my mom's. Samuel was all smiles.


Yes, I did coordinate our outfits the night before to show off some red, white and blue for America's big day! Notice my mom in the door reflection trying to get Samuel to look at the camera--hilarious!
Here is Samuel practicing his steps. He LOVES to stand. When we try to put him down in a sitting position he stretches his legs out to stand--so funny.
This below picture is classic! I had just put Samuel down for a nap and came down to see my step-dad and Brian snoozing away. Notice their neck pillows and how their ankles are crossed the same way. I had to laugh! With all three boys in peaceful slumber, my mom and I snuck out for some 4th of July shopping! Of course we found lots of goodies for Samuel.
Samuel loves Mimi's dogs. He squeals at them and tries to grab them (poor dogs!). Here he is mid-grab.

Again, Happy 4th of July weekend everyone!!