I miss you

Tonight, your mama said to me, "Thank you for taking care of her...."

But that is what family does. I'll never forget the day that my sister and your uncle got married. Bryan and I accidentally left you as we walked down the aisle. I didn't even realize it until we were to the narthex, and I was mortified! I thought sure I had either scarred you for life or messed up the whole wedding. Then when the pictures came back, there you were, grinning (as always) walking along with your uncle Dennis and Suzy. Always happy go lucky. Always resilient. Always finding a way to smile.

And that day as you all left...I was sick with the flu and didn't even make it to the reception....your mama said, "Welcome to the family!" and I have never been so honored, and never have I felt so loved by a family that CHOSE to call me their own.

Whether we were playing games on the floor on Thanksgiving or teasing each other about who had had their hair more colors lately, you were always my friend. Even when I probably wasn't the best friend to you, you were always caring to me.

You took pictures of my baby Isaac on his first day of preschool when I had to go to work. You made my boys' birthday cakes. You even spilled cupcakes all over your car trying to get them to me! That's a friend, I'll tell ya!

I'm so glad that we had that great conversation a week before you had to go to Heaven. I'm so glad that you followed your instincts to come pray with me. You don't know how humbled I felt that you had come to share that with me. I was thinking just minutes before I heard that horrible news about after Meadow was first born and we didn't know yet if I was having a boy or a girl, that you had lots of girl clothes to share if I needed them! Mom has a picture of us all that day...so happy.

I was so blessed by you, August. I've been attending events at Holston View my entire life, and never have I seen such a crowd as I did tonight. You were loved by so many. We all hate that your life ended so soon. I know you're happy there with your Mawmaw, though you miss your babies. I know that the last thing you wanted to do was to worry us. This happened so fast.

Know that you are loved. Know that you are missed. Know that we are all better because we knew you and were loved by you. I love you, Augie.

Wordless Wednesday--Because there ARE no words

I have to go to a funeral today for a dear friend and family member. She was killed in a car accident early Sunday morning. August was only 30 years old, and had her whole life ahead of her. She left behind many family members and friends who loved her dearly, but most importantly, left behind two precious children who will have to grow up with out a Mommy.

Please remember August's family members and friends in your prayers, esp. those who will be attending her services tonight. My father will assist with the service and my sister is singing as part of the trio she sings with at our church.

I'm heartbroken and anxious today. In a few minutes I go back to the school where I last saw her on Friday, and where her children attend. Given my already emotional hormonal state, this is not going to be easy.

I love you, Augie, and miss you so much.

Flashback Friday--U Got the Look

<img alt="http://christis-blahblahblog.blogspot.com" src="http://tinyurl.com/5zzwl8" />

Ahhh, the late 80s.....I was in high school, living near a large (by my standards) city, and had so much more to my disposal than I had in small town Southwestern Virginia! High school had its ups and downs, but this song brings back a fun memory! One Saturday night, some friends and I asked our parents if we could go to the local teen club called "Thriller" where they taped a tv show each week that would be shown the following week on Saturday morning. It was one of those situations where I asked my parents and told them that Amy O.'s parents were letting her go, and she told her parents that mine were letting me go! LOL We had such a good time, and it was such fun watching ourselves the next Saturday! I also remember friends calling up and saying, "Is that YOU, Christi?!" How fun is that?! I even taped it on the VCR! I think I still have it around here somewhere! LOL

So without further adieu, here is one of the songs we danced to that night long ago....U Got the Look!

Prince - New Music - More Music Videos

So what about you? What do you remember today? Good or bad, we'd love to hear your memories and the song/tv show/movie/commercial related to it! Please come share!



TGIF!! Thanks for reading!

A few things....

Once again, I missed Flashback Friday. I have just been soooo durn tired!! I promise to try to do better!

Second, I have a post here today! If you aren't following @worldprayr on twitter, please do so...and if you feel so led, we'd love to have you join our team! This is an amazing group of Christians who want to use twitter to spread the love of Christ. I'm very honored to be a part of this group, and would love to have you join us, or at the very least, follow our tweets!

Third, my nephew is recovering nicely! He will be out for the rest of the season, which is stinky...but if he rests and does well with physical therapy, he'll be back on the field not only as the kicker, but also in other positions for his Senior year.

Fourth, if you could lift me up especially over the next few weeks, I would be so appreciative! I'm starting to feel the affects of going without my anti-depressants. I have only come off them for the first trimester of each pregnancy and am determined to make it through the next 2 plus weeks until I can take them again, but man--it isn't easy! This is a chemical that my body NEEDS, and to go without it while also dealing with serious hormone changes is just hard. I talked to my doctor about it, and he says (of course) that if I can go without them, then try to do so (ummm, knowing myself and my history, no thanks), but if I become suicidal, to take them immediately (not there either, thankfully!). So hang on I will until the 13 week mark.

I am soo blessed to have the support of my family and friends, which makes it so much easier. If I had a husband that didn't understand how difficult this was, I don't know what I'd do. He has picked up the slack for the many, many days that I just crash as soon as the boys get to bed, if not sooner. He is very concerned about me, and doesn't complain when I'm crying over something seemingly insignificant over being out of milk for cereal or when my clothes aren't fitting comfortably. I am very thankful that God has blessed me with Chris as my partner!!

So that is a pretty current update from this household! I'm sure there is more that I could report or ask for prayers concerning, but we'll suffice it at this. I love ya'll! Thanks for reading, and I really am trying to keep caught up on reading your blogs as well!

Wordless Wednesday--Warrior

He's a trooper! He just had surgery and did it mostly for his love of the game.

I'm so proud of him!

Baby update--9 weeks, 4 days

Everything looked good! I am so relieved! It was soo good to hear that little heartbeat and see the little bug squirming around in there like crazy! I feel like a weight has been lifted off of me, and I was just praising the Lord when the tech left the room!

The heart rate was 171, and the due date looks to be spot on. I am getting set up for an appointment with the perinatologist. When I went to see the lady who schedules the outpatient appointments, she asked, "Is something wrong with the baby?" and I answered, "Nope, I'm just OLD!" She cracked up. At least I can have a sense of humor about this advanced maternal age!

One of my coworkers had her ultrasound right before mine, and they're having a boy!

Please keep my nephew in your prayers. He's having a second surgery on a torn miniscus (shoulder) tomorrow. They're hoping to do it arthroscopically but will more than likely have to do an incision. This is made more difficult by the fact that my sister is out of town for most of the week and feels very bad that she is not gonna be there, but nothing could be done as her trip/visits to other schools had been scheduled months in advance, before he re-injured his shoulder. Bless her heart, Bren had trouble getting to her destination yesterday--missed a connecting flight! So while you're at it, keep her in your prayers as well!

So there we have it....update on baby #3!

Flashback Friday--Waterfalls

<img alt="http://christis-blahblahblog.blogspot.com" src="http://tinyurl.com/5zzwl8" />

Oh, this song was the ultimate cool back in the day! I loved TLC! This song was one of the first that I remember that addressed such social injustices as prostitution as a means of making money and about AIDS. Little did we know that TLC themselves would face problems such as domestic violence before Left Eyes early demise. The world lost a great woman when we lost her! No, she may not have made the best decisions, but we're all guilty of that.

The most distinct memory I have of this song is listening to it with my niece, who was in middle school at the time. We were such good friends at that time...I had just graduated from college and had moved home. We have so many great memories surrounding music!



So what about you? Do you have a memory you'd like to share with us today?! C'mon, it'll make this pregnant lady suffering today from nausea so happy!!

Putting a rude man in his place

So here's the story:

First, let me preface this by saying that I have had to come off my antidepressants for the first trimester of this pregnancy. This affects my mood somewhat, most notably (by me) in that when I get upset/mad, I get MUCH more so than I usually would. So when Chris and I had a disagreement on the way to the ballgame last Friday night, I am certain that this contributed.

So we're heading to the line to get our tickets to get into the game. There was a man standing several feet back from the line fiddling with his wallet. Yes, I realized he was probably heading for the line, but he had stopped quite a bit away from it, so I proceeded to slip past him and get in line myself with the boys. Soon after, I hear a snide comment behind me of,"You better watch it, they'll just jump in line in front of ya..." Given the mood I was in, I tried to be calm, but I'll admit...I'm not good about hiding how I feel from showing on my face. Ask anyone who I've ever been mad at, and they'll tell ya. *blushing* So I may have looked how I felt as I turned around and told him to go ahead of me. He refused, so I continued to insist. He then goes ahead to make what I think is a pretty stupid statement..."Oh, I don't mind!" OH, REALLY?! And that is why you made a snide comment about it??!
So I pointed this out with a smile...."If you don't care, then why did you say anything?" He was obviously uncomfortable by this point, as he should have been. If you don't want to be called on your smart ass statements, don't make 'em! I asked one more time for him to go ahead of us, and he again refused. So I walked to the end of the line, giving him no choice but to go ahead since it was so important to him only moments before. The person who was at the end of the line (now right on front of me) apparently got a kick out of my 'show' and turned around once again to look at me. I commented again, "If he didn't care, he should have kept his mouth shut!" I know I embarrassed my husband, but it just hit me the wrong way.

The moral of my story:
If you don't want to be called on your rude vocalizations, keep 'em in your head where they belong!

So there's my story!

September 8: International Literacy Day

As a Reading Specialist, this is a cause very near to my heart. It saddens me to think that in this age of instantaneous worldwide communication that there are far too many people out there who cannot pick up a book and read it if they wish.

I find this startling:

Some 774 million adults lack minimum literacy skills; one in five adults is still not literate and two-thirds of them are women; 72.1 million children are out-of-school and many more attend irregularly or drop out.

Folks, I know that if you are reading this, that you have not only basic reading skills but also basic computer skills. But so many people don't! Let me tell you something: IT IS NEVER TOO LATE FOR SOMEONE TO LEARN TO READ!! It is most definitely my 'calling' to help others achieve this goal. I have been very blessed to help offer this gift to first graders over the years, but for those who, for whatever reason, did not easily acquire this skill at 6 or 7 years of age, I'm doubly blessed to be now have the opportunity to help those who struggle with literacy.

Is there someone in your life that cannot read? Encourage them! Tell them that it is never, NEVER too late to develop this skill! There are programs and monies available out there to help! This is one 'epidemic' (to use an over-used term) that can be eradicated. Please do your part to help!

For more information, please visit here!

I'm so sorry, ya'll...

I didn't get FF up yesterday, and I'm feeling like CRUD today. We were literally minutes from leaving for Emory & Henry to watch my nephew's college football debut when the dizziness and nausea hit. I've slept most of the day, and still can't move my head too much or else I'm sure it will hit again. If you read this, please, please pray that it is a fluke. I can't possibly work/do classes if I feel this sick. I can't even walk, for Pete's sake! I've been so blessed so far, I really really don't want to have to deal with this!!

Pregnancy at 36 means one thing to me right now: I have to do what I HAVE to do, but it doesn't leave much time for things I WANT to do, like blog, keep up with friends, etc. I'm doing all I can to have the energy to work, take care of my family, and do school, and I hit the hay as soon as the boys are down. So if I'm not around, please know that it isn't because I don't want to. I just don't have the stamina right now. I'm at 8 weeks, 3 days, so I'm hoping some energy hurries back with the second trimester.

Oh, and somebody remind me to tell you the story of the redneck who I called on his behavior last night. I really hope he was very embarrassed, because he should have been! Right now I'm gonna try to lay down and read my fascinating standardized test manuals that I need to have read by Tuesday! Hope I can stay awake!

Random things I've come to realize

Teachers can be very inflexible, and it is so nice when they are not! When specialized teachers are trying to help a student become a better reader, it is helpful for classroom teachers to realize that this will only HELP them in their job. Work with them, and you'll be amazed at the benefits you'll see!

Nickelsville Elementary has arguably the most beautiful view from its vantage point! From either side of the building, you can see lovely rolling green fields, mountain peaks, and a sky that looks like it never ends. I love it!

I am really enjoying my job. I know even more now that God has placed me here where He needs me to be!

I'm still feeling amazingly good with this pregnancy, and am so thankful for this!!