"Blog in Review...."

Hello All...well as you prepare to read this blog please assume a comfy position in your seat as it will take you more than just the normal amount of reading time to complete this post. I have been a little behind in my "posting" and I am using this one blog to catch you up regarding several events over the past several weeks.
Well, the other day I received a very...ummmm, less than nice...ummm....rather threatening email from, let's see, let's just state that it was from, hmmm a relative-yes that is it-a relative.hack hack hack (a sister) hack hack hack...oh pardon me, I have something caught in my throat. Anyhow, this "relative" stated that if I didn't update my blog along with pictures of my boys that she would post some rather outdated photos of me. I had to remind her that I have some of those photos of her as well seeing as she is my sist....uhhh I mean my relative and the stories to go along with them. She backed off on the threats but I did agree that I would update my blog. So since I am above calling anyone out (J2) this is for you!!!! :0)

Well when we first moved to Tennessee and Chad received his work truck, his brother Rick, who is one of the BIG WHIGS at the company told his that he wouldn't need 4 wheel drive in Tennessee. WELL....low and behold when Kentucky was in store for getting the worst snow storm EVER....guess who else was going to as well??? And guess who did? We got 4 inches here around our house and the town didn't know what to do. They don't know what to do when it rains (and as often as it does around here you would think that they would have figured that out by now). But the boys were elated when it was snowing friday night and by the time we got home from dinner they were already planning on getting their snow clothes on and heading out. The next morning everything was covered and they were out building snowmen and having snowball fights. Later in the morning we went out to run errands and by the time we came back home that afternoon.....all the snow was gone. Short lived but still beautiful and around long enough to allow the boys to have some fun!!!!

Well, Sassy Little Oreo is now up to almost 8 pounds and is getting a personality of his own. If he could only getting the potty training down pat we would definately be in business!!!! He, I think, is part cat because he will run out back and prance and pounce at bugs and chase them around the yard like a cat. And he reminds me of the dog on the cartoon that follows that big dog around jumping back and forth asking "where did he go, where did he go?" (do you remember him?) Poor Sis doesn't get a moment of peace. He will run out the back door and just lunge at her head or her tail and she will take it long enough and then it becomes an all out chase. But it is hysterical to watch. And Oreo is lightening fast. So maybe he really is good for Sis....at least for the exercise factor. If you notice the pictures where he is lying in the grass? That is a hole that he and Sis dug playing. We called it Oreo's foxhole. He loves to lie in it....BUT they KEPT digging it so we have had to cover it because I think they are trying to dig to CHINA!!!! But you can tell that they have their sweet moments too when they lie together and snuggle. AWWWWW!

Easter was a laid back kind of day for us. We got up to see what the easter bunny left for us all and then got ready for church. Just as we were preparing to leave, Bryson came down the stairs as pale as a ghost complaining that he was feeling really bad so Chad and Austin headed on to church and I stayed home with Bryson, gave him some Phenergan for him upset tummy and settled in for a quiet day at home. After the boys got home we just had lunch at home and hung around the house. Just a quiet Easter Sunday but thankful for the promises that the easter season gives us.

AND FINALLY....while the boys where away in the land of OZ...(for those of you who have NO IDEA what I am talking about....as Chad and the boys were heading to Georgia for a hockey tournament, they were caught in a tornado in the vehicle. Chad was getting out of the vehicle to see if the bridge had an area under it where they could climb into to "weather" out the storm as they were in the path of the tornado. As he got out of the car he heard the tornado and was trying to get back into the vehicle when it hit the truck. Chad was holding onto the door as it was being pulled backwards off of the vehicle and it was Bryson who was able to pull Chad back into the truck. Chad was banged up and cut his ear and the truck was banged up to but things could have been MUCH WORSE and we are all thankful for the minimal, minimal results that occured. They definately had a guardian angel traveling with them that day)....
I stayed back here in Tennessee because I had to worked late Friday night. Saturday I met Daddy and Frances at their house and headed to Tunica with them for Kelsey's swim meet. There were about 25 kids in all competing in various events and when all was said and done Kelsey's ended the day with 2 first place blue ribbons. YEAH KELS!!!! And I must say that the Coach and Announcer was a mighty handsome feller!!!! After the event, we-along with Cyndi, went to the Catfish Gallery ( I think was the name) had some lunch, and the did some shopping. I went back to their house for a while and the everyone, minus Cyndi, came over to my house for pizza and a movie. Lifetime was showing the television premere of The Memory Keepers Box....Great Movie and Book. I would recommend either to anyone!!!!!!

Well, I think that I have officially caught you up now of our happenings and I will try to do better on keeping my blog updated. It was very disturbing receiving such a threatening email :0) ! I love and miss everyone and hope all is well.
Love to you all and til next time-

We Are Excited to Announce....IT'S A BOY!!!!!

Daddy and Frances, Mom and Dad, brothers and sisters, nieces, nephews, cousins and everyone else that I forgot.....we would like to announce that you all have a new Grandson, nephew, cousin to meet and we are so excited to introduce him to you. NOW, as you are pulling yourself back to the computer screen from the floor, let me clear up a few things-
First- to Jamie, NO I didn't actually go through with my ploy to take a sweet baby from the hospital while I was working in the Labor and Delivery unit. Those moms worked way to hard to get those babies and our hospital security is out of this world so I wouldn't make it to my car even if I tried...not that I would mind you.
Next-remember you all saw me at Christmas and most of you were telling me how I needed to eat and GAIN weight so I haven't had a child through a miraculous anorexic birth experience. Daddy and Frances have seen me since Christmas and can vouch that I am not "with child" and Cyndi can really vouch for me as she saw me a few days ago.
and Finally-no Chad and I didn't get some wild hair and decide that we would add to our brood by adopting. I think that adoption is a wonderful, wonderful thing but the two kids that I have are all that I need. If God wants me to have more than he and I are going to have to have a long long talk! :0)
So now, with all the talking aside, let me introduce you all to Sassy Little Oreo:

Well we have been thinking for sometime now that we needed to get a playmate for Sis. Sis is about the age now that Shelby was when we brought Sis home because Dr. MacDonald thought that having a companion for Shelby would be a good thing. St Bernards don't live much beyond 10 years of age so to get them a companion helps to lengthen their life as well as encourage them to stay active as they age....so thus the story began. That is how we got Sis and now.....

Meet Oreo. Oreo is a Pomapoo which mean that he is 1/2 Pomeranian and 1/2 Poodle. He was born on December 11, 2007 and he is just the sweetest puppy. He has a great little personality already and the kids have fallen in love with him. Now I thought that when we were searching for a playmate for Sis we would be looking for a big, sturdy pup and it really surprised me when Chad started looking at all the little yippy lap dogs. But Oreo just won our hearts. He just bounces and hops and LOVES Sis....but that feeling is not quite yet reciprocated. Princess Sis is still not too sure about her abode being invaded by this little puff of black and white. Although she is tolerant of a whole lot, this little puff seems to be everywhere she is and she can't even, well, you know, "do her business" without Oreo being underfoot waiting for her to take him on the next grand adventure. I am sure that in time they will become inseperable just as she and Shelby were, but for now Sis views Oreo as somewhat of a pain in the boohah...a really cute one but a pain none the less. She tolerates her being in her home but she does NOT like it when Chad or I are very close to the puppy and not close to her. But worse than that...if we are close to her and Oreo comes around, well that is just a big taboo. I remember back on when we brought Sis home and Dr MacDonald telling me that we did the right thing and it would be great in a few days. Shelby just had to show dominance over Sis. Dr MacDonal is a wonderful man and he was right...and I know that this is all going to be fine too. We adore our Princess Sis and really, we got the puppy for her to have a companion so she wouldn't be home alone while we are all at work and school, but change is always a hard thing and when you are in the initial phase it just seems like your world is being turned upside down. Oreo is a doll and we couldn't have gotten a better puppy so he is going to have a happy home here with us and his new buddy Sis for a long long time to come.

Love to you all and til next time-

TAG...I'M IT......

I have been tagged by my loving sister Jennifer (and for those of you who have NO idea what I am talking about you can visit her blog at thehangsgang.blogspot.com and check out her post about being tagged and it tells all about this game) and I am participating in the telling seven strange/wierd facts about myself. I don't know other people that really blog so I don't have any other people to "tag" onto. So unfortunatley I can't continue this part of the game. But anyway, here goes my part of the game:

1. I hate THONG panties. I really can't stand when my underware unintentionally go "THERE" so to wear a pair of underware that is SUPPOSED to go "THERE" makes entirely no sense to me whatsoever.
2. I don't do boogers. I am a nurse by trade and love it with all my heart and passion. You can put me elbow deep in all the puke, blood and gore you want and I am good to go. You can give me a patient that is on the doorstep of death with the other on a banana peel and I will fight withe everything I have to keep them with us if it is at all AND humanely (I do mean humanely not humanly) possibly but you pull a booger out and show it to me and I am out of that room so fast you would think that a hurricane hit the room. And let me tell you I have been ridden hard about the fact that I am so sickened by them.....
3.I am right handed when it comes to writing but for most other tasks that I undertake in my daily life, I do most of them left-handed. There are many things that I can do with both hands but I paint, give shots, brush my teeth, put on makeup, eat, etc...all left handed.
4. I am the type of person who will overextend myself to a fault. I have a hard time telling people no when they need help and I tend to overextend my services to the point that it takes me away from my family time, my self time and my recreational time (my fun "jodi" time) because I feel like it is things that I am supposed to do.
5. I am a touchy feely person and I think that everyone needs to be hugged. I tend to enter people's personal space when I meet them and all too often after I meet someone, when most people shake hands, I usually hug them.
6. I hate feet. Now, baby feet and little kids feet are ok but the older people get the more yucky their feet get to be. And being the nurse I definately HAVE to look, and touch, alot of skanky feet. You just have to sit back and wonder sometimes if people have just never been introduced to Mr. Dial. And if their smellers work because if I sat around them when they took their shoes off I would be dead in the floor beside them!!! Feet and toes are just not a pretty thing and fixing them up with polish and toe rings are just another way to bring attention to them. Don't get me wrong, it is a nice try...but a little soap and water would do some people a lot more good.
and finally
7.I love hockey fights. I know that being a mother of two boys I am supposed to teach them that fighting is not the answer to problems and that you need to talk through things and find a solution when there is a conflict. But there is nothing better than when two hockey guys are trying to slug it out on the ice while they also are trying to stay up on their skates, landing punches...because once they hit the ice, the referree will break it up. Wow there is just nothing better. Except maybe baseball and football pants. Now there is something. Those pants can really enhance the physique of just about anyone no matter what size guy that you put in them. There is really something about a guy in a pair of baseball or football pants, I have always said. But I guess that would have been #8 and I only needed 7 so I shall stop with my rambling now! Hope you enjoyed my silly little quirks.
Love to you all and til next time-

Alex's Big Day!!!

2/3/08 Bryson and I headed to Alex's birthday party at the new skating rink in Horn Lake, Mississippi. Austin was still sick with the flu and bronchitis, or rather recovering, and Chad was still working so we headed off alone to celebrate the birthday boy. We arrived fashionably late...and only after being a little slightly lost :0)...but we arrived none the less in time for the celebration, the cake and the presents. Alex HATED being sung "happy birthday" to as you can tell by the photo of him, he loved tearing into the gifts and he loved even more skating. Bryson and Alex skated around and around and around and those of you who know my boys know that they LOVE to skate and have been doing so for years. Kelsey is another who loves to BE on skates..with BE ON being the operative words. As she does not really attempt to skate. She likes to be on the skates and have you pull her around, as long as the skates don't come right out from under her or her favorite, which you can see in the photo, is the famous "buggy push" which is a great position for her not to lose her legs out from under her but it is TERRIBLE for your back and your legs!!!!! It was a great day.

After the party, Bryson went home with Amy and Alex for a while and I head over to the mall with Daddy, Frances, Kelsey and Cyndi. We shopped til we dropped and I got home way later than I had intended to(sorry again honey) :0( . Alex spent the night with us and Sunday we had to take Bryson to hockey practice from 12-2 and he sat down beside me on the chair and said "Aunt Jodi, I want to skate." I told him that he couldn't skate right now because they were practicing. He said "I know but that is just it. I told Uncle Chad I want to play hockey."

I don't know.....maybe we got another hockey player in the makings here!!!!

Time will tell...... :0)

Love to you all and til next time-

To Celebrate a Successful Season....

On January 25, 2008 we headed to the Germantown Country Club to have dinner in honor of Austin's wrestling banquet. We hadn't been to one before so we didn't know what to expect but we knew that we wanted him to go and be part of the celebration with the rest of his team and celebrate a successful season not only for the tournaments that they participated in but in the friendships that were made.

We arrived in the banquet hall and it was a very nice room with a long table set up to separate the "wrestling boys" from everyone else. Although that was a nice thought, having that many adolescent boys sitting at one table and expecting them to be well mannered and quiet long enough to eat any semblance of a well balanced meal, well, let's just say that they had a really good time. Anyhow, the evening was really nice. We had a wonderful dinner and there were people there to make sure that our needs were met and that we never went without something to drink. My mom would have been thrilled :0). After everyone had their bellies filled Coach Cleveland (who is their head Coach) got up and spoke to the boys and their parents about the season a bit and then presented each of the boys with a plaque which represented their success in completeing the 2007-2008 wrestling season. Then he presented 3 special awards. One for most improved. One for Wrestler of the year and one for Mr Hustle. Obviously most improved is what it states, Mr wrestler had many different components to it that was not all based on skill and forgive me for not remembering everything. And Mr. Hustle was someone who came to each practice and each tournament and gave everything that he had. He never complained, never made excuses and even though he didn't always win, he always had a positive attitude and walked away with the idea that next time he would learn from what he did then and take that into next time. He had alot of activities outside of wrestling, be it school or other sports, yet he maintained he commitment to them all and never let his team down and always gave everyone 100% AND.....you guessed it-Austin won that award. We were so proud of him. And I think it about knocked Austin off his chair when they called his name. So that just put the icing on the cake for the night. I don't know who floated higher out of the club...Chad or Austin. It was a father's proudest night and Austin was sure proud of his achievements....as he should have been.

Love to you all and til next time-

Kelsey turns 14!!!!!

January 10th Kelsey turned 14 years old. It seems impossible that she is already 14 but I guess because that also means that Austin turning 14 is only around the corner. Well, anytime there is a birthday....there is a party to be had. And for Kelsey it was no exception indeed. She had an entire weekend of birthday events. Saturday night Austin, Bryson and I met the gang at the Desoto Civic Center to watch the Riverkings play Ice Hockey....and you ALL know how much I LOVE my hockey. It was so much fun to be back in the hockey arena...my only disappointment was that there wasn't any really good fights. Now I know you are thinking, way to go Jo, you are with the kids and you wanted fights. But hey, it's HOCKEY!

Then Sunday afternoon, we headed to StrikeZone bowling lanes to bowl the afternoon away. The kids (and a few "older kids") bowled for about 1 1/2 hours and then we enjoyed pizza, a High School Musical Cake (as IF) and then Kelsey opened her gifts! It was a great day for all and a wonderful day to celebrate the life of such a wonderful young lady and such a blessing in all of our lives.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KELSEY GIRL!!!!

Love to you all and til next time-

The Princess and the Pea

It always baffles me how you can leave for a trip and perfectly execute packing and maneuvering the placement of every piece of luggage and each item that you have to take with you. We headed TO Kentucky, bringing Sis in her HUGE dog kennel in the back of the truck (with HER in it, much to my dismay...) with all of our luggage,Christmas packages in plastic totes and all of the rest of the items we were toting along with us to Kentucky packed in around her in the back of the truck. You may remember in one of my previous post I mentioned that I felt we were bringing all of our possessions BUT the kitchen sink. Well, when Chad came home between Christmases he even brought HOME some of the Christmas gifts so when we came home for the final time we should even be traveling a little lighter. Shouldn't we???

Well somehow, it seems to have worked out that we didn't have room for everything AND we really needed to use the covered shelter of Sis' kennel for some of the luggage so she had the luxury of making the 6+ hour drive back to Collierville, Tennessee in the front seat with Chad and I. The funny thing is that she insisted on sitting with her rear end facing me and lying her head on Chad's lap the entire trip! And I do mean the ENTIRE TRIP, unless we stopped for potty breaks and then it was right back to that position. It was an interesting trip but the princess made sure that she was comfortable and when anything poked her or made her uncomfortable she managed to manuever her 120 pound frame until she found a more suitable position. Never mind she was in the middle of two adult people in the front seat of a moving vehicle. As long as the princess was happy......

All's well that end's well though. We made it home safe and sound although it must have been a hard road for her. She came in the door and after walking around the house a little bit she hit the floor and slept all night. Such a hard life for this princess pooch.

Love to you all and til next time-