Amber's Living Christmas Tree performance

Amber and the student (youth) choir did a great job on the living Christmas Tree on December 10th. Amber was on the 6th row up from the bottom and a little left of center. Her cousin, Chris, was also in the performance. He was on the 2nd row from the bottom and to the right of the tree. Here are some pictures from the performance.

Amber

Chris

Amber singing

Amber in lights

There to see this amazing performance were: Me (of course) and...

Alyssa

Papaw

Nana

Brian, Alex, & Brittany,

Grandma, Grandpa and (of course) Uncle Ken and

Aunt Donna
(What's up with that? No one really knows!!!!)

We Have A NEW PUPPY!!!!!!!

WOW. What EXCITEMENT!!! A PUPPY!!!!!

Amber went out this afternoon to bring in Salsa when out of the blue she hears tiny yelps. She searches for the culprit and finds Missy in the igloo (doghouse) with a tiny puppy. Amber was so excited. Alyssa is excited because this will be her puppy.

In honor of the fact that it is Christmas...the puppy (a girl) has been named:

Merry Felize

(It is either Merry or Mary).

Here is a picture of Merry Felize with her mother, Missy.

PS: The puppy was born on Grandma's birthday.

So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA!!!!!!!

OFFICIAL APOLOGY to Donna

I owe Donna an apology. She states that she emailed the Halloween pictures to me. For some reason I never got the email.

So, Donna, I know your reading this...

Donna,

Please forgive me...and resend the pictures to me.

Apologetically,

Kim

***CHRISTMAS BELIEVERS BEWARE***

******DISCLAIMER: CHRISTMAS BELIEVERS BEWARE********

We are officially, unofficially a non-believing Christmas house. Alyssa asked the big Christmas question the other day..."Is Santa real?"

Now, bear in mind, that Alyssa asked this question about 2 years ago. When she asked me then, I asked her if she really, really wanted to know (asked about 20 times). She said, "YES." So, I told her the truth. She was devastated by this news -- so I did what any mom would have done, I told her I was kidding...everyone knows Santa is real. Well, Alyssa doesn't remember this happening (which helped her to continue to believe). So here we are in the present...

"Is Santa real?" This time I wanted to make sure she really wanted to know. I asked her, "Do you really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really want to know?" Of course, she said, "YES." So, we had 'THE TALK'. I came clean about Santa. She didn't cry, so far so good! I figure, let's take it a little further...

I asked her if she wanted to know about any other people. She wasn't sure what I meant. So I said, "You know, Cupid, the Boogey Man, Mother Nature, Father Time..." She asked, "Are they real?" I again asked her, "Do you really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really want to know?" Of course, she said, "YES." So, we had another talk. I came clean about Cupid, the Boogey Man, Mother Nature, Father Time, Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny. She looked at me and asked, "So, is the Sand Man real?" I came clean again.

Alyssa has handled the news well. She shamelessly announces her gift requests as loudly as possible. I think she was ready this time. She even wrote about "the Santa truth" in her journal at school.

As I said in the beginnning we are officially, unofficially a non-believing Christmas house. This means, we still go through the motions...JUST IN CASE...someone gave us the wrong information!!

A little bird told me...Santa wants Oatmeal Raisin cookies from Subway and a cold coke under the tree.

MY BABY IS GROWING UP!!!!!

1 Quarter of Nursing COMPLETED!!!!

I have finished my 1st quarter of nursing school. I took my final on December 6th. (I have unofficially PASSED the class.) The 2nd quarter starts on January 4th. I get to learn how to give injections on the 1st day of class. I am now 1/6th of the way done. Only 5 more quarters, 1 externship, and an NCLEX (nursing boards) to go!!!!!

November 2006

Mid November - The divorce is final. I want to wish Brian the best. He will always have a special place in my heart.

Thanksgiving - The girls had a great time visiting with Nana & Papa, Uncle Chuck, Uncle Mark, Aunt Laura, Mayson, Luke, Claire, John Mark, and their dad (of course). I will post some of Amber's pictures in the next few days.

I celebrated a very quiet Thanksgiving with my parents. We chose to skip the traditional big meal (since it was just us 3) and had filet mignon, baked potato, and salad for our dinner.

We have much to be thankful for...our freedom, a loving God, our lives, our families, our friends, forgiveness, and so much more.

November 27th - My cast was removed. The wrist is still not completely healed, but they felt mobility was more important at this time. I wear a splint for most activities. Putting any weight on the wrist is still very painful. It also hurts after strenuous use. The nice thing about the splint...I can wash my arm and hands properly. I am supposed to wear the splint for the next 5 weeks.

Sorry for the delay...

Life has been hectic these last 2 months. I will now try to update everyone on what has been going on. Once Donna sends me the Halloween pictures I will post pictures of the girls in their Halloween grubbies.

Health Update!!!!

Amber has lost 4 more teeth...with the help of the dentist. Yesterday she had her oral surgery. She states "I have a very religious mouth because it is so holy! It is Baptist too!" One of the teeth removed had almost no roots on it, but the others had some roots. The cuspids had some extremely long roots.

I have my cast on. I broke my wrist in 2 places. I broke the center wrist bone and another bone near the thumb. My cast is boring white! I have promised the girls that they can color all over it 4 days before it comes off. That way it will still look professional for clinicals. I am supposed to get it off the Monday after Thanksgiving.

Injuries

Last week it was Christopher getting hit in the temple by a football. Today it is me...I broke my right wrist this evening. I hope that this is not the "1 injury a week" month for the families. I am typing this with my left hand, so bear with me. Yes, I am right handed. I am wondering how this will effect me at school, but I can't imagine it causing me too much problems. I am keeping this short because my left shoulder is starting to hurt (from typing by itself) and my pain pill hasn't taken effect yet. I hope everyone has a blessed rest of the month. By the way, I have a splint at the moment, but am supposed to get a cast on Monday.

Nursing School...

Nursing school is going good so far. It requires a lot of reading. Lab time is pretty fun because we just do a lot of role playing. Clinicals will be starting in 1 week. We will start clinicals at a Senior Center and then move to a hospital. I am still nervous about applying what I actually am learning and already know.

We still haven't recieved the rest of our uniforms (school shirts & "Crocodile Hunter" vest) that we have to wear with white pants. I have my first test tomorrow. I also have to take my Drug Calculation test on October 18th - I have to make a 100% on this test. I am a little nervous. We took a Drug Calculation Quiz yesterday, I made a 100% (after she removed the apothecary question). Apothecary calculations are out-of-date, they are being phased out.

A Poem by Amber

Amber has written the following poem. It is a "cinquain" style poem.

Teachers, Losers, and Amber

Teachers
Schoolmaster, schoolmistress
Teaching, helping, tutoring
I want to be a
Teacher

Losers
Sufferer, victim
Geek, weird, ugly
I don't want to be a
Loser

Amber
Beautiful, smart
Helpful, cool, popular
I will always be an
Amber

Alyssa visits with the dogs

Salsa (black dog with brown collar), Missy (black dog with blue collar), Pepi (beige dog with Alyssa), and Tasha (beige dog in other pen behind Alyssa).

A Very Tiny Baby Lizard

I found this very little guy. I took some pictures and scared Grandma with the lizard and then let the lizard go free.

Braces??????

We went to the orthodontist on September 25th. The orthodontist states that Alyssa needs to return in 1 year to be re-evaluated. Amber, on the other hand, needs to come back in 6 months to be re-evaluated. The orthodontist also told us he feels it is important and necessary to remove 4 of Amber's baby teeth now so the adult teeth have a bigger space to come in. So Amber will be having a cuspid and a molar removed from both sides of her upper jaw on October 17th. She seems excited about the procedure right now, except she doesn't want a needle in her mouth while she is awake. I told her that they will probably use a needle while she is awake, but that they numb the entry point with some ointment. She isn't to sure about this.

Our Little Bunnies

We found some baby bunnies after the yard was mowed.

One bunny died...leaving us with two.

Sadly, in the end we lost the other two bunnies. This was a wonderful experience for the girls. We hope that we have learned when to let go if we have another opportunity to help some baby bunnies.

Our visit to the GA Aquarium

We went to the Georgia Aquarium with Ken, Donna, and Chris the day before the girls went to school. A special "THANKS" to Uncle Ken and Aunt Donna for letting us come with them. We enjoyed ourselves at the aquarium. And THANKS to Chris too.

I hope you enjoy the pictures!!!

After a long day of fun...