Diamonds or Pearls?

I received the following, friendly Internet questionnaire today from four different family members...so I thought I would just answer it here. Feel free to give me your input in the comments! (I removed a few questions that might be a little too much information for the world wide web.)

1. What time did you get up this morning? 7:15 AM - I should have been up at 6:30!

2. Diamonds or Pearls? I will take either one! Jim has given me both over the past few years and I love each one.

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? (This thing must have been written in Europe. We say 'movie theatre' around here.) Hancock - Not what I expected, but the kids and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

4. What is your favorite television show? Big Bang Theory

5. What food do you dislike? Liver and onions

6. What is in your CD player? My CD player holds 6 CD's, so right now I am listening to:
Rissi Palmer; Mercy Me "All That Is Within Me"; WOW Hits 2008 (2 Discs); Rodney Atkins "If You're Going Through Hell"; A Beth Moore Teaching Tape from the Nashville Deeper Still Conference last year.

7. What do you drive? 2003 Ford Thunderbird - Evening Black with Black Ink interior and Torch Red accent - My dream car!

8. What is your favorite sandwich? Turkey Artichoke from Panera Bread

9. What is your favorite item of clothing? My blue jeans, can't live without them!

10. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? A quiet mountain cabin on the water someplace.

11. What color is your bathroom? Green, Burgundy, Beige and Eggplant design

12. Where would you retire to? On the 17 acres in Waller County...and if money were no problem, a beach house on the Gulf for the summer and a ranch for the fall.

13. Most memorable birthday? Definitely turning 40...surprise party thrown by the dear ladies in my Sunday School class and Meagan moved out on her own -- talk about a day of lows and highs!

14. Favorite sport to watch? Any game my boys are playing in...football for Will and basketball for Brian

15. Favorite saying? There is no such thing as 'normal'.

16. Are you a morning or a night person? Morning

17. What is your shoe size? 8

18. Pets? None that I call my own -- but in our household we have 3 dogs (Pib, Allie, Hoss), 1 cat (Zoe) and 1 goat (Goat/Pumpk'n). All were rescue animals in some form or fashion.

19. Any new and exciting news you would like to share with us? We are going to be grandparents again, Matt and Kelli are expecting Feb. 20, 2009. And we just purchased 17 1/2 acres two miles from our house and are looking forward to building a new home there.

20. What did you want to be when you were little? Teacher

21. What is your favorite candy? $100,000 Bar

22. What is your favorite flower? Calla lily

23. How is the weather right now? Are you kidding me? It is July in Texas -- fire breathing dragon hot!

24. Siblings? Rosa and Cecily

25. Summer or Winter? Winter -- of course that is easy to say when we get very little COLD weather.

There are 35 more questions...but you get the gist of it from these. Plus, I don't know what my favorite brand of clothing is, nor what color from the crayon box I would be! Some of these questions I should let y'all answer about me.

And They Let Him Eat Cake

First a little taste...
...then a little more...

...before it was over, he was double-fisted in the icing.

Doesn't he look cool in his sunglasses?

He refused to wear the hat!

It took about twenty tries for me to get a picture of it on him.

Somebody's Having a Birthday Today!

Can you believe Davin is already one year old? I certainly can't. Even though he is close to walking and tries talking (he has said 'Pappaw' but not 'Nonna'), it still seems like this year has flown by. So, in honor of his birthday...here is a little walk down memory lane via pictures.

The Sweet Prince's Arrival Day

First Halloween

The Courageous Lion

Christmas Elf

The Monkey

First Bluebonnet Picture

Really Not Impressed With The Flowers

"Hey, Mom, When Do I Get One?"

An Apple A Day On My Way To Being The Next Great Razorback

Hanging At The Pool In South Padre

Playing Peek-a-boo With Brooke In Surfside

The Wind Swept Look Is Making A Comeback

Rising From The Fog

Sorry for the sporadic posting lately, guys. I have been sending mass emails to keep family and friends up to date on Casy's recovery since last Thursday and just haven't had time to sit down and post.

Speaking of Casy, he had a very rough day yesterday with pain and the retention of fluid. But, after a small procedure late yesterday, he was doing much better when we left the hospital. We are hoping that his recovery process picks up speed from here on out and that he is able to leave the hospital this weekend. Thank you all for your prayers and well wishes!

Dolly moved into the Houston area over night. Well, not Dolly...but the outer rain bands. We waited all day yesterday for the torrential rains to hit...and there were some areas that received quick deluges, but not city wide. Today it is more of a slow and steady rain, which is just what my yard needs. The corn fields on the drive to work that started out so pretty and green this spring have long since turned dead brown. We need the rain!

Will started football camp yesterday. He has one more day. He is looking forward to football this year. Honestly, so am I. It was so much fun to watch him grow and to enjoy playing last year. I know as he gets bigger so do his opponents...and that part is a little scary to this 'mamma bear'...but he seems to love playing the game. So, I am prepared to sit in the heat (and occasionally the cold) to watch him play again this fall.

Brian has been attending open gym for the past week and a half. He is very excited about his upcoming senior year...and basketball is at the top of his list of things to be excited about. He and his friends are hitting the weights and playing as much ball as they can squeeze into these last few weeks before school starts.

And speaking of school starting, both boys are ready (can you believe it?), ready for school to start. I hope they still feel that way about the middle of October/November! Of course that raises my awareness that it is time to go back to school shopping. UUGGHH! Brian is the hardest person to shop with since Meagan...they are both very particular about their clothes. And I absolutely give up trying to shoe shop with the boy! We visit five or six shoe stores each time we go out shopping for shoes...and usually end up going back to buy the shoes at the first store we entered.

Bri signed up for classes day before yesterday. She is planning to work full time for a friend of ours this fall in the same town where she attends classes. She will be taking 18 hours of night classes on top of work...so she will have a FULL schedule. Thankfully, three of the classes are introductory and will not require a lot of work outside of the classroom.

Cecily has been visiting us for the past couple of weeks. It has been great to spend an extended time with her. Bri and the boys have kept her pretty busy with everything from horseback riding to movies and other things in between. She has to get back home in time to sign up for her classes as well...so we are enjoying the time that she is able to stay.

Well, that pretty much catches you up on our little corner of the world.

How are things where you are today?

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!

In celebration of her 19 years, here are nineteen things about Blondie!

• Stuck in the middle, smack dab in the middle...that has been the theme song of her life. Born the third of five children, she is the middle child of the family.




• She is the youngest daughter.

• She is named after her dad...his middle name, Brian, becoming Brianne. (And by the way, at the time, we had never even heard of another Brianne - or Brianna.)



• She shares a birthday with her great uncle, Bobby.



• She earned the nickname 'Blonde Bomber' from her Poppy due to her white blonde hair when she was two.



• Her daddy calls her 'Weezy Bree'.



• In middle school, she switched to using her first name instead of Brianne because she was tired of telling the teachers her name over and over again.



• She was named Best 7th Grade Techie for Theatre Arts.




• In high school, she decided to use 'Brianne' again, but shortened it to Bri.



• She played softball for the JV team in high school.



• She was Cindy Lou Who in Seussical: The Musical.



• Her favorite musical is Phantom of the Opera, which we saw in San Antonio last March.




• She rescued a little kitten three years ago and named her Zoe.



• She has a pet goat, which we call 'Goat'.


• She is attending classes at the local community college, majoring in Education.



• She has a wonderful singing voice and was in Chorale in high school.



• She has the most beautiful ringlets when she lets her hair dry naturally. I am jealous.



• She is a CSI fanatic. She can watch it all day long and the same episode over and over again.



• She is 'the babysitter'. Able to put both her niece and nephew to sleep in less than 10 minutes or to make them laugh when they are crying.

Surgery Day

Hello All,
We are at the hospital today with my cousin, Casy. He will be going back to OR around 7 AM for the surgery to remove the two tumors in his abdomen area. This procedure is expected to take between 10 and 14 hours. Please remember him, his mom & dad (Debbie and Glen) and his fiancee' (Samm) in your prayers today.

Love to all,
Fonda

Gathering With Family...

Priceless!

What A Week!

With all that lying on the deck, casually strolling along The Strand and visiting with family and friends...I was absolutely exhausted when we got home!

We had the best time on Surfside Beach. We had dinner with some of our dearest friends on the 4th. Fireworks on the beach got a little exciting as someone down the way managed to set the dunes on fire down from our rental. Thankfully it was put out pretty quickly and with little damage. The Beach house deck held eight families and lots of food. It was wonderful!

On the 5th we took off for Lake Jackson to get breakfast. We didn't have time to do the shopping on the 4th, so the girls and I hit Wal-Mart after enjoying pancakes at IHOP. They surprised me with a new purse for my birthday...a beautiful tan leather Coach. That afternoon we celebrated birthdays together...Albert's, mine and Bev's. It was my first time to karaoke...and it was so much fun! We are planning to do that again soon!

On Sunday the Mommies and Grandbabies headed back to Houston. The boys did some fishing and I spent the afternoon on the deck visiting with friends. Sunday night we had adult dinner out. That was a wild night for Jim...dinner with three women. I think we made his head spin just trying to keep up with the conversation! It was a blast and I think we made him turn pink at least twice during the night! At least now, the next time I come home from a 4 hour dinner with the Girls...he will not question whether or not it had really taken us that long just to eat!! Ha!

Monday was pretty laid back. The guys did some fishing and the boys spent a lot of time on the boogie boards. On Tuesday we had to come in to Houston to do a little work. Everyone still wants a paycheck...whether I am on vacation or not! Casy and Debbie flew in for his appointments on Wednesday and Thursday. When we made it back to Seaside Dreams we took time to just walk along the beach and then took a little drive to show them around.

Wednesday I went in to Galveston with a friend for some leisurely shopping. Can you say HOT? I didn't realize how much I was depending on that Gulf breeze just to breathe! The shops along the Strand were fun for browsing.

Thursday Debbie and I decided to try the boogie boarding. She did better than I did. I just tried not to get washed out to sea! Friday morning we had to get things cleaned up before checking out at 11. Try washing linens for twelve people by 11 AM!

We made it in around 2:30...I was out by 3...as in out cold asleep! I didn't wake up from my nap until after 6 that night!!!

I had no idea that relaxing at the beach was so exhausting!

We have a busy week around here this week too. Casy's surgery is scheduled for Thursday and we have family that will be arriving tomorrow and Wednesday. I may be scarce for a few days...but I promise to be back soon!

It's Official

We are going to be grandparents again!

Kelli and Matt are expecting...with a due date of February 20, 2009!

Livin' On Island Time

Hello, everyone! We will be out of touch for the rest of the week. We are enjoying a little time off this week at Surfside. The kids are tearing up the waves on their boogie boards and I am spending time sitting on the deck.

I have been having a hard time with this new air card, so I am not sure if I will be able to log back on or not. If I don't talk to you before then...I will see ya'll next week!

Flying the Stormy Skies

Doug, guessed my secret reason for not posting. But then again, since he was working air traffic control along the east coast on Sunday, he had the inside line.

If you are planning a trip anywhere in the south this summer, you might want to call ahead and make sure that I am not on your flight. Not that I am planning on boarding another airplane for a long while...but, just in case.


Sunday morning we got up relatively early to get ready for the day, pack up our room and prepare for the trip home.


We headed over to Gladys Knights and Ron Winans Chicken and Waffles for brunch.

Chicken and waffles, you ask? Yes, Chicken and Waffles. An amazing combination of four of the best fried chicken wings ever and mouth watering waffles with maple syrup!

Thankfully, I was stuffed...because I would not eat again until very late!

I arrived at the airport about an hour early. I should have caught a clue when the gate next to ours was running two hours late from Newark. But, not me.

We boarded our plane on time - 4:10 sharp. The flight was scheduled to leave at 4:45...and was only a few minutes late due to last minute baggage being loaded. Every seat was filled.

We moved out of the gate and during the pre-flight check an indicator light was not working properly. We went back to the gate and spent 30 minutes 'rebooting'.

We returned to the runway and our place in line...only to be told that Houston had been closed to all incoming flights due to storms. We sat waiting for word that we could take off. After a little over an hour, it was decided that we needed to refuel. We moved back to the gate, refueled and all passengers who wanted to rebook their flight for the following day were allowed to leave the plane.

After about a 1/3 of the passengers left, we proceeded to get in line again. After about another hour, we were told that Houston had just opened to incoming flights....BUT, Atlanta had just closed to all flights heading toward the west. We sat on the runway for about another hour as the lightening flashed all around us and the rain poured down.

Finally, after 4 hours on the plane, we told that we would be taking flight as soon our turn arrived...we were 30th in line!

The whole plane broke into applause as soon as we were in the air. We were finally on our way home!

Well, things were going way too well for me. About 200 miles outside of Houston, the airport was closed once again and we were diverted over the Gulf of Mexico for about 30 minutes.

The whole plane broke into applause again as we touched down at IAH. We were home!

Only to hear the captain one more time as he broke the news to us that there was not a gate opened to receive us due to all the flights arriving at the same time. Well, an hour and two gates later...we were finally able to leave the airplane. We had boarded at 4:10 Eastern and got off at 10:45 Central time. That is 7 hours and 30 minutes sitting on an airplane for a two hour flight!

I finally arrived at my car around 11:30 and drove home. I should have been home by 7pm, instead it was nearly 1am!

Oh the joys of flying during the summer. I was advised by a savvy air traffic controller that I know to schedule any future flights during the morning...especially during the summer!

Now, I know!

Our Weekend, In Pictures

Not of me...but of Deeper Still: The Event. Click here to view a brief 6 minute presentation from the Lifeway website of still shots from the weekend.

I will be back later to fill you in on Sunday's events....then you will totally understand why it has taken me two days to muster up the energy to recap the day!

Later, ya'll!