2010 Christmas Letter

Happy Holidays from our home to yours!

I've been procrastinating again (shocker!). My christmas cards are finished, addressed, stamped and ready to go. In each one I put a card, that read, if you want to read our christmas letter to come to this blog. I thought I'd "go green" with our letter this year. The cards have sat on the kitchen table for days, collecting dust because I didn't want to send them out and there be no letter for the recipients to read. I could lie and say I've been pondering something witty to write, but the truth is I just haven't taken the time to sit down and type. 

"Twenty-Ten" went by in a flash! Here's a quick year in review~

Eddie continues to work hard to provide for our family. His practice has grown over the past 8 years and the hours he puts in and the stack of charts he brings home to dictate are proof. Anyone I happen to meet who is a patient of his tells me how much they think of him and appreciate him. He is a truly caring physician to his patients, but more importantly, he is a loving husband and father. Eddie is a wonderful example to the boys. 

This year both of us went on a mission trip to Bagazan, Peru, in the Amazon jungle. It was an amazing experience, which at times I find myself still processing. This trip was Eddie's 3rd mission, and my first. The conditions were rough to say the least, but the awesome christian family that we worked with and the work that was done was well worth the dirt, bugs and heat. It was a humbling, yet wonderful experience. I'm glad we got to share it together. 

I (Shannon) am still working as a teacher assistant at Fort Craig Elementary, where both the boys attend. I love being able to be at school with them each day. While I don't see them much when there, I like just knowing that they are there, if I need them- wink, wink. I taught myself to knit this past year and found that it was good stress therapy. Also, I have totally embraced my role as soccer mom, as the manager of Cameron's team and co-coach of Matthew's. 

Cameron is 10 years old and in the 4th grade. He has grown about 10 feet this year. I can't wait until its warm out again and he can wear shorts. His pants keep getting shorter and shorter, and I'm pretty sure they are not shrinking in the dryer. He loves soccer and plays for the local club team, Blount United. He is quite a player, but I'm biased. Honestly though, he is a team leader. Also, this year, he started guitar lessons. He has a gift for music, which I'm sure came from Eddie's side of the family. Cameron is a super kid and Eddie and I are so proud of him.

Matthew is almost 8 and in 2nd grade. He has finally come out of his shyness shell and into his own. He is quite the personality at times. He played soccer as well, and was a stand out on the field and will be ready for the club team in the fall. Matthew has always lived in his imagination. Currently, he has taken on Harry Potter as his alter ego. If only there were a Quidditch team he could play on. I love that boy's imagination. Not only is it a source of entertainment for us, but motivation for him. His imagination has motivated him to love reading and learning. Like his brother, Matthew is an excellent student. We are proud of him, as well.

If you're ever in East Tennessee, look us up. We always love visitors. 

We are blessed in so many ways and thank God for all we have. 

Have a wonderful holiday season and a very happy 2011!

Holi-Daze

Only 29 days til Christmas... I read that in the paper this morning. With Thanksgiving 2010 now a recent memory, its time to focus on Christmas. Decorations, gifts, holiday spirit, pure and utter craziness for the next 29 days. I can hardly wait. Unfortunately, due to the sudden onset of a bad cold (originally, I had thought I was allergic to Eddie's cousin, Cindy, who has cats. But after the allergy pill didn't help, and a sleepless night with a lot of opened mouth breathing, I'm pretty sure its the real deal, and relieved that I'm not allergic to sweet Cindy.), all that holidaze will have to wait til I can function a little better. This is the first time I've been up today- a little Advil did the trick tonight. I'm taking advantage of the short lived feeling good and got a jump start on Christmas cards. They are ordered. Now for those of you who know me well, just because they are ordered doesn't mean that they will actually get sent out on time. I've been known to send Martin Luther King Day Christmas Cards. But I will try to do better this year ( don't hold your breath).
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I know we sure enjoyed ours. Here's a few pictures from yesterday's festivities...

boys being boys while trying to take christmas card photo

fun in the leaves

no more photos please

The Turkey Queen

Hello, My name is....

Our little dog, Chester, is always taking his own adventures throughout the neighbor and I have yet to get him an I.D. badge for his collar. I took care of that tonight. Look what I found while I was ordering something else for a gift/project I'm working on

I found it on www.etsy.com at a shop called BowWowzerZ  http://www.etsy.com/shop/BowWowzerZ?ref=pr_profile

Cute stuff. 

Now I feel much better knowing that should Chester take off, someone will know who to call.

Everything I ever needed to know, I learned on google

Wow! After NUMEROUS attempts and a very, very long time on the computer, I finally did it! I created my very own cool blog button! Its a proud moment. I think its pretty cool. I doubt that anyone will actually "grab my button" and post it on their blog, with only 4 followers, its highly unlikely. But just in case someone does- they'll have an extra cool button on their side bar. To find out how to add a button to your sidebar on your blog, I suggest you Google it. The power of the internet- where you can learn just about everything- good and bad. Now if I could only Google how to get my grocery shopping done without having to step foot in the actual store!

Temporary cure of Craftitis

Several posts ago (more like several years ago), I admitted that I have Craftitis- the inability to finish any craft project that I start.

I was temporarily cured and finished a few projects this fall. Take a look...

My knockoff Ballard Design Laundry Drying Rack (inspired by another blogger, and technically built by our friend, Lee, but I painted and put together)

Used my Cricut to cut out vinyl #s and put them on my jars

New Fall swags for the front door inspired by another blog (but sorry I can't remember which one)

Family Subway Art

Halloween Subway Art

Now, if I could have only finished those Halloween pillows I started that are still sitting on the dining room table. O well- guess I'll pack them up and store them until next year. 

Real Moms of Maryville- Episode 2

With a long list in my head, and the determination to get it all done before picking up the boys for school, I headed out to the parking lot at work yesterday. Little did I know, I would find my old pal Murphy (Law) waiting for me at the car.

I hopped in the car, and started to pull out of my space, and heard the sound of fiberglass crunching to my right. Great! Hopped back out of the car, ran around the front, and about threw up right there on the spot. I had misjudged my turn and destroyed the left front bumper of the car I happened to be parked next to. Oh, and my right rear passenger door (again- more in a minute). 

I put my car back into the parking space, and with my head hung low, turned around and walked right back into the building to find the owner of the pretty silver BMW I had just roughed up. I waited while she was finishing up her class, and then broke the news. Having to tell someone that you ran into their car is not fun. Thankfully, the owner is as sweet as can be, but I don't think I could have apologized enough.

After the police officer came to take the report, I headed home to get a jump start on everything I knew I was going to have to take care of for the accident. I filed the report with the insurance, made a list of items I would need to take care of, and then headed back out to take the car over to the Body shop for an estimate. I called Matthew's teacher to let her know I would probably be a few minutes late picking up the boys, if she could hold onto them for me until I got there. 

I pulled into the parking lot of the Body shop, and through my windshield, I could see two bewildered faces staring back at me.

Time for a flashback.... Let me take you back for a moment to early June 2010 (yes, that's correct, 5 months ago). With a long list in my head, and the determination to get a few items knocked off my list before my parents arrived to watch the boys while Eddie and I travelled to Peru for a mission trip, I pulled into the driveway. Thinking that it would be a good idea to clean and vacuum the car out, I attempted to pull my 6 month old vehicle into our garage. As I was making the slight right turn into the garage, I heard the sound of fiberglass scrapping and crunching on the right side. I had apparently misjudged how much room I had when making my turn. When I got out of the car to check the damage, I truly had expected to see only minor scratches. Not so much. Not only had I scratched and dented the right rear door, but had scratched up the garage door frame, as well. That would be the easy fix. Being that we were getting ready to leave the country and then go on vacation upon our return, I thought it would be best to hold off on telling Eddie what had happened. Or a tleast hide it best I could until we returned. So, I quickly called my dad in North Carolina to ask where I could buy rubbing compound for the car, tried as hard as I could to buff out what I could and then found the outside trim paint and patched up the garage frame. 

I was able to pull it off until we were at the beach and he noticed the indentation in the door. 

Back to present day... I walked into the Body shop and smiled at the puzzled faces looking back at me. I told them I missed them, and that it had been two months since I had seen them and fortunately for them I was there for a visit. Same door, same side, more damage. 

I'm quite certain I heard old Murphy behind me giggling.

I'm sure you can only imagine my dear husband's response when I relayed the events of that afternoon. I'm still unsure of whether or not he is serious, but he mentioned selling the car and getting me a clunker to drive. Upon hearing this, my youngest, Matthew, starts crying, "No, don't sell the car, I like that car...." "Are we really going to have to sell the car?" "Will we get money for it?" I explained that I really didn't know what would happen, we would have to get it fix and then go from there. It was just a car and if we did sell it, yes we would get money. His sobbing quickly stopped and he looked up at me and asked, "Can I have half?".  "Half of what?" I asked. "The money", he said.

Flashback.... circa 1986. I'm 12, and for my birthday, I wanted a dog. I got a dog, a basset hound. The cute little puppy grows up, slobbers all the time, and stinks. 6 months or more pass, and it is decided that we need to try to get rid of the dog. I sob, and sob, and sob. The day comes when the new owner comes to pick up the dog. I was heart broken. Then I asked my dad how much did he sell her for and did he get cash?

Present day... Matthew didn't fall far from the tree.

Well, today was a new day! Everyone has calmed down (I think). The car is going in the shop tomorrow to get fixed. The insurance will take care of the repairs and I think I'll actually get a little rest tonight. 

O, and Murphy, I'm pretty sure I saw him hitching a ride with the truck that backed into the little blue car today while getting lunch at Sonic. (Accidents happen)

Real Moms of Maryville- Episode 1

I had posted this on my tumblr blog several weeks ago when it happened. I'm reposting it here for your reading enjoyment, and also, because Episode 2 happened today and will be posted soon.

If I'm not mistaken, the definition of the term "Soccer Mom", is a middle class, suburban mom, who drives an SUV, and hauls her children here, there and everywhere. That's me to a "t". Honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way, and feel guilty if I have to rely on someone else to get the boys where they need to be or picked up. But, the reality is, I can't be in two places at once, and shouldn't even try, because Murphy's law is sure to rear its head, if I do.
Well, that's what happened yesterday...
In the attempt to pick up and drop off some paper work "real quick fast" on the way to pick the boys up from school, I ran into one of those Murphy's law situations.
Of course, I left the house with plenty of time to do all that I needed to get done and decided that Chester, our little dog, could come along for the ride. Chester likes the car. He likes to hang out in the Jeep in the driveway, or roam freely in the Buick if I'm cleaning it out. He likes to take a car ride every now and then. His stomach does not.
With that in mind, I prepared myself for the inevitable, making sure I brought along a towel, just in case. So as I'm driving through a unnamed near by neighborhood, I hear that familiar urping sound coming from the small animal in the seat next to me. I quickly start to reach for the towel to put underneath Chester's mouth, so that any and all stomach contents can be corralled and will not end up near the paper work on its way to being dropped off or the $600 camera sitting stupidly out on the car seat next to him. As I do this, my eyes divert briefly off the road in front of me and my car slightly diverts off the road as well. Into someone's pile of leaf and tree branch for pick up. Stunned and relieved it wasn't someone's mailbox, I look in the rear view mirror to make sure no one is behind me (really to make sure no one saw me) and I carefully back out of the yard and continue on my way. By now Chester is finished and I barely caught any of the vomit in the above mentioned towel.
I thought to myself- well, this must be the icing on the cake to the weekend of stress from you know where. Murphy (law) didn't agree.
I reached my drop off destination with plenty of time to spare.
I hopped out of the car, ran to the porch, deposited what I had brought, picked up what I had come to get and turned around to get back in the car. There was Chester, as cute as could be, looking at me through the window, paws on the door armrest, near the lock/unlock button. He had locked the doors.
Lovely! Car's running, radio on, oh and look at that- my cell phone is right there on the middle console. I start to panic just a little.
I'm not sure what I was thinking about at that moment, but all intelligent thinking flew out my brain. I actually tried to motion the dog to step back up on the armrest, hoping that he would step on the button again. Chester just looked at me like the crazy woman I am.
With no one home at the house I was at, neither one of the closest neighbors home either, I started walking to a friend's parent's house, who I knew lived in the neighborhood and might possibly be home. Then I started running, because when I looked at the time, I had twenty minutes to get to school to pick up the boys. Half way to the Sullivan's house, I kept hoping someone from Fort Craig would drive by, so I could tell them to tell the boys' teachers what had happened and that I would be late.
A quarter mile later, I reached the Sullivan's house, and rang the door bell. Luckily, Miss Connie was home, and let me use her phone to call school first, and then OnStar. They were able to unlock my door. I hitched a ride back to my running car and my nervous dog, got in and drove across town to get the boys- thankfully with out any more run ins with the law- Murphy's.
If some day you're listening to the radio and hear one of those OnStar commercials, listen real well. It might be the one about the lady who's dog locked her out of her running car and had to walk a mile (not really) to use a phone because it was in the car with the dog.

New & Improved

I think I've done it!! Hooray for me! I've change the look of my blog, and added pages that have nothing on them yet. 

And I really don't think that this will effect anyone but me, mostly because no one reads this but me- for now.