Thursday 13 Memories with my Daddy

The family and I drove to the small town where my parents live last night and Daddy and I got up at 4:45 this morning to make the trip into Birmingham. He has to have his heart shocked back into rhythm and I'm a nervous wreck. But, God is good and I will continue to pray without ceasing. So, while I sit and wait, I will reflect on a few of the many wonderful memories I have of my Daddy.

1. I had my 8th birthday party at the Skating Rink and when it was time to do the limbo, I cried because I was afraid Daddy was too old to do it and would fall and break his hip. He was 35.

2. We share a love of John Wayne and the 3 Stooges. Too bad they never made a movie together.

3. One of my favorite things to do on Saturdays was to go to the Country Club and sit in one of the rocking chairs on the front porch and wait for daddy to co come up #18.

4. Speaking of golf, on Mother's day when I was 12 years old, daddy came home with a bag full of clubs and a new pair of golf shoes and said "Get in the car. I'm teaching you how to play golf." And he did.

5. We used to watch the Braves on TV and we'd listen to Skip Carey for the first few innings while he was calling the game there then when they switched out and went to radio, we'd turn the TV down and watch it while we listened to Skip on the radio.

6. When I was little and we were in the car (back when little kids could ride in the front seat) he would reach over and pinch my leg and tell me that "Sam" did it.

7. We lived in Florida when I was in the first grade and we used to go to Steak n Shake and the girl would bring the food out to the car on real dishes and hang the tray on the window. The glove compartment let all the way down to hold our giant milkshakes topped with real whipped cream and a bright red cherry and the front bench seat on out 1968 Oldsmobile was big and roomy enough to hold all three of us on a warm Summer night.

8. As much as I hate to admit it, Daddy and I weren't very close when I was growing up but that all changed in 1991. I moved back to our small town from Atlanta after a bad break-up with who I thought was the love of my life and went to work at Daddy's carpet store. Thank you, loser boyfriend, for sending me back to the best Daddy ever!

9. In the mid 80's, we used to come to Atlanta every year for a Brave's Game and the Atlanta Classic (Golf Tourny at the Marietta CC). Mama laid by the pool the whole time while we were at our events. Following the Leaders on Sunday was my favorite part!!

10. When I was pregnant with our first, I used to call and tell him every (appropriate) detail of what was going on. Being an only child, both of my parents were so very excited to hear al about what was going on. They came over for all three births and even to the ultrasound appointments at 20 weeks for the first two to hear we were having a boy. They would have been here the third time but I found out a week early. My husband wasn't even there!

11. This is a sad one : (

On September 11th, I was sitting at my computer putting pictures of our trip to NYC we had just gotten home from 3 days before on my web site. Mama called and told me what was going on and just as I ran into the den to turn on the TV, I heard Daddy yell "Oh my God...another plane hit the other building!! and he started to cry. My husband was at work and I was all alone. 5 and a half months pregnant. That's a whole other blog post.

12. I just L-O-V-E sitting around and listening to Daddy and the rest of our family on his side talk and tell stories. We have the happiest, funniest family and I'm so blessed to be a part of it.

13. And my all time favorite number one memory of my daddy was the day "WE" got married. When I was 4 years old, he married my mom and I told everyone that WE, the three of us, were getting married. He adopted me soon after and I went from calling him Doc to calling him Daddy. Since then, every year on February 3rd, the three of us celebrate "OUR" anniversary. We just celebrated number 42 and I'm praying for many many more

Well, his procedure is over and I'm in recovery with him. All seems to be well and I credit that to our amazing God. I love you Daddy : )

Praying for Direction

The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked: who can know it? Jeremiah 17:9

When our youngest was barely walking, my mom asked me if I had ever considered homeschooling, which was funny to me because I didn't even know she knew what it was. I couldn't even answer her for laughing!! Me? Homeschool? I have to use spell check a dozen times every time I send an e-mail, I'm more OCD than the average bear and have a scorching case of ADD. Really. There's a psychiatrist that has a folder with my name on it and he told me that he has only ever seen one person that had it worse than me. Great. And on top of that, I choose not to take medication for it. So, how in the world could I possibly homeschool? Fast forward 9 years. See, the awesome thing is, the Lord tells us in Isaiah 55:8 (and I paraphrase) that His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are above our thoughts. Meaning that if He puts His stamp on it and if I do my part, I can rock at this!! Not to mention that I have a ton of girlfriends that homeschool and that wonderful little resource called the Internet. Now, the reason for the opening scripture is to represent my desire to seek God's will for this venture. I know "I" want to homeschool but need to make sure HE wants me to. That's where the wicked heart comes in. It is my greatest desire for my boys to have a heart for the Lord and to grow to be godly men but the world has other plans. B is in 3rd grade this year and the things he is hearing at school can be defined in no other way than deviant. He doesn't like it but you know what they say: You can't un-ring a bell. I hate it that he has even been exposed to these things and although I can't take it away, I can keep it from progressing. So, I would be starting in his 4th grade year. Niblet will be in 2nd Grade next year and I'm considering keeeping him in public school while I cut my teeth on B and then pulling him out and keepig him home for 3rd. NayNay will be in the 4 day 4's program at his Christian Pre-School next year, so he's good for now. We had talked about homeschooling this year but decided that it wasn't time but looking back, I think we should have. So, for now, I reamain in fervent prayer, seeking God's direction in this most important aspect of our life. For those who stumble across this post, I would ask you to pray for us as well. In the meantime, I feel somewhat giddy as I ponder the prospect so I scour blogs and facebook pages of other homeschool moms to hopefully gain insight and prepare. We shall see...