Thanksgiving Celebration and Fun

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time of year.  Mike and I load up the kids and drive for two days to visit Mike's aunts, uncles and cousins.  We always have a great time and hate to see it end.  Every year after we eat Thanksgiving Dinner, the guys like to play in the Turkey Bowl.  It is a touch football game that gets more serious every year.  This year, a couple of the guys went and lined the field and set up cones to mark the end zones and the sides of the field.  I even found t-shirts at Old Navy that were perfect for the game.  Later that evening, Mike's cousin Andrew took a picture of the whole family on the staircase and a video that he is going to send in to Good Morning America for their "Three Words" segment.  We hope it will be picked.  If it is, I will try to post something here.

Here are some pictures from the weekend of the Turkey Bowl and a few of the kids.

Isn't this a handsome group of men?

Hannah and Ashtyn were the cheerleaders

 Andrew and Will playing in the sand

 

Some action shots

Mike has the ball!

Hannah and Ashtyn enjoying their time together

Aren't these some beautiful ladies?

Will being silly

The Grissom, Frazier, Edenfield, Jinnette, Chitwood, Hoyle and Nowiski  Families

Mike and Andrew were on their way back from the restroom when this picture was taken. (LaNell, Will, and Isabelle were looking at them.) I think another one was taken with them in it but I do not have a copy.  They were in the video which was done next.

I just love this family!!!

What is it about September?

Thinking over the last few years, I've noticed a pattern.  For the last four years, something happens to me during the month of September.  See if you notice a pattern:

*  September 2006 - while pregnant with Andrew, I tripped on my flip-flops and fell, skinning my knee and foot pretty bad.  About a week later, while walking back to the car after picking Nathan up from school, I stepped on a stick with one foot and jammed it into the other foot.

*  September 2007 - My right thumb and wrist hurt every time I tried to pick up Andrew (he was eight months old and HEAVY!).  Also, my joints hurt, starting with my wrist and working its way down the right side of my body.  Part of it (if not all) was from taking a multi-vitamin with iron.  The mystery pains finally ended over a year and a half later.

*  September 2009 - My feet started giving me trouble, especially when I started working out.  Come to find out, I had heel spurs in both heels.  They finally went away sometime in the Spring of 2010.

*  September 2010 - For the last few months, I noticed that my right knee hurt whenever I bent down on the floor to give the boys a bath.  I didn't think much about it because it didn't both me any other time. A couple of weeks ago, I noticed my knee seemed to hurt every time I bent it whether it was to sit down on the couch, getting up and down to get something from my lower cabinets, getting down onto the floor or getting up off the floor to play with the kids.  I haven't had it checked out yet (I'm kind of afraid) but wonder if it is an old injury acting up.  I'll go when it really starts bothering me. 

When I was 18, my friend Mark and I were involved in a car accident.  The car we were in started skidding on a wet street when Mark tried to stop at a red light.  I didn't have a seat belt on so I hit the dashboard with my knees, turning it inside out.  My family doctor at the time said I had a twisted knee cap.  It was fine but would probably give me trouble when I was older.  I'm wondering if that is what is going on.  

After the last few years, I am hesitant to see what the next few Septembers have to bring.

Baron

Our beloved dog Baron passed away sometime during the night last night.  Yesterday afternoon, Mike got off work early.  We went together to pick up the kids from school and take them to Mom's.  She watched them while we went to the vet to see Baron.  Dr. Chandler said he wasn't responding to them but hoped we would recognize us.  We loved on him, cried, scratched his belly and chest, rubbed his nose and spend some wonderful time with him.  At first, he didn't respond, but after a little bit, he seemed to know who we were.  A couple of times he raised his head up when Mike would talk to him.  He also made a sound when he wanted us to rub on him.  Dr. Chandler let us spend about an hour with him.  After talking to an Internal Specialist earlier in the day, they both came to the conclusion that Baron had a stroke sometime after the surgery.  His breathing was abnormal, like with a Pulmonary Embolism.  He also wasn't moving or responding like normal, which lead us and the doctors to believe he also had a stroke to the brain.  He also wasn't wagging his tail (which he ALWAYS did) and he didn't "nose *" us when he wanted rubbed (which he also did when he whimpered).
*Nosed is when he would take his nose and use it to bump your hand to get your attention.

He will be greatly missed.  Baron was the end of an era.  Mike and I got him and Gracy for each other as wedding gifts.  They were with us our entire married life.  We got home from our honeymoon on Saturday and picked them up on Sunday.  Now that they both are gone, I don't know what I will do with myself during the day.  I expect Baron to meet us at the backdoor when we come home.  He loved to go outside with the kids and I expect him to come running from the back when the backdoor opens.  I look for him in the kitchen lying under the windows on the linoleum.  I go to ask the kids to feed him and get him fresh water when we eat then realize he's not there.  Tomorrow after church, I will want to rush home to let him outside.  I know I will eventually stop thinking these things but, for now, it hurts. 

God, please take care of my babies.  Let them know they are sorely missed and that they will ALWAYS be in our hearts.  Hug and kiss them for me.  We love you Baron and Gracy!!!

Baron eating a rawhide bone 1/2010

Baron enjoying the snow 1/2010

Two New Residents in Heaven

In the last five days, Heaven received two new residents.  My Aunt Orpha passed from this life to the next on Sunday; my Aunt Sybil joined her family in Heaven early this morning.  Orpha and Sybil were my grandmother's sisters.  Aunt Sybil and Grandma Gladys were best friends growing up and as adults.  Many times, they lived near each other and their children grew up together.  Aunt Orpha moved out west long before I was born so I didn't get to know her as well.  My knowledge of her is through comments made by her children and other family members.  She, along with all the other Findleys, loved to laugh and talk.  Oh, what a reunion Heaven is having tonight!!  I'm sure God is loving seeing His children meeting again on the other side.  Out of the fifteen children my great-grandmother had, only four are still here.  My thoughts and prayers go out to them: Opal, Helen, Margie and Ted; along with Aunt Orpha and Aunt Sybil's families.  Your sweet spirits and laughter will be missed for a time but we WILL see you again on the other side.  LOVE YOU!!!

Carol, Aunt Sybil, Mom and Jim

Aunt Sybil on her 87th birthday

Our Dearly Departed Saturn and Hannah's New Room

Well, our Saturn finally bit the dust Thursday. Mike went out to check the oil when he noticed the dipstick was completely dry. Further investigation found oil in the coolant reserve and oil and coolant underneath the car. It has been a good little car. I bought it brand new in 1996 and drove it everywhere. When I was eight months pregnant with Hannah and as big as a house, I drove this car back and forth to Midtown. While I was off work during Christmas break, Mike started driving it to work in Collierville because it got better gas mileage than our new-to-us Blazer. Mike kept driving the car up until Thursday. It would have been 14 years in June that I bought my baby. It was a good little car.

One of my favorite memories was a trip home from Florida. Our Singles class took a trip to Panama City every year. One year my friend Richard, who is at least 6'2", rode back with me and a friend (I can't remember if it was Lisa or Debbie). Poor Richard volunteered to ride in the back most of the trip. (If you aren't familiar with my Saturn, it was an SC-1, a small sports-type car with a tiny backseat.) A couple of times during the trip we switched seats so Richard could try to stretch out his long legs.

Another favorite memory was a trip Mike and I took to Johnson City for the Marine Corp Ball. After Mike was able to leave his unit, we started to head home. Since we were so close to the Virginia state line and since I had never been to Virginia, I asked Mike if we could cross over then turn around. We did and it was so much fun. We were both being silly. After crossing the state line (and taking a quick picture of the "Welcome to Virginia" sign), we got off the interstate at the first exit, turned around and got back on heading west. It was a great trip.

Friday while Hannah was in school, Mike and I changed out Hannah's bed and rearranged her room. Melanie gave Hannah her old daybed. It is a lot girlier than her old one. Hannah had mentioned a few times that she wanted to move her bed around too. So, while we were assembling the bed, we took advantage of the extra room (since everything had been moved out) and moved most of her furniture around. It seems to make the room look a lot bigger. When you walk in her door, her toy box is to the right where her bed used to be. Her shelving unit moved from the wall beside her window to underneath her chalkboard. Her bed is now on the wall that had her toy box and shelving unit. Her desk was moved over closer to the window just a little. I like it a lot and so does Hannah. I guess Hannah's approval is all that matters. Mike took a couple of pictures and I'll try to post them later. I'm too tired right now to do it.

Happy Birthday Dick / Liberty Day

Today is my father-in-law's birthday!! Happy Birthday Dick!!! Hope you enjoy many, many more!!!

Today is also the day we remember the events that happened in New York, Washington DC and Pennsylvania. Our prayers go out for the families of the victims and to the rest of the nation.

9/11 brings back so many memories and emotions. I was in my car at school headed to the library to study and wait for my next class when I heard the news. At first I thought it was a joke, like the "War of the Worlds" broadcast in the 40s/50s. You know, the one Orson Wells did that cause such calamity. Then, when reality hit, all I could think about was getting to Hannah (she was almost 8 months old and was at the babysitters) and calling Mike and my mom. My heart goes out to all our military, police officers, firefighters, and their families.

Sad News

Today, I received some sad news. One of my favorite teachers in high school passed away on February 5th. Mr. Winkelmann taught German and American History. He was very creative and made learning fun. While we were in school, I heard one year, he was tired of his students not being familiar with recent history [i.e. Vietnam War, Korean Conflict, Bay of Pigs and the events that occurred between 1950 and present day (around 1985)]. So, Mr. Winkelmann decided to teach his history class backwards. He started with the present day and finished up somewhere past the Civil War. I had him for German at the time but was fascinated with the American History work on the board and the discussions around the lunch table with the students in his classes.

His German classes were interesting, too. He was proud to say he was a first-generation American; his parents came to America during World War II. He said he was the man with all the angles (winkel is German for angle). Quite often he would burst out in song and sing "Danke Schon" and another one (the name and tune escape me for now). We would play Scrabble in German and use his huge German dictionary. A couple of times we took class trips (after school hours). Once we went to Ericka's, a German restaurant in Downtown Memphis. We were suppose to order our food in German and speak nothing but German to each other while there. Of course, we started speaking English after a bit but it was still fun. Another time we went to Trinity Lutheran Church for their Christmas program. It was all in German. The programs they handed out were in German with an English translation in the back. It was absolutely beautiful. At Christmas, I hear "Stille Nacht" ("Silent Night") in the original German in my head.

Mr. Winkelmann also took some of the students on trips to Europe. In 1984, my friend, Jaqi, went with him and a group of students from Southaven High to France, West Germany and Berlin. She even got to go to the Dachau concentration camp. The year I was suppose to go (1986) our trip was cancelled; a few months before we were to leave, there was a bombing in a Spanish train station that killed an American student traveling there.

Mr. Winkelmann made a mark on every one of his students. He was friendly, fun and made learning enjoyable. We will miss you, Mr. Wink. You were the greatest!!! (WINK 105)

Pictures from the Enchanted Forest

Some of you may remember going to the Enchanted Forest at Goldsmith's Department Store in Downtown Memphis as children. When Goldsmith's Downtown location closed, they moved the Enchanted Forest around to a couple of different places. The last few years it has been at the Pink Palace, which I think is the perfect place for it. It was as much fun as I remembered as a child. Melanie and I would go to work with Mom on a Sunday during the month of December. While she worked, Melanie and I would do our Christmas shopping and visit the Enchanted Forest about a hundred times. The pictures below are some of the ones I took when Andrew and I went with some friends. When you first go upstairs, you are greeted by the Festival of Trees. They are Christmas trees that have been sponsored by different groups and/or companies and each has a unique theme. You then enter the Enchanted Forest area. It was great and the kids had a good time. I can't wait to take Hannah and Will to see it.

The Kindergartners at the kids' school took up money to purchase a penguin. When enough money was raised, one penguin goes on display at the Pink Palace and Enchanted Forest while another goes to a child at LeBonheur, the local children's hospital. These pictures are of the one Will's class bought.

There were a total of four penguins bought by the Kindergartners.

A sea of penguins that had been donated by individuals and local schools.
(This picture only captured a portion of them.)

Andrew

Will Gallagher looking at one of the Enchanted Forest exhibits.

Kindergartners from Hernando Elementary School were there while we were.

Another exhibit at the Enchanted Forest

This tree was called "Wings of a Dove"

This tree was called "Under the Sea"

Peppermint tree

Brownies in Wonderland

(sponsored by a local Brownie troop)

This is the tree topper on one of the trees celebrating children

We liked this one. It was entitled "God's Greatest Gift"

Mele Kalikimaka

(Merry Christmas in Hawaiian)

Andrew and me

Andrew and me as you look down the row of beautiful trees

Ruth Phan, Tracy, Will and Seth Gallagher

Santa talking to one of the groups of Kindergartners

The tree beside him was sponsored by the Memphis Grizzlies.

Additional Information about a Previous Posting

In a previous posting, I mentioned the antics of Will and Hannah from a few years ago. While looking through some old e-mails, I found the letter below. It had been sent out on November 30, 2005 to some family and friends. I had my dates all wrong, but this will give you more in depth understanding of exactly what Hannah and Will got into. Since I thought it was hilarious, I thought you might get a kick out of it too. To give you a timeline, the first incident (the mousse) happened on Friday, November 25, 2005. The last incident occurred Tuesday, November 29, 2005. Please pray for us because we really need it.

Most of you know about the incidences in North Carolina with the kids. For those who have not heard, Hannah and Will put my hair mousse all over Will’s head on Friday and some shampoo in Will’s hair on Saturday (just as we were getting ready to leave for home). The first thing Monday morning, they broke Will’s piggy bank, got into some expensive lotion, and got into the wipes…all within five minutes. Monday evening, they both got into Mike’s foot powder and had it all over our bedroom: bed, computer, floor, television, computer chair, etc. Tuesday evening (they were at school that morning and afternoon), they decided to play with the diaper rash medicine. It is the really thick kind that is very sticky. They had it on Will’s toy tool bench, the dresser, the rocking chair seat cushion, their clothes and in their hair. Will had it all over his head but Hannah had it only in one stripe across the top of hers. We found out that there isn’t much that will remove diaper rash medicine. Mom and I tried Dawn dish detergent, regular dish detergent, clothes detergent, Spray N’ Wash and Vinegar. Vinegar works pretty good; we’re going to try using baking soda tonight to remove the reside that’s left. The tragic thing is most if not all of these things were put up out of the kid’s reach. I think they are related to monkeys.

Pray for them and Mike and me. We all need it.
Michelle

Painting with Noxema

Will has been at it again. Tonight, while he was suppose to be taking a shower in mine and Mike's bathroom, he decided to paint the shower door with Mike's Noxzema. Why he decided to paint with the face cleaner, I have no idea. You can smell it all the way into the living room. Mom says I should write a book about everything my kids get into and say. She says I could make a fortune. I might just do that.

Let me refresh every one's memory, or to fill you in, on the beginning adventures of Hannah and Will. It all started in November of 2004 in North Carolina. Hannah was 3 years old and Will was 17 months old. Mike, I and the kids were visiting Mike's family for Thanksgiving. We had the car packed and were ready to leave but couldn't find the kids anywhere. While looking all over the house, we heard Will start to scream. He and Hannah were in the downstairs bathroom attached to the room we had stayed in. Hannah wanted to give Will a bath and wash his hair. The shampoo she used was not the baby shampoo so when it got into his eyes, it started to sting. We had to unpack the car to get the kids some dry clothes before we could leave.

In December, 2004, Hannah and Will emptied a bottle of Mike's foot powder all over our bedroom carpet. We are STILL vacuuming the stuff up.

In January, 2005, Hannah wanted to spike Will's hair (like Daddy does) so she used the diaper rash medicine that was with the diapers in the changing table. She had it ALL OVER Will's head and a little bit in hers. I called every company I could think of to find out how to get this stuff out of my child's hair. No one could help me. My mom and I used peanut butter, oil, shampoo, and I don't know what else to get it out. Finally, I called Gould's Hair Salon to see if they could help. One of their hairdressers recommended mixing baking soda and baby shampoo together and make a paste. We then applied to to Will's head. IT WORKED!!! That poor baby's head was red from all the rubbing we did trying to get this diaper rash medicine out.

Then, the piece de resistance occurred in February, 2005. (Yes, all of this happened over a four month period.) Hannah had been at the coffee table cutting some paper out. I walked through the living room to the kitchen to make dinner. Normally, I wouldn't let her have scissors but I thought it would be fine this one time. Boy, was I wrong!! A few minutes later she came into the kitchen and said, "Mom, look what I've done." When I looked up I didn't notice anything wrong then Hannah turned around. She had cut off all of her long, curly red hair in the back and had left the front long. I was in such shock all I could do was laugh. Of course, I called Mike, who was at work, and told him to come home because we had to go get Hannah's hair cut. When I told him, he just laughed. I told Hannah that I couldn't spank her because if I did, I might kill her because I was SSSOOO mad. The ironic thing was it was the first time Hannah went to have her hair cut by a professional. In the past, either my mom, step-mom or I cut it. I had been planning to take her to get it done, but she beat me to the punch. When I asked her why she did it, she told me she wanted hair as short as mine (my hair was at my shoulders, not cut short like she did hers). The hairdresser was able to cut it into a pixie cut, which is really short in the back and long in the front. It looked cute afterwards but was really, really short.

You might ask where I was when all of these events happened. I was trying to make dinner while Mike was working late when my children decided to become adventurous. Hey, I could use that as an excuse to eat out. "Hey, whenever I cook, my kids get into horrible things. We have to eat out to save our kids and my sanity." It works for me!!!

Memories

Tonight, while getting our videos out to put in our new cabinet, I ran across one from many years ago. My step-father, Bob, was always setting up his video camera to record our family events. This tape has my mom's 40th birthday party and some video of our dogs. Watching it brought back some great memories. There were only a few people and our dogs Brandy and Pappy at the party. We all had fun cutting up and laughing. Brandy and Pappy have been gone a long time now, but the memories of them are still strong. I love to tell Hannah and Will stories about them and the silly things they use to do. Brandy LOVED to ride motorcycles. Pappy had a very unusual bark. They loved to play tug-of-war with some blue jean legs. Mom cut off a pair of jeans and tied a knot in the legs. The dogs loved to play with it over the rope toys we bought them at store. While Pappy and Brandy would play tug, Pappy would start barking at Brandy without letting go of the blue jeans. Brandy would just growl at him. It was hilarious!!!