Caroline Update - 3 months

so sorry for the hiatus. i've slacked on my home improvement projects as well. so i promise i'm not just neglecting my blog. i'm neglecting everything except my family. :)

little Miss Caroline is amazing. she's such a good, happy baby. we've been using the BabyWise book as our general guide, and we've had great results. it's helped get her on a schedule of feedings and sleeping. that's saved us alot of headaches trying to figure out what's causing her to cry (which is usually not that often at all).

in the past month, she's really coming into her own. she's smiling ALL THE TIME. after eating, we usually will take her to her changing pad and talk to her. she will try her best to talk back to us, but all it sounds like right now are babbles and high-pitched squeals. :) but she will talk up a storm. after talking for a while, we usually put her under a play yard on the floor where she can watch and play with some toys. she has been reaching with her LEFT hand! Baba is so excited (a fellow lefty).

she's recently found herself in the mirror, and she'll just smile and make faces at herself.

we went to visit my mom's parents in Fort Deposit a few weeks back. we got a 4 generation picture while we were there.



Caroline loves cheering for Alabama in her jersey that Aunt Laura gave her!



Daddy is so silly! i think Caroline was a little scared here. :)



okay, when i said Caroline loves football, i wasn't joking. she'll lay on her stomach or on her side watching football just like this every Saturday. and it's mainly just football. she's not really a big TV person otherwise. here she is, watching Bama put a whoopin' on Florida! Daddy would have been in the picture, but he was at the game live! :)



i took this picture of her today while Mommy took a nap. isn't she just the sweetest little girl ever???? :)

Tomorrow's the big day!

check back here or on FB to find out if we're having a boy or a girl. until then, here's a weblink you might enjoy (if you're an Alabama fan).

Xmas 2009

we had an awesome holiday season! for Xmas, we visited with Brooke's parents. it was so good to see all of the family. here is a video of our nephew Gage singing White Xmas.



we spent New Year's Day with my family in Montgomery. my sister Casey and her family couldn't make it, but Kristi and her family were there.

things are still going well with the pregnancy. we are just over 13 weeks (i think), so the 1st trimester is almost over. it's sinking in more and more that we're about to be parents. being around our nieces and nephews over the holidays has made us SO much more aware of the demands of parenthood. we're thankful for the examples of our families and our Christian friends as we plan to raise our children up right.

here's hoping Bama can pull through Thursday! it would be so awesome for our seniors to go out on top after coming in at such a low point of the program. RTR.

Pregnancy update

i guess it's time to start chronicling the details of our first pregnancy. so far, brooke's had a pretty easy go of it. very little morning sickness. her appetite has definitely changed....she can barely finish a few bites of any meal. instead of her 3 main meals, she's now spreading out multiple little meals during the day. last night, she made a quick little turkey/cheese/triscuit snack for the drive into church.

her cravings are still SALTY! hardly any sweets right now. weirdest food combination craved thus far? hmm....she woke up from a nap a week or two back craving pickles, cottage cheese, and olives. that's not too crazy for her, but it was just funny that she woke up from the nap and instantly had to have that combination. :)

we got our first baby present from Brooke's brother and sis-in-law, Chad and Korie. she made a little houndstooth onesie (sp?) with a red "A" embroidered on the front. and, they gave us a little toboggan and booties with the Bama "A" on there. that kid's first words just might be "Roll" and "Tide". :)

thanks for the continued prayers on our behalf. we'll have another appt with the doctor on December 22nd.

***also, please keep the Gray family in your prayers. Brian and Kristy and their almost 3 year old daughter Helen were in a terrible car accident last week. their little girl Helen did not survive. Kristy is facing numerous surgeries to fix a broken back...the doctors are unsure if she'll be able to walk again. Brian fortunately had minimal injuries. please pray for their loss and their long road ahead.***

here is a link detailing how you can help. try this one if the other one didn't work.

Kowabunga!!!

i saw this picture on BOL tonight:



i didn't get to see the 1st quarter of the Bama game today, but i want to know how this turned out.

Whirlwind Weekend in DC!!!

to catch everybody up to speed, Brooke has been in northern Virginia for the month of September for a pharmacy rotation with school. she got to fly home on Labor Day weekend, but will stay there until September 30th. so, i flew up there to spend the weekend with her.

while we were there, we had a little mini-vacation. i flew all day from B'ham to Charlotte, then onto Baltimore (much cheaper to fly in to there than Reagan Int'l in Washington). she and Lori Beth and Josh (her hosts for the month) picked me up at the airport, and we went to Camden Yards for a baseball game! it was the O's versus the Red Sox. i think over half the crowd was for Boston. but it was alot of fun to be at a new stadium, and to spend some time with Lori Beth and Josh. they are so great to let Brooke stay with them all month long!

we got a hotel in DC so we could be close to our sightseeing on Saturday. we slept in Saturday until 8:30ish, then hit the town. Brooke had mapped out our course. we stopped and got coffee at a coffee joint. we decided to walk instead of trying to catch the Metro. we got to the main touring area, which they call the National Mall. we decided to go to the farthest eastern end of the mall and work our way back, stopping to see what we wanted. it was stinkin' amazing! there aren't words to describe how amazing these monuments and buildings are. we took a bunch of photos, and i promise i'll post them here soon. we saw just about everything we wanted to see: Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, WWII Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, US Capital Building, Library of Congress, US Supreme Court, Air and Space Museum. we didn't make it across the river to see Arlington Nat'l Cemetary and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier....just too much to do and see in one short day. plus, we were absolutely EXHAUSTED by the end of the day. remember how i said we decided NOT to take the Metro? bad idea. i'm still sore today. :)

Sunday, we went to church with the brethren at Mt. Vernon church of Christ. they took us out for lunch after worship. they are so sweet and so nice. Brooke took me back to Baltimore that afternoon so i could fly home. it was tough to leave her again, but we've only got about 9 more days apart! :)

i'll do my best to post some pictures tonight (here and on FB). hope you enjoy!

ps....we stopped at a sports restaurant for lunch on Saturday afternoon (so i could catch a little bit of college football). and lo and behold, the Alabama game was on one of the TV's!!! in Washington DC!!! i was shocked, but thrilled to watch the entire 1st half!!! we won 53-7, and moved up to #3 in the AP and coaches polls.

"I'm not a dog person..."

i know this reflects poorly on us Bama fans, but this is too good!!!

another month, another post....

i won't waste your time apologizing for not blogging lately.

Brooke is in the great state of VA! she left Sept 1st at 6:45 AM AL time, and arrived at her temporary home-away-from-home at 6:45 PM AL time. if you're scoring at home, that's 12 hours of driving! fortunately, it went well. she didn't get too bored or worn out. she said it's a really pretty drive.

while in VA, she's staying with a friend of a friend. Brooke's friend from church (Kelly Key) was best friends with a girl named Lori Beth in high school. now, Lori Beth and her husband Josh live in Oakton, VA, which is like 20 miles from where Brooke's internship is in Alexandria, VA. Brooke had met Lori Beth a few times when she came to B'ham to visit Kelly. so she and her husband are graciously letting Brooke live with them for the month of September! they are sooooooo great to do that.

the first week there, Lori Beth's grandmother passed away. she and Josh were driving back to AL for the funeral, and they learned that Josh's grandmother also passed away. :( fortunately, they could combine the trips into one, but that's really tough to lose 2 grandparents so close together. please keep their family in your prayers.

so, we ended up flying Brooke home during Labor Day weekend. this wasn't originally planned, but she was going to be alone in VA (with Lori Beth and Josh gone) for Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday of a long Labor Day weekend. we had a great time. we spent the weekend at her parents' house. we got to go to skate night. and, Bama won big! :)

so i'm doing the bachelor thing. the house is a mess (sorry babe!). i'm working on home improvement projects to make the time go faster. i'm actually going to fly up to see Brooke next weekend (18th-20th). we're planning to tour DC. i can't wait to see her again.

Time to catch up!!!

i am a terrible blogger. let's just get that out there in the open. it's not from laziness, and i can prove it with the following pictures and stories. but i am terribly sorry for slacking.

so, have you ever been cutting your grass on a beautiful sunny day, only to feel a drop of rain fall on your back? but then you realize, that there are ZERO clouds and you were standing under a tree. that's when the light bulb comes on and you realize that you just got pooped on by a bird. and this is what it looks like:



i had to take a picture b/c i knew Brooke wouldn't believe me. :) anyhoo, speaking of my amazing wife, she is stinkin' awesome. she started her 4th year of pharmacy school this month. her 4th year is entirely clinical....no tests or class. she is LOVING it so far. i'm so proud of her!

we recently finished our "Bama Room". my dad came up and helped get the chair rail back up. to celebrate the completion, Brooke got me my most coveted Alabama picture:



we're still trying to find the best place to hang it. meanwhile, brooke and i took a trip to the ATL for a Braves game. we had awesome seats in right field. if you're watching the game at home, just look right above the 390 sign in RF, just next to the Braves bullpen. we were on the 2nd row. the Braves lost 9-0 to the Rockies. Kris Medlin made his MLB debut. we were so close to Francoeur, i could have spit on him:



our annual Senior Member Appreciation Dinner (SMAD) was this past Saturday, June 6th. our theme this year was "Chinese Dinner Theater". we wrote a script and everything. it was so much fun, and the senior members seemed to really enjoy themselves. we are so blessed to have them! don't worry.....we hope to have a copy of the video on YouTube before too long. and i promise to provide a link. :) here is our couple shot:



and last, but certainly not least, we are soooooo close to being done with our master bathroom. remember how things looked before we started the remodel? how bout how things looked after everything got demolished? well, we have painted, laid floor tile and shower tile. i plan to grout Saturday afternoon. then, it's literally just a matter of moving the vanity and shower curtain and toilet in place. then we are D-O-N-E!!!!! that day, there will be much rejoicing.

here's a picture of the shower tiling. i had never done wall tiles before. we used "Rialto White" tiles from Lowe's. the floor tiles were from Mazer's. they are the large 18" tiles. we decided to add some accents to the white brick pattern. so, i cut the scrap pieces from the floor tiles into rounded 4" tiles to add some pizazz to the shower. i even cut some corner shelfs as well. it was stank-hard, but i'm very proud of how it looks.

awesome video

did you see the A-Day game on ESPN this Saturday? if so, you probably saw this commercial for Alabama. if you're a Bama fan, you'll like it:




RTR

"Lemme lemme update-update ya"....

kinda like Beyonce sings in that DirecTV "upgrade ya" commercial. that just owns me for some reason.

what a great signing day for Bama! back-to-back #1 recruiting classes per Rivals.com! i know that these are just 17 and 18 year old kids, but you have to like Bama's odds of being competitive in the next few years. that's alot of good talent coming in to T'town! plus, we stole a few recruits from Louisiana and LSU to knock them out of the top spot. that was sweet. those Bama/LSU games should be awesome in the next few years.

speaking of Bama, our "Bama Room" is almost painted. just a word of advice to anyone considering painting a room crimson or any shade of red: be prepared for MULTIPLE coats. the first primer coat looked streaky and pink once it dried. so did the 2nd one. i put the 3rd coat of Sunday afternoon, and it's looking pretty good. it will still need 1 or 2 more coats before it's done. but it's looking really really good. i promise the next post will have pictures of it. :)

brooke is doing awesome in school. she's in her last semester of classwork. then, she has one year of clinical rotations left before she's DONE!!! she's already got her schedule for her rotations, and she is pumped. i'm so proud of her hard work. she's hosting Bunco for our girls from church tonight. woohoo!

our master bathroom is also coming along nicely. i've got 2 more pieces of sheetrock to put up. then, i can start building the knee wall and painting. we've already got the tile for the floor. it won't be long from here!

NSD

some of you know what "NSD" stands for. i bet most have NO clue! don't feel bad if you don't. "NSD" is "National Signing Day" for high school football recruits. and Wednesday is the big day.

to me, tomorrow is like Xmas. you know, when you couldn't wait to open your presents b/c you were so excited to see what you would have to play with for the next year. that's what tomorrow is for a young college football fan. for the last few months, fans have been making "wish lists" of recruits they hope to see in their home team's colors next fall. tomorrow, we get to open the presents and see who will make up our stars of the future.

if you're a guy, you probably know what i'm talking about. if you're not a guy, i hope you'll give you husbands a pass tomorrow as they anxiously await the news on their signing class. enjoy the day, everybody.

Thanksgiving weekend update

we had a wild weekend. we both had to work on Wednesday, so we planned to head to Montgomery to stay with my parents that night. well, plans changed. i developed waht i can only describe as "a headache from the dark side" late Wednesday afternoon. it knocked me on my back where i had to miss church that night. i can't think of the last time i've been too sick for church. it was bad. anyhoo, i woke up for about 30 minutes after brooke got home from church, just enough to try to eat some crackers, then back to bed. i was fine by the morning, thank goodness. brooke took such good care of me. i'm a pitiful patient. :)

we spent all Thanksgiving day at my mom's parents' house in Fort Deposit, AL, which is just a bit below Montgomery. we had a great time there seeing my side of the family.

we did get some bad news while we were there, though. that morning, brooke's grandfather, Marvin Pressnell or "Gandy", passed away. he was 80 years old. it was somewhat sudden, but his health and mind had been frail for years. he was a faithful Christian his entire life, which gives us more peace than we can describe.

so, we came back to work on Friday. after work, we drove up to Decatur for the weekend with brooke's parents. we had a great time there, too. we had the funeral Sunday afternoon. brooke's dad and her brother Chris conducted the funeral. it was a very moving service. he was a great man that has influenced thousands of people, either directly or indirectly.

one of the best parts of the weekend was the "Beatdown in T-Town"!!! i felt like Bama would win, but i was afraid that it would be a slobber-knocker. i'm so proud for JPW and the other 8 seniors. those kids came to Bama b/c they love Bama, and Saban has said they've been the ones who really deserve the credit in turning things around. it's great to break the streak. it's great to shutout Auburn. it's great to feel the pendulum swinging back our way. now it's gets really interesting. if we beat Florida, we can beat whoever else we face. i'm scared to death of Florida, but if we can sneak past them somehow, we'll beat Oklahoma/USC/Texas/whoever. i'll pull a "nicky pressnell" and just go ahead and call that. i might be wrong, but that's my opinion after seeing how this college football season has gone.

brooke has about 2 weeks left before she's done with this semester. then, she'll only have one more semester of classwork left! her senior year will be strictly clinicals. she has worked so hard for this, and i'm so proud of her!

Happy Halloween!!!

we had some friends over for a halloween party Saturday night. i think we counted 33 total. so getting ready for this party forced us to get the new house somewhat in order more quickly. we had taco salad and LOTS of halloween candy. we watched some football and played our annual game of Celebrity. we had a great time, plus, we got an extra hour of sleep that night from the time change. woohoo! check out my facebook profile for more pics.

we've had some issues come up (quite literally) with the house. our first night, we slept without heat b/c i couldn't figure out how to get the pilot light to come on at the furnace. our master shower isn't working right, so we have to climb the stairs to the guest bathroom for our morning showers. and to top it all off, our sewage line was clogged, and "poo-water" spilled everywhere in our laundry room (and dripped into the unfinished basement). we've almost got that resolved. the clog is gone, but the stench remains. but, we're loving how close we are to work/school/church. it's been wonderful.

now that our halloween party is done, we can start our projects. be watching for more pictures soon.

ps.....how bout my Crimson Tide?!?!?!?! if you could jump in a time machine, travel back to 1/3/2007 (the day Saban was hired), and tell the masses that Bama would be ranked #1 in 2008 the week Saban returns to Baton Rouge to play LSU, you would be locked away in the crazy house. but here we are. we may lose to LSU, Miss State, Auburn, and Florida, but i'm enjoying this ride. i do think we're playing a little over our heads, but i believe we can make it undefeated to the SEC championship game. then, i'll be scared to death of Florida. they are good.

Okay, I just had to post this:

WHAT A GAME!!! i haven't posted about Alabama all season long (other than that video before the season even started), mainly b/c i didn't want people to think i was one of those crazy, outlandish, typical Bama fans that only saw things through Crimson-colored glasses....even after the Clemson game. but, man, what a game! i never envisioned us dominating UGA like that. as the game was getting started, i realized, "this is the same way we beat Clemson: keep the ball on offense, and stop the run on defense." i'm so proud of our team for playing so consistently so far this season. we have faced every challenge with tenacity and confidence. and so far, it's paid off.

so, now Bama is #2 in the AP poll, but #4 in the coaches poll (which is the one that counts in the BCS rankings). like i told brooke today, all that matters is we need to keep winning ballgames. i don't like that LSU is ahead of us in the coaches poll, but if we keep winning, we'll get a chance to change that.

i sure do hope Saban can keep the players hungry and focused for the Kentucky game. i'd hate to blow a great wave of momentum on a let-down conference game.

RTR.

It's that time of year

watch at the 2:20 mark for your Julio Jones moment of the day.

Bama coaching situation.......

Alright, here are my thoughts on the coaches rumored to take over at Bama:

Steve Spurrier - he's got too much of a good thing going at South Carolina. He's only been there 2 years, and he's establishing his system. I don't think he wants to live under the shadow of the Bear.

Nick Saban - the Dolphins are winning now, so I highly doubt he'll be the man. He seemed pretty direct when he disspelled rumors about him going to Bama. That being said, a pilot friend of mine claims he saw Saban boarding the Miami Dolphins jet Sunday afternoon in Birmingham. so.....

Greg Schiano - i don't think he's a good fit. He's got a good program set up at Rutgers. Plus, he's only been good this year. I think Mal Moore wants more than just one good season.

Jim Grobe - again, only one good season. He's 69-67-1 in his tenure with Wake Forest. That doesn't sound like championship caliber to me.

Paul Johnson - an intriguing possibility, but I don't believe his triple option style will mesh very well with Bama's players right now. I LOVE the triple option; we just don't have the personnel to run it. It does bode well in his favor that he won national championships at GA Southern and beats his big rivals at Navy.

Jeff Tedford - personally, I consider this to be the gem of the group. He's young. He's proven. He's an offensive juggernaut. He's known for turning college QB's into Heisman candidates (Joey Harrington, David Carr, etc.). He turned a 1-10 Cal team into a national contender in 3 years. He's probably the best long term option in the group. I haven't heard much clamor about him on the internet, but I hope Mal Moore will pursue him. He's my personal choice.

Regardless of who we get, they need to stay for a while. They need to be successful and loyal to Bama. Let's just hope this won't hurt recruiting.

Playing not to lose...

You remember the cheer from your high school days at the football field, don’t you?

“Be aggressive! Be be aggressive! B-E-A-G-G-R-E-S-S-I-V-E! Aggressive! Be be aggressive!”

If you have kept up with Alabama football during the Mike Shula era, you have seen a team that just tries to hang in there. If ‘Bama is in a position to bust it wide open, chances are that they’ll play it safe and take the easy way out.

That’s all well and good. But that’s not Alabama football.

The story was told about one of Bear Bryant’s defending champion teams visiting a hated rival the following season. This was back in the days before overtimes, when tie ballgames were common. The game was a “slobber-knocker”. The two heavyweights battled it out for 60 minutes. Down by 7, the Crimson Tide put together one final drive to come storming back. After scoring the touchdown, Bear Bryant went for 2. They didn’t convert, and lost by a single point.

When asked about why he didn’t just kick the extra point and take the tie, the Bear grizzled, “Champions don’t play to tie. Champions play to win.”

I love Alabama football. I think Shula is the right man for the job right now. I think he can take us back to the national spotlight like we had once enjoyed. But some of his play calls leave me and the rest of the Tide Nation scratching our heads.

For instance, in the Arkansas game last week, our freshman kicker clearly had the heebie-jeebies. With not much time left in the 4th quarter, we had the ball in the redzone with a 1st down. The first play called was a Ken Darby run to the center of the field for 1 yard.

“Okay, Shula is setting up a nice kick for Tiffin if we need it.”

2nd down. Ken Darby up the middle for maybe another yard.

“Alright, let’s take a shot at 6 here. JPW has played a smart game. Let him take control.”

3rd down. Ken Darby up the middle for maybe a half yard.

“Huh?”

4th down. Leigh Tiffin wide right. Again.

And the rest is history.

Do us a favor, Shula. Know when to take chances. Don’t show your fake field goal on 4th and 8 on your first drive against Vandy! But DO take a shot at the endzone when your freshman kicker is having a rough day!