Catching up!

here's the updates on our crazy life! since we last posted (April 8th), we've had a lot going on! let's see:

- birthing classes
- Brooke finished her pharmacy school project and presentation, and subsequently graduated!
- Baylee and Ella spent the night with us
- Brooke went and visited her best friend from high school in Arkansas
- Dinner with my old college roommate and his wife
- Visited with my mom and grandparents for Mother's day
- Haleigh, Baylee and Ella's recital
- multiple showers for Caroline
- i hit 2 homers in one night in church softball
- upstairs guest bathroom remodel (in progress)
- Brooke accepted a part-time as needed fill-in job with Publix as a pharmacist (after she passes her boards in mid-June)
- my peach tree i planted last year has about 50 baby peaches on it!
- Spring Gospel meeting with Cecil May

phew! i'm tired just typing all that! here are some various pics from the above craziness!




28 weeks


30 weeks


32 weeks


Schaeffer Shower

what's next?

now that the Halloween party is over, we can begin demolishing the house again. :) i've gotten the old carpet up from the dining room, removed the carpet pad, pulled up all the staples and debris, and put the moisture barrier down. so it's all ready for hardwoods.

pretty soon, we'll also paint the master bedroom. we've got the paint, but just have to get it on the wall.

so we're making strides. Brooke is in Decatur for the month on another rotation, so i should get some stuff done.

thanks for checking in! i promise to keep more updates coming soon!

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.

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.

hey brooke! i updated the blog!!!

my lovely wife has been beckoning me to update our blog. i have yet again become a slacker and fallen back on my posts. kinda like i tend to do on reading my Bible. here's to August resolutions!

so, alot has happened since our anniversary:

**i got to observe my Granddaddy's cataract surgery in Montgomery (thanks Dr. Swan!)
**we had our first 3-night VBS (versus our traditional all-day-Saturday VBS) that ended up being a success
**i went golfing with my in-laws in Decatur (me, Mr. Nicky, Chris, Brandon, Chad, and Cade). most importantly, i beat Chris. :)
**brooke and i took a vacation to Gulf Shores (thanks Jerry and Brenda!). Mark and JP came and stayed a few days with us at the condo....we literally laughed our faces off.
**i got a 2006 black Toyota Tundra that i have nicknamed "Rolando" (pictures will come soon)
**we had a birthday supper with my sister Kristi here in B'ham. her husband Scott surprised her with a birthday weekend getaway, and instantly raised the bar for the rest of us husbands. thanks Scott!
**i had the most unbelievable steak in my entire life. if you live in B'ham, find a way to go to Ocean and get the filet mignon. thanks Dr. Schaeffer!
**i became a part of history on Monday, August 3rd. our wonderful county (Jeffferson County, AL) has closed every branch office for car tag renewals except for the main courthouse downtown. this is a political push to strong-arm a new occupational tax. i stood in a line so long that i thought i was waiting to see Moses. after 3 hours of waiting (and moving only 20 yards in line), i decided to come another day for my new truck tag. next time you see a Jefferson County politician, shake their hand for the mess they've made. actually, just shake them.
**we are ALMOST done with the master bathroom. i know i've been saying that for weeks, but all i lack is rehanging the door and installing crown molding. it is entirely functional, though. and that's what counts.
**brooke had the month of July off from clinics. that's what enabled us to take a vacation and let her go to Maywood. now she's back on her rotation at the Poison Control center for the month of August. she'll be in Virginia for the entire month of September, so i'll be posting a signup list soon for who can bring me food. :)

so there's the scoop on our lives the past 6 weeks! i hope to get some pictures up soon. thanks for hanging with my inconsistencies.

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.

"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!

As of 3 pm today....

...Brooke will be finished with this semester!!! woohoo!!! she has done awesome so far. one of her habits is to figure out what she needs to make on her final to either pass the class or get a certain letter grade. since she's done so well this semester, she only had to make like a 12 in some of her classes to pass. i think she needed a 46 today to pass. anyhoo, she's done great, and i'm so proud of her! i know she's ready to have a break from studying and working on projects for school. now, she'll have some time to work on some house projects!

check back soon for bathroom remodel updates. we're bustin' up some tile!!!

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!

I gotta go back, back, back to school again!!!

yeah, that's a catchy Grease tune, but it's definitely not brooke's favorite song.

she had her first day back on Monday. she's got a great group this year (alot of their classwork is done via small groups of 5-7 people). her schedule is alot better than she thought as well. so, although she's not excited about being back in the school mindset, it's been better than she was thinking it would be.

things continue to move slowly for our house situation. still no strong prospects for buying our house. we're anxious to get things moving fast, but we're praying that God will do what's best. that formula can't fail.

thanks for all the good comments on Alligator Mouth Hummingbird Tail. i didn't mention this before, but i actually typed up all the book for Mr. Nicky. he wrote it all out by hand, and i typed it up. and his son Brandon designed the artwork for the cover. pretty neat, huh?

again, if you want to buy a copy for yourself or get a set for a young families class, click here.