Great Quotes and Prayer

Not a few dads (and moms) are prone to give their children everything except the one thing they need most. That is time: time for listening, time for understanding, time for helping, and time for guiding. It sounds simple, but in reality it is the most difficult and the most sacrificial task of parenthood.

~Emma K. Hulburt

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not turn from it.
Proverbs 22:6

"Heavenly Father, give me the time and ability to teach my children the right path. So often I get caught up in the urgency of the moment and don't take the time to teach my children. I want them to know what the right path is. I claim your promise to help me. In Jesus' name, amen."

I took this from the book, "Little Book of Big Bible Promises for Men" by Alice Chapin.
I'm not a man, but this book has many great truths for us all. This one hits especially close to home for me. I hope it encourages someone out there. :)

Thursday's Random Thoughts

Time again for another weekly installment of my random thoughts. Aren't you thrilled???

Sarah Palin is awesome. She really is. I admire her courage, determination, and drive. I cannot imagine going through the process that she is going through.

What does Blue Bell do to make their ice cream so delicious? It is the greatest ice cream ever! It really is. Ok, now I'm wanting some. On to the next thought.

Why are some tests so stinkin' hard to pass? Academically, I've faced some tough tests, but they don't compare to some of the spiritual tests I'm currently facing. I'm doing a Bible study right now that is really challenging me. I am asking God to show me areas of weakness, and He definitely is. He doesn't let up!

Will Alabama have a good season, or was last weekend just a one week thing? Can we beat some of the tough SEC teams? Is this the year to finally beat Auburn? I'm afraid to get too excited, but I am so full of hope!

If kids were free, and I didn't have to deal with pregnancy woes, I would have five, six kids. I LOVE big families! Sadly, kids aren't free, and I have to be pregnant to have babies. Guess we won't be having five or six. Probably three (maybe...a BIG maybe) four, but not five or six.

People still get perms. I had no idea. I take that back. I knew senior ladies got perms, I just didn't realize other people still got perms. I realized that when I was at the salon a few weeks ago. I guess I'll start analyzing people's curls from now on. Natural? Permed? Hmmmm....

Speaking of curls, I am often asked if Tristan's hair is naturally curly. I mean, are there people out there who perm their four-year old boys' hair? That seems really strange to me, but I'm asked so often that I have to wonder.

A Note to My Fellow Bama Fans

You may have already read in one of my previous posts, I listen to a lot of sports radio...well, I did anyway. I can't listen to it much anymore. As an Alabama fan, I welcome Bama news. I love to hear it; however, sports radio in Alabama drowns you in everything Bama. Ok, well not everything, mostly just obnoxious fans with terrible grammar and lots of naysayers. If I turn on Paul Finebaum's show one more time and hear a redneck Bama fan talk about how he has "all the inside scoop about who has been and who has not been practicing", or another fan call in and say, "Booyah" about last week's game, I'm gonna scream.

Now I understand why people who are fans of out of state teams think Bama fans are obnoxious. Many are! That's not to say that other teams don't have their obnoxious fans...they do. I guess it's just easier to notice when you hear so many Bama fans that seem to have never had a day of schooling in their life (though they have) and lack a lot of class. I want to duck in my seat when I hear some of these fans call in.

Bama fans, remember...class. Be proud of the win last weekend, but don't go buying your tickets to Miami just yet. There's a LONG season ahead of us, and we'll face many challenging opponents, namely in the SEC. As one of the reporters in the Birmingham News said this past weekend, SEC opponents won't curl up in a ball and give in the way Clemson did. Most of those teams fight to the end. Please remember that. AND like I said in a previous post, if you're a "Saturday Shopper", don't trash talk at all. If you don't know what a first down is or the name of any player besides Julio Jones or John Parker Wilson, just stay zipped. You'll save the rest of us a lot of grief. Mom, I'm talking to you!

One more thing, it is incredibly embarrassing to me as an Alabama fan, to hear a crowd full of fans chant "overrated" to a strong opponent with a high ranking. Think about it, people. Clemson was ranked #9 in the nation. We were #24. We beat a #9 team. Shouldn't you be thinking:

Hmmm...we're pretty good! Yeah, we're darn good!

You should be thinking that. You should walk with some pride in your stride, not chant "overrated" which basically means my high school could have come in and beaten Clemson. Bama fans did the same thing when we stomped Florida a few years back. I was at that game too. It was just as embarrassing then as it was this past Saturday. Seriously, people. Think about that the next time you want to shout "overrated" at a strong opponent. You are not only belittling them but also your team as well. In my eyes, Clemson was a powerful opponent that we battled and overcame. They were not overrated, we were underrated.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

HE GETS IT!!!

This morning, I went into Asher's room to get him out of bed and was immediately greeted with an unpleasant odor. As I leaned over his crib, he did it! He did the sign for "potty"!!! Because it took SO long to potty train Tristan, I began teaching Asher the sign for potty a couple of months back. He usually does it when I'm changing his diaper and say, "You went potty." However, this is the first time that he told me first. YEA! We're getting somewhere!!! I hope so, anyway.

When Tristan was around 18 months old, he would tell his teachers that he needed to go potty. Thing is, he never would go on the potty. They went on and on about how he would potty train early. Well...he didn't. I have high hopes for Asher, though. He's the second child. I feel a little more seasoned this time around. We've got this!

On another note, whenever I change Asher's poo poo diapers, he almost always says, "Eeeeeeeeeeew!" LOVE it! It is SO funny!!! My thoughts exactly, Asher. Eeeeeeew, indeed.

What a Speech...What a Woman!

My choice for Vice President...I hope you had a chance to watch Sarah Palin's acceptance speech tonight. What an amazing woman, what an amazing leader! I am stirred, inspired, and excited about a future with her as our VP. She is a candidate who seems to be a normal person, a person who understands the needs of us regular folks.

Palin and family, keep your chins up! I see you going very far...all the way to the White House!!!

The team I would like see lead our nation:

SEC vs. ACC

That's right, folks. This past Saturday was a big ACC/SEC match-up. I'm sure you already know who came out on top...the SEC!!! There really is no comparison between the two conferences. The SEC is tough!

Channing and I had the great privilege of attending the Alabama/Clemson game, and it was a BLAST!!! I thought I would share a few pictures from our grand trip.

Here is Channing posing in front of an advertisement for his FAVORITE radio station:

He misses this station and talks about it non-stop. Unfortunately for him, sports radio here in Alabama doesn't do much talking about his beloved Dawgs. On 680 The Fan, it seemed that the bulldogs were all they talked about. Needless to say, I don't miss 680 too much. :) I miss several things about Atlanta, but that's not one of them.

We had great seats. We were sitting in the Clemson end zone on the Club Level. Very nice! We were sitting right on the Clemson/Alabama line, so we were surrounded by fans of both teams. I love that! I like a good mixture. Here's a view of the field from our seats:
Here we are at the beginning...0 to 0. The score didn't stay that way for long!I took a picture of the Chick-fil-A blimp that flew around the dome because, well, because I love Chick-fil-A. AND because they left us coupons for free three piece chicken meals. Can't beat that! Thanks, Chick-fil-A!!!
Here's a shot of some of the fans in our section. As you can see, the Clemson fans are seated. They were that way for most of the game. They just didn't have much to stand up and cheer about. I have to admit, I really felt bad for them and for their team. I hate that there has to be a loser, I really do. I usually feel bad for the underdog. Funny thing is, my team was the major underdog last week. That kind of made it extra sad for the Tigers. They thought this game was a shoo in. SAD!
My men going in for the touchdown! Aren't you SO proud of JPW? He played SO great!As the game neared the end, you can see that the Clemson side was pretty bare:
Check out the Tide side!
Look behind Channing and me. Can you pick out which side is which...Clemson? Alabama?One final shot of the two sides AND of the final score:WAY TO GO, BAMA!!! I was so proud to be able to support such an awesome team. They looked fantastic. I hope they can keep it up throughout the season. Only time will tell.

At every game, you have the drunk that sits in your section...every game. This game was no exception. Seriously people, there were two Alabama fans who were completely lit before the game even got started. Since the game was in the Georgia Dome, alcohol was sold, and these guys bought two beers at a time every time...at $7 A PIECE! It was CRAZY! One of the guys drank and drank and drank. At one point, Channing saw one of the guys (the super drunk one) throw up and then continue drinking. Can you believe that?! By the end of the game, he was almost unable to stand.

I just don't understand that. This guy had fantastic seats. He was attending a game that many wanted tickets to. Yet, I have no idea how he could enjoy (or remember, for that matter) the game because he was so incapacitated. What a waste of a great game...for that guy. As a mother, I wanted to walk over to him and take the drinks out of his hand. I wanted to ask his friend how he could allow him to continue to drink, and I wanted to load him up with water. He needed to stop.

Alas, I did nothing. I watched him shake his shaker in front of his pants (as if it were a body part). I watched him guzzle beer after beer, constantly sway, and I did nothing. I really don't know what I could have done, but I felt really sorry for the guy. Great job, Annie!

Ok, sorry to end on such a depressing note. It was a really really incredible game. I look forward to watching my Tide roll this season!!! It's exciting to be excited about a season again. ROLL TIDE!

Butterbean Festival

This past Saturday, Channing and I had to rush to get to the Alabama game on time. Why, you may ask? Because he was working at the Alabama Butterbean Festival, of course! Only in Alabama would you have a butterbean festival. Here are some of my favorite shots of the day.

No Alabama Butterbean Festival is complete without a Butterbean! Here is the star of the day:
AND...what kind of festival doesn't have an Elvis impersonator? A lame one, that's what. Great thing the Alabama Butterbean Festival wasn't a lame festival! Check out the Elvis impersonator:
Channing's spinal screening booth was located right in front of this unique store. The sign really caught my eye. Check it out:
Not only can you go in and shop for furniture, but you can get a bridal gown for when you finally get around to renewing your wedding vows, a formal for your daughter's prom, and a tan before you leave...all in one store! What are the chances?! ONLY IN ALABAMA! ;)

This sign caught my eye too:
A real live detective agency. I found it incredibly interesting. I wonder who needs a detective in Pinson, Alabama. Too, I wonder what they need a detective for. Based on the "For Rent" sign in the window, I don't think many people did. Oh well. It made my day.