Christmas 2008

This year, Christmas was much different for us as it was the first year we did not spend it in Missouri. Instead, Missouri came to us - in the form of D1's mom and step-dad. They arrived on Christmas Eve morning and stayed 5 days. We had a great time and the boys thoroughly enjoyed their company. On Christmas Eve, we drove through Hollywild (not fun when it's raining and muddy) and then came back home to make reindeer food. The boys spread it throughout the back yard, in hopes that the reindeer would find it and stop at their house. We came back inside to play with a few early presents when we saw something red in our backyard....it was RUDOLPH!! The boys went crazy.....D1 really pulled it off and they were so excited, d2 could barely get a word out the rest of the night. Grandpa S. read them 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' and off to bed they went, just as giddy as I've ever seen them.

Christmas morning, we woke and opened gifts and had a nice breakfast. I have to brag for just a minute - I really got some awesome gifts this year, including Rachael Ray cookware (YAY!), an iPod shuffle, an NIV personalized Bible, some serving dishes....and not to forget my early Christmas gift (really for both D1 and I) was our new (albeit used) camera with which the below pictures were taken. Much better quality pictures than our previous camera took! Anyway, later that afternoon, we headed to Uncle Bob's for a Christmas dinner and celebration with D1's dad's family. It was a great time!!! Overall, this Christmas was probably one of the best ~ we were fortunate to spend the holiday with both sets of grandparents and we know how much that means to our children. And I, for one, enjoyed the 70 degree weather on Christmas Day!

Happy New Year!!!

*Story with Grandpa

*"Santa brought me just what I asked for...." (Lucky for Mom &
Dad)

*An old toy of D1's, fully restored - the latest 'fight' in our home over
who gets to ride it

*d2 and Mommy on Christmas Night

*Three Generations of 'D' men...

Major Inspiration!

Anyone watch 'The Biggest Loser?' This is the first season that D1 and I have ever tuned in and it was AMAZING what kind of life transformations are made with these chosen couples. Last night was the LIVE finale and it couldn't have ended better, in my opinion. For those that don't watch, the show is pre-recorded and actually took place over the summer. After you are voted off, you go back home and are encouraged to continue your weight loss - not just for the healthy aspect but to compete for $100k. The four finalists left on campus also go home after their 12-week stay and work towards a $250k prize to the one that has the highest percentage of weight loss. However, only three of the four actually get to compete for the top prize and America got to choose who would be the third competitor. Last week, the two that were below the 'yellow line' had a chance to appeal to America for their vote and it happened to come down to a husband and wife, Ed & Heba. D1 and I had were appauled at how this went - most people I know would lobby for the other to win but not this wife. Her loving husband did his part and asked America to vote for his wife, who wanted it so badly, but she had the audacity to petition for herself, claiming that she had the hardest journey, blahblahblah. I mean, WHO DOES THAT? A little class and modesty goes a long way! So at the beginning of the finale last night, the results from the nationwide poll were announced and, no surprise to me, it was a 'landslide' for ED! Heba looked shocked (not sure how she could have been shocked) and was quoted as saying, 'I guess there are just a lot of negative people out there who don't like to see success.' Um, no, I think there are a lot of people that get tired of arrogance and of individuals that feel they can bully others into doing what they want them to. Just my opinion! However, Heba did end up winning the second prize of $100k with the highest percentage amongst the others that didn't make it to the finals. I will say, she looked amazing and I think, in the end, she had the highest weight loss percentage out of everyone (which could have made her the big winner if she had some verball restraint) but I think her public (albeit pathetic) plea came back to bite her. There were some great results - we were especially excited for Jerry ( severely overweight dad who just wanted to walk his daughter, Colleen, down the aisle some day), Amy C and the 'Hometown' Couple, Phil & Amy P from right here in Greer, SC. WOOHOO!!



So, for the grand prize, the three contestants were Vicki, Ed and Michelle. They all looked phenomenal but MICHELLE won with the highest percentage - she lost 110 LBS!!! Totally different girl! I was so happy for her. I will limit my comments to how ECSTATIC I was that Vicki did not win because I could seriously write a novel. This woman had me dealing with BH contractions each week I watched with her snarky comments, her hateful looks and just down right spiteful personality. Seriously - each week we heard, 'I work harder than anyone else,' 'I deserve it more,' 'I love fuball.' (Just something about the way she said football drove me and D1 up the wall!) I had always heard that this was a 'feel-good' show and that everyone is striving for the same main goal - to lose weight but this woman was out for blood and made no effort to hide it. It was just very sad for the others who were there to change their lives but had to constantly watch out for her and her tactics. I just could not route for her in good conscience (truth be told, I hoped each week she GAINED - horrible, I know). So, the best part of the show for me last night - not only did she NOT win the big monetary prize, she came in third. And she came in third by ONE POUND!!! Ouch! What's that thing about karma? In any case, this will be a show we continue to follow - next series starts January 6th!!!

d1's First Basketball Game

This Saturday was d1's first basketball game of his career. He is a proud Taylors Giant teammate at the ripe ole' age of 4. This is a church league and his coach is, of course, his daddy. Let me first say that D1 is thoroughly enjoying coaching these boys but he is finding it tough to coach his son because he has to be fair but equal. He didn't struggle as much when he coached t-ball but is a little more this time around. In any case, he is great with these kids (ages 4-6) and is really patient with them and their energy levels that exhaust me just from being a spectator. d1 and W are the youngest on the team (after the other 4's dropped out) but they don't let it stop them! They are troopers and next year, they will be the BIG DOGS running the show. For now, they are just super cute to watch!!

So, their game was at a local church. They begin the game with a pre-game prayer where all team members form a circle and hold hands while the coach says a prayer. Then comes tip-off - Giants get the ball first and we never look back. Fortunately for the other team, we don't keep score at this age because it would have looked something like 50-2. Our team tore it up and we were all so proud! d1 scored his very first basket towards the end of the game and he was so excited and I have to say that it was one of the proudest moments in this mommy's life so far.....d1 has been waiting for this day to come for SO long. I took d1 (and d2 when he came along) to many of D1's games when he was coaching high school b-ball and d1 wanted so badly to be on that court. He spent all the half times and post games on the court, shooting 'free throws' and practicing because one day, he knew he was going to be a 'bassetball player' and now he is! So proud of him!! Here are some pictures....please excuse the blurriness....I NEED A NEW CAMERA, HUSBAND!! My b-ball player is #33 and the ball handler in the second picture....oh, and did I mention his defense is stellar?

Pep Talk

Pregame Prayer

Defense Position

Driving to the basket

Role Reversal

So, looking back at my posts over the last year, I notice a pattern when it comes to talking about my crazy boys and our adventures. Our discipline struggles have been (for the most part) with d1. My, how the times are changing!!

In the last couple of weeks, D1 and I have realized that d2 is coming into a new stage in his life and it's a very mischievious stage!! This boy is SNEAKY! For example - not long ago, he hit d1 and sat in time-out for it. After time-out, he was told to go hug his brother and apologize. d2 proceeded to hug his 'bubby,' tell him he was sorry, and then he KICKED him. d1 hollers that d2 kicked him. I ask him if he kicked him and he says, 'Me no kick Dagen, me love Dagen' with his arms out wide as if to say, 'I wouldn't do that!' That's probably where we realized he had some tricks up his sleeve and it hasn't gotten much better from there.

On the other hand, d1's sensitive, SWEET side has re-emerged and I am welcoming this with open arms. Just this past weekend, we had a Darnell Movie Night where we popped popcorn, made hot chocolate and put in a movie - 'The Polar Express' this week - and sat down to watch together. Towards the end of the movie, d1 was sitting with me and when the lil' boy lost his bell from Santa's sleigh, d1 says, 'I wish he wasn't so sad, Mommy.' I told him to keep watching. Then he says, so pitifully, 'I don't want him to be upset. I think I'm going to cry.' Of course, I thought he was just being silly when next thing I know, he's BAWLING real tears!! And we can't get him to stop! It was the craziest thing and I keep telling him to watch the movie, that I'm sure he'll find it but he was absolutely distraught! I told D1 that our 'baby' was maturing and just has such a big heart. Other instances have also shown us that he's turning into a little man that doesn't spend half his day in time-out and we are also seeing a decline in tantrums. PTL!! Long time coming......makes all that hard work with parenting/disciplining well worth it to see some positive outcomes!!

ER Visit....Take TWO!

A little behind in this update but thought I would share anyway. On Thanksgiving Evening, we were at Uncle Bob's house (i.e. Uncle Bob's Carnival) with the Darnell fam. We got there around 4:00 so that the boys could go for rides with Uncle Bob on the tractor, the 4-wheeler, the golf cart and any other 'toy' he had out for their entertainment. Dinner was served around 5:30 and it was DELISH. After the boys had finished their dessert, they got up to play. d1 was playing with his cousin, Skylar, while d2 was goofing off with Grandpa and Uncle Terry. While I was trying to enjoy my SECOND piece of Italian Creme Cake, I heard a loud THUMP and jumped up, knowing full well it was one of mine. Next thing I hear is a loud scream; Uncle T grabs d2 and looks for blood or bruising on his forehead because it sounded like his head had hit something. Nothing on the head but blood was gushing from his face.....he had sliced his cheek open on the stone coffee table when he came up from crawling under/around it. At first glance, we thought it was his previous injury re-opened but soon found it was a different wound, directly above the other. Off we went to the ER.....AGAIN! When we get there and get checked in, we were thrilled (note the sarcasm) to see that the same doctor and same nurse were on call that sewed d2 up the last time we were in, less than two months ago. Good times!!!

No pictures posted as I saw no real point....if you want to know what it looked like, see the post below for the first ER trip because it looked about the same. My lil' guy is turning into a real-life Frankenstein with all his scars on his face. We're praying they heal on their own (with the help of Mederma and Vitamin E); otherwise, we'll be paying some $$ for a plastic surgeon to help us out later on down the road.