From My Cubicle

Last Thursday I heard: Dear Lord, please help <insert person speaking name here> get on up out this building before she have a stroke or kill someone.

The week before last I heard one coworker telling another a story about her son (a grown up son): So, I went out to the yard and he said to me, ‘Ma, go back inside. This don’t concern you.’ And BAM! I hit him upside the head.

One of my coworkers downloaded a ring tone of our supervisor’s name being shouted over and over by a British prairie dog (please reference the YouTube video of safari animals with British accents*). Highlight of the month of November.

Today an older lady walked by wearing a green and red top with bells around the bottom edge that can only be described as an elf shirt.

*IF I was writing this post while at work I would not be able to access you tube and paste the link to said video into this blog post….

A Present

Today we bought a gift for our birthmother. It’s actually in the shape of a gift, a charm in the shape of a wrapped present. It is the second charm for the bracelet that we gave her on our first meeting. By my standards, it’s a nice bracelet with sentimental and charming charms (I’m secretly hoping to someday get a bracelet like this from R….shhhh). But we chose the present charm because we are reminded that she is giving us a gift - a gift of such supreme significance, there can never be a reciprocal gift. It’s also a gift that we do not deserve, and cannot do anything to receive. It’s a gift that will cause the giver hurt and anguish that I cannot imagine. And a gift that will bless the receivers with joy they’ve never known.


It reminds me of God’s grace. The very definition of a gift. It’s not earned, it’s undeserved, and it’s out of our control.


Right now, as we prepare to celebrate Christmas and to bring home our son, I am thankful for getting to celebrate Christmas and the gift of salvation. And I’m thankful for the example of God’s grace through the gift of adoption, and for our birthmother for her selflessness and love for our son.

Thank You! Family Shower

My sweet cousin and aunts threw a baby shower for us this weekend.  We received beautiful and fun gifts, I got to hang out with people I miss dearly, and I got lots of advice on being a new mom!

 My fun cousins

 Adorable and yummy

  The presents!!  Plus, KAA's beautiful fire place.

  My helper (future Miss Alabama)

  From C, love it!

  LDC and OKC....ps, if you're looking for awesome handmade burp cloths, LDC is the person to see.

  Future <insert Grandma name here> and aunts 

  Expectant mothers :)

  The grandchildren plus grandparents (lovely hostess is third from the left....I was in her wedding as a freshman and now she's a mom of two throwing me a baby shower!

War Eagle

L is now an Auburn University Alum.





I know I'm proud of her.  And I hope that she is proud of herself.  


I hope she sat thru the "excitement" of the ceremony and paid attention to the moment where she was pronounced a graduate, 


or fought back tears when her college dean introduced her and her peers and thought, I did it.


I hope she realizes that she is the one who did it, who sat through class, studied, stayed up late, got up early, went to class when she wanted to go home, sat tired at the library, walked to class in the rain, spent time in the computer lab, and this semester, presented her thesis.


I hope she realizes that she CAN do whatever she wants next.  Because she HAS already done so much.  

  

Wing Night

I'm not sure where to even start....


I work as a test engineer.  The program I work on has customers.  The customers have been in town for meetings.  Lots of people went to dinner together tonight to celebrate the end of the meetings.  One of the guys - let me point out, grown man in his mid twenties - decided to take the wing challenge (http://brokenbarreltavern.com/wings.jsp) where you eat twelve super hot wings in twelve minutes and then sit for eight minutes.  


And by sit, I mean no napkins, no liquids, no dips, no bathroom break, just sit.  


So, with a table full of coworkers (peers and supervisors) this brave (stubborn) soul, who is seated at his own table, starts to eat the first wing.  Wait - I should point out that the server who brought out the wings was wearing a mask and gloves.


Brave and stubborn soul:
First wing = red face
Second wing = sweating, eyes watering, face glistening
Third wing = squirming, plus all of the above.  announces that he can no longer feel his hands
Fourth wing = convulsing (entire body), plus all of the above 
Fifth wing = all of the above, face showing extreme pain
Sixth.5 wing = taps out.  


Table full of coworkers:
First wing = videoing and taking pictures with phones, laughing
Second wing = starting to eat our own food plus above
Third wing = the laughing has turned into uncomfortable laugh/grimaces and eating pauses at our table, some clapping and attempts at encouragement
Fourth wing = people have to start looking away because it looks so painful, still attempts at encouragement, and at least one person is still videoing
Fifth wing = concern for his health
Sixth.5 wing = relief that he tapped out, concern for his well being


If your curious (and I suggest you read this) the Rules: http://brokenbarreltavern.com/sheets/waiver.pdf

I will spare you the details of everything that happened next - but you should know that I saw a man put his face in a bowl of milk tonight.

Nursery Update II

Señor R and Mrs. MHJ brought a dresser for <insert son's name here>'s room and Señor R helped R install chair rail molding.  

Two posts in a row of pictures - you are lucky ;)

 My favorite molding corner.

The awesome dresser and a tiger blanket/stuffed animal.  Mrs. MHJ did an awesome job of picking out the dresser - it matches the crib perfectly.

 I had to put another crib shot in.

The workers.  They did a great job....I should also mention that Mrs. MHJ and I got out of the house so the boys could work and when we called to see if they wanted lunch delivered, they were napping!!  

The turtle.  We found this at a store down town.  Funny how I think a painted wooden turtle is adorable and want to hang it in my house after finding out a baby is on the way :).

 More pictures of my favorite molding corner.

The tiger, which will be my favorite blanket, regardless of whether he uses it or not :).

Copy Cat

Ron has taught me how to use Google Reader so I can keep up with The War Eagle Reader (TWER) and somehow (I say somehow because I don't watch the food network often) I heard about and starting reading posts from the Pioneer Woman.  I want to be like her when I grow up.  This lovely introduction is to say two things:
1.  You should also read TWER.  (http://www.thewareaglereader.com/)
2.  I love the Pioneer Woman's posts that just include pictures of her dogs.  So I tried to take some good ones of our angels and wanted to see if I could "copy" this method of posting (am I using the correct blogging terms here?).

Tanner is using his handsomeness to convince Mrs. MHJ to give him food.

Why aren't you playing with me or giving me treats?

 


I think Tanner knows what the camera is - he was pretending to be asleep until I picked up the camera (at this point he had given up on the treats)

Why are you still taking pictures of me?

Are you guys giving out food?

  

Oh, no food....I'm done with you.

Food?  I'm cute.