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Well, we survived Christmas again this year. I know that sounds so dreadful and I really shouldn’t use that phrase because we actually had a wonderful Christmas ~ just different.

I always wait till the last minute to do my shopping. I finished earlier than usual this year, but still had to rush around.

Briar and Brad are also at the ages where the “magic” of Christmas starts to go away. I can’t use “You better be good, Santa is watching” anymore. They don’t believe me. No more leaving cookies for Santa, no visiting Santa… They don’t even want to watch the Christmas movies we normally enjoy. They don’t want anything with Santa at all.

I told them Santa would be disappointed when he stopped by our house, and they would be lucky if he left them any presents.

Of course the excitement of receiving presents never goes away. I was pleased that they enjoyed spending time with our family and friends as well as remembering Jesus’ birth. After all, that is what it is all about.

So, even though Christmas was different for us, the boys have deemed it the best Christmas ever.

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I’ve been watching The Next Great American Band on FOX on Friday nights. I was a first time viewer of American Idol this year and thought this show would be entertaining as well. I haven’t been disappointed. This week will be the finale and there are three bands left. Two of them stand out to me and have from the beginning. I just can’t pick one above the other. One group’s performance even moved one of the judges to tears.

Saturday morning my husband’s company invited employees to enjoy a movie at the Paragould Cinema 8. We were able to choose between Fred Clause and Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. We chose Fred Clause. It was a very entertaining movie — I laughed from beginning to end.

I received a phone call from my sister-in-law Saturday evening. She wanted me to keep Jarah and Kylie while she and Blake “went to talk with Santa.”

I love spending time with my nieces, so I jumped at the chance. After painting fingernails and toenails, putting on makeup and new hair-dos, Jarah played on the computer while Kylie and Tim argued back and forth. Most kids are scared of Tim, but Kylie gets in his face and tells him like it is. It’s fun to watch them go at it.

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Brad has found a way to unnerve me lately… he has started calling me “Angie” instead of “Mom.” I know that’s my name and it is not really a big deal, BUT there is just something about the way he says it that bothers me. He uses the same tone that my husband uses when he calls me Angela.

I calmly remind him that I’m “Mom” to him, but it seems to go in one ear and out the other.

A few years back he called me “Mother” all the time and I hated that, too. It took a VERY long time for him to stop. Maybe he’ll get it out of his system quicker this time and I’ll be “Mom” again by Christmas!!!

I hope…

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Last year, I was devastated when I could not find the Christmas decorations that were handmade by Briar and Brad throughout their childhood. I looked for them for days. They simply could not be replaced, and our tree was not the same without them.

Sunday afternoon, the boys and I pulled the Christmas tree and decorations out of the attic and put the tree up. There was a box full of old garland I was getting ready to throw away when Brad noticed what I was doing.

He loves to decorate and wouldn’t let me throw it away. As I pulled the strands out of the box for him, a little snowman made of gumballs caught my eye. There, in the bottom of that box, were all the lost decorations!!!

I can’t explain the joy I felt upon finding them…

And to think, I almost threw them away.

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My family has always been huge Razorback fans. My older brother, Rodney, had Briar and Brad calling the hogs before they could even walk.

On the flip side, Rodney is not an Arkansas State fan. You would think since they are closer to us he would at least root for them sometimes. Not the case. He is extremely anti-Indians (or whatever they turn out to be).

Saturday afternoon my family was gathered at my mom’s house for a birthday party for Rod’s daughter, Grace. Blake, my younger brother, walked in wearing a gray A-State hoodie.

Rod instantly told him to get out of the house with that shirt on. He wasn’t welcome. Blake just smiled and said, “If you only knew.” We all got a good laugh when Georgetta, Blake’s wife, let Rod in on the secret.

She had bought the hoodie the day before at one of the many “Black Friday” sales. It was to be Rod’s Christmas present… until Blake saved him from that fate and claimed it for himself.

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My cousin, Lora, has been battling cancer for several years. Every time we think she has it beat, something else happens. At a recent checkup at UAMS, she learned that the cancer has returned to her lungs and liver.

After having a reaction to treatments, they were stopped. Lora has been referred to MD Anderson Medical Center in Texas for an experimental treatment. We’ve been told this is her “last hope.”

Through all of the different diagnosis, chemotherapy and surgeries, Lora’s faith has remained strong. She has an amazing attitude, and I admire her for it.

My mom has organized a fund-raiser, to be held Nov. 17 beginning at 6:30 p.m at the Hoxie Service Center. The proceeds will help Lora with medical and traveling expenses. The Shaw’s will be performing as well as the Faith Worship Center Praise Team and the New Beginning Followers of Christ Dance Team.

It’s sure to be an entertaining night!

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I had an extremely entertaining ride while taking my nieces, Jarah, 7, and Kylie, 3, to Jonesboro for Jarah’s gymnastics class on Wednesday.

My son, Brad, is a huge Hannah Montana fan and has two of her CDs. They occupy slots number three and four in my CD changer. I was actually hoping that the girls would not remember that fact when we began our drive.

It didn’t take long, however, for Kylie to ask for Hannah Montana. She was singing at the top of her lungs, “Everybody makes mistakes, everybody has those days.” She wanted me to play it over and over… I just couldn’t do it though.

I had to contain my laughter when Kylie said, “Aunt Angie, I got my flea shot yesterday!”

Jarah laughed and told her it wasn’t a “flea” shot, it was a flu shot. She told Kylie to say blue… then had her say flu. She said it perfectly.

After Jarah got out of the car, and I was getting Kylie unbuckled, she told me, “Jarah don’t know what she’s talkin’ about, Aunt Angie, I know I got a flea shot.”

I just smiled and let it go.

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My mother-in-law had her annual Halloween party Saturday night. She lives on the other side of Maynard, out in the middle of nowhere. It is a really good place for a Halloween party… lots of scary possibilities.

We had a big meal, then started a bonfire and roasted marshmallows. The crew my sister-in-law works with landed their helicopter in the field across the street and ate with us. Before leaving, they took some of the adults up in the helicopter.

Later in the night we had a hayride. My mother-in-law and several other adults dressed up in scary outfits and went to spook those on the hayride. The trailer they caught up with, though, wasn’t ours… they scared the wrong group.

To end the night, Briar, Brad and several others bobbed for apples. This is my least favorite thing… everyone slobbering in a pail of water, trying to bite the same apples. GROSS!

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It’s awesome that our two local high school football teams, the Hoxie Mustangs and Walnut Ridge Bobcats, will be going to state this year. Congratulations to both teams!

My family attended the Iron Mountain Festival this weekend in Walnut Ridge. I enjoyed myself and could have watched the provided entertainment all day long. However, Briar, Brad and Tim had other ideas of entertainment.

They enjoyed the shooting range, karate demonstration, aquarium and car show, but were ready to go after about 45 minutes. One trip through was enough for them.

Oldsalt, a LawCo Talk board member and moderator, brought me a three-button mouse for my computer today. A few weeks ago he made a trip to our office and was astonished by the fact that my mouse had only one button. I use a Macintosh and they have only one button “mice.”

I am enjoying the extra two buttons immensely. While my Mac mouse would do all the things as a three-button mouse, the three buttons are just easier. However, you won’t find me abandoning my Mac anytime soon. They are the far superior computer… at least in my opinion.

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I won’t deny that I have forgotten many things in my life … names, addresses, phone numbers, birthdays … I’ve even forgotten where I was going on occasion. I have never, though, forgotten to breathe.

How do you forget to breathe, anyway? To me, the idea of forgetting to breathe is, well, crazy…

I don’t watch “Dancing With the Stars,” but I’m sure most people have heard about Marie Osmond “fainting” on the show Monday night because she “forgot to breathe.”

While they were talking about it on the news this morning, Briar walked through the room and heard them. He was unsure of what they had said, at first. He stopped and looked at me and asked if he had heard the TV correctly.

After telling him what had happened, his response was the same as mine… “How in the world could someone forget to breathe? That’s crazy!”

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Today is definitely Monday!

The day started off normal enough, my niece, Jarah, arrived at my house at 5 a.m. this morning. She normally goes back to sleep, but she didn’t this morning. She didn’t feel very well, so I tried to comfort her the best I could. She called her mom four times before I took her to school.

I had to leave work to take Brad to the doctor for a follow up appointment. Not long after returning, I got a call from the school nurse. Briar was in her office because he had hurt his hand.

I went to get him and took him to the emergency room … it’s broken.

I’m now having trouble focusing on what I’m doing here at work… I can’t help wondering what’s going to happen next.

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On Saturday, my family went to my husband’s company (LA Darling) picnic. The company has had the picnic for the past three years, and it is something we all look forward to.

As soon as we arrived this year, Tim and Brad headed straight for the NASCAR simulator. It is always their favorite thing to do. Briar and Brad raced several times in the Iron Man obstacle course. They had a mechanical bull, which Briar and Brad loved last year, but didn’t get on this year.

While eating lunch, we played Bingo, but didn’t win anything. Briar really enjoyed the Bingo games, so we spent a lot of the afternoon playing. Brad made friends with a boy close to his age. They kept busy playing on the giant slide and obstacle course.

The company always does a random drawing for prizes. In the three years we’ve been going, we haven’t won any of those prizes. This year was no different. The grand prizes were a flat screen plasma TV and a stainless steel, gas barbecue grill.

Even though we didn’t win anything, we got to spend time together and enjoyed the day.

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I was lucky to be raised in a stable home with both parents. My parents are now a big part of my children’s lives. Briar and Brad go to their house after school on most days and usually spend two nights a week with them.

I believe the time a person spends with their grandparents is the most special time in the world.

I was blessed to have both sets of my grandparents until my PaPa Tate passed away on the morning of my 23rd birthday. Ten months later I lost my Grandpa Jones and five months after that, my Grandma Jones. My Granny Tate was with us five more years, until July of 2001.

I loved to fish with Grandpa and Grandma Jones, and I will never forget all the afternoons I spent playing slapjack under the shade tree with my PaPa Tate.

Granny Tate was the strongest woman I’ve ever known. She loved life and loved to laugh and have fun. My brothers and I always tried to get her “tickled,” which wasn’t very hard to do.

I think of them often and try to pass their legacy along to Briar and Brad through stories, pictures and home videos. I also hope that I am nurturing the same type of relationship between the boys and my parents. After all, nothing can quite explain or compare to the relationship between a grandparent and grandchild.

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Briar and Brad are supposed to read every night for at least 30 minutes. Briar usually reads something by R.L. Stein and Brad likes biographies, but right now is reading a fiction book entitled, “The Desperaux.” They hate reading, and I don’t understand why. I love it … I always have.

While growing up, I read the Sweet Valley High series. The books are about twin high school girls and their life experiences.

Two of my all-time favorite books are “Where the Red Fern Grows,” I still cry every time I read it, and “The Outsiders.”

I also read a lot of Judy Blume books. “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” “Fudge,” “Double Fudge,” “Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing” and “Blubber” — just to name a few.

These days my favorite authors include Laurel K. Hamilton, Dean Koontz, John Grisham and Sandra Brown. I have to admit that I love reading Harry Potter, too. I would actually read just about anything you put in front of me.

So… with my passion for reading, why can’t I get my boys to read?

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Earlier this year while shopping at a Walnut Ridge grocery store, I was treated horribly when they thought the $20 bill I was paying with was fake.

I had to go to the Police Department and they sent the money to the crime lab to be tested. David Burnside from the Walnut Ridge Police Department called me today to let me know that the money had been real after all. I can go claim it tomorrow.

Officer Burnside said the bill had been printed in 1950, which was before the recent safety measures to prevent counterfeiting. In my opinion, the store should better train their cashiers on how to spot counterfeit money.

If their safety precautions don’t apply to bills printed prior to a certain time, they should know that and use another method of testing. At the very least, they should make sure that all of their customers are treated respectfully.

I know a little extra effort on the store’s part would have saved me a lot of embarrassment.

I’m very happy to be getting my $20 back. This, however, has been an experience I won’t soon forget.

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I recently wrote about the doctor finding a lump in my breast. After a mammogram and ultrasound, it was determined that I needed to have a biopsy. I went to UAMS in Little Rock on Friday. I wasn’t really sure what to expect once I got there, but the doctors were amazing.

They looked at the films I had brought them and decided to go ahead and remove the entire lump and then test it… I could either schedule a day to come in and be asleep during the procedure, or they could do it that day and use a local anesthetic.

I chose to go ahead and get it over with. The doctor used a “mammotome” to remove the lump. The procedure didn’t take long and went really well. I had some pain in the area on Friday night and over the weekend. If I do a lot with my left arm, it starts to hurt. All-in-all, though, it wasn’t bad.

I heard from the doctor today, and my results showed no sign of malignancy. While I never doubted that would be the outcome, it was nice to actually hear it and it will be a relief for the rest of my family and friends!

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My son, Briar, officially became a teenager on Aug. 24. I no longer see a baby when I look at him. I see a clever young man full of laughter and mischief trying to find his way in this world.

I realized this week exactly how much of a teenager he has become when I asked if he needed me to go over his algebra homework and he replied, “No, I don’t think you’ll know how to do it anyway.”

I was also told that I wasn’t the computer whiz he thought I was, while he was doing his computer technology homework. This one really hit home. While I don’t claim to be a computer whiz, I definitely know my way around a computer. After all … it’s my job.

Although I have seen some changes in his attitude, and he now thinks he is smarter than I am, one thing remains constant… his kindness and compassion for others. He is an exceptional young man and I’m very proud of him.

I know that he will continue to spread his wings. I hope that I have and continue to set a good example for him.

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On Aug. 31 Hoxie and Walnut Ridge will face off for the last time on the football field. I will admit that I have mixed feelings about it. This unique cross-town rivalry, that you have to be a part of to understand, got way out of hand, at times. It has also provided MANY amazing memories.

My family moved to Hoxie from Walnut Ridge when I was in the sixth grade. The adjustment from Bobcat to Mustang wasn’t an easy one; however, it was absolute. I bleed green!

Both of my brothers played football for Hoxie. A lot of talk and a lot of pranks led up to a huge battle that played out before our eyes. It didn’t matter how the rest of our season went… whether we lost every other game or went to state… we wanted to be able to say we beat the Bobcats!

Since most of my cousins were Bobcats, the stakes were a little bit higher. We wanted to be the ones with the bragging rights.

So… as the battle unfolds for the last time, I’ll have only one thing to say…

Go, Mustangs!!!

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I, like most people, hate to go to the doctor. I don’t go for routine checkups, but if I’m sick, I will go. During a recent visit, my doctor read me the riot act for not taking better care of myself and scheduled me for all the routine exams I’d been neglecting.

I was relieved that I had five more years to wait before I had to start routine mammograms. Relief was short-lived when a lump was found during my exam. I went today and had my first mammogram. It wasn’t as bad as I believed it would be. Yes, it was uncomfortable, but not painful.

Since I had a problem, there was a doctor on hand waiting to read my results so that I could have further testing if need be. I had to have an ultrasound done of the “suspicious area.”

The doctor talked to me and assured me that he doesn’t think I have cancer, but the area is solid and I should have a biopsy to be on the safe side.

I’m sure this scare will turn out to be nothing, but it did serve as a wake-up call. I will no longer neglect checkups or routine exams. I hope you don’t either.

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Like so many other parents, I’m trying to get my kids ready to go back to school. Tuesday night, Brad, Drake (my nephew) and I went to open house. Brad will be in the new building at Hoxie this year and is excited about that.

The classrooms are really nice and seem to be somewhat bigger than what he has had before. There is also a science lab in the building. Brad loves experimenting, so I hope they are able to use it often throughout the year.

Briar had football practice and wasn’t able to attend with us. Brad, Drake and I visited his classes without him.

Although they both say they aren’t ready for school to start, they seem excited about it. I’m not sure I’m ready for the hectic schedule that the school year will bring. Not only will they start back to school on Monday, Briar has his first football game that night.

Ready or not…

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Saturday my family and my brothers’ families took a trip to the Wild River Country Water Park in Little Rock.

When we first arrived, Briar, Brad, Tim, Rodney, Blake, Drake and I went down what we called the “toilet bowl.” I don’t know what the real name is, but you go down a long tube into a bowl type portion where you are swished around before being shot out the bottom into the pool. It was everyone’s favorite slide.

While we were doing that, Georgetta, Jarah, Grace and Kylie rode a four person raft slide that sends you through the dark around lots of curves and then sprays you with water before the ride ends. I enjoyed this ride with Blake, Jarah and Grace before I got a little bit sick.

I spent some time with Kylie in the pool. Then we all went to the wave pool before having a picnic lunch in the shade outside the park.

We spent a lot of the afternoon in the wave pool. Tim and I floated around the “lazy river” in tubes while the others went down slides or played in the wave pool.

We had a great time! I hope to make the trip again next year.

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Briar and Brad spend a lot of time on either my mom’s computer or our computer at home. I have Brad set up as a separate user because he likes to change the background and put shortcuts on the desktop. Briar likes to browse the Internet, but doesn’t care what kind of wallpaper, etc. he has.

Briar does however, like to try and figure out Brad’s password. He doesn’t really want to login as Brad and use the computer, he just wants to make him mad. I just changed the password Monday, but Briar is getting close again and by the end of the week, I’ll be doing it again.

Brad also wanted to have his own webpage. I had told him that I’d sit down with him on a Saturday when we had some time and work on one with him. He has very little patience, though, and had to have something right then.

I have a Yahoo account, so I set him up a Geocities site. Right now it isn’t much, but on Saturday we are going to add more things to it. As of now, he has had 64 visitors and his guestbook is on the second page of entries.

If anyone is interested in visiting it, go to www.geocities.com/skimahorn_99 and leave us a message!

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I’ve never really paid much attention to counterfeit money reports. I don’t normally carry cash, and when I do have cash it comes from the bank’s ATM machine. The bank checks their money, so it can’t be counterfeit, right? WRONG!!!!

My husband got some money out of the ATM machine Sunday morning. Later in the day, he handed me $30, a 20 and 10, so I could make a quick trip to the grocery store. After paying with the money that came from the bank’s ATM machine, I got funny looks from the cashier and she took off to the office. The lady in the office called more people in and they all stared and whispered about me. Finally, the cashier came back and informed me that my $20 bill was not good. It was counterfeit.

I called my husband and the store called the police to come in and check things out. I wrote a check for my groceries, although the lady in the office didn’t seem to like that very much, either. When I went with the bag boy to put my groceries in the car, I thought the two left in the office, who were watching my every move, were going to have a stroke because I walked out of the store.

I had to wait about five minutes for the police to arrive. When the officer got there, he took a statement from the lady in the office and then came to talk to me. I had to go to the police station to do some paper work and make a formal statement.

My husband arrived about the time I was leaving to go to the police station. He went with me and filled out a form saying where the money came from and that he had been the one to give it to me.

While the officer was very nice and assured me that he didn’t think I was producing counterfeit money, those at the store were another story. I know the store has a procedure they have to follow, but I was just as innocent in this as they were. I won’t be shopping there again.

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While I was growing up, my family always celebrated Christmas Eve and New Years Eve with my Uncle Donnie, Aunt Vicki, Jennifer, Ashley and Cody. We also spent many summer days swimming and barbecuing together and sometimes going to Liberty Land.

On the Fourth of July we enjoyed lunch and swimming at Ashley’s house. Uncle Donnie, Aunt Vicky and Cody were also there. It was a nice way to spend the day and catch up with everyone. It’s also nice to see our kids play together. We don’t get to visit as much as we used to, but we still have fun when we get together.

I was also pleasantly surprised the other day to receive an e-mail from Jennifer, who lives in Minnesota. The e-mail contained a slide show featuring her daughter’s senior pictures and a few family photos! It doesn’t seem possible that she has a daughter graduating high school.
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Today is my youngest son, Brad’s, 11th birthday. We usually have one big party at the Walnut Ridge City Pool. Not this year! A couple of weeks ago, there was a WWE Pay-Per View event that he really wanted to see. My husband gave him the choice of a big party or the Pay-Per View. Of course he chose the Pay-Per View.

I thought he’d regret that decision once his birthday arrived, but he’s getting a pretty good deal out of it.

We are doing a small celebration tonight at home. Brad gets his choice for supper (Pizza Hut pepperoni pizza), cake and a present. Tomorrow night, my mom is cooking him a special supper and all our family will be there. Friday he is having a small party at our house for a couple of his friends.

It seems it’s turning into a week-long celebration.
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My family and I went to the Portia Picnic Saturday night. Like many others in the community, this is a yearly ritual for us. I’ve always loved going to the Picnic. I have lots of memories of riding rides and playing games, many of which are still the same. It’s nice to be able to see my kids enjoying the things I did at their age.

They only played one game – they threw darts to pop balloons. Brad won a Dale Earnhardt Jr. mirror and Briar won a Grim Reaper mirror. He told me later that he had thought about getting one with a half-naked woman on it, but opted for the spooky one instead (must be his age).

We also visited the food vendors. You can’t go to a carnival without having a funnel cake (or a corn dog and cotton candy in Briar and Brad’s case).

The best part, though, is the rides. The boys had a contest to see who would throw up first – which must be a guy thing, because I don’t remember ever doing that. Luckily, there was no winner or loser for the contest. Maybe next year…

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I grew up, the only girl of three children. I have an older and younger brother. I don’t want to say I never did “girlie” things, because I did. I had my share of Barbie dolls, a white canopy bed with a pink bedspread and canopy and lots of makeup and fingernail polish. However, most of my time was spent playing baseball, football, basketball, climbing trees, fishing, etc. I wanted to do what my brothers were doing.

Now, I’m married and have two boys. I’m the only female in my home. Even the dog is male. I have, however, been blessed with five nieces.

When they come over they head right to the makeup and fingernail polish and want to give Aunt Angie a makeover. You can bet that I have every color of fingernail polish and every bit of makeup I have in my house on by the time they leave. A lot of the time, I will also be sporting a new hairstyle of random ponytails and hair clips

I love my nieces very much, and I wouldn’t trade my time with them for anything.

BUT, at the end of the day – I would rather be fishing or playing catch than painting fingernails or fixing hair. God certainly knew what he was doing when he gave me boys!
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Spring … birds are singing, flowers are blooming and most of all… bats are swinging.

Briar and Brad will play baseball in the Hoxie league this summer and Jarah will play her first year of t-ball. Yesterday, we were all at my Mom’s house for my birthday dinner and decided to practice.

Briar, Brad, Dad, Blake, Georgetta, Jarah and I played catch and then let the kids take turns batting. Briar and Brad have grown quite a lot over the past year – and although they hit the ball well before – they amazed me at how hard they were hitting. Their fielding surprised me, too.

Jarah was just as amazing as the boys. For a six-year-old, she was hitting the ball really well. While fielding, she eagerly tried to catch every ball that came her way. Although we had her way out in outfield, she scared me when Briar hit a line-drive in her direction. She went after the ball and ended up being hit right in the chest. You could hear the thump all the way across the field.

She jumped right up, though, and threw the ball to my dad. I worried that the next time, she wouldn’t be as eager to get the ball. Those worries were soon put to rest. She and the boys raced after every ball hit without any reservations.

I can’t wait for their season to begin!

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Last week, on the way to school, a lady on the radio was being interviewed about a proposed law that would not allow parents to spank children under the age of three. She stated that she hoped to eventually have a law passed that would eliminate spanking children altogether – no matter the age.

The conversation became heated when one of the radio personalities stated that he was spanked as a child and turned out okay. The woman told this guy that his parents should be in jail.

She was on the radio again this morning to continue the discussion. The woman is obviously very passionate about this issue. It is her opinion that a time out is the strongest punishment a child needs.

I use “time outs” when Briar or Brad get a little out of hand and just need a few minutes to sit and calm down. I have, though, and will continue to spank my boys if I think they have done something that warrants that kind of punishment.

There is a difference between abuse and spanking – while it is a fine line, I believe that as long as it isn’t crossed parents have the right to choose how and when to punish their own children.

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I bought myself a new pair of shoes this weekend! I absolutely love them. They are very comfortable and I like the way they look, too. While shopping for them, Brad said, “those aren’t the ones you’re going to buy, are they, Mom?” I didn’t let that influence my decision. He’s a 10-year-old boy, after all. How could he possibly know what is stylish?

I wore them over to my mom’s Sunday afternoon. I got responses as soon as I walked in the door. My little brother, Blake, informed me that I was wearing the ugliest pair shoes he had ever seen. My mom and Briar agreed with him. At this point, I wanted someone — anyone to tell me they liked them.

I asked my sister-in-law, George, what she thought. After saying she liked them, she sat silent for a few seconds before adding, “but I wouldn’t wear them.” I had Mom and George try them on so they could see how comfortable they are. They both liked them much better after wearing them for a few minutes.

Finally, my six and seven year old nieces came in. They always say they like shoes or clothes – even if they don’t. They did say they liked them, but I could tell by their faces that they didn’t. I guess I’m the one who doesn’t know what’s stylish.

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I wasn’t a straight A student in school, but stayed on the A/B honor roll with very little effort. Both my brothers struggled (or so I thought) through school. They did well to have a B on their report cards and had mostly Cs and Ds.

My oldest brother, Rodney, and I went together to take the ACT and I was shocked that his score was higher than mine. I realized then it was never that they weren’t capable of doing well – whether they just weren’t motivated or didn’t care – I don’t know, but they were both more than capable of making the grade.

Right now I’m going through the same thing with Briar and Brad. They are both very smart – and can do well when they put forth the effort. I was disappointed with report cards after the first nine weeks. I knew they could do better than the grades they had earned.

I was harder on them the second nine weeks as far as homework and studying habits. Although still not on the A/B honor roll, they both closed the gap a little bit the second nine-weeks by improving their grade at least one letter grade in several different subjects without letting any of the other grades fall.

I’m very proud of what they accomplished and optimistic for the third and fourth nine weeks…

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I remember the first year Briar stayed up until midnight on New Year’s Eve. We hadn’t gone anywhere, but he was excited to be awake when the new year began. Excitement soon turned to disappointment … he was expecting people to run down the street yelling, fireworks, the whole shebang… I told him maybe at Time Square, but not in Hoxie – at least where we live.

This year when the clock struck 12, Briar, Brad, my parents and I were anxiously waiting for my cousin’s wedding to begin. I told Briar and Brad beforehand, that weddings, although a happy event, aren’t usually exciting for kids their age. They may get a little bored, but after the ceremony we would be able to visit and have fun.

Brad couldn’t wait to see them “kiss and make up.” Briar took a nap in his chair while waiting for the wedding to begin. It was a beautiful ceremony. A wedding is a great way to begin the year – full of love and hope for the future.

After the ceremony, we had food, drinks and fellowship. Briar and Brad were finally able to see the new year begin with a bang.

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