More Birthdays...

Happy Birthday KDela!
Things I've learned from my friend Kristen:
1. Denial ain't just a river in Egypt
2. It's hard to hold your fake synergy during a Fugl-Meyer taping session
3. It's called a shopping cart, not a buggy!
4. Remove the saran wrap from your microwaved corn with care!
5. You can be put in time out if you go scapel-happy in the cadavre lab
6. You can be secretly killed from cayanne pepper in chocolate chip cookies
7. Not to order a vaccum from Ebay
8. Apparently, the HEISERMAN trophy pose is extremely well known...
9. She can't just "fill in a number or two" when you're stuck on Sudoku
10. "Should I use my invisiblity for good, or evil?"

And a special birthday shout out to my friend and yours, Mr. TR, who is forty-eleven today!! :)

Samantha Lynne

Nine years ago this morning Samantha Lynne surprised us all by arriving into this world weighing less than two pounds. We didn't know it at the time, but God was about to use that precious little tiny bundle to teach a lot of us about what is really important in life. And I thank God for the gift of her life, and for the opportunity to be a part of hers. I fell in love with that little tater-pot nine years ago, and have tried to love her across the miles ever since.
Happy birthday Samantha Sue... I love you!!

American Football

No one growing up in the Smith household in the booming metropolis of Newmarket was a football fan. We were raised on hockey and baseball... occasionally we would hear about the Gray Cup, especially if the Argo's were involved. But that's about it.
Then fast forward a few decades and now I'm living in Alabama. Football capital of the South East. Nothing could have actually prepared me for this, except I'm sure I received some sort of training living with the McDowells while the Steelers made it to the Super Bowl.

So I guess you could say that over the years I have become a football fan, of sorts, mostly through association.
Here's who I've been taught to pull for:
NFL-
Tennessee Titans: what actually put the NFL on the Sunday afternoon TV in the Mitchell household. Aren't we kicking some major booty this season, um, not so much!

College-
Ohio State: Sumer and Jenny ensured I was full of Buckeye fever as soon as possible.
UT Volunteers: Can we say I lived in Nashville for almost 13 years? And shame on all of you who turned their back on them after last season's bowl game, or lack thereof... A fair-weathered fan is no fan at all!!
Alabama: I would put the Reeves family to shame if this wasn't mentioned, although Nate decided to go with Miami and he's still loved...
Vanderbilt: For my girl Dinah!
LSU: If they're not playing the above mentioned teams... for Jeremy of course!

So, this weekend is the battle of Alabama and for the first time in four years I will not be there during the Alabama-Auburn game. I love watching football fans watch football. Wish I was at Ashley & Jamin's to witness it all...
Brett has decided to cheer for Auburn this year, so naturally I decided to go with Alabama.
Roll Tide!!

Mrs. Byles & Extended Family

So for the last little while I've been spending a few afternoons a week with Mrs. Byles, an aunt of a friend who will be 94 next month. I stay for about two hours and we cook meals that she can freeze in individual portions to eat over the next several months. She sits on her walker in her kitchen while I stand at the stove stirring and chopping... we make quite a pair. She tells me stories of places she's been, and food she likes to make, and people she's known in her life.
And I enjoy my time with her. Not just because it helps put a little spending $ in my pocket while being here in Canada, but it makes me think of my grandparents and great Aunts that were in fact additional grandmothers in my life. And I miss them so. I wish I would have spent more time listening to their stories, spent more time sitting with them, spent more time knowing who they were before it was too late. As I lovingly pointed out to my Uncle Normie the other night - he's the oldest now (as Mom frequently likes to remind him that he's her OLDER brother).
And I spent some of last weekend with my cousins and their sweet little ones... And I was reminded of all the crazy times we spent together over the years while growing up... in Grandma's backyard garden, in the sand pile, making up dance routines, getting rug burns from sliding down Grandma & Grandpa's stairs, weekends at the trailer, swimming in the pool for hours, watching the army boys cruise the strip in Grand Bend, the trailer trip to Florida... They were like my extra sisters we spent so much time together.
Did you grow up spending Sunday afternoons with your families? I'm so glad that I did! It's hard at times being so far away from family, and not being more a part of eachothers lives. But I am comforted in that whenever I'm back and I get to see them all, I'm still "Judes" whenever I walk through their door and we still have good times together.
So, here's to long distance family, and the continuation of good memories... Cheers!!

Numa Numa

http://amishdonkey.com/numa-numa.php

I've decided that unless you were in Voight's spine class in sping of '05 this is not nearly as funny... Okay, well, us and maybe Marie's Ryan...

Miss you guys!

Happy Birthday Dinah Lou!

We have studied together, cooked together, ate together, shopped together, walked together, cried together, laughed together, conquered Honduras together, and watched more Friends episodes together than I thought was humanly possible!! I would have never made it through PT school without the love and support of this wonderful girl... and I am thankful for the gift of her friendship!
Happy birthday DP!

Investments

A good friend of mine once said that she wanted to invest enough of herself in people wherever God placed her that there's something to miss when she's gone... and I totally agree with her. I think that life is all about relationships: how much do you love God? how much do you love others? After hearing a touching sermon I was encouraged to write those two questions in the front of my Bible. I want to live my life through relationships, loving with reckless abandon, not only investing in the lives of others, but being open enough to allow others to invest in me too.
If there's any two little ones I want to invest in, it's the two little smiley faces that call me Auntie Judy. If you want to be loved unconditionally, be an aunt. These two precious souls come running as soon as they see me, making me feel special. I love spending time with them. While I've been home I've been reminded of how special my relationships are with each of them, and how much I want to invest in their lives.

Samantha & Cole

Here are the little monsters and their pumpkin creations!