Waxing Nostalgic Part XX

To read previous "Waxing Nostalgic" posts, click here
******************************************************************
What fun C Girlie was at 11 months! She had learned to point at things and "talk" on her play phone!
She preferred real food over baby food anytime.  She was completely intrigued with the toilet and loved to bite on Daddy's fingers and laugh!  The kitchen cabinets became her new favorite toy and she started shaking her head to music that she liked!

During this time, I had another OB appointment and my cervix had shortened, so my doctor put me in the hospital for observation. I was almost 30 weeks.  I was there for 3 and half days and I missed my baby shower that was scheduled :-(
Both times I had been pregnant, I received steroid shots to help the development of the babies lungs in case of early delivery.  So, I was getting those at my appointments and they seemed to make me really hungry!
I was also having back pain again.  


The next month was SUCH an eventful time!!!!
The church had a baby shower for B Boy and we spent lots of time with C Girlie since we knew she wouldn't be an only child much longer! :-)
Right before C Girl turned one, her sweet baby brother was born!!!
My water broke in the wee hours of August 13, 2006- 6 weeks before B Boy was supposed to be here.
We drove furiously the 1 1/2 hours to our hospital.
When we arrived, I was dilated to 3cm.
The doctor was hoping to subdue my labor and keep the baby "cooking" for a few more days.
A few hours later, my contractions were really strong and they knew that he was coming that day. 
They induced with some pitocin and less than 3 hours later, our sweet boy had arrived!
We were all pretty worried since he was early and there were other babies being born that morning who were also early and having to be flown out to bigger hospitals with NICU's.
B Boy weighed 4lbs 15oz and was breathing great on his own! We were so thankful that he was doing well!
There are many more details, but long story short, he ended up not being able to keep his temperature regulated and he was also having trouble eating.  We ended up being in the hospital for 11 days and using a feeding tube for 6 days.  I was able to stay in a "parent room" at the hospital.  It wasn't the best accommodations, but I was SO thankful to be so close to my baby boy!
While I was at the hospital, Tim was at home caring for C Girl.  It was so hard not all being together at such a special time.  Tim and C Girl also got really sick for a few days during this time.  
I was so glad the day we finally brought B Boy home!

Three days after B Boy was born, C Girlie turned one! Daddy brought her to the hospital to visit B Boy and I.  I never would have imagined that was going to be how we spent her first birthday. 
She was so excited to meet her baby brother.  She LOVED to kiss him on the head.  She was never rough with him. She was always very gentle. 
Right after we brought B Boy home from the hospital, we finally were able to celebrate C Girlie's first birthday!  It was amazing.  She had a blast! Tons of family and friends came.  It is such a great memory for me.  I love that little brother was in his bassinet, not far from C Girl in this picture.  We had so much to be thankful for that day.

My Granny's house

I miss my Granny Cates so much.  I was blessed with an amazing woman as my grandmother.  I did not get to meet her until I was 8 and then she passed away when I was only 26.  She was 5 days shy of 97 years old.  


I loved going to her house.  I started going to her house for weeks in the summer after my mom took me to meet her when I was 8.
I'll provide a little back-story- Granny is my biological father's mother.  He and my mom divorced when I was an infant and he was never really part of my life.  I did meet him when I was 8 and then he passed away right before I turned 10.  My mom had remarried and we had lived in another state for a lot of my early years.  I guess my mom determined that I was old enough to meet my family and begin a relationship with them.


My Cates side of my family are the family that I am closest to now, besides Tim's family and my immediate family.  They welcomed me into the family as if I had never not been there.


I loved my Granny's house.  It was well over 100 years old.  It was built when nails were square.  She showed me one of the square nails before, so neat! Everything about it was old fashioned, and it was almost like stepping back in time when I went to visit her.


I remember the swing on the porch.  Her and I would sit there and swing in the evenings.  Sometimes we would see things like deer in the pasture or other little woodland creatures.


Her and I would also go on walks down her road on warm summer evenings.


There were many family photos to go through and look at.  Her and I sat down and made a family tree together one time.  I still have that information and I've made trees for other sides of my family as well.


My Granny never learned to drive a car, so my aunt would come pick her up to run errands and get groceries.
While she may not have known how to drive, she always tended her own garden and mowed her own grass, even into her 80's!


She loved cats and always had food bowls filled up on the front porch from them.  I carry the same love for cats that she did, maybe more so.


I remember that she loved Coca Cola and she always had Virginia Brand Ham in the fridge, homemade red plum jelly in the pantry and some sort of sweet on the kitchen table.  I remember waking up to eggs, bacon and biscuits almost every morning.


Granny's house was the place that family stopped by to visit.  It seemed that there was always someone stopping by.  I loved those visits. While I stayed there in the summer, I got to see so many other members of my family. Some of my cousins were practically raised there and I know that they have many more memories of her and her house.


She was the glue that held our family together.  Now, the majority of us don't get together very often.  I still keep in touch with a lot of family technology wise, but there is just something about all of us being together that I dearly miss.


I've never heard anyone say anything bad about my Granny.  She welcomed anyone in her house and was always offering something to drink or something to eat.  No one left her house feeling unwelcome.


I have so many memories attached to that house. So many good, good memories.  I miss so much, but I'm so thankful for those memories.

Waxing Nostalgic Part XIX

To read previous "Waxing Nostalgic" posts, click HERE.
***************************************************************************************************************
C Girlie was such a joy at 9 months! She jabbered to daddy when he would call from work, she tried to stand and she started waving bye!
We found out during this month, on May 1st, that our soon-to-be bundle of joy, was going to be a boy!

In June, we had an appointment with Dr. Laws.  My cervix once again was giving me trouble.  It had shortened again, so the doctor put me on full bed rest.  I was 24 weeks.


I know you are probably wondering, what did you do with a baby to take care of?!
Well, if it weren't for wonderful family (mainly my MIL and niece), we couldn't have done it.  They came over every day to help take care of C Girlie.  We were SO very thankful for them.


At 10 months, C Girl was pulling up on everything and standing up!  She also waved and clapped all the time and gave kisses! She also got in our pool for the first time and she loved it!  We also let her start feeding herself, oh my!  I had already started plans for her first birthday bash!

 It was so very difficult for me to be on bed rest.  Extremely more so than the first time.  I wanted to be up doing so much with C Girlie. Tim is such a wonderful daddy and took on so much during this time.  He worked all the time and then came home and took care of us girls.  
We were so busy planning for a newborn and taking care of a baby during this time. We were blessed with family and friends who really helped us out.  Whether it was coming to help me out or giving us hand me downs or new stuff for the baby, emails, cards or phone calls, it was all so greatly appreciated.

My hair progression through the years

A friend on Twitter was getting her hair done recently and asked if she should stay blonde, or go darker.  It reminded me of a conversation with another friend at a birthday party recently.  This friend at the party had been blonde for forever and had just went darker.  She made the comment that she would probably go lighter for summer.
This made me think of just how much my hair had changed colors and styles through the years. 
So, for your viewing enjoyment, here is my hair progression through the years:

1999-

2000-

2001-

2002-

2003-

2004-

2005-

2006-

2007-

2008-

2009-

2010-

2011-

Waxing Nostalgic- The Dardanelle House

It's so weird when you move 3 times in 8 years.  The memories of that first house slowly start to dissolve.

This is the house where Tim and I met.  
It's where we had friends over.  It is where I lived when I graduated college and started working.  
It's where I lived when I first got married.  
It's where "the running of the bears" happened (sorry inside joke). It is where we had a million cats.  
We celebrated our first Christmas, Thanksgiving and other holidays there.  
It is the house with 3 acres that took 2 1/2 hours to mow and weedeat.
It is where we had a spectacular view of Mt. Nebo.  
It is where our friends Rick, Johnathan and Greg lived before I moved in. 
It had a pool and many memories were made there.  
We had our first joint family gatherings at this house. 
It's where we lived while Tim had a 40 min commute to work for 4 years.
It's where we cooked lovely meals and Tim introduced me to so many foods that I now love.
It's where I learned to be a wife.
It's where I found out I was going to be a mother.
It is where I sat on bed-rest for months during two pregnancies.
It is where we brought our babies home from the hospital to.
It is where first baths and first steps and first words happened.
Our two babies chased each other down the hall, one running and one crawling.
Plastic bowls were placed on toddlers heads as they played.
Two dark green recliners sat facing the TV in the living room.  
A beautiful, live Christmas tree was lovingly decorated in the living room in front of the window every year for all to see.
A first birthday party for a sweet little girl happened there.
I met my sister-in-law, Veronica, for the first time there.
I prayed and worried there while my brothers were deployed to Iraq.
The wasps on the back deck stressed me completely out every summer. 
Koonta finally had a home with windows and room to run and do whatever she wanted.
Christmas parties were held there where all our friends attended.  
Maybe some pots and pans were banged there once.
It is where we came home to after nights at Romedio's with our friends.
The yard and deck and pool were so much work.  We spent a lot of the summer doing this kind of stuff.
This is where our lives intertwined and became one.  
This is where our family started and still continues on today.
A house is lovely, but a family is what makes a home.  
It was our home, but now we are making our home in a different house.
The love here is still the same, if not more, than the love that was there in that Dardanelle house.


******From my husband:
Don't forget- the turtle that would (somehow) climb onto the deck, then into the cat food bowl to eat before lumbering to the edge of the deck to "dive" off...the various animals we found in our pool (both dead and alive...like the road runner (alive), the poor dog (alive) on the rainy night, the armadillo (not alive)...relaxing (and not ;) relaxing by the fireplace)...what about the "washer pit" and all the "competitive banter" (a.k.a. trash talk) that would ensue...great post, great house.

Waxing Nostalgic Part XVIII

I am going through a very reflective phase of my life.
I guess this kind of thing happens as you get older.
I loved every second (even the stressful ones!) of raising my two kiddos.  I just want to remember every little thing.
**********************************************************************************************************************************
To read previous "Waxing Nostalgic" posts, click HERE.
**********************************************************************************************************************************

We had been struggling with C-girl having reflux issues for months.  By the time she was 6 months old, we finally changed pediatricians and the new one recommended lactose-free formula.  It worked so well.  It was like everything changed- no more spit up and C-girl finally starting gaining more weight.  The doctor determined that she was lactose-intolerant. (She is fine now, drinks milk like a champ!)  


At 6 months, she started reaching out for Tim and I, she loved colors, especially gold, and she also loved petting the cats!  


At 7 months, she got her first teeth!  She also started trying to crawl and rolled all over the place to get where she was going! She also started holding her own bottle at 7 1/2 months.  She started saying "Hey!"  A funny thing I wrote in her baby book- you laugh like crazy when I rip open a page in the photo album to put pictures in it!

At 8 months, she had her first Easter, learned to sit up all alone, drink from a sippy cup and she laughed and jabbered ALL the time!  She also got very excited when she would see pictures of herself on the computer!  She also loved spending time outside in the evenings.


During this time, I had been going through morning sickness and adjusting to being pregnant yet again immediately after doing it the first time. This is the point where C-girl's and B-boy's stories intertwine and become one.  


We had our first pre-natal appointment for our new baby with Dr. Laws on April 3rd, 2006. C-girl was 7 and a half months old and I was about 3 and a half months pregnant by this time. Dr. Laws gave me a due date of Sept. 23, 2006, so the baby was conceived somewhere in December.  C-girl was about 4 months old at that time, crazy!

Waxing Nostalgic Part XVII

As C Girlie got bigger (3 months), she slept more at night, ate more, smiled a ton(!), and cooed all the time!

We called her "Booper Scooper!" Daddy would "boop" her on the nose and that was hysterical to her! 

We continued our tradition of carving a pumpkin at Halloween. 

She also stayed all night with Nan one night!

 At 4 months, she was laughing, rolling over, trying to pull herself up and had started some baby cereal. She started sucking on her two middle fingers too instead of taking a paci. She was in a size 2 diaper! She also started "talking."  She had her first Christmas too!

By 5 months, C Girlie was scooting on the floor and sleeping in her crib all night! She also lost all of her dark, dark hair she was born with. She turned into a little baldie! We also found out some amazing, unplanned news- you were going to be a big sister!!!!

What a sweet angel baby she was!!!

Waxing Nostalgic Part XVI

Sweet C Girlie hiccuped all night her first night in this world! This really stressed Daddy out!

  We were able to take her home the very next day.  

We were so stressed out the whole drive home!  Tim and I were both so inexperienced. Neither one of us had even ever changed a diaper before!!!  

Everything about you since the day you were born has been on your terms.  You do things how you want to do them! It was impossible for us to get you to sleep in the bassinet.  You always wanted to sleep on your belly on Daddy's chest. 

During that first month, you were quite the night owl.  You liked to sleep during the day and party at night!  We were two very, very tired people!  

I'll never forget Hurricane Katrina making landfall when you were 2 weeks old.  I remember being up at 2am while I was nursing you, sitting in the glider chair and watching it on TV.

You smiled for the first time at almost 1 month.  You also liked to play "upsy daisy" which is when we would pull you up by your arms and you would lift your head up.  You wanted to be big already!

You had lots of tummy troubles when you were little bitty.  When you were two months old, we started using soy formula along with breast milk.  You had lots of reflux and spitting up still, though.

You were such a happy baby! You loved to smile and coo!

You had a "goopy" eye as well.  We had an appointment at Children's Hospital for a surgery to fix it, but right before the appointment, it got all better on it's own!

We were so thankful that God healed your sweet little eye!

Waxing Nostalgic Part XV

I should tell you that during this time, both of my brothers had me stressed and worried.  You see, they had both signed up for different branches of the National Guard right around the time I got married and both had been deployed to Iraq.  Keith left in March of 2004 and returned in March of 2005.  Kevin left in June 2005 and then returned right before C Girlie was born in August 2005.  Talk about adding to my stress! LOL.


So, back to the pregnancy.  It was now June.  I was over 30 weeks and our church had a table baby shower for us. We got so many nice things.  It was a wonderful church and we sure do miss the people!  We also received a lot of hand me down items from some close friends. We were so thankful for all we were given! 


Reading a note that Tim had written me, it seems that I was very uncomfortable, tired of taking my iron supplement that made me sick, and C Girlie apparently "kicked the fire out of me!" a lot, lol. 


In July, I made it to 34 weeks and that was a HUGE milestone! We thank God for the miracle of a long, healthy pregnancy with basically NO cervix!  The doctor gave me clearance to do more, but according to my journal I was weak from the bed-rest and didn't have the strength to do much!
Here I am at 36 weeks-

My water broke when I was 38 weeks and 5 days! Woohoo we made it almost to the due date! It broke at 1:45am. We lived and hour and a half from the hospital, but made it there in an hour! Tim certainly was NOT speeding, lol. I was hungry at this point and knew they would not let me have any food at the hospital, so I convinced Tim to run through the McDonald's drive thru real quick(they were the only place open)!  We had to wait 15 minutes for a lady to get a coffee!


We finally got to the hospital at 3:15am.  At 7:30 I was dilated to a 3 and really wanted an epidural.  The nurses thought that I should wait about an hour since I was only a 3.  When they came back an hour later with all the stuff for the epidural, it was too late.  I was ready to start pushing. I had a hard time pushing and did it for an hour and busted a lot of blood vessels in my face.  Finally one of the nurses coached me through how to correctly push and sweet C Girlie was born at 9:39am on August 16, 2005.  She was perfect, and had a ton of dark hair just like her momma had when I was born.  She weighed 5lbs 9oz and was 18 1/2 inches long.

 

to be continued.......

Waxing Nostalgic Part XIV

During college, I had some abnormal paps and had to have part of my cervix removed both times.  This was something I did not see the future consequences of; I just did not want a chance of cancer.  With my cervix being so thin, I was going to have a very tough time keeping a baby in. At 14 weeks, I had an appointment with a specialist in Little Rock about my cervix. He had recommended bed-rest and frequent ultrasounds. The special thing about this visit was that he let me know the sex of the baby! I was by myself and didn't know that I would find out this early! I found out that day in March that we were having a GIRL!!! 

As far as baby names, we had a girl name and a boy name picked very early on.  The spelling would be "Catelyn" which was partly taken from my maiden name, Cates.  Her middle name, "May" was chosen because May is a very special month for us and Tim's mother's middle name was "Mae." 


In April, at 21 weeks, my cervix shortened tremendously and I had to go on full bed rest. We learned that my cervix was "paper thin" and was definitely not a candidate for cerclage. The days were long since Tim was away at work.  I did have friends who would occasionally stop by and visit. This was such a scary time for Tim and I.  We prayed together every night.  We also had the prayers of church family, family and friends.  Every week that we made it through was a celebration.


But, it was also a really good time.  I remember laying in bed with Tim at night and reading from What to Expect when you are Expecting.  We would also sing and talk to the baby. I first felt her move when I was 17 weeks. In my journal I wrote, "she is very active and I feel her moving all the time!"  I loved when we would get to feel movements and it was really crazy when we could see them happening!  I also had a few food cravings early on.  These were Sprite, chicken and dumplings, Easy mac (I know! Ew!), apple juice and chili cheese Fritos.


The first 6 weeks of bed-rest were very long.  I wrote in my journal that I had been reading, doing crossword puzzles, watching TV, coloring and I even did a latch-hook! 


On May 24th, I had busy doctor visit. I was tested for gestational diabetes, the doctor decided that the pregnancy had given me back spasms, I got the last of my steroid shots to help promote lung growth, the ultrasound determined that my cervix had thickened slightly and confirmed that we were still having a girl!


A lot of our friends were also having babies during this time.  Our friends Johnathan and Stephanie had Kaleb the previous October, my friend Paula had Sawyer in February, my friend Kelly had Reagan in April, and another friend had a baby in June.


On June 6th, I had an ultrasound and my cervix had once again shortened. My doctor decided that I needed to be in the hospital for observation. I was there from that Monday until Thursday. I wrote in my journal that I was SO glad to get home and back on my couch!

to be continued....

Waxing Nostalgic Part XIII

To start at the beginning, click here.


I have not written a "Waxing Nostalgic" Post since February.  It's nice to take a little break writing about your own life :-).


I left off in St. Lucia, where Tim and I got married.  That was also our honeymoon.  I loved St. Lucia. If you ever have the chance, you should totally go there.  Anyhoo, we came back to our home in Dardanelle and Tim prepared for his new job as principal at Paris High school and I began my first job after my degree.  During this time, we were pregnant.  Just over 3 months in, we miscarried.  That was a really tough time for the both of us, but especially for me.  Being a newlywed, starting a career and losing a baby do not mix very well.  We took comfort in each other and got past this rocky patch.


We spent the next year working, traveling, hanging out with our friends at places like Romedio's, and just spending time together. 

I had never been one to think I was "for sure" having kids, but after the miscarriage all of that changed.  I felt the loss and I knew I wanted a child.


I was in Minneapolis, MN in November 2004 training for a management job for Dairy Queen.  My training was 3 weeks and of course that was just too long for Tim to be away from me(!), so he flew up to spend a weekend with me.  We had fun shopping at the Mall of America, eating out, and just hanging out.  It was sad when he had to leave to go back to Arkansas. 

I came home at the end of my training, and started my new job in Russellville.  Tim was commuting to Paris everyday, a 40 minute drive.  We had been trying to get pregnant for a couple of months, and on December 20, 2004 I took a test and found out that we were expecting!  We were thrilled! I immediately started having morning sickness and CRAZY hormones.  I remember being at my new job and having to go in the bathroom and cry for a while before I could come back out.  I was just so tired, cranky and sick.  It finally got the best of me, and I decided that the job was just not what I needed at that point in my life.  It was very demanding and the hours were all over the place.  I returned to a previous job where I had been a manager.


I had known that my pregnancy probably was not going to be normal, but a few visits in, we learned how abnormal it would be.  But first, we found out our due date was August 25, 2005 and that this baby had been created in Minnesota :-) 

to be continued....

Waxing Nostalgic Part XII

We thoroughly enjoyed our time in St. Lucia.  Towards the end of our stay was our wedding.  May 16, 2003.  The day was gorgeous.  However, it did not start off that way.  Early early in the morning, a huge storm had rolled in.  I woke up to intense rain, thunder and lightning.  I completely freaked out!  Who wants to wake up to that on their wedding day?!  Not me!  After a couple of hours, the storm had passed through and the beautiful sunshine came shining through once again. 

 Our wedding wasn't until 3pm.  We had time to lounge around and then get all dressed and ready for the big event.  As we were dressing, Tim realized that he had brought 2 right footed shoes!  He had 2 pairs of black shoes at home and had ended up bring the right of each pair!  He was so mad about it!  He even went around asking other guests if they had shoes to borrow.  Ever since then, he always double checks his shoes!  It ended up working out beautifully; we both were barefoot during the ceremony. 

We were married beachside in a beautiful white gazebo that was draped in vines and tropical flowers that grew on it.  Gorgeous.  Our minister was a tiny black woman!  I loved it!  How many people can say that?! The cake was a tropical flavor, so yum.  My bouquet was fresh, tropical flowers. 

After the ceremony and cake, we had our first dance.  The song we danced to was Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton.  It's our song.  I  love how my heart feels every time I hear it.

That night, the resort had a special meal created for us at the restaraunt that is set out over the water.  They even had personal menus set up for us.  It was a magical day.

We plan on going back to the same resort in two years on our 10 year anniversary.  I cannot believe we've been married almost 8 years!

Waxing Nostalgic Part XI

So we left for our wedding as I was turning 22 years old.  Looking back it seems so young!!!  At the time, however, I felt so mature.  I was graduating college and getting married! And going somewhere exotic to get married!  I love traveling and this was right up my alley. 

We flew from Little Rock to Dallas to Puerto Rico to St. Lucia.  Long flights!  The plane from Puerto Rico to St. Lucia was small though.  And a bit scary!  The airport in St. Lucia is nothing like airports here.  It was tiny and not modern at all.  But it was very islandy!  After landing, we were taken in a shuttle to the resort.  The island of St. Lucia itself is very poor.  We stayed at a Sandals resort on the island.  There are actually 3 sandals resorts on the island.  We were able to "hop" over to the others to enjoy the food and swimming and other activities.

We arrived on Monday and our wedding was on Friday afternoon.  So basically the honeymoon was before the wedding.  Kind of backwards but it was great.  The food at the resort was great!  It was all inclusive too, so food and drinks were free and anytime!  The dining areas were open air, so we dined with birds and cats daily!

You could also go sailing and paddleboating in the ocean.  We had a very memorable paddleboating experience while there.  We decided to go and it was very windy that day.  I wanted to go pretty far out.  It was nice paddleboating in the ocean with my soon to be husband.  We eventually decided we needed to go back.  Since it was so windy, the waves were pushing us farther out.  I thought we should just hit a straight shot back but it was going to be fighting the waves the whole time.  Tim tried to convince me to take a longer but easier route.  I would not be swayed.  We almost died out there!  Our of pure exhaustion trying to paddle against the current.  I think I even cried during the ordeal.  Oh my stubborness!  We finally made it back to the shore.  However, I still have not lived down that experience.  Tim makes sure to bring it up regularly.  I think part of the deal is he lets me be stubborn.  He should just take charge! Right?!

I loved that resort, our room, the beach, the pool and spending time with Tim.  We had such a good time that week.  The resort took care of all the wedding details.  That was so nice.  They did the cake, took the pictures, cleaned my dress, etc.  Amazing!  I have more stories from the big day coming soon!

to be continued...

Waxing Nostalgic Part X

It is fitting that I am writing this one around Valentine's Day. 

In April, Tim and I decided that we wanted to get married.  Our first stop was to Zales.  I'll never forget that day.  He told me to pick out what I wanted and boy did I!  I love my rings so much.  I still get compliments on them.  The part I'll never forget is when he got down on one knee at Zales and asked me to marry him!  If I hadn't been so happy and if it hadn't been so sweet, I might have been mighty embarrassed!  But, it was perfect.

Our first plans were to get married in May at the country club that Tim was a member of.  We spent all week making lists and figuring out what we needed to get a wedding together in one month!  It was insane and I was definitely feeling the pressure!  Plus I was about to graduate college.  It was mighty stressful.  One night, we were sitting on the couch looking at bridal magazines and we happened to be looking in the very back where the honeymoon advertisements were.  All of the sudden, Tim said, why don't we just go somewhere and get married?  It was such an "aha" moment for both of us.  It was exactly what we both wanted.

The next day, we went and visited the travel agency.  We told them that we wanted to get married and somewhere tropical.  Her eyes instantly lit up and she asked if we had ever heard of St. Lucia.  I had actually never heard of it.  Then she showed us some photos and we were sold!  So then, we had the stress of getting everything booked and together before we left for the trip.  Thank goodness we did not need a passport for the trip!  For some reason, our birth certificates worked.  Tim was amazing.  He called and faxed and got everything together for our trip.

Tim celebrated his birthday at the beginning of May.  Saturday May, 10, 2003 I graduated from Arkansas Tech University with a degree in Hospitality Administration.  My birthday was on Monday May, 12th.  That is also the day we left for our trip.  So many huge milestones at one time!  What a joyous time!  And what a time we had in St. Lucia.....

to be continued...

Waxing NostalgicPart IX

January 2003.  I was in love.  Wow. Crazy right?!  Dating for only a month and a half and head over heels.  I was working still at Dixie Cafe and at the athletic department at school.  I only had one semester and an internship left for my degree. 

I was at Tim's house practically every night.  Or he was at my apartment.  And that was a bit difficult because he was a high school principal at the time.  So, I moved in with him.  To me, this was huge.  Ever since I had moved out of my parent's house, every place I lived was pretty much mine.  And this was a house and his house at that.  Of course, he still had Rick living with him so it didn't seem like we were getting married or anything.  Which, why would I even be thinking about marriage?  We hadn't been together that long.  But, we were in love, so we were mentioning it.

It was great during this time.  We were incredibly happy.  We had a ton of friends and we went out with them at least once or twice a week.  We all had the best times at Romedio's, the supper club, Dardanelle club, etc.  I was also having a blast hanging out with my great friends Karri, Heather, & Paula!  What a group we were!  We had some awesome times!  Also? I made another great friend during that time.  White Zinfandel.  I had never drank wine until that last year of college.  I had been a party girl for a while, so I had drank hard stuff.  But, now I was growing up and slowing down a bit.  I still think of the great times I had during that time when I have a glass of White Zin.
 {To my children and other folks, I do drink a glass now and then, but I am now a strict believer in moderation.  Just wanted to put that out there.}

So, January, February and March flew by in a whirl of love and fun.  The spring had come as did April.  Not much school left and so many possibilities.  I would soon find out what some of the possibilities would turn out to be.

to be continued...

Waxing Nostalgic Part VIII

That night I drove to Tim's house.  Thanksgiving night 2002.  I guess you can say that is when we started.  Tim and Lenette.  And so, a new chapter of my life began.

We began seeing each other all the time.  Emailing a million times a day.  Calling each other all the time.  He wrote songs for me.  It was such a great time.  He was living with a roommate at the time and we all had such a great time together. 

A lot of people in my life were shocked a bit.  I had been with J for over 2 years and now I was already in love with someone new.  Someone who was also 16 years older than me.  But I didn't care.  I was in love.

The first time I met Tim's family was Christmas that year.  I think they were pretty shocked too.  Christmas was at Tammy's that year.  I was so nervous meeting everyone.  But I felt so at home.

Tim and his roommate Rick went to the Music City Bowl right before New Year's.  The Razorbacks were playing the Minnesota Golden Gophers.  I hated that I had to work and could not go with him.  Rick's girlfriend and I drove to Memphis to meet them for New Year's Eve.  We had a blast that night!  It was so fun sitting at the restaurant, listening to great, live music, being with friends and snuggled up to my love.

January began the next day.  2003.  I remember us eating at On the Border the next day and writing Happy New Year 2003 on a napkin.  What a year that would be for me.  For us.  So many things were about to happen.  Things I could not begin to imagine.  Just like what Tim always said to me....I love you more than you can imagine. 

to be continued...

Waxing Nostalgic Part VII

So, November 2002.  It was the end of my last fall semester.  My friend Amber had won KFSM's Youth Talent Contest and won the opportunity to sing at the Jim Stafford Theater in Branson, Missouri.  My friend Karri and I made the trip up to Branson to watch her performance.  Her performance was two days before Thanksgiving that year.  Amber did a great job performing and Karri and I had a great time in Branson shopping and hanging out.  While we were out shopping, I got a call on my cell.  It was Tim.  He was calling to invite me out to dinner with him and some friends at Romedio's, a local bar/restaurant, that night.  I was so excited.  I had butterflies in my tummy. 

I had recently ended things with J.  For once, he was seriously not taking it well. Probably because I was the one initiating the split.  He seemed to realize that I was really serious. 

So, Karri and I finished up shopping and drove back home to get ready to go out to dinner that night.  That night was amazing.  Every time we ever spent at Romedio's was always fun.  (The building is still there, but it has been sold, renamed and remodeled.)  Tim and I had such a great time flirting and spending time with everyone.  I was still unsure of what my next move would be, but I was having a great time.

The next day was Thanksgiving.  I was supposed to spend it with my family.  I actually can't remember if I went home to Mom and Dad's that day or not.  I do remember that J called me that day begging me to come drive 2 1/2 hours to his parent's house where he was for the holidays.  Maybe it was because we had been together for 2 1/2 years or maybe it was how desperate he sounded on the phone, but I gave in and made the drive.

As soon as I got there, I knew it had been a mistake.  The whole time I was there, I was miserable.  We drove back to his house in Russellville that night.  I remember that drive.  I did so much thinking.  I was still so torn about everything.  I remember praying to God for Him to give me some sort of sign to help me to know what the right decision for my life was.  I remember standing outside of J's house that night at my car still praying.  It was dark and I was looking at the sky.  As I was standing there, a shooting star streaked across the sky.  Right then, I knew.  That summer while I had been Tim's, we all had seen a shooting star.  It had been one of the first time's in my life that I remembered seeing a shooting star. (I can't even tell you how many shooting stars we have seen together since then :-))  When that star shot across the sky on that Thanksgiving night, I knew what I was supposed to do.  I got in my car and drove to my destination....

to be continued...

Waxing Nostalgic Part VI

So, J moved out and moved into a house with 3 other guys in his fraternity.  I think there was a party there most nights.  I really hated that he wanted to move out, but I did what every girl who is in a relationship and wants to stay that way does- I dealt with it.    Things had been a little rocky for awhile and we had even separated for a little while, but we always seemed to get back together.

I was really wanting the relationship to work out.  I had hopes that we would graduate college, get jobs and eventually get married.  Looking back, I really wish that I had not been focused on always being in a relationship.

That May, I went to a party with my friend Karri.  She had friends in another fraternity.  Some of those guys used to play football together and went to a party at the house of their former coach.  This is where we ended up that night.  That former coach turned out to be Tim Sparacino.  I remember that night very well as does Tim! We were immediately into each other. That night, he snuck into my heart and hasn't left since.  

I think during that time, J and I were not together.  We would be off and on through the summer and fall.  The reason?  He wanted to live life and enjoy all college had to offer and I was a complete different story.  I had already enjoyed a lot and was still enjoying it a lot, but I was also ready for concrete plans for the future.  He, was not.  I saw Tim a few times over the summer at his house for parties and such.  I knew that he cared about me and I really liked him, but I was still so committed to my current relationship.

Anyways, that fall marked the beginning of my senior year in college.  I was still waitressing at Dixie Cafe and working through work study in the college's athletic department.  The athletic department was a way cool job.  I met lots of great people, learned a ton of stuff and went to a lot of athletic events.  It was mainly office work, with some work at nights and on weekends.  I loved it though.  I also loved working at Dixie Cafe.  I met a ton of great people there as well.  It was probably my favorite waitressing gig that I had had.  

J and I were together and even went on some trips in March, May and September of that year.  Things were changing though. 

The changes started to come in November.

to be continued...

Waxing Nostalgic Part V

***I made some updates to all the previous Waxing Nostalgic posts.  It's just some things I wanted to add after I went back and read them; a little more detail and such.

During the fall of my sophomore year (Fall 2000), I was busy working, declaring my major, and partying.  And specifically, partying with fraternity guys.  It was at one of these parties that I met Karri.  She was seeing one of the guys and her and I started talking and really hit it off.  From then on, we were besties.  We did everything together.  We had a blast hanging out, meeting new people and going to parties. 

One day, a bunch of the fraternity guys were at my apartment complex with some of the new pledges.  I met one that I had not met before, J.  I instantly liked him.  I didn't see him again for a little while, but the next time I saw him, we started talking.  We started seeing each other that fall.  Things became more serious as the months went by.  

Things weren't going well for me with the other girl I was living with.  She and her boyfriend were definitely trying to make my life miserable!  I finally found a new apartment to move into during the spring.  I felt very serious about J and we had been dating for months and I had met his family and friends and went on trips to his hometown.  I asked him to move into my new apartment with me.  And he did.  We were basically kids playing house. 

It was now the spring of 2001.  I was now working at a grocery store.  One day after work I got a cat from a lady giving away puppies.  She is still my cat today, my Koonta Poonta.  I was also traveling a lot during this time.  I went to Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Memphis in May twice, South Padre Island for Spring Break, San Francisco for a cousin's wedding and some other places as well. 

2001 was a good year for us.  The summer flew by and I was starting my junior year of college.  At some point, I started working at Dixie Cafe as a waitress.  It was my junior year of college and I was preparing my degree audit and trying to figure out what exactly I was going to do after I graduated.  At this point, J was definitely part of those plans.  The months were flying by and I was having a blast.  I was enjoying hanging out with my friend Karri and a new friend I had made in my classes, Paula.  She was pursuing a degree in Hospitiality Administration just like me.  It seemed like no time and 2002 was upon me.   

I can't remember the exact timeframe, but at some point, J decided that he needed a little more freedom.  He wasn't breaking up with me, he just was moving into a house with some fraternity brothers.  It soooo ended up being a party house.  It was probably the beginning of the end for us now that I can see from hindsight.  That, and the fact that I was still only 20 and not able to go to all the places that he was able to go to.  

to be continued...