A special visit from Hong Kong

I was privileged to meet a beautiful newborn, along with the rest of Hunter's family this weekend.

Hunter's brother, sister-in-law and their two kids live in Hong Kong. They came to the States for a visit and we were able to spend the weekend with them in Tuscaloosa this past weekend!

Layla, the oldest child, is 2 years old and just adores Hunter. She calls him 'Uncle Hunty' and wanted him to be by her side the whole visit. She is sweet, and stunningly beautiful. What a great kid. Aly, the newborn was a peaceful and happy baby, cute as a button too!

Hunter's brother and sister-in-law were great. I now know where Hunter gets his mannerisms. He is the spitting image of his oldest brother, and they are very much alike.

Here are a few pictures from the weekend:

Layla wanted Hunter to rock her in the tiny rocking chair. She said it 'wouldn't rock' without him. How sweet!

After rocking, Layla and Hunter played more. Look at those smiles through the glass!

When the boys moved to the living room to watch TV, Layla and her rocking chair had to go too! Here is Hunter, watching TV, while steadily rocking the little one! Precious!

Hunter's brother came to sit in the chair with Hunter. This is Layla, concerned that her daddy is squishing 'Uncle Hunty'!! See those beautiful curls?!

I had a great weekend. And I even got to be Layla's favorite for an hour. She sat in my lap for dinner and we played and played. What great family. This weekend was truly a blessing!

Focus

It has been titled the 'game of the century' and I am so excited to live, work and play in the town where heaven is, Tuscaloosa. ROLL TIDE!

No where else have a lived or anywhere I have heard of that your teams call sign is a greeting, a condolence and 'the right answer to any question.' I will never forget the conversation, 'Don't know what to say? The appropriate answer is ALWAYS 'Roll Tide'.'

#1 LSU vs #2 Alabama. Wow, what a concept. It is so hard to stay focused and not thing of the million things I have to get done before tomorrow, as well as the million things I have to do tomorrow.

Since Hunter was at basic all summer, he wasn't able to purchase student tickets this football season. However, he has been able to go to every game so far through ROTC or the student ticket donation system. We don't have high hopes for such a popular game... but we will see.

My parents and Aunt and Uncle are coming up for the game and I am so excited to see them! It will be my Aunt's first college football game she has ever attended.... I have to say, she picked a good one.

So here's to a crazy, chaotic, fun filled weekend! ROLL TIDE!

Father's Day

Father's day weekend was great! I was able to make the trip home Friday night. After a long day of work I was so excited to get out of the car when I finally arrived at Donna's house. 190 miles is no joke. UGH. HAHA!

Friday night was spent hanging out with the fam. Donna and I chilled at her house waiting for Mom and Dad to leave the funeral home. Unfortunately, my dad's half sister died this past week, so our weekend turned from family fun to working around unfortunate circumstances. No matter, we had a great time and celebrated life. So, after the funeral home Donna and I went out to eat with Mom, Dad and some of our Aunts and Uncles. Have you ever had dinner with seven senior citizens? 90% of whom have hearing difficulty??? Oh my gosh... it was hilariously embarrassing. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE was yelling across the table at each other. And my dad, who is one of the worst, ended up being translator and repeating everything for everyone! What a night. Donna and I then went to the new yogurt shop, 32 degrees. I have to say it doesn't beat YoMo in Tuscaloosa, but it is a start for Troy. ;)

Saturday I was able to sleep until 7am!!! This, my friends, is a big deal!! I was so excited and my body appreciated the sleep too! Mom and I then lounged around, looked at coupons and got some things ready for Sunday dinner. My Aunt June came to visit and gather some fresh vegetables from our garden. It was so great getting to spend time with her... she means the world to me. I then had lunch with Mom and Dad and left to hang out with the bestie, Stephanie. We had a great time just catching up and chatting. We were up to no good after her boyfriend Bobby returned from ring shopping. We plundered his truck to find the ring... and find it we did! Don't worry! Stephanie didn't look, but she asked me to, so that we could make sure it wasn't just earrings. HAHA! After the relationships we have been through in the past, she needed the affirmation that the ring was real... and that is what I gave her. Boy, it is beautiful. *Side Note* I have decided through my past experience that I do not want to know about ring shopping or the idea of marriage in a young man's mind. I want to be totally and completely surprised. Never in my life would I have ever agreed to go through Bobby's truck.. but, this is Steff, and we have a special bond. It was an afternoon filled with excitement and I am so happy for her to have found that one true love. Those two are perfect for each other!! Saturday night I went out to eat with Mom and Dad and my second family. :) They, of course, had lots of questions about Hunter.. and I can't wait to bring him home for him to meet the family and friends.


Dad and his girls!

Sunday I went to church with my parents and then we were joined by my sisters and a few other family members for a wonderful father's day lunch. We then played with my niece, and opened Dad's presents. As I was packing and the rest of the family was heading to their respective homes, I got the phone call of a lifetime.. after missing the first one (I was DEVASTATED!!) Hunter was able to call again!!! They got a four hour pass on father's day!! After he had called and talked to his family he called me. We talked for a little over an hour.. and it was great!! It was so good to hear his voice, listen to his laugh and get a chance to actually TALK about what he had been up to. We laughed about how we are doing so many things backwards. I met his family without him, and this week my family will most likely meet his, without having even met their son. HAHA! I then made the drive home, unpacked, washed a few dishes and had dinner with Hannah and her family. It was a fun filled fast paced weekend. As are all my weekends spent traveling home... But I had a great time with my family and friends!

Birthday Weekend

Despite being terribly sick, I had one of the most fabulous birthday weekends!

Friday: I am so blessed that at my job, I get a day off for my birthday! :) So Friday, the University of Alabama gave me... 'A day in the life of a regular college student' HAHA! I woke up at 8am, got ready for class, packed for home, went to Starbucks, took some pastries to work for the office staff, then went to class and as soon as I got out of class, I grabbed some lunch and went home!! How amazing is that!?

Small side note: While I was visiting work, Neal, my boss, called me into his office and spoke to me about my job family - aka, the step ladder of promotions to go through. As of February 23, I have been working for Building Maintenance for six months! Wow how time has flown! And now that six months has passed.... I am eligible for promotion. And Neal told me that I was doing a great job, and that I deserved more money for it!! So, with that, he asked me to get started Monday on the process to my promotion... and ended with happy birthday and have a great weekend!! What a way to start my birthday weekend!

God is so GOOD!

Friday afternoon I arrived in Troy and visited Donna and her lovely puppy, Palin. :) Afterwards I met Daniel and Sean at the Troy rec fields, where Sean was giving a soccer lesson. Turned out the kid he was teaching went to Zion at one point, and I helped teach him in sixth grade beginner band!! What a fun reunion. After that I took a hilarious trip to walmart with my guys, Sean, Daniel and Derrick. Then the festivities began. The boys surprised me with a wonderful cookout and a guest list contained with some of my greatest friends! Even one that I haven't seen in forever, Charity and her husband Tyler! What a surprise! They also surprised me with a cake and limited my involvement in cooking. I truly know the best boys on earth!

Donna and Ali playing with Palin :)

Saturday: I was able to have a wonderful 'sleep over' with my niece Ali. We woke up early Saturday morning, played games and decorated posters for Dustin's (my nephew) ballgame. It was great to just hang out with her. Mom also took care of me while I was sick, and Beverly, my sister, brought me some medicine. We went to Dustin's ballgame, hung our posters on the fence and had a great time cheering Enterprise to victory! 

Dustin and Ali with his posters!

Saturday night Beverly's family came over and Mom cooked a birthday dinner made of all mine and Donna's requests! :) We also had a peanut butter pie for dessert! Dustin and one of his baseball pals found two balloons and came screaming 'Happy birthday' down the road. I thought it was so sweet that they thought of us. Donna and I opened our presents  after dinner, much to Ali's excitement. And then the night came to a close. 

Sunday: Mom declared me too sick to go to church and we hung out around the house, holding a hot rag to my face and playing on Mom's kindle. I traveled back to Tuscaloosa this afternoon and have been doing a few things around the apartment. I love my family and friends, and I thank them for a wonderful birthday weekend!