Love and laughter, and a few tears

Okay, okay...I've been admonished for not putting anything new out since we got back from England, but I have been WORKING, people! Jeesh!

Since we returned to the real world, with work and school and church, we hardly had a chance to catch our breath. I've had to put in some extra long hours the last couple of weeks, but hopefully I have a break for a little while. Eric is traveling - he left on the Monday after we got back for Dallas, and he is now on his 3rd trip to Texas in the last month.

Yippee - John made the lottery for Meigs AND Head. Many kids applied and did not get either school. Head is just down the road from MLK. Even so, we ended up choosing Meigs, after talking to several parents, and reviewing the information about the schools. Thank you, Susan!

Tears...A girl at Brandon's school was killed in a single car accident a couple of weeks ago. She swerved to avoid hitting an animal that crossed the road in front of her, and hit a tree. She was apparently an outgoing, well-liked kid. He did not know her that well, but everyone at school, including teachers, were pretty shook up. I still say a little prayer each time Brandon pull out of the driveway.

Last Saturday my sister-in-law and our friend Kari painted John's room and Brandon's room. John's room is the official light Titans blue, and Brandon picked a nice deep red color, which looks fabulous. Kudos to Rebecca and Kari!! They had to return this last Saturday to put another coat on Brandon's walls.

Since last Saturday was also my birthday, and John's was coming up, we rounded up some of John's friends and went bowling. Which was a lot of fun, and we even saw the Landers while we were there.

From the bowling alley, we went to Mom & Dad's house, where they agreed to host the entire Robinson clan (Eric's parents, his brother and his brother's new "friend" Karen, Eric's sister and neices, Kari, all four of us, and John's friend). We had a fabulous time, and I especially enjoyed not having to cook or clean up on my birthday!

For John's actual birthday, we went over to Pizza Perfect and gave them most of our money in order to eat and make the boys disappear for an hour.

On a sad note...our friends Randy and Karen's daughter lost her fight with cystic fibrosis last week. I was so touched by the service...and I am truly taken aback at the love and dedication demonstrated by Randy and Karen, and their two other children, Ryan and Tiffany. Theirs was a ministry of love, and Karen is an inspiration to mothers everywhere. She cared for Kamie every day, and did it with such joy. Eric set up a fund at work (Randy is also his boss) and many of the employees have made contributions totalling over $500. Eric is making arrangements to plant a flowering tree and make a small garden memorial at Randy & Karen's home in her memory.

Good news...I'm happy to report that Katherine "KJ" got to go home after a 2+ week hospital stay. They are trying to get her stronger...she has started a 50-day round of chemo. I got to meet Uncle Connie and Noni Grace when I took them breakfast on Saturday. Noni is too cute...sometimes I do miss not having a daughter. But two was plenty, and two boys were a handful!

We, of course, had our annual Superbowl Party last night. And as has been the case in years past, this is the only way that any of our planned home improvements get done. This year, in addition to painting half of the house interiors, we had new carpet put down in the bonus room - looks GREAT!! AND we got a big television with several initials, HD LDP, but "not plasma" as Eric is happy to point out. Don't ask me any details...I have no idea! I do know that it is smaller than the FCC regulations for the Superbowl licensing BS, but there is another rule about having the game on more than one TV... so that's enough about that. At the party, fun was had by all, I think! We missed a few regulars, and gained a few first-timers. It was really, really cold, so we just put all the beverages out on the deck. It is still very very cold here!

Interesting news...Brandon is heading into the last couple of weeks of wrestling, and today, he brought home a note from the coach saying that the ENTIRE wrestling team is dyeing their hair blonde tomorrow at practice as a show of unity and spirit. Should be interesting! They go to "regionals" this Friday and Saturday. The top 3 or 4 individuals in each weight class will go to the State Tournament in Chattanooga the following weekend. Go Brandon!!

I promise to get pictures up from the birthday festivities, and links to more England pictures posted soon!!

Hapyy Valentines Month - tell someone you love them!