Here is a person by person update on the Graham family:
Grace -- loving 2nd grade, as we knew she would. She likes her teacher, Ms. Bullock, and is making new friends in her new class, as well as playing with "old" ones at recess. The homework seems harder this year, heavier at the very least. This week, I made a deal with her that IF she makes up her bed and delivers her dirty clothes to the hamper for 30 days straight, she can have a hamster. No, I do not want a hamster. Yes, I am praying for my child to fail. Is that so wrong?
Davis -- from the day Grace started school, Davis has been convinced that I am refusing to take him to school. This is heard at least once in our house everyday: "I'm never going to get to go to school." Next week, we have his Open House/Meet The Teacher. Won't he be surprised? He is currently running fever and not feeling well.
Jasen -- his Master's program began two weeks ago and he has been swamped since then. Cadets came back to school this week, which means he is teaching again, which means he is double-swamped! Good news: he's 5 lbs. from his goal weight after beginning his weight loss at Fort Lewis. He's down about 25 lbs. at this point.
Sara -- Despite eating the same way as Jasen and exercising at least as much, I have not lost any weight. Although I had been on synthroid to help my thyroid, recent blood tests show it messed me up more than I was before going on the medicine. I will have more tests next week and it looks like I have a thyroid issue that won't be as easy as just popping a pill. I am looking into more holistic medicines. UGH!
Friday, August 28, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
And Pictures, too!
Here are some pictures from our last day in S'ville, then some from our trip to Aggieland.
Davis is being all boy, putting his head under the water coming off of the gutter. He was dripping yet and loved it!
Picking blackberries with Grandad
Going down the rows to find more peas. FYI -- did you know here in the lowcountry they don't have what we would call black-eyed peas? They have pink-eyes and silver crowder peas, but no true black-eyes. The silver crowders are more like black-eyes, and the pink eyes to me are a cross between black-eyes and pintos. Kind of crazy! I asked a lady at our favorite farmer's market and she told me that all of those peas are considered crowders (even black-eyes), just different variations.
Let the pea pickin' begin!
Follow the man with the experience...
Gig 'Em Aggies! Whoop! Yes, we teach them young in the Thomas/Graham family!
That's a different Kyle Field than the one I grew up with! We're standing on the drill field over on the north side of campus, near the dorm I lived in, Albritton Tower, and the old Administration building.
We went inside the Corps of Cadets center and they had guide-ons (flags, for you non-regs!) from all the "units" in the Corps at A&M. D-1, Spider D, was the unit my dad was in.
Some friends of my uncle Stan's, bought a memorial brick in front of the Corps Center in honor of my grandad, Willard Thomas. The kids and I found it and took a picture of our toesies with it. I miss my grandad very much. Have I mentioned that before??
This picture was Grace's idea. She's pretty sentimental for a 7 year old
Here are Grace and Davis with Kyle McCall. Can you tell my camera is on the fritz and I am tired of trying to make Davis look at me and smile??
Me 'n' Amber. We had Grace stand on a chair to get a picture. Can you tell by my puffy eyes that I am operating on very little sleep??
Grace had a moment of reflection at the Bonfire Memorial. I've never been more proud or sad to be an Aggie as when I was at the memorial. The Ags did a great job on the memorial, but it pains me it was ever necessary. Anyone who has been there knows what a great memorial it is to the kids who died there.
Davis is being all boy, putting his head under the water coming off of the gutter. He was dripping yet and loved it!
Picking blackberries with Grandad
Going down the rows to find more peas. FYI -- did you know here in the lowcountry they don't have what we would call black-eyed peas? They have pink-eyes and silver crowder peas, but no true black-eyes. The silver crowders are more like black-eyes, and the pink eyes to me are a cross between black-eyes and pintos. Kind of crazy! I asked a lady at our favorite farmer's market and she told me that all of those peas are considered crowders (even black-eyes), just different variations.
Let the pea pickin' begin!
Follow the man with the experience...
Gig 'Em Aggies! Whoop! Yes, we teach them young in the Thomas/Graham family!
That's a different Kyle Field than the one I grew up with! We're standing on the drill field over on the north side of campus, near the dorm I lived in, Albritton Tower, and the old Administration building.
We went inside the Corps of Cadets center and they had guide-ons (flags, for you non-regs!) from all the "units" in the Corps at A&M. D-1, Spider D, was the unit my dad was in.
Some friends of my uncle Stan's, bought a memorial brick in front of the Corps Center in honor of my grandad, Willard Thomas. The kids and I found it and took a picture of our toesies with it. I miss my grandad very much. Have I mentioned that before??
This picture was Grace's idea. She's pretty sentimental for a 7 year old
Here are Grace and Davis with Kyle McCall. Can you tell my camera is on the fritz and I am tired of trying to make Davis look at me and smile??
Me 'n' Amber. We had Grace stand on a chair to get a picture. Can you tell by my puffy eyes that I am operating on very little sleep??
Grace had a moment of reflection at the Bonfire Memorial. I've never been more proud or sad to be an Aggie as when I was at the memorial. The Ags did a great job on the memorial, but it pains me it was ever necessary. Anyone who has been there knows what a great memorial it is to the kids who died there.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Back to the TX Vacation
I don't think I finished telling you all about our TX trip.
One of the funnest things we did the whole time we were there was going to a farm near Proctor, TX, to pick black-eyed peas and blackberries. My dad took us early, early one morning (we left my mom's about 6!) and we had a great time. Pickin' peas is no easy task. I mean, you know which ones to pick, but if I had to do it for more than a hour or so, it would break my back. Then we moved onto the blackberries. Um, I didn't know the bushes had thorns! Yes, I got stuck a couple of times. We ended up with about 10 lbs. of peas and about a pound of blackberries.
Then we went to my dad's Proctor house and sat outside, shelling peas. I really should say "shellin'" because heaven knows we don't pronounce the "g!" We went to my dad's house because he needed to water his tomatoes. He no longer started the water on them, then it started to rain. Davis had a ball putting his head under where the water was running off the roof, soaking his head and his shirt! I have to tell you what a great time I had, sitting under the shelter, shellin' peas while the rain came down and a breeze blew. Shellin' peas will always remind me of being at my grandparents, where we would shell peas in the afternoon, in front of Rangers game on the TV. Ah, memories.
That day, we had a great lunch. Dad made peas, fried okra, ham, and we have fresh tomatoes. Yum!
Later on that same day, we went to Granbury with my mom to eat The Jalapeno Tree. Grace and Davis were dressed in their S'ville finery, to make up for the T-ball game where we cheered on Braden and his team. The kids both fell asleep on the way. I attributed it to being up so early. Notice the drool mark on Davis' shirt.
Then we took off for College Station. When we were there, we visited my sister, Angie, and our friends, Amber, Brian, and Kyle McCall. Angie is the college girl, getting ready to get her Senior Ring at A&M, which is AWESOME!! She has worked hard at school and, at that time, was working at her apartment complex and taking a class. We shared a few meals with her, but didn't spend the night at her place. The girl has a social life!
Our time with the McCalls was really nice. Grace and Davis played with Kyle just like always. Davis used to call Kyle "Kyles" but I noticed while we were there, he doesn't do that so much anymore, so I better stop, too! We had a couple of pitchers of margaritas (Angie was there, too) and Papa Murphy's the first night. It was so nice to spend time with people that we share a long, sometimes parallel, history with. Some of you know that we were in Germany at the same time the McCalls were and, while we were friendly, the guys weren't in the same unit so we didn't do a lot of things together. Fast forward to Fort Riley, where Brian and Jasen were some of the first soldiers in 4IBCT and we were connected. We now consider them dear friends.
Anyway, it was great to catch up with them, see Angie, and visit Aggieland, too! We got some great pictures while we were there. I'll post them soon!
One of the funnest things we did the whole time we were there was going to a farm near Proctor, TX, to pick black-eyed peas and blackberries. My dad took us early, early one morning (we left my mom's about 6!) and we had a great time. Pickin' peas is no easy task. I mean, you know which ones to pick, but if I had to do it for more than a hour or so, it would break my back. Then we moved onto the blackberries. Um, I didn't know the bushes had thorns! Yes, I got stuck a couple of times. We ended up with about 10 lbs. of peas and about a pound of blackberries.
Then we went to my dad's Proctor house and sat outside, shelling peas. I really should say "shellin'" because heaven knows we don't pronounce the "g!" We went to my dad's house because he needed to water his tomatoes. He no longer started the water on them, then it started to rain. Davis had a ball putting his head under where the water was running off the roof, soaking his head and his shirt! I have to tell you what a great time I had, sitting under the shelter, shellin' peas while the rain came down and a breeze blew. Shellin' peas will always remind me of being at my grandparents, where we would shell peas in the afternoon, in front of Rangers game on the TV. Ah, memories.
That day, we had a great lunch. Dad made peas, fried okra, ham, and we have fresh tomatoes. Yum!
Later on that same day, we went to Granbury with my mom to eat The Jalapeno Tree. Grace and Davis were dressed in their S'ville finery, to make up for the T-ball game where we cheered on Braden and his team. The kids both fell asleep on the way. I attributed it to being up so early. Notice the drool mark on Davis' shirt.
Then we took off for College Station. When we were there, we visited my sister, Angie, and our friends, Amber, Brian, and Kyle McCall. Angie is the college girl, getting ready to get her Senior Ring at A&M, which is AWESOME!! She has worked hard at school and, at that time, was working at her apartment complex and taking a class. We shared a few meals with her, but didn't spend the night at her place. The girl has a social life!
Our time with the McCalls was really nice. Grace and Davis played with Kyle just like always. Davis used to call Kyle "Kyles" but I noticed while we were there, he doesn't do that so much anymore, so I better stop, too! We had a couple of pitchers of margaritas (Angie was there, too) and Papa Murphy's the first night. It was so nice to spend time with people that we share a long, sometimes parallel, history with. Some of you know that we were in Germany at the same time the McCalls were and, while we were friendly, the guys weren't in the same unit so we didn't do a lot of things together. Fast forward to Fort Riley, where Brian and Jasen were some of the first soldiers in 4IBCT and we were connected. We now consider them dear friends.
Anyway, it was great to catch up with them, see Angie, and visit Aggieland, too! We got some great pictures while we were there. I'll post them soon!
Friday, August 14, 2009
The Grahams Go To School
Can you imagine I am the only Graham not going to school this semester? Yep, even Jasen is getting into the swing of things. Last night, he had his first class toward a Masters in Education. He really likes his professor, who told her "kids" that before the next class, they needed to read the first seven chapters of their book. She encouraged them all to read an hour a day and not to stress about specifics. She said if they saw something that interested them or they had dealt with before, to mark if for class discussion. Jasen was very encouraged and excited.
The best part? Jasen said he feels like this is where God wants him and what God wants him to do after the Army. Quite exciting for all of us!
Today, we go to Grace's school to find out who her teacher will be and meet said teacher. We are very excited. I am certainly praying for another diamond like Mrs. Branch. We'll go by and see her today, too. Oh, and look at Grace's garden from last year.
Next Tuesday, Grace will begin her 2nd grade year. I can't believe it. Where did the time go?
Davis' school won't start until after Labor Day, but he's ready to go NOW. The boy loves going to school and I think it's because his sister goes. This year, he'll go for three days a week, which I am hoping to put to good use around this unorganized house.
Truly, I feel like I ought to be taking some kind of class! Oh wait, I still haven't used the cooking class gift certificate Jasen gave me. Guess I'll go to cooking school! :)
The best part? Jasen said he feels like this is where God wants him and what God wants him to do after the Army. Quite exciting for all of us!
Today, we go to Grace's school to find out who her teacher will be and meet said teacher. We are very excited. I am certainly praying for another diamond like Mrs. Branch. We'll go by and see her today, too. Oh, and look at Grace's garden from last year.
Next Tuesday, Grace will begin her 2nd grade year. I can't believe it. Where did the time go?
Davis' school won't start until after Labor Day, but he's ready to go NOW. The boy loves going to school and I think it's because his sister goes. This year, he'll go for three days a week, which I am hoping to put to good use around this unorganized house.
Truly, I feel like I ought to be taking some kind of class! Oh wait, I still haven't used the cooking class gift certificate Jasen gave me. Guess I'll go to cooking school! :)
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