:: last week

Amy and Russ set out for St Lucia last week. The Carter fam volunteered to keep Lexy and Sadie for them, so we crashed at their house all last week. It was a lot of fun...a nice change of pace for all. The dogs were great...except for Lexy who decided since her parents were away then she would play! She dug a nice little trench along the side of the deck. I knew she was doing it, and tried to stop her, but she had her mind made up...and later I find out that she does it regularly when Amy and Russ are away and someone else is "doggysitting". What a smart dog. HAHA My plan was to fill it back in before the lil' Burkett family returned, but I couldn't find a rake. Ugh. So Russ got to fill it in when he returned from beachy bliss. Sorry Russ. :(

That wasn't the only surprise that greeted the 2 beach bums upon the return to their abode. I thought I was being "smart" by leaving the 2 garage door openers in the house...I made a MacGyveresqe leap over the garage door sensor to get the door closed. I thought this was much more secure than hiding the opener in the yard or mailbox. Someone could be spying, you know. So I figured ol' Ames and Russ-T could just mosey on through their front door into their lovely home. That would have worked like a charm had I remembered to unlock the storm door. Daaaaaang, Carla. Soooo, at about 3am, my phone rang. (Timeout...I have to preface the rest of the story with this. Saturday nights for the Carters are usually fun, relaxed and we end up staying up way too late and having to get up way too early to be at church for band rehearsal at 7am the next morning. Matt usually rolls in from work around 11:30...we chill out then and maybe watch a little Austin City Limits and/or Sat Night Live. We watch stupidness on youtube or play a game or do whatever until I get so tired I can't keep my eyes open. Then Matt usually stays up even later researching the latest keyboard that's out or drooling over the Fender Rhodes that just went on ebay for $60.) So this Saturday night was no different. I went to bed around 1am and told Matt that he had better come too, or he was sure to fall asleep inside the bass drum at church the next morning. I set my alarm on my phone like I always do before turning over and drifting off to dreamland. I felt like I had just closed my eyes when the dang alarm started hollerin'. I picked it up, wondered why Russ' face was on the phone when the alarm was ringing, hit the snooze, and tossed the phone down in a slumbering stupor. The next thing I know Matt is handing me his phone and saying "Here talk to Amy and tell her why you locked them out of their house." Well, that woke me up. Holy moly. HAHA

Russ ended up "breaking into" the front door with a crowbar. No damage, either! YAY! So that was quite an eventful Saturday night for us...and Amy and Russ! Sorry guys! My feelings won't be hurt if you never want us to dog-sit again. And I promise never to throw the phone down again when you call Russ...well, that is if I realize that it's not a mishap with my alarm clock. BWHAHAHA!

Scout eating breakfast with Lexy and Sadie one morning.

:: my new old smelly shirt

i went to the army/navy store downtown the other day. what a sweet place. i hadn't been in there in so long. i think i'd like to have a gift certificate there. (i doubt they have those)

anyway, the place is just very neat. (that's not a very descriptive adjective, but it's all i have right now.) from the minute i stepped through the door, the smell overtook me. albeit, not a bad smell...but just an old, used smell. not old and used in a bad sense though. not the goodwill store smell. that's an old but dirty smell. the goodwill store smell says, "hey, come on in. you might can use this stuff, but you'll need to disinfect it first. and even then, you might resolve to tossing it into the recycle bin." the army/navy store smell doesn't say that. vintage is quite an overused and misused word...but that's the only word that describes the smell.

so into the vintage smelling store i walked. up and down the aisles. i wondered what great war hero might have worn this pair of pants...or what AWOL sucker might have adorned this pair of boots. then i saw it. the shirt i had been searching for for nearly 3 years. an olive drab BDU women's shirt. BDU stands for "battle dress uniform". don't worry...i had no idea what it stood for either. but in finding out, it's quite an oxymoron, huh?

here's the picture that inspired my desire to own the olive greenness...

of course, i don't look nearly this sexy wearing mine. because, you see down there where brandi is showing some skin? well, if i did that, some flabby might spill out. so, i'll keep my shirt shut...thanks. and, i don't have a cool shawl/blanky to wear with my shirt either. but hey, who needs a shawl/blanky? it's too hot and it might cause me to trip and spill out some flabby. 

:: HoHo and Marshmallows

I've decided (probably a decision made a little too late) to start jotting down the funny stuff that Scout says. It happens quite often with a 2 year old. My mom did it when we were kids, and I think Holly has done it with the girls. I'm sure it provides for a lot of laughs later on...it's just great stuff that you never want to forget.

So to start things off with the record o' funny things, Scout spent the night with Mom and Dad last night. Mom gave Scout some marshmallows to snack on. Scout returned to the kitchen and said, "Mimi, look. I HoHo!" Mom looked down to see Scout standing there with a marshmallow stuck to her chin.

She thinks that anyone is "HoHo" that has anything white on their face. Last week, Dad was in the middle of shaving his face when Scout entered the bathroom and stood there and stared at his face all lathered with shaving cream. "Pawpaw! You HoHo!"

This is Where I Live

HAHA Thank you, Chris, for this funny today. I nearly fell out my chair laughing...since I could relate immensely...it's where the Carter's live now and is always on the forefront of our minds. If part of the "American Dream" is owning your own business, then why the heck does our government make it incredibly hard to do just that. I'm moving to France. (that was for Mateo) HAHAHA

:: Tub Drama

As Scout was splashing around in the tub last night, I was in the next room throwing some laundry into the wash. She suddenly screamed. When I rounded the corner into the bathroom, there she stood...in the middle of the tub...squalling. 

me: "Scout! What is the matter!??"

Scout: "Waaaaaaaaah!!!!!!"

me: "Scout...tell mommy what is the matter."

Scout: "Waaaaaahhhh!!!!"

(At this point, I notice what resembles a mosquito bite on her chin. I start shuffling toys around expecting to see a spider or something other than Mr Rubber Duck, Buzz Lightyear, or the myriad of other toys I was shoving out of the way.)

me: "Scout, can you show mommy what hurt your chin?"

(She points to Mr Rubber Duck.)

me: "The duck hurt your chin??"

(Then it hits me and I just busted out laughing...she mustered a grin.)

me: "Congratulations, Scouter. You just got your first hickey...by Mr Rubber Duck."

:: Vyla Irene Dearman

Camping at North Mills in '04

Last Friday was very sad as we found out that our dear friends, Jonathan and Britainy, had suffered a tragic loss in the death of their little girl, Vyla Irene Dearman. Vyla only had a few more weeks to go to make her due date, but God decided to take her home before she even was able to take her first breath here on earth. I cannot imagine having to endure such loss. I just can't imagine it.

There is a song called "Glory Baby" that speaks about the untimely death of an unborn baby. A line from that song goes...
"I will rest in knowing, heaven is your home. And it’s all you’ll ever know." Wow. That is the only realization that would keep me going, I believe.

Please pray for Jonathan and Britainy and their families. I know they would appreciate your prayers.


Vyla Irene Dearman
Vyla Irene Dearman was born into the loving hands of God on Tuesday, April 22, 2008. She was held and cherished by her parents, Jonathan Edward and Britainy Miller Dearman and their families. A service of honor will be held at 5 p.m. today at Trinity Episcopal Church. The family will visit with friends following the service. Nicholson Funeral Home is assisting the family of Vyla Irene Dearman.

:: i'm a jerk...

...for never learning more than 8 or so chords on the guitar.

:: Dispenser o' Tishooos

I know you're jealous of my new Dispenser o' Tishooos. Bwhaha! Isn't it so fantastickly sweet?? I'm thrilled with it. Thanks to ReadyMade for the idea...can't claim it myself. Mom supplied the can and Dad helped drill the hole and put the cewl trim around the opening so that you don't rip your Kleenex on the way out (that was his idea...no thanks to ReadyMade)! And Matt and Scout performed the pull-out tests. HA! Thanks family! :-)

my birthday is coming up, you know...hint, hint, hinto...

:: when life is in discord, praise ye the lord.

Happy Birthday, Scouter!

Scout turns 2 today! Happy Birthday, Buddy! : - )

:: baf.

scout loves a good baf...and a not-so-good fauxhawk.

:: don't drop your arms.

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:: hemangioma and hootie

Today we went to Charleston.

If you're reading this, then you probably already know about Scout's hemangioma on her nose. If you don't know, I'll brief you.
--At Scout's 3 month old well-baby visit, Dr Few informed us that Scout had a hemangioma on her nose that would most probably need laser treatments and/or eventually invasive surgery. We found this out within one month of our move to Williamsburg, so we were referred to a surgeon in Norfolk. While we were there, Scout had 7 laser surgeries over the course of 9 months. At her last surgery in April, we opted for her to have no more surgeries for fear of eventually damaging her skin. At this point, the surgeries had kept the hemangioma small, which was the goal of the process. (If it grew large, it could damage cartilage and the structure of her nose.) The doctors felt this was the best thing to do...buy time with the eventual hope that it would dissolve and go away as she got older. When we moved back to Greenville in May, we were able to get Dr Few back for Scout's pediatrician...yay! He referred us to a surgeon in G'ville who more-or-less wanted to just watch it and just see what happened. At Scout's 18 month old well-baby visit, she started laughing at some point and Dr Few thought she sounded a little hoarse. His wheels began to turn, and he said he would feel better if we would go see an ENT friend of his that also had a "fascination" with facial hemangiomas. I thought that was weird, but he said that sometimes if there is a hemangioma on the face, there is the possibility that they can show up near the vocal cords and he would just like to play it safe and have us see the ENT to get it checked out. Plus it would just be nice to get another opinion on the one on her nose. (This short story isn't so short afterall, huh? Sorry. Ha!) So off we go to see Dr Brown, the ENT who has a "fascination" with facial hemangiomas, remember? The weird guy. He proves to be not so weird. Pretty much the nicest, friendliest, most interested-in-his-patient doctor I have ever met (other than Dr Hammond, of course). He asks me if I have ever heard of Dr Marcelo Hochman. I tell him no, although I learn later than I had through all the research we had done about hemangiomas right when we found out about Scout's. So he tells me that Dr Hochman is "the man" when it comes to these things. And he would be more than happy to refer us to him if we didn't mind the drive...to Charleston.

So, today we went to Charleston. What a great day it was. Scout was great (despite her having a virus..yak!), the weather was great, the ride down was great...and Dr Hochman was great. He told us that surgery is really the only option for her at this point...which we were prepared to hear...and really wanting to hear after all of the other surgeries and the waiting and the watching. He said she's at a great age for it since she hasn't really developed a full-blown self-image yet, and she's several years before she starts to school so there will be time for the scar to heal and be touched-up if need be.

Tonight, when we got home, I typed in the web address for the The Hemangioma Treatment Center. My browser automatically remembered that I had been to that site before...hmmmm. When it came up, I couldn't believe it. We had been to the site many times just gathering information when we were in Williamsburg...so come to find out, it's the same place we visited today. Crazy!! www.hemangiomatreatment.org
www.hemangiomatreatment.com


Also, Hootie and the Blowfish are "Friends of the Foundation"...thought that was neat. Maybe Scout can get a signed copy of "Cracked Rear View"...that cd would definitely be an oldies record to her. HAHA!

Surgery is scheduled for Dec 14 at 6:30am. Please be praying that Scout will be protected and come through the surgery with no complications and that the healing process will be smooth. Pray for Dr Hochman and the staff. And pray for Scout's family that we won't waste time worrying about something that our Father has complete control over.

:: i need work!

i'm rolling here.

i used to love this cartoon...i pity tha' foo' that don't like this cartoon...even the new, revised one! HA!

:: my new favorite pic of scouter

that's our lil' bug.

:: good stuff...

· fuzzy biz is boomin'

· scout is learning and remembering things she is learning. she said her name yesterday. it was a moment. she also said, "i love you, mommy"...but it sounded more like "i eeeee eeee, bobeee"...but it was so sweet. she is such a blast.

· SCS homecoming is tomorrow and i can't wait to see all my ol' friends

· lunch with Upward crew is in the morning...can't wait to see those peeps too

· my "business expenditure" for the year arrives tomorrow. adobe creative suite 3, apple keyboard, 500 G lacie firewire drive, and iWork...Leopard and my lacie rack will arrive later in the month. whoohoo!

· i hopefully have a solution for having a great place for scout to spend a few hours a few days a week so that i can get some more work hours in. i hope it works out...i couldn't ask for a better place for her to be.

· our loft bed will hopefully be completed this weekend

· the air is getting colder outside and i love it

· i found my new bible that i lost...now i just need to read it or i might as well lose it again

· lindsay and robert tie the knot in just 3 more weeks

· matt passed his real estate exam and will be gradually starting his new career

· rosie thomas concerto is next week

· scout and i are walking every morning again and it's been so nice. i've missed that so much since leaving w'burg.


i'm sure there are a gazillion other good things, but i must get back to work for now...

:: the big 5

shirley?? shirley.

i received this via fwd this morning. it's the cutest kid thing i've seen since our ol' "he was injud...injud bad." friend.

:: critical mass

- - coffee is good this morning...so happy i found the grinder, finally. - -

after being bewildered by the weird bike race we saw as we waited on the street corner in chicago for our yum pizza, i got online and found out what we were a small part of that night...

The Chicago Critical Mass

wow. who knew? i think it's awesome and i would have given part of my yum pizza to have had a bike to ride that night. watch out g-vegas...perhaps you're ready for a critical mass ride? okay, maybe not. there were 5,000+ riders that night. we stood and watched them pass for 25 min or so...not to mention however long they were passing by before we got to that street corner. simply crazy...yet, amazing.

here are some pics i found of some of the riders we saw that stood out (you'll see why)...

this guy was being pulled on a trailer by a fellow rider. there was a sound system involved on their little set-up. hilarious.


not sure if this was the EXACT guy we saw, but we saw several balloon heads.


fun stuff.