BE VERY VERY AFRAID!!!!!!!

IAM BACCCCCCCCCCCCCCCK!  It's been a while since I have written. I bet you all have missed me!! With work, family, house, dog, where do you find the time to write. I usually think about sending out an e-mail when I am laying on the couch at 10p.m. trying to keep my eyes open and praying that I make it to the bedroom before falling asleep. But not to worry I am off for the summer and I can write y'all all the time!!

 

So let's play catch up for a while. Good news on the family front. Steven passed his grade and will be heading to OMG!! 7th grade. Where is my little boy who wanted to grow up an be a firetruck. Yes he wanted to be a firetruck since he was 2. We saw a 4th of July parade and for years after that he decided he wanted to grow up and be a firetruck because they were big and made cools sounds. Now he is talking college and army. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! My baby is growing up. Then  the twins passed there grade and are heading to 4th. Then I had to buy them training bra's! Here I am standing in Wal-Mart buying bras for my 9 year olds and crying my heart out. They are too young for boobs. I still want to buy them pajamas with the feet that you zip up in the front. Then little Sage who looks like she is still preschool age because she is so tiny, is going to 1st grade. Okay I remember when I first met Sam she was only 6 months old. What did they feed her Miracle Grow? Then again my birthday is Sunday and I will be 39. I called mama the other day and asked her if she was sure I was born in 1968. She said yes, WHY? I was hoping it was really 1978, hey at least I tried.

 

The most exciting news is we went to DISNEY WORLD!!!! OMG!! What a blast we had. Sam's parents graciously let us have their time share condo for a week. Thanks Mom and Dad we loved it. We bought a 7 day pass which included 7 days at any Disney park with an additional 6 days at there water parks too. We knew we couldn't do it all in one week but have decided to spread it over several future vacation. We got no expire tickets so they are good forever. We did 2 days at Magic Kingdom and 1 day at a water park.  The rest of the days were relaxing days by the pool. It was amazing to see the look on the kids faces when we arrived. My kids were the only ones who had never been. Sam, Sage and me had all been before. We rode every ride possible and the kids and I managed to ride the Buzz lightyear one 3 times in a row. That seems to have been our favorite. We meet characters in private, we bought to many souvenirs, we did the hokey pokey in the middle of the street in downtown Disney. We laughed, complained it was too hot or lines were to long at times, we spent our time in lines singing or doing cheers or just entertaining other guest. We even cried, okay Sam and Darlene cried. We were just amazed at the kids and being Disney world and see MICKEY MOUSE!!! Something about that mouse that sends chills up my spine. You here all the time what a magical place it is. Until you go there with your kids and see their smiles and eyes light up when they see their favorite character, that's when you understand MAGICAL! As soon as we walked through the gates and laid our eyes on Cinderella castle the magic began. The greatest thing is we will never forget that first glance into Disney and even now writing about it brings back that  MAGICAL feeling.

 

 

Can you believe it's been a year!!!!

OMG!!! Can you believe we have been married 1 year as of yesterday. Some days it seems like only weeks since we were first married and then other days seems like we been together for years. We are still snuggling and kissing and sharing our every thought good or bad ones. It's amazing how far our ready made family came this year. First my children had to get use to a new school, new home, and new family. Sam's daughter had to get use to sharing her dad and her room with 3 other kids. I am happy to report everyone has survived the first year.  We have truly came together as one big family. Steven has adjusted to middle school and is making new friends and loves Georgia. The twins have grown so much in the last year that even you would be amazed at what little ladies we have now. Sage has adjusted to sharing her dad and home. Just the other week while fussing with Steven to let her in the bedroom she informed him in her little bossy voice IT WAS MY ROOM BEFORE YOU EVER CAME HERE! Right then and there we knew we had officially became a family. Sam and I are still very much in love with each other and experiencing wonderful things together.

 

So of course you know Sam had to totally spoil me this weekend. Our celebration began on Friday night when Sam and I went to the Gaither and Friends Concert. OMG!!!! The best concert I have ever been to. Sam who is not quite into gospel music as I am really enjoyed himself. We ended up with 5 cd's and 3 DVD's, Sam asked if he could take the cd's to work today. I was so excited to see all of these wonderful people I had only heard and seen on T.V. Then I got to see the excitement in Sam's eyes and what a great time we had.

 

Then Saturday night we celebrated with Sam's parents, brother and his wife and children. We went to Everybody's for dinner to celebrate Liz's birthday, our anniversary and the birth of the newest Brady. Jackson Tyler Brady who looks just like his Aunt Darlene.

 

Then finally to end the celebration on Sunday we took the  children out to lunch and then off to the park to launch a few balloons in memory of our special day. For those of you who attending the wedding you will remember after the ceremony we went to the Lake Junaluska and every let go of a white balloon to remember our day. So off to the park everyone with a balloon to mark our 1 year as a family. I can't wait to let 2 balloons go next year. 

 

 

 Hope everyone is doing well. Sorry haven't written alot lately with work, kids, husband, time slips away from you everyday. But your in our thoughts and prayers daily. We love all of you.

 

Darlene and Family

Little Gracie

Our little Gracie was spayed on Friday. This was her first time away from us since we got her. OMG!!!! It was terrible! I never thought in my life I would be so attached to an animal. It's just like having another child. Sam took her to the vet on Friday morning, Lord knows I couldn't have done it. I probably would have ended up in the same cage and refusing to go home. I sent her a shoulder bag with her name on it--GRACIE BRADY.  It had her Dora blanket and her rabbit who has no face, her favorite Iams food and some puppy chow she loves, plus a list of questions for Sam to ask the Vet. You know, basic questions: how long the surgery wuill take, will you call us, can we call and check on her, will anyone spend the night with her--just typical motherly questions. Of course I cried when I left for work. I knew she would be okay, but it's still my baby. I don't think it really hit me until bedtime, when there wasn't a little wet-nosed dog laying between me and Sam. All I could think about is my baby in a cage (when she had never been in one before)--cold, lonely, starving, no one to love her.

 

The next morning we called as soon as they opened. They said we could pick her up at 10:00 a.m. So off we go to get Gracie. The whole family went. I think we scared the receptionist when we walked in the door. Sam, Sage, Steven, Jewel, Jessica and myself go marching in to pick up an 11 pound puppy. They got nervous and called for Gracie right away. Sage sat down and began to watch cartoons. The rest of us stood anxiously at the door waiting for the smallest peek of her face. Here she came, tail wagging out of control, licking, and whining for us. The doc said keep her calm and don't let her run, jump, or play too much. I was like, remember Gracie is daschund/ Jack Russell. Don't think that will happen.

 

Our baby is home happy. She's a little slower than usual but I am sure after a couple pain pills she won't care what she does. It still amazes me about the pain medicine they give dogs. I hope she doesn't get addicted to them. Wonder if they have rehab for dogs coming off painkillers. Hey, she's been on them since the tail incident . Who knows, she might meet Britney Spears or Lindsay Lohan in rehab. HA HA!

 

It could happen.

 

Take care until next time!

 

LOVE

Darlene

Happy Early Valentine!!!!

OMG!!!! Guess what my wonderful husband got me as an early Valentine's present???? Well, I have to tell you about last year's Valentine's present first. I was still in NC and we were only 2 months from being married. Sam told me he had me something for Valentine's Day. Well, me being the biggest kid I kept asking him what it was. Only thing he would tell me was it was green and not money. I had everyone at work trying to figure out what in the heck was green and not cash??? Finally he came for a visit the weekend before V-Day and surprised me with Martina McBride tickets! So the weekend after our wedding I got to see Martina!

 

So on Wednesday while Sam was picking up our free tickets at Gwinnett Center for the Gladiators, guess what else he got??????? YES, IT'S GREEN!!!! IT'S NOT MONEY!!!! I got tickets to see THE GAITHERS HOMECOMING!!!!!!  April 13th, 2 days before our 1 year anniversary I will be seeing some of the greatest gospel singers ever. I am so excitied! I couldn't believe who would be there with them.

 

Jeff and Sherri Easter

Gaither Vocal Band

Ernie Haase and Signature Sound

Gordon Mote

Ivan Parker

Lynda Parker

Ben Speer

 

These are some of my favorite people in gospel music. Just the other night we saw Ernie Haase and Signature Sound on T.V. and I was like, I want to see them in person. This group is like the Tempations of Gospel Music, the way they dance around the stage. My grandmother would say the are not Christian because of the dancing. She is an old-fashioned Church of God woman. But I love them and I get to see them!!! YAY YAY YAY YAY

 

Thank you to my wonderful husband who is making all my dreams and wishes come true.I love you with all my heart and soul. You're my best friend, my security blanket, my partner; you're everything I ever hoped for, I LOVE YOU! First the Gaithers in April, then Disney in May, and your love 24 hours a day. What more could a girl want???

 

HMMMM I wonder if he was feeling a little guilty for all the hockey games we have been attending lately? Ha Ha

 

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY EVERYONE!!!

 

Poor Little Gracie

Yesterday while spring cleaning all the girls' stuffed animals, someone accidentally stepped on Little Gracie's tail. Of course she yelped in pain and hid behind me. Later in the night, every time you touched her tail she would yelp. So of course our little baby had to go to the vet.

 

When you go to the vet it's like taking your children to the doctor. You wait in the waiting room with all the other little doggies and parents. Then there is the small talk: how old is your dog? what breed? is she potty trained? what park do you play in with your dog? omg have you tried the new all veggie doggie biscuits? I am serious this really does happen, along with all the vet techs coming over in their baby voices saying "aren't you the prettiest little doggie ever".

 

After all that we went in to see the nurse. He took Gracie's vitals, he even took her temperature rectally!  (EWWW)

Come to find out, Gracie had a temp of 103.8. I almost passed out! Then he said we are going to have to shave her tail! WHAT??????? Then x-rays were to follow only to find out Gracie has a torn ligament in her tail. Now she has an antibiotic, pain pill, and an anti-inflammatory pill. Thank GOD she will be okay in a few days. Until then she will be spoiled rotten just like all our other children are when they are sick.

 

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Life is off and running very fast this year. We have had so much excitement since Decemeber, I am now just catching my breath. Jessica had to have her tonsils removed Dec.12th. OMG!! What an experience! She did really well with surgery. I was 24 when I had mine removed and I can't imagine being 9 and going through the surgery. The old wives' tale about you get to eat all the ice cream you want--NOT!!!!! We were lucky to get her to drink 2 ounces of water. All is better now. We are just trying to get back to normal life. If there is such a thing.

 

Seems like we have been celebrating birthdays for a year now. The twins turned 9 on the 6th of November. Steven turned 12 on the 10th of Jan. and Sage (Sam's daughter) turned 6 on the 19th. We celebrated last night with family and friends. Everyone had a wonderful time. We had 6 kids here and all of them spent the night. I couldn't believe that 6 kids could be quiter than 3 kids. OMG!!! I really didn't know Steven and his friend Courtney (boy) were here half the time. Thank you Xbox!!! Sage, Jewel, Jessica and Mia were into the Littlest Pet Shop.  Today with 6 kids in the house on a rainy day, I managed to get a 1 hour nap on the couch! It's really making us wonder if we need more kids??????? Just kidding!

 

Tomorrow we are back to reality: work, school, homework, picking up kids, dinner, telling my husband I love him at least 456,234 times a day. Weekends I bump it up a little more since I see him all day, at least to 89,345,234,561 times.

 

Take care until next time.

 

love

Darlene Brady