My heart has been heavy this past week. You all know that we are a football loving family. Football has been a part of my life as long as I remember. My mom organized, my dad watched football and I got both of those genes. We have raised Davis to love football as well.
So this week, as news surfaced of TERRIBLE incidents happening to young boys in Pennsylvania, my heart grew heavy and my stomach grew sick! How could these things happen to young boys? Young boys that love football! How could a so-called "man of honor" turn his head and cover these things up!!!!!!
I am at a loss for words, but my friend posted this and it is EXACTLY how I feel! I may be at a loss for words, but Jon Stewart is not. So I decided I would just share this video with all of you.
May our love for football never grow cold, but may our love for doing the right thing never grow colder!
(Let me say up front, before you watch this - I normally do not agree with half of what this man says - this is a rare occurrence!)
Dont forget: pause the music at the bottom before you watch
We have such a great dentist! Now a few years back, that would have been an oxymoron to me.....a "good dentist" - didn't think those two words went together. That was until we met Dr. Brad McKinney. He is a friend of a friend, so we really felt like we have always known him. Anyway - here are the top 5 reasons you know you have a GREAT dentist! (and no Dr. McKinney is not giving me any sort of discounts for all this advertisement ;))
1. You know you have a GREAT dentist when you know beyond a shadow of a doubt he loves the Lord.
2. You know you have a GREAT dentist when he gives back to the community. Dr. McKinney is not here just to "fill" the needs (cavities) of our community (Ha) - he is invested in this town.
3. You know you have a GREAT dentist when he is super willing to work with you in an emergency. We have not experienced this first hand, but I have heard from friends and others in the community that if they ever had a dental emergency he was more than willing to work them in.
4. You know you have a GREAT dentist when he coaches a little league football team. Dr. McKinney is coaching my friend Wendy's son's football team. Let me say this, Dr. McKinney does not have a child on this team, he is doing this because he loves these kids. I have heard from SO many parents that he is doing an amazing job - not just teaching the basics of the game, but showing these boys an example of Christ. Oh and he's a pretty good coach as well! Wendy just told me they are playing in a playoff game Saturday and should be playing for the Championship the next Saturday!
5. You know you have a GREAT dentist when he does things like this.........
Last year when Davis was in Kindergarten, Dr. McKinney came to speak for Dental Awareness month. From that second on - Davis has wanted to be a dentist when he grows up. If Davis has a chance, he will look in your mouth and check for cavities. The other morning I was eating a granola bar for breakfast. When Davis heard the wrapper, he ran into the kitchen and asked what I was eating. When I told him what it was he said "Whew -I thought it was a candy bar and you know those cause cavities." He fills the cavities and pulls the teeth of his stuffed animals. He has asked for two things for Christmas: a Washington Redskins Football Uniform and the Play-Doh Dentist set.
A few weeks ago Matt went to have his teeth cleaned and Dr. McKinney found some small cavities on the back of Matt's back teeth. Dr. McKinney told Matt that Davis could come and watch him fill the cavities. Well, Davis has been counting down the days!
Today was the day, and one o'clock could not get here fast enough for Davis. Matt said that Dr. McKinney was so good to explain each step to Davis and Davis did well watching everything except for the shot. Matt said at first, Davis just kind of stood back, not really involved but by the end Davis was leaning over looking at every move Dr. McKinney made!
So see - you REALLY need a Dentist like ours! I really think he is one of a kind! And like I said earlier - I am not expecting anything in return from Dr. McKinney for this glowing recommendation - maybe just a little help next October. Davis has decided he wants to dress up as a Dentist for next Halloween.
The other day, as I was cleaning out a closet, I found this picture:
This is my college roommate Becca and I at a JSU football game. I remember that game very vividly! We got dressed up in our "coolest" clothes (circa 1996 - hence those sunglasses) and went to the game with these two ATO guys. You see, the real guy that had my heart was sitting at the other end of that stadium playing trombone with the Southerners, but we were "on a break" I found myself for just a fleeting second thinking - wow - to relive those days again! We had so much fun! But then reality set back in and I had to finish cleaning out that closet.
This past weekend Matt, Davis and I attended the 55 year anniversary/reunion of The Marching Southerners. We had so much fun seeing old friends, walking across the quad holding hands, wondering the halls of Mason Hall, eating at Chickfila and wishing we had one of those when we were there, watching a great football game and seeing a trombone player and his non-band member girlfriend walk hand in hand after the game. Made me feel young again!
But throughout the weekend different things would go across my mind:
Those bills I needed to pay Worrying about my sister-in-law who very suddenly lost her mom this week Worrying should we have skipped the Southerners reunion and attended the simulcast of Secret Church instead Making sure Matt feels encouraged because he is doing a really great thing! Trying to figure out when to buy some new black dress shoes, since my only pair (that I have owned since 2004) have fallen apart Planning meals because I really don't want to eat at McDonalds this week Remembering how many days until that next dentist appointment And the list went on and on.
And then as I listened to them rehearse Saturday morning I thought.....wow - it would be fun to relive those college days!
You know the days when:
Mom and Dad paid the bills We never worried about death - we were invincible Wondering should we skip going to Lindsey's room to watch the new episode of Friends so that we can go watch the big Southerners Thursday night practice (we had no DVR back then) Making sure Matt felt jealous because I had lost a really great thing (remember we were "on a break") Shoes - no worries - I have so many shoes they wouldn't even fit in my closet, and if I didn't have the perfect pair, I would borrow Becca's Never worried about planning food - there was always Ravioli, Cecil's or my mom and dad always had hot food on the table Remembering how many times I had skipped which class And the list went on and on!
Those days were pretty special!
But then it hit me! As I was sitting in the stands on my 35th birthday watching Matt and Davis on the field at halftime with my phone in one hand taking still pictures and the video camera in the other, these days are pretty special as well! When we come back in 15 years to the Southerners 70th Reunion, I will see a couple with their only child, and long to relive these days again as well!
These days are pretty special!
You can't deny we were part of something special in college. But you also can't deny we are a part of something special now. It's all been pretty magical!
So I will leave you with some sights and sounds of some pretty special days - then and now!
Matt and Davis on the field.
Matt and I....again circa 1997....its always the sunglasses
Davis holding the music at the morning rehearsal for Matt and Mr. Holland, the music minister at our very first church. Sweet memories!
Here is the video from the halftime show. There are a few things you need to remember as you watch:
1. I am no videographer. It was hard to video with one hand, take picture with the other and tap my foot to the music. Plus my arms just got really tired.
2. If you are watching this video on the website, remember to pause the music at the bottom of the page.
3. There is a section of the video of a little boy playing on the field. That is our friend Jarod's son. It is quite funny. I made sure to video it as a reminder to me. I was so hard on Davis reminding him to hold the music still and pay attention to Matt. It really is just about having fun!
4. If you can stand it, watch it to the end of the video. You will see my sweet encouraging child pat his Daddy on the back! He was so proud of his daddy at that moment!
5. Well, after many attempts, we had to upload the video with Youtube. It was just too big to upload here. Hopefully you can get to the video from here. If you can't let me know, and I will email you the link.
My entire life, I have loved all things Disney. I remember as a senior in High School when most high school seniors go to the beach for Spring Break, I convinced my parents to take me to Disney World. My bathroom at home growing up was decorated in Mickey Mouse (even still as a senior in high school)
At some point (I think around my Freshman year in college) Disney decided to reward my love for them and decided to bring Disney on Ice to Birmingham every year my birthday weekend! So every year I spend my birthday money on tickets and take my Disney loving husband and child on a special date!
My two favorite people in the whole entire world
Here are a few sights from last night - a great date with my two favorite guys! Thanks Disney for what you mean to my family!
Davis and his best buddy Ethan, and Ethan's mommy and I went to Tomahawk Treats. What a GREAT idea! The football players, cheerleaders and band members sat up a Trick or Treat experience at the football stadium. It was so precious to watch our boys! They loved every second of seeing some of their idols "in real life"
So we packed up the cutest Oneonta Super Hero and Popeye you have ever seen, and headed out to Gilbreath Stadium
We saw some of Daddy's friends from church handing out candy.....
We even saw one of daddy's friends that gave us more than the one piece of candy they were supposed to hand out. But as you can tell, Caleb asked us not to tell anybody!
The cheerleaders and football players also carved pumpkins and they were sitting around as decorations. This was the boys' favorite pumpkin: We love Redskins!
As we neared the end of the track, the line started slowing down. I told Wendy they must be giving out REALLY good candy at the last hay bale. But what we found made my heart smile......
It was Coach Jacobs, the head football coach. He was there handing out candy and he took the time to speak to each and every child and comment on their costume. It was a precious moment for these two mommies.
After meeting in college, we were married in 1997. Matt is currently the Student Pastor at First Baptist Church Oneonta. He has served FBC for six years with an 18 month "sabbatical" thrown in! Stephanie is enjoying her days as a mommy.
Davis is an awesome seven year old. He is "all boy" and loves any kind of sports. He is full of life and a constant reminder of God's blessings to us.
