I went to the memorial and funeral for Carolyn Tidmore today. It was so sweet and beautiful. They had pictures all over the place. And the place was packed. She definitely impacted many lives. Her son, Matt gave a eulogy. And it made me think. How would I be remembered? How would I have made this world a better place? I think the answer to both is in my kids... the way they love, and accept, and laugh, and live life. The morals they embrace. The songs that they sing.

Carolyn passed away on her son's birthday. And he mentioned that in his eulogy. He said, "I knew my mother for exactly 30 years. She passed away on the anniversary of the day she gave birth to me. And while some may think that that fact would make this day even more sad, it actually is the best birthday I've had. I got to spend it with my mom, in her last moments, as she entered Heaven. It's not good-bye."

Make sure you tell you those near to you how much you love them tonight.

Pumpkin Patch???

I'm not sure if we are gonna make it to a pumpkin patch this year! I'm singing at a funeral tomorrow... Friday the boys have a arts & crafts cooking date with some friends and then we have life group. Saturday we are gonna be at the Alabama Homecoming game against Florida International. Sunday Hank and I will be traveling to Dothan with 'el. Monday I have another play group set up for the boys (this time at my house, which means cleaning!). Tuesday is Halloween. Not sure where we would fit in the Pumpkin Patch! BUT... they do have their costumes picked out!

Hard Head

That is my new nickname for Bryant. I took him yesterday to get his stiches removed. I have to be a little sneaky and not tell them where we are going in order for them to get ready without any problems. So I was talking to Traci, and mentioned that I where I was taking them. The minute it was out of my mouth, I knew I was in for it! Bryant immediately started shaking his head and saying, "No, dotor!" And his eyes filled with tears!

I got him there and he did great. He cried but he didn't struggle, and when he was done, I was so proud! Cause he looked up at Dr. Andy and said, "Tink you, dotor Annie," so sweetly. Then as we are walking down the hall to the door, he looks over his shoulder... and runs into the wall! Lord, help that child!

Also on Monday we were at my Mom's house for a few hours, and he does a perfect tumbling pass down the stairs. Not a scratch on him!

Here's a before and after:





His hair now lays down flat over that area again! yeah!

Update on Tidmore family

I've spoken to Traci a couple of times already today. They seem to be holding up. Yesterday was rough... it was also Matt's birthday. So a bit bittersweet. The funeral is set for Thursday at 11 in Arab.

They thought that Carolyn may have had life insurance, but she did not. However, when they were going over costs with the funeral director, he told them that someone had anonymously paid for the funeral! What a blessing!

Traci's mom, Ms. Phyllis is up there making sure everyone eats, and taking care of Livvy.

Please keep praying for them. This has all be such a whirlwind.

Request for Prayer

Many of you know one of my dearest friends in this world, Traci (King) Tidmore. I got a call from her this morning. It was one of those moments, when you instantly know that something isn't right. She tearfully told me that her mother-in-law, Matt's mother Caroline, passed away very unexpectedly last night. She had had what everyone assumed was a cold. It got progressively worse until they finally took her to the emergency room. There, they found out that she had an infection, and before the night was through, she passed away. Just that quickly. The grace in all of this turmoil is very apparent. She was surrounded by those she dearly loved. And Matt was able to lead her in prayer as she entered the Throne Room. They are more than confident that she is worshipping our Saviour face to face! Funeral arrangements are being made, and from what I understand Matt is making most of the arrangements. Please keep the Tidmore and King families in your prayers. This is all new to them. They had not told the grandkids when I last spoke to Traci at 2 this afternoon. Pray for peace of mind. Pray for wisdom. Pray that all the financial needs are met. And pray that family members who do not know Christ will be touched by this sudden loss.

Matt and Traci met on All State Drama tour in 1994, I think. They did Master's Commission at Kingwood the following summer. Then they both went through a program called Next Exit. Matt is from Huntsville, where they currently live (just moved there about a year ago).

They have asked me to sing at her funeral. 'Come Just As You Are.' It's a song that I sang on the same drama tour they met on.

Soda for Two, please

We haven't been keeping a lot of carbonated stuff in our house lately. If we have them, I want to drink them all up!! So we had just one the other day... and that one was a Sierra Mist Free. Since there was only one, the boys found a way to both enjoy it.

Funny Stuff

A couple of days ago, I took the boys on a walk. When we were on our way back to our house, Tres looks up at me and says, "Mom, sometimes my crotch makes me fall." I thought I must have misheard him, since I don't use that word. So I said, "What did you say, honey?" Then he repeated, "My crotch makes me fall down sometimes." I was stunned... and had NO clue as to what he meant. So I asked again, "What did you say?" At this point, he was getting exasperated with me... so he stops, raises his voice up slightly, and points dramatically at his shoes... "Sometimes, my crotch makes me fall down!" He was wearing his Crocs... I corrected him after I quit laughing!

A funny e-mail from a friend

Hi, this is Jamie's husband Hank. I got a funny e-mail from a friend and could really relate to it. I'm sure alot of ya;ll can relate to it and I thought the story with the picture was soooo funny. This is from one of my best friends (eventhough we don't stay in contact often enough) Joe McDermott.
Here is the story that came with the picture.......
The results are in from the McDermott's 2006 PumpkinPatch Poll. The purpose
of this poll was to determine what McDermotts thought of the pumpkin patch,
and how their experiences did or did not impact their pumpkin purchases. Four
McDermotts were polled; here are the results:

*50% of McDermotts "thought the pumpkin patch was fun"
*25% of McDermotts had "no opinion" about the pumpkin patch
*25% of McDermotts "hated, HATED, the pumpkin patch"

Interestingly, the amount of sleep each McDermott
received the night before visiting the pumpkin patch had no effect on his/her
opinion of the pumpkin patch. In fact, of the four McDermotts polled, the
50% who "thought the pumpkin patch was fun" had 50-75% less sleep than
their McDermott peers.
Oddly, one McDermott - who "hated, HATED, the pumpkin patch" - had a whopping
3.5 hr nap just before visiting the pumpkin patch.

Another astonishing result of the poll revealed that a McDermott's opinion of
the pumpkin patch had little or no bearing on his/her willingness to buy a
pumpkin at the end of the visit. In fact, the McDermott who least enjoyed the
pumpkin patch visit bought the most pumpkins: three(3) in all!

Overall, these statistics reveal that people who have little or no sleep, yet
all of the money, tend to enjoy the pumpkin patch but that does not
necessarily translate into increased pumpkin sales.
In contrast, people who averaged 15-18 hours of sleep, have little or
absolutely no, zero, NADA interest in the pumpkin patch, and have not a penny
in their pockets...buy the most pumpkins.

We hope these results will help someone....somewhere....

Jamie and I are taking the boys to a Pumpkin Patch soon, maybe we should make sure everyone gets plenty of sleep the night before, and take plenty of money for
Pumpkins, Thanks for the advanced warning Joe and Courtney

Stitches and Crashes

Not a great day today. It started off normal enough. I was cleaning and trying to catch up on laundry, and all of sudden, Bryant runs into the wall. Tres was chasing him and Bryant was looking over his shoulder at Tres and the wall just wouldn't move out of his way! :) So we end up at the pediatrician's office getting two stitches in his head. He did great, and Hank was able to meet me there. Afterwards, I decided since I was out to go ahead and go to Sam's and do some shopping. Then on the way home, I stopped by Crystal's house to see her. She had been on my mind all day, and I didn't haver her phone number with me, so I just decided to stop by and say hey.
The boys were both asleep in the new-to-us van, so I left it cranked and got out and talked to Crystal for a little while on her porch. The boys woke up pretty quickly, and I showed Crystal Bryant's stitches. Then Tres told me that he had to poo-poo. So I got them out of the car. Then I decided to turn it off since we would be a few minutes. So I reached through the open passanger door to get the keys. But before I could reach them, I heard a weird noise, and the car started rolling backwards. It's all a bit of a blur, but I remember screaming to Crystal to get the boys and I tried to find the emergency brake. Then I remember turning around and feeling panic because I saw a tree coming towards me. By this point I was being dragged. I got down low, and sort of dropped and rolled a little. The next thing I know, I'm watching from the ground as the passanger door is crumpled by a tree and the glass shatters. Then the can continues backwards into another tree... about 10-30 feet short of Crystal's neighbor's house. What an experience. Crystal and her mom ! Vickie were life savers. I know I broke down crying... but it's really all very vague. I remember going to get my keys and purse and phone, and looking up at my boys staring at me and the van and not really knowing what to think. At that moment, I didn't care about the stupid van. They weren't in the van by a mere minute, and I'm not exagerating. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord.

Well, we called Hank, and then a wrecker. We got it pulled out of the ditch. It has severe body damage to the passenger side. Amazingly, they got the spare tire on and the fender pulled out enough so that Hank was able to drive it to my dad's shop.

Bryant kept saying the van had a boo-boo. And Tres was very concerned that the toilet paper (the big economy pack we had just bought) was somehow gonna get left behind. Hank was pretty amazing. I thought he would be mad at me, but he was awesome and just made sure we knew he didn't care about the car only about us.

We're trying to decide what to do... file a claim, or just cut our losses so our insurance doesn't go up or drop us, since Hank had a fender bender a couple of months ago. But overall, we just feel very blessed that we are all home, healthy, and happy tonight! Be sure and check Crystal's site for pictures (if she can get blogger to cooperate) and Ms. Vickie's for her version of the drama!

News Bullitans

It seems a little catch up is in order! This past weekend was pretty good... a little stressful, but that's just because of the amount of stuff crammed into it!!

Friday night Hank and I got to have a date night with Traci and Matt Tidmore. We went to Petracelli's on 280 and then got some dessert to go at the Cheesecake Factory and went back to Traci's parents house and chatted. It was so much fun, and we don't want to wait YEARS before doing it again!!

Saturday started off hectic with a captical H! I got up early to make breakfast croissants for a baby shower that morning. About the time I'm pulling the first batch from the oven, my father-in-law and Hank discover that our new-to-us van needs a part and go on a hunt to find it that took them from Jemison to downtown Birmingham.

In the meantime, I drop off food at the baby shower, and take the boys and Maggie (our niece visiting from Val Dosta) to a birthday party for Olivia Tidmore, who turned 3. It was such a fun party! The boys especially loved it when Liv got to open her Littliest Pet Shop toys and let everyone play. Then it was home to let the boys nap.

The in-laws, Hank, and Delaney (our oldest niece visiting from Val Dosta and attending her first Alabama football game), headed to Tuscaloosa. So Maggie and I took advantage of the quiet to make some jewelry and watch Aqua Marine. When the boys got up, we decided to go to Build-A-Bear.

Tres built a green frog named Pringles who got a Buzz Lightyear costume. Bryant built a orange cat named Kitty Cat (very appropriate I thought!) who got a Superman costume. And Maggie built a brown dog and named her Jamie (no wise cracks here). We hung out at the mall for a little while longer, then headed home. The boys got a bath, and then they all piled on the sleeper sofa and watch Racing Strips until they all fell asleep!

Sunday it was pretty much church and rest. With one exception... while Hank was napping, I loaded the boys up and took them to Target and let them pick out Halloween costumes. I have been earning a little side money watching a little boy after school for his mom, so I used all of my money on build-a-bear and costumes! Tres picked out a very cool Batman costume. Bryant picked out Superman.

Monday, the day started early, since Hank had to be in Tuscaloosa by 8:30. His interview went well. We are just waiting to see if they make him an offer. If that happens, we have discussed moving to McCalla or Vance... not really sure yet though! Just talking right now! Hank did take the rest of the day off, so that was a nice treat. He got to take a nap with the boys (he's been feeling sick with sinus stuff!).

Yesterday was fun, cause I got the first part of my root canal. Fun. The second part happens this coming Monday morning. I have to take a bunch of antibiotics in the meantime.

Today the boys and I had a playdate with some friends in Jemison. Jaime Mitchell and her two boys Luke and Logan. It was fun for all of us. Her kids are very close to mine in age, so it's always fun!

Well, there you have it! All caught up now!

This morning, Hank had a job interview at the University of Alabama. While they are still in the interview process, Hank said they seemed to be impressed by him. The only problem is that the job pays less than he makes currently... but the benefits are great. We are just praying and waiting on God. If this is not the job, then there will be another one!

Brotherly Love

Say Cheese!

Hank and I took the boys to get their pictures taken at Portrait Innovations yesterday. We try to take them when they have birthdays. We end up getting way too many, but who could turn such cuties down!! So this is Henry John Boemer, III aka Tres at 4 years old and Bryant Steven Boemer at 2 1/2 years. Enjoy!
Tres did so good!! He just smiled and laughed!
Bryant following instruction so well!! He smiled when they told him to... put his hands where they told him to, and was serious when they told him to! They asked me if he had ever done any modeling!!!
My blue eyed boy!
My brown eyed boy!

Hmmmm....

I didn't really think I wanted to blog tonight, but here I sit. I've spent a lot of time this week not feeling well and being really sick of that. But, on to other things!

We found that Bryant's 'creative' streak on his Crocs, extended to the back side of his door, the toy organizer, and the end of Tres's bed (formerly my sleigh bed).

I went to the dentist today, and got the not too unexpected news that I need a root canal. Joy. I'm not in pain, though, which is odd but good.

Today is my sister Jennie's birthday. She turned 34. We had a party for her at a local Mexican restaurant called Sol Azteca. They had a Marrichi band and it was so much fun! Tres was in hog heaven! This is the second time we've done this for her birthday, and I'm thinking it's gonna be an annual thing now. For those of you who don't know, my sister Jennie was born with mental retardation. I hate that word, but I don't know how else to explain it. She has the mental capacity of probably a 7 or 8 year old. She is VERY high functioning... but has a simplicity that I sometimes long for! I love my sister. I got to spend a little one on one time with her today, and it was fun. We went and picked out her birthday cake... it was white with blue flowers, but the writing had to be in red! Then we got some balloons and stuff for goody bags for her nieces and nephews, because that makes her happier than anything, to make those kids happy. She is a baby magnet! I've never met anyone else who can instill instant trust in a baby. They just know that she will do anything to make them happy! Jennie is so funny and loves to laugh and smile. Today, I must admit, we had a burping competition in the car! Ha!! She makes me feel like a kid again. I love you Jennifer Renee Morrison! And so do my kids.