Monday, October 31, 2011

PowWow and PowPows!!!

At our home, we do not like witches, ghosts, or mummies.....instead we choose to go to a fun time of food, games, and prizes at our church.


We call it Hallelujah Night.

I'm not sure who gets more excited, me or my little one.


This year, Noah again picked our outfits telling me, "Mom, you can be the cowboy,

and I can be the Indian. Nicholas, he can just be the horse!"

Well, I love a good challenge (I do not, nor have I ever bought our costumes, just don't have the money for it.) but I did have to leave baby Nicholas out this year. He can't hold his head up well enough to wear mane.

He did have on a onesie that reads, "Mommy's Little Monster!"
Here is "Little Bear." We thought that sounded like a good Indian Name....and it's been Noah's nickname since before he was born!

Here is Mr. Nicholas, wanting out of the carseat!!!


And below are the first place winners from the costume contest!!!!!

Looks like the red skinned savage got the ole pale face!!!
By the way, I look like my dad when he was about 18!!! hahaha

Also, Noah's shirt is actually a pillowcase with holes cut in it for the neck and arms!!! hahaha!

That's an arrow sticking out of my neck!


Until next year.....which we already have ideas for!

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Crimson Tide Yacht, Part 4



So, I left off with Bob trying to get the motor running, and us trying to find reasonable flooring prices. I made trips round the county to find all of the little things needed to make the motor fire up. We needed one more small piece, found in Gulf Shores. The grease and all found in Bay Minette. A piece of the impeller had to be welded. It all took about 2 weeks.



The next thing Bob worked on was the ignition. There wasn't a key!!!! We called a locksmith to see about getting one made. He told us to go buy a new ignition. So, Bob to the rescue again. He hooked it right up for us.




Then the big day came. Us, Bob and his wife, and our other neighbors were all standing there, when Bob hooked the motor up to the hose, and fired her off! Cranked first time! Bob was so happy I thought he was gonna cry! Derrick had "something in his eye!" Bob's wife said, "Oh good, it works, go get your truck Derrick and get it outta here!" Poor Mrs. Bob. She sacrificed her husband for a lot of days. From the time he got up to the time he went to bed for about 2-3 months, he spent working on our boat. We'll never be able to thank him and his wife enough!




Back to the flooring. I checked high and low for reasonable prices. Couldn't find a one. But, that would have to wait...D wasted no time taking her out! We have a friend who lives in Orange Beach on the canal who was brave enough to go with D. He also gave Derrick an old oar and anchor. More money saved! When Derrick came back alive, I told him Noah and I would go with him next! We took the boat out looking just like this.....


The seat that came with it-unattached, 2 coolers as seats, an area run so the fiberglass wouldn't stick to our feet!!! You know, the good old fashioned way! This picture was when we were launching.




It was funny because I was worried about going without seats, but Noah was obviously not concerned!



And me and unborn baby boy were not about to get out in that brackish!!! But those two had a blast swimming that day, and we all had a great boat trip!


Check back for more details on the floor and the seats!

Monday, October 24, 2011

Who dat baaaaaaby?!?!?!

It's still so hard to believe that my oldest baby is now 7.

And it's even harder to believe I am old enough to have a son who is 7!
But this past Saturday we spent celebrating that boy, and he had a blast!
Family came from out of town, and that made us real proud!


We asked Noah what he wanted to do for his birthday and his answer was:

Play pin the tail on the donkey,

Have a pinata,

Do the limbo!








And he's been asking for a Sony PSP for 2 years now, both at his birthday and Christmas.

We finally decided it was time!

He really appreciated all of his gifts,

but his eyes lit up when he opened that PSP!

And of course, for my sweet baby boy, I wish you many more!



Thursday, October 20, 2011

3 years

As I have mentioned before, the fall and winter are covered up with birthdays in our family. October 20th happens to be Mr. Anthony Cooper's big day!

3 years ago today, Aunt T was waiting for that little booger to arrive, and I can barely remember life before him! He is such an awesome little dude, and we are so proud of him!


Below is a picture of him, his parents, and his cake!

I absolutely love him blowing out his candle!


Getting ready to destroy that poor piece of cake!



Saying hi to Diego on the way to open presents!

And getting lots of goodies!

Happy Birthday Anthony Cooper!



I wish you many more!

Friday, October 14, 2011

October 14



HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY AWESOME HUSBAND!
HE'S AN AMAZING DADDY, A HARD WORKER, AND MY BEST FRIEND!


I LOVE YOU....FROM THE ONE AND ONLY MRS. DERRICK GIVENS!

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Crimson Tide Yacht, Part 3

So, the next day, I was at the hardware store, tackling the list of items needed to make that boat floor new! Wood, screws, and the like. I actually met Bob up there, he wanted to make sure we got the prettiest pieces of lumber they had!!! He was going down his copy of the list, and he introduced me as his friend Tiffany!!! :)


So, what Ace didn't have, I ventured to Lowe's, Home Depot, and had to go to a speciality store to get the fiberglass resin. All the while, Bob was back at his house, with our boat in his shed, and his time away from his wife, cleaning out the bottom of our boat. He totally gutted it out, and started from scratch.


And of course, I have a connection with a nuts and bolts guy, and he and his lovely wife supplied lots of screws, nails, and nuts and washers!


And, Bob began work shortly there after. I would wake up in the mornings, get Noah off to school, look towards their home, and there he'd be, pulling the boat out of the shed and getting started on that days task.


Bob spent the next couple of weeks cutting boards, nailing, rearranging, and fiber glassing!


This was in the early spring, and the weather was wonderful, but it was still a whole lot of hard work. Precise work. And the whole time, Bob never asked for anything in return.


So, he got the floor finished. And it looked great. Custom built just for us! The next task would be the motor. The one without a foot!!!


Bob agreed to help us get it running, but didn't have the parts needed to do so. D began searching the corners of his brain to figure out who could help. Everyday, while reading his routes, D would talk to people who had boats, go to boat shops, and basically put out an all alert for the particular part we needed.


Then, one day, he happened to remember the dad of a guy D used to hang with, and so he looked him up in the phone book. Well, two days later, I'm at this man's boat motor graveyard, picking up the foot we needed. He and his wife are absolutely down to earth, wonderful people. They invited me in, just like family, gave Noah candy out of their granddaughter's candy stash, and visited with us. They also have 2 sons (grown of course) and they are also 6 years apart! We had lots to talk about!!! I feel like I met these folks for a reason, for such a time as this!


And, I brought it back to Bob, and he hooked it up. He gave us another small list of supplies (oil, gear grease, a battery, etc.) we would need to be in business. So, more shopping!!!


While I was getting these supplies, I mean the exact same day, D called me and said, meet me outside with some Mean Green Cleaner! I said, uh-oh. He was reading the meter of a guy out by fish river who was cleaning out his shed, and had a pile of life jackets (12-assorted sizes), a battery box, some safety flares, and maybe something else, I just can't remember. D reads this guys meter once a month, and knew this stuff had been sitting there, but he'd never seen the guy outside. This time, he was there with no where to run. D told the guy we'd just gotten a boat, a fixer-upper, and the guy said, well, you wouldn't wanna take that pile of junk off of my hands would ya? D said what junk? The guy replied, those life jackets, battery box, and safety flares!!! Um, hello! Life jackets are at least $10 a piece, and the battery box I had bought (and later returned!) was $25! So, with a little elbow grease, and Mean Green, it was all like new!


So, Bob continued working out the kinks of the motor. We began getting flooring estimates (carpet, spray-in, tile) and checking on seat prices! And this is where I'll stop for today!

Friday, October 7, 2011

You're how old?!?!

This is Nana. Otherwise known as Lois.

She is my maternal grandmother, and today she is 80!

Below are 2 pictures of her with my Paw-Paw, sometime in the 50s!!!



And yesterday, me and my two little ones went over to see her and take her a cake.....not today because she is working! Yep, she still works!



Happy Birthday to my NaNa!

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Homecoming Week

Noah's school is grades K-4 through 8th grade, and is still quite a small school. This week the middle school football team is playing their "homecoming" game. We had homecoming in high school, but never middle school. I think it's fun! Anyway, the whole school gets to dress up like a different theme every day through Thursday, which is the day of the game. So, here is what we came up with this year.....



Monday---Crazy hair and sock day!





Tuesday----Dress like the folks from "Swamp People"


Wednesday----Dress like your favorite Disney character!


Thursday will be wear a red, white, or blue shirt day (school colors!!!) and so I probably won't post that. Friday, back to regular school uniform day!



GO PANTHERS!!!!!

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Crimson Tide Yacht-Part 2



That Saturday, D worked his tail off trying to get all of the old remaining fiberglass out of the bottom of the boat, which was harder to do than he had anticipated, at least without the right tools.


So, he made a call to one of our neighbors, who has a huge shed full of cool tools. This person wishes to remain anonymous (Matthew 6:3). I'll call him Bob. The first thing I want to say about Bob is he served our country in Vietnam. I am proud to know him and his lovely wife. Anyway, Bob listened to D's story, and decided he'd come with what tools he had, to see if he could help. Bob took one look at that boat and told D he was in way over his head. He told him that there was a lot of work to be put into that boat, and it wouldn't just be a one day thing. D told him how serious he was about wanting a boat like this. Bob went on home. D had to quit work for the day, but all night long he dreamed of boat rides!!!


The next day, Sunday, we went to church like always, then we were sitting at the lunch table (I'd made spaghetti) when the phone rang. It was Bob. He told me to have D come over to his shed when we finished eating. So, D scarfed down and headed over.


When D came home, he was crying. I mean tears. He sat me down and said just this:

Bob just told me he is going to do all of the work on the floor of our boat, building it from scratch, and he's going to help me get it running too.......all for free!!! We buy the materials, and he is going to do every bit of the labor for us.


I bawled like a baby. The thought of someone doing something like this for us, and me knowing how much it meant to D, plus lets say pregnancy hormones as well, I was totally overwhelmed with emotion.


It reminded me, and still reminds me, of how Jesus did all of the labor, so that I can still go free.


Bob showed me such a great example of Jesus. Not just the comparison of what Jesus did for us. But he wanted to do something for us, he wanted no recognition, and nothing in return. And he did it just because. There would be no benefit in it for him. If anything, sacrifices. And he volunteered to do it for us. That's what being a Christian is. Being like Jesus. And that's just what Bob did.


Remember 1 Corinthians 13:13?

And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.


So, he told D to fill the boat up half way with water, and let it sit a few days to check for leaks, and in the meantime, he and his wife would be checking prices for us on the materials needed to get her started.


Well, that's what we did. We filled it up half way, and let it sit. We checked it lots to see if it was leaking, and it even rained some that Monday. No leaks. So, I think it was Tuesday when they gave D the itemized list of what to get, where to get it, and what it would cost. Boards, nails, screws, and fiberglass resin.


Check back soon for part 3!!!