Busy cheer week

There was picture day, and another game that was moved to a different location than the original plan, and then it was delayed.  They wore their red uniforms this time.  I am more a blue fan myself, but the middle school cheerleaders wear hand me down uniforms that the high school has retired, and the red fits the girls better.

They are working on full extension on this stunt - so the base girls will hold the flyer above their heads, and they are doing well with it.  Julia likes the stunts, so this is a good thing.

The girls ended up on their home field, so that was nice. Oh, and they got their poms...it was unclear last week whether the girls would have them this season.  There weren't enough old ones, and they were worn out.

She's lovin' it!

Julia is loving middle school, making new friends, and can't wait for cheer practice and game days.

She cheered her first football game today.  The girls did great!  They were so pumped for the game, and much confusion surrounded the game.  We planned our entire day around a 1:30 game only to learn at 12:50 that it was postponed and relocated for 7:30.  We arrived at the field which happened to be at my alma mater thirty minutes prior to game time only to find that a lightning delay during an earlier game threw off the schedule so much that the game prior to ours had not even started.  

The girls got to cheer under the lights.  They cheered non-stop and fit some tumbling in too.  They have great stunts, and they only had two weeks to prepare.  Impressive!

Better yet, this is one sweet group of girls.  Julia loves them already.  Julia is a pretty amazing gymnast, so she did a tumbling pass with eight back handsprings (I am sure she will figure out soon enough that that is overkill).  The girls cheered for her, and Tiffany left the game following one of the girls and heard C say to her dad, "Did you see how good Julia did?  Wasn't that really good?" Tiffany said there was not a hint of jealousy, just sheer happiness for her friend.  I think we are in for one fun season.  I am so grateful to the friend who made it possible for Julia to experience all of this.  

The final piece to the uniforms arrived yesterday.  Wow!  You've never seen so much excitement over white tennis shoes.  They arrived neatly packaged in a handy shoe bag, and that just put the whole team over the top.  The insoles even say touch on one shoe and down on the other so they can get them on the right feet - as if that is an issue at this stage!  The moms were certainly chuckling over the enthusiasm over shoes at the game.

Julia's coach is new to the school and our town.  Mrs. T hails from down south, and I could tell that from her very first email.  She has lots of experience coaching cheerleading at all levels, and she happens to be Julia's math and science teacher.  She's super!  Mrs. T revealed to me that someone from the high school (I am guessing the high school cheer coach) saw Julia at practice and approached Mrs. T to inquire/ state that Julia would be cheering with the high school team this year.  Mrs. T quickly told her no and let her know it's not happening next year either.  I told her that is a-okay with me.  She can't move up until 8th grade anyway, but can you even imagine a 6th grader among girls discussing important high school topics such as homecoming plans and prom dates, not to mention the drama?  Um, no thanks.  What fun would that be for Julia to miss getting to know these sweet girls in closer to her own age?

It was a late night.  The girls could not wait to get out to that field and cheer, and they were really tired when it ended. We arrived home close to midnight.  I am sure Zach never played such a late game, but it was very cool for the girls to cheer their first game under the Saturday night lights.

School starts again...sigh

The kids returned to school today.

One of these three was sick this morning.  Another was in denial.  If you don't put your feet on the floor, can you pretend this day is. NOT. happening?  The other felt the uniform was too loose and needed a safety pin alteration.  

This is not the most flattering picture of Savannah, so here's another senior picture that I really like:

 She's a SENIOR!

Andy experienced morning carpool for the first time at this campus today. I experienced afternoon carpool and waited well beyond my expectation when I arrived at campus more than 25 minutes after school dismissed.  So much for missing carpool by going late!

The kids all had a good day.  They like their teachers for the most part.  Julia thought it was downright fun!  Wyatt was glad to have his homeboys in two classes in a row (his words). Savannah's still disappointed that she could not make a creative painting class fit into her schedule, but maybe we can squeeze something like that in at a local business. I am really bummed that her senior year includes no art classes, but she didn't really have any options.

It was the first day for my students too.  It went very smoothly other than the crazy high heels I wore that killed my feet.  I put on tennis shoes for Jazzercise, and they have not come off.  Oh how I dread putting my feet through that again tomorrow!  A teacher friend of mine posted that she will be in tennis shoes tomorrow.  I am not allowed to do that at my school:(

This is happening! She's a senior!

All photos courtesy of Derrick Dixon Photography


Remember that you can click any photo to see it larger.  My favorites are changing constantly, so there may be more to come.

We started with a beautiful and perfect setting.

This one may be my favorite because this is how I see Savannah with a natural and ready smile.

Savannah loves this one.

I love how the colors pop in these photos, and her outfits coordinated nicely with the settings.

This one was daring and fun.  We saw the cyclists coming, and Derrick just had Savannah step out in the street.  The bikers had fun with it, and Savannah loved it.  She could feel the wind created by the crowd.

Savannah rarely spends her money as she is diligently saving for a car, but she's a shoe girl so she will occasionally splurge on shoes.  She bought those wedges just a couple of weeks before her pictures and likes the shots that show them off.

These photos were Savannah's favorite part of the session.  This is an actual working bridge, so she and Derrick ran out to the middle and took quick photos when traffic was clear.

I tried to figure out how to put this one on a canvas and then chucked the idea and did a collage instead, but I may have to revisit this one.  This is Savannah's favorite outfit.  There's just only so much wall space in this house.

We stopped by the studio, and I really thought I would like the yellow against the black background, but I actually like the black.

This shows off Savannah's fun-loving side.  She's always smiling.  It's candid.  I love it!

The only downer- is it just me, or does she really look grown up in this one?  I blinked.  Seriously, she was two yesterday.  I know you are reading this, Tessa.  Hang onto Kinsley.  She'll be seventeen herself tomorrow.

Coming Soon...

This weekend wore me out.  I spent about 12 hours photographing and typing out the words my maternal grandfather recorded in a pocket journal as he journeyed through France, Belgium, and Germany during WWII.  I learned so much, and holding that piece of history in my hands was amazing, but I was in a time crunch and very tired from the process.  When I was not working on that, I was searching through hundreds of pictures for good ones of my grandma.  

We spent about four and a half hours with a photographer on Saturday to capture Savannah's senior pictures, and I am anxious to share them as I know they will be amazing.

We buried my grandma today.

I took the girls to the park tonight where we played with my camera.  We put together the chalkboard below for Savannah's senior pictures, and by the time we got to that outfit we forgot about the chalkboard.  I was a little disappointed that we forgot even though I know we will be happy with the pictures regardless.  We did use it with another outfit but only used one side, so I decided to play tonight with my reflector and camera and one extra lens to see if I could get any decent shots.  These aren't great, but they will do.

Her senior pictures are coming very soon, and she had such fun, so we are very excited to see the product. Derrick easily took 2000 pictures, and this is why I am not a photographer.  On top of learning all the camera settings (I have a long way to go), I do not have the patience to sort through 2000 images to pull out the best ones.

I thanked my girls for helping me play.  Julia held the reflector so that we could get a nice glow on Savannah.  I can't say that Julia was thrilled to be of service, but she got the job done and figured out how cool it is to see the light reflect on Savannah's face even though the sun was actually behind her.

Grandma by the lake

My grandma is finally free from her broken mind and body.

We learned early in the week that Grandma was not doing well and in fact it looked like it would be a matter of days.  The call came on Thursday while we were actually out of town at an amusement park.

This is her story...

My grandma lived through a lot of history, and her life was certainly no easy road.  She was the second of six daughters born to her parents.  They lost a toddler son before any of the girls were born.  Grandma was a daddy's girl, and she lost her dad when she was around twelve years old.  Grandma and her older sister were then forced to take care of their ailing mother while the other girls were sent to live in an orphanage.  The older girls thought the life was easier in the orphanage while those living it thought the older girls got the better deal.

Grandma's first husband, from what I understand, was abusive.  Their marriage produced one child, my aunt, but I don't know what became of him.  I don't think there was any contact when my grandma got herself out of that situation.  Grandma's second husband was my biological grandfather, and I think their story would have been one of lasting love.  She fondly remembered that his family took her in with arms wide open, and he was very good to her.  She is pictured with him in the photo above and below.  I just love both of these photos.  My uncle and my mom were born from this love, and my grandpa was killed in a construction accident when my mom was two years old, so none of the grandchildren knew him, and my mom did not remember him.

It is interesting to think how life would have been different if not for that accident.  My mom would have likely grown up in Mississippi or Arkansas. Mom met my dad through one of my grandma's sisters, so that meeting may or may not have taken place, and I may or may not have been born.  My grandma moved to Indiana after his death which put her close to her mom and sisters.  She waited tables to support herself and her kids.  She remarried somewhere in there, but that marriage did not last, and I only know of it because it was mentioned less than a handful of times.  

As a single mom she put herself through nursing school.  She's third from the left on the front row in the picture below.  She's so clearly thrilled as she should be.  Math was a struggle for her, and she actually had a tutor to help her get through the nursing program.  

I remember being at my Grandma's house when she was getting ready for work before she retired.  I remember that she always left for work with bright lipstick on, but I don't remember her wearing it for anything else.  

I am pretty sure my mom was in high school when my grandma married the man I knew as Grandpa. They enjoyed traveling together and were in a bad car accident while visiting with family in California.  I don't think my grandpa was ever the same after that accident.  They returned home on a medical flight with long recoveries ahead.  I remember that he had a cast from his hip to his toe on one leg.  He died when I was in college.  I believe it was ten years or so after the accident.

Tara, my dad and Tessa join Grandma in this picture.  Tessa is helping Grandma with the package.

Grandma with some of the great grandkids below and above.

I remember when my grandpa died, my country music loving grandma (she did grow up in the hills of Eastern Kentucky) played Garth Brooks' The Dance often.  She loved that song, and I think it helped her cope with being widowed a second time.

Grandma meets Austin.

Grandma meets Savannah.

I love these next few pictures.  Tara and Grandma had birthdays days apart.  We went to Joe's Crab Shack one year, and the waitress made quite a production about their birthdays.  She made Grandma the crown worn in this picture, and we all got a kick out of it.

I remember working hard to earn money to participate in a girl scout trip.  I came up short, and my grandma and grandpa forked over the difference.  They never had a lot of money, but they had very generous hearts, and they were very careful with what they had.  My grandma paid for my grandpa's nursing home care herself until the day he died.  She then fretted when her own money ran out, and she had to go on Medicaid to cover her care.

That's my mom and Grandma on Mom's wedding day.

This is my great-grandmother with my mom and Grandma.

I am pretty sure this is an anniversary. 

I went ahead and scanned the pictures of my biological grandpa.  We have his pocket journal from when he was in Belgium during WWII.  I took pictures of every page and will try and transcribe it, but these pictures and that journal really should be delivered to my uncle, so we need to do that.  My history loving son really wants to read that journal.  He read some of it last night and was just thrilled to hold that piece of history in his hands.

Grandma embraced life.  She got it that teenagers aren't exactly thrilled about hanging out with grandparents.  She was insistent that three generations should never live under one roof, and therefore she made it known that she should go to a nursing home when she could no longer take care of herself.  When Grandma went into the nursing home, she participated in life there winning so many spelling bees that her walls were covered in ribbons. 

My grandma was a fighter.  I don't know and won't know this side of Heaven why she suffered so much for the last several years.  She stopped recognizing the people she loved as her body deteriorated.  I have missed her cooking.  If there is fried chicken in Heaven, somebody is probably in for a treat soon if my grandma has access to a kitchen.  She outlived both of her daughters and her first daughter-in-law.  Grandma always had a Coke to offer anyone who visited her.  She was generous and willing to take care of family, and she was very frugal. Grandma loved yard sales, and she loved to be on the go.  I think she may have had Attention Deficit Disorder.  We laugh about her terrible driving and how it scared us.  She could not keep a checkbook.  Patient tellers at her bank would sit with her for hours going over her transactions to figure out her checkbook, and I think those sessions often ended with a new account.  She loved much.  Not one of her children or grandchildren could ever believe they weren't loved.  

Grandma is the only person that I can predict how she will greet me in Heaven because it will be the same greeting I got every time I saw her in life.  She will greet me with a hug, possibly take my face in her hands, and her whole face will tell me she's glad I'm there whether she says so or not, but she will likely say so.

I have had many condolences offered, but I have known for some time that my grandma was gone.  I last saw her in January.  She did not know who I was, and she was very agitated because she could not make my children believe I was evil and intended to kill them.  I could not put her through that anxiety again, so I walked away from that visit knowing I would not see her in this life again.  I say this to say that I am relieved that her suffering is over.  She is free!