Bittersweet

Tonight we had a going away party for the seniors at 180. It's sad to see them go...most of them are going to Liberty University as of this coming Wednesday. We also have one who has already left for Washington & Lee, and two who'll be attending Hampden-Sydney. One is headed to Hampton University as well. They will definitely be missed, but we are grateful for the last few years that we have had with them. Thankfully most of them are close by enough that they've promised to make some alumni visits back to Bucktown. :) They've been a blessing to Billy and I, and also to the students who they have set an example for. Here is a picture of Billy giving them a speech...in which he tried not to get too sappy:

It wouldn't really be 180 if we didnt do something like this, either...:)
Things may be changing, but some things...
*Like the goofballs who are now in charge around here*
...never change :)

*Ephesians 1:16*

Read it or See it?

A few weeks ago I had seen previews for the movie The Time Traveler's Wife. It looked like it might be a really sweet movie, and I told Billy I wanted to go see it as soon as it came out. We never go to movies *let alone anywhere that doesn't involve infant carriers as of late ;)* so we were both excited about going somewhere minus our beloved hooligans. *Who are definitely beloved, don't get me wrong, but also terribly loud.* As a surprise, Billy had bought me the book to read while we were on vacation at the beach last week.

It was a really good story, even though it was a bit sad *and had some language that was a bit sad too*. I can't resist a few sappy tears now and then, or a good long book to read. *Reading is another thing I don't do much lately...I need to be looking where I'm going when I'm chasing Merrick*

So now that I've seen the movie, I think the story in the book was much better. Billy and I were talking about which is better...books or movies. I think I'd rather read a book any day, and he'd probably rather watch a movie. So I was curious as to what other people think, too. I put a poll on the side of my blog, just for fun, to see what everyone else thinks. Take a second and tell me what you think!

Tree Hugger

A few weeks ago, we had a huge thunderstorm at our house. One of those storms that keeps Merrick awake, and knocks out the power. *not like that's hard to do out here in the sticks* At one point I was getting ready for bed, and heard what sounded like something landing on the roof of the house. I came flying out of the bathroom, thinking the ceiling was coming down on my head. Billy went outside to check on everything, and all seemed to be fine. *he just thought I was overreacting as usual...which wouldn't be a large assumption. ;)* He was cutting the grass the other day, however, and saw this:


Apparently, lighting had struck a tree in our yard, just not the house like I thought. :) Half of the tree is dying, now...and it has this streak down the branch. It seems like it was small, but it was still really loud. I guess it will eventually kill the whole tree. Better the tree than me, however. :)

Sour Grapes Skittles

Billy and I were getting ready to head to the gym earlier tonight when we noticed Merrick was quiet. *cue scary music* We found out the source of his silence was a bag of sour skittles. He had gnawed through the bag, which he had found sitting on Billy's dresser, and was trying to get the skittles out. We gave him a couple to see what he would do...He seemed to have a love/hate relationship with "sour". He thought they tasted funny, but kept wanting another one. It doesn't surprise me that he likes these things. He won't eat "normal" food at times, but give him cheez-its dipped in mashed potatoes anyday ;)

Danger

I spent a lot of my time at the beach last week chasing my favorite Wildman. He was really well behaved for the most part. :) He just had so much more room to roam in the beach house that it was hard to keep him semi-contained. One of my aunts has a son who is a lot like Merrick when it comes to energy level and flare for getting into mischief. Here is the two of them commandeering some headphones:

My aunt told me a trick she has learned for keeping kids out of trouble. Instead of yelling "stop", which in Merrick language means "run faster"...she said try yelling "danger". The house we stayed in was 4 stories tall, and the balconies worried me just a bit with my little climber. They were a bit too tall to climb, thankfully, but I was afraid he would pull a chair up and climb away.
So we decided to test out the theory. When Merrick went close to the railings my aunt yelled "danger!". It didnt go exactly as planned. Merrick kept right on going to figure out just what all the danger was about. He even decided to join in with her and yelled "danger" himself. Maybe I should try yelling "night-night" or something? :)