Friday, November 21, 2008

Call me Mrs. ABD

He's done!! Brian sat for his oral exams this morning and did excellently! He has worked so hard and diligently these last 7 months - it is a huge blessing to see his work rewarded.

He says he doesn't feel a big sense of relief yet, but I certainly do! I have gotten teary-eyed a couple times already just thinking about the big load of work that has been lifted off my hard-working husband. Now "all" he has left to do for his PhD is his dissertation, making him an ABD (All But Dissertation).

So to celebrate tonight, we're going to eat at the mall's food court, and buy some new shoes for our little guy. Woohoo, Franklins sure do know how to party! ;)

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

This Day in History

Four years ago today, Brian and I had our first date. He had arranged with the restaurant that night to have flowers on the table waiting for me.

He said he couldn't take me back to Christopher's again tonight, but he at least wanted me to have flowers on my table.

Thanks for brightening my day. I love you, Brian.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

War Eagle (anyway)

Anyone who knows me more than a tiny bit knows of my love for my alma mater Auburn University. I am not alone - I come from a long line of Auburn fans, who are more gung-ho and rabid than I. Hard to imagine, maybe, but there you go.

My Auburn fan-ness was reinforced by living in University of Tennessee country most of my life. Of course, I brought some of the harassment upon myself by wearing Auburn shirts to school, and defending them against all detractors.

The last time I saw my parents, my Mom had a surprise for me - a couple small Auburn sweatshirts I had worn as a kid. And they fit Jonathan. Let the brainwashing begin...

No, he's not watching AU football here, though this expression does look like a grimace of pain.


I wish I could say he's learned how to yell a good "War Eagle!" but he hasn't. I'm still working on him, Mom. Just give me time. He's closer than a two-year old should be, probably. ;)

Funny Faces

Just so you know...this is one of my old sweatshirts. :) Pretty funny!

Mmm...Mrs Coats' spaghetti is good!



Is this close enough, Daddy?!

My two silly boys.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

They're Here!

This is just a real quick post to remind y'all that Brian's exams start this morning. From about 9 - 1 he'll be in a room taking his exams. I think the basic idea is that he'll have that time to write three essays, in which he basically has to sum up everything he's read in the last 6 months. No pressure.

So when you think about it, could you please pray for him? (and if you don't read this in time, don't worry, you'll have 4 more opportunities in the next two weeks) Just pray that he'll be able to recall what he's read and studied, and be able to clearly write it in his essays. And pray that he'll be calm; he was getting pre-big event jitters this morning. Thanks for all your prayers!

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Murphy Lives Here

I got Jonathan out of the bath tonight and wrapped him in his towel to make a toga (if he would stand still long enough, I could capture this really cute picture, but so far, no luck). Anyway, he wanted to run in to his Daddy in the study, so I followed him down the hall. I observed to Brian that one of the things I liked about the hardwood in the house was that I could let Jonathan run around for a few minutes after his bath without a diaper, because I could easily wipe up any messes, instead of breaking out the Resolve to scrub carpet.

Not five minutes later, we're in Jonathan's room, getting ready to get him into a diaper, when from behind me, I hear, "Jonathan, no!" And I turn around to find him peeing...on the rug. Go figure.

One of his other fun bath-time activities involves his shirt. I'll take it off his arms, but leave it on his head - he thinks it's hilarious!

Of course, he can't stand still long enough for me to take a decent picture, but he is two, after all.

Monday, November 3, 2008

I Have Slain the Beast

For a few days, Brian and I have been jokingly referring to the stench in the master bedroom as "The Beast." It stank. Seriously. As in, the door stayed closed for the whole week after we moved in. I opened it once, just out of curiosity. Bad idea. We had to shove a towel under the door just so Brian could breathe at night.

My goal this past Saturday was to clean our bathroom. Sounds easier than reality. I spent probably three hours and only managed to get the toilet, sink and floor clean. I lost heart before getting to the inside of the sink vanity and the shower. Even more disheartening was the fact that the smell didn't go away. Brian said it at least got less, but I couldn't really tell. And I was pretty sure the rank odor was coming from an unidentified object on the floor of the vanity. So tonight after I put Jonathan to bed, I geared up with rubber gloves (I almost wore two pairs), pulled out the Clorox clean-up and conquered the Beast. I have my theories about what the foul substance was, but you'll thank me for not sharing.

Now I'm recuperating with a small glass of wine to settle my stomach. If you haven't noticed, I don't have many "before" pictures of the house posted. I think some part of me wants to forget as quickly as possible and have no reminders. Some things are too gross to capture for posterity.