Go Dogs!!!

Our UGA bulldogs looked great out on the field today. It's going to be a good season! I love the game day atmosphere in Athens! UGA VII was introduced today which was neat. He looks like a darn good dog! It was soooooo hot though! The players kept cramping up due to the intense heat! We met up with some friends from our Australia trip and cheered on the dogs together. Good day! Not much else to say so I'll just share a few photos from the game. Go dogs!!!


Me and the roomies before the game.


Me and Justin.


Lizzy (she's on the flag line), Cameron, and me.

This is a side note, but I don't dress up for the games. I've never understood wearing a dress to a football game. I want to be comfortable! But I do like to look at all the different red and black attire. Each to his own ;-)

~BK

Not much...

going on here. Back to being a busy bee with school...

I'm thankful for all this rain. The lake sure needs it. :-) And I'm hoping for more (but no storms!).

I'm frustrated I haven't received an update on the girl's condition who fell off the bus. And that I have no way of finding out anything. I'll just keep praying she's okay.

I'm already starting to study for my genetics test next Wednesday. Ahhh!

I'm pumped for the UGA vs. GSU game on Saturday! Go dogs!!!!!

I'm missing having Justin in Athens. It still feels strange and a bit lonely.

I'm confused as to who I like on Big Brother this season. I normally have a set favorite by this time. I think this time I'm waiting until the final two and picking from who I think played best.

That's all for now. :-)

~BK

Shocked

I'm a bit shocked as I write this so I hope it makes sense. For those of you who may not know, the university provides greyhound sized buses for students to ride from class to class due to the large size of campus. They have seats and standing room. I was just on a bus headed to my next class and the driver told us she would not be able to go up the hill to the stop where my class is because there had been an accident. I expected a typical bump up, but I was unfortunately so wrong. About twenty minutes ago, a bus was going down what we call Ag Hill and the door flew open and two students that were standing (in a too full bus) fell out. I got out at the detour stop and walked on the sidewalk by the hill to my class. I couldn't help but look. One female appeared to no longer have any skin on her arms or legs and the other girl was flat on her back not moving. The paramedics had just arrived and were tending to the girl that seemed to be more severely injured. I saw blood on the paramedics gloved hands which were under the girls head. Please pray for both girls and those who were on the bus when this happened. I feel numb and I wasn't even involved.

Vacation Day 8... if it even counts...

It's always hard to tell the ocean bye. Don't laugh, it's true. I love everything about the beach and I always have. The ocean represents so many of my childhood memories and good times. The smell, sand, and the waves. It was rainy when we left which made it much easier, but still, you never know when you'll be back...

The ride home was uneventful. The trip back home is always so much less fun. We did get caught in some traffic coming through Atlanta. They're erecting a new bridge. I finished my last book with over three hours left. Needless to say, it begin to drag on and I was so relived to see that Lavonia exit!

Jackson was overjoyed to see us. It always melts my heart. His love is so apparent! He's had a fresh bath and is now tired out from all of us playing with him.

Not much else to report, so I thought I'd share some photos. They're all located on my myspace page (let me know if you aren't a friend on there and I can add you - it's hard for people to add me because my paranoia listed it under a fake name!) .

Here are some of my favorites. Oh and Justin and I are trying to get more creative in our photos, some are complete failures, but we're trying. :-)



A shark kite that I loved!


Getting ready to attempt skim boarding.


Several slips and falls...


But success was sweet.


Looks like the judges thought so too. :-)


Beach games are a tradition.


I love him, plain and simple.


Natural beauty.


Again.


And again.


And again.


The docks that belong to our condo. They were across the street on the bay.


The cutest family that I watched all week (in a non stalkerish way of course, lol). A mom, dad, and twin boys.


This says Perdido if you can't tell. I'm not sure how long it took Justin to find the shells and spell it out. He surprised me, lol.


I love this more than words can say. Candids are my favorites and this one just warms my heart.


I think I look more and more like her, lol.


Sunshine and summertime.


New photo style.


That I really like!


Through the umbrella... silly silliness :-)

So obviously I have a hard time picking favorites!

It was a wonderful trip. Now I need to get back to reality. I have tons of laundry and things to do before school starts on MONDAY. Yikes!

~BK

Vacation Days Six and Seven

I decided to combine these because beach life seems to be quite repetitive, which is a fabulous thing. :-)

Day Six: Gorgeous beach weather returns. The waves were huge from the previous day's storm though, and I couldn't stay in the water too long. I had to fight to get out past the waves and then work to stay afloat, lol. I returned to my chair under the umbrella where I read and watched Justin skim and body surf and dozed off for most of the day. Another good shrimp dinner followed!

Day Seven: The last day at the beach is always bittersweet. The weather was perfect, even better than day one. It was by far my favorite. I stayed in the ocean a good bit. The waves were rolly, just like I like them and it was sunny with a small breeze. We stayed on the beach later today, trying to soak up enough to last us another year. We ate at the Oyster Bar, a nice place that Justin and I ate at last year. It's set on the bay near the bridge that leads to the island. (Perdido Key, FL is an island). We sat outside and had a nice view of all the water activity on the bay. I spotted the biggest jelly fish I've ever saw. It surfaced and it's head was at least the size of a basketball, no exaggeration. Scary to think we swim around with those! I ordered seafood pasta and it was heavenly. I was getting tired of all that fried food but still wanted shrimp. Justin and I shared some homemade Key Lime Pie, just like last year. It was AMMMMMMMAZING! We walked on the beach one last time, for awhile anyway. It's one of my favorite things to do at the beach. I don't know why. It's just the sounds and smell of the ocean can be appreciated more, there's less distractions or something. On the walk, we didn't talk, just listened to the ocean. I took that time to thank God for giving me this wonderful time with my family. We needed it so badly and he pulled through yet again. He took care of Ma while we were gone also, and I'll always be grateful. God is good. (All the time). :-)

Tomorrow we head home. I'm sad to leave because it means back to reality and school, but I can't wait to see my Jackson!

~BK

Vacation Day Five (Better late than never)

I fell asleep last night before I got a chance to post.

Yesterday was a bummer as far as weather was concerned. It rained until about four and the winds were ferocious. We read and ate or watched TV. We were ready to get out of the condo around three and went for drive, just to see what we could see. When we saw the sun pop out we headed back and Justin went to the beach to work on his skimming skills. I watched from the balcony and read People.

We went out to eat at the place we ate at the first night because it was all you can eat shrimp night and it was so good. Afterwards, Justin and I went to take some photos and then walked on the beach. Then we went for a night swim in the pool. I love doing that.

Today the sun is shining bright and there is a small breeze. Looks wonderful!

~BK

Vacation Day Four

Today was another good day. The sun was out. It was super windy all day though with winds around thirteen miles per hour. Justin went to a local surf shop and bought some wax for his skim board. He successfully mastered it. :-)

We ordered a pizza and made a salad and stayed in the condo tonight. When we got back to the condo from picking up the pizza Justin said he felt like a storm was brewing. Turns out, he was right. We took a walk on the beach after supper and the winds increased. When we got back to the room and turned on the TV we saw that we were under a severe thunderstorm warning (with up to 50 mph winds!) and a tornado watch. Thankfully, they are both over and everything seems to be okay, but they are still calling for what sounds like some intense thunderstorms. I'm praying they pass as easily as the others did. I don't do well with storms.

I'm in my jammies (why is is that you feel extra cozy in pjs when it rains?), watching Law and Order with Justin. I've always loved it, but I think I've got him hooked. ;-)

~BK

Vacation Day 3

When I woke up it was raining. I watched Big Brother online, I'd missed it last night, while I ate breakfast and then read my book. By 12, there was no more rain and the sun was peaking out. It turned out to be a really good day. I finished my book, another winner! We lounged around on the beach for most of the day. Justin tried to skim board with no real success, it seems to be quite the challenge. I took some funny photos of his attempt. We ate at another little local place. It looked like a little shack, but had the best fried shrimp and hush puppies. We stopped by a grocery store so I could purchase a few more books. That's the only place around here to get some. Hopefully they'll be as good as my other grocery store find. We're back now. Justin is studying up on skim boarding, mama and daddy are snoozing, and I'm heading that way myself!

~BK

Vacation Day Two

Today was a perfect day on the beach.

I woke up around 9 and was on the beach by 10. I finished Sundays at Tiffany's (James Patterson's new love story). It was so good! Chick flick for sure.

I've started a new book, Summer by the Sea by Susan Wiggs. It's really good so far. I've read over 200 pages so far. I haven't read a novel since last summer break so I'm loving it!

It was sunny, but not too hot because there was a breeze. The water was perfect. No seaweed, very few jellies, and it was warm with gentle waves! There's also hardly anyone on the beach since peak season is over. So nice!

For supper, we crossed the state line and ate in Orange Beach, Alabama at a little seafood place. It was really good. I ate shrimp again. It's the only seafood I like and I don't just like it, I love it!

Justin and I walked on the beach when it got dark. The moon was out and it was beautiful. We saw lots of sand crabs!

I was planning on posting some photos, but I'm too lazy. I want to get back to my book.

It's calling for rain tomorrow, but I hope not. Either way, it's nice to be away for a bit!

~BK

Vacation Day One

I thought I'd sum up each day of my vacation. We have internet access in the room which is so nice! I realize I don't have that many readers, but this serves as a journal for me, so I'm going to try and keep it up!

We left our house around 7:30AM. It's always hard to say goodbye to my dog.

We stopped for breakfast at Chicfilia in Commerce, then for gas, and then for lunch at Subway. I slept some, but not much. I finished my book. I was reading gods in Alabama. I've started Sundays at Tiffany's and it's so good. I've already read 245 pages!

Then seven short hours later, thanks to Justin and Susie (the name we've affectionately given our Garmin), and the good Lord, we arrived safely.

I must admit every time my mom or dad's cell phone rang, my heart dropped, thinking we'd be having to turn around and head back home.

We unpacked and went to the grocery store to stock up (and I bought another book!). We have a tradition of going to a church service while we're on vacation. We went to 5:30 mass tonight and it was no disappointment. We felt like the homily was directed towards us. He talked about how Peter doubted Jesus when Jesus was walking on water and told Peter to come. "Oh ye of little faith..." We decided to trust in God that things would be okay back home while we're away and just enjoy.

Afterwards we ate at the Shrimp Basket, a local favorite. My blackened shrimp, hush puppies, fries, and slaw were soooooo good (and probably so NOT healthy!). Then we went for a walk on the beach. It felt so good to put my feet in the sand and the ocean. It always has a calming effect on me and I'm always in awe of the beauty of the beach. I couldn't help but thank and praise God instantly. For all of his creations, for this time with my family and Justin, for Ma, for the many blessings in my life.

There was also a small wedding on the beach. So sweet.

I just had a snack and we're watching the little league world series. It's only 9:30 here, but I'm exhausted.

Day 1: Major success!

~BK

Oh and Ma had a good day. Not much eating, but very alert!

AND, wasn't that sad about Bernie Mac! He was my dad's age!!! Scary...

I'm craving...

Sunny skies, clear water, and white sand.

We've hesitated about if we should go forward with our vacation to Florida or not because of Ma. Because she's not declining, we've decided to go ahead and go down. Things will happen in God's time and we have to trust in Him.

Of all years to need a vacation it's this one. Losing my grandfather has been so hard, especially on my mom. We just need to get away and have some family time, even if it's just for a few days. We'll take whatever the good Lord will give us and if Ma gets worse or something unforeseen happens and we have to come back early, so be it (we've had to do it before due to a death in the family). BUT, If everything stays the same back home, like I pray it does (please pray too!), we'll be there through Saturday.



Can't wait to see that beautiful Gulf of Mexico!

~BK

On a happy note...

Sorry my last post was such a Debbie Downer, but I love my family so much, especially this rock of a woman who holds us all together. A quick little update on that: Some days are good, some aren't. Today was an amazing day. Ma was awake and ate her whole breakfast, a snack, and some of her supper. She knew me and asked about school and we chatted and loved on each other for awhile. It was a day I'll never forget.

On a happy note, Justin graduated on August 2nd! It was a wonderful day! I'm so proud of him!

Here's a few photos:






~BK

A precious gem

Finally, a moment to sit down and catch up! This week has been crazy, both mentally and emotionally, physically I haven't done a thing :-(

I'm officially done with summer semester. Which is good and bad. It's good because (hopefully) I'll never have to deal with physics ever again or give speeches in that capacity. It's bad because Justin will no longer be a fellow UGA classmate. He graduates tomorrow. I'm so incredibly proud of him, but I'll miss him so much. It's also bad because it means that most of my summer has been spent in the classroom and I don't have alot of time left to play because fall semester starts in two weeks.... ahhh!

So to the point of this post: my great-grandmother, a true gem. If you know me, you know that one of my favorite people in the world is my 103 year old great grandmother. She's precious and funny and strong and wise and I could go on and on. Unfortunately her health is declining.

A little background for those of you who don't know: Ma Bailey, my great-grandmother, has lived with my grandmother for over 70 years. Her husband was killed in a car accident when she was 40 and she was left to raise her 7 kids alone. When my grandparents got married, my grandfather was sent overseas so my grandmother lived with Ma. When Papa got back, they built a house and Ma moved in with them to avoid having to live alone. She practically raised my mom and her sisters, she literally is their second mother. In the last few months, she's fallen several times and it's just become too hard for my grandmother to manage her alone.

On Monday we made the decision to move her to the hospice house in Anderson. She was already with their services, they came daily to bathe her, and we felt this was better than the nursing home (nothing against it, but there is a lower nurse to patient ratio at the Hospice House and we are already familiar with the RNs and Dr). Many people don't know that Hospice is an available alternative to the nursing home. The actually have a resident private pay hall where people can stay long term, just as in a nursing home. So, we didn't move her there because we thought she was dieing or anything like that, just to clarify. She was moved to receive the best care possible due to her age and declining ability to be mobile.

I couldn't bear to post about it on Monday. It breaks my heart to think she'll most likely never go home again. She's at the same place my grandfather went to die just four short months ago. The wounds still seem so fresh and raw. It feels like I'm losing my dearest, one by one. As you may or may not know, my grandfather was one of my most cherished friends in this world. A private gentle man with a heart of gold. Giving him up seems hard enough and I am still struggling with it.

Ma isn't really eating much and hasn't been urinating normally, although today has been a bit better in that department. She refuses to take her pills because it bothers her jaw to swallow (she has ticdelarou). I'm trying not to question things, but I don't know how my grandmother can bear to lose a husband and mother so closely together, how any of us can bear it.

I'm not saying that she's dieing, because only God knows that. But she's becoming less herself and it will be so hard to let her go. She's ready though. She says she's ready to go home, that her body is as worn out as an old shoe, cute little thing. And it's so comforting to know where she's going. She's been ready for almost twenty years now.

Sorry if this jumped around a lot. It makes me emotional just thinking about losing her. Just pray for my sweet Ma and my family. Pray that she doesn't have to suffer. Pray that when it is her time that she dies happy, knowing how loved she is and what an impact she's made on those who love her so dearly. She's changed my life for the better and taught me more than she'll ever know, through both her words and the way she's lived her life.



My precious gem.

~BK