Papa

I'm feeling a little sentimental today, so bear with me.

My Mom read me a letter from her first cousin to her father, my Papa. In this letter she thanked him for some of the things that he did for her and her brother and sisters and for being such a good Uncle. It took a while to sink in, but I realized that Papa taught me some things too.

My Mimi and Papa took my sister and I on our first airplane trip. I remember dressing up. I mean REALLY dressing up. We had on beautiful dresses and Papa, of course, wore a suit. It was such a big deal. Things sure have changed. Whenever I fly I see people in sweat pants, T-shirts, and even pajamas. Papa still wears a sports coat when flying. Some things never change.

I remember Papa teaching me how to eat crawfish. We went down to a neighbors house. They were having a big crawfish boil in their back yard. Picnic tables were lined with newspaper. I couldn't imagine eating off of newspaper. When the crawfish was ready they just dumped it in the middle of the table along with corn on the cob and potatoes. Right on the table. No trays. No plates. And certainly no utensils!! I sat next to Papa. He showed me how to hold the crawfish and to twist the head off. Then you suck out the juices! Yikes! I wasn't too sure about that! I saw him do it, then I tried it too. Then he showed me how to peel off the first few shells to get to the "meat" of the crawfish and pull it out in one big juicy piece. That crawfish tasted so good. What a crazy experience. I don't like seafood. I never did. But I love crawfish!!

Papa is a great bartender! He used to give me little sips of his Bourbon and water. It tasted awful! I would always ask for a sip knowing I wouldn't like it. He would get such a kick out of the expression on my face after I tasted the sour bourbon. Even to this day he has a Bourbon and water and my Grandmother has her Margarita every evening at five o'clock.

Papa has been in the hospital since the first of February. He has good days and bad days. His lungs are weak. His heart is weak. I'm not sure if he is teaching me another lesson. Maybe a bigger lesson that I am not ready for.

Papa, thank you for teaching me to dress for the adventure, to live in the moment, and to live life like it is happy hour!

Tod - The Miracle Man

Yes! You heard it here first! Tod preformed a miracle here today at our house! He was able to fit both cars in the garage! (applause...) Can you believe it? Wow! Both cars! I can't remember the last time that I parked in the garage. I may have to crawl over the passenger seat to get into the driver seat, but I'm not complaining! Way to go Tod!

Riverbanks Zoo

We spent our Easter at the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, SC. What a fun day! Jacob loved the gorillas. They were eating while we were there. It wa so fun to watch. Brady was all eyes this time. He likes all of the animals.

The Botanical Gardens are so beautiful. All of the tulips and daffodils were blooming. We went on a fun hike back to the zoo then a couple of spins around the merry-go-round. They boys were asleep before we even left the parking lot. It was such a great day.

**** Star Student ****

JACOB IS THE STAR STUDENT!!! Yay!! We are so proud of him for getting the Star Student Award at Pre-School. All next week they will do a little spotlight on Jacob each day and on Friday he will bring something in from home for Show-and-tell. I'm hoping he will bring in Brady to give me the morning off!! (kidding!) Tonight we filled out a questionaire for him to turn in on Monday.

Jacob's Favorite things...

1. Favorite place to visit... Disney World

2. Favorite book .... Arthur's Halloween

3. Favorite movie .... Spongebob Squarepants the Movie

4. Favorite food... french fries

5. Favorite restaurant.... McDonalds

6. What do you want to be when you grow up.... A Rock Star!!!!

Way to go Jacob!!

Brothers

How sweet is this. The only time they will sit quietly is while on the Spiderman couch watching Spongebob. Their Uncle Pat and Aunt Jane gave Brady this couch for his birthday and it has been a great addition to our living room! The boys don't fight over who gets to sit on it. They share and love to fold it out to a bed. Brady has taken many naps on it and Jacob has tried but he is just too big.

Our New Back Yard!!

When we first looked at this house back in November it didn't have a back yard. Just a very steep slope down to the woods. I couldn't imagine how we (meaning Tod) were going to mow this. Plus we had no flat area to play. So we decided not to buy it because of the lack of back yard. Well, we ended up coming back in February to take another look and the sales agent told us that they are going to "build" a back yard for this house. SOLD!! They have had several potential buyers come through but didn't want to buy because of the back yard. It took them two weeks to finish because of the crazy weather. It looks great. I can't imagine how much it cost the builder to do this, but it was totally worth it to us!!

Prayers...

A friend of mine just found out the worst news a mother could have. Her 3 year old son was diagnosed with a brain tumor. They are going in on Friday for a biopsy. He will have to undergo chemotherapy every week for an entire year. You can see her blog at http://greenawaltfamilylife.blogspot.com. The post is under "Bad News". Please say a prayer for the Greenawalt family. Thank you!!!

Tub Time

I couldn't resist! These two boys love taking a bath. It is like a storm has taken place in the bathroom after they are finished. I finally got a clear shower curtain and close them up in there and they just go wild!! It is so hard to get them out of the tub. The water is freezing and they still want to stay in the tub. I've heard of kids going right to bed after a bath. Not my boys. A bath just riles them up for more!!

Getting the "Silly" out!

Every day before school Jacob has to get the "Silly" out. He is such a funny kid and he has disrupted the class several times with his silliness. So...now while we are in the carpool line we get the "silly" out. Jacob hops in the front seat with me and we make faces and make crazy noises. Brady gets a huge kick out of us doing all of this. I'm sure the cars around us are wondering what is going on in that minivan!

Playgroup at the Nature Center

Brady's playgroup was at the McDowell Nature Center and he LOVED it. Here is a picture of him looking at the many fish (or "shish" in Brady's language). They had snakes, turtles, frogs, stuffed animal puppets, lots of interactive buttons and lights, and yes - shish.

New House For The O'Donnell's!!!!

Well, we did it! We moved!! We found the perfect house for us in Fort Mill, SC. It is just outside of Charlotte, NC. I am still pinching myself over our new house. Tod and I closed on a house in 5 days! It has to be some kind of record. Last Saturday we hired movers for all of our big heavy items and they moved us in about 3 hours. While the movers were packing us up we filled a 26 foot Penske moving van and our minivan up and headed a brief 4 miles down the road.

Luckily, my parents came down to help with the boys. That was the biggest help we could have. This move would have been impossible without them!

We haven't sold our other house yet...so keep your fingers crossed that it sells really soon!! It looks great with new carpet and new paint throughout. We just need it to SELL!!

We can't wait for visitors! Please invite yourselves over!