My Weekend Recap

Welcome back to my blog!

I had a pretty exciting weekend.  First, ya’ll ( from the South so yes, “ya’ll” is a word!) should know that I work 3^rd shift and off on the weekends.  So I really don’t sleep much.  A lot of my family and friends stay on me about not getting enough sleep; however I really enjoy being able to enjoy the day to do whatever!

Friday:

I was awake for over 30 hours! Its was a very long day, but it was so nice to spend the day with my lil man! We went to his great grandmothers.  We went for a ride up in the mountain in the RTV! Nate had a blast! We looked for squirrels, deer, and snakes.  After the ride we helped grandma with some gardening in her green house.  Her tomato plants she raised in the green house are ready to go in the ground! I can not wait for some fried green tomatoes (Southern delicacy!) After spending most the day at grandma’s we headed home and just relaxed the rest of the day. 

Here's some pics from the mountain...

Me, Nate, Grandma 

Four leaf clover for mommy... we found 4 total! extra good luck, right? 

Being silly with Grandma's Gardening Glasses

Saturday:

Saturday was quite a productive day.  I was off work Friday night so I was able to get some sleep that night.  However I was up super early; I went to the grocery store then came home and cooked breakfast for my boys (hubby and Nate) before they woke up.  Once they finally rolled their sleepy booties out of bed we all ate and got ready for Panoply (local arts festival)!  This was Nate’s first time going. He was super excited.  It was so busy there, so he didn’t get to do a lot of the activities. He was ok with that! He mostly liked looking at the fish and ducks in the pond.  After the arts festival we went home for a quick nap then we were out the door again.  Dinner with the boys and a surprise trip to Toys R Us!

Few pics from PANOPLY!

Sunday:

We slept in this morning! Nate and I went to a 3 year birthday party this afternoon.  The party was a lot of fun for mommy too cause there were a lot of my old friends from high school there.  Its sometimes hard to grasp that we have all grown and up and have kids of our own! I didn’t get many pics from the party =(   But my husband got an awesome video of Nate singing “Ring of Fire” by Johnny Cash! So stinkin’ cute!!!! See video below!

singing away 

 On another note, today is my first day back to school! First class up for grad school is Criminal Justice Writing! Wish me luck!

Well that’s a wrap! 

One Year Ago….

Today I would like to reflect on this day 1 year ago….

This is the severe weather predictor for April 27, 2011

I live in the pink high risk area!

 April 27, 2011 will always be remembered where I live.  There was 6 confirmed tornadoes that touched down in my county including a deadly EF5!  Entire communities were destroyed and eight fatalities in my area.

I remember my husband and I sitting at home watching the weather on our off day from work.  The local weather channel was tracking a tornado moving into the area (luckily we were not in the direct line).  The tornado destroyed their radar that was tracking the storm, and they lost coverage.  Because my husband and I both work for local law enforcement agencies, we knew that we would be needed at work ASAP! Without second thought we were headed out in the storm going to help. 

The storm knocked out all of North Alabama’s power from our main utility source.  The power was out for nearly a week in our area.  Many people did not even know the extent of the damage until they were able to get power and see the coverage on t.v.  

The neighborhood was basically wiped out!

 This house was one of many destroyed in another neighborhood.

Now I would like to reflect on how these storms affected me.  Working in law enforcement I was thrown into middle of the hardest hit area.  We were put on 12 hour shifts (normally 8 hour shift) with no off days for 2 weeks.   Looking back on it I wonder how I ever got through those weeks, but at the time I didn’t even think about how hard it was.  I was proud to be doing my part; definitely gave me a sense of pride to be part of the department I work for.  During those weeks we were working out of a command post at the center of the damage.  

 This was the view I had while at work in the mobile command unit. 

Seeing the damage that only took seconds to create is absolutely breathe taking.  I went through so many emotions; it was really hard to accept the fact it really happened.  Growing up I have always heard about the destruction a tornado can create but seeing in first hand where I live was definitely an eye opener.  But at the same time it was so amazing to see the community come together and help each other get through this.  Volunteers came in from so many places to assist in the cleanup and rebuilding.  Truly an amazing experience to be a part of! 

April 27, 2012 - 1 year later…

The effects of the tornadoes are still seen here.  Some houses have been rebuilt and some have not.  The empty lots were houses and stores once stood show the scars that will forever be felt in North Alabama.

New Blogger in the House!

First of all, welcome to my blog! I am very new at this and still attempting to learn the ropes, so bear with me.  I have been wanting to start a blog for a while, and a dear friend of mine has finally talked me into it! 

 

Few things about me:

I am a mom to very cute, hyper 2 1/2 year old boy! I have been married for 4 years.  I work full time and going back to school for my Master's Degree.  My life is definitely not lacking in any dull moments! 

 

Some of my interests:

I love baking! My mom is a baker, and in the past few years I have been exploring the wonderful world of baking! So fun and YUMMY!

I also take many pictures of life's adventures (many will be posted!) 

And I enjoy planning events such as showers, parties, dinners, ect.  Recently I have even ventured into coordinating some weddings! This summer is going to full of any events in which I am very excited about sharing with everyone! 

Sports! Braves baseball is my favorite! Also enjoy watching football... ROLL TIDE!!!

 

 Picture Time! Meet the Family:

 

Me and the Husband, Adam 

  

Nate

 Jasper

~There is also a Beta fish named "Baby Fish" (Nate's name choice of course! =)

In writing this blog I hope to share many of my life's crazy moments as well any other awesome share worthy stuff I come across!

 

Guess that is all for today!