Thankful blog - Day 7 - DHR and foster babies

Today I am thankful for DHR and the fact that they called me to pick up this sweet baby girl that is laying here beside me.  I don’t know what the future holds for her, or how long we’ll get to keep her, but I’m savoring every moment.  If you haven’t seen her, you simply must!  She’ll be making a public appearance at Haley Rae’s basketball game this week in case you want to meet her.  :)

Thankful blog - Day 6 - preschool teachers

Today I am thankful for the wonderful pre-school teachers at Fairview Child Development Center. Yuri has Mrs. Maegan. You never know how your child acts when they’re away from you, but I have a feeling Yuri is telling ALL the family secrets. She couldn’t keep a secret if her life depended on it, so if she thinks it’s juicy, you can bet she’s going to tell anybody who will listen. I’m thankful that Mrs. Maegan is discreet.


Gigi has Mrs. Melanie, but when Gigi says it, it comes out “Miss Mel-a-lee”. I hear “Miss Mel-a-lee said…” a million times a day. Here are some of the things that have stuck out lately.


“Miss Mel-a-lee says it’s nice to share”.


“Miss Mel-a-lee says I can’t say Roll Tide in her class”. (haha)


And my personal favorite…


“Miss Mel-a-lee says whenever you are in the dark, don’t be scared ‘cause God is with you the whole time”.


Thank you, ladies, for taking good care of my babies!

Thankful blog - Day 5 - SUNSHINE!

Today I am thankful for sunshine.  With the dreaded Daylight Savings Time upon us, I have appreciated the nice afternoons this week.  I am already sad and depressed thinking about how early it will be getting dark now.  Since I started blogging on what I'm thankful for, it has made me more conscience of everything around me and made me appreciate things that I didn't even notice before.  PERHAPS I will become thankful enough to even be happy about Daylight Savings Time, but I wouldn't count on it. 

THANKFUL blog - Day 4 - Karlie cleaned her room

Today I am thankful that Karlie cleaned her room last night.  Now I don't have to be the bad guy and make her sit home ALL WEEKEND LONG WITH  NO CELL PHONE OR COMPUTER. 

THANKFUL blog - Day 3 - The HUBZ!

I spent the entire day cleaning out my office to make room for a nursery.  As tiny as she is, new baby has accumulated some serious "stuff"!  I didn't really use my office anyway.  My "office" is a laptop while I'm sitting in my comfy chair with my feet on the ottoman.  I was able to consolidate everything in my office into one filing cabinet.  Ahh... the joys of being paperless! 

Since my office used to be part of the back porch, but we closed it in to make an office a few years ago, it's really not bedroom-friendly.  As in, there's no closet.  I mentioned to Willard a couple of days ago that I need some kind of portable closet-thingy to keep Little Bit's stuff in. 

ME: Do they make those?
HIM: Yeah, and they come in a million pieces. 

It was only eight little words, but when he spoke them, I knew there would never be a portable closet in that room so I started thinking about Plan B.  Imagine my surprise when the VERY NEXT day, he comes home with a box that weighed 180 pounds and had more like HALF a million pieces.  Being the skeptic that I am, I figured Little Bit would be doing her own laundry before it got put together. 

I owe him a huge apology.  A mere 2 hours after starting the project, it was complete.  And there actually wasn't a huge amount of profanity involved. 

Waaaa Laaaa!

And yes, I am aware that her closet is full and she has only been with us 2 weeks.  Good thing there is room on that wall for a second closet if we need it. 

Anyway, on Day 3, I am thankful for my husband.  He not only spent his evening doing something that I know he didn't want to do, he took me to Talladega last weekend, and he unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher today.  I think he's getting soft in his old age! 

Thankful blog... Day 2

A couple of months ago, my babies got a Veggie Tales CD in their Chick-Fil-A kids meal.  It seemed like a cute little CD with several catchy tunes.  Until I listened to it 48,783 times.  Ever since we got it, if the car is running, we're listening to Veggie Tales.  Karlie and I even do a duet to the "SUV Song".  One time I dropped my kids off at pre-school and drove all the way to Hartselle before realizing that I was STILL singing along with a Veggie Tales CD!  I did learn that the Polish word for lip is "usta".  Now when I want Yuri and Gigi to be quiet and zip their lips, I yell out "Usta!!". 

Last week while walking through Wal-Mart, I saw a Lional Richie CD laying in the top of a $5 bin so I bought it.  It's a Greatest Hits CD so every song on it is good.  Imagine my surprise (pleasant surprise) when I put it in yesterday afternoon and the babies started jamming out.  Yuri actually said, "Is this Justin Beiber??".  Uh no.  Anyway, I'm happy to say that Lional has distracted my family from Larry the Cucumber, at least for a while.

So, on day 2 of my thankful blog, I am thankful for Lional Richie and his Greatest Hits CD.  Thanks, Li!!!

It's November - my THANKFUL blog

I'm feeling ambitious this morning.  I've decided to commit to blogging every day this month and listing one thing that I'm thankful for. 

Today, in honor of her 81st birthday, I would like to say that I'm thankful for my mother-in-law, Jackie Stiles. 

I met Jackie on Easter Sunday in 1986.  She was as nice as could be to me that day and has been just as nice ever since.  I have felt like part of her family since that very first day.  I've often said that the best thing about Willard is his family.  (Just kidding, honey)  I hear "mother-in-law" stories and I can't even relate.  I could not ask for a better mother-in-law. 

Jackie cautioned me over and over during my courtship with Willard about marrying a Garnett.  She kept saying, "I'm warning you... he's a Garnett.  They're all stubborn and hard to get along with.  Don't say I didn't warn you".  Haha. 

Jackie is the kind of mother/mother-in-law/grandmother who puts everybody else's needs before her own.  She is the epitome of a selfless woman.  She's the peacemaker in a family of... well, Garnett's.  And since I'm outnumbered, that's all I'm gonna say about that.  :)

It has always annoyed Jackie that her son was given the nickname of Willard.  His REAL name is Christopher Scott.  He got the nickname of Willard when he was a young teen and it just stuck.  Jackie was a Wal-Mart greeter for several years, and people would come up to her and say "Are you Willard's mother?".  She would smile sweetly and say "I wouldn't name a DOG Willard... I'm Chris' mother".  Now might be a good time to mention that Jackie's REAL name is Stella Mae.... but they call her Jackie.  Hmmm. 

Happy Birthday, Me-Maw!  I am thankful for you!