Back to School

That is right, school has started here in Panama City.

Todd Jr. is of to 5th grade and managing changing classes pretty well.

Grady is in 1st grade and loves his class.

Grant is back to the Pre K grind and providing his teachers with much entertainment.

 

The first day of school was a little stressful.

This was the view out of the front window of the van while waiting to get out in the flooded parking lot at school.

It has been a very wet summer. 

I am over it.

 

Anyway, we finally made it inside.

 

Soggy socks and all.

The weather prevented lots of great photos and I had to take this one quickly.

Todd Jr. is too cool and had to get away from us as fast as was humanly possible.

 

Hope everyone has a great school year!

 

 

 



The End

... of the Summer has arrived.

That is right, tomorrow morning the boys will rise early and head off to school.

This past week we have concluded our back to school preparations, including a trip to the dentist and hair cut for each boy.

And while school has not quite started, we are in full swing with football

Brothers all suited up and ready to hit!

Go Chargers!

For those of you wondering, Grady is loving it... as a matter of fact, he may be happier playing football than soccer... Who knew?

And here is baby brother chillin' on the sidelines, with his feet propped up on Miss Deadrea's cooler.

Actually the feet propping is a necessity... the ants out at the field are NASTY.

And there is Dat Dat...

Doing the coaching thing.

Isn't he cute!

Well, tomorrow is a big day... Todd Jr. is off to 5th grade and Grady to 1st.

Grant will be in Pre K 4 and Mommy will be at the school almost as often as the boys, volunteering and substitute teaching.

Here's hoping for a great year!



Pearls of Wisdom

So, this morning after watching the drama unfold during the Olympic Marathon, the little boys and I decided to switch channels.

The choice this morning was the Food Network.

Grady loves to watch the different chefs cook.

This morning the Food Network Star we were watching was...

Rachel Ray.

It was her program Week in Day where she preps meals for a week.

Well, after we had watched for a while, Grady commenting every few minutes, "Mommy, we should make that," and Grant building random Potato Heads...

Grant, out of the blue says,

"Mommy, I know why there is a screen on the TV."

Then I, curious where this was going said, "Oh really, why?"

Grant, serious as ever replies, "So she can't throw food at us."

Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, gets past this boy.

Yes, that is broccoli, he and Grady fight over it.

No, Rachel Ray did not throw it at him.



Oh Grant...

Grant (while staring at his reflection in the mirror:

 "Mommy, I was wrong."

Rare statement from a child, I know.

Mommy: "About what?"

Grant: "Freckles."

You see, Grant had been picking on Todd Jr and Mommy about all their freckles and we tried to tell him he had them too.

He was in  pigmentation denial.

I understand.

I tried to get rid of mine when I was little with lemon juice.

Don't ask.

Obviously it did not work.



Best Friends

Todd and Miles.

Teammates, Classmates and Best Friends.



Are You Ready?

Yes, it is that time again, Football Season!!!!

And this year, we have added a new player to the field.

That is right, this season, Grady Joe will be joining Todd Jr. in his favorite game.

Check out these handsome Lynn Haven Chargers.

We were really worried about how Grady would take to all the activity.

He has been a real champ. He even made it through the first night in a helmet with no tears.

We are so very proud of both our boys.

It is hard to believe how quickly the Summer has gone, we have all been so busy.

Todd Jr. went to the Jimbo Fisher Football Camp at Florida State.

Here is Todd with his roommate Ryan.

Coincidentally, Ryan is also a Lynn Haven Charger.

Here is Coach Fisher pumping up all the campers.

The coaches wasted no time getting the boys in motion.

Poor Todd, we knew he had a cough and had him on antibiotics, but little did we know he actually had pneumonia, glad camp was only a couple of days... oops.

The boys got to play both on the Seminoles practice field as well as Bobby Bowden Field at Doak Campbell Stadium.

The little boys were troopers and enjoyed watching all that was going on.

Todd Jr. had a great time.

And no matter what, even after spending all that time at FSU...

And pictures with Renegade.

They are still little Gators at heart!

There was lots more activity... Visits to Meme and Foe Foe, Grammie and Dada, Beeka Beeka and Uncle David, Soccer Camps, VBS, Pop Warner Football Camp and 4 Weeks of substitute teaching this summer... only 2 more weeks til school starts....

My, how time flies..

Boxes

Boxes

We use them to pack our treasures...

...and our junk.

To ship a special gift.

Businesses use them to ship their wares.

In our home there is a very special box.

Yes, this very nondescript box.

Hidden on a shelf in our closet...

behind a soccerballl and a backpack.

Why then, if it is so special, is it high on a shelf, hidden away?

No, not hidden, sheltered.

In it, the physical life of a child.

Our child.

Our daughter.

In this box are treasures too few, representing a life so short.

A pretty dress.

Cards... sympathy... so many beautiful words shared by so many... thank you all for each and everyone...

there were even a few cards from a shower just weeks before.

Books... about grief, loss and recovery.

And inside, another box.

This box, I have to tell you was a surprise.

Todd and I had received a call from Shands saying they had a box of Esme's things.

My reaction was mixed.

Hopeful, for some representation of her life.

But skeptical.

Esme had nothing, what could there possibly be?

The counselor met us in the Chapel at Shands and handed us the satin box.

She expressed her sympathies, and left us to explore it on our own.

Inside, the booties you see below.

When they brought us into the NICU to say goodbye, they had dressed her.

A delicate pink onesie with little flowers covering it... with matching booties.

There were hand prints, foot prints, and even a lock of dark hair.

While these items are few, Todd and I will treasure them always.

Below is Esme's Beanie Baby.

It was in her crib in the hospital in Tallahassee.

Today, there will be no boxes, wrapped and sealed with ribbons.

It is the same thing on this day each year.

But always, we will treasure the gift of our children, all of them.

Below is a song from the band Selah.

"I will Carry You"

The man singing, whose name happens to be Todd, and his wife,

 lost their daughter just after she was born as well.

If you have the time, would you pause the media player on the blog and press play.

Just listen.

Happy Birthday Esme.

We love and miss you.

Thanks.

All our love,

The Harris Family

A Real Pain in the... Foot.

So, I thought I would try to show you why the WDW Marathon was such a challenge this year.

(As if 26.2 miles is not challenge enough.)

I have a foot condition called Plantar Faciitis.

No, not warts.... people always ask me that.

Here is a diagram.

The top arrow is pointing to the Heel Bone.

The bottom arrow is a strained Plantar Fascia.

It hurts... like a... well, you know.

Along with this strain, I have a heel spur.

See that little hook coming off the bottom of the heel in the top illustration?

That is it.

It feels like a stake being driven through my foot.

Truth be told, this was probably not caused by running.

But standing, for long periods of time.

Think retail.

Personally, call me crazy, but I think the running helps... stretches my foot and all.

Running through the pain!

Remember, my sport is your sport's punishment.

LOL

Dat Dat, when I was on the stairs...

...my bellybutton was hungry.

Tookie's say the funniest things.

Hair Loss

So, the time has finally come.

Grady has waited a long time.

We convinced him to wait until Halloween.

And you have to admit, he was an AWESOME Thor!

But recently, the hair situation, has been a bit of a problem.

Kids have been making fun of him.

I say it is envy.

But who am?

 Oh just his MOTHER!

Todd and I had even caught him pulling out strands recently.

So, that did it.

As beautiful as it was.

It was time to let the locks go.

So, off to Mr. Eddie's Barber Shop we went.

By the way, in the several times I have taken the boys to Mr. Eddie's, there has never been a Mr. Eddie there.  In fact, on female barbers.

Curious.

Why all the pony tails?

A donations to Locks of Love, of course.

Such a handsome face.

A little off the back.

And the final product.

On a rather funny note, when we came home and called Grammie and Dada to let them know, Grady tucked his non existent hair behind his ear before putting the phone to it.

Too funny.

Miss the hair.

But Grady is Happy.

That is all that matters.

Don't Forget the .2

I finally hijacked some photos from Dada's Facebook page!

First though, a few fun facts about the marathon from http://www.athensmarathon.com/

■The modern Athens Marathon commemorates the run of the soldier Pheidippides from a battlefield at the site of the town of Marathon, Greece, to Athens in 490 B.C.


■Legend has it that Pheidippides delivered the momentous message "Niki!" ("victory"), then collapsed and died.

■The Athens Marathon is recognized as the original marathon course and it's the same course used in the 2004 Olympics held in Athens.

■The first modern Olympic games were held in 1896 in Greece.

■The legend of Pheidippides was honored by a 24.85 mile (40,000 meters) run from Marathon Bridge to Olympic stadium in Athens.

■Athens Stadium, the finish line for the Athens Marathon stands on the site of a stadium used in classical times.

■Spiridon Louis, a Greek postal worker, won the first modern Marathon with a time of 2 hours, 58 minutes, 50 seconds, an average pace of 7:11 minutes per mile.

■At the 1908 Olympic Games in London, the marathon distance was changed to 26.2 miles to cover the ground from Windsor Castle to White City Stadium, with the 2.2 miles added on so the race could finish in front of royal family's viewing box. This added two miles to the course, and is the origin of the Marathon tradition of shouting "God save the Queen!" (or other words relating to the Queen) as mile post 24 is passed.

I imagine I may have also wanted to hurl a few insults to the Queen.

Check out my handsome husband with a very proud Grammie...

All our boys... so proud of Dat Dat!

Putting on Compression Socks... 26.2 takes a toll!

Me, in serious pain, but overwhelmed and relieved.

SERIOUS BLING!

My Rock, My Hero, My Husband... holding me up and being there for me even when he was just as tired. Gotta love him!

Swim felt so good.

But the sangria was better:)

Up bright and early again to take on the Magic Kingdom.

Had an AMAZING time and cannot wait to do it again.



We Did It!

Well, the Holidays have come and gone.

And the boys have returned to school.

But there was so much that happened!

Todd Jr required an application of superglue to his head... Don't ask!

Santa brought a PS3 for the boys, and life will never be the same again.

Meme and Foe Foe have left the Big Easy and returned to the Alabama Coast... they even came over for Christmas day!

And finally after another year of training... and a few bouts of pain, we returned to the Walt Disney World Resort to take on the Goofy Race and a Half Challenge.

First, we visited with Grammie and Dada in Tampa...

We even got to spend some special time with Great Grandad and Gigi...

Also, while in Tampa the boys had a great time with their cousins, Kati, Timmy, Sarah and Jessica!

When we arrived at WDW we made our way to the ESPN Wide World of Sports to pick up our race packets and check out the EXPO.

Then, first thing Friday morning, was Todd Jr's race.

He and his Uncle Cory ran the Family Fiesta 5K.

Unfortunately, the photo with Uncle Cory was seriously blurry, you wil have to check out facebook to see the others from that race! 

We were so proud of them both!

And yes, Todd "won"!

Grant waiting for Todd and Cory to Star their run.

Next, bright and early on Saturday morning was the 1/2 Marathon (13.1 miles)!

And Woody and Jessie were on the scene...

Tutu's and all....

Todd was a HUGE HIT!!!

Here we are around the 1/2 way point of the race getting our photo in front of the Castle!

The Gang's all here!

There was only .1 left to go!

Until the next day when there was another 26.2 more.

Sadly, I had no pics on our camera of this day.

I have to say though, I am so proud of Todd... he did an amazing job... 4hrs 37min for the Full Marathon!

Mine was not nearly as impressive and I will be honest at mile 10 I considered throwing in the towel.

But, despite the stake that was being driven through my right foot, I made it in plenty of time and with lots of tears!  (Heel spurs and Plantar Faciitis SUCKS!!)

I will get some photos from Dada to upload on the next post.

Speaking of Dada and Grammie....

Thank you so much again for taking such good care of our boys while we were running.

You are AMAZING and take such good care of us.

BTW, Grant is still talking!

We love you!!!!!!!!

As always, the experience was fantastic, funny and full of memories!

Thanks Walt.