Reminders of a great man...

I often still read the Lubbock paper online. I still feel very much connected to it and Lubbock is still my home. I had a few extra mintues today at school and got online and found this article.

Dr. Richie Rosen was my dad's surgeon during his 2 year battle with cancer. There is not a better man. He deeply cared for my dad, deeply. He hurt when my dad hurt. He was compassionate, kind, caring, and did all he possibly could to help my dad try to beat cancer. Sure, my dad worked with more doctors, surgeons, nurses, but Dr. Rosen left an impact on me. I specifically remember us sitting in his office as a family and him answering and answering questions as we dealt with the fact that our dad was dying. He wanted to make sure he left no stone unturned with dad.

Doctors see hundreds of patients every day. But Dr. Rosen made it a point to not let me dad just be a "number".

Anyway, it's not some super great article or anything, but I do feel it speaks to the character of Dr. Rosen.....I appreciate him more than he could ever know.

Yeah, I know....

I'm not a good blogger....in fact, I've contemplated getting rid of it all together. Seriously. I mean, I don't feel I contribute anything "useful" to the blog world and who in the heck really reads this? Anyone? All I do lately is try to win all these giveaways from other blogs..... We'll see....I'm gonna give it until the end of the year to decide.

Fabulousity!

Head over to Fabulous K to check out some goodies!

Little Bit Funky's done it again....

Little Bit Funky's done it again...

Another great giveaway...

Head over to her blog to check it out.

She gives you like 9 chances for an entry...and the prize is really great.

Happy Giveaway Day!

From the mouth of a 13 year old....

Every year, I have my students make a turkey with 5 feathers. On each feather they must write one thing they are thankful for that isn't materialistic and why they are thankful for it. It always starts a discussion on what materialistic things are and aren't. Then, I turn them loose to create a turkey with some construction paper, glue, and scissors.

Now, I know some of you are thinking, "But, Tiffany, you teach middle school math and this is a little elementary for them, don't you think?" And my answer to that is no. We are never too old to count our blessings. We are never too old to be thankful. And besides, the kids see this as fun, and in a 7th grade math class, I'll take all the fun I can get!

Here is my turkey they can use as an example if they wish...

And here is Amanda's turkey....

And here is them hanging outside my door....some, not all 150 of them.....

And then, after we'd hung them all up, I came back to my desk to clean up and I found a lone feather that had fallen off its turkey. No name on it, just a boys handwriting.....and this is what it said.....

What? You can't read it? It says "I am thankful for my parents who are not divorced because most don't have their parents together."

And then I realized that at 13, kids get it. They really do. And they know that is something to be thankful for. And then I wondered, does my Reese get it? Does he know? Maybe not yet, but at a very young age, he will. And today, just like everyday, I realized how important it is to fight for my marriage. I was reminded of that this weekend (this long, hard, emotion filled weekend). My marriage is worth fighting for, even in the hard times. And maybe, if I'm lucky, Reese will realize just how lucky he is.

Rachel Came to Play!

My friend Rachel came to visit a few weeks ago. She was in town for some training for her new job and stayed for the night. It is so fun to have Rach around because she is just a big of a kid as Reese. He LOVES her, even though it takes him a minute to warm up to her....I so wish Rach lived closer and could be more part of Reese's daily life....We love you Aunt Redair - y - air! Please come see us again soon!

"God made us cousins because he knew our mom's couldn't handle us as brothers." Unknown

"Here JoeJoe - give it five!"

"See, Goo Job JoeJoe!"

"JoeJoe here tums the firetwucks!"

"JoeJoe the pwade is over!"

Sass Your Fras!

Ok y'all. I've totally revamped my crafty blog...check it out and tell your friends!

Sassafrassweet Blog

We all love girly, right?

It's like giveaway day on all the blogs I follow! Lu Bird Baby is doing a giveaway! Check it out!

Totally in love....

So, you've seen me plug Little Bit Funky, right? And if you haven't checked out her blog or her stuff, you need to - LIKE NOW! I get so inspired by some of the stuff she does. I love her blog - it's simple, which, with 2,593,483,494 running through my head at any given moment is a good thing. Anyways, she's got another great giveaway going on over at her blog, so check it out.

And in other news ( you all come here to read about my son, right?) He's got a new thing....his "funk". Yup, his funk. Did you know he broke his funk? He also got an owie on his funk. And, the car crashed into his funk.....are you just as confused as I was the first time I heard it? Well, "funk" is thumb. And that dern thing seems to be in Reese's way a lot lately!

And probably the cutest thing ever is a conversation like this:

Wait...let me preface by saying that my dad's name was Kenny Joe. We named Reese, Kenny Reese and call him Reese. We opted for a different middle name because my sister wanted to name her son Kenny Joe since Joe is a family name of her husbands. We at our house call Kenny Joe (the boy) "JoeJoe" because it is/was easier for Reese to say way back when JoeJoe was born. JoeJoe has stuck and we don't call JoeJoe by Kenny at all. Reese, does however know that his name is Kenny Reese Rasor. And, he's been told his PawPaw's name is Kenny too, but we usually just refer to him as PawPaw.

Ok, here goes:

Me: Reese, you're cute!

Reese: No! My Tinney Wessey Wasor!

Me: Yes, you are Kenny Reese Rasor. Who else is named Kenny?

Reese: Tinney Weesey Wasor! JoeJoe! Tinney JoeJoe Wasor! PawPaw! Tinney PawPaw Wasor in my Heabin with my Baby Jesus!

My son is brilliant......just brilliant! And that conversation warmed my heart because I always want him to know of his PawPaw and how wonderful of a man he was... I want him to be proud of being Kenny and to know what it means....and it's amazing to me all that this little sponge picks up when I'm not even trying to teach him something..... God is so good, isn't He?

This is the day.....

Giveaway Goodies!

Y'all, seriously, you HAVE. GOT. TO. CHECK. THIS. OUT! Little Bit Funky and It's a Good Day have teamed up to offer a really cool giveaway. They are both offering a goodie on the other's blog. You don't have to do anything hard or complicated to have a chance to win...Check em' both out and I promise you will love what you find!

The Bolles Way!

When I was a kid, I remember my mom buying those Pizza kits from the grocery store where all you had to do was add the pepperonis and cheese. She would often let my sister and I make them and we'd have them as a family for dinner.

I made one for Garrett and I when we first got married and I remember thinking "this is the nastiest thing I've ever put in my mouth!"

Having a child changed that for me. Reese is such a helper and he always wants to help me in the kitchen. It's often how I use a very rambunctios and non cooperative little boy and completely change his behavior. He can be yelling his head off, throwing his toys, and if I ask if he wants to help me cook - he changes instantly.

So, I decided that I would buy that box pizza and we would have it for dinner. So, I got my little guy in there to help out and HE LOVED IT!

It may not be the best dinner but it sure was fun making it with my little boy and husband.

Thanks mom and dad for letting us do things like this as a kid. I hope I can be half the parents to Reese that you were to me and Brandy!

Just like Oso!

My mom and Rex recently went to Mexico on a cruise. While they were on one of the beaches, they saw a little boy who had made these kites and he was flying them. So, since they have 4 grandsons between the two of them, they decided to bring one home for the boys. Reese waited and waited to fly his so he could be "Just like Oso" (a show on Disney). The weather never cooperated but we finally decided to just take him over to the school across the street and try it.

So he and Garrett took off running and Garrett launched it in the air only to have it fall right in front of Reese and he stepped on it just in time to crunch it right in half!

Thanks Gigi and Rex for the kite - luckily you jewed the kid down to only $2.50 for it. Because that's about the amount of fun we had with it!

Trick My Truck, Pimp My Ride....or something like that!

So, I stumbled upon Redbud Designs through Leslie Petree. She had her blog fabulously designed and then when I saw her teacher blog, I was in LOVE. I would really love a new and super cute blog design. Head over to her blog and check it out! You can click the button at the top of my blog!

if i had never become a mother...

When you have a child, life changes 100% and there are things you learn that you never thought you'd hear or know...

Here are a few:

***

I would never have to shower with the door open. Or in the event I was so brave as to close it, open it no less than 23,339 times.

***

I would never had someone be so proud of me to go tee-tee. And be so proud that a whole bathroom full of people hear that excitement for me!

***

I would never have been given the privilage of putting my nose to someone's bum, to constantly touch someone's hiney, or their crotch to see if they peed or pooped.

***

I would never had somoene puke in my face, or nose, or ear.

***

I would never have thought to buy my child a whole new wardrobe season after season while I buy nothing for my husband and I for months/years.

***

I may not have known how much God loves and trusts me.

***

I would never understand the full mystery of God...like how can a child come from another woman, yet have almost every same characteristic as my husband and I. Or how could one child come from another man and woman yet be perfectly formed for another family? What great things does He have in store for this little boy?

***

I would never have eaten so many cold meals in my life.

***

I would never have gotten up multiple times in a night just to check on something the way I do now. Sleep is so overrated anyway.

***

I would never have slept in a twin bed, on my side, arms and legs in very uncomfortable positions, with no covers, just because someone wanted me to.

***

There's a lot I never would have known and as soon as I push publish, I'm sure I'll know about 20 more :)

A little adventure....

Well, I've done it...I've gotten a resale liscense and am in the process of setting up a website with actual products. I've been meeting with reps from companies trying to get products and all that jazz. This is something I've always wanted to do so I hope that I can be successful at it. I'm still going to keep my Etsy shop and my blog, but now, I've got my very own business and I'm taking orders!

Go to www.sassafrassweet.com and tell me what you think! And YES, I WANT YOUR HONEST OPINION... the good, the bad, and the ugly! ;)

I'm Just Sayin.....

"You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.” -James D. Miles

ALWAYS, SOMETIMES, NEVER

i always...
obsess over the locks and my straightener and the oven when i leave the house
get excited over school supplies even if its not the start of school
get my thirst quenched by water even though i don't drink enough
take the topping off my pizza and eat it by itself
hit the snooze at least 5 times
love to hear reese's voice even his cries
love to feel garrett's stubble on my cheek when he gets home
will long for another baby

i sometimes...

cook only what i want for dinner

spend too much time on the computer after reese goes to bed

talk to much

get impatient with God

wish i wasn't a teacher so people might respect me more

wish i could wear fake nails because i think they make fingers so pretty

try a new recipe that is a big time disaster and we go to a drive through

wish i lived in lubbock

i never...

realized the importance of naps until i became a mom

want to take all my blessings for granted

will regret the decision not to try IVF treatments

will forget the sacrifice and bravery that brought my son home

will forget the way my dad said my name

want to relive losing a parent

get tired of reese's hugs and kisses

knew what love was until i held my son

what about you?

Giveaway day!!!

So we all know that the whole vinyl letters for the wall are huge right now so it makes sense that Fab K would be giving some away as part of giveaway week. You know the drill. Click her button and get ready for one more last giveaway!!

That crazy Fabulous K! She's done it again and she's going to do it 2 more times today! Today's the last day of her giveaway and so you better head over and get your entry in!!! You know how to get there....

Little Bit Funky is giving one of these away....how perfect for Christmas! (NO it's not too early - I'm almost done shopping!)

I want one of these for my little man as his "church" bag....and you can have one too if you head over to Fabulous K and her giveaway!

She's done it again!

I'm telling y'all...Kelly has really outdone herself with her giveaways! And this next one is no exception! Y'all know by now to just click the giveaway button at the top right to win some SUPER. CUTE. STATIONARY!

OH. MY. GOSH.

How adorable are these flowers? You can wear them in your hair, on your shirt, put them on a pillow....I could go on and on and on. If you want to win one, click my Fabulous K Giveaway button in the top right to enter! Until then, I'll keep thinking of all the things I could do with one of these!

How cute would this be in your house?

You know, if you had a little girl named Stella.

But I don't, so I'd love to win a FREE one for my Reese and his vintage baseball room!

So click on Fabulous K's Giveaway week blog button over on the right and get your entry in so you can win one!

Argh!!!!!

How cute are these birthday goodies? They could be yours if you head over to Fabulous K's giveaway week. Just follow the easy steps to enter and they could be yours! She's having 2 giveaways a day - so check back often!

Just click her giveaway button up at the top of my blog!