365 days later.....

Well, here we are again on the last day of another year gone by. Wow, I can't believe how quickly times passes when you are a grown up. I can remember as a child thinking that Christmas would NEVER come.

2007 has been a year of many memories. Over the last twelve months, my family welcomed a new little cousin, moved to a "new" house, celebrated a wedding and said goodbye to a beloved pet. We've celebrated birthdays and traveled to near and far- away places. We've laughed and we've cried.

As I think about 2008, the first thing that comes to mind is April 15. Not because of Income Tax Day but it's the day of my 40th birthday!! I don't know what 2008 will hold for us, but we'll just take it one day at a time, and thank the good Lord for whatever may come. May God bless each of you and keep you safe in 2008.

Here's a look back at the Isbells in 2007:

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Twas the Day Before Christmas

and all through the house, the Isbells were preparing, the kids and each spouse....

Well, today was a day filled with fun and excitement as we got ready for Christmas Day. Jim headed off to the office for a few hours of work. So me and my folks, who came down on Saturday, had a day to finish up our Christmas preparations.

This morning we cooked a ham and carved a fried turkey. This afternoon, my mom and I took Madison shopping for some new PJ's. After Madison picked out a "pretty" black and red negligee/thong set, I decided it was time to leave the mall for good! Caleb and Papa went to Barnes and Noble to spend some time together over hot chocolate and Caleb's new book on how to train beagles (for our new stubborn beagle mix dog, Maggie).

Once we all arrived back at the house, our usual Christmas Eve festivities began with the making of the Christmas cookies. I had to put a stop to the fun after 10 minutes of decorating resulted in 1 empty white icing can and red sugar all over the floor! Wow, I hope Santa likes icing and red sugar.....and he's not diabetic!







Following the sugarfest, we all got ready to go to our candlelight service at church. It was a wonderful service that included Christmas carols, the Lord's Supper and ended with everyone singing in a beautiful candle lit auditorium. I am happy to report there were no close calls this year with Madison's candle and some woman's Aqua Net hairdo.

After church we drove around to look at Christmas lights. One of the large subdivisions here in town had luminaries out; it was so pretty. We saw some very pretty decorations and a few that rivaled Clark W. Griswold...but who doesn't love Christmas Vacation?! On the way home we traveled to one last house that is famous in these parts for their decorations. They also allow you to get out and enjoy them, so we did....



Tonight we chatted with my brother, Constantine, who is now stationed in Seoul, South Korea. We both had our webcams turned on, so we got a tour of his new apartment and my kids entertained him and his wife by shoving their face in the camera and making crazy noises! Ugh. But the miracle of modern technology brings him closer than miles separate us!



Well, last and not least, the day ended with my first viewing of A Christmas Story. No Christmas eve would be complete without this, in my book. So as we wait for Santa Claus' arrival, I'll watch Ralphie drink his Ovaltine and wear the pink bunny suit!





I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas....remember Jesus IS the reason for the season!

Tagged.....I'm it

Well, thanks to my good friend Heather I have been electronically tagged. I wasn't exactly sure what was expected of me so I did what I normally do.....consulted Google, and this is what I found:

Turns out there is a game of Blog-Tag going around the blogosphere in which bloggers are sharing five things about themselves that relatively few people know, and then tagging five other bloggers to be "it."

Although Heather went with a list of 8 items, I am going to follow my google results and go with 5 items! :-) The pressure of coming up with 8 random items was just too much.


1. I played the clarinet in high school.

2. My favorite dessert is Crème Brûlée.

3. I have a condition called hypothyroidism, which in plain terms means my thyroid died on me when I turned 30. I think the politically correct term would be "metabolism challenged". *sigh* I can't wait to turn 40 next year.

4. I wear a size 9 shoe, which confirms what they say about girls with big feet-- they wear BIG shoes! :-)

5. I've had surgery on my left foot about 3 times because it was not growing properly as a child. The last time was when I was around 13 and no problems since then (see #4).


Well, there you have it. 5 useless facts about me, which took me about 20 minutes to come up with. So, you see Heather, 8 would have cost me the rest of my afternoon!

Now I shall tag my friend Teresa, because she is the only other person I know with a blog! I shall also challenge some of my friends who read this to get started on their own blogs----ahem my GNO buddies!

'Tis the Season

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.....but not feel like Christmas. I believe the high temperature yesterday in Tuscaloosa was close to 80 degrees! While I was out shopping Monday I saw a young lady sporting a tube top sun dress....it's December for crying out loud, isn't there a law against such acts? And no it's not a case of jealousy, everyone knows there is no way I could "work" a tube top dress!

I finally got the Christmas tree decorated and the stockings hung,and I have watched Christmas Vacation twice, so it is officially Christmas season at the Isbell house. It wasn't according to Madison's time frame but I can't live by a 6 year olds calendar!

We've been quite busy with Christmas parties, school and church activities. Last week the 1st graders at our school had a Christmas presentation that involved Madison dressed up like an angel. Well, you know I had to switch my schedule around at work to witness the blessed event! I even made the child's costume, well sorta. I added some sequins to her Princess Leia costume from 2 years ago and fashioned her angel wings out of foam board and tinsel. Check out my little angel:



This past Sunday our church had a Christmas concert that included our children's choir. It was an awesome concert and I thoroughly enjoyed watching my kids sing on stage. So, I thought I would add a few seconds of each of them singing in the concert.....sorry the video is not that great, but I had to take it with my digital camera. The battery died on our video camera from Caleb entertaining himself with it during the first performance!

Madison:


Caleb:

Holiday Fun

I'm not sure how many of you have seen this, but I have spent the last 15 minutes laughing at how funny this website is. I realize you will all find out how simple my mind really is, and I am not ashamed!

Oh yes, and I feel obligated to inform you that this will be the ONLY time all the Isbells will be dancing together!

So for some simple holiday fun click HERE

Sugar and spice.....

and all that's nice;
That's what little girls are made of.

I'm sure you have heard various people say "the Lord has a sense of humor". Well, I KNOW he does.

During both of my pregnancies, Jim and I just prayed for a healthy child. There are few true surprises left in the world, we decided to wait until delivery to find out the baby's gender. In May 1999 we were blessed with a healthy baby boy, Caleb Austin. My second pregnancy was exactly like the first, sooo, naturally I assumed we were having another boy. Fast forward to the delivery room....out comes the baby....and my first statement was, "THAT is NOT a boy". My doctor just laughed and said, "no it is not". And Jim was thrilled that we had the little girl he hoped for.

Now, don't get me wrong, I was very thankful for a beautiful healthy little girl. I just really had it in my mind we would have another boy. After all both my sisters had only boys, why would God give me the girl?! I had this tremendous fear in my mind about what in the world am I doing to do with this dainty little girl???

As most of you know, I have a twin sister. Growing up she was all lace and froof and I was all tomboy. I grew up climbing trees, spending most of my time outside, and played every sport from A-Z, and was quite good at them. I had Barbie, but also had GI Joe. I even collected baseball cards. My mother had to DRAG me to the Clinique counter as a junior in high school to buy me some make-up, because that's what girls do. I didn't like dressing up, make-up and my hairstyle was, of course, always plain....not big pageant hair, but just something plain and simple......which, yes, in the 80's was a mullet (but hey, it was the style). I could have been an LL Bean model for crying out loud!

Which brings me to now, and the revealing of the Lord's sense of humor, which began on July 2, 2001. Over the last 6 years I have learned to paint tiny finger and toe nails, put bows in hair on a moving target, pick out dresses/stockings/shoes that coordinate, and my most recent accomplishment: rolling hair in soft curlers. Yes, friends, these things can now go on my resume.....right after "knows every word to both High School Musical soundtracks"!

Thankfully, the Lord has blessed me with a wonderful daughter who is beautiful, funny, smart and sometimes sassy. But she is a great combination of tomboy and prissy, thank the Lord. She doesn't scream when she sees a frog, and has been known to pick one up to show Caleb. She is still the dirtiest child picked up at school. She is a good athlete and beginning in January she will try her hand at cheerleading (*sigh*). On the other hand, her only criteria for buying church shoes is that they are "tappy" on the floor. Then we have our girlie days that involves hair being "just so", princess dress-up, playing with Barbie, painting fingernails, and mixing and matching clothes....BTW ladies, if you don't match your panties to your shirt you are doing it wrong! Some days I get a glimpse of what my future holds.....pray now.

I have enjoyed having the only girl in the family....heaven knows she's not spoiled. Anyway, I hope as she grows up we learn something from each other....I can teach her how to do a jump-shot, but she will certainly have to learn make-up skills from someone else ( I have PLENTY of volunteers). I realize we have many battles to face, but I can't worry about those now. I pray that God gives me the strength I need to raise her not only to be a beautiful young lady, but to raise her to be a Godly woman.

1980's Flashback....or should I say Flashdance?!

I realize I have not posted on my blog in almost a month due to busyness and lack of inspiration. However, that has all changed this evening.

I am up late waiting for some of my Thanksgiving vittles to cool off before putting them in the fridge. In my state of tiredness and boredom I came across this video, which had me in stitches!! Some of you will relate.....some of you won't!

Welcome, Fall!

Yes, I have finally decided to get back in the swing of things here in blog world. I finally recovered from my hideous GI "bug" that put me out of commission for a whole week. I returned to work this past Monday and am almost back to par and finally eating foods that are not only white in color!

I feel like the last two weeks I have been held captive by the four walls of my house or an operating room! Jim is working 24 hours in Birmingham today--at his second job on the LifeSaver helicopter--so today I have been a single mom. After spending so much time inside lately, we decided to do something different today. After a little bit of house cleaning and a trip to Target, we left the TV off and spent most of the day in the great outdoors!

The weather is just beautiful....the sun so bright, the air with a slight crisp to it and the wind blowing! The kids and I picked up the sticks in the yard, raked a few leaves and refilled the bird feeder. We then took a quick trip to Home Depot where Caleb and Madison each picked out a mum to go along with our pumpkins sitting on our front porch. Caleb picked orange/yellow and Madison, of course, picked purple. We also got a few pansies for our planter. Once we got things situated on the porch, we just spent some time riding bikes, talking and the kids played some new version of front yard golf--of which I am happy to report no windows were broken and no one was injured during play.

It was a good day for some much needed sunshine therapy and just for us to welcome the wonderful season of Fall!

Montezuma's Revenge

Or as it might be called in Japan....Hirohito's Revenge. And if you don't know what I am indirectly talking about just search it on Google.

Well, I wanted my last blog about my trip to Japan to be witty and fun, but right now I am recovering from an intestinal bug straight from the depths of Hades! So, right now all the fun had on my trip has been overshadowed by the last 48+ hours! After a trip to the doctor this morning, the "bug" was officially identified and the correct antibiotics have been obtained. I pray I'm on the road to recovery.

Anyway, our last night in Japan we finally had the meal that I went to Japan for, a big bowl of noodles! My brother and sister-in-law took us to this little "hole in the wall" noodle place where we each enjoyed a bowl of noodles as big as our heads! They were delicious and the fun part was eating them with chopsticks and slurping them--which is customary in Japan. So, when in Japan.....sluuurrrrpppp.

The highlight of our flight home began in the Tokyo Airport. While checking in the computer screen asked us if we wanted to catch a earlier flight in Houston to get to Birmingham. Well, duh, we've been away from home for the last 10 days.....anyway, we hit yes. After confirming that we would pay an extra $50 for our tickets to be changed we suddenly heard the Hallelujah Chorus and spotlights lit our face. By the grace of God we had been upgraded to FIRST CLASS for fifty bucks on a full flight!!! Praise the Lord.

We got to spend the 2 hours waiting for our flight to leave in the airline "Lounge" with free food and iMac computers everywhere--- how funny. I just kept laughing asking Jim, "are you sure this is not a mistake." It was real, the food was great, the flight was only 10 hours ( I LOVE the tailwind) and we got back in Houston before we left Tokyo!

I'd just like to say I did enjoy my trip to Japan and hope you enjoyed reading about it. But I am so thankful that I am back here in the good ol' USA. The Japanese are the nicest and most polite people you will ever meet, and I will definitely miss that. But home is home and there is NO other place that I would rather be---sitting right here in my chair, typing on my blog, while watching TV in English!

Fear Factor....Tokyo Style

When thinking of the TV show "Fear Factor", I think of a show involving contestants who participated in various mental and physical challenges. They were people who volunteered to participate in a battle of wills resulting in one ultimate survivor. One who survived all the challenges and received a great reward.

Well, over the last 4 days I have felt like I have been on Fear Factor for a few reasons:

Physical Challenges
We have walked miles upon miles all over the city of Tokyo. We have been up and down multiple escalators and stairs. Yesterday we traipsed all over the USS Kitty Hawk and the Naval base. We have walked in the rain and in the humidity. We have crossed the street at one of the busiest intersections in the world and walked through beautiful parks. At the end of each day I have felt like I have been training for the triathlon!

Mental Challenges
I'm sure most of you have traveled with family before, so you know what I am talking about when I discuss this section. We've had our high points and our low points. You can imagine the stress of being in a foreign country where you know near nothing and each day involves traveling on a series of trains/subways to get anywhere! And remember we are traveling with 35 million of our best friends. So, needless to say we've all had our share of frustrations with one another and situations.

Mental and Physical Challenges
And for my last challenge I have had to face in Japan has been the least favored challenge on the TV show "Fear Factor"---the yucky food challenge!! Well, I came into the "competition" with an open mind and have actually fared very well in this phase of the contest. I don't think I can compile a complete list of what I actually ate, but here's what I remember: octopus, raw tuna, liver sushi, cow tongue and horse sushi. Yep, give me a high five people......I win in the food competition!


Despite all the tough challenges and frustrations, I think all seven of us are the winners. We all volunteered to come here, the physical and mental challenges we faced are nothing in the grand scheme of things. We spent a wonderful week with our "new" family" halfway around the world. And the petty instances will be forgotten but our family's love will continue forever. Fear was NOT a factor for us!

The Wedding Day

Our Sunday morning was filled with busyness preparing for the wedding ceremony at the Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine (say that three times). Constantine and Akiko decided to have a traditional Japanese wedding at the shrine. The biggest surprise of the day was my mother finding out she was going to wear a traditional Japanese kimono for the wedding ceremony. Aki's sister came to the hotel and "dressed" my mom, which took about an hour to get on all the layers of beautiful fabric.

It was just a normal day at the shrine and a holiday weekend, so the areas surrounding the shrine were filled with thousands of people milling around during the ceremony. Most of you know how short my attention span is, so I have NO idea what went on during the ceremony! We all sat there in "sock feet" and in our Sunday's finest clothes. The picture below shows the traditional ceremonial dress that Constantine and Aki wore:

Once the ceremony was completed and the pictures were taken, we went to the reception site that overlooked the Pacific Ocean. There we enjoyed a delicious 7 course French meal and had time to spend with our new Japanese side of the family. Despite the language barrier, we spent 3 hours talking and laughing with Aki's family. They started the day in traditional Japanese wedding attire and halfway through the reception they changed into their American wedding dress.

This is what we came 7,700 miles for.....the marriage of my little brother. Seems like yesterday my sisters and I were dressing him up....but now we are all grown up....sorta! :-)

Kamakura

On Saturday we spent the day touring around the city of Kamakura. Our first stop-- Starbucks, of course. Strangely, none of the local stores or shops open until 9:30am.

We later toured the Great Kannon shrine to Buddha. As a Christian, it was very different to see the local people bowing in front of the great statue, and in other locations there were bottles of water placed in front of the statues....for some reason?! They also had places where they write their prayers on a piece of paper and tie it to a string for Buddha.

Next was lunch at the Kua 'Aina hamburger restaurant. Yes, I came all the way to Japan to eat a hamburger, but it was very good. They only have locations in Hawaii and oddly, Japan.

Finally, to end our day we took a train (without the assistance of my brother, who had to leave for work) to a nearby small island Enoshima. The train ride alone was quite amusing...imagine 7 Americans who know how to say "hi" and "thank you" in the local language traveling to a tourist attraction.

Once we got to the island, we took a series of 4 escalators to the top of the island. Then we went to the top of a tower that overlooks the whole area and waited for the sun to set. The view was spectacular and we even got to see Mount Fuji.

Note to the kiddies (and everyone)

Hey kids! Just wanted to put a place where you can click and look at the photos mom and dad have been taking! We miss you very much and will be home very soon. Be good for grandma and pet Bailey on the head for us! We love you.

Now click this line to go see our pictures!!

Click here to see more!!

Kon-ni-chi-wa

That means "hey y'all" in Japanese....see I am learning the language fast!

Well, greetings from Japan. We had a very long day of travel last Thursday, but finally arrived at Narita Airport around 3pm on Friday. Somewhere during our 14 hour flight we lost a day and have yet to find it! My brother and friend picked us up at the airport and we made our way to our hotel in Kamakura.

The hotel was right in the middle of the city and the owner of the hotel was a friend of my brother's so we got a great rate on our rooms. The TV stations were Japanese only and no such thing as the internet.

No complaints, but to describe the hotel....Brady Bunch house! Girls if you had the bedspread below raise your hand....oh yes, and those ARE twin beds that are about 16" off the ground. Whatever!


After getting a few things unpacked at the hotel, our bleary eyed group had dinner at a Japanese restaurant. We even took our shoes off and sat on the floor.....fun. I almost forgot to tell you about the highlight of our evening--we all, except Jim (who would sleep through a train coming through our room), were awakened by an earthquake at about 3am. For those of you who know me, NO I did not panic....I was too tired to panic.

The wedding was not until Sunday so we spent Saturday touring around the city of Kamakura. I will do another blog for that day and upload some pictures with a link for you to see more photos.

Tonight (Monday) we have finally arrived back in civilization......the BIG city of Tokyo. We are staying at the New Sanno Hotel for military personnel and their families. I am SO excited about watching TV in English and having an internet connection! WOO-HOO. What in the world did we do before all this?!

Westward Bound

I must squeeze in one more post before we leave for Tokyo in the morning. Yes, you all heard me right....Tokyo, as in JAPAN. You might be wondering why someone who can barely stand to get on a plane for a couple of hours would be so inclined to get on one for a 14 hour flight! Well, I am still wondering....

No, seriously, my little brother Constantine (remember I am Greek) is in the Navy and has been stationed in Japan for the last seven years. Somewhere along the line he met a wonderful Japanese girl named Aki, with whom he fell in love with and wanted to marry. This summer in June we gathered in Mobile, AL for a traditional "Big Fat Greek Wedding". Twenty of Aki's family and closest friends came and had a warm Southern welcome and great time. Now it's time for us to reciprocate. Me, my husband Jim, both of my sisters, my father, and my mom and step-dad are leaving tomorrow for the "Land of the Rising Sun"--Japan.



The shopping is done and the bags are finally packed; I even got a pedicure today for those unexpected taking your shoes off moments! The hardest part so far was telling my kids "goodbye". This will be the longest period of time in their short lives that we have been away from them!

Now, tomorrow the hardest part will be getting on that plane in Houston for the 14 hour flight. So please keep your anxiety ridden friend and her family in your prayers as we travel. Hopefully, my next post will be from somewhere in the country of Japan! Goodnight.

Getting Started

I've decided to step out on the wild side and give the world of blogging a try. I can attribute my blogging inspiration to Teresa Wood, one of my best friends from Judson College! Teresa has her own blog that I have bookmarked, and find myself checking for updates daily. I think, for me, it has been a fun way to keep up with a dear "old" friend and keep up with what's going on in her life since time and distance has separated us.

I wanted to come up with some snappy title for my blog, like Teresa....whose last name is Wood, and her blog is titled "Livin the Wood Life".....but, alas, I stayed awake for HOURS trying to come up with something but came up with nothing. Sooooo, since I live in the South and I am Greek--for those of you who don't know my maiden name is Panayiotou-- I came up with Greek GRITS. Again, for those of you who don't know what a GRITS is:

G: girl
R: raised
I: in
T: the
S: South

And there you have it......Greek GRITS.....ta da' instant blog name.