Cow Trophies

Everyone has a past.

Mine includes cows and trophies.

When your friends find your trophies...your past is out in the open and in this case on the mantel for display.

If I was interviewed about the cow trophies this would be the interview.

Q. What do you do to get a cow trophy?

A. You show your cow at fairs in a circle with lots of other people.

Q. What do you wear?

A. White pants, white button up shirt and white shoes...because that is obviously safe around cow manure.

Q. What do you mean "show" the cow?

A. You lead them around a ring and stop them when the judge tells you to. They have to stand in a certain way. Feet in a certain position and head up. Kinda like a dog show with cows.

Q. Were you nervous?

A. Yes and most of the time the cows were full grown and I was all of 8.

Q. Was it a heated competition?

A. Yes. Especially the State Fair. Someone would have to spend the night with our cows at the State Fair grounds because people might try to do something to our cows. Like feed them something to make them sick. Tough competition.

Q. What was your biggest Cow Trophy Accomplishment?

A. Grand Champion at the State Fair with Gumdrop, sweetest cow I have ever known.

Seriously. Cow Trophies.

It's My Birthday!!

What a fabulous weekend. I am too tired to think but I don't want to forget these moments. After finding out pinkie has to stay on until July 8th, I was in need of friend time and a getaway. So MS friends came down or over I guess. All the kids had a blast and these is the last time these 6 will be together in this kitchen. They all have grown up here in this kitchen. First it was Karen and Allen's house and then ours... we are currently making the plea for Summer and Brian to buy it and keep it in the family. Nothing says we have missed our dear friends other then welcoming them to our home and asking them to move furniture. These three boys moved our WHOLE downstairs Friday night while the girls got to play catch up. Well, Summer and I did...Karen pulled weeds.

Summer and Sarah Burns...my heart already misses these two faces. You know you have a friend for life when you pick up right where you leave off. That is how I feel about Summer and Jaclyn.

Karen and Tracy had planned a trip to Ross Bridge while I was in the hospital. I had never been and was pumped. There were 9 of us. The pool was amazing and I only wanted to slap people that could go under and go down the slide. I did my first step dip and cooled off rather well.

Karen, Pinkie, Me, Bre, Kerri and Tracy.

Jacyln and Jen.

Summer, Sister and Karen.

All nine of us in our little cabana. Yes, by the time we left everyone knew pinkie and knew it was my birthday!

And nothing says Happy Birthday other then Edgar's Strawberry Cake with NO FORKS!

So many funny stories and lots of laughter. My favorite picture is KP driving me in the wheelchair. She is the fastest wheelchair driver. Summer is a hotel guru. Tracy is full of air. Karen finally relaxed with no children around and did not clean up the room. Jaclyn is still the most beautiful person on the inside and out. Bre got entertainer of the year with her mug shot magazine. And sister and Jen...well they get the music award. Thankful to have had time away because this week is moving week. So the next update will probably be from the Roach Ranch. Stay tuned.

Birthday Weekend

Karen and me and Jaclyn!!!

Me and Tracy and Kerri, my running Nazi's and hood buddies!

My Mississippi girl, Summer!



My sister and her bf Jen.

Me and Bre!!

All of these girls are taking me to Ross Bridge for my birthday. I am sure we will be a sight. Wheelchair, bath stool and crutches. Some of these girls have never met, some are my oldest friends and some are my newest friends and two have moved away. I am blessed to have each one of them in my life. Look for us on the news...Friends take handicap friend on a birthday trip.

Back Yard

Since we are still in the process of moving into the Kent farmhouse and my dad is still in the process of moving out...you can't get inside photos for awhile. Husband snapped these photos today on Father's Day of part of the new back yard.

The pool is still not open until...I fell the day we were opening the pool.

The cows said MOOOVE in already.

And I am just saying the garden says yum to me.

Feeling Guilty

I have made jokes before that I should have been Catholic. I even have told my Catholic friends that I think weekly confessional time would be great because I am always feeling guilty about something. This blog has lately been all about me and Pinkie and I feel guilty for not writing about the kids. So to prove I am still being a Mommy Roach . . . here are some pics of the Little Roach's.

When they have not been pimped out to friends and Nana they have been very busy. Son had baseball camp one week which he loved. Then they both had a week of VBS. This past week they both went to basketball camp at the High School with mother! Yes, daughter went and her Carter went with her. She even got the Free Throw Award one day. Son got several awards also but they were worn out and tired by Friday. Daughter also has had ear infections for 2 weeks...good times. By the way, when she is ill...everyone is ill. Both are really good swimmers and love to stay under the water! Here is daughter with the other MG and Laura. Laura is my summer helper. She is going to help me one day a week not to loose my sanity. 13 year olds are the best helpers. She is still young enough to have fun and can provide semi-adult communication with me!

Pinkie Proof

Me in the pool. Sad but this was heaven. My friend, Elise, is holding Pinkie on the concrete, wrapped in my VBS shirt! And I got chlorine in my hair for the first time all summer. This is the closet my body has been to being "submerged" in water. It is the simple things!! And I am so happy about this moment, that I don't even care that I am posting a picture of my self in a bathing suite!

Pinkie #2 Update

Pinkie has been out of the house several times. VBS, lunch with Bre, pool with Tracy, out to eat with mother and grandmother...but no stores. Not even Publix. So husband took me to Target. He went in first to survey for scooters. I could not walk on crutches all over the store and we did not have the wheelchair. So for your amusement and husband's...( Please notice Oprah, I am driving and texting) We laughed until we cried throughout the store.

Over the past week Pinkie has been less painful and I was able to come off the pain meds during the day. Nausea has about killed me so they tried switching the pain pills but nothing seem to work. Bone pain is intense and some of the nausea could be because of bone pain. Sleep however is not my friend. I am sleeping less and less. My big toe is still "asleep".

Today was the day we went to get Pinkie #2 and my foot to 90 degrees. I was put in another hard cast and could be in it for 2 to 3 more weeks before I will get a boot and go to rehab. Here is the good news. We got to 90 degrees. The leg looks like a leg and I could see some ankle bones. The swelling was down and the incsions look good.

The bad news...the hair on my leg is D-scusting!! The stand in the above photo is what I put my foot on and then move my knee to get my leg to a 90 degree angle. The nurse left husband and I alone to try to get the foot moving. As hard as I tried...it moved maybe 1/2 inch. The nurse finally was able to get a layer of casting on and then had me put my foot on a stool and move my knee to 90 degrees. She says"your good!" and husband says "no, she needs to come forward a little more!" I could have spit on him. Reason why not to take an engineer to an orthopedic appointment. So Lord willing my foot is now casted at 90 degrees but with that joy comes pain.

I feel like I am back to square one with pain levels today. I can't stand movement on the leg and the pain is radiating to my hip. All you prayer warriors out there please pray that the pain will ease and sleep will come!!

My News Article

Alabaster Reporter It’s a homecoming for Alabaster woman


Pinkie was interviewed about our upcoming move!!

Pinkie Passing Out Thanks

There are not enough thank you notes for all the things people have done and given to us...so I thought I would share.
From moment one of the incident my brother in law kept my kids and dog so my sister could be by my side. This meant he had 5 kids. He also gave me a peep talk one day that changed my outlook on things. He reminded me who I was.

There were my hospital warriors: my mother, sister, husband, my dad, Karen, Shirley, Tracy, Joseph, Todd, Patti and Sammy Davis, Mary Lee, Sue and Jimmy Dennis, Uncle Don and Kathy, Bre, Amy, Kevin, Micah, and my babies. Some of these people did things for me in the hospital that I never thought any of my friends or family would have to do. I woke to people praying over me at 5:30 am in the hospital on most mornings. I have never felt so loved and blessed.

Shirley and I think Bre set up a meal website immediately. All good southern churches rally and send food to the needy! We are on week 4 of having meals delivered. My husband could not be more thrilled that food is ready when he gets in from work just like always!!

With each meal came a visit right when I needed it! I had friends of old and new walk through my front door with a smile and a hug. Most of you sat with me and let me cry and talk.

Jacyln drove over an hour to come bring me books and a hug.

John Perry (a man in our home group) brought his daughter , Nicole, and her husband, Renan, to plant flowers in my front yard to help get our house ready to put on the market. Then entertained my kids while they worked in the heat.

Karly, Shirley, Aunt Joy and Dana sent me a books to read and pass the time. Sister says I need to cross-stich like when we were little...I have not gotten that desperate.

Karen, Bre, April,Cyndi, Jessica, my mother and my sister have provided hours of babysitting. HOURS. I feel like I am pimping out my children all summer. But this is by far my greatest need and greatest blessing. From moment one I worried about my children. When my husband came around the corner of the house and saw me laying there with my ankle I said, "don't let my kids see me." Like any mother, your kids are your first thought. I worried their summer would be ruined with a broken mommy but these people have loved them and cared for them and for that I am utterly thankful.

Then there is Frankie...who woke up early to take son to baseball camp for a week. She did not have a child going but she did that for me. She took me to vote and took me and my kids to VBS for a week. It might not seem like a big deal but it required her loading a heavy wheelchair sometimes up and down my split foyer house. She did not even serve in morning VBS but drove us because she cared. But more on her later...ceremony to follow!!

Even this week Tracy, Misty, mother and sister are transporting the kids to basketball camp for me.

My home group plus Stuart showed up Saturday morning with boxes and trucks. They packed and moved 4 truck loads. What a blessing! I sat on the couch and let go of control and have never felt so free in all my life. God is working on me. But more on that later.

There have been a hundred phone calls, prayers, cards, emails, facebook messages and even more visits that have gotten me through each day. The Lord is my strength but you all are my blessing. LOVE YOU ALL

Pinkie

I have decided that my cast needed a name, Pinkie. Pinkie weighs about 30 pounds and is a good reason for me not to have to step on the scales this summer. I have decided that Pinkie and I have a love/hate relationship. At night when I want to roll over and that requires picking her up and moving her pillow for support and adjusting the covers because she snags everything...I hate her. But I love when I get to nap because she has worn me out. So instead of whining away all summer I have decided to get Pinkie out of the house and update you on her activities. Today Pinkie got a pedicure...LINKIN PARK AFTER DARK...is back on my toes. Yes, they gave me a discount for 1/2 pedicure. Score one for Pinkie! I really feel like because I had pink toes when I fell is another reason why I should never get another color on my toes.

Husband promised the kids a trip to the pool if they let him get his yard work and housework done. Yes he is doing it all...more on that later. So the kids were so excited for us to go the pool for the first time as a family this summer. I was not going to let Pinkie keep me home alone and I broke in the crutches for a long walk. Well, Pinkie can reach 400 degrees in about 25 minutes in the sun. I sat poolside with a new book for about an hour and then I retreated to the shade. Pinkie and I took a hour nap right there at the neighborhood pool. My body is just not up to much yet and the pain pills make for good sleeping.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

These pictures need a warning. So here is your warning. It looks nasty and the fact my foot is bigger then my lower leg should let you know the swelling is still intense. We went to the doctor today to remove stitches and staples. It felt like ant bites. The actually "putting on the cast" was torture. Trying to bend my ankle almost made me pass out. This is the outer side of the leg. This is where the plate is and the most tender spot on the leg. It makes me cringe to think of the plate and 5 screws that how hold this bone together.

This is the inner ankle and this is where pins and wires are holding this bone onto my ankle. I am amazed that God made me and has given doctors the tools put me back together again.

The kids were dying for an orange and blue cast but they only offered pink, purple and red. Since I am not a red girl...pink was the winner. The doctor and nurse could not get my foot to a 90 degree angle so I go back in two weeks to try again and recast. The good news in the foot seems less tender in this position and in a hard cast. Keep up the prayers...hoping to walk soon.