Softball Girl

She picks up her helmet and picks up her bat,

And walks to the plate, "Gotta hit and that's that!"

The crowd starts to cheer, the game is on the line,

Last inning, two outs and the scores 9 to 9.

Dad yells "Go get it!" and mom is clenching her hands,
Coach says, "Hit the ball" but alone there she stands.
Heroes are made on seconds just as this,
But she is just a little girl, what if she should miss?

Years after the game is ended and she is little no more,
Will she remember this day, the outcome, the score?
One day she'll have forgotten if she was out, hit or run.
She will only look back on her friends and the fun.





So cheer this girl on, alone with her fate,
Help her remember with fondness the stand at the plate.
Spend your time wisely and help her in her quest,
To be a hitter with confidence, always her best.
And when the game's is over, she can stand tall,
For you have helped her prepare to give it her all.

Author:Unknown

Sick Day

No she is not sick. Son is sick. Throw up sick. I am on sick duty this afternoon. Husband had it this morning. Daughter is just about crazy. She is loving softball and having two kids playing ball is torture. I miss getting to be at all of son's games but I am glad that we have a huge support group of peeps who cheer on my kids when I can't be there!

My dishwasher!!I was without a dishwasher for 10 months. Torture in some countries. I had to use...gasp my hands! The weekend after my surgery husband bought and installed this beauty. I fell in love with him all over again. What does it say about me that appliances really make me happy? Funny story #1:We don't really understand the appliance. It is some high duty thing that has to have rinse aide. We can't seem to get the combo right. If you know what we are doing wrong please let me know. We have spots. And no my engineer - installing - husband threw away the instructions. Why would we need instructions when he installed it himself? Funny Story #2: For two days we both kept opening the dishwasher looking to see if the dishes were clean or dirty. Husband says,"gosh these are still dirty!" I said, "maybe we should start it." Hysterical. We are so excited to have someone else wash our dishes we just forgot we had to be the ones to actually press start!

I got a new cast. I had my stitches and staples out. I was in a mood that day and went black. It goes with everything and well I was tired of looking like something out of a Dr. Seuss book. I thought no one would really notice but 950 kids at school noticed.

Mrs. Roach did you break your foot again?

Mrs. Roach did black get number 2 votes?

Mrs. Roach where is the other cast?

Mrs. Roach can I have your old cast?

Mrs. Roach can you do my color next?

The good news the ankle guy said my xray looked perfect! Praise God he is healing my bones!

I feel like all I have talked about is Peanut and her babies. Well there is dog that lives here and he rules the house. I found this picture on my cellphone the other day and I have no idea who took it. This is where Yoda stayed when I could barely get out of the recliner. He slept with me. He rarely even brought me his tennis ball. All he did was love and support. By the way, is it just me or do I look angry in my sleep? I must have A. been in pain or B. mad that someone was disturbing me. Anyway Yoda is still number 1 and has yet to even see a kitten.

Day 3 Pool Makeover

I can be found on the lower right of this picture. Welcome to the show. 5 children, sister, brother-in-law, husband, mother and grandmother all in our safe place. Last night was a nightmare for Alabama. We are blessed to be safe and have our family all in a small room. Okay maybe not the later and maybe sister should be on Hoarders. Maybe if she would actually have the yard sale she is saving all the stuff for she would not need an intervention. The upstairs of her house could be in a magazine. The basement is like her party in the rear...kinda like a mullet.

I am sorry I digress.

We all about lost our minds last night but after watching the news today I am heartbroken for our state. Pray even when you don't know what to pray for...pray.

Today was a LONG day and I can't believe I am even still up but I need to let you know the pool makeover continues. I came in from work to find concrete poured. After today's news and a long night at the ballpark...I am glad to focus on my concrete. Where should my chair go? In the middle? On the side? My pool guy said I was too late to put my hand print in the concrete. I was so disappointed. I at least wanted little roach hands in the concrete. My pool friend thinks I am insane. I just love him anyway.

Bits of Peanut

If you are allergic to cats or don't like them please don't read this post. I know I said I am not a cat person. But...Peanut is a good momma and she has cute babies. Pray for her because we have caught Stamps twice trying to get on the front porch. Seriously, this baby daddy is ridiculous. He thinks she wants to nurse 6 babies and still be his girlfriend. I mean Stamps will stop at nothing. I want to introduce the Roach Readers to all 6 bits of Peanut. Please understand we don't know the sex of the kittens yet. I am not real sure when we will be able to tell but if I call them he or she it is simply due to personality or my guess.
This baby is the one daughter has called hers since day one. She looks dramatically different from the rest and is much larger. Probably due to either the extra attention from daughter or the fact daughter is constantly making sure she gets in to nurse.

Hello! Look at that face. She will be ours forever.

She is not nice and we have not named her. She pushes and bits her siblings. She requires lots of personal space and does not like to be on bottom of feedings.

She is starting to sit up on her own. Bless her little face.

This is the next to smallest and is a cuddle bug.

We call this one Booger.

This is twin A.

This is twin B.

And they are the reason Stamps can not deny paternity.

Introducing the smallest of the liter is Ratatouille. His whiskers are longer than his body. I love him for his size. He just looks like he needs a human momma. Every time I pick him up, he just relaxes. God loves the itty bitties.

Ratatouille is just so little. So little all he can do is scoot on his white little feet.

Peanut is exhausted. Nursing 6 kittens is a full time job and now they are mobile. Oh I remember when my babies started crawling. Poor Peanut! Now she has to baby proof. This is Booger trying to crawl out, head first. As a mother of two I admire Peanut.

Getting one to latch on was bad enough. She is so laid back and she has not once asked to call the lactation nurse. She drinks plenty of water in between nursing and does not stress about how much each baby is taking in at one time.

Happy Easter

I love Easter! This is the annual front porch picture at Sister's house. Sister and I did awesome in the kid department. These kids love each other and are not only close in living proximity but best buds. They can fight like siblings and laugh like best friends. And the one in the middle rules them all. I pray that each one may come to know they are loved more by our creator than by Sister and I. I pray they love Him more than they ever love me. I pray they grow to do more things in His name and I pray their life glorifies their Heavenly Father. However, I pray they stop growing so fast. Shut the front door! Look at these sweet babies two years ago! Oh and Sister, your plant is on the wrong side of the porch this year.

The Pool Makeover Take 1

We were opening this pool May 22, 2010 when I fell and broke my ankle. The pool never opened. It has been on the want list since that day. Well on Good Friday the transformation began.

The Before

The fence and pool were in bad shape. This pool has seen it's better day.

But she is getting a complete makeover!


Because this man loves the Roaches! He does not love liner pools but he is in our home group. He will be so mad I am talking about him but his sweet family is dear to me. They have prayed over me and listened to me whine about my pool. He and his family own a local pool company and you can not find better people! Earl's Pool and Spa
Pick them first!

They even let husband work with them for the past two days.

I would wheel to the back door and take their picture when they weren't looking.

I love it when husband is doing manual labor and sweaty.

You see my home group pool friend and I had been making a deal to make me a firepit next to the pool. Husband and I were at odds on the design. But once they cleared out this space I gave them orders that it would be the PERFECT place for my "firepit"! I mean all summer nights should end with a fire and dip in the pool.

So they used the bobcat and picked up my great grandmother's old millstone.

She used to grind her own mill on this stone. We use is for a fire pit.

People pay lots of money for these things now a days. I can't wait

to see what ours will look like after we get through with the design.

It just screams weenie roast.

Once Daddy of Earl's Pool showed up the pace picked up.

They brought lots of fun equipment. I wish I had been closer for better pictures.

This dump truck was massive and Daddy of Earl's Pool will work circles around you.

I wish you could see husband has on working gloves.

This is my favorite picture of the day.

Dump truck going to our sinkhole being chased by the bobcat.

Husband following for moral support and to insure we did not lose any of our beloved friends in the sinkhole. I heard there were some scary moments back there...

After two days of destruction we are now ready for more concrete to be poured. Stone to be laid. Pebbles to be poured. Diving board to install. A new fence. Oh yay!

I have started on my pool furniture and floats. Once this cast is off I will be floating somewhere in the middle until August. Come by and visit.

The new liner is called Capri.

It just sounds dreamy.

I think water therapy will be my favorite way to recover. Such a great way to spend our Easter weekend redoing the pool.

I hope all my Roach Readers have a wonderful Easter celebrating a Risen savior. I will never understand His love for me or the price that was paid on the cross.

Medical Equipment Gone Rancid

I was so excited when my friend let me borrow her nice wheelchair. It is lightweight and easy to wheel and easy for even my child to push me. However, it is not practical to pack a wheelchair for work everyday and pack it up to come home. My mother being my main transportation home is not big enough to load the wheelchair in her car every afternoon! So "someone special" found a wheelchair I could leave at school. It is not as special as the one from my friend but I was excited that I would have one for work and one for home. Husband packed it in my car last night so we would be ready to go this morning. Upon opening the car doors a smell hit my 8 year old son. He reported that something had died in our car. I am happy to report no one died but I could not confirm someone had not died in that wheelchair during it's previous life. It was too late to change the wheelchair out so off to work I went in my rank wheelchair. I was greeted at the door with 2 teachers who immediately smelt me. They literally ran to their rooms and got cans of Lysol and Odor Eating combinations to kill the smell. I am sure no children enjoyed breakfast this morning with my wheelchair close by. One teacher friend even had the courtesy to take the wheelchair outside to air out for an hour. Nothing seemed to work. It just smelt like the geriatric ward with old bandaids. I was afraid people would think I was not taking showers with my cast and it was me that stunk! That stinky wheelchair provided a great deal of laughter today. The laugh of the day came towards the end of the day when a child walked into my room and said, "Mrs. Roach has my grandmother come in here today?" I replied, "I don't know baby. Who is your grandmother?" He then replied, "Oh, you don't know her but it smells like her in here!" Seriously. I sprayed the noxious chair, said a silent prayer and closed my classroom door. Roach Readers, please pray for a sweet fragrant wheelchair to greet me in the morning.

Toliet and the Devil

I am back at work. Yes I am tired but my arms are going to be ripped after rolling up and down the halls at school in my wheelchiar. I can move fast until 10 am. Then I am tired. I get up way before five am to even be able to get ready before I wake the little Roaches. I am the luckiest girl alive to work where 900 kids want a hug or a smile or need to tell you a story. My first day back was rough. And my mother will hate I am telling you this story. I will also get in trouble for using the word hate. Peggy Sue does not like hate or toliet stories. Mother, forgive me. On my first day back I manage to wheel into the bathroom along with 10 other little girls for a much needed potty break. But my wheelchair won't go into the stall. In the meantime while I am trying to make this work, 10 little girls want to tell me; "Mrs. Roach I like your cast." "Mrs. Roach I voted for lime green." "Mrs. Roach what happened to your foot?" "Mrs. Roach can I push you?" I wanted to cry and say," Mrs. Roach just wants to potty!" I end up going all the way back to my room and get my crutches only to be met by 10 new little girls with 45 new comments. Needless to say not only am I not taking pain medication at work, I am not drinking liquids anymore either.
Carpool is going great except getting Car Rider 53 into the car is an event. Wheelchair, crutches, handicap mother, two small Roaches are a load. We have to have our own special loading line.
Pray for the carpool.
One more thing Roach Readers, I told you God was using this as a spiritual marker in my life. I am seeing that more clearly in ways that I can't wait to share with you sometime. God is showing me lately to pay attention to my prayer life. I pray for my kids, my husband, job, *goodness the ankle!*, and day to day activities but it becomes a routine of prayers. Until recently the devil showed up in a relationship of mine. I was devastated. And then God spoke to me and said when have you prayed my protection over that relationship lately? He is teaching me our communication needs improvement. My prayer life is changing. HE gets bigger and bigger to me each day. The more I spend time with Him the more I realize who He is! I pray He gets Bigger for you too! And as my friend Frankie would say, Peace and Blessings. Peace and Blessings.

Back to ball and work

I have a love/hate relationship with ball season. I love cheering for my kids. I love watching them enjoy something they both love to do. I love to see Tbone make a play and shake off a mistake. I love to see him proud of himself or display good sportsmanship to another team. He plays with his whole heart. But that is him, he loves big. He was the one who went into his closet and called me late at night while I was in the hospital. I hate what some parents turn ball into and the chaos they bring to the sport. I have seriously seen parents lose their religion over a tball game. Am I competitive? Absolutely. You can hear me before you ever see me at the ballpark. Do I want my kids to experience winning and losing? Absolutely. Is it torture for me to watch a close ballgame? Absolutely. I just don't want my kids to ever think their performance on the field has any weight on eternity or my love for them. I love that both my kids are currently outside pitching to each other and playing ball in our huge yard because that is what they love to do all year long.

By the way, this shortstop softball player had a mouthful of sunflower seeds during her game the other night. She was spitting them out like a major league player spits his chew. Never once missing a ball hit to her during her midgame snack. And the infamous slide made it's comeback during her last game. Getting to watch all these games is challenging at best. I am thankful for our people who help us with transportation and cheering sections.

And one last plea to my Roach Readers, I go back to work tomorrow. It will be like middle school all over again. My daddy will take me to work and my mother will pick me up. I am car rider #53. Pray for minimal pain during the work day and strength for the long days ahead. Much love.

Stamps the Chicken

Feeling like myself today.

I slept last night and appreciate all you Roach Readers and your prayers. Part of my healing time is spent on my front porch because no steps are involved.

I love my rock front porch. It is layered with quilts made by both our grandmothers and great grandmothers. Peanut must think it is awesome too

considering it is was her birthing suite and now nursery.

Daughter enjoys my great grandmother's old rockers and spends plenty of time rocking little kittens in between their nursing. We have told her she does not need to help Peanut be a mother but she is sure we are wrong. I am pretty sure this is a good indication why she is the baby and not the middle child. If I ever had another child, I don't think she would ever let me be the mother. I can use my walker and sit out on this rock porch and watch the cars go by. Occasionally friends blow their horn and people at the bank wave.

I think about these rocks and how they have stood here since the early 1900's. A definition of a rock is a firm foundation or support. God has shown me He is my support in my time of need. I love that Peanut found these rocks in her time of need to get her babies a safe secure area to be born.

This is the only kitten that has stripes like Peanut.

Daughter calls it hers.

I know I am in trouble.

Seriously, my sweet friend calls cats spineless creatures because of the way they rub up against you. I can't call this kitten anything but adorable. Stamps might not claim this one but he has to claim all five of the other kittens. I think Stamps is a chicken. I can never get a picture of him for his wanted poster I am planning on plastering at the post office. I mean I have children falling in love with his children and how does Stamps plan on supporting the Kitty Chow?

After leaving the ballpark the other night we did what all good parents do at 8 o'clock at night, drive through Zaxby's for dinner. Well who do we see in the drive through...STAMPS. Not only does he eat at my house and the post office but he eats Chicken at Zaxby's. Warning he is coming to neighborhood near you. Stamps, you big ole Chicken!

Why 4 in the morning?

"We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey." - Kenji Miyazawa

Pain is too much tonight or this morning. No doubt this ankle is recovering. The right side is where the ankle guy put in the bone from my knee. It feels like fire this morning. I would like to point my toes. When I get a cramp in my foot I can't stand up and put pressure on it, so I sit and endure. Husband says I am like sleeping with a tiger. I am currently in my recliner praying for relief at 4 in the morning. But thankful I can hear my children sleeping. Thankful I have a dog that sits as close to me as he can to offer his support. This is just a dot on my journey. Eternity is my reward.

Matthew 11:28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

Sometimes You Dig Deep

This is a blast from a past. A story of two old friends. This picture does not tell our story. Our journey is long. You see your first friend in life teaches you how to be a friend for the rest of your life. You remember her when you hear your daughter giggle in her room with her friend. You remember her when you tell of your Christian walk and when Christ saved you.

Sometimes you have to remember who you are and where you came from. Sometimes you have to remember old friends. This is my friend KT. I don't have a single childhood memory without her in it. We were saved at Camp Spain during Vespers one night the summer after fourth grade. We went on every softball tournament our daddies played in from here to Nashville. We took family vacations to the beach. Our mothers would say we became friends while we were in our mother's stomach. KT posted this photo on fb to remind me I could get through this current challenge. You see together we were as strong as Wonder Woman.

Sometimes you just channel your inner Wonder Woman and you take a deep breathe.

You close your eyes.

You pray.

And then the Physician's Assistant moves your ankle to 90 degrees.

Cast goes on and you are done.

Sometimes it just takes the Wonder Woman you were born to be.

P.S. The cast colors were chosen by my students at school. They got to vote on my cast color by voting on my school blog. Everyone will see me coming a mile away!

Ready for the Storm

Last night we had some bad weather and I put on facebook I was going to my safe location in my wheelchair. My cousin, Dian McCray, drew this picture of me! It provided a much needed laugh after a couple of rough days. It has been painful since coming home from the hospital. Trying to take the right medication and still being able to function and be a mother, wife, friend, etc can be a delicate balance. But I find myself painting on a smile and getting ready for the storm on a daily basis. There are moments when the smile fades and tears come but God always provides. I have family that will come in an instant. Friends that drop by with encouragement, Starbucks, milkshakes, flowers and food. Today will be a stormy day. You might remember this post. One of the most painful experiences last summer was getting my foot to 90 degrees. Today I will have to go through the same thing. A cast and 90 degrees. I am scared and anxious but I know God will get me through this and so much more. I know that Jesus will calm the storm I face today. Mark 4:35-40

Brighter news from Roach Ranch: How cute are these babies? Seriously I am not a cat person but look at that little white face on Peanuts leg. The sad news is Butter has been missing since last Tuesday. The good news is the kids have these babies to keep them entertained. Daughter is the nurse maid. She rotates them constantly so each kitten gets ample time of nursing. Son just gets upset when Peanut carries them in the mouth. Their eyes are not open yet and most look just like the Post Office Dead Beat Dad, Stamps. Last night husband went outside and said Stamps was looking lost wondering around outside. I told him to go tell Stamps his girlfriends are gone and he can speak to them when he forks over the child support.