William Eschenbach

You know, we take things for granted. We always assume there will be tomorrow to tell our children how much we love them and how proud we are to be their parents. I find myself doing that all the time. Well, not so much the telling Julia how much I love her part, but putting off doing stuff with her until tomorrow. She'll want to play or something at night and I'm so busy doing all my social stuff that I tell her "just a minute". Well what if there's not another minute.

Yesterday evening, the local news broke into my television program to report that a little boy in my city was missing. He was only 2 years old and it appears his older sister opened the gate while they were in the back yard playing and he took off. The mom had stepped inside to tend to the infant baby she had. And just like that, he was gone. His back yard backed up to 200 acres of woods, and the Tyger River was only a mile back. They put out a call for volunteers, and my heart was warmed by the number of people that showed up to help the little boy. Over 500 people was the last report I heard. Unfortunately, the emergency personnel only ended up letting 28 people help. They said that having too many people would hender their search efforts. My husband was one of the people that showed up, only to be turned away. But that's not really the point. The crews searched all night long and into this morning.

The local sheriff let us all know that they found little William this morning around 11:30 in the Tyger River. The dogs followed his tracks right up to the river edge. This child, this innocent, precious boy just jumped right in. They found an area not too far away where he had stopped to play. We were all watching the live feed on the internet at work. I just sat there and sobbed. I can't even begin to imagine what this mother is going through. And the little sister that opened the gate. I hope that she doesn't have to carry that guilt around with her as long as she lives. I'm not sure how old she is, so I don't know if this is something that she'll remember the details of. I hope not.

This story breaks my heart. William is the same age as Julia, so this really hit close to home. I can see her doing that...being so carefree, and just knowing that she's untouchable, and that someone will be there to catch her. I pray that God took William's soul before he had to suffer in that water.

So needless to say, I held Julia a little tighter tonight. I didn't get frustrated when she wanted to play while I was trying to Facebook. I held her a little longer when rocking her before bed. I love that little girl with all of my heart.

God bless William and his family.

What Did You Say??

Two year old...it's like another language. Here are some of my favorites from my favorite 2 1/2 year old!!!

"Nanks!" = Thanks

"Bopple" = Apple

"Blanklet" = Blanket

"Excue Me" - Excuse Me

You know, I had a whole list of these prepared in my head. I guess that's what I get for thinking I could remember them!! So hopefully the rest will come back to me, and I'll gladly update :)

Happy Valentine's Day

My hubby is quite the romantic one! Ok, so maybe only on the holidays, but he certainly does well when they roll around. Yesterday morning, I was paged down to the front desk for a delivery. And when I got there, these were waiting for me: The picture isn’t very good, but the roses and vase are absolutely beautiful!! And they sure are making my work area smell wonderful!

And here are the flowers from last Valentines Day, since I wasn’t blogging back then…

(pay no attention to the collage of an adorable baby behind them)

Hope your day was great and romantic!

25 Things About Me

Well, I figured since I had already written this up for a thing going around on Facebook, I might as well go ahead and post it on here. I have been VERY blogger slack, and I do apologize. It just doesn't seem that too much has been going on! So here's a couple of things you might not know, or care to, but nonetheless...

1.My granddaddy is E.P. Todd (you know, as in E.P. Todd Elementary)

2.I have a Winnie the Pooh tattoo on my back

3.I want to get another, but I don’t know what/where.

4.My birthday falls on the date the Titanic sank, World War II started, and Abe Lincoln was shot. Nice.

5.My dream job is to work at a mattress testing site. I’d settle with being an English teacher.

6.I HATE feet. Ugh

7.I smoked for 10 years. February 8th will be my 4th year smoke-free.

8.I started my first job when I was 15. I worked hard at Burger King, and loved it.

9.I don’t know how to cook. I should have learned from my grandmother, but didn’t even try.

10.I am the mother of a two year old, and twin angels in Heaven who would be 3 next month.

11.I love to sleep (See number 5). When my sister keeps Julia overnight on Fridays, I usually sleep until 1 or 2:00 the next day.

12.I would give anything to move back to Boiling Springs. Anyone want to buy a house in Enoree??? No, really.

13.I have a freaky obsession with license plates. I memorize everyone in my family’s, and since they came out with the new SC ones, I’ve been obsessively watching for the next letter to come out. Anyone seen an E yet??? Nope, didn’t think so. LOL

14.I can’t carry a tune in a bucket. I love to sing, but like to have people around me, so I don’t do it. I also think that others should know when they can’t sing…like someone I sit very close to at work…hint hint…please.stop.singing.

15.I’m too sensitive.

16.I’ve been to Canada and Seattle, WA. Random, yes, but both far away

17.New York city is my favorite! I’ve been twice, and would go every year if I could afford it.

18.I want to get a crunchy ice machine in my house. I could eat crunchy ice (like at the Beacon) all day every day

19.I love reality TV: Survivor, American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, Biggest Looser, on and on and on

20.I am having a hard time thinking of things to say about myself. I’ve been working on this for 3 days.

21.I have my motorcycle license, and rode a Honda Shadow Aero 750 until I got pregnant and sold it.

22.I am TERRIFIED of ghosts. My honeymoon was horrible because we stayed at Number Two Meeting Street in Charleston and I cried the whole time because I was so scared. My husband just HAD to pick the oldest town to go to. He paid for it though.

23.I’m a huge fan of Harry Potter, Twilight, and Chicken Soup for the Soul.

24. I think Tivo is the best thing ever invented! I’m not sure how I survived before we got it.

25.I have loved reconnecting with some old friends on Facebook. I’m also a big fan of Myspace.

Walking In a Winter Wonderland....er, dusting

Sigh. Gotta love the South. Everyone in the Upstate of SC was very excited last night (well, everyone except the Northerners who came down here to get away from the snow). The weatherman was telling us we'd wake up to snow...and a good bit of it. I prepped myself for snow cream. It's been so long since I'd had it, I wasn't sure I remembered how to make it, but man was I ready to try!! I had Julia's snow suit ready to go. I woke up this morning early and ran to the window, only to see what has come to be the normal once-per-year-snow for the South. Just a light dusting. I was so disappointed. Julia, however, saw it as she walked past the door and started jumping up and down yelling "Mommy, SNOW!!!" Poor thing...this light dusting is the only snow she's seen, and she was excited about it. I tried to tell her about the great snow of '88....you remember the one - out of school for 2 weeks...but you know, 2 year olds don't listen to stories about the good ol' days too much. Why can't we have snow like that anymore? That was the life! I remember having so much fun when I was little, as we'd get a pretty good snow every year. Can we say global warming?? Oh well, maybe next year.

My Little Princess

Julia got a Cinderella dress-up kit from Santa, and she loves it!! Here she is, doing some modeling...Enjoy!

Oh wait! We have an unexpected model!!!

Can we say blackmail??????

Insomnia

Yes, here it is 11:54 and I am blogging. Of course I know that I have to get up in 6 hours, but I just couldn't sleep. I've been lying in bed for over an hour with my mind just racing. I hate it! Here's what's been going through my mind: What's for lunch tomorrow? What will the weather be? How should I dress Julia? Did my ex-boyfriend from 8 years ago cheat on me? Should I send him an email on MySpace and ask him? Wonder if anybody has posted a blog since I checked 1 hour and 10 minutes ago. Did I put those clothes in the dryer?
See...racing, and about some really crazy stuff. All the while, my dear hubby lies there snoring. Ugh. Well, now Julia is crying, so that gives me an excuse to be up...