Monday, December 31, 2012

One day.....

.....my child will get a phone as a present...

back up for a second....  read below, excerpt from a story on yahoo...


Here's Janell Hoffman's full list of rules for her son, originally posted on her blog:
Dear Gregory
Merry Christmas! You are now the proud owner of an iPhone. Hot Damn! You are a good & responsible 13 year old boy and you deserve this gift. But with the acceptance of this present comes rules and regulations. Please read through the following contract. I hope that you understand it is my job to raise you into a well rounded, healthy young man that can function in the world and coexist with technology, not be ruled by it. Failure to comply with the following list will result in termination of your iPhone ownership.
I love you madly & look forward to sharing several million text messages with you in the days to come.
1. It is my phone. I bought it. I pay for it. I am loaning it to you. Aren't I the greatest?
2. I will always know the password.
3. If it rings, answer it. It is a phone. Say hello, use your manners. Do not ever ignore a phone call if the screen reads "Mom" or "Dad". Not ever.
4. Hand the phone to one of your parents promptly at 7:30pm every school night & every weekend night at 9:00pm. It will be shut off for the night and turned on again at 7:30am. If you would not make a call to someone's land line, wherein their parents may answer first, then do not call or text. Listen to those instincts and respect other families like we would like to be respected.
5. It does not go to school with you. Have a conversation with the people you text in person. It's a life skill. *Half days, field trips and after school activities will require special consideration.
6. If it falls into the toilet, smashes on the ground, or vanishes into thin air, you are responsible for the replacement costs or repairs. Mow a lawn, babysit, stash some birthday money. It will happen, you should be prepared.
7. Do not use this technology to lie, fool, or deceive another human being. Do not involve yourself in conversations that are hurtful to others. Be a good friend first or stay the hell out of the crossfire.
8. Do not text, email, or say anything through this device you would not say in person.
9. Do not text, email, or say anything to someone that you would not say out loud with their parents in the room. Censor yourself.
10. No porn. Search the web for information you would openly share with me. If you have a question about anything, ask a person ? preferably me or your father.
11. Turn it off, silence it, put it away in public. Especially in a restaurant, at the movies, or while speaking with another human being. You are not a rude person; do not allow the iPhone to change that.
12. Do not send or receive pictures of your private parts or anyone else's private parts. Don't laugh. Someday you will be tempted to do this despite your high intelligence. It is risky and could ruin your teenage/college/adult life. It is always a bad idea. Cyberspace is vast and more powerful than you. And it is hard to make anything of this magnitude disappear -- including a bad reputation.
13. Don't take a zillion pictures and videos. There is no need to document everything. Live your experiences. They will be stored in your memory for eternity.
14. Leave your phone home sometimes and feel safe and secure in that decision. It is not alive or an extension of you. Learn to live without it. Be bigger and more powerful than FOMO -- fear of missing out.
15. Download music that is new or classic or different than the millions of your peers that listen to the same exact stuff. Your generation has access to music like never before in history. Take advantage of that gift. Expand your horizons.
16. Play a game with words or puzzles or brain teasers every now and then.
17. Keep your eyes up. See the world happening around you. Stare out a window. Listen to the birds. Take a walk. Talk to a stranger. Wonder without googling.
18. You will mess up. I will take away your phone. We will sit down and talk about it. We will start over again. You & I, we are always learning. I am on your team. We are in this together.
It is my hope that you can agree to these terms. Most of the lessons listed here do not just apply to the iPhone, but to life. You are growing up in a fast and ever changing world. It is exciting and enticing. Keep it simple every chance you get. Trust your powerful mind and giant heart above any machine. I love you. I hope you enjoy your awesome new iPhone. Merry Christmas!
xoxoxo
Mom





and M will get this list with his phone,  with maybe a few additions to the list by then....





Deb

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Country Boy

It's in his gene's,

he cant help it...

Yep, thats M driving the tractor

Picking up a bale of hay...


Carrying it out to the pasture


The cows were taking a few bites on the drive across the pasture.

Thank God my child is a country boy!



Deb

Monday, December 17, 2012

Our Annual Pilgrimage

Well, its December, and you know what that means.

Yes, thats right.

Its means its our annual Pilgrimage to Billy Bobs to see Pat!

He did not do the dancehall party in the afternoon like he has in the past, and that was disappointing, but he still had the concert, and E and I were still there.

Damn that boy can sing!

I love me some PG!


Deb

P.S.  We are getting too old to go to a concert that doesnt START until 10:30pm....

Gosh I'm old...

Thursday, December 06, 2012

Family Pictures

Yes, it is that time again,  I drug the LOML and my child out and we had family pictures done.  Needless to say they were not happy about it, but I think the picture turned out great!

Here we go




I know, M has grown so much,  doesnt he look good?

Its all that baseball, and working out, and baseball.  Growing like a weed!


Well anyway, if anyone out there wants a hard copy of the pic, let me know


Deb

Sunday, December 02, 2012

Thanksgiving in Memphis

Since Edd was gone most of the summer and Michael was playing baseball the rest of the summer we never got a chance for a vacation.  With a week off from school we couldn't resist taking one at Thanksgiving.  We decided to drive over and stay downtown.

Our hotel was great, in the heart of downtown, easy walking distance to the trolley (actually right outside our window), shops, restaurants and the sights we came to see.  We had a two bedroom suite at the Residence Inn which M loved because he had his own room with his own tv and didn't have to sleep on the sofa!

The first day there we headed to - where else - Graceland.  It was quite a time capsule.  Had a nice tour and learned a lot more about Elvis than we ever did.





























 One Goofy Boy on Vacation....


Next stop was the Davies Manor Plantation just outside of Memphis.  It was a great place, very beautiful and what you expected a working plantation to look like, not like Gone with the Wind.  We really enjoyed the tour given to us by the docent and then the walk around the grounds.





































Our hotel had a rooftop deck where we could see the river and most of downtown.








Our walk along Beale Street...









A beautiful old church, they said one of the oldest buildings in Memphis.

 The Mighty Mississippi...







 Riding the Trolley...





Deb