Just Call Us Book Worms

The Coach said this is an excellent book.
It is being made into a movie.
It's next on my list.

Pleasing the Coach makes me happy. Our interests, however, are on opposite ends of the spectrum. He is always on the go and gets jittery if he sits for too long. There's baseball, basketball, football, tennis; he's a pro at it all. He has the energy of a two year old. He never takes a nap and gets by on very little sleep.

Are you getting tired yet?

I am the extreme opposite. I love to be at home. I like going and doing, but I have my limits. I have endured many outdoor activities--all in the name of love.

A true love of mine is reading. I especially love reading both fiction and non-fiction books about World War II. There have been many nights when Brad has come home, and I am happily reading my latest novel.

"Are you still reading that book? " or "Do you have to read tonight?" are frequently asked questions in our home.

Inevitably, my answer is always, "Yes."

The old adage states: If you can't beat 'em, then join 'em!

That is exactly what the Coach has done. He recently announced that he was going to start reading with me. It was one of the most pleasant surprises. Usually, he only reads The Book of Mormon and USA Today. His newest love is non-fiction.

We were recently at Barnes and Noble purchasing books. The Coach was beaming when he finally found one.

"Look what I found, and I think you will enjoy it, too. I was hoping to find a book that you would also want to read."

Its title is Playing with the Enemy.

Well, I just wanted to cry right there on the spot.

Next time he asks me to go play sports with him, I surely won't complain.

A book is like a recipe. When it's good, you want to share it.

The Coach likes to give me trivia from the books he reads.

Here are some facts I have learned:


Lou Gehrig believed he was going to beat his illness up until the day he died. The record Gehrig cherished most was the most consecutive games played which was broken by Cal Ripken, Jr. on September 6, 1995. Lou Gehrig was a very shy person and never went out womanizing with his teammates. He had only been married for eight years when he passed away. Lou Gehrig made his famous speech at Yankee Stadium upon his retirement. He considered himself to be the luckiest man alive because of his wonderful career in baseball. The most interesting fact about Lou Gehrig is that many neurologists still hang pictures of him in their offices and examination rooms. The author ends the book by stating, "ALS is a disease of weakness but Lou Gehrig's disease is associated with strength--the strength of a stricken man who said he felt lucky."





The Coach enjoyed this book immensely. I found this unknown fact amazing. In 1936, Jessie Owens won the Olympic Gold Medal for the 200 meter in Berlin, Germany. What is so interesting is the man who won the silver for this event was also African-American. His name is Mack Robinson--who just happens to be the older and beloved brother of Jackie Robinson.

On April 15, 1947 Jackie Robinson became the first African-American to play Major League Baseball. He is the only player to have his uniform number "42" retired by every team in Major League Baseball.








This is the book the Coach is currently reading. I am sure you have noticed that he enjoys reading anything sports related. However, he recently dropped me a little hint that he wants the biographies for Truitt Cathy and George Washington.

The Coach just informed me that he would like for me to share something from this book:

Roberto Clemente and Lou Gehrig are the only MLB players to have been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame before the five year waiting period.

Thanks Coach.

We are enlightened.




Nikki gets the credit for finding this little treasure. We are always on the hunt for a good book to read. We feel inspired to start our own literary group. Because we are Southerners, we would call ours "The Lawrenceville Literary and Sweet Potato Fries Society."

If you want to laugh out loud and shed a few tears, then this is the book for you.

I will never forget Isola and Elizabeth.


Please read it.







A high school English teacher over heard my conversation with an employee at the book store asking her if she had any great selections to suggest about WWII. The teacher later approached me with this recommendation. I told her that I had come across The Book Thief on the Guernsey Literary website but had forgotten about it. She said her students were reading it in a day, which is amazing because it is almost 600 pages.

I read it in about five days.

It was hard to put down.

There is some language in it.







Sarah's Key is another book about WWII and the tragedy that happened when the French Jews were rounded up for deportation.

I liked it because it was written from two different perspectives; a woman from the present and a little girl who survived.

There are impressions you get from reading this book that do not leave you.











Nikki shared this one with me, too.

It was a quick and clean read.

It's getting harder and harder to find wholesome books.

I would also like to mention that I recently read Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol.

It is a clincher from the start but the ending is anti-climatic.

I won't read his next one.

Well, maybe I won't.






This is my current book.

I have only three little words to say about this one:

Captain Jack Elliot.

Please share if you know of any great books I can read!

Faster Than a Speeding Bullet

It's a bird. It's a plane. No. It's Mr. Baseball!

Baseball season has finally come to an end. We have received so much rain that we actually had to schedule make-up games for the make-up games. Everett's little team struggled this year. The Coach and I secretly called them the "Bad News Bears." Everett was the third youngest player in the entire league. It was rewarding to see him excel in the sport and hold his own against the boys who were bigger than him.

There was one particular pitcher that we will always remember. He was a big boy. He looked like a miniature Babe Ruth. We spoke to his mother once to tell her how impressed we were. She told us that she called him her "little Babe." The most intimidating thing about Babe Ruth was the speed of his pitches. I did not know that a boy could pitch so fast. At the beginning of the season, he struck Everett out-- but even Everett appreciated his pitching skill.

We played Babe's team for a tournament game at the end of the season. Even though our Bulldogs lost the game, we were just excited that Everett hit a single off of Babe Ruth. It was a great accomplishment.

Everett told us recently that he wants to play at BYU. I told him to keep playing and to make good grades and he just might land himself a position!

It really would not surprise me.

The cheering committee!

I want to tell Kayleigh how thankful I am that she helped so much with Cozette. She is always willing to help me. We had lots of games at night in the freezing cold. I'm not sure what I would have done with out her!


We are already looking forward to Spring ball!

Purple Pony

Please do not think that Cozette was left behind with a babysitter when we went to Six Flags.

No way!

She spent the day with Mommom and Papa. In addition to receiving the royal treatment, she also went on a grand adventure to the mall.

I thought my little heart was going to skip a beat when I received a phone call from Cozette.

"Mommy, I wode a purple pony!"

"You rode a purple pony, my darling?" I responded like she had just told me she had won the Nobel Peace Prize.

"Bye-bye Mommy."

She was too busy having fun to talk very long.

Cozette is able to express pretty much anything she wants to now. There is nothing sweeter than little babies talking. Cozette is famous for walking around the house saying, " I'm precious and darling." Sometimes, she will say this to me after she has created a mess. Ir's hard to get upset even if she has mascara all over her face when she says those words to me.

Our favorite phrase she says is, "hold you."

When she wants us to pick her up she says, "hold you...hold you."

We always respond, "I want to hold you!"

She quickly says back to us, "No, I want to hold you!"

Sometimes she will gets in a frenzy saying over and over, "hold you, hold you, hold you, I want to hold you, Mommy!"

Brad mentioned the other day that we should teach her to say, "hold me."

I said no way!

Cozette with Mommom.

Cozette loves to call Mommom and Papa on the phone. The conversation usually goes something like this:

Mommom answers the phone.

Cozette: Hey Mommom.

Mommom: Hey little darling.

Cozette: Where's Papa?

Mommom: He's right here.

Cozette: I wanna talk to him.

Papa then comes to the phone.

Cozette: Hey Papa. Where's Mommom?

Cozette loves to goes back and forth with them!

Then they proceed to talk about important thing things like what they ate for breakfast and whether or not Mommom is painting.

Who knew talking on the phone could be so much fun!

Cozette and Papa.

Thrills and Chills

Highlights of our day at Six Flags:

It started to rain on our way to Six flags. We were devastated. We have been planning this trip for months and already had to postpone once due to the rain. I offered the most heart felt prayer asking that we would be spared for the sake of the children. We discussed as a family that we needed to sincerely pray and have positive thoughts. Nikki had faith and said it was not going to rain on us. Mommom called us about 45 minutes after arrived at the park telling us that it was pouring down rain at home.

It rained all day.

But not at Six Flags.

We acknowledged that our prayers were answered.

It's wonderful to see your children understand that Heavenly Father is aware of us even in the smallest of things.

We rode the Scorcher three times and Goliath three times.

Goliath is not for chickens.

That's all I can say about that one.

Except if I had one wish it would be for me to ride that monster with Mommom. Nikki and I told her that we would pay for her ticket and for her food if she would agree to ride it!

We also rode the Mind Bender, Great American Scream Machine, Batman, and Superman.

The Cyclone and Ninja were closed for the day.

I didn't do it. I did not ride Acrophobia.

Neither did Kayleigh.

Just call us chickens.

While standing in line for one of the roller coasters, we overheard a man say to his child,"There's no crying at Six Flags."

It struck me particularly funny-- probably because I really wanted to cry on several of those rides.




This conversation really occurred:

A very southern man started talking to us while we were standing in line for Acrophobia. I will call him Bubba. Brad was not with us. He was man enough to admit from the beginning that he was not going ride it. It was at the last minute that Kayleigh and I chickened out.

A little background information:
Nikki and I were discussing the last time we rode Acrophobia about 11 years ago. There was a technical difficulty and we were suspended 17 stories in the air with our seats tilted so our heads faced the ground for an undetermined amount of time. I think it was for about four minutes. It seemed like eternity.

Obviously, I still haven't recovered.

I believe Bubba was listening to us.


Bubba: So, y'all don't come to Six Flags very often?

Me: No. It has been a long time since we were last here.

Bubba: Where y'all from?

Nikki: We live a little North of here.

Bubba: Y'all from up North?

Nikki: Well, north of Atlanta.

Bubba: Oh man! Y'all sound like y'all are Yankees!

I almost fainted.

Me: Sir, we have lived here our entire life. I have to say I'm a little offended.

We are started laughing.

But we really were offended!

Mr. Six Flags himself!

A favorite quote of the day:

"Jeannie has roller coaster hair."

~Nikki Parrott~

I need to mention that Brad did not wear a jacket. We usually go to Six flags in the summertime. It's miserable standing in line for hours in the sweltering sun. It was a real treat to go when it was cooler. However, we were not expecting it to be SO cold.

Nikki said if it were any colder it would have snowed, which I am inclined to believe.

Especially since it was raining all over Atlanta on Saturday.

Please notice the Superman tie Everett is wearing in the above collage. He won it by busting a plate with a baseball. We were really grateful for that tie because Brad wore it as a scarf that night when it was so frigid! It was quite the sight.



Good bye Six Flags.

Kayleigh and Everett said going to Six Flags in the Fall will be our new family tradition.

Sounds good to me!

Pitcher This

Try to picture an approaching storm. The sky is black. It starts to rain.The boys continue to play baseball because it isn't lightning. People are opening their umbrellas for protection. The storm passes very quickly. The sky starts to clear. Everett is up to bat. We are cheering for him. To our surprise, we notice a beautiful rainbow perfectly arched above Everett as he is pitched the ball.

It was a sign.

It's a beautiful sight to behold.

CRACK!

Everett hits a single.

What are the chances of getting to play baseball under a rainbow?




Now try to picture this:

Cozette "pitching" a temper tantrum when we attempted to take her picture this afternoon in her Sunday best.

We tried everything to get her to smile.

Nothing worked.

She is trying to pet the mums.

We are a little prideful because she has enough hair for two pig tails!

Thirteen

Photo courtesy of Kayleigh.

Dear Kayleigh,

Last night I laid in bed thinking about you. A smile came to my heart as I thought about you dancing around the living room as you shared with us the details of your evening. Did you know that you have the most delightful bounce to your step?

You do.

You were almost three years old when I noticed it for the first time. We were playing outside in the grass. I laid a blanket down for us to sit on. You decided that you wanted to pick dandelions. Your beautiful red curls bounced as you pranced from one flower to the next.

I was struck with emotion as I watched you.

It was a priceless moment, and I offered a prayer asking Heavenly Father that I would never forget the image of your curls bouncing in the warm sun.

My prayer was answered.

Ten years have passed, and I still see you with dandelions in your small hands. You were wearing a lime t-shirt with yellow and lime plaid shorts.

Today is your thirteenth birthday.

Thank you for being a delightful daughter. You are a tremendous help to me. Thank you for always scratching my back. How many IOU's am I in debt for? I am grateful that you like to eat chocolate chip cookies and brownies for dinner. I love your crooked pony tail. It makes me happy that you are always singing. Remember that you will not get in trouble for expressing your opinion. You have the coolest handwriting. I am impressed that you ran a mile in just over eight minutes. It secretly pleases me that you look like your Daddy. You are so much like him.

Promise me that you will never lose your bounce.

Happy Birthday my little teenager.

I love you,

Mom