Happy Thanksgiving

I'm headed off to Memphis, TN to spend Thanksgiving with my family. I will be back to post losts of pictures and recap the great time I had down South.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving.

Just because

Yesterday I told Darrius to clean his room. It was a mess. I literally had to walk around his room on tippy toes because there was stuff everywhere on his floor. Apparently he got bored, quickly, because he walked into my bedroom looking like this:

Hilarious. That's all I have to say.

End of Soccer Season

Today was the last game for the Green Eagles. The game ended in a tie, 2-2. Fall soccer has come to an end.


Coach Rick is great. He commands the boys attention without yelling at them.


The boys acting silly.

Beyond Amazing...

I woke up this morning to get ready to go to work. I didn't know the result of the election because I fell asleep. I took a shower and got dressed, sat down on my bed and turned on my T.V. I held my breath as I turned to MSNBC to get the results of last night's election. They are showing Barack's acceptance speech in Chicago. I catch my breath. I can't believe it. He actually WON! And by a landslide so there's no questioning his victory. I turn up the volume and listen to his acceptance speech. As I look at the faces in the crowd and listen to his words, I start to cry. This moment is beyond political lines. It is so much more. It's about where this country started and how far it has come. I think about my grandparents who aren't here to see this momentous day. I think about my son and the possibilities that have opened up to him. I think about how I now hope that blacks are not looked upon as second-class citizens any longer; that we are seen as people with hopes and dreams for themselves and their families. We are Americans and we want to be a part of that American Dream.

I am still trying to catch my breath. It's the day after Election Day and I'm still trying to wrap my mind around what has happened. I never thought that I would see, in my lifetime, a black man elected as President of the United States. We have come so far but we have so much further to go. I am so happy that I can tell Darrius that, Yes, you can be anything you want to be. There are no limitations for you. Barack Obama finally broke through that ceiling that has been holding us back for so long. I am full of joy and happiness and mostly I am full of Hope. I am hopeful that inner city kids will look at this man, a man who was raised by a single mother and his grandparents, a man that did not come from a priviledged background, who overcame every obstacle to get to where he is today and see that YES THEY CAN. They can rise above their surroundings, they can strive to want more and do more with their lives. I hope they look at him and see that they too can travel that same path.

It has been an emotional ride. I look forward to seeing where we go from here.

Halloweeeen!

We spent almost 4 hours trick-or-treating with our neighborhood friends. As usual, it was a huge event. At the end of the night, my feet were aching and my energy was being sustained by sneaking miniature candy bars from Darrius' bag-o-candy.



Darrius is Freddy Krueger and I'm Jason....Freddy vs. Jason. That's the theme we were aiming for.




Darrius as Freddy Kruger, Kiera is a stick figure (love it! so original) and Larinda is a ghost.




One of the homes we went to had a haunted house in the front yard. The kids loved it.

Taste of Winter

It is windy and cold. According to the calendar, it's still October and it's still FALL! What in the world is going on with the weather!

On my way to pick Darrius up from school, this is the time - 4:21 p.m.




The temperature. It felt like it was December instead of October.

Crazy Hair Day

When Darrius was in kindergarten, Franconia Elementary had Spirit Week. One of the themes for the day was Crazy Hair Day. Well, since Darrius' hair was cut short, I didn't know what I could do to his hair to make it "crazy". Darrius actually came up with the idea to have him wear a wig. So we went to Party City and found a blond wig. I then took a spray can of color (don't remember what it was) and sprayed the wig blue. So they next day he went to school with "blue" hair. He looked like Thing 1 and Thing 2 from Dr. Seuss.

Yesterday Darrius must have been bored because he was rummaging through his closet and bringing out old, random stuff. One of the things he found was his Crazy Hair Day wig. Needless to say, he walked around the house most of the day with the wig on his head.