Highlighted Highlander

Clayton received an invitation last week that said:

Congratulations!

You have been nominated by a staff member to received the Highlighted Highlander award!

This program was created to award students who have shown good citizenship, high achievement, improved performance or other unique achievements warranting special recognition. Your teachers may have "caught" you doing a good deed, having an excellent attitude, or doing super work!

The PTA and your principal will host a short ceremony to honor you and the other recipients on Tuesday during 2nd period. You will receive a pass to show to your teacher, allowing you to proceed to the ceremony.

Parents are welcome to attend the short ceremony. Refreshments will be served!

Congratulations on being chosen as a "Highlighted Highlander!"

Clayton's first comment to me was, "great! Everyone is going to think I'm a teacher's pet! GREAT!"

So we went to the ceremony and it was a big deal. The principal made a big speech about how important they should feel and that this is the first thing that will go on the resume and college applications. He went on to say that most of those kids would probably be in the top 10% but very few kids there would have this honor. He also told the group that they should really feel special that they were the first Highlighted Highlanders for the year. They were the first ones to come to the teachers' minds.

He called each student on the stage to receive their certificate and then they took a group picture that will hang in the trophy case all year! Clayton found out that the teacher who nominated him was the teacher he thought liked him the least....the first to yell at him to sit down and be quiet. Hardly a teacher's pet!!! But she appreciated his drive to learn something new!

We are proud of Clayton for receiving this honor! But we are really proud of him because he's a great kid!

"I'm sorry, Mom! I knocked out my TEETH!"

It was a crazy Friday afternoon. Everyone was home for school and I was getting ready for football practice and for a quick weekend trip to Dallas!

I was on the phone with Steve's Aunt and Clayton came running in the house for paper towels! "Mom, Adam is bleeding a little bit!".

I got off the phone saying, "gotta go! I have a bleeding child!" As soon as I opened the front door, I heard the sobbing! (Adam NEVER cries when he's hurt! NEVER!) I was worried! And then I saw him......COVERED in blood with his hand over his mouth. He was saying, "I'm sorry, Mom! I'm sorry, Mom! I knocked out my teeth!" I remember thinking, "did he say teeth or tooth???"

"You are fine. There is no way you knocked out your teeth. Quit crying and come in the house. You are fine!" So we headed into the house and I got him to sit down in the kitchen. I got some more towels and said, "open your mouth!"

There it was! A missing permanent tooth....completely gone! Clayton gasped! It was his shoe that Adam fell on! Mom mode kicked in! I was completely calm on the outside, although my insides were throwing up!

I got some ice and called Steve. "Hello, this is Steve!" "Hello, it's your wife. I need you to come home NOW. Adam has knocked out a permanent tooth! Leave NOW!" Next call was to the football coach's wife to come and pick up the water I was supposed to be taking to football. Next call was to the dentist.

Our dentist was already gone so I called one of Clayton's friend's Dad, who is a pediatric dentist. I'd been meaning to switch to him anyway....what better time than after hours! He called me back in 30 seconds and said, "you have to find the tooth!" Yeah right! He told us we had 30 minutes, at the most, to find the tooth and get it back in Adam's mouth. I said, "but it's going to be filthy! It's in the grass somewhere!" "We can fix that," he said. "Just get it back in his mouth!"

So the entire neighborhood was out in the neighbor's yard on their hands and knees looking for a tooth! We searched and searched and searched. Don't you wonder what the people driving by thought we were doing??? We didn't find it!

The dentist said he would see us if I wanted to come it. But it we were sure the entire tooth was out and if we could stop the bleeding, it could wait until Monday. We decided that that would probably be OK and I thanked him for his help! It bled off and on all evening and finally stopped completely by the morning.

I took Adam in to dentist yesterday and we've decided not to do anything about it right now. The options we had really didn't make sense right now with all the teeth he still has to loose. We'll take care of it when he gets his braces and discuss what we want to do permanently then!

BOYS!!!!

What's the problem???

Waiting for the verdict at the dentist's office!
OUCH!
Adam said, "Mom, take a picture! This would make a great blog!!!"

Great Party with Great Friends!

Sorry about the time since my last post. It's been very busy around the Lowell home and finding a time to sit down and do this is difficult! I'll start with this past weekend and work backwards in the Lowell happenings!

Steve and I were able to help a dear friend celebrate her recent wedding. Laura and Joey tied the knot last month in her hometown. They finished the "nuptial tour" in Dallas with a big, "sassy" party. Many of my sorority sisters were able to come in for the party and it was so good to see everyone! It's hard to believe it's been 15 years since we all lived in the same house and spent hours together. It didn't take long for us all to catch up! I wish we could see each other more often.

I was talking to one friend and she voiced the same fears I had leading up to the party. She said, "I was so nervous! I just wanted to fit it again! I was worried I'd be too fat, to old, too boring....but it's just the same girls I loved in college! They love me know matter what!" I told Steve before the party, "I just don't want everyone to think I'm only a stay-at-home mom of 4 from The Woodlands" The truth is.....that's who I am and those women don't give it a second thought. They actually think of me as the Shelby they have stories on from college.

It's funny.....we are all so different yet we have that history that binds us.

The rush skit with the crazy dances
The emergency meeting on the 3rd floor
Strawberry birthday cake
Crisco on the sundeck
Snuffers at 1 in the morning
Sharing a bathroom for years
Pigskin Review
The judicial meeting with the "guest witness"
Pledge pins, Dates & Candlelights
Breakups & Engagements
Weddings & Babies
Divorces & Illness
Worrying about husbands
Mixers & Formals and even Derby Days (yuck!)
Houseboys and Housemom
Chapter meetings and Pledgetrainers

17 years ago we were all strangers! We live all over the country now but when we get together again.....we are sisters!!!!! We'd be there for each other in a heartbeat and wish we could get together more often!

Today and forever.......

After a long week with some stomach issue (enough said!!!!) and a very long evening last night, this arrived in my mailbox this morning. So sweet, so true and the background of this great Dad's screen, looks like it could be my house!

Enjoy!
http://erickerickson.org/blog/?p=4726Ã?Â

Confirmation 2007

This weekend was a great weekend! Steve and I were able to join Adam on a Confirmation Retreat with our church. There were over 200 kids and parents there to grow their faith and encourage one another....it was great! We did a lot of learning, but we had a lot of fun, too!

The three of us were able to spend time on our own for devotionals and we spent time alone just talking. We all three did the zip line on Saturday afternoon. We were told it was the 4th longest in Texas and it was over four stories high! (I can't believe I had the courage! It's a great metaphor for our faith!)

Our worship leader for the weekend was Matt Brouwer http://www.mattbro.com/, who has been at our church for the last 5 1/2 years. He's just recently moved to LA to tour and record. Chris Tomlin started leading worship at our church several years ago......I can't wait to see what's in store for Matt! (Buy his albums...they are great!)

The pastor for 5th and 6th grade at our church is AMAZING! He knows exactly how to reach each and every child, while speaking directly to the parents. He shared his testimony with the group and everyone was speechless (that's really saying something for a group over 200!!!) He has been a huge blessing to our family and we are so thankful for him! Thanks Eric!!!

Steve and I are leading a confirmation group of 8 boys this year so it was fun to meet all the dads of the boys we have in our group. Each Dad and boy are a little alike and a little different....but it was fun seeing them interact. We had an impromptu game of Ultimate Frisbee....I held my own on a field of men!!!!! After a while, Eric's assistant, Jen, came to my rescue.....she's MUCH younger than I am and hasn't had four children!!!!

Anyway, it was great weekend and a huge thank you goes out to B and Giggy, who took care of Clayton, Emma & Audrey. As usual, it was a busy Saturday and they didn't miss a beat!!!!

The zip line tower....I'm the one sitting on the top, far right!

Adam....right after jumping!
Shelby's on the far left....Adam is the second from the right
That's me on the right....I kept looking at the clip, making sure it would hold me!


Our Confirmation Group

Adam, Jake, Donovan, Scott, Luc, Nathan and Donny (we were missing Colton)

Father and son

Adam trying to climb the wall

Dad made it a lot farther than we thought he would....good job!

Kelly Corrigan - A Favorite Website!

If you look to the right side of this blog, you'll see a list of my favorite websites. One of the sites, Kelly Corrigan's site, always gives me something to think about. I saw her for the first time about a year ago on The Today Show. She did a short segment on "sandbagging your life to your spouse"! It literally made me sob!!!!!

http://kellycorrigan.blogspot.com/2006/11/sandbagging.html

I knew nothing about this woman, but I wanted her to be my friend! I did a little research and found her website and all the other articles she had written.

After snooping around her site, I had a need to write her and thank her for how her articles had touched me and what a difference they had made in my life. So I did! I was worried she would think I was a complete weirdo or maybe call and get a retraining order against me. But....she did not! She wrote me back! The sweetest email that actually said more than, "thanks! You're crazy! Leave me alone!"

Since that time I have enjoyed and learned from many more articles written by Kelly Corrigan. One of my favorite charities, http://www.donorschoose.org/, came from her site. We've sponsored projects in honor of some very special people there, because Kelly made me aware of the site.

She just posted a new article today, and once again, if feels like she has been spying on Steve and I. I could have written the exact words that she wrote.....and she made me laugh!!!! http://www.kellycorrigan.com/

"Looking Past 40", written last month, reminded me of my neighborhood friends!

Please take a look at her site when you get a chance and buy her book in January! She's great (and she didn't have me arrested!)

Gal To Gal Walk

Unfortunately there isn't one person I know, who hasn't been touched by cancer. I've watched as friends struggle themselves or watch their parents battle the disease. A very good freind lost her young son, Phillip last year....it was awful. A sweet Mom in Emma's class last year was diagnosed in her early 30's......she's doing well now, but is having to watch her Mom battle now! IT'S NOT FAIR!

I found the greatest website for the Gal to Gal Foundation. They are having a virtual walk for the cure. Walkers can register for $3.00 and all the money will go to the Foundation. You can choose your "virtual self", dress her and start walking. You can search for friends who are also walking. Please go register and get your walking shoes on. My walker can be found by searching for Shelby L.

https://www.galtogalwalk.org/

There's got to be a cure.....we just have to find it!!!!

What I Say In A Day!

I tried to post this on Friday and then the link was disabled. I'll try again. I promise I actually say all these things in one day.....plus MORE!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anSpBUxsgAU