Race For Faith

About four ladies from our church, plus myself, headed up to West Palm Beach once again, for another race. This weekend it was - The Race For Faith.


We were in the middle of the beautiful Okeeheelee Park, on a trail that wound around such beautiful lakes. I was really excited to be there, my family and I used to visit this park quite often when I was growing up. Cooking out, fishing... it brought back a lot of memories.

I didn't run this race, I walked. My friend Lorraine has been having major back problems, and although she's a lot better, she was still having a hard time... so the wheelchair was her partner once again. She walked most of it, and I think only had to sit down once, but got back up, because she wanted to walk over the finish line. Anyhow, I wasn't going to run off and leave my girl.
We finished dead last... Yay us! It took us over an hour, but hey... we finished.
We had lots of fun!

M.A.M.A.

This is Angela Williams, the founder of - Mothers Against Murderers Association.
She founded MAMA in memory of her nephew, Torrey Donnell Manuel, who lost his life due to a senseless act of violence. In addition to that, she has also lost five nephews and two nieces to gun violence in Palm Beach County, Florida. She has made it her mission to help the families of these victims, not only overcome their grief, but be an active part in helping to educate the younger generation, equipping them, to be able to turn away from street violence. "We teach you how to come out from being the victim, we help you learn how to survive, and then teach you to be an advocate."


I had the privilege of speaking to Angela this afternoon on the telephone.She was such a sweet woman, very understanding. I told her of my families interest in volunteering, and she was excited to hear that. Since the murder of my younger brother back in May, my family and I have been looking for ways to reach these young people that think there is just no hope for them. Many of them grew up on the streets, drugs, sex, and violence... it's all they've ever known. So how do we get this message across, this message of hope... of Christ? Angela has had many opportunities to go into schools, churches, and even jails, to share with these young people.
We look forward to serving with this organization, with, Angela.



Please feel free to visit her website: www.mothersagainstmurderersassn.org
and make a small donation to help put an end to the senseless violence.




STOP THE VIOLENCE!



In Memory Of
Randall Dean Copeland
8/30/87 - 5/30/08

Today he's 2!

Our baby boy is now a 2 year old. I can't believe it.
He's climbing all the furniture, including dressers, sinks, and nightstands, and just last week I caught him swinging from one of the rails in his closet, and screaming "weeee!"
He's a good boy, he really is. He says "Tank you" when given something, but we're still working on replacing the ear-piercing shrieks, with a nice quiet, please.
He loves sports, and as of now, Joe and I think it's between basketball, football, or soccer. Or heck, maybe he can do all three. Basketball is definitely his favorite. Joey puts the goal up really high, gives the Bean the ball, and he actually shoots it. Of course he does the usual, pulling it back behind his head, like he's going to launch it, first, but when he finally let's it go... watch out!
Football is second. Every once in a while, he'll bring Joey the football and yell, "Hike, hike!"
During actual football season, the Bean enjoys relaxing afternoons with his Papi watching it on the television. He'll usually go and get the ball before sitting down, it's really cute. If there is any one thing that Joey and I have really noticed about the Bean, and his personality... it's that he's a total jokester. He doesn't like silence. He will actually come up to us, and start laughing hysterically, at absolutely nothing, but he does it just to make us laugh. Other times he'll stand in front of us if we're reading or talking, and just throw himself all over the floor going " woah, woah" and then he'll start laughing and look at us to make sure we saw him. The Bean loves to pray. It doesn't matter if it's before mealtime, or during devotions, he always holds my hand, closes his eyes... and waits. He waits for when Papi says, " In Jesus name we pray..." and then Beany bursts out and says, " Amem!" Then he laughs, of course. Ah, what a funny little guy I have.

Conversations with Amiyah

A - " Mommy, when do we get to go to heaven?"

M - " Well, just like Uncle Randall, we get to go when Jesus is ready for us."

A - " But mommy, does Jesus have one hundred beds in His house for everybody?"

M - (Laughing) " No baby, Jesus is preparing a home especially for us, for when we get there."

AUGUST - 2008
On our way to bring flowers to Randall's grave for his birthday.




A - (Holding a bunch of flowers) " Wow mommy, these are pretty, are these for Uncle Randall?

M - (With tears running down my face) " Yes baby, they are for my baby brother."

A - (A little puzzled as to how Randall would be receiving them) " But mommy, how will you send them to him? Will you send them to heaven with your tithe?"

M - ( Laughing and crying) " No baby, we are just going to set them next to his picture at the cemetery. "

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day, my sweets! I pray your weekend is full of hugs and kisses to and from, all the ones you love.

What do you think?

So this afternoon, on my way to pick up Amiyah from school, the boys and I stopped off at Blockbuster to drop off Wall-E, and pick up a new movie for family night tonight. Being a stay at home mom, i don't really care all that much about what I look like when I go out... even if What NOT To Wear, is, one of my favorite shows. I wasn't all that concerned about Stacy and Clinton jumping from behind any of the movie racks, but maybe I should have been...hmmm. After finding our movie for the night - Bambi, we made our way to the register. Once there, I put the movie, and Emilio (so he couldn't run off) on the counter, and the cashier says to me, with excitement in his voice, " Wow, from back there I thought you were Rosario Dawson. I saw you when you first came in, and I almost freaked out because I thought you were her!" I said thank you to him, as he continued to go on about how much I resembled her. After paying for everything, gathering kids, picking up shoes that were kicked off, and making my way to the car, I remembered just last night laying on the couch watching the NAACP Image Awards, and watching her win the award for best actress in Seven Pounds, and just loving how naturally beautiful she was. I think we could pass as sister's, what do you think?

February 12, 1809

Today is Abraham Lincoln's 200th Birthday! After picking up Amiyah from school, we reread a story about him from one of her books that we read last night, looked up just about every image of him we could find over the net, and then made, or attempted to make, his cabin with our lincoln logs while singing happy birthday. We had a blast!

Love me some lumberjack!

Every once in a while, I'll go into our local thrift store to see if I can find items to recreate certain outfits I like from -lookbook.nu. The look above is from this site, and is one my absolute favorites. I don't know about the tights in South Florida, but the ankle boots, cut-off shorts, lumberjack top and belt... I can handle. Next Thursday is 50% off all clothes and shoes at The Salvation Army... wish me luck!

Wishful Thinking

As I opened the front door this morning, laundry basket in tow, the cool morning air pinched my cheeks. I was excited to start a new day. As I made my way down the hall, I reached down to feel my back pocket, making sure my quarters for the washer were there. As I approached the end of the hall, I greeted the maintenance man, who was hard at work on the elevator... once again. I promise you, that thing is being worked on at least once a month. It's a wonder none of the elderly people in my building have ever got stuck in the thing. I walked the rest of the way to the laundry room, dropping a few socks as I went. As I looked to the opening at the end of the hall that leads to the golf course... I thought to myself, " Do I really have to start my day with laundry?" As I turned to enter the laundry room, my question was quickly answered as I got a whiff of, the very reason I'm doing it in the first place. Emilio had a bit of a rough night. I believe he caught the stomach virus that has been going around. He started throwing up yesterday afternoon, and it went straight into today. So, last night, both Joe and I were awakened to the sound of Emilio's screams. We rushed to his room to find him sitting up, covered in vomit... poor thing. As I got my baby ready for a bath, my dear husband rinsed scrubbed and rung out, Emilio's sheets, clothes, and stuffed animals, and then hung them to dry until morning.
Now, having gone back and forth, quite a few times to the laundry room, and having the breeze and bright sunlight greet me each time, made me want to drop my basket, and spend the day bathing in the warmth of the sun. I dream of days filled with sun dresses, and barefeet, lemonade, a good book, and soft jazz.

SweetHearts

It's that time of year again! I don't know about you, but besides Whitman's chocolates, that always come beautifully wrapped, sometimes with some kind of furry animal attached, the one thing that always makes me weak in the knees, is a little box of... SweetHearts. I get so excited to sit down, sprinkle them all over the table, and read each and every one. They make me laugh. I remember as a kid, picking individual hearts, that matched each and every one of my friend's personalities, or the way I felt about them. I would make their valentine's by hand, and then seal the envelope, and tape the sweetheart I picked out just for them to the back.

I purchased my first box of sweethearts this past week, and I am so excited to sit down and look through them. Amiyah will be joining me this year. We've decided to take some silly pictures with them as well.

Race For The Cure

Here we go!

Snuggle up ladies... it's a cold one! They were freezing... Aren't they from New York?

Beautiful Flagler Drive.

Warriors in pink baby!

Christine... being silly.

My Raine... she was in so much pain. What a good sport!

The group. Hey look... It's a bird, it's a plane, no... IT'S SUPER NANCY!

We did it!

Trip To Jacksonville

We were definitely in Gator town.

It says, Daytona Beach.

We're almost there!

Crossing a really creepy bridge. Did I ever tell you... I HATE BRIDGES!

Something I don't see everyday.

I thought it was interesting that we drove only four hours north, and all the trees are different colors, and the leaves were falling off.

Jaimee and Aaron's house. So cute and cozy. I miss it!

Friends For Life! Carly, me, Katie, and Jamiee.

Sweet baby Charlie... he's too cute! This is our friend Katie's baby.

More wii!!! Baby Charlie was having more fun talking on the phone. Or was that one of the wands?

My mom's friend Patti, (Jaimees mom) playing wii.

Best friends for life. We've known each other since the age of ten.

My friend Jaimee, with Emily, and Andrew (in the belly) hehe!

Steven, and his wife. Oh, and silly Patti in the background!

I love their hair in this pic... can you tell they just woke up?

Carly was loving the Jacksonville weather. Almost no humidity!
She was so happy to be having a good hair day.

The girls got up bright and early for
some morning tea.

Back in January, the weekend of the 10th to be exact, Carly, myself, and Amiyah, packed up and took a little road trip. I had received an invitation in the mail about a month earlier for my friend Jaimee's baby shower... and I was determined to go. Jaimee and I have been friends since childhood. We did the usual things teenage girls do. Have sleepovers, stay up late dancing, to DC Talk ( back when they were a rap group) , put on press on nails, etc.
We used to have a blast. Jaimee has a younger sister, Katie, who was really good friends with Carly growing up, and a brother, Steven, who hung out with my brothers. The four of us did everything together. I remember going to the Rapids, back when it was dirt cheap, for rap concerts. The most memorable one was when 1 Way, was performing there. I remember it because, we were about the only ones who showed up to hear them... I felt bad for them.
Anyway, the last time I saw Jaimee was about 4 years ago, when she and her husband came down here to visit. So I was so excited to see her once again. It was just like old times, we always seem to be able to pick up, right where we left off. We did our usual hugging, screaming, hugging, yelling... it brought me back. We'll be going back very soon, to visit baby Andrew when he comes.

I'll be back...

Quite possibly tomorrow. Today was a really hectic day. I actually missed blogging today, It has turned into my alone time. So, no time to myself today! That's alright though, I'll be back tomorrow, with lots to talk about! Tune in!

Chai latte anyone?

I can't believe it... IT'S 37 DEGREES OUTSIDE! I am so cold, I can feel it in my bones. I had to run out to the car this morning fifteen minutes before taking Amiyah to school to turn the heat on in the car, and also push the button, for the first time this season, to heat my leather seat. Leather, and cold... they don't mix very well. ooooh it was so warm and cozy. I know I have said before, that I love the cold weather, and I really do, but not when I'm unprepared. I mean, for today I would have needed ski jackets, gloves, and hats, just to make it from the front door to the car... I was so not ready for this. My poor kids, I kept throwing layer after layer of sweaters and jackets over them. I guess this is where a nice comfy set of long johns would have come in. That's okay though, I just kept Emilio's Batman pajamas on underneath all his layers... he was set. I'm home now with Caleb and Emilio. After a nice warm breakfast, I set the two of them up in Emilio's room watching, you guessed it... The Polar Express! I set just about every comforter and pillow I could find for them on the floor, along with some favorite furry friends, they look adorable, all snuggled up, no care in the world. I, however, am here at my computer wishing I was sitting in a nice cozy corner in Barnes and Nobles enjoying a grande Chai latte, and a slice of warm crumb cake. It's only warm because I make them nook it for me for about a minute, it tastes so much better that way. That's okay though, my hot coffee, and raspberry pastry will do just fine... for now. I think I need to have chai night with my ladies this weekend. I wish The One Way Cafe was open Sunday night's, their Chai... IS THE BEST! So creamy and delicious. My Jojo is a genius when it comes to making my chai... I heart her : )

Crayon in the nose

After breakfast this morning, Emilio and I started through our usual routine, brush teeth, wash hands and face, and change clothes. I gathered all the neccesary items for changing him, remembering not leave anything behind. Let me tell you, if I forget just one thing, he takes full advantage of the moment I have to stop what I'm doing to collect the missing item, to run off. I told him to lay down on the floor, and I proceeded to take off his pajamas. When I got to his shirt, I was just about to pull it over his head when I noticed something HUGE inside of his right nostril. I shrieked, " Oh my gosh!" I noticed that freaked him out a bit, so as to not startle him, I ran and grabbed a fruit strip for him to eat while I examined this wierd object up my sons nose. At this point I couldn't make out that it was a crayon, but it was big enough that I knew I could get it out with my tweezers, don't try this at home kids. I ran for my tweezers, raced back, and the Bean was sitting up shouting, " more peeeese!" The kid wanted another fruit strip, hey whatever would keep him still. I put him back down on the floor, straddled his little body, and held his little head tightly. I counted to three, and went for it. Next thing I knew, I had pulled out the tip of a pink crayon that was probably a half an inch long. How my child got the crayon in there exactly... I 'll never know.

She's gone!

I promised myself this season I would not watch the Bachelor. I just think it's hysterical how a group of women can pack up and leave their lives in the hopes of falling in love with some random guy they have never even met, in just a few short weeks. Well, as you can see, that didn't last long. My friend Lorraine asked me a few weeks back if I was watching it, to which I replied... "no." She told me, with much excitement , that I had to watch, " It's different this time, the guy is a single father. " After watching the very first episode... I was hooked. I don't watch it on Monday nights though, There is just way to much to do once the kids are in bed. I watch it the following Tuesday on ABC. com. So far Jason, the bachelor, seems to be this sweet, down to earth single dad, from Seattle. This week, he let go of Stephanie, a single mom who lost her husband almost four years ago. This comes as a shock to most, but I knew she was a gonner. There is no chemistry, no spark. Yes, they are both single parents, but honestly, that's about all they had in common. I was sad to see her go though, especially since I thought Naomi should have been the one to leave, she's a bit immature as far as I'm concerned. but let's just wait till next week.

Turning Two

Emilio will be turning two on the 18th of this month. Joey and I both cannot believe the changes he's made in just a single year. He's a total boy, climbing his sister's dresser, jumping off of beds, hanging from our GLASS dining room table... Yikes! And so much more. His vocabulary has improved quite a bit. He will have a lengthy conversation with you about anything and everything. Even though we can only understand half of what he's saying, he enjoys the fact that we sit and listen to him. His latest conversations are all about his daddy. When Joey leaves the house, at first Emilio cries, and says, "Mommy, car with daddy... PEEEEEESE! Then after a moment on the couch with him reassuring him that daddy will soon return, he turns to me and starts babbling about just how wonderful his daddy is. I know this because every other word is daddy. When daddy is home, all he wants to do is hug and kiss him, and tell him, " I da youuuuuu!" He has no clue his birthday is fast approaching. Amiyah has taken out the album from his last birthday a few times to show him the birthday cake, balloons... his favorite, and all the cool decorations. He already knows he's one, he'll tell you, and even hold up one finger. We have been trying to help him coordinate his little fingers to do two. If you ask him how old he is he'll say, "two" while holding up one finger... it's funny.
Oh my baby Bean, he's a big boy now. Exciting days are ahead. After his birthday, we start... POTTY TRAINING!

New camera... for Amiyah!

She just always has to get that close-up of her face.

Candy necklaces for her classmates.

Taken by Amiyah.

For Christmas Joey's parents got Amiyah a camera. After looking over the package, I came to realize... it wasn't compatible with our mac.
Today, while Joey stayed home, I seized the opportunity, and took the camera to the store to exchange it. I also got a little free time, which was nice. Yes, I know, it's February. When your lugging three kids around all day, with diaper bags, and toys, even the smallest of trips tend to take forever. I decided to save myself the hassle, and wait until I could go alone. I exchanged her other camera for a different one, it was $20.00 more, and I also had to get her a memory card.
The pictures above Amiyah and I took today while she was making her candy necklaces for her classmates. The last picture of me, that looks kinda crazy, was taken with the flash on. Ah well, not my camera of choice, but now she can do whatever she wants with it and I don't have to worry about her touching mine... that is, when I get a new one. I uploaded all of the pictures she took today in to her own folder in iphoto. i can't wait to teach her about blogging. She loves watching me do it.