jgjbfamily

Fall Festival

2008-11-09T19:44:00.005-06:00

The kids competed in the Fall Festival again this year. They both earned "superiors" and the "right" to participate in the recital on Sunday. We picked up Grandma Dulce and drove over to Waco Hall. Before we went in, I demanded the usual photo with the kids - (I use Dulce as the measuring stick for my children's growth - check out last year's blog around this time to see the progress). Dulce was a little resistant - saying something about not looking good - I would not take no for an answer and she happily gave in saying "o.k as long as I'm in the middle between my two precious book ends!"...too cute...So here are the photos and the videos...The kids look so beautiful and grown up - when I watched Jimmy today - I saw a young man...where did my baby go??

We are the Champions - My Friends!

2008-11-02T20:17:00.008-06:00

The Tyler ZAT was all Jimmy needed to "Champ Up" - Joe and Jimmy went to Tyler this weekend and Jimmy won 3 matches to make it to the finals - this was all he needed to move to the "Champ" level - look out Australian open - here we come!

Becky - aka Gail 2.0

2008-10-14T11:48:00.001-05:00

In a very weird way, Becky seems more and more like me everyday - well, actually, she is a better version of me. She absolutely loves school and all of her teachers. She prepares for quizzes and tests days in advance - she has never heard the word procrastinate. This one trait will get her far...She also loves to "play" school - so when it was announced that students could try out for library aide at school - Becky was very excited.

My kids go to an EXCELLENT public school - (despite what you hear they do exist) so getting the opportunity to use your study hall to work in the library is a big deal and very competitive. Many applied but only a few were chosen. Becky had to write a little essay saying why she would be a good choice for the librarian - she included facts about her experiences helping her aunt inventory thousands of items at the pet store and helping her grandma organize and conduct two garage sales this summer. She talked about how she loves books and is a self starter when it comes to working around the house.

So the big day came - they announced the selections for library assistant over the intercom! It was also picture day. For the girls in the audience, you all know how we fret for days on what to wear and how to smile - pastel, stripes, solids - hair behind the ear or not, big toothy grin or demure smile...When I talked to Becky about the announcement that day - this is what she said "Mom, this was the greatest day of my life! They announced who would be library assistant over the intercom and I was picked!!! I was so nervous and excited when they were reading the names - I thought to myself, if I don't get picked this will totally ruin my smile on picture day!"

Too cute...you go girl.

Winner (of the losers) :-)

2008-10-12T17:34:00.001-05:00

Waco ZAT F08_4
Originally uploaded by gailbrooks76

As a mom - I will have to say tennis may be the most nerve racking sport in which to have a child involved. Jimmy has played in ZATs for while now and he has slowly progressed from losing both games to lose, win, win, lose,- then win, lose - then win, win, lose (twice)...and most recently it was the lose, win, win, win - to be the winner of the consolation bracket. I watched my son mentally tear down his opponent today - it was remarkable and painful to watch. The first set his opponent won the first game with two aces - Jimmy was down 4-2, took it to 4-4 and then won. By the second set - Jimmy was confident, careful, and clever. He won 6-0 and aced the serve for match point...So he will try again next month to "champ up"...He needs to make it to the finals in a tournament.

Celebrating the Journey

2008-06-09T11:56:00.007-05:00

It’s been a while…I’m starting with the most recent event with the hopes of working backward…this week’s goal blog a bit each day.
Saturday we went to Bev’s graduation. It was wonderful to see everyone – the Lewis’ have raised two incredible children and I feel very lucky to have witnessed such exceptional parenting. I met Bev and Robert when they were 2 and 4. I have known them all my married life and they are the first children I (as an adult) have watched grow up. A lot has happened in these 16 years – Bev and Robert have blossomed into talented, compassionate and poised young adults. I find their little family an inspiration for my own.

Joe, Dulce, Jimmy, Becky and I drove from Waco on highway 95 through Holland, Bartlett, Taylor, and several other small towns to Elgin. The graduation was at the Family Worship Center outside Elgin. The ceremony was similar to Roberts’ but there were 9 homeschoolers graduating this year. Which meant 9 slideshows to watch – I think of these as little E! true Hollywood stories – when I watched Bev’s show I was brought to tears watching her grow up and seeing photos of her holding Becky as a baby and Jimmy at about 4…time flies when you’re raising kids…

At the reception for all the graduates following the ceremony, Cinda was a busy bee making sure everything was taken care of – food, drinks, air conditioning – we were all a bit anxious to get back to her house so we could have the Lewis’ to ourselves.
A funny moment – one of the graduate’s moms had made a delicious Italian crème cake – I had a piece and then Beverly (Sr) got a piece – she returned to our little circle standing between Dulce and I and realized she did not have a fork – I gave her mine (I don’t think I even wiped it off) – she then used the fork to get a piece of cake turned to her left and placed it in Dulce’s expecting mouth…and then proceeded to eat the rest herself – it was so funny how she knew Dulce would want a piece and how Dulce was waiting for it – the fact that they used my dirty fork made me realize I must be part of the inner circle! :-)

The shot of Beverly and me is "oiled" - it seems even at 36 my skin loves to shine - so I thought lets go with that...

We enjoyed hamburgers, potato salad, beans and ice cream cake at Cinda’s house later. The tomatoes from her garden were delicious. Her home is so warm and welcoming. It was great to see the Martin’s. Colin and Anna along with Paige, Graham, and Evie are my new set of Brooks’ to watch grow – blogs almost make me feel like we don’t all live hours apart.

We made it home by about 10:30 pm and I was up at 5:00 am to compete in a half-marathon. Joe made me coffee and oatmeal. I was out the door by 5:20. I finished the half-marathon in 1:39:20 which is about a 3:18 marathon pace – good enough for Boston (if I can stay healty and do this in Tulsa in November) and good enough to win this little race. I was the 6th person across and 10 min in front of the next women. It is a powerful feeling to run with the boys…Olympic competitor Jeff Galloway was there to promote his training program – he shook my hand and congratulated me on my win – Wow!

As I’m writing this blog…I’m listening to Jimmy practice one of his new pieces – allow me to share: The video is kind of strange Jimmy is just practicing and you can see the reflection of the house painters on the piano – but I thought it would give you a sense of my summer morning…

Primed and Ready

2008-05-28T17:20:00.001-05:00

Picasa Web Albums - Gail - Spring 08

Little Reminders

2008-02-19T14:04:00.003-06:00

My Mom and Dad have spent much of their retirement on foreign soil…it is great for them but a little sad for me. I miss them…but I’m lucky because when they come for a visit they always make or do something that stays behind as a little memory.
- If you came to my wedding you might remember the pew bows…they were beautiful. Mom spent weeks making them. Each bow was a work of art with tulle, white ribbon, and pearls. Mom is famous for her bows and each Christmas she fills my house with decorations and bows. Twice now in January I have put all of the decorations away…except for the bows…they make me happy and they make me think of her…so they are up all year…
- Dad is famous for his shelving design. He has it in the house in Carrollton and at the lake and I am proud to say I have it in three spots at my home now. This shelving is known more for its function and ease of construction than for its beauty. But that has always been my Dad’s personality “function and efficiency” – beauty, as they say, is in the eye of the beholder.
- Last weekend Mom and Dad came for a visit. Mom came to go with Joe and Jimmy to a tennis tournament in Austin. Jimmy gained some great experience playing some very challenging matches and earned a few more points towards his goal of “champing up”. Joe and my mom had a great time cheering (very quietly) for their little man on the court.

Dad, Becky, and I built shelves in the garage. It took the whole day – but only one trip to Home Depot! We began with the calculations and drawings in the kitchen, dropped Becky off for her dance practice, bought supplies, picked Becky up, ate lunch, went to Starbucks…and by 1:00 Dad said something like…”Well, these shelves aren’t going to build themselves”. So we began…Becky and I were the journeymen. I was really impressed with Becky’s mathematical abilities she was measuring and dividing fractions like crazy…It was really fun and in the end we had a beautiful wall of utility shelves!

CHEATERS NEVER WIN!!!

2008-02-03T21:19:00.000-06:00

Well, if it couldn't be da'Boys at least it wasn't the Patriots...Go NFC East!...Go Giants!

Music to my ears!

2008-01-27T21:15:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, Jimmy competed in the WMTA Student Affiliate Performance Contest. This contest is open to students in the 7th grade and up. It was his first year to compete. His teacher wanted him to participate mostly to get comfortable with the format. He told Jimmy that the 8th graders in the competition would be more advanced and probably more likely to win, but it would be a good experience for him for next year. So he went to the competition yesterday with the same nerves as always…but perhaps a little more relaxed because he didn’t think he had much of a chance. The competition was at Roxy Grove hall which is completely refurbished and a lovely place to hear a recital. Jimmy warmed up in the office of the professor who was judging. This was an experience in itself. A large office on the second floor with two beautiful windows to let in natural light onto two, yes two, baby grand pianos – a Steinway and a Yamaha! Then he went down to perform for the judge in the recital hall on a 9 foot Steinway – center stage with only the professor/judge in the audience. Joe, Becky, and I were waiting outside in the entry way. I heard his scales but then had to step outside…I was just too nervous. I walked outside and thought about what I’m doing to my children…I just want them to know that no matter how they do…this is an amazing experience – to be remembered and enjoyed (hence the blog log). After about 10 min Jimmy appeared and his teacher told us he would call us with the results. When we got in the car, Jimmy lamented about how he forgot the left hand on two lines of the second page of his Chopin…but in my mind I was thinking…he forgot but he did not say that he stopped…maybe she did not notice or was impressed with his ability to continue…
Later that day, I received the call…Jimmy was one of the two winners for the contest! He will go on to compete later this year at the district level. The winners of the district level go onto state…and from there – who knows! Well, that is all a long way from where he is in his playing now…but it was still a wonderful moment.
Today we attended the recital of all the competitors and a few other extremely talented young musicians. In addition to lots of wonderful playing, we also heard marimba and organ performances…it was quite a Sunday afternoon. But I'll let you be the judge...

Happy Birthday Sudie Pearl!

2008-01-20T15:09:00.000-06:00

Sudie is 93 – time to party! Bev arranged a gathering of much of the clan. Joe, Jimmy, and Becky were in the spirit fastidiously working the list to get the house in order by 11:30. We had an appetizer prepared completely by Becky, a spinach, pear, walnut, and feta salad suggested by my mom, cornish games hens cooked perfectly (even if I do say so myself – (I love my new convection oven)), delicious rolls from Cinda, yummy little chocolate cup-cakes from Jennifer, and ice cream and coffee from Tom. My favorite part of entertaining is setting the tables with all the pretty things passed down through the generations. Something about the many special family gatherings all those plates, forks, and glasses have been through makes me happy…I know that may sound weird…but it is my blog :)
At the dinner table Joe asked Sudie what her earliest memory is…not surprisingly she recalled Dulce’s birth. Sudie spoke of how the family was gathered around their mother’s room and they voted on the name for their new baby sister. They had two choices Dulce and Sylvia (at that point in the story Tom piped in “and Obama as a third option”…and I tried hard to keep water from coming out my nose :)). And so I learned the story of how Dulce Maria sister, friend, and matriarch of the family came to be named.
In the video, you will see (and hear) several generations of all the beautiful women in this family.

The many days of Christmas

2008-01-09T22:10:00.000-06:00

Another warm Waco Christmas this year both inside and outside the house. I had three of my very close friends and their families over for a spaghetti dinner after the children’s mass on Christmas Eve. Our families have taken turns hosting this dinner for years now…so much so that this year we commented that many of the older kids feel they may have “outgrown” the children’s mass – time flies!
Christmas morning the kids woke to a brand new game system and the video game RockBand! This game is terrific for the entire family. You form a band with drums, vocals, and two guitars. Then you play rock songs were you match the colors on the screen as the song plays to the buttons on your guitar or pads on the drum set. The vocalist sings in a karaoke style where you are scored on how closely you match the pitch of the original artist. The guitars and drums are also scored by how accurately you “read” the music. It sounds silly, but it really is a blast. All the family was involved and we have already won a tour bus and are working on playing more gigs so we can get an airplane to do a world tour!

Aunt Mary came to visit this year as well. Her stay was bitter sweet however, because at 89 her mind is failing her and I don’t think she could ever make the trip again. One bright spot was watching my dad take care of her. She always recognized him and he rarely left her side.

This year the kids each learned at least 4 carols for the piano...so the day was filled with singing...Jimmy got so proficient at the 12 days of Christmas that he would play it so fast at the end only the most clever among us could keep up...Joe like to change the words around...something like 4 calling birds, 3 French maids...:)

Cruisin' to Christmas

2008-01-09T22:01:00.000-06:00

I know, I know...Christmas is over...but I wanted to share our December activities and don't tell anyone but my tree is still up!

Joe and I had an absolutely wonderful time on our Carnival Ecstasy cruise to Cozumel and Costa Maya…it was five days to rekindle, relax, eat, work-out, sleep, and soak up the Caribbean sun. Our dinner table was full of fun-loving happy people. We did a little shopping in Mexico and stopped in for a mojhito (or three) with our new friends at our favorite bar in Cozumel…but mostly we just refueled and reconnected…it was bliss…speaking of bliss the last day of our cruise the water was calm and the sun was hot…I think the captain drove at a snail's pace so we could all work on our tans before the holidays!
Joe and I danced quite a bit on the cruise and on the last night as we were enjoying our last martini before dinner watching the elevators go up and down a couple stopped by to tell us how much they enjoyed watching us dance!...Sixteen years with the same partner and you really get in a groove!

Cowboy Christmas

2007-12-12T21:35:00.000-06:00

For those of you who don't know...the Dallas Cowboys are 12 and 1 their best season ever...Joe and I have the fever...I've included a few photos of how this family is making it a Cowboy Christmas

Garage Sales and Jingle Bells

2007-12-04T10:23:00.001-06:00

The Brooks' family participated in the Jingle Bell Run again this year for the 6th time. I decided not to have the annual Christmas card photo be of this event...so for all of you missing that photo I have include it here along with a photo of Becky in her p.j.'s frantically pricing items for the garage sale we had earlier that day. Becky was the queen of the garage sale - organizing, making deals, bagging items, taking money...she could hardly sleep the night before she was so excited.
The garage sale ended at 12. We piled all of the left-over stuff into the car and dropped it off at Goodwill…then we went to Walmart to get the dogs their outfits for the Jingle-Bell Run. Gus went as a nutcracker and the girls were surgar plum fairies! It was easy to find costumes for the girls because they seem to have a large selection of small dog fashions at reasonable prices at Walmart (only in America) – but for Gus we had to get creative…it came down to a boys large blue polo, red ribbon (attached with no-sew tape my new favorite invention), gold buttons and a gold sequin belt left over from my Genie costume (dont' ask). So by 4:15 we were all piled into the station wagon – ready to run! Joe and Jimmy went as Cowboy fans – Becky and I took a more traditional theme with Santa hats. Becky and I did the competitive run. I was able to complete the 5 k in 22min which was good enough for first overall female…Becky got second in her age group – after I finished I went back to run with her and she looked great! She ran the entire race and afterwards told me she did stop even when she felt like it because she wanted to do her very best….My kids constantly amaze me!

My Baby is 13...

2007-12-04T09:56:00.000-06:00

Well I am officially the mother of a teenager...the hormones are raging...I don't have much to say so far except everything you hear about life with a teenager is true...:) We celebrated Jimmy's b-day at home. It was a Tuesday so he had piano...just what he wanted to spend 30 min doing...it was great too...Mr. Edwards would not let up on his drive for the perfect rendition of Beethoven's Sonata in G...he competes with that piece on Dec. 15 at Mary-Hardin Baylor...I'll post a video soon. After the lesson, we went to Cheddar's - the kids had mud-slides and the parents had margaritas...all was well. We came home to cake and presents...I've been on a "use what you have" kick lately so I wrapped all of Jimmy's presents in old comic strips from the Sunday paper...it took me several hours to find just the right funny and attach it to the present to be enjoyed...along with “FoxTrot” my new favorite comic is called "Zits" it is about life with a teenage boy...The presents all had a theme this year - books on goal setting, dealing with life as a teen and puberty/sex (there is no denying it – and I’m choosing to have an informed son). I also found a video game for the DS in a bin at Circuit City called Teen Titan…he played it for a while this weekend and said at one point “Gosh Mom…I just can’t get past this one evil girl - she has powers that make all of my powers do the opposite of what they should”…hmm a premonition of things to come???

Thanksgiving Fun

2007-12-04T09:49:00.000-06:00

We had another wonderful Thanksgiving at Michelle's house this year. As usual, the food was terrific and the cowboys won...life is good. The guest list included Michelle, Calvin, Joe, Gail, Jimmy, Becky - and from the four legged side of the family (Fog, Snow, Nik, Molly, Gus, April and June)

Holiday In Paris

2007-11-20T18:31:00.000-06:00

Becky competed with this piece at the Fall Festival - her superior ranking gave her a slot in the recital the next day. Grandma Dulce was there and I got a lovely picture of them outside of the Church where they preformed.

The recital was held at the same church (7th and James) where Dulce and Richard were married many years ago.

2007-11-11T21:39:00.000-06:00

Becky and I went to a dance competition this weekend...I got a matching outfit so I could play the roll of that crazy mom in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory...it was lots of fun we came home tired and inspired to be better dancers...We also came home to Joe and a house full of children...we are taking care of our "best" friends kiddos while they have some couple time in Cabo...It was a strange experience waking up to a table full of children eating breakfast and cutting up...a little taste of what it might have been like in the Brooks family growing up...Joe said he has been buying milk and doing dishes all weekend...he is quite the Mr. Mom...

Two funny quotes from the kiddos-
Jimmy went to a paint-ball birthday party this weekend...he came home bruised and happy...when he was describing some of the areas where the teams "battled" he said there was an area called heaven and one called hell...his team won in hell...then he said..."We lost in heaven, but it was a lot nicer there"...

When Joe put Becky to bed tonight...he sat down with her an told her how much he missed her this weekend...then he said something sad and forlorn like...I don't want you to get married at 20 and leave me like your mother did to her father...Becky replied..."That won't happen daddy, you never take me to Hawaii"...:)

Halloween

2007-11-08T09:41:00.000-06:00

Becky wanted to be "The Lunch Lady" this year...she has the most unusual sense of humor...Luckily her cousin came to visit and after a quick trip to Goodwill and Walgreens we had the perfect outfit...Jimmy went as a scary pirate complete with ugly fake teeth...The kids went trick-or-treating with some friends from the neighborhood...and I have been trying to resist the candy bowl ever since! Check out this SNL video...it was our inspiration

I got the music in me

2007-11-08T09:03:00.000-06:00

The person who took this photo and video and at least one of the persons in the photo would say it is an inherited gift that brings joy to the hearts of others - the other person (depending on their mood) would say it is a curse forced upon them by the desires and dreams of someone else :-)...But anyway you look at it history is documented as Jimmy and Dulce stand in front of Waco Hall at Baylor after a lovely piano performance this Fall- where many of their ancestors have stood before perhaps feeling the same sense of accomplishment and pride.