Memories & Traditions

I am a little sad to see my Thanksgiving break come to an end mostly because I have not sat for more than 30 minutes since I got off of work on Tuesday, but that is okay because it has all been worth the memories. I have come to the conclusion that a good life is full of lots of meaningful, cherished memories and lots of yearly, family traditions. With the holidays now in full swing the Derting's are on the right track to creating lots of both of these treasured things :)

Wednesday started out with cleaning, waiting on the delivery guys, a quick trip to Hickory, more cleaning and waiting on mom and the boys to arrive. Once mom and the boys (all of my brothers) got here mom and I began cooking for our Thanksgiving feast. However, no Thanksgiving (any occasion for that matter) would be complete without a last minute, late night run to Wal-Mart. That in itself is a tradition that never gets forgotten, we always need a couple of extra things once we start cooking, so we hop in the car and come back hours later with a trunk full. This tradition was a success once again!!! We cooked and cleaned till the wee hours in the morning and then we headed to bed for a few hours of sleep before getting up to put the turkey and ham in the oven.

Turkey day finally arrived with many things to accomplish before lunch time! Mom and I got up and of course Bryson heard us at 6 am, so he was up to for the rest of the day. Brooks and my brother, Wesley, were up as well so that they could go run the Turkey Trot 5k. So the day started smoothly and productive with the main dishes in the oven by 7 and us wondering if we should go back to bed or stay up. Mom tried to lay down for a little bit and Bryson was determined that we were staying up, so I decided to sweep and mop while everyone else was sleeping peacefully. I thought to myself....oh yeah, I am good its just 8 and I am almost finished cleaning the house and the food is all ready to be put in the oven, maybe, just maybe by the time 1:30 comes I will be waiting patiently for the guests to arrive with my hair done, make-up finished, and clothes on. Well, I should have known that will never be a tradition, my tradition is to run around like a crazy person, barking out orders of put this here and that there, and demanding that people don't step on my freshly vacuumed carpet lines. So I am ADMITTING, to what my family already knows,.....my tradition is to be CRAZY until the event starts and then (maybe) I will settle down. I should add that at 1:30 I was still drying my hair in my robe...so I wasn't ready, but that is a tradition!! Finally, everyone arrived mom and Brooks had the food nicely laid out and the turkey craved and my house was spotless, so I was smiling inside because once again we pulled it off!!! Thanksgiving was full of good conversations and some laughs along the way :) In the end many memories and traditions were made once again!

Thanksgiving night was as it has been for the past few years...we pulled out the Christmas decorations out of the attic and the madness to decorate began. Once we filled the garage with the 5+ totes, boxes and bags we decided to go to Zootastic as we did last year, so that we could make it a tradition. Mom, Brooks, Bryson and myself loaded up and headed out. We drove through the lights and stopped to feed the goats and sheep (no reindeer this year people, for those that know that memory...lol)  and we roasted marshmallows before heading to the big barn. When we got to the barn....sorry mom, I have to....mom fell off the sidewalk (in her defense it isn't that safe) and that is a tradition for her because she always has a tendency to fall when she is around me. We got her up and walking again and went to see Santa. Bryson got his picture made of course because his Gaze was with him and he gets whatever he wants when she is around (which could possibly be a bad tradition). Mom and Bryson played with the snake because reptiles don't scare my family and then we went out to see the horses, cows, llamas, and camel. On the way there Bryson fell because again the sidewalk was not the safest. Once we fed those guys and admired the 2 day old llama Bryson rode the pony and then we headed home. Memories and traditions in the making that night!

Mom and I have this crazy tradition to join the other crazy people that shop on Black Friday, so Friday morning we slept in a little bit and got up at 4:30 and headed to Hickory to catch our yearly after Thanksgiving deals. We actually did pretty good at the mall, got a few things at Old Navy and Marshalls and then headed to the Conover Wal-Mart because that is our Black Friday tradition. We were home by 10 am with a car load full of Christmas goodies!! We wanted a nap.....mom got one and I didn't. Bryson was too excited about all of the decorations being in the house, so he and I decorated his tree and the spare room tree and put a few other Christmas things out. By early afternoon mom and I were back out and shopping some more because our tradition is to go to Belk and Bath and Body in the Statesville mall on Black Friday because of course its not as crowded, so we kept with tradition and headed to the mall. When we finally got home from our shopping spree, I began work on the tree in the den and cleaning and decorating the kitchen. By Friday night the house was in shambles with Christmas decor everywhere, but we headed to bed and I planned on finishing it up on Saturday!

Saturday morning we finally slept in till 9ish and then it was time for mom and the boys to head home and Brooks and Bryson to head to some new race track in Mooresville. Everyone was out by noon and I was alone with a house to decorate and gifts to wrap, so I worked all day to accomplish these things and thankfully by the time Brooks and Bryson got home at 10 the house was pretty much finished and all presents were wrapped :) My tradition in this, is to have everything decorated the weekend after Thanksgiving, so we can sit back and enjoy it for a couple of weeks and this has now been achieved!

And so comes the last day of Thanksgiving break.....we got up early and headed North with my daddy to Shatley Springs for lunch which is also a tradition. When we arrived there was honestly more people from Statesville there than any other place. We had a good lunch and then headed to the Christmas tree farm that we always went to when I was a kid. This is a memory that I cherish with my parents and brother....and I am hoping that Bryson will one day cherish this same memory/tradition. This was our 2nd year cutting down our tree at the tree farm and he remembered last year and he even asked if we were going to do the hayride like we did last year. It took me a while to find the perfect tree because I will admit, I am a little picky. We found the one and waited for the guys to come and cut her down. While we waited my dad and Bryson played in the rows of trees trying to scare each other. Then we headed down the mountain with a detour through Boone because my dads tradition is to drive and drive to see new things. Also, he drove down the mountain like the old days.....as FAST as he could!! We made it home and unloaded our 8th and final tree! So now the house is complete and ready for Christmas, every room has a tree and all the lights outside are hung and shining in the night!

The weekend has been FULL of memories and traditions that we will look back on for years to come and although I am exhausted and I have to work tomorrow, I am very thankful to have had a PERFECT, MEANINGFUL Thanksgiving break. I am hopeful that one day Bryson will share these same memories and traditions with his family. I hope that you and your family were as blessed as my family was this Thanksgiving. So now we move onto to a new holiday and I can only hope that we will make many more memories and recreate family traditions as we have done in the past week.

Have a GREAT week....make memories and traditions as often as you can!!! Love you :) Alysha

Thanksgiving Eve....Eve

Thanksgiving is quickly approaching which means I have lots to do before Thursday. We had a good (kind of) weekend, hope you did. Brooks decided last week that we needed a new washer and dryer...which means that we needed a new laundry room and 1/2 bath. We had talked about redoing the laundry room when we redo the kitchen and just make it one big project, but for some reason Brooks got the bright idea to do it the week before Thanksgiving. I of course didn't object considering the last load of clothes I washed on Friday night took 4 hours to dry, so I agreed with him that it was definitely time to retire the old Maytag. Not sure if you know, but THANKFULLY when my husband decides to take on a project he sticks with it from start to finish in a reasonable amount of time. He promised that if he started the project Thursday night he would be done by Monday and he didn't disappoint.

Thursday night meant demolition of the 70s tile walls and the pinkish heart wallpaper. We all worked hard to gut the place so Friday would be rebuilding day. When Brooks got home from work he began hanging the new walls and laying some of the floors. He continued his ambitious work all day Saturday and into Sunday. Saturday things went smoothly, but for some reasons things didn't seem to go the right way on Sunday. Nothing bad happened....other than the fact that we made 4 trips to Lowes for odds and ends that we couldn't seem to get right the 1st trip. By Sunday night all that was left was to hang the shiny new mirror, screw somethings in on the new pedestal sink, and add some molding, so needless to say he was on the right track. By Monday night everything was in place. We still need some molding for the bathroom, but that is it. I am very proud of him as always because he was determined to make this a quick, easy, and beautiful project and he DID!! So tomorrow between the hours of  8-12 am (so I am told) the delivery of my new LG front load washer and dryer will be delivered. MERRY CHRISTMAS to ME!!!

Yesterday Bryson's school had their annual Thanksgiving musical and feast. And I have to say that for the first time in the 3 years that he has been there......HE STOOD ON STAGE, MOVED HIS LIPS, AND RANG HIS HAND BELLS.......AND MADE HIS MOM VERY PROUD!! Thank you sweet boy for coming out of your shell!!!

Tomorrow I will prepare the house and some food for the house guests that will be arriving and the 30+ people coming to share Thanksgiving at the house on Thursday. I hope that you and your families are going to share some good food and make some long lasting memories as well!!! I want to end with this because it made me sad.....At school yesterday I had my kids all share what their Thanksgiving plans were going to be and more than one said that their families didn't have money for a turkey....this broke my heart and I invited them to my house!! It made me realize how much I take for granted.....I guess I don't take the time to stop and realize that not everyone is as fortune as I am and on that note I am thankful for many things this week and I am even thankful for ol' Tom Turkey on Thursday because many out there won't have a Tom!! I wish you and your loved ones the BEST Thanksgiving yet!!! Make lots of memories and lots of pictures to remember them by :) I Love You, Alysha

~Bahamas with Mama~

WOW! The Islands in the Bahamas are breathtaking.....crystal clear, turquoise water, nice, white, sandy beaches, and ALL the fabulous food you can eat...at all hours of the day and night! I was thinking that such a short trip would be rushed and SHORT, but it wasn't at all. It was as if the island consumed us and took all the cares in the world away for 3 days that felt more like 10! I highly recommend a cruise as a vacation.....for the price it is totally worth every penny and more. 

Mom and I left NMB at 2:45 am on Friday morning and headed towards 95 for the 9 hours that the GPS told us it would be. I drove 1/2 way and mom the other 1/2. We made excellent time and made it in only 8 hours not 9. We got there by 11:00 and changed from our pj's in the car before we went to check in. We were told to be there by lunch time, but we were not sure why because the boat didn't leave till 4:00...so we were trying to get there by the suggested time, but weren't too worried about getting there early. Thankfully we did!!! We were the first group to load the boat....our rooms weren't ready yet, BUT a HUGE buffet of food was! There was food for everyone asian, southern, salads, burgers and fries, desserts, etc! Once our room was available we took a quick nap before dinner. At dinner we meet some new friends...sisters from Florida and mother and daughter from Indiana. The boat was sailing by this point and the waters were rough and although I usually don't get sick..this time I did...it was a little much for me with everything moving, in a crowded ballroom, crammed with people, and a four course meal sitting in front of me. So we went back to the room took some Tylenol and put on a sea sick patch behind our ears and went to bed. 

Saturday we got up and went down for breakfast...I thought when I got up that it was taking my eyes a while to focus, but overlooked it. After eating and still not being able to see it was becoming very weird that my eyes were not working....I tried to read small print on several things and my eyes just would not focus, everything was a blob of blur. We went back to get ready before docking at Nassau. Mom realized that a side-effect of the patch could be blurred vision. So we RIPPED the patches off and scrubbed our ears hoping it would help my vision. The boat landed (as I called it all weekend) and we got off and explored the streets of Nassau searching for good deals on anything we could find. Mom had to read EVERYTHING to me because I was partially BLIND from the stupid patch....for instance a price tag of $19 was $32 to me. We shopped most of the afternoon and made some deals with the locals before heading back to get ready for the Captain's Dinner. Once back we got all dressed up and headed out for our dinner date with the other ladies. The food again was EXCELLENT with filet mignon and coffee cake for dessert. We ended the night with some more shopping!

Sunday, thankfully, brought better vision (not perfect, but better) and the Island of Coca Cay. We got up at 7, headed for breakfast and waited for the boat to park (land) in the ocean, so we could take a ferry to the island. I really wanted to snorkel because Brooks and I snorkeled in Hawaii and it was the best thing we did while we were there. So we signed up and paid $60 to rent our snorkel gear and $18 for an underwater camera. The snorkel instructor told us that there were fake fish throughout the island that were worth prizes if we found one...so we headed out with hopes of finding a fish! We stuck our toes in the water and it was FREEZING!!!! We questioned why we spent money to get into the Arctic Ocean, but quickly saw a jelly fish that was near us, so we decided to dive in and get away from the sea creature. We swam out and met some really pretty fish, a tang or two, and some yellow tail snappers...we took a break at the lifeguard's stand and we found a GREEN #8 FAKE FISH!!! We were very excited to grab it up and swim to shore to collect our prize!!! The girl at the Snorkel Shack gave us a free ride on a jet ski....so we went to the Wave Hut to schedule our FREE prize. We obviously were not thinking that we only brought back one fish, so we only got one prize, but they quickly broke the news to us that one of us would have to pay, so we opted not to do it and they were nice enough to refund our snorkel money since we gave up our prize!!!! I should mention that EVERYONE we met was very nice, willing to help, called us by name and was willing to make our trip the best it could be! True hospitality is what we found on the Royal Caribbean Monarch of the Seas Cruise Line!!! We spent the rest of the day laying by the water in the 80 degree sunshine in disbelief that Thanksgiving is next week. Before we went back to the ship we stopped back by the Snorkel Shack and asked the girl if we could take a picture with our prize fish and she said yes and even took the pic. We told her we decided not to do the jet skies so she gave us another underwater camera!!! We totally got our money's worth that day :) That night we enjoyed our last meal with our new friends and sadly told our stateroom attendant bye. We were sad to leave the boat, but happy to get home to all of the boys. 

While us girls were gone, my boys spent some time with Brooks' dad and family. They went and played on the beach themselves Friday and had breakfast with them before they left Saturday. Brooks, Bryson, Wesley, Weston, and Walker went to the Dixie Stampede on Saturday night and enjoyed nice front row seats.....Weston and Bryson were chosen to chase the chickens in the chicken race that night and they seemed to have LOTS of fun! All the boys grilled out and played all day Sunday proving that they can survive a couple of days without the direction of us women ;) Mom and I meet Brooks and Bryson in Florence Monday afternoon and we headed north and she headed south. 

So here we are a week from Thanksgiving and I have so much to be thankful for!!! An excellent mini vacation, sweet boys that were happy to see me, a clean house to come home to, smiling faces at work on Tuesday, memories that will last a lifetime, and most of all an EXCELLENT family to be a part of!! Thanks to my mom for the trip and my husband for not killing me for snorkeling without him!!! 

I hope you have had a GREAT week as well and been able to look around and cherish the things that we all to be thankful for!! Lots of love to you, Alysha

Thankfulness, Accomplishments, & Excitement!!!!

I <3 November! This month is such a GREAT month! We have the opportunity to show thanks and be thankful and I am very EXCITED to continue to do that :) I am so THANKFUL for the fantastic weekend that we have had. Brooks and I double dated with the Deane's Friday night. We had dinner and went to see the movie Life As We Know It. The movie had some sad parts, but overall it was so cute and sweet. Bryson spent the night with Grandma Dee Dee and slept till 9:30 for them. I do not understand this because he has NEVER slept that late for us, it makes me very JEALOUS, but I am glad that he was good for them and I am THANKFUL for the time that Brooks and I got to spend together as a couple. 

Yesterday morning, I ACCOMPLISHED something that I haven't done in a while. Brooks and I participated in our 3rd Pumpkin Fest 5k. It was a little chilly and I was terrified that I wouldn't make it, but THANKFULLY I did. My 1st mile was 10:54, 2nd was 11:30, and the 3rd was about 14 minutes. I was proud of the first 2 miles, but I struggled on the last. I haven't done 3 miles since May, so although I am not happy with my time, I am THANKFUL for the fact that I beat my time from last year by a minute. My AMAZING husband took 2nd place in his age group and finished in his best time ever at 23:20. He was at the finish line and I still had 1.2 miles to go, but he has worked his tale off to get there, so I am very happy for him. 

We pondered whether or not we should take the dogs to Pumpkin Fest yesterday. They have never really been out in public, around crowds, or been on their leashes much, so we were not sure how it would go....but we gave it a try! Brooks had Diesel (St. Bernard) and I had Jaxson (Pug). Needless to say they got lots of attention and they had really good manners. We were very impressed with their behavior and everyone else seemed to be impressed by the odd brotherly pair. Many people wanted to touch "Beethoven" and others thought Jaxson was the cutest, so they got equal attention. This was a huge ACCOMPLISHMENT for us and the dogs and we are THANKFUL that they cooperated!

This morning Bryson woke up at 5:30...not really a SHOCKER since we set the clocks back. We now have him "trained", THANKFULLY, to get his cup out of the fridge, turn the TV on, and let us sleep through 2 cartoon shows. We all got up about 8 and went to church. We came home and the work began......I decided that it is time to start preparing the house for the Holidays with a little Fall Cleaning. Bryson and I worked on my closet and drawers for most of the early afternoon. All my winter clothes have made the move from side of the closet to the other and all winter shoes and boots have replaced the flip flops and sandals. During this transition I pulled out and packed for the Bahamas :) Bryson found my wedding dress in the spare closet and he wanted to see it...then he wanted me to try it on (I almost got it zipped), then we looked through our wedding album and discussed when and where Brooks and I got married....so that took a while, but I was EXCITED to share those precious memories with him and he seemed EXCITED to hear about it. 

At this point I have ACCOMPLISHED all of the upstairs closets, dusted all the furniture, cleaned the dust from the ceiling fans, and vacuumed upstairs. I still have stuff to ACCOMPLISH downstairs, but I am happy that the house is almost ready for Thanksgiving and EXCITED to think that 3 weeks from today we will have the smell of Christmas trees throughout the house!

I am VERY EXCITED to get this week started......we will be leaving for the beach on Wednesday :) My New Hampshire in-laws are already there for the week and we will get to spend some time with them on Thursday. Mom and I will leave sometime Thursday night for our mini vacation and the boys will stay back and spend some time with Brooks' Dad and family!! I am already thinking about how I will miss my boys, but I am SO EXCITED to go somewhere with warm sunshine for one last time in 2010!!!

We are all very EXCITED about the upcoming weeks and the Holiday time that we will get to spend with family and close friends. It's this time of year that we all have so much to be THANKFUL for! So the challenge for the week and weeks to come is to show how THANKFUL and GRATEFUL we are to others by helping and sharing our treasures with them. This challenge comes from church this morning....there are MANY out there that need and want for even the simplest things that we take for granted. You decide how you want to help......it could be something local or something that will reach across the world, it could be something free or a nice generous donation....think about this and think of a way that you could help someone in much greater need than you, so that they will have something to be THANKFUL for as well :)
Enjoy your week, you make it what it is, so strive for the BEST and don't settle for less!!!! Love the THANKFUL Derting's :)

A new month!

Hey! Hope you had a GREAT weekend, we sure did! The Derting threesome spent a lot of quality time together this weekend and made lots of memorable moments that won't soon be forgotten. My blonde boy transformed into a howling, hairy werewolf for 2 nights in a row! We had planned on only dressing him up Saturday night, but like always we didn't accomplish everything and every place that we had hoped to, so we did it again Sunday night too! I made his costume and Brooks did his hair and make-up so it was a family affair to create the scary wolf. We decided to go to the Statesville Mall on Saturday night and they had a Halloween Costume Contest, so of course we entered him. We were all proud that Bryson went on stage by himself and actually stayed up there without either of us and it paid off because he took 1st place out of 37 kiddos!! He was proud and excited that he got a trophy! We visited MANY friends and family both nights and took lots of pictures to treasure his 5th Halloween forever!


The past two days I have been in Greensboro attending the annual NC Exceptional Children's Conference.....I have commuted both days, which is a story in itself. Monday morning I left around 7:30 hoping to beat the traffic and make it in about an hour.......well it took me till 9:45 due to an accident in Winston that was cleaned up by the time that I finally got through. So I missed the 1st session at the Conference, but made it in time for the opening session. Each year they try and have an encouraging motivational speaker or teacher of excellence speak to kick off the event in a positive way.  For instance one year it was Clay Aiken (the year after his American Idol run) because (not sure if you know) he was a Special Ed major at UNCC and I actually worked with him on a project once. But all of that is beside the point.......yesterday they started out with a man, who is an artist and he explained that he has ADD and how it has affected his life in many ways and has inspired him to be the artist that he is. His speech was short and he looked down the whole time and I felt bad for him because he stated that public speaking was not his thing, so I was confused that he was the opening speaker and that his speech was less than 5 minutes. After he spoke June Atkinson (I think that is right), EC Director for the state, introduced a lady from NJ, which again I thought was weird because it is usually someone from NC. She introduced Sara......


Sara came on stage with a hobble and a speech impediment and began explaining that she was diagnosed with CP (cerebral palsy) at the age of 4. She was very energetic, well spoken, and fearless. It was obvious that speaking was difficult for her as well as walking, but she spoke for about 30 minutes and paced the stage the whole time. She told many stories about her life and how she has made a career out of her disability. She referred to her life as a puzzle. The pieces were held together with glue, which was her mother. Sara knew from an early age that she could do anything that she set her mind to because her mother always told her that CP could not hold her back from her dreams. There were many pieces to her puzzle and many challenges that she has faced in her life, but she has always been able to focus on the positives. In high school she was "mainstreamed" which she said was a nightmare, but it also helped her realize her dreams. She wasn't the ideal student and in the beginning refused to work and even put forth effort because "she was too busy trying to fit in". She had a teacher, that she now sees on a regular basis, that refused to give up on her and refused to let her give up on herself. The teacher was finally able to MAKE her journal one day in class and Sara LOVED it once she gave in. Sara was Puerto Rican, so dancing was part of her culture although it was very difficult for her. Her mother forced her to dance as her teacher had forced her to journal......she now refers to dancing as freedom for her body and writing as freedom for her mind!!! I love this.....swimming and running are my bodies freedom and blogging is my minds freedom!!!! You should find your FREEDOMS!!!!!!


Sara ended her amazing speech with a challenge.....she challenged everyone to recognize their dreams and reach for them, don't give up and don't give in....you are the only one that can make your dreams come true.....have expectations for you and others around you (for teachers, have and hold expectations for your students, as Sara's teacher did for her)....expect great things and work towards them, just like dreams you are the only one that can make it happen......finally, encourage independence....independent people are strong and depend on themselves not on others.....at the end of the day you are the only one that can take responsibility for your actions, you can not pawn them off on someone else!! Sara was a great speaker full of life even though it is much more difficult for her than me to do ordinary, daily activities. She has never let herself be sad because of her CP!! What an inspiration she is, I wish you could have seen and heard her speak because she was amazing and she has many more challenges daily than I have every had in my life! So I took away motivation and inspiration from her and her life!!!


So now I am home from the Conference and I got to eat out 2 days in a row like big girls do and it has been fun and rejuvenating! The rest of the week looks busy, with a conference soccer game for West, Bryson's soccer party, date night and...........the dreaded.........5k that I signed myself up for on Saturday morning! I am regretting this decision as the day draws closer....for a couple of reasons: 1) I have not trained like I should have! 2) the temperature is predicted to be 28 degrees Saturday morning, but I am hopeful that my body is definitely rested (so that may help) and that the weatherman is WRONG about the temperature! AND THEN next week is my trip with mom to the BAHAMAS!!!!! I am getting EXCITED!!!!


Hope you are having a GREAT week and I hope you exercised your right to VOTE.....I will shortly! Enjoy the cooler weather and think about Sara's challenges :) Love you!! Alysha