First Day of Pennsylvania Trip-Visit with Cousin Kim & Family/Dinner with Uncle Joey & Aunt Lynda

The whole Stockbridge Sharp family began their yearly trek to the Fyock family reunion in Johnstown, Pennsylvania; flying into Pittsburgh this morning and having brunch with Rhian's former co-worker Heather Cook at Eat-n-Park close to the airport. Brunch was delicious and Rhian and Heather caught up with each other. We then visited with my cousin Kim and her 5 year-old daughter Noelle and her 17 month-old son Galen. Unfortunately, her husband Jason had to work late and we had to leave early, so we didn't get to see him. :o( It was the first time we've seen her children, and of course the first time they got to see ours. Noelle was very excited and had her day with Christian planned. Unfortunately, Christian had his own plan when he reached and wanted to ride on the toy truck and play in the sand box.

Noelle wanted to ride the glider on the swing-set. After much wailing and gnashing of teeth :o), Noelle got her wish and Christian got on the glider with her, much to Noelle's delight. Our visit also coincided with Galen's nap time, and he reluctantly fought sleep to hang out with his cousins before falling asleep. We had a great time watching the kids play, getting caught up, and reminiscing about when we were young. We left a little before 4 to meet up with my parents, Karen, and Kyle, who were already at the Hampton Inn outside Johnstown with my Uncle Joey and Aunt Lynda. It had been close to 10 years since I had last see them, and Uncle Joey had been in ill health recently, so it was great to finally see them. Both of them looked very well! We all had dinner at Ryan's Steakhouse and it was great. We caught up with them and of course shared family secrets about the Sharp boys (Dad and Uncle Joey).

CLICK HERE to enjoy the pictures of our visit with Kim and her family

CLICK HERE to enjoy the pictures of our dinner with Uncle Joey & Aunt Lynda

Hanging with Friends on Lake Jackson

On Saturday, we took the family out to Lake Jackson to relax and hang out with family and friends. My friend Rico Dorsey came out with his 14 year old son Cody and 6 year old son Dalton. It was their first time out to the lake. Also out at the lake for the first time was an old friend of mine, Mark Tacker, with his wife Shannon, 20 year old daughter Jenny and 14 year old son Aaron. Mark was my next door neighbor when we moved to Atlanta in 1975, until 1979 when his family moved to Conyers. We eventually lost contact and hadn't seen each other for nearly 29 years until Saturday. Even though he looks a little older, he is still the Mark Tacker I remember. Still sounds the same with his Southern drawl! We had a lot of fun catching up and talking about old times. We all had a fun time. Most everybody took turns riding the Sea-Doos and going tubing. My dad loves to entertain and he couldn't have been happier. I think he enjoys entertaining more than anybody! My mom gets tired watching him. I know everybody enjoys having him entertain. The pictures should sum up the whole day. Everybody's looking forward to the next time we meet out at the lake, probably Labor Day weekend.

Note: There are 181 pictures posted from the 407 that were taken. (So it could have been worse!) :o)

CLICK HERE to enjoy all the pictures!

Friday Evening at Hidden Valley Park

Rhian and I took the kids for a Friday evening at Hidden Valley Park a mile from our house. Reagan can sense that she's getting close to the swings, because she gets the cutest smile in anticipation; which turns into a full blown smile and giggle when she gets on. She has fun watching her brother on the "big boy swing" while riding on the baby swing. Christian finally learned to swing for himself! He was so proud of himself. Rhian still has to push him to swing, as Christian says, "up up to the sky!". After swinging, we took a walk to the children's play area (ages 5+) so Christian could play on the big slides and jungle gym. Reagan walked the whole way (about 200 yards) so she would get a sound sleep (and a sound sleep for Rhian and myself :o>).

CLICK HERE to view the pictures.

Karen and Dad Arrive Back in Atlanta

Karen and Dad arrived back today after being gone for nearly 2 weeks. Karen looked great and both were happy to be home. The night before Karen had her surgery, her abdomen was inflated to help facilitate the harvesting of her kidney. When she woke up from the surgery, she said she felt like she was nine months pregnant. Over the weekend, as the air in her abdomen dissipated, she said she felt six months pregnant. Well now she says she feels three months pregnant. (Can you even feel that? ;o>) Mom and Kyle were excited to see Karen, and of course, Karen was excited to see both. She couldn't stop hugging and kissing her "baby boy". Dad and Karen had a great time in Pennsylvania with Uncle John, Aunt Claire Ann, Uncle Ronnie, and Aunt Sharon. Laughter proved to be the best medicine as they spent countless hours before and after the surgery reminiscing over the many exploits of The Sharp Boys. Apparently the exploits still continue to this day, as one of the boys was nearly committed to the psychiatric ward while visiting the hospital after the surgery. We're not sure who, but it couldn't have been Uncle John and Dad is denying everything, saying it must have been Ronnie. :o) `Regardless, I'm glad both are home safe and everybody is recovering nicely.

CLICK HERE to view pictures of Uncle John's company picnic for Karen & Uncle John
CLICK HERE to view the post-surgery pictures

Christian's Sunday Tropical Picnic

Christian thought it would be nice to have a "tropical" picnic yesterday afternoon. With temperatures in the 90's outside, an indoor picnic seemed appropriate. He came up with the idea since Rhian was cooking dinner, and he loves having picnics, since he and Pap Pap have indoor picnics all the time. Christian put down a blanket, put out glasses and drinks for all of us in the places we would be sitting. Christian actually called it a tropical picnic since he had placed a toy palm tree on the blanket. We all sat down and had a wonderful picnic of callaloo, beans, rice, and veggie chicken, all to Christian's delight. Christian is such a thoughtful boy. Amazing for someone who is only 4 months past his 3rd birthday.

Mom Turned 68 Today

Today we celebrated Mom's birthday by running in the Atlanta Track Club's 4 mile race at the Decatur-Dekalb YMCA. Rhian's Mom came over at 6:30 to watch the kids, and Rhian and I picked up my mom to take her to the race. We all did well, I finished in 33:56, an improvement of a minute and 46 seconds over last year; Rhian finished in 37:45 in her first time running the course, and Mom did it in 50:11, a minute and a half faster than last year. Like wine, we are all getting better with age! :o) Mom has finished in the top 3 in 12 of the 13 ATC races she has run this year. Awards are given out to the top 3 in each age group after every race, and I thought for sure she had this year. The reason why I say this, was because I was going to have the announcer wish Mom a happy birthday when she got her award. I thought it was a foregone conclusion, and asked him to do this without even checking to see what place she had come in. Unfortunately, she finished 4th, which gives her 40 points in the Grand Prix, but no award. At least she had friends come up to her and wish her a happy birthday, which made it all worth while for Mom. After the race, we took her to The Flying Biscuit for breakfast and to meet our friend Dewberry (from the reality show Hell's Kitchen). Rhian's mom brought the kids and we all had a nice breakfast together. Mom especially liked the coffee. When we brought Mom back to the house, Kyle had a surprise for her: a cake that he baked and decorated himself and a card that he made by himself as well! Mom was very impressed and really appreciated it. To make the cake, on Thursday, Kyle told his Grandma that he was going for a run and would be back in a while. He did go for a run, but he ran to the Publix grocery store to purchase the cake mix, then ran back. (About a 3 mile run total). He could have easily settled on making a card for Mom, which she would have really appreciated in itself. She wouldn't expect him to go to the store without his mom or his Pap Pap to take him there. But he did, which was very thoughtful for anyone, especially for a 15 year-old. Karen has done a good job with him. (It's been all about Karen lately! :o>) Mom would spend the rest of her day at the house relaxing as would we.

Cell phone pics to be posted shortly!

Recovering Nicely

Everything went well yesterday with the transplant. Both Karen and Uncle John are doing very well. The doctors said Karen's kidney was very healthy (as we would expect with all her working out! :o>) The doctors have recommended both of them to walk. While I was on the phone today with Dad, her and Uncle John had a race down the hall of the hospital, and Dad gave me the play-by-play. Karen started out fast and looked like she was going to win, but Uncle John put on a surge at the end and finished strong to beat Karen by a kidney. :o) Karen should be out of the hospital tomorrow and return back to Atlanta on Tuesday. Incredible. Science is amazing, isn't it?

My Sister Karen: A True Hero

As I type, my sister Karen is proudly donating a kidney to her Uncle John. Karen became a candidate last year when Uncle John's brothers, Ron and my dad, who matched his blood type were deemed to be "too old" to donate, despite the fact they are in phenomenal shape. Karen selflessly became a candidate when she had determined that she was the same blood type as Uncle John; and the next closest relative to be a match. She had mentioned at the time she always wondered what her calling was in life, and when this opportunity presented itself, she then knew! Over the last year, Karen and Uncle John went through a series of tests to determine true compatibility and if there would be any other determining factors. Everything went as hoped; Karen was a perfect match, and deemed to be in perfect health. Leading up to today, you would have thought that today was just another day for Karen, no more stressful than a hair appointment. She never made a big deal about it. Uncle John and Aunt Claire Ann were very humbled by the sacrifice Karen was making. While talking to them when I was in Montana, they asked me the question "How do you thank somebody for that?" They didn't think there was any true way to do so. I told them that by saying this, they just had. I told Karen about it, and in typical Karen fashion, she just said "Just make some mud pie for me." (Mud pie is a delicious dessert Aunt Claire Ann makes from Oreo Cookies). The kidney donation became a subject of many funny emails involving Karen, Uncle John, Uncle Ronnie, My dad, and myself. The Sharps over the years have shared with each other all the "family secrets". With that, and the fact we all have a great sense of humor, the emails were to say the least, very funny. In the last couple of days while Karen and my dad were in Pennsylvania, they relaxed by hanging out with Uncle John and Aunt Claire Ann, reminiscing and sharing more of the "family secrets." Both Karen and Uncle John seemed very relaxed about the whole thing when I spoke to them last night. I am currently waiting for Dad to call when the procedure is finished. Anyways, I just want to conclude that I am so proud to be Karen's brother. What she is doing and her whole attitude towards it is simply phenomenal. She's an amazing sister, niece, daughter, and even a greater human being.

Reagan Playing Soccer

Without any encouragement on our part, Reagan has taken to kicking a soccer ball whenever she sees one. She has been to every one of Christian's soccer practices, and has apparently been paying attention. When she sees the ball, she walks up slowly to it and kicks it with one foot, then takes a step and kicks it with the other. She has no inclination to pick it up with her hands; just kicks it with her feet. It seems to come natural for her, and she claps when she's done. Daddy's dream of having all his kids as soccer players seems to be coming to fruition! :o)

(I'll post video as soon as I have it available)

Christian's Summer Soccer Season Ends

Christian finished up his second season of soccer today. It was team photo day, so I was able to get a lot of shots. (Did you really think I wouldn't? :o>) It didn't look like it was going to happen, however. Christian pretended he was sleeping the whole way to practice, acting like he didn't want to go. To check, I would say "There's a train!" to which he would sit up quickly, only to realize I was joking. When we got there, he didn't want to leave the car, claiming he was tired. He eventually got out, and reluctantly walked to the practice area and sat down. After about 10 frustrating minutes, Christian went ahead and began participating, and ended out having a great practice. His coach, Graham Fletcher, does a wonderful job instructing the children, teaching them simple instructions and basic ball skills; all in a fun and enjoyable manner. Team pictures were taken at the end of practice. Christian smiled the whole time as parents took pictures. Some children didn't really want to have their picture taken, and one child never made it into the photo. I felt bad for the father, because he came prepared with his expensive photo gear. I know how I would have felt! The practice concluded with a hand pile and raised them up with all of them shouting "Thunder!"

CLICK HERE to view all the pictures!

Reagan at One Year of Age

Today is officially Reagan's birthday. It's hard to believe it's been one year already. It seems like yesterday she was born. Which leads me to tell you the story of her birth. :o) When Rhian was pregnant with Reagan, she wasn't due to deliver until the end of July. On Saturday, July 6th at around 7 PM, I got up to make dinner. As soon as I did, Rhian said that she thought it was time to deliver, because it felt like her water had broke. She called her mom (Madre), who used to be an RN, who told her to take her time, that if she wasn't having any contractions, she was okay; and to make sure she didn't do anything that could cause infection, due to the fact her water had broke. (We still think she did this in hopes she could deliver Reagan at home, as she did Christian-You know it's true Madre! ;o>) I digress. I was excited, because it looked like we were going to have a child born on the luckiest day of the century, 7-7-7. We got to the hospital around 9 PM, and Rhian still hadn't gone into labor, and hadn't dilated too much. Karen came by a little after 11 to pick up Christian. I went downstairs with the both of them to give her Christian's bag. I called up to Madre to tell her that I still hadn't had dinner, and that I was going to run over to Wendy's across the street to get a Frosty and a baked potato. She said that would be fine, that they were just now giving Rhian her epidural, and to take my time. It was now about 11:50 and I headed over. I placed my order and everything was going smoothly, as there was only one car ahead of me. Ha! Madre called to check on my status, and to tell me that Rhian was getting ready to deliver. I told her I should be done in a minute, and I would be back soon. She said to hurry. Well, unfortunately, the people in front of me ordered more food after receiving their initial order. Madre called me once again to check on me and tell me Rhian was going to deliver any minute. I told her I was about to get my food and would be back quickly. She said with a nervous laugh (at least it sounded like it) that I was going to miss the delivery and hung up. I then knocked on the cashier's window to see about getting my food because my wife was now delivering. Now, anybody with common sense could have easily weighed out the cost of seeing their daughter's birth. It was easily worth more than $2, the cost of my food. Well, I got my food, rushed out, caught a light, ran it, and sped back to the hospital. I rushed up to labor and delivery to see Reagan's head crowning. I didn't miss it! Our beautiful daughter greeted us at minutes after midnight. Rhian had barely been in labor for 2 hours, and we barely got our 7-7-7 baby! Karen would joke that if I had missed it, Reagan's name would have been Wendy, to serve as a reminder to me!

Reagan's First Birthday Party!

(July 6, 2008) Though it started out stormy, Reagan's birthday turned out be a very nice occasion and finished up with the sun in the sky. It's hard to believe Reagan is already a year old! We celebrated her birthday a day early since her birthday is on Monday. We invited friends and all of our family to join The Reaggie in her celebration. She got plenty of gifts and even got to put her hand in two cakes! (She put it in the wrong one the first time). She really enjoyed herself, and got really happy when everybody sang Happy Birthday to her; like she knew it was for her! She spent the entire time walking around socializing. She really loves this walking thing! Christian had a great day too. Our next door neighbors Tom & Becky Stonecipher brought Christian a gift as well, so he wouldn't be jealous or feel left out. Christian and his friend Reese Mueller got to pic blackberries in the back yard and of course played with Christian's trains. Both him and the Reaggie had a wonderful time! Of course I took plenty of pictures! Believe it or not I only took 63. Seriously! :o)

CLICK HERE!!!

Saturday at Lake Jackson

(July 5, 2008) My friends from Armstrong along with the Bates family and our family spent a wonderful day out at my parent's house on Lake Jackson. It didn't look like it would be a good day when we left the house, as we drove through a severe storm, with the wind blowing the rain and trees horizontally. We would drive out of it and enjoy the day at the lake, though storms would threaten, but never materialize. Bill and Mark would take out the Sea Doo's for a ride, then after they were done, then Kyle (with his friend Brian), and I would take them out. I took my first spill on the Sea Doo, as I was trying to catch Kyle and Brian on the faster Sea Doo. I hit a swell at 50+ MPH, which threw me sideways and off the Sea Doo, and according to Karen (who saw it all) I would flip across the water for about 20 feet. Dad would dive in to rescue me, but fortunately I was okay. I would get back on the horse and speed off, in a futile attempt to catch Kyle. We would later enjoy good food, good drink, a ride on the pontoon boat, and good conversation, (as is always the case out on Lake Jackson :o>).

CLICK HERE for pictures!

Braves Game on the 4th

(July 4, 2008) Rhian and I would join up with our friends Bill and Sandy, and Mark, Bonnie, and their daughter Shelby for the Braves game and fireworks show afterward. Mark had extra tickets that he kindly shared with us, due to the fact our friend Lemon (Leamon Johnston) couldn't attend. The Braves were on a 5 game losing streak coming into the game, local hero Jeff Francouer had been demoted to Double A, and his replacement, Jason Perry, who would hit a triple, driving in the second run, made his major league debut. We brought the Braves good luck (along with great pitching from Tim Hudson) and the Braves won 6-2. We had perfect seats for the fireworks, sitting directly opposite the display.

CLICK HERE to enjoy the pictures!

The Peachtree Road Race

The 4th of July got off to an early start as usual for the Sharp family. My parents, Karen, her friend Kevin, Kyle (surprise!), Rhian's mom, Rhian and I all met up at my dad's house at 6 AM to do our annual run of the Peachtree Road Race. This would be my dad's 31st Peachtree in a row! We arranged transportation so that we would have a car parked at the finish to take everybody back to their cars at the start. After 2 years of leaving my change of clothes in the car at the start, I finally got it right, and left them in the car at the finish. Turns out I got it wrong again! (As you will soon see). I barely met up with my friends with whom I played soccer with at Armstrong State College, Bill Cobb and Mark Dempsey. I found them with less than 5 minutes to go amongst a sea of runners in Time Group 1B. We would run together for nearly 5 miles, knock out sub 9 miles for the first 4 miles. We would struggle a bit and run a 10 minute 5th mile. I was starting to fade a bit, having run the triathlon 6 days earlier. I was hoping to make it to the picture taking spot. Due to the fact that Piedmont Park was closed to the Peachtree due to the drought, we were forced to turn onto Juniper Street and finish on a hill. I had told Mark earlier to go on ahead after we had our picture taken. He said we will all finish together. Bill had gotten slightly ahead of us after 5 miles as Mark and I ran together. I felt better going down the hill on 10th Street, looking forward to catching Bill and have our picture taken together. As soon as we turned on Juniper, all I saw was a long hill and no picture taking scaffold. I told Mark to go, because there was no way I could run, let alone keep up on the hill. Mark and Bill would finish together in 56:34 and I in 57:49. I would eventually meet up with everybody under the "S" in the missing persons area at the Civic Center. To our surprise, Kyle had finished in 66 minutes, which is great for someone who didn't really train! Everybody else would finish up healthy. Now comes the part where I got things wrong. Two miles into the race, I realized that I locked up the keys to my car (parked at the finish) in my dad's car (parked at the start). After I had finished, I ran into my friend Rico Dorsey and asked him how he was getting back, trying to perhaps get a ride. He said he was taking MARTA, and I told him of my plight. He asked if I had money to ride, which I didn't, and he gave me $20 to help. Turns out I needed all of it, as my dad, our friend ....., and I would end up catching a taxi to the start, as 1000's of people were heading to the MARTA station. Next year, I promise to get it right! :o)

Scenes From Our House

I've had several opportunities to take some nice photos over the last couple of days here at the house. On Sunday, we had strong storms move through right before sunset. After they had passed, the sky glowed in an almost eerie, yet beautiful color of orange. It looked as if there was a fire off in the distance. There was even a rainbow, though it was tinted in orange. Today, while looking out the window of our office, I spotted a deer grazing in our front yard. For the first couple of years living here, we would never see deer near our house; because of our dogs fenced in the back. This year we have had quite a few deer sightings, especially in the woods behind the house. We even saw 6 deer feeding together several months ago next to the fence in the back. Today was the first time I spotted one in our front yard. Rhian believes these are deer that have grown up with the dogs being around, so they are used to them and aren't fazed by them. It's nice to be close to the airport, downtown, and yet get these views!

CLICK HERE to View Pictures of the Orange Sky

CLICK HERE to View Pictures of the Deer