Summer of 2012

Doug giving a tour of the Capital building.  He is talking about the rotunda ceiling which has George Washington and 13 angels (for 13 colonies) painted on it.

Doug and friends waiting for the fireworks on the mall on 4th of July

Bruce and I took a trip to visit DC and got the official Capital tour from an official intern!

Doug came home from Bama on the 12th of May, turned 21 on the 16th and left for DC on the 19th.  He worked as an intern for Congressman Aderholt and had a great time through EPIC ministries and the Navigators.  We went to DC in June to visit him.  It was so hot! but we rode segways and had a blast!

Doug is home now from DC and looking forward to his junior year at Bama.

Dad is doing well.  Got a clean bill from the oncologist.  He enjoys visiting his newest great grand daughter, Scarlett, and hanging out with friends here in Bham.

We are enjoying the summer but looking forward to cooler temps in the fall. 

The beginning of 2012

We had some great times in 2011.  I left home with a suitcase at least once every month. Quite proud of that travel record.  FWB in Jan, San Antonio in Feb, Orange Beach in March, West Palm Beach in April (to see Jimmy Buffet) NYC in May(love it!), Orange Beach in June, Gatlinburg in July, Tuscaloosa in August, Orange Beach in Sept ( I really like Orange Beach), somewhere in Oct that I can't even remember (old brain), FWB in November and Macon, Ga in Dec. Whew! I get tired just thinking of it, but it was a good time and enjoyed all of it. 

Dad is still suffering from the shingles, but it seems to be getting a little better.  He goes to the oncologist for a check up tomorrow.  I'm praying for great news.

Bruce is still at Protective and they seem to be doing well.  Doug is a sophomore at Bama and having a blast.  We enjoyed tailgating so much with our friends of the Shake-a-leg crew.

Dad and a tailgating friend

Me and our Bham friends.

Looking forward to what God will do with all of us in 2012.  Hoping to be able to trust more and worry less.

Doug's Adventures in the Smoky Mountains with the Navigators

Doug spent two months in Gatlinburg TN this summer working at Dollywood and studying with the Navigators.  He had lots of financial and prayer support from friends and family.  It was an awesome experience and he came home more mature and more considerate of others. Here are some pictures that capture some of his experiences.  To all of you who helped, thank you so much!

Doug doing a skit at Nav night.

The Whole BAMAGroup

Doug' shared a room with three other fellows

Doug and BAMA friends.

Alas, we have no pictures of his Dollywood uniform, a bright green shirt, shorts and hat!

He enjoyed his job of directing parking and being the voice of the tram transporting guests into the park.

New School Year-Doug's last

I thought I had posted this, but it went to draft. Love the pictures so I posted it two years later!

Doug is dancing with the Dazzlers at Spain Park! School starts on Aug 12th here and I have been very, very busy getting ready. Last week was registration and this week we are doing a breakfast for the new teachers. I know that the next nine months will go by way too fast. I'm praying that we'll take the time to enjoy every minute. The picture on the left is from first grade.  Who knew what a handsome fellow he would grow up to be.

We are going to U. of Alabama to tour the campus on Friday, we went to UWF, my old alma mater back in May. It is so exciting to see him begin this journey into what his life will become.

Stormy Weather

We are having severe thunderstorms in AL this afternoon.  The thunder is shaking the house.  It surprises me that this house shakes.  Brick all over, but the frame is still wood and you can definitely tell it when the thunder rolls. 

One of my childhood friends' Mother is not doing well.  She has had a long, good life, but it is probably close to over.  She is such a sweet, caring woman.  We use to go to her house after Jr High School and watch Dark Shadows.  She would give us cookies and let us lay on the floor.  She was my mother's great friend.  I know they will have a delightful reunion in heaven soon. 

Doug has been gone since June 4th.  We've talked on the phone and I've seen some facebook pictures of him hiking, but I sure miss him.  He is having a blast and probably doesn't even want to come home.  His apartment at Bama is ready and he will move in there around Aug 8th.

I wish that somehow Dad's shingles could go away.  He has had them since June 15th 2010.  He takes so much medication that he wouldn't need if the pain would just stop.  The doctors (he has seen five) don't give any hope that it will go away.  Most people have shingles for a few weeks or even a couple of months.  Not my sweet Dad.  It makes me very angry that he has to have so much pain every day from something as stupid as chicken pox virus.

The whole political scene is heating up.  Hard to understand why everything has to be so  complicated. Romney is ahead in the polls now on the GOP side. It will be interesting to see who wins. 

Another Great Heen Adventure!

Bruce, Doug and I went to NYC on Wed. June 11th for five days.  Had a wonderful time and saw everything!  Our hotel was on 40th between 8th and 9th Avenue so we could walk to almost everywhere. Got tickets to "Wicked" and "Lion King", had hot dogs in Central Park, checked out the museums and Rockefeller Center, went to the Empire State Building at night, saw the Boston Red Sox Beat the Yankees in the new Yankee stadium, walked Broadway every night and turned my poor feet into nubs!! Below are some of the highlights.

Stardust Diner.  All of the wait staff are entertainers and delightfully talented.

Lion King Costumes were unbelieveable.

Wicked proved to be the most entertaining show!

They have this thing at Yankee Stadium called in-seat service.  You can sit in your seat and someone takes your order for cokes/beer/popcorn/whatever.  Bruce caught up on his beer quota.

We highly recommend NYC in May!!

Bucket List Update

Bruce and I decided that seeing Jimmy Buffett again was definitely on our bucket list.  I called our Jax friends since we went with them to see him the last time he was in Jax.  I'll never forget when Les said, "we've got tickets and we're going to West Palm Beach!" We immediately knew we wanted to "be there, down by the sea there".  Booked a plane and a hotel room and away we went.  The weather was perfect! Warm, but not too hot, breezy with blue skies.  Went to a great restaurant, Guanabuana's, courtesy of our tour guide who definitely knows her way around.  Sat. we toured the beach and got ready for the tailgating.  Got to the amphitheatre at 4:00, Buffett didn't start til  8:30 so we were feeling great.  So many crazy people! Here are some of the highlights.



Guanabuana's (probably not spelled right)



Tailgating



Huge crazy crowd!



The FLoraBama after 30 years

Bruce and I went with some friends to Orange Beach last weekend and had a blast at the FloraBama. I hadn't been there since the late 70's and it has certainly changed.  I guess being wiped out by a hurricane or two will do that.  We stayed at Perdido Key Resort, had a beautiful view and enjoyed the wonderful weather.

Winter Weather

So cold today.  Last Saturday was beautiful, 60 degrees and sunshine.  Bruce and I went to Flip burger and sat on the patio to look out over the valley that is East Bham.  Wonderful!  Today the high is 38 and rain is coming in tomorrow.  All the folks in the midwest are snowed under! 

Have you noticed that you can go from blog to blog and see all manner of different things.  A lot of family pictures, some very crafty folk, one fellow who like to run and became a vegan.  All around the world going from blog to blog.  People are the same all over, love to hear themselves talk!

Bruce and Doug are going to North Dakota next week, hope to have some great pictures of hockey games and the old Alma Mater.  Bruce is e-mailing back and forth to get his old gang together.  Would love to be a fly on the wall for those stories.  Doug is being a great sport about the trip and is looking forward to lots of good UND hockey.

I'm going to visit San Antonio later this month.  Hoping that the weather there is WARMER! Can't wait to see Terri and Pat.

2011 Already

So hard to believe it is 2011.  Ten years since 9/11/2001, seems like yesterday.  Doug is back at Bama, Dad is home in FWB.  Dad still struggles with the shingles, we keep hoping it will go away completely.

Bruce is working hard at year-end closeout.  Working seven days a week gets to you quickly.

I had a stomach virus right after Christmas that was pretty bad.  Still have lingering effects three weeks later. 

We went to see our GA family and had a great time. All the kids have grown up.

All the rhetoric about the Arizona shootings is so disturbing.  It is a tragedy that crazy people do things like that.  Lives are lost and people are injured.  It is terrible.  Why can't we put blame on the person who did this and not try to make it a media event? Why does every terrible thing have to be policital? Makes me sick! I have two thirty year old friends who have just found out their fathers have lung cancer, (different families).  Should we turn this into some kind of political blame game too?  Terrible things happen, the end.

White Christmas in Bham 2010



Doug was examining his new backpack when he turned and said, "Hey, it's snowing!



Doug at the back of the house in the snow.



We couldn't believe that it was snowing on Christmas morning in Birmingham. It is 12:45 pm and still snowing!  The front of our house in the snow!

We've had snow every winter we've been in Birmingham, but it usually comes in February or March.  So unusual to have a white Christmas.  Hope that you and yours are warm and happy whereever you are and whatever your weather. Merry Christmas!



Bruce, Sheryl, Ernie, Doug and Pepper



Doug's First Day at College

I have a picture of Doug on his first day of kindergarten. He is this tiny little boy with a red and yellow back pack looking kind of scared but excited. Well, here's a picture of him when we dropped him off at Univ of Alabama last Saturday. All grown up and looking like he can take on the world. I sure miss that little boy.

St. Augustine Vacation

We had a wonderful time staying on St. Augustine Beach and got to see all of our neighbors from Cimarrone. Doug went surfing and Marsha joined us for a few days too! We all got together at Caddy Shack and celebrated Bruce's birthday a little early. Miss these folks so much. Can't believe how the kids have grown!

Going Away Soon

The day gets closer and closer. We are hoping to have dinner next Wed with all our old friends from Cimarrone. They aren't old, but boy we are. Bruce turns 60 in Sept. Never thought I'd be sleeping with a sixty year old man!

Doug moves into his dorm on the 14th of Aug. I never thought I would be so attached to another human being that I would feel this way. I'm sure it will get better, but ...

Really looking forward to the beach and walking and reading and just being for a few days.

UA Student & Parent Orientation

What a great place to go to college! I went to a very small school U. of W. Florida in Pensacola. While it was only 20 minutes from the beach it also had only 3000 students. Of course, this was in the dark ages so much has changed even there. We went to Bama on Wed and Thur for Doug's orientation and our edification into life on campus. It was exciting and wonderful! The campus is beautiful and big.

They separated us from Doug right away to let him know that he didn't have to hang with us for two days. He went to his programs and we went to ours. They spent a lot of time talking about letting go of our kids. Helicopter parents are not needed or wanted there. I guess I'm not the only one who wants to go with him. One Mom admitted that she was moving to Tuscaloosa to be near her daughter! So, I'm not so bad!

We got to see his Dorm, classrooms and hear professors speak. He got information about how to arrange his schedule and on the second day, got his final schedule from the on-line system. Back in the day, everything was paper and standing in line. No more, all done from a computer that spits out one piece of paper with your 1st semester on it.

We had dinner in the "dining hall" read: cafeteria, but the selections were amazing. There is an oriental station, a southern cooking station and of course a pizza bar. Wonderful barbque chicken pizza. Doug had met an Asian boy and they ate together, so Bruce and I were on our own. My favorite part was the warm apple pie with ice cream, I splurged!

After dinner, Bruce and I were sitting on a bench taking in the people walking by. Doug had gone to a pool party with his new friend, Andy, that was hosted by the welcoming committee. I looked up at a woman coming down the side walk. I knew right away that she was from Jacksonville, Fl. I accosted her with "Where are you from"? She said Jax, of course, so I told her that her son had gone to Swiss Point Middle School with Doug and that I had been Pres of the PTA there during there 7th grade year. She was very nice and her son said he remembered Doug.

Bruce was amazed at the kids and parents we met who said they had been to U of AL once, loved it and just had to go to school there. We met parents from VA, CA, WA, ID and Conn. When they asked for a show of hands of out of state parents, more than half were. It surprised us.

So another great Heen adventure is over, but we all had a wonderful time. Bruce and I are very excited, Doug rolls his eyes, and I have a "BAMA MOM" sticker on the back of my car.

Graduation 2010!!!

Doug and David had a great graduation party and then the final ceremony! We're so proud of you Doug. I remember the first day of kindergarten so well. How could it have gone so fast!

Senior Prom

Doug and Ashlyn made a very handsome couple last night. All the parents gathered at one house to take pictures. It is so hard to believe that all this high school stuff is winding down. I will miss it!

March already?

Dad is doing really well. Got good reports from the hip surgeon and the oncologist. He is back home in FWB and Gail is visiting. We had a great time in Biloxi with Doug's last travel hockey tournament. Got to see Mick and Marlene and enjoyed lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe.

Judy and I went home to FWB for my high school reunion. Had a great time seeing some of my old classmates. Have to say that some had really let themselves go and that made me look pretty good.

Bruce and Doug leave for Lexington tomorrow to SETC. His theatre group will be performing their state winning play in the regional competition. Hope Doug has a great time. Enjoying my new job, lots of flexibility in the hours which helps.

New Year's Eve

Bruce and I were in New Orleans for New Year's Eve and the Sugar Bowl. We found this place on Canal Street where they had many Christmas trees and were making snow. The white dots in the picture are snow! Happy New Year!

Four Days til Christmas

This is Doug's High School theatre group after they won the State
Trumbauer competition at Troy University. They will be going on to the S.E. Theatre conference in March.
Their play is about the holocaust and was written by Mr. Tilton their teacher. It is incredibly moving.

Dad is doing remarkably well. He is four weeks out of surgery and climbing stairs. Spain Rehab center was great and now he has in home rehab with Gary, three times a week. Very happy with his progress.

Doug went to Mobile with Ashlyn and her family and they had a great time. We're looking forward to a quiet Christmas but Bruce and I are going to New Orleans for New Years. Our friend Gail is coming to stay with Dad so we'll get to go to the Sugar Bowl for the first time.