'Tis the Season...

It's not surprising that the week before Christmas is so hectic, but the reasons are anything but expected. Last Thursday we left town and went to Foley, AL to visit my Dad and Dianne for the Holidays. We were able to see several people that we have missed since we moved back to Anniston. We watched some Holiday movies, played some games, went to the Bass Pro Shop that Daddy was dying to show the kids, and of course opened presents. I got to fried pickles from Bob Baumhauers that I have been craving for a year and they were soooooo good. Sunday morning we were depressed to hear that Auburn had hired a new head coach and Jonathan was not feeling well. We made it home and everyone just vegged for the rest of the day. Jonathan went to the doctor Monday morning and had Streph and bronchitis. When I got home from work I had to go pick up medicine, go to the store and get Jonathan his soup, apple juice and banana pops, and get Taylor to her first basketball practice by 4:30. We got home, ate diner, went to the store to get Jonathan pizza, because that is what the sick boy wanted, and got the kids in bed.
At around 9:15 p.m. we received a phone call that a Taylor Bowers, a17 year old girl from our church, had been struck by a car and was killed. Taylor was the daughter of Andy and Tammy Newsome and the sister to Tristian, age 13, and Andy Reagan, age 11. Her Uncle Kenny Wright, the youth minister at our church, Aunt Jennifer and cousins Tripp, Spencer, McKenna, and Corbin are like an extended family to my children. God has been working on my my heart all week through this situation. My prayer is that Taylor's life will be a witness to those huring friends and family that she left behind. They need the peace that only God can provide.
Through all of this sorrow life must go on as usual; basketball practices, church, housework, and school. With the chaos of life and it being 70+ degrees outside, it just doesn't feel like Christmas this year. I am hoping that this weekend will be full of friends, family and new memories.

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A Much Needed Vacation

I know that it has been a couple of weeks, but as usual life has been busy. Life has been so busy that we decided that if we were going to get to enjoy a weekend without him getting called into work, we were going to have to get away. Jonathan found a neat little cabin at Little River Canyon right outside of Desoto State Park in Mentone, AL. We drove up on Friday night just bubbling with excitement. It was cold out side and the leaves were at their peak. The children were all bundled up in the back seat with their pillows and blankets, and jamming to The Jonas Brothers on the MP3 player. Once we got to Fort Payne the owner said that he would just meet us and we could follow him because we would never find it in the dark. It was about a 20 min. drive curving and going from paved roads, to gravel road, to dirt road. The cabin was so nice and cozy. It had a large fireplace, two king sized beds, a full kitchen, charcoal grill, and Jacuzzi tub! We unloaded the car and went back into town to get some groceries. We went to bed early since we were going to be dong so much walking the next day. Saturday morning I got up and Taylor and I cooked breakfast. We had bacon, link sausage, eggs and homemade blueberry pancakes. I felt as if they would have to roll me around the canyon after that meal. We headed out right on schedule but still not fast enough for Jonathan. We drove around from one scenic overlook, to another, to another. We stopped at one place that had huge boulders everywhere. Tanner talked some man into helping him get on top of the boulders and he had some much fun running from one to another one. Tanner was truly in his element.

The last overlook that we stopped at had a trail down into the bottom of the canyon. We hiked down this beautiful wide trail with benches about every 1/3 of the way down. The bottom was so beautiful. The kids found out that they could flip rocks over and lizards would run out. Jonathan and I, exhausted from the walk found some big rocks on the side of the river and enjoyed watching the kids. Tanner decided that now was the perfect time to pay his dad back for scaring him during Halloween. He tried to keep his cool as he carried a lizard over to his dad who is slightly afraid of them. Trying to keep a straight face he threw it on Jonathan who took it like a pro. Of course, Taylor follow behind deciding to follow in Tanner's footsteps. Tanner climbed on the rocks and decided to cross the river. He did eventually slid in, but only got his shoes wet. After some other hikers who look fairly serious walked up we thought it best to start the hike back up. I quickly realized why they put benches on the trail. It was to give people break so that they didn't have a heart attack. None of us were prepared for the hike. Finally we made it back to the parking area. We must have looked as rough as we felt because the guy who was walking towards the overlook asked us "You didn't just get back from the overlook did you?". We went into town to eat at Cracker Barrel, the perfect place to eat when you are in the mountains. When we finally got to the cabin that afternoon, Jonathan and I were ready for a nap and the kids were still fired up. Tanner was content to sit and watch Man vs. Wild and I thought this was the perfect time to show Taylor how to make friendship bracelets. The kept them both busy enough that we could take a nap. We got up, drove down to Desoto Falls for a few minutes. We stayed in for the rest of the night. Jonathan grilled us some pork chops and we had baked potatoes. We played Pass the Pigs and Jonathan rolled a double leaning jowler. I have only seen this once before. Then we played Skip-Bo and Tanner ran the table. I was glad to have him as my partner. We got up the next morning and went to Chattanooga to see my brother, sister-in-law and my precious nephew, Gray. We went to the Children's Discovery Museum which was really neat. It was nice to get to spend some time with them. Gray is so sweet. He never cried the whole day. He is just content to sit and look around. We made it home by bed time. It was a relaxing and much needed trip. Now when life is hectic I just look at my pictures of the beautiful trees and take a deep breath.

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Our Halloween Adventures

Halloween morning started off with a bang! Jonathan woke up and was still running a fever after two days and decided to go to the doctor. The children were running around getting ready for school, excited to be wearing their Tye-dyed Halloween shirts that they made themselves. I was fixing Taylor's hair and she started complaining that her throat was kind-of sore. I explained to her that since she sleeps with her fan on high and her mouth wide open, that the air will dry out her throat and make it sore. A few minutes later she said that her stomach was hurting, which I chalked up to the fact that she could remember the last time that she went to the bathroom. Then when she started saying that her eyes were getting blurry , being the compassionate mother that I am, I turned her around so that she couldn't see herself in the mirror anymore. Those of you with girls all understand that little girls see themselves in the mirror as an actress on the Big Screen. Then she started swaying in big circles saying that she could help it, and then hit the floor. I got her up and everything calmed back down, but she was running a fever. So now Taylor and Jonathan were both making a trip to the doctor on Halloween. Taylor did well at the doctor, having to take blood and getting a penicillin shot. Jonathan also had to give blood and get a shot, but did not do so well. When they took blood from him, he passed out. He said that he was out for a good 10 minutes. He would wake up enough to tell Taylor that he would be fine and then his eyes would roll back in his head and he would be out again. Taylor was hugging on the nurses, crying, and thinking that her daddy was dying. Taylor had strep and Jonathan had strep, a sinus infection, and an ear infection. They both got their shots and left. The good news was the doctor said that they should be fine to Trick or Treat which was good since we had about 30 people coming to our house for a bonfire. by party time Jonathan felt okay, but Taylor was still running a fever. She had to stay inside all night and cried almost the whole time. So Jonathan, being to fantastic father that he is, set up a mock Trick or Treat for the kids on Monday night. Tanner was Harry Potter and Taylor was Cindy Lou Who off of "The Grinch". We took them to the grandparents, great grandparents, and some of our best friends houses. It turned out to be a good night. Dad saved the day again!

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Weekends

At what point in our lives do weekends become more work than the work week. When I was young the weekend seem to last forever. I always felt so rested by Monday and ready to start my week. The weekends used to consist of going to ballgames, watching TV, hanging out with Friends, maybe going shopping, going to church, and the wonderful afternoon nap. Now the weekends are full of grocery shopping, house work, shuttling my children around town, staying up way too late, getting up way too early, still going to church, but also teaching Sunday School, children's church, and small group. I am now more exhausted on Monday than I am on Friday. I want to go back to the good 'ole days when I didn't need to accomplish anything on the weekend!

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We're rich

Amanda has been trying to get me to blog but haven't felt it until this week, so here I go. This past week started out like most other weeks, hating working and looking forward to being with our friends. Amanda told me that we had been invited to Troy and Amber's house to hang out with them and feeling the spirit of the fall brisk air, I suggested a bonfire and hotdog roast for the kids. Done!!! I was so excited, looking forward to that night was the highlight of the week but woke up Friday morning feeling depressed due to the rainy conditions. I had high hopes that the rain would stop, but at 3:30 it was still going strong. My day was crushed. I know it sounds stupid, but the things I look forward to the most are being outside and sitting around a campfire with my kids and friends. Now the fear of cancellations started to become a bigger reality. Who would want to go now. At 5:30 we started on our way to pick up the kids from my mom-in-laws (who is awesome) and then to Troy's house for the Debbie Downer party. As we pulled up to the house, Casey and Jessica's car was there and I was surprised to see that Ryan, Jennifer and Shane's cars were there as well. They didn't cancel! As we brought in our goodies, I opened the backdoor to a group of strangely dressed people yelling surprise. I was completely confused by this point and wondered why I wasn't invited to dress up. It was several seconds later that I heard someone say "Happy Birthday". Who's birthday is it I asked? It's your's. ???????I had completely forgotten about my birthday coming up and was floored that I had friends that would put so much time and effort into these parties. I can't begin to describe the outfits that were displayed for the 80's theme night but I do have photo's. We sat around and ate for a while until a special visitor came busting through the door, Troy the Rocker sporting a AC/DC outfit complete with mullet. Instead of a cake, there were two bowls of candy. Amber did fix me an individual halloween colored cake with sour candy stuck all over. Standing there holding this cake and wearing the ridiculous outfit that my wife had bought me to wear, ( oh yes, I had to dress up too) it was a nice realization of how rich my family is with friends this great. This was absolutely one of the best birthday presents I've ever had.

Blog 1...done

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For better or for worse

Saturday was a day filled with excitement and wonder. The smells of grass, crisp air and BBQ filled the air. As I sat in Auburn University right behind Stanford Hall, I watched thousands of people passing by in all shades of orange and blue. Children were running by with painted faces and ribbons and streamers hanging from thier hair. Footballs were flying through the air, loft by people of all sizes from small children whoses dads were teaching them the "art" to older men who feel missed their chance to be the Heismann Trophy winner. We walked around and went into different bookstores filled with excited consumers digging for just the right token to take home with them. The streets were filled with automobiles with window painted and flags flying high. We even saw a few automobiles that were painted orange and blue with tails and flags and anthems playing loudly over the speakers. As we entered the stadium you could sense the anticipation in the air. "War Eagle" cries were bellowing form all directions. As we climbed to what felt like the top of Everest, we sat and watched as the show began to take shape. The band entered, the eagle flew, the smoke came out of the tunnel, and the football was kicked off with a booming "Wwwaaarrrrrr Eagle, hey". We were not dissappointed in the first few minutes with a returned kick for the first touchdown. We sat in amazement at the array of people, men and women, boys and girls, young and old, drunk and sober! At the half we were still leading even though we only had 77 total offensive yards. But in true Auburn fashion, the second half took a turn for the worse. We couldn't do anything right. The stadium that was once filled with "Bodda getta, bodda getta" now was filled with boos, mostly directed at Chris Todd. As we came to the realization that we were not going to win this game, our attention turned to looting! We stayed behind gather left cups, fans, ponchos, popcorn tubs, and shakers. By the end we had a large orang trash bag full of goodies! We had to leave that stadium knowing that we were not the Auburn team that we had been in the past, but our heads were high because we now have enough cups to last us until we come next year and hopefully get to roll Toomers Corner. And all in all I rather be a Tiger at its worst than an Alabama fan at its best!

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Hair

Women, do you ever have those days that you start fixing your hair as usual and suddenly you hate it. I don't mean that you just don't like it I mean hate with the intensity of wanting to just shave it and start all over. These days are dangerous and usually cause you to do something drastic. This day for me was yesterday. I was getting ready to go to the dreaded fall festival. I haven't been able to go to the school yet this year and really wanted to look descent. I was having a hard time striking that balance of "She looks like she has it all together" and "Wow, a little overkill to be working in a concession stand." I was working on my hair and decided that I needed some bangs or something small just to get me by until I could get a hair cut. Surely a few bangs couldn't be that difficult. Well, I had been wearing my hair pulled back in a ponytail all day, so when I cut the bangs they stuck straight out! I tried wetting them, straighening them, curling them, and finally just tucked them under the rest of my hair. Running late now I gave up on what I was wearing and just threw on some clothes, threw on my "good" tennis shoes, and off it went. Needless to say I called my hairdresser as soon as I got in the car and got my hair cut at 6:15 last night. Now today I experienced a whole new frustration, trying t make my hair look like Angela made it look!

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Fall Festival

I cannot think of anything that I want to do less that work at the Fall Festival at the kids school tonight. And to top it all off, our class is in charge of the concession stand. I don't even know where the concession stand is going to be, so I am going to have walk around the whole school like an idiot looking for where I am supossed to be and then try to figure out what I am supposed to be doing. I hate nothing worse than going into a situation that I don't know what to expect. At least I am working it from 4:30 to 5:00 and most of the people will not be there yet.

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Welcome to Kughn Watch

I promise that your trip to this blog will not disappoint. There is always excitement in the Kughn family. We are known for our strange experiences and unbelievable stories. Last night was no exception. The children and I were working on some Halloween crafts and I was cooking dinner when Jonathan got home from work. I decide to venture out and try a new dish, Sesame chicken with brown rice pilaf and stir-fry. The rice was still kind-of crunchy so I thought that I would cover it with plastic wrap and pot it in the microwave to try to steam it. I took it out of the microwave and let it sit for a minute. When I pulled back the wrap steam poured out and burned my fingers on my right hand. I immediately put some cream on it, finished supper and we all sat down and ate. The chicken was good, but the dang rice was still crunchy. After we ate, Jonathan took the kids on a bike ride, an off road bike ride. There is a steep hill that he and Tanner had ridden down before and he couldn't wait to take Taylor, our thrill seeker. Jonathan came back a few minutes later with the welcome of "Get the peroxide". She had an accident going down a steep embankment and got all tangled up in her bike. Taylor walked in with scrapes on her forehead, nose, elbows, and a huge skinned knee. So much of the skin was gone that Taylor said that it looked like raw steak. Needless to say there were many screams when the peroxide did make an appearance. My favorite statement came from Tanner, of course. He said "Taylor, I'm sorry that you got hurt, but that was awesome!" The silver lining, she already had an appointment to get a haircut today to get some bangs, so the scrape on her forehead will be covered up.

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