More Family on Video & the Post About the Wedding...FINALLY

The videos keep coming...

Brad Benson (the first person interviewed) is my step-uncle...my new stepdad's brother (sorry if that is at all confusing...divorce unfortunately complicates families).  But this is a good complication...

My stepdad, Todd, is a great guy...he truly LOVES my mom & REALLY cares for her.

Watching a parent get married can let loose a TON of emotions...

Di was chatting with me a few hours before the ceremony while David Hartcorn was taking pics of my mom & Todd.  Di, seeing my nerves start to get the best of me, kindly asked how I was feeling about the day & I automatically burst into tears.  I instantaneously felt awful that she was thinking she made me cry (Di, it was NOTHING you said...honestly!).  It also didn't help that everything was complicated by a surge of hormones from my monthly friend or that I was hours away from giving my toast and already hours into my Matron of Honor duties & desperately trying in vain to heap any stress that my mom was feeling onto myself so that she could enjoy herself.

I was & had been a wreck all weekend.  I had taken a Personal Day the day before the wedding so that I could come down to SP a few days early to help make up for the fact that I lived over an hour away from my mom & missed out on helping her prepare for everything that a wedding entails (all you married folks know what I'm talking about...SO much planning & effort goes into the few hours that a ceremony and reception last [& it can be EXTREMELY stressful]).

Mine & Thew's wedding was thankfully so fun to plan & we were so sick in love and anxiously excited for all that marriage would bring for us that the time flew by (of course, the time from when Thew asked me to be his bride to when we said "I do" was only 4 months) and before we knew it, we were in the car on the way to our hotel from the reception with the wind whipping through our hair and trying to not get nervous for what lie ahead (again, all you who waited for your wedding night know EXACTLY what I'm talking about).  I have never acted like an awkward child in my life more than I did in that car...it's comical thinking back about it, but at the time the elephant-in-the-room-thing had never been more real & things had never been/have been more awkward between us since then.  If someone had been videotaping us, it would have been hilarious.

I digress...so I'm standing there watching this place...

...and suddenly the emotion of the day gets me.  A flood of memories rises to the surface of my strong, held-together exterior (at least, I'd like to think I'm strong) & I can't stop the tidal wave of tears that are brimming in my eyes.

This is my mother, who nourished me & ever so gently took every precaution necessary to make sure that as I grew in her belly, I would be safe, so that she & my father wouldn't lose me like they did their first child only months before.

This is my mother, who has lost countless hours of sleep so that I would be fed, held, changed, & sung back to sleep to grow up cared for.

This is my mother, who scooped me up, kissed the bangs, bruises, cuts, dislocated & broken bones, and stitches & held me until my tears stopped flowing after the many falls I have taken.

This is my mother, who when my family was almost killed in a car accident when I was little, braved the pain & fought through her body's will to remain unconscious so that she could carry my screaming baby brother from his car seat to the ambulance that was waiting for him & her...on a broken ankle, no less, that would leave her on crutches for weeks & my dad in bed while my grandparents took care of us since my parents were so injured.

This is my mother, who patiently waited while the ungrateful teenager that I was cursed, kicked, & fought tooth-and-nail to break every single rule that she & my father had put into place for my protection.

This is my mother, who stopped everything to rock me to sleep in high school when the guy I had been dating for over a year broke my heart for the last time while my tears dried on her and graciously forgave me without hesitation for all the unmentionable things I had done/said in the months previous to her & my dad.

This is my mother, who with my dad, spent innumerable hours in the car to watch almost every single game I have ever played in my athletic career...who proudly walked out onto fields & courts to smile for pictures with me at half times of all my senior games for field hockey, basketball, & lacrosse.

This is my mother, who leading up to my own wedding, patiently waited for my anger to subside after she asked me if I was sure I wanted to get married only months after turning 22, knowing all the challenges that being married right after college brings firsthand...even when you are getting married to the person you know without a doubt will be the only one for you, ever.

Only 28 years before, almost to the day, she had been getting married to my father...making the same vows I would make, not knowing that decades later she would sign her name on documents that would end that vow.

Divorce, to put it mildly, SUCKS (& I HATE using that word), but it does.  But again, it happens & is even necessary and Biblical in cases like what happened to my parents...but that's not why I'm writing this post...

Wow, I'm REALLY digressing today, aren't I?

I'm writing this post because, Mom, though I will never know everything you've done for me, even when I am a mom myself, I'm so THANKFUL...utterly & continually THANKFUL that you, above all things, were BRAVE ENOUGH to have the conversations with me that few dared to because you loved me more than just to stand by & watch me enter into something that would take more effort than I ever imagined...indescribibly rewarding effort, though  :)

To CHALLENGE ME to think...

...to SUPPORT ME NO MATTER WHAT...

...to BELIEVE IN ME when I was blinded by doubt...

...to (no matter what I thought at the time) KNOW WHAT WAS BEST...

...I am THANKFUL...

And on today, the 4th Anniversary of this day...

...I want to say thanks...

...thank You to the most important man in my life...

...& thanks to the 2nd most important man in my life...

...& thanks to the most important woman in my life...

...I hope this simple phase suffices...

thank you  :)

Love ALWAYS,

Lyns

My Little Brother Likes to Wrap...I Mean, Rap

My just-turned-25-years-old little bro, Scotty (errr, I mean, King Tut), just posted this on Facebook (if you're not my friend, feel free to friend me...if I know you, of course).

This is him in the green...yes he does have a little girl's bow in his hair.  Actually this girl's little girl's bow.  Her father is on the right in the gray...

Another viewpoint...with my littlest bro 2nd from the left in the black t-shirt.

Yes, both of them are available bachelors, ladies...but you have to go through me first  :)

WOW...pretty funny stuff  :)

You Know You're From Severna Park When...

Found this on Facebook today...oh, wow (read on prepare to get slapped in the face with memories)

You Know You're From Severna Park When…

 

1. Seniority is the only rule you live by

2. Annapolis will never be boring & is known to you as “Naptown”

3. You correct people who say Anna-Pole-Liss

4. People respect you for working in Glen Burnie…because you are not dead

5. You know at least 5 people who own a boat and at least one who owns a yacht

6. You know Benfield Road like the back of your hand

7. There is no Rt. 2, only Ritchie Hwy

8. You debate whether you should go to the Annapolis Mall or Arundel Mills to see a movie & you know how to get to both…within 20 mins.

9. You know your way around B-More, vaguely

10. If you don’t have a car, you know you’re not staying put because almost everyone else does

11. Its not blue & yellow...its blue & GOLD

12. You hate Broadneck but don’t know why

13. You have a membership to both Blockbuster and Hollywood Video & you know someone who works at one or the other…& before there was Blockbuster or Hollywood video you remember Erol's Video

14. You are aware the Severna Park & Millersville are different places but don’t care

15. “You want crabs hun?” is not a weird or sick phrase

16. You pronounce "Bowie" BOO-ie not BOW-ie or BAUW-ie

17. 1 hour is an easy commute to work

18. You know the rules to lacrosse because you or half your friends have played & you can tell if someone is a player or not by looking at their hair

19. You can tell the difference between the smells of septic & marsh

20. You not only know how to eat hard crabs but you also know how to catch them, cook them, & tell the males from the females

21. You still root for the Orioles even during the seasons when their record is awful

22. You'll never understand why tourists come to D.C.

23. You still can’t believe that SP native, Steve Wojo, went to Duke & is STILL to this day, coaching there...traitor

24. You know the difference between Glen Burnie ghetto & Catonsville ghetto

25. During the summer, you spend more time in Ocean City than at home

26. You sail, or know about 5 people who do

27. You know a couple people who received a very nice car on their 16th birthday

28. It is a fact that the SP Band is a cult.  There is nothing more to discuss

29. Predictions of snow close your public school

30. HFStival was THE concert event of the year

31. Half of your community goes to private school

32. You know the difference between the 495 & 695 beltways & where they go

33. You go to or have thought about going to College Park (where most people would end up), Salisbury, Towson, UMBC, or any school in the Carolinas but remember Mr. Haus encouraging all the boys to go to Hood because of the female/male student ratio

34. You know that Impulse is a good magazine & you could bribe your friends who took Journalism to get you into The Talon in some way during the year

35. Wendy’s is the best fast food place around

36. You think that Giant is the best florist in the area

37. There is a minimum of two liquor stores within a 5 min drive

38. You know that the guitarist of Good Charlotte graduated from your school but you don’t really care

39. You’ve been to Arlington Echo at least once in your life

40. Popped collars are nothing new

41. Minivans are all over the place

42. Anne Arundel is the best county.  Why…because you live there

43. You can’t understand people who are afraid to cross the Bay Bridge

44. The death of 99.1 WHFS made you either outraged or shed tears

45. You can get pizza from a different place every night of the week

46. You know all of the attractions that SP has to offer so you go to Annapolis

47. You've planned one or two weekends of March to tailgate for Rock & Roll Revival, whether part of the cast/crew or friends of cast/crew

48. If you were ever a senior at SPHS, you know that the most legendary class was AP Psych with O’Boyle.  And if you didn't go to SP, well you still probably heard about O’Boyle

49. Lil Shelton & Andy Borland are household names

50. You remember when Good Charlotte played at the Shore Acres Club House

51. You remember the beginning, and the end, of the SP Field Hockey 4 year win streak

52. You remember ESPN covering said hockey team

53. You believed the rumor that Mrs. Gable's husband left her for another man

54. You remember D Hall before the Science renovation

55. You actually knew the Billy Martin (Good Charlotte) and the Hutchinson Brothers (Fools & Horses) as students

56. Birkenstocks and Doc Martens were the crown jewels of footwear

57. The computer lab had Windows 95, and that was high-tech

58. You did research in the library using microfiche

59. You had Anita Clark for English class when she was about 23

60. You remember the Blizzard of '96 for getting a week off school in January - but not having exams pushed back

61. You went to the Community Center when it was the YMCA

62. The names Beth Ballasic & Barbie Morgan are etched in your brain forever

63. You know exactly what a goober is/was in Coach Joyce’s gym class & you are/were very familiar with the term GET OFF THE NEW MATS

64. It’s a great day when you have toilet paper, soap, & paper towels in the bathroom

65. Thursdays were turkey & gravy day & Earl stating the event throughout the day with ''Whooos hungrrry!?''

66. You remember Glenn Mueller doing the F-A-L-C-O-N cheer at EVERY football & lacrosse game

67. You know that Cantler's is the best crab house in the state & probably the country

68. "Brang it" was printed on the back of your football shirt (love ya, Coach Hines)

69. Mrs. Mueller & Mrs. Harper were the best RnR costume ladies EVER

70. You remember the “Sprint Workouts” of the track team & were sooo thankful you decided to participate in another sport when you saw them on the track doing that workout

71. Coach Joyce's name was “Dinosaur”

72. Even your teachers say the word "gay" as an insult

73. Two words…Vera Bradley

74. You think its hilarious that yet again some genius has licked a herd of gummy bears & graciously tossed/stuck them all over the ceiling

75. You knew that the Old folks home behind the Library used to be a party spot

76. You knew of the "Rasta Spot" which is now part of bluff point

77. You where there when the B&A bike trail was just dirt trails & railroad tracks & know the Hall's house in Round Bay used to be a train station

78. You remember the Severna Park Mall…what girl didn't get her Jordache Jeans & Jams from Jean Scene…being on the waiting list at Caldor for a Cabbage Patch Kid…Sound Odyssey was where you bought tapes (that's right I said TAPES)…going to the Candy store for a soft pretzel & Giant for Zinc pink lipstick…Horn & Horn Smorgasbord where you thought the petrified desserts looked good…the ear piercings at the place you know sold bongs & probably other things in the back of Greene's Jewelry store

79. You can make it home from downtown Annapolis to Berrywood in 8 minutes

80. McDonald’s was the place to hang out when there wasn't a party going on...then you made the parking lot the party

81. your bus driver blasted 98 Rock where Stevie Nicks' “Edge of Seventeen” played every morning

82. It was sooo easy to sneak out for lunch at the high school

83. You could go to Naval Academy socials & get served beer at 14 years old

84. You remember the Jumper's Hole Road dollar theater

85.  You know why AACC is known as the 13^th grade

86. You know what bottom paint is & how many colors it comes in

87. You've ice skated on the Magothy or Severn River

88. You partied on Dobbins Island

89. You know why Port Wine is Red...Red Right Returning

90. You know what months oysters & crabs are in season & care

91. Fishpaws...need I say anything else?

92. You know exactly what day it is for spirit week & know that everyone dresses up yet doesn’t feel stupid

93. You know who Mr. Powell is & he has yelled at you

94. You know what the "bowling alley" is

95. You know the secret 3rd floor of the high school & about the pool on the roof

96. Old Bay is either your life or you hate it because its on every dish you've ever eaten

97. You know where Chartwell, Chartridge, Shipley's, Brittingham, etc. are

98. You have walked to McDonalds after school

99. You have been jealous of the people on the Academic Athletes Board because your grades are just as good & you play a sport, too

Because I Secretly Wish That Jason Bateman Could be my Older Brother...

Thanks to my former SU college roomies, especially Jenny (though not technically one of my college roomies, she is in my heart), I LOVE the show "Arrested Development."  Unfortunately, I never got into it until after the show went off the air.  In this day and age, I don't know how a genius show like that isn't still on with all the completely pointless & overly violent/sexualized stuff that's on TV nowadays (except for "Lost" [you can attempt to catch yourself up with this amazing show here], of course & "Project Runway" [b/c I still have such good intentions of actually removing the sewing machine I got for Christmas over 3 years ago from it's still wrapped up box...sorry, Mom]).  Thanks to Hulu (though not too much thanks...I have wasted many an hour on that website) I've been able to watch all the episodes whenever I want to catch myself up on this awesome sitcom.

I digress...so I found this online tonight while celebrating some me time with my Mac since Thew has already left for the Brunner's Shabin/Cabin in WV with the rest of the husbands.  We wives will be joining them shortly, but for now I'm relaxing at home  :)

Anyways, for those of you that knew me as Lynsey Bateman, I have always secretly wished that Jason Bateman could be my older brother.  I totally would've have been cooler in high school if that was the case, met some awesome famous people, & been able to go to amazing movie premieres.  All well, at least I have two wonderful-beyond-description little bros  :)

So, if you have 3 minutes, click this & get ready to laugh your head off.  Of course, you probably won't get most of the jokes without some "Arrested Development" background knowledge, but that's okay...it's still funny  :)

Enjoy & have a good weekend.  I sooo plan on doing that myself...starting right now  :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day...Here's to Finding the Leprechaun :)

I seem to be posting a lot of video's these days & I don't foresee stopping anytime soon...especially since it's this video below & because this is waaay more entertaining than me giving you a Fohner Fam Update.  I promise one is coming soon  :)

It never ceases to amaze me what local news will report on.

Happy St. Patrick's Day...or as I wrote to my littlest bro, Patrick, this morning, "Happy Saint's Day to you!"

He's Got a Plan

Because I'm a mommy to this almost 3-year-old...

Because there's nothing like watching this to remind you that there is Someone bigger than us out there...

Because when bad things happen, He ALWAYS allows good to come out the bad...ALWAYS (Psalm 145:9)... 

Because I needed a reminder of that after this past week...

I thought I'd share this...

The Name Game

Got this from one of the sis-in-laws (thanks, Shan)...thought it was interesting & funny, so here we go...

THE NAME GAME

REAL NAME:

Lynsey Ann Fohner

WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother & father’s middle names …or vice versa if you’re a guy...)

Ann Scott

NASCAR NAME: (first name of your mother's dad, father's dad)

William William (that doesn't sound very redneck)

STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name)

Fohly

DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)

Yellow Polar Bear (that leaves a weird image)

SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, town where you were born)

Ann Annapolis

SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink, add "THE" to the beginning)

The Blue Diet Pepsi (villains, feel free to run amok...oh, I'm shaking in my boots)

FLY NAME: (first 2 letters of 1st name, last 2 letters of your last name)

Lyer (don't like the sound of that)

GANGSTA NAME: (first 3 letters of last name plus izzle)

Fohizzle  (ha-ha...remind me of this...

actually, it doesn't...I've just been waiting for months to share that pic & haven't had an excuse until now)

GOTH NAME: (“black” or “dark”, and the name of one of your pets)

Black Aslan (well, that's actually true)

RISQUE NAME: (name of your favorite perfume/cologne, favorite candy)

Romance Peeps

For Tif...

with love from Fred-neck to Guam...

We miss you!!!

We're Still Alive...Something Funny to Prove it

Okay, I know it's been a while...no particular reason.  I've had way to much fun reading other people's blog's than posting on mine.  But since my little bro's gotten back into it, I figured I probably should, too.

While procrastinating from grading tonight the following was something I stumbled upon.  If you have 90 seconds and need a laugh, I highly recommend it.  It takes a lot for me to laugh really hard out loud when I'm in a room by myself & something needs to be downright hilarious to make me laugh so hard that Thew would hear me from downstairs.  This is what caused it...