We're Back!

Wow! Is all that can be said about our restful vacation. We had a blast! The food was great, the service was excellent and the pool was nice and chilly! The good thing is the weather was great. It stayed between 80 and 85 the entire trip and the lows at night were in the 70s. The ship itself was incredible, the room was a little small and for everyone who knows us, you know were not the smallest people in the world. But it wasn't too small for us to complain about it. Most of our time was spent by the pool, being waited on hand and foot. I was able to read, and take naps right there on deck 11 while Madi swam all day. Did I say all day? Yes, the last full day on the trip we stayed by the pool from 10:30 to 6. Thank God she was wearing sun screen! Lee and I got in with her a couple of times, but she made several friends while swimmimg and they stayed busy while we relaxed. We also ate so much that I think I gained 10 lbs. There was food from the time we woke up til the time we went to bed. It was incredible. As far as the islands we visited, we made port in the Bahamas at Nassau and Cococay. We got off the ship in Nassau and looked around a bit and that is where Madi got her hair braided. Nassau was OK. We didn't hang around long there and we then went back to the ship and back to the pool. We were having so much fun doing that we didn't even get off in Cococay! Madi ask if she could just swim all day and Lee wanted to lounge around, so that's what we did. It was the best vacation gettaway I think I have ever taken. So, that means this will become somewhat of an Alfano tradition and I don't see it being to far off from our next set sail!!!

Hope you enjoy what photos I did take. I am just not one for carrying a camera around with me all the time. Enjoy!

Happy Halloween!!

I hope everyone had a good time on Halloween. I know I did. We got to dress up at work and we had a blast, as you can see above. We also had a great time at the fall festival and I can't wait to do it again.

The above picture is myself and Shaundrea, and we wanted to be two of the nuns from Sister Act. Of course she is Sister Mary Clarence and I was Sister Mary Patrick. Hope you enjoy!

FUN, FUN, and More FUN!!

We are having a Fall Festival/Trunk or Treat at the church on Halloween night. We are going to have a Moon Walk, Cotton Candy machine, games, and lots of CANDY!!! We want to invite everyone we know to come out and have a good time. If you would like to stop by, shoot me an email and I will give you the directions (It's not hard to find). You can email me at work or at the church, stacya@fultonsprings.com. This event will be held between 6:30pm & 8:30pm. Any questions, let me know!

One Month & Counting!!!

Ya'll it is getting close and I can't beleive. Exactly one month from today we will be boarding a plane heading to Florida to get aboad the Sovereign of the Seas!!!! Above is a picture of the main pool deck.....Now picture me, book in hand, lounging/releaxing by this pool! Wow, unbeleivable!!!!! Oh....yeah...Madi and Lee are excited too!!

I Love You All!!!!!

Let me first apologize for just now putting this out here. I have had a really hard time trying to figure out how to say what is in my heart, so here it goes......

As most of you already know I resigned from my Sunday School position at Calvary Hill. I personally want all of you to know that this decision was not made lightly or in haste, and it was one that I prayed over for a long while. I also want you to know that this could not have been a decision I made within myself. Not only would I not want to disobey the Lord, but I also love my church family too much just to leave on a whim. It was however extremely hard to pick up the phone and give something back that was given to me so lovingly. I want thank all of you who felt I was somewhat good enough to teach such vulnerable minds. With that said, I know that God has led me to this new destination in my life, and I thank Him for allowing me to spread His good news through song. Everyone that knows me knows that I love to sing, and if I can help bring one more soul to Christ in this ministry, than I know my journey has been well worth it.

Paula, please tell Jacob that I love him so much and please don't be mad at me. Let him know that I miss seeing his little red head running past me while I'm singing, him always asking if he can color with markers instead of crayons, and listening to him say the Lords prayer. Let him know that I will be back to visit. I know he is in such wonderful hands now and I am so thankful for that.

I truly LOVE you all and I will always keep each and everyone of you in my prayers! Please keep me in yours!!!!

Hope to see you all soon!!!!

Stacy

Little Man Has Grown.......

not only in our hearts, but in size too!!!! Take a look at these two pictures. The first one was taken on 7/8/07 and this one was taken last night 9/7/07 (The dates on the pictures are not correct for some reason). WOW is all I could say. It is so amazing how fast they grow. I have also included some additional pictures to look at. Enjoy!!!

New Addition to the Family

Hello! Just wanted everyone to see the new addition to the Alfano family. We have not fully decided on a name, but for now I call him Little Man! Once I saw him I fell in love with him. Enjoy the pictures!

Sleep Clinc

Well, I have finally figured out what is wrong with me......

Last night I went to a sleep study to see if I possibly had sleep apnea. Well the conclusion is I do. The doctor showed me some graphs in regards to the test this morning. He pulled up two five minute periods of my sleep session. During the first five minutes there were eight times when my breathing was abnormal. The second five minute graph he showed me was with the CPAP machine on. There were none! The graphs are amazing, if you want to see the difference let me know. From about 1:30am to 6am I wore a CPAP and I must admit I felt really good when they woke me up. So, the sent me home with a CPAP machine to try out. Now it is not the most beautiful thing you've ever seen when put on, but let me tell you it helps.

This will be a burden in some instances such as traveling or sporadic overnight visits. The one thing though that the doctor did say was that not everyone has to continue using the CPAP. While most people I have talked to have been using theirs for years, there are those whose apnea has went away. Most of the time the decrease in apnea is from weight loss.

According to the doctor my apnea is not as severe as others. I did not show any signs of complete blocked airflow causing me to stop breathing, but my airflow was severely obstructed. Obstructed enough to cause me not to intake sufficient air, making my body work harder and therefore having a rather restless night.

I know that at church I stated that I would not claim this diagnosis, but I have to believe that the Lord has allowed me to use this as a way to better my health. When talking to the doctor he stated that trying to lose weight with apnea is really hard to do. Your body, because of sleep deprivation, holds on to everything it can, including food.

So, I have the machine and I will be using it from tonight going forward. I hope and pray that this will help me feel better and more energized.

Keep me in your prayers!!

Singing Time!

This Sunday, June 10, starting at 2:30pm, Fulton Springs Baptist Church will be holding a Wrestling match with fellowship and fun! I will be one of the singers for the day and would love for everyone to come out and have some fun. Trust me when I say the kids will love it! If you have any questions or need directions to the church please let me know and I will provide them.

What to do now?!?!?!?!?

Ok. I have officially gotten my last set of grades and have decided that I am not going to participate in the graduation ceremony. The main reason is that I continuing my education and I will probably walk once I get my masters in......whatever.

See, that is my problem. I don't know what I want to do with my career! I had thought about becoming a teacher (middle school or high school Math) or continue with my current path of criminal justice/psychology. I have no clue which move to make next!

Ya'll just pray that the Lord will open up my mind and guide me in the right direction.

It's OFFICIAL!!!

Last night I completed the last term paper required for my BS in Criminal Justice! I am through!!!!!!! While I still don't know what I want to be "when I grow up," I am sure that the Lord will point me down the right path. This is a milestone for me, as I never imagined being a college graduate. I am still in shock this morning realizing that I have completed a goal that I started almost four years ago. Wow what an adventure.

The thing is, my adventure has just begun. I will either start graduate school or will be getting another bachelors degree in the field of psychology come fall. I haven't made up my mind, but I know something good is brewing. The opportunities are out there and I can't wait to find them.

Keep me in your prayers!

Cell Phone vs. The Bible

This is great! I had to Post it.....Enjoy!

CELL VS BIBLE

I wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat
our cell phone?

What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?
What if we flipped through it several time a day?
What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?
What if we used it to receive messages from the text?
What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?
What if we gave it to Kids as gifts?
What if we used it when we traveled?
What if we used it in case of emergency?

This is something to make you go..hmm.where is my Bible?

Oh, and one more thing. Unlike our cell phone, we don't have to
worry about our Bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the
bill.

Makes you stop and think "where are my priorities?"

And NO Droped Calls!!!

More Softball Pictures......

Here are a few more picutres of Madi playing softball. (I have finally figured this picture thing out!) Enjoy!!!!

Six Flags

We had an AWESOME time!!!! Madi was so excited when she found out that we were going to Six Flags and was even more excited when she saw Meaghan pulling up at the Chevron. Of course they wanted to ride together so they crawled up into Kevin and Michelle's Expedition and we took off. We got there around 9:30 GA time, went to the Hotel, got the parking passes and then walked to the park. After shooting a few pictures at the front gate with the characters the guys & Madi went to ride their first roller coaster for the day, the Georgia Scorcher, while Meaghan, Michelle and myself went to get the FLASH PASH! The Scorcher was Madi's very first roller coaster and she loved it! We couldn't get her to stop! The only ride that she didn't ride with us was the Acrophobia, but I couldn't say that I blamed her, that was a tough ride. We walked around and rode as many rides as we could thanks to "Scaredy Cat" Michelle. Since she didn't want to ride most of the rides, she opted to scan the flash pass for us and we rode more rides in one day than I ever thought was possible. I think the favorite ride for everyone was the Goliath! The biggest roller coaster and the best. I would say that it is the Cadillac of coasters, WOW!!!! We really had a good time and can't wait to do it again!

And They All Came Tumbling Down!!

Well! Yesterday was not a pleasant day at all. While Madi and I were walking out the back door to leave for the morning I, being graceful and all that, fell down my steps. The steps were slick from a thin sheet of ice and I busted it big time!!! Honest to God, I thought I had broken my ankle clean in to. All I know is that my foot went numb and I was about to pass out. Thankfully my precious child was there and she dialed 911. Paramedics got there helped me into the house and since there were no obvious breaks and I wasn't dieing, there was no way I was taking a ride to the emergency room in an ambulance. NO WAY!!! So, Madi called Mom and she came and took me to the doctor for x-rays. Thank God above it was just a sprang.

The dilemma is I have a Six Flags trip planned for Saturday and I am NOT going to miss it. So instead of staying home again today, I got up and came in to work. I doing good and feeling fine. This foot ache will be worked out in no time!!!!

Second Game

Whew! We had our second game tonight and the girls WON! The final score was 14-4. They did so good and I sure am a proud momma tonight!

I will be posting again on Monday with more pictures as my work computer is faster at downloading them. Plus, she plays again tomorrow at noon!

Deposit Made!

WELL!!!!!!! Our trip has officially been scheduled. Instead of going during October we have decided to go the week of Thanksgiving! This is because of Madi's school. If she has four unexcused absenses they will fail her, so in order for us to go this year Thanksgiving will be the only time we have available. Here she is Ladies and Gentleman, the Sovereign of the Seas!

Madi's First Softball Game

Well guys, we had our first softball game last night. Wow was it fun! I love it! Madi did so good and we are all so proud of her. She got to "try" and bat twice. Man that girl pitching against them was too fast! Madi played left field and did an excellent job with getting the back in to the infield. They ALL have a lot of work to do! They ended up losing the game 8 to 3, but man was it exciting. For the first game, all the girls did really good .

It is so funny to know how it feels now to be sitting on the bleachers watching my child play, as my mom and dad did me! Wow it's intense!!!!

Now I know that many of you would like to see pictures, but the truth is I didn't take any last night. I was in such a hurry that I totally forgot my camera. But I will try and remember to get it for Friday night.

BTW - Madi's next game is Friday night at 6pm in Corner. If you would like to come and don't know how to get there just let me know and I'll provide you with directions. This is only a pre-season tournament so there will be many more to be played.

Last First Week of School!

Well this is the start of my final term as an undergraduate of Troy University! Please keep me in your prayers that I will do well in each class and grow with understanding in what I am studying. This term is Cybercrime, Senior Seminar for Criminal Justice and Speech! I really hope I don't have a problem in speech, I have dreaded this class from day one and purposely saved it for last....... Let's just hope it doesn't bite me in rear for doing so.........

I've looked over the agenda for all three classes and they seem to be fairly easy (I hope!). The one I really have to excel in is the Senior Seminar class. This is the dot of the I for all seniors and can be a headache if you are in the wrong class. In all worlds teachers and their style of teaching are everything. In fact, I was going to take this class last term but when I looked at the syllabus I saw that I was going to have to write a 20 to 25 page paper! Oh my word.....I have problems writing a five page paper let alone 20! So, I decided to wait until my final term. As I was registering I saw that there was another prof teaching the course this term and I jumped on that with both feet. This guy only wants a five page paper! If that wasn't God, I don't know what is. God knows how I am when it comes to writing and I know He felt sorry for me.

Anyway, I will keep everyone posted on the progress!

Softball Camp!

What a day we had on Saturday! This past Saturday Madi and I spent half a day at the Triple Play Sports Academy in Cullman. It was great! She got a lot of one on one help and I have already seen improvement in her playing skills. They really have a good program there and I highly suggest them to anyone playing softball, baseball or football.

Madi's second practice is Thursday night and she is so excited. We have finally found something that she really enjoys doing.

Don't fret........ I am still trying to upload my pictures from the first practice. There are some really good ones. Her first attempt at sliding was priceless!!!!

Vacation

I am so excited!!!! Lee, Madi and myself have decided to spend our family vacation aboard the Enchantment of the Seas Ship. This is a Royal Caribbean cruise and we are so pumped! This is will be the first time any of us have been on a cruise so I am looking forward to the adventure. Only to add to the excitement this is the first family vacation that we have been able to take in a long time. As soon as I have some information or pictures I will post it. Bon Voyage!!!

NEW BLOG!!!

Hey Everybody! Here is my new blog. It was a pain in the neck for me and everyonge else, I'm sure, to log in to read my old blog. So, here it is fresh, improved and last-nameless!!!! This should take care of all my worries!! YEAH!!!!!!!