Fourth of July

Hope everyone had a wonderful Fourth of July!

Welcome Baby Troy

Alexis and Jeff (one of Brett's brothers) had their third boy, Troy Thomas Fleming on July 3rd. He was born around 3am, delivered by the nurse because he wasn't waiting for the doctor to arrive. 7lbs 15oz. He shares his birthday with his Grandma Fleming. We're all so excited to have him join our family.




Check out the crooked nose, don't worry Troy, it'll straighten up!

Bryson Swings

Bryson's first time on a swing.

Firefighter Funeral

We went to a firefighters funeral this last week. He was a good friend of dad's and they worked close together in their firefighting career. It's hard going to one of these. The things these men see, and the situations they're put in together, are hard to imagine. When these big, tough, burly men get up to talk about one of their own who has passed, there's not a dry eye in the room.I thank God every day that my dad is sill with us. That he always had a guardian angel protecting him and the men that he lead. My dad has been through more than I'll ever know. He survived a war, and then went on to continue helping his community as a firefighter. Dad, you've made a daughter proud. Thank you for all you've done for us.



The Last Alarm
My father was a fireman, he drove a big red truck
And when he'd go to work each day he'd say "Mother, wish me luck"
Then dad would not come home again until sometime the next day
But the thing that bothered me the most was the things some folks would say
A fireman's life is easy, he eats and sleeps and plays,
and sometimes he won't fight a fire for many, many days
When I first heard these words I was young to understand
But I knew when people had trouble Dad was there to lend a hand

Then my father went to work one day and kissed us all goodbye
but little did we realize that night we all would cry
My father lost his life that night when the floor gave way below
And I wondered why he'd risked his life for somone he did not know
But now I truly realize the greatest gift a man can give
is to lay his life upon the line so that someone else might live
so as we go from day to day and pray to God above
Say a prayer for your local fireman
He may save the ones you love


So after all that, you need a sense of humor. (I edited out some of them).

You Know You're A Firefighter When...

1. ... You refer to a car fire as a “car-beque.”
2. ... You think Backdraft is a comedy… wish every fire I was on had no smoke!!
3. ... Every vehicle in your family’s fleet have the little fire helmet sticker on them
4. ... When you get pissed watching other cars ignore an apparatus going code 3.
6. ...If you’ve ever made a campfire and told everyone, “Trust me, I work with fire everyday; I’ll get it to light”
9. ...When you drive down a major highway and you can recite what type (make and model) of car hit what tree.
10. ...If you leave your house to drive 30 minutes to another town just because they have a working fire just so you can say, "Yeah, I was there."
15. ...Your wife plays the TONES just to get your attention!!
16. ...You are constantly looking for a switch to speed up your dash light on your P.O.V. when it never really slowed down.
20. ...You have ever run out of the diner across from the station when the tones go off without paying.... Yelling back to them, "Ill be right back!!"
25. ... If you have ever not been able to sleep because you have a feeling that "big one" will occur tonight!
30. ... You can hear that the siren will go off even before your dog does.
32. ...You have ever stomped out a fire with your boots because you couldn't wait for water.
35. ...You had to extricate someone by cutting the car doors off on one side and realized there was nothing wrong with the doors on the other side.
36. ...You have more toy fire trucks than your kids do.
37. ...You take great joy in smashing the windows of a car parked in a fire zone or in front of a hydrant.
38. ...You can tell what type of fire it is by the smell of smoke 10 miles away.
39. ... You have ever had a heated debate over the color of firetrucks.
40. ...You lay out your clothes from that day so if there is a call at night you can find them quickly.
41. ...You carry enough in your car to extinguish a minor blaze.
42. ...You take pride in the fact that you haven't washed your gear in years.
43. ...All the shirts you own say you are a firefighter.
52. ...You carry a ton of specially modified tools in your pocket (including D sized batteries).
53. ...You ever cursed out someone for Armor-Alling the seats to make them look nice.
57. ...You have ever walked 3 miles into the woods in 100 degree heat in full turnout gear and a 5 gallon or more water can strapped on your back just to put out a fire.
61. ...You have ever spent 10 minutes trying to force open a door only to have someone come along and open it by turning the handle.
62. ...Your work gear makes you sound like Darth Vader. (Luke, I am your father....)
63. ...You roll around in anything that just burned to make your new gear look old.

Photo Shoot

There's a new model in the family.

Ella's Birthday

This weekend Bryson was invited to his first birthday party. It was for his friend Ella, who will be turning one. This is her, a cute little redhead, with her mom Joy.

Here she is with her dad Chris, and Brett with Bryson. doesn't Bryson look cool with his sunglasses? Yes, Chris looks cool too :)

Since it was a carnival theme, they had a watermelon eating contest...

a cake walk where bryson won a cupcake (and enjoyed it very much!),and a dunk tank where all the kids cooled off. It was a great party!

Ella was a sweet birthday girl. She let her two older sisters and many nieces, nephews and friends help her with her presents. She also enjoyed this wonderful red velvet cake.

Thanks Cottrell's, for inviting us, we had a great time! Now we can't wait until Bryson's birthday.

Office Fun Time