From 1995…

This deputy was my cousin. I was only 13 at the time. Sometimes it feels like another lifetime ago. Some days, like the day the overturned the death penalty earlier last year, it feels like yesterday.

The Georgia Supreme Court reinstated Monday the death penalty against a man convicted in 1997 of killing a Baldwin County sheriff’s deputy.

Robert Wayne Holsey, now 41, is back on death row for the 1995 killing of 26-year-old deputy William Robinson IV.

Sheriff Bill Massee said he is pleased with the decision and that Robinson’s murder had a huge impact on the community.

“It was a very personal case with everyone involved,” Massee said. “Everyone in the community has watched this case closely.”

Robinson was killed in December 1995 while trying to arrest Holsey
in connection with an armed robbery. Holsey was found guilty and
sentenced to death in 1997.

Last May, Superior Court Judge Neal Dickert of the Augusta Judicial
Circuit overturned the death sentence, citing ineffective defense
counsel. The judge ruled that Holsey’s defense did not go far enough in
detailing his troubled family background or mental health issues before
the jury.

In the appeal, evidence was submitted about the defendant’s “limited
intelligence, his troubled and abusive home life, his positive
contributions at home and elsewhere, and his mother’s and sister’s
mental health issues.”

But in a unanimous decision released Monday, the state’s high court
ruled that the additional information wouldn’t have made a significant
difference in the case.

Frank Robinson, William Robinson’s brother, said he was ecstatic
about the reinstatement of the death penalty for Holsey. He said
waiting for a resolution in the case has been difficult, but not as
difficult as not having his brother around.

“He was an all-American guy, I guess, smart, fun to be around. He was a good friend and a good brother,” Frank Robinson said.

Massee said William Robinson’s death was like the unexpected loss of a family member.

“The loss is not only immediate, but it is a continuing loss,” he said.

Fred Bright, the Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit district attorney, said
if the Georgia Supreme Court had not reinstated the death penalty, his
office would have retried the case.

Holsey can file several other appeals, which could take years to
resolve, said Russ Willard, spokesman for the state Attorney General’s
Office.

The Associated Press
contributed to this report.
To contact Tim Sturrock, call 744-4347.

William Edward Robinson IV

Here we are 11 years later. Our justice system is working. Snail’s pace, but it is working.
http://www.willrobinson47.com/

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memory monday

Feb 22

Posted by: Rachel in: blog, caleb isaiah, memories, memory monday, parenting

So this kid does indeed have a little memory bank up there… I’ve probably told him 100+ times in his life what a cow says. Not one single time has he ever attempted to repeat what I say. He either looks blankly at me, or keeps looking at the picture. But the sponge is working. I know it. Tonight he comes walking by me with a little stuffed Gateway cow that I bought years ago because I thought he was cute. He points to the cow’s mouth and clear as day says Moooooo. I was of course delighted. Then he put the cow in time out and ran off! Love this kid!

Edited to add: Yes I realize that the 22nd was a Thursday. I created ‘memory monday’ when I transitioned to the new blog address, thus throwing off day of the week for this entry, but I thought it belonged in the category anyhow. :)

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I love, love, love this video. I think he was about 6 months old. I love how I ask him what he is supposed to be doing, and he flashes that award winning grin. Then I tell him he’s supposed to be napping…and he sort of cuts his eyes off to the side, as if to say ‘oh. yeah. yeah. BUT, look how cute I am!’ as he looks back at me grinning from ear to ear. One, okay two of my favorite things about babies…their adorable, precious, cute little feet…and their toothless grins. I love the little gummies. In some ways, I can’t wait to have that again. The endless nights and breastfeedings…maybe I can wait a tad longer.

Childhood. Being a parent. It is such an amazing thing, it almost makes me sad that I will only experience it, God willing, two or three times. I wish I could just have kids until I couldn’t have any more. But then I wouldn’t be able to take care of everyone. Well I would. Somehow. But you know, I wouldn’t be able to spend as much time with each one as I would want to. But it is just such a precious gift. To become a parent. There could simply be nothing on Earth more rewarding, challenging, classically beautiful, cherished, and downright incredible. I feel like I won the kid lottery. I’m so lucky.

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flunking motherhood

Feb 19

Posted by: Rachel in: blog, caleb isaiah, parenting, rants

I have been feeling unbelievably down lately. I don’t know what’s up with me. Okay I do. But I refuse to go to another doctor that I don’t feel connected to and spend the next two years trying different combinations of antidepressants, only to gain more weight. SO. That being said…I’m just in a real slump. I’m not motivated. I’m feeling like a bad mom today. I just don’t have the patience that I should. I yell at the dog. I get frustrated way too easy with Caleb. I went to the store tonight, after spending much of the day pouring over The Toddler’s Busy Book. I gathered up many supplies in order to follow some of the activities listed in the book. We’re starting with something easy. I plan to do at least one activity a day for the next month, hopefully more. So after breakfast, wish us luck with our “Tape Town.” We will be clearing a spot on the floor with the leaf blower, front door wide open by picking up the toys and putting them away, and putting down a road/parking lot/building system with blue painters tape. Then we’ll drive cars through the town. I figure he should enjoy this activity because he loves cars. I will be making colored rice during naptime…won’t that be interesting. And I’ll be attempting to photograph our activity a day, as well as blog about it that evening. We are forming a good habit here. Yes. I can do this. I’ll end with a mother’s prayer:

Dear Lord,
So far today I’ve done all right. I haven’t gossiped, I haven’t lost my temper, I haven’t been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or very indulgent. I’m very grateful for that. But in a few minutes, Lord, I’m going to get out of bed, and from then on, I’m going to need a lot more help. Amen.

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It is too early and for whatever reason I cannot think of any clever theme between these happenings, but I simply want to record them before I forget…

The way your little mind works never ceases to amaze me. The things you can remember…wow. Yesterday you carried around a Hot Wheels Nascar that we accidentally stole from the church nursery when attending a wedding. Charley and this car went everywhere with you. At some point last night, you got the car stuck in your bedrail. We have that million piece “travel” snap-together bedrail that I have never put together without reading the instructions. The cloth is made of mesh and thin nylon, and there are pockets everywhere for different poles to go through. This morning, you suddenly remembered your little car. You enlisted Charley’s help by putting his foot in the palm of my hand and having Charley “pull” me out of the chair. You ran in your bedroom and started tapping the bedrail. I told you there was nothing there, and started to walk away, but you persisted. Sure enough, after investigation, there was your Hot Wheels.

So I blow dry your hair. It is just one more thing we can talk about in therapy years from now. Seriously it cuts waaaay down on the bedhead. I swear. Anyway, when I’m done, I pick you up off the toilet, where you stand, and look in the mirror. I just need to admire the handywork your dad and I made. Seriously, I still ask myself…did we really do that? Is he really ours? Cause man he’s cute! hahaha So most times I point in the mirror and say something like ‘look at that cute baby!’ On this occasion, you pointed at yourself in the mirror and said “Aaawe.” I just burst out laughing. You made a funny. You laughed at me laughing at you. Classic.

I can’t begin to say how cute it is to watch you clop around the house in my tennis shoes (always on the wrong foot). And to watch you run…priceless. Especially when wearing your birthday suit. You just run full speed ahead, like there is no tomorrow, and don’t even know where you’re running to…you’re just running.

You love to include Charley. Charley reminds me of the Velveteen Rabbit. He is a real toy. He is loved beyond words. We went out to eat for Valentine’s Day. Before you colored on the window, threw everything under the booth on the floor, and threw a bag right in the middle of my food…you were coloring on the children’s menu. There was a huge dinosaur scene printed on the paper. You would take a crayon out of the cup, place it carefully against Charley’s foot (the front one I may add), and help Charley to color on the picture. You changed colors over and over. Charley would drop the crayon back in the cup and you would help him get another color. You are our Valentine.

Lately you have been all about the snuggles, especially when you wake up from your nap. You need some time to wake up good. You whimper and fuss until I pick you up, and then everything becomes okay. You nuzzle your head into my neck and we curl up tight and watch whatever happens to be on Noggin. I kiss your cheeks over and over. You never seem to mind, and even offer them up for me to kiss some more. I wonder if I’ve kissed them a million times yet. I would tend to think yes.

I saw a report on the local news the other night. A little old couple was celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary. He said “I love her more today than I did yesterday. And I’ll love her even more tomorrow that I did today.” How beautiful. And what a true way to describe children as well. I think about how I felt when you were born. Of course I loved you the moment I saw, and long before I saw you for that matter. But I think about how I love you now. I could not imagine missing a second of your life. It makes me breathless. And I know I will love you more tomorrow than I did today.

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catching up

Feb 11

Posted by: Rachel in: blog, caleb isaiah, memories

Every day a new subject has popped in my head, but I have not had time to sit down and write about any of them. In a rare occurrence, I woke up on my own at 7am! So I am stealing a few minutes before Dad and Baby awaken. Here’s the latest:

Little Man

Sometimes I get blindsided by what a little “person” you have become. I know I still baby you, and I will for as long as you will let me. But when I see you biting your nails, I just have to laugh…we don’t know where you got the habit from! Neither of us are nail-biters. Yesterday was an interesting day. A true hearted toddler day. You cried over everything. You would get mad and throw books on the floor or knock over containers with a million toys in them. One tantrum came as a direct result of taking the leaky cup of water away and replacing it with a non leaky cup of water. I was at the end of my rope when I smelled the second *diaper* of the day. Just as I began wiping, I heard Scott yelling. I hurriedly finished with you and plopped you on the floor diaperless and went tearing ass outside. I thought for sure I would find Scott with some broken limb, having fallen 10 feet off the ladder where he was working. Nope, he just needed the hammer. Sure enough, I came back inside to find you had peed in the chair. I put you in the bath tub just for a few minutes of sanity. Just another day in paradise.

The Building

And then there’s the storage building. A LOT happened yesterday. Scott put the walls and roof trusses up yesterday. He had them all ready to go, and they had been stacked on the “floor” covered with a tarp. We were waiting to get plywood to “dry in” the building (put a roof on it) and avoid any warping. It was amazing to see so much change yesterday, every hour brought another wall, or a roof. It is really looking like a building now, I can’t wait until it is done! It will be so incredible to say “we built that.” And by “we” I mean Scott! He has worked so hard, he says he’s having fun, I hope so! Anywho, here are the pics:

And last but not least…The Weight

Scott took a picture of me at the car show we went to last weekend. It was devastating to be honest. I can’t believe I look like that. I can look in a small mirror and convince myself otherwise, hiding behind baggy clothes. But my head looked tiny on top of my huge body. I feel awful. So I am embarking on my third weight loss journey. Hopefully to be successful this time. Pray for me. And there will be no picture with this entry :(

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holy declutter mode

Feb 02

Posted by: Rachel in: blog, caleb isaiah, memories, rants

So I decided a little tidying up was necessary today. Okay not really. I just got really really mad, and you’d be amazed and how quick and efficient one becomes when angry. The day started off pretty normal. We went and ran some errands in town, we were gone about two hours. On the way home, Caleb fell asleep over near Greek Row, coming through campus, literally about two minutes from the house. Well he decided to substitute a five minute nap, for his usual 2 hour nap. Travis took the cake though, by shitting all over the back porch. I was thrilled to say the least. Toddler went in playpen. Dog went out. I…well I cleaned. Like never before. I was throwing things away left and right. I was actually very wasteful, but I just can’t have piles all over needing to go to goodwill or needing to be sold online, etc. I just needed it gone. Period. So things are a little neater now, and I have a tad more room. I also decided to convert our hanger collection to all plastic. There is nothing to make me irritated like a big pile of wire hangers. They drive me insane. Plastic ones don’t tangle as easily, so plastic it is. I was surprised to find that after throwing out a bunch of old and tattered clothing, I had nearly enough plastic hangers for everything. I have about 20 things left on wire, but they are low access items…meaning they are not frequently used.

I even tackled the kitchen cabinets and threw out old stale crackers and such. I found three jars of leftover baby food. The little guy was not impressed. The minute amount that was eaten was globbed on to goldfish via a slinging spoon. Oh, what flavor, you ask? Banana Apple Yogurt. On flavor blasted cheddar goldfish. A delectable treat.

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