Send James to NYC for the Firefighter Stair Climb!

Yesterday James texted me a link to the NYC Firefighter Stair Climb and said he wanted to go. I laughed. The climb is on March 16th, there was no way we could go to New York in less than two weeks. Clearly he'd forgotten who he married. I'm the kinda person who plans everything out in advance.

But after I got home last night we talked about it in more detail. That's when I realized how much he really wants to do this. So now we are going to try to make it happen, but we do need a little help!

First, let me tell you what this event is. The NYC Firefighter Stair Climb is New York City's first annual stair climb for firefighters only. 100 firefighters from around the country are going to come together at the World Trade Center site and remember their fallen comrades while raising money for two very important charities (Friends of Firefighters & Hope For The Warriors). The firefighters are going to climb the 72 floors at 4 World Trade Center in memory of the 343 firefighters who gave their lives to try to save others on September 11th.

James has been participating in the 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb here in Oklahoma City since it began three years ago. We'd only been dating a few weeks when I woke up before dawn to head downtown to watch him participate in the very first one. We were engaged by the time the second one rolled around, and we were married by the third. (Read my blog post about it here.) And now, a month before our first wedding anniversary, we are headed to New York City so he can participate in the first ever stair climb at the new World Trade Center.

Every year he has climbed here in OKC he has carried the names of fallen firefighters with him as he went up each and every flight of stairs. He plans on taking those names with him to NYC and climbing for them there, right next to where these men and women actually gave their lives.

I don't know about him, but I know that I'm sniffling just writing this post. I'm going to be a giant crying mess on the March 16th when I stand there and watch 100 firefighters enter that building to climb in memory of their fallen comrades. And I am so incredibly proud that one of those firefighters will be my husband.

So here is my tiny little pitch: if you have any desire to help get James to NYC for this, would you visit the GoFundMe page and donate something? Every little bit helps. As of right now we've raised about 20% of the goal.

If you want a little background info on James: He has been a volunteer firefighter with the Piedmont Fire Department for six years. (I wrote more about how important volunteer firefighters are here.)  And at the annual banquet last month James was recognized as Firefighter of the Year! Plus he passed his EMT certification exam back in January, so really y'all, this guy has clearly been working his butt off for the fire department. As his wife who often eats dinner alone because he is off fighting a structure fire or helping pull someone out of a wrecked car, I can attest to that.

You should also know that his friends will probably tease him mercilessly for this post. But hey, he's my husband and I have to brag on him occasionally ;)

And regular readers, don't worry. I will be back to regularly scheduled programming tomorrow!

Previously on Mrs Robbins Sparkles...
 

What I'm Into: September Edition

I say this every month but really, that flew by. Between my 10 year reunion, a whirlwind trip to Dallas, and our busy season gearing up at work, it was a crazy month. Yet here we are. October.

On My Bookshelf: For full details on some of these books, check out my September Twitterature post. The rest will be featured in October's Twitterature post, But overall in September I read Dragonfly in Amber, Voyager, the Red Queen, the White Queen, Heart of the Matter, and The One & Only. I may need to force myself to take a break from the Outlander series for a bit so I can get through my library stack which includes The Dinner, My Life in France, Where We Belong, and The Astronaut Wives Club. Then again, I just ordered the first 7 books in the Outlander series...I've been borrowing them from the library, but I know I will be rereading them so I went ahead and picked them up on Amazon! You can buy the 7-book Kindle bundle for $49.99 but I bought the paper back versions. Actually, I bought all 7 paperback books for less than the cost of that e-book bundle, so you might want to think about that before you buy ;)

On My TV: I'm so excited the fall TV has finally arrived! I am a couple of episodes behind in Outlander but I have planned a full on marathon for this weekend. (It's opening weekend for deer hunting here in Oklahoma, so I'll have the house all to myself.) I am also excited to get back into Scandal, the Big Bang Theory, and a few other favorites. James and I did watch the premiere of Chicago Fire together, but that's about all the new TV I've seen so far. The only other shows we really watch together are Criminal Minds, Big Bang Theory, Buying Alaska (a "reality" tv show about buying property in Alaska) and Rehab Addict (Nicole Curtis restores old house and we love it). Other than that our DVR is pretty divided. And I didn't watch many movies in September, but I am so ready to see Gone Girl!

On Me: At the beginning of last month I ordered some new items from Old Navy during a Labor Day Sale. I ended up keeping three wrap dresses that I can wear to work, along with some work out gear. I wore the dress below yesterday and received tons of compliments - it might be my new favorite.

In My Ears: Podcasts. Oh so many podcasts. Plus an epic high school reunion playlist. It's over on Spotify if you want to check it out. Lots of memories brought back by some of those songs!

And Blake Shelton's album came out yesterday! Loving it, especially Bringing Back the Sunshine. Maybe because the video is just a drive around my hometown. Literally. Seeing all those familiar streets and buildings...I might have teared up when I saw the video for the first time. Maybe.

In My Belly: This past weekend I was in Dallas and got to eat at Pappadeaux, Breadwinner's Café, and Café Brazil so it was a banner weekend for me! Café Brazil might be the restaurant I miss most, the hashbrown casserole is amazing. Breadwinner's is always a good bet for brunch, I had the Farmer's scramble and it was delicious. Pappadeaux was wonderful as well; I had jumbo sea scallops that were great, but the lobster bisque was really the best thing I ate that night! The weekend before I was in my hometown for my high school reunion and got to eat the always awesome fried zucchini at the Quart House. I used to dream about that fried zucchini (really, I did) because it was nearly a staple of my diet as a kid. There used to be a restaurant called Bandanas, and my family would go there often. I think we went after every single dance recital, and I associate those fried zucchini sticks with happiness and tutus. That restaurant closed years ago, but the Quart House opened last year and brought back those zucchini sticks of happiness.!

Other Important Stuff:

Survived my high school reunion. It turned out great! Loved seeing some wonderful old friends. Went to the Aziz Ansari show. It was hilarious. Plotted some upcoming girls' trips (DC and Vegas!). Can't wait. Went to Cabela's for the first time. My husband loved it (wasn't his first time). I smiled and nodded. Attended the Stair Climb for the third time. It was moving. I got bangs. Two weeks later they might be driving me a little crazy. Hoping a trim will get me back to loving them. Killed a house plant. Here's hoping the rest live to see November. 

And now I'll leave you with some pictures from September. It was a good month, but I'm excited to see what October has to offer!  

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#NeverForget: 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb

The past three years I've watched James participate in the OKC 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb. The first year I went with him was the first year of the event in OKC. It was a pretty amazing and humbling experience watching all these local firefighters climb for their FD brothers who were killed when the Towers fell. These local firefighters climbed 110 floors in honor of their fallen brethren.

The building behind James is the First National Bank Building. They climbed it multiple times until they'd climbed the 110 floors. Please excuse the flag pole coming out of his head!

That first year James was the only one from his department to climb. Because they had such a small number of participants, he climbed for multiple FDNY firefighters. (He still only had to climb 110 floors, but he carried the names of multiple men.)

The following year two more firefighters from his department joined him, and it seemed like a lot more people participated. The crowd in Leadership Square were the ceremony took place was much bigger than the previous year.

The crowd in Leadership Square

After the ceremony was complete, the firefighters made their way to the building. It was chilling to watch the firefighters line up and march while bagpipes played. 

This year there were five people from James's department climbing. And for the first time there were 343 firefighters signed up to make the climb. That meant that each firefighter climbed for one person. Each firefighter wore the name of someone who died on 9/11 around their neck. 

I took a picture of each of our firefighter's name tags. They climbed for Andrew Jordan - Ladder 132, Michael Kiefer - Ladder 132, Thomas Mingione - Ladder 132, John Vigiano II - Ladder 132, and Christian Regenhard - Ladder 131. These aren't just names on a lanyard. These were men who gave their lives thirteen years ago. They died trying to save others.

This year it was raining the morning of the climb, so everyone gathered in the lobby of the building. Bagpipes played, prayers were prayed, and the firefighters waited patiently for their turn. They climbed the 110 floors and then returned the accountability tag featuring the fallen firefighter's name to the board. 

It is always a moving experience. Each year is different but I hope we are here every year for the foreseeable future. It is an honor to watch these men and women honor those who gave it all on 9/11.

On a lighter note, local meterologist Emily Sutton sang the National Anthem before the climb. She's engaged to a firefighter and this is her second time at the climb. I had no idea she could sing but she was pretty great! Plus she is super nice, I chatted with her briefly while I took pictures. Here's a video I caught of her singing and the crowd during the anthem.

These stair climbs honor the first responders who gave their lives that day. But today, on the anniversary of that dark day, let's remember everyone who was killed in the acts of terrorism against our country. All the men and women who died not only in the Towers, but also in the Pentagon and in the Pennsylvania field. Not to mention all the lives that were subsequently affected by the ensuing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 9/11 is a dark day indeed, and I pray that we never forget.