By Laura McAlister Journal EditorIt's been just over two years since their son and brother was killed in Afghanistan, but the Rivers family is still diligently sending care packages overseas.Now the packages are going to young Marines and other soldiers on active duty. The project started as a way for the family, parents Charon and Tom and daughter Rachel, to show … [Read more...]
Puppy Prints
By Laura McAlisterPriya Mittelmark has always surrounded herself with her puppies, so when her daughter was born, it only seemed natural to dress her little girl in clothes with cute puppies on them.The only problem: She could find only boy clothes with puppies. She solved that, though, by starting her own clothing line, and she's helping the furry friends she loves so … [Read more...]
Rising Design Star Finalist Plans a Stylish Career
By Laura McAlisterSince Lauren Reeder was a little girl, she's had a love for fashion.Whether it was playing dress-up at her house or trying on shoes while her mother shopped, her interest in clothing started at an early age.Her high school peers even named her Best Dressed for the yearbook Who's Who for her style, which Lauren describes as "conservative with some … [Read more...]
Mountain Brook Teen Battles Tick-Borne Condition
By Laura McAlisterWhen Mountain Brook High School senior Laura Matthews starts school at Samford University in the fall, she already knows what she plans to study.The teen hopes to be a pharmacist, and she's already gotten a good bit of experience with medications. Laura has to take some 50 pills a day to treat Lyme disease and related illnesses, she said.While the … [Read more...]
Turning the Tables on Her Teens
By Laura McAlister Journal EditorShe may refer to them as trolls and little wretches, but really she loves them as only a mother could.Melinda Rainey Thompson is referring to her teenagers, of course. She has three of them, and the chaotic lives they live is the topic of the Homewood resident's newest book, "I've Had It Up to Here with Teenagers."The book is … [Read more...]