Love means never having to say, "I understand!"

Being surrounded by it, I have come to adore the mystery that is "Little Boys". However, loving it and understanding it are two different things.

Case in point: Matthew has a good friend and teammate who broke his arm a few weeks ago goofing off. Now Matthew and his friends are convinced that breaking an arm is the coolest thing. "You get to have everyone sign your cast!"

Now, Matthew is jumping from the tree in our backyard and saying things like, "I wonder if this will break my arm?"

I have tried over and over to convince him how much he would hate not being able to use his arm for 6 weeks and there is a good chance that goofing off could result in a broken skull. Still, I have spent much of his 6 years trying to keep him out of the emergency room and once Matthew sets his mind on something...

Wish me luck!

OK, I feel like a bonefied pack mule. Bryon hauled dirt well into the evening last night into my vegetable bed. There was a HUGE pile left over. He told me last night that he would put a tarp over the rest and we could finish the job when he got home. He recommended I leave it alone.

This morning when he left, I asked him why he didn't put a tarp on the dirt. He winked at me and told me he knew me and knew that the milisecond he drove off, I would be working on getting that pile of dirt into my flower beds! Oh, he knows me too well!

Six hours of hard labor (thankfully the kids were at MDO for some of it), every muscle in my body on fire, several outbreaks of poison ivy, bruised shins, beginnings of blisters on my hands, and 4 sliced up fingers later, I finished the job! Perhaps not the smartest idea, but once I get my mind set on something...I am so going to regret that decision in the morning!

Last night and this morning

Well, I watched Nancy Grace last night and was extremely disgusted by it. Ironically, I wasn't so disgusted by her. She acted like a feminazi with an agenda, and I would hope that most people didn't put much stock into what she was saying.

What really got to me was listening to Baptist preachers talk about the church of Christ. Calling it everything from unbiblical, unethical, and even cult-like. I grew up in what I would call a progressively minded family. Dad has always been that way and my mother grew up Catholic so things like music in church or women in leadership roles weren't quite as shocking! I was a senior in high school before I ever heard someone ask me if we thought we were the only ones going to heaven! I thought that was the craziest notion I had ever heard. I guess some whacko somewhere stated that is what he believed and our churches have spent decades trying to recover from it.

When I was listening to these men speak, I wanted to shout, "We are not the enemy! We are on the same team! We all believe that Jesus is the Son of God!" I couldn't help but think that Satan was somewhere listening to this exchange with a grin on his face.


On another, MUCH LIGHTER note, I planted my vegetable garden this morning! I love gardening and try to learn something new every year. This year, it is vegetables! Bryon built me a nice raised bed to put on the back of my garden. I went to a local nursery yesterday and bought a truckload of dirt and manure to put in the bed. When they came to deliver the dirt, they could only get as close as my gate. They dumped a truckload of dirt and manure on my driveway and bid me farewell! Bryon and I spent the better half of last night and early this morning hauling dirt into our garden. I couldn't help but wonder if there was a rancher out there laughing that I just spent $100 on cow poop!

I am starting out with tomatoes, jalapenos, eggplant, peppers, zucchini, and squash. Wish me luck!

A disgusting start to an otherwise great day.

This morning, I awoke, sent Matthew and Bryon on their way, and sleepily walked to Thomas's room to check on him like I do every morning. When I got almost to his room, I stopped frozen as pain ripped through my foot. I felt to see what the pain was from and saw a thumb tack firmly embedded in my bare heel. Thomas had been tacking up some of his NASCAR cards in his room and failed to use this one. It took a tug to get it out and I spent the better part of 15 minutes shaking from how gross the incident was! My foot still hurts and I am crossing my fingers that I don't wind up with a tetanus infection on my trip!


The big news last night is that we got tickets to see Barry Manilow! I know this might not thrill everyone, but I am a huge, HUGE fan. He was actually my first celebrity crush. My parents had one of his tapes, and I distinctly remember being 5 years old and kissing this album cover! I still love all of his music, listen to his best hits cd often, and feel incredibly lucky that my first night there happens to be his last performance in this set. Bryon, who amazingly doesn't share my crush has graciously indulged me with great seats. I am so excited!

Last night was Thomas's first T-ball practice. I have said it before, and I will say it again. Watching kids learn to play sports is perhaps the purest form of entertainment! The kids were huddled up with the coaches introducing themselves. Rob and Robby introduced themselves as the coaches. Matthew, who begged me to allow him to "help" interrupted and introduced himself as "Coach Barnhill"! I am excited to watch Thomas learn how to play T-Ball and just as excited to hang out with all my friends on the sidelines!

I am feeling more accomplished today. Most of the laundry is done, bags are starting to get packed, food is in the fridge. Just a few more days!

I just sent in my comment. You should too!

This story has made me sick all day. I am posting the forward I received earlier:


If you were watching CNN Headline News last night (3/27/06), you witnessed a vicious attack on the reputation of the Church of Christ on the "Nancy Grace" segment of the news.

Nancy Grace is a former prosecutor and current host of a CNN Headline News show every weeknight.

Her topic for last night's segment was the shooting death of Matthew Winkler, the Church of Christ preacher in Selmer, TN. She interviewed and showed film clips from various people associated with this distressing event.

Included among her guests was a Baptist preacher, Tom Rukala, who maliciously maligned the Church of Christ. I have attached an excerpt from the written transcript on CNN's website (See attachment "Nancy Grace.doc"). If you would like to read the entire program transcript, the web address at the top of the attachment page.

I'm writing this to encourage you to email CNN and/or Nancy Grace to express your feelings regarding the unfair characterization of the Church of Christ portrayed by her guest, Tom Rukala.

I feel it is reasonable to request that she has an interview with a Church of Christ preacher/member who will have the opportunity to give a rebuttal to the false characterization presented on this program.

I personally feel that her program has many positive elements. She is a "victim's rights advocate" who insists that criminals should be prosecuted. Unfortunately, the individual she chose as her "special guest" to inform her audience about the Church of Christ was extremely prejudice. As a result, the listeners were blatently misinformed.

At the bottom of the attachment, I have included two sites designed for feedback; one for CNN, the other for Nancy Grace. You may have to copy and paste the addresses into your web browser.

Feel free to pass this email to those whom you feel may also wish to express their sentiments regarding this public defamation.



Ken Stegall


EXERPT FROM TRANSCRIPT:
“GRACE: A well-respected and much beloved minister in the Church of Christ, Selmer, Tennessee, gunned down in his own home. His wife, according to many reports, has confessed to police. They say whodunnit is not the issue, it`s why she did it. That is the question.

I want to go to pastor Tom Rukala, joining us tonight, a special guest, a Baptist minister. I`ve been researching the Church of Christ. I don`t know that much about it. What can you tell me?

PASTOR TOM RUKALA, BAPTIST PASTOR: Well, the Church of Christ is a relatively new church. It was started about 150 years ago by Alexander Campbell (ph). And it`s, unfortunately, a very legalistic sect, and they tend to use methods of intimidation and pressure tactics. They claim that they are the only ones going to heaven, and all other people are condemned to hell. So in case...

GRACE: Uh-oh, I`m in trouble. But I already knew that.

(LAUGHTER)

GRACE: Now, wait a minute. What more can you tell me?

RUKALA: Well, they claim that if you`re not baptized by one of their ministers, that you`re doomed to hell, even if you`re a believer in Jesus Christ, which, of course, breaks completely from the traditional Christian view that all those who call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved because we`re saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, who died for our sins and rose again. For the Church of Christ folks, that`s not enough. You have to be a member of their narrow sect. It`s a very exclusive group. And if you`re not a member of their sect, you`re condemned.

GRACE: You know, Pastor, you keep saying "sect." "Sect." You make it sound like a cult.

RUKALA: It kind of is a borderline cult, unfortunately. I don`t want to make it out to be some kind of Hare Krishna group, but it has cult-like characteristics and...

GRACE: In what sense?

RUKALA: Well, in the sense of the exclusivism, the attitude that they are the only ones who know the truth. The tactics that they use are sometimes just -- not only un-biblical but unethical, and they can be very ungracious, unfortunately.”

Send emails to:

CNN FEEDBACK

Or to

Nancy Grace

Leaving a fun weekend, heading into a busy week!

Well, this weekend was full of fun and lots of activities! Lauren's big baby shower was this weekend and members of our family and Josh's family came in for the event. I had everyone over for dinner on Saturday night which is one of my favorite things to do!

Michael and Jilinda came down for their first visit home since the wedding. Unfortunately, Jilinda got food poisoning and was incapacitated for the weekend! We hated that she missed the shower.


Sunday afternoon was the shower. Lauren got some great things. It is amazing what they have come up with in baby things even since I had Matthew! Now, she has everything but the baby! He just needs to hold off 10 more days....














I topped off the weekend with a book club meeting last night. We were discussing The Friendship Cake. It is fun being with a bunch of women who are as passionate about food and books as I am!

Side note: Am I the only one who gets slightly depressed when I look forward to the next Grey's Anatomy all week only to be disappointed with a rerun? And, I think they were deceptive last week when they had previews for the "next two weeks on Grey's Anatomy". What they should of said was "Coming in two weeks". Step off soap box....

This week starts a new chapter in my life. I am now going to have two kids on different baseball teams. Matthew starts coach pitch on a team made up of most of the kids from his basketball team and Thomas will be playing T-ball with a fun team full of his best friends from church. I am looking forward to watching both of them, but between two practices, two games, church, and Matthew's piano lessons, I don't think we are going to be home much this Spring!

We are also busy getting ready for our trip this weekend. I am trying to think of everything Mom, Lauren, and my MIL will need to make the weekend a success. I am stacking up books that I want to read while I am away and planning what we will do with our time. I can't wait!

The end of this week.

As far as weeks go, this has been a pretty good one! I got to eat breakfast with friends on Tuesday and coffee with a good friend who I hadn't seen in a while today!

One of my new duties on Thursdays is to pick my grandmother up from her beauty shop appointment. She was told last week that she shouldn't drive anymore and Mom has had so much to do to help her (this is her mother-in-law---what a saint!). I decided that I would contribute by taking her home from her appointments. When I picked her up, I took her to Drug Emporium which is her favorite shop in town. She picked up lots of sweets. Won't it be fun to be 83 and not have to worry about a waistline?! It is shocking to me how confused she is getting. She has changed so much this year.

Matthew and I were sitting down at the table going over math last night. He is interested in multiplication so I drill him every now and then. I asked him what 7X3 was. He thought about it for a minute and said, "I guess that would be 21 since that equals three touchdowns with field goals!" Who would have thought sports would help Matthew in math?!

Bryon and I are heading to Las Vegas next week! This will be the first time in 2 1/2 years that Bryon and I have spent the night away from the kids (we have never left ME!) and I am looking forward to the trip. I am not a huge fan of Las Vegas, but Bryon has a conference there and frankly, I would be happy going to Tijuana Mexico just to get away with Bryon for a while!

My mother in law and parents are going to pinch hit with the kids. I am flying out two days after Bryon and coming home earlier than him because leaving all three kids is a lot to handle and I hate being away for too long! The only kicker is that Lauren is due two weeks later. I am so worried that she will go into labor when I am gone! I told her she is to put her feet up and not to move for three days!

Lauren's big baby shower is this weekend and I am looking forward to that and seeing all the friends and family who are making the trip here. We also have tons of yard work and laundry that will keep us busy for most of the weekend.

Have a great weekend!

Two conversations with the boys yesterday.

"Thomas, when you are playing T-Ball, I am going to cheer for you and say,
"Go, Thomas!"

Thomas wrinkled up his nose and said, "Just don't do it too loud."

"Why?"

"Because you might annoy everybody!"

*************************************************************************************

"Matthew, why didn't you bring home an AR book today?"

"Because, Mom, I am retired from AR books. Come to think of it, I am going to retire from everything hard in kindergarten!"

That boy is going to have a hard 16 years ahead of him in school!

Aunt Lauren and Uncle Josh

In honor of my sister and her husband, Josh, who are about to be parents in a few weeks, I dedicate this post to the incredible auntie and uncle they have been to my kids.

Lauren came over after school yesterday and stayed through dinner. Both of our husbands were working and we had a great time together. She has less than 4 weeks to go in her pregnancy and she is starting to feel it. We have all been there. It's pretty miserable!


Last night at dinner, the boys were discussing with each other the relationships in our family. Matthew told Thomas, "Aunt Lauren is Mommy's sister. That makes her our half mother!"


This might sound absurd in other relationships, but it is fairly true in ours! Lauren became an aunt to Matthew when she was 19 years old. Although it took a tiny bit of time for her to get used to the fact that she wasn't the baby anymore ;) she has been an incredible aunt for 6 1/2 years!

Lauren loves to be at my house and adores my kids like they were her own (after all, she is their half mother!). She laughs at their antics and she helps me out in a pinch. Lauren is always there. Thomas looks more like Lauren than me! My kids' childhood memories will be full of times with Aunt Lauren.

Josh became an uncle to my kids when Matthew was 2 1/2 and Thomas was 6 months old. I met Josh when Matthew was 18 months old. He was a seasoned veteran of unclehood with his sister and brother's kids and I feel like he now loves my kids like his own nieces and nephews.

Uncle Josh teaches my kids strange and hilarious things! For instance, Josh is a huge Georgia fan. He taught Matthew the Georgia fight song, and I believe Matthew sang it upwards of 1,000 times all during football season and beyond. I would get Matthew's school work home and written all over it would be,

Glory, glory to old Georgia!
Glory, glory to old Georgia!
Glory, glory to old Georgia!
And ppppppppppppp to Auburn!

Two weeks ago after church, Josh and Lauren took my grandmother home from church. They asked Matthew if he would like to come along for the ride. Josh got in his car, opened his mouth, and a bug flew in his mouth! He said something along the line of, "Oh, well! Bugs are protein!"
Matthew is really in to eating healthy. He will say things like, "God make apple trees, he didn't make Twizzler trees!" The whole "bugs for protein" thing really stuck with him. All throughout the next week, Matthew would catch june bugs and tell Thomas that he really needed to eat one because they were full of protein!

On the way up to Dallas the other day, Matthew was asking me questions about the Civil Rights Movement. We saw a sign for MLK boulevard which sparked the conversation.

Matthew said, "Do you know that when a black man marries a white woman, their kids are, you know, sort of brownish/whitish?" I thought that was interesting!

"Matthew, where did you hear about that?" I asked.

"Uncle Josh told me!"

Who else!? I found out later that Matthew was asking lots of questions about people's races to Josh. I guess he saves interesting questions for him!

Thank you, Lauren and Josh for being incredible to my kids. They adore you! I can't wait to return the favor with Baby James!

A Day at the Farm

All the excitement of Sunday overrode the events of Saturday. I will go ahead a write about those now!





About 4 times a year, Bryon and I take the kids to Aunt Bernie's farm. I have written about A.B. before. She is Bryon's great aunt but is more like a grandmother to him. He and his siblings spent many weekends with her. Some of his greatest memories as a kid were at Aunt Bernie's.
Aunt Bernie is 84 years old. She still runs her cattle farm. Just a few weeks ago, she hand delivered a calf! She bales hay. She has a vegetable garden. She is amazing! She walks around like a woman half her age. Other than the wrinkles courtesy of spending most of her life outdoors, you would never guess how old she really was!

Saturday was ME's first time to really enjoy herself. She came in October but was not so aware of her surroundings. Not this time! She adored the cows. She mooed at them. She kept talking to them in her really high pitched voice. So cute! My in laws met us at the farm and we all had a great visit.

The boys had fun like they always do. Give them trees to climb, cows to feed, walking sticks to travel, and a tank filled with water and sometimes frogs, and they are good to go for the day!

Everytime I go down to Aunt Bernie's I think we should do it more often! Her property is close to College Station and the roads are lined with oak trees and bluebonnets (Yes, I saw my first ones of the season on Saturday!).

By the end of the day, we were zonked and it was time to come home. The next time we go, we are hoping that the tank will be full and stocked with fish. I love to fish and am excited about fishing with the boys!

Our Dallas Underwater Adventure has come to a close!

I am home, safe and dry this morning! We decided last night, that trying to brave the roads when it was dark was too risky, so Matthew and I got up at 6 a.m. and headed home. I have never been so happy to see roads that weren't covered in water!


This picture was taken last night when I realized that the road home was not passable. It wasn't taken with a telescopic lens. I was that close to floating cars! I have always seen pictures like this on the news, but never up close. Six Flags was underwater and someone died fairly close to where we were when she got caught in the rising water.

Overall, we had a great time and the flooding was just part of the overall picture. I enjoyed my class and am excited to try my hand at vegetable gardening. I better have GREAT tomatoes after all I did to learn how to grow them!

We also ate at a fabulous place called EatZi's. There are only 5 of them in the country and it is more like a European market than a restaurant. Being that I am a "Foodie" and all, I marveled at how beautiful the displays were and struggle to decide what to eat. I have dedicated my next 5 trips to Dallas to eat different things at EatZi's!

It was also fun to hang out with the newlyweds. Matthew adores my brother and now adores his new wife (I do, too!)! It was fun reliving the wedding.

Overall, a fun day. We went to Bryon's aunt's farm on Saturday and I will write about that tomorrow!

Stranded in Dallas!

I've got to admit that this Spring Break was a little boring. By the end of the week, I was ready to get out of town. I had seen a brochure for a class on how to grow tomatoes at my favorite nursery in Dallas and I thought that Matthew and I would make a fun day of visiting the newlyweds, going to their church (which Matthew adores) and taking the tomato class.

That is when boring went out the window!

On the way to Dallas, it started pouring. When I mean pouring, I mean torrential downpouring. I could barely handle Bryon's big truck which I drove so Michael could move things into his new apartment.

It poured, and poured, and poured. A small creek near where we ate flooded and the trees were underwater. There was standing water on the road. I finally chickened out and left my truck at a restaurant so Michael could drive me around!

When it was time to leave, I said a prayer and Matthew and I headed out.

We got about 3 minutes down the road.

All the underpasses on the way out of town were flooded with cars floating by. Police tape was everywhere. I took a picture of it that I will download when I get home.

I backtracked and found Michael up the way a bit. We drove around for a while trying to find a way out of town. Police cars/fire trucks were everywhere.

We weren't leaving town.

I called Bryon and told him that we were going to have to spend the night. Matthew erupted in the backseat, "Thank you, Jesus!"

He might be a little late on his first day back at school.

I hope that I will be able to write more from HOME soon!

Happy St. Patrick's Morning to ya!

You haven't have had to read my blog for too long to know what Matthew's favorite part of St. Patrick's Day is. Yes, my friends, Matthew has been on a "green" hunt this morning to see that everyone complied with the wearing green rule today!

Poor Thomas didn't stand a chance. He got ready for it last night.

"Mommy, I am going to wear my Star Wars underwear to bed because they have green on my bottom. That way when Buddy wakes me up, he won't pinch me!"

This morning, Bryon and I were talking in the kitchen and out Matthew flies out of his room like greased lightning to see if we were wearing green.

Bryon wasn't.

Bryon got pinched!

I realized that I wasn't wearing green so I ran the other way into my room to throw on a green sweat shirt.

Thomas got out of bed and came into the kitchen.

"Thomas, you aren't wearing green!" said Matthew, gleefully.

Thomas turned around and started shaking his tail feathers at Matthew to show him that, in fact, he was wearing green.

"Thomas, underwear doesn't count! Deedah (my dad) said last year that underwear doesn't count!"

His memory continues to amaze me! Apparently last year, Dad wasn't wearing green and Matthew had asked him if his socks or underwear were green. He didn't want to risk the "double pinch back" if he was wrong. Dad had told him that there might have been green on his underwear but it didn't count.

Matthew pinched Thomas.

Thomas had a melt down.

I told Matthew that, in fact, green underwear counts if that is all you are wearing. I lightly pinched Matthew's arm because "technically" there wasn't green on it.

"How does it feel, Matthew? Do you think Thomas enjoyed you doing that to him?"

Matthew, with tears in his eyes, ran back to his room and told me that he didn't want to help me make Irish Soda Bread this morning.

This all before 8 a.m.

Happy St. Patrick's morning!

My many different names

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet and current street name)
Smokey Trails

2. YOUR MOVIE STAR NAME: (grandmother's maiden name on your mother's side, your favorite candy)
Gray Butterfinger.

3. YOUR "FLY GIRL" NAME: (first initial of last name, first two or three letters of your first name)
B. Eli

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite animal, name of high school)
Hummingbird Midway.

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)
Ann Montgomery.

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (first 3 letters of your last name, last 3 letters of mother's maiden name, first 3 letters of your pet's name)
Bar Vanmag. (Don't have a pet currently. I just used my last pet!)

7. JEDI NAME: (middle name spelled backwards, your father's middle name spelled backwards)
Nna Nala.

Irish Soda Bread

In celebration of St. Patrick's Day this week, I thought the recipe of the week should reflect my Irish heritage. But first a brief history:

My mother grew up on Long Island in one of the first little towns off the Long Island Expressway outside of NYC. My mother's neighborhood was not the American melting pot. Here, it was more like vegetable soup! Everyone clung fiercly to their heritage. Many of my mother's neighbors were first generation Americans. I went to her neighborhood full of tiny/closely spaced houses several years ago and my mom and aunts told us cousins the names of all their neighbors and where they were from (Italians, Poles, Swedes, Germans, Irish, etc.)! This seems so funny to me because where I live, the only ethnicity that people know about each other is, "Born in Texas" or "Not born in Texas"!

All of the tiny houses on Mom's street had families full of kids. My mom and aunts joke that all the neighbor kids wanted to go to their house and play because there were only 4 kids in it!

The Sullivans were the Irish family. In fact, all of my mother's 8 paternal great, great grandparents were born in Ireland! Yes, my grandfather, Francis Joseph Sullivan was definitely Irish! His grandfather's last name was O'Sullivan, but they dropped the "O" when he came through Ellis Island. Both my maternal grandmother and grandfather grew up in Rhode Island but moved to Long Island when my grandfather was transferred there by the Navy (Grampy was a captain in the navy during WW2). They originally lived in Pawtucket, RI because many of the Irish and English immigrants at the time were sponsored by textile companies in New England.

Although my grandmother's side of the family were recent immigrants from England (her grandmother, Elizabeth Ann who I am named after, spoke with an English accent!), many of my grandfather's favorite Irish dishes made there way to her table. One of the recipes was for Irish Soda Bread. My grandmother made this frequently and so did my mother. I will be making it on Friday! It is good with coffee in the mornings!

Sidenote: My dad's ancestors came from Edinburgh, Scotland. Dad, and the rest of us, are huge Scotland lovers. There was always a friendly debate in our house on who has done more for the advancement of civilization, the Irish or the Scots! The book, How the Irish saved Civilization helped Mom's cause quite a bit! ;)

This is my great grandmother's recipe. It is called soda bread because bread was traditionally made with soda rather than yeast in Ireland.

Irish Soda Bread

3 3/4 C. flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2/3 C sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 C raisins
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
Mix dry ingredients

2 beaten eggs
2 T. butter
2 c buttermilk
Mix wet ingredients

Mix wet and dry ingredients until thick batter.

put in 2 loaf pans or iron skillet
Make the sign of the cross in the batter (like any good Irish Catholic!)
bake 45 minutes or until done at 350.

Eat fairly quickly because it tends to dry out. Also good toasted with a little butter!

Why I am wanting time to slow just a bit

I never said life with three kids 6 and under would be easy, or even a lot of fun at times. Nothing like an extended weekend trip 7 hours away to make me realize that life will get a lot easier in a few years!

However....

I am really enjoying the ages of my kids right now. There is just something really special about a 6 year old, 4 year old, and 18 month old!

I can say without a doubt that although I love to visit the memories of my precocious 2 year old Matthew, I have never enjoyed an age with Matthew like this one. I have said over and over again that I adore kindergarteners, and I have enjoyed every minute of this age with him. Did I say every minute? OK, most minutes!

He is fun to talk to. He has interesting questions about life. I can take him everywhere and anywhere and know that he can handle it. He loves to read and I have enjoyed watching this passion of his develop. This morning, he woke up before me and was sitting in the living room reading a Magic Tree House book about the Titanic. A boy after my own heart! He is a good brother to Thomas and ME. Sometimes, I miss the days when he said hilarious and new things every day. I miss his baby teeth and baby fine hair, but he is starting to look, act, and talk like a school kid, and that has its advantages as well!

There is something so sweet about the kindergarten year. The kids don't have tons of homework. They get to learn how to be students. I will be very very sad when Matthew is no longer a kindergartener! I have a mental picture of Matthew being a 2nd or 3rd grader and talking about kindergarteners being "babyish". For now, though, he is my special little kindergartener, and I want to enjoy every second of the last 10 weeks of this magical year.
Sometimes, I look back at pictures of my curly/tow headed little Thomas and miss him being an 18 month old. But, the kids' pediatrician has even said that 4 is a magical year! Thomas continue to gain independence but is incredibly sweet. He is able to do just about anything that Matthew can do which thrills his soul!

One thing that I have appreciated about my second child is that I realize how quickly the preschool years go. I am savoring hearing him squeal with delight when Dora or Blue comes on, because I know when he hits school, Dora will no longer be cool. Thomas is learning how to read, and how to draw. It makes me sad thinking I only have 1 1/2 years left until he starts school! I am trying to enjoy every moment.

I believe I have more pictures of each of my kids (or at least more favorite pictures) at 18 months than any other age. OK, she technically turned 19 months yesterday, but still. In many respects this is a dangerous age...all of the mobility and none of the reasoning. On the flip side, it is also enjoyable that ME is very mobile and continues to gain more and more independence. She can feed herself and she can tell me what she wants for the most part.

She is coming up with new words and phrases daily. Today at lunch, we were eating with friends and she said, "Ona Go!" She is also saying "Hold me!" I know that her baby face won't last forever and I try to memorize every square inch of it before the chubby cheeks start to vanish. And, since more than likely she is our last baby, I want to savor every second of this year.

I just wanted to write this down for the ages. The first few years of parenthood for me went by so slowly. Now that we are on a school schedule, I can't believe how fast the time has gone! In the years that come, life will possibly be a little less chaotic and I will face new challenges as the early challenges begin to ease. But for now, I want to enjoy my children as 6, 4, and 1 1/2 year olds!

A beautiful weekend

Life is good right now.

I feel like I am coming out of the dark in terms of sickness and busyness. I have always tried to live intentionally and enjoy the gift of life that God has given to me, but lately I admit that I have been living on autopilot. Just going through the motions, always happy when the end of the day or the end of the week arrived. I made a consious decision this weekend to start enjoying the simple pleasures in life again and to not wish time away. That is why this weekend was so beautiful!

Yesterday, Bryon helped run a forum at church on what worship is. He helps head up the worship planning ministry at church and the purpose of the meeting was to see where members of the congregation were in terms of their definition of worship.

I helped by making breakfast for the crowd of about 40 and arranging lunch. I did get to sit in on a little and was so encouraged by what members of my church were saying. Hearing what others were feeling was energizing to me and I couldn't wait to be in worship this morning. Our church seems to be in a prayer revival lately and I am so happy to be a part of it!

This afternoon, I spent a great deal of time outside working in the yard and playing ball with the boys. I also grilled out tonight and enjoyed the sights and smells of cooking outside. I made grilled asparagus for the first time in months and loved it! The weather couldn't have been more picture perfect.

Afterwards, Bryon took us all on a surprise drive (one of my favorite activities) to our lot. It was right before dusk and the drive out to the property is beautiful...especially this time of day, especially this time of year. I just took it all in. We were able to talk with several friends out there, and we enjoyed not having to rush back home for our strict 8:00 on a school night bedtime policy!

A beautiful night, a beautiful weekend. Life is good.

Great day!

What a fabulous, beautiful, fast paced day this has turned out to be! There is nothing like feeling of coming out from under a nasty stomach virus to make you feel like you have a new lease on life!

I drove the kids over to the dentist first thing this morning. Matthew's tooth is again fixed and the dentist reminded Matthew to try hard not to bite any food with that tooth. Ummmm...OK. Matthew told him, "But that is my biting tooth!" We will keep our fingers crossed that this one lasts longer than 8 days.

Next, we took Matthew back to school and participated in a walk for juvenile diabetes. Since Matthew knows a little girl with this disease, he worked like a madman raising money for the walk. He told my brother-in-law that if he gave $10, Matthew would "vote" for the Georgia Bulldogs all next season even if they were playing Baylor! How big of him!

We had a great time at the walk, and when it was time to go, Matthew gave Thomas a big hug and told him he would see him after school. When I backed the car out of the parking lot, Thomas kept looking in the rear window and told me how much he was going to miss Buddy today while wiping the tears from his face. Break my heart!

Next, it was off to meet my mother-in-law half way between our houses (about 1 1/2 hours) to exchange cars. We drove their Yukon to Oklahoma and they had our Avalon. We had a nice lunch together and it was off to pick up Matthew! What a whirlwind day!

I enjoyed the drive so much. I guess after working in home care, I have a great love for country roads. I always choose them over the interstate when I have the time to do so. There were tons of redbuds in bloom. I keep waiting for my first bluebonnet. Maybe next week?

I am taking a break from playing outside with the kids to write this. It is a gorgeous day and after riding bikes, playing basketball, and swinging kids, I am pooped!

Yah!!! It's Spring Break! I am looking forward to having no set schedule and just enjoying the kids all week. Have a great weekend!

Today

Well, I am home this afternoon enjoying a few quiet moments before going to get the kids. After the wedding, my cousin got a bad stomach virus, my brother-in-law got it on Monday, and guess who got it last night? Me! I was up most of the night throwing up, etc. It was hard getting the kids out the door feeling so dehydrated, but a bag of popcorn, diet coke, and 4 thin mints have seemed to rejuvenate me! I really crave quiet home time and today has been a blessing to me.

While resting this morning, I got a call from the school nurse to inform me that Matthew's new bonded tooth fell off. Well, that lasted a whole whopping one week! Off to the dentist again! The dentist told me that it might need to be fixed about once a year. Do you think this is the "once a year" that he was talking about? I am just so glad it didn't fall off last weekend.

I will be watching my carpool buddy's little girl today as she is out of town for her sister's wedding. We have so many things in common and I have enjoyed getting to know her this year. Isn't it strange that both of us had siblings get married one week apart!?

I am busy getting summer vacation plans in order. We will probably go on one week long family trip, a trip to the hill country for an extended weekend, and a romantic weekend trip with Bryon to celebrate our 10th anniversary. I love planning events and have had fun these last few days mapping out some ideas!

I am always sad to see winter go, but this one has been particularly hard on us healthwise. We have been so blessed in years past with good health. I am guessing that Matthew starting kindergarten and dipping into a new germ pool hasn't helped. Bring on the warm weather!

ME's kidney report

Thomas, ME, and I spent most of the day at the hospital in the next town over. Since ME's doctor was concerned that she had a kidney infection so young, she wanted to see if the infection was due to a structural problem or just a fluke, so she had to endure two tests today.

I am so glad that she did! We found out that ME has kidney reflux. Basically, some of the urine that is in the bladder goes back up the ureters and into her kidney. It is just on one side, but the radiologist said that on a severity scale from 0-5, ME was a 3-4.

I talked for a while to a friends whose daughter had the same problem starting at 18 months and got lots of good information from her. I still haven't talked to ME's pediatrician but we have some decisions to make in the near future. See if she grows out of it and keep her on constant antibiotics, a noninvasive procedure that usually helps kids with a severity of 1-2, surgery, etc.

This is yucky stuff, but ME had her catheter put in in the pediatric oncology department of the hospital. You don't have to spend too much time there to appreciate all the blessings in life. This is a minor problem in the great scheme of things! One that can be fixed. I just want my sweet girl to be healthy and to keep her kidneys working the way they are suppose to!

ME and Thomas

Pictures are now trickling in from family. I loved this one of ME. After she walked down the aisle, a church member got her and took her to a rocking chair. She said ME was out in minutes! This picture was taken right after I picked her up.


I didn't know a picture of this existed! Thomas was showing off his sweet dance moves and was too hot to wear his shirt! I put it back on after he cooled off a bit!

Spring

Ok, anyone who reads my blog knows that I am much more of a winter weather gal than a summer gal. Give me a cold, gray, blustery, snowy day over sunshine anytime. It isn't so much that I don't like spring- I acutally love spring. Its just that I know before I blink my eyes, the sun will be scorching, the mosquitoes will be out, and I won't be able to walk to my mailbox before beads of perspiration form on my brow!

It is here though. Winter came and went without giving much effort. We went out in the backyard and played quite a bit yesterday and had a great time. Here are a few things I am looking forward to in the next few weeks:

*My first bluebonnet sighting! I love when our highways are dotted with bluebonnets and indian paintbrush. When I first see this, the pressure of getting the perfect bluebonnet picture creeps into my mind, but this is a whole other post.

*Not having to search for matching socks. We live in flip flops for the next 9 months!

*Starting to garden again. I adore working in the yard until about mid-July. My Bradford Pears are starting to bloom. (See picture)

*Looking at my kids legs in shorts. I forget how cute they are in the winter!

*Fresh fruits and veggies again! I spend a lot of time at the farmers market starting in a few weeks.

*Spring break! Can't wait to have Matthew home with me for a week.

*Bryon coming home before dark.

Spring--What's not to love?

The wedding through the eyes of my kids

MATTHEW

Matthew proved again why I feel like kindergarten is a magic age for kids. He did beautifully at the wedding. Of course, I am not ashamed to admit that quite a bit of bribery was involved! We promised Matthew that if he was perfect, we would get him some baseball cards and some Magic Tree House books. Nana promised him a 10 dollar bill. Right before heading to the church, Bryon took the kids to K-mart to pick up some dress socks that we forgot. Matthew found a shirt that he wanted and he begged Bryon, "Daddy, can we throw this shirt into the deal, too?"

When we got to the small town in Oklahoma, Matthew found out that we were only 15 minutes from Kansas. Matthew loves geography and wants so badly to add to the number of states that he has travelled to. This added to the bribery.

"Matthew, if you don't start behaving, we aren't taking you to Kansas!"

This worked like a charm! On the day of the wedding, Bryon took all three kids to Kansas. You would have thought he was taking them to Oz the way they were going on and on about it! They went to a gas station in Caney, Kansas. Matthew said that he had to get a souvenier of Kansas. The gas station attendant gave him a Christmas card that said "Seasons greetings from Caney, Kansas!" It is amazing that they didn't sell out of those months ago!! A person in the gas station asked the boys where they were from. Thomas told her that he used to live in Texas but now he lives in a hotel.


Matthew was very clingy to Michael during the weekend. He didn't want to leave his side. Matthew and Michael have been best buddies since Matthew was a newborn. Any time Matthew accomplishes anything, he first wants to call Uncle Michael.

During the wedding, Matthew was perfect. He stood during the entire ceremony. He even helped us fluff Jilinda's vail after she walked up to the alter! During the recessional, Bryon's hands were full of sleeping Thomas, so Matthew stuck out his arm to escort the bridesmaid who Bryon was supposed to escort!

At the reception, the Matthew I know and love took center stage. I had asked him to be calm and good for far too long and now it was time to party. He loved dancing and as I mentioned yesterday, he enjoyed pretending like he was a figure skater. He kept crossing his arms over his chest and spinning. He got himself good and dizzy and threw up while Michael and Jilinda were cutting the cake. Fortunately, it wasn't a whole lot, and it was cleaned up within moments.

Matthew had a fabulous time and I couldn't have asked any more from him.

Thomas

And the stinker award goes to.....Thomas! The night before we left, he had 104 degree fever and I am fairly convinced that he had a virus on top of that. Being on antibiotics, feeling yucky, a long drive, out of routine, sleeping less than normal, playing 18 holes of golf with the guys, and all the hubbub took its toll the worst on my little guy. He was clingy to me, not his normal sweet self, not cooperative with cameras, and a little stubborn.

He fell asleep leaning over a chair at the rehearsal dinner. He slept any chance we would give him. I felt guilty that he wasn't home in bed, but what could we do?

One thing I will always remember about the wedding involved Thomas. We realized the night before the wedding that Thomas would not be able to stand during the wedding. He was far too out of sorts for that. After the kids came down the aisle, a member of the church grabbed ME. Thomas did not want to go with her. Bryon escorted him to her and took his place at the alter. Thomas followed him back! I discreetly pulled him over to where Bryon and I were standing. Thomas kept leaning on me and we finally told him to sit down next to us. We were in the back so I don't believe he could be seen. He was still holding Bryon's hand while he was sitting and during a prayer, I hear him snoring! He was sitting down, holding Bryon's hand fast asleep. I started giggling and I got worried that I would have the giggles during my song. Bryon picked him up and he stayed laying on Bryon's shoulder during the rest of the ceremony. Bryon had a long drool stain down the back of his tux!

He did perk up for the reception. He was very much at home next to all the food. The only time I had to get on to him during the reception was when he took all of his clothes off but his pants! He is so hot natured and it often takes everything in me to make him keep his clothes on!

He had a great time getting to know his second cousins. My cousin Matt has two kids, a boy, Matthew who is Thomas's age, and a girl, Emma, who is ME's age. Thomas fell in love with Emma and kept saying, "I love you, Emma!" We are all going to the Cape at the same time this summer so I am looking forward to their budding friendships!



Mary Elizabeth

What can I say? She had one mission: to walk down the aisle without crying. She accomplished her mission! She only stopped one time at the end of the aisle to pick up a few rose petals but she walked without crying out for Daddy or her Bibi.

ME also enjoyed getting to know her cousin, Emma. The two of them spent lots of time hugging and kissing at the reception.


ME loved all the attention she got from our extended family. The charm was turned on and she flirted with anyone who would let her.

She slept all but one hour of the 7 hour drive back!

I am exactly where I want to be!

I have been looking forward to this moment for weeks. We are all home safely. All the kids are in their beds. We had a fabulous time. My pictures have been downloaded!

This weekend, I felt every emotion that I could feel.

I laughed at my kids crazy antics.
I cried listening to my brother's heart felt words to my Dad.
I was sleep deprived.
I was humbled by all of the friends and family who came from great distances and went to great expense to be there for my brother and Jilinda.
I was relieved when Bryon was able to come.
I was so proud of my brother.
I was proud of my kids.
I was disappointed that Thomas didn't feel great.
I got the giggles when Thomas fell asleep during the ceremony and started snoring! (More on that later).
I was annoyed with Matthew for acting like a figure skater, spinning around and around, and throwing up at the reception. (More on that later!)
I was nervous singing in the wedding.
I was relieved that I didn't forget the words.
I enjoyed my extended family.
I was so happy to welcome Jilinda into our family as a new sister.
I danced my heart out at the reception.
My heart ached with happiness for my brother and nostalgia that somehow it won't ever be the same.

I have many great stories that I can't wait to tell. I need a hot bath and a good book first. I'll write more tomorrow! I have posted a few pictures. A few more might be trickling in later.

We made it!

We are here in Oklahoma! We headed up yesterday morning and were here by 4:00. The kids were great and Matthew even had time to read his first chapter book! Thomas was excited when we drove over the Red River. Red is still his FAVORITE color!

Kristen, I thought about you when we entered OK. The last time I was here was when we came with your parents when I was a jr. and you were a soph. in high school. That was so much fun!

The only drawback yesterday was that ME refused to sleep. She didn't sleep a wink on the drive and she didn't fall asleep until 10:30 last night. Ughhh! I remembered last night why I hate hotels with little ones. Mom and Lauren helped a ton and the boys ended up sleeping with Lauren and Josh.

The best news of all is that BRYON IS HERE! He surprised me and showed up at 1:30 in the morning. Everyones prayers were heard and I am pretty sure that Mrs. Judge had a "word" with Judge! Bryon said he had a complete change of heart yesterday and called him at 7 p.m. He told Bryon to hit the road!

The kids feel great. Matthew started complaining that the space that used to occupy his tonsils was hurting. Before he completed that sentence, I shoved an antibiotic in his mouth! I am so glad that we had one perscription extra.

Will blog more soon!

National Lampoons Wedding

Well, Thomas is feeling much better today! I feel so grateful that he got sick last night instead of today. What a relief! Gotta love antibiotics.

I am feeling much better today. Bryon has never let me down before and I know he will do everything in his power to be in OK as quickly as possible.

Matthew has his class picture first thing this morning. We are picking him up in a few minutes.

We are packing a Yukon with my parents, grandmother, three kids, me, and almost everything we own. Look out, Oklahoma, here comes the Griswolds!

So weary

Today has been difficult.

I was feeling great all day because I finally had most of the packing done, all the errands run, hair highlighted, etc. My mother watched the two younger kids while I was at my hair appointment. Everything was fine. I got the kids in the car and headed home. On route, I looked in the rearview mirror and noticed that Thomas looked a little funny. When I got home, I realized he was burning up. Before I even took him out of his carseat, I called the doctor and got him in immediately.

Thomas had 104 degree fever...

This is the child who has never had to get a prescription filled at our pharmacy...

This is the child who has gone through the winter sick season completely unscathed other than throwing up once...

Now, he is the child who got strep throat 15 hours before heading to OK.

Fortunately, we caught it early. Fortunately, the doctor gave me enough prescriptions to hold on to in case anyone else gets sick.


Please say a prayer that we all make it up to OK safely and in time for the wedding and that no one else gets sick. Thank you.

Today

Well, Matthew's smile is fixed! I took him out of school yesterday and got his tooth bonded and that stubborn baby tooth pulled. It was overall a painless experience and Matthew was only in the dentist chair for 5 minutes. Afterwards I took him to get a haircut then out to lunch before heading back to school. We had such a great time together! I adore spending one on one time with each child and yesterday it struck me how big Matthew is getting. We had a great conversation and it made me so proud of the little man he is becoming.

I have been running errands and packing all morning. Thomas and even little ME got a haircut. I am going this afternoon for a cut and highlight. After that, just a little more packing and we will be ready to go! Every day I get a little more excited and I can't wait to see all of my family and celebrate the wedding of my brother!