Rangers Game!

 
The boys have been so much fun this summer. Bryon and I decided in the middle of the week to surprise them with a trip to Arlington to watch the Texas Rangers play! Bryon came home early on Friday, we informed the boys of what we were doing, dropped off ME with my family, and headed to the game. We met my brother at the stadium. Uncle Michael is like a rock star in my house, and the kids were thrilled to see him. It happened to be free hat night at the game which saved us a few bucks!

The weather was perfect, we had great seats, and the boys couldn't have been better. Matthew was very interested in each players' stats, and Thomas learned a lot of baseball lingo from Uncle Michael. Since the Rangers have THE WORST record in all of baseball, we weren't expecting much, especially given that they were playing the team with the best record in their division. Much to our surprise, the Rangers won! We got to see Sammy Sosa play which was a great memory. We drove home last night and the kids were thrilled to report that they stayed up past midnight. What an accomplishment!

The night was wonderful. I hope to do this more often!
 
 
 

Four Year Meme

I was tagged by Panda-Mom for this Meme. You are supposed to list 4 things that you have accomplished in the past four years and then list 4 things you hope to accomplish in the next 4 years.

1. Four years ago, I was deeply entrenched in the pre-school life. Now, I am making the transition into school aged life. Although I am living in both worlds still, I am changing less diapers, am less restricted by a nap schedule, and spending more time on the ball fields and doing homework. I love both "eras" as a mother, although balancing the two can be a challenge from time to time!

2. Around four years ago, we relandscaped our backyard and my love for gardening went into hyperdrive! Gardening is my favorite hobby. It is my time to think. I like gardening alone or getting help from my three kids. We go on drives and I look at the landscapes around houses rather than the houses themselves!

3. Last year, I went back to work part time. My old job became available and I agreed to take the job as long as I could do it during Mother's Day Out time. I schedule my patients during MDO and occasionally on the weekends when Bryon takes the kids out. I love my job and feel blessed that I have a profession that is so conducive to very part time work!

4. We bought our new house last year. I feel very settled and could live in this house forever.

THE NEXT FOUR YEARS

1. It has been my dream for a while to go through the Master Gardener Program. They offer this program every two years and so the first possible time for me to do it would be next summer. If I can, I will do it then. Otherwise, it will be three years from now.

2. Start really getting into travelling with the kids. We travelled extensively when we were kids, and I want the same for my own. I think that it will start being more practical in the next two years.

3. Doing more volunteer work. The more kids I have had, the more my life revolves around my house. I look forward to having more time for volunteer work for school, church, and charities.

4. I just want to continue my quest to live in the moment and enjoy each day as it comes. It doesn't seem that long ago that I had two adorable boys ages 2 and 4. Four years from now, I will have a child going into 6th grade! How can this be? I want to do my best to teach my sweet children the fruit of the spirit by how I live my life. This will only be accomplished by lots of prayers!

Summer reading list and what's going on...

Thank you to everyone for such helpful advise about Disney! I especially loved hearing from "new commenters". I will still check the post, so if anyone else has advise, please chime in!

We have really had a nice few weeks off from school. The kids have been getting along and we are all enjoying a change of pace. Matthew got stung above his eye by a yellowjacket yesterday marking the THIRD sting that he has received in his face in his 7 1/2 years on earth. Poor kid! He did manage to catch the yellowjacket while on his face. He bagged it and enjoyed a little frontier justice with the doomed insect! He looks a little like "Beast" from "Beauty and the Beast" today. I am ready for the swelling to go down!

Thomas started T-Ball last night, or "Major League T-Ball" as he calls it! Wow. All I can say is that it is going to be a really HOT 8 weeks! We are all enjoying letting Thomas stand in the spotlight by himself. Thomas is the most supportive brother I know to Matthew during all of Matthew's activities, so it is Thomas's turn to be fan worshipped!

The kids' "cousin-in-law" has been here for a few weeks. Lauren's sister-in-law and niece are visiting from Georgia. Hannah is 10 and my kids adore her! Hannah and Matthew have been working on a book called "Best Friends", a story about Matthew the monkey and Hannah, the bird!

Mary Beth is now potty trained! She has been sort of potty trained for a year now, and I have been too busy (lazy?) to want to mess with visiting the little girls room at every restaurant and sporting event that we frequent! We have gotten it done now, even though I still resort to pull ups when I don't want to risk it.

I would love to have new pictures to post but my camera broke! I guess three years and thousands of pictures have worn the little guy out. We are trying to decide whether to repair it or get a new one. Wonder which one I am leaning toward?

And now for my summer reading list:

As many of you know, I am an avid reader. I have really slacked off and haven't read a bood since April. ME's surgery, baseball, and season enders of my favorite TV shows have stood in the way. I have been working on my summer reading list and here it goes:

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
The Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith
Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns
Stormy Weather by Paulette Jiles
Lusitania, an Epic Tragedy by Diana Preston
The Boleyn Inheritance (I know this one has been on my side bar since April. I WILL finish it this summer!)
Bryon and I have also made a deal that we would read a book this summer that the other one chooses. He wants me to read a David Baldacci book, his favorite author.

Looks like I have a lot to read! I will give recommendations after I finish each. Reruns, and Bryon bringing his work home at night will be an enviroment conducive for reading.

Disney advise

We have had a great summer so far. I have loved having Matthew home with us! I have a lot to catch up on, but I want to dedicate this blog to Disney.

My inlaws are taking their entire clan for a 5 day trip to Disney next month. They are wanting us to start planning what we want to do.

I have been getting ideas from several friends who have gone this year, but want your input too. Our little family is caught between two worlds right now. The boys are adventurous, thrill seeking, dare devil roller coaster enthusiasts, and ME is a Disney princess in training! My mother in law is taking all of her granddaughters to eat lunch with Cinderella which will be a big hit with ME Lou Who. We are so excited to report that Thomas is now 4 feet tall and can ride all of the same rides as Matthew!

Has anyone been to Disney in the last few years? I went when I was 13 and I am sure things have changed quite a bit since 1988! What were your favorite parts of Disney? Any things you think are important must sees?

Another year over!

 
I absolutely love this picture I took of Matthew the other day. It really shows his determination and energy!

Hooray for Matthew! Another great year has come and gone.

I was a little concerned about first grade. I had a terrible experience and actually had four first grade teachers. Between moving away from Alabama and teachers having babies, I had no consistency. Matthew's year was nothing like mine! He had a wonderful teacher who really "got" him. He thrived in a more challenging academic environment. He told me one of his favorite things about his teacher was how she gave great tests! And he did finally get his perfect attendance certificate. I guess this means that I can't plan any trips during the school year next year. Matthew is already talking about a repeat performance!

One funny story from a few weeks ago....Matthew had to have a reading benchmark test where the child has to read a story and answer questions based on their story. They are tested for speed as well as acuracy. Matthew, who has a great vocabulary and can read 100 page books without difficulty, had a problem with only one word...."lazy". He had no idea what it meant! His teacher and I really got a kick out of that! I guess lazy really isn't in his vocabulary! I could have told her that from the time he could crawl!

I tucked the boys into bed tonight, and Matthew had big tears in his eyes as he told me how sad he was that he was about to never be a first grader ever again. Then Thomas, who was laying next to him with his head propped up his his hands, said, "Don't worry, Buddy. I'll be in first grade really soon and I will tell you ALL about it!"

I am mostly excited and slightly terrified at having the whole crew home this summer. I am bound and determined to have a better one than last year. Not moving will help a ton! ;)

Have a great holiday weekend!

Our unofficial start to summer.

Before
 












After
 
 
Many say that Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer, but for us, it is the day that Matthew gets his hair shorn off! Matthew, our resident Chia Pet, has more hair than any child I know of his age. We think he loses several pounds with each haircut! I like his hair long, but Mom gets trumped every May! Bryon and I compromise by letting me keep Thomas's hair longer. I can't resist those humidity curls!

Of course, everytime he gets his hair cut off, we are reminded of one of his biggest injuries. Every major injury Matthew has ever sustained has been at church! The biggest was knocking out most of his permanent front tooth. This one comes in second...

One Wednesday night when Matthew was 4, he was waiting for me after class, standing on a drink cooler. His back and his head were resting on a corner in the middle of the wall. That doesn't seem plausible, but the wall jutted out slightly, maybe where a wall once was? Anyway, the cooler that Matthew was standing on gave way, fell over, and Matthew hit his head hard then slid down the corner of the wall. Fortunately, my dear friend who is a nurse was standing there and helped me with the large amount of blood coming out of his head. We took him to the E.R. and the doctor put 4 staples in the back of his head. At the time, I thought it was a great place to have a scar because no one would ever see it. Then I remembered that he was a boy who likes to keep his head cool in the summer by shaving off his hair!

Of course, if you know Matthew, he isn't bothered by it one bit. I don't think I know a child with as much self confidence! ;) It is just one of many battle wounds that he will sustain in his boisterous life!

Last week of school!

Well, we sent Matthew off this morning to start his last week of school. I have been reminiscing thinking about how much fun my last weeks of school were. We would decorate paper bags, set them out around the perimeter of the room and place in them our treasures from the year. Then, my friends and I would dream about what the next year would be like. What a fun week!

I am exited to get to bring home Matthew's journal from the year. The kids started the year with an empty notebook and wrote a daily entry about anything going on in their little minds. Matthew's teacher has sent his home a few times for me to get to look through. The entries vary from 5 pages full of facts about Washington D.C. to "I love the Mavericks". That will be a fun read this weekend!

We had a fun and relaxing weekend. Bryon and I took the three kids to see a Baylor baseball game yesterday. I haven't been to one since I was engrossed in Little League and was AMAZED at how fast the pitcher threw the ball! We had a blast and the kids got to meet all of the players after the game and get their autographs. The players were so sweet and I just wanted to give a huge hug to the ones who paid special attention to Thomas telling them that he was about to play "Major League T-Ball" and Matthew telling the players what position he played!

I am looking forward to a fun week. No Mother's Day Out, which is a nice change for a few weeks, and fun activities at Matthew's school.

The end of an era

 
 
 


Today is a day for bittersweet nostalgia. I picked Thomas up from pre-school for the very last time. I really thought I was OK with it until I saw him contentedly swinging on the playground. Then tears filled my eyes as I called him my preschooler for the last time.

I am always excited for new beginnings. I will be thrilled to walk him into kindergarten for the first time. It is just hard for me to say goodbye. Each of my children are completely different and they pull at my heartstrings in different ways. Thomas has always been my ray of sunshine. His blonde hair and brilliant smile must be why this comes to mind. In his entire life, he has never cried when I dropped him off at school. He was always eager to go, but excited to see me at the end of the day.

We feel particularly blessed that Lauren was his teacher this year. Lauren and Thomas have always had a special relationship, and I thank my lucky stars that my incredibly talented and patient sister got the opportunity to teach my little "T". He has learned so much this year.

So today, we close a chapter in his sweet life.

If I am this bad now, I am dreading the day that we send the kids to college!

A young Bea Arthur?

My parents are going through my grandmother's old house and getting rid of things she no longer needs. One thing is her wig from when she had cancer 7 years ago. Thomas and ME particularly like the wig! I am sure it will wind up in a Halloween costume some day!

 
 

Dinnertime conversation

We just finished dinner and I had to write down our conversation before I forgot it!

I recently wrote about Thomas and ME's sweet relationship. However, they do have one point of contention. Anytime I ask Thomas to pray, ME quickly assumes the "prayer position" and spits out, "Dear God, thank you for my food. Thank you for my God. Amen." as fast as her little lips can go. Sometimes this bugs Thomas, sometimes it doesn't. Tonight, it was a big bugger. It sent Thomas into a huge teared cry.

Then Matthew steps into the conversation using his most professorial tone. "Thomas, you have to remember that Mary Beth is two. She doesn't have a big brain like you and me. Take my advise and use kindness in words and in deeds."

ME? Small brains?! Mary Beth just looked at Matthew with a look of "I don't know quite how to react to that."

Thomas put his head on the table, looked at Matthew, and uttered these words while opening his mouth a millimeter, "I don't feel like following your advise."

Oh, I thank God for my two big brained and one small brained children!

And don't think I won't use the "kindness in words and deeds" the next time Matthew decides to forsake his own advise!

Catching up

It has been quite busy since last I blogged, so let me fill you in!

Thursday was Matthew's Economics Fair. Bryon went into work late to help me by watching the little two so I could attend the Fair and Elizabeth McCullough's funeral. Matthew learned all about wants and needs, goods and services, and buyers and sellers and all the first graders took turns buying and selling goods and services. Matthew was a buyer first and I got to help his class with their "service" which was painting nails. When it was Matthew's turn to sell, he sold his class "good" which were book marks. You could hear him over the din of the noisy first graders yelling, "Get your bookmarks! You will need them over the summer!" He looks exactly like the wall street stock brokers! Hilarious!
 
 

Friday was Matthew's track day at school. When we were leaving to go, Thomas said, "Let's get into the truck." I said, "We aren't taking the truck, we are taking the minivan." Thomas: "But you said it was TRUCK day!" The kids were adorable and Matthew's class came in first place in the tug-o-war contest.

 
Saturday, we devoted the entire day to mulching our back yard. We took the boys over to the mulch pile close to our house and loaded up two huge truck loads of mulch and then came home and spread it all. Bryon and I are still having a hard time moving! I am happy with the results and pleased that this arduous task is complete!


 



Sunday was wonderful. Matthew ran into our room to wish me a happy Mother's Day. He really gets into holidays! He had written a 5 page book on reasons why he loved me all by himself. It was so touching and I will keep it forever. Then, he made me breakfast in bed. This consisted of a Weight Watcher Smoothie and dry cereal. "I didn't want to put milk in it in case I spilled it!", he said. Bryon and the kids gave me a gift certificate to a local clothing store. I am getting into a bit of a "frump girl" phase and have been wearing my Cape Cod T-shirt just a little too often! It was nice to pick up some new things yesterday! This picture of ME was taken Sunday afternoon. She wanted to wear her fairy wings and watch Barbie Rapunzel, or "Barvie Apunzel", as she says. I put in the dvd and walked out of the room for a minute. When I came back in to push play, she was already asleep! What a sweet Mother's Day gift looking at her little face asleep!

Today was Mary Elizabeth's kidney follow up in Ft. Worth. We got up really early and dropped Thomas off with Lauren. She has a lot going on this week and was a SAINT to watch Thomas! ME and I had a great "girl trip" and I enjoyed some one on one with her. She had a renal ultrasound done. Her doctor looked at it and said she had quite a bit of scarring on her bladder and left kidney. Her right one looks like a kidney. Her left one is a lot smaller and not shaped like a kidney. What we are doing now is taking her off antibiotics (Yippee!) and keeping our fingers crossed that she has no infections this year. We will go back in a year and retest her.

I really enjoyed our time together today. Mary Elizabeth is really turning into a fun little girl. We were walking in the hospital today and a lady complimented her bow. She stopped dead in her tracks and said, "Thank you. It matches my pink shirt!" She made friends everywhere she went and talked to everyone. She is definitely my little social butterfly!

That's all for now. Off to bed. It's been a long day!

A photo blog of the last week

This is a photo blog showing what else has been going on in our lives this past week.
 
We have been spending tons of time on our new playset. I already don't know what we did without it! My kids want nothing to do with toys. We just spend our mild, overcast days swinging and sliding.






 



We had a new niece born last Friday! Bryon's sister had her third girl in 4 years and we all enjoyed getting to see her on Saturday. We went to Bryon's parents house for the day to see Avery and to pick up Bryon's new car. His Avalon was totaled in his wreck several weeks ago, so we replaced it with a Honda Accord Hybrid. Leonardo DiCaprio would be so proud! Bryon does a lot of driving with his job, so a Hybrid was a good choice for him.





 
On the way home on Saturday, I picked up my Mother's Day gift. A new birdbath! There is a great place on the way home from Conroe that sells all things concrete. I am really enjoying it.


 





Thomas had kindergarten roundup last week as well. This was highly anticipated and I had my parents watch my other two to make it a one on one date with Thomas. He literally ran into school and started introducing himself to his future classmates! When it was over, he looked at me with wide eyes and said, "This is it?" I think he was thinking that he would get to go to class. I told him the real fun begins in August. I am looking forward to doing kindergarten again!

A few final thoughts about Elizabeth McCullough

I just needed to write a little more about my coworker, Elizabeth McCullough. I went to work today for the first time since the accident. This was a difficult day for the entire office. When I arrived, a chaplain from our hospital was praying with the staff. After these words, I walked over to her cubicle. All over her cubicle, there were pictures of her two children and her husband. Her daughter looks just like her. Same brown hair. Same kind eyes. I hope this brings Elizabeth's mother some comfort knowing that a piece of her daughter lives on.

What really hit me like a ton of bricks was seeing her calendar. She had a calendar that had a different bible verse for each day. The nurse who had her cubicle across from Elizabeth recalls that Elizabeth shared the scripture with her often and would say, "I wonder what that means?" Sitting on her desk was the page for May 7, 2007. It said:

"Into your hands I commend my spirit; you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God."

I can't believe that those were some of the last words she ever read. I hope these words gave her peace as she walked out of our office and into her fate. God rest her spirit.

I am using this tragedy to recommit myself to live each day like it was my last. To hug my kids one more time. To not get frustrated over little things. To say sweet things to my husband. To be kind to others. To reach out to those who seem lonely.

A sad day

It has been a sad day around here. One of my good friends was over at my house for lunch when I got a call from my mother. She called me around noon to inform me that one of my coworkers had been killed in a car accident while going to see a patient. She was on a two lane highway turning left onto a gravel road. An 18 wheeler was behind her going too fast and decided to try and pass her to her left at the same moment that she turned left. My friend graciously ducked out of the house and I have had a hard time getting off the couch today.

My mother directs the agency I work for. She had the unenviable task of going to the scene of the accident and identifying her body. The DPS officers asked her to come out with Elizabeth's contact information as all they could make out in the car was her work badge. They couldn't reach her cell phone. Mom had just seen her in the office 20 minutes before the accident. Mom really cared for her and joked around with us that there were too many Elizabeth's at the office.

Elizabeth was a beautiful and incredibly sweet nurse. She was only 24 and had two young children. She hadn't worked at our agency long, but I really enjoyed the time I spent with her. Two of our most recent conversations keep swimming around in my head. The first was a few months ago when she was asking me for help in finding a place for her daughter's 4th birthday party. The other, our last conversation together, involved a mutual patient whose family was having a hard time accepting that he was dying. It is just so hard to believe that our patient outlived Elizabeth.

Here is the first report of the accident.

Please say a prayer for the McCullough family tonight. Hug your husband and children tight. Enjoy everyday that we are given.

Butterflies!

 
 
 
 
 

When I was planning my garden, I wanted to put a huge emphasis on flowers that attract hummingbirds and butterflies. Looks like they took the bait! My garden is swarming with both. The hummers are too quick to take pictures of. Everytime I see them, my camera is not in hand. Taking a picture of one is my new mission! The butterflies have been much more cooperative. What a fun hobby!

Winding down

 
 
 
Well, it looks like the year is finally winding down. Matthew had his final piano concert on Monday night. He has been in a two year program at Baylor since his first weeks as a kindergartener, and now it is over. I always got a kick out of watching the director and student teachers react to Matthew! These women and men are very artsy, very plain jane, very musical, very soft spoken. Most of the kids in the program were the same way. And then there is my full of testosterone, sports loving, loud voiced, full of energy Matthew who walked into the room and completely changed the atmosphere! Matthew was pretty legendary around the piano program! He played beautifully on Monday night and never missed a note! I guess there is room for lots of different personalities when it comes to the piano.

Monday night was one of Matthew's last games. Only one more day of baseball and it is over for the season! This is always bittersweet for me. I love getting to know the players, parents, and coaches and I will miss them dearly. On the other hand.....I can now feel less guilty when Mary Beth unwraps her burrito from Taco Bueno and says, "Thank you for making my meal, Mommy!" Baseball was three times a week and took out 5p.m.-7p.m. Perfect conditions for eating out! I am ready to start cooking again.

Less than four more weeks of school. Didn't Matthew just start 1st grade? Are you telling me that in four weeks, he will be telling people that he is a second grader? Thomas's kindergarten roundup is just around the corner. He is chomping at the bit to get started! I am so happy for him but am taking in every morning watching him wrapped up in blankets as Matthew rushes to get ready for school.

Our birthday bonanza month is winding down today as well. We have 5 close family birthdays in two weeks. Bryon's 36th was this weekend and we had a fabulous time celebrating his life and how much he means to us. I took him to a great new restaurant close to our house on Saturday night while Lauren and Josh watched the kids. We are returning the favor for them to celebrate Lauren's birthday, which was last week, very soon. My mom's birthday is today. Happy birthday, Mom!

Yes, I am ready for the semester to wind down and to have all my chicks at home. I go through a nesting phase every year around this time in anticipation of all three at home all day every day. Get rid of excess! Pare down! Make a list of rules, activities that will last us the next 2 1/2 long, hot months!

Bluebonnet pictures

 photo by Laura Endsley 













photo by Laura Endsley
















My friend Laura Endsley is such a talented photographer! A few weeks ago, we attempted bluebonnet pictures. I had low expectations, as most of the time, my kids can't be still and smiling at the same time. I was so happy with the results, though, and find it a small miracle that no photoshopping different heads on bodies was needed! Thanks, Laura!

This and That

A few things going on here:

My aunt came in from New York to visit my mother while my Dad is in China. Aunt Barbara, along with their other sister, Aunt Carolyn, are the closest of friends and talk almost daily. Since they lead busy lives they only get to see each other once every one to two years. It was such a treat having her here! I love seeing my very responsible, organized, motherly mother revert back into someone's baby sister. Aunt Barbara is such a gift to our family. I love hearing her and my mother talk about growing up.

Sunday, Mom treated us all to see Wicked in Dallas. It was great! It is the back story of the Wicked Witch from the Wizard of Oz. It was so much fun hanging out with my sister, mother, and aunt!

Yesterday, our school celebrated Earth Day. Lauren watched my little two and I got to go help plant a butterfly garden at Matthew's school.

Last night, Matthew got his first sports injury. He was catching a baseball and it hit him square in the eye. His glasses were hit and they scratched up beneath his eye. I was called onto the field and Matthew was crying. When I asked him if he was OK, he said he was crying because he was afraid I would take him out of the game! Man, I love that kid! He is oh, so proud of his first shiner, and thinks he looks like Rocky Balboa!

The biggest news around here though, is that our playset is finally complete! We bought the set 4 weeks ago and took one look at the directions, which stated that 16 hours of skilled labor were involved, that we set out to find skilled laborers! It took three weeks to find a crew who could do it, and they completed it last night. We missed our playset from our other house dearly, and are thrilled to have one again.

Matthew and Thomas are enjoying their 15 minutes of fame as the coolest kids in the neighborhood. Of course, it rained today, so they whole area was muddy. You can see from the picture that several boys thought it would be fun to paint our back fence with mud! I have 6 shoes in desperate need of de-muddifying, but it was worth it to hear the squealing of delighted children!

I think that is about it for now!


 

Baseball and a car accident

I haven't had much time to blog this week. First of all, Tuesday night, Bryon got into a car accident on the major interstate running through our city....while I was on the phone with him! We were talking and then I hear, "NO! NO! NO!" and then the phone went dead. Very scary.

It turns out that he hydroplaned during a torrential downpour and wound up hitting the median between the northbound and southbound lanes. I dropped ME off at my parents and asked Lauren to keep Thomas, who was at her house, and raced to the scene. I was concerned about Bryon sitting out in the rain and dark during a very lively lightening storm while 18 wheelers were zooming by him.

We feel very blessed that Bryon wasn't hurt. Just a little sore. We spent most of our night on the interstate waiting for cops (lots of accidents that night) and a tow truck.

In other news....

I remember being a kid and feeling like once baseball season started, it was time for school to be out. I still feel that way! We had three games this week alone. Matthew has moved up to a more competitive league. This is great for my super intense, very competitive child. What is about to drive me crazy is the super intense, very competitive parents! I actually witnessed a mother on the opposing team a few nights ago screaming that our team was cheating! Can you tell me how 6 and 7 year old boys could possibly be cheating? Utterly ridiculous and I am afraid just the beginning of crazy parents who are living out their childhoods (and maybe their frustrations?) vicariously though their children.

I love watching Matthew play! I, like every parent, am in awe of how his body is growing and how he has picked up the game. My heart bursts with pride!

The good and bad of our world

I have felt a few strong emotions this week about the planet we live on. Here is a sample of my disgust:

1. While watching Oprah this week, I saw 4 siblings get up and announce that they are gay, after which, the audience breaks out in applause. If I got on Oprah and announced that I was straight, would I get the same reception? How twisted is that?

2. Don Imus....I have had mixed emotions on this one. It is obvious that he said deplorable statements and should be sanctioned. When Rosie said last year that Christians were no better than Muslim terrorists, was there the same backlash? I chose to retaliate by turning off her show.

On the other hand...

I have been obsessed with Planet Earth over the last month! Watching the beauty of our world in high definition is breathtaking. Every creature has adapted to its surroundings with remarkable precision. It is one of those experiences where you wonder how anyone could dare assume that these miraculous sights could be formed by anyone other than God. We watch every Sunday night with the boys and marvel at God's creation.

In other news...

*We are finally getting our new carpet in today. We have been living in a bit of upheavel these past few weeks. Everyone has limitations. Mine is upheavel! I am ready to have beds and carpets back where they belong.

*Thomas is finally coming home today! He was supposed to come home Thursday, but Bryon had a case down near his parents today, so there was no point in making the long trip twice in a several day span. Thomas has never left me for so long, and I find myself just staring at pictures of him. I am counting the hours...

*Today is my nephew James's first birthday. What joy he has brought our family over the past year! We celebrated his birthday yesterday and he was so cute eating his cake and squealing over the fuss made over him. What a doll!

TGIF!

We have had a great end of the week! ME continues to heal and be more like herself with each passing day. Thomas is still in Conroe and I miss him dearly, but he is having the time of his life, so I am happy about that. I have also enjoyed devoting all of my energy to Mary Elizabeth. I am even getting closets organized while she sleeps which always brightens my day. ;)

I have added some pics of my flowers that are blooming. I guess what doesn't kill you makes you stronger and these flowers have endured floods and snowstorms! I would like to add a gardeners journal to the blog and maybe once a month document progress. I was going to do that the beginning of April, but most of the garden was underwater! Have a great weekend!