Friday!

We are having a fun, relaxing summer and soon will be going to the beach (yay!).  David wanted some extra spending money, so he asked what he could do to earn it.  Well Mamma has plenty of stuff for him to do!  Today he dusted the house, dust mopped the downstairs, cleaned the kitchen counters and breakfast table and - the doozey of them all - vacuumed the house.  I hate vacuuming, so it was my pleasure to pay my sweet first born to do it - and he did a fantastic job!  He even backed out of the room while vacuuming to make the lines look good (Dad is so proud!).  He earned a lot of extra money today so he is excited and I got to get a lot of other things done while he was doing my normal Friday cleaning job!  Win-Win situation!

Jason, on the other hand, is not as motivated by money.  He did dust the baseboards in the house - but that was about all he wanted to do.  He did do his normal chores so now my house is sparkling clean!  Rick's mom bought him this huge dog for his birthday this past week - according to her he "fell in love with it and she had to get it".  Grandmothers are such suckers.  Here he is with his favorite pet.  We are already arguing about taking him on vacation.....he cries when I say it won't fit in the car.  Trust me, it won't.  But I'm not sure if I can take him crying all the way to the beach without it!  Stay tuned.....

The things I love about our house

After living in an apartment for 2 years and 2 months, there are too many things to list that I love about our new, beautiful home.  But one of my favorites is our back yard.....and all the animals we get to see.  Here are a few - deer wondering what we were doing in his yard!  Frogs stuck on the back windows....and the bunnies my boys love to leave carrots for.  So fun!

The latest bang up

My oldest looks like a train hit him this week.  Between falling off his bike, getting run into by his best friend, and now hitting his head on his night stand - he looks like he was the loser in a brawl.  The latest happened last night when he was tossing and turning and somehow slid off the bed enough to hit his nose on the corner of the nightstand.  Instead of coming down last night to tell me he had done this, he cried for a little bit then went back to sleep. Thankfully his dad woke up before I did and saw it - when he brought him in our room to show me I couldn't believe it.  Of course, I felt horrible that he didn't come and get one of us, but Rick believes he was too tired.  David said he didn't want to wake me up - and that I would "flip out" when I saw it.    He got that right!  I had to take a picture of it - although it looks better in the picture than it does in real life (you can tell how pleased he is that I am taking his picture!).  Hopefully the swelling will go down in a couple of days - it sure hurts though - according to him.  All this had to happen the morning before our well visit at the doctor!  At least she got to look at it and didn't call DSS!  I love having boys - now if only my stomach can handle changing the bandages! YUCK!

LEGOland!

David's birthday was May 29th, and because we moved, and finished school on the 28th, we promised David we would do a party for him later in the summer.  He wanted a Lego party and that's what he got a couple weeks ago.  Lego has a store at Concord Mills Mall. It's a great store and they have rooms for small birthday parties.  The only problem was picking only 9 friends to invite - that was tough!  But he did it and had a great time picking out Lego sets and then building them.  He loves Legos!  After the party we went to the food court and had cookie cake and he opened his presents from his friends.  He, like Jason, does a great job at picking his friends.  They are really sweet boys and most of them he has known since Kindergarten - especially his best friend Keegan.  It was a great time and he loved having his birthday spread out from May to July!

Jason's 6!

We had a great day yesterday celebrating Jason's 6th birthday with family and friends at Chuck E. Cheese.  It was crazy, but a lot of fun, and Jason had a great time seeing all his friends from school.  We started by playing games, then it was time for pizza and a visit from the man himself - Chuck E. Cheese!  This was good for everyone but his pal Bryce, who had to be shielded from the big furry one - he was terrified to say the least. 

Then it was on to opening gifts, cake and a jump in the ticket booth.  This part was hysterical!  Jason got in the booth, then they turned it on and tickets went flying everywhere.  He is supposed to grab as many as he can, which he did.  He also nabbed a big ticket worth 200 tickets.  He was pretty excited about that.  He truly has the sweetest friends and I am so proud of him for being sweet to each of his friends on this chaotic day.  The best part about it was I got to visit with parents and spend time with my birthday boy, while the sweet girl from Chuck E. Cheese handled the pizza, drinks, cake, etc.  Loved it!  

We came home after that with a couple of our closest friends and they played all day.  At dinner he got to pick what he wanted - just like momma, he picked all fried foods - chicken nuggets, tater tots and mozzarella sticks.  We had chocolate cake with chocolate icing (just the same at lunch) and then opened presents.  He got puzzles and legos but the big item (and surprise) was a Nintendo DS.  You can tell by his face he was not expecting it.  He was so excited!  Daddy did a good job picking that one out!

It was a wonderful day to celebrate. We are so blessed to have Jason in our lives.  His energy and personality make our family fun and exciting - and we love our little JC!

A good week, yet, a bad week

This week David did his first Vacation Bible School at Calvary church.  He has loved it and they do such a great job there.  A lot of his friends were in his class, and I think that was what made it so exciting for him to go this year.  I am so thankful for all he learned and that "church" was fun for him.  Many in his class of 10 accepted Christ as their Savior so that was exciting to hear about this week.  It ended today and my sweet friend Kimberly took David, her son Jordan and their friend Payton to play and hang out at Chic-fil-A afterward. I still have some of the songs they sang at the end playing in my head - I hope in David's head too!

The bad part about today was that Jason threw up in the gathering space at the church on the way out.  Bummer.  We are still not sure what happened, as that was the only time he got sick, but he has been sleeping a lot today so something is not right.  I was thankful for the sweet security guard that was there and told him he hoped Jason felt better soon.  It's been a busy week with playdates and heat, so maybe he just got overheated.  At any rate, he is on the mend and for that I am so thankful.

The other bummer this week was that our goldfish died yesterday.  These things have made it almost a year in our house and were doing well - making it through the move and everything.  I'm not good at keeping things alive in my house, other than my family, so the fact that these goldfish were still living were a miracle (ask my husband about the money we have spent on plants...for example!). The kids were at a friends house yesterday afternoon and I cried and prayed and stressed out about having to tell them.  I even asked Rick to be home when they got home that night so he could break it to them.  I knew there would be much crying and whaling.  When the boys got home, Rick had them stop what they were doing and said "hey guys, the goldfish died today, but we'll go this weekend and get new fish, ok?"  Preparing for the worst, I braced myself for their response......"ok dad".  That's it?!?!  No crying, no "bye bye fishy" in a sad voice?  Nothing? Nada? What did I stress over for 5 hours?!  I guess God answered my prayers by preparing their hearts, because quite frankly I am stunned.  Certainly wasn't what I expected, but I'll take it. 

So this weekend we will be looking for new fish and hopefully nothing else.  It has been a busy, yet restful month after moving, and we are looking forward to cooler temperatures and a nice, relaxing weekend!

Remembering Dad

Father's Day carries mixed emotions for me.  As a wife and mother, I am so thankful for the man I married - he is the best dad I know.  It's a great day to celebrate all he is and all he means to our family.  I enjoy preparing for this day and spending it with my husband and our two precious sons.    As a daughter, I am reminiscent and sad; yet also thankful.  Today is the 15th Father's Day I have spent without my Dad.  It feels weird even typing that.  15 years?  Where did that time go?  It seems like only yesterday I was making cupcakes in my Easy Bake oven for my Dad and watching with pride as he gobbled them all down (without a hint of how dried out they were).  I loved celebrating my dad as a child - because to me - he was the best dad ever created by God and I was lucky enough to have him.  I felt bad for other kids who didn't have a dad like mine.  As I got older, I was able to see he wasn't perfect - but he still was the perfect dad.  He made me feel special; he made me feel important.  As a daughter, those are precious gifts from a father that have carried with me all my life.  I know I wouldn't have married a man who treats me like a queen if I didn't start out with a dad who treated me like a princess.

I miss my dad a lot.  I often wonder what he would think about having 5 grandsons and 1 granddaughter.  I wonder what my parents life would be like if he were still here.  I know our family dynamics would be different.  My brother and husband would have a hand to guide them if and when they needed it.  Never one to push, my dad would be available to any of us if we needed it.  He probably would have had a few words of wisdom for all of us over the years that we could have used.  I am sure there were times over the last 15 years he would have spoken up about a few things.

I didn't think when I lost my father how much I would still be missing him all these years later.  It's a hole that can't be filled.  And it's not just on Father's day.  It felt like I lost him again the day my first son was born; and my second.  It's those life altering moments that you feel the void the most - he's not here.  I can't watch him cheer for my son while he pitches; I can't enjoy watching him play a board game with my kids or watch them swim.

It's during tough times I think about my dad too.  I can't ask him what I should do - but I do think about what he would say to me. Would he be proud of the wife I have become; the mother I am?  Am I doing enough to keep our family together?  Watch out for my mom?  Be there for my brother?  Even today it's hard to keep our family tight when the head of it is no longer here.

In spite of all sorrow, I am thankful.  My dad gave me the best example of what my heavenly Father is like. Surely God knew how important that was going to be once my earthly father was gone.  His voice and wisdom still whisper in my ear.  My dad guided me, my brother, and my husband well in the years he was here.  It's still his voice I hear say "I love you" when I feel unlovable.  It's still his strength I remember - in pain but pushing on - when I feel I can't go another step.  It's still his hand on my shoulder I feel when I am not sure which way to go.

He was a great Father and today I miss him.  I hope our family makes him proud watching from heaven.  I know he wouldn't change being with Jesus to be here on earth - even for his grandchildren.  And I rest in that assurance every day - I know I will be with him again.  But still, I would love to see him watch one of his grandsons play a ball game - just once.  And on that day, I would have one more person to make cupcakes for.