Devastation

I have so much to blog about that one of two things is going to happen. I will either blog faithfully and endlessly over the next few days about birthdays, the lake, our garden, our cousins, etc, or I will get way too busy and you will never hear about any of it.

I'm going for the first one.

Meanwhile, something tragic has happened. When Noah went out the other morning to check on his pumpkin he found this:





(Yes, that is a bite taken out of Noah's pumpkin)

For perspective, here is a before picture (it was actually twice this big at the time of the desecration):



Apparently, pumpkins are incredibly yummy to our cloven hoofed friends.

Happy Birthday, Nathanael!

Yesterday my baby boy grew one year older. We have been having VBS all week, and yesterday was the craziest day of all (it was Water Day), but we still had muffins for breakfast, and sang Happy Birthday and gave gifts last night. Tomorrow we leave for the lake for Carl's family reunion on his mom's side. Nathanael really likes celebrating his birthday there, so we will probably have his party then. He's thrown around about 50 different things that he wants to do, with no real decisions, so his party hasn't materialized yet. Today we are going to go and eat wherever he wants for his birthday, and then he wants to go and see Karate Kid.

When we found out that we were pregnant with our 2nd child we prayed so hard for a boy. I have been so blessed with such an amazing son. He is his own little person, and thoughtfulness and kindness come easily to him. He is creative, and often quiet - but when he gets rambunctious you better watch out!! He is quick to pray for others, loves to read his Bible, and has a VERY strong sense of right and wrong. If I didn't have a good day he is the first to come and sit in my lap and cuddle with me - and I can tell when he hasn't had a good day, because he follows me all over the house leaning against me or trying to hold my hand while I cook - all while trying to act 'cool'. I am proud of my little man, and so thankful that he is mine!

Bawled like a baby

Today Carl and I took the kids to go and see Toy Story 3. I loved it, and I bawled my eyes out. Our very first date was to see the original Toy Story, and to see the story end the way that it did really broke. Carlye was mortified, and wanted to know why I was crying, and then laughed at me when I told her. It wasn't as heart wrenching as UP, but if you have any human emotion in you at all you may want to consider bringing a tissue. Overall, we loved it - and Noah flamenco dancing made it all worth while!!

A Day Late, but Meant With All My Heart!

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!

Thank you for the amazing Daddy that you are. As a parent, I now understand what an amazing man you have to be to be a good daddy to little girls. You always took us on adventures and Daddy Daughter dates. You loved us, made us feel cherished and valuable, and never failed to tell us how beautiful we were. You created doll houses and chariots and tree houses and play houses and countless creations just for us - and I adored them. I loved waking up to you cooking us breakfast before school - especially my yummy omelets - and I think that's why breakfast is still my favorite meal of the day. There is not a single morning that I cook for my children when I don't think of you. I love you, and I am so blessed to have you in my life!

And I miss you more than you know.

And Happy Father's Day to my amazing husband. When our little girl was born, almost a decade ago, you stole her from my arms moment's after I gave birth and didn't want to give her back. The love on your face and in your eyes was amazing, and made me love you even more. Since then I have daily seen that look on your face when our children come into the room. You have made our family and our children a priority in your life, and I am so thankful for the ways that you find to keep us with you and around you, even when you are working. I know that our children are who they are because of the amount of time that you give whole heartedly to them. You say 'I love you' all the time, come to all of their special events, and sit on the porch with them just to talk. You take them fishing, let them "work" with you, and have shown them the importance of daily prayer and Bible study. You make choices with all of us first in your thoughts, and are able to make us all feel cherished in even the little things that you do. I know that one of the reasons you have gone from a grounds keeper at a university to a prosperous home builder is because you have put your family second only to your faith in God. Thank you. I may not tell you often how thankful I am, how proud I am, or how much I love you, but I am telling you now. I am so blessed to call you mine!

I also want to say Happy Father's day to my own Popi. I love you, I miss you, and I can never tell you how much you mean to me. Thank you for who you have been in my life. It was so fun to grow up with the best grandpa in the world!

Pumpkin Pictures (and some garden, too)

Noah with his pumpkin vines



Some of my heather flowers (I bought 12 plants for $5!)



One of my $1 Lantana's:



Noah's 1st pumpkin on the vine:



I mentioned yesterday that because our little Yorkie is in heat we are having her bred right now. Today I overheard a conversation in the back seat that went like this:

"Brookie, Emmaline got really hot, so we gave her some bread, and now she's going to have babies!"

Garden

I love gardening. I have never in all of my life had a garden that I recall, and everything that I have ever tried to grow has died a tragic and horrible death either by drowning or dehydration. Amazingly, the gardening industry has capitalized on those of us who inadvertently murder innocent plants, and has created amazing things such as moisture control soil. This miraculous concoction makes it practically impossible to kill anything. If you water your plants too much, this soil holds the water in, and then when you have failed to water for a few days the soil releases water for the roots to absorb. Ingenious, really. My dollar garden from Lowe's, (when plants are half or mostly dead you can buy them for $1 at Lowes) is growing beautifully, and Noah's pumpkin and Nathanael's watermelon are taking over everything. I had little faith in my son's ability to grow a giant pumpkin from a pouch of seeds, and I am now being punished for my lack of faitht. I have a giant pumpkin vine overtaking my driveway and sidewalk. My husband wants to "prune" it down, but you aren't supposed to prune a pumpkin vine until it is 10 to 15 feet long (CRAZY!!) and I don't want to risk Noah's pumpkin that is already growing so well, he is just so proud of it. I figure people can walk around it for the next 4 months or so, right?

Did you know that pumpkins can grow up to 25 lbs a day? It's true - I read it on that there internet, and that's as factual as you can get.

In other family news, our little Emmaline is going through the process of becoming a Mommy. Her 'boyfriends' name is Boo Boy, and he typically throws 4 to 5 lb yorkies, which is half Emmy's size - so her pregnancy should be simple. We should know in a week or two if it 'took' and the puppies will be due around about August 18th. Super fun! Just in time for school to start! At least we didn't pick a busy time.

And who'da thought that it would take longer to grow a pumpkin than it would to have a litter of pups?

Things that make you go hmmmmm.

That's all for now. I'll try to post garden pictures soon.

Discovery Camp

This past weekend Carl and I, along with 9 other adults, took 38 boys and girls to Discovery Camp. It is a church camp for kids ages 7 yrs to 12 yrs old, and it is a blast! Sorry, Andy, but David wasn't able to go with us this year. Carl, however, was dancing because he was the leader from our church. It was hilarious!!!

It was a great weekend. We are exhausted and thankful to be back in our own beds, though! It's amazing how long it takes to recover from two nights of very little sleep paired with three days of 100 degree Houston heat and humidity!

Fun pictures

Noah on the climbing wall - he made it to the top!:


Nathanael on the climbing wall (he made it to the top, too!):

Sadness

I know that no one likes down and depressing blogs, and lately there seems as though there is plenty of sadness to go around. Two of my sisters and each lost someone that we love this week, and each of them in a tragic way.

That tends to make you kinda sad.

But after the sorrow passes it's important to remember the things that bring us joy. The things that make us who we are. My little sister Heather did a post about 5 quirky things she does. I thought that it would be fun to share with you 5 quirky things about me.

1) I don't like getting my face wet. Whenever I wash my face or take a bath I do it as quickly as I possibly can so that I don't drown. If you splash my face in a swimming pool you should pray really hard that I can't get to you, because I will yell!

2) I count syllables. Whenever someone is talking or if we are watching TV I count the syllables of each word said on my hands. I also type them sometimes, or play the piano in the air.

3) I always judge a book by it's cover. If it's not a pretty or intriguing looking book I won't buy it.

4) I have to put lotion on my feet every night before bed. And once I've done it I won't get out of bed again. And sometimes I wake up and feel as though my feet are dry and can't go back to sleep until I've put more lotion on.

5) Sometimes, I sleep in my closet at night. Yes, you read that right. If I wake up and can't go back to sleep I go and lay down on some blankets folded up in the bottom of my closet. I drag in my pillows, and either play on my computer until I fall asleep or plug in Christmas lights and read until I fall asleep. I can't turn on the light in our room because Carl wakes up, but if I go into the living room Emmy barks at me for invading the house, and then the kids wake up....so the closet seemed like the best idea!

So there you go, 5 quirky things about you.

What are your quirks?

The Funeral

Today was Len's funeral. It has been a very hard day - he was deeply loved. It was a beautiful service done with full military honors. But there were a few moments here and there that brought a smile. For example, when we arrived they were giving boutonnieres to the pallbearers, and Noah kept trying to grab one to put on.

"Noah, that's not for you." I stated as I firmly redirected him to another part of the foyer.
"But, Mo-om, I was his friend!" he stated, as he continued in his attempt to swipe a rose off of the silver tray.

A little while later during the service they had a few of his closest friends stand and say a few words.

"Mom, why aren't they calling my name?" Noah whispered in my ear VERY loudly.

"Because they aren't going to, baby." I said as I snuggled him close, hoping this would satisfy him.

A few moments later they called up another of his friends, and Noah turned to me and stated, "Mom, you need to go and tell them to call my name. I was his friend."

"No, baby, they aren't going to call you, but I know that you were his friend." Disgruntled, he settled in to listen, with an entirely unhappy look upon his face.

Afterwards as we were all eating I asked him what he would have said.

"Don't worry about it, Mom. I'll just say it next time," he informed me.

So I guess we'll never know.

Love

I love going to the movies. I especially love to watch a really good love story. This weekend I got to watch two movies with my hubby, and both of them were love stories - although I don't think that Carl would classify them as such. As I was watching them, and hoping my husband didn’t notice how good looking the ladies were, I started contemplating what love is in real life. And even though it’s fun to watch the stories at the movies, real love is so much better because...well...because it’s real.

You see, real love happens at the kitchen sink. And in the laundry room, and - yes - in the bedroom. It happens when you’ve had a bad day and your husband rubs your hair until you fall asleep, when your heart is broken and your being held while you cry. When you’ve messed things up big time and you are forgiven anyway - when you don’t deserve to be at all. Real love happens when you’ve gone from a size 2 to a size 10 and you have stretch marks where there used to be a six-pack and your husband tells you that you are beautiful - and he means it.

Love is shown when you pick up toilet paper on your way home from work, help plant flowers and watch HGTV (or football) with a smile on your face. It’s knowing you’re pretty without your make-up on. It’s taking the strength of the one you love and using it to make it through the hard days. Real love is what happens after the dirty diapers, when the homework is done, and dinner was disgusting.

It’s about knowing the truth about each other.

Love is knowing that while there is undoubtedly someone out there who is prettier, or nicer, or funnier, that as far as your husband is concerned they will always fall short of the ideal - simply because they aren't you.

And it’s about knowing that you are loved for who you are, including your weaknesses and idiosyncrasies. Knowing that - in your husbands eyes - you are perfect. Not in spite of, but because of all these things.

That’s what real love is.

Shocked and sad

Yesterday I lost a dear friend. I have known him for years, and he has always been amazing to me and my children. At church we joked and laughed and talked all of the time, and he spoiled my children beyond belief. He was retired military, and loved to talk to me about his past and my family. He went in for a quadruple bypass and didn't make it through the surgery. The doctors don't understand what happened. He was only 65 years old. His wife is in shock. My children are devastated. Everyone is. On the 14th it will be one year since we lost our Crystal to a horrific motorcycle accident. It has been a hard year. I know that I am in shock because I cannot cry yet. Perhaps tomorrow when he isn't there to greet me it will all settle in.

Len, you will be missed dearly. We love you.

Did you miss me?

Okay, so it has been absolutely nuts around here! Summer is officially here, and my children's sweet, kind, loving and sensible personalities have officially exited their bodies. So, boot camp has begun! Our children WILL love each other, be kind, and STOP TATTLING AND BEING MEAN TO EACH OTHER!!!!!! Or else.....or else I'll just send them back to school!

I have also begun gardening - and it is so much fun! I planted ten practically dead Lantana that were on sale at Lowes for $1, a Spotted Calla Lili that I bought for $2, a Jasmine vine that I bought for $5, 24 tiny Heather plants that were also $5 and Noah's three very large pumpkin vines (that he grew from seeds) into a plot in our yard that I had prepared for plants. We mulched and did all kinds of amazing things, and I now officially have a flower/pumpkin garden. On Friday I began digging my holes, shoveling and picking up rocks, etc. Nathanael was my faithful little helper, and he never left my side - Carlye and Noah are slightly more fickle, I must say. But now I have a neat little garden, and I am so proud of it! I love spending time in it, pruning, watering, etc. Noah has been my little helper with this. He'll even wake up in the mornings and go out and dump a cup of water on his pumpkins. It's really adorable, and that's probably why they are growing so well. Who knew I could be a gardener! And a frugal one at that! Our $2 practically dead little rose bush even has pretty peachy pink tea roses on it - although it has to stay on the porch because the deer have been munching on it! I have to be honest - I am so excited about my flowres!

Sadly, though, i gardened in a tank top and learned a very valuable lesson. Just because it is shady does NOT mean that you cannot get sunburned. I am actually sunburned so severely that I blistered all over my back. I look like walking bubble wrap. It is ugly, nasty and hurts horribly. I haven't been able to sleep, when people hug me I want to cry, and I am just over all very miserable. The odd thing about my sunburn is that the blisters did not even show up until today, but I knew that it was coming. If someone accidentally brushed up against me this past weekend I would tear up. It is a truly tragic beginning to the summer.

Oh, and I had 12 blisters on my hands (and yes, some of them did bleed!). Aren't you sad for me? I am. Very, very sad.