From Heaven

I am constantly reminded that my children have such a wonderful, unique view of their world. Last night the boys and I were driving home from Target (our happy place) when Alec asked what Grandmom looks like now that she's in heaven.

Alec tends to ask things at seemingly random times, though if I work hard enough I can usually trace his thoughts back a few minutes or hours or days. For this conversation I didn't have to trace too far. For the past few minutes we'd been discussing the word "amnesia" because he'd heard it somewhere and wanted to know what it meant. After I explained the definition of the word, Alec had said, "So... it's kind of like Grandmom."

Of course, that brought about another round of explanation. So after we discussed the differences between amnesia and Alzheimers, he said, "I'm glad Grandmom is in heaven now because she has all of her memories again. And she remembers us now." At this point I had to open my eyes extra wide to allow the tears to sink back in a bit. Then he said, "So, what does Grandmom look like now that she's in heaven? I think she's young again, but maybe not too young, but definitely not sick and in bed."

Then my sweet Zachary chimed in on this discussion and said, "I think we probably get to choose what we look like when we get to heaven. I mean, maybe it's like picking out toys or clothes, and you get to pick out what you want to look like. That'd be cool."

I said, "Yes, that would be cool. I think I'd pick out the 20 year old me." Alec said, "I bet Grandmom picked out the 20 year old her too. Poppa Jim would like that I think."

Oh, those boys. They are such insightful, wonderful little creatures. They are such blessings. Even when they make me crazy (a daily occurance), I cannot imagine my life without them. My mom thought they were just about the best things ever. I wish they could have had her healthy and whole for much, much longer. I know she's still loving them from heaven.

Feelings

So today is the third day of school, which means this morning was the third morning of waking up at 6:45. It didn't go so well. Here's the irony. All summer long, on days when no one HAD to be awake by any certain time, Alec-the-stinker was in my room stage-whispering "CAN I WAKE UP NOW?" by 6:30 or 6:45. Every morning. In a super happy mood. Since school has started? Not so much.

This morning while he was eating his happiest breakfast - the one that is almost a surefire guarantee to put a smile on his face -- Frosted Flakes, (I know, I'm a bad mom) he was STILL grumbling and grousing into those sugary flakes of goodness. So I told him, "Alec, time to go change out of those cranky pants and put on some happy ones."

His response? "I'm not wearing any pants. And these are NOT cranky undies." He took a moment to check out the undies in question and then said, "They are CAMO undies."

Feelings. It was a toss up between humored and frustrated, but that is a constant state of being in this household. I'm eternally humorously frustrated by my wacky children.

First Day

Wow. It just doesn't seem possible. I'm the mother of a 5th grader and a 1st grader. How can my little Zachy be 10 years old and in his last year of elementary school?! How can my baby already be in first grade?!

Every year when I take their first day of school pictures they show me their grades by holding up that many fingers. Alec was excited this morning because he got to hold up a 1. Kingergarten and preschool were kind of difficult to illustrate. And this is the customary "show me your backpack" picture. I love to do these because some day Alec will not be that much shorter than his big brother!

Zachary was out of the car and down the sidewalk in a flash. He did NOT want me walking him in today.

Thankfully Alec was completely fine with Mom walking him in and taking pictures. This is his new teacher Mrs. Potts.

And here's my baby ready for his first day of first grade.

Prayers for a year of knowledge, friends, and blessings!

Family Fun Weekend

Last year we began the first annual "Weekend of Fun" before school started back. This past weekend was our second annual family fun weekend. We decided to visit the River Park on Mud Island on Saturday morning.

Riding the monorail was pretty cool. It was neat seeing the Pyramid and the Mississippi Bridge from that viewpoint.

The riverwalk itself was pretty disappointing. It was extremely dirty, mucky, yucky. There was even a dead bird just lying on the concrete beside the "river." Thankfully, the view, the paddleboats, and the museum salvaged the visit.

The boys LOVED the paddleboats.

My boys are getting so big. I cannot believe that Zach is a 5th grader and Alec is already in 1st grade. It's a cliche, but so true that time goes by far too quickly.

My favorite part of the weekend was dinner at the Melting Pot. I always enjoy this dining experience. I mean, HellOOO, chocolate fondue! The boys got excited when the fondue pot started to steam.

Other activities this weekend were Build a Bear (for Alec) and Harry Potter 7.2 (for Zach). We ate great food all weekend, which was fun because we've all been eating very healthy for the past month. The boys were excited about donuts on Saturday morning because it had been ages since I'd allowed that indulgence. I'm getting us back on the healthy eating today, but the weekend's food was certainly fun.

It will be fun to continue this tradition each year. I know the activities will change as our boys grow and develop into young men. I'm sure Build a Bear will not be a "cool" activity for much longer, and I'm not sure how long Harry Potter will be THE obsession for Zach. I just want to cherish each stage of their lives because I know I'll be sending them off to college before I'm ready!

Father Fright

My dad is scaring me.

He is not doing very well right now. I worry about him constantly, and I deal with guilt for not being closer to home. He's having problems with his kidneys, which is not a new thing, but it is a chronic, debilitating thing. He's in stage 4 renal failure, and since there are only 5 stages and the last one is the "it's time for a transplant or daily dialysis treatments," stage 4 is bad enough. He's also having heart troubles. He's been diagnosed with congestive heart failure, and we've learned that his heart is only pumping about 30% of the blood in his body out of his heart.

This is an interesting fact because his body is chronically anemic. He's currently admitted to the hospital in Pauls Valley getting a blood transfusion because he was at least two units short of blood. They may actually put more than two units in him tonight.

He has an angioplasty scheduled in two weeks. I'm hoping and praying that this procedure will provide us with some solutions to get my dad back on his feet. I need him healthy and strong. He's only 64 years old! Please keep him in your prayers. I can't lose him too.

Fourth of July

This post is a bit belated, but I still wanted to post these pictures. Mike and his group played at Navy Lake in Millington for the Independence Day celebration. It was so incredibly hot that day, and the band was playing on a black, metal surface in full uniform. Yikes! Regardless, he was amazing, as always.

My three guys. How could a girl be THIS lucky?!

Florida Room...Finished! (though not completely furnished)

Welcome to the finished (though not completely furnished/decorated) Florida Room. Our family has been out of town for the last two weeks, first to church camp and then to Oklahoma. When we returned, we had a completed room instead of a little ol' patio. I am so loving it! I'm trying to get a plan of action for how to furnish it. We want to move the boys' massive LEGO collection out there, so I need to find a cool piece of furniture to hold those toys. We picked up the rust colored chair and side tables at a local antique/consignment store yesterday. The blue chair has been relocated from the living room. My budget is quickly shrinking, so I may have to wait a couple of months to really complete the room. I think I want to find a cool quilt and hang it on the brick side of the room. The bricks are really rough to the touch, and I think a quilt would soften it a bit, plus it might provide some sound absorption. We'll see. I'm also considering completely removing the windows between the living room and the sunroom so that it is an open space there instead of old (ugly) screens. Again...we'll see.

And this is my beautiful wall of windows.

Let me know if you have any suggestions for my room. I really am open to ideas, especially the types of ideas that are budget friendly!