Joys of Waiting

Using the magnifying glass Chris and Ali gave her for Easter

They thought this pose was hilarious!

Chick socks and pink jellies...the latest trend.

Love this boy!

Who knew that waiting for a bus could be so much fun!? With these two (only if they're in a good mood) anything is fun! One of the perks of being on opposite calendars as Braxton is that I can be "mom" for a week. I have been able to take him to school, get him on the bus, and have lunch with him. Not to mention do laundry and get things done around the house on my "to do list" without anyone stopping me. It's been a great week and makes me look forward to summer.
And let it be known: if it looks like Mckinley just woke up, she literally was woken up just so we could go get Braxton on the bus. Under her jacket she still has her night gown on. She's not going to be happy come Monday when she's being woken up BEFORE the sun!

The Day Arrived

Good Morning Beautifuls!

All the "Greats"

                   

Yesterday brought a lot of anticipated events. The Easter Bunny of course came Saturday night and both of my children LOVED what he left. The excitement that they both felt was contagious and I found myself feeling just as happy by watching them.
After church and a good nap for Mck we went to Grandaddy's house for food and fellowship with family. "Baby Zoie" (whom we've called  since she was born because to Braxton at the time, she WAS a baby) was going to be there. We don't see her as much as I would like and every time we have the kids just didn't "connect". Yesterday that all changed! The girls hit it off like best friends. They were talking and giggling. I kept going in the back room to check on them because I found it odd that I wasn't being crawled on or being pulled into another room. Every time I'd peek in they were doing something. Going through my old jewelry box (ohhing and ahhing over treasures), playing with stuffed animals, playing with Braxton, and enjoying each other.
Jokingly I made the comment that finally the day I had been waiting for had come. But in all honesty I wasn't being funny. I have amazing memories of playing with my cousins. Every holiday was a chance I got to see them. Some much older and some much younger but we always connected in a special way and had a great time. I'm glad that my children will have that too. 

Tooth Truth

It just so happened that I took pictures three consecutive days and in every one he's got a different amount of teeth. And he pulled them by himself.  I think the tooth fairy is glad that there aren't any more "really" lose ones.
He's just getting so big and growing up so fast.

What Makes My Heart "Beep"

It's that time of year again. One of my most favorite actually. I love spring. The warmth is always wonderful no matter what the winter was like (especially this winter), the flowers are beautiful, and just the anticipation of all that there is left to do before summer kicks off. Yesterday was a very busy day. I wandered all week how we were going to make it all fit but knew that we'd pull it off.
Friday night as we were getting ready I started telling the kids all that we had to do. Our wonderful friend from church, Tina, has had some serious health issues since August. She's had surgery, chemo, many hospital stays,and had to receive blood. The church was holding a blood drive in honor of her and I most definitely wanted to participate. I said that after I gave blood we'd go to the Egg hunt. Both of my kids had a look of horror on their faces and Mckinley began to go into panic mode. I explained that sometimes our bodies need some help and we have to get blood from people that are healthy. If our bodies are healthy then our heart beats and pumps new blood so it's able to give blood away. (I know. Pretty deep conversation for me to have with a 2 year old!) She still wasn't too sure about it all but seemed much better when I told her SHE wouldn't have to do anything.
Fast forward to the blood drive. As we're sitting and waiting she sat on my lap and turned towards me. She touched her heart and then mine and said, "Our heart beeps and makes new blood".
Everyday. My heart "beeps" for these too. No matter what they do. I know how lucky I am to have two healthy babies. I love them so.

Good Call

How "today's generation" spends a snowy evening

                                     

3 days later, this snowman is STILL standing

Fun!!

This is unbelievable

Who said a boogie board was just good for the beach?

      The weather man called it right this time. It snowed. A lot. This snow makes the bit we had a few weeks ago (the one where we missed 2 days of school) look like a walk in the park. It snowed all day yesterday and started back again this morning. As I sat on the couch this morning and saw it start back, I literally said I wish it would stop snowing.
     The kids are having a ball. Outside. They have a touch of cabin fever being inside.
     We're hoping that soon it will begin to melt and the roads become passable. Braxton lost a day of spring break yesterday and we're still not sure when they'll make up today. I'm pretty sure it's safe to say tomorrow is a no go too. Whoever said "we're due for a good snow" must be happy. I'd say this is a good snow.

SNOW WAY

 

 

Schools let out around here about 11:30 yesterday. I couldn't leave until all of my students were safely off campus so Dad was "on-call" to get Brax off the bus. As soon as I left work I went to pick up the wild woman and we got home and relieved Dad. For hours we kept looking out the windows wondering where all the snow was the caused us to get out of school early. Brax asked over and over again if school was cancelled and I tried explaining that something needed to happen before we could cancel school. About 5 pm that something started and when the kids woke up this morning they were so excited about what was outside.

Braxton is experiencing his first snow day from school and Mckinley has just seen her first snow.

Because is snows so "much" around here neither of my kids have "snow gear" so we compromised and layered our clothes and wore bags on our shoes to keep them dry for as long as possible. We came up with our on version of a sled. My last words were "don't break it. That's a perfectly good box." Brax slid down great. I got in and got scared when I got half-way down and saw a car coming down the street. I literally busted out. So much for that box.

Whatever. It worked for a bit. Then we got cold and came on inside.

Fun stuff!!

 

An Angel Among Us

I used to have this crazy dream that I'd be out walking along a street and would stop at an intersection before crossing. I'd look to the left, then right and then I'd stop. I had just walked into my mom. My dream would then go as far as me thinking if I'd be mad at her or how I'd react when I saw her just standing there. Would I tell her how angry I had been? Would I tell her the heartache that we had all felt? That dream stopped about 10 years ago. I concluded that if I DID bump into her I'd hug her and tell her how much I had missed her. And then I told myself that she'd always be in my heart.
SIXTEEN years ago on this night Mama left us. No one suspected her departure. No one knew how sick she was. No one realized how different our life would be from that point on. Next year I will have lived longer without her then I ever lived with her.
I now think about all the things I'd want to tell her if I bumped into her and I think that there is NOTHING I'd want to tell her. If I had it my way, I'd keep all the years and events she missed for myself. I wouldn't trade them. I've met some amazing people, learned some amazing lessons, and visited beautiful places. For all the hurt and pain that losing her caused my life, I'd never trade it. It's all made me who I am.
What I'd want more than anything is for her to hold and meet the people I regret she never got to know.
 "Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."