Wednesday, March 31, 2010

And He's Off....

Today was Owen's easter party at preschool.
The entire time I was trying to get photos of him he was in motion. From the time he bolted out the door.
To each egg he picked up.
He stopped for only a split second and he was off again.
There must have been something interesting in this egg.
But it didn't take long for him to take off again.
This child does.not.stop. He doesn't. We have cut his nap at school down to 30 minutes so bedtime is getting a little easier, and by easier I mean he is falling asleep before 11pm now, but it is still 9 or 9.30pm and several times walking him back to bed before he gives up.

And finally, there is this picture. Which I think captures his spirit completely. Happiness. Childhood. Security. And his reckless abandon self.

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Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Dirty Pigs

Today was just beautiful. I think the high was around 70 and we spent the afternoon outside once everyone was home. It has been raining a bit here so our backyard is a mud pit.
But I think that's how they like it.
We ran.
And chased.
We became Jedi's.
We laughed.
And we fought.
It was a good day to be alive!
Easy. Relaxed. Just taking it all in.
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Monday, March 29, 2010

One Year Ago Today

I was laying in my bed alone and crying. I remember it so vividly. Painfully even. One year ago tonight, I lay in bed alone and angry. Angry that my husband was in the hospital and because he was in ICU, I couldn't spend the night with him. I remember feeling lost. The house too big. The bed too big. Life too big. Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of Chris's heart attack. I have it on my calendar at work but since it fell on a Sunday and as stated, my calendar is at work, it slipped my mind. He came in the bedroom earlier tonight and mentioned something about it and it stopped me cold for a second. One year ago, my life changed instantaneously. I knew without a doubt our relationship would change immediately. For the better.

Funny enough, tonight I am sleeping in this same big bed alone. But this time it is because we have two little girls sleeping in Ethan's bed and Ethan and Chris are sleeping upstairs. And all is right with the world. Now.

I have learned over the past year that he is just as much a part of me as I am a part of me. And I don't ever want to forget that.

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His Royal Coolness

Before my mother passed away she used to tell me she was worried about whether or not I would ever meet a man that was truly good to me but at the same time strong enough to be a man that I would fall for. I had a habit (and a very bad habit at that) of falling for the bad guy. I would bounce between good guy and bad guy almost as often as a tennis ball in the US Open. And then I bounced into Chris and somehow he has tolerated me thus far.

I had a terrible time turning my back on animals when we first started dating. It was nothing for Chris to come over and there be an extra cat or dog or both. As a matter of fact the day that I moved in with him I stopped on the side of the interstate and picked up a HUGE cat that I promptly named Jedi and made him a home in one of Chris's bathrooms. He never blinked. I don't know if he was so smitten with me at the time that he was afraid to say something or what, but he never did. I think he was always fairly certain that I would find a home for the cat or dog and that home would not be his. Over the next several years I would call him from shelters or even out in the middle of no where on the side of the road telling him about a cat or a dog that I just couldn't leave behind and he would always say ok.

As time has progressed I have slowly gotten out of the animal rescue business but I still ache for the needy. Whether that be animal or human. A few weeks ago I had to go to Walmart during my lunch hour to pick up something and often times when I go to this particular Walmart there is a homeless man standing on the corner. I typically drive by, try not to make eye contact, don't get involved - you know? But really - is that the way Jesus would want us to live? Is that what He did?

"I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." ~ Matthew 25:40

So this day was different. I told myself driving to the store, if he is out there, I am going to do something, I don't know what, but something. And he was! Did ya'll hear me? He was! And I got nervous. Nudge, nudge - that's the Holy Spirit working. So I parked, walked into the store and I bought him snacks, fruit, juice, a chocolate bunny and a bible. Now don't start thinking "yeah, right she bought him a bible - how holy of her." I bought it so that he would know it was the Christian thing to do. I wasn't doing it because I pitied him. I did it because it was the right thing to do. I left Walmart and pulled up next to him at the light. I handed him the bag full of things and he said real southern like "Honey, did you buy me something to eat?" And not derogatory like - that's what we southerners do, call each other honey. I said yes, sir. He asked if it was apple juice and I said no, fruit punch (but now I know he likes apple juice). He said thank you and I drove off. Next time, I plan on getting his name.

I told Chris about it later that night and again, he didn't even blink. He is just that cool.

Now fast forward to last week. I told him on Thursday that I wanted to take in two children from the Children of the World Choir. I told him a little about the organization, and that the children were either from Uganda, Nepal or Philippines and again, you guessed it, he didn't even blink. So Sunday I picked up these two little girls and Chris has done wonderfully with them. I really think he does better than me because he doesn't even try. They speak and he listens. He is so relaxed and at ease with himself and quite honestly, just more comfortable in his own skin than myself. I mentioned yesterday about their accents and how I have to say "huh???" at least 3 times before I get what they are saying. Not Chris. He has actually been my interpreter a couple of times.

He is just so cool. The coolest of cool. And not cool like high school cool. But cool like take your breath, wow, kind of cool. I could not imagine a better, more perfect husband for me than him. I am so grateful for whatever it was that brought us together. Without him, I would be no where close to the person I am today.

I love you, honey!

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
~1 Corinthians 13:13

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Our First Night

The girls have settled in the best they can considering they are changing homes every 3 or so days. They are beyond polite and extremely appreciative. I fixed spaghetti last night and Zam loved the sauce. She had thirds! Mimi - tell Grandpa Lewis that I used one of his tomato juices to make the sauce and let it simmer for several hours. I did add more diced tomatoes, hamburger, onions and green peppers, but his juice was the base. They were very focused on their bedtime last night and 9pm it was. I put a vaporizer in their room for the night because Jackie was getting a cough and I could hear congestion building up. They were concerned about what I was putting in the room and asked a few times if I was sure it was ok. Somewhat broke my heart. Of course I know I wouldn't harm them but they are really just two little girls putting their trust in me to care for them. They slept well and Jackie's cough is almost gone. When I checked on them this morning they were up, dressed and had their bed made. Chris made cinnamon rolls for breakfast and Jackie loved them. However, Zam isn't used to sweets and breads so she preferred eggs - and ate a whole carton of egg beaters! I think she was a little confused about why the eggs were in a carton like that instead of whole eggs. I tried to explain to her that the egg beaters were healthier, but I am not sure she understood. They both wanted to feed Eliza this morning so they helped me with her cereal while I got their breakfast together. Jackie in particular is getting a kick out of the baby moving around. And Eliza likes looking at other girls. It is very cute.

They are watching a movie now while I do their laundry and are very content to just lounge around and relax. They are darling little girls and I am so happy I took this leap of faith and decided to offer my home to them for a few days. Aside from their thick accents, we are getting along wonderfully. With as much as I have traveled particularly to Africa, you would think their accents, Zam's in particular would be somewhat familiar, but not at all. Chris is much better at understanding them than I am.

I won't be able to post photos of them on my blog because their leader has asked us not to but they are both just beautiful. Zam has very dark, African toned skin with short hair and Jackie has a warm brown skin tone with beautiful, long, straight Asian-like hair. Zam likes to wear head bands to match her clothing and the colors pop just beautifully against her dark skin. And their smiles - just gorgeous little girl smiles.

We were told to limit the amount of tv they watch, but truly, little girls are supposed to love Hannah Montana and the Jonas Brothers. So, shhhhh......it's our secret. And by the way, they both have a "crush" on Joe Jonas. :-)

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Sunday, March 28, 2010

And 2 More Makes........7!!!

We have a couple of visitors staying with us for the next couple of days. They are part of the Children of the World Choir, which is a part of World Help. One little girl is Zam from Uganda and the other is Jackie from the Philippines. They are on tour throughout the east coast and sang at a church in Raleigh this weekend. They will make their way back to our church in May and will probably stay with us again. They are both very delightful little girls. Always say please and thank you. After dinner tonight they both asked Chris and I if they could help wash dishes or take out the trash. I asked him later, when are my own children going to be so good at using their manners and helping out around here? :-) They are watching Hannah Montana right now and know more about Disney shows than I could ever know. Clearly they are "learning" a lot about American culture. They call Chris "uncle" and me "auntie." It is very cute. They will be with us until Tuesday morning when they will board their bus and head out to the next stop. Hopefully the weather will be nice tomorrow so we can get outside and maybe go to the park.

That's it for our weekend. Busy as usual, but an awful lot of fun.

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It's Been A Long Time Coming....

May the best team win!

Chris and I have joked about this for a long time. I am one of those people who doesn't watch a lot of college basketball, well now that we have children and all, but I have always thought Duke could pull anything off, ever since the G. Hill, T. Hill, Bobby Hurley and Laettner years. And I believe they will pull this off too, but I also hope WVU wins because when Duke wins big, it is kind of expected. But for WVU to win - WOW! It has been a very long time coming. So I may wear my Duke sweatshirt but I will also be secretly cheering on the Mountaineers.

Here's to a good game!

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Little Boon Deals

One of the cutest things about babies, other than everything, is that as they get older and more mobile they start sleeping like this.
And then they get irritated by the flash so they do this.
And then just as quickly as they are sound asleep, they can also go from the above to this.
I don't know about you, but it takes me a good 15 minutes of waking up before I am up and at it.
Not this girl. It was no more than 2 minutes from the time her eyes opened until she was on a mission.
To eat her shoes. The boys think this is utterly disgusting. Maybe because they jump around in the mud every chance they get. I am not sure they realize Eliza's feet rarely ever touch the ground.
She is a princess, after all.

And last but not least, someone was REALLY proud of their alma mater this morning. Yesterday our preacher was talking about how he had Kentucky winning it all in his brackets.
Oops.

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Saturday, March 27, 2010

I have to ask boys....

Can you dance?

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Easter Celebration

Our church had an Easter celebration today complete with games, food and an egg hunt. The boys had a blast.
Not sure what this one was called, but it was lots of pencils sticking out of a bale of hay. If you picked one that had a black tip on it, you got to pick out a prize. Ethan is always the one that wants to do all the games whereas Owen goes straight for the activity that has the most action.
There was a tractor ride.
But I think the boys had the most fun with the bubbles. Simple, cheap, entertainment.
Owen never cared to make his own bubbles, he was having too much fun chasing other people's bubbles.
It didn't take Ethan long to realize Owen was having more fun.
They started gathering the children into groups for the egg hunt. And before they turned them loose they told them the story of the Resurrection Eggs.
Then it was time for the hunt.
And the best part about an egg hunt - going through the treasures after it is over.
And because there are rarely any good photos of me anymore, here is one where I am actually smiling. Seems like every picture I see of myself these days I am so serious. Typically because I am trying to keep my eyes on three children and not very relaxed. But today was a lot of fun and I did relax and let the boys run wild. And really, when I can do that, everyone is a lot happier.
The boys (including Chris) are gone to the driving range now and baby B is sleeping. Ah - enjoy the quiet.
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