God's Promise

While Zachary and I were reading the other day, he commented that he really wanted to see a real rainbow. You can imagine how delighted we all were when we walked outside the very next day to see the most incredible rainbow right in front of our house. Thank you, Sweet Lord, for answered prayers!

Blood, Sweat and Tears

I am just getting around to writing about an unfortunate incident that took place at our house last week. Maybe it's because I have been busy, maybe it's because I am just now able to talk about it without feeling like a totally terrible parent. Here it goes:

BLOOD:
T cut 2 of his fingers with my shaving razor while taking a bath. He cut off large chunks of his fingerprint. The amount of blood shed during the first few minutes was equivalent to a gory murder scene that you see on CrimeTV.
SWEAT:
Me trying to stop the blood, get dressed, call Brandon, call my neighbor, run up the small mountain in front of my house to my neighbor, the nurse's house, all the while holding a 25 pound screaming baby.
TEARS:
T: for obvious reasons
Mommy: feeling like an "awarding winning" mom, wishing my husband was here to share the pain with me, and feeling totally overwhelmed
Daddy: sad he wasn't here to hold his baby boy (and his emotional wife)
Z: actually, as I recall, he didn't shed a single tear. He was pumped up to be able to hang out at our neighbors for a bit. He did comment later that T "cried for 7 hours". I will have to agree with him on that!

That's it in a nutshell. I am happy to report that his fingers have healed very well and I don't think he will have lasting scars into adulthood. Mental maybe, but not visible..

My Man

Ok..I am going to try my first TAG...hope someone plays along. It's about my man and since I am missing him right now it sounded fun...



The Game of Tag about your MAN:



1. Who is your man? Brandon

2. How long have you been together? We've been married for 7 years, but we dated in high school and college--so about 14 years total

3. How long dated? 7 years and many break-ups:)

4. How old is your man? 29. In his twenties for only 2 more months

5. Who eats more? probably him

6. Who said "I love you" first? can't really remember, but I think it was him

7. Who is taller? him, but I am only 5' 2" so that's not much of an accomplishment

8. Who sings better? I will have to say him. I am a terrible singer, and he says he could be a country music singer. I probably wouldn't go that far.

9. Who is smarter? Me. I am book smart. He will definitely not agree with this answer. It's an on-going debate at our house.

10. Whose temper is worse? this is definitely a tie

11. Who does the laundry? Me. He doesn't even know where there laundry room is

12. Who takes out the garbage? definitely him, but he refuses to put a new bag in after he does it!

13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Brandon does

14. Who pays the bills? him. If I paid the bills we would have no electricity, our cars would be repo'd--BUT we would have cute clothes and great furniture

15. Who is better with the computer? him. it's a miracle that I can (somewhat) handle this blog

16. Who mows the lawn? him, but I love to help

17. Who cooks dinner? Me, generally, but he can cook some great meals on the grill

18. Who drives when you are together? mostly me

19. Who pays when you go out? B

20. Who is most stubborn? Me. no doubt about it

21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Probably me.

22. Whose parents do you see the most? We see them all pretty often. About to be a lot more!:)

23. Who kissed who first? He kissed me first--summer before 8th grade

24. Who asked who out? I don't think he asked me out. He just started showing up at my house. A lot. (to study???)

25. Who proposed? of course he did, on a horse and carriage ride

26. Who is more sensitive? Me.

27. Who has more friends? definitely me. he prides himself in only needing 1 or 2 friends.

28. Who has more siblings? Me, I have 2. And he has none.

29. Who wears the pants in the family? I pretty much wear skirts! :)



OK...Kelli and Jamie...you're it!

Old Friends

This past weekend I was able to spend a few hours having lunch and catching up with one of my all time favorite people, Julie. She was one of the first people I met at Baylor and then was my roommate for 3 years. We shared so many great times and there are so many things that I love about her, that I decided a list would best be able to truly capture her greatness! :)

Ten Reasons that I heart Julie:

1. Almost every great memory that I have from college involves her.


2. She values a nap like I do and could possibly "out sleep" me. This is no small feat...just ask my stepdad.


3. She has taught me some valuable lessons. Like: Oriental is a kind of food, NOT a kind of person!


4. She and I made a killer intramurals pair. OK, that may be a little strong. How about, "she and I loved to play intramurals"? Much better.


5. She understands that a good meal can overcome most problems. Trujillos was our special place. I never went there with anyone but her...and vice versa...so I think.


6. She has seen me at my best and worst and still loves me


7. We have a forever bond in the fact that we both have 2 sets of parents. We understand that sometimes this totally rocks and sometimes, not so much!


8. She found her inner "country girl" while living with me in Mt. P for a summer--she even married a rancher.


9. She stood next to me while I married my high school sweetheart. She was there through all the on again-off agains of college and was so excited for us when we decided it was forever this time!


10. Even when we haven't talked in months we can instantly pick up where we left off

Julie, I loved seeing you this weekend. I promise it won't be so long between visits next time! Love you!

Grandaddy

Today it has been 5 years since my grandaddy passed away. I woke up this morning with him on my mind without even realizing it was the day. In some ways it feels like he was just here, and in others it feels like so much time has passed. Five years later I still think of him, miss him and want to share things with him just as often as I did in the days after his death. There are so many things that I wish he could have been a part of, but most of all, my kids. I talk to my boys about him and all of Brandon's grandparents, but they will never truly understand how special they were.

I think of how much Grandaddy would have enjoyed and loved my boys. As the father of 3 daughters, who produced lots of girl grandbabies and only 2 grandboys, he was especially proud of his little guys.

When I talk to Z about how much his Daddy and I miss our Grandads, he always reminds me that we will get to see them again...that is one day that I am looking forward to with great anticipation!

Heeee's back!

This is our new friend "Climber" cleverly named by Z because, you guessed it, he climbs. He has been living in a web outside our office window for about 2 weeks. Yesterday he wasn't there all day and I had one disappointed little boy on my hands. Z checked on the web first thing this morning and HE'S BACK!(I am actually pretty excited that he is back in his web opposed to wondering around my yard...yikes!) I have been promised by my mom- who runs her own wildlife sanctuary- that he is harmless. Anyone know differently??

Although I am not a fan of spiders, especially ones the size of my hand, he has been fascinating to watch. We have loved seeing him catch his dinner, wrap it up and then devour it. My mom casually mentioned that "he" may have some babies soon. That could be the end of "his" life at our house. I draw the line at one creepy crawly pet!

Update: I just saw the same spider on Kelli's blog. Check it out. She knows what it's called.

http://thethedfords.blogspot.com/2007/09/labor-day-blues.html

The Ten Best Parts of Our Day with Daddy:

1. Waking up to Daddy Sunday morning

2. Cooking pancake breakfast

3. Going to play at the park

4. Taking a nature "hike" in the woods

5. Running all the way back from our hike

6. Boys trip to Home Depot

7. Building a bird house

8. Attending cul-de-sac cookout

9. Wrestling!

10. Falling asleep in Daddy's arms

We love you, Daddy!

Day at the Zoo

Saturday we met some friends at the zoo for a fun day. The zoo is one of my boys favorite places and the weather was so nice that Mama was happy, too. T especially loved petting the goats. As you can see, Z got a crocodile hat that he wore all day. The other pics are of Kennedy, (sorry, Regan I didn't get a single shot of you!), Rhett with Z, and T with (one of) his girlfriends Alexee. The babies were content just holding hands on this date which was a releif after last week's "smooch session"!

Best Buds!

Reason # 356 that we are sad to leave LR.

This is one of Z's best buddies.

Precious

Z went to sleep really early tonight so T was up with me for a little while. He was playing with his puppy and bear and he got really still and quiet. When I looked over he was sound asleep. Precious, precious baby. Please don't grow up!

SUPER MOMMY!

Today we had some friends over to play for a bit. Regan and Z were riding circles around our house in the hummer. They came to the back yard and told Ashley and I that they saw a snake in the front yard. They were very unconvincing so, in usual mommy politeness, we joined in the "pretend we saw a snake" game. However, after a few minutes they were still talking about the "green and all different shapes" snake in the front yard. This is where the story gets pretty fuzzy, but this is what I recall...

Wearing my adorable summer/fallish dress, cute flip flops, and Nicole Richie sunglasses, I ran to the front yard. On my way by the garage I grabbed a purple (it matched my dress) hoe. I bravely ran around to the side where the kids reported the reptile. This is where I encountered a 6-8 foot venomous serpent. He was looking me right in the eyes and daring me to take a step closer. In the instant before he planted his fangs into me, my maternal instinct kicked in. Because my children, their two buddies, and the rest of the neighborhood, for that matter, were in immediate danger, I heaved my color coordinating hoe at the beast's head. He immediately died and I was a hero for all time!

Now there is another version of this story, but as I said the details were all so fuzzy--I will try to remember how it goes.

Z and his friend Regan reported a snake in the front yard. Because my child is known to make up very elaborate tales, we pretty much ignored them. They continued telling us about the snake, so I reluctantly went around to the front yard to assess the situation, all the while sporting my blurple (kind of blue, kind of purple) mui mui, Target flip flops and obnoxiously large shades. (I couldn't hardly ask my friend to go on the snake hunt--it's not her house [or her snake] and she is preg.) I grabbed Z's hoe out of the garage b/c it was the first thing that I saw and encountering a snake without something in my hands was just not an option. I very slowly walked around to the edge of the house, praying each step of the way that there actually wasn't a snake. That's when I saw that little devil right where the kids had reported. I let out the loudest girl scream and started hacking at that thing like my life depended on it. It was not until he was beyond dead that I noticed he was only 12-18 inches long and probably not all that deadly. Anyway, once I was sure he wasn't going anywhere I ran in the back to report my successful snake killing to Ashley..and she was, oh so proud!

In the spirit of disclosing all the details in this version of the story---let me also say that there is some question as to whether the snake was actually even alive once I got to him because A) he was still in the exact spot that the kids reported and B) he didn't move when I shrieked or even when I started beating him with my weapon.

Either way, I see myself as a true hero: Super Mommy! Maybe the pictures above can help you decide which version you would like to believe. I, for one, have no doubt which tale will go in my permanent memory.

Take Flight!

Z shocked us all and took a short flight with Jackpaw last weekend. All I could see from the ground was a little blonde head, waving arms and the biggest smile! He loved it, said he wasn't scared at all, and told me when he was done, "Mama, I am not tired of flying." He thought he was a real pilot because he got to sit in the front, wear the headphones and Jackpaw showed him what some of the gauges meant. I, of course, was a NERVOUS WRECK praying the entire time for a quick trip and safe landing. Jackpaw said that Z kept saying, "go higher!" Such a boy!

My guys...

Brandon sent me this collage that he made of the boys today. Do you think he is missing them? (Maybe he misses me a bit, too.) It's mostly the same pics that I posted yesterday, but I loved it and still wanted to share it.

It's official!

I am a blogger. Don't know how often I will get to do this or how "tech-savy" this blog will be, but I, at least, have a site. My goal is to let our friends and family who don't see us often enough have a little glimpse into our everyday lives. Even when we are home all day, still in our pajamas at dinner time, there is some tale every day. I have wanted to do this blog the entire time I lived in LR so my Texas friends and fam could keep up with us. Now I am moving home and am finally getting around to it. Well, at least it will be good for my LR buddies to see us grow as we move away. (actually I hope B and I don't grow! shrinking would be nice, though.) Since this is my first post I am going to just attempt to put some random pictures on. Work with me...I am new at this!