Happy New Year

I wrote down a 13 for 13 way back on the 13th of January - I shan't revisit the 13 since I'm fairly certain the only thing I accomplished on that list was to learn to knit. I'd give a 14 for 14 but that's a ton of things to think on and knowing me it would take me until the 14th of February to finish and post given my track record. It was bound to be a banner year since I ended 2012 with winning the 5000th Twitter Fan Carmike Contest which remains the coolest and only thing I ever did win. And now I give you . . .

Thirteen Things From 20-13:
 * Thanks to our movie pass for a year we saw way more movies than I think I've seen in one year in my LIFE. It has been a blast to have dates and to see things long before they come out on regular TV!

* We frequently heard how Awesome The Boy was "because it's just so hard to think of another adjective." He continues to keep us on our toes and ask Big Questions, some of which we have to Google the answers.

* We visited old friends. The zoo and lunch after was a blast and the surprising was even more awesome. We spent time with our good friends, spending summer nights at Sweet Frog even when it started to sprinkle. And we swam, visited Six Flags and seriously rocked a pick-up baseball game birthday party

* We got a new puppy! We thought she was deaf but she was just a punk. She ate homework, 239487234 pairs of headphones, rolls of toilet paper and boxes of tissues, the box of plastic spoons and let us not forget the baking soda. Maggie (better known as Petunia Picklebottoms) brought some spunk back to old Mildred Louise - she's keeping her young. And by young it sometimes means escaping the back gate and running through the creek.

* The Boy continues to crack us up with Jethroisms. My favorite quote from The Boy this year: So are you born a vegetarian or vegan or is it a choice? Because I didn't know if the doctor passes you the baby and says 'it's a boy and he's a vegan' or something.


* The Boy learned to ride a 4-wheeler. He crashed nearly every time he rode. Thankfully he did not break anything.

* We played a lot of baseball. Spring the weather was awesome, we came in 4th place and it was fun. Fall we played every single Friday and learned to play every position and it was fun. Now we are getting geared up for B-Ball in the Spring and well it might not be too fun in the way t-ball isn't always fun. Like watching paint dry? Maybe not but B-Ball seems to be a game of Walking and Stealing.

* The Boy finished 3rd Grade and had many accomplishments. The Boy started 4th grade and has learned a ton about space. He's also back to reading again. We may just get that Balloon Walk yet! This is the year for Real Grades and we couldn't be more proud of how Awesome The Boy is doing

* We went to our first Braves game together! It was just as awesome as we thought it would be. And in honor of Father's Day The Boy and Dave were able to run the bases together after the game!

* Got rid of the motorcycle, added on the Explorer. Dave and The Boy were sad for the loss but I Hate Motorcycles So I'm All Good.

* I joined a book club - and I swear I'm not just in it for the adult interaction but HELLO what a plus. I joined a co-op and am loving learning new recipes for the different veggies we have here. And I bought my first pair of cowboy boots.

* Dave stopped working at the shop. And quit dipping. I don't think I've ever been more proud of him. Ever.

* We began the foster care process and felt led to do Resource Parenting instead of Straight Adoption. It's a scary decision but we hope that God has a special child He plans to stay here forever. We attended class every Thursday. We survived two home inspections. We waited not-so-patiently for approval. And then we had a respite weekend and a weekend with two little boys that I thought were going to do me in. I'm happy to report we finished our required hours to stay active in the nick of time (read: last night) and we are good to go for starting back in January.

There were hard parts to the year - I was pretty sure November wanted to destroy me between losing my friend Carla, the tough time with the foster kids, the hot water heater exploding and a bunch of other stuff. I could have done without all the health stuff we had going on. And my ever-present being behind on all things paperwork. I wish I would go to bed earlier and exercise more - drink less coke, more water - learn to like running. But thinking back on all the things we did in 2013 - I'm glad for my family and friends. And memories. And laughs.


So in looking forward to 2014 I have a few hopes - to laugh more & cry less; to work hard and do my best; to read the entire Bible; to visit with friends, to spend time with family. I want to start taking pictures again. And keep my room clean. Hahahahaha yeah I'm just joking on that last one.

I'm hopeful 2014 will be our Best Year Yet and I'm excited to see what God has in store for us. Wishing you all a very Happy New Year. Much Love ~ Shan. 

Nine Whole Months

Remember that one time I blogged Not-Resolutions? And then I posted them all and didn't come back again for 9 months? Yeah me either. We'll all pretend like I've been blogging all along with this nine month update yes?

The Boy got a new pet - Al G. A great deal of sadness resulted months later when in a freak accident Mildred Louise was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for knocking over the aquarium and ripping down the blinds upon being trapped in The Boy's room. Al G was buried in a private ceremony. He will be missed by the now-empty pineapple under the sea and his dear owner. 

 

Christmas gift for The Boy - a trip with his BFF from K & 1st Grade! Proclaimed one of the Best Days Ever

Baseball tryouts in 40 degree weather. Our standard "you will hope it is this cool in May" was not to happen when we had gloriously wonderful weather for the entire season

 

Drafted by the C-Ball Phillies The Boy had an awesome season playing 1st Base. Their team was #4 in the league. We learned a lot this season, like sometimes the umpires will get it wrong, Mom means it when she says she will buy Crying Panties, and baseball at American Little League isn't nearly as horrible as we were led to believe (except for that part about parking sucking - that was crazy true)!

 

 

And then you realize time is going too fast and The Boy has his Last Ever C-Ball At-Bat

The Boy was chosen for Science Olympics. His team placed 1st in Estimania! (The Boy was chosen for this area after the teacher asked how he would determine the number of paper clips it would take to go the length of a football field and not missing a beat he asked 'the little paper clip or the big paper clip? because one is only an inch but the other is a couple of inches')

 

Meanwhile we (and by we I mean *I*) got a new puppy. She was cute and so fluffy I was certain I was going to die. Then we got her home and found out just how much she likes to get in to mischief - like eating 2394729873487 sets of ear phones. I reminded Dave of the fact that at least she eats $10 headphones and not $30 trailer wires like her predecessor. And lest you think we dumped Mildred - nope. We rocked her world and brought her the most vile thing in the world - a sister.

We named her Maggie but more often than not call her Petunia Picklebottoms. I tell people all the time I love her but I probably won't really like her until she's 3 because of things like digging in the nastiest puddle ever, ripping up my toilet paper, barking Every Single Morning at 3 a.m. and jumping up at the sink.

Mother's Day came and I received the best note ever from my favorite son

 Then The Boy got in his Balloon Walk just under the wire. We were super proud

And all too fast he graduated 3rd Grade

We prayerfully made the decision at the end of May to expand our family through Resource Parenting (previously known as Foster-to-Adopt). We spent our Thursdays all summer attending class. We had drug tests, TB tests, fingerprinting and got writer's cramp from the mountains of paperwork we filled out, which The Boy agreed with on his own sheet. 

The Summer also found The Boy turning 9 and one of his dreams coming true when we took our Father's Day trip to see The Braves

Then we got rid of the motorcycle after One Last Ride

And spent a soggy 4th of July at The Property camping. I found my Happy Spot with a little time in the hammock with a book

The summer was not complete without our Annual Six Flags Trip

And then all too quickly summer was over and The Boy started FOURTH grade

 

Fourth Grade, while the class talks and gets in trouble which drives The Boy batty, has already taught us awesome stuff. We spend many nights out in the front yard looking up at the stars. Here we are psyched to have watched yet another amazing space-thingy (note my strength was math not science and most certainly not social studies *ahem*)

 We've revisited our love for all things Duck Dynasty and channel our inner-Jase frequently

 Plus The Boy learned how to ride a four-wheeler. Granted there was that one time he crashed face-first in a tree but he learned the most important thing in the world - in a turn you turn right to go left can't always do the same thing a bigger four-wheeler can do and should Slow Down

And the fall finds the most awesome thing - the return of baseball. We were blessed to get to be on the team of a coach I said at the end of C-Ball I wanted The Boy to have. He's learning a fat ton and will be better prepared for baseball come spring

We're loving the fact that we're learning new things but hate the fact that B-Ball seems to be all about getting on base (read: walking) and trying to score (read: stealing). We've yet to finish more than 3 innings each game. But Dave and I count our blessing it's not nearly as horrible as watching t-ball!

Lest you think it's all Sunshine and Roses - Mags grew even more and is even more sneaky. Here we find her just after shredding an entire box of baking soda all over the living room. She subsequently puked all over my Red Chair and was banned to the backyard for a bit so I could attempt to clean. Thankfully the looks-like-crack-on-my-floor took place *after* our home visits for foster care

 Regardless we're trucking along finding the balance of work/school, keeping the house picked up and spending our Thursday and Friday nights at the ball field!

 And with that I'm all up to date. Maybe I'll blog again today - or maybe I'll blog again in three months - but at least that feeling of too-far-behind-to-even-post can be shed, right? Feels good to be back.

Make good choices and be good listeners friends ~ Shan.

The Not-Resolutions Post

I don't normally make resolutions but I do usually make a list of things I want to achieve in the coming year - except last year the only thing I achieved was having a family photo taken and hanging pictures on the wall. Truth be told, the family photo was for a family gift and otherwise I bet even *it* wouldn't have been accomplished. And the picture hanging took place On The Last Day Of The Year.

I decided to again make a list of things to achieve in the coming year and then I looked around and here it is the 13th and I've yet to put pen to paper. I could claim that I've been too busy listening to stories of Creepers and Skeletons from Mindcraft War Stories (TRUE STORY). Or that I was cleaning (bwahaha!). Or that I was busy taking pictures (yeah haven't used the camera in forty forevers I've again lost my pho-jo). In the interest of honesty I will just say that I am lazy and decided to just sit in the red chair and *think* about doing it. And then I was all in the red chair with the laptop watching a little TMNT the animated series while hearing creeper stories and thought Why Not Now.

So here 13 days in to 2013 I give you my Not-Resolutions in random order:

1. Have a Me Night at least once a month. Go to dinner with a friend, take myself to a movie. Just at least one night each month I do something that is not feeding pigs, making tea, washing clothes or sweeping.
2. Lose 30 pounds. I'm in a competition with Dave. I know that guys tend to lose fast and he may start off strong but he always struggles more with the last 10 so I'm not counting myself out just yet. To work on my achievement I am drinking water instead of Dr. Pepper. And since I lack motivation I have very little other headway to push me to winning. Note to self - more work on #2
3. Complete a Bible Study. I start them all the stinking time but never finish them. I'm beginning to see a common theme of accountability in my Not-Resolutions.
4. Stay caught up on paperwork. This was totally on last year's list but it's one that needs to be brought back. That said - Hey! Lookit me! I am actually sticking with this one so far this year. I go in to work tomorrow with no outstanding casenotes or reports. I believe this is the first time I've been this caught up since the day before I had surgery. Rock On.
5. Do a 5K. Even if I walk most of it and only run a bit I want to attempt one. I've walked one in the past but I finished it with the man with a cane. I had a blast, mind you, but it was more of a 'stroll' than a race.
6. Get together with family more often than holidays. And take more pictures when we're together. I'm making right on this one so far, as we got together on New Year's. And there is already have a gtg on the books for February. 
7. Learn to knit. I'm making progress on this one as I have the circle peg thing, some yarn and a tiny bit of patience. You can tell I'm going to be an awesome knitter since I've already failed at it three times, I don't know the names of the stuff, and I've been at it for a day. Edited to add: Yeah I'm failing miserably at this one. Spent 2 hours THE ENTIRE AFTERNOON trying and messed up every time. At least I have a whole year to do it, right? Ugh. Edited again to add: I'm giving it one last shot for tonight and then I am going to bed. I've now watched a video where a guy did it, a child did it and an old lady in a nursing home did it. Surely there is hope I can figure this out. SURELY
8. Plant a garden. We didn't do this last year and it was depressing. Even if I have to do it by myself, there will be tomatoes and peppers planted. I can't make any promises about weeding the garden though.
9. Drink more water and eat breakfast. This ties in with #2 but really if we are sticking with the being smart this would be two choices I shouldn't have to put on a list and should Just Do. I just suck at breakfast and would rather sleep an extra 15 minutes. What can I say I like to sleep.
10. Blog More. This should be a given but I just choose to instead play Words With Friends or watch Duck Dynasty. And read more. Books, Kindle, whatevs. Blog More & Read More.
11. Be a better Bible Fellowship teacher and Awana leader. No explanation needed. But I guess I would add that if we do another musical and I'm helping to be better at that, too. 
12. Send more snail mail. I know I enjoy getting all those cards at Christmas and why wait until then to drop a note? Need to be better about this.

I left this up the entire day trying to think what I wanted my #13 to be. I think instead I shall make it Pray More, Laugh More, Listen More. And Have Fun.

So there it is - my Not-Resolutions. Here's to an awesome 2013!

Being Thankful.

The Boy in return challenged me to name some of the things for which I am thankful so in no particular order . .

I'm thankful for my family. David makes me laugh, makes me want to pull out my hair, understands my need for COLD, pushes my buttons, brings me chocolate and Dr. Pepper and loves me despite my many annoying traits (organized chaos, always hot, need to take pictures at all occasions). I love him a fat ton. The Boy is the best thing that ever happened to me and while he, too, can push my buttons? I love him with every square inch of my heart. He brings me joy, he makes my heart smile. And each time I want to pull out my hair I remember there will be a time when he doesn't want to hang out with me. I'm thankful I have been given the privilege of being his mom. Jethro is awesome and I so love him more.

I'm thankful for my parents, who are always there when I need them. Who take joy in The Boy and have him over for sleepovers or Early Release Days or random Wednesdays I have to work late. Who bring me a coke every Sunday morning to make my morning's go smoother. They are awesome and I love them, too.

My brothers (and their wives) - because I know that right this minute if I called and needed them they would help. Except Matthew might make a fuss about it but deep down I know he loves me, too. And I'm crazy thankful for them giving me awesome nephews. Tyler and Kaleb make life even more fun and I can't wait for the day they call over to Auntie Shan and Uncle Dave and ask for a sleepover. We are So There.

I'm incredibly blessed and thankful that we had a family vacation to the beach with awesome friends. It was a wonderful week of relaxing and laughing and fun. I look back over the pictures and see how carefree that week was and I'm thankful we had the chance to do it. I've always loved the beach and it's my Happy Place. Makes it even more awesome to go to your Happy Place with friends that are like family.

I'm thankful for my job. While I don't know what the next week, month, year holds? I am doing something I Love and I'm thankful that Monday through Friday I am able to do it. I am thankful for the families I am allowed to work with and help. I'm thankful that some days I do make a difference.

I'm thankful for coworkers who've become friends. I'm thankful that I laugh each day. I'm thankful for Friday lunches and long trips with Paternity Test Tuesdays. Listening ears when I need to vent. Help when you need to phone a friend. I'm thankful that some coworker friends have become like family.

I'm thankful for cars that have heat and air & run each day. I'm thankful for a house, my bed with my favorite covers. For the dog that alerts me when something is amiss (but not for the same dog when she gets in the trash and shreds it all over the house *ahem*). I'm thankful for my red chair. And the freezer full of rice socks that help me make it through the night.

I'm thankful for books to read to get lost in a story - and I'm thankful Dee Henderson wrote a new book. I'm thankful for my Kindle on which I can read the awesome books. And for the awesome apps like Words with Friends and Diner Dash which allow me to pass the time and detox from a rough day.

I'm thankful for my camera and the gift of being able to take pictures. While I sometimes wish it was in the plans for me to do it More or even as a side job, I take joy in knowing that I have managed to snap many memories over the past 8+ years. I love looking through the drive and seeing the images captured.

I am thankful for my kids at church. For the now 3rd Graders that were in our first class and the kids we have now. For the joys I have each Wednesday night in Awana. For the group of kids that faithfully come on Sundays to sing in the musical. I'm thankful that they love and accept me even though I'm far from perfect.


I'm thankful Christmas. It's my most favorite holiday in the world. I put the tree up the first week of November and enjoy it for two straight months. The hymns and songs at this time of year are The Best. I cannot imagine what it was like that first Christmas many years ago. How Mary felt knowing that her son was here to save the world. I'm thankful for traditions and magic and hope and love.

I'm thankful for miracles. For the fact that I am here but even more recently for the fact that my friend's daughter was Healed. I'm thankful for community - for knowing that sometimes it is bigger than you can imagine.

I'm thankful for chocolate and for Mojo's that makes good chocolate. I'm thankful for Dr. Pepper and fountain cokes. I'm thankful for water with Propel. And Moe's burritos. And Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs. Amen.

I'm thankful that Kleenex put lotion in the tissues so I don't rub my nose raw. And that there are products that help tame my hair from being an out-of-control-nest. And vanilla-scented sanitizer.

And for a Heavenly Father, His Son and the empty tomb that third day.

Thirty Days of Thankful - The Rest.

I have tried my hardest to blog each day. In a perfect world? I would have posts like these typed ahead of time and scheduled to post. But let's all be honest here - I'm a procrastinator! I thrive on last minute! There are a billion other things I need and want to do! I admit I chose playing on the Kindle instead! I'm always at the last minute with things - well, except for putting up the Christmas tree . . .

So I'm lumping together a bunch of thankful for the remainder of the month because I'm awesome like that. And because this is the last of my extra free time before getting back to the grind after the holiday . . . 

After inquiring the things The Boy is most thankful for? I give you Thirty Days of Thankful - The Rest. 

Day 13 - Legos. They are the single greatest invention in The Boy's Life. He thinks they are awesome except when he tries to play with them because then they break. He thinks he might want to have a Lego birthday party next year . . .

Day 14 - The DS. Santa really got it right when he brought the 3DS last year! Favorite game is currently Monster Jam but The Boy has high hopes for a WipeOut game this Christmas! When his nose is not stuck in a book or racing on the Kindle, he has the DS in hand. And he has chronicled all the things he is thankful for using his DS camera!

Day 15 - Lego Ninjago. By far the best show next to Annoying Orange, WipeOut and the Turtle Man, The Boy was on the edge of his seat for the Epic Battle. On this year's Christmas list are several Ninjago sets! It will be no surprise that the red ninja is our favorite.

Day 16 - Shooting in tournaments. The Boy was able to participate in the Kid's Appreciation Night at The Shop and had a blast. He shot well for having not shot a bow in 23497 years a good while. Even won a door prize!

Day 17 - Double Thankful! Part one is Hunting - The Boy went out with Dave this morning to hunt and while they only killed time and a wasp? A good time was had and plans are already in the making for the next trip. And then part two was Jeremy's birthday party at Oxbow where The Boy touched a plethora of snakes and even a tortoise. He is thinking that Oxbow might be a good birthday party choice, but I'm fairly certain this is only so because the birthday boy gets to briefly wear a snake around their neck!

Day 18 - The Boy is thankful for the Ice Rink. It's one of his favorite things to do whenever he gets the chance to head downtown to ice skate. I admire his ability to skate because I feel like even if I had a walker? I'd still fall down!

Day 19 - Jack & Annie Books. Magic Tree House books are a go-to for The Boy this year as he works to soar through AR points. There is a Braves game on the line if he gets to 200. And a Lego when he gets half-way. So far his favorite book has been Afternoon on the Amazon.

Day 20  - Annoying Orange. Yeah please let the record reflect I'm certainly not that thankful for this but every kid has that one annoying thing they enjoy that pushes their parents over the edge. For some it's Barney (thank you Jesus it wasn't for us) others it's Elmo (been there, done that). And remember those stinkin Teletubbies? Yeah. Now it's Annoying Orange the dumbest show on the planet. He's thankful for it, loves their Gangnam style parody and looks forward to new episodes.

Day 21 -  Kaleb. The Boy got to spend the day at BigMama's and Kaleb was there as well. The Boy states every time I go to BigMama's I mostly see him and sometimes and I get to play with him. It's about to be his birthday in December. He normally plays with his toys or sleeps. And I love him.

Day 22 - Thanksgiving - The Boy says Every Thanksgiving somebody in your family has a Thanksgiving party and you can go there and eat turkey. The Boy had a blast this Thanksgiving when he went hunting with Daddy *and* they got a deer! Then we all had a fun time and good food at Auntie Amber & Uncle Matthew's. The day was rounded out with playing with the neighbors & spending the night in the living room while watching Wipe-Out. The best part was that the entire house was asleep by 9:30!

Day 23 - Diary of a Wimpy Kid - It's the best time ever since there is a new Wimpy Kid book! And bonus? UPS brought it to our doorstep Wednesday night! The Boy could be found curled up with the book when not speeding in a race on the Kindle Fire. Tonight before bed as he read he told me I can't believe I am already half-way finished with this book!

Day 24 - Mommy - Most of the time I spend time with you and all the time you take care of me. You watch TV with me. I love you because you love me too And then I melt into a puddle of love. He's Awesome.

Day 25 - My Uncles  (and Aunties!)- They are wild and I'm pretty sure you don't like that. Sometimes they just get so wild you get on to me for it (me: is it that you wanted to point that out? or maybe you could just tell us why is it you are thankful) - They are wild and most of the time I go to their houses they throw the football with me. And I call them Auntie because Matthew taught me who to do it. And I love them.

Day 26 - Grandparents - I get to spend the night with them some nights. 

Papa: he plays cards with me some nights when I spend the night. BigMama: because I mostly help her and sometimes she helps me and she makes me cheeseburger macaroni. 

Granny: I barely get to see her and I hate that. We get to go camping with her and when I go to the lake every morning I get up and go to her camper and I always sit with Papa Ronnie and watch TV

Day 27 - Tyler -Cousins are awesome. The Boy says: Every time I see him he likes to throw the ball with me or wrestles with me. I also try to hold him but he won't sit on my lap. That's all.

Day 28 - Daddy - He takes me to the Archery Shop and he's also the music teacher at my school. And he watches Wipeout and Call of the Wildman with me. And I love him.

Day 29 - Friends - I'm thankful for my friends and they are Alex, Jaxon, Aidan, Riley, Garrett, Jeremy, Tripp, Owen, Max, Nathyn, Landon. Jaxon first moved to Texas and then he moved to Tennessee. If I could have one thing for Christmas I would go visit him. Alex goes on vacations and stuff with me. The only thing that stunk about our Six Flags trip this year was it rained. Aidan use to go to school with me and he came to church but then he moved schools in 2nd grade but now in 3rd grade he came back to church. At my birthday this year I hope that Jeremy, Garrett, Riley and Landon can sleepover.

Day 30 - God - He created the earth. Hey did He write the Bible? Oh wait no Moses wrote Genesis. We go to church to worship Him and learn about Him. My favorite verse is For the God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son - that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. 

And there you have it - The Boy's Thankful Thirty. He challenged me to list the things I'm thankful for as well. They can be found HERE 

Good Intentions

I always have such good intentions of blogging more. Then I spend 23482734 hours billing in BIBS and typing reports and working on case notes, playing Words With Friends and Draw Something and Bubble Something Or Another., reading book, watching important shows like The Bachelorette and The Glee Project. And if I didn't need this pesky thing called sleep I feel confident I would be posting every day. And speaking of sleep, I've been rather lacking in that department and it shows - this morning I washed my hair then when I put some soap in my hands? Washed my hair again with the soap. Not to be confused with waking the other day and not knowing what day of the week it was. But I digress. 

We've been busy and having fun around these parts! There are many nights spent working on Legos (added bonus is when Lego Ninjago is built while watching Lego Ninjaog - Winning)

 

 

There have been birthday parties - with slip & slides!

We've spent time hanging with family and friends - with a ton of that time spent swimming

 Trips to Chill with good friends where we write things like Little Red Wagon all over the wall

 And just the other day we celebrated the 4th with a low country boil!

I would say that I pinky swear to blog more - but instead I will be honest with myself and say I Will Try To Blog More Soon. Big fun coming up for our family with our Annual Trip To Six Flags, a vacation and gearing up for starting back to school! Y'all be safe and make good choices. I'll be back soon. ~ Shan.

Happy Father's Day!

Dear Dave, Remember that one time I ruined the fishing trip? And then Father's Day? Yeah. I'm sorry about that. I hope that this year has been much better in terms of it's awesomeness. In honor of your 9th Father's Day I wanted to share 9 Awesome Things About The Boy's Dad.

(1) You have a motorcycle. I mean, what could be cooler? Such major cool points. But I'm still not gonna ride it.

(2) You take the trash to the street. And cut the grass. You know what would make you even more awesome? If you did those two things *and* cleaned the bathroom. A girl can dream . . . But I am so thankful you cut the grass (hello allergies!) and I detest nothing more than taking those cans to the street Sunday and Wednesday nights.

(3) You clean up your dishes when you cook breakfast. HAHAHAHA oh wait you don't. But you make awesome omelets. And you are great at grilling corn and ribs. Mmm ribs. And steak.We should really grill out soon

(4) You help with the legos. I mean let's face it - I can look at that stinkin picture all day long but hooking the string through the anchor? Not my forte.

(5) You take me fishing. Sometimes. Okay not in a long time. But remember that time we went fishing and you made me bait my own hook? Then I caught 6 fish with the same worm? Good times. And you take The Boy fishing, too. And he loves that. We should really find a boat and go fishing.

(6) We laugh together. Who wants to be serious all the time? That would be boring.

(7) We have fun. Like with picture stickers. Remember how those all started? Trail mix in the dryer, a pocket, the archery bag. Good times!

(8) You can appreciate the snooze button. I just wish I could teach you that the appreciation is So Much Greater when the initial alarm goes off at, say, 6:15 a.m. instead of 4:30 a.m.

(9) You're awesome. True story - I polled The Boy on what would be on his list and this one made his list, too!

Happy Father's Day Dave! We love you!

It Wasn't Good . . . It Was AWESOME

The Boy celebrated 8 with festivities over several days. The Day Of he had Big Plans - Waffle House for breakfast, a motorcycle ride with dad, The Avengers in 3D, swimming at Big Mama's and then dinner at El Carrizo. It wasn't good - it was AWESOME

Then on Sunday we hit up El Carrizo again for dinner with the family. Everyone came and The Boy had a blast eating some of his favorite food for the second time in a weekend. And we had cake! And he wore the big hat! And they sang! It wasn't good - it was AWESOME

AND THEN the Par-tay! Friday night ice skating. Friends came and skating was done, pizza was eaten, and the Best Cake He Ever Had was eaten. AND *2* friends came to sleepover. It wasn't good - it was AWESOME

I have to say I feel like birthday #8 was a huge success! And then just last night I was asked 'so what do you think I should do for my *ninth* birthday?' Would you expect any less? Happy Birthday Jethro! Looking forward to all the fun things 8 has in store for us!

8.

Eight - the current number of planets in our solar system, the number of ounces in a cup, bits in a byte, pints in a gallon, pinches in a teaspoon.The number of legs on a spider, tentacles on an octopus.The most important ball in pool, the number of musicians in an octet, the atomic number for oxygen. And the number of years as of 2:27 a.m. The Boy has been bringing joy to our lives.

I cannot believe The Boy is 8. Time is speeding by and I need it to slow down! Wasn't it just yesterday he didn't leave the house without his green boots? 

The Boy is the kindest, sweetest, most compassionate person. He think of others and it shows in his prayers, his actions, his choices. He keeps me on my toes, asks BIG questions, makes me laugh. He is smart, loves to learn new things and has a phenomenal memory.

(Thanks Marion's Photography for the most awesome family photo ever!)

Son I love you with all my heart and am blessed to be your mom. You, Jethro, are my favorite son. Ever. I thank God for giving me the opportunity to be your mom. And I can't wait to see all the great things Year 8 will bring. Always remember - Be a good listener, Make good choices and know that I will always, always love you. ~ Mommy.

On Best Days Ever

The Boy had the best game ever - hitting the ball, getting on base, playing catcher and clearly tagging a player out at home when the umpire apparently left the game for five seconds because SERIOUSLY how could you call that kid safe?! The Boy was the winning run following hits by Andrew and Cole. When your Non-Hitters win the game for you? It is awesome. 20-21 over the Dodgers! You can always tell how awesome the game was by the dirt on the face. This time we have dirt on the face AND covering both arms. He left an orange and brown ring around the tub!

And Dave. Oh Dave. His dream came true making it his greatest day ever

I hope we can name this cycle something awesome like Minerva or Maggie (Short for Margaret). Or Magnolia Rose (Mags). Or Liza Jane. Or HAZEL. Or Nora. Penny. Stella. Ruthie.

No best day ever for me. I have high hopes for this week though. Until then, woohoo for the fellas!