Spicy Magnolia

Slices of Heaven

What an absolutely splendid day it was last Saturday! If I had the forethought to play it, U2’s It’s a Beautiful Day would have been blaring from our car as we drove through the Hill Country of Central Texas. Not really blaring, because of our precious one’s ears, but you get the drift. It was a day to own a convertible, cruising along with the music playing and our hair blowing in the wind with the sun beating down on top of us warming our inner cores.

Convertible-less, we drove from our neck of the woods through Burnet and onto Marble Falls, then looped back home. Why? Because dear ladies and gents, Texas is God’s country. And this time of year, God’s favor is upon this great State of ours with its vast array of color from wildflowers scattered, wildly dancing across the land. The most prominent flower this time of year and our most famous, is our very own State flower: the Bluebonnet. This year they are particularly expansive as we’ve had good, solid rains the last few months, bringing us out of a lengthy and harmful drought. So if you pick a good path to travel on, you will gaze upon a sea of heaven-sent blue wildflowers.

Our wild-flower sightings Saturday weren’t the most spectacular you’ll find.  The southern outskirts of San Antonio and southeast towards Brenham and Houston are incredible, so I’ve heard. Even traveling down Hwy 1 through Austin has fields of flowers in greater number than we saw on our drive, but we still had a great day!

We stopped at the famous Blue Bonnet Cafe in Marble Falls, a cafe that is known for their pies and good southern, old fashioned comfort food. Matt loved it and scarfed up his food in no time. Brennan had some chicken tenders and corn, a favorite of his. I’d be remiss, however, if I didn’t mention ketchup: a flavor-enhancing miracle. He loves him some ketchup! He still didn’t eat his green beans though. My favorite part: the fried okra. Man, that stuff is so good. We’d be out of our ever-lovin’ minds if we didn’t get ourselves some pie (picture me sayin’ that with my thick Texas drawl)!

Matt chose peanut butter, which meant he was automatically disqualified from sharing any of his piece with Brennan. I chose a more baby-friendly pie (ha!): chocolate meringue, which meant I was the only one capable of sharing pie with the boy. <Huff> It’s funny how I’m more apt to share my treasured food with either Brennan or Molly; I’m more stingy sharing with Matt. But still, I had to share! How catawampus is it that I think of food in terms of Do I have to share? How much do I have to share? I gave you a few bites, now it’s mommy’s turn.

Ya’ll, that meringue was a good 5 inches tall! It was a wall of foamy, white angelic melt-in-your-mouth goodness! While it was yummy, I mean with all sincerity that I would choose my momma’s chocolate meringue pie any day over this one! Momma’s far surpasses the Blue Bonnet’s. And I am privy to information that I’m gonna get one of her chocolate meringue pies pretty soon!

My most favorite days ever are when the four of us (Molly included, by all means), get away on a little outing. And it’s particularly all the more special when it’s doing something we don’t normally have the opportunity to do. Those are the kinds of days that feel like little slices of heaven. 

Slices of heaven are…

 

Showing Brennan the wonder of God’s creation…

 

 

 

A smitten boy with his daddy…

 

A daddy smitten with his boy…

 

 

Witnessing firsts, even if they result in the first of scuffed up knees…

 

 

Exploring color. Aromas. Texture. Beauty…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chubby cheek goodness on a blonde-haired, blue-eyed toddler…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My son’s smiles and giggles…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Receiving adoration from one I adore…

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The joy between a boy and his best friend…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time. Time with precious loved ones.

 

 

Some days are filled with so many slices of heaven, you feel like you’ve been given the whole pie!

Project Life Tuesday: March 20-28, 2010

Happy Spring, dear Internet peeps! I’m finally back to publishing a Project Life Tuesday post (well, at least for this week). I still haven’t quite gotten back into taking a picture a day, but at the same time, some days lend themselves to more than one. <grin> We are off to our women’s Bible study this morning with a cranberry coffeecake in toe. Hopefully we’ll not have anything to bring home! Hope ya’ll have a blessed day and I’ll catch ya later this week.

 

Saturday, March 20th

Brennan collects spoons from the dishwasher. As I’m putting the dishes away, he loves to play around the dishwasher, but he’s only allowed to take out the spoons. He puts them in all sorts of places. Sometimes they end up all together like in this picture. And sometimes, we could find them in a plant. I’m sure we have at least one or two missing spoons.

 

 

Monday, March 22nd

Usually, I can never get the boy to keep something on his head like a hat or his hoody, but he was in such a playful mood that day that he kept his hoody on for a long time, and we had one of the most special play times! Brennan gets a kick out of photo shoots, where I get the camera out and start snapping pictures, then he comes over to me to look at the images and laughs. He’s figuring out which buttons on the camera skim through all the photos. I love the expression on his face as he races toward the camera.

Later that afternoon, we went for a walk. My boy is a helper and a very hands-on learner. He found a way to help me walk Molly, and we walked a whole 30 minutes like this! She is so good natured and patient!

One more from Monday for ya because it was one of my most favorite days…and it was a Monday of all days!

Every night the past week, Matt combed Brennan’s hair after his bath in a different, funky way. This was the “Dash Do”, like Dash from The Incredibles.

 

 

Tuesday, March 23rd

A great picture Matt snagged from bath-time. Matt’s caption: “Does preferring fruits and vegetables over other foods make you smarter?”

 

 

Friday, March 26th

I love watching Brennan learn. In many ways, I learn with him. And because of him. I don’t have a clue as to what is normal in child development, so I’m mostly, if not constantly, amazed at the things he picks up. His new favorite book from the library is the classic The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. He’s also always picking up dead leaves and putting them in secret places, like the car tire, bricks, or the holes in the ladder. Last Friday, he snuck one into the house and went immediately to The Very Hungry Caterpillar, turned it over to its back cover and pointed to the leaf on the book using the leaf in his hand. He’s my keen observer.

 

 

Saturday, March 27th

More pics to come, but this one is a sneak peek of our road trip to scope out the gorgeous bluebonnets.

 

Thanks, Pops, for introducing me to ketchup! It makes everything taste better!

 

 

Sunday, March 28th

Here we are finishing up our Easter project that we’ve been working on together for the past few weeks. It’s a surprise though for our families, so I’ll post a picture of the finished project later. Don’t look too closely, dear fam! Notice the green pencil in Brennan’s left hand…he was writing, too. <grin>

It’s a Matter of Personal Space

Twelve inches or thirty-six? What is your personal space comfort zone? When do you start feeling intruded upon and start backing away slowly? A situation might present itself as you engage in conversation with someone where it’s a matter of spatial comfort, or maybe it’s a bad breath thing. Either way, you have the option of taking a small step backward or to the side, or subtly arching your upward body away from the “intruder”. Ya’ll know what I’m talkin’ about; you’ve done it before. You’ve probably even done it with me if my breath smelled badly or I smelled foul, or I made you feel like I was gonna plant a smacker on you. I’m more prone to have (or do) one of those things more than the other two, and I’ll let you mull over that one yourself. In any case, we have the freedom to step away ever so politely.

If you’re stuck in a high chair, it’s an all together different story.

 

 

This is some precious TLC if I ever saw it. These kiddos are bonkers over their Brennan; and he’s bonkers over them.

There came a point in my life where my TLC toward my brother was no longer TLC. He’d call it bossiness. He was sure quick to remind me that he didn’t need a second mother; he already had one. Whatever, smart alec. I still think it was TLC.  His therapist probably validates my brother’s claim though. Just kidding; he doesn’t have a therapist because of me. At least that I know of.

 

 

Haddie: Water, Brennan. Here, water.

Harrison: Try this French fry, Brennan. You’ll like it.

Harrison: Meggie, he’s not eating the French fry.

Haddie: Meggie, he needs his paci.

Brennan:

 

 

 

Haddie: Good. I know you are thwisty.

Harrison: I’m trying to get him to laugh. Can you do this with your tongue like me?

Brennan:

 

 

 

 

As Americans, we’re generally inclined to think our personal space is being invaded when someone stands closer than a few feet of us.

I guess it’s something we tend to learn naturally over the years.

Or because of the extra TLC we may get as a child.

It’ll Take More than Just My Word

Having been kicked out of her apartment because of city-wide renovations, Theresa was forced to venture from shelter to shelter with her approximately 7 year old daughter, Hillary. She had no family around to help her. The family she did have in another State wasn’t in a position to help. Her co-workers had excuses as to why Theresa and Hillary couldn’t crash at their places for a few weeks until she raised enough money to put a deposit down for a new apartment. And the wealthy lady she’d worked for occasionally wasn’t willing to help either. Thus, she was shelter-hopping until she not only ran out of her time allotments at each one, but she lost her job, having left early one day to try to find a new apartment. She and her daughter eventually ended up living on the street. And after a series of hopeful opportunities that ended in heart-crushing blows, she was faced with the unthinkable: to abandon Hillary to foster care, to people who probably wouldn’t love her as much as Theresa loved her daughter, but they could offer her a better life and the ability to break out of the cycle of poverty that Theresa’s family had been in for generations. Months prior to making this gut-wrenching decision, Hillary confessed her fear to her momma that Theresa was going to leave her, for as a little one, she was keenly aware of the agonizing predicament she and her mother were in. Flexible and resilient, Hillary pressed on without much complaint and walked submissively with her mother who loved her and was a responsible care-giver, trying to do the best she could. Strongly and genuinely reassuring Hillary that she’d never leave her, because she couldn’t ever imagine doing that and wouldn’t know what to do without her, the little girl was at peace. But the day came hauntingly upon Theresa, a day that truly had never entered her mind as an option, only to become what she thought, was the best option for Hillary’s well-being.

This is a brief summary of God Bless the Child, a 1988 made-for-TV-movie with Mare Winningham that Matt and I saw with a small group of people on Saturday night. The movie’s last scene was Theresa watching from behind a tree as her daughter was picked up by the people she’d informed of her plan to abandon her child so Hillary didn’t have to live on the streets any longer, in an environment that had become a severe detriment to her health. Theresa was in agonizing despair, as was Hillary, calling out for her momma. While watching the movie, there were decisions made by Theresa that in hindsight, weren’t the best for her situation and put her further into a helpless state. There were also factors that were beyond her control that sucked hope out of her situation and dug her more deeply into a pit of poverty that would be incredibly difficult to overcome. Let’s not forget the people who were able to help, but chose not to. No matter what factors did or did not contribute to her situation, it was the saddest movie I’ve ever seen. Both Matt and I were speechless afterward, and I had to keep my mind from dwelling on it too much as I fell asleep. But there are some things I cannot shake, one of which was how Theresa told Hillary she’d never, ever leave her, sincerely meaning it as any devoted mother would, only to be faced with the cruelest decision that life could present. And to Theresa, the only option was to abandon Hillary to social and outreach workers to hopefully place Hillary in a loving home that provided for her needs.

It brought to mind a conversation I had with Brennan about a month ago. It was a Monday morning when we exited our local grocery store, H.E.B., as I pushed along a heavy cart of food ranging from the healthy, green leafy stuff to the occasional, absolutely necessary treat like milk chocolate chips. Actually, I don’t remember exactly what I bought that day; it was too long ago to remember. But chances are, I bought food that covered the whole healthy/unhealthy spectrum. One thing I clearly remember about this grocery store trip was Brennan’s jovialness as we wove in and out of the aisles, waving at people, laughing at me as I played little games of “I’m gonna get you”, when he couldn’t go anywhere because he was securely buckled in the cart. But he loves the game, nevertheless. Oh, and the music. My H.E.B. plays the best music! I may not know all the lyrics, but I pretend to, and Brennan and I bee-bop to the tunes as we stroll.

So as we departed the store, I was still a bit playful. I loaded the bags into the trunk of the car then scooted the cart to its proper drop-off spot with Brennan still in it and pushed it into the other carts. And in a joking manner, I said, “Bye, bye. I’ll see you later,” in my high-pitched momma voice. I took a few steps away from him as if I was gonna leave him in the parking lot. He’s not ultra-sensitive in this regard; he knew it was a game and so this interaction didn’t bother him. No peep from him, nothing. It didn’t take me long to turn back toward him and “come to his rescue”. As I approached the cart and lifted him out of the basket, there was a deep longing in me to reassure him that I was just playing with him, that I’d never, ever leave him. I found myself echoing the same words to my babe as Theresa in God Bless The Child said to hers. My love for this child of mine is deeper than words can express, as most of you parents can attest to yourselves. The thought of ever coming to the point of leaving him for any reason is unfathomable to me; I would give my life for him.

As I shared my heart of love with him and assured him that I’d never leave him, I paused. Something was triggered in my soul. In a split second, my infallibility flashed across my mind. And I spoke some words that felt didn’t come from me, but did:

By the grace of God.

These words actually caught me off guard. I wasn’t expecting them, because in all sincerity, just like Theresa, I meant what I said: I will never leave you, Brennan. And at the same time, I know that I am so weak. I am so infallible. God only knows the things that will come down the pike that, heaven forbid, have potential to bring me to a place of a serious emotional breakdown or could put us in a situation like Theresa’s. It’s easy for me to think, “Oh, I’d never do that (whatever that is)”. I’m not gonna speculate or allow my vain imagination to get the better of me by listing specific “what ifs”, but in the same manner I think my marriage will survive only by the grace of God, so I will never leave Brennan..by the grace of God.

You and I well know what a broken world it is, and the truth is, how broken we are. How broken I am. I could very easily find myself in the same position as Theresa. But I have something different that she didn’t have: a relationship with the living God, Jesus Christ, and the knowledge that even though I am broken and I mess up so much, I know there is a God who loves me and accepts me for who I am. I have the knowledge and inner peace that He is my security, no matter what I may be stripped of financially, positionally, emotionally or relationally. I know a God who doesn’t break His promise, and I do not find it coincidental that it’s one of the very first things God promises us in His Word: He (God) will never leave you nor forsake you. I heard once that if we looked at a literal translation of the original language, it would read more like “I will never, never, never leave you…”, emphasizing God’s intensity in His promise to us. In His perfection, He will be true to His word. But I am not perfect. I need help to get through this life. I need help that can only come from Him. It is only by His grace, His unmerited divine assistance and favor, that I can be faithful to my family and never leave them.

Given the nature of the movie and the topic of abandonment, this post can lean towards being a downer. Yes, I had the humbling and scary realization of my own infallibility as I talked to Brennan while loading him into the car after a playful tease; in a split-second, I remembered that I don’t have the track record or the ability to make a promise like that without coming before God and acknowledging my need for His perfect help in the matter. That should not bring fear to Brennan knowing that I need His grace to make such a promise; it does not take away from the deepest sincere declaration to my son that I will never leave him. Instead, it puts a seal on that statement, because I have the power and grace of the God who keeps His promises to help me keep mine. His grace is sufficient for me, no matter what weakness of mine I may battle. In fact, He sympathizes with my weaknesses, and I can approach Him with confidence to receive His grace in my time of need. And this is Good News!

In many ways, I’m just like Theresa. I may not experience the same circumstances she found herself in, but I am a mother who is beyond head-over-heals for her child and couldn’t ever fathom the unfathomable. I also experience the unpredictability of life and the sad truth of my frailty that has the potential to catapult me into situations and emotions that feel like a huge pit I can’t get out of myself. With thanksgiving, I have hope. Hope that I will have a successful marriage…that I will never leave my family…that I will keep my word to Brennan to never leave him…by His grace and by His grace alone.

 

*******************************

What do you know you could do only by His grace?

For Your Viewing Pleasure

A happy Monday to you, dear Internet peeps! How was your weekend? Were you freezing cold this first weekend of spring like we were? Snowed in? Or enjoying the sun's warm rays?

I thought I'd help start out your week by bringing a smile to your face by sharing with you a video that Matt put together of some of Brennan's walking. Most of the clips were from his early days walking. He's a lot faster and falls a lot less now. We're working on listening and learning to obey my words like, "stop", "turn around", and "come here". I feel like I'm working with a dog! <grin> Any suggestions?

Hope ya'll have a great day, and enjoy the fun views of a boy toddling around!

Walk Like a Man from Meg @ Spicy Magnolia on Vimeo.

San Antonio Excursion

Slowly, ever so slowly we are emerging once again from the land of germs and sickness. Is it normal for a baby to be sick every 2-3 weeks? Because that’s what it feels like we’re averaging around here ever since November. Seriously, we have one or two good weeks and then bam! The germs get the better of us. Last Friday we headed to San Antonio to spend spring break with Pops and Meems when Brennan’s fever struck again. It eventually turned into a double ear infection and some slight wheezing. He was so potent, Pops and Meems are now on antibiotics as well and Matt is down for the count also. So far, I’ve been able to withstand the nasty virus, which is a very good thing. But I tell you what, I lean towards OCD tendencies, and all these bouts of sickness aren’t helping matters. Germ-o-phobe in the making!!

In addition to being sick, Brennan also has at least 6 new teeth coming in all at the same time! I kid you not, it feels and looks like his whole bottom row of teeth (except for the three front ones he already has) are breaking through. How the little boy has been able to be as happy and energetic as he has through the past week is beyond me. I would’ve declared myself entitled to days in bed, watching movies, and used it as an excuse to do nothing. But no, his energy level grows exponentially. 

Ok, before I move onto pics from San Antonio, there are several, no, make that many things, that I could include in a Not Me! post since the first one I wrote way back when. One took place last Thursday as I was cleaning out our bathroom cabinets. I have a little boy who loves to help me. He’s meticulous about where he places things, even putting things back in the same place he found them, or finding a special new place for them. He loves to help me vacuum and use the Swiffer on the floors. He simply wants to do anything I’m doing. But cleaning out the cabinets, well, it just needed to be done by me, myself and I. So what did I do? I found the most entertaining toy to occupy the boy. If you’re a male, I’m sorry. I really am. And Matt, I’m even more sorry to you. But it worked.

From the box to the sink. From the sink to the box. It bought me a good 20 minutes.

 

Besides Brennan not feeling so hot, we had a fabulous time in San Antonio where we were spoiled with lots of yummy food, lovies, breaks from taking care of the kiddo, and great outings. Here are some snippets from our time there. By the way, I’m trying to get back into taking a photo a day for “Project Life”, but the last month of battling illnesses has put a damper on it. I think you’d get tired of me taking pictures of things like Motrin, a thermometer, a diaper of diarrhea (ew, gross!), my pockets full of dirty Kleenex, etc… Yes, I’m being dramatic. <grin>

These are the non-tampon, male-friendly pictures from San Antonio:

Brennan and I drove down Friday morning and visited Meems at her school, getting to meet her kiddos and the other teachers who couldn’t get enough of Brennan. Meems made us a special dinner that night, eggplant parmesan, which Brennan devoured. He even helped tear the lettuce leaves for the salad, which was the best tasting, most special salad I’ve ever eaten.

At the end of February, my parents celebrated 33 years of marriage. That calls for a loud WHOOP! But because of you know what…sickness…we weren’t able to go down to San Antonio to do what we originally planned to celebrate. But we got to do it this past weekend. After my momma’s art class, we set up a surprise picnic with antipasto salad goodies and The Pioneer Woman’s blueberry cobbler. It was a gorgeous day!

 

No pictures from Saturday night, but hubby and I went out on a date!! We kissed outside on some steps underneath the stars, too. It was oh-so-lovely and romantic. <grin> Did that make you turn blush red, sweetie?

Sunday, we worked in the yard and Brennan helped Pops put rocks in a bucket that Pops and Meems are using to create a play space for Brennan in the backyard.

Monday, Meems took me and Brennan to the Witte Museum where they had an awesome dinosaur display on exhibit. Brennan was completely fascinated with the huge creatures that moved and made noise. At times, he just wanted to sit on the ground and stare. We also visited other parts of the museum that displayed the vast wildlife of Texas from snakes, to bears, to bison to birds. It was incredible.

  Sitting near a huge dinosaur print

 

Tuesday, we stayed home and snuggled because it was cooler and rainy, and it was obvious the boy wasn’t feeling too great. But he still was a happy camper who was absolutely enthralled with all of the puppies, throwing the ball constantly for Dapples, chasing Seymour, and patting Miss Elbee.

 

He also had a knack for putting things in special places. I’m sure Meems is still discovering his hiding places for remotes and hand cream.

Wednesday was our last full day in San Antonio. We played at an elementary school playground and then, based upon how the boy seemed, decided to take him to an urgent care facility. Since it was our last outing, we wanted to make it fun so we ate lunch at Grimaldi’s. Yum, Yum, Yum! The boy loves sausage pizza, so he had his own personal pizza and got his belly nice and full. We really were amazed at what a cute, good natured date he was despite a double ear infection!

We’re sorry that Pops and Meems are now sick, but we’re so grateful for all the lovies! Our time together was the perfect way to usher in spring, and we can’t wait to spend more time with them this summer!

Hoping ya’ll are nice and healthy and get to enjoy a special weekend with your loved ones!

ABC’s of Life

My blogging creativity is at a standstill. In fact, most of my blogging and Twitter activities are on hiatus. More about that for another time. For now, I will simply say it has most everything to do with So Long, Insecurity. If you’re a woman, buy it and read it. If you’re a man, particularly a married man, read your wife’s copy after she’s done with it. It will be a huge asset to living with your wife in an understanding way.  My promotion of the book is not about the author, whom I deeply respect. It’s about the murky mires of insecurity, of chronic self-consciousness where perfection is its best cover, and the bondage it has over our lives. I am one of its poster children. But, and that’s a big BUT, we have a God-given right to live as secure, confidently humble people. And that’s what I want. I trust this is the beginning of something new in my life that I hope to share with you as the Lord permits. For now, I’m going to borrow a post idea from Lindsee Lou that I saw on her blog a few weeks ago. I thought it was quite clever.

 

A is for adoption, the miracle of adoption. We have friends awaiting a call they could receive any day now telling them that their second baby boy is being delivered, whereupon they’ll drive from PA to MI to welcome him into their family. This sweet couple, friends of Amanda, is raising funds to help with their adoption by selling t-shirts. Ya’ll, I’ve witnessed firsthand the astounding testimony it is to adopt, having walked with a friend through her journey, even getting to hear the cries over the phone of a dream fulfilled as she received the news that she and her husband had been chosen by a birth mother to raise her little girl. It marked me forever. Consider helping.

 

B is for beautiful, beautiful day. It’s gorgeous here, ya’ll! Winter has melted and spring has arrived.

 

C is for the chocolate chip cookies and chocolate cake I have to make this weekend. Pray for me. I really, really want to be good and not have any, ‘cause you know that spring weather I mentioned, well my body is not ready for non-winter clothes that are not as forgiving.

 

D is for drastic change. I want drastic change in my life, freedom from insecurity and the pride that keeps me bound up in it.

 

E is for the E.R. visit that we made last Thursday morning. You know the week where all of us were sick? Well, we had a few good days and then Brennan got sick again, this time with 3 days of fever over 103. Our doctor said he just picked up something new, but after the third day when he woke up moaning, I was simply scared. So we went to the E.R. where they drew blood (twice) and said his white blood cell count was elevated, so they proceeded to do a chest x-ray and retrieve a urine sample in a most unpleasant way. My boy was put through the gamut of tests and finally received antibiotics through an IV. He turned a corner the next day, thanks be to God.

 

F is for friends I am thankful for. Friends that I ache for. Friends that I cry out to God on their behalf to rescue them from unemployment, from cancer, from the pain of separation and broken marriages. I ache for my friends.

 

G is sadly for the number of grey hairs I am discovering. In case you weren’t sure, my hair color is not natural. When it comes time to recolor my hair, I notice there are more and more grey hairs appearing. Both Gaga and my momma were prematurely grey. I’m afraid to find out if I should be telling people my natural hair color is not light brown but grey.

 

H is for hair: curly, black-haired girls that I seem to have an affinity for making them my closest friends. Corrie and Jill, are cases in point.

 

I is for one of my favorite chores: ironing. Well, it’s only my favorite because I can do it while watching T.V. This week’s show of choice while ironing: Lost. By the way, I have a prediction. I think Jack will be the new Jacob and Sawyer will be the new man in black. What do ya think?

 

J is for Jesus. I love Jesus.

 

K is for the African country, Kenya, where a team of Compassion bloggers just arrived. Read some posts about their trip and look at the pictures of the beautiful people of Kenya. There is a whole lotta world out there besides our corner of it.

 

L is for losin’ it. Brennan loses it nearly every time Matt leaves for work. It’s painfully crushing to watch him chase after Matt and melt down into a ball of tears as his daddy walks out the door. If Matt’s holding him while saying ‘goodbye’, the boy will resist being transferred to my arms with crocodile tears streaming down his face. It’s bittersweet to me. I love that that boy is crazy about his daddy and runs into his arms to welcome him home. But it’s so sad for me to watch and have to pick up the pieces of a sad boy crying, sitting in front of the garage door as Matt leaves for the day.

 

M is for Matthew 25: 34-46, verses that have kept coming up in my life over the past three weeks. They’re gettin’ my attention.

 

N is for Brennan’s crazy nap schedules. For a week and a half, he’s given me signs he’s ready to drop his morning nap, which we have for three days this week, successfully. But today and yesterday, he took a morning nap. Is this normal? Do I stick with skipping the morning nap or what? He’s so young, I would think he still needs a morning nap, but it’s more often a miss than a hit. Suggestions?

 

O is for The Office. We’re kinda sad the Olympics are over, but last night, the baby episode of The Office was on, and I LOVED it!  I cringed and wiggled throughout it as it completely unnerved me.  Between Dwight’s demolition which reminded me of our house flood, and Pam’s struggle to nurse, which was well, ahem, my struggle to nurse (except she got her baby to finally latch), I’m unraveled from the very core of my being (in a good Office fashion)!!!!!!

 

P is for praying before meals in which Brennan ends the prayer with a grunting noise, which is his attempt at saying, “Amen”. It’s the best ever!

 

Q is for quacking…and mooing, barking, meowing, roaring…all of the animal sounds I make these days. You’d think I’d be a professional animal sound maker by now. But sadly, I’m not.

 

R is for our friend, Robert. I’ve written about him before. The update: after a round of chemo, two rounds of high-dose chemo, intensive surgery, and another round of chemo, each of these various treatments have failed. Robert and Aimee are now praying about the next step, which may consist of clinical treatments. There is a group of friends and family praying for Robert and Aimee and their three kiddos this weekend. Please consider joining us.

 

S is for spring break!! In a week, Brennan and I will head to San Antonio to be with Pops and Meems. We’re stoked!

 

T is for toilet paper, the glorious invention of toilet paper! After waiting to buy paper products last month, without totally incriminating myself, we really needed TP last Saturday. Really, really. I’ve never been more excited to go to Target. After reading my post, my Momma had great concern that my pathetic state of not getting up to get Kleenex was a reflection of her parenting. <grin> She did raise me better. She is a lady. So were my grandmothers. It skipped my generation. You may have been as concerned as she was, but don’t fret. She bought us enough paper products so I don’t have put my family in a TP/Kleenex-less predicament again. <grin>  Thanks, Momma!

 

U is for unpredictable. Such is my life these days.

 

V is for Miss Molly’s vomit, which is unexplainable and happens too often. Poor puppy!! She’s always had a sensitive tummy, but it’s off the charts these days. I will pay an arm and a leg for Nature’s Miracle. That stuff is awesome.

 

W is for Wheaton. Matt’s 10 year college reunion is this fall, and we’re so excited to go back and hang out with all our buddies! Never mind that we’re old.

 

X is for xenodochial, something I hope to be.

 

Y is for yodeling. I’m a really good yodeler. Not.

 

Z is for my boy who zooms everywhere!  He is fast, ya’ll. I’ve had several people comment that he is an unusually good walker for his age. I even had one friend with grown children tell me in all seriousness as she watched him zoom by that she was going to start praying for me every day.

 

I hope ya’ll are doing well, and have a great weekend!