Spicy Magnolia

Lotsa Link Love

Y’all, I have so much to write about and pictures to share! For weeks I have kept a running list of things to blog about and/or links to share. For tonight, I’m gonna go with the random link love. There just might be a few nibbles of interest or encouragement here or there on which you can chew.

There are a number of items that fall under the category of “ordinary significance” that have deeply met my soul’s need for encouragement as it pertains to purpose, importance, and my fear of insignificance. It’s obviously a theme God wants to hone in on at the moment. First up is an excerpt from Lisa Broscious Beamer’s commencement address to Wheaton College, my alma mater. Lisa is most widely known for her book published after 9/11 called Let’s Roll! Ordinary People, Extraordinary Courage (I recommend it highly). Her husband, Todd, died heroically in the September 11 terrorist attacks.

In the latest of edition of Wheaton Magazine, an abridgement of Lisa’s speech was published. I loved the following:

We live in a world teeming with all sorts of opportunities, macro and micro, dramatic and subtle! He (God) asks that we wash the “least of these” in His love. That we proactively look in dark corners and behind closed doors for people who are wounded and abandoned. That we not be ignorant of His children who are poor and hungry. That we act as instruments to restore damaged relationships. That we be unusual in the value we place on each and every soul that He’s created. That we wake up the complacent as we radically care for neighbors and strangers alike. That we bring the Good News of peace and salvation to all layers of humanity.

So, as you wake up tomorrow, don’t be dismayed to find your life turn ordinary soon enough. When you realize that today is kind of similar to yesterday and a bit like tomorrow, ask yourself who is becoming whole again on your watch, what is being healed through your influence, how is God redeeming His creation by way of your life? Your good answers will surely be the mark of significance even in an ordinary life.

Good stuff, huh?

Also along the lines of “ordinary significance” is a post by Rod Dreher called “Steve Jobs or Coach Eric Taylor?” We all know who Steve Jobs is. But for those of you who don’t know who Coach Eric Taylor is, well, he has been a new-found love in my life, thanks to Mac and Julie who introduced me to Friday Night Lights, of which Coach Taylor is the lead character. It was a fabulous television series I devoured. Instilling courage and being an example of availability and trust to those in need, Coach Taylor’s character was a role-model for all of us ordinary folk, making him extraordinary. The post gives a great portrayal of how such lives can have a deep impact.

This post, “This is Your Daughter Speaking”, is incredibly moving and powerful for us parents who wonder if we’re actually making a difference in our children’s lives despite the amount of love, sweat, and tears we sacrifice. It’s a must-read post for any parent, regardless of the part of the journey of parenthood that you’re on, and I’ve bookmarked it (aka “pinned it”) on Pinterest <grin>.

Allrighty then, moving right along: Compassion Bloggers!! They have hit the ground running on another trip, this time to Ecuador. As I type, they are pouring out their hearts through the written word in posts that will be published tonight about their first day. You can follow their publications here. Pick a few to read throughout the week and leave a comment to encourage them. Also, if you’ve ever had an inkling to sponsor a Compassion child but haven’t yet, take a few minutes to read this post of Micha’s. It might just tip you over to that final decision. It’s a pretty amazing story.

This post isn’t going to be refined and polished. I have a number of other get-to items this evening, but my hankering to post at least something was so strong I couldn’t resist. And to give you a glimpse of content forthcoming:

Whatever you set forth to do tonight: dishes, reading, trying desperately to get a child to fall asleep, chillin’ in front of a good TV show, or homework, please know I think of you and wish I could reach through the screen to give you a hug. You are loved.

Simply trusting,

Let Us Reacquaint Ourselves

I think a reacquaintance is in order. My name is Meghan. Or Meg. To my family and a few close friends, Meggie. To a couple of Australians, Meggles. To another friend, Megs. To my Momma, Pumpkin Face or Angel. To my Daddy, Meggie-Peg. I also hear the name, “Mommy” being called out a lot around this place by a person small enough to fit in a kitchen cabinet.

The big man of the household is working his cutie-pa-tooty off in what will be Brennan’s big boy room. We repainted the study a few weeks ago and moved the guest bed into that room to empty out the room for Brennan’s new one. Chris helped us put up a chair rail that Matt has been working on priming and painting, and over the next couple of weekends, we’ll tackle the painting of the walls. My momma is bustling working on other creative aspects of his room. In the meantime, our upstairs is a chaotic mess of furniture, toys, and mattresses. Speaking of my Momma, I want to recognize the blessing of her gift of creativity. She gave us a priceless treasure done by her hands that somehow, as her daughter, I have memorized how her hands look and feel and work. There’s nothing like Momma’s hands. Look what she painted and gave to us for Brennan’s birthday!

 

This was the original picture, taken when Brennan was about five months old in June of 2009.

 

If I haven’t been running around after an energetic two-year old, cooking, cleaning up the peanut butter schmeers on the table and chairs, passed out on the couch, caring for a boy who was sick for two weeks with high fever and severe diarrhea, sighing over the amount of dog hair in our home, standing aghast at the amount of dust building up because it’s been months and months since I’ve dusted, or attempting to tackle seven loads of laundry that I keep putting off for days, I’ve been doing either of the following:

1. Reading
2. Getting caught up on Project Life albums

A little bit more about each of those. First, reading. Since receiving a Kindle from my beloved for Christmas (which was a huge surprise to me), I’ve had a renewed love of reading and have put my nose to the books. Life seems kinda tough at the moment, in general, so I’m finding great reprieve getting lost in novels. Since January, I’ve read Revenge of the Spellmans (the third book in a series of four by Lisa Lutz), As Sure as the Dawn (final book in the Mark of the Lion trilogy by Francine Rivers), and The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I highly recommend each one for different reasons! Even while I prefer novels these days, I still want to mix it up a bit, so I’m currently reading Ann Voskamp’s One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are, which has been hugely challenging and eye-opening as a lot of the clouds that have been covering my soul lately seem to be parting, ever so slowly. The bright, cloudless Texas spring skies are also helping with that as well.

Secondly, the Project Life albums. Personally, I love keeping photos organized but don’t have time to do the old-fashioned scrapbooking. Becky Higgins’ Project Life albums have been the perfect match for me. I had a couple of months from 2010 to catch up on, plus I was able to start a new 2011 album. In addition, I’m using another album for Skittles’ baby book which I’ve caught up on to this day. And I’ll tell you what: it feels good! Now I just need to get our home back in order.

While working on the albums, I’ve discovered Netflix’s “Watch Instantly” feature that has The Cosby Show and The Dick Van Dyke Show. I now have a better understanding (and appreciation) for my hubby’s sense of humor as he’s a perfect blend of Bill and Dick!

Little Skittles. Precious Skittles. I’m 18 weeks today and am feeling much better than I did the past few months. In fact, I’m rejoicing that the last two weeks have had some semblance of ‘normalcy’ since Thanksgiving! Skittles is moving more and more and causing me a bit of insomnia and a great deal of ultra-sensitive gag reflexes! Did any of you experience that? It’s the weirdest thing! I can’t brush my teeth or cough without feeling like I’m gagging, and sometimes, it causes me to randomly vomit. It’s bizarre. For those of you who like belly pics, this was taken a couple of days ago. If you aren’t interested, just keep scrolling down <grin>. My hubby, bless his heart, finds himself unfortunately in the role of taking the pictures once again, and I am a pretty picky belly picture taker. On Sunday, I think we took about seven or eight pictures before I was satisfied.

 

This handsome buckaroo keeps me on my toes and keeps me laughing (most of the time…the other times I’m about ready to pull my hair out or pass out from exhaustion). He’s a solid climber! Just this past weekend he mastered climbing up the slide from the bottom. Not sure if that’s a good thing. But it’s definitely a boy thing. He’s playing a lot more pretend games (like grocery store), and is inseparable from any of the following items that get interchanged every week or so: Lightning McQueen, Thomas the Train, Lambie (his stuffed lamb that Gaga gave him), a toy dolphin, Mickey Mouse, If You Give a Cat a Cupcake book, or pieces of his Cars puzzle.

 

Since Sunday, he’s been carrying around the following two pictures of Pops and Mees that he pulled from my stack of photos I had developed. Pops and Mees have eaten every meal with us, gone everywhere with us, and slept next to Brennan for naps and bedtime.

To the delight of my heart, he started singing Jesus Loves Me on his own yesterday while playing trains. And for the first time in his whole two years of life, it’s not very pleasant to drop him off in the church nursery.

Over the last month, the tyke has ventured to San Antonio for a weekend getaway with Pops and Mees by himself where he got spoiled rotten with yummy food, playing with three puppies, and adventures at the stock show. Then the weekend after that, he had a journey up to North Texas to celebrate our good buddy, Harrison’s, fifth birthday. Matt took him there for the weekend, so I had a lovely, quiet weekend at home and attempted my first-ever sewing project with my friend Emily! We made tool belts for our boys and it was a blast! 

 

I’ve loved the opportunity of reintroducing myself to y’all. I hope to not be as much of a stranger around these parts! And if you’d kindly oblige me, I’d like to know who my visitors are these days, just for fun. I’d love to know who you are and where you’re from and what’s been the best thing you’ve eaten today. Not best as in best for you, but best as in yummy best <grin>. I’ll start: I’m Meghan from Austin, Texas and I ate a whole pint of chocolate pudding today, and don’t regret one bite!

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have a lovely afternoon!

Simply trusting,

Pictures Galore Continued: Deep in the Heart of Texas

It shouldn’t feel like it’s been weeks since Brennan and I were in San Antonio with Pops and Meems. But somehow, it already feels like ages ago. A resurgence of the stomach bug that presented itself today doesn’t help matters. So far it’s only hit Brennan, bless his heart. But we’ll skip over those unpleasant details and move onto remembering our amazing time two weeks ago with Pops and Meems where we were loved on and spoiled!

There were…

Afternoons playing in the water to cool down, which by far made Dapples’ day…

 

 

Evenings helping Pops open a foretaste of his 60th birthday celebration at the end of this month (more on this later). But I just have to say: ECSTATIC! Using the pictures as clues, any takers for guessing where we’re jetting off to? For those who know, ssshhh!!

 

 

Reading times at Barnes & Nobles…

 

 

Graham cracker snack times in bed watching Little House on the Prairie…

 

Mornings helping Pops with his ‘beauty’ routine while munching on blueberries. Pops does this outside so he doesn’t get dye on the bathroom counters. Oh wait, he probably didn’t want me to tell the world wide web that he dyes his beard! So, ahem, they’re just outside working together munching on blueberries…

 

 

Evenings dancing on the new JW Marriot Resort grounds, fascinated with the speakers in the grass. That place is incredible! I so badly wanted to use their pools for a day…

 

Saturday mornings where we hopped in the car and went to Paneras in our PJs to eat a blueberry muffin for breakfast (don’t worry, I wasn’t in my PJs)…

 

Big boy moments reading the newspaper in the car…

 

Shamu sightings! Who, by the way, was acting up and thrashing around right as the show started. We had no idea if a trainer was in the water, but we knew something was wrong. It was an awful, awful feeling and I nearly walked out with Brennan but a trainer started talking to us about what was happening. The whale was simply being disobedient and the show went on with only one noticeable difference: the trainers did not get in the water! Regardless, my boy was fascinated by Shamu!

 

Moments we didn’t get on my camera included swimming down the river at Sea World, playing at a great park, and heading into the movie theater for the very first time with my boy to see Toy Story 3. He loved it! He sat there the whole time without so much of a peep or squirm, mesmerized by the screen, enjoying every minute of it. It was the perfect summer thing to do with Meems to escape the heat, and it was a memorable first.

Meems spoiled us with good home cookin’, and Brennan felt right at home from the moment we pulled up, even kicking from excitement knowing we’d arrived at such a fun destination. It did my heart some good knowing that he was familiar with Pops and Meems’ home. He knows when he’s loved!

While we were away from home playing, Matt had a little trip himself: he flew up to Chicago for his cousin Jason’s wedding! The newlyweds are off gallivanting across the French countryside.

We had a few days back at home before hittin’ the road to the farm, but during those days, Brennan was introduced to coffeecake batter and liked it, but wasn’t interested in licking the beaters. I wonder when will that change? He posed for pictures and took big bites of Rudy’s sausage. It’s been a full summer ya’ll!

Pictures Galore Continued: Father’s Day

I’ll just keep the pictures comin’ until you scream, “No more!” Until then, pop yourself some popcorn and enjoy.

To kick off feeling better and Father’s Day weekend, Brennan and I met our friend, Stacie, and her three girls at Jungle Java, a perfect indoor play area for us mommas to chat and the kiddos to wear themselves out. Upon leaving, I thought it would be fun to try a new yogurt place called YoYo’s that opened down the street from us. Brennan couldn’t have any because he’s still off of dairy products, but he enjoyed a few chocolate chips. And I found myself a new summer treat!

For Father’s Day, I put together eight different clues/rhymes for Matt to read throughout the weekend of things we were going to do. Friday night was a night to crash and after putting Brennan down, we climbed into bed and watched Iron Man. I saw the sequel a few weeks ago without having seen the first one and loved it, so I thought I’d give the first one a go. And it’s an action packed film, so of course hubby wouldn’t mind seeing it again <grin>. I loved it so much I watched it twice during the weekend!

Saturday, Matt got to sleep in and be awakened by a precious boy with a cup of hot chai from Starbucks. Then we filled the day with fun! First stop was an awesome splash park we tried for the first time.

 

Watch out, the water is gonna get ya!

 

Told ya’ll.

 

Lovin’ that wet boy of mine. Usually I’m the one getting wet playing. It was nice for a change to sit on the sidelines and watch. And stay dry. And day dream.

 

Here’s your next clue, Daddy.

 

There’s nothing like a Mighty Fine burger. I’m still cool even though I’m wearing a silly makeshift bib.

 

What happens to the makeshift bib after hit hard by drool, ketchup fingers, and water.

 

 

Because Matt’s iPhone sadly looks like this, and because I love him to bits and geeky tech gifts speak love to him, I surprised him by pre-ordering a new iPhone. I kept him on his toes about his gift even after he read one of his clues, and you should have seen the grin on his face as he stood in front of the Apple store realizing I wasn’t just dangling the carrot in front of him. He was gonna get to eat that carrot!

Sunday, we went to church and ate lunch at Chedd’s. After naps and swim time for the boys, we enjoyed grilling out kabobs with a fruit salad and corn pudding. An ice cream pie topped off the meal. Here is what the table looked like. I had it set for Pops and Meems to join us for the day, but they weren’t feeling well, so they stayed put. I decorated it using Brennan’s toys that represented some of Matt’s and my Daddy’s favorite things.

 

Father’s Day was nearly two weeks ago, but Matt, my Daddy, and my father-in-law, Ed, can’t ever get enough thanks and appreciation for the daddies that they are! Brennan and I go giddy at the thought of them and want them to know how much they are loved!

(To be Continued…)

Pictures Galore

If you don’t want to look at a bunch of pictures of a blue-eyed, blonde-haired boy for the next five minutes, then feel free to skip this post. I won’t be offended, I promise. It’s just that, well, I realize I haven’t posted in awhile because we were in San Antonio nearly all last week with my folks and I have a lot of picture love to spread around from the last two weeks for whomever is willing to receive it. I’ll break the posts up into two, maybe three different days, just to keep ya’ll on your toes and not inundate you with blue and blonde all in one sitting.

Before the stomach bug of 2010 hit our home, we enjoyed a relaxing weekend and let Brennan indulge in part of a chocolate cupcake that was devoured crumb by crumb…

 

And a bit of the World Cup, which we haven’t had on since because we don’t have ESPN and I can’t find a time where the game is nationally broadcast on plain old ABC. It might just be for the best, ‘cause those vuvuzela horns mess with me!

 

Enter: nasty, nasty stomach bug. Crackers, Sprite and Gatorade hit the spot. Man, I sure wish I could’ve kept off those four pounds I lost just as easily as I put them back on!

    

 

Watching Cars outside while it was still lovely out also hit the spot!

 

Mighty Meems came to the rescue!

       

 

Exit: nasty, nasty stomach bug of 2010! We were quickly onto bigger and better things, like Father’s Day weekend…

(To Be Continued)

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.

 

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

Double the Trouble, Double the Fun

Who watched Lost last night? Wasn’t it AWESOME!? As my sis-in-law, Julie, wrote on her blog, it’s the show we’re never gonna want to end! As a side note to Julie’s blog, you should hop on over there to read this article by a Washington Post staffer on Tim Tebow’s Super Bowl ad. It’s a great article.  It’s a thoughtful and fitting response to some of the negative hype. Oh, and take a look at this from Antique Mommy. I’ve pondered numbers 1 and 35 all day long.

Ok, back to Lost: that was two thrilling hours of television! 24 used to be thrilling to me, but now it’s same-old and very predictable. Am I the only one that feels that way? The suspense has dissipated. “Bye, bye,” Jack Bauer. Time is limited in this household, and you’re gonna have to go. You’re not doin’ it for me anymore. But Lost, remain forever.

And onto the real topic of this post: our special visitors from this past weekend. Our good buddies, Eric and Kim and their adorable 9.5 month old son, Luke, made the trip from Colorado to visit us, and it was a blast. We go way back with these folks. Eric and I grew up in El Paso together and have known each other since I was 11 years old. At Wheaton, he introduced me to Matt, and then when Eric and Matt lived together in Austin, Matt introduced Eric to Kim, who also happened to be a Wheatie. Did ya get all that? They’re some of our bestest buds, and now Luke and Brennan will forever be bestest buds, at least as long as we parents get to choose who their friends are. But even still, we hope they’ll forever be bestest buds. They sure hit it off this weekend, talking and babbling to each other, playing together, and even crying when the other started crying. They’re learnin’ empathy early on.

Chuy’s was our first stop, and the most important restaurant to visit. It was crazy crowded with a long wait, so we opted for take out, which was so the right option to choose. We stuffed ourselves silly. After the boys hit the hay, the adults stayed up to play. That’s more or less what it was like every day. Day time: lugging our gear and boys around the city; night time: busting out the food, the drinks, and livin’ up the night life. Well, in an exhausted, need-to-be-responsible-parent sort of way.

 

At one and 9.5 months, these fellas weren’t really “double the trouble”. I’m sure they will be one day though. And we’re bracing ourselves by opting for arranged marriages. And chastity belts. If they don’t make those for boys, we’ll invent them. And knee pads for the hours spent on our knees praying.

 

Thank the Lord they’re angels now. Wonderful, precious little boys who don’t even know how to wrestle yet. Or grunt. Or let out disgusting burps on purpose. They just need their mommas’ tender lovin’ care to make it through the day.

 

On Saturday morning, we hit the playground at Zilker Park for some fun sliding and swinging.

 

The game “Chutes and Ladders” comes to mind.

 

Why do the big boys seem to be enjoying the swings more than the little boys? Oh yeah, it’s ‘cause they’re lookin’ at their pretty girls.

 

The swing is only so much fun for awhile. After that, it’s melt-down worthy.

 

  The Coloradoans were freezing in Texas this weekend. Eric kept going “blah, blah, blah, blah, blah” trying to reasonably explain why that could even be possible.

 

1. A cheesy, but heartfelt caption is the only kind appropriate for this picture. I love these friends of ours! The shared history, interests, memories, times of laughter and times of tears are too numerous to recount.  There is nothing like the deep bond of friendship, and this is the kind that is lifelong. There are certain friends of mine that when I think of them, my heart could literally burst in thanksgiving and joy over being their friends, and these three are of that kind. I hope at sometime during your lifetime, you may know this kind of friendship.

 

After Zilker, we could not pass up taking our guests to our staple tourist attraction: Whole Foods. For the first time, we ate at the bar-b-que bar and it was the best thing I’ve had at Whole Foods! For the afternoon, the big boys went to a Longhorn basketball game (where they lost in OT) and the girls and little boys hung out at home and got dinner ready.

 

Cupcakes, glorious cupcakes!

 

 

Tails is Brennan’s favorite new book now thanks to his buddies. And because of that, I’m dreaming about tails. Possum tails. Tiger tails. Swat, swat, swat. Dirty tails, clean tails, fluffy tails. Tails, tails, tails!

 

The hit of the night was a recipe The Pioneer Woman recently featured on her blog: molten lava cakes. Your life is not complete without having at least one of these a week. Or be wild: one a day! We played a couple rounds of “Clue”, a favorite in our household. It was Mr. Green, with the lead pipe, in the library, in case you were wondering. Then we laughed our heads off (that’s such an odd expression) and reminisced over old college photos.

Sunday we went to church together and met up with Eric’s little sister for lunch at Central Market, where we wanted to listen to the live Jazz band. But it was too cold for me, and way too cold for Eric and Kim. <grin> The fellas took over for us girls Sunday afternoon, and I took Kim to one of my favorite Austin spots: The Steeping Room, for a lovely afternoon tea. It was purely delightful and was the perfect thing to do on the cold, dreary day. We bar-b-qued steaks and had baked potatoes and salad for dinner. It was a weekend of feasting. This whole month has been one big feast, which makes February, not January, the month to begin our New Year’s resolutions. Oh wait, we don’t have any.

Eric and Kim spent the better half of the evening trying to convince us to move to Colorado. I’ll let you know if and when our bags are packed. But for those of you worrying as you read this (a.k.a. Pops and Meems), you’ll just need to have your bags packed and ready, too.

 

I think they could pass for brothers in this picture.

 

That fella you call your friend is making me put my arm around Luke, and I don’t like it. Neither does Luke. Enough already.

 

 Now we’ll always have proof of the first time the little boys saw each other n*aked, as boys tend to joke about such an event even up into their 30s.

 

 

All four of them mesmerized by watching a Lost summary episode gearing up for last night’s season premiere. We love Lost. And we love those moose with short fluffy tails that go wag, wag, wag.

 

 

A Sweet Reunion

Not too long ago, a group of six college girlfriends reunited for an extended weekend that befitted the song Girls Just Want to Have Fun. Our Country House reunion (Country House was the name of the house we all lived in together our senior year at college) was in early October, but I have yet to write about our memorable get together. So for my own record-keeping sake, I’m simply going to publish the itinerary I put together for these special girls. I also wish I could show you the six pages of grocery list items that I worked on for those two consecutive weekends of Brennan’s dedication and the Country House reunion when we had a house full of visitors. It’s more proof of why I need to work on my waistline than anything else. Well, and why I could drive to the H.E.B. on Louis Henna blindfolded. But I won’t ever attempt that. Unless someone gave me a  million dollars. Then maybe I would. If no one else was on the road.

Thursday:  Everyone arrived, including Tracy’s itty bitty new baby girl, Emie! Brennan was very fascinated with her and wanted to ‘pat, pat’ her like he does Molly. Chicken parmesan, salad, garlic bread, and chocolate cupcakes with chocolate cream filling from Ann’s Kitchen decorated with “Welcome to Texas” written across the top was their welcome dinner. If you can believe it, the six of us girls, Emie, Brennan, and Matt all fit! In the house, that is.

Friday: The mornings were leisurely for everyone to wake up in their own time, enjoy some coffee, homemade granola, and an assortment of mini zucchini and pumpkin muffins that my momma made. She must have made at least a hundred of those suckers. I asked for mini muffins, not even thinking how mini muffins take lots more time to bake to get through all of the batter. But mini muffins are simply pop-in-your-mouth yumminess. And because she’s my momma, she made them for us, gladly. They are all gone. They’ve been gone a long time.

For the weekend, we rented a large SUV for all of us girls to fit into one car. That was a great decision! The thing was gigantic…it even had a video screen that acted as a rear view mirror when I was backing up. Fancy shmancy car it was. It’s long gone, too.

Our first stop on Friday was Mt. Bonnell to get a good view of the city. I told the girls to wear good walking shoes because there were hundreds of steps they’d climb to get to the overlook. My memory served me wrong. It was more like twenty steps. And I need to brush up on my knowledge of the city before guests arrive. I was answering, “I don’t know”, way too often.

I gave them a quick tour through part of the University of Texas. Which, by the way, have you heard? We’re going to the national championship! Of course, I’m an Aggie fan, but goodness gracious, I’m a Texan and I’ll be cheerin’ for them Longhorns like crazy. Especially against an SEC team. <grin> Oh, I just stuck that in to rile some of you up.

The “Mecca of Whole Foods” is a place we usually take all of our visitors because it’s so over the top. That’s where we had lunch. It took us nearly an hour to just decide what we were all going to eat.

We headed home to hang out and get ready for our murder mystery dinner party. Matt joined us, as did my friend, Jill (brave soul that she was to come and not know any of the girls!), to make the party complete with all eight characters. It was set in the 1950s and we each got dressed up to play our parts. We grilled out burgers and had ice cream to top it off. It was so much fun! We laughed so much as we stepped into character and tried to solve the mystery; the costumes themselves were enough to make the evening golden.

Saturday: We hung out together in the morning…the weekend was a nice blend of rest and activity, I thought. I think everyone went back home fairly renewed, even the mommas of the group. Matt gave me a treat by staying home on Friday to take care of Brennan, and he even offered to babysit Emie on Saturday, too. Matt’s mom and aunt came in from Dallas to help him with the two kiddos while us girls ventured in the pouring rain to Gruene. We listened to some live music at the oldest dance hall in Texas, Gruene Hall, and played some incredible, attention getting rounds of “Jenga”. Then we had a fabulous meal at The Gristmill.

Sunday:  We all went to church together and then enjoyed some Hawaiian/Mexican at Hula Hut. The girls definitely couldn’t have left Austin without some comida Mexicana, but the Hawaiian added a little twist to it. We left feeling like stuffed roly-polies. We took it easy the rest of the day and enjoyed Paula Dean’s taco soup for dinner, which is scrumptious and easy to make. I think Sunday evening was a highlight for all of us as we fellowshipped together, shared from the heart and prayed together. This was the first time the six of us were all together since Becca’s death, and she was greatly missed. These girls are some of the most special, life-long friends who make me laugh, point me to Jesus, and who love me just the way I am, even when I make dumb comments about rocks (sorry, that’s an inside joke between me and the gals, but it’s apropos).

Monday: We packed a picnic to Zilker Park and took a long walk around Town Lake before making the first couple of runs to the airport. Hillary, Molly, and Lindsey were still around on Monday night for pizza and our Country House signature movie: Return to Me. The rest of the gals left on Tuesday. This weepy gal cried with Brennan on the way home, already missing all of the estrogen that swept through our house those few days. Brennan and Matt probably breathed a sigh of relief to some degree, although, Brennan was a charmer and loved ‘flirting’ with all the girls. It was sad to see them go, but what a gift it was to have all five of them here. Even with our various schedules and global residences, we were able to come together, and that’s somethin’ special. At some point down the road, we hope to all meet up in Prague. We said we’d go there for our 10 year college reunion, which <gasp> is only a year and a half from now! Until then, we have something called the Internet to unite us.

Passing Down the Travel Bug

The travel bug on my side of the family is at least three generations deep.  It’s now being passed down to the fourth generation.  At least that’s what I like to think is happening since my little Chunky Monkey enjoyed his first out-of-State vacation so much.  A week ago last Friday, me, Brennan, and hubby ventured up to Washington D.C. for a weekend with my brother and sister-in-law and a five day visit with Matt’s family in Charlottesville, VA.  Although we had an hour delay sitting on the tarmac in Dallas, Brennan traveled very well.  Much more so than his parents, who 1) started getting really anxious and frustrated with the delay (that was just me); 2) had a misunderstanding on where we were to meet after going in different directions at the Dulles Airport, which resulted in Matt carrying all most of our bags PLUS Brennan in the stroller onto a shuttle to the rental car place all on his own; 3) realized that hubby had not retrieved all of the bags, but only most of them…he’d forgotten the checked bag with the car seat in it; 4) after two additional and unintentional hours spent at the airport getting situated, we went ten minutes in the wrong direction trying to get to our hotel.  Ten minutes ain’t so bad, but when you topple it upon numbers 1, 2, & 3, it didn’t make for a pretty picture.  While I complained and was more like a wife who was rottenness to my hubby’s bones (seriously! Proverbs 12:4) , little Brennan just went with the flow with much patience (like his Daddy).  Oh, precious boy, I learn so much from you!

Brennan traipsed across D.C. the whole weekend; that little one barely got any naps!  After getting settled into the hotel on Friday night, we went over to Mac and Julie’s place in Arlington.  Julie made a fabulous dinner of cashew chicken, salad, and an incredible brownie-like dessert that once I get my hands on the recipe, it’s all over for me.  I’ve never known a more pleasurable way to put on ten extra pounds.  We also were able to enjoy watching the movie Bride Wars; it was quite funny! 

I played my first role of Momma Bear on Friday night.  Well, make that early Saturday morning at 4 a.m.  Apparently there was a room of young teen girls in the room next to us who decided to squeal and talk at 4 a.m., waking both me and Matt up.  Fortunately, Brennan was still knocked out despite being right next to the wall with their shrieks.  All of our small attempts to get them to be quiet failed.  I’d had enough, nor was I willing to risk my baby’s night of sleep.  Especially after a group of guys joined the party next door, that did it for me.  I walked next door in my PJs, knocked on their door and told them, as kindly but as seriously as I could, to please be quiet or move the party to another room.  They politely obliged and were fairly quiet the rest of the morning.  <Big momma bear growl>

So onward we went with our day, commencing with a walk around Mac and Julie’s neighborhood in the hip/fun Clarendon area.  It was a gorgeous and delightful day to meander about.  Our tummies started rumbling, so we ventured downtown, a mere five minute drive from their place, and went to a well-known hole-in-the-wall, famous for their chili:

BEN’S CHILI BOWL

 

An empty basket of chili cheese fries.  I had to share the basket with Matt.  I could’ve eaten it all by myself.

I don’t remember exactly what we were talking about over lunch, but it obviously provoked something in Mac.

Whatever it was, Brennan must’ve thought Uncle Mac and Aunt Julie were pretty funny. 

Without a doubt, I left Austin with a fairly quiet, still baby only to return with an active, babbling 5 month old who wiggles, squirms, squeals, and will hardly sit still anymore!  His most favorite past time:  jumping on anything and everyone; he loves to practice standing and jumping up and down.  It was the activity that guaranteed us a happy baby.  

One chili cheese burger, three chili smokes, and two baskets of chili cheese fries later, we wobbled down the street…

 

to change Brennan’s dirty diaper in the car.  This was the first of a few public diaper changes, the worst one being a nasty explosion on Sunday, in which the poor baby obviously paid a price from my intake of chili. 

Our aim was to make it to the Museum of Natural History to see Brennan’s eyes pop wide open at the sight of the dinosaurs, but the little guy desperately needed a nap.  So while he snoozed in the Bjorn while scoping out the sculpture gardens, the four of us found a nice bench by the fountain and enjoyed chatting.

Hanging Brennan upside down is Matt’s new kick.  Brennan loves it!  In fact, he loves all things “Daddy”!  It’s incredible to see that little boy get such delight at a big, goofy man.  Of course, being the serious one that I am, I asked Matt to please look up on the Internet to make sure it wasn’t too early to start hanging Brennan upside down before doing it.  <grin>  Obviously, he got the green light.

Everywhere the baby went, the lamb was sure to go.

In the afternoon, we went back to Mac and Julie’s for some down-time.  Mac played NCAA Football on the Xbox while me and Brennan snoozed a bit and Matt and Julie went for a bike ride.  For dinner, we headed to the National Harbor and had a great meal at Rosa Mexicano.  We stuffed ourselves silly with the delicious guacamole made right in front of us.

 

On Sunday, we went to Mac and Julie’s church, The Falls Church, and enjoyed a wonderful service!  Then we headed back into the city for lunch at Founding Farmers, a tasty restaurant owned by a collective of family farmers where only the freshest food is served in one of the most environmentally friendly settings I’ve seen.  For example, they serve only twice distilled water.  I chowed down on my Southern Fried Chicken Salad. 

We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon back at Mac and Julie’s relaxing and playing “Clue” out in the courtyard surrounded by gorgeous blue hydrangeas.  It is always so sad to depart our loved ones.  What a gift it was to see Mac and Julie in their welcoming abode and to now be able to picture where they live as we think of them daily.

Sunday evening, we were picked up by Matt’s parents and headed to Charlottesville!  Brennan has changed a lot since they last saw him at 4 weeks old, and it was fun for them to get to see Brennan at this new, active stage.  We were able to introduce Brennan to his other great-grandfather.  A priceless moment was when Grandpa prayed a blessing over our baby boy…a blessing that Brennan would grow to be big and strong, and a good athlete.  <grin>

Much of Matt’s extended family lives in Charlottesville as well, and they were able to come over for a brief get-together Monday night.  Here is Matt’s cousin Alex, with her precious baby boy, Malachi.  It was fun introducing the two babies to each other.

We were able to celebrate Aunt Melissa’s birthday with her on Tuesday!  Brennan picked some flowers for her on our morning walk and presented them to her like a gentleman.  It was so fun to watch Aunt Melissa play with Brennan; I learned some play tips from her, and Brennan delighted in his good buddy!  We had the pleasure of seeing her new place, too and having a lovely birthday luncheon there.  I would be remiss if I didn’t mention all of the yumminess Ruth made us all last week; I pigged out!  I’ve got some fun, new recipes to try out, that’s for sure.  A highlight for me was getting a pedicure with Melissa; we had the chance to soak our feet and sip on a glass of wine for 30 minutes before they got started on us!  It was delightful girl time!

 

Once Brennan went down for bed, nearly every night, the five of us stayed up and played “Clue”.  I’d forgotten how awesome a game it is!  Matt kicked booty!

I was somewhat skeptic about our vacation actually feeling like a vacation traveling with a baby.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Brennan traveled well; he slept through the nights even though he was a consistent early bird; and I was able to enjoy some down time since so many people were around that wanted to play and help.  One of the exceptions was Wednesday when the poor fella was either teething or going through one tough growth spurt.  The unknowns of what makes him restless, unable to nap, and terribly fussy undo me the most.  Fortunately, he perked up for his Papa, Nana, and Melissa because they graciously babysat him for us Wednesday night while me and hubby enjoyed a tasty meal at Timberwood Grill and the fabulous movie, Up.  We were like giddy high school sweethearts.  <grin>

Thursday we got to have lunch with Matt’s cousin Jason, who happened to be in town at the same time.  It was a highlight to catch up with him.  We went to another VA hotspot:  Five Guys Burgers and Fries to enjoy yet another greasy fare.  One of the other highlights was seeing Brennan master rolling over from his tummy to his back!  Thursday night, Ed and Ruth prepared a special early Father’s Day celebration and we grilled steaks out.  We were blessed with fabulous weather, even though it was June.  However, upon returning to Austin, we’ve been blasted with heat indexes of 105 degrees.  For.  Cryin’.  Out.  Loud.

Despite my personal aversion to the Yankees, I was a good wife and dressed Brennan in his New York Yankees onesie that Matt bought him last year as part of my Father’s Day gift to Matt.  <grin> 

Friday we shared a relaxing day together.  Matt enjoyed a special breakfast date with his momma and all of us hung out at the pool for a bit, too.  Brennan got to show off his swimming skills to Papa, Nana, and Melissa.  That evening, we had a lovely dinner out at Mono Loco near the downtown mall. 

 

We arrived home on Saturday evening, and while we miss all of our family and it was hard to say “goodbye”, it is wonderful to be home.  We were greeted by sweet Molly, who spent the week with Pops and Meems.  My Momma was so generous to not only drive Molly up and drop her off so we didn’t have to worry about picking her up, she also had a meal prepared for us!  So upon getting home, we dropped our bags in the entryway to unpack later and were able to sit down together as a family to some homemade Mexican food that we’d been craving.  I’m trying to gear myself up for the week, getting Brennan back on his routine (putting him to bed the last two nights have been rough), and helping him adjust to not having constant attention by so many different people.  <gulp>  How can it be that sometimes I’m afraid of a baby???

It was such a nice vacation and a special time visiting family!  A great many thanks to all of our family for graciously hosting us, for spoiling us with love and fabulous meals, for loving our little boy soooo much, and for giving us precious memories.  We miss you all a lot and can’t wait until the next time we get to be in your presence again!  

As for Brennan, he’s finally all snuggled into his crib for the night, probably dreaming of this so called “travel bug” that his Momma keeps talking about, wondering how a creepy, crawly bug can help him see the world. 

Reliving Great Days

Aren’t there just some days you wish you could replay over and over again?  I mean, not like to the extent of what was portrayed in Groundhog Day.  No way.  That would drive any normal, sane person insane.  Sorry, Bill Murray.  But every now and then, there are days that are so delightful, you wish you could relive them.  I’m humbly thankful to say that since last Friday, I wish I could relive almost each of those days.  Except for most of Monday, in which I was in a bad mood, and hubby and I found ourselves in the midst of petty "discussions”.  All “a-o-k” now, but it made half of Monday a bit of a bummer day.  And since Monday was an extra day off, to have wasted half of it in our paltriness added to the bumness of it all.  However, there are the delightful things I’d like to relive (including parts of Monday) that I will take a moment to briefly share with you:

Friday:  The beginning of a long weekend.  Who can dispute the amazing feeling of a long weekend that is at hand?  For dinner, I made a shrimp pasta dish that was quite yummy.  Not as good as when my friend made it, but still tasty.  After putting Brennan to bed, hubby and I started watching Father of the Bride Part II.  It had been a number of years since we’d last seen it, and having experienced childbirth now ourselves, there were a great many laughs to be had watching it.  I heart Steve Martin.  We were too tired to finish it, so saved the rest of it for Saturday night. 

Saturday:  The four of us got in a morning walk before Brennan’s first nap (which comes by 8 a.m. these days because he’s usually up between 6-6:30 a.m. that dear boy is, or 5:45 a.m. which was the case today.  For. Cryin’. Out.  Loud.)  We did a few chores and got ready for our date day!  My parents drove up from San Antonio to watch Brennan for us, and we thoroughly enjoyed lunch at Potbelly’s and then a few hours at the Austin Wine Festival.  All of the Texas vineyards were featured (there are a good 20 or so) and each person could choose up to 10 wines to have a small taste test.  There was live music, a splendid array of food (if we’d known that beforehand, we would have just eaten there), and cooking demonstrations.  Neither of us are big wine drinkers; Matt always has to finish my glass (and even my tastings for that matter), but it was a pleasant day to meander outside perusing the vendors.  Our most favorite:  White/Black Spanish by Dry Comal Creek Vineyard.  Love it!  We left just in time before a huge downpour.  At home waiting for us were three lovely faces and one precious furry face, home fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and bread and butter sandwiches.  Pops and Meems said watching Brennan was the best part of their weekend, and we are so grateful that 1) they live close enough to come up for the day to be with them and 2) that they love babysitting our baby boy!  We greatly enjoy their company.  Matt and I were giddy to get out.  Thanks, Pops and Meems!!  In bed, we finished watching Father of the Bride II.  We still got some laughs from the last 1/4 of the film, but I was mostly a reminiscent mess thinking about the day Brennan came into the world.  I was a blubbering momma.  And Matt just thought I was a riot and laughed more at me than the movie.

Sunday:  Pops and Meems wanted us to call them Sunday morning when Brennan woke up, just for fun.  We forwent the call when he woke up at 3 a.m., then 4:30 a.m., and then 5:45 a.m.  I don’t think they minded.  Not sure how we mustered the energy to make it to church, but we did.  It was the third time taking Brennan to the nursery.  First time I said, “Goodbye” to my little boy and he burst into tears <heart breaking in two>.  And the first time getting paged out of church to come pick up my boy.  While all the other babies were relaxed and sleeping, he was the only one crying.  I knew I was pushing it a bit to put him in the nursery because he skipped his morning nap, and sure enough, once I stepped outside with him in my arms, the kid was out.  He even took a two hour nap at home later that afternoon (he better have after not sleeping at all the night before!), and me and Matt weren’t gonna miss out on nap time fun ourselves.  How two hours can go by so quickly will boggle my mind forever.  But it was bliss!

We all woke up in time to make it to our neighborhood Memorial Day picnic.  Since we’d RSVP’d a ‘maybe’, we were pretty lame and only brought Tostitos as a side dish.  You shoulda seen what I tried to whip together to take at the last minute.  If you think Tostitos is lame, well, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!  Let’s just say I rummaged our freezer and the best thing I could find were snow peas.  I finally just had Matt run down the street to pick up the chips.  As we were introduced to the social chairman with our bag of chips in hand, I wanted to be sure she saw Brennan so she knew I had a young buck at home and that’s why I didn’t make something fancy like watermelon pico de gallo like some other put-together person made.  It was dang good!  We hung out by the pool watching all the big kids swim until Brennan’s bed time.  We started another movie but wish we hadn’t as it was horrible.  Turned it off before it reached half-way and watched Brennan videos in bed to fall asleep to something more wholesome on our minds.

Monday:  We’ll skip over what we did from 7 a.m.-3 p.m., sad to say.  After a nap, I was much better and ready to play.  We had our friends, Chris, Jill, Harrison and Haddie over to our neighborhood pool for a swim, snacks and pizza.  Brennan went swimming for the second time.  It took him a little longer to get used the water. I think it was cooler than the other pool, more crowded, and he got splashed more often which startled him.  But he still did great!  I was a bit more self-conscious wondering if all the other mommas were wondering what I was doing with a little baby in the crowded pool, without a shirt to cover him up from the sun no less!  Oh, that I would worry less about what other people think of me and be comfortable in my own skin as a mommy.  One day.  One day it will be so.

Tuesday-Thursday:  It’s taken me three days to write this post because my days with Brennan have been full…full of fun, laughs, squeals, and joy!  They’ve been some of my most favorite days as a mommy ever!  My brother texted me with a great idea to take a picture of Brennan laying up against Molly every now and then to compare how much he’s grown.  The first picture we took of him like that was for his birth announcement at 3 weeks old.  The one I took this week was at 18 weeks…my baby boy is not listening to me when I tell him to stop growing!

  

Brennan’s hair was tousled because I did this to it beforehand, just for kicks:

Nice Mohawk, baby boy!  You’re one cool dude! 

Here are a few glimpses into our favorite moments this week:

  

 

Thanks, Chunky Monkey, for some very special days that I will forever replay in my mind.  While I wish they wouldn’t pass so quickly and we could relive them over and over again, I wouldn’t want to miss out on the days yet to come to spend together, ‘cause I know they will be something wonderful!