Ten on Tuesday

1. William, William, William. I'm pretty sure he'll be occupying several spots this week because he's been quite busy. He started off with a bang last Tuesday afternoon. I walk out from doing laundry and I hear a very faint squeaking. I stop, listen and still hear the squeaking. It's above me now. I drop the clothes, turn slowly and look. There's Will. Straddling the banister at the very top (all 10 feet in the air) wearing his cowboy boots and saying Yeee-haw very softly. Are you freaking kidding me!?

2. He decided to wax the floors with Handsoap on Tuesday and sunscreen on Wednesday. On Thursday he decided to fog the the bathroom with Tinactin. I guess he was worried about airborne athlete's foot. Either way it was disgusting and extremely difficult to clean up.

3. Will has been sneaking out of bed a lot. Almost every single night. He always goes to Jason's side of the bed and Jason lets him snuggle up with him all night. He then returns him to his own bed around 5 when I get up for the day. Ugh. I'm so not looking forward to retraining him to sleep in his own bed. AGAIN.

4. The girls are both in private swimming lessons and are doing very well. The lessons are three weeks long and Bella is pretty much swimming on her own already. She just needs to work on her breathing.

5. I purchased a Puddle Jumper for Will after last week's water disaster. I wasn't too impressed with it at first. It was supposed to help him learn to swim and he was just floating. Amelia had it on today and swam in it for two hours. I am now impressed because she was swimming all over the place.

6. The kids caught another fever virus. Friday night they spiked 102 fevers that lasted sometime into the middle of the night Saturday. The poor things were miserable. Several times we couldn't find Will and he was upstairs laying on his bedroom floor. For Will, that's sick.

7. We have hit the babysitter jackpot. The kids love her. I love her. She is awesome. I went to Jason's goodbye lunch last week and she came over to watch the kids. I always tell her to let them do whatever she's comfortable with. This time she took them on a walk up the street. (note, when I take them on a walk Will and Drew both ride and the girls walk.) Sammy pushed Drew in the stroller and Amelia held her hand. Bella rode her bike and Will walked in front of her pushing a grocery cart. She said they all listened and stayed with her the entire time. You have no idea how much I wish I had a picture of this little excursion.

8. Jason has five days left of work and he will officially be a full-time student for 18 months..

9. We are finally seeing a little bit of Drew's temper come out. He reminds me so much of Jason. Very slow to anger but when he gets mad watch out. He's mad and there's not stopping him.

10. The girls love to sing. Every day you will hear them in the car and around the house singing. They are still singing the songs they learned at VBS and school. Some of their favorites are Sally Walker, Zaccheus, SaddleRidge Ranch, yes to VBS and some happy song that I don't know the title too. Will is even starting to join in. In the car they love to sing along with the radio and I'm having to screen my music selections now that I know they're listening too.

one of a kind

I have been very spoiled when it comes to grandparents. I lost my first great-grandmother in the eight grade and the second, three years ago at age of 100. Three weeks ago, my grandfather woke up with God. This loss, while I was preparing myself for it, hit me hard.

My grandfather and I had always been close. I named my William after him. (If you ask Jason he will tell you Will is named after his great-grandfather. I chose all of our children's names and William was no exception. He may have the same name as Jason's great-grandfather but he's named after my grandfather and Jason.) While I knew that Grandpa had been sick for some time, he was always sick and always got better. I assumed that this hospital visit would be like all the others before. He would check in, have some tests run and eventually check out. Tired but fine. This time I know he was just too tired. He called my mom around 9:30 and died around 2AM. It happened quickly and he was surrounded by family. I'm glad he didn't suffer. It still doesn't make it any easier.
He left behind my Granny, his wife of almost 66 years. Seven surviving children. 17 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren. What an amazing legacy.

My very first memory is of my grandfather. Ironic that we were visiting him in the hospital after a heart attack (I think his first but maybe second.) I was three maybe four and terrified of all the machines. The room was yellow and he told me it was okay, I could come on in and have a little talk with him. His gene's are responsible for my curly hair that's now been passed on to Bella and Drew. And my blue eyes that Will has too. I remember him teasing me mercilessly as a child, always coming to our house, picking us up every single Saturday night and driving us to dinner. I was always lucky enough to sit in the front seat between him and my Granny. I remember aimlessly wandering around stores when I was a child and Grandpa would always run into someone he knew. Or talking to someone like he knew them. When I was in the fourth grade, we moved two and a half hours away. He and my Granny would drive up to see us once a month.

I moved away from home the day after I got married and moved back one month after my first wedding anniversary. With a husband that was deployed and a new baby, my world was completely upside down. My grandparents drove up every single Sunday for dinner. Grandpa knew that once a month I sent Jason a care package full of cookies and other items. Every so often he would bring me little whiskey bottles to put in it. I would smile, laugh and tell him those couldn't be included in the package. He would shake his head and say "Every soldier should have a little whiskey". Some I returned and some he made me save for Jason's actual return. I will be forever grateful for the extra time Isabella and I got to spend with them. I know he and Granny had a hard time when we had to leave again. I tried to bring the kids back to visit every chance I could. They loved their Papa and Granny and enjoy spending time with them.



We decided to surprise him for Christmas this past year. After his surgery in September, I knew there weren't going to be many more Christmas' with Grandpa. It just won't be the same without him. I'll never forget the look on his face when we all walked through the door. "You just made my Christmas" he said with tears in his eyes. He was always doing something for everyone else. I'm glad I could finally do something just for him. My kids miss him. A day doesn't go by that one of them doesn't talk about him and I'm thankful that they were able to spend as much time with him as they did. Bella prays for him every night. She asks God to take extra good care of her Papa. He's new in heaven and she knows it's a really nice place. Still she really misses him down here with her. Amelia colored him a picture and didn't understand why I couldn't mail it to him. I finally appeased her by hanging it on our art board. God sees everything and since Papa's up there with him, she's sure he can too. Will talks about him all the time. I miss him. Every. Single. Day.

I worry about my Granny. She's a tough old girl but I know this hit her hard. She married grandpa when she was sixteen years old. To spend sixty five years with someone and then just have him gone, is difficult. I know that's what Grandpa worried about the most. Leaving his Ginny behind. I know the next few weeks are going to be the hardest for her. Father's Day, their anniversary, his birthday. I pray that she finds the strength to somehow get passed this.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. "You heard me say, 'I am going away and I am coming back to you.' If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe.
John 14:27-29

a few recent pictures

I know the blog is lacking in posts lately. I'm busy eating my bon bons people. Really I get up so early and spend all morning in the sun and heat. By the time nap time and blog updating rolls around I'm just mentally worn out. Here are a few recent pictures of the people you really stop in to see.

**Bella chose the spot for the family pictures. It was not my choice because it was completely in the sun and I knew we would all be squinting. Of course no one listened to me and everyone complained because they had to sit in the sun for pictures.

Ten on Tuesday

1. Drew is getting his first four teeth. He's having a rough time with it and I feel really bad that he's suffering through four teeth at once.

2. Drew just started letting go and standing alone. He's getting braver. He's also started showing a bit of his temper now. He's slow to anger but when he's made you better get out of his way.

3. VBS was awesome last week!! The girls are still singing all the songs they learned this week. I had a great time teaching my 4th graders.

4. I signed the girls up for private swimming lessons. They're going two nights a week for three weeks. They're both really close to swimming and I'm hoping this gets them where they need to be.

5. Speaking of the pool, yesterday was an eventful day for us there. Will fell into the deep end. I was in the baby end with Drew and had been asking him to get out. I started to walk over to get him and a little kid ran into me. I looked up to see where Will was (he usually takes off if he sees me coming) and didn't see him anywhere. I looked in the water and there he was. I got over there as fast as I could and in Drew and I went to get him. I was terrified and FURIOUS with him.

6. Will got stung by another bee. He had some pretty bad swelling and I called the doctor and he referred us to an allergist. I'm anxious to see what he's allergic to and to see if he will need shots.

7. The heat is miserable here already. It's usually in the upper 70s by 5AM when I go out to walk. The air is so thick I feel like I could chew it. People don't live here for the weather that's for sure.

8. I'm at the end of my rope with potty training. Will uses the potty every time I put him on it but he refuses to ask me to use it himself unless we are at the pool. I'm annoyed with changing diapers and really wanted to have him out of diapers by the end of next month. I guess we'll see what happens.

9. We had a very special guest, Mr A, Jason's old interpreter for dinner this weekend. Jason hasn't seen him in five years and I enjoyed finally meeting him in person. His story was inspiring and it was an honor to have him stay with us.

10. Tomorrow begins summer drop off at church. I'm am very excited to have four hours a week completely to myself. Am I going to clean? Go grocery shopping? Do something productive with all this kid free time on my hands? Nope. I'm meeting my favorite kid-free ladies for breakfast and camping out at the pool to relax. Pure bliss.

Ten on Tuesday

1. It has been a really hectic last two weeks. Between the dance recital, company leaving, my grandfather dying (a seperate post to follow), the viewing 36 hours later and trying to get to my parents house in time, Memorial Day..breathe in, breathe out.

2. This is the first time we returned here and I felt like I was coming home. I have always in the past associated Columbus with home but this time I was looking forward to getting home to my home, here. It was a huge epiphany for me.

3. I have wrestled back and forth with the idea of making the blog private/keeping it public. I know that a lot of you would not bother with logging in with a password so I really hate to make it private. However, my children and their safety are my number one concern. For now I've decided to leave it open and just eliminate the specific names of events, places, etc.

4. We returned to a rainy Memorial Day and rainy week. We were finally able to get some much needed pool time in last Saturday with the entire family. I'm really hoping the girls will be fully swimming by the end of summer.

5. Friday night we hosted our church group at our house for dinner. Three other couples came over and my friend Kathleen, who is responsible for all the vegetable eating and the BEST cook I know, brought all the food. I hosted and cleaned, she cooked. It worked for everyone and everyone had a fantastic time.

6. We attended a birthday party for one of our favorite neighbor's at the LG early Saturday evening. Totally awesome and the kids had an absolute blast. I can't say enough about LG and their parties. It's like walking into a room of sunshine and you don't have to do a thing.

7. We went to a neighborhood icecream social Saturday night. Have I mentioned how much I love our neighborhood? I love, love, love it here. There are tons of kids and we have become good friends with the neighbors that live directly behind us.

8. Summer dance started yesterday also. Isabella is taking creative movement with Mrs. BE and loves it. I decided since Amelia was the youngest student in the studio last year, she was going to repeat preschool one this year. She's loving it just as much as before and is now in class with a few of her friends from school.

9. VBS kicked off yesterday. Between my own four kids and 14 4th graders, I am exhausted. But I'm having a blast and am really lucky to be helping teach with a good friend of mine.

10. Even better, my own kids are having a blast in VBS. Bella especially is loving it. She can sing all the songs and is currently belting out "yes to VBS" at the top of her lungs. Drew, her biggest fan, is laughing so hard he's barely coming up for air.