Waking to Sweetness

My ears hear before my eyes see. Giggling.

"Are you awake, bubba?" comes through the monitor.

There is a cooing in response and I can imagine smiles on both sweet little faces. There's rustling and more cooing and giggles.

"Where's Austin?" Pause. "There he is!"

As my husband and I snuggle under the blankets on a chilly morning listening to our boys, we can tell they are playing a game of peek-a-boo.

The boys continue to play with each other and Josh & I enjoy listening to every moment. It's sweet, amazing and just so cute! We know these moments will not last that long.



I am joining Heather at EO: Just Write

The Beginning

I am writing! I am writing! I am writing!

I can feel my heart pounding, my pulse pick up and my head explode with ideas. My breath seems to catch in my chest and I can't get anything else in my head except for my writing.

I have started to write the novel I have been thinking about writing for about a year now. I have done a little research and talking over the last year, but hadn't ventured to start writing yet. Well, I did it! I have been using my blogging as a way to keep up my writing until I had the ability to start my writing again.

Last week, I opened up the file on my computer and started writing. Words, ideas and thoughts just kept flowing and coming. I am writing this with my husband, so I wrote a lot of questions down to ask him. He came up with the idea for the book - actually, his subconscious did :) He dreamed the book and now, I am writing it. We have been doing a lot of talking!

My pulse starts racing and I feel like I can't breath enough every time I even just think about it. Which, since that is what I am doing now, is what I am deal with now. My hands are writing this, but my head, oh it is totally on the other story trying to write more there!

Ahhh!! I am just so excited and thrilled to be writing again!

I am writing! I am writing! I am writing!

I am joining Heather at EO: Just Write

Waiting at the Bus Stop

We sit in the car with it running as it is a little chilly outside to have AJ out waiting for his big brother to get on the bus. Music is playing softly in the background and Liam is talking to his little brother. Liam is trying to get his morning smiles from AJ that he hasn't gotten yet. I hear a little giggle and then Liam laughs too.

"I spy something.....green!" comes from behind me.

"The grass?"

"Yep, one more, mom! It's higher."

"The leaves?"

"Good job, mom! Your turn."

I look around the scenery in front of me to find something with color. EVERYTHING has color right now :o) I notice all the trees that are turning their gorgeous colors of orange, yellow and red. The grass being covered with all those leaves. And I can just make out the crunching of those same leaves from the other kids coming to the bus stop.

"I spy something....blue!" I tell my oldest boy.

"Um...the sky?"

"Yep, that's one!"

"Audrie's house?"

"Well, yes, Audrie's house is blue, but we can't see her house right now."

"The other house right in front of us?"

"Good eyes, buddy!"

The bus pulls up, I get a hug and a kiss. As he walks away I hear:

"I love you to God and back!"

See, we both realized that saying I love you to the moon and back was just not enough. So Liam started saying I love you to God and back because that is just so much more! My heart melts as I watch him climb onto the bus and head to school. My how he is growing up....

I am joining Heather at Just Write at EO

Notre Dame

These are the amazing tickets that we were given, yes, given over the weekend. As many of you know, my husband has been a Notre Dame fan for his whole life! I never really paid attention to college football until he and I started dating. Then he got me into Notre Dame :) And our oldest soon followed! I was called by a friend Friday afternoon to find out if we wanted some Notre Dame football tickets. I called Josh and his immediate reaction was "heck yeah!".

So we got the tickets for free and we decided that even though I would LOVE to go with him, it would be best for him to take Liam with. That way they could have some boy bonding time and have fun at a football game. See, the best part of this is that neither Josh or Liam had ever been to a Notre Dame game. Josh has waited 32 years to go to a game and was finally able to go. Liam thought it was pretty neat that they were going to be able to both go to their first game together :o) Of course, I had to get a picture of my guys before they headed off to the game.

So decked out in their Notre Dame shirts, jerseys and hats, they headed off to the game with tickets and camera in tow! We packed a backpack for Liam with things to do during the drive there and back as well as some snacks during the time they were there. They left with plenty of time so they could wander around the campus and explore. They were able to go to the one place that I have wanted to go - the Notre Dame library! It is a HUGE building with TONS of books! Oh, heaven!

When the team was coming onto campus, everyone gathered by the area that they were going to go by. There were ropes to keep everyone back and Liam was lucky enough to be right next to the ropes and see all the coaches and players go by. Josh said he was rather intimidated by the players and was unsure about giving them high fives :o)

They hung out in a grassy area under some trees for awhile, eating hot dogs, playing football with another father and son and just playing around with each other. When it was time, they walked into the stadium to find their seats and wait for everything to start.

                         After the warm ups and the marching band came out, the game began!

Liam was getting high fives from everyone around their seats during the game and he was loving it! My guys got one last picture before they left and I love it! They were having so much fun! Josh said Liam looked at him and said, "Thank you for bringing me, daddy! This was 100% awesome!". For the rest of the day, he was thanking both of us for bringing him or letting him go! He did amazing. They only stayed for the first half, but at half time, Notre Dame was winning 42-16. The end score was 59-33! What a fun experience for them to be able to take part in!

He's Amazing!

My husband is amazing! Simply amazing! I am sitting at Barnes & Noble right now - childless! Why, you ask? Because my husband is, you guessed it, amazing!

The back story as to why I am childless? Well it has been building for awhile now and everything just got to be a lot for me. I have not been able to get out of the house alone for more than about a half an hour in 12 1/2 weeks.

With all the sleepless or interrupted sleep nights, crabby six year old, sicknesses, stress and so on, I have been slowly building to the point of losing it. Well, Monday night, I lost it.

Josh got home from work and took care of AJ while Liam and I got out of the house to an appointment we had. It was a relief to get out of the house even for that small amount of time because Austin had not wanted me to put him down at all that day, so I got nothing around the house done. The appointment took longer than expected and AJ wouldn't take a bottle from Josh so we hurried home to a very unhappy baby! As we nursed, Josh quickly made dinner.

After he ate, he left for basketball at church. About five minutes after he left, Austin projectile vomited all over me, himself and the floor. Liam decided at that moment that he was going to be very uncooperative. As I cleaned myself and the baby up, tears were streaming down my cheeks. I called my husband while I cleaned the floor and I lost it.

We decided I needed to get out alone. Josh told me to tell him what I wanted to do and he would make it happen :) See, this is why my husband is amazing. He understood my needs and encouraged me to get out of the house.

So this is why I sit at the bookstore, alone. Relishing in all the wonderful books, enjoying the peace, the ability to do whatever, not having to worry about a schedule, little ones not being happy or little fingers wanting to touch everything. I don't have to hurry through the ailes just glancing at a few books - I can actually pick a lot up and read the back or take it to a chair and read some of it. It's amazing -

He's amazing!

The Cold...

A runny/stuffy nose is never fun to have to deal with. The inability to breathe well and if you get the chance to breathe, it's not for very long. The headache you get from constantly having to blow your nose or sniffing. The pressure you feel in your head from the never ending gathering of mucus. The fever and/or chills that might accompany all of these things. Add on top of that, the only thing you REALLY need to feel better is sleep, but you can't get it because you can't breathe, get comfortable or stop the pounding in your head.

Tears start to stream down your cheeks because you are just exhausted and not feeling well. You just want comfort!

Well this is my little Austin right now. I don't know if he is experiencing every single one of these symptoms, but I do know what it's like to have a cold. I know he has a lot of these and it is just not fun! I want to take the nastiness that is inside his precious little body and put it in mine. He seems so miserable and all he wants is mama to hold him.

My poor little buddy!

Writing Because ...

I sit at the kitchen table writing. Writing because all is quiet in my house except for the whirring of fans in the bedrooms, the rocking of the swing, which cradles my yawning child, and the noise of my neverending throughts. Writing because my hand itched for a pen to hold. Writing because ... just because.

I should be laying down, but my little one refuses to sleep in the pack n play. He is getting too big for the bassinet and still hasn't gotten use to his crib, so I am awake with my thoughts as he nods off in the swing.

So I write.

Often enough I try to shut my thoughts off because so many come at one time or they just lead to another thought before I really even get the chance to process that first thought. Then I wonder if that's just how I'm made. Writing does wonders for keeping my thoughts in line. Plus, if I think of something along the way, I can jot it down on another page and come back to it.

My thoughts so far have included:

~ What am I doing with my writing?
~ What does God want me to do with my writing?
~ Wonder what Liam will be when he grows up.
         - don't go there with Austin yet, he's still my baby.
~ I am proud of Josh for a life changing decision he made.
~ When will Austin sleep through the night?
~ My neighbors sure are loud.
~ It's rather amazing wher I am in life now compared to 8-10 years ago.
~ I wonder if there is something I can do with my past that would help and be a ministry to others.

As I take a drink of water, I ponder over all of these thoughts and many more I have not written down.  And so, I write. Write because it helps to get it all out. Write because I love to. Write because ...
just because.

I am joining Heather at The Extraordinary Ordinary: Just Write

A Lesson For Everyone

We have it so good, you know. The past few days we have really been trying to get Liam to understand the concept of wasting. A few of the things we are trying to get him to see are:

~ if you leave a light on and aren't in the room, that is wasting energy, which costs money.

~ if you get something to eat, take a few bites then throw the rest away, that is wasting food, which costs money.

Those are just two, but they are the most prominent right now. He has gotten better with the lights, but the food is still a concept that is a little far away sometimes. We sat at the dinner table one day in the last few days and talked with him about how good we have it. We have everything we need - there may be some things we want, but we are taken care of.

We sat and told him that we have a roof over our head, clothes, shoes, plenty of food to eat, a great school to go to and a wonderful church to learn more about God at. We had to explain that there are lots of people who don't have all or any of those things. Josh and I sponsor a little girl, Maggie, from Africa through Kids Alive. We used her as a tool to get him to see how much we have and what we should be thankful for.

Then over the weekend, my brother and sister-in-law had a couple from Africa over because they are part of a ministry over there. Pete and Nat are looking into joining this group. So as we were getting to know Ben and Carole, little bits of what their lives were like came out. Liam was not there for the whole thing, but was able to experience a little of what they have and don't have. Ben has never been over to the states before and we had ordered pizza for dinner on Friday night - this was the first time he had ever had pizza. For us, it is a normal thing to have pizza and very easy to get if we have the money.

Anyway, as we were trying to get Liam to understand the idea of wasting, it still got to me just how much we have and should be thankful for. There are so many people out there who struggle daily financially. I need to be thankful for all the little things that we have and I should not take for granted anything because it can all be taken away. I am truly blessed to have an amazing husband, two great little boys, a place to live, food in the cabinets, clothes to wear, a vehicle to get around in, the ability to be a stay at home mom and so much more. God always provides! And we should be thankful and not wasteful!