Blessings

Shoes piled on the counter, clothes outgrown beside them, a booster seat in the corner, toys lining the walls, books overflowing the bookcase, sippy cups taking over the fridge, the same fridge being swallowed by artwork/toys/schedules....tonight I looked at it all and sighed heavily. I stood feeling as always the compulsion to tidy, to straighten, to sort. Some days just looking at my counters gives me a headache. Clean counters make me feel better. Did I mention that I can upon occasion be compulsive?

However, as I stood thinking where to start, I had a vision. Maybe it was the pot of coffee I'dconsumed by myself, but suddenly, everything was different. For a split second, the clutter didn't bother me. For a moment, all I saw was blessings.

My children spill over into everything. Between their art, their toys, their clothes, their bodies, they infiltrate my entire household. They have no notion of personal space. How many times have I awoken to feel little bodies pressed tight against my side? Every time my 3 yr old awakens from his nap, he heads for Mommy like a homing beacon. He doesn't want to talk; he wants to snuggle. After a time, he rejoins the world of a 3 yr. old boy--he rough houses, kicks/throws balls, jumps on the couch, fights with his sister but in between the sleeping and the wide awake, he finds comfort in me. I anchor him. Nothing can bother him--not thunder, not his siblings, not anything--so long as he's with me. I don't have to do anything but be.

Some day, sooner than I'd like, they'll move out of my personal orbit. Caitlin at 6 already veers away on occasion. But for now, I'll enjoy being the sun. I'll enjoy the chaos, the toys, the shoes, the pajamas with capes, the masterpieces taped to my wall, the endless repetitions of Goodnight Moon.

Blessings. Messy, cluttered, vibrant, warm, sticky blessings.

Even more pictures of Disneyworld & its aftermath

I think the picture of Cate hanging out with all the boys is hysterical. They were watching cartoons, I believe, and she just plopped herself right down to watch. Not shy, that one!

And, of course, they couldn't walk by a giant Spiderman without a picture. JD LOVES Spiderman. :)

The last pic is of me trying to watch the Disneyworld video. Despite the fact they were there, they watched every second of footage. Weird pic of me, but too cute of them!

More Disneyworld pics...

Here are some of the best pics of the trip. Aren't the face painting pictures gorgeous? They're veritable works of art! And everyone loved the princesses & the pool!

Luckenbach & Disneyworld

My kids have gone & done all summer. I, on the other hand, have traveled no further than the DFW area!

That's okay, though. I've gotten a lot done. We redid the kids' room, cleaned out the garage, and did a lot of spring cleaning.

JD & Caitlin went to Luckenbach & Fredricksburg--had a great time. I think Cate may throttle JD if he doesn't quit singing the Luckenbach, Texas song, though. I think it's hysterical.

Then my wonderful, but insane parents took them to Disneyworld--in July. It was like, 1000 degrees.... but they had a great time! It was JD's 1st plane ride and the 1st trip to Disney for both of them. We have one last trip to Georgia the beginning of August--and that will be it for summer!!

I love the 3rd picture--that's far into their first day at Disneyworld. They'd left the house at 3:30am and when I spoke to them that night at 10pm, they were preparing to watch fireworks. Good heavens, that's stamina!!

A woman of my word...and my profound discovery

As promised, the blogskin has been changed. I love it!!! If you hate it, pipe down. I don't want to hear it. :)

I do have a new camera now. I'm not good at using it yet....however, I should get my mom's CD of Disneyworld pics soon so the Picture Drought is drawing to a close.

Let me tell you what I've discovered. My children have turned into people. Quit laughing. I'm serious. You parents out there know what I'm talking about. Children for the longest time seem to simply be extensions of you. My children now have likes/dislikes/relationships/quirks...the whole nine yards. And let's be honest--I'm not sure how I feel about it. Of course, I want them to grow up and be productive adults and all that rot, but I sure did like it when they were all mine and JUST mine.

This is when it hit me. The whole family was at home 2 nights ago (minor miracle). I had Cate & JD's supper on the table. Shawn had been flipping around channels on TV, and right before I called them to eat, he found a show on octopi (sp?), cuttlefish, squid, etc. They could hardly tear themselves away--in fact, they didn't want to eat. They wanted to watch the nature show. Even the 3 yr. old. Now don't get me wrong; Shawn & I are kind of geeky. We watch lots of nature, history, travel shows, but I'd never thought about the kids being so interested. Quit making fun of me. It was a profound moment!!!

In all seriousness, their world is exploding, and I'm not necessarily the center of it anymore. At least not all the time. How wonderful! And how sad... I hate that all those people were right when they said, "Enjoy it. Next time you turn around they'll be heading to college."

You know it alls...

Blogskin

I promise I'll change the skin soon so the pics don't look so screwy!!

Pics but no time for anything else!

Cate at swimming lessons at the YMCA












My future rock stars....





Enjoying the "gabloons" as JD calls them at the Summer Balloon Classic in Midlothian

My camera has died....

I apologize for the lack of pics and thus the lack of blogging. My camera died. HOWEVER, my parents and Cate and JD just returned from Disneyworld, and I'm assured that they have copious numbers of pics. Of course, I'm not all that convinced she knows how to get them off her camera so we'll see.

But, Shawn & I are going camera shopping this weekend. God bless the stimulus check or we'd be out of luck for a while.

In other news, you can see I changed the skin of my blog. Not really sure I like it, but I was tired, it was late, and I wanted to see if I could do it. Obviously, I could, but on this skin, the pics look kind of translucent, and you can see the waves under them. WEIRD.

Will post more when I have pics.