Thursday, March 22, 2012

Joy, Joy, Joy

Forget basketball...having a March with weather consistently hot is total madness and I am loving it up! It is amazing how much the weather can make amazing days even better!


If you don't feel like reading a ridiculously happy and overly lovey blog post, do not continue. I can imagine several of you gagging when you read on...so consider yourselves forewarned. : ) 

I am so in love with my incredible family and am wishing our life could move on in slow motion. Truly, truly. I am loving every moment too much. I'm still giddy over this cozy home and my favorite little things about it. It is magnified by each second of memories we make here. My husband and my son overwhelm me every day with their crazy silliness and true love. I have starlight bursting from my eyeballs and it has everything to do with family. 

I am not saying that we are without worry or sorrow. I wish I could say that. What I am saying is that I appreciate every piece of joy I have right now. And am so very grateful for it. And for those sorrowful times...well, I am not alone. I am definitely not alone.

Tim came home from a trip today and as he read books in TJ's room before bed, I wanted to freeze that moment in time. Twinkly lights hanging in the room, two sweet dudes all snuggled up with me, peeper frogs chirping outside and a warm breeze from the fan making my hair tickle all of our faces. TJ's same comments about the same books over and over...his hair twirling while humming songs he learned in church....and Tim's side glances and chuckles...**sigh**...I just love those moments. I am lucky to have so many. 

TJ, if you are reading this when you are older, I want you to know how proud of you I am. Insanely proud of you. And your heart. I am so lucky to get to be with you...just you and me...so much. And I'm so glad to know you one-on-one better than almost anybody! In lots of ways, you are a normal 5-year old, active and crazy little man. But you are also a genuine sweet soul -- and we can't take credit in raising you that way. You ARE that way. You care about the feelings of others and building them up. You think of other people in a way that I wish I could. And you take care of me. And build me up too. That's a pretty cool thing to say about a 5-year old. 
Your humor is incredible and you make us laugh more with surprise than anything. You are smart. And a good thinker. You love Jesus, you love your family, and you care about people. 

In life, TJ, those things will make you unstoppable. 

I love you like crazy. 

Thank you for the nickel you gave me today. And for your prayers for a brother or sister. And for telling me, "I just love your chubby cheeks." You are my joy, joy, joy.


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Wednesday, March 7, 2012

A Very Busy Day!

Today was a most certainly awesome day and I wanted to show some cool pictures. Super busy and super cool.

It started with TJ going to school for his turn to be Star Student. He gets to bring snack for the class of 22 (not something I love doing when we pay a hefty amount for him to attend!) and also gets a cool star stamp and is interviewed by the class. His favorite part is talking into the microphone and answering their questions. One of today's question was "which are your favorite shoes"...to which he answered "the ones I have on". 

After school, we had a friend over for Pirate Day. We decorated the house the night before and got out all of his pirate stuff that was scattered in different toy bins and boxes and cabinets all over the house. Turns out he has a ton of pirate stuff and it made it all the more fun. The neighbors were probably wondering why we hung a giant skull flag in our front window for the day but I don't really care. It was cool. I made up some clues for an old map and they found some cool treasure. At the end, I surprised them with a fun pirate cake that I made for the first time. It was fun for me to do and they reacted just as I'd hoped. Best of all, we got to dig right in and eat it.


After the pirate festivities were over, we cleaned up a bit and then headed to TJ's school for kindergarten registration. Yes, I said it. Kindergarten registration. I can't believe we're here. I can't believe we're at this point. And no, I did not cry. I held it together. Come August/September, however, I will undoubtedly be a wreck. I am already dreading it so much and that's all I have to say about that for now.

So, we registered the little nugget for kindergarten and THEN headed off to our next thing. Karate! TJ has been talking about doing karate for months now and we decided to try out a few places. Lots of the programs we looked into were too long or had mixed groups of adults and bigger kids too. That was too much. Some of the programs were super long or all throughout the week so those got canned quickly too. But we found a place where TJ is a Little Dragon and he goes 2-3 times a week for 30 minutes.


When we drove there, TJ could hardly hold in his excitement. If it had been dark outside, I swear he'd have been glowing. We stepped into the room for the first time and he was in awe. All the kids had their uniforms on and were obeying the instructor very well. They greeted us so nicely and invited TJ to come out and join them. He froze. Completely froze. I was not shocked...but was hoping to be pleasantly surprised by an easy transition. But after 10 minutes of hanging on my arm with his face against my body, he peeked out and watched. I kept remarking how fun it looked and how I thought he could do some of the fun things they were doing and learning. He didn't budge...but then whispered, "Okay, I'm ready to go." I said 'okay' and then asked him to put his shoes on. He said, "No, I mean I'm ready to go out there." I must have squealed because when he was retelling the story later that night, he squealed in excitement mimicking me. (Ha!) He cautiously went out onto the floor and then followed one of the students' every moves. They helped instruct him and he was so intense and so serious. And very, very proud.


Each movement is careful and precise and he had to work hard to get the kicks and blocks down. But the best part was the fact that he looked at me out of the corner of his eye after each of his practice moves. I "silent cheered" each time. One mom even told me afterward that she didn't watch her son at all this day because she was watching us...and she had tears in her eyes. It was hilariously sweet.

Anyway, TJ didn't say a word the whole time. Just focused. And I loved watching that. He ran off at the end and said he wanted to definitely sign up and so we did. We brought his new crisp, white uniform home and he practices in it every chance he gets. He cannot wait for tomorrow's karate and frankly, neither can I!

 After karate, we drove to B-W so that I could vote and then went home to make dinner and get on with our evening. It was a busy and sweet day. I am in love with my family.

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