Sad Eyes............................

Oh...what a day!!!!!


Rachel has had a bit of a cold for several days now. Just a cold. Seems like whenever I say those three words, they come back to haunt me! She woke up this morning with conjunctivitis. I was pretty sure of it. Sure enough that I had to break her sweet little heart when I told her she could not go to school.

Now, ordinarily, she would have been happy to entertain this idea. Just yesterday, she stepped out of the van at the car circle, only to immediately hop back in and cry while she pleaded to let her stay home. I quickly told her...it is ok....you will be fine..... the nurse will call me if your cold becomes worse. She was a good girl and said a quiet "ok" and hopped back out...still teary eyed.

Had she known what I was REALLY feeling inside....I would have much rather said...."I know, I know baby....sit back down and we will go home." Then I would have wisked her off back home to snuggle on the couch together and watch a favorite movie. Well, if she had known that....then my secret would have been out! I STILL want her home with me every day!!!!

However, this morning was different. It was their Valentine's Day Celebration! And my sweetheart had to miss it! I still feel so bad. She would be contagious though if my gut feeling was right. So no negotiating on that! She cried and I cried too. SO hard to be seven. SO hard to be the mom of a seven year old on mornings like that.

So she stayed home. We went to the doctor. And we got a little bottle of perfection, just like the one pictured. Vigamox. Funny name for such a little bottle of liquid that is almost like an instant miracle worker.

It is amazing how one tiny drop of liquid can go after the yuckies the way it does. So good in fact that by the time 24 hours passes of being on it, you would not know someone that had one day before had a gooky, red, swollen eye. Nope, you wouldn't know that just three doses earlier, that person would have had looked like he or she just got out of the ring with a world boxing champion!!!! And that is the beauty in being blessed to have access to such an amazing thing.

So when my beauty wakes in the morning.....her eyes will be bright and sparkly once again. I will be reminded again how great God is since she is well....something to not take for granted. Her sad eyes....will be gone. And so will mine!!!

Treasures................

When you are four, life is kind of like one big treasure hunt! You go through your days on the lookout for fun things to do, see, hear and find! But on some days, you have extra treasures to collect!

Today, JT had his very first Valentine's Day exchange at school. He was excited to bring his cards and treats in to share.... and as you can see, he was very excited when he got home to discover all the treasures from his friends!!!!

With each card and treat he pulled out, his excitement grew! By the time he got to the bottom of the bag, he was clearly just as excited as when he started. He could hardly believe his eyes when he looked at all of them out on table. "Wow.....wow..." was what he said!

As he grows older, I can only hope he is still as impressed with days like today. The kind of day will change I am sure, but hopefully his sweet excitement and eagerness to enjoy life's treasures will always be there. And one day when he is grown, he will hopefully realize what we as adults ultimately learn. Life's greatest treasures are the people that fill our lives with love.

Joshua Thomas, you certainly fill our lives with love..... and you are definitely one of our most valued treasures!

Some of God's Miracles............................

.....not too much left to say!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lions and Tigers and...........Busch Gardens!!!

When is the BEST time to go to a theme park? On Superbowl Sunday of course! We have done this several times over the years here in Florida and each time we have found the parks to be super slow and walked onto everything!!!!

While it didn't exactly feel like we were in Africa with the cold wind and need for jackets, the kids had fun. And so did the adults. Everyone knows the real reason to go to those places once you are grown is to feel like a kid again.....right? ;)

In the Blink of an Eye...

Photo by Sarah Smylie (smyliephoto.com)

Photo by Sarah Smylie (smyliephoto.com)

Dear Rachel,

You are seven now! So hard to believe that you have been a part of our lives for seven, beautiful blessed years. It has certainly flown by in so many ways. You are our oldest. Being the oldest means that you were the precious gift God gave to your daddy and I first!

We waited ...and waited to have you. There were many times that waiting almost broke our hearts. I remember thinking everyone around us is having babies...why do we WAIT? We waited to finish up college, waited to get started in our careers, waited to be as stable as we could. So much waiting!!!! But when we finally decided enough of the waiting, the wondering, the longing......you were given to us right away! We found out we would have a little girl. We were beyond thrilled.

When we saw you, your daddy and I cried tears of joy we had never known before. The very first moment you see your child is something that cannot be put into words. It is something so far beyond pure joy, you remember every second of it, literally as if it just happened. One day, you too will have that memory of your own child or children forever imprinted in your memory. It is priceless. As you are Rachel.

We waited a long time for you. But it was because of how long we waited, we have YOU! Now seven years later, not one day of that long waiting matters. Because, in the blink of an eye our world was instantly perfect. That is because we had you.

We love you more than we could ever say or show you!!!! And are just as proud seven years later of the girl you are. And I can only imagine the young woman you will become one day. I am sure no matter how I try, that to will be in the blink of an eye. Until then, you can be sure I will be keeping both eyes open wide and on you as to not miss a second of everything you grow to be. xoxoxo

All my love,

Mommy

Is it the end or the beginning????

That is the question I have been asking myself for some time now. The subject? My baby, JT, is starting school. VPK. Yeah, it is only for a half of day. But it marks the start of his long school career ahead.

We have been crazy busy this summer. We normally are busy, but even more so this summer. I think honestly it has been my defense mechanism so to speak. Trying to cram all I can into the weeks before both of my children are in school............now we just have summers to be carefree like that. Neither one of them will be home with me all day, everyday. And that, believe it or not, makes me so sad.

I have been home for just about seven years now. When we started we thought it would be for one. But here we are, all this time later. I have been with them, everyday, through everything. Admittedly, there were many a days, that I was wishing I could be working. Staying home fulltime is truly the hardest job I have ever done, or I believe ever will do. Yet, the other side to that, the much brighter, fulfilling side is simply I HAVE been home. It is such a huge blessing. A blessing I feel was hand delivered by God. My husband, has worked hard in so many ways to provide this for us. And God has been there allowing him to be able to do that. I wouldn't change a thing. But now I am faced with my dilemma. My question.

Tonight I go to JT's VPK meeting. Tomorrow, he meets his teacher and sees his classroom. One of the things I am so thankful for is once again God has provided for me. He has put people in my life to go through this with. Things that have happpened in the past, have now come to light as part of His plan. My daughter last year, could have become best friends at school with 89 other Kindergartners. But He led her to Grace. Which led me to Sarah, a friend I have had only a year, yet I feel like we have known each other since we were kids. Her family is truly one of, if not, THE most sincere, caring and loving families I have ever met. And now, her little girl, Ruby and my little boy JT are in the same class. That will greatly help me to go through this with someone I feel close to. Also, last year, when I had my brief teaching career at CHUMP, I wondered what in the world God brought me there for to have it end how it did. One of the answers I have found, was so that I could meet another new friend that was totally unexpected. I loved her daughter to pieces when I was teaching, and now I love her mom so much also. We didn't even become friends until after I left, but what a blessing Annie is. Even though her little girl will not be in the same class as JT, we will both go through it together, and I am so thankful we will!!! She has turned out to be one of my greatest sources of strength when things have been going crazy and again, I feel like we have known each other so long, she is just that special.

So I guess the answer is both. It is the end of things the way they have been. But the begining of a new way for us. New doesn't mean bad. Just different. And through it all, I keep reminding myself, that JT will love it. There will be a transition, I am sure. But he will love it........

.......even if he did ask me again last night if I could just homeschool him!!!!

The phone call..........

Well it has been about 48 hours now since the call came. It was the call I have been dreading for the last four years. After I saw I missed NINE calls from my husband, I had a knot in my stomach already knowing he would not call like that unless something was wrong.

The phone had been in our bedroom and I didn't hear it. I decided I had better go get it because he would be calling me soon. I saw the missed calls and quickly dialed his number. No answer. While waiting to hear the voice I have heard for the last seventeen years on a daily basis, my phone beeped. It was Gary. And then there it was...the five words I have dreaded....."I've been in an accident"........................


What? What? What? I said, more tears coming out each time I asked. After finding out if he was ok, I realized my heartrate had now caught up with the million thoughts flying through my head. I couldn't believe it. He sounded ok...but shaken up, I knew if he was shaken up it was bad. But I didn't even ask about the car.

Once I was able to schedule the tow truck to meet him.... in the ditch, on the interstate... I asked how the car was. Pretty banged up, was what I heard. Then I asked, what happened. I still could not believe it! Getting the kids ready to go pick him up, they were oblivious! Thankfully. There biggest question was if daddy was going to get to stay home from work tomorrow while his car got fixed! God certainly does take care of everything! :)

Driving home, with all of us together, I just kept giving praise to God for the biggest blessing in my life I have been given, Gary. I thanked him for not taking him away from us whether it would have been to the hospital, or worse. Nothing else mattered. Not how we would get around without his car, the insurance deductible, the fact that the accident was clearly not any fault of my husband's and not knowing if the car could even be fixed or not. All that mattered in the entire world was that he was ok. And with that knowledge, we were all better than ok!