Valentine's Day

Seven years ago on Valentine's Day, Andrew proposed to me in a freezing park in Columbia, South Carolina. This year, I woke up to a sparkly-eyed little boy, asking, "Mom, where is my Valentine's surprise?" I'm used to waking up like this. My early bird (Maddox) rarely sleeps past 6 am. He is always the first one up. But on this special day, I popped out of the bed (instead of dragging), excited too.

The boys followed my treasure map and clues to find their candy. And guess what they had for breakfast? Candy! They also are pretty lucky when it comes to grandparents. They got a total of six adorable cards and racked up $70 altogether. 

Maddox got even more candy at school. It was almost Halloween-worthy.

Andrew got me some chocolate and I got him some chocolate and an iron skillet he's been wanting. No rings this year (like seven years ago), but I'm pretty sure we love each other more now than we did then. 

That evening, we celebrated at McGuire's Irish Pub and stuffed our faces with spinach dip, bread, our main course, and then a giant brownie topped with ice cream. 

It's been a fun February and I hope the trend continues through the rest of the month (and hopefully year). 

Oh! Back home in Carolina, they have had two days of snow! I'm pretty jealous, but I guess the view of the freezing cold water will have to do. 

A Look at 2013...According to January

January was split between Florida and South Carolina. It's a blur, but here are some snapshots to keep the moments a little more clear.

It was a month of hope, grief, sickness, and yet joy. No matter what, the old saying is true: life goes on. The hardest part for me is processing the tough times and appreciating the past while moving forward and savoring the present. 2013 has already forced me to look deeper, invest deeper and grow.... 

Andrew graduates ALS

Andrew finished ALS (Airman Leadership School) and we celebrated his graduation on Thursday. I'm thankful that the long days of him being gone, then coming home to eat and disappear again (to study all night and write essays) are over. I know he's thankful too!

Congratulations Andrew! It's another step  in our ever-changing adventure.

A New Year, A Final Farewell

Almost a month ago, we rang in the New Year. We had laughs and yummy food at a friend's house, then came home and barely stayed up til midnight. I wondered what 2013 would hold for us. Some good things, some bad...but I had no idea that 12 days later (my brother's birthday) I'd be getting a phone call that my Grandaddy Bill had passed away. He rang in his New Year...his last year here on Earth...in a hospital. And then it all ended. I'm so thankful he got to tell his final good-byes to everyone and that he was 100% ready to go. He knew where his true home was and he was eager to get there.

It's still hard to not see him one more time, hug him, or crack a joke about his beloved Clemson Tigers. I can still hear his laugh and picture his smile when he looked at the boys. And then other memories flood in from years ago...trips to the "candy store," a trip on his little fishing boat, seeing him in his fuzzy red recliner, or watching him tool around in the garage, one of his favorite places. He was a wonderful grandaddy. He loved to help people and never complained about it. He was quick to lend a tool (he had every tool that ever existed), a hand, and always his truck when my car was having problem. 

I was thankful I got to fly home for the funeral with the boys. It gave me some closure and it was a blessing to be surrounded by all the family. I wish my boys had more time with him, but hopefully they will remember him and I will be sure to fill them in with countless stories. 

I came home to find these trees, bare when I left, in full bloom. 

They're gorgeous. They remind me that things change quickly and nothing will last forever. Everything has a time and a season. We need to cherish what we have, love wholeheartedly, and remember what is important in life...not things, not "success" (however you define it), not activities...but the people in it who mean the world to us. 

New Year's Resolutions are getting a head start

I decided it was high time to get the boys to sleep in their own beds in their own rooms. Since Jude "lost" his paci 2 weeks ago, we have been driving or walking or rocking him to sleep. (Mostly Andrew, because he is a softie when it comes to crying). Our child who used to go to bed on his own (with his paci, of course) now couldn't fall asleep until midnight and then on top of that, he was waking up all night.

It's been an exhausting adventure.

\And then Maddox also has a huge sleep problem. Since he was 4-months-old, he's slept next to me. We read books, he touches my hair, and then he is out - at or before 7 pm every night. It was easy. No crying, no whining. But the bad part - he expected me to stay in there with him all night and I did (just to get sleep). 

Well, after going through all that screaming and sleep-deprivation with the paci, I figured why stop now? Let's fix these sleep issues once and for all!

So to help in the process, we took the boys to Build-a-Bear and let them pick out their special stuffed animal to sleep with them.

They were excited about their new "pets."

Maddox picked a rabbit and named him Spiderman; Jude picked a teddy bear and named him Baby.

Then we picked out a soundbox for them. They chose the "I love you" ones. 

The lady let Maddox step on the pedal to stuff the animals and then she put a red heart in each one.

 I kissed the hearts first and told the boys that was like Mommy's heart sleeping close to them every night. Maddox insisted I give his two kisses.

Before taking our pets home, the boys "washed" them and then we made them a birth certificate. Whoever came up with the idea of this store is a genius and most likely a very, very rich person.

Tonight is night #2 of our new bedtime routine. It has taken hours and lots of tears and pleas, but the boys are finally falling asleep in their beds with their stuffed animals tucked in next to them.

The saddest yet funniest moment came when Maddox told me how much he loved me and he loved me to sleep next to him. I told him to pray to Jesus and He would make him feel better and bring him all the comfort he needed.

Seconds later from the bedroom, I hear, "JESUS! JESUS! JEEEEEESUS!"

I sure do love my little guys, and truth be told, it's just as hard on me as it is for Maddox. I love snuggling that sweet boy every night. 

But some changes must happen, and are good in the long run...even if we fight them every step of the way. 

Growing up never gets easier. 

Christmas Blur

(I don't know why this post has certain words highlighted with links. I didn't do that. Gotta love computers....)

December has been a really fun month. Our Elf on the Shelf was naughty (unrolled our toilet paper, tried to take a bath in marshmallows...), but when it came to candy every morning in the advent calendar, he was quite nice! The best surprise came on Christmas Eve - chocolate suckers and candy canes. The bad news: the boys now think they are supposed to get candy every day.

This year, they actually like Santa. The fact that Santa handed out lollipops definitely helped his case.

They sat on his lap and told him their Christmas wish.

For Maddox, it was a guitar (like Daddy).

Jude had a much more simple request: CANDY.

And that's pretty much the only thing he cared about on Christmas morning, actually. 

Earlier this month, Maddox and I visited the Live Nativity here after his friend's birthday party. He and Eisley checked out the camels but warned me to be careful, because they had big mouths and would bite.

It was a neat place, except for when we left the pasture, I realized our shoes were CAKED with sheep poop. Lots of it. Our shoes are still sitting outside.

(Christmas Eve morning...the discovery of the chocolate!)

  And above to the right, we have Maddox's version of a reindeer. Apparently they are sophisticated creatures who wear ties.

 The last week of school for Maddox was busy. There was a Christmas party, presents at school (he got Mrs. Pettebone a gift card to Bippy's...apparently, it is their favorite place to eat and they talk about it all the time), a tornado warning (that never did anything thankfully), and the Christmas show. They sang a few songs and then Maddox and Jonah got a little crazy with the bells.

Christmas week put me in the cooking mood and we made all sorts of yummies. Here Jude is supervising the making of the sausage bread. 

Of course we also made Santa cookies and they colored their own sugar and mixed.

Here are our delicious, but way too sweet, Tiny Tims!

Santa only ate half of one because he told Maddox he needed to watch his weight.

 On Christmas Eve, Maddox got a haircut. Andrew threatened to leave it in a mullet (he actually thought the mullet looked cool...true story), but this is how it turned out. I guess it isn't too bad considering Andrew used kitchen shears!

We went to Longhorn with friends that night and then Christmas Eve service at our church. It finally stopped raining for a bit so the boys ran off some energy first. 

Maddox stayed in the little kid class for the first time (because if he didn't, Jude would have a candy cane and he wouldn't. The little classes were celebrating Jesus' birthday so he got even more sugar.). Eisley was there and told him "your hair looks great!" 

My little shy guy turned red, but smiled.

Oh boy. It starts already. 

 Thankfully nobody fell asleep in the car and we came home to dump out the reindeer food in the front yard. It was wet and soggy - boots weather!

We read the Christmas Story and Twas the Night Before Christmas.

Jude didn't pay attention but Maddox loved them both.

And...finally...the house got quiet and Santa came. 

We did Christmas morning in two waves.

Maddox was up at 6 (my early bird) and Jude refused to get up (even snored) so Maddox went first.

He was so, so excited and beaming. 

Santa even left them a note! How special! 

At 8, sleepyhead finally rolled out of bed. 

Maddox helped him open his gifts, but like I said, all he cared about was candy. He carried this box of Mike  n Ike's around until he ate every last one.

 Our old neighbors and friends, the Farmers, came over for Christmas dinner at 4. We had a great time, ate tons of amazing food, exchanged presents, and drank hot chocolate. The boys had a good many laughs with Andrew's new remote-controlled helicopter. Meanwhile, Jude covered as much of my house/Yani's hand with stickers as he could. Sneaky thing.

They loved their big bag of art goodies from the Farmers. 

Maddox has already been using his new supplies to make more cards.

And now he can stamp his cards too.

We got him a dinosaur stamp set. Unfortunately, he prefers to stamp his hands like they do in school, so then his face gets smudged with blue, his arms, his clothes...yea. 

The hot chocolate bar was fun. Maddox enjoyed some candy canes, white chocolate chips and whipped cream in his. 

Such a big boy.

And then..Spiderman joined us. 

We must be pretty special. 

We missed our families and the holidays aren't the same without them, but all in all, we still had a very special day and we are truly blessed.

I pray the New Year holds good things for all of us and that we keep growing as things keep changing.