Monday, October 8, 2012

Daniel & Drew’s Day!

Andy is off on his annual God Squad retreat and now that the older two are teenagers – they are off with him.  That leaves me with the two younger boys.  Since yesterday was rainy and cold we just hung out at home.  We started our day by eating breakfast at Chick-fil-a!  It’s Daniel’s favorite place to eat breakfast and I love it because there is usually NO ONE there!  After eating our breakfast I loaded the boys back into the car and then drove.  Daniel was confused when we didn’t go right home and questioned where we were going!  It wasn’t until we pulled up to the zoo that he figured it out and he was excited!  Drew hasn’t been to the zoo since he was 9 months old – so I knew he would be fascinated with every aspect of it!  I wasn’t wrong!  He loved the animals, the little statues all over the place, and the freedom he had to run around!

Daniel loved his time there as well and asked a zillion questions!  He also chattered away about everything he saw!  It was a good day and a great way to get the kids out of the house for a few hours.  Here are just a few of the animals that we saw.

005We loved how they twisted their tails together!

030This snake had a HUGE head!

041Have you ever read the picture book Verdi?  Great book!  Love the snake!

087Drew was a little worried about this crocodile coming straight at him!

100Cute little frog!

135The tigers were REALLY active!  Drew was fascinated!

140The American Bald Eagles!  The front one flew to its perch – Drew thought that was great!

It was a great time together!  Drew crashed on the way home – I think I wore the poor boy out!  Daniel will crash fast tonight thanks to the fresh air!  Loved spending time with my boys!

Sunday, October 7, 2012

I’m trying….

June 13th was a turning point in all of our lives.  Our hearts still ache with the loss and our tears still flow freely just about everyday.  Everything we do seems to recall a memory of PopPop.  We miss him terribly.  His home going has put us all in a bit of a funk – we are all going through the motions of living, but longing to see Dad once again, realizing that it may be a long time before that happens.

One thing Dad’s passing has taught us all is that life is SHORT!  It seems like we have endless days ahead of us to spend with those we love, but in reality it is a blink of the eye.  I’ve realized this point before – every time I realize that Matthew is now 15 years old!  So, I’m trying to focus on and build the relationships in my life.  In my effort to do this with my children I am trying to spend one-on-one time with each one doing an activity of their choice.  Last night was Matthew’s first activity – a concert!  (Now not ALL of his activities will be this expensive!  But it was a good kick-off event!)  He really enjoys listening to the band Kutless.764They happen to be in the area and I got tickets!  I’m not into all the music that Matt enjoys – some of his choices are a little hard and loud for my taste – but I like going to see the bands he enjoys in concert so I can hear what it is that they stand for and believe.  I have to say I had a great time!707They are an amazing band and have an incredible testimony and message!  And I even LOVED some of their songs!  Matt was thrilled to be able to talk with the band as they signed his poster.792796My favorite part of the entire day was the 1 1/2 hour ride out and the 1 1/2 hour ride home.  We talked and talked and talked!  When you get my oldest in a car by himself he talks!  He really is an amazing young man and my eyes tear up every time I think of him leaving for college in just three short years!  I mean, the kid DRIVES ME CRAZY many a minute – but he is my heart and I love him like crazy! 

So, if there has been one good thing that came out of June 13th – it’s the fact that I have opened my eyes to the blessings that I have been given and am determined to make every effort to love them, spend time with them, and enjoy every precious moment given to me!