I Bequeath To You One Grown Man...

(By Victor Buono.  The origional poem can be read here.  Tweaked by me.)

Dear World:  I bequeath to you today one grown man...in a clean blue shirt...with two brown eyes...
And a sweet smile that makes his wife's heart melt, and a bald head that used to have hair as curly as his son's and daughter's.
I trust you'll treat him well.
He's slipping out of our driveway today and driving down the street to his first day of school at XYZ University.
Gone will be the daddy and husband who comes home from work and have nothing to do but spend time with his family. 
The daddy and husband who spends 8 hours away from home helping other people when they are sick, hurt, dying; he is physically, mentally, emotionally spent, yet always has enough left to give to us.
Now, he'll learn even more about helping people when they are sick, hurt, and dying.
He will learn what it is to be a student again after many years. 
He will learn what it is to have to study when he has two children wanting to play with him.
He will learn how to deal with the pressures of not only school and work, but the pressures of school and work with a wife and kids at home relying on him to take care of them financially.
And his daughter and I will stand in the driveway and blow kisses to him and pray that his dreams come true.
So world,  I bequeath to you today one grown man...in a clean blue shirt...with two brown eyes...
And a sweet smile that makes his wife's heart melt, and a bald head that used to have hair as curly as his son's and daughter's.
I trust you'll treat him well.

I Bequeath To You One Little Boy...

Dear World: I bequeath to you today one little boy in a clean green shirt . . . with two brown  eyes. . .
And a happy laugh that ripples all day long, and a batch of curly brown hair that bounces in the sunlight when he runs.
I trust you'll treat him well.
He's slipping out of the backyard of my heart this morning and skipping off down the street to his first day of school.
And never again will he be completely mine. . .
Prim and proud, he'll wave a young and independent hand this morning, and say goodbye and walk with big-boy steps to the nearby schoolhouse. . .
Gone will be the chattering little boy who lived only for play, and gone will be the delightful little man who roamed the yard like a proud prince with nary a care in his little world.
Now, he will learn to stand in lines. . . and wait by the alphabet for his name to be called. . .
He will learn to tune his little-boy ears for the sound of school bells, and for deadlines. . .
He will learn to giggle and gossip. . .
And to look at the ceiling in a disinterested way when the little girl across the aisle sticks out her tongue.
Now he will learn to be jealous. . . and now he will learn how it is to feel hurt inside. . . and now he will learn how not to cry. . .
No longer will he have time to sit on the front porch steps on a summer day and watch while an ant scurries across a crack in the sidewalk. . .
Or will he have time to pop out of bed with the dawn to catch tree frogs in the morning dew. . .
Now he will worry about important things. . . like grades. . . and what to wear. . . and whose best friend is whose. . .
Now he will worry about the little girl who ignores him at recess time. . . and staying after school. . . and which little girls like which little boys. . .
And the magic of books and knowledge will soon take the place of the magic of his trucks and tractors.
And he will find new heroes. . .
For five full years I've been his sage and Santa Claus. . . his pal and playmate . . . his mother and his friend. . .
Now, alas, he'll learn to share his worship and adoration with his teachers (which is only right). . .
And no longer will I be the smartest, greatest woman in the world. . .
Today, when the first school bell rings, he'll learn how it is to be a member of the group. . . with all its privileges, and, of course, its disadvantages, too.
He will learn in time that polite young men do not laugh out loud. . . or kiss dogs. . . or keep frogs in pickle jars in bedrooms. . . or watch ants scurry across the cracks in a summer sidewalk. . .
Today, he will begin to learn for the first time that all who smile at him are not his friends. . . That "the group" can be a demanding mistress. . .
And I'll stand on the porch and watch him start out on the long, long journey to becoming a man. . .
So World, I bequeath to you today one little boy in a clean green shirt and two brwon eyes. . .
And a happy laugh that ripples all day long, and a batch of curly brown hair that bounces in the sunlight when he runs.
I trust you'll treat him well.

(I did not write this poem...I found it on the internet but I don't know who to give credit to for writing it.)

June

I think June can best be summed up like  this...

swimming at Papa & Nana's pool

swimming lessons from Miss Madison

just getting Jacob's head in the water was a big deal at first

it didn't take long until he was swimming like a fish though

 learning how to jump off the diving board

with lots of encouragement from his friend Stone

who never did get his courage up to jump

he was just there for moral support ;)

and Miss Lia was plenty happy to just sit at the edge and play with the toys

thankyouverymuch!

by the end she did enjoy being in the water - but she would NOT put her face in the water 

thank you Miss Madison!

we hope to see you next summer 

(and you'll be VERY impressed with how far they've come since spending countless hours at Papa & Nana's!)

this one is for you Papa

love, your two best girls

up next: July

and here's a hint - it looks a whole lot like June!

Build A Bear

When Jacob was just a wee babe my parents came out to visit us as we were living in FL at the time.  During one of Mom and I's shopping excursions with that new born bundle of sweet baby boy Mom told me once Jacob got to be old enough she would like to treat him to a Build-A-Bear experience.  Five years (and a 1,000 mile move) later she got her wish.  After one of Jacob's t-ball games, just a few days after his 5th birthday, she got to do just that.  He had so much fun picking out his "bear" - which happens to be a puppy actually. 

 Jacob helps stuff the puppy,

he kisses the heart and makes a wish,

he places it in the puppy's chest,

and puppy gets sewn up.

Puppy then gets new clothes (soccer outfit), a name (Tom), and brought home by a little boy who is in love and so proud.  His Momma *may have been proud of him too.

Spring Baseball

Baseball has always been my favorite sport.  Not that I'm REALLY into sports, but for some reason baseball peaks my interest more than others do.  As you can imagine it made me pretty happy when Jacob asked to play baseball this summer.  It was quite a learning experience.  He'd played 2 seasons of soccer so the whole "having a kid involved in organized sports" wasn't new.  But a new coach, an entirely different group of boys, and a new game to learn shook things up a bit.  That, and practices 3X per week plus game day left me less than thrilled by the time it was over.  I thought that was a bit much for the 3-5 year old group.  I realize as they get older practices will require more time and I'll be expecting it, but for this year, I wasn't any to pleased.  Needless to say we didn't make it to every.single.practice.  BUT Jacob thought it was great and had a blast playing - that's all I was really wanting.  Mission accomplished.  Here's my little player - I might be a smidgen bit biased, but I think he's the cutest little thing I've ever seen in a baseball uniform.

Camping

Back in May we went camping with my brother & his family, one of our cousins & his family, and our parents.  Great times - and looking forward to doing it again Labor Day weekend!

Fun in the mud before heading out to the park.  A boy's paradise!

 The 4 kids "testing" out their fishing poles before heading to the lake.

 Adam and Jacob

 Brad stepping in to help.

Lia gets a piggy back ride from Uncle Brad. 

 Dennis & I; Adam & Lia

My parents. 

Us 

my soul, my Mom, my heart

all 3 are equally important to me - just in different ways 

 sweet, sweet boys - love them all 4

We celebrated Nana's birthday that weekend too.  Here she is in all her glory with her babies. 

Virginia Is For Lovers...and Families

“Virginia Is For Lovers” is one of Virginia’s tourism mottos by the way.

 My Dad had a conference to attend for a couple of days in Fredericksburg so Mom & I and the kids had free time on our hands during the days to explore the area.   We did have a few hours for all 5 of us to go exploring one morning.  We went to downtown to walk around for a while.

A fun little Diner we found.  Note the signs running along the top of the wall.

This one cracked me up!

A friend of mine who lives in the area told us we HAD to try Carl's ice cream.  It did not disappoint.

 The sign on this building was interesting to me too.

 beautiful blooms

What kind of tree is this?  They were beautiful and everywhere around the city.

ahhh...my friend Kay.  She played a roll in David and I starting to date the first time.  It was great to get to see her again after several years.

One day we drove Skyline Drive through Shenandoah National Park.  The beauty took my breath away.  If you ever get a chance to travel there you really should.

 On our way back to GA we stopped to have a picnic.  Jacob insisted that we needed to have a picnic on a red blanket under the trees.  He wanted to do this when we were up at the top of the mountains but it was just way.to.cold.!  So, he got his wish in North Carolina. 

Good times with Papa and Nana.

And to prove that I was on this trip...here I am too!

love, love, love this boy

At the end of our Skyline Drive trip we went to Monticello.  Another place well worth visiting.  But...ummmm...yeah, I can't find any of those pictures. 

Virginia was a great place to visit - I want to go back again as there is so much to see.  The truth is, though, this TX girl got a little claustrophobic.  There are a LOT of trees there!

Remembering

We said good-bye to the new life we thought would be our 3rd baby one year ago today.  This past year has definitely been filled with a roller coaster ride of emotions.  The sharp pain of that loss is gone now, replaced by a dull ache.  There is not a single day that goes by that I don't think about him/her.  I don't dwell on it, but I certainly do remember.  And wonder.  And wish.  But I can't change what isn't.  So I love what is.

You never said you're leaving,

you never said goodbye.

You were gone before I knew it,

and only God knows why.

A million times I've missed you,

a million times I've cried.

If love alone could have saved you,

you never would have died.

To some you are forgotten,

to others just part of the past.

But to me who loved and lost you,

your love will always last.

~Author Unknown

A mother never forgets her babies.

Fun With The (extended) Fam

WARNING – CUTENESS/PHOTO OVERLOAD AHEAD 

One evening Daniel and Cindy (David’s bro and sis-in-law) were gracious enough to host a fun dinner for us and the T. side of the family that live in the Atlanta area.  Their house was busting at the seams with laughter and good times.

The three older kids had a GREAT time telling secrets to each other, laughing hysterically, telling more secrets, laughing again, telling more secrets...you get the idea.

OK kids - time for another group shot!  Could there be a cuter group?  I think not.

Lia, Ella, Liam, Jacob, Addison, Noah

Now time for a little Tio fun!

Boys being boys.

Addison and Lia having a great time "fixing" that table, and rocking those boots!

 Sweet kisses for Tio.

Zack & Lydia (David's cousin)

Debbie & Tio (Jorge)

David's Aunt & Uncle

Daniel

David's brother

Mark, Jacob, Tio

some of the "Brown Eyed Handsome Men" in the family

 Noah and Jacob pretending like they're asleep after all the excitement of the day.

Thank you Daniel & Cindy for making our day with you so fun!  Can't wait to do it again!