blessed beyond measure

We are no strangers to unwelcome critters around here. One of the perils of living in the country, I suppose. The lizard in the house was entertaining. The snake in the house was absolutely terrifying. Once the terror wore off though, it was stinkin hilarious. And now may I present our most recent critter story. One that at least starts out as hilarious. I'm fairly certain this happened on Thursday, June 19. I know it was super early on a Thursday morning, but the weeks have all run together and I don't remember the exact date. Anyhow, I was asleep on the couch, where I more often than not crash when the snoring noise level in Brandon's and my room gets too loud. Aden woke me up around 4AM to go potty. I took him, put him back to bed, and laid back down on the couch. I thought I heard something strange, but our fridge tends to make odd noises, so chalked it up to that and fell asleep. At 4:30, Aden woke me again asking if it was time to get up yet. I told h...

(July 4, 2014: boys' first trip to the driving range)

As expected, the summer has proven to be more jam-packed and fast-paced than the rest of the year. It's like we just can't squeeze enough life into the long daylight hours. I begin this long and winding party-recap post by going back a month, to Aden's birthday. My intention to blog about it shortly after it happened got swallowed up in family matters and funerals. So here we are. The morning of his birthday, we gave him our gift, something long overdue: his own set of golf clubs. You would have thought they were made of gold. Then we set up our own personal driving range for a few minutes, just to break them in. That afternoon, we headed to church to meet up with the grandparents, a few of Aden's very best friends, and their families. The hot, sticky day ended our playground plan quickly, so we headed inside to the gym for a great Paw Patrol paw-ty, per Aden's request. Everyone had a blast. Then this past Saturday was Trey's birthday, and in typica...

It was seven years ago today that you forever changed my life. While I had dreamed of being a Mama for as long as I can remember, it was nine months before your birthday that I dreamed of delivering a baby boy. And then, it happened. To God be the glory. Oh, my Trey. How very special you are. Your seven years have crawled by, my dear, as we have so enjoyed watching you grow and mature, and as we have struggled with the trial-and-error parenting that accompanies all firstborns. You are tall and skinny, having grown inches but hardly gaining a pound. You are your Daddy, head to toe. Except your hair is darker than his now. I guess it might end up brown. Those huge hazel eyes rimmed by mile-long eyelashes are still mine, though. You are sweet and compassionate. Most of the time. And definitely not toward your brother. But most of the time. You like to give hugs and kisses, maybe to remind me that I no longer have to bend over to hug or kiss you. Sigh. You don't li...