blessed beyond measure

Brandon is doing basketball stuff four nights a week. Trey has taken four SOL tests over the last week. Aden is averaging a baseball game or practice every three days. Plus work and school and church and house and land and on and on and on. We are exhausted . I don't think the boys quite realize why they can't keep up with their typical energy level, but breaks are rather popular around here these days.

The last two Saturdays have been spent caring for our land, landscaping and mowing and planting the garden. The weather has been perfect for it, calm breeze, baby blue skies, wandering clouds, and crisp views of the mountains. Days when you just breathe the vitamin D as deeply into your lungs as you can get it. We sure do love having our helpers around on these days. This boy is taking a break from working his hiney off in the garden. He has laid off rows and dug and planted and thrown rocks, not to mention before all of that, riding along on the tractor for at least half of the several hours it took to plow the dern thing up. Woke up this morning and told me it was going to be a great day, because we were going outside to work. Then tonight, thanked God for letting us work so hard. This boy is not as enthusiastic as his brother about manual labor, but if he could hand pick one chore for himself, it would be mowing the yard. When he focuses (and when no bumble bees are nea...

It started out a few months ago as small, passing complaints about things being blurry. Squinting to see the time on the microwave in the kitchen. Insisting on sitting close to the TV to be able to make out scores of games. It's no surprise, really. Brandon is blind as a bat, and I'm not far behind, plus apparently my eye issues are multiplying as I age. Trey, in very typical Trey fashion, was scared to go to the eye doctor. Trey: What happens at the eye doctor? Mama: Well, they will have you to read these letters that are different sizes, and that will show them how strong the lenses of your glasses need to be. There is a machine you will look through so they can figure out exactly how you see, and they will make small changes to the lenses and ask you which one looks better, so you'll need to tell them the truth. Oh, and then there is this machine the doctor can use to look inside your eye. Pretty cool. Oh, but they will need to put drops in your eyes before ...

This is real ball, y'all. For the last two years, Aden has played team preschool wiffle-ball. But this year , it's real. And no one dares call it tee ball (which it really is), because the star calls it baseball. So baseball it shall be. Aden was a bit nervous to begin with, but getting out on the field and warming up required no coaxing as it did in basketball. Excitement outweighed the nerves, and the kid did what he came to do. I tell you what, we're his parents and all, but our little ball player put on a show in the outfield, slurping up all but one of the couple dozen balls hit his way and using his strong and accurate arm to get the ball to first every time. It was fantastic . I daresay Aden found his niche. And Aden's Daddy so filled with pride that it sent him into a happy dance. Not kidding. This was the first of many games over the next several weeks, and we do have things to work on with Aden, so it will be fascinating to see how the season goes....

Couldn't find Aden one day while picking up the boys from Nana and Granddad's. Aden had gone outside by himself, so we walked outside and looked for him. Didn't see him anywhere. Called to him. Came the reply, "Here I am! At the top of the dogwood tree!" In other words, surprise, Mama! And in still other words, I'm beyond thankful that apparently the Lord has assigned a full squadron of guardian angels to this boy. He exhausts every one of them. Then, it has gotten to where our kitchen table just looks weird when it doesn't have Trey's basketball board, dry-erase marker, bracket, and pen in the southwest corner, ready to be used whenever the basketball vibe hits. I have neglected to teach my children many, many basic life and courtesy skills, one of which is putting your stuff away. Of course by now, should we ever actually try to work on that particular skill, Trey would probably answer, "But that's where it goes!" Yes, I k...

Ironic, but it seems the photo-a-week project, which guarantees more posts than in recent years, has taken the place of real content. I miss the depth, writing fun memories and insight into daily life, even just expressing myself. Though with the state I'm in these days, it's probably a good thing that I can't express much. Oh well. Depth will come again someday. Meanwhile, a few nuggets from my phone for the year thusfar. If anyone besides me ever went through my phone, it would solidify my status as a nutcase. What you do not see below are photos of recipes, Awana rosters, prescription bottles, checks being deposited to the bank, and then (showing my true colors here) a series of pictures of the boys' new spring clothes separated into outfits so I could remember how to hang them after they were washed the first time. Makes the self-deprecating humor easier to understand, doesn't it? Deserved. Moving on. My husband in a bouncy house at a Sunday school ...

It's baseball season. Aden's a busy fella. Oh my Trey. More on the glasses soon.

Even when it involves photos of terrible quality and boys who are becoming increasingly hard to photograph with their pasted on big-boy wince-slash-smiles. Even when you only remember to take the photo a week after it should have been taken because on Easter morning you were struggling just to keep breathing. Even when in your post-Easter flu-recovery stupor you made the mistake of packing away the Easter baskets that went utterly ignored this year and are too lazy to dig them back out. Still, it's tradition. A photo of each boy, and one together, right in front of this cabinet lovingly crafted by my parents, that seems to be shrinking as the years go by. I pause here to acknowledge how painstakingly and embarrassingly long it took me to put these photos in order. And to miss my babies. Happy Easter, late though it may be. Together, 2016 Trey 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 Aden 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011