A real BLOG post

So, when I started this BLOG, it was a stretch for me- feeling a little weird about putting it all out there...about having pictures of my little boy on the web, sharing details of my life, etc.- so I decided I would make it light.

Life has not exactly been light lately. I have found myself distracting myself from it by playing with templates (as you have probably noticed) which is really mindless and good at times, but it has been a bit of an escape for me lately.

Tomorrow I will go to my third funeral in a month. After two of my dearest friends lost their fathers, Stan's grandmother passed away yesterday. What a saint she truly was. She was Stan and I's last grandmother between the two of us and I find myself pouring out with memories of the three other grandmothers that have gone before her in the past 3 years. In three years time, we have lost 4 grandmothers. Wow. Life is really beginning to change as I realize that this is real, this is hard stuff and I am not the only one experiencing loss.

Ma Cole had the sweetest voice, smile, hugs. She was what I would call the "quintessential" grandmother. She was the epitome of what a grandma was supposed to be. Always welcoming, always loving and always preparing and caring for her family. There wasn't a time I was at her home where she did not cook- and she lived there until about 1 month ago. Her cornbread was delicious and the spread of vegetables and country cooking was always a delicious treat for Stan and I.

Her company was even more precious. She loved Landon. She would just kiss his forehead over and over and over again. She read him books and always wanted him to sit in her lap. The family teased us b/c there was a "pedestal" in her living room with a picture of Landon- front and center. :)

She had the best giggle. I think of Ryan, Stan's cousin, calling her "nutstick"- he called her this b/c she used to offer the children nutty buddies and called them "nutsticks". She would just giggle when he would call her this...then he would imitate her voice as only Ryan can do and she would just giggle a sweet little school girl giggle.

She had such a strong faith. She WAS a Proverbs 31 woman. I strive to be like her. She honored Christ in everything she did. She was such a loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt...the list goes on.

Alan, Stan's uncle, was the one who "got me" tonight at the funeral home. Alan is so very sincere. He came up to me and said, "Do you know how very much my mom loved you?" You know, I do know. Because I loved her that much too. She always treated me as one of her very own flesh. I will miss her so much.

There is great joy in her passing from this earth, as she is now with Jesus and basking in the peaceful realm that is heaven. She and Minkie, Grandma and Ma Lynch are there together now- what a legacy of saints before me.

Playdate Fun and Squirrels

Here is a precious photo of Landon and his little buddies- from left to right- Thomas, Ryan and Sophia. Landon is the big boy in the picture and by the end of the shoot, he had scooted all the way to the other side of the couch- away from the babies as if he knew he was the oldest one and was over our silly songs and hand motions... he was cutting his eyes at them and at all of us moms singing song after song, trying to get them all to smile simultaneously...what a joke! We had so much fun playing and eating Lucia's yummy overnight coffee cake. Landon and I are looking forward to many more playdates with this crew!

I couldn't resist putting this one up- this is an old fashioned rattle for baby Ryan. Landon and Sophia took turns putting it in their mouths. And I wonder why he is in his bed coughing right as I write. Toddlers...they are a handful (and an absolute blast!).

One more sweet funny about Landon this week. He woke up in the middle of the night last night and was crying out for Stan and I. We try not to create bad habits, but I went in first and then Stan went in. Stan was the one who got him to settle down and I asked him what he said:

Stan: "Landon, what does the squirrel say?"
Landon: "Bphh Bphh Bphh (with hand motions)"
Stan: "Landon, are the squirrels asleep right now?"
Landon: "Yep"
Stan: "Can you go back to sleep like the squirrels?"
Landon: "Yep."

No more sounds. Amazing.

What Happens at "Nanny" and "Umdaddy's"

...stays at "Nanny" and "Umdaddy's"...

(That is a moonpie "fortified with vitamins and minerals" per my father-in-law)

Landon and friends...

Here is Landon and his friends and his favorite place currently- on the bench at our kitchen table overlooking the landscaped area in the backyard where squirrels scurry on top of the fence causing Landon to make the beloved squirrel face and noise that Stan taught him. Pictured, he is trying his best to fit the big airplane onto the ledge when I had told him at least 4 times that it was too big. Guess this is a first lesson for me in letting him find things out and experience them for himself. Notice that "Raffie" is also up on the ledge with all of the cars, trucks, planes and trains.

An update from this week- Landon is sick again- didn't sleep but about 4 hours last night and was just miserable. I was thinking it was a cold but while I was at work today, he vomited...none since, so we are avoiding milk x 24 hours and will go from there. I will go to bed thinking what I tell parents of the kids I take care of..."Better for him to get sick now that when he is in Kindergarten"...

Weddings and Toddlers

They are much better at getting genuine smiles than the cheesy photographers...Landon is pictured with his Uncle "Mack" (Marc) whom he adores. See my aunt, "KK" cracking up in the background.

They actually want to be a part of wedding pictures...notice he is running to catch up with the wedding party who are going to a nice quiet scenic spot at the vineyard- I think he could have really livened up the pictures...I mean, who wouldn't want that adorable little boy in all their wedding photos?

They entertain themselves during the hours of photos...Raffie loves to eat dirt. At least Landon wasn't eating it!

They finally smile for family pictures... (there are always a whole lot of people who are willing to make goofy faces at weddings).

And one last thing about toddlers at weddings...they don't sleep in hotel rooms with their parents. :)

P.S. Congrats Greg and Haley and LYTM!!

Hand, Foot and Mouth and Mostly Mouth

Yuck! We have been so sad this week! Landon has had Hand, Foot and Mouth- a virus that causes high fevers and sometimes really bad mouth sores- which he got and got badly. He refused to drink for about 24 hours and I was only able to get sips in him. Finally, we got some rectal Tylenol (after realizing that the 1/4th the priced children's motrin was just not the same as the pricey infants taste wise) and Pedialyte Popsicles and lots of prayers and he started drinking again. I had no idea just how nasty that virus really is!

He hasn't been sleeping, so neither have we and now I am trying to catch up on a week's worth of emails, plans, and try to fit in how we will manage our plans for the weekend that include going out of town for my cousin, Greg's wedding. We will figure it all out, keeping Landon first. I know we will do all that we can and some bit of distraction will probably do him some good.

Just a tip, have some rectal Tylenol handy- it is over the counter and though they hate it, it is the lesser of two evils when battling oral ulcers. :) From a mom and PNP who knows!

No, I am not above spoiling my child when he is sick. See his new transfer truck whom he affectionately calls, "Mack". (Obviously from the movie Cars)

What I came home to...

The ONLY way this would be posted on my BLOG was from the back. I came home this past weekend after daddy had watched Landon all weekend to find him dressed in this hideousness. All I can say is we will let him choose, and clearly he will chose the more superior of ACC teams, esp. once basketball season starts. He is half Stan but that doesn't mean he has to be even half a State fan!! I am presently working on, "You say TAR and I say HEELS" with Landon. Hopefully I will have a video clip soon...

So, the reason I was away this weekend was because of a tragedy that I need prayers for. Most all of you reading know my sweet sweet Heather who went to grad school with me and very quickly became a kindered spirit of a friend to me, more like a sister -and her whole family, another family to me. Her father died this past week. Please pray for the whole family (Heather, her two sisters, brother and her mother esp.) and for God's peace to sustain them during this very difficult time. I am so very sad but I know that God is bigger than this sadness.

"We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed on our body." 2 Corinthians 4:8-10