Hopes and Wishes

Today, Noah turns nine years old.  It is hard to believe that my little boy is half way to graduating high school.  He is such an amazing kid...he really honestly and truly amazes me.  I am excited to look to the future and see what it holds for him.

Noah just chillin with my dad.  He was around three years old here and he loved my dad.

It was so hard to sift through nine years of photos, thousands of photos, and choose only a few to sum up his life.  Looking through photos from when he was a baby and a toddler brought tears to my throat.  Usually, I look at old photos and smile silently to myself, pondering on old memories.  But, something changed this birthday.  A sort of sadness that I cannot describe.  Maybe it is the fact that a person cannot go back and relive the past, it is gone.  Noah will never be an awesome baby again...or a crazy two year old...  He will never have to relearn how to ride a bike or tie his shoes or have another first day of preschool.  All of those precious memories, some milestones in his life, are complete and will never come around again.  I know it sounds cliche, but it is so important to make every moment in life count.

Noah has always been a very good, usually well behaved, little boy. 

Noah was ring bearer in my cousins wedding.  This is one my favorite photos of all time. 

It is amazing how grown up he is now.  Not only has he, upon his own request, been putting on deodorant and body spray, but every morning his also combs and styles his hair!  When I woke him up this morning with a Happy Birthday song, he said, "It's my birthday today?  Huh...I still only feel like I am eight."  Apparently he thought that he would feel different at nine years old.

I have so many hopes and wishes for him.  I hope that he grows to be a noble young man with a kind heart and always the best of intentions.  I think that he is well on his way to being an amazing young man.

Happy Birthday Noah!

Inspiration

Lately I have had a hard time blogging.  Instead of the winter blues, it seems that our spring has infected us Midwesterners the spring blues.  Especially with more snow in the forecast...and yes it is getting to be the end of April.  I had started many (I am not going to even say how many) blogs but have failed to finish them.  And now looking back, they do not even seem pertinent to me.  But, I am determined to keep this blog...my journal...going so I am going to think of something not-so-serious to blog about.  Especially after the fun play date that I had with my fellow over achieving moms.  I just need to find inspiration!

Sometimes we find inspiration in the craziest places.  Like sitting behind a recliner in a little 4x4 space, in a 4000 sq foot house, talking and being completely content with two friends and four kids.  Or having those same insane friends pull together another amazing potluck lunch...angel food cake with lemon zest, fresh cut strawberries, and a fruit n' pasta salad.  Crazy!  OK girls...I have had some people ask me who in the heck these blond and brunette bloggers are.  So, I am going to talk a little about you and how you have inspired me...

The blond blogger's immaculately clean house once again inspired me to tidy up my own home.  Even with a new puppy and toddlers, her home continues to remain spotless.  Just as her apartment back in her school days was exceptionally clean.  And with everything she has been through, her faith remains at the center of her life.  You can read more about her life---and her kitchen floor--- HERE.

The brunette blogger's amazing parenting skills inspire me to be a better mom.  I have learned through her to never take anything for granted.  Putting a coloring Crayon to paper is more difficult than it looks.  She has worked very hard for everything that her little boy can do.  Every. Single. Little. Thing.  She should be inspiration to us all.  You can read more about their courage HERE.

Today I searched for my inspiration and I found it in the pantry.  (Not as deep as the other bloggers inspiration I know but at least it is a start.)  Inspiration in the form of  a can of powdered buttermilk.  People may think that I am nuts, but powdered buttermilk is one of the best inventions EVER.  No more wondering how to use that last cup of buttermilk in your fridge before it spoils.  No more feeling guilty buying much more buttermilk than you would ever use.  It is easy to reconstitute and no one notices the difference. 

I came upon powdered buttermilk shopping in Wal-Mart with my husband during our leaves from work.  We were working on building up his endurance and what better way than meandering through Wal-Mart grocery shopping.  I was looking for more powdered milk to mix up more cream-of-whatever soup bases and it jumped out at me.  I literally shrieked with delight!

"Oh my gosh! Powdered buttermilk?" I exclaimed.  Could it be true?  My mind worked overtime to think of all of the possibilities.  Homemade buttermilk ranch base...pancakes...waffles...cookie salad...I could have concocted a million recipes to use this gift from God.

My husband and everyone else can think I am crazy but this simple ingredient is something that is going to impact my life in a positive way.  I will always have buttermilk on hand.  OK...so maybe I am getting a little carried away...but I am really thankful for powdered buttermilk.  And therefore I think I have to count my blessings...

61.  Being inspired by the people around me and the people close to me.
62.  My amazing husband.  He is up to working eight hour days and tolerating it fairly well.  We are so fortunate for his amazing progress.  I am convinced that it is all due to the power of prayer (which is something that clearly defied science.)
63.  Our two children.  I love them so much!
64.  My brother-in-law who calls just to see what sup.  I do not know of any family that is as close as Aaron's family.
65.  Having a job to return to.  I do not think many places of work would treat a regular, blue-collar worker as well as my small town hospital has treated myself and my family.
66.  A 95 year-old who occasionally drives into our yard and honks his horn until we come out to talk to him.  Tonight, he brought us some yummy chicken, french fries, onion rings, lettuce salad, coleslaw, and dinner rolls for supper.  It was perfect!
67.  Getting used to our new normal.  It is a life that I am beginning to love.
68.  A crazy cat that always brightens my children's (and my husband's) spirits.
69.  A bright future.  Corney I know but our future seemed kind of grim for the last few months.
70.  Fat jeans. Lord only knows that every girl has a fat day.

A jar of honey inspired me to pick up my camera again because I just had to capture the drips.

The Star Student

Wednesday has traditionally been a day for lunch with the girls.  This is one of the only normal things that I have done in the last several months.  So after a quick lunch with a good friend...sadly with the absence of the other brunette---who had much more exciting things to do...I picked up Aaron to go to Abram's preschool classroom.  Aaron has been working four hours a day and it has been going well.  He is determined to get back to "normal" as soon as possible.  But the words of the doctors will forever hang over our heads, "It takes about a year and a half to heal." A year and a half, not three months. If his rehab doctor had his way Aaron would be off for another three months.  But he finagled the surgeon and returned to work.

Next week he moves up to six hours and I will return to work.  I am excited to see how that goes but very nervous.  I miss my co-workers and my patients but I feel that my place is at home right now.  Standing by my man.  We will see how that goes.  He very rarely complains about anything.  Only when I beat it out of him.  But pain and frustration have their own faces that are easy to see.  Usually I am here to man handle the boys and tend to our house, laundry, and food but returning to work is going to alter our lives yet again.  Luckily, even though our hospital is crazy busy right now, I was able to cut back to begin with. 

Anyway, Abram was Star Student this week which was very exciting for him.  He was line leader, calender helper, and provided an afternoon treat for the other students.  Grandma Pat spent the morning in his classroom (she wanted to eat lunch with Noah but he notified us all that he is too old for that now) and ate lunch with him and the other preschoolers.  Then, Aaron and I planned to surprise him and spend part of the afternoon with him. 

Grandma Pat with Abram and little Noah playing a game at preschool.  Notice the principal in the background.  He was just stopping by to see how everything was going to visit with the preschoolers.  Oh, how I love small town schools!

Watching the children play is very...well...interesting.  The girls fighting playing with the plastic food.  The little boy, Blake, interrupting their kitchen with a phone call from a fireman because their house is burning down.  Then Lily "called the cops" because Lexi "did not put the blender back in the right spot."  It was pretty brutal.  Tempers flared and then simmered.  In a blink of an eye, they continued to play without missing a beat. 

Abram and some of his friends from preschool.

Abram generally played by himself.  He meandered around with a hot-pink, satin purse and a few pieces of plastic food in tow.  I thought Aaron would have intervened with some sort of a manly comment like, "Boys do not carry around purses" or "Put the purse away now" or something along those lines.  But, Aaron just quietly stood and watched, smiling a secretive smile to himself.  It made me wonder if he toted around a satin, bright pink purse when he was a young lad.

The star student is line leader!  How exciting!

Abram and his best bud, "Little Noah."  This kid is amazing!  He stood by Abram's side the first few turbulent months of preschool...cheering him up and just simply being his friend. 

Then clean up time rolled around.  I was astonished to watch Abram put the toys away, with out objection, when his teacher asked him to.  She did not have to prod at the children or bribe them or negotiate with them.  With one simple command, "Pick up the toys" accompanied by a short clean up song and the kids worked.  Amazing.  It was like Snow White and her little dwarfs.  I asked Abram to pick up his toys this morning and his pitched a fit.  Kicking and screaming.  Full on Jack Hammer fit.  Lily the second.  Where was Snow White with her beautiful singing voice?  Where were those dwarfs and their good work ethic?  It was more like the Exorcism than a classic cartoon.

But school has really changed him for the better.  Maybe it is a combination of age, maturity, and just being in a different environment with a set schedule by someone who is not momma.  I feel very blessed to have such a wonderful preschool to send him to.  Small town schools are a priceless commodity that is becoming more and more scarce.  In saying that, I think that I need to count some blessings...

51.  A kind God.
52.  Two amazing little boys.
53.  Aaron.  Keeping good faith even though the road is bumpy.
54.  A good job to return to.
55.  A caring community that continues to send us cards, thoughts, and prayers.
56.  Our church calling a new pastor and the pastor accepting.
57.  Supper with a few friends and relatives.  Even though there were a few awkward silences, it was a lot of fun.
58.  Spring.  One of my favorite times.
59.  A grandma willing to take our crabby kids overnight so Aaron and I could have a night together.  Just momma and dad time.
60.  A church down the road from us, of which we are not members and do not even attend their church, sending a generous gift our way.

Spring Has Finally Sprung

Spring has, after considerable delay, showed its sunny face and shooed the snow away.  The mountains of snow have gradually melted to small hills...just big enough for the boys to still have to wear snow pants to play on them.  It is wonderful to see their mud boots finally dragging mud inside, we have been waiting for so long.

The snow hills are now accompanied by rivers and lakes mixed with mud and brown grass in our yard.  The boys playing a never ending "army" battle with their friends outside gave way to red fingers and the first scraped knees of the season.

Our Mr. Snow Man, that the children worked tirelessly to build, eventually melted into the ground.

Building Mr. Snow Man...



I was very disappointed not to get a clear photo of the finished snow man.



This is him after he melted.  Only a scarf and a hat remained.

I regret not starting seeds in our house this year as I have in prior years.  The seedlings adorning our windows is something that I surprisingly miss. 

My seedlings from last year.

But I cannot wait for the two feet of snow that holds down our garden to melt and show the rich mud soil underneath.  Looking back, I already had potatoes and onions planted by this time last year.

Aaron's first four hour day back to work was greeted by 50 mile an hour winds, as was the boys struggling to board the school bus.  I do not know how productive any of the boys were today with the sun shining and the sky turning bright blue.  All three of them have been itching to play outside.  As Charles Dickens once wrote, "It was one of those days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold:  when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade."  I think that perfectly describes our Midwestern weather.

Seeing the blue tractor without its blower makes everything official.  Spring has finally sprung.