"I don't want them to cover up his hands......"

We leave tomorrow for Collin's surgery on Friday at Texas Scottish Rite. Car seat, pack and play, stroller, books, blankie, puppy, and backpack are all ready by the door. It always amazes me as to how much stuff it takes to travel with a baby. Today I decided to tell Carter that we were going out of town and what for. In the past 16 months since Collin was born Carter has NEVER said one thing about his brother's hands. Not even when others have noticed or made comments. He has never asked a question, examined his hands, nothing. I don't know that he ever realized that his brother's hands are different than his. I love that about children. Since Collin will be coming home in a cast we obviously needed to explain a few things to Carter in an age appropriate way. I told him that we were taking Collin to Dallas to see a special hand Dr. and Carter asked "WHY"? I told him that when Collin was in Mommy's tummy there were strings that hung around Collin and his hands got tangled in them. He didn't say a word or seemed phased by what I said. I continued by telling him that the Dr's were going to help Collin's hand and then they would put him in a cast. Of course Carter had no idea what a cast was. I tried to explain it and then I could see the wheels turning in his brain. This concerned him much more than the fact that Collin's hands were different than his. We were in the car while we were having this conversation (only because he kept asking me over and over where we were going this weekend, because he had seen me packing every one's stuff but his, it just seemed like the right time) and he reached over and held Collin's hand and said "Mommy, I don't want them to cover up Collin's hands." I looked back at him in the rear view mirror as he held tightly to Collin's hand and said "I Know, me neither". That is all I could say because I could feel the tears coming to my eyes and that horrible lump coming up in my throat. After I got it together, I told him that he wouldn't have his hands covered forever just a 4 weeks and it would help his hand get better. He is still persistent that he doesn't want them to cover up his brother's hands and I love that. I love that he doesn't notice, or doesn't care, that his brother is different than him. I love that he sees Collin as his little brother, not the baby with hand differences. I love the pureness and innocence. I love that his biggest concern was that he didn't want his hands covered up because he wants to always see them. I am so glad he always wants to see them. I had stressed over having this conversation with Carter for while, but things are always a bigger deal to us then they are to them.

A Time to Breathe, Rest, and be Together!

Every year when September rolls around I begin the dress hunt as if I was 17 getting ready for my high school prom again. Chris' works for Discount Tire and last weekend we went to Albuquerque, NM for the annual company party. It is a formal event as you can see. Though sometimes it is stressful, it is fun to have a reason to get all dressed up with my man, eat fancy food we could never afford on our own, and take a twirl around the dance floor. It is a quick trip, we left on Saturday and came home on Sunday. But this year we arrived in Albuquerque at 8:15am and had the entire day to do whatever we wanted. Chris took a nap and I went and laid by the pool and read a book. With little ones running around I feel like it takes me forever to finish a book so it was fun to have so much time to read without any interruptions. (even though I love my sweet little interruptions) It was such a relaxing day and weekend besides the really BAD sunburn I got on my legs. It was a good thing I went with the long dress instead of the short because my legs looked like lobster legs.

Chris and I got lots of rest and were able to spend some sweet time together.

God works in amazing ways!

It is always amazing to me how God works in ways that you could have never imaged, how he uses people you would have never thought he would use, how situations work themselves out and sometimes you see a glimpse of the reason behind it. God did some of those amazing things this week and I am so grateful. God's ways, ideas, and plans are always better than ours. It makes since to Him when it doesn't to us, he see the entire picture when we only see a piece. God can use people in your life to encourage you that you never thought he would, he can take painful circumstances and use them to reveal himself. I'm grateful that I serve a God who knows more than me, who knows whats is best for me more than I do, who sees the whole picture, who works all things together for good, who amazes me daily with how he works things out in our life. It has been a good week for me, God has been moving on my heart and I have heard him speak. I believe God speaks, maybe I can hear him now, because I started listening!

"B" Week

Well "B" week turned into 3 weeks of "B" since our air conditioner went out and Mommy was slightly distracted. So here are the Brothers and their Busy weeks of "B"!

We went to Burger King wearing our Blue shirt to have a Burger!

We went with our friends Becca and her mommy Brylyn!

Bubba and Becca played with the Balls

I found these great BIG Balloons that the Boys had a Blast with!

We had a Beary special Breakfast: Bacon, Boat and Butterfly shaped waffles, Blue juice box, Berries, Banana, and Syrup (even though that doesn't start with a B)

It was fun and we did lots of B things. The Boys took Bubble Baths and found each other's Belly Buttons, they watched Bob the Builder and Barney, Carter rode his Bike, we counted Black Beans, practiced writing the letter B, went to Bahama Bucks for a snow cone, it was a great couple of weeks with the letter B.

Check back next week for "C" week!

A light at the end of this Tunnel!

Today is Chris' first day back at school. Today is the first day of his LAST semester. I still remember the night he came home and told me he really felt like he needed to go back to school. As much as I agreed with him I was terrified of how we would do it. Originally we thought it would only take 3 semesters but because of scheduling issues he now into his 5th and last semester. Every semester I can remember thinking, "Is this ever going to be over?" Well I think it is really going to happen. I think the end is coming and I am so excited! There is a light at the end of this tunnel and I can finally see it, Praise God!

"A" Week

I have really been praying about how I need to be mothering Carter! He can be difficult, stubborn, strong willed, and exhausting but on the other hand he is sweet, affectionate, and loves to be a helper. He craves attention and it is easy for me to get caught up in the business of my day and not stop long enough to give him that one on one attention he is begging for. Now don't get me wrong I don't think that as a stay at home mom my job is to be my children's playmates. I think I am here to be there mother, take care of our home, and serve this family. So I have been asking God to show me simple and easy ways to give Carter more of my time without it interfering with everything else I have to take care of. And this is what God brought me too! After spending an afternoon in conversation with God about Carter and different ways to show him love and attention I ran across another mother's blog and loved her ideas. She picked a letter each week and revolved their food, activities, and crafts around that letter. I loved the idea and thought it seemed simple enough. It has been a great way for me to be intentional about teaching, loving, and spending purposeful time with Carter. So last week was our first week and our letter was "A".

Carter started off "A" week with an AMAZING "A" shaped breakfast.

Carter also got to go visit our AWESOME neighbor ANDY for "A" week!

(each week we are going to visit someone we know that's name starts with the letter of the week)

Loved this idea from another blogger, Muffin Tin Munchies!

APPLESAUCE with ANTS (chocolate sprinkles), ALIEN eyes (cucumbers and tomatoes), AN AIRPLANE sandwich, ANIMAL crackers, APPLES, AND ANTS on a log (chocolate chips, peanut butter, and a banana)

AND A pizza with AN ALIEN cup full of APPLE juice

It was A great week AND Carter enjoyed all of his "A" foods and making AIRPLANES, talking about ARMY men and so much more. Come back next week to check out what fun things we do for the letter "B".