2 years

I can't believe that on Wednesday, it will have been 2 years since Granny died. Sometimes, it still hits me out of nowhere like it's the first time for me to hear the news. This year, I have decided to take the week and do a little something each day in her honor--things I know she would have enjoyed or encouraged. Here's the plan . . .

Sunday (yesterday) - Gifts from Granny contributed to a lunch that fed the working homeless at Our House Shelter here in Little Rock. Caroline and I were able to help serve the lunch. It's always such a blessing and a great reminder that, in the words of Granny, "but, for the grace of God, that could be me." If you have any interest in volunteering or donating to Our House, click here--it's a great organization!

Monday - after school today, I'm taking the kids to Community Bakery and getting cookies. One of Granny's favorite things to do when she was in town was take the kids for an after school snack. We would pick her up from Mom and Dad's and she would walk out to the car with her red wallet in hand. I can still see her stopping after she opened the door to say hi to each kid individually before hoisting herself up into the suburban.

Tuesday - Sascha and I are going to visit my Grandma at the nursing home while the other 3 are in school. Granny was always so good about visiting people who were sick or in the hospital or the nursing home. Gifts for Granny will be doing some sort of donation this week regarding nursing homes . . . stay tuned!

Wednesday - JOSH'S BIRTHDAY!!! We laughed (and cried) that Granny would have kicked herself if she realized that she was going to die on Josh's birthday. He may have been her favorite of everyone. Even if he wasn't the absolute favorite, they definitely had a great bond and relationship and kept each other laughing. After one of her surgeries, she confided in him some of the hallucinations she was having because of the pain meds and they told that story over and over again afterwards. Wednesday, because of her absolute adoration of Josh, I will honor her by focusing on celebrating him. I cannot imagine how mad she would be if she thought we skipped loving on him each year to mourn her. So, Wednesday, we will party. And go out to eat, because Granny loved to go out to eat for a celebration!

Thursday - One of things that Josh and I have been working on this year is converting his office to a guest room. With 4 kids and the crazy schedule that we have, it has taken us a while because it has had to be done in a few hours here and there. We are using a lot of furniture and accessories that I kept from Granny's house--in fact, they come from the room where I slept all of my life at her house (at least until we had too many kids to fit in there). As we have envisioned the guest room coming together, we made a decision that we want it to be more than just a place to hang during tornadoes (although it will be great for that) and not just a fun place for the kids to have sleepovers or even just for friends and family when they visit (but, please, friends and family, come!!). We want to be able to use it for other things too . . . Rwandan college students over the summer, birth mothers who need a place to stay until their baby is born, as well as other thoughts and hopes and ideas. It is perfect that Granny's furniture will be in there because Granny cared for people. At one point, she and my grandfather moved their family out of their own house and into her mom's house for a period of time to let a young couple live there. Pop and Granny were the picture of generosity. So, Thursday, I will be working on getting that room ready for visitors.

Friday and Saturday are still in progress.

You can be sure that this week there will be tears and laughter and reflection. I know that not everyone can understand why she left such a void for me . . . not everyone had a Granny who was also an amazing friend and example. But, I was lucky and I don't want to forget all that I gleaned from her for 33 years.

Feel free to click over to GFG if you haven't ever done so and read more about her and the legacy I am trying to continue and honor. And check back there later this week for the latest gift.

Tuesday Tidbits

So . . . here are a few things going on around the Bass house

*Tru's team won it's second game in a row and Tru scored his first run!

*I missed this, however, because I was with Bo at soccer practice watching him chase his shadow and drive his coach to the brink (Coach Chad kept his cool and was very patient, but I wouldn't be surprised if he feels the need to resort to some coping mechanism every Monday evening.)

*Sascha has become VERY interested in discussing the anatomy that separates boys from girls (or gearls, as she calls them). She will not hesitate to ask a boy (or man) if "dey hab a paintis". And she has asked if she used to have one when she was a boy. Hmmmm. Anyone want to analyze that? Yeah, me neither.

*Praise the Lord, Caroline's science project was turned in today and there were only 2 tearful incidents. If you ever want to know about cookie sheets and their predicted cookie outcome regarding time and/or appearance, Caroline is your girl. I'm just a little proud that we found a science project that involved making 3 dozen chocolate chip cookies.

*I backed into our mailbox again. In my defense, there was a neighborhood boy on a motor scooter zooming up and down our street and I was worried about hitting him. Obviously, I need to find a way to worry about hitting all objects and not focus on one.

*In the amount of time that it took me to type those 5 things, Sascha has tattooed herself with a smiley face stamp. (My leg may or may not have a few of its own as well . . . )

Happy Tuesday!

every second

i am in one of those seasons right now that is demanding every second of my day and when i fall exhausted onto my pillow, i have to allow myself some grace when i realize that the checklist is not completely checked off.

this blog has been one of the victims of this momentary time warp. and i hate it because 1) if i don't write it here, i may not remember it and 2) this is sort of an outlet for me--a chance to express myself and be myself.

but, baseball, soccer, karate, dance, dance, therapies and school are demanding. and 4/6 of those we CHOSE so i am also CHOOSING not to complain. it is fun to see my kids excel and develop--to watch bo get a little more in tune with the game of soccer and less in tune with making shadow puppets on the field . . . to see sascha interact with kids around her age and practice some self control as she twirls to "you are my sunshine" at "balyay" . . . to hear the ping of the bat when tru connects with the ball . . . to watch his confidence soar with each karate lesson . . . to spend time with caroline on dance trips and build into our relationship all the while watching her get better and better at dance--these are things i am happy to be exhausted watching.

the reality of literally needing to be in 3 places at one time while josh is working or out of town has worn on me some, i won't lie.

i am sometimes a little better at being a mom when i am busy too. maybe it's the fact that i am constantly pleading with God to help me or the lack of time for selfish ambitions and endeavors keeps me focused, but my house is a little neater and the tv shows a little scarcer and i am pretty ok with that.

the only thing that is making me panic and catching my emotions is that my time with bo is dwindling. my bo bo starts kindergarten very soon. and we all know that summer will race by and then he will be forever a part of that daily separation that leads to graduation and college (what, dramatic? me? noooo). i love my bo bo. he is a great little buddy to have around and i don't want to let him go.

so, heads up to you all, i am a little clingy with him some days because he is the best cuddler i know and i am soaking up every second i can get with him between now and mid-august.

My cute little Easter bunnies

I have a bit of the writer's block, but here are my cute little peanuts before church . . .

Piper

I stumbled across a blog a few weeks ago and fell instantly in love with the Needham family. I felt this connection because they live in Athens (my college stomping grounds) and because we have some people in common.

I wish that I could tell you that what I was drawn to was the pictures of their girls at parks I remember or restaurants I frequented or with Harry Dawg between the hedges.

Instead, I found a heart breaking story laced with hope and tears and love and devotion to God like I have never seen. The Needhams are the parents of 2 beautiful girls. The younger, Piper, was diagnosed with leukemia at 3 months. Three. Months. That time in life when sleeping through the night seems possible again was, instead, filled with sleepless nights of a whole other, awful, unimaginable kind.

Recently, Piper relapsed for the 3rd time in her 2 1/2 year life. As you can imagine, the doctors had realistic fears. Leukemia 3 times in less than 3 years obviously means the cancer was of the most aggressive kind. Their precious little family of 4 packed up and moved to Memphis to try a radical treatment that would possibly be Piper's last option for defeating the cancer.

I am heartbroken to say that Piper found her healing in the arms of Jesus this week, not in the arms of her mommy. For the first time in too long, her body was whole and cancer free. Her mother has chronicled their journey with such raw, beautiful honesty, that I cannot do it justice. I am utterly smitten with this family and have weeped each day that I have read her posts. To love God as easily and carelessly as she does during an unspeakable time of pain and grief and hurt and when many would say she would have every right to be angry with God and question His very existence to allow such suffering on a baby is exquisite and amazing and inspiring. She does not sugar coat it or give the"right answers" for a Christian. She mourns and hurts and hates the cancer and aches for healing, but she does it with an amazing balance of serenity and faith. Again, I am selling her short.

Lift them up to the Lord with me. Pray for their peace and the ability to just breathe today. You would do well to click this link, scroll back on the blog as far as you can, and be changed by this family. I know I have been.

Oh, Monday

Well, I am ticked off. Neither the housekeeper, the cook, or the nanny showed up today. And apparently, they left last night without reloading the dishwasher. I am seriously considering firing them.

Ha.

Don't get me wrong, I love being a stay at home mom and housewife. I am thankful that I can do that. BUT . . . some days I look around and think, "Well, shoot. I'm kind of sick of laundry and dishes and the kind of pain that can only come from stepping on a stray lego or dino or transformer."

And let's be honest, I struggle leaving my kids places, so staying home with them is the only thing I would want to do, but monotony is, well, monotonous. I love how my friend, Aimee, put it on her blog description: "I love that I get to be home with my kids, but let's face it, that can be tough. No day is the same yet every day is exactly alike (that makes sense, ask any mom at home)."


 We had a great weekend, despite the snafu of plans due to Sascha's fever virus. I have said it to several friends and my parents, but it bears repeating, Sascha with a fever is delightful. It wasn't high enough to make her miserable, just mellow her out. FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER I DID NOT HAVE TO CHASE HER OFF OF THE SOCCER FIELD DURING A GAME. Yes, EVER, I am not exaggerating. Girl has been Houdini-ing herself out of strollers and laps for seasons! Saturday, she curled up in my lap or played quietly with my parents. She didn't hit anyone all day or stomp her feet and yell, "NO!" Is it terrible that I was sad when she woke up today fever free? And. She. Is. Back.


Love her. 


In other Monday type news, there is something very suspicious going on in our silverware drawer. We received all of our silverware in sets when we got married . . . you know, a knife, a big spoon, a regular spoon, a dinner fork and a dessert fork. I can't remember the exact number we ended up with, but the balance is WAY OFF. I think, somehow, the big forks are kidnapping the other 4 silverwares and turning them into big forks. I am serious. I now have almost more big forks than I can fit in their slot, yet the others are dwindling to the point that I had to buy some more knives. Literally, there are twice as  many big forks as spoons. Where is my silverware going?! Has the sock monster grown tired of socks and moved onto silverware?

And my final confession/bemoaning . . . I didn't win. I ran out Friday night to pick up pizza for the fam and Josh called and asked me to pick up a lottery ticket for the 600 and something MILLION DOLLAR lottery. I have never bought a lottery ticket before, not because I am against it, but because I would rather waste my money on Diet Dr. Pepper or trash magazines like US and People. At least they give me something. I know the cashier thought I was an idiot because I had to ask the people behind me which lottery ticket I wanted and THEN I had to promise to give them some for their help if I won. That was fine, because, I reasoned, what in the world was I going to do with that much money . . . even after taxes. And then I thought about buying one more and sending it to the government--how's that for debt reduction? But, alas, I am not a millionaire, hence the maid and the cook and the nanny will not be coming, so I guess the only person left to move those clothes to the dryer is me.

Happy Monday, y'all! I guess waking up to a Monday is, as my Granny would say, "better than the alternative."