Sometimes it takes a baby . . .

So, this year my Christmas letter is by blog only. I lost my address list and have been running a week behind all month . . . so this is the best I can do. I managed to send out some cards, but am at least 25 short of what I usually send out (by what my poor brain can recall) . . . some years you hit a homerun and some years you are just happy to be on the team. This year it's the latter for me.

2012 has been full. Sometimes that's good and sometimes that fullness has felt heavy. One commitment that I made as our family grew was that I would be intentional about making sure each child felt as important as if they were the only one we had--programs, activities, birthdays, etc. Somedays I do better than others, but the older they get, the more complex this commitment gets. But even when it's hard, it's always a privilege to fall into bed exhausted each day trying to accomplish it.

Without further ado, here is a quick summary of why we are so blessed and so tired:

Caroline - 10 (still going on 20) - Caroline is still dancing, dancing, dancing. She is up to 5 days a week now and loving it. We are about to launch into our 3rd competitive season and she is really excited because this year she has added a duet and a solo to her list. Caroline started middle school this year at Pulaski Academy (my alma mater). One would think that middle school plus a new school might cause stress and be traumatic, but Caroline has jumped in with such excitement and loved every single second of it! She has made some amazing friends, cheered for the 5th grade football team and mastered changing classes and having a locker. It's crazy to think that I have middle schooler. As parents, we could NOT be more thrilled with her teachers and the administration and school. It's one thing to love a school as a student, but to be back as a parent and realized it IS as wonderful as I remembered is really special.

Tru - 8 - I guess about this time last year, we were really just starting the eye saga. Our sweet Tru Bud has been diagnosed with a couple of eye conditions/diseases that I never spell or pronounce correctly, but basically mean he has to wear hard contacts everyday. Oh the pain and tears shed trying to get the contacts in and out and train his eyes to tolerate them. But, trooper that he is, Tru has persevered and now prefers them most days because he can see better! In more fun news, Tru is taking Karate and has moved up to a Green Belt. He loves for us to drop him off and tell him to kick bootie. (Because he literally gets to and what kid doesn't giggle at that word?!) My favorite thing that Tru has done this year is discover his love for movie making. Using his iPod touch, he plans out a "story line" and then uses his Legos and an app to make short movies. They are surprisingly entertaining and usually come with a belly laugh from him.

Bo - 6 - Bo started kindergarten this year. It still makes my heart ache to type that. I miss his hugs every day. He has done well--better than we imagined he would given some of his sensory issues. He has an amazing teacher who has fallen in love with him and (thankfully) is a hugger (or at least doesn't mind that he needs a lot of them). One day I will do a post that explains more about the way Bo was fearfully and wonderfully made, but he is doing so well. Bo played soccer in the spring and was way more interested in chasing shadows and grasshoppers than the ball, but he had a great time doing it and loved his soccer uniform! This fall, his activities are school and occupational and speech therapies. He loves his therapists so much that he sees going as a treat for him, not hard work (although he does work hard). We are so proud of his perseverance and so proud of his love for and success at reading. I get such a thrill hearing him read not just books, but also sound out street signs and billboards as we drive.

Sascha - 4 - Well. Where to start with Sassy. She is . . . unique, fun, challenging, sweet, spirited. She is 100% her and I would not recommend crossing her :) Sascha is also dancing and this year we are letting her compete in a mini-company that will do a couple of local competitions. She LOVES dance and begs to go everyday. I canNOT wait to see those little bits on stage--she will do one lyrical (sweet and angelic dance) and one hip hop wearing sunglasses, a bomber jacket and combat boots. Tell me you are not also DYING to see that! We are working on channeling her, um, stubbornness towards good. We know that God created her just the way she is and we know that He has big plans for her. Somedays I wish I was more like her, to be honest. :)

Josh - Josh is still selling drugs (that's how Tru describes his job). He is really, really good at it too. This year, he has received several accolades from his VP, placed top 5 in a national contest over the summer, and became a field trainer. Josh's boss is very into physical fitness and that has launched Josh's love of running and exercising to a new level. Last month, his precious grandfather, Babe, died and we had the privilege of celebrating his life and legacy with Josh's family and their hometown.

Rachel - I am trying to set a record for how many miles I can put on the Suburban each week. (Total, our hunk of junk has 170,000). I have started working again, doing a few contract things from home, but in January I fo real go back to work doing marketing for Chick Fil A. Have cow, will travel is my new motto. I am excited and nervous at the same time . . . I am happy to use my brain and talk to adults and I think that I will be pretty good at this, but adding something else to my very full plate is a bit overwhelming. I know that God dropped this opportunity in my lap though, so I know that He will give me everything I need to accomplish it all.

And really, isn't that true for everything? He gives us all we need for this life. And He knows what we need . . . not just because He's God (although that is definitely enough), but also because He was man. He lived here for 33 (or so) years and KNOWS what we go through. He was tempted and hurt just like us. God could have delivered us however He wanted to. He could have sent Jesus as a man and allowed Him to have a brief ministry and then save us. He could have chosen NOT to save us. But in His infinite wisdom, He chose to send a baby. Because there is something about a baby that softens even the hardest of hearts and most cynical of cynics. There is something about a baby that heals wounds and starts the mending of relationships. The newness of life. The promise of a future. The innocence and wash of love. There is just something about a baby. Glory to the newborn king. Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled.

Merry Christmas to all of you! We hope that you have a wonderful 2013!

Lots of love,
The Bass Family

Sascha, Bo, Tru, (cousin) Davis, and Caroline

sometimes words fail

have you ever just stared and stared at something, willing it to be different?

i have found myself staring at the computer or my phone many times today hoping and praying that what i see will change.

there is a girl . . . i guess we are women, but whatever . . . there is a precious woman named sarah who is in an icu bed in austin, texas fighting for her life. her 3 children (the youngest turned 2 this week) are at home with grandparents missing their mommy. her friends and parents are holding prayerful, vigilant watch by her bed. and many of us who know her through so and so or from this or that are staring at our phones and computers waiting for updates. we are all begging God to let this be a Christmas miracle. we are baffled that this could be for good. we are aching for her family and close friends.

please join all of us and pray for sarah henry. pray for God to intervene. pray for a miraculous healing. pray for Him to be the Prince of Peace in this situation. fall on your knees and beg that her 3 children will be spared the pain of losing their mother. nothing is too big for God.

Babe

I was 21 the first time I met Babe. My Pop had been gone for a little over 3 years and I hugged Babe's neck a little tighter than I might have for a first time hug because he smelled just like Pop. I, along with everyone else who ever met Babe, was instantly smitten with him. He had an ease about him, a familiarity even if you had just met; he abounded in kindness and had a laugh that was so contagious I snicker now just thinking about it. And oh could he tell a story.

Tom White was a legend in his own time. The kind of man they write about. The kind of man a small town named 2 things after because he was that special and that influential. To us kids, he was known as Babe, the grandfather that handed out money and Sprite and wisdom. To much of Moultrie, Georgia, he was known as Coach. A lover of football and education, Babe invested in so many and no one was a bigger Colquitt County Packer fan. The Packers are pretty big fans of him too, naming their beloved football field after their beloved Coach. And up until about 8 years ago, if Babe wasn't talking football, he was talking running. Josh says much of his childhood was spent with Nonnie and Babe at road races that Babe couldn't get enough of. The man ran the Peachtree 10K on the 4th of July every summer until his legs literally couldn't carry him. You could be sure to find several pairs of running shoes by the back door . . . and even more sure that they would be full of baby powder. About 13 years ago, the town of Moultrie put in a running trail, and to Babe's great surprise and delight, named it for him. The man is an institution in South Georgia.

Nonnie will tell you that she fell in love with Babe in the 2nd grade. And she has loved him ever since. She caught his eye after the war and they have remained quite the pair. They honestly had the kind of love you usually only read about. I never heard them really use a cross word with each other. And all over the house are notes from him to her tucked away or taped to a mirror. Nonnie has cared faithfully for Babe over the last several years that he has been sick. And Saturday night, her grandsons moved a recliner next to his bed so she could keep vigil comfortably. In sickness and in health, 'til she was was generous enough to release him so only death could part them.

No child ever went without shoes or a coat if Babe caught wind of it. No person was ever treated as less than. No one ever walked in his door without being greeted and attended to. Babe was a generous soul. A lover of God and faithful servant. He and Nonnie raised 4 wonderful children who have given back to him in this time without a second thought. Beth and John live in town and have been there lovingly caring for him in every way imaginable. Mike visits faithfully from close by, and Ann (who lives in Valdosta) even bought a house across the street so she could be more available to help. They would all tell you it's been their greatest privilige.

Early this morning, Babe took his last labored breath. I honestly believe he entered into glory wearing a new pair of Nikes (pronounced as if it rhymes with yikes, by the way). I can imagine him running through the streets of gold, free from the body that had failed him. I am quite sure he has held an audience with the saints and told them some great stories, maybe a few of them knew enough to call "George" on him every now and then. Most of all, I am convinced that he heard our God greet him, "Well done, good and faithful servant" because there have been few better or more faithful than he.

Babe, thanks for loving me as one of your own all these years. I am a better person for having known you and been taught by you. I always think of you when I run and I look forward to a day when we can run together. Your legacy and your love will go on and we can never thank you enough for being who you were. I love you, Babe, and I count it a true honor to have called you grandfather for the last 15 years.

Bo Bo

2 weeks ago we celebrated our sweet, sweet Bo Bo. This post has been in my head and heart for the last 14 days, I am just not in a daily blog place . . . wish I were.

Anywho, we had a blast celebrating him! He is 150% into superheroes . . . Batman and Spiderman in particular. So we took a chance on a nice Arkansas, fall day and booked a pavilion at a local park. Thank the Lord the day was BEAUTIFUL and the kids ran around on the playground and fought off bad guys. I had this really cute idea to have Josh or Caroline steal the cake and let the kids fight them with silly string for it, but I got a mild case of stage fright and it wasn't pulled off quite the way I imagined it. Oh well. The kids loved the park and the cake and that's all that matters!!

Then, on Thursday, we woke Bo up singing Happy Birthday and gave him his presents from us along with the traditional Bass family donut breakfast. His presents were ALL Spiderman themed and he was pretty darn happy about it!

I checked that angel out for lunch (at 10:15, because that is his lunch, so really, I checked him out for brunch!) and we met my parents at Cracker Barrel . . . he had planned his birthday lunch 6 weeks earlier!! Can you even stand how cute he is?

Finally, some therapy and Razorback Pizza and one more Spiderman cupcake and this birthday boy was worn out and ready for bed!

Oh. My. Heart.

Sweet Bo, you are such a light in our family. You have passion and joy that are hard to contain. I am so thankful I get to me your mommy. You have taught me so much about perseverance and functioning even under less than ideal circumstances. I am so proud of how hard you work in therapy to learn how to express yourself and to overcome your sensory issues. Mrs Lauren and Mrs Natalie are always bragging on you.

I can't believe that you are 6 years old and in kindergarten! I am blown away with how well you are adjusting and doing. You are so smart and a great reader and Mrs. Shelton says that you work hard to please and do the right thing. I love the way you bound out of bed every morning, ready to tackle the day with that great smile on your face. It melts my heart.

I know that God has great things for you. You win hearts over left and right and dive head first into what is asked of you. I cannot wait to see the man he has created you to be . . . and each step along the way thrills me too!

Looking at the picture of us in your bed cuddling reminds me of another thing I am grateful for . . . as I learn more and more about the way God made you, I am SO incredibly thankful that He allowed you to need hugs and snuggles to ease your sensory issues. What a gift to know that my touch actually benefits you . . . your touch is also soothing and comforting to me. A hug from you can turn my day around.

Bo, we are so so glad you are our Bo Bass and are so incredibly proud of you. Happy 6th Birthday!!!

I love you to pieces!

Life

we have been under the weather for weeeeeeks now and i'm not gonna lie--i'm so sick of it, i have lost the ability to use proper grammar and capitalization.

we've gone from the great cough of 2012 to two rounds of strep to the WORST sinus infection/cold I have ever heard josh have (there are animals from near and really, really far who have heard his nose blowing and thought they were being wooed to mate). now caroline has some stomach bug-like thing that i think i may have had over the weekend . . . no. fun.

so--in order to NOT bum yall out with my sob story and pity party, here is a link to a blog i wrote for our church's women's blog. i meant it back in the spring when i wrote it . . . and yesterday, i chuckled when i read it because i needed the reminder right. then. too.

Enough blog link

So . . . .

So . . . remember that post where I told you I was done with facebook and asked you all to subscribe to my blog?

Yeah . . . apparently that's not so easy to do and I can't figure it out either.

And I realized that there are some other reasons that staying on facebook makes sense.

So . . . let's just pretend that I never wrote it and claim a woman's prerogative to change her mind.

On an unrelated note, I am a big fan of The Big Mama blog--see side bar for link--and I met one of her best friends last night which (of course) means that she and I are now friends. Or friends of friends. Or still total strangers. (Or maybe I just seem creepy now since I readily admitted to him that I preordered her book.)

A Favor

So . . . I started reading this book called Happier At Home. It's by the lady who wrote the Happiness Project and it's not so much about reaching a happiness goal as it is finding ways to be happier where ever you find yourself in life. I'm not finished with the book (or that goal), but so far, I would totally recommend it. And I am finding out some stuff about myself--good and bad . . . I am discovering that as much as I feel accomplished by the multitasking (and I am proud of my binder and laminated daily lists and all), I actually like things simpler. I have declared Tuesdays to be no activity days and instead we play at our house, outside, with neighbors, have a friend over, and (most importantly) eat together as a complete family at a reasonable hour and have time for games or conversation. It's my new favorite day of the week. And I have started my fall cleaning and baffled Josh by my giddiness over empty drawers in the kitchen. (It means we don't have junk we don't need crowding the drawers. Happy sigh.)

By now, you are either bored. Or done. Or wondering why I am telling you all of this. (Again) And I DO have a point. I took a 3 day Facebook fast and guess what I discovered? Facebook stresses me out. Not all of the time . . . just when I read that 16 people on my feed have barfing kids and 23 have kids with other illnesses. Or when I see a post that thanks everyone for their birthday wishes and I know that I never got back on to say Happy Birthday. Or when I sit in carpool line and read post after post when I could be working on something productive and I wish I had that 25 minutes back. Facebook is a great thing, but when I reflected over the last few days, my blog was the only real reason that I had for not taking (yet another, I know) official break from it.

Hence, this post title--A Favor. I know (because google gives me blog stats) that MOST of you lovely readers click on my blog from my Facebook link. And I am grateful. But, I want to keep blogging without still FBing, so . . . would it be a huge imposition if we let technology work for us both? If you will subscribe to this blog (to the right of the post), instead of seeing it on FB, a link will show up by email. I want to continue giving you useless information, sharing shameless updates about my brood and pushing my agendas on you (hahahaha), but I also want to shut down my facebook for now.

Why not just ignore fb, you ask (or maybe you don't, but I'm going to answer as if you did)? Because I am personality defunct. I am unable to because what if someone might have asked me something by message or post and I am letting them down by not answering. I have some perfectionist in me and just have to be all or nothing about some things, so I guess I am choosing nothing for now.

So just to humor myself, I will leave this on my wall for a few days before bidding adieu to the great book of faces. And, until I return, happy birthday and congratulations and I'm so happy or sad or excited or bummed for whatever you share there!!