With Arms Wide Open

With arms wide open
Under the sunlight
Welcome to this place
I'll show you everything
With arms wide open
Now everything has changed
I'll show you love
I'll show you everything
With arms wide open
With arms wide open
I'll show you everything..oh yeah
With arms wide open....wide open
                                            --CREED

With all of the travelling and raccoon chasing, I've been a bit behind and feel awful that I have not gotten up my Father's Day post to my sweet and wonderful husband.  And he's been so patient with me, when I get uptight and stressed about all that is going on, trying to tie together loose ends, he makes it a point to get together as a family even for a few moments and just enjoy some good times.  Whether it is playing the Ducks game, blasting James Taylor on the radio while we crank out some sad white-boy moves, tapping the little white dimpled ball around the house, watching Thomas and Rosie go around and around and around on their track, he alwasy reminds me that family is where it's at.

Andy, you are an amazing husband, more than I could ever hope for or dream of.  Your passion explodes and your excitement for life screams.  The day I saw you become a father, I melted into an irreparable gooey mess. The way you took our 3-hour old screaming, little girl into your hands, flipped her onto her side instantly calming her was magic.  To see your heart pour out to her and your life be devoted to her was magic.  From that day on, I depended on you in a whole new way that I could never imagine I'd need.

And throughout the days and weeks to come, I depended on you even more and more.  Through all of the tough times, you sang to her, like I couldn't.  You rocked and shushed and walked her while I sat on the couch sobbing and spinning. 

From that day forward, it was obvious that you were born to be a Father.  You'd protect, provide, love, shelter, teach, share, comfort and explore. 

Comfort during sickness

Explore new things

Adore wholeheartedly,

Share your greatest passions,

And enjoy the shrill excitement of a 2-year old over and over and over again without tiring, simply because that's what she wants to do.

And the night I saw you become a Father again, at 3:35 in the morning, was just as special. To know what a wonderful Daddy you already are and will become to your son.  Through swollen and tired eyes, a hungry stomach, and the desire to lay down on a soft plump pillow and drift off to dreamy land, you were there for all of us, to celebrate, be excited, run out to the car to get the forgotten camera, and make sure everyone was okay.

You are an incredible leader to our family

You remind us to have fun no matter the season of life

You teach us that love is about being there for each other. To slow down, to enjoy each quiet moment

You are always there for us. When we call out to you, you respond

You always manage to carve out moments for snuggles, no matter what is going on or how little time we 'seem' to have

You are an incredible man, a devoted father, an understanding husband.  I am so thankful to have you in my life. Each day, I am humbled and amazed that you chose me.

Your joy is contagious

and YOU AMAZE ME.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Happy Father's Day, a few days late. I love you.

*****************************************************************************

And to my own father, thank you, and Happy Father's Day.  You have taught me and endless amount.  I'll attempt to sum them up, briefly:

1. 
   
   Be honest. Keep my integrity in tact.
2. 
   
   Make my bed every day. A made bed feels better to get into than a wrinkled, cold, unmade one.
3. 
   
   How to do my own taxes.
4. 
   
   Be proud of what I've accomplished, but don't lose sight of what I can still attain.
5. 
   
   Speak with respect.
6. 
   
   Ice cream before bed. Always.
7. 
   
   Work before play. Work hard. Play hard. Enjoy.
8. 
   
   Family is number 1.
9. 
   
   Be patient and always listen.
10. 
    
    Dedication and loyalty pave the way.

Thank you for loving me so unconditionally.  You have shaped my world and who I am. I love you.

Rest Easy

Rest easy
Have no fear
I love you perfectly
Love drives out fear
I'll take your burden
You take my grace
Rest easy
In my embrace
                -- AUDIO ADRENALINE

In the midst of awful, horrible, gut wrenching, knee weakening frustration, confusion, and fear of raccoons invading our home, we are so very thankful for our wonderful family.  For the past several weeks we have been battling the mother raccoon in our attic, chimney, yard, everywhere. Each day she has been digging new holes throughout the house to get to her precious little babies to supply them food.  I sure wish some people would fight so hard for their babies as this raccoon does.  But that's beside the point. 

We have been living in misery for the past few weeks fighting not only the raccoon to try to keep her from ravaging our home more, but also pest control people who were doing the not-so-good (okay, wrong) things to keep this raccoon out.  Each day, more damage occurred. Each day, I felt sicker and sicker. 

No matter how much damage was done outside our home, joy overflowed inside from our beaming little ones.  And each day, our lovelies continued to remind us of what truly matters.

Family. Snuggles. Raspberries on soft, silky smooth skin which produces a little shrill squeal of torturous excitement. Playtime. Laughtime. Reading time. "Up the hill time."  "Down the hill time."  "Close it eggs." Little feet that pitter-patter through the house calling out "Mommy? Daddy? Running fast?"

However, those same little pitter-pattering feet have others who love them dearly and would love to see them during such a stressful time in our house.  So, off to Grandmama's and Grandaddy's we go.  We packed up the bags while the kids napped and when they woke up, we revealed the new plans to them.  Cari's eyebrows popped up like the biggest rainbows you've ever seen during the worst storm. "Grandmama? Grandaddy? Unca Jay? Ashie? Mowwie? House?" She could not contain the slightest bit of excitement.  "Yes, honey, we are going to their house, and we are going to spend the night." She reached her hands way, way up into the air as far as her little fingers could stretch, then clasped them tightly against her sweet little pounding chest and exclaimed, "Sounds wike fun!!!"  Off we went. 

What would we do with out Grandmama and Grandaddy? We owe everything to them. We stayed and played, slept, ate, escaped the banging and crashing, ripping, and nashing of Momma Coon getting to her babies.  We ran after the dogs, carrying around our magic wands, waving them hard in the air, proclaiming "No more waccons! No more waccoons!"

Uncle Jay told great stories that had everyone captivated. I'm not quite sure what they were about, but he had the attention for a long time.

Ash was definitely asking some difficult questions and had everyone interested.

Lily, the super neighbor dog loved the story and was sure to say thank you.

And poor little Abby was left behind so Cari caught her up on all the great tales.

Molly is so energetic and loving. There is nothing like the love of a dog. No matter how down you are on yourself, she is always there to let you know that you definitely rule the world.  She gets so excited to be in your presence.

Sweet little Ashie. I think that says it all.

After returning home to check on the house and finding even more damage, we agreed to stay another night, and are forever indebted to Grandmama and Grandaddy for all they do for us.  We spent the next afternoon at the pool splashing around in the shower, slithering down the slide, and gliding along in the float. 

The slide was definitely Cari's favorite.  She would take a mad dash up the hill and if you weren't watching her at all moments.

She surely would have zipped down and around the curves with not an ounce of fear on her shoulders.

That is, until the lifeguards informed us that only one person can go down the slide at a time. Oops. It was fun while it lasted.  You could hear Cari's excitement booming throughout the pool side as she and Grandaddy slid and twisted down each nook of the slide to land with a giant splash in the end.

And you can never leave a pool without first standing in the shower to feel the little pellets slapping you on the cheeks, squinting your eyes as hard as you can so you can still see but not let any droplets in. Grandaddy, oh Grandaddy is smitten. He will stand there and pull that chain no matter how many times you ask.  He overflows of love, generosity, and charity.

On the way in to the house, we stopped to take a peek at the little birdlings that are hatching in the front yard. Oh, how I wish we were raising little birdlings instead of little coons, but coons we must.  Look at their little beaks and the feathers spewing out from their head as they call to their mommies for food.  So absolutely precious.

And nothing tops the day like a bowlful of Grandmama's homemade ice cream. Enjoying a little ice cream goodness, picnic style, family style.

Thank you so so so so SO very much, Grandmama and Grandaddy. We really don't know how we would have made it through this weekend without you.  We are truly in awe of your love and generosity towards your children and your grandchildren. Thank you. We love you dearly.

Mr. Big Stuff

Mr. Big Stuff
Who do you think you are?
Mr. Big Stuff
You're never always gonna get my heart.
                                         -- JEAN KNIGHT

My little fella is 6 months old today. I cannot believe we are already sitting here on the evening that my son was born 6 whole months ago.  Time is flying by faster than I ever imagined it would.  The second time around doesn't just fly, it vanishes.  I am so proud to be Chad's mommy. I am so thankful he entered our family to fill us with his love, his snuggles, his delight.

In honor of his turning 6 months today, I thought I'd give a quick list of his 6 favorite things, in no particular order (after #1, of course):

#1 Mommy. Mommy. Mommy. Mommy.

#2 Being wrapped up snug as a bug in a rug.

#3 Eating. Thank you, Gerber, Thank you.

#4 Tickles from Daddy.

#5 Getting all sudsed up in the bathtub and having his hair put into loop-di-loops.  Okay, so maybe that part is Mommy's favorite, but he still enjoys it. (Those eyelashes are also one of Mommy's favorites!)

#6 Any possible way to be close to his sister.

And his honorary favorite, because everything has an honorary, right? Really, this kid likes too many things, as long as Mommy is around while he's doing them.  Toes.

Happy six months, little fella. You fill my life like I can't even describe.  You fill our family with joy, with love, with laughter, with cuteness, and still often times, with screaming.  But you are a light. You are hope and excitement.  I hope the next 6 months do not fly by as quickly as the first 6 did, but I'm sure they will.  We'll make memories, tell stories, experience new things, and grow closer than ever.  We love you.

Too much fun

Too much fun? What's that mean?
It's like too much money, there's no such thing,
It's like a girl too pretty, with too much class,
Being too lucky, a car too fast,
No matter what they say I've done
I ain't never had too much fun.
                             -- DARYLE SINGLETARY

What do you do on a super hot, humid Saturday in Georgia on the weekend before the pools open up? You open up one yourself! That's what you do! And that's what we did.  We pulled out the blowup backyard squishy pool, lugged the garden hose across the yard and loaded it up.  Thinking shade would be nice and protective, we picked the perfect little covered spot on the top of the hill, gathered our beach toys, now known as pool toys, tossed them in, and splashed right along.  Until......we realized how cold that garden hose water is!! BRRRRRR....  Poor Cari didn't even want to sit down.

But have no fear, her Daddy knows just the way to get her warmed up and used to those ice chips slapping her little legs, somehow strangely forcing little giggles out in the midst of cries that seemed to say, "why is this so much fun??" Because you love your Daddy to peices, and he loves you to even more peices.  And no matter what happens, he always seems to make you laugh.

Even Chad got a kick out of the squeals arising from his big sister.  He's a bit more of an observer than a hopper-inner like his sister, so we let him sit on the sidelines for a while so he could see how much fun the pool truly is. He sure did have a blast.

Mommy is a bit of a kinder spirit and would rather sit with Cari and dig water up out of the pool in the teeny sand buckets and count how many dips it takes to remove every drop from the pool. 

Time for little Chaddy-Chad to take his first dip in the pool.  Not too sure of this, looking into the eyes he trusts the most asking the peircing question, "Will I be okay? Am I okay?" Not knowing that in just a couple of years he'll be plowing through the yard breaking every blade of grass, blazing a trail to get there as soon as he can, to dive in head first with his forarms skidding on the bottom of the pool getting bruised by every bump of unevenness in the ingrowing grass. He trusts. He believes. And he goes in.

It didn't take him long to realize how amazing the pool really is. Especially with his lovely and energetic sister by his side to encourage him on.  We *tried* to create a zero-entry pool for him. Give him the low side, give Cari the 'deep' end of the pool and they are both happy.  Well, not really. There just isn't a flat spot that exists in our back yard, so this is what we had.  However, notice there isn't really any water on the upper end of the pool.  That's not much fun.  Sitting wet on blue plastic.  Hmm.  Change of plans - we haul it up to the deck where there is still shade, but at least it is flat.

Cari's favorite part was filling the pool with the garden hose.  She held out her little green bucket for Daddy to fill with the hose, and then she'd dump the bucket into the pool.  She is such a little helper. We'd still be there now, if we let her fill the entire pool that way. 

Once again, Daddy took advantage of the fun and the giggles that emerge.  That's not the pool, Daddy-o, that's Cari!

Proof that Daddy loves it too.

That fresh garden hose water was once again freezing cold.  All the warmth we collected out in the yard was dismissed and we loaded up the pool again with the icy goodness.  Cari's legs show the coldness.  She still insisted on standing, no sitting for this little bee. By this point, I do believe her little teeth were chattering. But she simply refused to get out. Besides, she had worked so hard to get the water into the pool.

And as any great little girl would do, she must take the honorary swig of water from the hose.

We did attempt to get a timed family photo, which was not such a success.

Chad enjoyed all of the squinching and squealing from afar, bouncing up and down and up and down and jiggling his teeny little feet, crossing them left and right, every once in a while letting out a yelp of happiness.  So happy that he enjoys outdoors as much as his sister.

No matter how cold that water was, raging out of the hose, Cari was thoroughly disappointed that it stopped.  Where is it? Where did it go? What happened to the water?  Ahhh.....Miss Cari, I see the culprit. Yes, approaching the stairs..... 

Chad decided it was time for another dip into the ice bath. This time with much more confidence, knowing what was to come in those next few moments.

And it makes it that much sweeter when you having something bright, round, and yummy to munch on to rub those gums.  Not to mention cold, after sitting in the water for a while.

Cari's next feat was to fill the basket up with water. To fill our little sand buckets to the brim with water, and dump, dump, dump into the basket to fill it up.  She never understood why the water never rose any higher. We dipped and dumped for at least 20 minutes or more.  She never tires. Miss persistence.

When she finally realized that time was ticking and the basket was not filling up any more, she decided we should try to empty it using the same simple process. Dip water out of the basket, and dump into the pool.  After a good 10 minutes of this task, I asked her how much water was left in her basket. She picked it up to show it to me, and ta-da!!!! It was empty!!!! Boy was she SO proud of herself. My little worker. She never gives up.  Miss persisntence.

Time to turn in and prepare some nutritious grub for the hungrly little tummies growling away.  With my hands busy in the sink, chopping and stirring, I realized the silence that suddenly fell among the house.  Took a tour, and this is what I found.  Two boys, zonked.  Not 15 minutes after our pool extravaganza.

And when I say zonked, I mean ZONKED.

But, no, not Cari. She never tires. She carries on.  I found her watching pictures of herself slide by on the screen of her days at the beach.  The pool bringing up memories of "Cari's beach" last summer.  She never tires. She carries on. Miss persistence.

And the basket sits, waiting patiently, for the next afternoon of squeal packed fulfillment.