a little bit of the whirlwind

The last 2 weeks have been PACKED full tot he brim.  Our lives have been overflowing with love and hugs and good-byes.  Park dates and play dates and dinners with friends.  It's been truly bitter sweet.  I keep telling myself that the hurt is good because it means I put down roots.  The tears are evidence of life lived these last 3 years.

When I say crazy busy, what I mean is we've been doing something with someone both in the morning and in the afternoons.  We're home, maybe, for lunch and naps (when I've prepped dinner).  Thankfully, the weather's been great and we've had grand fun at parks.

There is no way for me to take the time I would like, or the blog-space, to share all the fun adventures we've had these last 2 weeks.  Before life gets crazier this last week before the movers come, though, I want to get a few pictures and descriptions out there for you.

One of our playdates was at the Cleveland Museum of Art.  I had no idea is was free or had a fabulous kid area.  Needless to say, I was a little sad to have found this gem just weeks before the move.  We met up with dear, sweet, Katherine and her momma, Brooke, my sweet friend I've built a relationship with over the last 3 years. My how we miss them!

We were able to get in 2 last dinners with these guys!  When we met, they lived 3 doors down and the little ones were only a few months old -- my how they've grown and oh my how I will miss the fun conversations and times shared with the lovely Jamie!

If you've been following the blog long, you'll know I have a friend from college who lives in Pittsburgh.  We found this wonderful HUGE park mid-way between us and planned a morning out to see each other one last time before the move.  It was great to see Leah (and her new baby boy) and for her girls to play with the boys.  They all had fun, and by all accounts slept the entire drive home!

With all the craziness, we're still managing to stop and have some special/slow time, too.  Rita's is great for that.

We had our last official playgroup.  Every other week (and sometimes every!) for the last 3 years we've seen these guys. I've done life and mothering with their moms and when I think of Ohio, I'm sure to immediately think of them as well.

We had 2 glorious times with these munchkins and their beautiful momma, Beth.  They don't like pictures, so this shot is rare!  We're going to miss their bubbly personalities and the fun  mommy/life conversations shared over good coffee.

And in any down time we're hanging out with these girls as much as possible.   I think the boys are going to go into serious withdrawal when we move.

Then this past weekend, our last full weekend in Ohio as a family (Scot's on-call next Saturday), we went all out.  Breakfast Saturday morning at Tommy's (free bear pancakes for the boys and delicious coffee for me!).  The Farmer's Market on the square.  A little shopping.  Playing at a new playground.  Sad but sweet good-byes at church.  Family reading time.  Purging of the attic.  Date night with Scot.  It's been great.  When I said earlier we were going to squeeze the life out of May I wasn't kidding!

Evan asked "the question"

Riding in the car, I get some pretty random questions.  Especially from Evan, who from the get-go has always been very inquisitive.  There must be something about car rides and looking out the window that gets him in a questioning mood.

Today was the day I've dreaded.

How I am I going to answer honestly and yet appropriately?  Will my answers be worded in such a way that he understands and doesn't ask more questions?

I was given advice once to know about and how much you want to say so when the time comes you can answer simply, and if questions continue you know your stopping point.  Thankfully, I took that advice to heart, so I knew a little about how I wanted to steer the conversation.  But I admit.  It came out of left field for me, and it took me a minute to remember how I wanted to approach the subject and what terms I wanted to use.

This is how it played out.  Out of silence, mind you, we were driving in the car.


E: so when it's just a mommy and a daddy, how is there a baby?
Me(trying to figure out if he was really asking me what I thought he was!): i'm sorry.  i don't think i understand your question, can you rephrase?
E: well.  i know God makes babies, but there's a mommy and daddy first, right?
Me: yes.
E: ok.  so how does the baby get made by the mommy and the daddy?
Me: well....(long pause as I try to gauge how much information to give right off the bat) when a man a woman love each other very much and get married, sometimes the Lord chooses to bless them with a baby.
E: but how?
Me: well.  mommy and daddy sleep in the same bed, right?  well, we sleep in the same bed because we're married and we love each other. and sometimes because of that, the Lord chooses to bless couples with a baby.
E: so that's all?  the baby comes because people sleep in the same bed?
Me: well.  that's the start of it.   yes.
E: but how does the mommy get pregnant?
Me: (deep breath) first of all, the relationship between a married man and woman is very special.  they love on eachother like no one else is allowed to.  for the mommy to get pregnant, there's a part of the daddy and a part of the mommy that needs to come together.  when they love on eachother in their special way, these parts can come together and if it's the Lord's will, then a teeny tiny baby is formed. as you get older, you'll understand better.
E: oh....
Me: is that a good answer for now?
E: yes.
Me: (ok GOOD, because I was TOTALLY NOT EXPECTING THAT!! nor was I willing to share more)

Hopefully this made you smile or laugh.  maybe it made you think about how you'll approach this topic with your own kids or give you ideas.

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to my beautiful momma.  A mom who was always there for me, who taught me how to work hard, and who showed us what sacrifice and putting other's first was all about.  She created a childhood full of fond and happy memories, she created traditions I now seek to carry-on. She taught us about God and His love and led us in the way, when we were rising up, when we were walking along, and when we were laying down.  Is there anything better to say?  I feel extremely blessed to call her my momma, and equally blessed that the boys get to call her grammy!

Strength and dignity are her clothing,  And she smiles at the future. She opens her mouth in wisdom,
 And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.  She looks well to the ways of her household,  And does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and bless her.  Prov 31: 25-28

A very happy Mother's Day to all the women out there who are mothers in all capacities.  Mothers to children of their own womb, mothers who have received the beautiful gift of children through adoption, and lastly, those women who have taken kids under their wings and acted as mothers to those in need.

They can be sharp. Like knives.

Drew received "Horton Hears a Who" for his birthday.  I love the message of the movie, and we've actually had some really great conversations with Evan about life and when it starts, etc. We've only watched is a few times, though, due to some issues I h ave with it.

My issue with the movie is the language.  Now you may say there's not language any worse than in "Finding Nemo", and you'd be right.  The difference is the tone and the prevalence of the language.  I'm alright with a couple uses of the words "stupid", "moron", and "idiot", but the way the words are spoken in "Horton Hears a Who" is just mean and totally degrading.  And the words are used a lot more than any other movie we own.

Now Evan is old enough to understand he can hear a word and not use it.  Drew -- not so much.  So we've shelved the movie for a while until he's a little older.  I was talking to a friend though about all this and we got talking about the double standard of not having our children say certain words, but hearing us and other adults say them and she had this fabulous analogy that I just have to share.

Some words can be like sharp knives.  Words can hurt if they are wielded inappropriately. Just like a child is not given the responsibility of handling sharp knives and is instead instructed to watch and learn from an adult/parent on how to use them until they have shown their ability, so too, with words.  Children watch us and learn from us how to appropriately use words, and once they are older and can handle "sharp" words, then they are allowed to use them.

In case you have issues with the double standard, I hope this helps.

Toledo Zoo

Toledo is about 2 hours west of us and it boasts an amazing zoo.  Or so I was told.  It's been inked on our "Ohio Bucket List" for the last 2 years.  It's a mid-sized zoo -- very compact and not at all sprawling like the zoo we have here in Cleveland.  Considering I didn't bring a stroller (nor do I even own one anymore!) I was very thankful since the boys ended up walking for almost 6 hours!

I have a sweet highschool friend, Rebecca, who moved from VA to Detroit about a year ago.  She invited us to come and visit for a weekend before we move, but there were no open weekends that worked.  Toledo, though, is about mid-way for us, so we planned to meet up at the zoo and spend the day talking and walking and letting our 4 little boys run and have fun.  Rebecca has 2 boys, both just 6 months older than mine, so it was quite a lot of fun.

We were a little disappointed   The "Arctic" was closed due to brand new Polar Bear twins.  I understand why we couldn't see the cubs, but seriously?!  Close the whole area?!  It was one of the two animals Evan had mentioned he was most excited to see.  The other animal?  The Cheetahs -- who also just happened to be "on vacation".  The Meerkats and River Otters were also missing. (Two of my favorite exhibits).

On the whole, though, it was a lovely time.  Lots of animals were seen (all they had, really!) and there were great playgrounds we were able to stop at to enjoy.  The Primates were a lot of fun to watch, and I got a little too close for my liking to a Tiger.  We all brought packed lunches and took a good long rest while we "re-fueled".  A trip totally worth it, if for nothing else than the fellowship of catching up with my friend! (and thankfully the animals were all entertaining, too!)

Without communicating, Rebecca and I coordinated our boys' outfits.
Let me tell ya, they were easy to spot!

Friends for over 10 years!  How sweet it is.

We were all so tired at the end, but oh so happy!

There's dirt in my bowl!

Growing up as a child of a military-man, we moved every year or two.  It was a way of life.  I never knew anything different.  I came to act extroverted because if I stayed in my safe shell, I would never have made friends until 6 months before the next move -- and what's the fun in that?  Even after saying "I do", we've moved every 2-3 years.  As a child and young adult, I just assumed it wouldn't be until I had children of my own that I would even start to grow roots, let alone set any down.

Shortly after we moved to Ohio, the idea of hydroponic plants was brought to my attention.  Plants that grow their roots in water and can move from one bowl of water to another.  It was as though I found part of my identity   I wasn't "rootless", I was just a hydroponic plant!  My roots were growing, I had a family of course, they were just growing in water until we were more settled and I can be truly "planted".

As we near the end of our stay here, and I look forward to taking my roots out of this "Ohio bowl of water" and plant them in the beautiful soil of Colorado, I'm realizing there's actually rich dirt in the water my roots are currently residing.  Dirt my roots don't want to let go of.  Dirt my roots have grown into, amid all this water.

And let me tell you, this will be, out of all the places I've moved away from, the hardest to uproot myself from. I came here kicking and screaming, and even though I know how wonderful it will be to dig these roots into dirt for the first real time.  Ever.  I am going to leave kicking and screaming, too.  Wonderful friendships, a loving church, precious memories, favorite spots, and 3 years of life all make up those clumps of beautiful dirt that now cling to these roots.  They are part of our make-up now, and I hope they enjoy the Colorado soil, because I'm not even going to attempt to shake the dirt free.