Best Text of the Day - Talking About The Grands...Again

Oh No You Didn't - Daddy Diaper Tales

The joys of watching your kids raise their kids are immeasurable.

Younger Son has no sense of smell.

He can’t tell when his son has a dirty diaper, so he checks him regularly.

And one of the ways he does it is to stick his finger into the back of the diaper, pull it back, and look down.

Not the best thing to do when your munchkin has had a pouch of fruit and has filled his diaper.

I laughed until I cried.

Music Makes Our World Go Round

Are your memories triggered by anything special?

Music, perhaps?

I love music.  My mom instilled a love of music in all of us.  She couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket, but she loved music, and made sure we did, as well.

So many milestones are marked with music…

I’m glad both ThatManILove and I passed our love of music on to our sons. 

Elder Son will send me a text, like this one….and it will trigger a memory of us, driving down the road and singing.

Name that tune.  His memory for lyrics slay me.  He's amazing.

I won’t ever forget our music-infused road miles.  I treasure those moments.

As a blended family, we've enjoyed some cool music moments as adults - like traveling to Lenox, MA for a James Taylor concert.  Traveling to Phoenix, AZ, for a Travis Tritt/Marty Stuart acoustic concert at the Centennial Theatre.

Beautiful times with our young men.

I wouldn't ever trade for those times, and I'll treasure them forever.

Easter Week - Life at a Heart Level

This week has been consumed with conferences and grandkids!

Love the conferences…they’re always fun and educational.

But the grandkids?

Amazing.

Awesome.

Beautiful.

Walks to the park.

Playing with toys.

Did I say beautiful?

I am so very thankful.

Fun stuff, this.  Thank you, Jesus, for all You have done for us.

He is Risen, indeed.

The Blessing of Sons

The weekend is over, and I’m trying to think up blogging topics.  Instead, I’m thinking about the blessing that our boys are.

Younger Son just left our house, headed back to his house.  Elder Son is roping somewhere around San Antonio.

I miss them both.

Over the last 15 years, our blended family has experienced seasons of laughter, togetherness, and celebration.  We have also experienced estrangement, lack of communication, seasons of agony and worry and despair.  We’re just like any other family in those areas.  Thank God the good times outweigh the bad, and Love?  Love heals.

Love. Heals.

So, today, I’m thankful that we’re all in communication.  Thankful that our sons know, without a shadow of a doubt, that we love them unconditionally.  And that we will always love them and always, always, always, be their biggest fans.

So, with that being said, I’d like to say to them:

As y’all go about your respective endeavors today, remember this: We Love You.  We love each of you individually, and we love you both. We are thankful you have become brothers, and that you love each other.  We are thankful for each of you, as our sons, and as each of you, as men.

Continue to do what you do, as always, with excellence.  We are here, cheering you both on.  

Sttttrrrrreeeeeeeettttttttttcccccccccchhhhhhhh....

Looks like Blogger had an owie, and my regularly scheduled post...didn’t.

I really am trying to post a little bit every day, but I guess you’ll have to wait until Monday for the next funny story in “Mi Vida Loca”!

Tonight, I attended my son’s engagement party.  It was fun.  His mom hosted it...no, not me, but his real mom.  I have the honor of being Younger Son’s stepmom, but that’s a word we use rarely.

I’m Janie.  (Big stretch there, huh?)  When he introduces ThatManILove and I to people, he says, “This is my mom, Janie, and my dad, TMIL*”  (*He really calls him “Dad” but introduces him by his given name.)  Sometimes, he calls me Mamarazzi.  I don’t have a clue why.  (Right.)

Two sets of divorced parents can be a tough deal, for the parents, the steps, and the kiddos.  Tonight, TMIL was stuck on location, so I went and picked up the grandparents, and basically...headed over to TMIL's ex-wife’s house for his son's party.

Was I scared?  No.  Was I nervous?  You bet.  I’ve never been inside her house, and TMIL wasn’t with me.  TMIL and I have been married for 10+ years, and they were divorced 7 + years before I met TMIL.  But, still, it’s kinda weird, you know?

There was no need for nervousness...she was amazing and gracious.  Her house is absolutely beautiful, and we were welcomed with open arms.  The party was fun, and it was good to see Younger Son’s friends and meet his fiancee’s parents.  And it was good for me to be out of my comfort zone, ya know?

There was a really funny moment.  Younger Son's grandmother was trying to take a picture of the couple, and trying to get the decorated cake in the picture as well.  Photographer Janie, who knows all, you know (ahem), lifted the cake at a slant and told the couple to hold it "just at this angle".  Grandmother was trying to catch the perfect smile from them, and thank God, a friend said, "Is that cake moving?" - and it WAS!  It was sliding down the cake sheet!  They straightened it up just in time, or that cake would have been on the floor.  It was quite the icebreaker, and it.was.MY.fault.  Oh yeah, baby, it's never boring around here!

Tomorrow?  A baby shower, and then, babysitting this little 6 month old Kingston for a co-worker.  (The little tyke doesn’t yet know it, but he’s going to be in another Janie photo shoot.  (DUH.))  It will be fun, he's grown so much since his last session!

Kingston was 4 months old here - isn't he beautiful!

And by then, hopefully, TMIL will be home for the weekend.

Y’all have a good one.  I hope Blogger lets me post this!  I’d hate for y’all to miss out on the ups and downs of my exciting day today. (Yawn...)

Happy trails, y’all!

Can You Still Put Them Up For Adoption After 22 Years of Age?

(This is a repost from 2009 - but just to show you how crazy our children are and that the fruit really doesn't fall far from the tree...)

Last report, Elder Son's knee was as swollen as a large watermelon.  If you remember, we had to take him in and hav e it drained.  So, now, Elder Son is doing better - he's mobilized, he's up and going, and already horseback again.  I sent him a text to see what he was doing and here's how it went:

Me:  What are you doing?

ES:  Riding a bronc...he's as hard headed as me.

Me: (Oh.My.God.Does.He.Have.A.Working.Brain.Cell.??) And your leg?

ES:  It hurts but what's new?

Me: (I swear he's going to drive me to drink.) What about the doc?

ES:  Gonna be Tues or Thurs next week

I guess we'll know more then.   Thanks so much for your prayers, they are greatly appreciated.

As to the Younger Smartalecjustlikehisfather Son, after his last April Fool's joke - prank - I thought his dad was going to kill him Facebook event where he told the world he had just found out he was going to be  a father, he is breathing.  I swear.  I saw him.  Yesterday, he changed his FB status to "single".  I couldn't resist, I had to do it.  I posted:  "But what about the BABYYYYY?"  Soon after, one of his friends jumped in: "Oh, did your beer break up with you?  how sad."  

How did that song go? "I believe the children are our future...teach them well and they will lead the way..."  RUN! RUN!!!!!!