Early Morning

Early morning with my buddy. This is where he ends up when dad works all night. #letthekidsbelittle #littlebellows #thesearethemomentsithankgodthatimalive #dimplekid #pictapgo_app, a photo by Marvett Smith (Savoring the Simple) on Flickr.

We've had a crazy couple of weeks. School started last week and we are getting settled into new routines and schedules. As much as I hate to see school start again, I do love the organization that comes with it. I am a major planner. Always have been always will be, and having a schedule in place brings a sense of safety and peace for me. It's much needed these days. I think this has been our roughest month since my dad's passing. Big changes, and lots of emotions as we long to have grandpa here to talk us through things. We are still learning to live on in a life without him. It still feels so strange, but along with the peace that routine brings, so does the safety of family time and we seem to have more of it lately. For that I am extremely grateful. Moments like this early morning with my best buddy are definitely moments that I record in my heart for reflection on rainy days. My beautiful boy stayed close by my side on a night when JM had to work the graveyard shift. Watching him resting peacefully in this beautiful light reminded me that I do indeed have much to be grateful for.

Summer

I can't believe that summer is coming to an end.  I feel like it snuck up and blindsided me.  I am trying hard not to feel guilty these days about our summer and the way we spent our time.  There is no place on earth that I would rather be than making memories with my three punks, but this summer was not a normal one.  I spent most of my time studying for a class that I was taking, and when I wasn't studying I was mostly wandering around feeling lost.  Summer has been an especially hard time for all of us without my dad here.  I had so many plans mapped out at the beginning of the year for how we would spend our time with grandpa and then suddenly he was gone.  I don't know how to explain it other than I just feel lost.  Our normal summers usually consist of camping, and trips to the cabin, but this year that didn't happen.  Instead my three hooligans spent lots and lots of time in our own house and in the backyard.  They spent several days at the pool and lots of nights right in the backyard on the trampoline.  I think they enjoyed themselves, and from the looks on their faces in these images from their last sleep out, I think they actually had fun.  I'm trying to remember that they are resilient and that one out of the ordinary summer won't leave them scarred for life.  It eases my guilt trip a little bit.  Hopefully we will have a lot more laughter and fun in the summer of 2014.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed for it anyway.

Sale Day

Sale day at the fair! Goodbye Scarlett the lamb., a photo by Marvett Smith (Savoring the Simple) on Flickr.

Just popping in after a long week at the fair. This was sale day for my little cowgirl. After lots of hard work raising Scarlett the lamb today was the final day with her and we said goodbye. I have lots more pictures, but this one was one of my very favorites. I was so proud of my Lou.  She took 3rd in her class showing her lamb.  I'll post more pictures soon.

The Ninjas

Back in the early spring my boy played his second year of recreation baseball.  His team was called The Ninjas.  This year they upgraded from t-ball to coach-pitch.  It was interesting to say the least.  During every game I would sit on the sidelines and cringe as I watched approximately 14 little boys surround the coach and smother him with requests to play 1st base, catcher, and pitcher.  I swear that man was a saint.  He patiently smiled and waited for them to stop jumping up and down and pulling on his shirt to give them their field assignments.  He tried hard to mix things up, but honestly I don't think he could remember who played where each time because of all of the chaos.  The other thing that happened on a consistent basis was the crowding and pushing that happened each time it was our turn to bat.  In the beginning of the season they all wanted to bat first, but about halfway through the season they figured out that if they got to bat last they actually got to run around all of the bases.  This was when even more craziness ensued.  They made a squiggly line to get in order, and the coaches had to monitor them closely since some of them insisted on practicing their swing in the middle of the mess.  I was certain that someone would come out of it with a head injury, but luckily the boys came out okay in the end.  Here is a list of my favorite parts of watching my boy this year.

1. He desperately wanted to play the game with people in the right positions.  Obviously he has attended a little too much of his sister's softball games and practices because he was completely frustrated that the boys did not stay in the right spots on the field.  He was upset time after time that they weren't "playing together as a team".  This gives me hope for the future that he might actually want to follow some rules in his life.  ;)
2. He had some pretty darn good skills.  I was impressed to see how much his game had grown in just one year.  He has improved so much, and he definitely has an arm on him.  He was known on the team as the kid who could throw the ball from right field to 3rd base with no problem at all.  I guess all of the wrestling that he does with his sisters is paying off.
3. He paid attention much better this year than last year.  Although he did spend a little time visiting with the players on the other team when they were in the outfield, it was nothing compared to last year.  I was so happy to see him watching the ball and wanting to get the outs instead of what happened last year.  His famous quote from last year while playing first base and talking to every runner that made it there goes like this, "I hate this team mom!  I'm over there on 1st base minding my own business talking with my friend and the team keeps throwing the ball at my head."  Um yeah... this year he actually caught on that when he was playing first base they weren't throwing the ball at his head, but they were trying to get the runner out.  He did a lot less chatting with the runner this year.  Whew!
4. His hitting was awesome!  Although he can still use work on his technique, he consistently hit very well and he hit hard.  You will witness the anger in his face in the batting picture below.  I'm glad he had this avenue to get his aggression out.  I know from experience that it can be therapeutic.
5. Last but not least, my very favorite thing about watching him play this year was the thumbs up that I got from him every time he did something well.  This never failed.  If he got a good hit and made it to base he would quickly scan the crowd to find me and give me a thumbs up.  If he made a good play in the outfield he would do the same thing.  Best part of the thumbs up though?  The smile and the dimples that go with it.  I sure love him and he knows it.  I can't wait until next year to see him play again!

3 Months

3 Months, a photo by Marvett Smith (Savoring the Simple) on Flickr.

3 months. It's been three months today since my dad passed away. I've been thinking about him all day, and about some of the last days we spent together. I thought I shared all of the pictures from our time together while he was in the nursing home, but then I came across this one. This is from our last walk together when we stopped to take a break and eat some popcorn. He actually enjoyed a few minutes of eating one of his favorite snacks and talking with my girl while she and my mom put a puzzle together. You may wonder why he is blurry in all of the images I've posted. I was trying hard to be respectful of his experience, but at the same time I wanted to preserve time. I've loved photography for a long time, but it means so much more to me now. I'm so grateful that I have these images of our last days spent together. They help to flood my mind with all of the things that we talked about and shared. They bring back the details of things that might be lost otherwise, and I wish I had more. I'm so grateful for the story that they tell, and coming across this image, the last one I have of my mom and dad together with his special granddaughter is priceless. We will cherish it forever. Get your camera out and use it often. You don't have to be an expert. Pictures are the next best thing to memories filed away in your heart.

Colonel

Colonel, a photo by Marvett Smith (Savoring the Simple) on Flickr.

Back on the 4th of July my Lou wanted to participate in the local chicken chase. There were literally hundreds of kids that joined in and only a handful of chickens so I figured what could the harm be. I never thought that she would walk back after the chaos ensued with a chicken cradled in her arms. That is exactly what she did. I swear she is a real live animal whisperer. They just seem to love her, and this is definitely the case with her new chicken Colonel. He seems to think he is a dog. He follows her around the yard, he whines at the back door when she comes inside (no kidding), and he climbs into her lap when he's feeling insecure. I've never seen anything like it. I guess when he starts barking I will really worry. In the meantime if there are any chicken experts out there, feel free to weigh in on if Colonel is a he or a she. It would be a good thing to know. :)

The Turkey

When dad passed away at the end of April life changed dramatically.  Life still went on of course, but it changed big time.  In the course of that change some of our memories ended up being stored on the computer.  I had forgotten until just the other day as I was sifting through my archives that some of the best things that happened were never shared here in this space that I like to keep for my hooligans.  So... I'm going to do some major catching up here.  Back in May my little man finally got to experience his first hunting trip with his dad.  He has been waiting for this for a long time, and the excitement has been building and building.  He could not wait for the day to arrive, and he spent the evening before carefully prepping food, clothes, his BB gun, and anything else he could think of to help make his trip a successful one.  He happily bounced out of bed at 3:30 the next morning to head out with his mind focused on one task.  Coming home with a turkey.  He and JM used up every ounce of sunlight before they returned home late that night, and guess what?  They were successful.  The day that Doop had dreamed of played out just like he had imagined.  The best part of the whole experience for the rest of us was the next few days.  We had the opportunity to not only listen to his stories, but we were able to watch him act them out.  It was the best!  The story continued throughout the following weeks as he told it to each of his friends over and over.  I'm happy that he was able to have such a great experience with his dad.  I know better than anyone that moments and days like the one they had together are worth more than anything.  It's something he will never forget.

Oh yeah.  He had a wiggly tooth back then too.  It has since fallen out, but the hillbilly tooth added to the character in these pictures.  In fact, I was a little worried that Duck Dynasty might call saying they wanted their kid back.  I swear.