A very special friend

I just had to take time to blog about a very special friend. Marie started babysitting Taylor when he was four, and began watching Jenna when she was only two months old. In all this time, I have grown very close to Marie. When I leave Jenna, she is happy, when I pick her up she is happy. Marie is never frazzled or frustrated. She is always calm and she has such a sweet disposition. You may find Marie pushing kids in a wheelbarrow or swing, giving kids rides on her back, rolling around on the ground with them, or giving them "airplane" rides on her feet.

She is truly a blessing in our lives. She is the kind of person that you never want to see hurt. She has been on my mind constantly since the passing her very special daughter. I wish there was something I could do to help her during this time.

Having lost a sister and Dad myself, I know the inevidable pain that one goes through. There is really nothing that can help ease the intense sorrow that you feel. The first year is really hard. You can have fun times and moments of happiness, but there is always "grief in the wings" (as I once heard someone say). Your mind is drawn back to the realization that your loved one cannot experience that happy time with you. I had to work really hard to break this. I realized that my grief and sorrow was not fair to my Dad or sister. I needed to be able to think about them and talk about them without feeling pain. I wanted my children to know of their Grandpa and Aunt Twana. I needed to be able to talk about them.

One thing I relied on was knowing that my loved one were in a better place, and that this seperation is only temporary. A book I read after my Dad died was called, "The Message" by Lance Richardson. This book helped me through a very difficult time. It has been almost 9 years since my Dad died, and almost 4 years since my sister passed away. I still have times that I feel sad that they are not here to share in the happy times of our lives, but overall, I am at peace. It took me a while to get here, but I can talk about both my Dad and sister without feeling the sadness that I once felt. I know that they I will be with them again. I pray at this time for Marie, and that she can feel love and find peace amid the dark times.

Little League Baseball

Ethan stealing 2nd base

Ethan is loving baseball! It is his first year of little league and he is "addicted to it!" He comes home from baseball practice and games totally excited. His coach has been coaching Byron A's for 24 years. He knows exactly how to handle Ethan. Ethan is very hard on himself and gets down when he makes a mistake. Mark knows when to push him and when to encourage him. We are thrilled that Ethan is having such a positive experience. Mark told me he is teaching Ethan things that he normally doesn't teach kids until their 2nd or 3rd year. He says Ethan takes everything he learns and applies it right away. He is super fun to watch. He gets a little cocky (surprising, right!) when he is on base and toys with the idea of stealing all the time! He has played right field, 2nd base, short stop, and 3rd base in games, and has practiced at pitcher and catcher. It is so weird to be watching Ethan play. It seems like yesterday we were watching Kade and Quin play. Time goes by so fast!
Jenna likes to watch her brother play. She claps and runs around and even went in the dugout and gave Ethan a good luck kiss. Right after that, he scored a run!

Spring? (and a little blood)

I am patiently (or not so patiently) waiting for spring to arrive. It has been so cold, and it is driving me crazy! Despite the cold, our crazy schedules are driving forward. Ethan started little league baseball this year, and they practice M-F from 4-6 pm. Taylor started T-ball and that runs from 4-5. Now Ethan started games so he has a 2-3 games a week. It is just crazy right now. Run here and there, that is all we seem to do. Now to to gross part:

Jenna smashed her finger in a door on Monday. I got a call at work from Marie (you know when Marie calls it must be bad). She said, "Jenna got her finger smashed in the door, please come quick!" Marie is one of the calmest people I know, so I knew it had to be bad. I yelled down the hall to Missy (my co-worker) that Jenna was hurt, and call Cherie (my principal) to cover. I flew out the door and was at Marie's in no time. Jenna was hysterical and I rushed her to the hospital. My heart nearly broke as I held her for the doctor to work on her. The good news was it wasn't broken, but it did take some stitches. We've been through the whole stitch thing before with the boys, but they were older. This was absolutely terrible. I felt so bad because she was screaming, "Mommy, Mommy!" But there was absolutely nothing I could do to take away the pain. Here is the aftermath.

Jenna is doing great now, but she is still trying to open doors and drawers, and she caught her pinky in a drawer on Thursday. (No damage though)

Taylor lost BOTH of his front teeth this month. He looks really cute, and is starting to look a lot older.