Happy 19th, Sutton

Today is Sutton's birthday.

Today is my daughter's birthday and for the first time in 19 years I'm not with her to celebrate it. That realization makes this day, for me, bittersweet. Perpetually joined at the hip since the day she was born, this is the longest we've been apart. She was my first, I was young, and we have traveled side-by-side through many difficult journeys with only each other to lean on.

I'm happy she's at college and I'm thrilled she's thriving. I'm proud of her passion and her drive and her determination. Her work ethic is staunch and her compassion endless.

She's slowly making a place for herself...herself without mom. There are growing pains that are often debilitating for us both. My role as manager/director has morphed into a role as mentor/guide...my control has weakened as my place as consultant has emerged.

She's there and I'm here, but it's as it should be.

I love you, sweet girl. Happy Birthday.

Do cows have this problem?

Three words:

Clogged
Milk
Duct

The pain? Excruciating.

The solution? Constant and frequent nursing on the breast that HURTS LIKE HADES.

The language? Colorful.

The end.

(Because no one wants to hear a grown woman whine.)

Jesus and the Jonas Brothers

Our church is pretty hip, and over the years we have seen quite a few celebrity-ish people in our midst. Most are professional athletes and television personalities, and while Jimmy and I are sometimes mildly impressed, rarely do our children even take a second glance when the famous person is pointed out.

But today, today was a very different story.

Today, THE JONAS BROTHERS WERE AT OUR CHURCH!

I screamed that last sentence, not because I'm some weird, rabid middle-aged JB fanatic; but rather, I wanted to convey the same level of excitement that my children (particularly our 11 and 13 year old girls) exhibited when they discovered that...

THE JONAS BROTHERS WERE AT OUR CHURCH!

They have a home nearby and come to our church when they are in town. Today they sat in one of the back rows and were seen by many people, including several of the Sunday school teachers. Sadly, none of our children saw the brothers. Nope, Jimmy was the only one who spotted them as they walked by us and he couldn't have cared less.

Oh, the sad, cruel irony of it all.

Still, you know my children can't get to school fast enough tomorrow because...

THE JONAS BROTHERS WERE AT OUR CHURCH!

Now, just to clarify that celebrity sightings aren't totally lost on me, maybe if we could get, say, TOM SELLECK to join our congregation, this weird, rabid, middle-aged TS fan might then be required to type her Selleck-sighting response in all caps.





AMEN!

Hmmmm...

I guess someone spilled a couple a few a whole BOX of Fruit Loops.

Leader of the pack

The A team coaches gave only one award this week, a new one, and Miss Reagan was the recipient. She was honored to receive the Leadership award from her team.

Her "trophy."











We are so proud of her.

Duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, GOOSE

This picture depicts my day today.







Peyton (17 mo) was home toddling after me, stepping on my heals as I traveled room to room. Landon (4) feeling a little puny this morning, stayed home from school and spent his day following Peyton (who was following me), afraid he was going to miss something exciting, or better yet, something gross.

"Mama" "Mama" "Mama"

Sutton (18) a bazillion miles away at college, touching base, needing reassurance that she's still a mighty member of our flock, making decisions, adjusting.

"Mama" "Mama" "Mama"

Keaton (11) came home from school and added herself to my band of followers and then Hayden (7) joined the crew, following me with food orders I was trying fervently to fill.

"Mama" "Mama" Mama"

I ran my errands, I cooked the meals, I even worked the volleyball concession stand and watched attended Reagan's (13) volleyball match tonight with my active posse under foot.

"Mama" "Mama" "Mama"

We then finished homework, took baths, cleaned the kitchen, called Daddy, and tried to get into bed at a halfway decent hour; children following...the neediness factor through the roof.

"Mama" "Mama" "Mama"

Finally, all is blissfully quiet. My young ducklings are snoozing and recharging little batteries in preparation for the morning. Tomorrow is sure to be much like today.

"Mama" "Mama" "Mama"

And I'll answer them again and again and again, because while my little ducklings are many and insistent, the simple joy of their existence is evidence of blessings beyond measure.

Celebrity Show and Tell

My brother-in-law, who just returned from Iraq, was kind enough to be Hayden and Landon's Show and Tell subject yesterday at their school. Sweet David fielded dozens and dozens of question and was kind enough to take pictures with each of the classes in the end.














I think this picture explains where Uncle David ranks in my boys' lives.






Thank you, David, we all learned so much.

Wordless Wednesday: Bow bowl head

Me! Meme

Andrea over at Blogging Mama tagged me for a random facts meme quite some time ago. And since it was so quite some time ago, I forgot the particular details were to tell six random things about myself. Clearly, I am in the earliest stages of dementia because I worked diligently recently on my ten random things.

Oh well, it's my blog so I'm going to post my meme my way.

Ahem.

So, here goes:

1. I taught golf one semester to high school students for their PE credit even though I've never actually played golf.

2. I could pretty easily be a vegetarian.

3. All four of my daughters have special "royal" middle names; three are queens and one is a princess.

4. I have a really weird tendency to try and color-coordinate my family before we go places. They don't love that about me.

5. The reason there are almost six years between my first and second children is because it took me that long to get my courage up again...having babies HURTS.

6. Strangely enough, I wish I would have had more.

7. I so love Mexican food.

8. It's physically painful for me to miss out on or pass up a clearance sale.

9. I'd make a really good rich person...I love to share:-)

10. I grew up sure I was going to be a nun; that was until I visited a convent and saw how meager and infrequent the food...not to mention the whole No Boys stance.

11. I'm a pathetic perfectionistic over-achiever as evidenced in my need to add an eleventh insignificant fact about myself when asked for ten.

And so, for those of you tagged, here are the rules I was given:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on the blog.
3. Write SIX random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Since I recently tagged my usual go-to people, I'm going to have to find some other victims lucky tag-ees to perpetuate this awesome meme. And the winners are:

1. My friend Heidi over at Because Mommy Said So....

2. Amy, another Texas mama over at The Monroe 6.

3. My bloggy friend Steph from Perpetual Chaos.

4. Melanie, a fantastic writer and mom to five over at Monday through Sunday.

5. Cindy, a great mommy over at Family Runneth Over.

6. Super mom Helen, my sister's bestest friend, over at Super Mom.

Have fun girls!

Clearly, I'm her All Night Lollipop

We're teething.

I say "we" because it has become evident that little Peyton, 16 months, has chosen me as the lucky recipient to share this difficult time with her. She has these five teeth up front (yes, quite the odd grin) and now she's working on a few errant teeth in the back; strangely placed molars that are popping out in no apparent pattern.

And she's still nursing.

All.

Night.

Long.

She chews on me. She gnaws on me. She's hurting. I'm hurting. We're both exhausted.

Ah well, but she's still pretty darn cute.

Field trip bliss

Landon (4) could hardly sleep Thursday night, so excited was he for his first ever field trip on Friday to the apple orchard. Not only was he going to accompany big brother Hayden on this field trip, but Landon was going to get to wear a uniform AND ride on a school bus.

The boy was positively tingling.

When we arrived at school, all of the children had to sit for chapel. Peyton decided that she, too, needed to participate and so she made herself a spot right there in front Landon's Pre-K class.






















But Landon didn't mind.





















Soon it was time to make their way to the buses. While waiting, Hayden was able to show off his sister.











And Landon demonstrated how big kids stand quietly in line WITH their hands behind their backs at all times.











Getting on the bus he was barely able to contain himself...





















...much like his big brother.













"You can sit in that seat, Momma, I want you to come too!"







*sniff* *sniff*

Strep tease

Keaton (11) has had a very rough few days. She had her well-child check up last week and all was well; but, of course, this week she got sick...very sick.

The last four days she has been plagued with low grade fever, chills, tiredness and a terrible sore throat. A quick trip back to the doctor confirmed acute tonsillitis or strep throat and "the ugliest, puss-covered tonsils" he'd seen in a while.

Baby girl was sick.

She's been on a strong antibiotic since Thursday, stayed home from school on Friday, yet today she's had a fever of up to 103 and her tonsils are so swollen she feels like her throat is closing. On the bright side, her spirits are good, she's got a warm spot on the couch, a cup of crushed ice to suck on and a remote control.

She may decide to never get better.

Horse play?

Insistent that that she, too, can play volleyball, Reagan (13) is putting in the extra time and energy to follow big sister's footsteps. And considering the fact that she's shot up about six inches in the past few months, I think once she figures out how to control those newly lengthened arms and legs (and FEET), she'll be okay. She reminds me of a newborn foal just after birth trying fervently to balance atop its long legs. Note the resemblance between the foal and #5:












She's doing well; it's just going to take time, a lot of hard work, and (hopefully) some eventual coordination between all those flailing limbs.







The colt eventually figures it out, right?

Bracing herself

Over the past two months I haven't written much about Sutton and her injury. The stress fractures in her spine have caused much pain physically and much trepidation mentally. Her plan to be an outside hitter in college has been sidelined as the doctors and trainers haven't allowed her to jump, hit, or serve; all necessary elements on the outside hitter position. She has been wearing a brace 23 hours a day and receiving physical therapy an hour and a half each day. Her limited play has been relegated to back row only, and even then she's only been in to play a very few times.

She has had further testing done while in Virginia and has visited with yet another doctor who fitted her for yet another brace she must wear 23 hours a day. She assures me it is hot and uncomfortable but at this point she is doing whatever is necessary to be allowed to play.

Here are a couple of pics of Sutton in her latest brace:























And one of the few times she's gotten on the court (#13).





















We're hoping for good news this week as she tries to actually hit with this new monstrosity brace. She is ready to PLAY.

Big prayers needed

I got the following email from a friend who teaches at an elementary school here in Texas:

Hi all - We have another family at Boon that is currently being impacted by pediatric cancer. Carson is a kindergartener on our campus and has an older brother named Collin in the 2nd grade. I have had the pleasure of working closely with his family this fall, since it is part of my job to coordinate any home bound services for our students and to put together any accommodation plans . Carson has wanted to come to kindergarten so badly, and has been a little trooper each day....even coming one day with his chemo port (accompanied by his mommy!).

Last night his parents discovered that his AFB numbers had skyrocketed and he was admitted this morning for some aggressive chemotherapy treatment. He will be out for a number of days and we're not sure when he will return to campus. As you can imagine, elementary schools are hotbeds of germs :) and his immune system will be compromised. He will likely begin home bound services once he is released from the hospital. This little boy is so independent and has such personality - he is heartbroken that he is missing any school.

I cannot even tell you how amazing this family is and how much they need prayers right now. I have listed the Caring Bridge site that details Carson's situation and has a guest book for messages

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/richardson

With our campus being just one year past Spencer's death, we cannot imagine losing another child....and cannot fathom how it would affect this family.

Thanks for your thoughts!
Love, Libby

Please go here to read more about Carson and then go pray hard, really REALLY hard.

Dorm deco

Sutton sent me a few pics of her dorm room yesterday. It's actually the first we've seen of the decorated room because when we moved her in she had to stay in a temporary place for a few weeks until the dorms opened.

I can tell she's working on giving the room her personal touch and making it more "homey," but I think she'll have her work cut out for her with that bathroom.

The three tuners

Oh, the joyful noise the Lord enjoyed this day.