dynamic duo.....

so, funny story.......

remember, at the doctor's office, the clipboard lady? (if not, click the link to read the story)

well, we are getting quite the reputation at the doctor's office.

Last week i went to tyler and while there, i got VERY sick. i came down with the stomach bug from hell. its really bad. no fever, nothing except throwing up continually. its soooooooo bad. i had to get shots of zofran to make the nausea stop just so i could function. on saturday i finally felt well enough to drive us back to college station.

we had a routine appointment for lockett at the doctors office monday morning. I got up, felt totally normal, and was excited to be home, everyone was healthy, i was ready for a normal week. i loaded the boys in the car and headed to lockett's appointment.

i was driving down hwy 6 when harrison says, "mom, i am gonna be sick." i thought -oh please NO! i told him to close his eyes and breath slowly that i couldnt pull over on hwy 6. (it scares me to death to be on the side of a hwy). harris says, "no mom, i am gonna be sick NOW!" i quickly pull over to the shoulder and jump out and run like a crazy woman around the car, jerk the door open just in time to catch the first load of throw up in my hands. and it just keeps comin. i pull him out of the car and there, on the side of the highway harrison and mommy are standing..... harrison is soooo sick. he got throw up all over his car seat, his clothes, me, his deetdeet (his linus blanket) it was just everywhere. and i was quickly feeling sick myself.

I stripped his shirt off there on the side of the road (much to his horror) and did my best to clean up. the only thing i had was a package of dried up wipes. so, we drove straight to the doctor appointment and harrison had to walk up to the office shirtless. he was so mortified. he used lockett's blanket to cover up with and lockett was screaming his head off in protest of this violation of his blanket. i was covered in throw up. we were quite a sight. and just guess who greets us....... the clipboard lady. yeah for me. yeah for this crazy life. my boys are gonna owe me BIG time.

heres a picture of our halloween costumes:

managing the circus

Some of you may have wondered where i have been. I went to church this Sunday and was asked my name and harrison's name at his sunday school class. (that tells me we've been gone TOO much!)
It started in September. I flew to New York, drove to Massachusetts, then came home for 1 day, then to tyler, then home for 1 day, then to Roundtop to work for 10 days. During the 10 day work gig i left my boys with their Nina. they LOVED staying with her and let me say this: it was weird being single and childless for 10 days. When i worked in roundtop i stayed in a little rental house and worked 10-12 hour days.
I missed my boys and Tim alot but it was such a great time. I got to live with my sister during those days (like we did in college!) and it is a VERY good thing to miss your kids. I decided shortly before i left to work that i NEEDED to miss them. :)
I had a lot of time to reflect (there was no Internet or tv) and i did alot of thinking. Mainly i had the opportunity to think about life without kids. There was no drama, no freak-outs, no daily humiliation. yes, humiliation. everyday i wake up i fear what will happen today to horrifically embarrass me. like, leaving my child at walmart, or spilling paint everywhere, cuss words coming from my 4 year old., etc...... I started to wonder why I have to be daily embarrassed by my kids (though the joys are daily also... why cant it ALL be joy??!) I began to wonder what i needed to learn and why God feels i hadnt learned it yet. then, thank you Lord, the opportunity provided itself for me to see that i hadnt learned much of anything.
I was at a friends wedding and I was doing my best to control my WILD 1 year old. he wasnt being loud, he was just moving all over the place. he didnt want to be held so i walked to the back of the wedding and placed him on the ground and he began to play happily with rocks. he toddled here and there all far away from the wedding and i thought, not being an issue. WRONG! after a few moments a woman came over to me and asked me to "control my child". The tongue lashing that i wanted to give was of EPIC proportions. Instead of a gentle and calm answer i wanted to shout, "IF I KNEW HOW TO DO THAT LADY, I'D WRITE A BOOK AND BE A MILLIONAIRE!". instead, i picked Lockett up and went to the parking lot. yep, a sweet friends wedding spent in the parking lot. I began to secretly congratulate myself on what an amazing sacrificial christian i was. bull malarkey. It began to dawn on me that God cared about what my heart was feeling not just what i did or said. yes, it was a minor victory that i kept my mouth shut (some of you who know me would say miracle) but it has finally penetrated this thick skull that God doesnt just want a clamped shut mouth. he wants a kind, forgiving heart.
so, the work continues. :)

here's a photo of where i spent my 10 days working:

Great Times in New York

Ive been busy and unable to post anything but i wanted to share this wonderful picture. I am sure little lockett will kill me someday for this photograph but it makes me laugh out loud. I just love how much it displays his personality. what a sweet, happy boy.

Dearest Harrison,

Today you are four years old. I can hardly believe it. you have grown up SO much. you have grown into a sweet loving little boy who i enjoy spending time with. your sense of humor is incredible (i think you inherited that from me :) and i love how your mind works. you are a thinker and so very smart.

things that you love right now are: robots, transformers, the movie BOLT, your cousins, the BOUNCE, musical instruments (especially drums!), deetdeet, your little bubby "wocket" or "rocky", and building forts.

some of my favorite memories with you are traveling to maine, watching your eyes light up as you see the ocean, and you really liked Bar Harbor (this year especially cause Campbell came with us), you also loved New York and eating wings at Anchor Bar. (your very favorite food is wings).

i love you and i love who you are growing to be. i cant wait to spend many years together sharing memories and laughing together. harrison, your dad and i are so blessed that God chose us to be your mom and dad. you and lockett are the most valuable things in the world to us.

Happy Birthday Harris. i love you.

8-6-09

just another day....

i dont have a picture to put with this post and for that i am sorry (to the grandparents) and i am thankful that i dont have a picture to remind me of this day.

I had a project i needed to accomplish. mistake #1.

I worked really hard all day to get everything ready and prepared and perfect for me to accomplish a labor intensive project.

to complete my project i needed to run a quick errand. mistake #2. (there are no quick errands with babies)

i decided it was well within my ability to run to lowes with harris, lockett, and tim in tow. mistake #3.

we went in and not two seconds past the "oh i want that new grill!" isle, we came to the paint section. all i needed was white paint. i assumed it would be quick, easy, not complicated or in need of customer service help. mistake #4.

just as i am finding what i might need, i hear, "momma, i gotta poop." ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!?? tim says, "its ok, i got this. come on harris, lets go find a potty." mistake #5.

so i continue my hunt. i needed 2 cans of a white paint that lowes only had 1 of. ugh. i put the one can in the buggy with lockett. mistake #6.

lockett promptly picks up the large paint bucket and hurls it at the floor. before my horrified eyes i see the bucket hit the floor and paint go in EVERY direction.

i was speechless. customer service help now required. as we wait for help to clean up, "huge paint spill, isle 7" tim and harrison walk up. tim looks shocked. he says "are you serious?! well all i can say is, who was watching the baby??!"

tim stops and leans in and says, "i have poopy underwear in my pocket." i cannot wrap my mind around these words so i search for understanding. Tim says, "yep. harris is going commando and we gotta go." ugh again.

i desperately grab any two cans of white paint and head for the check out. (clean up on isle 7 is occurring with many onlookers).

later that night, about 11pm when we are gathered with friends laughing and talking, tim puts his hand into his pocket and in front of everyone pulls out the forgotten poopy underwear.

this is my life.

My dearest lockett,

today you are 1 year old. i cannot believe how quickly the time has flown by. it seems like yesterday we were told you had to be delivered a month early. we were so worried about you. we prayed alot and God gave us a wonderful, healthy, strong boy. this year you have learned so much. you have learned to feed yourself, crawl, pull yourself up, and some sign language.(you know how to say "more" and "all done!"). your favorite words are momma, daddy, ball, monkey (-your favorite stuffed animal who is stinky and a bit gross but you love him dearly), hi, and bye.
you have brought us tremendous joy and tons of laughter. you are so laid back, easy going, and are always game for whatever (or wherever) we are up to.
we celebrated your birthday at Nina and SuperD's. we had birthday presents and a cake. you were so tired by the time we got the cake out that you got angry and cried because cake got on your fingers and never actually ate any of your own birthday cake! :)
you share your birthday with your dad. we celebrated his birthday also. he got steaks, grilled stuffed onions, and a german chocolate cake for his birthday. he loves sharing his birthday with you. he always says, "i got the best birthday present. i got a son."
lock, happy birthday. you are very special to us and we look forward to many years together.