Louisiana

We enjoyed warm weather in Louisiana for most of our stay. When I was packing for our trip, I had first packed a bunch of clothes for cold weather. I ended up checking the forecast before we left and realized I had to start over. It was so nice to be able to take the boys outside without being bundled up and just let them play and run around the yard at their Nini and Papaw's. We had the opportunity to take them to a park a couple of times and to the zoo.

During our week there we celebrated Darius' birthday, and after much persuasion he finally gave in and agreed to have a birthday cheesecake. He was glad he did. The boys helped him blow out his candles with much blowing and spitting. It was worth it just to see them in action. Margaret was good enough to watch the boys while we enjoyed a nice dinner out at the Warehouse No. 1. It was just as good, if not better, than what we ate when we celebrated my birthday there last year. We also took advantage of the time to do our Christmas shopping for the boys.

Before the trip I had wondered how we were going to get our Christmas shopping done. I had figured it would come down to one of us doing it on our own while the other stayed with the boys. I'm so happy that's not the way it happened. I thoroughly enjoyed being able to have the time alone with Darius to shop together. Thanks again Margaret! We ended up getting everything we needed and lucky for us we packed a few extra duffel bags for the trip home.

We enjoyed our trip, the time we had to visit with friends and family, and all the yummy food! We indulged at Johnny's a few times, Margaret treated us to her delicious spaghetti sauce and a fabulous ham dinner, I had my first Po Boy sandwich (so good!), and we had the opportunity to join Thomas and Annmarie for dinner one night and grilled up some salmon we brought with us.

 Our flights there and home again all went smoothly. It took almost 2 full days to get there, and then another 2 coming back. It's a lot of time confined to a seat, and I'm always amazed that the boys do so well with it all. We were glad to get home, but it was so nice to get away for a break! Thanks again Margaret and Alfred for the nice stay, and thanks to all Darius' friends we saw for the good visits! To all those we missed, we're sorry we didn't get around to see all of you. We'll catch you all on our next visit!

Break Time

Last Monday we headed out to Louisiana unexpectedly. I'll be honest, I had some concerns about traveling during the end of my course but planned on taking my material with me to work on it there and along the way. As we were headed down to Seattle on the last leg of our flight from Cordova I pulled out my things to work on my practice transcriptions. I was sick when instead of my CD with my practice reports on it I found a movie I thought I had returned before heading out to the airport. I mixed up the disks and dropped off the wrong one by mistake. I was pretty upset at first, since without the disk there was literally nothing I could do to work on the course, but by the following morning I looked at the mishap as a blessing in disguise. Instead of stressing out over school on the trip I was able to enjoy spending time with the boys, Darius, and his family and friends. The break was nice to have and much needed.

For the Good and Bad

I'm thankful for a lot of things. No more so today than any other day, but the spotlight does seem to favor today for giving thanks, so here are some of the things on my list.

I'm thankful for the small things that make my life more comfortable every day. The very basics that some go without. I'm happy for a roof over my head, a good job for Darius that allows me to stay home with our kids and puts food on the table. I'm thankful we have supportive families and friends that love us for who we are. I'm especially thankful for a husband and children that love me despite my many flaws, for the joy they bring me, for their health, for everyday I have with them.

Then there are the less than desirable things that have happened in the past. I'm thankful for all the not-so-great stuff too. I think back to some of the low points in my life and how because of them I was forced to make decisions that took me in unexpected and different directions. It's funny how life plays out. I think back on the months leading up to when I first met Darius. It was like a domino effect. The slightest change and my life would be completely different right now. I wouldn't want that. What I have makes me very happy, very grateful.

 And then there's you! Chances are if you read the entries I post, it's likely you have had some sort of influence at some point in either my or Darius' life. You have somehow played a part and helped us reach the very point we're at now. Even if you haven't, I'm still grateful for you for coming here and wanting to hear about what we're up to and who we are. Thanks for taking part.

I'm thankful for you.

A Mighty Fine Man

I just spent most of the day at the library doing school work. I got up once during a 6-hour period (terrible I know). I came home with aching fingers, frozen toes, buggy eyes, a sleeping butt, and a very hungry belly. I couldn't even go potty while I was there...no water in the building.

What do I find when I get home? A clean home, dinner in the works, laundry in the wash, happy children, and a tray of fresh, hot.....

SAUSAGE BALLS coming out of the oven. Don't let their appearance deceive you. This is some seriously good eating! I've probably already had half a dozen of them. It's so hard to stop!

I have an awesome hubby. He handles up on things and makes everything better.

Have a I told you how much I love you today, Darius?

All about Zach

Zach is my sidekick. I literally have to avoid knocking him over. You might say he's a bit of a mama's boy right now. If I leave a room or go upstairs and he doesn't approve, he yells "Wait!" At night when he wakes up he'll have nothing to do with Darius. He'll pathetically sob and carry on as if the world is ending. As soon as I walk through the door a switch flips and it's "Hi Mama," and he's fine again. Little stinker.

Zach is a very passionate boy. When he loves something he's all in. From the top of his head to the tips of his wacky little toenails. His expressions are priceless, and I love how he sticks his tongue out when he's concentrating hard on something. He's very affectionate and is usually pretty quick to share hugs and kisses.

Since Halloween and the re-introduction of the Buzz and Woody towels, Zach has been all about dressing up. I think just about everyday since Halloween he's worn his spider costume. It's cute when he looks for his shoes and heads for the door expecting to go Trick-or-Treating again. He's also been on the lookout now for ghosts and monsters. When he hears our neighbors outside talking in our shared entryway, he looks at me with a very nervous look and tells me the voices are ghosts and that he's scared. If there are unexplained sounds he can't see, it must be ghosts or monsters.

Zach's favorite is still robots. There's the 1-legged Rodney and M-O. We've had to repair M-O several times now, and during one of it's procedures I thought I'd operate on Rodney too and give him his leg back. No good. Zach didn't want Rodney to be whole again and deliberately yanked off his leg again.

Zach also loves playing with trains, trucks, airplanes, Mr. Potato Head, and stuffed animals. He's also really into spiders now. He's very generous and shares his food and drink with all toys in general. He likes to sleep with a buddy, and I have to give kisses and say goodnight to his buddy before him.

Zach's favorite meal lately is pancakes. He asks for them everyday and would eat them at every meal if I let him. He also loves corn, but for some reason he won't always eat it unless it's on the cob. Last night he had 5 ears lined up and alternated bites between cobs, eating them all. Those were some fun diapers to change today.

Zach is very considerate. He's learned the basics of sharing and is very clever when trying to get what he wants from Ben by attempting trades. It won't always work, but he does his best to sell it to Ben anyway. What's especially sweet is when I see Zach sharing with his brother and bringing him things to play with without any prompting.

My little spider-robot-loving sidekick. I love him.