The many costumes of Colby (remember he DOES have an older sister!!)

Colby loves to dress up like Paisley and Mama. He spends 75% of his time with women so keep that in mind as you look over these pictures. At least we know he's in touch with his more feminine side... I'm hoping this will make him a more sensitive husband one day. :-)

It has to end one day... but boy do I cherish it now.

These are just a few of the things we hear Paisley and Colby tell us and others each day. I love hearing such sweet things from their little mouths but I know one day it will all come to a screeching halt (for a period of time, at least). I try to remember to cherish it now and hold onto these memories through those trying, adolescent years. :-) I wish they could stay sweet like this forever.

Paisley:
"You make my heart sing!"
"I love you always and forever."
"I love you more than all of the moon and stars in the sky."
"I love you most of all."
"You're my favorite, bestest friend in the whole world."
"You make my heart smile when I think of you."
"I love you more and more each day."

Colby:
"I (long pause) LOVE (long pause) YOU!!" (as he points and grins)
"Mam" (he's trying to say 'Yes Mam" but it's so cute the way he just says "mam"
"Yea!!" (his excitement at seeing me when I walk in his room to get him)

Happy 65th Birthday, Pop!!

Happy Birthday, Pop!
We all love you very much.
Wish we could be there in person to celebrate with you!
But we did do this little video for you - check out mom's facebook page to see the outtakes as well.

The Dentist

Paisley just brought me a whole tray of pretend food - most of which she informed me was ice cream and cupcakes. (We're going to a birthday party in a few hours so I'm sensing that she has sweets on the brain.) Then she quickly informs me that the tray of food is not for me, but rather it's for her dentist. Her dentist? Really?? Since she has only been to Dr. Mike once and it was a year ago, I am astonished that she is thinking about him all of the sudden today. Of course, he's a friend and neighbor but I still am surprised she has brought him up out of the blue.

So I ask her, "This is for Dr. Mike?" To which she quickly replies, "No."
Ok, now I am really curious. My best friend is also married to a dentist and Curtis has been having some work done on his teeth recently so I'm now thinking maybe she's talking about Chuck.

So next I say to her, "Oh, this is for Uncle Chuck then?" Again, she says, "No!" without hesitation, and I might add sounding a little annoyed with me at this point.

I decide that it's best that I stop guessing and just ask her to tell me who will be the recipient of her yummy food. She tells me it's for O'Malley.
I smile.
O'Malley is our cat.

I then ask, "O'Malley is a dentist?" and she says "Yes..."
(pause)
"O'Malley is the dentist of the Lord."

My cat should be so honored.

I CAN imagine - and that is the problem!

I have been shaken to the core this morning by a story I heard on the news. I cannot stop crying. Sadly, this is just one of many tragic stories in the news each day, but for some reason this one hit me worse than the others. A 4 year old little girl climbed into her family's front-loader washing machine and her toddler brother managed to turn it on with her in there and she died. I am so devastated for this family.

Maybe it's because I have 2 children who are nearly the same ages are the children in the story. Maybe it's because I own a front-loader washing machine on which my toddler son is fascinated with pressing the buttons to see what happens. Maybe it's because I cannot imagine the pain this family must now endure... the guilt the mother will feel for taking her eyes off of her children for even 5 minutes (which is how quickly this happened)... the pain this little boy will grow up with knowing he (albeit accidentally) killed his older sister... the sorrow they all will feel year after year as they live their life without her in it. Nothing will ever be the same for any of them. Their lives, in just 5 short minutes, were forever changed in the worst way!

It's unreasonable I know... but I am now obsessed with teaching Paisley to never climb in a front-loader washing machine or dryer no matter what the circumstance!! The scariest thing is I can potentially see this happening to me one day. Paisley and Colby are playing together happily in the playroom. I go to quickly check my email or change clothes (something all mom's do from time to time without a second thought). The kids begin to chase each other around the main floor - ending up in the laundry room where Paisley thinks it's funny to climb in the front-loader to see if she fits. Colby closes the door on her and begins to press the buttons (thinking this too is funny). The machine starts and he can neither stop it nor open the door (because once it starts, you can't open it unless you have pressed the button, not once but twice, to stop the machine).

This whole scenario has just been added to my list of unbearable nightmares that I forever live with as a mother. The vulnerability of imagining a life without one of my precious children... especially due to a tragedy that could have been prevented. I worry about these nightmares daily. I obsess with how to prevent them all. But I cannot live that way. I cannot live in fear. I cannot let the Devil control my thoughts. I must place these fears and worries in God's hands and trust in Him. It is the only way to live my life. I know that - but it's not always that easy. This is a battle I fight every day. Worrying vs. laying my fears at His feet and trusting that He will never give me more than I can handle. Even though the imperfect part of me wants to remind Him of what I think I can and cannot handle - just in case He doesn't know. The irony, of course, is that He knows all of this better than I do.

I sincerely pray that this family knows the Lord. I hope they can place their devastation, unbearable pain and absolute sorrow at His feet and let Him carry them through this. There is no other way (that I can see) to survive such heartache.
"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." Psalm 34:18

Play on words

Paisley began to complain the other day that her feet were hurting. I assumed she had outgrown her shoes. The conversation went something like this:

Paisley: "Help, my feet are hurting. My feet are really hurting!!"

Me: "Oh no, sweet girl - let me see. Are your shoes hurting your feet?"

Paisley: (highly annoyed) "No, Mama! My shoes are NOT hurting my feet. My feet are hurting inside of my shoes!"