{Wildly}

Maddox. 

You are wild.

Wildly creative, generous, compassionate.

Wildly loud, & busy & mischievous.

When you were born you came in the middle of THE very WORST stomach bug our family had ever had! I prayed all night long that you were not coming yet. Something told me you were planning an early arrival. Tre & Britton were sick with fevers & Daddy was curled up on the floor in the bedroom with vertigo. I was not left unscathed. I was so sick. But Mommies do not get days off, so I was moping & holding babies & making cocoa & ginger ales. the contractions started to get stronger, but I certainly was not prepared to greet you on such a busy day. I called Omah & Opah & told them I think maybe it was time, but wasn't sure. You were not due for weeks. I always second guess my self.   Omah got in the car & started to drive south to our small town in Kentucky. I called up Ms. Tamsyn (who also just had a baby) & asked her if she could come sit with your brothers while I went to the hospital. she arrived & I was crawling on the floor mid contraction while trying to fold laundry. I wanted the house to be clean. You know mommy. I'm silly sometimes. Daddy pulled his pale face together to look strong for me. Your sickly parents leaned on each other as we walked down the side steps to the car in the snow.  Sure enough you were coming. Just a few hours later you were in our arms. You were so peaceful those first few days. & then. it. alllllll. changed. Boy did YOU change. You started to cry. You did not stop for 3 1/2 years. Maybe your tummy hurt, or maybe it was over stimulation, maybe it was sensory issues or maybe it was your early arrival. We will never know. But we do know that we would endure those long days & nights all over again to have such a sweet blue eyed boy. You are a gem. You are one in a million. No one anywhere in this place or time has ever been YOU. Everyone who meets you falls in love with you. not like. LOVE! Its the way you hand out candy to everyone you pass, the way you call everyone your best friend, the way you are always skipping, singing a happy tune, joyful. I love you WILDLY! 

Love, Momma

For His 6th birthday we had our usual pancake breakfast, presents from Omah & Opah. Then for lunch we met up with our dear friends to play & eat. Finished off with red velvet cake (his favorite.) The restaurant had a playground making it a long & leisurely lunch for my Mom & I & the ladies. 

Rod has been away for months now. Its been hard on all the kids, but particularly Madds as his birthday approached. Technology is pretty great. We face timed with Rod when we sang to Madds one last time before bed. It made Maddox smile & completed the day perfectly! Its hard to believe the once so sad baby is now a jovial big boy. I feel truly blessed to be his mom. 

{Arctic Blast}

With Rod gone months in a row I find that after I tuck that last little in bed I want only to crawl into bed & read or watch some made for TV Christmas movie on netflix. But tonight I am totally stressed that I am not documenting my kids as well as I have in past months & years. I use my iPhone & post instagram & that's great, but I want to remember all of it. Like Today I felt so incredibly busy. I do not like the word "busy" nor do I want to call myself "busy." But today I was busy because little things kept coming up & keeping me from stopping. We did the Y thing this morning & Presley & Cooper were pleased to see their friends John & Fiona & Andrew were there too. They made turkeys & necklaces & played. We got home & I jumped into the shower for a quick wash with my fingers crossed the entire time that Cooper would not open the front door & take a stroll around the neighborhood without me. He is sneaky.  I pulled my hair back in a pony, grabbed Presley's school bag & took the sweet thing to school. She is very competitive lately. She always wants to be the first of her classmates to arrive at school. She yells "I win."  She's my nut.  Cooper & I ran a few errands, got home, kicked off our shoes & warmed some lunch & milk. I laid him down & then then H.O. Clinic came across my phone. Super. I knew it meant one of the boys was in the nurses office. It was Britt. It required me to actually go to the school, but I had just put the baby down so I dialed a neighbor & I really cannot say enough about sweet Ronda. She is forever there for me & mine! She sat in my house while Cooper slept & I ran to pick up Britton. I love him. He is the most tender & brilliant boy. But he comes with the mind of a daydreamer & a fear of all things. He had a scare at school & just needed to recuperate at home. Maybe I am babying him, but I can say with confidence that I will never regret giving Britton a few extra moments one on one when he so clearly needs me. We had some quiet together while cooper slept & the other children finished their school day. We met Presley & Maddox at the bus & we snacked & everyone told me about their day at the same time while showing me pretty pieces of artwork & papers with smiley faces. We then had to get over to the school to pick up T after his student Council meeting. I love that T is so driven to be a part of everything! Choir, Student Council, 4th grade book club, scouts, football, lacrosses, math team, gifted & talented program, fitness presentations...all of it! If its asked of him or offered to him...he wants to do it! Student council is great because it gives him opportunities to work & serve. Today they sorted food donations that were collected for our sister school (in a less affluent area of the city.) T is going to be something amazing when he is grown. We picked up T, & drove over to speech. Maddox spent his time working on "doggie teeth & doggie lips" to say his Rs with our beloved Ms. Felinda. She may not know this, but she is very much my family here. I feel love & security when my children are with her, & when we get to speak after sessions. She is very important to us. Today while Maddox was in his session Cooper needed me to raise him up & down on my leg, leaving Presley to need someone to snuggle with her. She took T's arm & wrapped it around her. He gladly drew her in & let her rest her head in the nook of his shoulder while he read & she played palace pets on the iPad. Christine, whom we also love very much took note of the two snuggling siblings & remarked how sweet T is. Yes. He really is just the most helpful son. I felt so much pride in my little troop in that moment. & Then things got crazy & I had to hold onto that warm fuzzy pride so not to have a meltdown in the waiting room. Getting stickers after sessions is always a frenzy! It was 5:30 by the time we were all buckled in & heading home. I had put rice in the pot before leaving, but the toppings were untouched in the fridge. It turned into a drive thru night complete with plastic toys. Everyone is in bed. The house is still. I am finally sitting down to feel & to think about the day & its pace. It was a good day. Busy. But Good.

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During the arctic blast the kids wanted to play in the yard. It was cold & their fingers turned blue, but they had such a great time playing together. We had cocoa & dug out our Christmas books while we warmed up....