My Itty Bitty

I am VERY behind on posting about Gray's last 14 weeks of life, but I am working on it! I am enjoying blogging much more these days as I don't feel I have to but really want to! There are so many times I think of something funny or clever and then never get around to posting about it but I am working on writing things down so I don't forget. How time flies!

Here are a couple pictures I took recently. I always seem to hit 'click' right before or after the smiles!

He has changed so much in this short span of time. He is very alert and is already laughing and talking!

He can be very serious at times and then very silly at other times.

He loves his big brother's attention and tries to play along with them sometimes.

His hair is coming in but is still a mystery as to what color it might change to. Another blondie? Maybe darker? Will SOMEONE look like me already??? :)
He's a "Tucker", that's for sure!


Thank you, Jesus, for my itty bitty!


I so love this itty bitty with every bitty of my heart!

Death. Remembrance. Love.

A few weeks ago, I attended the wake of a very dear, sweet man who passed away from a battle with cancer. He is the grandfather and step-father to two of the most dearest people to me. My husband had some fun memories of going golfing with him, which was one of his favorite things to do and I too have fond memories of chatting with him and his dear wife at different events and parties that we were at together. There was just something about these two. They were just so cute together. The kind of older couple that were so in love and that stuck in your mind.



Death. It's hard. There's no easy thing about grief. The only assurance is knowing Jesus as your Saviour and knowing we'll see loved ones again some day. Whenever I go to a wake or funeral, or even hearing that some I knew had passed, it always seems to stay with me for a while. I think of that person often. I think about death. I think about 'what if I die' and 'how will people remember me'?



Remembrance. In the past five years, my life has changed dramatically. My name changed. My address changed. My church changed. My status changed. I am now a wife and mother though still a daughter, sister niece and friend. I have more family members now, I have more friends and a bigger church family. If I die, how will they all remember me?



Will I be remembered for not writing, not calling or emailing or staying in touch? Or will they say I was friendly and caring? Will they say I was quiet and kept to myself? Or will they say I'm hospitable and love having fun with family and friends?



Will they say I was a Christian? Will that come to mind automatically? Will they say I loved and cared and prayed for them? Will they say I tried to be like Jesus? Will they say I knew my Bible and loved to serve in church? Will they say I was a giver? Will they say I was happy?



Death makes me think of these things. Do you ever think about these things?



Love. Love is a many splendor thing. Love is so precious, and needed and wanted by many. I love my husband so much. I love my boys. I love my big family. I love my church family. But do I love those who hate me? Do I love those who I don't really like? Do I love and try to share Jesus with anyone or everyone I meet? I think about these things.



Love is more than vows to my husband on our wedding day. Love is more than that first kiss I gave to my baby boys on their arrival into this world. Love is more than just saying "I love you". Love is Jesus. Everyone needs love. Everyone needs Jesus.



Remembering makes me love. Remembering certain events or emotions can bring on more feelings of love for someone. Just today, I was sitting in my chair going through coupons (man, do I do anything else??) and Luke came up to me with lips pooched out. He came barrelling into my face and gave me a big kiss and said "I love you" all on his own. I could have passed out with overwhelming love. There is nothing like it. You know what I mean...



But when you think of Love, do you think of Jesus? Does His dying on the cross for us just become an old memory? We know He died, but do we remember it often and love Him more for it? Do we thank God for giving away His only son? I can't imagine losing a child, but to give one away intentionally... are you crazy?? Do you ever think of this? Even if you don't have children, imagine something so precious to you. Could you live without it?



Death makes me remember. Remembering reminds me to love. Love makes me think of Jesus.



Jesus loves me, this I know. For the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong. They are weak but He is strong!



This song brings many emotions to me when I hear it. Not only from remembering when I sang it often as a child but now hearing my own child singing it, ugh, I could cry a river.



Please let this post encourage you to stay in touch, be a friend, be a listener, pray for others, be a help, be a giver with no intent on being a receiver, be hospitable, give time to others, enjoy others company, serve in church, go on dates with your husband, play with your kids, make a meal for someone, visit someone in the hospital, send a card in the mail, love, love, love... you get what I'm saying.



Please let this post encourage you to be more in love with Jesus. This is a goal of mine. A goal with really no intention of ever being met. How can you stop falling in love with Him?





Yes, Jesus loves YOU.

Yes, Jesus loves YOU.

Yes, Jesus loves YOU

The Bible tells YOU so!





And I love you too!

::Mary::

::Mama Drama::

Hello, ladies who follow me... and Dad... (love you, dad!)

It's 11:21pm. I should be sleeping. Or at least in bed. I just ate dinner actually. Not good for trying to lose weight, I know. Do I get a treat for clearing my plate too? :) Being a mom was tough today. I'm happy to say I made it through though. Sometimes I sit back and think, "Am I really a mom already? I can't believe I have three kids already! I can't believe I have THREE BOYS!" (insert a deep breath in and out)

Baby boy decided to wake up a little early today which threw my day off to start. Middle boy decided to wake up with a cold, cough and runny nose of a certain color. First boy decided to wake up with more energy than he knew what to do with, which made his mommy a little frazzled. And it was only 7:30am.

Think positive, Mary. It could be worse.

It got worse.

First boy decides he is "really hungry" (he is into the word "really" as of this week). As I am getting pancakes ready, middle boy wakes up calling me with that sick, nasily voice while baby boy is letting me know he is hungry too. Really hungry. So as big boys are eating, I decide to feed baby boy. No sooner did I start feeding, than first boy needs to go to the bathroom and needs my assistance. Way to go, that potty-training. (see yesterdays post) Okay. While first boy is 'going', baby boy is crying and middle boy is sneezing something horrendous. I came out to view a stream of ooziness. I am smart though and grab TWO tissue boxes and put them in very accessible places for this day. Okay. Breakfast is done.

Playtime. Playtime goes well other than excessive sneezing, bringing out excessive nose junk, and me bringing out the clorox wipes. No problem, got it covered.

My parents came over today after being out of state for 2+ weeks which was a welcomed visit. Baby boy is automatically content with the attention and big boys enjoy their treats and sea shells from the beach. The visit was nice and everyone enjoyed it until it was time to leave. Me included. No one to talk to, well to talk to about something other than trains and playing and where is daddy and m&m's. Well, I do like to talk about m&m's sometimes.

In the meantime, I get a call from some man I can't understand saying I was 'picked' to get a $10,000 grant from the government, no payback and no tax. All mine. Yeah, right. He has my name and address but called me on my cell phone which sparked my scammy mind. I asked how he got it. He said 'they' did a demographic survey and I was picked. Who is 'they'? He sounded like a man from a tribe in Nigeria somewhere. I said "Did you say democratic? I am not a democrat". After going back and forth a couple times, I finally figured out what he was saying. Okay. So I say, I don't understand why I got picked and how you got my cell number. He proceeds to then repeat his whole schpeel word for word. He then verifies my address again, which was correct, and then asks for my date of birth. I said "You have my cell number, address and name. How do you not have my date of birth?" I felt like saying "Would you like my social security number?". He then says they need it for verification so they can send a check in the mail. I am starting to get a little frazzled. He then says "OR we can deposit directly into your checking account if I provided the number..." Okay. Are you serious? Come on. I ended it by saying if he wanted to send something in the mail, send it. No more info. He proceeded to say he'd call back in the evening. Okay, whatever. How do these things happen to me? Am I going to have a $50 charge on my cell phone bill for this call from who knows where?

Okay. So, nap time comes around. Another welcomed time. First baby boy goes down. Not a peep. Amen. Then big boys go down. After a few tissues and hugs and kisses, all is quiet on the mommy front. Oh my. What an enjoyment. I jumped online and checked out a few blogs about fall decorating. I bugged my sister through email to help me with a few projects if she had time and I bugged my sister-in-law for fall decorating ideas and such and then I bugged my mom via phone about helping me with fall decorating ideas as well. You can see whats on my mind. And why does this time go so fast. Before I knew it, it was almost 3pm and I hadn't eaten lunch yet. Okay. Lunch eaten.

Now it's almost 4pm. First boy walks out of his bedroom, still half asleep with his hair all bedhead-y and can you guess what the first thing that came out of his mouth was?? Yep. He has to go to the bathroom. "Really go, Mom". I guess I should be happy. We went from "no potty" to "constant potty". But, it's a good thing. I keep telling myself that. Okay. Middle boy still sleeping. That's good. Baby boy wakes up. I feed him. Okay, that's done. Now I think of what to make for dinner. Leftovers it is! :) In the meantime, I'm running back and forth from room to room, putting away laundry and this and that from my never-disappearing to-put-away pile. Okay. Done. It's 5pm. It's 5:30pm. It's 6pm. No hubby. No call. Okay. Don't worry.

Okay. It's 7pm. Hubby calls. Coming home soon. Okay. He's home. Dinner is served. Time to clean up. No, time to get baby boy ready for bed. Big boys playing, daddy resting, baby eating, mommy frazzled. 8pm. Baby boy should be sleeping. He's not. Fussy-ness comes. Baby sleepy. 8:30pm. He's out. Okay, a little off schedule but not too bad. Time for big boys to go to bed. Songs, hugs and kisses and am I forgetting something? Okay. Lights out.

Nigerian man didn't call back. No surprise.

Missed church tonight for middle boy being sick and daddy coming home very late. Realized earlier in the day that I was out of very important food items for our family. Milk, bread. Had a great coupon for baby formula that I keep on-hand. Decided to run out after everyone was in bed for a quick 30 min. trip. 9pm. Leave. Run through the bank atm to deposit a check I've had forever since I can hardly get out anymore. Get to the store. Go in and look in my purse for my list and coupons. No list. No coupons. What? Are you kidding me? Okay. Drive home to get the coupons. Thankfully, I only live 7 minutes away. I get a call while turning onto my street. It's hubby. The boys are crying. They need you. ME? Ugh. Okay. I come in and go straight to their room. Oh, I DID forget something. The medicine. So, middle boy decides he doesn't want cherry-tasting medicine. I play a little Mary Poppins trick and in it goes. I did a "Mary". Get it? My name is Mary too? Okay... Well, a little medicine comes out but most goes in. Great job, middle one! First boy tells me he's 'really' sick. Okay with the 'reallys' already, first one. So, I do a little jig and sing a little tune and off to sleep they go with smiles. Check in with the hubs. He's half sleeping from a LONG days work. Tell him, I'm off the store. Again. With list and coupons in hand.

Still thinking of fall decorations.

Get to the store and start over. Okay. Got everything off my list with a couple freebies and deals I found while looking in their clearance. Go to pay. Only one cashier and 4 in line. Okay. My turn. All goes well until pay time. I paid and walked away thinking, what did I buy? Check my receipt. Clearance item rings up for $5 instead of .99 cents. Okay. Walk back in and check with cashier. Customer service is closed at 10pm. Its 10:15pm. Wonderful. Okay, what do I do? Come back another time? Customer service lady comes out of room with double mirror (I always laugh at that room) and opens a new register to do the return/credit. Okay. That's done. Walk out and load up car. While driving home, I call my mom since I forgot to call her earlier. Talk about fall decorations. Having nice conversation when 'chirp, chirp, chirp'... Cell battery is going. Talk fast, mom. Get home. Unload and put away. Realize, I didn't eat dinner. Sister calls. We chat and laugh together at the news anchors outfit on tv. Okay. Talk to you, tomorrow, sis. I eat something and decide to check email again since I'm not so tired from my rondevous to the store. My email then makes me think to check my blog which BUGS me because I cannot, for the life of me, center the boys picture in the title. Anyone who can help, please do. I am all about centering.

I'm centering. Get it?

Now, it's 12:11am. Hello, Thursday.

Goodnight, Mary. Get ready for another exciting day tomorrow!

Dirty Talk

This is clean, don't worry! :)

I believe I can officially share with the world that Luke is toilet-trained!!! Picture me crying and smiling while I'm typing this! If a 3 year old comes in your bedroom at 1am and tells you he has to use the restroom, I call that being trained!!!

It seems I have waited an eternity for this time and I'm just so thankful that it has arrived. That means I'm down to only 2 in diapers, which is a blessing in so many ways. I have recently started training with Zach but having one under my belt has given me much confidence that I can train again!

Funny story...

Last week, I took Luke and Zachary outside to play. They are very good at staying close to the house so I don't watch them every second of their playing. I took a basket of coupons outside to cut and was sitting at our patio table. We have a little Hot Wheels Jeep that they drive around the house so they were doing laps and enjoying their time together. I got really into my coupon organizing and realized they hadn't made a lap around in a few minutes. I called out Luke's name as I started moving toward the front of the house. As I was walking, I asked what he/they were doing. I heard "playing with blueberries". Still walking to the front, I was thinking... "blueberries? Did he mean the little plastic golf balls or the little outside blocks we have?" As I reached the front of the house, I saw them a short distance away under a little tree between our house and our neighbors. My heart sank as I realized what Luke meant. His "blueberries' were in reference to a pile of deer droppings under the tree. Here are my two angels, throwing deer do-do in the air like confetti at a New Years Eve party... (insert 'sigh')

I ran over to them, grabbed their arms and dragged them in the house so fast they were kind of in shock as to what was happening. As I feverishly washed their fingers, hands and arms, I explained that 'those things' weren't 'blueberries' and they were never to touch them again! Needless to say, I will keep a better eye on them for a while yet! :)

This quote appropriately explains my life -
"Mothers of boys work from son up to son down"

We got a puppy!

Isn't he a cutie?

He even smiles!

His name is Gray!

We just LOVE holding and cuddling with our new puppy!

Our puppy is silly and makes us laugh! This puppy doesn't like to sit still and even drools!

But, we're so glad we have this puppy! We love him!

:: Cute ::

Grayson has been doing great at sleeping, my best sleeper yet! He takes 3 sometimes 4 naps a day and is sleeping between 9-10 hours a night. I'm doing my best at keeping him on a schedule even with all the business we have but I have to praise the Lord and thank my grandma for praying for a good sleeper!

I went in to check on him during one of his naps on my bed and found this...

I can relate to this most days :)

OWW

Welcome to the beginning of my "One Word Wednesdays"!

Please enjoy little snipits of our lives! :)

Sleepy

Mischievious

Protector

Loving