Casting Crumbs

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOOOOOOUUUUUU!!!

Thursday was Julian’s 7th birthday. I cannot believe that he is 7 year old. I sat down with him that morning and related to him the events of 7 years ago and all the events that surrounded his wonderful entrance into our lives and our home. I still remember all the details just like it was yesterday.

We made reservations to the Great Wolf Lodge to celebrate the wondrous occasion. It was great fun and an even bigger surprise for Julian was having some friends of ours stay the night there too. They have 4 boys which quadruples the fun that a boy can have at an indoor waterpark.

Here are some pictures of his big celebration.

We ate dinner at Cheeseburger in Paradise and then had gifts and cupcakes – Ninja Turtle style!

I love this picture of him. It really shows the fun he was having. You can see his front tooth in this picture too. His second one is almost ready to come in.

Tough guys have more fun!

Over the past year I have had too many occasions to turn the final pages of the Babyhood chapter of my life forever. When you are in the middle of all the baby stuff you think it’s going to last forever but now that it’s almost gone it seems to have literally sprouted wings and flew away.

Some of those final moments were seeing the gynecologist for the last time ever because of a baby need, the final ride in the double stroller, putting away the highchair, throwing away those sexy nursing bras and no longer spoon-feeding a little mouth with my hand. I cried the night before my big garage sale as I put meaningless little prices on memories that I could not put a value on. It was hard to see strangers load up all my tangible things that held such huge memories for me and drive down the road and out of my life forever. I heard a book slam shut after that day!

Along with the sadness comes a sense of “we made it” too. I am finding that with the melancholy comes a promise of really fun times ahead for our family. Vacations where everyone can walk and eat real food. Everyone will wipe their own butt and dress themselves. These are huge “firsts” that will come with time in my life.

Monday night I experienced a brand new “first” that I am very excited about it. Julian signed up for Coach Pitch Baseball and had his very first practice. It was from 5:00 to 6:30 and I really enjoyed it. I loved how all these little boys showed up and you could instantly tell their personalities, who has played before, who wants to be there and who is competitive. My son happens to be the kid who would rather make everyone else laugh than really pay attention (wonder who he gets that from – surely not his Father!). He is the ham on the field and one of the smallest kids on the team.

Tom and I laughed because we had just watched the Sandlot the other day and this was like seeing it played out before our eyes. (Great movie, by the way – there’s some cussing but it’s hilarious!! Worth getting and watching.) When Julian walked up to meet his coach for the first time he leaned back to Jaden and knowingly whispered “He’s got a mustache!” One kid missed a ball and yelled “Dangit! Son of a Nutcracker!”. We just laughed and laughed.

Then came the ball sailing high in the air toward Julian and hit him smack in the jaw! Yeah, the little boy who had his teeth knocked out not too long ago was hit again. He boo hoo’d for awhile but we put him back together and situated him on the field. No broken teeth just a big puffy jaw to show off and a sudden loss of wisecracks.

I am looking forward to years of my kids playing sports. Of seeing them go out and try new things. They may very well stink at it or be the best – but it will be fun! This is a new “first” that I welcome. I’m even going to buy the matching shirt! I want to look like a Baseball Mom!

What happens when Mom’s of three and four kids get away for an overnight and end up at Walmart at Midnight?

The next morning after 2 hours of sleep!

Yes, it was St. Patrick’s Day.

I wanted to give you another update on my Mom.

Her scans came back showing some cancer activity around her liver. Nothing has attached itself to any of her organs and they look in good shape. She was wondering if she should just stick with the alternative things she is doing or go back to chemo (what the dr. suggested). She had another tumor marker count done and when it came back her levels had risen into the 70′s (under 20 is normal). So she has decided to go ahead with 2 chemo treatments and then have another scan and more blood work. If her levels come back good then she may continue with her alternative stuff from that point on.

Her first chemo treatment will probably be Tuesday of next week. It was a very hard decision to make. Chemo is not fun and losing your hair again is really not fun! However, Mom is doing pretty good. She continues to trust in God and knows that her life is in His hands. She is taking this one step at a time.

Thank you so much for your prayers!! I will keep you updated as time goes on.

Joshua 23:14
You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed.

Last night Evely went on her first “date” with her Daddy! A local McDonald’s has $1.99 Happy Meals on Tuesday nights, so we were headed out for a special evening meal. Tom was heading to Bible Study straight from the revered place of dining and so he kept asking who wanted to ride with him on the way down. He asked both of the boys who turned him down, which was quite a shock because he was taking the Mistress. (The Mistress is his beloved big black pickup truck that he adores, pets, cleans, pours money into and takes out on special manly occasions.)

Last Saturday we went for a little jaunt to visit the new Bass Pro Shop. We have enjoyed taking the kids to Cabella’s and thought we would venture out for another outdoorsmen experience.

Bass Pro is beautiful inside. I loved the entrance to the store as it superbly stated “Welcome all fisherman, hunters and other liars!” As you enter they have a huge fireplace with a roaring fire going, leather couches and old pictures of hunters, skins of animals, mounted fish and much more. It’s really neat to stop there for a few minutes.

We meandered to the waterfall/mountain area in the center of the store, that is the main attraction, to view the aquarium. That was where we were disappointed. It was a small wall that paled in comparison to Cabella’s walk through aquarium. The fish were pretty big but nothing too exciting. The kids enjoyed it though.

The mountain area around the aquarium has a waterfall and a lot of stuffed animals. They are mostly up high. This also didn’t compare to the animals and safari area of Cabella’s.

Here we are looking up at all the animals.

Bass Pro does have a really nice boating area. They have a deck built around several big pontoon boats so that you can walk in them and look around. That was fun. The kids enjoyed sitting in the boat seats and pretending to drive. Tom and I spent a few extra minutes on a $37,000 one that was a party barge. It would make a great party!! If any of you out there buy it, please add us to your guest list. We’ll even provide the BBQ!!

We sat on several ATV’s and dreamed of running through mud and fields.

To finish off our trip, Tom and Julian picked out some lures for Julian’s new tackle box. He loves to fish and is getting the bug already.

All in all, I would suggest Cabella’s over Bass Pro. You need to visit them both, but if you have kids they will prefer Cabella’s too. Everything seems a little bigger and better there. More stuffed animals that are much closer to see, bigger shooting game area, better aquariums and the list goes on.

It was an enjoyable day together with the fam which is always worthwhile. It’s a fun trip if you want to go somewhere new and browse.

It’s been awhile since I have blogged – sorry about that. It’s been busy around here with lots of kid stuff and just life. One of my New Year’s resolutions has been to really sit down and play with the kids, spend more one on one time with them. I’ve been doing that but it sure cuts into other stuff.

I will keep you informed as we hear the results of her tests. I appreciate all your prayers!!