If you follow the counter on the right hand side, you will realize that Collin turned 7 months old last week. I should have blogged that day. But I didn't. I am taking the opportunity now though, so hold on to your hat. I may get wordy....
Although Kevin and I said we would take all the kids that the Lord decided to bless us with, somehow, I didn't ever think we would have more than 2. We waited so long for Byron, we figured we had reached our limit for blessings. But, oh, how welcomed he was. Here are the top seven things I love about my 7 month old.
1. He is the most snuggly of my kids. When I pick him up out of his crib in the night, he snuggles his face into the crook of my neck and wraps both arms around my neck as if to say, "Oh, Mom, I missed you while I was sleeping. Thanks for coming to love on me some more." I will always remember the feeling of that.
2. He has the cutest little smile. It lights up his whole face. But if he is tired or not feeling well, he won't smile at you. Period.
3. He has learned to say "Momma" and he uses it in context. When he realizes I am not holding him, he tries to climb out of that person's arms and says Momma until I come "rescue" him.
4. He is so observant. Just today, I was talking to him and making faces at him and then turned just slightly away to talk to someone else or look at something (I don't really remember what) and he leaned over as far as he could to continue to study my face. He doesn't miss anything.
5. He is the most unique of my babies. He rolls all over the place, crawls, and is already pulling up on things. He can get anywhere he needs to go, and is trying desperately to keep up with everything that is going on. I can't believe how fast he is developing. It seems to be much faster than the first two.
6. The boy can EAT!!! He knows when it is time to eat. He knows when supper is ready. He wants to eat what everyone else is eating and he will eat until you stop feeding him. I had heard of children like this, but never had one of my own....until now. I honestly have never fed him anything that he wouldn't eat. He seems to run out of food before he runs out of appetite. Kevin told me to start stocking the freezer. And he is right....
7. His favorite place to take a nap is always right beside me. With each child, the "you can't sleep in my bed" rule has faded just a little more. I think now it may be completely gone. From the beginning, he has slept in our bed...alot. It is what allowed me to get enough rest to function. Abby, of course, was the only child for a long time, so sleep was easy to get. Plus, she slept ALOT more than my boys do. Byron was almost like a first child again because Abby was already in school and I could sleep whenever Byron slept. This time is a bit more challenging, but at this point, we have our routine, and it works for us. Just don't get us out of it.....
Collin Mac, I love you to the moon and back. I can't wait to see what the future holds for you. May you always look to God for guidance.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Papa -- the boy, the soldier, the grandpa
The first title to this post was to be a wordless Wednesday. After finding the pictures I wanted to post, there was NO way I could let it be wordless. There is too much to say.
My granddad was a veteran. He served in World War II and was wounded in Warsaw, Poland. He was to be sent home, but wouldn't go and requested to be sent back out. I thank God every day that he was spared to be sent home at the end of the War. He then wed my grandmother and began a 50+ year love story. He always said, "I don't know what she ever saw in me. I'm glad she waited for me."
I can't tell you how many times in my life I saw my grandpa this way. He always had a bible opened on the dining room table to whatever passage he was reading at the moment. That man knew his bible. And he LIVED it.
My granddad was a veteran. He served in World War II and was wounded in Warsaw, Poland. He was to be sent home, but wouldn't go and requested to be sent back out. I thank God every day that he was spared to be sent home at the end of the War. He then wed my grandmother and began a 50+ year love story. He always said, "I don't know what she ever saw in me. I'm glad she waited for me."
Papa is on the right in the second picture.
I see Collin Mac when I look into the face portrayed in this picture. I don't know if this was before or after the war, but he hardly ever spoke of it. Memaw said early on he would wake up from some awful nightmares, but he never told her what it was about. God only knows what he saw there now. He took it all to his grave.
These two pictures were taken about 10 days before he passed away. I was lucky enough to be there when these were taken and my wonderful Aunt Dana had the forethought to take them and I am so glad she did. This was the last time I ever saw him alive. I am often floored at how much I miss him. I can still think about him and smell his skin.
I see Collin Mac when I look into the face portrayed in this picture. I don't know if this was before or after the war, but he hardly ever spoke of it. Memaw said early on he would wake up from some awful nightmares, but he never told her what it was about. God only knows what he saw there now. He took it all to his grave.These two pictures were taken about 10 days before he passed away. I was lucky enough to be there when these were taken and my wonderful Aunt Dana had the forethought to take them and I am so glad she did. This was the last time I ever saw him alive. I am often floored at how much I miss him. I can still think about him and smell his skin.
I can't tell you how many times in my life I saw my grandpa this way. He always had a bible opened on the dining room table to whatever passage he was reading at the moment. That man knew his bible. And he LIVED it. Thank God for veterans and Thank God for my granddad. He began an amazing Christian legacy for our family.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Something to pass the time...
Collin seems to have some kind of obsession with drawer handles. If I am holding him while I open a cabinet door, he practically jumps out of my arms trying to get to it. If he is on the floor, he use every method of movement he knows to try to get to it. It must be something about the shiny-ness of it or something weird. He was in the floor, supposedly playing, when I heard the noise that I knew to be a drawer handle in his room. Honestly, the boy played with the handles for 5 minutes, at least. He would lift it, and it would drop and bounce a few times. I can't find the joy in that, but I do find the joy in the fact that he finds joy in that. That makes perfect sense, doesn't it?
So, this is the video I managed to get. When I arrived with the camera, it was almost like he smelled it and decided to quit immediately so as not to have evidence. But I persisted and got a little of what happened. As always, Byron wanted to get in on the action as well, and ended up getting smeared with his own peanut butter in the process. This is also the spoon full of peanut butter he was suppose to be eating in the kitchen. Oh well, that is one of those minor battles in my book.
Collin is so very close to crawling. I don't know what "step" would be in crawl-language, but he took a couple of "crawls" today. It won't be long now and Christmas will be FUN!!!!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Happy Birthday, Nana
I have been really bad about blogging lately, but I hope to remedy that situation in the next week or two. Of course, by the time I get caught up to today, I will have another week or two to catch up on. Oh, well. I have PLENTY of material to keep me going.
My Mom, the fabulous Marianne McGowan Richardson, was able to celebrate another birthday on October 27. Yes, that means both of my moms are October babies. Sadly, as much as I wanted to be with the woman who gave me life on the day she was given life, it was not meant to be. My mom lives in Florida now, so I don't get to be with her as much as would like, or any at all for now. Luckily, my wonderful brother and his beautiful, sweet wife get to look out for her and be with her as much as they like. Plus she gets to spoil a couple of grandkids as often as she likes. That's not half bad.
What to say about my mother? Where to begin? All of my short life, she has been a single mother. With 4 kids. FOUR kids. I struggle with my 3 and my wonderful husband is there to help me as often as I scream for it. How could she have raised such amazing children (and I speak more of my 2 fabulous sisters and the aforementioned awesome brother than I do myself)? She raised us to fear God and always to put him first. She struggled to make it at times. ALOT. But she did it. But you would never know of the trials she faced based on her outlook on life now. She fears God and her ultimate goal is to serve Him in Heaven someday.
But that's not all. She raised 4 Christian kids. And then she had her own life to live. But then, in October of 2005, she chose to quit her job and care for her cancer-striken mother, my Godly grandmother, until she passed away in February of 2006. The story doesn't end there. Her father, my amazing grandfather, was so grief stricken at the passing of the love of his life, he almost immediately required more care. So for the next 3 years, 5 months and 4 days, she was by his side every minute of every day, caring for him in absolutely any way he needed her. He had been by my grandmother's bedside for almost every minute of her last few months. He ate there, prayed there, talked to her, and slept in a recliner holding her hand until she faded away. It took a toll on this 79-yr-old man, and my mother was there to pick up the pieces and care for him until he went to be with her in July 2008. And she did it without complaint and fantastically. There are a couple of extra stars in her crown if you ask me.
My Mom, the fabulous Marianne McGowan Richardson, was able to celebrate another birthday on October 27. Yes, that means both of my moms are October babies. Sadly, as much as I wanted to be with the woman who gave me life on the day she was given life, it was not meant to be. My mom lives in Florida now, so I don't get to be with her as much as would like, or any at all for now. Luckily, my wonderful brother and his beautiful, sweet wife get to look out for her and be with her as much as they like. Plus she gets to spoil a couple of grandkids as often as she likes. That's not half bad.
What to say about my mother? Where to begin? All of my short life, she has been a single mother. With 4 kids. FOUR kids. I struggle with my 3 and my wonderful husband is there to help me as often as I scream for it. How could she have raised such amazing children (and I speak more of my 2 fabulous sisters and the aforementioned awesome brother than I do myself)? She raised us to fear God and always to put him first. She struggled to make it at times. ALOT. But she did it. But you would never know of the trials she faced based on her outlook on life now. She fears God and her ultimate goal is to serve Him in Heaven someday.
But that's not all. She raised 4 Christian kids. And then she had her own life to live. But then, in October of 2005, she chose to quit her job and care for her cancer-striken mother, my Godly grandmother, until she passed away in February of 2006. The story doesn't end there. Her father, my amazing grandfather, was so grief stricken at the passing of the love of his life, he almost immediately required more care. So for the next 3 years, 5 months and 4 days, she was by his side every minute of every day, caring for him in absolutely any way he needed her. He had been by my grandmother's bedside for almost every minute of her last few months. He ate there, prayed there, talked to her, and slept in a recliner holding her hand until she faded away. It took a toll on this 79-yr-old man, and my mother was there to pick up the pieces and care for him until he went to be with her in July 2008. And she did it without complaint and fantastically. There are a couple of extra stars in her crown if you ask me.
Mom, I love you more than you will ever know. I miss you every day. I know you are happy in Florida and I am glad. Thank you for the example you set for your children and your grandchildren. Your legacy will live on in them and in me as long as I live. Happy **th Birthday. ( I won't tell the actual number!)
Byron took this picture. If you want to be in one of his pictures, you have to duck to get into it. And FAST! But this one wasn't too bad!
Mom, with my brother and sweet nephew and niece. SIL didn't get to be there this time.
Mom, with my brother and sweet nephew and niece. SIL didn't get to be there this time.
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