What? My son is 20? No WAY!!

This week, my firstborn child turned 20 years old. I woke that morning thinking about the day he was born (as I do every birthday of both kids) - reflecting at the fabulous time it was (yes.. I am one of those who actually got to enjoy the labor and delivery of my children) and then it dawned on me.. Holy Cow! He's TWENTY YEARS OLD!! WHAT? I'm only 28ish... aren't I? How in the world did this happen?

Am I happy about it? Oh what an incredible young man he is.. kind, compassionate, hard-working, gentle, funny - and I could go on and on. He is truly a blessing. Sometimes my husband or I one will just stop after he's left the room.. or we've gotten off the phone with him, and say, Dang - he's a good kid.. how in the heck did we do that? (Mostly by the Grace of God, I assure you :-)

Does it make me sad? What happened to that sweet baby who looked up at me with his eyes full of love as I held him (ALL the time - I had a hard time putting my babies down). Where did that little fireball of a toddler who was constantly busy.. building, taking things apart, running everywhere - ohhh was he all over the place! Looking back - even the terrible two's (and BOY was he terrible!) don't seem so bad now. The times he threw himself to the ground screaming and kicking, the times I had to leave my FULL buggy at Wal-Mart and carry him out of the store (under my arm like a sack of potatoes) screaming because he had been awful throughout the trip and wasn't allowed the promised "treat" if he was good. The school years of band, tennis, XBox, then computers because XBox "sucked" - good grades, bad grades, friends at the house (eating everything but the cabinets), homecoming dances, prom, graduation, moving away to college...

I guess I'm both - very nostalgic, very excited about the place he is now - and the wonderful future he has ahead, and slowly but surely figuring out that I'm FORTY something... not TWENTY something.. and it's not a bad place to be - in fact, it's a great place to be. The oldest is 20 (I can say it out loud now) the baby will be 17 soon (beware the posts that are coming on that one - bday, senior pictures, etc. *sigh*) and this birthday of his has helped me reflect and realize what a fabulous, blessed life I have.. the children, my husband, my family, even my job is wonderful (most of the time ;-). So, Happy Birthday to my first baby - and Happy Reflction Day to Mom!

Pay It Forward... from Mom

I think I mentioned earlier that I had a slight interest in beginning to blog after my Mom started and I enjoyed reading hers so much {check it out at http:/stitchinbythelake.blogspot.com} she's a hoot and a great writer! ANYWAY - I've been working on what to write about, trying to learn my way around, etc. and was reminded last night that what really kicked me into starting was that I wanted to join in on a "Pay It Forward" kindof fun my mother and some of her blogger friends were doing. Following is the paragraph from her blog that got me started:

"Julie at Through the Barn Door, a new blogging acquaintence, is participating in a blogging exchange - Pay It Forward. I've decided to join with her and others in this project which is based on the Movie "Pay It Forward." This exchange focuses on acts or deeds of kindness being done without expecting something in return, just passing it on, with hope that the recipients of the acts of kindness perform their own acts of kindness. So here's how it works. I will make and send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment to this post on my blog requesting to join this Pay It Forward exchange. I don't know right now what the gift will be, and it probably won't be this month but it will be some time this summer, I promise. :) If you are one of the three, what YOU have to do in return is to pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog. So, anybody want to join in?"

Hopefully, I'll get to do some things like this in the future - for now, I'll share something special in my life:

Please allow me to talk about my children a bit and add an even more "cool factor" to this fun - originated by the film. I am very blessed to have very kind, compassionate children. My quite impatient son gets VERY frustrated with his little sister who's fastest speed is a tad bit above slow :-) and my daughter with a heart bigger than the moon has a really hard time understanding why her brother is usually impatient when helping her - but the point is, they ARE there for each other. (I wasn't sure this was ever going to happen when they were 13 and 10)!! This - is an amazingly wonderful thing. Even better, is that I also watch them both do small things constantly that mean a lot... opening the door for others, helping someone struggling with their buggy in a parking lot, reaching something on a high shelf for someone in a wheel chair... and I could go on and on. Last night when my son came by my room for our nightly "How was your day" and goodnights... he said, "Hey Mom - do you remember that movie where this guy helps someone... and the movie goes on to show how the people continue to help others...?" I replied, "Yes, the name of it is Pay It Forward - great movie". He went on to say that he and his girlfriend had watched it again that afternoon and what a cool movie he thought it was... which reminded me what a cool kid he was... which reminded me what a blessing my children are... which reminded me about my Mom's post. Wow, that was a little drawn out...

Maybe my (a little wordy) story will help you remember a special blessing you have and would like to share - like I wanted to share about my kids - I would love to hear them!

Mom, Dad, Children... and animals

We have pets. I know, lots of people have pets... and I'm sure most people out there love theirs as much as we love ours. We have a bit of a problem though - we seem to always add more. I am still in the stage of trying to decide what is interesting in my life to "blog" about, and our pets seemed to be the most obvious thing to talk about today.

Why? Well... I'm writing my blog while Husband and Daughter are off on a short errand to PetCo to buy a new "pet carrier" for the cats/ferrets to share (cat #2 must go to the vet tomorrow to be spade, as she has decided she wants to explore the outdoors and has been an inside cat until now) - and I'm sitting up in my bed (I have a back injury that keeps my home time here most of the time) and the dogs in the family are sleeping around me. The Dachsund who is 14 and pretty much lies here whether I'm home or not :-) The Jack Russell Terrier who lies here when she needs a rest from jumping up and down and running approximately 20 mph wherever she's going. And the sweet Chow/Shepard mix who barks when she hears something she thinks we need to be protected from in her loud, deep voice (but immediately runs to my side in case it's something TOO scary!).

I mentioned the cats... they both belong to my daughter. #1 is a beautiful calico who is approximately 13-years-old - and #2 is her daughter. The baby... is about 6-years-old and solid black with beautiful green eyes, which as I said, has decided she must venture into the wild (backyard) and we hate to keep her locked up, so we're going to try it out!

Last but not least, the newest additions to the family. Our son must have been homesick during his freshman year in college (yea, right) because he decided to adopt a Ball Python (21 inch baby at the time...) and they are both home for the summer (baby snake, is now about 3 feet long and MUCH larger around what used to be a "skinny" middle) - and already, Dad and I have had to baby-sit one week that included a feeding (yes, it's scary and gross!) I have a feeling because of this menagarie our children have grown up with we might be grandparents to many animals before our grandchildren come along.... *sigh* And, last - but certainly not least... the two brand new ferrets! They needed to be adopted! How could we leave them? Someone might not have taken them who would give them the love we are! Yes... I'm beginning to figure out why my parents shake their heads at our little household "zoo". But which one/ones would I do without?

When I figure out how to add them... pics will come later - and you'll see that they are all so adorable - you'll understand how we ended up with so many!

Day 2... two days later.

Well, I had all intentions of adding more to the beginning of my blogging experience several days ago... but like most things I do - it's happening, just a day or so later than I'd planned. Also, my blogging life might be short-lived, as I've just received a lecture from my son the tech-y about most people not being responsible bloggers and endangering themselves and their families because of the amount of information they post. I hate it when my children know more than I do - I remember the days (though they are quickly fading) when they had to ask me EVERYTHING! Why is the sky blue, Mommy? How much longer 'till we get there, Mom? I thought you said we weren't going to use that kind of language? Etc. Now, lessons from the 19-year-old... humbling.

I originally planned to talk about my family and my work as a teacher that are both such blessings I wanted to share with others... now, what will I do? Make up names for everyone? Find something else to discuss? Ughhh - gonna have to think about this for a day or two...

a little behind..

Well, this is my very first blog. I've started it with absolutely no thoughts or plans in preparation. Actually, I've started it because my Mom offered a homemade gift to the first 3 bloggers to comment on HER blog site yesterday as a part of a very cool "Pay It Forward" type game... and I was number 3!!!! Hurray! Mom's stuff is the Bomb! Uh Oh - I'm not a blogger though how can I participate?!? Heck, Mom's stuff is worth it - I'll try...here it is Momma ;-)



Now that I've started... I've got LOTS to say (I always have lots to say), but I've started at 10:15 pm so I'll really start tomorrow... where I'll explain what Mom's friend has started with a "play" on the movie... Pay It Forward.