Updates - Memorial

October:

Well, let's see... We've been busy working on our house. The siding has been going up pretty well, and we've committed to some quite beautiful paint colors. Even just painting the front of our house has changed the look dramatically - but there's So Much house still to go! On other days, Jermie has been busy in my kitchen. He has installed the fridge (lines for ice/water), the oven, and we've got ceiling tiles on the way. A LOT of the work he does he doesn't get credit for - I can't begin to understand all the work that goes into plumbing, electric and ventillation, you know, if I can't actually see or use it! - but I'm getting happier and happier with the progress of things around here. Also our rental property in Wichita is vacant, so Jermie has been updating flooring, the bathroom and other projects there... but we're Hoping it gets rented out soon. Jermie has been on the seasonal lay-off from work, so lots of time for Projects around here! :) He and Ashton also buddy around together most days, with Ashton only going to a part-time babysitter a couple days per week. It's been a Great change for Ashton - he has to be a Big Boy to hang out with Dad!

Gabe tells us he loves school. We have Parent-teacher conferences tomorrow night, so we'll learn how well he's really doing - ha! Looking forward to meeting with his teacher - always a little worried to hear the report! I know my boy(s) can be quite a lot of personality to handle!
Did I say little? Gabe got his cast off last week - has gained 4 pounds since the start of the school year. Lets hope a growth spurt soon follows! That boy is a Tank! And getting Big in other ways too - lost his first tooth just before Halloween. :) Already has another loose one... Growing up too fast!

Ashton is the opposite in size - skinny and taller than tall. Already too tall for some 3T jeans - but he's so small around the waist, pretty sure nothing is going to fit him right! While Gabe is learning to read, we're working on Ashton's "l's" and "r's" to get him really talking like a big boy. :) But I hate to have him lose some of the cute things he says. My favorite is: "Mom, I Acci Did put the toy down the heater vent." (Instead of accidentally.) Sometimes he's got quite the southern accent, and I have no idea where that comes from. Too cute.

I've got many great photos to share, as always, but the bad news is: my laptop was stolen from my vehicle a couple weeks ago. It was broken into, and taken from the front passenger seat. Luckily, most of my photos were backed up, but a lot of my teaching files and things like my resume are GONE for good. I was pretty mad at myself for awhile. This Recession - nothing is safe, even in Winfield. Anyways, I've got Jermie's computer, but it's just - lacking! No Windows Photo Editor, No Picasa, No Windows Live for Blogging photos in the "sky drives"... So, you've got me rambling on instead of posting pictures... For now!

I do have Halloween and some pretty gorgeous Fall Leaves photos to share. My boys out in the yard throwing leaves in the air = priceless photos. I still love my camera So Much. :)

Anyways, as I think about all the busy things I need to do, and wish for all these little things in my life to change, it's just normal stuff. A happy life, a beautiful family, a great old home and work that I enjoy. I'm blessed.

And today, this day of all days, I'm not wishing away a single thing. I can't allow myself to have a single complaint about life or anything in it. All I can do is appreciate the people around me and the life that I have. I know things change so quickly and time goes by so fast... It's been 3 years since my dad passed away and still to really think about it just knocks me down completely. Three years later and this grief is still something that I can only let touch the edges, otherwise I completely lose it. I don't want to feel sorry for myself - but when I do, I really do it well! When I'm in that mood, the funeral songs just play themselves on the radio and people around me turn conversations into memories and I can't let go of any of it. It's because I have so much to be grateful for, that I can also think: there's so much he's missed and so often he's missed. Ah, it's too much to even try to memorialize him or this terrible anniversary. In the end, I can always get myself back to that funeral. I know, you'd think I'd go there to feel terrible... not true. I can always go back to dad's funeral and there were so many examples of the lives he impacted and the powerful way he had with people - I truly, more than anything, think back to that funeral and feel so much Pride. And I know, so much support. It's crazy. It's a crazy life. So, tomorrow I'll drive to work down that blue highway, forever in blue jeans, and I'll say "Hell Yeah He Did" and I'll dry my eyes and maybe by the end of it, I will decide, It's Gonna Be a Good Day.... :)