His smile, my eyes
My temper, his patience
Puzzle pieces of us that make you all your own
HE put you together
Then
Gave us the privilege
Of
Holding you
Singing together
Pasting, coloring and painting
Watching you grow
Dancing
Learning from you
Loving you
Running beside you
Laughing because of you
Baking with you
Making mistakes
Twirling
Hurting for you
Knowing forgiveness
Teaching you
Breathing you in
Everyday
While you are ours to have
And while we hope the having lasts, there is no amount of time that could ever be too much
So we will love you for you
Continue to make mistakes
And HAVE the days we have

For the love of "The Odd Life of Timothy Green," days filled with each other, mistakes, forgiveness and puzzle pieces of us,
Me

Odd: differing from that which is usual, ordinary or expected

I hope so

Words of a memory for A.D.R.

Times tables
Sock eraser
Chalk
And kleenex box friends

Bad perms
Bomb threats
Single file walks
And prayer

Basketball
Slumber parties
Nightmares
And scary movies

FCCLA
Elf costumes
Presentations
And dreams in San Diego


Blond streaks and red turned purple
Trendy cuts
Dance moves
And dresses


Locker partners
Cheerleader and jock
First loves
And first heart aches

Falling away
Repentance
Renewed commitment
And accountability

Grey and Purple
Student IDs
Wildcat games
And husband introduction

Campbell's chicken and rice
Maid of honor
Shopping
And Fire safety

Trips to the mall
M&M Blizzards
Scripture study
And lifegroup

His first marriage choice
Her first prophecy
Writing
And new phases of life

I don't remember every wanting a sister

But for as long as I can remember I've had you
Maybe that's why

For the love of memories made with you A.D.R. (soon to be ADD), new chapters, husbands, adventures and the hope which brings joy of sharing eternity,
Me 

And I thought...

The playlist ceased
The quiet encompassed
Just the sound of friction
Black rubber tires spinning against the hot concrete
And I thought of you
Laughter, banter, snacking, and voices too loud you


Golden arches littered the roadside
And I thought of you
Joy from cheap toys, sipping, and devouring


The pale blue sky stretched
Meeting the dusty earth
Hemmed together with trees
The clouds shifted, a dancing fairy waived her wand unafraid of the fierce dragon
And I thought of you
Colorful imagination, creating, directing, and dress up

The ice cream-peanutbutter cup mixture melted
And I thought of you
Messy chins, napkins, and M&M's

The road turned familiar
Cars outnumbered cows
Grey lanes marked with white and yellow replaced the pale brown fields
My foot fell heavy on the pedal
And I thought of you
My children, my home

J.Biebs, BFF, And Self-Control

After a whole 3 hours together
This is the farewell spoken by J.Biebs back-pack friend
"Bye BFF"
Best. Friends. Forever.
I had a self-proclaimed BFF
At 12
We had sleep-overs, played dress-up, make believe, both loved cats, stuffed animals overflowed our rooms and eventually we could be found singing and jumping on the bed to Ace Of Base
But the real proof is the half-heart we each wore
And in case you were wondering yes she's still my friend
18 years, husbands and babies later
But really all C could talk about was how
A certain little boy got his trophy taken down
On the FIRST day of Kindergarten
What?!
She then in dramatic detail unfurled the story of how he
Lost
His
Self
Control
It started with refusing to vocalize"'here I am' in the name game"
And ended with screaming "HERE I AM - NO-NO-NO!"
And more "Screaming at Mrs. Dedon!"
Silver lining - C shared how she [and the rest of the class] enjoyed an extra recess
So afore mentioned boy could "cool off"
Then "he went to the principals office"
As far as I can tell C has sat by a different person each day
Trying to get the mix right I'm sure
But she's very proud to have kept her self-control trophy up the last 3 days



For the love of potential BFF's, old friends, self-control trophies, and the detailed recounting of classroom drama,
Me

Life

The seed breaks the soil straining for the sun
But the rain never comes
The sun beats down
Wind torments it's fragile body
And it withers
Retreating back to the soil 
Scorched
But not destroyed
Back to the roots
Where life hides
And living water nourishes
In season it will rise again
And though the sun and wind threaten
The rain will come
The roots will hold fast
And in that season it will bloom

Firsts

Donuts
Juice
And Sausage
The breakfast of champions
On
Another first day of school
This year 1st grade...
Details are not his forte
But his summary made me smile
"It started off perfect and ended perfect"
His high for the day shared at dinner was
"Two recesses"
Lunch was shared with
"Annabel"
And they talked about
"What was going on"
His astute observation when asked about new friends was
"It takes a little while to make friends mom, but I did learn a few names"
In start contrast to our simple, factual, sometimes moody son...
Pouty lips graced her beautiful face as we walked home
Required to wait until Wednesday to officially start her school year
And
"disappointed I don't get to stay all day"
Sister sulked for approximately 1.75 hours
Through crayon labeling
And backpack packing
Until it was Kindergarten conference time
Her turn
It took her all of 2 seconds to make a new "friend" (whose name escapes her) during her brief Kindergarten conference.
FYI I'm not sure how keen I am on the Justin Bieber backpack carrying friend - but hey she's a 2 second friend...so let's not jump to conclusions
She's passionate, imaginative and more ready for this first than mom

For the Love of growing up, working through disappointments, new friends, new names, and both perfect beginings and endings,
ME