WHS' Letters Home

I told WHS as I put him on the camp bus to send me a letter when he got there...

I happened to be at Grammy's when she received a letter, too.  I might need to remind him that he really did want to go back.

A little more information.  Either way.  I love them to pieces!

4th of July

We celebrated 4th of July as soon as the boys returned from Kanakuk and just before we drove to KC to get Daddy settled in our rent house.

This one still isn't quite so sure about the loud ones.  He steers clear.

The other two are pyromaniacs...

Roman Candle instruction...

Who knows.  This is such a common look from him.  Teenager he is.

And then there is this sweet face that balances it all out.

The other pyro in the bunch.

Love these boys.  Miss this long driveway.

Still feels like we will just return home from a long vacation!

Itty Bitties

Yes, JLS (age 11) can wear his little brother's (age 8) jeans.  They are just a wee bit too short.

And he is just a wee bit too skinny!  Life with no bootie and no hips.  I envy the boy.

Happy Father's Day 2017

WHS wanted to make a very special purchase for his Daddy.  He is definitely the Daddy's boy of the three....until he is sick, then he is mine.  WHS bought matching socks for both of them to wear to church together.  And he was SO proud!

Daddy with all three cuties!

Ms. Kathye

I found this sweet note from WHS to our sweet neighbor, Ms. Kathye.  She loved the boys so much, but when we moved in, WHS was in pre-school.  So, he spent a great deal of time at her house.  He loved to go for a visit, our signal being if the garage door was up, she was free.

This note sorta breaks my heart as Ms. Kathye pinch hit for me when I had my first surgery...the one that caused all the problems.  While I was still in the hospital in Houston, Field Day happened.  I was so disappointed to miss it, but so grateful that Kathye was willing to watch the boys run their events.  Of course, I delivered this almost 2 years late, but it was as precious two years later as it would have been on the spot.  I did not tell him to thank her or even write a note.  He just wrote her on his own because he LOVED Ms. Kathye.  She had treats :)  and a pool.

Just to add on here, a beautiful spider web I almost walked thru on the way to Kathye's house one night!  We sure loved Kathye and Rich.  Miss them dearly.

Step-by-Step

This is a step-by-step tale of putting sheets on my bed.  See Ollie?

See Ollie stay in the same place?  Ollie doesn't move.

After about 10 minutes, I pulled the sheet up to allow him to take a peek.  Completely content.

After much encouragement, Ollie came out from under the sheets and allowed me to finish my job.

Ollie loves my pens as much as I do...best pen ever!

Hitting the Ground Running

When we left KC, we learned that school started August 11th...two weeks earlier than Magnolia and two weeks less for us to prepare a house to sell.  We JUST finished remodeling our house in Magnolia.  Who knew we would have such a short time to enjoy it?

Our first stop was Dallas.  At a LAX tourney with LH, JLS' bestie.  This was a tough one.  We all had tears in our eyes breaking the news to our sweet friends.

This sweet friend was about to find out the third couple in our crew of five couples was going to move.  And I had to be the last one of the three to break the news.  More tears shed.  We had such a great group of friends in our Sunday School that all had boys and we did life together.

While the company was moving us, we managed to get a few things packed up before we had the house ready to sell to tidy things up.  There is a Little Willie back there!

And such a sweet good-bye lunch for me at work.  I loved this group of therapists that made my returning to OT after so many years so much fun!

In hind site, the summer was total chaos.  Prepping the house to sell, going to camp, pre-planned road trips, last minute road trips and spending as much time as we could with friends.  It was gone in a flash.

Checking Out Kansas City

 This was such a tough trip.  Since before January, some old work buddies had been talking to  Babe about taking a job in Topeka.  This wasn't the first time someone called to talk to Babe about taking another job.  However, this was the first time, we felt confident in my health and recovery and Babe was also restless at his current job.  It was the perfect storm to at least entice Babe for a visit.  After Babe went for a visit (Remember my camping out solo with the raccoons?), his interest was piqued.  He really liked the guy who was luring him, he liked his ideas and his vision.  He especially liked that  he was a strong Christian and wanted to build the trading floor with good men...good men at their jobs and good men in life.  He was trying to get away from the "trader mentality".  After his initial visit, they asked Babe to come up with us and just look around the city to see if we liked it.  I just saw it as a free trip to visit a great city!  By the end of the trip, we were committed.  It was such a hard decision, but we had months to pray and the doors kept opening and here we are.  This was our trip after school was out to check out the city.

Boarding the plane.  WHS was super excited!

Lots of deep thoughts...

...and happy moments!

WHS loves to draw and this is what he drew of me on the plane.  He nailed it down to the black scrunchie, and yoga pants! :)

Visiting Donut-ology where you create your own donuts.

Learning how to become a Royals fan.  Its a must.

A whirlwind trip and back at the airport.  We had to return to Dallas for a Lacrosse Tournament for JLS.

Looking over Kansas trying to imagine if it was possible to live in... KANSAS?

To the next chapter...

Babe and Me

A rare photo op where Babe concedes to a photo and he is actually smiling.  At the going away party of our dear friends.  At this point, no one knew we were moving, too.  So hard to leave such wonderful friends!

Last Day of School/JLS Birthday

I always like to pick up all the boys and their friends for the last day of school.  They usually get out early after parties and we head to our house for pizza and playing or this year, we hit the movie.  We hadn't had the opportunity to celebrate JLS' birthday yet, so we made it a twofer.

WHS and his best buddy Jason D.  We don't call him Jason.  It's Jason D. Forever.

JLS and his buds kicking back ready for the show!

Best Buds....

The same birthday cookie cake every year.  Always per request and so easy for me!

Can't believe this sweet thing is 11.  He's growing up so fast and I couldn't be more proud of him.

My Little Scouts

WHS 1st Grade Awards

Mrs. Hermes was WHS' 1st grade teacher.  On the last day of school she had books made of art and stories, pictures and writing done by each child.  They were so cute!

This is something WHS wrote about his buddy Will H.  So precious.  They are dear friends of ours from church and scouts.

I took this picture of a page his other friend, Will F, wrote about him.   The Will's were tight friends at school.

Here is WHS accepting his honors for voracious reader and math/science award.

We loved Mrs. Hermes and will miss her dearly!

Luke's Awards

It was a big day for awards.  JBS first thing, then JLS and then WHS.  Phew!  

Accepting his many honors... I have them written down somewhere, but top Math Student in the 5th grade was one of them.  This is my child that taught himself how to multiply and divide out of curiosity.  He has also not only taught himself how to solve a Rubiks cube, but now he has it timed to less than 3 minutes.  Smart E. Pants.

What a cutie.

Mrs. Roachell's 4th grade class.

With his little and FUN 4th grade teacher.

Da boyz...

Ready to hit the road and be outta there!