A few weeks ago, the boys and I stopped at Poinsett Park in Travelers Rest. While we were there, Freddie went down the super-high, spinny slide, but Jones would have none of it.
We went back today - meeting up with my friend Christy and her three girls. Early on, Jones was as stand-offish as he'd been before. He'd stand at the top and watch Freddie go down, but he had ZERO interest in doing it himself.
Then, as I stood there talking to Christy, I suddenly turned to the slide and, to my ELATED surprise, JONES WAS GOING DOWN IT! And he kept going down it again and again and again.
I was so, so proud.
When I put him to bed tonite and asked what he was thankful for today, he said, "I'm thankful we go to the big, giant park."
Whining, fighting, and disobedience - primarily on Jones's part - marked the day and left me texting Jeremy IN ALL CAPS about how miserable things were here at home.
Just before bed, though, things took a sudden turn. Our 6 year old neighbor girl stopped in during dinner, and after she left, as Jones was getting ready for bed, we had this conversation:
ME: "Are you glad you got to see Aubrey? Is she your friend?"
JONES: "No."
ME: "Well, who IS your friend."
JONES: "YOU'RE my friend."
When we decided to buy Freddie the Cozy Coupe Pick-Up Truck for Christmas, we assumed it'd be a one-child-at-a-time sort of proposition. Playing outside today, however, the boys proved me wrong.
I turned around to see BOTH OF THEM sittin' shotgun. According to Jones, they were heading for a trip - the first of many these two will take together, I'd imagine.
J: Can you push the derr?
K: I think it's ready to go.
J: Okay.
F: I coming with you.
K: Do you want me to shut your tailgate, Buddy?
J: Thanks for the ride!
K: You're welcome.
J: You're welcome.
K: Where' ya going boys?
J: We're going for the trip!
K: Where ya' going?
J: We're going for the trip!
K: I sure will miss you.
J: I miss you, too.
K: Be careful!
J: We will, but first, we gotta take Freddie's new truck ... See ya wheater. Freddie, drive. DRIVE. Good bye, Mama, and happy Easter. Get out of the way. Go 'side the garage derr. Sank you. It's getting dark.
It's been one of those days - and I don't mean that in a bad way. I mean, "it's been one of those days" in that it seems like every other second, the boys were doing something that I didn't want to forget ... as opposed to "one of those days" when, every other second, it seems like the boys are doing something I'm afraid I WON'T forget.
Here's a list:
1) We cuckled for a good, long time this morning. It just made me so, so thankful that I'm home with the boys and able to lay on the couch, watching "Toy Story" for as long as we want to every morning.
2) When I finally decided to get up and get some breakfast for the boys, Freddie had a special order for me.
3) We had to stop and pick up my migraine medicine this morning. While we waited at the pharmacy drive through, Jones coughed. Freddie said, "Are you okay, JoJo?" Jones answered, "Yes. I'm okay, but thank you for checking on me."
4) I was in the back of the house, getting ready to go out to dinner when I heard Jones say, "Are you sure we can do this, Freddie? But HOW?"
5) When he got into the garage to get in the car to go to dinner, Jones saw his frog headlamp. He put it on and said to me, "It's dark in here, but I have my light." He proceeded to wear it into the restaurant. He kept turning it on. Even when I'd try to sneak and turn it off, he was wise to me and would turn it back on.
6) On the way to dinner, Jones was playing with Tigger and the new yellow rabbit his Nan gave him for Easter. Having seen Tigger call Rabbit "Long Ears" on "Winnie the Pooh," Jones has started calling just about everything "Wong Ears." For example, after I prayed the other day, I said, "Amen, Buddy?" and he responded, "Amen, Wong Ears."
Well, on the way to dinner tonite, his stuffed Tigger said to his stuffed Rabbit, "Wook at dese cars, Wong Ears!"
7) Freddie REALLY likes the Black Bear's "chock-it cake," which is actually peanut butter pie, but what does HE know?
8) At the end of the day, the boys played with the Bubble Machine that they got for Easter.
It was another wonderful day.
I was trying to get the boys to come
to the window, so that I could get a
picture of them with their new bunnies.
Freddie kept running away, so in this picture,
Jones is "leading" him over to me ...
while simultaneously watching "Fireman Sam."
Why isn't there a chapter in any of the baby-raisin' books
about how hard it is to get a good family candid on a holiday morning?
I have been so looking forward to Easter this year.
I always do, I guess - the warmer weather, the new outfits, the yellow belles blooming in the backyard - but this year, the Holy Spirit has really led me to think about what would've happened if Jesus HADN'T risen from the dead. With that in mind, Easter morning was all the more thrilling, as I woke up to the certainty that I serve a risen Savior.
The boys woke up to their Easter treats, after which we went to Greenville for church and lunch with my family. When the boys got up - notice I didn't say "woke up," because I'm about 98% sure that neither one of them actually went to sleep - we headed back to Canton for dinner with Jeremy's family.
The most adorable part of dinner was how they teased their great grandmother. Jeremy's mom gave them both bags of goodies. They unpacked them and then handed the contents, one at a time, to "Nana BOOOOOONE" (as Jones called her). I'm so thankful they're able to know her.
For all the crazy of the day, the boys did really well. I wouldn't say they were PERFECT - Jones pitched a fit for 20 minutes on the drive down to Greenville, for instance, and we ended up putting them to bed a full hour earlier than usual - but to have been carted up and down I-26, they did pretty darn well ... and even if they hadn't, the Savior Who loves them just as they are would still say, "Come to Me, children."
How I pray that they DO "come" to Him ... early, often, ALWAYS.
Happy Easter!
(At the start of the video below, Jones is standing in the kitchen doorway, and he says, "Happy Easter, Mama!" which is so sweet. It's kind of hard to hear, though, so I wanted to write it down, so when I watch this years from now, I'll remember that sweet greeting. Also, I hope and pray Jones's heart remains as exuberantly grateful as it is right now.)
We bought the picnic table, because Jones loves them. We bought the bubble machine, because Freddie is OBSESSED. Whenever I pick him up from the church nursery and ask what he did, he first says, "BUBBLES!"
This picture elicited a visceral reaction from me. They don't all do that, but as soon as I saw this one, I thought, "Ooh! I'm gonna text this one to Mayme to see if it reminds her of two little boys SHE used to know" - as if my Mayme EVER had texting capabilities and as if she hasn't been dead for nearly 20 years. Still, I hope and pray she ALWAYS feels that close to me - just a text away.
The boys LOVE their Bobo - AND DooDoo AND Bess AND Yaya.
JoJo got to pick out an Easter treat; he went with the plastic frog that was filled with Chewy Lemonheads.
Bobo rode with us from church to Mom and Daddy's. The boys were SO excited to ride in "Dada's new beeg cart." They also wanted to switch sides for whatever reason.
I think Jeremy looks SO handsome in a bowtie. Turns out, he looks even MORE handsome with his bow-tie UN-tied!
Freddie has something of a sweet tooth. Last week, we sat down for dinner at the Black Bear, and as soon as he was in his high chair, he said, "I want chocolate cake." Not even joking.
A few weeks ago, the boys and I stopped at Poinsett Park in Travelers Rest. While we were there, Freddie went down the super-high, spinny slide, but Jones would have none of it.
