Thankful to be so BUSY!

Have I ever gone this long without posting?? Really, I've not been slacking! We've just been BUSY. In fact, someone needs to create a new word for the kind of busy we've been. It's been crazy and exhausting but also sweet and exciting and fun... and it's looked a lot like THIS:
Visit with KellyMasi in October during Fall Break. She and I went to a concert [The Airborne Toxic Event!] and Ba kept the boys at Masi's house.

A trip to Zoo Atlanta with Ba. You know, see the family again ;)

[Sorry for the sideways picture. My computer is NOT cooperating...]
Diwali--Indian New Year. We celebrate by washing money (to bring prosperity in the new year) and lighting a diya...or in our case, tea lights. We didn't have a big celebration and didn't follow all the traditions, but we at least try to do something to recognize the Indian holidays.

Rotary and theatre. Sandy organized a huge fundraiser for Rotary Club called Parrots of the Caribbean. And I was in a show at UAH AND produced the one-act at school for competition. We were officially worn out afterwards. And, of course, the boys went easy on us.

Yeah.

Of course, Halloween. This year, we went on a hayride with some friends of ours--the BEST way to Trick or Treat! Fortunately, the boys chose easy costumes. Red and black Power Rangers (on the left). Mind you, they don't even watch the Power Rangers. Apparently, one of their friends at school likes them a lot, and it's rubbed off. Also in disguise in this picture are Eli as Samurai Jack, Finn as the robot [not to be confused with a ball of flames], and Nathan as Darth Vader.

Gryphon's birthday. The boys celebrated our 'grey-haired puppy' by making a cake of cheese, peanut butter and doggie treats. Yum! [Only the dog ate it, trust me.]

Soccer? Well, the truth is, it didn't keep us busy, because the weather was rainy so many Saturdays in October that all his games were cancelled except the last one.


Sandy and I got to visit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital with friends Melissa and Evan, our favorite 'St. Jude dude.' I plan to post more about our visit on the baldonpurpose site. The place was incredible. And Evan? What an amazing boy...

Sold the house! Funny story: I was alone with the boys when Sandy went on a trip with his buddies to Florida. I saw a police officer pull up and thought, "This is what they do when people die." My heart sank as I imagined the worst, and I tried to prepare myself and figure out how NOT to become hysterical in front of the boys. I watched the officer get out of his car...and get a flyer about the house! Once I was able to breathe again, I joked with our friends that I would forgive him IF he bought my house. Two days later, guess who made an offer! :)

So we scurried around to find a new house...and...

Tada! We moved in this past weekend, and we LOVE it. L.O.V.E. It's bright and open and big and has tons of closets and new carpet and pretty hardwoods and a big yard and gas fireplace and jacuzzi tub and and and... Oh, and lots of boxes right now. So I'd better get busy :)

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I realize this year, more than ever before, that we have so much to be thankful for. Everywhere I look, I am reminded that LIFE IS GOOD.

Wordless Wednesday

I know that the whole point of Wordless Wednesday is to post a photo and shut up. :) But these photos move me because of the story behind them.

My friend Shawn adopted sweet Tihun from Ethiopia just a couple of weeks ago.

To see them together, and to see that beautiful smile...
well, I don't have any words to describe that. [So that counts, right?]

A note from the boys to Momma...

Here is a video message to Momma from her boys just before K tried to decapitate C. Boys.



Cheers, S.

And the baby is 3

A week ago, I celebrated my little sister's birthday. And Saturday, Kieran celebrated his little brother's.

When Connery was born, 3 years ago, he looked EXACTLY like Kieran. EXACTLY. It was a bit eerie, to tell the truth. We had one little boy, 19 months old, and then gave birth to his identical twin. Except for one thing. He had a little 'stork bite' under his nose. [Sandy called it a snake bite. Said it sounds tougher.] In some pictures, that red mark is the only thing that clues me in to which baby I'm looking at.

In fact, when I quizzed family and friends with some photos of the boys, NO ONE got 100% right. And the other day? When we were out shopping? A young woman stopped us and apologized for staring at the boys. "They look JUST alike," she said. We laughed, told her we think the same thing, and a few minutes later, I heard her call to her mother, "Look at these boys. I can't get over how alike they look." People constantly ask if they're twins, until they see the height difference.

I remember rubbing my pregnant belly while holding Kieran in my arms. And I worried. I adored this little boy. He was my heart. And, yes, I asked THAT question. "How will I ever love another child as much as this one?" I think every parent asks that question. And everyone told me, "You will. Don't worry, you will."

But I never spoke the question that really worried me. "Will having a second child TAKE away from the love and attention that my first child deserves?" My first child? That little boy that I adored? That was my heart? He would have to share me now. I couldn't give him ALL my attention anymore. I felt guilty about that.

And then the second child was born. And the two brothers met. And face to face, they looked like a mirror slightly out of time--one side a 19 month old toddler and its reflection, a newborn eager to catch up. And all those fears disappeared. Because I realized that I wasn't taking anything away from Kieran--I was GIVING him everything. This little baby was the best gift to any of us.
And, of course, Connery will tell you the same thing. A few nights ago, I asked Kieran, "Who's your best friend?" Before he could answer, Connery excitedly said "His best friend's right here!" ...and pointed to himself. I know that Kieran won't always agree with that, especially when they're teenagers, or--who am I kidding?--even tomorrow morning. But he didn't argue that night. And whenever he gets a toy, or piece of candy, his first question is ALWAYS whether he can get one for his brother, too.

The Big Brother's Tribute to the Little Brother:

... I like to play with him because it's fun. When he's hurt and when he's sick, I be nice. And when he's not hurt and he's not sick, I play with him. I love him all the time I do that, but I don't like it when he's sick and he's hurt.

[What do you like best about your brother?] He knows how to do a flip.

I don't like when he spits at me and hits me and bites, but I like when he plays with me and he lets me be the doggie and he lets me be Sharkboy.

Connery, thanks for letting your brother be Sharkboy. I have to remind you a lot that you're only 3, and I know that you think you're much older. And I know that you also can't read this...but one day you will. One day much too soon. And I hope that when you do, you catch even a glimmer of the love that I--WE--have for you. Love's not even the word. It's too small.

Our C-dude, Baby Dude, Dodderdy, Gubbuh, Kie-onnery... Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful Boy.

Wordless Wednesday--Connery's Birthday edition

Multiply Life By the Power of Two

I won't lie. I didn't always like my sister. She. Got. On. My. Nerves.

A lot.

There is a 5 year difference in our ages, and I think that contributed a lot to the fact that my sister was annoying. Er, I mean--that I didn't appreciate her. Come on, when I was 13, becoming a teenager and teasing my hair up in honor of Motley Crue and Poison? Kelly was 8. And what was she listening to? I don't even know. I didn't have time for that.

So I was pretty mean to her. I tricked her into eating grape Kool-aid powder. Not the Kool-Aid already made up. The POWDER. It will kill tastebuds and brain cells. Try it someday. Then imagine someone holding you against the kitchen counter pouring it down your throat.

Our babysitter (!!) helped me paint my face to look like I was possessed by spirits. She ran to get my sister who was playing outside. "Something's wrong with Amy!!" I was sitting in a closet rocking back and forth, a thin sheet over my head like a shawl. My sister FREAKED!! Crying, not because she was afraid OF me, but afraid FOR me. [Yeah, I felt really guilty about that one.]

And maybe the thing I feel MOST guilty about? I called her stupid. A lot. A few years ago, when we found a journal she kept in elementary school, we saw where she wrote that when I yelled at her, it made her 'nervose.'

WHY? WHY did I do that?? I've spent many nights asking myself that question. Sometimes I think it's because I was jealous. Or maybe resentful? Just plain selfish? I don't know.

Only now do I realize how cute and precious she always was. How smart she was. And very loving.

When we were around 4 and 9, we shared a bed, and EVERY night, she would sweetly ask, "Amy, will you put your arm on me?" Sweetly, lovingly. And every night, I said NO. I rolled my eyes and sighed with disgust. I know that sometimes I gave in, because I can recall flopping my arm over and waiting for her to drift off to sleep so I could get my arm back. Other nights, she tried to compromise and said my leg would be okay. I remember going to sleep some nights with just my toe on her calf.

So now, I consider it a mission to make up for all that time I terrorized her, kept her as far from me as possible. And I don't always know how to do that. I wasted many years when I could have been learning to be a good big sister. There are some walls between us. Some scars.

Today is my sister's birthday. She's the big 3-0. And I hope that somewhere in her celebration, she knows that for every one time that I made her feel unloved, I have regretted it at least twice.

I hope that sometimes, when she looks back on growing up with me, she remembers that I let her lay across the back of the big chair, stood behind her and strummed her belly like a guitar. That I traded rooms so she could have the big room. That our cousin Diane and I feathered her hair and took pictures because she looked so pretty. That I cried when we couldn't find her in the neighborhood once. That we were together with Grandpa when he died. That she was my maid of honor. That she is my boys' ONLY masi. That she is my favorite sister ;) That when I hear my own voice on the answering machine, I think it's her.

And that, as different as we may be, there is NO other person on this earth who has so similar a genetic makeup, family tree or common experience.

I wish I could snuggle in bed with her now. I would put my arm over her and sing this song.

Wordless Wednesday