Blessed with Love

Today I had a few moments where I was able to slow down from the rush of the day and just enjoy my children.  I need to do that more.  They are such wonderful little human beings, and they love me better than I deserve.  Here are just a few of the moments from today that uplifted me and made my heart smile.

• Barrett was waiting outside of the bathroom door to greet me when I got out of the shower this morning.  We've been working on getting him to consistently poop in the toilet, and evidently, he had to go.  I ran (literally) into the kid's bathroom to grab the potty seat and brought it back to my bathroom (hoping he wouldn't wake his sister).  He was sitting there as I began to put on my makeup and get ready for work.  I could tell he was getting antsy, so I offered him a magazine to read.  He gladly grabbed the Sports Illustrated from my hand.  On the cover was a football player, which Barrett knew immediately.  "He playing football," he said.  "Awww, that is so cute.  He likes football.  That is just so cute."  Can you tell he has an older sister that likes to look at the American Girl magazine and talk about how cute everything is?
• Barrett and I walked into the building where Audrey has camp to pick her up.  She was sitting at a table frantically working to finish up a craft.  I got her backpack and lunch bag, and walked over to her.  When she finished her project, a mask she was coloring, she walked over to her brother and put it on his head.  He was beaming from ear to ear.  He kept it on until we were almost home, despite the fact that he could barely see out of it.
• While Billy was making dinner, I sat on the couch and Barrett came running over and climbed up there with me.  "I 'nuggle you," he said as he gave me the biggest hug he could possible give.  I proceeded to hug him back until he was ready to get loose, but I continued to hold him.  That resulted in a stream of his adorable belly laughs. 

This things seem silly and almost not worth writing about.  I decided to write them down though, because in 10, 15, 25 years, I want to remember those moments.  I want to be able to look back and recall not just the big moments in the lives of my children, but also the small ones where they shared the love in their hearts and brought a smile to my face. 

We Live in Missouri

We always joke that when you're in Missouri, if you don't like the weather, just wait a day, because it will change.  Despite the joke, there are some things you can usually count on, like spring thunderstorms accompanied by tornado warnings.  Crazy heat and humidity in July and August are another one of those standards that those of us living in this part of the country have just gotten used to.   This summer, however, has thrown us all for a loop.  The tornado sirens are going off in July, and it was a high of 71 degrees last Thursday.  Yes, you heard that right.  Yes, it is July, and yes, I am talking about the high temperature in St. Louis, Missouri. 

So, with all of the ups and downs, it is tough to get ready in the morning and even harder to pack when going out of town.  The last few trips to the lake, I have packed enough stuff for a week, even though we're only going for a few days.  I just have to pack for all possible weather scenarios. 

Yesterday was a perfect example of the crazy weather we've been experiencing.  We went to Greenville Friday night, so I woke up at my parents house on Saturday morning.  I got dressed so I could take the dogs to the vet there in Greenville.  I put on jeans and a t-shirt, and was actually a little cool.  When I got back, it was still early, so my brother and I went skiing.  The water was high and freezing cold from all of the rain, but I forgot about it once I was up.  When I got back to the house though, I had to take a hot shower to warm up. 

After we all got ready, we drove up to Litchfield for the Allison family reunion (Billy's grandma's family).  When we first got there, it was warm, but by the time we ate lunch, it was hot.  The wet, sticky-hot that this part of the country is used to seeing this time of year.  How did it go from cool and breezy to sweltering heat in less than 4 hours?  Welcome to Missouri (or, in that case, Illinois). 

After we got home, we went to a friends' house for dinner and then went and watched some more fireworks.  By that time, the heat had really set in.  The kids didn't seem to mind, even though Barrett's cheeks looked so red. 

I think the heat is here to stay now.  After the past few weeks of non-stop rain and flooding everywhere, I am actually a little bit thankful...sort of.  The constant rain has been frustrating, but the temperatures have been great.  Having a whole day of no-wake on Lake of the Ozarks last weekend was strange, but really nice.  We took the paddle boards out and had a dance party on my parent's boat while going idle speed.  The weather was so nice we didn't even care that we weren't going faster.  I didn't have much of a desire to get into the water though.  Thankfully, the Dipples were down, so the kids had someone to swim with other than mom and dad. 

In the end, here in Missouri there is quite a bit of truth to the joke about the weather changing from one day to the next.  But, no matter what the weather is, I know we'll make the best of it and have a great time anyway. 

Silly Sleepers

One thing that our kids are both really good at is sleeping. They do come by it pretty naturally after all.  I love to sleep and am generally one of those people that is out within minutes of my head hitting the pillow.  So, it's no surprise that my kids are really sound sleepers.  Barrett once slept through an air show where very loud airplanes were flying right over our heads.  And Audrey...oh Audrey...she can sleep in what look to be some of the most uncomfortable positions ever.  Then there are the dogs.  Not to be left out, they find places to sleep all over the house.  Stella's favorite place is the guest bedroom, and Jack likes the chair in the office. 

With all of this great sleeping going on in our household, it shouldn't surprise anyone that I sometime have to get out the camera to take photos of everyone when they're sleeping, especially when I find them in some ridiculous position.  So, here are a few photos I've snapped recently of my silly sleepers.

 Jack's feet are up in the air, but he isn't on his back...I don't know how he was balancing.

I can't believe her legs weren't getting cold.

Barrett started out driving the boat, but then he got tired.  I guess it's a good thing Papa was helping him drive.