A Nutshell

I am just feeling reflective tonight.  In a month or so Lucie Rose will be 4 and Jay will be 10.  Ten...my how the years have flown. How do I have a ten year old?

Jay
He loves to talk.  He is an old soul.  He'd often times rather talk with adults than children.  He is super smart and never forgets anything. Jamie was reading to them the other night and a "big" word came up.  Jamie asked them if they knew what it meant and Jay popped out with a literal dictionary definition of the word.  It was evidently one of his Wordly Wise words during the school year.  He remembered it and quoted it verbatim. The boy can talk.  He talks all of the time to anyone who will listen or act like they are listening.  I love him to pieces. He is so loving and sweet. He can not stand to hurt any one's feelings. If he gets hurt, he just deals with it and goes on with his business.  Everything rolls off of his back so to speak.  He lets very little bother him.  I wish I was more like that. Did I mention that the boy loves to talk? He does.  I think he would talk to the wall if he remotely thought it would listen.  He has preacher potential...or politician potential (Although, I hope he stays away from politics.)...or salesman potential. He is a good kid. I love him so!

Cooper
Stubborn, stubborn, and more stubborn. When Coop digs his heals in, you'd better brace yourself for a battle of wills. He is a huge Mama's boy. It melts my heart!  He would never in this lifetime admit it, but he tries to be like his daddy quite often. He is in that in between stage of boy and tween. He still likes to play dress up and pretend.  Just today he was a cowboy.  He still plays with his toy tractors and trucks in the yard. He would never admit it to other boys his age though.  He is a very smart boy.  He is an excellent and easy student unless he decides he does not want to complete an assignment. Then he digs his heals in.  I dig mine in further. I am quick to tell him that you can not out stubborn Mama! Man, I love him! If I had a shy child, it would be Cooper, at least until he gets to know you. He loves to draw and is pretty good at it too.  He loves to draw heavy equipment like tractors, eighteen wheelers, bulldozers and such. He makes my heart smile big!

Lucie Rose
Where to begin with this little drama queen.  Just last night when Jamie was dressing her for bed, she decided she did not want to wear what he had picked out.  She and Jamie went back and forth a little while and then Jamie said, " Lucie, this is what you are wearing and that is final, so no more arguing." About a minute later she started again and before Jamie could scold her, she stopped Jamie with a smile upon her face and said, "Daddy, I'm just acting." That story personifies sweet Lucie Rose. She loves to act and pretend.  She puts on her tutu or play dress to perform for us daily.  I love her "plays" as she calls them.  She is all girl with a little fight in her.  How could she not have fight?  She has two very rough and tumble brothers. She loves shoes and purses and is very opinionated about what she wears in one breath and then she is putting her brothers in their place in the next breath.  She is a total and complete daddy's girl. She thinks her daddy can walk on water. She can say some of the darnedest things sometimes.  I just do not know where she gets it? She is my prissy little thing and I love her so very much.

Eli
He was a true gift from God.  I miss him with every fiber of my being.  My arms still ache for him. I wanted to know him and to show him how much I love him. He was so beautiful. I am sure he would be running around and talking by now. I wish that I could picture what life would be like if he were still here. I can't...it hurts not to be able to imagine his place as a toddler. All of my children have been so different and I'm sure he would have been his own little unique person.  His timeline would have been his, so I cannot even gauge "where he would be" right now.  I love him, love him, love him nonetheless.

Amelia
She is laid back and even tempered.  She is both a mama and daddy's girl. She is so precious.  She eats good and sleeps good.  She is very quick to smile and what a smile it is! It melts me to see those huge hazel eyes light up and that sweet grin to form on her lips. She is in every way a great baby! When I was pregnant with her, my grandmother told me that while she would never replace Eli, Amelia would be a balm to soothe our souls.  That has proven true in many ways. I love having a baby in the house again. I love watching her learn new things and show us her tricks. She is reaching now and trying to figure out how to hold things.  She just cannot quite figure out how to make those hands cooperate like she wants to.  It is so neat to see her trying to figure it all out.  I love being a part of that. We are all just smitten with her. I love her from the top of her tiny little bald head to the tip of her itsy bitsy little toes.

That in a nutshell is our family.  Jamie and I have learned so much from these children God has blessed us with.  I never knew the extent of a parents love before.  I would sacrifice every single thing just for them. I can't even remember what life was like before them.  It is as if they have always been and always will be.

Much love,