Friday, December 26, 2014

Christmas with the Ward Family









Everyone made it to Christmas this year, and we were thrilled to open our arms to a new member of the family. 

Christmas Morning








No million part toys to assemble, just a quiet Christmas morning.  The kids spent some time with their new gifts and then somehow they hooked me into playing Trivia Crack with them.   Back in my day (yeah, that makes me sound old), we would have been playing what I called, Trivial Pursuit, sitting around a table.  In 2015, we sit side by side on the couch, sharing a blanket, each staring at our screens waiting for our turn to play, yet somehow still laughing with one another and even helping the other out on occasion. And...I even become somewhat amazed at all my littles know.  Electronics don't have to be all bad and isolating.

Christmas Eve

We enjoyed a Christmas Eve Breakfast with good friends and attended Celebrate Christmas with the Gillions.







The Young's came over and we had our traditional Christmas Eve and I failed to take many pictures.  Patrick was on shift, mom was sick with the flu and of course it was our first year without Grandma.  Even though some loved ones were missing, still grateful to spend time with uncles, aunts, and cousins.















Thanksgiving: A little Sappy


Enter our home on any ole day and you are likely to at some point to see someone having a meltdown or someone a little cranky. To be honest, sometimes that's me.  Life through various circumstances has reminded me this year, that these days and moments are priceless treasures, not to be taken for granted.  The kids are growing up SO fast. With that, it makes life easier and sometimes it makes life harder.  No amount of wishing will make the clock stand still, so I'm trying to embrace the challenges that come with the tween years and value the wonderful young people they are becoming. 

So here is a little about each of my blessings that I thank God for each night, as I tuck them into bed...

My Jax....
has the absolute biggest heart.  He is the calm and consistent one of the family, and his maturity in so many situations amazes me. When he talks, my whole heart listens. He loves sports, especially football and most days, you'll find him wearing a hat.  He loves traditions and continues to help decorate the tree and help me bake.  His Dad continues to sit on a pedestal up high, and when it comes to showing affection, he keeps me at a distance, so I treasure that small moment that I kiss him each night, as I tuck him into bed.

My Girl...
is strong-willed and fierce. I suppose you could say she always gives perfect effort in all she does. She's certainly growing up, spending more time in front of the mirror, and learning to fix her own hair. We've also entered that territory, where I can no longer pick out her clothes. Lucky for me though, I'm still cool enough to hang with on most days.  And, with all of her 11 years, she has recently become an expert on anything and everything; she can tell you exactly how it should or should not be done. :)  I am however, grateful, that she consistently stays true to herself and values. 

My Baylor...
greets me with hugs after I've worked a long day.  He continues to be my boy, who will willingly cuddle up with me, which makes my heart leap with happiness.  He brings our family a little comic relief, without even knowing it most of the time. Just as when he was a baby, we never have to guess how he's feeling.  He likes all the latest fashion trends and is currently obsessed with basketball.

While, I don't tuck him into bed each evening, I have the privilege of lying beside him at the end of each day.

My husband...
loves me and is ever faithful.  He takes care of our family each Wednesday evening, as I go to school and has created a new normal and ritual for the kids on this night.  I doubt they even miss me.  
 

Random Highlights of Fall

SPORTS

Baylor played soccer and Jax played football and I failed to document most of it, if not all in pictures.  Rick and I also earned our Parent of the Year Award.

Jax came home from a Thursday night practice with a hurt finger.  It was definitely swollen but we gave him some ibuprofen and put some ice on it.  Rick had plans to be out of town for the weekend, so he told me to have the coach tape it up for Saturday's game.  I received a call Friday from the school nurse, saying Jax was complaining of pain and she felt it wouldn't hurt to get it x-rayed.  In our defense, it looked much worse than the night before.  Not so much in our defense, we questioned him several times about the severity and if it really warranted a trip to the doctor. As it would turn out, he not only broke it, but he fractured it at the growth plate so he was out for the season.  And, that's what finally brought my boy to tears.  As Jax would tell the story the next 5 weeks would be very long.
STILLWATER

Of course several of our weekends, were spent in Stillwater, however, we only tailgated a couple of times and due to football scheduling conflicts, we never got to go into a game as a family. 





We did go to OSU Homecoming walk around and hoops for the first time, which was really fun.











Even though the last game of the season was suppose to be an adult game, the forecast had originally called for a particularly cold evening so I decided I'd rather not go and Rick took the boys instead.  As predicted, the game did not go well, but that meant by 3rd quarter many people left the stands, which also meant the boys could move up to some front row seats.  They made it on the Jumbo tron a few times and then even better, Jax received one of Pistol Pete's shotgun shells.  Yeah, he was pretty darn excited about that shotgun shell.



HALLOWEEN

The boys insisted on being something scary.  I'm sure I took a picture but can't seem to find it now.  Maybe my subconscious deleted it as I really just wanted the boys to be super heroes, again.  

Delaney went as a tacky tourist and spent most of the time, trick- r- treating with her friends.  Rick and I went with the boys and some of their friends. 

Baylor went with a friend to a haunted castle so Rick and I took the other two to their first real spook house.  I can't say that I enjoyed it all that much, but I love doing anything with my family and I love experiencing things with them for the first time.

SOCTOBER
In Ms. Dailey's class, Jax and Delaney lead a school wide effort to collect sock and other items for the homeless.  On this day, they dropped off socks and made packages at Catholic Charities. 



RED NATION
Our other big highlight of fall was high school football.  The Bulldogs only lost once in the regular season, making the playoffs and pulling off a winning record for the first time in a very long time.  Even better than anyone could have imagined, we ended up playing for the state title.  Even though, the team fell short on that night, the kids made some great memories cheering on the bulldogs during semi-finals in Yukon and for the first time probably experienced a real surge of school pride.
 













Saturday, October 11, 2014

Much Like it Began

We ended the official last days of summer, much like it began.  We spent labor day weekend hanging out with friends.  The kids swam and we watched fooball at the Gillions and then ended our weekend with a few hours on the lake.




Jax even got in his last nap of summer!







A New School Year

Fifth Grade...The last year of elementary...I'm not even sure how we got here.  The theme of change continues.  For the first time, the kids are not in the same class.  Baylor has his own classroom this year by choice.  Delaney and Jax chose to stay together; honestly, since they are in advanced reading and math, they are pretty much forced to be together most of the day.  The truth is they don't mind.  Also, the kids now get up and ready for school without me hovering.  Truly my kids have always been pretty good in the mornings.  They have adapted to their new routine and taken on the responsibility of getting ready on their own.  So far, fifth grade is proving to less labor intensive on the homework side and they seem to be really enjoying school.  I am very proud of them.





Highlights of Summer

The seasons have changed and I'm way behind.  Sometimes, I think I should just give up but then I see how much the kids enjoy looking back.  I'm going to attempt to plug on even though this year in particular will be super busy.  

It wasn't the typical summer for many reasons.  The weather was much cooler than usual. We were left with many cloudy, rainy days which really cut into our pool time in June.  We didn't make it to the Gillion's for the fourth of July but our celebration was a three day event, none the less.  We spent a couple of those days on the lake.  I especially enjoyed watching the fireworks from the water this year.  During this time period, I began to contemplate a new job. 








July was an eventful month.  Rick had his second shoulder surgery in six months and I accepted a new job.  This meant many changes for our family, including the fact that my summer would end a few weeks earlier than I had anticipated.  I tried to squeeze in our summer fun events.

Bowliing and trip to Dad's work.


Walk on the trail


Night at the Drive-in


A day with family


The end of July brought "good-byes."  For me it was the end of summer but most heartbreaking was my goodbye to Grandma Young.  In the wee hours of a Sunday morning, as we gathered by her hospital bed, Grandma made her way home to be with Grandpa.  I knew she was in a much grander place but I did feel like it was an end of some of my very best childhood memories. I spent so many summers with my grandparents.  We camped, we spent time at their house,where we played four square in the streets, endless games of marbles and dominos and were fed three very good meals a day.  Life won't be the same but I feel so blessed to hold so many wonderful memories of the simpliest, yet best days with two of the greatest people I'll ever know.