Facing Life

Today was a weird day.  One for the record books.  Totally beyond our normal weird.  I know...  Crazy, huh?!?  Even for us!

We had a visitor, someone we have't seen in years.  The last time this woman saw me, I was very sick.  I was on a lot of medications, I was using a walker, I could barely stand--and there's just so much more that separates me now from that person I was then.

She asked about my health today, commenting on how great I look now.  I told her I have my good days and bad days, but I'm definitely having more good days now that I've accepted my situation, now that I'm actively working on my relationship with God and taking better care of myself.  She asked if the doctors ever really figured out what it was, and I explained they've never been able to agree.  She then asked about my enjoyment of life, my quality of life.

And you know how I answered?

I have a fabulous life.  I didn't even hesitate.  My life is good.  I have two great kids who I'm darn lucky to have.  I have a wonderful husband who loves us.  We have a good life here.  We've done well for ourselves.  With everything we've been through, we've made it.  We've conquered it.  We've beat it.  We are the couple people placed odds against at our wedding, and we are still in love. I have wonderful, amazing friends who love me and don't judge me.

Has it always been this good?  Nope.  It's been tough beating those odds.  There were times, especially right off the bat, when I thought the people who placed bets against us were right.  It was rough going when I was at my sickest, especially for Shawn and Noah.  But we're here, on the other side.


Is every day that great?  Hmmm....  Nope!  We certainly have our bad days.  We can both be jerks (don't tell him I admitted that!).  But, at the end of the day, we can both own up to our jerk-ness, apologize, and get over it.  And, of course, there are days our kids aren't so great, either!  But hey, that's life, and that's just how it goes sometimes.

I have no idea why this woman decided to just "pop over" for a visit after years of not seeing each other, but I do know that yet again, God has put someone in my path to force things into perspective for me.  He has blessed me tremendously in this life.  I do have a good life and I'm grateful for it.  I'm grateful to be on the other side, to be having more good days than bad days, and to just be alive to enjoy it.

Never a Dull Moment...

....  Not even at 9 am.  After some typical "left field adventures" last week, a friend commented that I can't seem to catch a break.  No, it would seem that I really can't.  And the adventures just continue....


Here is the email, and picture, I sent out to my mom and two best friends this morning:


So, while Mandy is off swimming with dolphins, I'm here in this hothouse of a house with two cabin fevered kids, runaway cats and a dog who has yet again decided it's just too hot to eat, move or do anything other than just be.....  

I kept hearing Avery and he was muffled.  I couldn't figure out why.  I was in the kitchen getting bread dough going, so I really quite honestly didn't pay too much attention.  I figured he was back in his bedroom, right?  Nope.  He'd locked himself outside--this was what I found when I finally got around to investigating (because Noah is so much help).  And he's yelling "Kitty got out again!"  Well, he'd been muffled for 5-10 minutes, so the cat had a pretty good head start.  Crap.  I got Noah, and we headed out to the backyard.  I asked Avery where the cat went and he pointed over the fence, saying that he'd gone over the fence and into the neighbor's backyard.  Double crap.  I sent Noah that way and ran inside to throw some clothes on so I could head out to look for the cat in the car.  I went inside, threw my clothes on, went back outside and Noah is telling me he's going to start knocking on doors, asking people if they'd seen him (Jethro didn't have his harness with his name tag on this time, so we were concerned someone would find him, thinking he was just a well fed stray, or realize he was a well fed housecat and not know where to return him ).  Fine.  I grabbed Avery and headed for the garage--and tripped right over the cat.  I don't know if he circled around or what he did, but there he was, happily chewing on grass and doing his best to avoid being caught.  Good thing he has a tail.


And now, I'm headed for the shower.  Hopefully everyone can leave everyone alone long enough for me to do that!


This was Sharon's response:


HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! That face! Omgosh...YOUR LIFE!

1) he WENT OUTSIDE by himself. (b/c he has NO FEAR!)

2) he LOCKED HIMSELF out (b/c .....thats how the world works)

3) when he did try to get help...NO ONE ran to his rescue (b/c he's always into something!!!)

4) the cat got out too (with no harness!)

5) the CAT was in the front yard (HAHAHAHA!)

6) Noah. Just Noah. he probably saw Avery outside and thought...oh well, he has to learn! (where does he get that from?!?!)

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

Yes, I'm sure someone out there in blogland needed a good laugh, or needed to feel better about his/her own day.  If you can use your imagination to see the 11 year old and 3 year old wandering around, chasing after a cat who was behind them the entire time, me frantically racing around to find the cat who was in the yard the whole time, and Jethro laughing at us (I'm sure)....  Maybe you'll get that much needed laugh.  At least, I hope you do. And now, I'm off to see what other adventures the day holds for us.

Grateful

Noah has only been out of school for 3 weeks (ugh....  Only three weeks???), and life has been, well, interesting.  More so than usual, if you can believe that!  My patience has run out faster and more easily than I care to admit.  I have been frustrated, angry and annoyed.  Quite simply, I have been taking my children for granted.

And now, I have been set straight.

Thousands of people in Colorado have lost their homes, livelihoods, belongings, pets and countless other items of importance in wild fires.  Many of them do not have insurance with which to replace and rebuild what they have lost, while other things just simply can't be replaced.  Thousands of people here in our area are still without power during one of the hottest heat waves in history, days after massive thunderstorms moved through several states.  In other countries, people have lost their homes and loved ones due to floods and earthquakes.

Today, I am grateful.  

I am grateful to be one of the few families in our area to have been able to maintain power throughout the storms.  I don't know if God was looking out for our ancient dog, who is having difficulty with the heat even in the air conditioned house, and Avery, who has been sick and having asthma flares due to the heat, but I'm grateful to have power and a fully air conditioned house.  I am grateful my kids are happy and healthy, I am grateful to have a husband who loves me, takes his role in our family seriously, loves our children and would do anything for us.  I am grateful for our house, this roof over our head, this van down by the river of ours.  I am grateful our pets are safe, healthy, taken care of and loved.  I am grateful for the protection we have been afforded.

As more stories emerge of the bravery people have exhibited during the fires and power outages, I'm grateful to our firefighters and other first responders, to those ready with hugs and tissues for the newly homeless.  I am grateful there will be people to show them the way from the devastation, to hold their hands and just love on them.  I am grateful for the heroes I have read about how raced back into the fires to rescue the animals, both farm and pets, that others were forced to leave behind, and who are now taking care of those animals as if they were their own, while doing their best to match pets with owners.  I am grateful to the people who have opened their homes and hearts to those in need.  

Today I am humbled.

More than anything else, I am grateful for the grace and mercy God extends to me every hour of every day.  When I take my children, health and other blessings He has given me for granted, He loves me through it, putting people in my path to set me straight again, gently reminding me of how good I really do have it, annoying children and all.

A Peek Into a Left Field Saturday Night.....

Shawn and I find ourselves hilarious.  I'm not so sure Wilbur felt the same.  But really--what else are two bored parents supposed to do when they find themselves with a cat and a Build-a-Bear Buzz Lightyear costume at 10:00 on a Saturday night???  Hmmm......

"My humans are idiots.  Someone PLEASE call PETA."

My Love

The other night, I shared my exasperation with Shawn and Avery (Noah is at camp, so he was spared my exasperation--at least for the moment) with one of my friends via text.  It was hot, I was tired, annoyed, cranky, in pain and just wanted things to go my way.  She talked me down, got me on an even keel and I was able to move on.

Shawn, Avery and I went out, where I was able to snap this photo, which I sent on to my friend.

When she responded, she commented that I am so in love with my men.  Well, yes--it's absolutely true. I am very in love with my menfolk.  I can't help it.  Even when I'm most exasperated with them, I'm still absolutely in love with them.  I do love them with all my heart.  They've captured me.

To My Favorite THREE Year Old

My Dearest Avery,
You have gone from our tiny little miracle baby who couldn't wait to be born, before my body was ready, and before we could even get to the right hospital....  You, who made our little family of three into a more complete family of four...  You were worth the wait, the tears, the prayer, the frustration and everything else we went through to get you here with us.  I loved being able to hold you, being able to nurse you, being able to rock you to sleep and just be with you, smelling your sweet baby scent.  You have been beautiful from the moment I first knew I was pregnant with you.  Just thinking about all of it still brings me to tears.

You have taught my heart to sing, and I have learned that it really is possible for my heart to feel as though it's going to explode with love.  The way you greet me, the way you smile, your hugs, your slobbery kisses....  They are all little pieces of heaven for me.  I could snuggle with you and watch you sleep for hours.

You've been to Maine to meet--and dance with--your great-grandfather and namesake.  I know it made our Denny so happy to meet you and know you.  You even earned the title of Youngest Volunteer when you went to work with Mommy, bringing smiles and laughter to the lives of many who were sick or grieving, or just in need of a smile and a snuggle.  Of course, once you became mobile, you had to start going to daycare!


It has been fun to watch you discover your world, such as learning that while you really don't care for camping (unless S'mores are involved, of course), you really do love anything that comes from a Starbucks cup, Mommy's kitchen, a chocolate wrapper, or basically anything containing sugar.











You love bacon, and you love baking.  Sometimes it's hard to tell which you like more!














You can pout with the best of them, but you always win my heart (and twist me right around your little finger!) with your charm.

 



You do your best to keep up with the older kids, always afraid you're going to miss out on the fun.  You are my little thrill seeker, yelling, "More!  Higher!  Faster!  It's like a roller coaster!"









I love you more than you could ever imagine, Avery.  My sweet, precious, amazing little boy.  Not a day goes by that I don't thank God for the gift you are to me, and the joy you bring to me.  Thank you, and happy birthday.


Love Always,
Mommy

A Little Bit of Then and Now....

I thought I'd post these for nostalgia's sake.  Shawn had to say goodbye to his childhood home today, and it was tough for him for many reasons.

We had this first picture taken the summer of 1994 when we first dated in high school (See?  I really was thin once...  Same hairstyle though!).

We took this one today, in front of the same tree.  Here we are:  EIGHTEEN YEARS of knowing each other, twelve years of marriage, two great boys, and millions of milestones, trials and adventures later....

It really makes me weepy; with the sale of Shawn's childhood home, it really does feel like the end of an era.  It makes me sad that, if there are anymore Furr children, they won't know the joy of having their picture taken in front of this tree.  As long as we still had the house to go to, it felt as though Shawn's mom was still with us.  We could walk through the halls or stand in a room and pull up a memory.  I know his mom will always be with us in spirit, love and memory, but it was the "physical factor"--having someplace to go, someplace we could still call hers.  This was someplace my children, who never got to meet their grandmother, could go and feel close to her.  I know it is just a material item, it is just a house, but there are so many stories within those walls.



*Benita/Mom/Grandma:  We love you and miss you.  Wish you were here.*