23Apr
Sometimes at night, after the kids and dogs are asleep and the house is finally quiet, I’ll close my eyes, concentrate really hard, and try to remember my dad’s voice. I’ll try to replay a conversation we had or image what he might say about something going on in my life today.
Usually, though, all I can remember is the sound of his laugh. Filling a room then, and my heart now.
I hope that’s the kind of legacy I leave one day.
14Apr
Last weekend we went to Atlanta for all kinds of festivities. As a tribute to my Dad, my mom took everyone to the practice rounds of the Masters at Augusta National. As a family, we decided to take something special of Dad’s and bury it under one of the pine trees at Amen Corner, his favorite part of the course.
The place where they decided to bury Dad’s item was under the pine trees right there the 13th hole dog-legs up to the green. For his 50th birthday, we all gave him a painting of the view from that very pine tree. I thought everyone did a great job finding the perfect spot.
While the family was at the Masters, I decided to stay home with the three wee ones. We had a blast, but three under the age of four is INSANE. I don’t know how some parents do it! I was exhausted by the end of the day! But it was a huge success! We got up and played in the living room for a bit while I cleaned up breakfast.
After an hour or so, we moved upstairs and played while I got them all dressed. My kids loved playing with all of Tillman’s books and toys. They climbed up into his crib with him and read books (well, Tillman chewed on them…) while I got dressed. They all had a ball! Tillman makes this loud, long, happy wail when he is having fun, and you could hear him all over the house! It was hysterical!
After Tillman’s morning nap, we had a quick lunch and then headed up to this fantastic park in my sister’s neighborhood. It has bikes and playhouses and pretend kitchens and playground equipment and sandboxes and swings… It is amazing. We played there for over two hours!
When we got home, we napped and then hung out and waited for everyone to get back. I loved every minute of it, and I’m pretty sure the kids did, too. Well, maybe Gracie didn’t enjoy EVERY minute…
As if the Masters and enormous neighborhood parks weren’t enough, we also went to a Braves game that weekend. We’ve taken the kids to one before, but Gracie was in her crying all the time phase, so it wasn’t very enjoyable. This game, though, was perfect! I had so much fun with the kids, and we had awesome seats. We were in the outfield and sat on the first row of a section, which meant that we had a little extra leg room to move around. Critical when you’ve got two little ones. I was worried about the sun because we were going to be sitting directly in it all afternoon. But I slathered the kids up pretty good and made them both wear hats, and nary a sunburn was found!
(Can we talk for a minute about how big Bean looks in this picture. I’m having distinct images of him as a high schooler, and I do not like it. Not one little bit. He’s a stud, though, that boy.)
When we weren’t doing super fun things at Aunt Ginny and Uncle John Michael’s house, we were hanging around on their front porch and taking family walks around their neighborhood. And we are quite the motley crew when we’re traveling in a herd!
I have to tell you this little story. We were walking by a house that was having some renovations done. While we were passing by, the workers threw a huge piece of something into the dumpster and it made a loud boom. Bean didn’t see it happen, and didn’t even look up. But he took off running straight ahead without saying a word at the instant of the noise. He was mid-sentence and just BOLTED, arms pumping at his side, eyes fixed in front of him. He was a man on a mission, and I swear I could hear him saying, “I’m out!” We all cracked up, even Bean when he realized what the noise was. Funny bunny.
It was a really great weekend. It is always a great weekend when we get to see family. Especially my sister and her family. Little T-Man is growing up so happy, and I love being around their family. It is always a joy to see your family growing and thriving, especially while we remember those that aren’t here with us anymore. I know my dad would have gotten a kick out of this weekend, and not just the Masters. I think he would have been really proud of his family. I know I am.
I should wait until tomorrow to post our annual birthday video for Gracie, but I just can’t do it! I can’t believe our sweet Gracie is two years old on Monday! Where has the time gone?!?!
We love you so much, Gracie! You’re our little firecracker that keeps this family on its toes. You bring us sunshine and happiness every day, sweet girl. We love watching you grow, and can’t wait to see what the world has to offer you.
We love you to pieces,
Mommy, Daddy, and Beanie
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Music: “World on a String” by Michael Buble
Video made with: Animoto Pro
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Want to see birthday videos from past years? Check these out:
Happy 1st Birthday, Gracie!
Happy 3rd Birthday, Bean!
Happy 2nd Birthday, Bean!
Happy 1st Birthday, Bean!
11Oct
Once upon a time, there lived a boy and a girl who loved each other at a very young age. They loved each other so much that the boy asked the girl to be his wife, and she said yes. Even though neither of them knew the first thing about being a husband or a wife.
“They’re too young!” the townspeople cried. “It’s too hard to be married when you’re too young!”
But the boy and the girl just held hands and walked down the aisle like stupid, young people in love do.
“We’ll just have to wait and see…” they said.
Not long after, the boy and the girl moved across the country to make their brains smarter at graduate school. They worked long hours and studied every minute they had.
“Newlyweds should be having picnics and eating bon bons,” the townspeople cried. “It’s too hard to be married when you have other priorities!”
But the boy and the girl continued to study and work hard, and no matter how busy they got, they made sure their feet found each other at night when they laid down.
“We’ll just have to wait and see…” they said.
Finally, the boy and the girl felt like they had made themselves as smart as they ever could, and they graduated.
“What’s next?” asked the boy.
“A house,” said the girl.
And so the boy and the girl took their shiny new paychecks and bought a beautiful little house. Though they were far away from their family, the boy and the girl were so very happy in this new little house.
“Couples so young should not settle down so early. The suburbs are for old people!” the townspeople cried. “It’s too hard to be married when you have so many things left to experience!”
But the boy and the girl decided they would just experience the things everyone in their 20′s should experience, but they would experience them together. They traveled, they went to bars, they stayed out past their bedtime, they hung out with their old friends, and they made new friends. They even got drunk and locked themselves out of their pretty new house in a snowstorm. Yes, the boy and the girl lived up their 20′s even though they were married.
“Maybe this isn’t what married people are supposed to do,” the girl whispered to the boy.
But the boy just shrugged. “We’ll just have to wait and see…” he said.
After a year or so, the boy and the girl got tired of all that running around.
“Being young and fun is exhausting,” the girl said. “Let’s have a baby instead.”
“But we don’t know anything about babies,” the boy said.
“Well, we can learn,” the girl said.
“Okay,” said the boy.
So the boy and the girl had a beautiful baby boy. They named him Michael, and they spent their days staring at his toes and kissing on his cheeks and blubbering his tummy and they thought to themselves, “This isn’t so hard!”
But the townspeople shook their heads and whispered behind their backs, “Having a baby is very hard on a marriage. And they are so young to be parents!”
The boy and the girl heard their whispers and the girl said to the boy in the middle of a long, sleepless newborn night, “Do you think this is too hard for our marriage?”
“We’ll just have to wait and see…” said the boy.
Another year went by and the boy and the girl decided it was time to sell their pretty little house and move back closer to their family. So they packed up and headed south.
“Moving to a new place with a young family is very difficult,” the townspeople warned. “It will be very hard on your marriage.”
And for once, the townspeople were right! Moving WAS hard on their marriage.
“Is this too hard?” the boy asked the girl.
“I don’t know,” she said. “We’ll just have to wait and see…”
The boy and the girl battled many terrible dragons as they built their new life in this new land. They had to find jobs, health insurance, a safe place to live, and sometimes with all that responsibility pressing down on them, it was hard to remember to hold hands and make sure their feet found each other at night when they went laid down. And just as the boy and the girl began to feel like maybe the townspeople had been right all along, another tiny pink dragon came along. They named her Gracie.
“She is so perfect and I love her so much, but what are we ever going to do about our chaotic little lives?” cried the girl. “How will we ever get back to normal?”
“We’ll just have to wait and see…” said the boy.
Eventually, the boy and the girl slayed all those pesky dragons they were battling and life settled down a wee bit for them. But no matter how peaceful and normal things got, the girl could not be happy.
“I think I lost my smile,” she said to the boy.
“Then I will help you find it,” he replied.
But the townspeople just shook their head. “It is no use. This is too much change in too short of a period of time,” they said. “It is too hard on a marriage to balance a new life and a new family while you hunt for a smile. It will be too hard on your marriage.”
“Maybe,” the boy said. “We’ll just have to wait and see…”
The boy and the girl searched for many months trying to find her smile. They looked all over their old life back in the days before they moved to their new town. They looked all over their family. They looked all over their new jobs and friends and church. But they still could not find the smile. And then one day, it came back all of a sudden.
“I have been hiding right here inside your own marriage,” the smile said. “I’ve been waiting for you to hold hands and push forward like you used to do, or for your feet to find each other at night when you laid down. But you never thought to look for me inside your own marriage, and so I stayed hidden. I am so glad you finally remembered where your smiles live!”
And for once, the townspeople had nothing to say. Because who can argue with a smile?
Years went by and the boy and the girl grew older, and so did their babies. And their lives were marked by diaper bags and daycare and dinner together around a kitchen table. They moved into a new house and the boy said to the girl, “This will be our forever house.” And the girl agreed because forever houses are the best kind of houses.
And then one sunny day, the boy and the girl heard some terrible news. The girl’s dad had died, and their lives would never be the same. Such sadness filled their hearts. Such sorrow filled their lives. And in the darkest moments of grief, the girl would whisper to the boy, “Will we ever get through this?” And the boy held her hand, lowered his head, and sighed, “We’ll just have to wait and see…”
It was hard for the girl because she was so sad, and it was hard for the boy to see her so sad. But every day they woke up holding hands, and every night their feet found each other under the covers when they laid down. And when the sadness came, they put their arms around their children and each other and they waited.
And they waited.
And they waited.
And they waited.
But no matter how long they waited, they always found that when the storm had passed, they were still standing with their arms around each other.
One day the girl said to the boy, “You have never left my side. No matter what we have faced, you have stood right here next to me. My life is better because you hold my hand. My heart is full because you fill it with love. I don’t know how my life could be blessed any more than it already is by having you here with me.”
And the boy smiled and said to the girl, “We’ll just have to wait and see…”
