Love is in the air...

Valentines Day with the Long Party of Five included:

A special breakfast of heart shaped pancakes, bacon, and sparkling apple juice (in the real crystal glasses...)

Opening little Valentine treats (books, heart jammies, candy, and a set of new tableware - plate/cup/bowl - Toy Story for James and Dora for Anna - for each of the big kids; books, heart jammies, and a stuffed monkey for the little Long.)

Watching movies.

Attending the Columbia Children's Theatre current musical "Cinderella" - not one of my favorites - but the kids enjoyed it.

Making and decorating red velvet cupcakes.

Enjoying Valentine candy (or biter biscuits as the case may be.)

Sharing our heart shaped sugar cookies.

A fun treat of heart shaped pasta for dinner (that Anna was convinced I'd made from scratch with the help of a small cookie cutter ...)

Happy Heart Day!

Valentine's Day

I love Valentine's Day. I suppose there was a period of time when I was single and lonely that I didn't love the holiday so much - thought it a constant reminder of the love of my life that I had yet to find - and poo-poo'd much of the festivities.

But if I look back to the V-days of my childhood - I always loved them. My mom made them extra special, of course, so we'd always have a 'special' dinner in the dining room, on the 'good' china... she'd even let my brother and I drink our milk out of her crystal wine glasses.

There was always some sort of little cerce on our plates prior to the meal - a box of chocolates just for us, a little card, a trinket or toy we'd had our eye on - something small - but something special nonetheless.

We'd come home from school with our paper heart folders (constructed at school and taped on our desks to collect valentines) stuffed full of tiny paper notes - and unfold them one by one to see who had given us a valentine.

Because those were the days when you could pick and choose who you wanted to give valentines to - not like today where we automatically give every child in the class a valentine.

I remember the angst as the day would go on - wondering how many valentines I'd accumulated - and who from - kind of like Charlie Brown...

The kids and I watched the Charlie Brown valentine day DVD the other day. No matter how many times I see it I always feel bad for poor ole Chuck - he never gets any valentines from anyone, let alone the 'little red-haired girl.'

My sweet Anna - after watching it - she looked over at me and said "Mommy? If I were in that movie, I'd make Charlie Brown a valentine."

She gets it - the true spirit of valentines day - a day not just to share sweet treats and cut out paper hearts, but a day to celebrate love, friends, family.

So now that I'm the mom - I try to make this day special for the kids. Which is why I was up late last night busily baking 2 dozen pink frosted cupcakes for James' celebration today, and why I baked 4 dozen heart shaped sugar cookies for Anna's class party today - complete with each child's name piped on a cookie (per Anna's CONSTANT request.)

And why I have a special Valentines day breakfast planned for Sunday morning - to be shared on the "good" china, in the dining room, complete with a little cerce for each child.

So Valentines day isn't a day for me to receive candy and flowers or jewlery from my sweetie - rather it's a day to see joy and delight in my children's eyes (although a nice little box of Godiva chocolates wouldn't be out of the question, my love ... ahem...)

I love Valentine's Day!

Voices

One of the most comforting sounds to me from the time I can remember is the sound of my mother's voice. It's not just the sound, really, more a combination of the sound and the feel of her voice. As a small child one of my favorite things to do was to curl up in her lap and put my head on her chest and quietly listen to the sound of her voice. I could feel her voice, the vibrations of her words through her body, and nothing since, no sound, no touch, no word, no smell has ever comforted me the way that simple feel of her could. As I grew older and could no longer sit on her lap, I would still sit next to her, place my head on her shoulder, and just listen. And feel.

It didn't matter what she was saying, who she was talking to, or what book she may have been reading – just the simple act of having my head so close to her, and the vibrations of her words paired with her sound and her warmth were like the ultimate bear hug. I have often wondered if it is similar to the sounds and feels I must have experienced as a baby in her womb – hearing her and feeling her… similarly, I often wonder if my voice is as comforting to my own three children.

After my mom's stroke, there were a lot of things that changed. One of which was her voice. She lost her voice – and while she works hard to recover and gain her strength, her voice has not really come back – yet. She talks in a heavy whisper. Often times it is really hard to understand her when I'm with her – and extremely hard to understand when we're talking on the phone.

I miss so many things about my mom – cooking together, shopping together, going out for our mother-daughter "coffee talks" where we'd drink ourselves silly with Starbucks latte's and wile away an entire afternoon talking about anything and everything. But the thing I miss the most? The feel of her voice. The comfort of laying my head on her shoulder, listening to her talk, hearing her. Feeling her.

Oh Mommy, how I long to lay my head on your shoulder – to feel your warmth – to hear your words.

I miss you so.

 

Ears - what part was I on?

I know I am miserably behind in posting - and I promise I have a pile of overdue and unpublished posts to officially publish to the blog - but since I'm using this as a form of communication to family and loved ones - I need to update you on the latest news from the medical front.

We had our post surgical check up for Jack's tubes - oh, did I forget to post that he had surgery last month? Yeah - he did - tubes in his ears - the surgery of which went well, the post operation breathing issues not so much - but all in all he's fine. He's had several runny noses since, none of which have caused a dreaded ear infection - and his check up today went smashingly.

James has had several ear infections as of late - but after meeting with our awesome ENT today we decided we'd give him one more chance - see if he gets another doosey - if so, we're to call and schedule surgery for tubes and adenoid removal.

So. That leaves Long #3. The one who we thought might escape the whole tube procedure. Not so. Apparently little Anna has enlarged adenoids that need to come out. Did you know snoring is a symptom of enlarged adenoids? As is difficulty breathing through the nose and repeat sinus infections? Me either. I just thought I had a child who was going to have a hard time with sleepovers and college roommates because she snores so loud. And, because she's had one too many ear infections in the last few months, she's being treated to tubes in her ears.

Now I think I'm a seasoned vet when it comes to ear surgery. I'm okay with that. Kid goes behind the magic curtain for all of 10 minutes, wakes up mad as a wet hen from the anesthesia, is unhappy for a few hours, naps, and all is well.

The adenoid removal - I'm a bit freaked out by that. I confess, I'm worried. I know it's all a 'simple procedure', but nothings really a 'simple procedure' when it's your kid.

So keep us in your thoughts come March 1 - for a simple and uneventful surgery and a quick and speedy recovery.

So much to write..

I have so much to write – so many stories to tell – from our experiences in traveling as a family of five, to Christmas with my mom and stepdad, to our New Years celebration, to Jack's surgery (tubes in both ears) and his subsequent unpleasant reactions to the anesthesia, to James' horrid ear infection that resulted in his ear perforating and oozing yuck-o for two days – but as you can imagine, I've been busy taking it all in – experiencing it all, digesting it all, processing it all, enjoying most of it, and laughing, crying, loving, and worrying along the way. I fully intend to get these memories to the blog – when things slow down a bit… as if that ever happens. Ha!

Long story short – stay tuned – there is so much more to come!

 

9 Years and Counting

Today Deonne and I are celebrating nine years of marriage together. The past nine years has brought numerous joys, wondrous blessings, thousands of laughs, and, yes, many tears along the way. But that's what life is, right? A perfect mix of laughter, love, tears, and sorrows.

Once upon a time we used to celebrate our anniversary in a 'traditional way.' Dinner out at a fancy restaurant. Dinner in by candlelight, in the quiet solitude of our home. We celebrate tonight with dinner at a very special table. "Long Party of Five?" You betcha. Our dining table is set with our fine china and crystal. The meal is ready to be served – and my adoring hubby tells me it's better than any we could get out in a fancy restaurant.

Tonight won't be quiet. It won't be in solitude. It won't be a romantic meal where we discuss love and our relationship, world news, or even the weather. Tonight's meal will be loud. There may be screaming, certainly singing (at the top of a child's lungs) and most likely several reprimands to eat properly with one's fork, keep your bottom in your chair, or don't tip your cup over so far.

But it will be beautiful. It will be a celebration of our marriage. Shared with our children. The three little lives who are here because a certain boy asked a question… and a certain girl said yes.

Happy Anniversary my dear sweet love. It has been a wild and crazy ride since the day we took our vows on January 6, 2001. I'm so glad we have tickets for this ride together – I wouldn't want to share my seat with anyone else but you.

I love you more today – and with each passing day – as we build our family and grow our lives.

A New Family Favorite

James' godparents Phil and Michelle (and dear family friends of ours) gifted Anna with this book as a Christmas present last year. I think we may only have read it once before it was packed away with the rest of our family Christmas books last year. It wasn't really 'lost' in the Christmas shuffle, more so tucked away, waiting to be found and enjoyed again.


The other night we were going through the big basket of Christmas books we have collected over the years - looking for the perfect bedtime story. I grabbed this one, not really remembering much of the story, but wanting to hurry the kids up to bed.

As we settled into James' bunk bed to read our stories, we were swept away in the beauty of this book. It is such a peaceful tale, of how a child (or bear cub) comes to recognize God in the world around us. It perfectly weaves together the true meaning of Christmas along with outward expressions of love, kindness, and good deeds (and Santa Claus.)

So if you have children, and are Christian, read them this book.

It is amazing.

And Michelle if you're reading this - thank you for gifting our children with this beautiful tale - it has certainly become a new Christmas tradition on our home!