After all of the seasons of life I've been through, there aren't many things of which I am certain.
But what I am certain of?
This little ray of pure sunshine was an intentional, perfectly-timed gift from God.
A body that wasn't supposed to be able to get pregnant. A body that required thousands of dollars and an insane amount of medicine in order to conceive before.
And then a surprise baby boy who has given me life in my darkest days...
My Brooks. My caboose. My 'Boosey.
And today, this joyful, blonde-headed, wild-and-crazy little boy is two-and-a-HALF.
And y'all know we like to celebrate all the things around these parts.
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| Candle in a brownie! |
So today, we lit a candle and sang Happy Half-Birthday! and made this little nugget feel all kinds of special.
Because he truly is so very, very special.
A two-and-a-half year old ray of light and joy and peace. Silly and wild and definitely the comedian of my trio. Loves to be held, will eat anyone under the table, enjoys any sport involving a ball, and thinks his big brother and sister hung the moon.
He is defiant and rough, a wrestler and a snuggler.
He walks with a swagger, like he knows just how cute he really is.
He is all boy (i.e. he's already had his first cast, an emergency dental visit due to a self-inflicted frenectomy, and is currently sporting two black eyes).
He loves his teachers and his friends at school and his tractor blanket and his baby Jack-Jack doll.
Brooks,
You are a gift God gave me during a time I didn't know I'd need you. The reason I had to, was able to get out of bed when I wanted to stay and hide in the darkness. You bring such joy to my world, and you put a ray of light and a boundless joy into the nooks and crannies of all of my days.
I love you, I love you, I love you.
Enough. SO big.
Happy Half Birthday, 'Boosey.
~Mama
I swear, January crept by as slow as my four-year-old making his way like a damn inchworm from the house to the car in the mornings when we're always running late to preschool...
And then February came and went and I basically didn't come up for air and was it the fastest month ever or did it just seem that way to me in my barely-surviving-single-mom-bubble?!
I think this may possibly be the first time since I started this blog eight (!!) years ago that I flat out skipped writing for an entire month.
So, let's catch up, shall we?
Here's what February looked like around these parts...
*Brooks caught an awful stomach bug. Which meant grape juice for everyone else (DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS TRICK) and some gulping of Zofran and a completely cleaned out car seat (is there anything worse?) and several people mentioning they saw me pulled over on the side of the highway with my puking son (but did you stop?!). WHEW. We all survived, #thankyoulord and I cannot wait until cold and flu seasons bids us adieu.
*Y'all, MY FOOT STILL ISN'T BETTER. Here I am, over six weeks later, STILL in this dang boot! The doc asked me at my last repeat x-ray if I was resting it. I didn't even answer. I just laughed. Because how do you do that when you're a third grade teacher and mama of three littles running the circus solo? As you can imagine, not being able to run is basically making me die a slow death of emotional mess. So any prayers you have to spare that this foot will get its act together would be greatly appreciated. <3
*I got my taxes done! WOOHOO! That took up about half of the month of February, because I do them myself and would put in a little effort here and there in the nooks and crannies of my day before my eyelids close at 8:00pm.
*I'm officially an essential oils convert and am loving it allllllllllll. I got into it years ago, stepped away for awhile because #life (though they probably would've helped me a lot during that very stormy life season!), and now I cannot get enough of all of it. And I would be happy to help you learn more about it, too, if you're interested! LIFE.CHANGING.
*Want to know what else is life-changing? Schitt's Creek on Netflix. You're welcome.
*Oh! And a BIG February event?! I got tattoo number two!! I have known since I got my first one that I wanted this one, but have waited almost a year and needed the timing to feel right and needed to feel the spiritual/emotional push to do it. That time came, and I love it, and I love how I now have this reminder to always trust Him, no matter what my circumstances may be, to always be still, to let go of control, and to put my hope in something beyond what is right in front of me.
*In the busy-ness of February we gave Brooks his first (and last) ponytail, and doesn't he look just like baby CK?!
*Everette gave karate a shot, but ultimately decided his love of being told when he can hi-ya was short-lived.
*I had a girls-only afternoon/evening with my mini-me and y'all.... it was HEAVEN. Ice cream and Target and popcorn for dinner while we watched Wonder and snuggling on the couch and I really wanted to freeze time with my growing-up-too-quickly little lady. <3
SIDENOTE: I found an old grape tomato at the bottom of purse the other day, if that tells you anything about our February...
*So many of you have been so incredibly kind and selfless and thoughtful concerning my post about having some medical red flags being raised... I don't have much of an update yet (I have another appointment coming up soon!), but I do want to say THANK YOU for all of your humbling messages. I am doing what I can from where I am sitting, and have made some pretty big changes to my diet to help heal my body on a cellular level (I'm happy to share it with you if you want to know more about it!)... Nothing too crazy, because we all know I'll always need a cupcake and my happy hour cocktail. But with the adjustments I have made, I can tell a huge different and I've actually been feeling great!!
*I'm officially in the market for a minivan... I can't say I'd ever thought I'd get to this place in life <sigh> but I'm now a fan of anything that will make my current season more convenient and cheaper because living life is expensive and hard, y'all!
*Perhaps my most favorite memory of the entire month? Great Wolf Lodge!! We went on a retreat with our church and I have been dying to go and it just exceeded all of my expectations. I felt like a giddy child, and my kids were just so happy, and my mama was there, and omigoodness I loved every bit of it. And yes, when it was time to come home I was so freaking ready because as fun as it is it was FREAKING EXHAUSTING.
*And one last awesome memory (which was technically the first of March, but hell, I may not be back around here for awhile) was a girls' night out I had last Friday! So.much.fun. It was a fashion show to benefit schools in our area, and it was just the perfect night of girlfriends and fashion and cocktails and a sip'n'shop and exactly what the doctor ordered for a mama who was t-i-r-e-d after a February full of mama'ing.
And now, as you take a break from praying for the bones in my foot, please pray for my sanity. Because spring extracurriculars begin this week and against my better judgement I signed E up for tball and CK up for soccer and I'll be running around like a madwoman. But the good news is, Easter candy is officially on the shelves and that will get me through the next couple of months because is it just me, or is egg-shaped sugar somehow more magically delicious than all of the other shapes?
Happy March!!
