you just gotta laugh

Least you think I only blogged tonight because I had some sadder news to share, I decided to take some comments from my kids and share them with you, because, well, my kids are funny...at least to me....enjoy

I took Little Man to see Annie, the musical. During intermission we were talking about they play and he said that he was sure Mr. Starbucks was sad that Annie wanted to find her parents but that he would let her go because he loved her. No, that wasn't a typo, yep....he thinks his name was Mr. Starbucks and not Mr. Warbucks.......that is the Annie of 2009!

The baby wants to know when daddy is going to finally land his plane and come home....apparently he thinks that daddy has just gone away to fly a plane around in circles........

Little momma has taken to carrying her action figure Jesus around with her everywhere. Really, there is and we own an action figure of Jesus (there is also Mary, Noah, Moses, David, and Goliath, just in case you are curious). Just so you know, she has taken up talking with a southern accent on some words, Jesus being one of them. It is not uncommon to hear in my house a few dozen times a day "MY JESUS, I LOST (dropped) MY JESUS. I NEED MY JESUS." Yea, with the southern accent, it is funny, no matter how many times a day she says it! She is also the one that has the never ending prayers...she will be a preacher when she grows up......

As for amazing girl...she hasn't been as funny as of late, but boy is she getting more amazing with every passing day! 2 days until her birthday...look for the birthday letter post to be coming soon.

For now, they are sleeping peacefully dreaming of Mr. Starbucks, Jesus, Airplanes and Princess birthday's.....I hope your dreams are just as sweet!

long lost hello's

You check your inbox, your voicemail, your snail mail. You expect the same things each time you complete this task. You answer your phone and if you are like me, it is the same few people over and over again.

There are people you are friends with either because you work together, you have share some of the same interests, you children are friends, because you grew up together, or because you just click.

There are friends you talk to daily, weekly, via virtual communication, monthly. There are friends that you can talk to every 6 months and pick up where you left off. There are people who know more about your life than they probably should. Then there are people you are friends with whom have slowly drifted away. You casually mention them in your prayers, you think of them randomly, you hope they are well. You are sure there life is going good, you think you should get together sometime. You let life get in the way. you appreciate them for who they were in your life at the time. You are comfortable with everyone having moved on, comfortable with the way things currently are.

Then you get an email, a phone call, a voice mail. You learn that this friend has cancer. You immediately think you should call this person, you want to talk to them, to see how they are, to let them know you care! You continue on as you always have, work, kids, cleaning, errands. Only this friend takes a more center stage approach in your life. Your prayers for them more meaningful and frequent. Your virtual connection checked daily now. You thoughts more prominent. You promise that you will get together soon. You vow to not let life get in the way.

Then you realize, this is ok, this is comfortable, you may not see each other more often, you may have to let life get in the way sometimes. There are some people in your life you love but don't need to have constant contact with. This friend knows you care, knows you are there, knows you are praying and knows they are loved. There are people in your life that are only suppose to be there when they are needed. They are not fair weather friends, they are true friends that you can call whenever you need too! To chat, to cry, to pray, to know that you are love.

Tamara, you are an amazing inspiration. You are fighting this battle, growing stronger in your faith, becoming more beautiful everyday. You are refusing to be a victim to this pit stop in your life. You are a hero to your kids, your friends, your family!

Always someones child

I look at Little man and I see endless possibilities. At 7 and a half (yes, we throw in halves at this age;) the world is open to him. Whatever he dreams, hopes, believes...it is all out there waiting for him to learn it, do it, think it.

In none of my visions for his future do I depict that some day he will be 37, living at home, in and out of jail, constantly drunk, endless domestic battles, and finally, dying at a bus stop. alone. in the morning. fresh out of jail 4 days before.

In all honesty there is a part of me that wants to say, he did it to himself. the local police dept. will be less busy. there is a great example of a local high school cool kid getting by in life because he was cute, loved, envied. no big loss. I want to laugh at the people who haven't been in contact with him in years that say it is a tragedy that he died so young.

Then, I hear the sweet voice of little man, or amazing girl, or little mommy or the baby and I can't think these thoughts. At one time, he was their ages, 7, 4 or 2. When his mother looked at him, kissed his skinned knee, said prayers with him, sang songs, read to or cooked dinner for him, never did she depict that her little boy would turn out like that either!

When I look at the sweet faces of the angels the Lord has blessed me with, I can only think that yes, it is a tragedy he died so young. It is a tragedy that help always seem to escape. It is a tragedy that he was alone, the circumstances so awful, the call that had to be placed. It is a tragedy because he was someones child.......................