Devotion

I've always heard that there is just something special about little boys and their mommas.  My little monkey is definitely a case in point.  Several months ago, he proposed for the first time.  I told him that Mommy couldn't marry him even though I loved him bunches and he let it go.  He informed me a couple of months back that he had decided that when Gracey (his best friend's baby sister) gets to be a grown up, he's going to marry her because, "I just love her too much!"  Gracey's mom and I have had some laughs over this and informed Gracey (at 9 months) that it's her job to remember how much trouble they'll be in if they run off and get married at 18.  I have a feeling that we'll have to bring this up with her again in the future.

Last week though, Drew had a temporary change of heart.  "Momma," he said one morning with his little hands cupped around my face, "I decided I can't marry Gracey.  I decided I can't marry her because I'm just going to marry you!"  I told him that I loved him very much and that he's the sweetest boy ever but that I can't marry him since I'm already married to Daddy (and mommas can't marry their little boys).  "But Momma," he continued, "if I marry Gracey then you will be all alone!"  I reminded him that he and Gracey couldn't get married for a very, very long time and that even then, I would still have Daddy.  "Oh Momma!" he cried as he threw his arms around me, "Won't you miss me?  I might be so far away!"  I explained that sometimes, when you grow up, you do have to move far away but that of course I would miss him so much and I reiterated that was still a long, long time away.  He sat there thoughtful for a minute and finally said, "Well, I guess I can still marry Gracey then...but do you think maybe she can get glasses like your's when we're big?" 

For my friends who don't have kids yet, the fact that sometimes my breath actually catches when I'm with my little man may seem odd.  For the rest of you, I think you'll agree that the love, admiration and devotion that is so often displayed is, literally, breath taking.  It stops me in my tracks and reminds me of just how blessed I am.  

Escape from Monotony

Look at that face...isn't it the most adorable ever?  Ok, I'm aware that my friends with kids of their own will beg to differ but for the rest of you, you're on my side, right?

Lately, recognizing that our hopes of adding to our family don't seem to be happening in what I consider a timely fashion, we've decided to take advantage of the things we get to do with only one monkey.  Drew (and Jesse, for that matter) gets bored pretty easily.  So, while I'm content at home reading a book or catching some sun in the back yard, they're longing for an escape from the monotony and some kind of adventure.  Our solution was to plan (that part is for me) that at least once a month, we would take off and do something completely spontaneous and fun...some sort of an adventure.  After all, if God choses to bless us with another one, it will never be this easy to be spontaneous again. 

Our first venture in adventure led to a drive to Red Lodge where we saw a group of local kids, with the help of Missoula Children's Theatre (see what they do here: http://www.mctinc.org/About_MCT/Mission_Statement ), perform "Pinocchio".  Afterwards, we headed over to the park where Drew had a blast "boot skating" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Gn6cPIBhMY&feature=youtube_gdata_player).  The day was totally unplanned and a complete blast.  

Last Saturday, we decided to drive to Billings which is not all that unusual for us.  While we wandered the mall though, on the hunt for a pair of Chuck Taylors for Drew, we all caught sight of the Build a Bear store.  Drew, of course, was fascinated...although he didn't really know what it was about.  Jesse and I shrugged our shoulders, grabbed his little hands and headed in for some fun.  An owl, named "Turner" now has a new home and it's purchase resulted in some money being donated to a public library (that seems like a "win-win" to me).  

Sometimes, it's as simple as going out and trying a new restaurant...or Drew's favorite, going to eat pizza.  The bottom line is though, we don't want to remember this as the time we sat around hoping for a new baby.  We don't want to just remember monotony.  We have an incredible and adorable little monkey already.  We want to remember this as a time where we had some great adventures with him.  So, we're on the hunt for some more fun.  What's your favorite fun thing to do with your kiddos?