Dear Boys...

Well, I did it again.  I started a blog with every intention of writing in it "all the time" and here it sits.  Oh, I have every intention of writing so many things. I have so many thoughts swirling around in this head of mine that I want and need to share with you.  And, I do share them with you.  But, I really want so many of them to be written down. 

So, on this last day of 2010, I am going to resolve for the New Year to write more in my blog.  I will first and foremost spend more quality time with you guys and then make sure I am writing things down.  I really want you to have this so some day you can look back and laugh at all the crazy stuff we did, smile at a fun memory, or just ponder what you were doing way back when. 

I love you guys.  You make me so proud.  Here are some pictures from Christmas to end the year.

Dear Boys..

Yesterday we went to our annual Breakfast with Santa at my work.  I have to admit.  I was dreading it a little this year.  I just wanted to sleep in.  We saw Santa at church last week and I thought that should do it.  (wow, do I sound like a Scrooge or what?) 

I'm so glad you talked me in to it.  Seeing you sit on Santa's lap and hearing you talk about how "good" you were this year (or weren't..uh, Jack?  I was shocked that you admitted it!  And wasn't it great to hear that Santa had brothers too and could totally relate to you??) never gets old.  I will probably want you to do that even when you are in college. 

Okay, maybe not. 

But, my favorite part of the day was getting my picture taken with you guys.  We so rarely have that opportunity.  I am so thankful that my friend from work was such a good sport and snapped a few shots. 

I will love this picture forever.

Love, Mom

Dear Boys..

The Christmas tree looks beautiful.  Thanks Jack for helping me "straighten it out" before we started decorating.  It really was in there crooked and we didn't want to have to tilt our heads to the sides when we looked at it. 

GREAT JOB at decorating!  You didn't break any ornaments.  "Mom, is this a heavy one?"  "Mom, can this one break?"  "Mom, can you help me find a strong branch for this one?"  We certainly dropped quite a few but we didn't break any! 

We'll see if we can say that in a few days after Bronx has decided that the tree is invading HIS space! 

I hope your colds are better tomorrow.  I wish we could sleep in.  But, I understand your need to see Santa...AGAIN....at 8:30 on a Saturday morning....*yawn*. 

How about we all take naps tomorrow?? 

Love, Mom

Dear Boys...

Things I will remember about picking out a Christmas tree with you this year:

• Jack decided HE was going to be the one to pick it out since the other boys did it with dad last year.  (you little boys were having NONE of that!))
• Ben couldnt't WAIT to go get a tree and the whole time we were there he kept saying, "just PICK one guys!" 
• Joey going through row after row looking for the perfect one....knowing just what he had in mind and nothing was quite right. 
• Really wanting the tree that that guy picked for his girlfriend.  We thought it was perfect but she didn't really want it...until WE said if she didn't want it, we would take it.  Then, she thought it was great.  (remember the saying "you may not want it but you don't want someone else to have it either" that applies here) 
• The fact that even though all this happened, we got in the car at 5:00pm to get the tree and had it paid for, tied to the top of the car and we were all back in the car pulling out of the lot at 5:18pm.  Amazing what a little cold will do for your decision making!

It is a great tree.  I love it.  But, most of all, I love that we picked it out together...and had so much fun doing it! 

Love, Mom

Dear Boys...

I am sorry that when you get up tomorrow and discover that I made puppy chow tonight, you will not be allowed to have any.  It isn't for you.  It is for my work.  I promise I will make you some within the next few days.  I just didn't have the energy to make it tonight.  Please forgive me.

Love, Mom

Dear Boys...

Tonight when I was tucking you in to bed, Jack told me he wanted to talk to me about something.  He told me about a boy at school.
It about broke my heart to hear you telling that story.

I know that you guys have had a lot to deal with this year in school already...friends parents breaking up, wondering why some friends make the choices they do, losing your friend, Solomon.  With so many of those things I just don't know what to say.  Your dad and I love you so much and we can continue to show you that and help you to know that we will always be here for you. 

You guys are pretty darn cool and are such good friends.  I hope you know that you can talk to me and your dad about anything you want to.  We will help you through whatever it is.  If your friends need help, you can talk to us about that too.  We may not have all the answers, but we will figure things out together. 

Just keep being good friends.  We know you already are. 

Love, Mom 

Dear Boys...

 No matter what...

 Whatever you do....



DON'T DO DRUGS!!! 

 DRUGS ARE VERY VERY BAD!

 VERY VERY BAD.



That's all I've got to say about that.  (name that movie)

I love you.  Don't do drugs...ever.

Love, Mom

Dear Boys...

May you always spread your wings to fly.

When you fall, may you never be too scared to pick yourself up and start over.

May you always have faith that you can do anything you set your mind to.

May you have persistence and determination in whatever task you take on.

May you never have too much pride to act silly once in awhile.

May you have the confidence to always stand up for what is right.

May you always know which way to turn when an obstacle gets in your way.

May you always keep your eyes on the path in front of you and not dwell on the path behind.

May all your dreams come true every day of your lives.

Love, Mom

Dear Boys...

Well, I'm not going to lie to you guys.  Sometimes life is hard.  It's uncertain and lonely and there will be times you will wonder what in the world should you do next.  You just need to keep the faith.  If I would say that to you right now, at the ages you are now, you would either look at me like I had three heads or you would roll your eyes at me.  What I am trying to say is to have faith in God, pray and reflect on what is on your mind, and trust that things will work the way God has it planned out. 

It's hard to explain so what I will say is this:

I hope that your good days out number your bad.  I hope that people will always know deep down that you mean well and want the best for all people.  I hope you never feel lonely.  I hope you never break your spirit.  I hope you will always do your best.  I hope that you always know that your unique qualities are what makes you so great.  I hope that you always know how much I love you. 

Love, Mom

Dear Joey,

This morning you marched right up to me and said, "Mom, I had a dream last night."  You had that cute little smile on your face and it was pretty obvious that whatever it was, it was a good dream. 

I asked you what that dream was about.  "Mom, I dreamed that A talked to me at school"  A is the little gal you have been smitten with for the last two years.  I'm not sure what it is about this little girl, but you have a crush like no other.  You don't talk about her all the time or gush about how cool you think she is.  Her name just comes up every now and again.  Usually it has something to do with how amazed you are that she talked to you. 

One day in school a few weeks ago you said, "Mom!  A talked to me at school today."  I told you how nice that was and asked what she said, thinking you guys had some kind of in depth conversation in second grade or something!  You said, "she said Hi."

That was it.  She just said "Hi" and you were happy as a clam. 

Well, here's my take on it little guy.  Why wouldn't she say hi to you?  You are sweet, nice, and friendly.  There isn't a girl out there who shouldn't want to say hi to you whenever they get the chance.

But, don't worry about this one girl.  There will be plenty of girls wanting to talk to you before it's all said and done.  I guess I will have to deal with that...

Love, Mom

Dear Jack..

Today was a pretty big day for you.  After wanting a cell phone for what seems like FOREVER, you finally got one.  I know it's nothing fancy.  Your friends have phones that are WAY better than yours.  And, it will be awhile before you forgive us for not getting you texting.  But, you finally have a phone. 

You didn't just get the phone for nothing either.  You got on Honor Roll your first card marking period of middle school!!  We are so proud of you Jack!  Everyone says that middle school is difficult.  And, I have no doubt that we will have our challenges.  This will not be smooth sailing for the next three years, but you have started out wonderfully.  I am amazed at how much you are trying to get yourself organized.  

Your competitveness is really helping you want to get good grades.  You have developed great study habits while managing a full schedule of football too.  In other words, You are kickin' it dude!  (don't worry, I won't ever say that in front of your friends.

So, have fun with your new phone.  I hope you get as many phone calls as you hope.  And use it wisely, son.  I know you will.  More importantly, congratulations on doing great in school.  Keep up the great work!  I know you will do that too!

Love, Mom

Little Boy

Dear Ben...

What in the heck is going on?  You lost ANOTHER tooth today!  I know kids are supposed to lose teeth and all but you are my baby.  You are only four years old!  You are the one that is going to stay my baby as long as you can.  (or as long as I can get you to)  I was telling someone earlier today about you losing your first tooth last week. That was crazy to me. I didn't believe you when you said it was even loose.  You kept telling me, "Mommy!  I have a loose tooth!"  And I just said, "Oh, sure you do..." and didn't give it another thought.  I didn't take the time to have fun with you and that first loose tooth because, well, I didn't think four year olds lost teeth.  I must have thought there was some kind of unwritten rule that all kindergarteners had to have all baby teeth showing in their kindergarten picture.  You know, those teeny tiny little teeth that are sooooo cute.  Kindergarteners don't have those awkward gaps between their teeth or those big huge adult teeth in their pictures. 

Kindergarten will be here before I know it.  Time is passing so quickly.  I am so happy that I am passing time with YOU as my baby. 

Stinker!

Love, Mom

Warm Thoughts

Dear Boys...

It's pretty cold out right now and I think it is going to get colder tomorrow and for the weekend.  They are even talking about flurries for tomorrow.  (no, there will NOT be a snow day.)  So, how about this?  Let's just think about warm weather for a few minutes.  Let's think about all the warm things we did this summer. 

Joey, you played your first summer of coach/pitch baseball.  And you had a blast.  You were so excited before, during and after every game.  It didn't matter if you won or lost.  You felt like you won every game. 

This picture makes you look a little grumpy but you were just hot.  And probably a little embarassed because I kept snapping pictures of you in front of your friends.  But, hey, I'm a mom and that's what we do.  Embarass our kids and take your pictures.

There was a lot of wiffle ball played at our house this summer.  You boys love love love to play wiffle ball.  Our neighbors know whenever they hear boys yelling, there must be a wiffle ball game going on at our house.

Ben tries to keep up.  He wants to be so much like you big brothers. And, okay, sometimes I make you "go easy on him." 

I think he missed you when he was watching the Fourth of July parade without you this year.  It just wasn't the same with you guys on the float and Benny sitting on the sidelines.  But, he was your biggest fan when you went by our house. 

Just like you two little guys are Jack's biggest fans at all of his baseball games.  Jack, we are so proud of you for all your accomplishments in baseball.  I know this was a difficult year for you but somehow, I hope you are able to regain your focus and learn from it.  I know that is a really cliche thing to hear but it is true.  You have so much talent and you just need to believe in yourself.  The rest of us do.

We had so much fun at Grandpa's lake house.  Some fish were probably not too happy that we visited though! 

Of course the highlight of the summer was our trip to Hilton Head.  I had so much fun hanging out with you guys on the beach.  It was soooo hot!  Remember how quickly we tried to walk across the sand to get to the beach?  Remember that really windy day when we could actually watch the sand blow across the beach and pile on to all of our clothes? 

Remember the cookout your dad coordinated at our house?  Remember kayaking at night?  And seeing the dolphins?  Remember all the swimming we did?  And remember how relieved we all were that none of use (at least none of us who put sun screen on!) got sunburned? 

It was a great warm summer.  We made a lot of memories this summer.  And, even though the cold weather is creeping up on us, we will make just as many great memories in the cold weather than we did in the warm! 

Love, Mom