Everyday Life

That's the lizard cage.

That's our cat.

And if you look very closely, that's Ironman -  one of the many Lego figures that seem to be perpetually scattered about.

Stafford came home from school and after almost peeing his pants on our doorstep, he made his usual mad dash to the bathroom.

This is normal.

Then the abnormal sneaking here and there started.

"Don't look in here!" he said as I passed his bedroom door.

Then he would creep past me, and dash somewhere else to gather supplies.

Then he presented me with a gift.

I had assumed it was from school and was one of the mother's day gifts that I love to recieve and asked if I should save it for Sunday.

"No, it's your birthday present since I forgot to get you anything."

Still thinking I would uncover the class craft, 

I found this.

A little white rock!

Then we had lunch.

This week I pre-packed salads with tons of toppings to make eating them a snap.

It worked.

I ate it.

And it was a snap.

Stafford then dug through the cabinet that I keep for rotating church toys, that I never rotate, and found a little magnet board.

He used pretend play and I finished up some of my "to do" list.

A couple of Porter's friends came over.

Just like the cat,

they gathered around the lizards.

That night we ordered Zubs subs (our favorite turkey and avocado), bread sticks and pizza.

We made it a family party night.

Glenn is off to Europe for 2.5 weeks and we wanted him to go out with a bang.

We had treats and a good old fashioned game of RISK.

There were no fights and that is a beautiful thing when it comes to this game.

The boys said their good-byes as Glenn tucked them all in bed.

This is the longest he's ever been gone.

I've got a good game plan.

We're going to be fine,

but I'm sure going to miss him.

When he leaves for these long trips,

I'm reminded of the little things in life.

I'm reminded of how much Glenn contributes to our family and how blessed I am.

(A friend of mine's husband passed away suddenly at 44 from heart attack.)

I'm reminded that nothing is for certain.

I'm reminded to not take for granted those in our lives.

I'm reminded that the "simple life" is beautiful.