Mother's Day Gift

For Mother's Day this year, Jay and I made these keepsake frames for our moms.  Jay even sat down and scrapbooked with me on them.  They turned out really nicely and the moms loved them!  The question is WHO? and the answer is MY MOM.  Memories of things our moms did or said are printed on cardstock in different fonts and trimmed down.  I choose a black and white theme because that would go with either mom's house decor, so I printed the pictures in black and white, also.  We added some "bling" and embellishments along with ribbon to make it pop.

Jay even sat down and made his mom's frame, with just a little help from me.  When he was done, he asked when the next crop was so he could go!  I don't think so Tim!  That's my girl time!

Ch Ch Ch Ch CHANGES!

Wow.  This week was FILLED with changes for my family!  I'm usually FOR changes, but not one right after another.  First, I turned 46.  How did THAT happen?  Aren't I still 20something?  Yeah, in my dreams I am.  I realize that this puts me 4 years from 50.  Hello?  Isn't that MIDDLE AGE?  Don't answer that!

The next couple of big changes involve my baby boy, who really isn't a baby...he's a Tween.  He participated in the Boy Scout Arrow of Light ceremony where he crossed over from a Cub Scout to a Boy Scout.  He joined a new troop, filled with boys I do NOT know.  He'll be going camping with these young men without his dad!  How can I stop this?  Answer: I can't.  It's part of his growing up.  Then, to add insult to injury, he graduated from 5th grade, crossing over to the Middle School.  I knew this was coming.  I was head of the planning committee for the graduation ceremonies.  But it just happened so darned FAST! What happened to my "Binky Boy"?  The one who used to watch Toy Story over and over and over again? The one that used to snuggle in my lap with his binky and his blankie so I could rock him to sleep and sing Desperado to him?  The little boy who loved me to read Where the Wild Things Are to him?  The cute little boy in the Superman pajamas?  There is a book I have called "I'll Love You Forever" and it's a story about a mom and her baby boy and the changes the boy (and mom) goes through.  But through the whole book, the main point is, no matter what stage of life the boy is in, his mom's love never changes.  It always makes me cry.  This summer will be one of many new adventures for my Binky Boy. And in spite of my fear and worry, I am excited to see him take these next steps.  Jacob, I'll Love You Forever!  Mom

Happy 15th Birthday Michaela!

Today is my daughter's 15th birthday and I'm sitting here, wondering, where did the time go?  It seems like only yesterday....There are so many thoughts and feelings spinning around in my head, and I'm a bit emotional.  But I think the perfect way to celebrate her birthday would be to tell you the amazing story of just how much God blessed us in May of 1995.
..............
It took us 4 years and 2 fertility doctors to get pregnant with her.  There was a time when I thought I wasn't destined to even be a mother. I BEGGED God to let me have a baby and  I had all but given up.  Then, on my brother's 28th birthday in June of 1994, he was diagnosed with Non Hodgkin's lymphoma. Cancer.  I stopped begging for a baby and instead started begging for his life. I told God that I would give up my chances of a child of my own if it meant saving my baby brother's life.  Whatever my brother might need from me, be it blood, bone marrow, an organ, it was his.
On the night of my brother's biopsy, my friend, Traci, called me from work to check on him.  I said "Cancer."  She said "I'm on my way."  As she was leaving, a woman named Willie that worked with Traci said to her, "Wait. God has a message for your friend.  He said to 'tell your friend that if she will profess her faith that God will heal her brother, she will get her miracle'."  This woman knew nothing about me, not even my name.  But Traci, being one of the finest Christian ladies I know, passed that message along to me.  So, I started professing.  To anyone I knew.  Especially to my brother.  Especially to my parents.  And life went on, as much as it can with such a diagnosis hanging over our heads.  Sometime later that summer, Willie told Traci that 3 different people had come to her to tell her that Melinda was pregnant.  Traci didn't tell me that news until later, as even she was a little skeptical.  But I believe with all my heart that those 3 strangers that went to Willie were angels, because I WAS pregnant!  That Christmas, my brother and I were both so sick...he from the chemo, me from the pregnancy.  We both looked terrible that day, but I was never happier!
On May 7, 1995, after 48 hours of labor, Michaela Anne was born via C-section, weighing 11 pounds, 9 ounces with a full head of black hair!  On May 10th, my brother went to his oncologist to get the results of his scans.  He was cancer free!  I got BOTH of my miracles!

So Happy 15th Birthday, Angel Baby Girl and Happy 15 years of being cured to my baby brother!
Thank you God, for both of them!

I can't believe I let my kids do that!

Yesterday evening, my kids experienced another first...I let them walk to the convienence store by our house WITHOUT me!  If you know me, I know you are shocked.  I am overprotective and will not apologize for that.  This is a crazy world and I want my children to be safe.  They aren't allowed to play in the street, put plastic bags over their heads or dry their hair while standing in the shower.  I watch where they are surfing on the internet.  I don't allow them to watch rated R movies and I don't approve of rap music. Yes, I DO allow them out of the house!  Michaela, 15,  babysits and Jacob, 11 in June,  plays golf and baseball.  They both go to different summer camps and activities and neither of their parents are there. I let them go to public school AND ride the school bus.  And occasionally, I let them shop on a different aisle from me in a store.  If it's a SMALL store. A VERY SMALL store.   But I have NEVER let them walk to a store and cross a busy road without me holding onto their hands!
When I suggested they do it, (yes, it was even MY idea!!)  they thought I had lost my mind.  They were freaked out and wondering where their real mother was.  I ran through different scenarios, the "what would you do" things that I've been preaching to them since they were in the womb.  I told them to stay together and to watch the cars and to keep that cell phone in their hands. I hugged them and told them I loved them.  And I let them walk out the door. Without me.  My heart was racing and I couldn't breathe. I thought I was going to throw up or faint. So I prayed for their saftey and did the only thing I could think to do....I called my mommy!!!! 
My kids made it home alive and when they walked in the door, they were beaming.  They admitted to me that yes, they were nervous, but that they had prayed before they left.  I could tell that giving them that tiny bit of freedom and independance was a GOOD thing and they proved to me that they HAVE been listening to my "lectures".  Jake sat down, looked at me and said "Now you can trust us."  Yeah, I think I can. But let's take this independance thing in baby steps please!!!!  Today it's a walk to the store...tomorrow...DRIVERS ED.  Good thing I have free long distance calling to my mommy!

Carpe' diem

My favorite time of year

Baseball season has begun for the Keetons.  My son, Jake, loves to play baseball almost as much as I love to watch him play! Almost. :)  I love the excitement of going to the games and watching my favorite son out on the field.  Sometimes, he is actually playing the game.  Sometimes, he's out there pretending to pitch.  Sometimes, he's busy swatting at the bugs, or hitching up his pants. But when that boy bats, you'd better watch out.  He can hit that ball like nobody's business.  I was in the backyard with him over the weekend, pitching (very badly) to him so he could practice batting.  I was ducking flying balls like, well.... like a GIRL. I figure if he can hit what I was throwing, then he shouldn't have a problem during a game!  Baseball consumes our lives until the end of June.   Jay is an assistant coach and goes to all the practices, too.  Most games start at 6 pm, and both of us get off work at 5, so it's a mad dash to get home, changed and to the ballfield in time. There are sometimes 3 games a week so the laundry starts piling up and the dishes go undone and we eat a lot of sandwiches.  By mid June, we're complaining that we are tired of all of it, and even Jake is ready to be done.  But, every year, we sign up for it all over again. And every year, we are excited and happy to go to the field.  It's one of life's greatest pleasures, in my honest opinion, to watch young children learn a sport.  So, thanks, all you coaches out there...for giving your time unselfishly to a child.  There is no greater reward than to see a child loving playing a game.

Soles for Souls

My family and I went to church yesterday in our bare feet.  Yes, that's right...walked right into Eagle Heights Baptist Church barefoot!  Don't worry, we haven't turned into hillbilly's out here on the prairie.  It was an organized event to gather new or gently worn shoes for people in Haiti that don't have any.   It was chilly and raining, but we still walked in barefoot.  I think the uncomfortable weather made a bigger impact on us than if it had been a warm and sunny day.  We were uncomfortable for a short while.  For many, uncomfortable is a way of life. They say that one person can't change the world.  BUT, little stones dropped in a pool make big ripples.  We did our part by dropping 2 pairs of brand new shoes into the donation pool.  There will be 2 less shoeless kids in Haiti soon.  I can live with that. :)

UPDATE:  EHBC members donated 316 pairs of shoes!

                                          

I NEED Gerber Daisies in my life!

I am pretty sure it's really, truly, springtime in OK!  The evidence is all around me, yet my yard looks as if winter is still breathing down it's neck, waiting to dump 3 more feet of snow at the first hint of green grass. My MIL always told me to wait and plant until April 15 to ensure against a late frost.  Which means, of course, next weekend I will be busting my tushy in the yard!  DH and I recently took a walk around our property and wrote a list of things that we wanted to do and needed to do.  The list is 3 pages long!  We've been in the house for 8 years now and things are in need of repair. So our "need to do" list is longer (and more expensive) than our "want to do" list.  I checked on my annuals and was thrilled to see my 50 year old Peony bush exploding from the ground, covered in buds! I brought a start of that with me when we moved. I am never more excited to see a bunch of ants as when that Peony bush buds! (ants eat the nectar which opens the blooms)  My lily of the valley plants are pushing right on through as well as my irises.  I may need to build a new fence to hold my clematis.  And I noticed that my miniature rose bush is spreading so I will need to start training it around the new trellis I bought last season.  The last time I did that, I was swarmed with ants. They made it to the hem of my shorts before I noticed them.  NOT so happy to see them THAT time, believe me.  This time of year, I feel positively FRANTIC with the need to plant something beautiful! So I'm praying for gorgeous weather for the upcoming weekend so I can dig out my garden tools and get to work! Please, please, PLEASE don't let me see any snakes!