Z is for…

Count your blessings, name them one by one…

It’s taken me over eleven months but we have finally come to the end.  I’m following through on my promise to use Thursday posts to focus on thankfulness — and instead of counting blessings, I’ve challenged myself to come up with them alphabetically.  (You can find the rest of the posts in this series here.)

Welcome to Z week!

Back when I started with the letter A, I quoted the first page of Dr. Seuss’ ABC book, so it only seems appropriate that I end the alphabet the same way:

 BIG Z… little z… What begins with Z?

I do. I am a Zizzer-Zazzer-Zuzz, as you can plainly see.

Oh, how I love you, Dr. Seuss!

Z is for zinnias and zebras and perhaps most importantly of all, SLEEP  Zzzzzzzzzzz.

It doesn’t matter if you are a new parent or an aging one, naps should be taken whenever they become available.

MM and SuperDad in the early days

(Sneaking in a few Time Warp Tuesday / Throwback Thursday pics here!)

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Now it’s your turn:

Please share some things for which you are thankful…

Bonus points of you can come up with Z words!

Can it be?

Can he be… 23?

Happy birthday to MusicMan, who will be graduating from college in less than 3 weeks.

 

Flashbacks

Once upon a time, there were 3 little boys:

From left: EB, MM, and H-J — Germany, 1997

And then they grew up.

MusicMan went off to college 3,000 miles away from home.
The following summer, we moved much closer and Encyclopedia Blue  joined his older brother at college a mere 80 miles from home.

From left:
MM, H-J, and EB — August 2012

In a few more weeks, MM and his wife will graduate from college. One month after that, Humorous-Juniorous will graduate from high school and begin his own journey to college.

My four boys, summer 2000, El Paso, TX. Note the very tan hand around the baby’s middle.

The baby of the family will be the only one living at home with Mom and Dad.

SM, July 2000

Although he’s not so little anymore!

SnakeMaster hiking at Yosemite National Park — April 2014

 

Y is for…

Count your blessings, name them one by one…

It’s back — and almost at the end! After a hiatus of several months, I’m following through on my promise to use Thursday posts to focus on thankfulness — and instead of counting blessings, I’ve challenged myself to come up with them alphabetically.  (You can find the rest of the posts in this series here.)

Welcome to Y week.

 

Y is for Yellow, the color of pollen for this happy bee. Note the full pollen sac

 

It isn’t the Yellow Rose of Texas, but a yellow cactus bloom in the Arizona springtime is a close second.

 

September 1992: MusicMan holding 2-day old Encyclopedia Blue for the very first time

Y is also for yell.  Most of the time, we don’t wish for children to be yelling but when it comes to a newborn, a lusty yell is a happy sign of health.   (Sneaking in a Time Warp Tuesday / Throwback Thursday pic here, too!)
Bonus: EB has yellow trim on his “going home outfit.” 

 

 Y is for yardage…

Me, peeking over the quilt top

I have plenty of hobbies — definitely more than I have time to do on a weekly basis — but nevertheless, I was bit by the quilting bug a few years ago.  I can’t tell you how much yardage is in this quilt that I made after MM & Rapunzel were married. (Answer: a lot!)

Now it’s your turn:

Please share some things for which you are thankful…

Fairy Tale Family pic

I had a plan for My Town Monday which involved taking more photos than I managed to take over the weekend. Perhaps it can show up on Friday as a two-fer (2-for-1 post).

Instead, I can offer you this Time Warp Tuesday shot from the spring of 1995:

Schloss Heidelberg, May 1995

I spent nearly an hour searching for this pic for my husband this morning. “We were standing on the parapet at the Heidelberg Castle. You were wearing your navy blue pea coat.”  I couldn’t find it. He finally remembered that it was in an album he had in his closet. He needed me to photograph it so he could use it in a PowerPoint presentation this Sunday (he’ll be giving a message on the Heidelberg Catechism).

That boy with the determined look on his face is now 21 years old and will be coming home this weekend for his spring break.

 

Time Warp Tuesday: Scholar

Photo taken in March of 2008.  There’s a reason we call him Humorous-Juniorous.

H-J’s senior picture

Say hello to a National Merit Scholarship finalist.

H-J, however, doesn’t see himself as different from the rest of the kids at school who go to class, do their homework, and try their best.  He’s pretty sure that he isn’t any “better” than many of his classmates.

All of these awards make him a little bit uncomfortable.

But sometimes a mama needs to brag about her kind, smart, funny kid — and this is one of those times. 

He loves to learn and has applied to nine different universities, stretching from coast to coast.  He hasn’t visited a single one of those colleges.  His final decision will be based upon financial aid packages and variety of programs offered by the school.

Now we wait for Spring and the letters of acceptance.

 

Time Warp Tuesday: December

I looked back to see my early December post from 2012 and discovered this:

My cat was helping me rest.

Last year at this time, I was sitting with my feet up on the sofa, taking pain meds and wearing fleece pants over a “boot” due to foot surgery.   This year, Frankenboot is a distant memory. My toe that received the majority of surgical attention isn’t 100% but it is livable. Ugly, but livable.

Our tree is up and decorated as of December 8th, but I am yet again/still behind on preparing for Christmas in a myriad of ways.  Last year I could blame surgery; this year, I can blame my work schedule — but really, this happens every year because I am a procrastinator. 

Luckily, I do love fall decorations…

 

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Time Warp Tuesday is brought to you by Jenn at Juggling Life. Visit here to see the other participants and their photos.

TWT: Better late than never…

The original plan was that KCINNOTX was going to fly into town tomorrow, husband in tow, to show him how beautiful it is here.  I’ve been campaigning to get them to move to the area ever since I moved here two years ago.

But on Friday, her dear husband had a rather awful bicycle accident and the doctor declined to clear him for air travel (wise move, I’m sure), so now I will not have a reason to purchase any Tillamook Marionberry Pie ice cream or clean my house  go to choir practice tomorrow night.

K2 at the horse sculptures overlooking the Columbia River

This picture was taken in April when she flew out here for a visit and a mutual friend’s wedding. When my hard drive went into permafrost mode, my sweet BFF sent me a CD of all the photographs from her entire trip — and many of them were even better than the ones I lost. I’d much rather have her friendship than my pictures. ♥

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Time Warp Tuesday is brought to you by Jenn at Juggling Life. Visit here to see the other participants and their photos.

TWT: The family picture that wasn’t taken

This isn’t an old photo (taken Dec. 24, 2012) but since it is nearly 10:45pm on Monday and I don’t have anything else ready for Time Warp Tuesday, this picture will have to do the job.

We spent time together, all 7 of us, on Saturday afternoon. My MIL and FIL were also there to celebrate SuperDad’s 50th birthday and Encyclopedia Blue’s 21st birthday.

The things that have changed in the past 9 months:

• SnakeMaster has, I believe, passed up his SIL in height.
• MusicMan now has an impressive mop of curls. SD & I make comments that we probably shouldn’t make — because hey, it’s just hair and it’s not our responsibility. Did I mention it is an impressive mop of curls? It might be because I am his mother, but that hair is the first thing I see when we I look at him. It’s…. impressive.  But Rapunzel loves it. She’s his wife and the one who cuts his hair, and she’s the one he needs to please, not his mother!  

I can’t prove either of those things because I failed to take a photo of our get-together. My dear MIL wanted to take a picture in the parking lot… in front of our filthy minivan… with the back hatch open… on a 93 degree afternoon… in bright sunshine… and no one cooperated. In hindsight, we should have all sweetly agreed. I wanted to move us to a cooler spot with a better backdrop but then I didn’t make it happen.  I know better. When the mama (or in this case, the grandma) wants to take a family photo, let her do it!

Lesson over.

I had a meeting this evening and a full day of work tomorrow. I’m headed to bed!

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Time Warp Tuesday is brought to you by Jenn at Juggling Life. Visit here to see the other participants and their photos.

**Disclaimer:  If you see ads here on my blog, they have nothing to do with me or this post. WordPress would like me to upgrade to ad-free $tatu$ but I plan on ignoring that plea.

TWT: milestones

This week contains a few major milestones for our family.

Almost ready to walk and so proud of himself!  EB took his first steps on his father’s 30th birthday.

On Wednesday, Encyclopedia Blue turns 21.

On Saturday, SuperDad hits the half-century mark.

EB and SuperDad play in the snow on Mt. Rainier, early April 1994

EB lets me know it’s time to go for a run, long before he becomes a barefooter
[click on pic to embiggen]

Time marches on…

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Time Warp Tuesday is brought to you by Jenn at Juggling Life. Visit here to see the other participants and their photos.