Insta May

It would seem I cannot keep up with my own desires.

I very much desire to post regularly, and you can see how well I am doing.

I, at one point in time, was regularly posting my weekly Instagram pics. And that has, sadly, also fallen by the wayside.

'Sigh'

 

 

However, today, I shall attempt to make it up to you by posting so many pictures your eyeballs will dry up looking at them all.

 

You're welcome.

 

Here is a summation of the past month or two via my camera on my phone.

Instagram style.

 

 

 

Ryder, who is all boy and very rough and tumble, stops all falls with his face. therefore, it should have come as no surprise when he knocked out his own tooth. He is not yet two and a half and the child has already had stitches and busted out a tooth... sigh, I am going to be gray haired before I'm 35. Ryder will now sport a hillbilly hole in the front of his mouth till he grows in his permanent tooth, around age 7 or 8. double sigh. I keep telling hi, as well as myself, that it gives him character... and character breeds perseverance, which we all need.

 

This is my beautiful friend, Cristi. She and I have been friends since we were 12. I love her to pieces. She gets, and accepts my crazy and my sarcasm... we like the same things and, although we are INCREDIBLY different, God has given us a shared understanding of each others personality... and a desire to still be friends! Cristi, her mama, my mama and I went to dinner and a painting class as a gift for my mama's birthday. It was so much fun... and we all came away with a painting! 

 

This picture was snapped just after Jo, Crisit's mama, whacked me in the back with her still very wet painting. I had to come home and immediately wash my shirt.

 

Because of Ryder's new hillbilly hole, the boys had their first dental appointment. They did not get their teeth cleaned... the got their smiles shinned!

Rigg did a terrific job! Ryder was a bit terrorized, but Rigg, being a "hero" for his brother, held Ryder's hand during the shinning process.

 

 

 

Spring has sprung 'round these parts. We have taken the many lovely days to walk barefoot in the grass, throw many, many rocks into creeks, climb trees, and play on playgrounds.

Spring and summer are very high energy with young boys.

 

 

 

 

Ryder continues to stretch me. He is adorable, which is one of the only reasons he's still in one piece at the end of a long, tiring day.

 

Rigg is also adorable, but much less tiring. Rigg has a sweetness that pulls at your heart. whereas Ryder is mischievous and hilarious, Rigg is silly and curious. They are so different, yet share so many similar traits. Both of these boys are a joy.

 

My friend, Lauren, and her husband Scott speak each year at a walk for healthy babies. She speaks of the life and loss of her baby boy, Michael.  Lauren does such an amazing job sharing their story and giving encouragement to others. She and Scott are now the proud parents of a baby girl, Isla... who just might be the prettiest thing I've seen in a long, long time!

It's such a privilege to go and walk alongside Lauren and remember her baby boy!

 

 

Nothing like crusin' with the Captain in the minivan.

He's feeling well, working  rebuilding his energy after his chemo treatments each month. With the spring came a new interest in yard work for the Captain. We have many beautiful flowers blooming and thriving under his care. I'm super thankful, because I know I would kill them dead away.

 

I got this amazing dresser at a vintage craft fair a couple weeks ago. I heart it so much I squeal a bit each time I see it.

Swoon. 

 

Parenting boys insists on you finding places in the world like this... magical boy heaven. Mud, water, rocks... a tunnel... what more could you ask for?

 

Never without a project, I took a couple days and spray-painted two chairs and reupholstered them. Now I have extra seating for guests!



 

My sister-in-law lives with us. Her room is directly below Rigg's. She taught the boys how to "secretly communicate" to her by talking yelling screaming into the vent. So many times have I come across this scene... sigh, sometimes she's not even home...

 

 

This is Ryder's idea of relaxing.

I kinda feel that way too, on a hammock.

 

 

Ryder's personality is really blooming, lately. He is becoming quite the character. I find he does a lot of things because Rigg does them, but sometimes... he breaks out from Riggs shadow and declares himself his own man. Almost hourly I have a very good belly laugh at something he does or says...

 

 

Rigg was having a terribly difficult time the other night. I tried everything in my arsenal to calm him, but he was having none of it. Finally at my wits end, we FaceTimed Pops, (my dad). Dad came to the rescue by telling Rigg the story of The Monster at the End of the Book, Grover voice and all! Rigg was so entertained and caught up in the joy of the moment he forgot his problem... whatever it was, and laughed and laughed.

Big win for Facetime, big ginormous win!

 

Big sticks and smacking leaves... I may never understand boys...

Some days God smiles on me and allows my eyeliner to be perfectly symmetrical. These days are few and far between... so I feel I have to capture the anomaly on film or whatever I capture it on....

 

The Captain had his regularly appointed MRI just yesterday. While he is off getting his brained scanned, I drink too much coffee and twitch in the waiting area.

The scan looks OK.

There is a "very, very, very tiny speck" that the Doc called to our attention. She said it was so small, that even if it i something, and she was uncertain if it is, it would not register with the profusion (what they use to measure tumor activity in the tumor bed)

Other than regrowth of the tumor, this speck could be absolutely nothing. It is visible on his previous scan, which came back negative for profusion, it just happens to be a bit more pronounced this time. She said this could be just the difference in technique and timing of the use of contrast in the MRI process. Time will tell, and we have to let it declare itself.

So Andy will have another MRI in a months time, instead of two moths.

Please continue to pray. That this truly is nothing, that God would heal the Captain completely... That, ultimately, God would be glorified in our lives and through Andy's battle with cancer.

 

 

Last Sunday we were invited to a friends church to share our story. The sermon was over Joshua 4, and the speaker was focusing on remembering what God has done and retelling what God has done... with an emphasis on rocks...

So the Captain and I were able to use our rock jar and tell of Gods great faithfulness in our lives.

It was such a blessing to me to tell others of what God has provided. I was encouraged and comforted as I prepared and "relived" my life on a paper outline.

 

People, life is hard, But God is good and faithful in all circumstances and to all who are called according to His purpose.

Do not fret, God is with us.

 

Psalm 31:24

Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.