Courageous Guide

"Take a picture of how courageous I look."

--Our courageous guide...and his very strong walking stick

New Year's Eve Hike

I climbed up a steep, muddy hill today.

When I was almost to the top, I fell flat on my face, and slid uncontrollably down to the very bottom.

I gave it another go and made it up the second time.

I was filthy!

And I loved it!

What a great time we had hiking with the boys today at Pinkerton Park. Not to mention it was 60 degree weather on the last day of DECEMBER! Yep, we Workmans soaked that up.

Yes, we all got very dirty today.  When the boys started climbing the muddy hill, I began to protest.  My first thoughts were...laundry!  All of the laundry to do.  Plus, we were planning to go out to dinner following our hike, so I was also thinking...showers and lots of soap.  This wasn't in my plan.

I quickly realized that I was the only one pondering these thoughts.  None of them were going through the minds of the three Workman men.  All they were focused on was the challenge of climbing that hill.  And the extra benefit of getting all muddy and grubby.

Suddenly, I didn't care about laundry or showers anymore.  I began to focus on how quickly Seth was climbing up the hill with surprising ease.  I began to focus on Caleb laughing so hard as he tried to grab a root that was strong enough to support him.  I began to focus on Eric's big smile as he stretched out his arms to help his boys reach the top.  I began to focus on how the boys were using teamwork and cheering each other on as they slipped and slid their way up the hill.  I began to focus on how confident my guys were and how much fun they were having.  The belly laughing and high fives made a quick trip home to shower before dinner seem oh-so insignificant.  And oh-so worth it!

Happy New Year! 

May your 2012 be filled with new adventures and lots of belly laughs, too!

I Love You Forever

While we were at Meem and Peep's house over Christmas, Seth found a copy of "I Love You Forever," by Robert Munsch.  It had been one of our favorites when the boys were younger and Seth was excited to read it again.  What a sweet, sweet book.  Things haven't changed much.  I still can not get through it without choking up. 

Eric and I always used to laugh when we read the book, because it gets a little creepy toward the end when the mother drives across town with a ladder on top of her car and sneaks into her grown son's house to rock and sing him to sleep. 

It is a sweet creepy, though. And as my boys grow bigger, I can see myself as that little lady driving right over to "break and enter" for the purpose of holding my sweet boys again. 

*tear*

Anyway, thanks to our revisiting the book, tonight there was an additional song added to our usual bedtime repertoire. Normally, the boys bedtime routine consists of Eric reading their Bible with them, then possibly another story or a Brainquest or two. Then he prays with them and afterward, I come in to sing to them.  For as long as I can remember, I have been singing John Lennon's "Beautiful Boy" to Biz.  It is our song.  Granny used to sing Seth "Rock-a-Bye Baby" when she visited and when Seth got old enough to have a say, I asked him what he wanted our bedtime song to be.  "Rock-a-Bye Baby" was his definitive choice and it stuck.  I usually start at the top bunk with Biz, sing his song, and then I pray over him.  Then I make my way down to the bottom bunk to Seth, sing his song, and then I pray over him. 

Tonight, as I mentioned, there was a varience to our routine.  As soon as I stopped singing to Biz, Seth informed me that he wanted to sing a song to me.  I snuggled up beside of him and from out of those sweet lips came:

"I love you forever
I'll like you for always
As long as I'm living
Your baby I'll be.

I love you forever
I'll like you for always
As long as I'm living
My Mommy you'll be."

Then Seth said the most precious prayer over me.   If I could have just bottled up that moment... My heart was mush and completely filled.  I have had a rough day today and the Lord used my sweet boy to pour out a blessing over me through a song and a prayer.

Yes, I will be that Momma in the book, "I Love You Forever."  I understand her heart.  My boys will never be too big or too old to be hugged, rocked, and sung to by their Momma.   I will drive across town, across the state, or across the country with a ladder tied to my car in the middle of the night, just to sing a declaration of my love for them.

My poor future daughters-in-law.

Thanksgiving Away from Home

This was the first Thanksgiving in years that we have traveled.   Usually we stay put in November so we can rest up for the marathon known as December.  Then we travel from Christmas Eve to New Years to Kentucky.  This year, we are mixing things up a bit.  We headed to the mountains and a cabin in Gatlinburg with Granny, Aunt B, and Uncle Bill for the weekend prior to Thanksgiving until Wednesday. Then we traveled to Kentucky to spend Thanksgiving and the day after with Meem and Peep. 

I admit, I was thrown off quite a bit.  It took me longer than I anticipated to catch up, since I am used to having four full days at home during Thanksgiving to rest and prepare for Christmas.  We plan to make up for it over Christmas break, though, since we will only be in Kentucky for four days instead of our usual ten. 
If anything we have learned over the past few years is that it pays to be flexible.  Yes, even for this chic who isn't a huge fan of change.  It is actually pretty fun to switch things up a bit. 

Yes, I did say that.

We had a great time in Gatlinburg.  Once we got past the steep and very curvy trek up the mountain to our cabin, we were just fine.  Yeah, when I booked our cabin, I misjudged our location.  We usually stay in Pigeon Forge, so this was our first time actually staying in Gatlinburg, an area that I was obviously not very familiar.  When the cabin description said it was a mile from downtown Gatlinburg, I thought..perfect.  It did not, however, say it was a mile STRAIGHT UP a curvy, narrow road.  Poor Granny was traumatized and threatened to not leave the cabin for the duration of our stay.  We were able to coax her down the mountain a few times, but she rode the entire way up and down with her eyes glued shut. 

I will do more research next time.

Otherwise, it was a fun time.  It was a pretty laid back, relaxed vacation.  We did some hiking, a Star Wars marathon (which meant lots of light saber battles), a little sight seeing and shopping, Christmas light admiring, some puzzle building, lots of eating at great restaurants, and just enjoyed hanging out in the cabin with no where to be. 

The boys enjoyed lots of reading time in Granny's bed.   They also loved the hot tub.  I think Dada got just as wet as the boys, and he didn't even get in the water.   Granny, Eric and I took walks up the hill from our cabin.  What a view we had!

We learned that Uncle Bill is quite a pool shark.  And that Granny wasn't so bad herself.  We had lots of friendly competition, where Uncle Bill soundly beat anyone who challenged him. We learned what in the world a bridge was and how to use it.  The boys also learned that draping blankets over a pool table makes for a really cool fort.  We usually find multiple purposes for the items in our presence.

Aunt B and Uncle Bill even brought a few early Christmas surprises.  The boys were introduced to Toss-A-Cross, which was an instant hit.  And who knew they made UK dinner plates?  We do now, because we were the proud receipients of a set.  Aunt B and Uncle Bill also treated us to breakfast at the Pancake pantry, which is always a delight.  It is interesting because we have a Pancake Pantry nearly twenty minutes from our home, but we usually only visit the one that is four hours away.  It is a fun Smoky Mountain tradition that Aunt B makes sure we honor each trip. 

On our last day, Granny treated us to lunch at the Apple Barn.  We then spent a while shopping at the stores there, in search of our family Christmas ornament (which was found and given to us by Aunt B and Uncle Bill). While everyone else shopped, Seth and Uncle Bill decided to do their own thing.  And tried not to run over anyone while playing tag.

Leaving sure would have been a whole lot harder had we not been headed for Memaw and Pepaw's house.  It was great to wind up our trip spending a couple of days with them and the rest of the family in Flemingsburg celebrating Thanksgiving.

We miss our family so much, but it is so wonderful to spend these special times together.  It reminds us that we have so much to be thankful for!!