And THIS is your life...so far.

Happy Birthday Buddy!!

Logan,

You came into this world 8 whole years ago. You had a milky-white complection, a perfectly round head, light-blonde fuzzy hairs and blue-blue eyes. Yeah, this was my kid. You were a perfect baby, a good eater (back then) and an even better sleeper. You brought a whirl-wind of change and surprise into our lives! I always knew I wanted to be a mom and I was ready to be the best mom EVA! Sometimes I wish I had focused more on the baby stage and not looked ahead as much. "Oh I can't wait til he sleeps thru the night! Oh I can't wait til he crawls! Oh I can't wait to be done with bottles!" You get the point. This stage is such a short period out of someones ENTIRE life! It really did go by in the blink of an eye. You loved to crawl around with a duck or little people stuck in your mouth when a paci wasn't handy. You were reserved around those you didn't know (which i was ok with...we need a little stranger wariness!) but full of life around those you did. You were the son I'd always wanted.

Then you grew a little...into a toddler! You didn't walk until 14 months but once you did you never looked back! Grass and sand were not your friends. Strange textures on your soft little skin. We took our first trip to the beach. Just you and the gals. Thankfully, on the last day, you and the sand made amends! Madelynn and Vinny were your best buddies (and probably still are). You loved cars, balls, pushing the laundry basket around and talking about yourself in third person. Yep, that's right, "Logan's hungry! Logan wants some milk. Logan wants to go outside!" I also think this is where your relationship with food went south. I probably shoulda given you more variety. Ohhhh the sanity it woulda saved me! I was so glad I got to stay home with you and watch you grow. You were my best little buddy.
Then you grew again...into a preschooler. You started MDO at St. Marks. You made friends very easily and never caused any trouble. You were a rule follower. You learned very fast. I knew then that you were gonna need more than what the traditional school system could provide. I was afraid you were not going to be challenged enough and get bored. Oh and because of a wonderful book (Mousies First Christmas) you just haaaaaaad to have a white mouse. So yeah, we got one. Thomas the Train and The Wiggles were your main source of amusement and boy did we get ALOT of them!! You began Awana at 3. You grew up with alot of the kids in there and it has been so neat to watch you all grow together. Around age 4, instead of actually NAPPING at rest time, you'd take all your books out and build these huge towns that covered your floor. You started your first organized sports team. I'm not gonna say you were an athlete from birth, but you had fun and that's what mattered. You got your first set of stitches. Jumping on the bed during nap time is not acceptable and you had to learn the hard way. 7 stitches in the nose...the day before Santa pictures for school! It made for a great story.

As you might have guessed, you grew...into a school-aged kid. This was VERY hard fro me. I remember seeing kids this age when you were a baby and thinking, "Oh I can't wait til he's that age! It will be so fun!" All of a sudden it's here. WOW that was fast. You adjusted very well to school life. I, on the other hand, cried for at least 2 week every time I dropped you off. You did well there. Learned quickly, as I had guessed. Made friends easily but still on the shy side when it came to adults. I think it took the whole first half of the year for you to warm up to your teacher. We took our first family vacation to Sea World. You played soccer and took swimming lessons. You also got your most important role yet..Big Brother! You have taken it and made it yours. Little Sista is so lucky to have you.

Seven was a big change for us. All of a sudden you would say these big words and colloquialisms in their right context and me and your dad would look at each other like, "WOW! did he really just say that!?" You were becoming a little man and all it took was one birthday. You started a new school this year. You were very hesitant about making new friends and I was very hesitant about the drive! You love it there and now say, "I don't like Cason Lane anymore." We started out a little rocky but you're a full fledge Discovery Schooler now. You have joined 2 clubs at recess. The Pacos and now The Awesome Everything club. Oh and I think there was a new one last week. It's hard to keep track. You've decided you're going to be a sculptor when your grown and practice this often. Scratch that, you just changed it to a Professional Tennis Player. You know what you do and don't like. You want brown hair so bad you can't stand it. I don't know how many times I have to tell you, "Coloring your hair is not ok at this age! Sorry buddy." You do NOT like collared shirts but you do make sure outfits match before you head out. You could watch Spongebob over and over and over if I let you. You love to make your dad and I proud and Brynn laugh.

Today you are 8. You are now cosidered a Tween which scares the you know what out of me. How did you get here so fast!? Yesterday you were just a baby. With the fair skin, blonde fuzzies and blue-blue eyes. Now your a Tween with the fair skin, blonde shaggy hair and blue-blue eyes. I can't imagine how you can top 7 but I'm sure you will. You always do. We love you Buddy!

Lessons in Right v. Wrong

Logan: "Mom, Andrew brags ALOT in class!"
Me: "Really?
Logan: "Yes! Like all the time! And it really makes me angry! Sometimes it makes me wanna punch him or trip him."
Me: "Oh MY! Logan please don't do that. If he's really bothering you just ignore him when he does it. You should NEVER hit someone!"
Logan: "I know that. I know God wouldn't like that so I don't. He tells me, you know, like I can feel it in my heart that it's wrong."
Me:...Wow

Where Were You When...

This is the question that gets asked whenever some major event takes place. Where were you when JFK died? Where were you when 911 happened? Where were you when the tornadoes hit? Everyone remembers where they were and everyone has a story to tell.

This is my story.

While out running errands with the kiddos I noticed the sky lookin pretty black but thought nothing of it except for a big storm. I just had to run in Kohl's real quick and then head home. Now I have never been the "on edge" type when it comes to storms but apparently things have changed.

As I'm about to check out I get a call from my sister, "There's a tornado warning in Nashville and I'm not coming down just yet." Ok, I think, I'm gonna check out and head home...not freaking out. I'm about to leave and they come on the intercom saying tornado warnings and move to the center of the store. I decide I'd rather be at home then around a bunch of people freaking out which could, in turn, cause Logan to have a huge fear of storms. I head out and see about 10 streaks of lightning through the sky and it's just barely starting to rain. I can totally make it home...still not freaking out.

Get in, turn on the weather and see the line of storms barreling through Tennessee. So I scoop up the kids, some pillows and flashlights, turn the TV as loud as I can and go to into Logans bathroom. I hear that there are possible touchdowns in the Blackman area and I24...freaking out now? Nope. Logan? YES!

I finally hear that they have passed through our immediate area and think we are in the clear. "WHEW! Not too bad," I think. My phone finally starts to half way work and I'm getting calls from friends. They're saying things like, "We saw the tornado, it was huge, mattresses were being used as shelter, cars were flipped, debris is everywhere!" Really? I honestly just thought it might be like the one a few weeks ago and no, I'm still not really freaking out.

The next morning Logan and I went to our good friends, The Parkers, home who live right beside the Sulphur Springs area. We decided to drive through the neighborhood and see what exactly has happened. Keep in mind that these are the neighborhoods I grew up in. These are the streets that hold my childhood memories. Sulphur Springs, Regency, Ravenwood, Riverview etc... I have a story for much of this area. Many families I grew up with are still there. Words can not describe what we saw. Nor can pictures. I was in complete shock at the lose these people have suffered. I am soooo thankful that no one I know was injured! And feel so completely disheartened for those that were in the path. I can feel the tears coming just thinking about it. Too close for comfort!

This is just down the street from some long time friends of the family's

home and a frequent bike route from my childhood. Their home was untouched.

Freaking out now? YEP!

And now? Well now I'm just a big ball of nerves. I just didn't realize what had happened and what had been RIGHT down the road from us. What was I thinking driving home from Kohl's!? I had 2 kids in tow! The tornado was right across the street! I apparently need to heed warnings when they are given. Lesson Learned.

Today I found out just how many nerves were being balled up in there. I'm on my way to get Logan from school today. I'd heard we were under a Tornado Watch and the sky's lookin bad just as I'm leaving home. Now? Totally Freaking! I'm talking shaky hands and tears wellin. Oh my. What has happened to me? I just have to keep telling myself, "This was a very rare occurence and the odds of it happening again any time soon are very slim. I HAVE to pull it together before Logan gets in the car." Thankfully the storms pass just after I get him but is this what I have to look forward to every time I hear a storms comin? No, I can get a handle on this. I control me and THIS is not me!

And that's my story. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to google storm shelters.