{Little Adventures}

Looking back 3 years ago, Michael was barley sitting up on his own he was still very wobbly, no sounds other than crying and no real acknowledgement to his surroundings.

Four words come to mind, Sadness, Fear, Resentment, and Anger.
That was a difficult time for us. We were so fearful and full of sadness that we did not know what was to become of our little boy. Will he ever be able to play, to pretend, or laugh?? The feelings anger and resentment because one of our family members had a baby not to long after Michael was born and he was enjoying all the things a 1 year old would normally enjoy.

All of that is now becoming a distant memory.
Fast forward to present time, Michael now age 4 and doing the things he should be doing. Who are we to say “He should be doing this” or “He should be doing that.” Michael is Michael. Michael is growing, learning, and playing in his own way {Michael’s way}

Oh how we love it!

Yesterday as I was picking up toys at the end of the night I realized just how lucky we are. All the time I hear other mom’s say “They grow up so fast” as I hear them say this I can think to myself how lucky we are that we get to have Michael as our little baby boy just a bit longer than the rest. We get to take our time and grow with him at his pace and enjoy every tiny detail.

In the last 6 months Michael has really started to do a lot of different things. He is talking so much more and starting to put words together to make two word statements. I love this! I love hearing my name “Momma”, I love that when I drop him off at school he doesn’t want me to leave calling out to me “Momma”. I love that at the end of the night he tells me “Momma Pillow” to indicate he wants me to lay down with him.
I love all of these things!

We are now taking trips, little adventures….

We have been able to see our little boy express his imagination. He goes around the house with his airplane saying “fly” he wants to go on a trip. He takes us along in his play. We get to be his co pilots and what an honor this is. We can pretend we are going into outer space, and if you ask him if he wants to be a space man he gets very excited and loudly says “YES” and that he needs a “mask”.

We also take trips in his tent. Never did I think 3 years ago that someday we would be crawling under the dining room table. The table with a blanket draped over it, a string of flip flop sandal novelty lights hung up underneath and pillows and blankets inside to create the perfect get away.
His tent, a place where he likes Mommy and Daddy to come and lay with him, a place where he can sit and look through his picture book pointing at objects and trying to say what they are {successfully a lot of the time}

We take trips to the park {the living room park} where Michael will lay out a placemat with his empty cup and plate, where he puts a pillow on the floor calling out “Momma pillow” for me to come sit on the pillow at his picnic. A place where the cup and plate are not really empty at all in our world as he lifts the cup to my mouth and says “mom juice” so I can have a drink, then the plate so I can pick up the invisible sandwich to eat it.

I love our new places, I love that we can go anywhere and we can go together now.
I look forward to many new adventures in far away lands.
Thank you for taking us on this journey with you Son.

{Put on your Oxygen Mask!!}

Let’s set the scene…
It’s a quarter to 4 in the afternoon and your day started at 5:30 am, you are exhausted. You have been dealing with a very cranky 3 year old with a cold. You have just ended a busy work week and it is finally your weekend. All you want to do is NOTHING. But, you don’t because you are the grown up, the mommy, the wife. The washer and dryer is running, dinner is on the stove, the dishes are being put away , your folding the laundry in the laundry basket, cartoons are on the T.V that you hope are going to keep your 3 year old occupied but, they aren’t because he wants to be in the middle of it all, hacking and coughing because he has a cold, freaking out when his nose runs to the point that he is screaming if you don’t immediately, I MEAN IMMEDIATELY have a tissue in hand to wipe. You can’t seem to move fast enough for it all.
All of a sudden, all the sounds seem to merge into one very loud sound all at once, you can hear it all getting louder and louder, machines running, pots of food are boiling, silverware is clinking, and your child is screaming. The room starts to spin…
STOP!!! THE CABIN IS LOOSING PRESSURE!
Put your oxygen mask on mom!!
“Should the cabin experience sudden pressure loss, stay calm and listen for instructions from the cabin crew. Oxygen masks will drop down from above your seat. Place the mask over your mouth and nose, like this. Pull the strap to tighten it. If you are traveling with children, make sure that your own mask is on first before helping your children.”
I never really understood the pre-flight directions from the airline attendant before having a child. I mean, wouldn’t you instinctively want to put it on your child first….Well that’s what you would want to do but, the fact of the matter is, if you are in that situation you may pass out before completing the task then,your both goners.

In my daily life I think of those instructions often. Taking care of the home, the kids, working, all becomes a little overwhelming, the cabin pressure drops and you find yourself in a cabin emergency. God then drops down the oxygen mask and tells you “Put your oxygen mask on mom and listen to me!!”
That’s when you step back and walk away from it all. Placing your child in a safe place,handing them a tissue, turning down the dinner on the stove so it doesn’t over boil, putting the towels in the laundry basket, and setting them aside for later, turning down the cartoons. Then retreating into your bedroom, bathroom, and garage, what ever place in your home you can escape to go breathe deeply the oxygen provided through your mask. You breathe in and out, in and out. Saying prayers and listening to instructions provided. You say “Oh God! Give me the strength to get through this cabin emergency"and he does.

You find yourself calm,collected, you can breathe, and you can then go back to your noisy {now it doesn’t seem so noisy}, busy activities of the afternoon. You get it all done without casualties.
When life gets noisy, busy, and overwhelming.

Step back and put on your oxygen mask.