Dialogues with Dallas

We pulled out the tree tonight. This makes the second year in a row that the boys have decorated it completely themselves. (Letting go of my control issues has been freeing indeed.). Anyway, afterward Dallas told us that we (Kenny and I) should put fish hooks onto the backs of our shirts so that he could hang us on the tree because we were the most loved ornaments of all. /pride

I guess that's a good sign that Dallas isn't going to hold anything against me considering that I once again ripped the innocence out of one of my boys. He asked tonight about Santa and begged to know the truth. Forty five minutes of crying and 2 cookies later, he made the comment mentioned above. It was a bit relieving to hear, but this night will go down in history not for that comment, but instead as the night that the magic was taken away. :-(

Boomer

Last Tuesday, we bid farewell to our dog, Boomer. We had him for a little over a year. We went through the puppy stage where he chewed everything, including our comforter and pillow set. The digging stage where he destroyed our backyard. The hyper stage (which he's still in) where he leaped like a Mexican Jumping Bean anytime there was human contact. The pissing stage where he marked his territory all over any absorbant item in our house. And the humping stage where he continually attempted to mount our other, very low key, very mellow dog, Sadie. Needless to say, the decision to find another family for him was a hard one.

Really though, Boomer is a very smart dog. We just never had the time for him that he so desperately needed. And since the purchase of our house, we knew that he'd have to find another home due to the size of our yard.

Ironically, he wound up back in Reno. He's now with a family of animal lovers on a couple acres of land. Kenny works with his new owner and has since confirmed how happy Boomer is and how well he has adjusted to his new life.

As for us, we're happier too. I really do hate to admit that we are those people...ones who didn't fully commit to our pet. Well, at least that was the case with Boomer. And I never thought that we'd be placing him in another home...but we did what we knew was best for us and him both.

Anyway, the other day, my mother-in-law was commenting on how much happier Sadie seems. She's not so nervous and just seems to be a bit more content. I mentioned something to the fact that I noticed that as well, and that I thought a lot of it had to do with Boomer's absence. Sadie now gets more time with us, like it used to be. There is just a greater harmony in the home. To that, Dallas agreed. He said, "Sadie is more happy now that Boomer is gone cause he was always trying to get piggy back rides from her." All Kathy and I could do was laugh and agree. Out of the mouths of babes....

Starting to Move

After many hours of labor, we moved our first load over to the new house tonight. There is still a lot to do; many rooms still to paint and tons of landscaping to do. But at least we are now moving forward. I believe that tonight might be our last night here. I'm pretty sure that we'll start sleeping over at the other house tomorrow. Finally!

Aside from finally moving some stuff to the new house, I'd have to say that the highlight of my day was when our family was participating in our dinner-time "high-low" game. Each night that we gather around the dinner table, we each confess our high and low point for the day. What made my day was hearing Dallas say that his "high" for the day was knowing that I was his Valentine. Talk about melting my heart.

Aside from the house and loving my children beyond comprehension...I've been gearing up for some volunteer work at my church. In the next couple of weeks, I will be coordinating Financial Peace University. It's been 5 years since I/we took this 13 week course and it has completely changed the way that Kenny and I handle our finances. I wish that I could say that we haven't made mistakes since taking the course, but that would be a lie. However, we're back on track and I'm looking forward to helping other families along their journey as well.

Well, I guess that's about it for now. I can't believe that I haven't posted anything for so long. I guess that I've been busier than I realized. Still...that is no excuse. I am hoping to post some "after" pictures of the house very soon so as to document what I've been busy/distracted with. Stay tuned.

Dialogues with Dallas

Over his PB&Honey sandwich w/ apples, Dallas inquisitively asked me, "Mommy, in old times...when you were the controller for the TV...did you have to karate chop your apples in half cause they didn't have knives?".

No son...we simply found the sharpest rock we could find and muddled our way through such endeavors in that fashion.

Dialogues with Dallas

Last night as we were saying night time prayers (it's been a while for the boys), Dallas mustered up the courage to say his prayers out loud. I didn't think he would do it. Night time prayers usually consist of me praying over them. But I'm trying to encourage that personal relationship, so I nudged him. He claimed that he didn't know what to say and I told him to just talk to God like he was talking to a friend. That seemed to work for him, so he began to speak from his heart. I would like to believe that God was most pleased to hear his unjaded words. They were so precious to this mother, I bolted to the laptop to type in what he said just after "Amen" came out of his mouth.

Dear Heavenwee Father,

Fank you for this nice pwanet that you made for we can wive on.
Fank you for the woof over our head.
Fank you for the food we get to eat.
Amen.
Oh yeah, one more thing...fank you that I get to watch Sponge Bob every day.

Dallas really does have the cutest things to say quite often. Especially during prayer time. On another occasion when it was his time to bless the food, his prayer went exactly like this....

Dear God...fank you for this food......except for these yucky vegetables. Amen.

I guess this is a prime example of why I started blogging. It's moments like these that I never want to forget. I find myself so often half-listening to what he is saying. Other tasks scream for my attention while the truly important ones whisper. He is definitely a whisperer. He is my gentle soul...my court jester and my quiet thinker. I love watching his personality continue to unfold and develop. And after moments like last night's prayer, I am reminded once again to slow down and enjoy the blessings that my children truly are.