Has it Really Been Two Weeks?

Life is a bit busy right now. Like crazy busy. It's good, but busy. Two weekends we drove out to Southern Ohio for a family reunion. With stops on the way out, it took us 11+ hours to get there. The reunion picnic is 3 hours long. On the way out we were trying to figure out how to make the most of the reunion to make it a valuable experience for us and the kids, especially given the length of the drive and the relative brevity of the actual function. Things never turn out as planned, we'll just leave it at that. 12 hours drive back home, trying to figure things out.

I have been helping a neighbor frame up an addition to his home. Nonna has been coming to watch the kids. She is amazing. Playing with the kids and making them feel special and loved, while still finding time to do things like laundry, ironing, prepping dinner. How does she do it? It is really forcing me to think about some of the areas where I have been, shall we say, falling a bit short. I have one more week of framing, and while I will miss some aspects of the work, I hope to come back to my real job with renewed focus and inspiration. Thanks, Mom! You are incredible.

LuLu's vocabulary continues to grow and she continues to amaze us with how her little brain is developing. Mon reports that LuLu was trying sing the ABC's tonight. It sounded pretty cute. Nonna brought her and Four down to the house where I am working today. They had been there less than two minutes, and she's asking for "Chiece" (her version of "Chief" -- our neighbor's dog).

I came home from a bike ride tonight and was greeted by Four's project. It was awesome. Three long narrow pieces of wood wrapped together with electrical and packing tape. It brought a huge grin to my face and reminded me of the crazy stuff I would try to build when I was a kid. It got even better when I got inside. After his inspiring visit to the construction site, Four had been motivated to come up with his own workman outfit. He put on a pair of blue shorts, a blue windbreaker, passed one of his belts through the handles on a blue gift bag, placed the homemade toolbelt and pouch around his waist, and filled it with his tools. He was so cute and excited that I couldn't resist when he asked if we could hang his clothes hooks that we had bought last weekend. As M and I both lay in his queen size bed reading him stories tonight, he says, "I feel like a grown-up helping Daddy hang my hook."