What a Wonderful World

I have been thinking about this Louis Armstrong song for quite a while--as in every year that goes by when I don't get around to sending a Christmas letter yet again. I can hear his voice as I sing along, "I see friends shaking hands sayin' 'How do you do?' They're really saying 'I love you.' ... and I think to myself, what a wonderful world."

I am terrible about keeping in touch with some of my favorite people. I wish I could see each one of my family and friends face-to-face and say "How do you do?" I hope they would be able to see that what I'm really saying is "I love you ."

I feel so grateful to have become acquainted with so many wonderful people. Each of you has blessed my life and made me feel that this truly is a wonderful world.

For Brett From Home (4/17/12)

I think Ryan has been having a hard time with our busy schedule this spring. He was complaining about an upset tummy on Sunday night and again on Monday morning. The boy said he felt too sick to go to school. I knew that I could push him to go to school, but I just had a feeling that he should stay home. I reminded him that staying home from school meant make-up work, no after-school play time with friends, no baseball that evening, and a nap. He happily agreed to the conditions. His mood improved significantly when the time for catching the bus had come and gone. But I didn't hear a word of complaint that afternoon on the friends issue. He also made an attempt to rest in the afternoon, but I was the only one who caught a few z's. In the end, I still don't regret letting Ryan have his mental health day. I am happy that he has an easy baseball schedule this week. No game or practice until Friday. Oma took Todd to baseball this afternoon, so Ryan has the rest of the afternoon to be a little boy, now that he has finished his math homework. I think he needed this break.

Todd, on the other hand, is doing just fine. In fact, with this week being FCAT testing you might think that Todd would be a little more stressed. Not at all. He is the one reminding me about eating a good breakfast. He suggested making "real" oatmeal for breakfast this morning, complete with raisins. How could I refuse him? Rather than being stressed this morning, he was excited about the prospect of getting Nerds as a snack at school after the test.

I had errands to run yesterday, so Ryan got to tag along with me. Ryan had one request: we had to get a birthday present for Copper. Per his request I took him to Walgreen's, where we found a glow-in-the-dark frisbee ring. I thought it was a perfect idea. Ryan let the ring soak up some rays and tested it in the bathroom. It really glowed. That night we tried it out and almost lost it. The ring had lost is glow and we couldn't see it in the bushes where Ryan had thrown had landed it. Still, it was a very sweet thought. Ryan also gave Copper a belated birthday treat yesterday. He let Copper lick his empty yogurt container. That sweet boy loves his Copper.

I also bought a special treat for Ryan at the grocery store: Silk, vanilla-flavored almond milk. Ryan has been begging me to buy it ever since he tried it at a friend's house. He loves it. I think he drank three cups of it yesterday. I like it okay, but just in small quantities. I might like it more as I get used to it. It did taste good with my bananas and oatmeal this morning.

Ryan and I also stopped at the vet yesterday and picked up some flea medicine for Copper. I gave it to him last night, and I didn't see any fleas on him when I checked him today. (Yeah!) I bought some special soothing shampoo to use on him, hopefully tomorrow. I also noticed that he seemed to have a little limp again today. I checked his paws thoroughly (he hated every minute of it), but I didn't see anything suspicious. I'll keep an eye on him.

This afternoon, instead of offering his yogurt container to Copper, Ryan mutilated his yogurt cup. He was using his spoon to bend out the bottom of the container. He reminded me so much of you, testing the properties of the plastic--pushing, scraping, poking, exploring, thinking. He also completely took apart (and put back together) the mechanical pencil he was using for his homework today, at times writing with it half-assembled. I restrained myself from telling him to just let the pencil be. I know it is good for him to put his curiosity to work. It amazes me to see his brain work sometimes. A little Brett.
I wonder how soon we will be able to employ Ryan's assistance in honey-do projects. I haven't heard the details yet, but I think your dad heard big bad news about the lawn mower. I may ask Deede about having Alex help out with the lawn. The corner cabinet in the kitchen could also use an oiling, when you get a chance. It is quite squeaky.

I have been working quite a bit on the blogs (a total of three) that I am keeping up for you. I have spent a lot of time setting them up and rearranging some things. My goal is that if I do it right now, then the photos, updates, and journal entries will all be organized at the end of the trip so we can do something special with it. I think we should do just that--something special. I think it is important to have your experience documented for your posterity.

I am typing now to the sound of seven boys playing nicely in the backyards (on the playset in Tammy's yard at the moment). Music to my ears. I feel very lucky to have great neighbors and friends so close for the boys to play with.

I met up with some church friends at Top This, the new frozen yogurt store that moved into the old Coastal Lumber building (Is that the name of the store that was across from the high school? I can't believe I've already forgotten.). While I was there I ran into (UPS driver) Carlos. He had heard (maybe from Donna?) that you were hiking the A.T. He said that he hiked the Georgia section. He started out with the intention of hiking to Blood Mountain and just kept going until he reached the Georgia/North Carolina border. It sounds like has the attitude of "never-again!". You'll have to ask him about it when you get back.

I had another aviary surprise today, though with the mild winter I shouldn't be that surprised. I saw our first hummingbird. It was in the front yard and just peeked into the dining room window. Time for me to set up the bird feeder.

I think you will be pleased to know that your mom finally bought herself a new sewing machine. This week she bought a Bernina which she has been wanting for years. Her machine finally stopped working, so she has been using mine. Mine doesn't do any fancy stitches, but it does the straight and zig zag stitches just fine. I think your mom is excited about her machine. I told her that you would have been happy if she bought herself a good machine years ago. She deserves it.

I know it really hasn't been that long since I talked to you, but it kind of feels like it already. I look forward to hearing from you soon, and hope you're doing well.

More from today:
I took Ryan to Chick-Fil-A for dinner tonight. They were doing a school fundraiser tonight, similar to the Hungry Howie's school night. Ryan definitely has a European attitude when it comes to eating his meals. I think he enjoys the socializing more than the eating. When I encouraged him to take a bit for the hundredth time he replied, "I just don't feel like taking a bite." He was content to sit and talk, having my full attention.

When we got home Ryan and I took Copper for a golf course run. We passed the hedge of honeysuckles (correction: jasmine). They smelled so sweet. I thought of you. I also noticed that the two baby long leaf pine trees in the backyard seem to be doing very well.

Tonight before bed Ryan and I finally looked at the booklet about babies, as promised. We saw the goo-blobs, alien-looking babies, white-fuzz-covered babies, legs-up-in-the-face babies (like Ryan, right before he was born), and newborns. I don't remember having a detailed conversation with my mom when I was young about umbilical cords and how my belly button came to be. I'm also pretty sure I didn't ask her whether I pooped or peed in her tummy. Also, "Do you tell if it's a boy or girl by looking at how the baby sucks its thumb?" (Wha?...uh, no...You just look right there.) All things considered, it wasn't nearly as scary as I thought it might be.

For Brett, From Home (2/22/12)

To ease your mind a little, I think Copper is doing well. He doesn't seem to be mopey. He is eating well. He didn't each much on Monday, but seems to have a normal appetite again. He does seem a little anxious anytime I go to leave the house. He always wants to tag along and gets very excited for his daily walk. I invite him up on the bed, and he stays there at least long enough for me to fall asleep (which, gratefully, is not that long).

Yesterday the wrens added a little more nesting material to the corner of the Coke bottle shelf. Today, when I came home from working at the library the nest appeared almost complete! I hope to share more news on that front as the next few weeks progress.

Your parents have already been a huge help. Just their promise of help has been a huge help. I have already booked them for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday this week!

No surprise, my bedtime hasn't altered from Midnight any day this week. I was hoping tonight would be different, but it's not looking very promising....

I had a hard time getting motivated yesterday. I couldn't figure out what to do with myself and ended up wasting almost the entire day in front of the TV (presumably doing laundry). At the end of the night I made a promise to myself that I would not turn on the TV today. I have kept that promise and have been happier for it. I knew this would be a challenge for me--managing my time well, limiting distractions, and getting sleep.

This afternoon Outlook didn't want to work right for me, so I decided to reboot the computer and give it a another chance. When the computer tried to restart, it wouldn't open up to my welcome screen. I let it sit for a minute, turned off the power for a mintute and tried again. I repeated this process about two more times, getting more nervous each time. Why wouldn't my computer start? And where was my Brett to solve my problem?!? Then I took a breath, and thought. (Did you catch that? I really thought about it.) I haven't been having any problems with the computer. Why, when all seemed to be going smoothly, would it decide to freeze? What was different? That's when I noticed that my iPod was still plugged in, charging. Could that be it? I turned off the iPod, unplugged it from the computer, and restarted my computer--successfully! Problem solved!! By myself!!!

I need to start compiling a list of all the questions I have for you. I keep added questions to my mental list as I go about my day. I look forward to hearing the details of the hike and really getting a feel for what it's like.

We miss you and love you. I'm looking forward to talking with you again.

Her Gift (and Baby Teeth)

With family that lives so near, it is nice to recognize the many special things we have to offer one another. For my design questions, I turn to my sister. (If I had an inkling to be more stylish, I would probably turn to her more...). For legal counsel and sound judgement we turn to Brett's father. We go to Brett's mom for our sewing needs: mending, hemming, making a wallet (see, anything goes!). For any of the following: questions about cars, borrowing a tool, removing a splinter, computer problems, strong muscles to lift and move, building a kitchen, identifying snakes, understanding the situation with the Deepwater Horizon, local geography, tying a rope, cutting down a tree, fixing...ANYTHING--we go to Brett.

And for wiggly teeth, we turn to Donna. After years of being a kindergarten teacher's assistant before moving here, Donna became quite the expert in baby teeth. Fortunately, she moved in two doors down from us right before Todd started losing his.

I don't really have a problem dealing with the messiness of children or with the blood that comes because of accidents that are bound to happen. But, as one who has a slight phobia of losing her own teeth (read: my nightmare), pulling my children's teeth is not something I am prepared to do. Ryan injured one of his top baby teeth sometime last year. All seemed fine, but a recent bump caused the tooth to become loose before he lost any of his lower baby teeth. The dentist said that she could see his adult teeth coming in on the x-ray, so there was nothing to worry about.

The tooth had been a little loose for almost two weeks, but a little bump yesterday (during my piano lessons) caused the tooth to loosen more and bleed (quite a bit--and my poor student had to witness!). Blood? No worries. Super-loose tooth? Time to call in reinforcements. We went ahead and started dinner before Donna arrived, but Ryan was struggling and was clearly uncomfortable. A few minutes into dinner, Donna arrived and - *pop* - that tooth was out and ready for the tooth fairy. [Todd, in a quiet aside, asked if Ryan could get $2.00 instead of just $1.00. They are saving to buy a cool Lego set, after all. No secret about the tooth fairy in this house.]

What's great about Donna is that she knows when a tooth is ready to come, and won't pull it before then. And when it's ready, the tooth is out before the kids even know what happened. My boys trust her as the tooth-pulling expert, and I am grateful to have one of those in the family!

I told Ryan that he was officially a big boy. He replied, "So, I'm six now" (even though he knows that his birthday isn't until September). It will take me a little time getting used to seeing my baby with his missing tooth. I was talking to a woman at a chorus rehearsal last week. She talked about her twenty-something year old son who was still her cuddly boy. I told her that my little Ryan would always be my cuddly baby as well. Rat-tail, gap-toothed smile and all.

[We couldn't figure out what my special gift was, though one of the boys offered, "maybe for cooking something." Thanks for the effort.]

Neighborhood Posse

"Yesterday" (a week ago) I got sidetracked and spent my post reminiscing about my childhood home. What I really wanted to talk about was how grateful I am for my current home and neighborhood.

We live on a relatively quiet dead-end street. We know quite a few of our neighbors and like most all of them. That wasn't always the case.

One of my neighbors recently asked me if I remembered my former next-door neighbor, "Crazy Sarah." Do I remember? Oh, do I! She is the one who was calling the cops over to her house at least once a week. She also called Child Services on us for neglecting our five children and for running a meth lab--this before we even had kids! At first it was funny, in a ridiculous sort of way. Then I started to get scared about what might happen if we did have kids and she kept making these absurd accusations. Fortunately, her family had Sarah committed in Alabama, and the family that bought her house have turned out to be great neighbors.

We also had a few run-ins with the neighbor on the other side of Sarah. They looked at us as being a little trashy (so maybe we are, a little). They owned the nicest house on the block and were bothered that the rest of the neighborhood didn't have the time and finances to maintain as perfectly groomed a lawn as they did. They also didn't like where we stored our garbage can outside, and they were sure that we were the reason they couldn't sell their house (not that the economy or their high asking price were the problem...). The husband tried to pressure Brett into making certain changes, which only caused Brett to want to go out of his way to annoy this neighbor. We managed to solve that problem by having Brett's brother move here from Virginia and buy the house.

Since our "problem-neighbors" have been taken care of, our family has been free to enjoy our good and peaceful street. So, who are the people in my neighborhood? Let me tell you.

First of all, did I mention that Brett's brother lives two doors down, compete with one of my favorite sisters-in-law and two nieces the perfect age for babysitting? And, they have a Wii (big attraction with my boys).

Brett's parents also live just a one-minute walk away, across the fairway. My boys have three loving homes that they can hop back and forth between.

Although she doesn't live on our street, Oma and Papa's neighbor Missy Hall has been a dear family friend for years. She doesn't have grandchildren of her own and absolutely loves the Wendel boys and Wendel girls.

We have some older folks on our street and we are so fortunate that they are not of the "old and crotchety" variety. Karl and Helen are the sweetest old couple, about eighty years old. They walk together every day down the street and back home along the golf course. Karl loved our dog Sandy, and Sandy loved him. Karl literally shed a few tears on our behalf a year ago when he heard the news that she passed away. Now that Copper has calmed down (and is less likely to knock them over) Brett always encourages Copper to go say hi when they pass by our house. Karl and Helen are always so kind, and tell me what a beautiful mother I am. Who doesn't like to hear that?

Peggy and Betsy are also sweet older ladies. Peggy, a widow who lives with her son across from me, and Betsy, who lives with her husband down the street, have been neighborhood friends for years. They walk together most every morning and hit the garage sales together most every Saturday. I admire Betsy who carries a little plastic sack to pick up any trash she comes across while walking down the street. And the boys love Peggy's little white fluffy dog, Darlin'. The boys also love Peggy's climbing tree in her front side yard.

Deede, another neighbor across the street is a lot of fun. She goes all-out decorating for Christmas. I love seeing her lights from my house. She invites the whole neighborhood to her annual Christmas party, which is always a lot of fun. My boys immediately gravitate to her garage where they know the air hockey competitions are held. The boys also love her inflatable Frankenstein-type character that she sets up at Halloween. The first year Deede set it up Sandy growled at it for days. For a while my boys couldn't remember Deede's name and called her the lady at Mr. Bones' house. (I have no idea how they came up with the name "Mr. Bones," as it doesn't really fit his description.) Now we look forward to seeing Mr. Bones, and now the boys know Deede's name. Deede has two teenage sons who are relatively close in age. It has been interesting and a little funny to watch them over the past few years and think about all we have to look forward to as the parents of older boys who might occasionally get into a little mischief.

We always like to stop and say hi to Vicky as she walks her big collie, Nicki. Some time ago Nicki kept escaping through the fence of her backyard and always stopped by our house first. The fence finally had to be replaced, and we have missed her surprise visits to our house. Ryan would get so excited: "MOM! Nicki's here!"

We have another Hall family living a few doors down. We became acquainted with them through our dogs. Their dog Bailey occasionally runs over to greet us and our dogs. And Sandy got into the habit of disappearing every afternoon for a half hour or so. One day the Halls mentioned to us that Sandy came to their back door every afternoon for a little dog treat. When Sandy showed up all of the dogs (they have two or three) would line up waiting their turn.

I enjoyed getting to know Shari last year at the bus stop. It is nice to have somebody to wait with there each morning. Shari often comes still in her pajamas, and I often come looking grubby in my own way--unshowered, crazy hair, no makeup, etc. How nice to have neighbors who don't care what I look like! I have also enjoyed getting to know her daughter Erin, who is now one of my piano students.

I have also been especially grateful for our next-door neighbors--the ones who moved into Crazy Sarah's house. They had a little boy two months after I had Ryan. Their son Logan has become good friends with my boys and it has been so nice seeing the boys play together. My boys always spend more time outside playing with Logan than they would on their own. Logan feels comfortable at our house and walks right in looking for Todd and Ryan. My boys feel equally comfortable at Logan's house and climb right over the fence into their back yard. (We actually wanted them to climb the fence rather than use the gate because one of the three would inevitably let one of their dogs out.)

I think Logan looks at Todd and Ryan the same way he would his own cousins. In fact, he calls our Oma "Oma", and our Uncle Mark "Uncle Mark" and my boys call his Poppy "Poppy" and his Grammy "Grammy." Logan has joined us in decorating our Christmas tree and carving our jack-o-lantern.

The boys have fun dressing up and playing Indiana Jones, Clone Troopers, pirates, and more. They grab their swords, light sabers, or guns and go off to defend the world.

Logan has three boy cousins who are relatively close in age to our boys. The six boys had a good time playing together, running, hiding, chasing, and generally being boys. Brett quickly gave them the nickname of "The Posse." As in, when The Posse's together there's no playing in the house. Outside play only.

As I mentioned before, my boys don't have the same amount of free roam that I had growing up. However, between our house, Logan's house, Uncle Mark's house, Oma's house, cousins, neighbors that are almost family, a few trees to climb, and plenty of space to run around in--I think we are quite blessed.

The Posse:

Our First Season of Baseball (2009)

Last spring I hesitantly signed Todd up for baseball. I can't say I regret it. But neither can I say I always had the best attitude. I was nervous about how the baseball schedule might disrupt our afternoon and evening activities of homework, piano lessons, free time, and most importantly, family dinner. It all worked out (thanks to help of extended family many-a-night), and Todd had a great time. However, with baseball season approaching in mid-February, I find that I am feeling that same sense of dread--especially with two boys playing this season.

Both boys are looking forward to the season starting. I need to keep reminding myself that it will all work our fine, just as it did last year. I know that I will have to rely on Oma and Papa to help out even more this year since both my piano lessons and the number of baseball players in our home have doubled. I am so thankful to have grandparents so close, and I am thankful that they are looking forward to being involved with the boys sports (probably more than I am, to be honest).

So, to remind myself that it wasn't so bad, let's take a look at all the fun we had last year.

First team meeting in uniform before Opening Ceremonies.

Todd takes his running seriously.

The boys had a blast on Opening Day with the inflatable slides, cake walk, trampoline, and more! I didn't love spending the money that I did, but....I guess it's for a good cause, and the boys really had a fun time.

Thank goodness for an active and helpful Oma!

Ryan often got bored being a spectator. If he wasn't able to find some kids to run around and play with he was usually sitting in someone's lap.

Todd took playing baseball seriously, and learned a lot more about the game last year.

Patiently waiting his turn, and keeping a close eye on the progress of the game.

Good job, Todd!

End-of-the-year team party.

So proud of his trophy!

Hurrah! It's over! (My sentiments--Todd probably felt otherwise.)

December 2009

Merry Christmas, Everyone!


Believe it or not, I think Brett really is happy to be a part of our family. He just doesn't like cameras, so I am never able to prove it in a photo.... Perhaps that is why I haven't gotten around to sending out Christmas cards with a Christmas letter in a few years. I've been waiting for that perfect family photo. So, this blog post will have to suffice for now, even though it will only cover the month of December--I'm planning to remedy that problem by catching up on the rest of the year soon. Don't hold your breath.

Todd's class panda spent the weekend at our house and was able to witness us decorating the Christmas tree. We let him wear the cuckoo clock's Santa hat, since Brett wouldn't let the reindeer wear it this year. Bummer. I thought it was adorable.

Ryan's preschool did caroling around campus. Todd's class decorated gingerbread houses. Ryan was so happy that he had the day off to participate in that activity.

Uncle Mark had to work on Christmas Day, so we celebrated with the extended family a day early. Oma fixed fondue for dinner, after which we exchanged gifts. We're so lucky to have such good relationships with our family nearby.

There is a lot of love in this pile of cool-looking cousins, even if it is not immediately evident.

Copper loves extended family as well, and Ginger will always have a soft spot for her original master, Brett.

Papa (who is always cold) received what he calls a "sleeping pill" for Christmas. He won't last long watching TV when he wears his monk-Snuggie.

On Christmas Eve the family, including Uncle Kevin and Aunt Jenni, got together again at my house for our annual Christmas Eve activity. I tried something new this year by having the family play musical Christmas gifts. I wrapped two presents in multiple layers of paper. We passed the gifts around, taking turns unwrapping the presents whenever the music stopped. I thought it was quite fun. Here are the two winners with their prizes (a Hershey's Symphony bar and a Christmas fleece blanket).

After the eating and the fun we watched a short movie on the Nativity and read the Christmas story from the New Testament. I printed out the scriptures in sections and cut them out so we could have more people involved in reading. Spending Christmas Eve this way is something that I absolutely love doing.

Santa and Mrs. Claus were delayed in visiting our house that night because they were quite busy and it was pouring down rain. By the time they made it to our house the rest of the family was gone and the boys were tucked into bed. They were not asleep however, so Santa and Mrs. Claus came and wished them a Merry Christmas in their rooms. I was happy that we were still able to see the man in the big red suit, but I was sorry that we did not get to take a photo with them.

The tree and stocking are ready for Christmas morning.

We started opening presents with our small family at 7:00am. Aunt Donna stopped by for little while, but for most of the morning it was just the four of us. We had fun taking time to open gifts and play with them as much as we wanted before moving on to the next gift. We weren't finished opening presents until almost noon. By then it looked like we had been hit by a tornado.

The kitchen didn't look so hot either, and it took me a few days before I felt like there was order again.

We are blessed in so many ways. And even though Ryan didn't get his Easy Bake Oven...

...I think both he and Todd would agree that it was a wonderful Christmas!

A few days after Christmas the boys and I went to see the lights around the lake in Defuniak Springs with our friends Beth and Tia. It was a nice way to finish out the holiday season.

Lastly, I want to thank all of our friends and family who remembered us this year. I loved hearing from you and seeing how your families have grown. Please don't take me off your Christmas lists.

I hope you enjoyed a happy holiday season as well!