For My Boys

I heard the new song by Jason Mraz yesterday called "I won't Give Up." I just love it. My favorite part is: "And when you're needing your space /To do some navigating /I'll be here patiently waiting  /To see what you find." I was crying in my car last night listening to it and thinking of my boys and how quickly they're growing. How darn hard it is to make the right decisions for them. To find the balance between protecting them and letting them find their own way....

Sometimes I think that we are so lucky to be parents in today's time. We have so much information right at our fingertips. Got a question? Just Google it! How different it is now from when my Mom was raising babies. I remember her telling me how she could only even talk to her Mom once a week because it was long distance. I'm so blessed that even when we lived in another state, I could still talk to family daily. We have countless resources of information available 24 hours a day. But, sometimes it's overwhelming trying to weed through all of that information to make an informed decision. It seems like you can easily find articles on both sides of any fence. At the end of the day, you still have to make your parenting decisions based on instinct, you just have to read a ton of stuff before you feel comfortable doing that.

When my boys are grown, my hope for them is that they are grateful. That they have peace in this world that is filled with mayhem. That they can find moments of silence in every day to reflect, to talk with God and to feel surrounded by beauty. And, most of all, I want them to be joyful. I don't think that our society actually encourages these things. In our adult lives, we have to make a point to carve out time for this and to be these things. It is intentional. It is a choice. It's important to us (Shane and I) that we teach them the power of reflection, of listening to your inner voice and of following your heart. These are the things that are way more important to us than anything else. If you are grateful and you have joy, happiness will find you.


I'm not sure if the link will work for the you tube video, but here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1-4u9W-bns

Here are the lyrics:

When I look into your eyes 
It's like watching the night sky  
Or a beautiful sunrise  
Well there's so much they hold  
And just like them old stars  
I see that you've come so far  
To be right where you are  
How old is your soul?
 

I won't give up on us 
Even if the skies get rough  
I'm giving you all my love 
I'm still looking up
And when you're needing your space  

To do some navigating  
I'll be here patiently waiting  
To see what you find
 

'Cause even the stars they burn  
Some even fall to the earth  
We've got a lot to learn 
God knows we're worth it  
No, I won't give up


I don't wanna be someone who walks away so easily  
I'm here to stay and make the difference that I can make  
Our differences they do a lot to teach us how to use the tools and gifts  
We got yeah we got a lot at stake  
And in the end, you're still my friend at least we did intend 
For us to work we didn't break, we didn't burn  
We had to learn, how to bend without the world caving in 
I had to learn what I got, and what I'm not  
And who I am
 


Outside Fun

We spent Saturday at the Live Green festival. The boys really enjoyed it! We all learned a lot! They also had kid friendly activities scattered throughout, which helped keep him interested in everything.We learned that off the coast of CA, there is a trash dump that is twice the size of TX and 90 feet deep. I don't think Logan will ever forget seeing the pictures of the sea life getting sick from eating trash. I think that he will be our "green helper" from now on!


Here are some pictures I took at the playground today. Graham's new favorite thing to do is climb UP slides just like Logan.







I looked at this picture and thought, "Wow. He is getting TOO big."






- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Easter

Just a quick update :) We spent the first weekend of April in The Woodlands, TX with my Granny. The boys enjoyed the road trip, the hotel (such a treat for them!) and getting to spend extra time with family.

Here is my favorite picture of the boys taken with one of their Great Grandmothers (my Dad's mom.)
Side Note: It's amazing because they have 7 living great grandparents!!

Here is G hanging out on the deck where we always go to feed the ducks. The boys got to enjoy an Easter Egg hunt and yummy cupcakes while we were there too!

A few days after we got home, G came down with Hand, Foot and Mouth. It. Was. Awful. The poor thing had blisters all over--from his face to the bottoms of his feet. He is just now (a full week later) starting to feel better. So, consequently he had to sit out some of the Easter fun this year.

My sweet boys. You can still see the remnants of the blisters on Graham's face here.


I still have a few more cute pictures that I'll add in when I get the rest off my phone. Good night for now!