Bubbles

Aunt D. (Mom's youngest sis) sent the Bubs a bubble blower. What she may not have realized, though, was that she sent us some joy and laughter at just the right time. You see, it arrived the day before Mom's birthday.

The package came Saturday and it was promptly ripped open and put to use. It was a beautiful afternoon and the Bubs and I ran around the front yard making gads of bubbles...well, the Bubs did the bubble thing and I snapped off pics left, right and center!

I didn't realize how much tension I had been carrying around until we started laughing together and just being silly in general. It was wonderful!

And the perfect way to celebrate Mom.

She loved to find the beauty in simple things and take notice of the wonder in the world around us that we can often miss as we go about our busy lives.

I have vivid memories of her exclaiming over the beauty of a sunset or saying, "Oh, look!" when she'd spot a cardinal (or a "red bird" as she called it) outside her window.

My Aunt C (Mom's oldest sis) reminded me Sunday that Mom remarked once that she loved the colors on a bubble. That sounds exactly like her.

So Aunt D, many thanks and a great big hug from us for sending us some joy in the form of that little bubble blower. Your note was precious. I put it up on the Bubs's memory board per his request as that's where he likes to put all of his favorite and most important things.

P.S. I know I'm late in getting this posted (Mom's b'day was Sept. 20th), but I wanted to go ahead and do it anyway. My apologies!!

Prayer Request

Mom is in the emergency room as I'm typing this. She's in pain and, we think, fighting off another infection that her immune system just can't handle. Please keep her in your prayers, y'all. I know she'd be thankful....and this blogger would, too. God is able to bring us through this and endow my Mom with healing and strength!

***Update- I spoke with Dad and Aunt Dianne a few hours ago while they were in Mom's room. She's been admitted. They're waiting for the results of a blood culture to determine if she's fighting off another infection. However, her doc seems to think that she could be reacting to meds that are used to access her port for chemo since she's having episodes like this everytime her port is used. The doc also seems to think she could be home by tomorrow evening....we'll see. Thanks for the prayers, y'all!

Mommy Meltdown....Gone Funny?

I come from a family that is made up of strong-willed, smart people. My husband's family background is very similar. So, it was almost a given that the Bubs would inherit those qualities. He is a very smart, inquisitive, creative little boy who also possesses one wicked sense of humor. He is a hoot to be around.........most of the time. This week has been, um, interesting.

We've entered a new phase where he's beginning to question everything. With every instruction he's given he offers up any number of protests that begin with the words, "But Mommy....!" I'm usually able to sail right through his arguments by explaining the reasoning behind the instruction or redirecting his comments in some way. After a couple weeks straight of this behavior, however, I've been reduced to breaking out the old standby, "Because I told you to." The effectiveness of this has completely expired (there's a shocker!).

The Bubs stayed with Mom and Aunt Dianne tonight while I went to my trio practice at church. As soon as I walked in the door I noticed that he was sitting in a recliner wrapped up with a throw and looked pale and sleepy. When I walked into the kitchen to have a cup of coffee with Dianne, he jumped up and started playing with his toys again. I'm sure he thought that if I saw him play I wouldn't think he was sleepy. Sneaky booger!

After I chatted with Mom and Di for a while, I decided it was time to head home and told David to go ahead and pack his toys. "But Mommy.......! No! I don't want to! We can leave in 30 minutes!............." On and on it went for five minutes. I finally turned to talk with Mom and ignored him. He began to pack when he noticed I wasn't listening anymore. One. Blessed. Piece. At. A. TIME!! Slower and slower he went..........*sigh* Needless to say, the law was laid down and the Bubs was NOT happy about that.

I thought that the situation was back under control and turned to answer a question that Mom had asked. Boy, was I wrong! All of a sudden I hear David's dulcet tones float in from the living room bemoaning how unfair I was being. I kinda snapped. I stepped around the chair that Mom was occupying to the loveseat to her left and shoved my face into a pillow to yell out my frustrations. In the middle of my muffled meltdown I hear someone laughing. If that's the Bubs, he's totally gonna get it.....wait, that's MY MOTHER!! I turned around to see Mom with her hands slapped over her mouth, shoulders shaking and her head thrown back. All I hear is, "I'm so-oo-rry! Ha, ha, ha! I -ha, ha- can't he-e-e-lp it! It's your fa-a-ult! You're so funn-n-y! He, he, ha, ha, ha!"

That's me. I aim to entertain......