Middle of the Week Madness... LOL!

Flowers from my Sister-Girl...she's so good to me!

Well, I'm either late for last week's post or early for this week's but I decided to just go ahead with it anyway...you decide whether I'm early or late. : )

Anywho, greetings from sunny and warm New Mexico! It's been a busy few days as always and I'll catch you up on some of the highlights. Hang on to your seats and here we go!!
~Pat is headed to IL in just about 10 days now and is just chomping at the bit...can't wait to get there! Auntie Karen took him to Barnes and Noble for a date last week and he came home very excited and told me..."Look, Mom~ I got some books for my travels!" So great to see him so happy and looking forward to it so much!

~SCHOOL is OUT! Hurray! The papers have been put away, books have been straightened and re-shelved, and the planning book has been tucked away until at least....July, when I can start planning next school year...hee hee! The boys have enjoyed the extra free time already and I am as well. We already have our core curriculum for next school year, so the rest will be a bonus. Since we have a wedding/road trip planned in Sept and Jodi will be gone until the end of Sept as well, we will be starting LATE but I will be doing small projects with them most of the summer and as long as we get in our 180 days...the school district doesn't care...so it's ALL good!

~Dan and 'Shua continue to work M-TH in Hurley, and have both been working Fridays and Saturdays here in Cruces as well so while they are tired, they are enjoying a bit of play money. They will be home on Thursday as usual and rumor has it that there will be NO overtime this weekend, and I think they are glad. Time to relax with family and reboot for the week ahead is ALWAYS a good thing.

~Jodi seems to be settling in while being at home this week...has unpacked MANY boxes, cleaned the playroom and has a car full of things to donate to Goodwill as well as enjoying being home with the boys and dealing with Titus' therapists herself. She even volunteered to stay home with all 5 of them today so I could go out and do something I wanted to do..and so I did...thanks, Jo!
~Lauren will be visiting soon, her plane lands on the 18th and I just can't wait to throw my arms around her and squeeze...Oh, how I've missed her! She is coming to spend their 6 YEAR anniversary with 'Shua....what a legacy they will have to pass on to their future children someday! It will be a short trip as she will be returning to IL on the 20th and taking Mr Patrick with her. That makes me feel so much better about him getting on a plane without me...*sigh*

~Derek went to VBS for the first time this past week and seemed to really enjoy himself. I can't get over how big he is getting...my baby! He will be 4 this August and I find myself rejoicing at how grown up he is one minute and the next lamenting that he isn't a baby anymore...such a silly mommy! HE LOVES to ride the dirt bike and dune buggy with Dan or 'Shua and if he thinks they are trying to ride without telling him...he throws on his shoes as fast as he can and dashes out there to demand a ride with whoever will scoop him up first. Poor Auntie Karen can't even look out the window when she is here...LOL!

~David is much the same....kind, sweet and busy. He is reading, riding, writing or playing something all the time. Loves his Legos as much as ever and is forever bringing me some new UPDATED model of this or that. He is starting to make the much anticipated leap from kid status to the scary middle ground before real teenage years start...starting to take part in adult conversations without talking about something else or missing the point all together. Makes this mama feel a mite bittersweet. Ah, the joys of motherhood!

~Me, I'm the same old me...just crunchier all the time. I'm driving 'Shua crazy by making him read all the labels on his food and then explaining what each one is or is doing to his body...can't figure out why he keeps rolling his eyes and walking away...I'm just trying to help...LOL! I went scrap booking today with a new friend from game night and had such fun! She has quite possibly the LARGEST scrap booking collection I've ever seen...if I had that much stuff...someone would have to move out...possibly two people...so I had a BALL just rummaging through her stuff and Oohh-ing and Aahhh-ing where appropriate! Needless to say, I didn't get many pages done, but I'll be ready next time...I'll just strap on my blinders and scrap like mad...hee hee!

~'Shua...he misses Lauren. And he works, sleeps and pesters me...that's his life. Soon, they will be grown, married and gone. I am so grateful for this opportunity to spend this time with him...goodness, I AM getting sentimental in my old age...emphasis on the MENTAL...sheesh!

Well, this is getting ridiculously long and a mite too sentimental, even for me, so I'll wrap it up with a few pics and be done...really!

The boys in the 'fort' under the stairs...they have such FUN times down there!

This is the view from our front yard on Sunday night...the moon was just...glorious!!

Patrick is really enjoying his newly created room and is doing very well on keeping it tidy, hurray!

David and Patrick in the play/workout/storage room, BEFORE Jodi started working on it...YIKES! It's so much better now, I'll try to get a picture up of the AFTER tomorrow.

Love to all and Blessings this week,

Kristy and the Man Crew