Poor Tater!

On Thursday night, Tate fell on the bathroom floor and landed on his pinkie.  His finger got pulled out sideways away from his ring finger, causing him to break his pinkie right at the point where his finger meets his hand.  He was in a lot of pain, but was a trooper and got through the night okay once they had it stabilized in a splint.  

Friday morning we headed to my orthopedic doctor, who said that because of where the break was, it would heal best if they "set" it before putting it in a better splint.  Soooo.... poor Tater had to get a bunch of shots right in the crease behind his pinkie to numb it, and then the doctor set it back in place.  Honestly, the shots were waaaaaay worse than the actual setting because the area was so tiny that they were able to numb it really well.  Thank goodness!!!

After we got home from the orthopedic doctor, he zonked out for two hours on the couch.  He was spent!
 
Needless to say, now that it's been a few days, it's pretty tough keeping a six year old boy quiet and relaxed.  He's right back to his old self again, running around and playing with Knox.  A broken finger can't stop this kid!

Making some pizzas for lunch!

The finished products.

Knox refusing to help... and eat, for that matter!

Love to y'all,
Tracy 

Take Two

Okay, anyone out there thinking I'm a TOTAL moron?  In the last post, I was blabbing on and on about me trying to emulate my fellow "Pinteresters," Martha Stewart, etc.  I knew I was a far cry from them, of course.  But I had no idea just how far I was... Anyone notice anything about this project of mine?

According to this, Brady won't be born for three more months!  Seriously?!  I can't even get one of my kiddo's birthdays right?!  So here's the correct one... which, besides the fact that I had no more of the cute paper for it, I actually like better because I got their names to be a little bigger... those are their correct names, right?

Love to y'all,
Tracy

Pinterest Progress

As you know, I've had plans to be quite the stay-at-home mom this summer and tonight I'm here to tell you... this is EXHAUSTING!  How do these Pinterest-aholics do it?  The kids and I have been busily checking off our list of summer to-do's each week.  (Yes, we're still doing it!)  Our favorites from last week were probably painting signs for the boys' bedroom doors and Tate helping me cook dinner (which he then refused to eat).

But besides all of that, I've been trying my best to use the recipes I've pinned, and I have to say, they've been turning out pretty great.  Tonight we had sweet and sour chicken and fried rice... a little too much soy sauce in the rice, but altogether pretty yummy!  Over the weekend, I made a snack of roasted chick peas (soooooooo addicting - I seriously ate almost an entire can of them before I made myself stop).  And frankly, I don't even like chick peas. 

And finally, I decided to really hone in on my inner Martha Stewart and make some things for the house.  They were a little hard to take pics of... but check them out!

"What a difference a day makes."

 The kids birthdays and names

Canvases of each of my babies on the dining room wall... each pic has what each child has taught us.

Our strength  when we needed it most.  Our faith when that's all we had left.

Our hope that there would be light in the darkness.  Our peace in where we are in our lives now.

I am really, really happy with how both projects turned out.  

Love to y'all,
Tracy

A Year Older

On Thursday, Tate turned six years old.  I can't believe how quickly time has flown.  I've heard my own parents say it time and time again.  It really does go way to fast.  Of course we all have those moments where we are praying that time will just hurry up so we can get through our present situations... you know what I'm talking about.  The tantrums at Target, shots at the doctor, or the all too often family dinner at Chili's that goes all wrong.  But all in all, I think most of us moms would agree that our babies are growing up in the blink of an eye and there's nothing we can do to slow them down.

Tate has grown up to be a little boy that any mama would be proud of.  But I am so very thankful that God gave me the honor to know, teach, love, encourage, and nurture him every single day.  He is strong-willed and strong-minded.  He has a deep sense of fairness and loyalty.  He makes and keeps friends.  He is smart and can be very independent... and yet sometimes he'll still crawl up on my lap for a little cuddle.  He's athletic and has a strong, strong love for the game of baseball well beyond his years.  He adores Knox and Brady and keeps Nash close in his heart.  He loves and knows God.

I'm a very blessed mommy to have this six year old little boy be mine.

Back Then...

Today...

Happy Birthday, Sleepyhead!

Sharp Shooter

Presents From Grandma and Grandpa

Tate and Gpa Smith

Nothing's better than a brand new bat!!!

Tate and Gma Smith

My Little Lefty...

... that can switch hit!

Love to y'all,

Tracy

Iowa in a Nutshell

Here's some of my favorite pics from our two week adventure in Iowa.  Even though we go each year for a reason that's very painful, we always leave with many more good memories than bad.  We're so blessed to have such a compassionate and loving family surrounding us.

Enjoy!

 Slip'n'Slide!

 Cheese!!!

 Blue Eyes

 Pontoon Ridin'

 Playing at Aunt Debbie's

 Golfing

 My four babies.

Sievers Family

 The Cousins

Baby Girl

 Brady loves her big brother

 Bathing Beauty

Spent most days out on the lake.

 Skinny dipping...

 Happy 4th of July!

A rare quiet moment.

Love to y'all,

Tracy

Four Years

I dread having to make this post every year.  How do I possibly describe the feelings that run through me on the anniversary of Nash's death?  It's not something that can be explained unless you live it.  The only way I can even begin to put it into words is to say that it's whatever you imagine it to be multiplied by a million.  And thankfully, most people will never have to feel it. 

Four years ago today my world was turned upside and inside out and pulled in every opposite direction at once.  My baby left me without a moment's notice; without a kiss good-bye.  I know he went to the most perfect place, where he is happy and not hurting. But it still tears my heart out every morning when I wake up knowing he's not going to be there.

I really just want today to be over with.  I want to move past July 1st and go from there.  All I do is look at the clock and go back to that day and remember what I was doing and how my world was crashing down more and more as the hours went by... At a little after 10:00am, I began the frantic search for a plane ticket to try to get me to Nash because my mother-in-law said he seemed really sick and they were taking him to a doctor to run some tests.  I knew I had to try to get there. 

Please pray for the hours to tick by fast today.  Please pray for good memories of Nash to come to our minds and stay in our hearts.  Please pray for peace in the knowledge that he is with God.  And please, please think of our little boy and send him your love.

Love to y'all,
Tracy