long time, no post

Sorry it's been a bit since I've posted lately. I could give you a whole list of reasons...but it's really not that interesting.

These two shots of the boys are from their bath last night and were just too good not to share.



This face is really hilarious until you get your proofs back from the professional photographer of your attempted family portrait. All I can say is thank goodness for digital photography.

The room is coming along...an updated picture is below. We're all done with the walls and are hoping to have the floors in by next week. Hopefully, there will be a guest room ready in time for Ben's birthday party weekend. But, given our renovation history so far, I won't be holding my breath.

And finally, one more story. Many of you know that cancer took my mom's life when I was 11 years old. She was the middle daughter in her family. She had an older sister, my Aunt Win, and a younger brother, my Uncle Buddy. For a short while, my Uncle Buddy and his family lived around the corner from us in Dallas on Longmeadow. For this reason, and just because of who he is, Uncle Buddy has always been a favorite family member. His family moved to Colorado when I was young. Now, he and his wife, my Aunt Charlene, live in Tuscon, AZ.

A few weeks ago, I got an email from Uncle Buddy letting me know that he would be coming through Waco and staying with some old friends who now live in Waco (freakishly, they live only 2 doors down from my good friend Wendi). Yesterday, between picking up the boys and going to church, we stopped by to visit with him for about an hour. He was sitting on the porch waiting for us when we pulled up, and he is the spitting image of my grandfather, who I adored and who is Will's namesake. Somehow, over the next hour between the one million times I felt like I said, "Will, put your feet down" and "Ben, that's not a toy" and "That's breakable" and the like, we were able to catch up a bit. I got to see pictures of my cousins' children, read some of his beautiful poetry, and hear a voice from my past that has called up all kinds of memories from deep within me. It was a true gift.

I called my sister right after leaving that visit and told her that she ought to come to Waco and see him while he's here. She did! So, here is a picture of the three of us from our dinner out tonight. It was great to spend time with him, catch up on his life, and hear some stories--some new, some old--about our mom and our grandparents. And I can't begin to express how much it meant to have my sister there to experience it all alongside me.