Monday, February 28, 2011

... And Back



A few days ago, Summer learned how to ride a bike. I know... a little late but that was our fault for not teaching her sooner.  Our house is tucked away from the cul de sac so it was hard to learn in our yard. David took her to the street and she picked it up in just about 20 minutes. She was more than ready. I love that I have a picture of her with her bike. She feels really grown-up now that her bike does not have training wheels.

I was saying good bye to Summer before sending her off to school this morning. Summer said, "I love you all the way to my bike and back." With that little sentence I immediately hugged her. She loves riding her bike and I could not be more thrilled.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Pillow Talk




Each night, David and I switch off putting Forrest and Summer to bed. It is our special time with the kids. I love the talks I have with Forrest as he dozes off to sleep. He keeps his horsey in one hand and wraps his other arm tightly around my neck. Nose to nose we have some pretty cute conversations. He loves to talk about when he was a baby and is fascinated by the whole circle of life concept. He often tells me, "I used to be a baby, now I am a big boy, next I will be a teenager, then a daddy, then a granddaddy and then I will go to heaven". His view of life is so sweet and so simplistic. I love it. I tell him how lucky I feel that out of the millions of little baby boys in heaven, daddy and I were sent him... the smartest, funniest, most handsome one to come to our family. Wow, what are the chances of that!? Well, that little conversation really stuck with him because last night as I put him to bed, he had been quiet for a while and then he whispered to me, "Mama, you're really special to me. Out of all the mommies in heaven, grams got the best one to go to her tummy". All I could do was smile and kiss him on his little forehead.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

5 1/2

If you ever run into Summer do not make the mistake of thinking she is 5 years old. She is NOT 5. My Summer Antoinette Schultz is 5 1/2. She reminds me constantly and of course all of her friends. I took this picture of her on our way out the door to church this morning. For the first time she let me style her hair curly. We used hairspray and curling iron. She felt very grown up and in her own words, very "fancy". I asked her if anyone in her class told her she looked extra cute and she said, "No, but I bet that's what they were thinking".

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

My Miracle

I almost lost my mom.

It has been 30 years since we were hit by a car. I have not written down the events that happened that day and I want to record it. We were on our way to the dentist one afternoon. I was 3 and my sister was 5. Usually I sit on the right side with my sister in the middle in the back seat. This arrangement worked well so that we both could see my mom. That morning my seat belt was not working so I was moved to the other side.

On the way to the dentist I fell asleep with my head resting on the left side door panel. My sister was sooo excited, reading a HUGE Snoopy book that had just arrived in the mail that day, signed by Charles Schulz himself (a friend of my dad's). My mom stopped at an intersection with a stop sign. There was a glass company truck on her right side. She turned her head to the left and did not see a car coming, then proceeded to move forward to go over the intersection. At that moment a car had come up from the hill (invisible from my mom's position when she looked) and rammed right into my mom's side. My sister said she felt a shook, put her book down to find my mom's seat twisted around facing us. The book had shielded my sister from the flying glass. She saw me waking up and getting out of my seat to crawl onto my mom's lap. I kept rocking in her lap and not wanting her to drift away. It was horrible.

The police arrived quickly as did the ambulance. They put my mom on a stretcher. When we got to the ER, my mom was not in a good shape. The doctor told Hope that they had to take out a "fly" from her head (not to scare her) but it was a piece of glass that got stuck. Hope luckily escaped the accident with minor injuries and stayed at the hospital for an overnight. I was badly hurt. The left side of my face was broken. I could not open my left eye for a month. It could have been worse. I could have lost my legs if my seat belt was working that morning. The impact from our car onto the glass truck had scattered glass all over the right side of the back seat. The police concluded that if I had sat there my legs would have been severely damaged to the point where they would have to be cut off. I felt God was watching us that day.

My mom went into coma.  She was put on a ventilator because she was unable to breathe on her own. The doctors' main concern was trauma to her brain. I stayed at the hospital for three weeks. What I remember the most was the last day of my stay. I remember my sister gently waking me up. When I woke up I saw all of my teachers and friends in my room. They all were cheering for me that I had made it through. I remember my dad staying with me some nights with a murphy bed right next to my bed. I remember wheeling out a shopping cart from the hospital into the parking lot while standing on the rim with my dad behind me pushing the cart. I remember talking to a tape recorder at home saying "I love you mommy", "Please, please, please don't leave us", and some prayers. Our neighbor, Gwen, was a nurse at the same floor where my mom was. Gwen took the recorder into my mom's room and played the tape over and over, as many times as she could. My mom was in coma for three months. When she woke up she said she heard us talking and that kept her alive. The doctors said that she had pretty severe trauma to the brain and that she would never be able to walk again. As strong as my mom is, she fought the unthinkable and learned how to walk, write, drive, eat, and cook. The simple things we take granted for. To see your own mom struggling with something as basic as walking, is hard. I will never forget the many, many people that sent us their love, that kept us in their prayers and were so, so kind.

My mom is my miracle. She is in our lives. It wasn't her time to go. It just wasn't. I got to be her daughter for 30 years and more. For this gift, I will be forever grateful.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Our Little Valentines



David and I went away for an overnight. It was a much needed break for both of us. A beautiful hotel overlooking the ocean, sleeping in, swimming, and lots of time just to be together. Little outings like that make me realize that I just don't love David but that I am in love with him. We were dying to get away but the funny thing was that what we talked about most was what we had just left: our two little kids. Our whole getaway was less than 24 hours. It was well worth it. We had an amazing time however it was so nice to get back to our little valentines. As soon as we got in the door I walked straight to Summer and Forrest and hugged and kissed them. We told them how much we loved and missed them. This morning they were soo excited to see us and were even more excited to open up their valentine gifts... valentine jammies.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Pretty Things



I am a sucker for all things pretty. While at Trader Joe's last week I walked past the flower stand. These hydrangeas were out and I knew I had to get them. I knew where I could put them. Having fresh flowers in our home is something I have always done. I go about every other week and it makes such a difference. I don't spend much either. A lot of times the "filler" is prettier to me than the flowers. I'll just see what they have and then load up on branches or just plain greens. It's really inexpensive and makes a HUGE difference for me in our home.
I painted our kitchen and the hallway the other week. I couldn't take the green walls any longer. I knew I could change the color to make the room feel brighter and I was right. I asked David to watch the kids one weekend and got out my paint brushes. When I get my mind set on something I just have to do it right then. I bought three frames for the long hallway wall. I found some pictures I love on etsy and am starting to save up so I can buy them. They're perfect. The best part though is how much we love the color especially early in the mornings. It makes me happy now just to go downstairs towards the kitchen.
The hydrangeas made it home and I love how pretty they look in our kitchen nook. Our home is small and so I have to make every room multifunctional. I got the large jar out this weekend and the kids were fascinated by it. They loved how when the sun came in the window it got "sparkly". They were also fascinated that the jar is made out of recycled coke bottles. The best thing for me is that I have noticed my kids starting to be aware of the pretty things around them. I want them to grow up and appreciate the little things around them that are pretty. I think that's important and it's so cute to watch.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Happy Birthday

Happy 10th birthday to my niece Brooke. We went to Charlotte to celebrate her birthday this past weekend. She is a ray of sunshine everywhere she goes and we adore her. Since she's so grown-up now and into fashion we gave her her very own sewing machine.
We love you, birthday girl!

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Groundhog Day

Photo courtesy of Mrs. H (Summer's teacher)
We have been talking about this day for weeks. On our calendar that hangs in the kitchen Summer marked February 2nd with a brown marker. Grandma Schultz sent the kids two books about Groundhog Day in the mail. They were beyond excited to find out what the groundhog would see, his shadow (6 more weeks of winter) or not (spring is coming). Summer brought both books to her class and read her very first book to her classmates. We worked on the hard words the night before. When I dropped her off that morning, I looked at her, gave her a smile and whispered that she could nail all the hard words. The best part was her little face so happy with herself when she came home. She felt VERY proud. It was so, so simple and sweet. And for the record, the groundhog did NOT see his shadow so spring should be here soon!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Forrest Logan



My Forrest
I took these pictures of him this morning and the cutest thing to me about them are his little almond shaped eyes. Who knew eyes could be so cute? I love my Forrest. I love that i'm his favorite. I often whisper in my kids ears, "Out of all the babies in heaven, how did I get so lucky to get you?" He loves going to school. He loves going to lunch bunch at his school. He loves coloring. He loves playing with airplanes. He loves writing new letters. He loves playing cave in his room. This is one happy boy. I love you, Forrest Logan.