campfire...

when it rains...it pours...and sometimes you have to just build a campfire 

and roast marshmallows : )

dinosaur...train...

 dinosaur...

train...

today was a special day...aunt heather and caitlin took the boyz to the zoo...then they opened up their birthday gift squishy sting rays, chameleon books and remote control trains (ian's prom is the same day as their party so aunt heather, apple crisp and e-an all came down to celebrate early!)...e-an and apple crisp helped andrew and grandpa pick up the boyz "swing set"...birthday gift from mom and dad (more to come)...the boyz also received their birthday gift from aunt suzy, uncle bruce, colin and little bee...how appropriate they opened new dinosaurs and "very cool" (per aunt heather and e-an) dinosaur shirts!!!  dinosaurs and trains...exactly what they wanted...ewie has never been allowed to have his own train due to cam's obsession but aunt heather purchased two!!  the boyz took the dinosaurs straight to the dinosaur area...and they will be sporting their shirts at their party next saturday!!  thank you so much for this wonderful day!!

earthworm...

after watching an episode of "wild kratts" about earthworms...we spent the day digging for earthworms...and since there were two almost three year olds tromping around the garden...we had to make a worm house to put (or protect) the worms we found...good times : )

slim inquirer, while the old fathers sleep

you are reworking their soil, you have

a grocery store there down under the earth

and it is well stocked with broken wine bottles,

old cigars, old door knobs and earth,

that great brown flour that you kiss each day.

there are dark stars in the cool evening and

you fondle them like killer birds' beaks.

but what i want to know is why when small boys

dig you up for curiosity and cut you in half

why each half lives and crawls away as if whole.

have you no beginning and end? which heart is

the real one? which eye the seer? why

is it in the infinite plan that you would

be severed and rise from the dead like a gargoyle

with two heads? 

-anne sexton

happy birthday pappaw!!

wherever you are my love will find you

wherever you are my love will find you

-nancy tillman

i wanted you more than you will ever know,

so i sent love to follow wherever you go.

it's high as you wish it. it's quick as an elf.

you'll never outgrow it...it stretches itself!

so climb any mountain...climb up to the sky! 

my love will find you. my love can fly!

make a big splash! go out on a limb!

my love will find you. my love can swim!

it never get's lost, never fades, never ends...

if you're working...or playing...or sitting with friends.

you can dance 'til you're dizzy...paint 'til you're blue...

there's no place, not one, that my love can't find you.

and if someday you're lonely, or someday you're sad,

or you strike out at baseball or think you've been bad...

just lift up your face, feel the wind in your hair.

that's me, my sweet baby, my love is right there.

in the green of the grass...in the smell of the sea...

in the clouds floating by...at the top of the tree...

in the sound crickets make at the end of the day...

"you are loved. you are loved. you are loved," they all say.

my love is so high, and so wide and so deep, 

it's always right there, even when you're asleep.

so hold your head high and don't be afraid

to march to the front of your own parade.

if you're still my small babe or you're all the way grown,

my promise to you is you're never alone.

you are my angel, my darling, my star...

and my love will find you, wherever you are.

note...when i read this book, it felt like a letter from my mother...she did not need a book to make me realize this : )

$mpm...

she is 10...her laugh is still exactly the same as it was as a baby...infectious...our love for her has only grown deeper...she has entertained us...loved us...healed us...& impressed us over the past 10 years...the boyz chant her name everyday...because she showers them with her complete attention & affection...we are so excited to see what the next 10 years bring...happy birthday margaux paton miller : )

my boyz...

somedays it is hard to describe the craze of our lives...

craze=ewie & cameron...

this photo kind of captures it...

the drama of cam...

ewie stripped down to his diaper...

me, trying to put on a consistent brave face...

in a brown shirt and black pants...