Count Your Blessings

We've had a roller coaster of emotions the past week.  Snowstorms and cancellations, busted pipes and clogged sinks, fluke injury and crippling back pain, topped with a dollop of financial stress, all in the midst of planning a surprise party for our son who would turn 18.

To say tears have fallen would be an understatement.  

Perhaps the obstacles came at the same time to keep me distracted from the fact that my baby was all grown up.  If you've been around this blog for more than a minute, you know he is a special guy and tugs at all my heartstrings.  18 was a milestone this momma wasn't quite prepared for and I don't know if it has truly sunk in even still.

As I browsed through old photos for his party, it seemed forever ago and just yesterday.  They tell you kids grow fast, you know it as a parent, but the reality still seems impossible.  I've told him a dozen times this week though...no matter how many birthdays he has, he'll always be my baby.

check out that cute photo bomber (tee hee)

In the middle of our messes, it is so easy to lose focus on the blessings we have.  

When I was soggy socked and stressed, watching water gush from our pipes (for the second time in a week) it was hard to see hope.  Dishes were piling in every direction, my hubby (our handyman) was out of commission from hurting his back at work, and due to the snow, every plumber in the area was booked for weeks.  But the hidden blessings through this mess would be a sweet dinner provided at the most perfect moment because a friend responded to a whisper from God.  Quality father-son time, as Noah was off from school (due to the snow) and got one on one plumbing lessons from Dad.  And a kick in the pants from the "big guy" to remember not to take my eyes off Him when the water rises, or else I may drown. 

Writing this morning, the events of the week that caused me such stress seem so trivial now.  A dear friend shared some horrific news of what she's been privately enduring.  And the unimaginable happened just miles away from us with another school shooting and young lives taken too soon.  I found myself ugly crying all the way to work, thanking God for reminding me of all the reasons I have to be thankful - and that there are others facing so. much. more today.  

That's how the enemy works, my friends.  he wants us to stay so bogged down in the stressors of every day that we can't look up to find the One who can pull us out of any storm.  And if we stay swirling in our own messes, we can't help (or even see) someone else who might need rescue.  

Sometimes the events we weather are mild, sometimes torrential but despite the downpours of life, God can be and is our constant calm.  

Prayers and Joy... 

and I'll leave you with a few moments of sunshine we shared.

the boy in the blue is one of Noah's best friends
 - and he came to the rescue for his party.  Being my heavy lifter, with Tim unable to help.
Bonus blessing - my sweet cousin thinking to snap precious memories like this <3 br="">
  

Records from my childhood my mom dug out to go with Noah's new record player.
We've enjoyed dusting off the memories and sharing music from my past.

And last but not least....a #simplejoy

Buffalo balls - a recipe that I "winged" (ha ha)
meatballs, ranch dip mix, and franks hot buffalo sauce
Yum Yum Yum

NashVegas Birthday

Normally, I'm all about planning birthday parties.  Since my boys were little, I would get as much enjoyment out of selecting a theme, choosing games, and coordinating decor as I did watching them experience their day.  As Austin grew older his standard request was a pool party at our house with the family.  Being a winter baby, Noah wanted adventure.  And truly, we needed something to entice people to trudge out in the snow.

Over the years we've done sundae and pizza making parties, lazer tag, surprises, excursions and numerous other themes.  One of my favorites (and most popular posts) was Minute to Win It.  The adults had as much fun as the kids.  Noah's all time fave was the hotel trip with his buddies, aka "bachelor" party, although he was only 12 at the time.

But my baby's 16th sort of snuck up on me.  Maybe I was in denial.  It doesn't help that holiday festivities, Christmas, and my birthday are stacked right before.  This year I struggled to figure out just exactly what to do to make his day special.  And he wasn't much help, as "i don't know," or a shrug were the only two answers he seemed to give on how he'd like to spend it.

Realizing we had a three day weekend with the MLK holiday, I offered him a get-away.  A mini vacation in a hotel from the city of his choice.  This idea enticed him.

He opted for Nashville so we wouldn't spend a chunk of our trip driving and because there are so many options to enjoy.  Dog/house sitter confirmed, bags packed, and we were on way.

The only concrete plan we had was where we were staying.  My aunt introduced us to Drury Inn a few years back and it has become our favorite hotel chain.  One big perk is that they serve a hot breakfast and a hot nighttime snack.  For us frugal gals, that means we only have to buy one meal a day and that is my kind of traveling.  Truthfully, with a mini frig and microwave, you could even get by with bringing your own.  At this point, I sound like a paid representative, so I'll move on to the rest of our trip!  (but seriously, if you're traveling, check them out!)

In the lobby, Noah picked up a few visitor brochures.  Between that and a Facebook plea for "fun teenage options" we were ready for wherever the wind took us.

And oh, what a whirlwind weekend it was!

Night one would see us at a glow in the dark teen club-meets-American Ninja.  Noah bounced, tight-roped, jumped, flipped and plopped his way around for a couple hours.  Just watching him exhausted us.  Once back at the hotel, I would've gladly retreated to the bed, but my birthday boy requested midnight waffles.  A tradition he's seen my cousin and her girls do while vacationing together, we bundled up and dodged traffic for craters of maple syrup.

Bellied up to the bar, midway through scrambled eggs, sausage, loaded hashbrowns and three waffles, he manages to get out, "New tradition, mom.  This is awesome."

Day two = Science. Sharks. Sauerkraut. And Statues.

Hoping he wouldn't be too old, we opted to go the Adventure Science Museum.  Noah's always been a fan of anything science and they had a planetarium, although we watched sharks instead of stars.  Three hours later we left impressed and glad to have spent the morning there.

Lunch was an adventure, more in surviving the trip than where we ended up.

Busy downtown venues are not my cup of tea.  One way streets, a delayed GPS, two men barking directions, and nobody wanting to pick a spot had my nerves frazzled to the core.  Finally pulling into the lot of a restaurant we knew and loved, we were shell-shocked to discover parking was around $25!  In the many circles and loops we took to find an empty space, I spied a German eatery and made an executive decision.  The big selling point was that parking was free; however, Noah's always up for a new culinary experience.  Also, he's recently been enamored with the culture, discovering our family tree has some roots there.

With our bellies full, we headed for our final stop, the Parthenon.
Or as I like to call it, the steps of death.

Heredity and old injuries from a wreck have my legs in terrible shape.  As such, steps are not my friend.  The picture above shows before... all smiles, since I'm currently dumb to the fact that those giant doors behind me are locked.  We walk down, around and up the other side only to find that isn't an entrance either.  Back down steep concrete monsters into the basement entrance, I'm grumbling (and hobbling in pain) about the lack of signage this place has.  My physical state at this point certainly didn't enhance the visit but I was grateful to see ramps and elevators once inside for the tour.  The only replica in the world, it was a been there, done that experience.  

By the time we made it back to the hotel, everyone crashed, though I did set an alarm for the free kickback snack.  Tim laughed at me, still full from our enormous lunch but by golly, free is free.  I told him he could eat and store it for when he became hungry later.  

Noah wanted to end the evening in the pool/hot tub but apparently so did everyone else in the hotel.  Every 15 minutes or so he'd trot down and scope out the situation, returning to the room with a frown.  At 9:20 he bounced back excited to report that only one kid was swimming and four grandfatherly figures were watching.  Tim bowed out and opted to relax on the couch bed.  

He didn't miss much.  

The pool was freezing, in my dysfunctioning thyroid opinion, as it connected to the outside.  Noah kept ducking under the wall and escaping into the frigid night air.  My common sense and claustrophobia would not join him.  As my teeth were chattering by the semi-heated flow of water I managed to find, a couple enters with a dog, just as I was about to escape to the hot tub.  Somehow, the thought of eau de wet pooch didn't appeal to me, so I didn't join them.  Yet later, said wet dog jumped in the pool with us to cool off.  Noah thought it was amazing, of course.  Upon returning to the room, I opted to lather, rinse and repeat.  Twice.

With Tim's nap, he was on his second wind so the boys stayed up late watching tv and wrestling each other.  I was thankful for the suite we splurged on and escaped to the quiet bedroom and a comfy bed all to myself.

Our final day, after lingering over our last free meal we traveled to the giant mall that is Opry Mills.  Never one to spend much of his own money, Noah treated himself to a shopping spree.  He's been such a saver since getting a job this past summer, so it was a joy watching him waste a little cash.  True to what I've taught him though, he didn't buy anything that wasn't on clearance!

Last stop was Dave & Busters for some arcade fun.  Noah and Tim enjoyed shooting at zombies and each other, competing over hoops and an aggressive game of ice hockey.  I snuck off to rest in the car, knowing they'd sleep all the way home.

Between the giant bear hug he gave us more than once and the uncharacteristic Facebook tagging of a slideshow with, "Loved today, thank you so much (mom) and (dad) for this amazing trip," I'd say Birthday 2016 was a success.

Hope it brought him a fraction of the JOY he continually brings us.

Trust me, he was laughing just moments before I snapped.  

This is his "seriously, how many pics are you taking of me today" face.

Sunday fun

29 photos

Birthday Blessings

I anticipated that Noah's 15th birthday would be bittersweet and filled with emotions.  It's a celebration milestone we didn't have a place card for, as Austin only lived to 14.  Prayerfully, thankfully, it was a joyous and peaceful weekend.

True, there were definite moments that tugged at my heartstrings.  My baby shouldn't be surpassing his big brother, and yet he was -is.  I'm grateful, but a part of me still wishes things would've been different.  And there were moments of relief, release from the held-breath of a child-loss momma.  Surviving beyond the mark that Austin reached doesn't prove anything, life's moments have no guaranteed timeline, but it is something that often weighed on this mom's mind.

Going into his birthday weekend, there wasn't much planned, an unusual change from the regular festivities Noah has known.  Through the years he's had some "epic parties," or so he describes.  This year though, he had one simple request.  An acoustic guitar.

Noah's followed his mom in having a great love of music and it's always been his goal to learn to play the guitar.  In grade school he was in a bluegrass class that allowed kids to stay after and learn to play musical instruments. He loved those afternoons.  Not having the opportunity for that instrument after graduating to middle school, he sort of put the dream on hold.  Occasionally, we'd pass a consignment store window and he'd remark about the stringed beauties on displays.  This year he finally made his wish known.

Researching the price tags himself, he figured there would be no combining other events or activities, like we normally did.  Mom and Dad were very fortunate and frugal shoppers but reality was, there wouldn't be much extra.  And even though we knew he'd love the gift, I searched for something "more" to make it special.

Though his birthday didn't fall until Monday, we figured he'd enjoy having the guitar over the weekend so Tim and I began plans to present it Friday night.  Talking things through a great surprise developed.  I'm still in awe of how everything fell into place.

One of our favorite pizza places recently relocated and Noah had mentioned a few times of wanting to go there.  We decided that would be the perfect spot to present his present.  Tim stopped by there earlier in the day to see if they'd be willing to bring it out to him.  And I had the idea of seeing if anyone would play it while singing 'Happy Birthday' to him.  In asking, none of the staff knew how to play.  But wait, there was a new guy starting that night who was from Nashville and is a singer/songwriter.  Maybe he'd agree?  Wonderful!  Plans in place, we smile awaiting the big reveal.

We arrived and Noah had not a clue.  Typical of their business, they were swamped and I stewed wondering if the timing would work out ok.  At one point, near the end of our meal, I could faintly hear the strumming of a guitar and wondered if Noah would figure out the surprise, but he was too invested in their Reese's pizza to notice!

Once finished, the doors from the kitchen swung open and music began to play.  I'd describe the rest to you but a video does his reaction better justice....

Post by Heather Blair.

If that wasn't enough, the rest of his weekend was packed with special moments too.  He spent Saturday at an archery meet with his Dad and a drive to his new favorite burger joint.  Sunday our family filled two pews to worship with him and follow us home for simmering soups.  We spent the afternoon playing his favorite games and hanging out together.  Monday, his true birthday, was also a holiday and a no-school day so he got to sleep in, have breakfast in bed and an afternoon with his girlfriend who visited.  We watched movies and ate his usual birthday meal request - shrimp Alfredo, along with a homeade butterfinger cake.  All in all, I'd say he had a very special 15th.

And his big brother had some ways of saying hello, as he does, on his special day.  As I was taking his cake out of the oven that morning I hit the timer and noticed it was 9:23, an Austin wink.  That evening, as Noah was playing his guitar he stopped and smiled, turned the instrument over and said, "Look Mom, a sign from Bubba."  

We bought the guitar from a friend and had not even noticed Austin's number.

In that moment I just felt Austin there, knowing he was watching over his little brother as he always did.  And always will...

Birthday Hangover

I slept TEN solid, glorious hours last night.  Hard, deep sleep, where my muscles were actually sore from lack of movement.  My body needed to catch a breath from all the festivities of the weekend, celebrating Noah's 13th birthday.

Luckily, his birthday actually fell on Saturday, which hasn't happened in some time.  It also started EARLY, as he had an Upward basketball game scheduled to start at 8:30 in Owensboro, about an hour away.  This resulted in me being up well before the sun, preparing for our day.

Truck packed and details done, I finally dragged Tim out of bed 30 minutes before wake-up call to decorate his door.  Noah awoke to this....

We rushed ourselves out of the house on a Saturday, as if it were a school day, hitting the road to make it in time for warm up and to save enough seats for the family I hoped would arrive.  Tim, Tina, and I all sat "big and greedy" sighing thankfully as familiar faces started to arrive and fill our spots.  By game time, a third of the bleacher was there to cheer on Noah.  He came back from prayer with a big smile and took time to hug each member.  At the end we even got an "Austin hug" as Noah scored the last shot at the buzzer, changing the score to 23.

Our caravan then headed to Shoney's for a breakfast buffet feast.  Knowing we'd take up the back half of their room - and that I had a hungry teenage boy - I was kind enough to call ahead and warn them.  They had mounds of eggs, biscuits, gravy and bacon awaiting.  They even surprised Noah with a hot fudge sundae and a song at the end.  We laughed that his first stop though was the strawberry shortcake!  All of us ate well beyond our fill, knowing we'd soon work it off. 

Stuffed and happy, our mini parade weaved our way to our final group destination - Laser Tag!  Even Mamaw and our littlest, Allen, joined in the fun.  We wondered how he'd do, only being 4, but he surprised and outplayed most of us.  At one point, I ended up teaming up with him and laughed way more than I shot. 

He'd crouch down on his tiny frame, and in a shouting whisper would say, "Move, Move, Move!" while frantically waving me along.  Whenever we'd successfully attack he'd say, "Man down!" and once when I shot him by accident, he pouted, "You can't shoot me, Aunt Heather, I'm the hero of this game!"  I do think he enjoyed it thoroughly, as he asked his mom, in the midst of another round, if he could have his happy birthday here tomorrow.  Sadly for him, his celebration isn't until October!

Noah, the birthday boy, aka "Voodo" was thrilled he won three of the four rounds.  I was just happy I didn't have a negative score, like my Aunt Becky!

The highlight, for everyone except Haylea, was her escape from the laser tag hallway.  Not realizing the glass door was shut, she barrelled down the hall, excited from the match.  One big cartoon splat later, her face left an imprint on the door, and all of us peed our pants in uproarious laughter.

We opted to play so much of our allotted time, that Noah had to speed race through his gifts and cupcakes.  He did pause long enough to gasp, mouth wide open, at the surprise Harlem Globetrotter tickets inside what he thought was only a card.  At the end, Noah and Tim decided to just wear their cupcakes, instead of eat them.

    

The crowd dispersed quickly, as another family had the room reserved next, but Noah was happy to head to home.  The night before Tim had given him a new shotgun and he had clay pigeons calling his name.  They spent the last hours of daylight tossing orange disks into the sky and blowing them into smithereens. 

We had a final stop at a little convenient store on the outskirts of our county, that happens to make the most yummy burgers and cheese balls around.  True to tradition, Noah was master of the remote, as we enjoyed our grease feast in front of the tv.

All said, I think he had a very happy and memorable 13th birthday celebration!  At least this exhausted Mom hopes so. 

Birthday-palooza

In this family, we do birthdays.  I mean, we really DO birthdays.  It's an All-Out-Fest!  Last week was Noah's celebratory birth week.  I say "week" because that's about how long our festivities last.  Truly, it's only 4 days this year but I've been planning for weeks.  So has he.

Rarely does his birthday fall on the weekend so this always results in at least two parties.  His actual birthday was Thursday.  Our tradition is to celebrate simple.  At home.  Just us.  His favorite meal.  One gift.  Special dessert.  His birthday menu was homemade shrimp Alfredo, finished with a chocolate chip cookie cake.  The rest of the night was HIS.  He was master of the remote.  He decided what games we'd play.  It was all things Noah.  And he loved every minute of it, complete with blowing out a "Happy 30th" candle because that is all I had at home!

The weekend found my house invaded by a swarm of tweenage boys.  We caravanned to a nearby hotel for the night so the flock of testosterone could enjoy the indoor pool.  It was an interesting experience, traveling with so many boys at one time.  I will say they were all incredibly polite and well-behaved but still ALL-BOY, from midnight pranks with spray cheese to sneaking salt and soy sauce in their friends' drinks when they weren't looking. 

We made several trips to the pool, broke for pizza in the room, and let them hang in the hotel lobby.  It added to the humor of the weekend that a flock of females, in their same age bracket, were also celebrating at the same hotel.  Directly in the room below us.  Pool time was amusing, as the boys claimed they were "being stalked" by insane girls.  Every boy, including Noah, has a girlfriend back home - who would be thrilled to know, they showed no interest. 

I don't know we made it home the Sunday morning, provided Tim and I maybe had 15-20 minutes sleep per hour.  We'd awake to an uproar of laughter or a stampede of feet to our adjoining room, open the connecting door and remind them of their neighbors, who were also trying to rest.  While nothing was damaged, I do pity the poor maid who had to clean their room the next day, as pillows and sheets sprawled across the floor, which was littered with candy wrappers and empty soda cans.  We left one lonely half damp sock because no boy would claim it.  It took several minutes of investigation just to find the owner of a tshirt and jeans, I didn't have the energy to care about the sock at that point!

I think it was a success as the boys were calling it "Epic" and one even used the phrase, "Noah's bachelor party" when we overheard them in the hall.  In fact, I'm sure the mom's may not speak to me for awhile, as I'm pretty certain this is the request of each of the attendees to do for their upcoming birthdays.  Overall it was a fun night and one I'm sure Noah will remember for years to come.

Sunday we arrived home just in time to ship off the boys and trade them in for family.  The house was then filled all afternoon with screaming cousins, hopped up on cake and ice cream.  We pulled out the "Just Dance" games and got a kick out of everyone who participated.  (Mom - you were the party pooper!)  The winner of each round would challenge the next and I even got Noah out for one dance.  Most of the time he was wrapped up in his new gift - a Kindle Fire.


Before we headed off to bed last night, early because we were all T-I-R-E-D, Noah gave us both a giant bear hug and kiss, thanking us and claiming 2012 as the "best birthday EVER".  I'd say it was a job well done.  Now, to catch my breath and figure out how to top it for 2013!

still not too old or big to sit on Dad's lap!

One Great Party!

How can a bucket of ping pong balls, pantyhose, spaghetti noodles, and ding dongs add up to a good time?  A "Minute to Win It" Birthday party of course!  We're home from Noah's 11th birthday and had such a blast.  I'm plum wore out but I think mostly it's from laughing so hard!  (We should've handed out Depends as party favors!)

Most people there had never seen the game show before; however, I think they'll all be regular viewers now.  The concept is so simple and the majority of the games we played required items you have around the house.  Each contest is one minute long and if the kid completed it successfully, they got to put a ticket in the prize bucket.  After each round a ticket was drawn and the winner got to dig in a prize bucket for a treat.  At the end, all the tickets were placed back in the hat for a grand prize winner.  I think it worked out so that nearly every kid won a prize.

The games are not something you'd ever really do in real life but are so simple you wonder why you haven't.  Our first game was "Junk in the Trunk" because I knew it would get everyone laughing and excited.  A Kleenex box was attached to a belt and filled with 8 ping pong balls.  When the timer started, each kid would have to shake, jiggle, and twist hoping to pop out each ball before the minute was up.  I don't know how we managed to even get photos as everyone was doubled over in laughter.  It's one sure way to get a white boy to dance!

Another game was called "Chocolate Unicorn" and required the kids to stack 7 ding dongs on their forehead within the minute time frame.  This was a difficult one as either we got a dud box or ding dongs are naturally misshapen.  It was fun to watch them attempt it so seriously though.

It was neat that there seemed to be a different "expert" for each game, as nobody was the ultimate player and all kids got their turn of losing and winning a few.

We set the party for two hours, and after twenty minutes into the game, I could tell it should've been longer.  We ended up skipping one of the games just to get through the rest of the party for anyone who had to leave on time.  After the cake and presents, and one of the games we skipped just to have time to open/eat, some of the adults took their try at a few games.  You know we were itching to during the entire party anyway!



Aunt Becky playing "This Blows!"



Wendy shaking it in "Junk"

even I played...and ended up the "elephant march" champ!

It was non-stop, rib splitting, hooting and hollering fun and I think one birthday party this 11 year old will not soon forget  The only problem now is figuring out how to top it next year!

*If you've arrived from paperperfection, welcome.  For templates, supplies or materials, please go back and visit pp's site. For game ideas, visit NBC and search for "MTWI".  This is just an example of what a MTWI party might be like.  Thanks for stopping by....hope you'll stay and visit awhile!