annie blog

What I Hissed Yesterday Morning
“Get out of that bed come upstairs with me. You’re sleeping on the couch until it’s time to get up. What were you thinking, yodeling at the top of your lungs at 4:30 in the MORNING?!!! I’m surprised that you didn’t wake your brothers.”

And then I had to get into my bed and not think too much because I knew that if I did getting back to sleep would be near impossible.

Did you know that laughing really hard will wake you up like nothing else? This is true.

What I Hissed Yesterday Morning
“Get out of that bed come upstairs with me. You’re sleeping on the couch until it’s time to get up. What were you thinking, yodeling at the top of your lungs at 4:30 in the MORNING?!!! I’m surprised that you didn’t wake your brothers.”

And then I had to get into my bed and not think too much because I knew that if I did getting back to sleep would be near impossible.

Did you know that laughing really hard will wake you up like nothing else? This is true.

Tree Decoration

Because my youngest belongs to the If-It’s-Shiny-Put-It-On-The-Tree Club.

Tree Decoration

Because my youngest belongs to the If-It’s-Shiny-Put-It-On-The-Tree Club.

Tree Decoration

Because my youngest belongs to the If-It’s-Shiny-Put-It-On-The-Tree Club.

Just Say Baaaaaaaaa
My youngest has always been a snuggle bug. He still climbs into my bed nearly every morning to snuggle with me. Now, this is all very sweet and I’m not about to tell him not to do it since I know that the time limit for all this sweetness is not indefinite. Also, he gets up at the crack of dawn and has been the reason I’ve not needed an alarm clock for going on 5 years. However, I have to say, that after he explained his philosophy about why I am his snuggler of choice, well, I’m still okay with it but not as thrilled as I could be. What did he say?

E: Mommy, you’re my fluffy friend. I like that you’re fluffy.

Just call me Ewe.

Just Say Baaaaaaaaa
My youngest has always been a snuggle bug. He still climbs into my bed nearly every morning to snuggle with me. Now, this is all very sweet and I’m not about to tell him not to do it since I know that the time limit for all this sweetness is not indefinite. Also, he gets up at the crack of dawn and has been the reason I’ve not needed an alarm clock for going on 5 years. However, I have to say, that after he explained his philosophy about why I am his snuggler of choice, well, I’m still okay with it but not as thrilled as I could be. What did he say?

E: Mommy, you’re my fluffy friend. I like that you’re fluffy.

Just call me Ewe.

Just Say Baaaaaaaaa
My youngest has always been a snuggle bug. He still climbs into my bed nearly every morning to snuggle with me. Now, this is all very sweet and I’m not about to tell him not to do it since I know that the time limit for all this sweetness is not indefinite. Also, he gets up at the crack of dawn and has been the reason I’ve not needed an alarm clock for going on 5 years. However, I have to say, that after he explained his philosophy about why I am his snuggler of choice, well, I’m still okay with it but not as thrilled as I could be. What did he say?

E: Mommy, you’re my fluffy friend. I like that you’re fluffy.

Just call me Ewe.

Top Ten Things I Will Always Miss About Mr. Jim

I’ve been thinking about our friend, Mr. Jim, who died a little over 3 months ago. Don’t know why that is. Maybe it’s all the leaf raking that I see going on right now in St. Louis. Mr. Jim loved to rake leaves. He was such a dear man.

So, I came up with this list of things that I’ll miss about him. Of course, this list isn’t exhaustive. There are many more things that I’ll always miss about him. There are many things that his death affirmed for me, in a way, and I’ll always be grateful for that, as well.

Here it is:

1. Seeing him standing on the sidelines of the Fellowship Hall with a coffee cup in his hand. That space will never be the same, for me.

2. His stories. I liked all of them. The one in which he was looking for the bus with a bowling ball bag in one hand and his blind man cane in his other hand was classic and hilarious. You have to love helpful, occasionally profane strangers who have hearts of gold. I wish that I could hear him tell me that story again.

3. The way he ate my food.

4. The way he put up with my crazy boys.

5. His generosity. What an understatement.

6. His sense of humor. The man could sum things up so very well and make you laugh in the process.

7. The way he told everyone about my driving. Mr. Jim seemed to think that I had some sort of kinship with Mario Andretti. When people I’d known for years suddenly became interested in the speedy nature of my driving I would know that Mr. Jim had told them all about it. This comes from the time when I drove Mr. Jim to church and he seriously didn’t believe that we were there yet because it should have been impossible. I know that he wanted to tell me that I drove like a bat out of hell but he didn’t.

8. How he could humorously rib you about something that had happened years earlier. He never let me live down forgetting to tell him that asparagus soup was on the menu at the Bread Co. Never.

9. Talking about a prayer warrior. He was one.

10. How he would fall out laughing when Jon started doing his mouth trumpet in the van. Every single time.

In a lot of ways, I think that you never get over the loss of a friend. Would you say that this is true?

Top Ten Things I Will Always Miss About Mr. Jim

I’ve been thinking about our friend, Mr. Jim, who died a little over 3 months ago. Don’t know why that is. Maybe it’s all the leaf raking that I see going on right now in St. Louis. Mr. Jim loved to rake leaves. He was such a dear man.

So, I came up with this list of things that I’ll miss about him. Of course, this list isn’t exhaustive. There are many more things that I’ll always miss about him. There are many things that his death affirmed for me, in a way, and I’ll always be grateful for that, as well.

Here it is:

1. Seeing him standing on the sidelines of the Fellowship Hall with a coffee cup in his hand. That space will never be the same, for me.

2. His stories. I liked all of them. The one in which he was looking for the bus with a bowling ball bag in one hand and his blind man cane in his other hand was classic and hilarious. You have to love helpful, occasionally profane strangers who have hearts of gold. I wish that I could hear him tell me that story again.

3. The way he ate my food.

4. The way he put up with my crazy boys.

5. His generosity. What an understatement.

6. His sense of humor. The man could sum things up so very well and make you laugh in the process.

7. The way he told everyone about my driving. Mr. Jim seemed to think that I had some sort of kinship with Mario Andretti. When people I’d known for years suddenly became interested in the speedy nature of my driving I would know that Mr. Jim had told them all about it. This comes from the time when I drove Mr. Jim to church and he seriously didn’t believe that we were there yet because it should have been impossible. I know that he wanted to tell me that I drove like a bat out of hell but he didn’t.

8. How he could humorously rib you about something that had happened years earlier. He never let me live down forgetting to tell him that asparagus soup was on the menu at the Bread Co. Never.

9. Talking about a prayer warrior. He was one.

10. How he would fall out laughing when Jon started doing his mouth trumpet in the van. Every single time.

In a lot of ways, I think that you never get over the loss of a friend. Would you say that this is true?