My Awesome Boys!

My mother gave me a framed picture she found when she was cleaning out my grandmother's house a while back.  It is a picture of Jacob and me before we got married.  It is now sitting on the nightstand beside my bed.  Last night Jacob and I were watching the end of a football game before bed and I glanced over and saw the picture.  Our younger and thinner faces smiled up at me from the frame.  Sometimes I look at our engagement pictures or our wedding photos and I can't believe how much we have changed in the last 8-10 years. We are now in our 30s and no longer the young "twenty-somethings" we once were. In the beginning (of us) it was about us.  We went out every Friday and Saturday night, we would go shopping on the weekends and spend money on movies, music, clothes -- pretty much anything we wanted we could buy.  Then, one day in 2004 I started feeling overly tired.  For the first few days I thought maybe I was dehydrated or coming down with something.  I had a horrible taste in my mouth and felt like I was going to be ill if I didn't eat every couple of hours or so.  Ha. We eventually learned that I was pregnant.

And, as they say, our lives were never the same.  Yes, I am about to brag about my boys -- but what mother doesn't feel the need to brag about their children -- especially when they have to overcome obstacles each and every day -- or they want to make the whole world happy (as Logan says).

I lost my young, thin, 20-something figure and the focus was no longer about us. Time flew and eventually Alex joined our family -- and changed us for life.  I remember how tiny he was.  When he would wake up at 2:00 in the morning Jacob would get up with me and turn on the TV.  He'd keep me company while I fed Alex or rocked him -- some nights he would even rock Alex. We would ask each other how we ever lived without this amazing little person in our lives!  When Alex was about 7 months old I found out I was pregnant with Logan.  I remember worrying about Jacob's reaction as I watched Alex laying on a blanket on the floor slobbering on his baby toys.  Jacob came home from work that day and I told him I was pregnant.  I wondered if he was going to feel stressed, overwhelmed, or even shocked that we had an infant and now had another one on the way.  Jacob smiled and said, "That's great!  I love babies!"

Eventually, our little family grew to four. Now when we go shopping it's usually for new shoes or clothes for the boys.  When I buy groceries I have to make sure we have certain snacks for the boys.  I have learned that I love taking care of my family.  I love helping the boys with homework and taking them to school.  I love being able to go with Alex to all of his therapy sessions and talk with his therapists and work with them as a team to give Alex everything he needs.

Alex's schedule tends to keep us busy. He has therapy almost every day after school and we also have to work on some therapy and exercises with him at home -- not to mention the homework he brings home from school.  We bought some polyester athletic shirts for Alex because one of his therapists told us the feel of it will calm him on rough days.  She was right.  He loves the shirts and smiles and rubs them against his body on days that he wears them/needs them.  He takes a deep breath and gets a hug from mom and we're off to start our day.  Alex also has to wear hi-tops for ankle support. He is VERY picky about his shoes and we only found one pair of hi-tops he liked.  Well, when you wear the same pair of shoes all day, every day, they wear out quickly.  So, we decided he could use a second pair of hi-tops -- plus, having more than one pair would allow Alex to pick which pair he wants to wear and would help him with his decision making. We found these cool Spider-Man hi-tops and we knew we had to buy them.  Anyone who knows Alex knows he LOVES Spider-Man.  He was so excited when we bought the shoes for him. 

Alex wearing his "therapy" shirt and his new Spider-Man shoes.  He was a happy boy on this day! 

Yesterday, Logan told me one of the boys in his class was wearing hi-tops and he asked the boy if he had to wear them for his feet.  He said, "Momma, that boy didn't know what I was talking about."  I tried to explain to him that not all children have to wear hi-tops like Alex does and that some children just wear them because they want to wear them.  It is interesting that Logan is starting to notice all of these little things going on with his big brother. Alex has to do sit-ups to help with upper body strength and most days Logan will join him and say, "I'll do them with you, big brother, so you'll have a friend."  It's just sweet to see them interact that way. Even though I would love for them to stay little forever it is fun to watch the boys grow -- to watch their personalities grow and watch them succeed at things.  I love watching their faces light up when they finally do something they have been trying to do for a long time.  I love watching Alex overcome obstacles and even though he has to work twice as hard to do some things he never complains.  He keeps trying and he takes things as they come and I love that about him! 

Logan is always making me laugh.  He wants to know everything about everything and even when you think you've explained it as much as it can be explained, you still hear another little, "But why?"  He has a big heart and cares about everyone around him.  Jacob and I were given two amazing little boys and I am thankful for them each and every day. 

Logan playing flag football with Jacob -- he is my funny, happy boy!


I was given two awesome boys.  There are challenging days but at the end of the day everything seems to fall into place.  Some day, when these two, sweet-faced little boys are in college I will be able to look back on these days and smile because I am having a blast with my boys and I couldn't be prouder of them!