The Dawsons go to Washington

John Will's Uncle Bob Dawson was buried at Arlington National Cemetery this past Tuesday Feb. 21st. So, we went to Washington D.C. over the long Presidents Day weekend.  We went with JW's parents and his sister Gini and her family. We had a great trip. This is what Uncle Bob wanted. All the family to meet in D.C. and be able to enjoy a family vacation. I think he would have been happy. 

The weather cooperated and was sunny and cool most days which was great because we walked everywhere. I am planning to do another post when I can get all my pictures and blogger to cooperate. This is the second time I have typed out this post. More pictures to come soon....

Boys at Nashville airport waiting to board the plane

 All four cousins at the White House welcome center before we toured the White House.

Taking a rest at the Lincoln Memorial after walking all the way up the Mall from the Washington Monument

 Lincoln

Capitol Visitors Center

JW and boys standing on steps of the Supreme Court

Capitol Dome

Sweet Sara Walker

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/sarawalker

If you don't know the story of sweet Sara Walker, then keep reading. She is a 34 yr old mother and wife. She has two precious boys and one beautiful little girl (Anna) already in heaven because she was (full term) stillborn. About a month after Anna was born, Sara found out she had colon cancer. She has chronicled her story on her Caringbridge site which I have included a link to above. Her life is a testimony to the love of Jesus Christ. Grab a cup of coffee and start reading at the beginning. Your life will never be the same after reading her journal. I felt a strange connection to Sara the very first time I heard about her story. I have gotten to know her and have fallen in love with her along with the rest of the world.

Please keep her in your prayers as she continues to fight for complete healing and also continues to spread the Gospel. I am convinced she will someday be a household name! She plans to continue to write and spread the good news of our Lord and Savior in a big way!

Update

Quick update on Greta:

She is doing so much better! I am so pleased to be able to say this, because she was one day away from being cut open for exploratory surgery and biopsies. I will spare you the details, but her digestive tract seems much healthier! I am so glad we did not put her through surgery and anesthesia. She is still blind as a bat and I have had to fish her out of the pond once, but other than that she gets around pretty good.

The weeks leading up to Christmas were pretty hard on me thinking we were going to have to put her to sleep. I did not get as much done as I had hoped I would, but that's life sometimes, right?

We are back in the swing of life here in 2012 and I am trying, unsuccessfully, to organize the house and my life.

My boys love playing Angry Birds. I have never once played it and find the music annoying. Apparently, I am in the minority since it is extremely popular all over the world. Will made these out of a set of clay he got for Christmas. I thought the detail was pretty amazing.

Both boys are doing great in school and continue to love going every day. I am so thankful for our school and our amazing teachers. My respect for teachers continues to grow as I witness what an important and difficult job they have.

I still teach my 2 year olds on Sunday mornings and have just started a new Beth Moore Bible study on Wednesday nights. I have signed up for the half marathon again in April, so I will soon have to start running seriously again.

We are planning a trip to Washington D.C. in February because John Will's Uncle Bob passed away and is being buried at Arlington National Cemetary. This is a blog post all by itself, but I just mention it now because it will take much planning and preparation between now and when we leave.

Life is good and we are blessed. God is good all the time.


(P.S. The reason I have time to sit and type out this long post is b/c it is a snow day here and Ryan had the stomach virus last night. So, we aren't going anywhere today.)

My sweet Greta

My sweet Greta girl. She is now totally blind. No light is getting through her eyes. She has been very sick for the past few weeks too. I will spare you the details, but this includes me waking up to a huge mess every morning.  I have been mad, disgusted, and frustrated by this whole situation. I have taken her to the vet, she is on 3 medications and prescription dog food. Caring for her takes a huge part of my day. She is only 10.

Now, I am just sad. 

I finally lost it this morning as I sat at the computer on this glorious sunny morning. I saw her sitting and looking out the window like she always does, but I realized she saw nothing. And that was it for me. I finally started crying. This dog was my first baby. I threw a first birthday party for her complete with a cake and gifts. She has been through so much with me. She has helped me welcome two babies into this world.  She has been everywhere with us. We are the annoying dog people who treat her like a human. She sleeps in our bed and she is welcome everywhere we go. She has been my girl for 10 years. I can't bear the thought of losing her, but I know it's coming.

"And tears come streaming down your face

When you lose something you can't replace

Lights will guide you home

And ignite your bones

And I will try to fix you"

Coldplay

My Thankful Post

At ages 5 and 8, I am still amazed by them. I wonder why God chose me to be the Mother to these two precious souls. I am so very blessed by them and they teach me far more than I will ever teach them. I am thankful for so much in my life, but these 2 are always at the top of the list.  

It's Football Time!!

JW took Will this past weekend to his very first UT football game. It was the perfect day, they had great seats, and they both had a blast. JW went to his first UT football game when he was 8 years old too, so he was really excited for Will to experience Neyland Stadium. (JW's first game was the 1982 Alabama game when the field was rushed and goal posts came down. Cincinatti game wasn't quite the same!)

 WHAT?? My babydog is old enough to play football?? How did this happen??

Well, at least it is just flag football, so no helmets or tackling is involved, but still....

Look at him there on the right with his game face on. He wouldn't smile for the camera, he is so funny. His first game was this past Saturday and he scored 2 touchdowns!! It was great. We were all kind of floored at his natural skill and how much he loves it. His coaches are great and it is a fun group of little boys.

This Mama is just pressing on.....slowly accepting that they are both in school everyday. I have to fight my urge to walk around in a daze eating peanut butter M&M's and drinking diet dr. pepper. I am really thankful I am staying busy at school as Room Mom.  I have a half marathon coming up in November that I need to start seriously training for.......AHH!  I have so much other stuff going on with friends and family that I devote my time to as well. Everywhere I look I see people in need and projects that I could give my time to, so I am learning to pick and choose and know that I can't save everyone.

We are blessed and life is good.

Ch-Ch-Changes

I haven't written on the blog for so long because I really don't know where to start.

Do I write about my feelings of Ryan starting Kindergarten? That is more of a book, not just a blog post. (Oh, and he can't get out of the car fast enough in the morning.)

About how I feel so strange about turning 36? (And no, I didn't just have to use a calculator to figure out how old I am. Maybe.)

About how I really don't like change. I remember being so upset when my Mother wanted to go from colored lights to all white lights on our Christmas tree. So, both of my babies being in school everyday is a big deal.

About my Dad calling last night to tell me about how he is updating their will and that I needed to know some of the details. I put my fingers in my ears and said "lalala....I'm not listening." Because if I don't listen and don't know then I don't have to think about it and it's not real.

The blog post that I could write if I chose to think about everything is so cliched that I almost can't bear my own thoughts. I'm not the only person that has had their baby start Kindergarten. I'm not the only person to experience these weird growing pains. Now that everyone in my house can go to the bathroom and brush their teeth BY THEMSELVES, what is my purpose? I know, parenting never ends. But it sure is easier when your worries are sleeping, eating, and changing diapers.

And now to finish this cliche of a blog post, I will leave you with the words of Stevie Nicks. She wrote Landslide at age 27. She is now 62 and still rocking.

Well I've been afraid of changing cause I've built my life around you.
But time makes you bolder
Children get older
I'm getting older too