A Grand Celebration

Oliver, engine #11 arrived today, all the way from texas to come live with us and he got here just in time.

Denver said he wanted to throw his trains a party today,

i told him thats the best idea i've heard in sixty years.

what a party it was too.

Ode to Thomas number 1 tank engine & all his friends.

i wonder what bum is gonna cook up next.

~Indulge your imagination in every possible flight.~

Jane Austen




 

Dear Denver

dear denver.

there are so many things i have to thank you for. thank you for showing me the beauty in so many things.

thank you for getting my butt out of the house and into nature where we make our endless discoveries.

thank you for continually making me laugh in everything you do and say.

 you are so good for my soul.

thank you for showing me that little boys are magical, remedial and gentle.

you speak for so many. you have changed my perspective for the better.

and by that you have made me a better person.

thank you for showing me the beauty in trains. your passion has opened up new doors and enlightened my world just a little more. you have taught me so much, especially how to spot a train from miles away.

i will forever appreciate them for the joy they have brought into your life. my life.

thank you for being the best little brother and big brother all at the same time.

you love these girls with all your heart and it shows.

you have the most gentle tone and touch when holding and playing with london and look up to nev like she is your hero. because she is.

thank you for your unconditional love.

you tender touch and unlimited kisses and hugs.

thank you for loving me and telling me.

 thank you for your trust in me.i know i can trust you too.

thank you for your respect and understanding and for knowing what i need right when i need it.

today out of the blue, you told me 'mom, im so glad your here'.

and im so glad your here too.

that kind of love is for real. like no other, and its all i need. better than gold or riches.... by far.

thank you for loving me even when im grumpy, or ugly. you see through me, straight into my soul.

 thank you for always being in your true colors, for showing me what little boys are all about.

thank you for cuddeling up and watching A Haunting with me for the zillionth time.

and for being the only one in the family who will eat my cooking, other than me.

thank you for today and thank you for tomorrow.

you are perfect proof that God does not give us what we want, but what we need.

we need you baby boy. i need you.

the whole wide world needs you.



A Special Delivery

a long awaited day has finally arrived. a day that could not have come any sooner. 

mama wanted to get her little guy something special. something he truly wanted and longed for that would make his days a little happier around here. he had been asking for weeks for the trains Annie & Clarabelle for his Thomas table and i ordered them right up off the internet. mission accomplished. so i thought.

we eagerly awaited the mail every day. but days turned into weeks. and for a 3yr old, that seems like an eternity.

i tracked the order, and to my dismay the order originated in no other than CHINA.

 if it wasn't for bad luck, i wouldnt have any at all.

we began to get on with our life,we stopped stampeding to the mailbox every time we heard the dog bark, and even quit stalking the mailman.

 i hope bum comes out of this unscarred.

but this morning the bell rang and it was a box that needed signed for.  from China.

Special Delivery indeed.

 the sparkles in his eyes and smile a mile wide lit up the whole room.

he couldnt wait to get his happy little hands on them.

Nev did the honors of opening the box after a long fight with the tape and scissors. 

 yay for team work. 

Love ya Sis:)

                                                                          

and so Denver wasted no time. Annie & Clarabelle were escorted straight to the Island of Sodor in a moments time and Bum has been busy ever since. I will never forget the sound of the train table in full action heard from other rooms of the house. clinks and clanks and a random crash to the floor because someone derailed. the rolling of the wheels on the tracks, his choo choo sounds and endless conversations with the trains. i believe those sounds will forever echo in my heart till the end of  time. perhaps they are being recorded in the environment as well. and who knows, maybe the next occupents of this home might just hear them too.   

and even though it is offically spring, as Bum finished opening his package, he looked out the window and discovered ...snow. it was snowing. big fluffly flakes. i think it is old man winter's final fairwell.

a goodbye kiss. 

 Bum runs to the window and says: its Christmas mom! and me and Nev laughed. 

 but this is Chistmas. a package of pure happiness delivered straight to our door, (from CHINA), the kids happy, healthy, together, and to top it off, chinese for lunch. Merry Christmas my sweet little man. Merry chinese christmas.  

and as for Annie & Clarabell, i think they are gonna like it here. 

A boy's story is the best story ever told. ~Charles Dickens

A Passion for Trains & kitchen floors

Denver's very busy these days, spending most of his time on the kitchen hardwood floor, pulling his trains around... and around.... and around.

it seems he is living in his own little world, caring not much about anything else. who knew a few little magnetic trains would keep a boy so occupied for hours on end.

seeing him happy melts our hearts, but we didn't know how much until an innocent trip to Books & Company, where he discovered this..

a real Thomas the Train, train table, and he was all about business from that moment on.  We didn't really intend on spending our afternoon at a book store, but neither Brian or I had the heart to drag him away, so we took our seats on a bench in the front row. Eventually, a little girl straggled in and thought she would partake in some of the fun, but Denver had other plans.

Being the sweet, kind-hearted gentelman that he is, and instead of hurting the girls feelings, he walked straight up to her dad and asked him if they could leave. 

Nothing like a real man to man, because it worked, I never seen them again.

A few minutes later, another girl came along, and her mom must have had the same idea and also took a seat in the front row to dwell in her daughters joy. I had a feeling this might not go as well as the last episode.

when the girl reached over the track, Denver looked at her mother and said "well, I think she's ready to leave now".  If looks could kill I'd be dead.

It was time to go.

  Craigslist, $50 bucks, and 24 hours later he had one of his very own to enjoy in the privacy of his own home, no one to get in his way, or cramp his style.

and not a moment too soon.  No more rolling across the kitchen floor in the middle of the night, or kitchen lookin like the island of Sodor, or lost trains...or, so I thought.  A few trains found their way back to the kitchen floor, so I ripped up his carpet and shined his floor, that ought to do it.

and when he first seen it, he told everyone to come see his kitchen.

and so, this is Bum's domaine. his habitat. his heavenly grounds. his very own Island of Sodor. his kitchen. and with that, the time has come. he has lost all interest in anything outdoors, the joy of Netflix, or even going potty on his own without having to be escorted....by force.

he has even lost the will to eat, afraid of putting his trains down and walking away from his

table in fear it may dissappear. in mid air. poof. gone.

once in a while he'll straggle in to bum a cup of milk, or bowl of pineapples, for survival purposes only.

I don't know what tomorrow holds, but what I do know, is that today, 

my boy is happy. just him. a bum in his glory. his trains. his table, and his kitchen.

  ~An unhappy boy is often one who is hungry, or tired, or both.~

(Life Lessons on Raising a Boy), Harry Harrison.