Mayfest and More

We went to Mayfest yesterday. It was our first time to go and we had a blast. We tried to get there in time to see Natalie dance, but found that leaving your house at 2:30, driving, parking, walking 25 minutes to get to the gate, waiting in line for 30 minutes to buy tickets, and then running across the park to get to her stage gets you there just after she's finished a little before 4. But we rode rides and watched shows with them afterwards so it was still fun.

Thomas had hurt his neck the previous morning. Bad enough that he spent the morning crying and laying on the couch. He started feeling better by Friday night and was actually sitting upright and playing with some toys (yeah!) but was still hurting a little yesterday morning. He even wanted to skip his t-ball game. Since he was acting better, just favoring one side a little, we encouraged him to go and try and he did fine. By yesterday afternoon, he was completely better. So he rode one of the wildest, scariest rides out there. The Scorpion.
See David and Thomas in the car on the top left? By the pole on the left? Crazy! I'll ride roller coasters all day long but you will NOT get me on one of these rides. By the way, the blur on this shot is intentional. :-) Look for a slightly better intentionally blurred shot on my Pics By Kim blog tomorrow.
And then after he got off, Bethany's friend Kendra wanted to ride and no one would ride with her so Thomas volunteered. Your 13 year old friend won't ride with you? Ask a 5 year old! :)
At dinner last night, Thomas heard a song on the radio, "You Raise Me Up," and asked who was singing that song. I said I didn't know. He said, "Well, is it Ben?" A You Tube search later proved that it was Josh Groban. Josh Groban or my cousin Ben. Easy to get the two confused. :-)

On the way home, David and I giggled after listening to me say something that we never thought I'd have to say, "Don't spit in the car and don't spit on your brother." Boy the things we have to deal with as parents. :-)

Eat at Billadelphia!

Please!! We've been in there for the last four Saturdays after Thomas' t-ball games and each Saturday he gives us something. Two baseballs, a ball stand, free food, and this Saturday, he gave Thomas 2 free Rangers tickets (up to a 45 dollar value). We need more of you to eat there because he's sure not making any money off of us. So if you're in our area, or when you visit...eat at Billadelphia! :-)

Phone Prank

Thomas wanted to call David with my cell phone today. He giggled and said, "I'm going to answer like Twopa did, you know how he'd answer 'Pool hall, eight ball speaking' well I'm going to do that to my father!" Never mind the fact that you only say Grandpa's joke when you're on the receiving end of the call and not the initiator. So he pushed the speed dial button, and as David answered, Thomas, through his laughter, said, "Pool hall, eight ball speaking!" David asked him a few questions and then Thomas answered, "I'm with your wife." What fancy ways this boy is talking these days. Is he five or 50?

Sick

I had it yesterday. Blamed it on bad food from Genghis Grill the day before. Then Thomas woke up with it today. He wasn't at Genghis Grill. So it must be a bug. And you KNOW Thomas is sick when he asks to take a nap, on the couch, in the middle of the day, for an hour and a half. Then the boy wakes up, says he's feeling a little better and might like to try some orange juice. I concede, but water down the juice just in case. 20 minutes later, I'm cleaning the couch. My first response was that it's a good thing we have old furniture. But after cleaning the mess for 30 minutes, I'm thinking it's time for leather sofas.

Whistling, Funerals, and Food

If you read the last post, you know that we've been listening to Grandpa's funeral a lot in the car. We keep pausing it to discuss. "Who's Thomas F. and Emma?" "How did he get a purple heart?" "Why was there a bomb in the road?" "Why are you sniffing when you were talking?" "Why do you keep saying the same thing every time we hear this?" "Why didn't you call him Tom?" "Am I one of the 7 grandkids or 8 great grandkids?" And on and on. He definitely knows the order of the CD and tells me exactly who he wants to hear and when.

We were listening to it yesterday and Thomas again talked about Twopa's train whistle. He was practicing his version as we were driving to the store. When I got out and opened the door, both boys were trying it. So glad I had my camera with me!

One story from the funeral I haven't shared yet is when Thomas was asking me what he should say to Grandma when he saw her in Lubbock. I told him the best thing to say is, "I'm sorry Twopa died" or "I'm sorry for your loss." 4 or 5 words everyone should know. Little words that mean a lot. Thomas thought about it a minute and said, "How 'bout if I say 'Too bad Twopa died?'" I said thought my suggestions were probably a better way to go. I'm not sure he actually said anything to her when we go to their house, but since he's 5 he can get away with that. If he'd been older, or I'd been less distracted, I'd have made sure he said something one way or another.

I know I wrote about eating lunch after his t-ball game and him signing his autograph. Last Saturday, he wanted to go back there to eat to see if his autograph was still posted. It was. And as the owner noticed Thomas, he yelled out to him "Hey, it's THOMAS!" Thomas had a huge grin on his face. Then he suggested that another customer might want Thomas' autograph so he got one too. And Thomas got another ball, a Phillies hall of famer. Two nights ago, Thomas said, "Mommy, can we go eat at the same place again after my game on Saturday?" I said, "Maybe so." He said, "Mommy, the answer isn't 'maybe so' it's 'yes!'"

Grandpa's Funeral

Hi everyone. Grandma sent me a copy of Grandpa's funeral on CD and I thought it was so beautiful, I spent an hour and a half, actually now we're up to 2 hours, figuring out how to get it here so you could hear it. I'm not posting the pastor's sermon although that was beautiful too. I'm just posting the family members' contributions. I hope you enjoy them. Just click on the play button for each selection. You'll see it in the oblong oval with the word "box" in it. That's the site that's hosting the audio for me. Don't click on the mp3 link unless you want to download it to your own computer.

During the actual funeral, my cousin, Jeremy, went first and gave a beautiful eulogy. My brother, Mike, went second and read several of Grandpa's poems. I went third. My uncle, Bobby, and cousin, Ben, went last playing and singing the two songs. How Great Thou Art was first and Beulah Land was the last thing before the pastor spoke.

How Great Thou Art

Bobby playing and Ben and two friends singing. Wasn't Bobby's playing awesome? I know Grandpa was up in Heaven loving listening to his incredibly talented son playing so beautifully for him. And I absolutely love Ben's voice, that's why we had him sing at our wedding 15 years ago.
How Great Thou Art.mp3

Beulah Land

Bobby playing, Ben and two of his friends singing. Absolutely beautiful. I cry every time I hear it.
Beulah Land.mp3

Jeremy's Speech

My cousin, Jeremy, the former youth minister, gave the eulogy. Doesn't he have an awesome voice? Very pastorly. :-)
Jeremy's Speech.mp3

Mike's Speech

My brother, Mike, read three of Grandpa's poems. One of which you've read here on this blog. I think you'll enjoy the other two. They're funny. Excellent job Mike!!
Mike's Speech.mp3

My Speech

Here's my speech. First of all, I had no idea the Texas twang I had until I heard myself speak for 5 minutes. Wow! And secondly, you know I'm such a perfectionist that I just have to point out that I know that I should have said, "...things his grandkids thought WERE special" but I'm going to give myself a break here. It was my grandfather's funeral and I was up on stage speaking in front of at least a hundred people.

Thomas likes hearing this speech in the car. He loves hearing the part where I talk about him. And every time, he agrees with me that yep, he did love Grandpa's train whistle. After he listened to it a time or two, he asked me, "Mommy, why are you going like this?" and sniffed his nose a couple times. I explained that I was crying. "Why were you crying?" "Well, it was his funeral and I was sad he's not here with us anymore." "Well, his BODY'S here on Earth, right, Mommy?" "That's right Thomas." "But his soul is in Heaven with Jesus, right, Mommy?" "That's right baby."
Kim's Speech.mp3

The Best Channel Ever

We've been listening to XM Kids a lot in the car this past week. Thomas LOVES XM Kids. As we're walking out to the car, he's already asking if we can listen to his channel. Like he even needs to ask. That's all that's played in the car for 7 straight days. This afternoon, we were driving and listening to XM Kids and some of his favorite songs played in a row. First came the Momisms song by Anita Renfroe that's been a hit on You Tube.

I think it's hilarious and so does my son. So far, he hasn't heard me say some of the typical mom sayings like "If your friends all jumped off a cliff, would you jump too?" and "Stop crying or I'll give you something real to cry about!" and cackles listening to them. And he loves when she asks her kids to please try a food they hate because he HAS been there.

So that song played and then a Naked Brothers Band song came on, followed by a song from Lazytown and then capped by a song from Shrek. He could hardly contain his glee. "Mommy, this is the BEST CHANNEL EVER!!!

Three Mealtime Stories

Tonight I have three stories to share with you. Two happened tonight at dinner. We went to David's Barbecue after swim lessons with my mom. An elderly couple in the next booth were watching the boys playing together and smiling. The woman in particular was very friendly and asking how long Jonathan had been walking and then listened as Thomas explained all about that and 10 other things. After a couple minutes, we turned around to start eating. Thomas said in a relatively loud voice, "Mommy, that sure was a nice old lady." I said, "Yes, she was a very nice lady." He said, in an even louder voice, "No, Mommy, I said she was a nice OLD lady." And they're still sitting behind us at the next table...

Also at dinner tonight, I noticed Thomas wiping ketchup off his arm and I thought he was using his sleeve so I asked him to please use a napkin. He turned around and said, "But I'm using a french fry!"

And last night at dinner (we've eaten out a lot this week), the waitress really took a shine to Thomas and he talked her ear off. Toward the end of the meal, she asked him what his name was. He told her. Then she asked how old he was and he said, "Five!" Then she grinned and told David and me how cute he was and that she just loved him. After she walked away, Thomas said, "Let's just pretend I didn't hear that."

Irony

Hmmm. What to wear? The Texas Tech hat your parents bought for you or the A&M clothes Natalie gave you for your birthday? Both!

Games and Food

After Thomas' t-ball game on Saturday, we went out to eat lunch at a local cheesesteak place called Billadelphia. The owner was SO nice to Thomas and asked him all kinds of questions about his game. When Thomas told him they'd won and that he'd gotten two hits and scored two runs, he told Thomas he'd need his autograph for when he got famous. So Thomas wrote his name and number down and the owner immediately put it on the wall by the cash register, see pic below. He also came out later as we were eating and gave Thomas a Phillies baseball and ball rack to keep his other balls on. Very nice man and the cheesesteaks weren't too bad either! We'll definitely be going back.
On Friday after school, the boys and I went to the mall to get them some new shoes. We ate lunch at the food court first and as we were walking up to Chick-Fil-A, Thomas noticed a man standing there in a black and white striped shirt and black pants. He motioned to me and whispered, "Is that guy a prisoner?" I chuckled and said, "No honey, he works at Foot Locker."

Wednesday night, David took the boys to McDonald's after t-ball practice. I'd gone out with mom and some friends to play bingo. I've played twice and it's a lot of fun even when you don't win. But anyway, as they were in the drive-through about to order, Thomas was explaining to David all about how to order Jonathan's Happy Meal. He told him that Mommy always ordered Jonathan a toddler toy and not a big kid toy, something that is new as Jonathan now eats enough to merit his own meal. Then after David correctly ordered, Thomas praised him for doing such a good job.

Which Do You Like Best?

Contemplative Thomas
or Silly Thomas

A Couple Stories For You

Well, I haven't posted anything in a while and have been meaning to for a week or so. Now I think I've waited too long and I can't remember all of the funny stories I wanted to share with you. So you'll just have to make do with the ones I did remember.

My mom's great-grandmother used to make her peanut butter and banana sandwiches. I make mine the same way my mom learned, by mashing the peanut butter and banana together. After almost 15 years of marriage, my hubby who will eat anything, still has yet to try one. Thomas just discovered the yummy gooeyness of a good peanut butter and banana sandwich and wanted to share it with his daddy. David absolutely refused. Then a couple days later, we had spinach and cheese pasta for dinner. Thomas tried it and liked it. As he ate it, he said, "Daddy since I tried this green pasta, you need to try the peanut butter and banana sandwich." David said he guessed Thomas would never have to try anything new again because he wasn't about to do that.

The boys and I were at Discount Tire last week getting a new tire put on my van, what a joy that was to make not one, not two, but three trips to Discount Tire over the course of two days, but I digress. Jonathan was in the stroller and Thomas was sitting on my lap sharing some freeze dried apples with him. Next to us was a morbidly obese woman. After several minutes, Thomas leaned back, and whispered very quietly in my ear, "Mommy, that lady is like a big round ball with a head on top." I whispered back my fervent thanks that he didn't yell it out loud and embarrass his mommy on an already stressful day.

Thomas has been playing soccer for about a month now. He tries and I think he likes it but it's not his thing yet. He has now progressed to running WITH the pack instead of behind it but he's not aggressive enough to take the ball away from anyone. If the ball spurts out, then he'll dribble down the field. It's only through the good shot timing and the magic of cropping that I got shots on my other blog that make it look like he's really good, but we know the truth. :-) Now t-ball on the other hand, is a little more his cup of tea. You don't have to take the ball from anyone, you play in your own position and don't have to run with a pack of 11 other boys. It was only as he started trying to learn the game that we realized how complicated baseball actually is. He can field the ball pretty well. And he can throw reasonably well, but he's just not a fast runner. Running bases is hard. When do you go, when do you stay? And he gets upset if he gets out. I was talking to him after practice the other day about that and trying to explain that everyone gets out sometime or another and that it wasn't anything to cry about, as he's been told "There's no crying in baseball!" He said, "Well, if you get out, are you out for the rest of the game?" It's a complicated game we Americans love.

Missing Grandpa

I'm a very lucky woman. I knew not only my grandparents, of which I had four+1 (Pa remarried after Granny died, so Bill is the +1) but I also knew 4 of my great-grandparents, and TWO great-great-grandmothers. I have friends who never even got to meet their grandparents. How lucky am I? Even knowing I'm lucky doesn't change the fact that I'm sad for myself, for my kids, for my mother, and especially for my grandmother, his wife of 61 years, that my beloved Grandpa is in Heaven now.

• I'll never get to see that twinkle in his eye as he tries, and always gives himself away, cheating at cards.
• I'll never hear him make that awesome train whistle sound with his hands.
• We'll never get to play Wii Bowling with him again.
• I'll never get to argue with him over who gets to pick up the tab for lunch.
• I'll never get to be on another road trip with him, have him slam on the brakes and honk the horn and ask us if we saw that elephant.
• I'll never have him walk me to my car as I'm leaving their house and spend 15 minutes asking me how many miles I have on it, am I sure I like driving a foreign car, and any other question he could think of to stall my departure.
• He'll never write any more poems for us or draw any more Mickey Mouses.

He is in a better place, and playing with Old Zackie Boy, and knowing that helps. I'm sad today because I found a song by the piano that I meant to learn to play for him and never did.

So I leave you today with a poem he wrote. This one is untitled, but he wrote it for my Grandma.

All she thought she really wanted
Was just a little kiss
As they sat so close together
Her thoughts he couldn’t miss
But that was forty years ago
Before grandkids and such
How can such a little thing
Turn out to be so much

Grandpa

I spoke at his funeral on Wednesday. I was nervous and emotional and was going to try to write something better here. But I'm stuck. So I'm just going to post what I've got so far.

I was very lucky to be his first grandchild. I had 37 years with him as my Grandpa. He was a special man.

Kids can really make you weepy and lighten the moment sometimes all at the same time. On Thomas' birthday, I was in Lubbock helping at the hospital with Grandpa. I called him early that morning to sing Happy Birthday to him. After I finished, he said, "Thank you, Mommy. Do we need to come to Lubbock? Is Twopa bad or good?"

On Tuesday morning, after his death on Saturday, we were driving over to Grandma's from Dale and Wanda's when Thomas asked me, "Why did Twopa have to die?" I explained that it was his time to go be with Jesus. He then talked about how Twopa was in heaven with Zack, our dog who died a year ago, and said, "Well, he'd better watch out!" I asked why and he said, "Old Zackie Boy bites!" After we stopped laughing, I told him I doubted Zack bit in heaven.


It was an honor and a priviledge to be there to help while he was dying. I could fluff his pillow and adjust it just right to suit his stiff neck. I could swab his mouth with a wet sponge when he wasn't allowed to drink anymore. And I could anticipate his needs and try to accomodate them: covers on or off, a Snickers bar, adjusting his position in the bed, time for more meds, etc. And as it got harder for him to speak and be understood, I was one of the ones who was able to interpret for him.


The day before he died, he had basically lost most of his ability to talk and couldn't get my name out, but as I walked by his bed on the way to get some snacks out in the hall, he pointed at me and said, "Her. Her. Her." Grandma was sitting by his bed, heard him and told me so I happily dropped my purse and sat and held his hand for a long time.


Although I wasn't there when he died, I'm so glad that my grandmother, my parents, my aunt, my two uncles, and two of my cousins and their wives were there by his bedside as he took his last breath. He was a family man and it's just like him to wait till they were all there surrounding his bed before he would go. As a matter of fact, the day before, I was in the room with him and his good friend, Bill, just the three of us, when he said, the loudest, clearest thing he'd said all day, "No! I can't go yet!" He wanted to wait till more loved ones were near.

Guitar Hero

We got Guitar Hero a couple weeks ago and have had a blast playing it. Thomas enjoys trying it. I'm better than Thomas. And David is the master. When Dale and Wanda were here Super Bowl weekend, Thomas wanted to show them how good he was at Guitar Hero. So he tried playing a song and quickly got booed off the stage. Then I played a song. Wanda told Thomas, "Your Mommy is pretty good." Thomas said, "Yeah, but my Daddy's better."

Earlier this week, we went to Chuck E. Cheese and while we were there "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" started playing in the background. Thomas got very excited and yelled, "Mommy! This is the song from Guitar Hero!!!" It reminds me of my teenage years, but reminds him of a video game. :-)