It's a Vivas Thing!

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Lovin’ It!

I just love days like today! It started out kind of hectic, with trying to get the two little ones up and ready for school while trying to get B-boo and I out of the house first thing this morning. She had an evaluation today that would take up most of the day at the university, so I knew I'd be waiting for quite a while. I grabbed my Bible and study book, looking forward to some serious study time.

Once we got her settled in, I headed to the library. May I just say that I really liked it! I had a nice, big comfy chair, a little table all to myself, and complete and total me time. I can't remember ever being able to read or study anything without being interrupted. I spent two whole hours reading and studying about faith under pressure. It was awesome!

But the best part was the unexpected part. I just love it when that happens! My oldest son happened to have to be there today, so we got to have lunch with him. And then, after B-boo went back to finish, the Good-Looking One and I got to spend another 1 1/2 hours together, mostly just talking and enjoying a PomBlueberry thingie from the Coffee Bean. It was pretty good, but not near as good as spending half a day with my son.

B-boo and I finally made it home in just enough time to grab a quick "ah" moment, and then head over to youth swim night. Which was way cool…because I got to spend time with my friends, sitting around a table and talking and eating some amazing lasagna.

And then…we headed home. And not five minutes into the door, I was asked the following question:

"Mom! Who put the lizard in the freezer and why is his head split open?"

Well, it was nice while it lasted anyway….

See…It IS a Vivas Thing!

After a longggg day yesterday, I picked up the teens from spending some time at a local refugee *camp.* I don't think that is what it is really called, but they had gone to play games with the refugees. And they had fun, too! So afterward, our youth pastor takes them to Sonic. They go in to order and the next thing they know, they're being told to get back in the vans. The Talented One states he never saw our youth pastor move so fast, so he knew it was serious! All they saw outside was a tour bus and lots of police with rifles.

Fast forward to this morning. I'm sound asleep. I hear a voice calling, "Mom! Mom! Wake Up!"

I roll over in my bed in time to watch B-boo crumple to the floor. Swoosh! Just-like-that! (It was like she had turned into a rubberband…swoosh.)

(May I just state right now, that that is NOT the way a mom should have to get up in the morning! It is just plain rude!)

I yelled at hubby to wake up…WAKE UP! Something's wrong with B-boo!

She was mumbling and he was yelling at me to take her to ER while trying to figure out if she was ok or not. I ran downstairs to grab some pants. (Ok, the ONE TIME I run out of pj pants and regular pants is the one time I need them?!) As I ran downstairs, the Talented One comes running in asking me what is wrong. I tell him that his sister is upstairs on the floor and to go help dad. I grab the first set of pants that I see and meet them at the bottom of the stair case and off we go.

Didn't get to brush my teeth.

Didn't get to comb my hair.

I'm in my pj's.

She's fine, btw. She's been fighting a virus for a week and a half now and isn't resting properly. She's stubborn like that. She needs to drink more fluids and take care of herself.

Back to last night.

While we're in the ER, we talk to Punky about last night. We found out that an attempted robbery had happened and the guy with the gun had crashed into the bus that was in front of the Sonic that they kids were about to eat at. I am SO glad pastor got the kids out safe with his quick thinking.

Back to this morning.

B-boo has had a cough, too. So last night I gave her Nyquil. She took the CORRECT dose and almost 10 hours had passed before her little episode. But the Good-Looking one…he wonders if it was the Nyquil, just because one little time he took a little too much and ended up asleep in the bathroom. He just won't let it go! You'd think after over a decade he'd move past it, right? No, son, I did NOT overdose your sister!

See, it's times like this why we say, "It's a Vivas Thing!"

Hide-n-Seek

I'm sick and tired of seeing doctors. Really. I'm tired of waiting rooms and being told to be patient and take it easy and let myself recover. It's been 5 weeks already for goodness sake! I don't want to be told it will take 14 to 16 more weeks, or even a few more weeks. I don't want to be told to stay off the stairs and stay on the couch or my bed. Who wants to spend their time laying around all the time!?!

And I was dreading this morning's appointment, too.

But then, as we sat and waited, I watched this dark haired little girl with an orange balloon playing in a little cubby while her mommy waited to see the doctor. She was so cute; about three. And then, another mommy showed up with a little red haired girl about the same age. And the dark haired cutie asked,

"You wanna pway wif me?"

And the red haired girl says,

"Yeah!"

I sat there and chuckled at their three year old conversation. It's been a long time since I've had one that young! And then, the dark haired girls asked,

"Do you wanna pway hide en seek?"

"Yeah!" was the reply.

So the dark haired girl had the red haired girl count. And she was so cute, with her head against the wall, counting in her little girl voice while the dark haired girl raced across the waiting room with her orange balloon!

And I was reminded of times when my own children hid.

I remember when my oldest, now 22, was about the same age. Grandma was watching him and she called me in a panic one day. She had looked everywhere for him and couldn't find him anywhere. This went on forever; until she discovered him hiding under the organ bench, giggling while she frantically searched for him.

Or when my youngest, not even two, was our little Houdini. One day we were all sitting in the living room watching TV. On my way into the kitchen, I asked them all not to let her out of their sight. When I walked back into the living room, she was gone. Just…like…that.

No one had seen her move. We searched the house; searched outside. Searched the garage. We searched up and down the streets. And just when we frantically ran inside to call 911, I happened to catch a glimpse of her little lime green outfit. Behind her doll stroller. She was all tucked up under; watching; giggling. Hiding.

Or B-boo. Who was a climber. So much so, that at 10 months, we had to zip her into her crib. You can read about that here. Anyway, by the time she was about 18 months, she could climb anything. And I mean anything! I'd find her *hiding* on top of our 8 ft tall entertainment center! One day, I found her hiding on top of the refrigerator. She wasn't so much about hiding, I think, as about climbing. Until she could climb no more. We couldn't let her out of our sight, because we never knew where we'd find her!

And then there was the Smart One. He didn't do a lot of *physical* hiding, but he loved to hide under bowls. As in if he wasn't wearing them as a hat, he'd hide his face under them. Under blankets. He thought he was so cute. (So did we!)

And the Talented One. I remember him hiding his face in his hands, knowing that if he couldn't see us, we couldn't see him. We'd laugh and go along with it.

So, I guess the waiting room wasn't so bad today. I had the privilege of being taken back in time; somehow how finding those memories that had been hidden up until this morning.

Some Moments You Just Never Forget

18 years ago my oldest son had his 3rd birthday. Over the years we’ve had many laughs over this  birthday. You see, this particular year he wanted a pinata. He was so excited about that pinata! We filled it with candy together and got it all ready for his birthday party. Finally, the moment came! We hooked it up to a tree, lined up the children and let them have at it! And then it happened; my poor son plopped himself down near the flower garden and proceeded to cry. When I asked him what was wrong, he replied through his tears, “They’re breaking my pinata!” My poor son had not realized that we’d have to break it in order to get the candy out.


This is him then 

Fast forward 18 years, the boy who’s crying in the above pictures is now 21. Last weekend we celebrated my 40th birthday. I was so blessed to have many, many friends show up. My family worked hard to throw me a wonderful “Death by Chocolate” party.  As part of the festivities, my husband bought a huge pinata for the adults to break.

 


This is him now (he’s the one smiling and taking the picture)

My husband had the birthday girl (that’s be me) attack the pinata first. When I was done attempting to break it (and apparently injure anyone who got in the way!), I handed the pinata over to my now grown son. He promptly killed the thing. As we watched the kids waste no time in devouring the candy scattered all over the yard, I flashed back to that day when the first ever pinata was broken in our back yard. I couldn’t help but look over to the side of the yard and remember seeing him sitting there in tears. I had to chuckle at how he didn’t wast anytime breaking this pinata! I looked up at my now grown son and he knew what I was thinking because he had gone back to that day, too. He told me that he’d thought about not breaking the pinata at all, but instead going over there and sitting against the wall again after all these years. At that moment, I knew we had added another memory; one that would not be forgotten, but instead reflected on year after year. Once in while, we are blessed with that special moment in time, the one that makes you all warm and fuzzy inside and brings just the slightest tear that you barely manage to hold back.  This is my warm and fuzzy. I love you, son!