The Surprise

What's better than wanting something and waiting a long time to get it?

Getting surprised with that something!

That's what happened to our family last week. I had been missing my parents for months now and had no idea when the next time we'd get to visit them would be (due to the failing health of my Jadziu). But we understood this and didn't want to pressure them. We were okay sacrificing for a little bit. But the time and distance started becoming too much. I had even asked Chuck within the past month if we could take some money from savings so the kids and I could fly up to see them. But nothing really paned out. It was just way too costly.

Then came a week ago Friday. It was movie and pizza night. Bennett and Daddy were at his baseball end-of-season party. Chloe, Gavin and I were watching a movie that was lulling me to sleep. It was 8 o'clock at night. Someone knocked on the door. I thought it was the neighborhood kids since I'd recently heard them outside kicking the ball. I thought it went over the fence and they were coming to ask for it. Not.

I open the door and to my surprise there stood my parents. They drove 2, 11 hour days to get here. To see me. Well...okay, probably more than just me. But for that moment it was me. My first thought was how dirty my house was (of course). But once I jumped that hurdle, I just enjoyed the time. It was an amazing, wonderful week. Funny thing was....the week I wanted to fly up there to see them would have been that exact same week they came here. Now that wouldn't have worked out too well would it? How much better it was to wait. I'm reminded of a Bible verse: "Trust in the Lord and wait patiently for Him." It's always better that way.

A cozy little home I found for them that's a lot closer - on the grounds of the Dallas Arboretum.

Obsessed

My boys have become OBSESSED with this series of books. They eat, sleep, drink, talk nothing but this book. They've stopped playing and spend every spare minute reading. This would not be out of the norm for Gavin...but Bennett? The child has morphed into a book worm. He has read 5 of these books in one month. This is the son who would find any reason to not like a book, unless it was Hank the Cowdog. His criteria for a book are very high - it has to have good writing, be funny and enlist great characters. I guess he found the whole package in this series. I had no clue he would stop everything in order to read. He even asked to go to bed early on more than one occasion so he could have extra time to read! Who are you and what have you done with my son oh author of great stories? His goal this week is to finish the next book in two days. This is the child who would only read Calvin and Hobbes, graphic novels or books about cheetahs when there was nothing else to do. I'm loving this! I'm going to ride this wave as long as it lasts. I often find Gavin and Bennett in deep conversation through-out the day over the characters, what happens next, discussing the plot and talking about everything owl. Thank you Kathryn Lasky for writing such awesome books that makes my children want to get lost in the world of reading. Their imaginations will never be the same!

On a recent chat session Bennett & I were having over this little obsession, he explained the process called "Moonblinking". This is when the bad owls, have the good little owls stare at the moon and all recite their names at the same time. They are never supposed to look at the moon for long periods of time, the good owls know this. This effect is supposed to cause confusion for the little owls and change the essence of who they are. They are supposed to become mindless little minions of the 'bad owls' and forget who they are and where they came from. It's like being brain washed. At the end of this little lesson Bennett tells me, "Mom. I kinda like to think of last year at public school was like Gavin and me being "moonblinked". But it didn't work. Thanks for teaching us at home mom." Hmmm....maybe he's on to something.