Indian Summer

 Landon, you turned ten this year, I can't believe I've known you for an entire decade...

The word decade sounds so formal and seems to have such a weighty substance to it. 

On your actual birthday you were quick to remind me that in eight years you'll be leaving me, and just like that you had my heart doing somersaults in my chest. When you saw the look of horror on my face, your face broke into a huge smile. It was the kind of smile that actually makes your eyes crinkle and your whole face light up in a very sly and mischievous way. This little sly smile of yours seems to be making an appearance more and more, as you get older and craftier. Thank goodness for that smattering of freckles that dusts your nose to keep you resembling my little boy while the rest of you seems to be outgrowing all of your clothes and shoes. You are all arms and legs now! 

I have been writing you these birthday letters for 6ish years now and this year I will be honest and admit that I am STRUGGLING to write words. Hence it is November 19th and I still have not finished this letter. This year feels like nothing has really changed YET I sense that you are on the precipice of change that I am not ready for. I think that by putting to words all of the thoughts in my mind about you and this amazing decade we have had together also makes me think about what the future holds. And I really am so excited for the future but saying goodbye to the little boy Landon is not something I look forward to. 

I guess lately I have begun to have this very real awareness that we are coming to the end of a season and are about to enter into a new one. For now I am trying to soak up these in-between days and I don't want them to end. I think I am realizing that we are in our Indian Summer days with you as you walk that fine line between boyhood and becoming a young man. More and more I am seeing the juxtaposition of you as a little boy and the young man you are growing into and as a mom that can be a little hard to reconcile. Here are just a few highlights and favorite examples of seeing these two different aspects of your amazing personality side by side.

You can still be found playing with your plastic army men and orchestrating epic battles with your little brother. And just when I think I can breathe easy because you are still playing make believe games I come across a list of actual historical battles you had written out from a WWII book you are reading. And lately you've taken to watching documentaries about war and it's just all so grown up of you. I know that some day when you and your brother are battling it out with Sergeant Plastico will be your last day you play with your army men and I just feel like that date should be observed. The thing is I won't know, and you won't know it's the last day...it will just be and it will pass unceremoniously so and that makes me sad.

I sometimes hear you and your brother laughing hysterically over the most ridiculous show in the world; Larva, and I think to myself "he's still my little guy". I get all comfortable thinking I've got so much time before you start being all teenagery. You still like to sleep with your bedroom door open and the hall light on, and you still love for me to read your favorite childhood bedtime stories. The "special books" are what we call them. And then just like that, your dad sends me pictures of you putting together and hanging a book shelf for me and I am reminded of how capable and smart you are. Someday you will be a man hanging pictures, building shelfs, and installing new toilet seats for your own wife!

Another one of my favorite little boy qualities about you is your love and obsession with stuffed animals. It borderlines on insane....you cried the other day because I wouldn't buy you a stuffed pig. It wasn't you being bratty because you weren't getting a toy it was like you had bonded with a real live animal and you were just genuinely sad. And then two days later I get a text from your dad with a picture of you looking like a man while you proudly hold your first kill from the duck hunt he took you on. Later when dad recounted the hunt for me he told me you were so excited that your voice was cracking. This was definitely a coming of age moment for you and I am glad it's a memory you and your dad will always share. 

Most recently you started to ask me some questions about the reality of Santa... I sort of felt sick at where I was sensing the conversation leading. You told me you wanted the truth. I asked you, "What if the truth isn't what you want it to be? Are you prepared for that?" You said that you were and so I told you the truth. You cried a little and so did I. But, when I explained to you that you could help create the magic for your brother you got so excited and in true Landon fashion you immediately began talking about all of your plans for this upcoming Christmas season. Now when we talk about Santa you secretly look at me and wink and I love that you love being in on the magical Christmas secrets with us. I had planned on letting you believe this year and then I was going to tell you the truth if you didn't ask. 

Now, as I am literally writing this you came into my room and asked me if the tooth fairy is real? You said, "I want the truth". So, I opened my top dresser drawer and pulled out my tooth collection. 

"I am the tooth fairy." You just smiled at me kind of knowingly and asked if you could look at your old drawings and school projects that I have saved. See what I mean, Landon? Sweet little boy one minute and serious young man the next. 

I hope these warm Indian Summer days drag out a little longer, although I'm sure I'll never be quite ready for the change in season. I know you'll lead the way because that is who you are and I'll enjoy the ride even when you take the reins. I love you to the moon and back!

The Second Star to the Right

 "The second star to the right shines in the night for you. To tell you that the dreams you plan really can come true.

The second star to the right shines with a light so rare. And if it's Never Land you need it's light will lead you there."

If only Never Land really was a place on a map we could go to, I'd go with you. It would take some convincing on your part though. You are unstoppable and you aren't interested in slowing down time. I love that about you. You turning 5 is a big deal. It feels like we are on the cusp of a whole new chapter of your life and I'm not quite ready for this one to end. Someday you will read a book so good that you will actually be sad when you finish it. That's kind of what this birthday of yours feels like.                           

The good news is I know there is a sequel coming! 

I bought a jar of what I call Pixie dust a few months back and I keep it on a shelf as a reminder of whats at stake in this one lifetime we get to share together. It's a reminder to slow down. I know that it's just a jar of beautiful gold glitter pieces but you actually believe its contents have the ability to transport us to a magical place where time stands still. You and I are in this silly little battle where I desperately want to take you there but you are adamantly opposed. I'm feeling a little stuck, meanwhile you need to explore what is beyond the boundaries. You are outgrowing me I think, literally, and quite figuratively. You are like a beautiful bird who is learning to spread his wings so that you can fly and see everything you never knew existed. People who keep birds in captivity clip their wings so they can't ever really fly and I guess in a weird way that's what taking you to Never Land would be like....like stifling you into captivity.

The day before your birthday I think I teased you about Never Land to the point you were actually terrified I would take you there against your will. Sorry about that little guy. It seemed harmless since I know it's impossible but to you it felt like a real possibility with scary limitations. You know enough about Peter Pan and Never Land to know that if we went there you would never grow up AND you'd be surrounded by pirates which is I'll admit kind of scary. So, I told you the truth about my "magic" jar of pixie dust and just like that you were free. I'm going to hold onto it anyway because a little magic is good for the soul and I think telling you the truth about Never Land maybe set me free too.         

And who knows..someday you might be feeling a little stuck yourself and you may be nostalgic for the idea of a real Never Land and you might just find a whole new appreciation for my jar of pixie dust!

5 is a big year. I literally don't realize how we are already at this place where in the fall I am supposed to watch you get on a school bus and head off to Kindergarten! It's like I fell asleep and when I woke up instead of a day going by I realize years have flown by and I'm not sure where all the time went. The time is just gone...Instead of waking up to a baby I have this independent little boy who is outgrowing my lap and my arms. You tell jokes now and when I read you stories you try to read the words with me. You have all these opinions about things and I can see you not needing me as much to make things better. Instead of a hug and a kiss to fix everything you now have these complicated problems and feelings that you are learning to work through and it's weird for me that you don't NEED me to be the single source of an answer to a problem. I know in my mind that is a good thing I just didn't realize it was actually happening in a tangible way I could observe. It's like watching a butterfly come out for the first time. We know what the process is for a caterpillar and we know that it is literally undergoing the process of metamorphosis and yet we are no less astonished when we see that transformation process coming to fruition before our eyes. It's still amazing to see a butterfly emerge even though we knew it was coming. Thats kind of what watching your kids come into their own is like. 

For the record, I absolutely love the little boy that you are and the young man you are becoming. You have  so much personality! I'm not sure how it's all contained in your little body. Which by the way is always covered in mysterious boy bruises. I swear every time you get dressed or are getting into the bath you have new bumps and scrapes. You literally NEVER stop moving unless you are asleep! You are pure energy! You still LOVE superheroes (especially Spiderman) but this year your new focus seems to be on all things dinosaurs. You love to watch the Jurassic Park/World movies and your favorite dinosaur is a T-Rex. You still love to color and do any and every kind of art project. You love to get dig kits and search for fossils and gems. You also LOVE to take pictures with your iPad and fortunately for me every picture you take is shared to my phone....such a treat... LOL Normally, I delete them because they are totally random and blurry but every now and then I come across one thats a keeper! 

You and your brother are the absolute best parts of my life. Who knew a couple of rowdy rambunctious boys would be my undoing! These first 5 years have been the ride of a lifetime and I know we are just getting started. The best is yet to come!

One of the selfies you took! 

Us

I Knew Him When...

 Happy 9th birthday Landy-Bear! It's birthday letter time. 

A time to reflect and just enjoy who you are at this moment. 

I was trying to think if there was a word or series of words that could sum up this year into a "theme". 

This year in particular I have become increasingly aware that you are slowly becoming more of a young man. You are still very much my little boy and the changes I have seen have been so subtle that I might have missed them if this year hadn't forced me to be so present. I am sure 2020 will forever be known as the year of COVID-19... It has been a crazy year for sure. Fear, anxiety, mistrust, corruption, divisiveness and quite honestly just plain old hatefulness have cast a shadow over our Nation. Of course there is a flip side to all of that negativity and I choose to focus on that. 

I hope Dad and I teach you to always look for the silver lining, to think for yourself, and try to remember to always look at life through the lens of our creator. Truth is absolute and there is only one source so anytime you are unsure of how to feel or think about a situation consider your source and always go to THE source.

I know this; I am  grateful for extra time spent at home with you and your brother. I am grateful that while it feels like people around this country are absolutely losing their minds our little family has bonded together and I have never been more sure of where I place my trust and hope. 

When we found out you weren't going to be allowed to go back to school in person your Dad and I were so frustrated and irritated. When we decided to homeschool you I was filled with fear and uncertainty. I was afraid I would fail you. I realize now how silly and small minded those fears were. This year and the CHOICE to homeschool feels like such a gift. I have gotten to know you and see you in a completely new way. I am completely astonished and blown away by the young man you are becoming. There is a saying: "You don't know what you don't know" and I think it so perfectly applies this year. 

If I look at our relationship as mother and son it's on a spectrum or continuum and I can only know what I have seen or experienced first hand. So today if I were to put an "X" on the timeline of our relationship I can only know you in a finite and tangible way to date. And even then it's in a limited capacity because you and I have our own timelines. And while they run parallel and intersect at certain points there is still time unaccounted for. So, I guess what all of this extra time with you is showing me is who you were becoming and who you are becoming in the space on your own timeline. 

I know you are smart. What I didn't know is that you have the mind of a scientist. You think about things deeply and profoundly. You think in layers. Reason and logic matter to you at 8 and 9 years old in such a way that have you asking theological questions that only God can answer for you. I love that God gave you a curious and brilliant mind. 

I knew writing wasn't your favorite thing to do in school even though you have beautiful handwriting so when I would see papers sent home from school with very basic one sentence answers written down for questions that were meant for paragraphs I think I underestimated your proclivity for critical thinking. Homeschooling has shown me you have enough ideas, thoughts, sentences, and paragraphs in your mind to fill pages with answers to all sorts of questions. You just prefer verbal expression as opposed to written. Writing is such an important communication tool so you will have to take the time to sit down and put pen to paper but, just knowing this about you is interesting and makes me feel like I know you in a more unique way. 

I don't think you had really covered much history in public school yet so being able to teach and for myself re-learn a lot of history with you has been so much fun! I am so impressed with the way your mind retains information and concepts. As your mom and now as your teacher it is so clear to me that your potential is pretty limitless. I can see your strengths and I know your weaknesses too. I can honestly say that you will be the only thing that ever holds yourself back. You are blessed to have the mind you do.   All you have to do is try on a very basic level and I know you will succeed. So I pray that God will give you the drive and the focus needed to push your mind to do all the things it is meant to do. There is no room for laziness or apathy with a mind like yours!                         

The world needs more scientific and analytical minds who also believe in Jesus. 

You happen to be pretty unapologetic in your beliefs and values which is kind of a rare thing these days. I think this is one of your qualities that will make you stand out in the world. You are a leader, not a follower, which also makes you pretty stubborn! I pray that God will mold your stubbornness into an unshakeable faith in Him. I imagine that your beautiful and intricate mind coupled with an unwavering love for God and a desire for knowledge guided by Him will lead you down an extraordinary path. 

I see an exciting future for you filled with adventure and a never ending quest for answers to questions most people are afraid to ask or never thought to consider. 

So yeah, I don't know what I don't know. I know a lot about you but I am glad I don't know everything. I love that even though I know you as much as a person can know someone you still surprise me everyday.  

A scientist is a person who investigates to learn more about God's creation. I never thought I was any good at science but I think maybe I was just looking at it all wrong. I think maybe I am a scientist after all and you are my favorite field of study! We have learned together that scientists are very good at observing and asking questions. As a mother that is kind of my full time job so I guess I am killing it as a scientist. As an expert scientist in my particular field of study I hypothesize that you will grow up to be a world changer. I predict that you will be a man of wisdom and integrity. Your heart and mind will belong to Jesus and your life and relationships will reflect that! 

I love you Landon! Keep making marks on that timeline of yours and maybe someday you'll make history.  

And I'll look at where our timelines intersected and say;

"I knew him when"

The Sound of Boys

Overhead I hear the stampeding sound of little boy's feet
Boom.Boom.Boom
THUNDEROUS and impossibly loud for their size
I feel the vibrations beneath my own feet, like a small earthquake
If our house had thoughts would she be afraid of crumbling away footstep by footstep

Rapid machine-gun fire sounds in the distance
as their mouths and tongues make impossible sounds that I can't seem to mimic
Sometimes I wonder if all little boys have this ability

Battles are being won and lost as soldiers bark orders
I hear their voices deepen and take on an air of authority as men jump from helicopters ready for war
Words and phrases like "base" "the agency" "RPG" "we need more men" "medic" "pistol" and      "he's going down" are spoken as if the language of war was their native tongue
This dialect of my little boys is not one I am fluent in

When the wars are over and the battlefields are silent I hear other sounds
In the distance I can hear a sports commentator giving a play-by-play of the matchbox nascar race that ensues on the asphalt tracks of their imaginations

Sometimes I hear the crashing sounds of railroads and towns being demolished
as loud roaring dinosaurs wreak havoc on the fisher price townspeople
Those poor fisher price people with the smiles painted on their faces
The absurdity of people smiling while being eaten by dinosaurs makes me giggle

Then I hear silence which can only mean one thing
Their little bellies are not so silent
All of the running, jumping, battling, racing....VERBing
must have awakened the food beasts within them
Now I hear the sound of maniacal laughter as starving heathens bite off the heads of their goldfish

One might think the sound of silence would be welcomed in my home
Silence with my boys is mostly unnatural
Silence now usually means disaster later
Unless it's bedtime of course, and even then I wonder what their dreams sound like

The Magic of Words

I have a secret obsession...

I. Love. Children's Literature.
It's magical!

To be fair I love literature period, but there is something so very special about children's books.
You can often find me scouring the shelves in the children's section of the library stuffing my bag with kid's books. If you see me at Barnes and Noble I'll be upstairs in the kid's area sitting on the floor with a stack of books and a smile on my face! Sometimes my kids are with me but often I'm alone just being a creeper reading picture books to myself.
And don't get me started on garage sales where you can buy books for a quarter! A QUARTER!

The thing I love most about books is that we can get lost and find ourselves all at the same time! Books are magical like that!



Austin recently pointed out that he has been noticing more and more random stacks of books scattered throughout the house. I basically have a children's library in my home. And I can't really explain why but books make me happy.
So far Landon doesn't seem super interested in reading on his own but I keep buying books for him anyway because I know it's just a matter of time.
Once he finds HIS book THE book that will change everything I just know he'll get lost in the magic of literature! To those who say they hate reading...I say they haven't found THEIR book yet.

I remember MY book... I'm guessing I was in 3rd or 4th grade and the book was a non-fiction story about Sally Ride. For those  who don't know she was the first American woman astronaut in space! Up until that point I had always LOVED being read to by my mom but reading on my own had always felt like a chore...like homework. After the Sally Ride book everything changed and I was in love with reading!

Maybe reading is in my blood. My mom read to us constantly. My brother, sister and I would lay on her bed while she read aloud to us. My mom loved to read Bible stories to us and I am so glad she did! My dad has always loved to read and his mom; my grandma actually had an entire room in her house dedicated to books. I loved going into her library and seeing what seemed like an impossible amount of books for one person to own. And she would let me borrow anything.
Her library is where I discovered my love for Stephen King and mysteries in general!

I think when I fell in love with books I was actually falling in love with words. I think putting really well worded sentences together to create a beautiful and meaningful story can be likened to writing a music score. All the parts come together in this melodious way to express and convey feelings, thoughts, and emotions. Books tell stories with words and music tells stories with sound. It's pretty amazing when you think about how complex it all is!

I think what impresses me so much with children's literature is the author and illustrators ability to work together to capture so many big and complex ideas and whittle them down to the root.
And obviously not all children's books are conveying big life lessons.
Sometimes kids books are just for fun! In our house we LOVE the fun and silly non-sensical books. The "Stinky Face" books are some of our favorites if you want something light and fun.
Also, read the "David" books by David Shannon! Especially if you have rambunctious little boys!

For this post though I really wanted to share some books that I believe are truly special in that they are written for children but manage to tackle HUGE and REAL issues in life.
The books I want to highlight actually spark real conversations with our kids. Some of these books address bullying, depression, feeling like you don't belong, being okay with being you, and a bunch of other things. I posted a picture but I'll just highlight a few since this post is already too wordy!

• I'll start with "Sweety". Sweety is a naked mole rat who totally dances to the beat of her own drum. She is that "awkward" kid we've all probably been at some point. And even if you were cool enough to mask the awkwardness so no one else knew you were insecure we ALL know what it feels like to find your place among your peers. Sweety has a big personality but she doesn't change who she is to fit in. She doesn't hide the fact that she loves studying fungi or that interpretive dance is her thing...In the end she finds her people and it's the things that make her uniquely Sweety that they bond over! The illustrations are great and me and the boys were definitely giggling at Sweety's antics.
• "The Invisible Boy" The illustrator is a GENIUS. The story itself is really beautiful but the illustrations bring the words to life! I think there were so many times as a kid in school where I felt invisible and left out and sometimes I wondered if it was me...was something wrong with me...again, I think most of us have felt that way at some point in our lives. If you've ever been picked last you probably wished you could be invisible sometimes. This story really did a good job of just bringing these kinds of issues into awareness and opens the doors for so many great conversations with our kids. Hopefully our babies never have to feel this way and maybe when they see someone who might feel invisible our kids can be empowered to be kind and include them!
• "The Color Thief" I am just blown away that someone decided to write a book for kids who have a parent or loved one dealing with depression. So often we focus on the person suffering from depression. I love that this author wrote about the effects of depression through a child's eyes. For such a heavy topic I was blown away at how the author could use such clear and concise language that kids can understand without any of the clinical jargon that would just be over their heads. AMAZING!
• "Gondra's Treasures" This one is Logan's current favorite. Honestly I think the story is really cool but I think Logan is obsessed with the illustrations. I didn't know a dragon could be so cute. Gondra's parents are two different types of dragons and she is figuring out that she inherited different traits from each parent. So, though she is like her mom in ways and her dad in other ways she is also uniquely Gondra. We all want to know about our ancestry and who we inherited what from to have a more complete idea of who we are and this book really speaks to this curiosity in all of us!
• I saved my favorite for last. I grab it every time I go to the library and I think I am just going to buy it. "The Remember Balloons" makes me cry every time I read it. The fact that a children's book can do that astonishes me! The fact that people lose their memories as they get older is to me one of the saddest things that can happen. I can't begin to imagine what that would feel like. To just slowly unbecome yourself...to not recognize YOUR people...it's kind of terrifying actually. This story so magically and beautifully captures this in such a profound and bittersweet way. I read it to Landon and we had an interesting conversation. It's amazing how much kids know and really how much they can understand. We are so fortunate to not have this experience with our immediate family members and I hope we never do. I believe empathy is an important quality to have and reading stories from other people's experiences and perspectives can really help hone this quality. 

There are SO SO many children's books I love. Sometime I'll share the books that are in our "Special" basket to keep forever as heirlooms. A few of the books are from my childhood and some go back further than that! Most of them are the boy's favorites and I hope that they pass them on to their kids. Maybe someday I'll write my own children's book. I have so many stories that I have just orally passed on to the boys and they LOVE them so if I can just put pen to paper...

Roald Dahl is one of my favorite children's literature authors and he said 

"Those who don't believe in magic will never find it" 

I think if we look for it we can find a little bit of magic in every day! Here's to looking!

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

"Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high
There's a land that I've heard of once in a lullaby.
Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream,
Really do come true.

Someday I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops,
High above the chimney tops,That's where you'll find me."


Well my Logi Bear, tomorrow you turn 4!
I told you I was whisking you off to Neverland tonight so we could just skip your birthday and you could just stay 3.

Not forever...just a little while longer. It would be quite an adventure I think; going and getting lost together.
You and your brother are my Peter Pans and I love being your Wendy.
If only we had a little pixie dust we'd fly to the second star to the right, and straight on till morning!

Landon promptly reminded me that Neverland "isn't even a real place" so there's that...
He's grown into quite a practical little boy! You though, you're still young enough to believe in magic and fairytales and I love it! Your little world is so vibrant and full of color and I love that I get to be a part of it.
Your world is the stuff dreams are made of.

Sometimes I feel like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. Like life is just happening all around me and I am so focused on tasks like laundry, cooking, cleaning, working, etc. It's easy to get caught up and hyper focused on a to-do list and before you know it your world is gray and dull.
You lose sight of the things that really matter.

Then you come along like a little tornado and you sweep me away.
Suddenly I'm caught up in you and you whisk me into a world that is anything but dull and gray.
In your world colors are impossibly bright and anything can happen!

In your world super heroes exist and the only limitations are the ones we put on ourselves.
You are like all the super heroes rolled into one because in your world you can be a teenage mutant ninja turtle (Leonardo) one day and Superman the next. You can even be Spiderman while ALSO being a Knight at the exact same time. Reality is what you make it in your world.

In your world according to you; you used to be a little kid with an entirely different family and in this other life you have memories that are only yours and I just get to hear about them.
And apparently your world has alternate universes because at some point you also used to be a teenager...Sometimes I can't keep up with all the lives you've had at the ripe old age of 4.

I hope you bring pieces of your imagination and the best parts of your wildest dreams from YOUR world into this world! The world could always use more wonder and color.

In the movie Dorothy wants to leave Oz and return home. She says; "there's no place like home".
She is right, there is no place like home.
Home for me is where you are.
You and your brother are my ruby slippers.
So anytime my world starts to lose it's color and shades of gray and sepia take over the landscape
I'll know I'm far from home.
I'll click my heels and let myself get carried away; somewhere over the rainbow with you.

I love you rainbow baby. Happy Happy Birthday my sweet boy!

Us

Those eyes

I can actually hear your smile! Also the scared boy makes your smile like REALLY funny to me

Your face!!

Just you being your best self!!

This picture makes me laugh...

Christmas Shepherd Logi

My punkin

Your friend thats a girl but NOT your girlfriend LOL

Soldier Logi

This is what pre pre-school graduation looks like

that smile #trouble for real

Who knew Spidey likes cammo

Always shooting webs!

"THWIP"

This is what somewhere over the rainbow looks like

Great Expectations

Landon,

Right now you are upstairs warm and snuggled up in your bed.
Tomorrow when you wake up you will be 8!
So, while you are drifting off to sleep I am continuing on the important tradition of your birthday letter.

I wrote your first official birthday letter 4 years ago and now it has become something I look forward to every year. I love to go back and read about the things you were doing and it's interesting to see my thoughts and perspective as your mother throughout the years. I just finished reading the very first birthday letter I wrote you.
You were 4 years old and I am astonished by how much you were already you...
Your little personality has always been there, it's just that you are MORE of yourself.




It's the hardest thing to explain but I guess it's like a house. Like, when you were born there were blue prints, and then the foundation was laid and the concrete poured. Then the beams went up and the  windows and doors were framed out. The insulation, plumbing, electrical, all of those things were done and I could see in my mind's eye the finished product.

I could see the potential and I had ideas about what the finished house would look like.
I suppose I still have ideas about what you will look like, and what kind of person you will be.  Sometimes I imagine different scenarios and situations you will face as you get older and I imagine how I think you might react. I imagine different careers I could see you in. I imagine the kind of teenager I think you will be. And of course as a parent its normal and natural to think and wonder. Since I have seen your blue prints and have been a part of laying your foundation and building out the framework for who you are I imagine 4 years from now when I'm writing to you for your 12th birthday maybe I won't be so shocked when I realize you are just MORE of who you are.
And over the years details that I never imagined will be added.

My one dimensional blue prints didn't include any landscaping so I just pictured lots and lots of sunflowers.
The thing is, you prefer red tulips and neat organized flower beds.
And, I didn't realize that the one thing the blue prints were missing was a wrap around porch with hanging swings but you knew that was a must.
In my mind I pictured the house brick and stone but you like the color blue, so now the house is blue and it looks better that way. The blue prints I saw had designated one of the rooms as an office but you decided to turn it into your art studio and now there are beautiful and original one of a kind pieces hanging on the walls of your house.
I pictured generic and safe neutral colors for the walls but you envisioned something different so now one of the rooms has an orange accent wall and it just happens to be the thing that ties the room together.
And I swear the original blue prints had an attached mother-in-law suite (for me obviously)
I noticed you turned that into a music studio...

I am so honored that I got to be a part of the initial design process. And your dad and I have tried to lay a solid foundation and we will continue to ALWAYS check for any cracks. The integrity of your foundation and walls and the plumbing and HVAC stuff largely falls on us while you are in our home.  Leaky pipes and roof issues thats where we step in. YAY fun!

But you...you get to add the colors to the walls, you get to designate how the space is used.
You get to pick out the flowers for your garden. The rooms should reflect who you are as a person and I know over the years there will be some major renovations. Your cute little airplane bedroom that you share with your brother will one day be all yours and I'm sure Dusty and Skipper will be replaced with sports memorabilia and pictures of fast cars.
Your dresser will no longer hold all of your special lego creations that you don't want Logan to be able to reach. Instead there will be manly smelling cologne and deodorant..maybe even a picture of your girlfriend instead of the
"I love you to the moon and back" picture frame I got you.
Your stuffed monkey with the crocheted scarf I made will be packed away in some box labeled keepsakes.
By the way that scarf was supposed to be for you but...Yeah... I DON'T crochet.

Honestly, I'm glad the details are up to you.

You are so much better that anything I could imagine! You surpass every expectation because you add something no one else can...YOU.

Know this; I expect great things for you!
And because I know YOU and  your blueprints and foundation I expect great things from you.
I can't wait to be right about how great you will be and all of the amazing things you will do in this world.
But, I also can't wait to be wrong about the specifics of what that looks like.
I can't wait to see how YOU work out the details, because I know anything that I imagine is missing your imagination. And it's your dreams and imagination that will bring depth and profound life to my one dimensional blueprints.

So go on Landy, innovate, develop, re-design and break the mold.
Feel free to demolish, move walls, and build additions.
Modernize, and restore; renovate to your heart's desire!

Willy Wonka sang it best in "Pure Imagination"

We'll begin
With a spin
Traveling in
The world of my creation
What we'll see
Will defy
Explanation

If you want to view paradise
Simply look around and view it
Anything you want to, do it
Want to change the world?
There's nothing to it

I want to see a world of your creation

Stud

I could watch you watching helicopters all day

I LOVE that you are still okay with being silly

New Hair

Air Show 2019

Loving this less toothy grin

Little boys should never be sent to bed.
They always wake up a day older.
-Peter Pan

Here's to turning 8 and GR8T EXPECTATIONS!