Sweet Sweet Schultzes

(This post should have happened so long ago that it's embarrassing. My "best of intentions" blogging mentality has clearly not worked out so well. But 2009 is just around the corner, so let's hope there's a resolution to do better, okay?)

Will & Ben. How much fun do they look like they are? I first met the Schultzes when Will was about 3 1/2 and, as usually is the case with painfully cute children, I was sold. And when Ben was born in 2006, he quickly turned into the rolliest (word?) baby you have EVER seen. I LOVE rolls on a baby. L.O.V.E.

Will is one of the most congenial kids I've ever met in my life. I have the most vivid memory of him being 4 years old and in a little sweater vest at the Festival of Trees, tugging on my pant leg and saying, with his little hands in his khaki pockets, "So Rebecca, how are things at your house?" The kid eats, sleeps and breathes Legos and knows ev.er.y.thing about Star Wars. You think I'm kidding. And instead of calling my parents Mr. & Mrs. McNeely or Wayne and Jill, he calls them "Rebecca's Dad" and "Rebecca's Mom" I know, I can't stand it either.

Oh Beeeeen. Oh how you make me laugh. You yell - YELL - "HI!" at anyone and everyone nearby - stranger or old friend. You make their day. You eat like there's no tomorrow, and you apparently don't care for folks who sing Happy Birthday, as you started screaming whenever we tried at your 2nd birthday party. As a baby you were happiest upside down, and you flat out, absolutely adore your big brother. You, sweet boy, are precious.

I would do a disservice to this wonderful family to not mention their middle son, Thomas, who was born in January of 2005. Thomas was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome and lived a short (but SO very full of life and love) 12 days in the hospital. Mary and John have made helping families who have lost a baby during pregnancy or during infancy a mission in their own lives, and all who know them have experienced true grace by witnessing their journey. Thomas is seen in bluebirds in the sky and is celebrated with cupcakes on his birthday. He is honored through ornaments on the Christmas Tree. His pictures grace the bookshelves of their home and he is talked about all the time. He is absolutely their angel.

Thomas' candle at the 2008 Heartstrings Walk to Remember

"Thomas' Team" at the walk in October

When I Grow Up...

When they're little, kids want to be astronauts, ballerinas, firefighters. They get a little older and the focus shifts a little - athletes, singers - whatever they're interested in at the time.I have known, ever since I was little, what I want to be when I "grow up" (I don't think I'm there yet - I wonder if anyone ever actually gets there.) I want to be a mom. Some people truly feel what they were put on this earth to do - for me, it is to be a mother.
I know, I know, it's not looking like it will be any time soon. Prince Charming has apparently made a pit stop in, oh, I don't know, China or somewhere - I think his white horse has broken down. But I hope that, when he does FINALLY get here, he'll be gung-ho about the pitter patter of little feet, because I want to hear lots of them.

As I've gotten older and gotten to see so many amazing mothers in action, I know that I want that even more. The love in these photos is like no other love in the world, if you ask me...I absolutely want the SUV full of carseats and cheerios and cheesy sing-a-long music. I want lots of birthday parties and school plays and even want the tears and the skinned knees and teenage broken hearts. And I thank all of the moms that I know now that I'm older for being such amazing examples. Way too many to cover here.

But, I think that one of the main reasons that my heart is so sure of all of this is because of my own mother. I want to have the relationship with my kids that she has with us. My sister and I are as different as night and day, but I know we can agree on one thing: we've got one HECK of a mother.