The Picture

My mother-in-law "suggested" we have the boy's pictures taken for her Christmas present this year. We take a million snap shots throughout the year and my computer at home is filled with pictures of them, but this wasn't what she was talking about. No, she meant the dreaded "family picture"...you know, put on some-what cordinated clothing, comb your hair and smile pretty for the wierd person waving the feather duster and repeating "fuzzy pickles" a million times. If you have a mother, or a mother-in-law, you know that the subtle (or not so subtle) suggestion means that you will immediately get in the car and participate in the antics of the photographer to hopefully catch the perfect moment.

While Chris and I have many friends who are accomplished and/or budding photographers who would have made this experience much more personal and quite memorable, we have procrastinated until there is no appropriate outdoor setting and 30 degree temperatures. Thus, we herd into the portrait studio with the rest of Cool Springs for 86 "fuzzy pickles" and a couple of "smelly feet". The gift that I'm sure my mother-in-law thought was $9.95 as advertised in the coupon that accompanied the "suggestion", rounded out at about $200 by the time we included all the pictures that our friendly photographer suggested, Chris requested and Caleb was going to die without not to mention a brown shirt for Chris, jeans for Derek and haircuts for everyone

(except me, who you will notice desperately needs one).

Time is flying by and we are just trying to hang on and keep things going. The craziness of these times will soon be forgotten. So, while our photo shoot might not have been the most exciting two-hours of our holiday season, we left with a couple pictures that we'll have in the years to come. Pictures that we can look back on and remember that Caleb had just celebrated his 6th birthday, Russ was laughing so hard through the entire shoot that we had trouble getting pictures of him with his eyes open and without the plastered "smile" and that Derek HATED his haircut. We'll remember that Chris was not at all happy that we were getting our pictures taken and that Caleb kept telling Lauren (our photograhper) "he is a police man, that's why he can't smile." It was hysterical.

I don't know if everyone's experience in front a photographer is as stressful and exhausting as ours, but I'm hoping not...or maybe I'm hoping so because if not, then there's even more wrong with us than I think! Regardless of the hoops it took to get there, our family has once again, been frozen forever in the picture.

Answered Prayers

I spent almost all day yesterday thinking about all the exhausting things that are going on in our world and in the lives of my friends and family. I have been overcome with grief and sadness for each of my friends who are suffering with sickness and death in their families; my heart is heavy for others who are struggling to find money for bills, much less Christmas presents and I have been burdened with uncertanities in my own position and how we would survive financially beginning next month. I have suffered in silence for most of these as I know that others are laden with their own stresses and don't need to waller with me. Not to mention that in the grand scheme of things, my family is healthy, we have our basic needs met and we are together; what more could someone actually want. There is so much to be Thankful for. Still, my mind has constantly been consumed with the worry and incertitude of our future.

Today, I was handed an answer to so many of my personal prayers. My job, which was scheduled to transition next month has been extended for an additional six months; the kind and compasionate, always generous owner of our company has provided for five months of my children's dyslexia therapy next year and I was given two accounts to manage that are providing additional income. For the first time in weeks, I feel like I have taken a complete breath.

"Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn, yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than the birds!" Luke 12:22-25

My heart is still broken for the stuggles we are all facing and I still miss my friend, Tim, imensely; those things will not change. But now, I can focus on loving my friends and being God's arms on earth for them without distraction for my own needs. God is good, all the time and today, I'm praising him for answered prayers.

The Surprises

"Today is the 4th, today is my birthday" he exclaimed as he bounded out of bed this morning. Caleb has been counting down the days to his birthday since Monday. Every morning he has reminded me of the date and when his birthday is...like I could forget!

We never expected this little life to join ours; you see, he is our own little marvel. I can remember being sick, oh so sick for a week or more, and only at night. Finally, after I threw up for and hour and half straight, I decided it was time to take the test. I don't even know why, but I did. Immediately, there was no denying it. I remember calling my sister...and it was LATE, "So, how do you feel about being an Aunt again?" She just kinda giggled; maybe she thought I was kidding. Chris was at work and I toyed with the idea of waiting until the morning to tell him because I had no idea what his reaction would be. Who can lay there with such news and not share it and why should I ponder alone? He answers the phone and tells me he's headed to serve a warrant...oh, bad timing I think, probably out loud. I told him to call me when he was done. I guess he could hear the "secret" in my voice because he proceeded to tell me everyone was waiting on him and he wasn't getting out of the car until I told him what I needed. Realizing there was no escape, I just blurted it out, scared to death of what he might say back...not that it was my fault or we could do anything about it. Well, that terd just died laughing at me. And that, was the beginning of surprises that this little moster brought us.

We didn't find out if he was to be a girl or a boy and all bets were on a girl because everything with him was different...everything from the way I carried him to the way I felt and all the wierd things that happened while I was pregnant. Derek and Russ were both early by at least one week...Caleb was late by the same. Labor with the first two rounds, quick and ultimately easy, the third time was NOT a charm. D and R, 7 pounds 10 & 11 ounces...C, 9 1 1/2 . He looked like a toddler!! Oh, did I mention...he was very, very, very far from a girl. I remember when Dr. Groos held him up, I just burst out laughing and yelled loud enough to everyone in the hallway that we were all wrong! It took me forever to get over it; I felt like he had pulled some big switch-a-roo on us. it was hysterical!

The surprises just keep coming. We never know what is going to come out of his mouth and we never know what he'll do next. The second we figure it out, he changes it all around. I guess he just wants to keep us on our toes. Maybe we should have named him something foreign that means surprise, but we didn't realize what we were in for. There is no telling where this little punkin will lead us next or what great surprises we'll encounter along the way, but we're blessed to have shared his world for six years and we're looking forward to many, many more.

Happy birthday sweet boy; you are one of my most favorite surprises!

The "C"

As I cautiously opened the "beary good work blue folder" (which is actually red now), I searched for the all-telling sticker to reassure me that we had successfully completed another day of kindergarten. It was there and I breathed yet another thankful breath and muttered a "thank you Jesus" as I began sifting through the papers and work that accompanied our daily report. There it was, hidden behind a cut and paste activity... at first glance, the lenghty hand-written notes on the page would lead a well-experienced mother such as myself to be overly concerned, but the but the big purple smiley face helped to assure me it was worth closer look.

"Notice his 'C' is not backwards. He is trying so hard!" I almost fell into the floor. "Caleb is doing SO (yes capitalized and underlined twice) Great! I sit next to him in class and a lot times he copies my work but I make him tell me the answers first!...seriously, if she hadn't used his name in the sentence, I might have questioned who's child she was discussing. This was a the greatest early Christmas present I think I've ever received. Well, maybe there has been one more, but I digress and that's for another time and place!

Who would have ever known that a "C" facing the right instead of the left could create such joy and excitment in a household? There were brothers shouting, parents jumping up and down and animals looking at us all like we had lost our minds. It was a full-on party at the Woodard house! I wish I had thought to take a picture of the greatest part though...the beaming face of my sweet baby-boy who had tasted victory and success! It's okay that we don't have it because none of us will ever forget that moment...it is etched in our memories forever.

You see, this "C" has meant so much to our lives recently. It was this backwards "C" that lead us to Cindy, our guardian angel at Dyslexia Center of Tennessee (DCT). It was this "C" that has brought us to this point of such hope. This backwards "C" was the beginning of a successful future for two of my boys. If it hadn't been for this backwards "C", we would still be floundering around wondering what in the world we were doing wrong and how our sweet Russy could be working so hard and not accomplishing his goals. We wouldn't understand why our Caleb-monster was just that...a monster when he is frustrated because he realizes the things he is doing are backwards or incorrect. Without this crazy backwards "C", our lives wouldn't be in such a great place right now. This "C" has brought about amazing change in the Woodard's World!

To add to the monumental success of this "C", our precious teacher, Mrs. Pantall left for maternity leave before Thanksgiving as did our wonderful educational assistant, Ms. Mindy. It has been a scary time for the parents of this special little boy, wondering how he would react to a new teacher and assistant and if he would continue to thrive and grow or shut down completely. If day two of Mrs. Swanson and Mrs. Chris's class is any indication of our future, Mrs. Pantall is going to return to class in March and scream out loud! You see, that's what Mrs. Pantall does when you do something fantastic in her classroom...she screams out loud because she gets so excited. Caleb just giggles talking about how she would have screamed if she had seen it.

So, go ahead, take a look for yourself...even scream out loud if you want...no one in my house will think anything of it...heck, we're still here celebrating ourselves. Celebrating the 'C'