March Inn

Why"March Inn?" March Inn was the name of that magic place where I spent my summers growing up. I have alluded to this place before, and I probably will again. March Inn is no longer standing. The waters of Katrina rendered it unlivable so my children will never know that "March Inn." That makes me sad. In fact it brings me to tears whenever I think about it. I want my children to have their own "March Inn," and I want to capture our lives as they are growing and changing. I invite you to "march inn" to our lives. My hope is that you will catch glimpses of the real world. You will see our creations. You will see our chaos. You will see our affection. You will also see our frustrations, fears, and disappointments. Enjoy your march!

Monday, May 20, 2013

5, 4, 3, 2, 1!

The countdown to the last day of school is on.  We are winding down and it sure feels good. 

I've found myself quite weepy this week.  I'm not sure why the end of the school year can have that affect on me. 

A fun family night with a Crawfish Dinner ~
We are loving eating dinner on our porch at the table from Point Clear {and watching the Braves} ~
My children are loving time with no after school activities!


 



Friday, May 17, 2013

Made Her Day

It's the little things in life that bring joy to life!




Thursday, May 16, 2013

A Little Bit Stronger

Walker is taking swimming lessons.  If any of you saw me at the pool last summer you know that this has the potential of being a HUGE challenge.  We are taking lessons from a friend who others affectionately call the "swim whisperer" - you know kinda like the "horse whisperer".  She is awesome and has been great for teaching my children to swim.  There are lots of ways to teach a child to swim, and she is the approach we need. 
Yesterday was Day 3 which is typically the break through day.  Two years ago this was not true for us.  Walker screamed everyday for the entire two weeks even though he was capable of swimming when his head was in the water.
Thankfully this year is different!  Tuesday Walker resisted, cried, screamed, ran, and manipulated in an effort not to swim.  Though by the end of the class, he had a smile on his face and was actually looking forward to going back.  He woke up yesterday telling me he was going to be more brave at swimming.  And he was...

My sweet Walker is getting a little stronger and a little braver each day.

He even was happily willing to race...
Thank goodness for that smile...
I am so happy that you are a little bit stronger* and braver!
And as an aside, isn't this back yard lovely!

*I know the song is about a break up but everytime I hear it, I think it could apply to so many areas in life.  


Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Like Puppies

My next door neighbor is the mother of four children, and she is a pediatrician.  To me, this puts her in the category of being wise with little ones.  Once, when chit chatting in the front yard, she made the comment that young children sleep like puppies.  Those words stuck with me because it is so true.

Before crawling into my own bed Monday evening, I heard cries from upstairs.  I found this little one wide awake and terribly frustrated.  She was in bed with Mary Frances and Stephen yet I think she felt like the little one in Roll Over. Stephen was using her as a pillow.  While she loves the idea of sleeping with her siblings, I think she prefers to sleep alone.  As I covered her in her own bed she sighed as if to say, "I've got it all to myself".

I didn't snap a picture of the before, because I just wanted everyone to go back to sleep.  I did, however, run back downstairs to grab my camera to remember how my children love to sleep.

Together!

On the floor!

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

A Big Thank You

I saved the best part of my Mother's Day Weekend...

Thank you to my father, my Uncle Frank, my brother Bill, and my Yankee Cousins*
{Maggie, Leah, and Dillon}

Thank you for letting me have this table to place in my home.  I'm not sure if you will ever know how much it means to me.  As I wiped away the final reminders of Katrina, I cried.  As I cut flowers to put in a vase I cried.  As I asked the children to please set the table, I cried.  As I thanked Frank for fitting it in his father's car, I cried.  As I passed food, I cried.  As I write this post, I cry!

These tears are a mixture of happiness and sadness all at once.  Happiness that I get to continue the legacy of serving meals to family and friends around this table yet extreme sadness that I don't get to do that at Point Clear.

There is no way to know how many hundreds of meals have been served around this table, but I feel blessed to get to continue the legacy. 

To my extended family, I hope that one day we can all sit around this table again.
 
*sorry, please take no offense to the term!

Monday, May 13, 2013

More Details

Once upon a time, a LONG time ago, I was a Brownie.  One of the songs we learned was "Make New Friends."  If you were a Daisy Scout, Brownie Scout, or Girl Scout, I'm sure you too remember the familiar lyrics..."Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the others gold."  As I rehash the details of my weekend, these words keep coming to my mind.  When I look over my life, I feel as if I have been blessed with many opportunities to make new friends while keeping the old.  I hold old friends, memories, and traditions close to my heart but also have plenty of room for new.  Life changes and time passes on, so sometimes what was perfect in one moment just isn't in another.
{insert picture from another camera - my battery died}

Over the weekend, I had the privilege to take my family to Pt. Clear, Alabama.  I was honored to stand at the alter with one of my oldest and dearest friends as she exchanged wedding vows with a man who seems wonderful.  Yes, life changes and time passes on, but please hear me say it was still perfect that Anne and I were able to stand beside Barcley during this time.  Barcley said it best when asked by the photographer if she wanted pictures of us individually.  Her response was, "We go together."  Yes, we do go together and over the last three months I have been able to spend good time with Anne and Barcley and realize I need to make more room in my life to be together with these old friends.
{again - insert picture from another camera}
And now where the rambling begins... Because of this opportunity, I was blessed to wake up in my favorite place in the world on Mother's Day.  Barcley's reception was at the Grand Hotel so Frank and I chose to spend the weekend there instead of invading one of my aunt's homes with our family of six.  We are a motley crew and in many ways it was just simpler to stay at the hotel.  Not to mention it gave us access to the pool and the beach.  This is something, I've never had before - well at least not authorized use of the Grand Hotel pool and grounds.
As an aside, what might have made the weekend more perfect was if my family could have stayed with Anne's family at the original March Inn, but as previously stated life changes and time passes on.  March Inn is no longer standing so that dream was not possible.  And yes I still cry as that fact sinks in.  One would think that almost eight years after Katrina I would have moved on, but March Inn is and always will be my magic place. 
I can't think of March Inn without thinking of Julep Point.  As long as I can remember I have enjoyed sitting on that point looking out over the water ~ pondering life, thinking and dreaming.  Life changes and time passes on, yet I still can sit on that point and look out over that water and think and dream.  There might not be a wharf at March Inn but there is still a Julep Point, and I loved sharing that place with my children this weekend.




Life changes and time passes on, but there were still pelicans diving, porpoises playing, seagulls feeding, waves crashing, and an amazing view!  My children might not have March Inn, but I hope and pray they are developing a love for this place that remains so special to me.

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Happy Day

To all of the mothers, grandmothers, and "other mothers" out there, I hope you have had a special day!
 
It has been a very fun and special day in our family.  It was the perfect end to what was a very fun and special weekend. 
 


Sunday, May 5, 2013

Two Weeks Ago

There are all kinds of idioms and other sayings about time~
"Time flies..."
"In the nick of time..."
"Turn back the hands of time"
"Save time"
"Spare time"
"As time gos by"
"Out of time"
"Make time"
"Time for a change"
"Time is money"
"Only time will tell"
"Kill time"
"Time heals all wounds"
"Time after time"
"Time off"
"Wast of time"
"Hard time"
"Too much time on my hands"
"A whale of a time"
and I think I could apply all of them to our life in one way or another!

However, I will spare you~

This morning I am going to take a walk back in time to share an experience we had two weeks ago.

Yes, you read correctly ~ two weeks ago!
That's the way we roll...I can't ever quite get it together.
This sweet girl got to do something fun!
Can you find her?  Do you know where they are?  Have your figured out what they are doing?
Have you got it yet?
They are trying to get organized!
 Better still...
 
Okay now they're ready!

 Time enough to get silly...
 Complete distraction...
Completely focused...

That's right, Mary Frances sang the Star Spangled Banner at a Barons' game with the church choir.
 

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Confessions of Time Slipping By

The first confession I will make is that the "cancelled" post sat in my draft file for the better part of a week before being completed and posted.  Sometimes it is hard to write, edit, upload, etc...
 
The second confession is that these pictures have been sitting in an untitled post in my draft file for more than a fortnight.
 
Stephen's special week at school was a few weeks ago.  This mama couldn't get things together at all.  You see that big orange spot on the poster.  That is where we intended to put a baby picture.  It never happened.  The picture I pulled was not Stephen but instead Mary Frances.  No one would have known, but I just couldn't do that.

As a part of your child's special week you bring snacks for the class for the week.  We made some fun, healthy snacks and Stephen was an excellent sous chef.  You are then invited to visit the classroom when the poster is presented.  Frank was travelling some that week so we went on Friday.  So cute to see your child talk about their life and then hear the questions their friends ask.
We then stayed for lunch which is one of Walker's favorite Friday {a.k.a. "Mama Day"} past times.

More ballpark images...Can you tell where we have been spending a lot of our time.  Sweet Stephen and a classmate {sibling of Mary Frances' friend, child of my cross country "big sister", grandchild of family friends of Franks - you get the drift we are pretty connected} of his are are in their element helping those girls warm up!  As for the confession there - ball season is fun, but I'm glad to see the season winding down.  Late nights, full Saturdays, and multiple events in a week start to take their toll on a family of six.  We are getting grumpy!