The M&M Story

Relaxing after a hard day's work Originally uploaded by Maynor . I love this child so much. He makes me laugh all the time. After he had worked so hard to find the apple he wanted, he settled down and leaned against my backpack and began munching. Imagine this picture in 16 years. Yes, he'll be a freshman in college, maybe doing the exact same thing, but instead with long hair and glasses.

We have an issue of sticky hands at our house, most specifically with my youngest son. On any given day, he will ask me to wipe his hands of whatever sticky substance has come his way (i.e., syrup, lollipop, popsicle). Now, the issue is not the sticky hands, but the drama that goes along with it. B., being a rather verbal child, will tell me over and over again that his hands are sticky really up until the moment I have wiped his hands clean. And since he thinks he can't really move ahead with his life until his hands are clean, I usually have to drop whatever I'm doing to immediately meet his need. A few mornings ago, I made waffles for breakfast. To backtrack a little, we had slept in a bit (7:00), so breakfast was of the upmost concern the moment everyone rolled out of bed. I, being the sacrificial mother I am, made the waffles BEFORE I had made my coffee. Well, actually, I had started the water boiling for the coffee, but that doesn't really count because it was still g...

Originally uploaded by Maynor . B. had his first day of school this past week. First of all, he was absolutely thrilled that he got his own backpack. Over the past few weeks, every time the word school was mentioned in our home, I would hear B. say, "Bap pack? Bap pack?" And, of course, he would run to find it and show me how it worked. B. is such a doll, so full of passion and emotion. He reminds me so much of Brian, in the way he looks up and smiles, or the way he nods when I ask him if he's okay. And I think he's even got his father's fashion sense. The kid has opinions on what he wears! Oh, my boys are growing and changing, and I feel so blessed to have them.

Tonight M. asked me to pray to God for him. His request? "Mommy, will you please ask God to make me a saver when I grow up?" Now, a saver in our house is basically a superhero. M. and B. both love Spiderman and the Rescue Heroes and Dash Incredible. (In fact, almost daily M. shows me he runs just as fast as Dash.) When M. crawled into bed a few minutes later, he begged that I stay. His excuse? "Mommy, I get scared by my dreams." Oh, boy. Apparently, he recently dreamed that Spiderman took away his candy, and he didn't really like thinking about Spiderman taking something away from him. I asked him why Spiderman did that, and M. replied, "Well, it wasn't my candy. I took it from someone else." Hmmm, interesting twist. He and I then discussed the point that Spiderman really was a saver because he rescued the candy for the other person, and wouldn't M. want Spiderman to do that? I'm not sure M. followed all my logic (who really does?), but he ...

cute max Originally uploaded by Maynor . M. attended a Cards game last week with good friends. We couldn't find his hat, so we borrowed his brother's. Oh, what drama we had! Briggs reeeaaally wanted to wear his hat (he hasn't worn it in weeks), and finally I heard M. say, "B. I need to wear your hat because I'm going to a Cards game. I can't wear my hat because it isn't the Cardinals. Do you want to wear my hat, and I'll wear your hat?" That actually worked.

Tonight at dinner M. informed me he was finished with dinner. I asked him to take three more bites of his apple and then he could be finished. He replied, "I already had three bites. If I have three more, that will be six bites." And he didn't even use his fingers to count.

A year ago we were hopeful that God would answer our prayers exactly the way we wanted. Or should I say, I was hopeful He would do what I say. How humbling to be reminded who is God! So it got rough, and Brian didn't get better. And now I must go through my first autumn without him. Eight years ago, Brian and I began dating in September, fell in love in October, and made plans for our future together in November. And last year I held his hand as he sat in a hospital bed in September, pushed his wheelchair and drove him to chemo in October, and said good-bye as he went to glory in November. Please pray for me this season. And encourage me and remember me as I trudge through a time that will bring inexplicable sorrow. Pray for Brian's family--his parents, his brothers--as they continue in their journey of grief. Pray for my children, as they continue to accept and make sense of their reality. Max tells me daily that he misses his Daddy. And sometimes he's mad and sometimes he...