Time Capsule Opening. . . Drum Roll ^*^*^*^*^*^*

I told you we had a lot of celebrating to do for this Grad.  We celebrated yesterday to my Mom's and Sprat opened his time capsule that we sealed on his first birthday.  Lots of treasures were  found some worth a little dough and some just  very sentimental.  I think Sprat got a kick out of opening it and seeing everything we had put in it.  I know we all had fun watching him.  There were pieces of history enclosed with lots of pictures.  He had a C3PO pez dispenser still in its original packaging, pictures of the hubbs Dad from his service years and patches from his time on the police force.  Mint uncirculated coins from his year of birth, some Joe Camel advertisements from relatives that worked at RJR,  metal toy tractor from my hubbys youth, the cork from our bottle of Champagne from our "romantic" meal we had in the hospital right after we had Sprat, and all the cards from his first birthday and his infant Baptism.  So many memories. . .

Poppy enjoying the cake and festivities . . 

Getting ready to open the time capsule. . . 

Taking in all of the fun. . . 

I do not give a lot of parenting advice but this is and was a very cool idea and I am so glad we did it.  I highly recommend doing one for your little one if you have one.   Stay tuned, we have one more party before Sprat goes off to school. . . 

Things My Mom Taught Me. . .

Our mothers are our first friends, so to speak, and they are our first teachers.  What did your mom teach you?  My mom taught me that you always share what you have with others.  I remember my mom sharing what ever we got out of our garden with all of our neighbors.  We usually end up taking ours to Church and passing out cucumbers and zucchini as people make their way to their cars.  I love our Church family.  My Mom also taught me about respect and that you respect your elders.  Mom also worked very hard in our Church and she taught me to do the same.  Mom was over our nursery for many, many years and spent her own money to buy juice and cookies for the kids every Sunday.   Mom did not just teach by words she taught us by doing.  I learned more by watching my Mom than I could have learned had I taken a home economic class in school.  My Mom lead us by example,  I can only hope that my kids learn as much from me as I have from my Mom.
One thing my Mom was notorious for was making sure anyone that visited her house had plenty to eat.  I will never forget my roommate in college and I meeting mom and dad at the State Fair and the first thing out of my mom's mouth was; "how are ya and have you eat?"  She always fixed a ton of food to take to the Fair.  She was always prepared to feed the multitudes.  We usually spent several days there showing and of course they would catch a football game too.   Mom always made sure you had plenty to eat if you were around her.  She wanted everyone to be comfortable too.
Mom always worked in the yard, she mowed her own grass and plowed her garden and worked her gardens.  When I was in high school she had two gardens, one at the house and one at the barn.  I know I got my love of gardening from her.  I am thankful that my hubby's family was similar to mine.  He got his love of gardening from his dad.  
There are two things that I did not get from my mom.  Mom is very strong and can handle anything thrown her way.  I am not nearly as strong as mom, I think all of her strength went to my sister.  I am also not nearly as good at whipping up a meal as mom.  I remember my dad always came home for lunch every day and occasionally he may call at the last minute and say; "hey, I am bringing Bill with me for lunch today."  Mom could whip up a five star meal in the drop of a hat and it would feed whomever dad brought home.  I do not have that talent.
I am so blessed to have been raised by such a strong mom that taught me so much and she may not even realize how much she has taught me.  I would not be the woman I am today if it were not for the example that was set by my Mom and my sister.  I am truly blessed to have these two beautiful women in my life.  This black and white picture is of my Mom before she and my Dad were married.  The other is of my sister and my Mom at one of Big T's football games.

Moving on Up. . .

I spent a wonderful day today with my wonderful sister and her oldest daughter.  She is in her last year of Pharmacy School at Campbell University and will be doing clinical rotations in my backyard for several months.  Since my house is like a three ring circus on most days they have opted to get an apartment, for her months she will be in town.  I am sure she would like to have her own space too, and not be constantly bombarded by my boys and all the boy stuff I endure on a daily basis.
We searched several different apartment complexes and boy have things changed since I had to find my first apartment.  We went by where I used to live when I first got out of College, and it has gone down hill.  
We had a blast driving around town shopping apartment complexes and navigating the big city.   Wish we lived closer to my family so we could do this more often.   It is nice to have some sister time and niece time.  She will be working in two of our hospital pharmacies during her months here in the big city.  We grew up in a small town and Campbell is also small so this will be an adventure for her for sure.  I showed her the great little dives to eat and cool places to shop.   I like to think of  my nieces as my daughters since I only have rotten little boys.   Sometimes it is nice to have a little girl time with my nieces and my sister.  If you throw our mom in there, well then you better look out, there is no stopping us.  

God knows what we need. . .

God truly  does know what we need when we need it.  I have been feeling kinda disconnected the last few days.   Feeling like there is nobody in my court.   I think I may be having a mid-life crisis.  No I don't want a Mercedes convertible or have an affair.   Although if anyone had a  convertible and wanted to give it away I would not say no. 
I think the reality that my babies, that are not really babies,  are growing up and I cannot stop it or slow it down.  I have been talking about having only four years left with my oldest and how I feel like I still have so much to teach him.  All the talk has sunk in and now I am panicking.  
I have also been feeling like when my kids are all grown and don't need me, who am I then?   I have always been Sprats' or Big T's mom.  So who am I when they are gone?   I know I will always be their mom but when they don't need me 24/7  who am I? 
So back to my title, God knows  what I need.  I got a call from my sister today and there is just something about talking with that person that makes you feel like it will all be ok.  We did not talk about any of this but just hearing her voice and knowing she thinks about me makes me feel better.   Sometimes it is just knowing that no matter what kind of mistake you may make or how bad you feel that she will always be there for you.
My dear sister called today to talk about nothing in particular but, I believe God sent her to me today because of how I have been feeling these past few days.  I needed to hear from her.   This is not to say my dear hubby is not there for me because he is.  Sometimes though it is a sister you need more than anything.    So to my sis, love you so much and thank you for calling and thank you God for sending her this day.