How do they love him? Let me count the ways...

I took the title from my favorite Elizabeth Barrett Browning poem "How Do I Love Thee?" The reason for it is simple. My boys loooove their daddy. I started wondering why they love him so much. I mean, I know why I do, but why do they?

For starters- he is their BEST playmate. Over the years, he has played everything imaginable with these kids. Bob the Builder, Star Wars, cars, Baskethead (don't ask), Doo Doo Johnny (really, don't ask), and any kind of sports. He gets super involved and creative. Even when he's worked all day, he never refuses to play. I'm not kidding--NEVER.

He is a really big guy. I have seen him in the floor with kids all over him. He doesn't get hurt. There are times that the boys jump off of a chair or off the ground and just hang on him. He'll walk around the house dripping in kids!

The boys are not content with me being home with them. They ask "When is Dad coming home?" at least 100 times a day. Do they do this when I'm not there? I have a feeling they are too busy playing to notice. I'm not a big "game player" with the kids. Let's snuggle- not play cops. I'm pretty positive they are not wondering when I'm coming home to clean or do the laundry.

Ran has always been a hands-on dad. Diaper changing-no problem, feeding-no problem, bathing-no problem, getting up with the baby-OK, he's not perfect. I know I'm the momma, but he's the hero.

My whole point of this is that I know he thinks he works too much and doesn't get to spend enough time with them, but the time he spends is priceless. I guess daddies have that guilt too.

I'm Ba-aaaack!!

** I know I'm a dork, but I was alone and couldn't resist taking a pic of myself :)

Good grief, it's been a while. Apparently, I took a bloging hiatus. I didn't really mean to, but life happens. Let's play catch-up...

When I last left you, I was fighting the bulge after my 3rd baby, I was teaching school, and I was living in Tennessee. It's ALL changed!! (Well, almost everything...there's the weight thing.) My husband made a big, huge, enormous career move. He quit his job and moved to Missouri and opened a convienent store in Arkansas. My family has a small chain of these stores. In fact, they are called "THE STORE"!! We had the opportunity to open one and we took it. Our store was not to be completed until around March 2011. Randy would move without us and I'd come when school was out in May. What actually happened was that our store opened in November 2010 and Ran had to go. He left in the first week of Oct. to train with my brother. I was left in Tennessee with 2 boys, a baby, and a job. Can you see why I took a necessary break from blogging?

To say that this sucked would be an understatement.

I would pack my car every Thursday night, so that Friday after I picked up the boys, we could travel to my in-laws' and stay the weekend. Yes, my in-laws'... just keep reading, it gets better.

After several months and some minor and major breakdowns, we made another decision- In Jan. 2011 I quit work and moved too. I'm going to lay it all out now---me, Ran, 3 boys, my mother-in-law, and father-in-law living in a ONE bathroom house. It was hard. It was nothing that anyone did or didn't do. It was just stinkin hard. Sometimes, I just wanted to lounge in a t-shirt and panties, sometimes I wanted to watch something other than Gunsmoke, and sometimes I just wanted to have an argument with Ran and not whisper. It's the simple things.

In the past month, we moved into a duplex in Arkansas. (I know, every girl's dream) We think we are going to build a house, but we really needed to get near our store instead of 25 min. away at his parents'.

My boys changed schools and fit in great. I have been staying home with Knox since Jan., but will begin teaching in August. Ironically, it is at the high school Ran attended. Anyway, it's all good in the hood. Until next time...