Dandelions...

Every spring we prune and cut and mulch our lawns to be sure they look the best "green" as possible. Now is the time I see many a men out kicking dirt around frustrated at the meer sight of a tiny hint of yellow popping up among the sea of green. I must tell the truth that crisp canary yellow invasiveness of the dandelion can be very frustrating to keep out of the pallet of green. However after to today I will never look at a dandelion with disgust again...

As we walked along the yard's edge the bees and butterflies flew about and coming to the end of the yard we saw a large patch of bright yellow; A bright wonderful pillow of yellow dandelions. You would have thought our yard was just a dandelion patch planted on purpose. Jayci was now a few feet behind me and I could see the joy in her eyes as she knelt down to pick her first dandelion. She picked another and then another and soon she had a whole bouquet of dandy dandelions. She looked up to find me and started running towards me, "Mommy...Mommy...(in an out of breath voice) Mommy..." As she reached me she was clearly out of breath after only running twenty feet. She stopped short of my feet and handed me the bouquet she so carefully picked... and after a few minutes of trying to catch her breath that was so shortly lost she finally said to me, "Mommy...they are so beautiful...I picked them for you cause I wuv you!" My heart melted of course and yet it was heavy at the same time. The effort it took for Jayci to pick those dandelions for me took all of her strength and yet she still pushed on running to give me her beautiful collection of what someone else would call a weed. Suddenly I find myself appreciating the dandelion's beauty that God has created. What someone else finds as a nuisance now becomes a beautiful reminder of His many gifts we overlook.

Daddy's Girl...

Jayci has had a bond with Mom since she was born... It's only natural right? And it makes sense that babies bond with mommy's first, its that mother/newborn bond that takes place even before birth. Jayci in particular is no different than the others. However with Jayci being the baby and having her heart defect she does have a special kind of bond, no more or no less than the others just different. She does tend to want to be with Mommy more than Daddy... Although as of lately she has been wrapping herself around her Daddy's little finger. And I think that is just adorable. We must include Daddy at lunch...even though he is at work and we pretend to call him about a dozen times throughout the day. Jayci loves to "cook," she helps with all aspects of preparing dinner and preparing spaghetti is a special tradition with Daddy. First they make the meatballs and that process is amusing in of itself with Daddy in charge, then they prepare the noodles and set the table. I being the observer, can just sit back and listen to the conversation between Dad and Daughter. Such questions as, "Daddy....why you put crumbs in the meatballs? Mommy throws crumbs in the trash can." And, "Daddy...why you makin a mess? Mommy's not gonna like that." You would giggle too if you heard this converation taking place in just the other room. Just as amusing it is to watch Justin interact with Jayci in doing something Mommy would do, it is equally amusing to hear what Jayci thinks about Mommy trying to do something Daddy would normally do. Take our toilet seat for instance... Yes I'm going to tell a toilet seat story my apologies... The endless 3am slammings of the toilet seat and lid in the bathroom had finally done in the set. I mean there is only so much dropping at terminal velocity that the toilet seat can handle before it needs to be replaced. (Having boys involves replacing many ordinary household items often, but thats another story for another day...haha). So getting back to the story, Jayci and I embarked on a trip to Lowes to find a brand new toilet seat/lid set. We entered the store and to my surprise Jayci blurts out, "Hey! This Daddy's store we have to look for him!" I laughed and we went straight back to look at the sets. Jayci and I tried them all lifting and slamming seeing which one would best fit, then we found it a lid and seat combo that has built in resistance and allows for quiet closing! I shouted, "Yippie!" Finally a lid/seat combo that will not awaken the whole family in the middle of the night. So Jayci agreed this was the one to buy. We got it home and when I decided I was going to try to install it myself Jayci insisted that Daddy was in charge of those endeavors... She waited patiently all day for his return and when he walked through the door she insisted he get to work... As he did she was in charge of making sure everyone gave him room as he struggled to take the old one off. Again the comments and conversation between Daddy and Daughter were hilarious. "Daddy...you need those tools over there, (a loud thump and groan), UH OH Daddy.... You hit you head! You okay I'll get Mommy!" And I hear a chuckle from Justin just before I get up to see if he had indeed hit his head, so I knew all was well. Just then I hear, "Daddy...you don't fit back there!" And then, "Yay Daddy... You fixed it! Daddy... that toilet seat doesn't match..." It's a wonderful thing to watch the bond between Justin and Jayci grow and change they have that unique Daddy's little girl bond. You know the "Daddy can save the day" kind. Just the other night when it was time for bed she asked Justin if he would build her a castle someday... I'm sure he would if he could!