Forever in Our Hearts

On Christmas Eve at 4 pm Noah's godfather and one of our dearest friends, Mark Wald passed away after his 17 month battle with brain cancer. He was 49 years old. This picture is of Noah's baptism in 2004. Mark is standing next to Noah's godmother, Christelle Curilli.

I had been preparing Noah for this loss for months. On Christmas day I was putting Cole to bed and I realized I had not explained anything to him about Mark. So I explained that he had died. Cole asked me, "Where is Mark now?" I said, "Up in heaven with God and the angels." Cole said, "I like Mark better in his house."

Little Boy Wisdom #26: Give yourself time to adjust to change.

Ignorance is Bliss!

The other day, I had just finished fighting my way through snowy, rush hour traffic to get to Noah's school at 5:57pm. His after school program closes at 6:00. Eek! My heart is racing, I have Cole in my arms and I am running through the parking lot. In my head I have thoughts of lesson plans, errands, freezing cold, forgotten mittens, 'please Noah don't be mad!' Then, for one peaceful moment, I glanced down at Cole's face as the snow and other late parents whirled around us. There he was, with his tongue hanging way out, trying to catch snowflakes. So simple...so sweet.

Little Boy Wisdom #25: Don't pass up an opportunity to have fun!

Forgiveness

It's been kind of hard around here lately. Sibling rivalry has resulted in a "I wuv you" - "I don't like you anymore and your not allowed in my room for three weeks!" kind of relationship. All the screaming, name-calling, pushing, and crazy running around has got me frazzled and impatient. We've taken classes and stayed up late reading Glasser, Kurcinka, Sears, and countless articles on parenting. So I feel horrible every time I raise my voice and lose my patience. But at the end of the day (and usually several times during) they still say, "I love you Mama." And I am humbled.

Little Boy Wisdom #24: Forgive people for their faults and short comings. Most of all, forgive your parents for anything they did wrong. This parenting stuff is really, really hard!