Sometimes it's just cool to be a mom

So... my little Bubba came in the house tonight and said, "Mom, can I tell you the truth about something?"

I am bracing myself for the "Don't be mad, but I broke blah-blah-blah on accident" line when he says...

"It's just cool to be a boy, Mom." And goes back out to the treehouse with the 4 or 5 other boys who were climbin up and down the ladder and shootin' each other with Nerf guns.

I love boys!

My Love, My Boys, and a Treehouse

When I met my husband he was 48. He had no children and hadn't really planned to have any. But we fell in love and he knew that I was a package deal. None of my boys have any contact with their biological counterparts. It's "inconvenient" for my ex to have a relationship with his sons. Bubba was an unexpected blessing; unfortunately his other half has never really viewed him that way. So essentially, none of them had fathers, just chromosome donors. (I do get some financial support from my ex for the boys, but he would even like to stop that if he could.)

When My Love and I married, he had just turned 50; I was 32. He is such a gift from God to me and my children. Anyone who knows him, knows that he doesn't do things halfway. He has approached his fatherhood in the same fashion he does everything else. All or nothing.

Whether he planned to be a Dad or not, he's very good at it.

Last week was spring break for the boys. I still had classes MWF, so My Love spent most of the week with the boys working on a project. Did I mention My Love is a carpenter?

We have 3 pine trees in our little backyard, set in the back corner in a triangle. He "helped" the boys build an awesome treehouse. Well, a 3-tree-house actually. The first step was a platform.

Next came the walls. They built them on the ground and hefted them up.
Once up, the side walls were nailed in place.
The end walls were built up on the platform.

The door is a trapdoor in the floor.

The windows are similar, cut out of the walls and hinged down.

And then everybody helped paint.

We've even had our first official treehouse injury when Monkey Boy didn't realize that The Thinker hadn't closed the door after he left and he stepped in it and almost fell out of the treehouse and 8' to the ground.

He caught himself and was fine after a couple days of sore ribs and a lesson in "Watch Where You Walk" and "Respect for the Treehouse." It has antibiotic goop on it, so it looks worse than it is. He was pretty bruised though. And very, very lucky.

I realized that I don't have a picture of the finished product, with the roof and everything. I'll have to add that later. The permanent ladder still needs to be installed.... but it's pretty cool!

And God Is So Good, He's So Good To Me!

The Skinnies

My family battles the bulge, as I know many people do. I have to give snaps to my mom and my sister who are winning the fight. In the last couple years, they have divested themselves of the equivalent of an entire small person (about 130 pounds between the two of them, I think). For those of you who haven't seen them in awhile, it's pretty remarkable. My Sis is down 6-7 dress sizes and Mom is down 3-4. I made Mom tuck in her shirt, becuase it was too big. She said, "So are the pants that's why it's untucked." Way to go Mom!

I'm incredibly proud of them and incredibly jealous at the same time.