Today is Jonathan’s funeral. A good friend will be watching the two eldest, so that I can attend with just the wee ones in tow.

Now, if only I could get two hours of sleep in. a. row. Because it’s 5:00 a.m. and I have to be out of the house by 8:30. Not a lot of time left to sleep, dress, and leave.

Eep.

The silly thing is that I can’t even blame this on DFS1. It’s DD3 who has decided that waking at 3:30 a.m. is perfectly acceptable and fine. Sheesh.

Not unexpectedly, but still a surprise, my mom called today to tell me that Jonathan slipped away this morning. I guess the cancer just ended up being too much for his tired body. For a man who’s beaten all the odds, it really must have been his time to rest. God has called him home, and we will forever miss his laughter and contagious joy.

There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.
Yes we’ll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we’ll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.

-Shel Silverstein

Today I stunned the clerk at Walmart when she asked how old my kids were. When I replied, “Four, two, eight months and eight days.” Her eyes bugged out and I could visibly see the wheels spinning in her head. I didn’t bother to explain why my last two kiddos are eight months apart. I just let her marvel at the insanity.

Speaking of the kids. People keep asking how we’re doing. And the truth is, we’re doing really well. It’s an interesting experience parenting a newborn without dealing with the physical healing that happens with birth. It’s at once liberating and disconcerting.

My younger sister is having a baby in September and I’m looking forward to these kiddos enjoying each other. Give them all a few years and we could have quite the rat pack.

Last night was torturous. DD3 was awake ALL NIGHT LONG. No, scratch that. She kept ME awake all night long. SHE kept her eyes closed and just kicked and moaned her way through the night. The best I can tell, she’s teething. The poor girl was miserable. I finally got her to sleep at 4:00 a.m. and then tried to transition her upstairs at 5:00 a.m. only to wake her up. That’s when I kicked Dh out of bed and put him on Daddy Duty. I was able to sleep for three hours before it was my turn again. So yeah, I’m not firing on all six cylinders today.

Today was supposed to be LLL. But frankly, I’m not fit for public interaction. If I can ever get this baby to take a nap. I’m going to go upstairs and take a bath.

After that, I’m finishing my latest project. A hula hoop!

More on that later.

Last year, one of the projects I made for my folk’s Christmas was this neat little family tree. Reminiscent of an abacus, the tree is made from pine, a few dowel rods, and painted wooden beads. With each bead symbolizing each member of my parent’s family. Recently, I was contacted by CookieMag and asked if I would mind having my project featured in one of their online blogs.

So with kid like excitement, here’s the link: Nesting

Along with my own project they have a number of different family tree ideas. Go ahead, and check the article out.

40 min | 15 min prep | 12 muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup Shredded coconut
2 eggs, room temp
3/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and spices if using, into bowl and whisk together until well blended. Add coconut to flour mixture and stir to coat; set aside.

2. In separate bowl whisk eggs until very creamy and add the sugar in several additions whisking vigorously until thick. Add melted butter in 2 steps whisking again until well mixed. Add sour cream and again whisk vigorously until well combined.

3. Fold flour mixture into batter until just incorporated, you will see some small spots of flour, do not over mix. Batter may be refrigerated over night or for several hours, dough will develop more flavor.

4. Make optional crumble topping by mixing 1/2 c Flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1/4 cup cool butter until crumbly.

5. Spoon dough into muffin tin and top with crumble topping if using.

4. Bake at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes until light golden brown and toothpick test comes out clean. Suggest preheat oven at least 30 minutes to get maximum burst. Oven rack middle of oven.

It feels like we’re finally rounding the bend and mending. I keep forgetting to take my antibiotics on time, so what should have been a ten day course is truly much longer.

In other news, DD3 has had an explosion of growth these last couple weeks. Her accomplishments include climbing stairs (eek!), growing a first tooth, learning how to point, perfecting the clap, saying words, “Up,” “Dada” and something that sounds suspiciously like DD1’s name. She also will happily give anybody who asks a nice solid “high five.” Watching her grow is both bitter and sweet. Why can’t they stay tiny forever?

Dh has been on Jury Duty all week, and today he finally had off. So, we spent the day at Mayfest in Fort Worth. We didn’t stay super long. Just long enough to get absolutely filthy with fun and properly exhausted. Wish we lived a little closer, we could have left for naps and returned for evening celebrations.

Maybe next year.