October Here and There

One day Logan came off the school bus with this nasty looking injury. I was so mad when he told me it happened because someone yanked his arm and caused him to fall into the seat, that I took this picture and was just about to send it off to the transportation department, along with a scathing email, until I asked a few more questions about it.

Turns out, Logan, you were crawling around on the floor of the school bus and messing around with another kid. While I believe you that the kid yanked your arms out from under you - what do you expect to happen when you make choices like that? Well, now we know, right?

Behave!

Wow, now that is a hug!

Let's try that again....

Much better!

Another self-portrait.

Claire coloring. See that crazy hair? Get used to it, kid. It's in your genes, straight from Mommy.

But, you're looking especially well-coiffed on this morning!

Love you guys!

Mama

Remembering Tanner

Dear Logan,

.

I finally took this drawing down off your bulletin board. During the last year or so of Tanner's life, he sort of drove us all crazy with his nonstop barking. For the last few months of his life, Grammy would take him back and forth to Slater with her so that our home wouldn't be so chaotic. He probably enjoyed getting away as much as we appreciated not having him here! The constant commotion of all the kids drove him nuts.

.

You were pretty much the only member of the household who did not enjoy this arrangement. One week you were so distraught over Tanner's going to Pappy's house that you drew this picture to hang up on your wall. It just happened that a short time later, Tanner died.

.

You still vocalize your sadness over Tanner. The other day you told me you wished we could have a different dog, and I knew that what you really meant was that you wished we still had our old one. Loss is always hard, buddy. I'm just glad that your first experience with death was your dog, and not a parent or grandparent. But it doesn't make your - our - loss any less relevant or painful. Tanner was our good friend, and we still love him and miss him.

(click the picture to enlarge)

I think you did a good job with the drawing. It looks just like him.

Love,

Mama

If I Were Maasai...

I would see an elephant, of course!

Logan's little drawer where I keep all his artwork is already getting cramped. This is bad news since he's only in kindergarten, so I decided to start scanning what I can. I love this picture. The elephant is so cute. And I love how the palm tree has a shadow. That's good thinking, Logan! The little guy is either really happy or scared out of his wits to see an elephant at the watering hole, I'm not sure which.