Confessions of a Crafty Southern Belle: Rollercoaster day

I've been in a little bit of a dry spell lately about blogging, as ideas to write about just weren't coming to my mind. Then yesterday I had a day of highs and lows; I was overcome with sorrow to see that little Joseph a 4-year old little boy that lives our area, passed away yesterday afternoon. I knew his parents a little bit, Allen and Gillian, in college, and heard about his illness a few months ago and have since been praying for him and following his progress on their blog, Pray for Joseph. It was only this past November that they learned he had an aggressive brain tumor. Since then, he's had an endless run of surgeries, chemo, steroids, and other treatments. In their post Wednesday night, they had gotten the news that day while at St. Jude that he only had a few days to live, so they were coming home Thursday morning to try to enjoy spending those days in their home where Joseph could be comfortable. But he died in their bed shortly after they returned home. I cried so much for them yesterday, and am still teary now as I write. Although I know Joseph is completely whole and in the arms of Jesus now, my heart is broken for his parents, whose faith has been so strong. I cannot imagine their pain as he passed into heaven, knowing that they would no longer be able to hold their baby boy in their arms anymore. I read an article recently by a woman who had lost her daughter at a young age, and she said for months after she died, her arms would physically ache from longing to hold her daughter again. Yesterday I just held Eliza in my arms for a long time (while watching Curious George), kissed her head about a million times, smelled her hair, while the tears fell for Allen and Gillian. Please keep them and their little girl Holly in your prayers.

That was the low of my day, and then the high was girl's night out with my playgroup buddies at PF Changs, yum yum and so much fun. It's so nice after spending days in my "faux workout wear" (it looks like I'm on my way to or from the gym, but I actually haven't worked out in months and just wear them for comfort) to get all gussied up and go out with to a great dinner with some fantastic girlies with no diaper bags, goldfish, or sippy cups in sight. What a joy to eat, drink, and be merry and only have to worry about myself. Of course, we love our kids, but it's nice to have a break from the constant care-taking of our kiddos. This playgroup started as a group of neighborhood moms with new babies--Eliza was just 8 weeks old at our first meeting and slept in the Baby Bjorn the whole time; and the other three little girls just laid on a blanket on the floor. For the past 4 years we've gotten together every other week for some much needed playtime for the kids and "adult" time for the moms. We've added new friends and siblings, and had one friend move away. Next year the oldest girls, including Eliza, will be heading off to kindergarten so we'll have to adapt our plans a little, but I truly hope we can stay together for many years to come. So here's a "shout out" to my playgroup girls (I think we need a name for our group?)--thank you for your friendship. Here are some pictures of the girls over the years:

This was one of our first meetings. That's Eliza--the 2nd pumpkin from the left. They're all so tiny!

This one cracks me up. Sorry Josie and Olivia by making you sit on the couch--it looks like torture!

I don't have any pictures for a while after this one above because we couldn't get them all to sit still in one place long enough.

This is from Eliza's party a couple of weeks ago. So big!! (thanks Hanna for the pic!)