State of the Union

I have no good excuse whatsoever as to the length between my last post and this one. And now it’s the end of the year. Instead of a thoughtful and eloquent post about reflecting on the season, taking time to enjoy, slowing down and being present…I’m taking it to the gutter. Ok, not exactly. But I’ve got my sassy pants on today, seems my sappy pants are in the pile of laundry that Tucker is (piece by piece) hurling out of the hamper so he can use it as a cage. For the 3rd time in the last hour. So today, I am writing a real and honest post about the state of the union. The Team Hucks union. Enjoy. This should be good.

• Preschool. It’s kickin’ my butt y’all. Tucker started preschool this year (totally adorable). It’s a mere 2 days a week and only half days at that, but the struggle for this workin’ girl is for real. Every day there’s something to bring, a donated can of peas,  a class gift to contribute, something to bake for the fundraiser, sprinkles to pack for the class fall festival. But, for a quick glance at the calendar on the fridge as I rushing-ly grabbed a non-organic juice box for his lunch, I almost sent the kid to school in orange when it was GREEN WEEK. Close call. Mercifully, there are room moms to help me stay somewhat on top of it. And despite my inability to keep up some days, Tucker loves it. Like, really, really, really loves it. On the first day, I had to chase him ’round the train table three times to get a goodbye hug. He drops his bookbag every day and doesn’t look back. It is such a wonderful place and he’s learning things we want him to learn like compassion, and service, and being humble (thanks to the Humble Bee story from chapel-see, how cute it that?). So truly, we couldn’t be more thrilled with his preschool. I just need Santa to bring me a planning assistant. Who keeps sprinkles and canned peas in her purse.

 

• The House. There’s  a ring around our guest bedroom toilet. It’s been there going on I-lost-count-weeks. We’ve switched to a zone defense with the house cleaning. We clean the major zones. The rest? Sorry for your luck. How one 38 inch human can obliterate a living room in 43 minutes is astounding. And he’s begun hiding things. He calls it “trapping”. We’ve become mostly ok with knowing the house is perpetually in a state of halfway clean. And Lord help us if he ever “traps” the preschool calendar. It would make me feel so good to know that your house is in this state of disarray too? If you have nary a ring in any of your toilets at this very moment…just keep it to yourself. Show off.

 

• Vacations. This was finally a year for us to get out of the house with our (not so fragile anymore!) toddler. It was really, really nice. We took our first trip to Disney where I cried all over the the park (read about it here), we had a wonderful family beach trip and in February Darrin and I are going to the Bahamas! It has felt weird and great at the same time to head into outings and vacations without lysol and Clorox wipes. We’re grateful.

 

• 39 and Holding. There’s a nasty awful rumor circulating. That someone in this union is turning 40 in January. I can’t even. You may remember my post back in January of this year, about coming to terms with this sturdy body of mine. (Read it here). I’m working on it still. Eleven months later. The good news is, that in October, I joined a bootcamp. One of those crazy hard bootcamps that gets all Jillian Michaels on you for 45 minutes. But, I like it. It’s either the bootcamp or the impending less than a month away birthday that somehow gets me out of bed at 5:30 most mornings to work on building the strong body I would prefer to have instead of the jiggly one. I put it off a little (listen-I’m too busy trying to find orange and black sprinkles) but I’m committed. Six weeks in and I’m on track. Down 7 inches and 6% body fat. Most important though, is that, me and my hips have opened up peace talks. And that’s a big deal. I’m comin’ for you 40.

 

• Tucker-isms. He calls the sheets cuddles. He calls m&m’s chocolate beans. He can literally name every animal in the kingdom (no, mom that’s a black footed ferret, not a weasel. Oh, my bad buddy). We told him he was going to meet Santa at preschool on Saturday, his response-“What car will he be in?”. His prayers at night are hilarious and perfect. “Dear God, please bring us a baby. And a monkey. Amen.” He’s taking a kid’s drama class and during his preschool Thanksgiving program, Tucker didn’t sing one note but he took about 27 bows throughout the performance, expecting applause. Something new and clever and funny spills out of his mouth every single day-and we love it.

 

• No More Doctors. In November, Tucker was discharged from his very last specialist. When we left the NICU he was followed by about 6 different specialty doctors (Cardiology, Gastroenterology, Audiology, Neurology, Pulmonology, Opthamology, Developmental Pediatrician and regular pediatrician). They’ve each discharged him permanently along the last 3 years. He has passed every developmental milestone on time and at this point, the threat of any long term issues from his extreme prematurity is very, very low. We can’t articulate how thankful we are for this. We don’t know why he has had such a good road when others in his same situation have had a much much harder path. We know only that they are all fierce fighters and that Tucker is one lucky kid. God loves them all.

 

• Our Rookie. This is the hardest update to write so I saved it for the end. We’re still waiting. The adoption is taking much longer than I ever thought. And it’s becoming much harder than I ever imagined. I’ve written a couple of posts about the adoption (read here). I really thought I would be ok with the wait. I’m kind of a professional waiter. But the last few months have been tough. Punctuated by the still un-embroidered stocking that I hung up again this year. When I packed it up last year, I was positive that when it came out of the box this season we would have a baby and a name to stitch. But it doesn’t look that way. So we’re trying to be patient. We made a video for potential birthmothers to watch (you can see it here) and while it felt somewhat awkward to “showcase our life”, we hope it speaks to her in a way that shows her what we’re like (you, know in 90 seconds or less). We would love your prayers. Pray for the perfect baby for our team and for his or her birth family. We are growing weary of the wait.

And there you have it. A real and honest state of the union for Team Hucks, toilet rings and all. Thanks as always, for following along with us. This Christmas season, we have given a donation to Bee Mighty in your honor. One of our favorite charities and one that means an awful lot to our family. We pray that you have the merriest of seasons. That you have time for cookies and table conversation with the people you love most. The thing about chaos and real-ness is that God takes it and makes it all glory-filled. The mess that we are, is the real-ness he craves in a relationship. The stable stunk, there’s no doubt. He chose real over ceremony, when it was time to send his boy into the world. And that worked out pretty darn perfect for all of us.

Merry Christmas from Team Hucks

 “But you, Bethlehem, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel” Michah 5:2

 

Photo credits: Ashley Frisk Photography