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LGR's Story:

His name is John Funny and his special name is Michael Tickle. Tickle.

He tickles everyone. He tickles all around the world.

He lived when dinosaurs were around. And the dinosaurs wanted to eat him. Then Batman flew in without a cape; with his Bat Rope. He thought the 'X' was a goodie and he was and Batman said "You are like an X-ray."

And then Robin flew in with a cape, and then Superman flew in with a cape and then the 'X' said "Hello. What's your name?" And they said "I'm Batman" and "I'm Robin" and "I'm Superman".

Robin and Superman thought he was a baddie and then Batman said "No - he's not a baddie."

The Jones' House

LGR's Story:

This is a picture of when we were going to have a dog. His name was Boonie. We didn't get Boonie because I was too scared. Boonie was a little dog and he is yellow in this picture.

Growing Up

My kids are getting so big. At times I feel quite sad and melancholic about it - particularly when we stumble across an old photo album and flick through it. The kids love it. We all love it. It's fantastic to look back and remember times gone by. At the same time it's quite sad to think that those versions of our children now exist in our hearts, minds and various pictures and videos but we can no longer hug them or play with them.

Then we remember that life is truly a journey and our's is still in it's early stages :-)

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Our weekend was quite busy. It all started on Friday night when Clan McK visited for some dinner and a game. The kids all made a lot of noise and a lot mess and had a lot of fun. For some reason they all chose to walk around the house with no shirts on - including Hayzey. I'm convinced she thinks she's a boy ...

Saturday started off with some swimming lessons. Again. LGR reckons he doesn't have to go any more. He readily acknowledges that he can't swim properly yet but for some reason seems quite content with what he can do. I think it's because he can stand up in the pool now. Cheeky bugger. Hayzey is quite happy. It's still a game for her.

From swimming it was up to Katoomba for Grandma's birthday. First stop was her home for swim quick cake (and banana and grape and cheese if you're aged 4 or less); then a walk up to the top of Katoomba St for lunch. It was a nice, leisurely old stroll and the kids handled it very well considering the massive hills we had to traverse.

We did run into a little issue at lunch time - the place we wanted to go was shut!! No matter. Plan B swung into action and we ended up at the Carrington. I've never eaten there before - but have had plenty of loud, long nights there in a life long since past. The food was good - cafe style unfortunately at restaurant prices. In balancing that out the serves were generous and it was tasty. The kiddies loved the little play area near where we sat - so we all got something out of the meal.

The afternoon consisted of a quick snooze, some games and a run in the park before packing up and heading over the Nanna's for dinner. The kids continued a very active day by heading out into the backyard to ride bikes, throw balls and generally keep moving. A bath was very much required (Hayzey had all sorts of stuff in her hair - mainly from the park) and very much enjoyed. The bath toys were quite novel and Nanna's bath is a touch bigger than ours.

Dinner was eaten (Hayzey was thrilled - the salad had fetta, tomato and olives), dishes done and a further bit of gamery had before we began the not too long but very weary trip home.

Sunday ....

Sunday started very early for me. At about 04:00 we heard a very loud bang inside the house. We got up to investigate but couldn't figure out what it was. Alas my sleep was disturbed so I stayed up. Mrs G had no such issues ....

LGR wandered downstairs at about 06:45 and Hayzey and Mrs G joined us at about 07:45. LGR had a crack at some American style brekky pancakes but I got some quantities mixed up and they ended up tasting terrible. Better luck next time. It was fun making them and that's what I really wanted to get out of it.

The day was busy - grocery shopping with some side trips for birthday's, Mum's day and whatever else is coming up. Lunch was quick and easy. LGR and I then mowed the grass while Mrs G and Hayzey went out to a party. After the grass mowing we had an 'Eagles party' which was really just the two of us eating some corn chips, sipping a drink and watching the footy. This lasted for about 20 minutes and then it was off for a shower and some house work.

The rest of the day was more of the same. Dinner was anything but ordinary.

While out shopping we bought a nice, fat round of beef. LGR and I marinated it and then we roasted it up with some potato, pumpkin and onion; boiled some broccoli and cauliflower and ate it. The meat was fantastic. We were a bit unsure when we bought it but in hindsight we can see where the extra money that we paid for it was spent and were well satisfied.

Happy Birthday Fafa

Hi there Fafa (aka Grandma). The Jones Clan of Prestons wish you a very happy birthday and an outstanding year to come.

We'd like to sing you a song but I understand that's already been done ;-)

Bonfire

LGR still hasn't managed to finish telling his last story. Every time we decide to do it he tells me he is 'too tired'. I guess that's a phrase he has heard Mummy and Daddy mutter from time to time ...

Over the weekend we had the bux night for UA. Over the course of the previous weekend a bonfire building exercise had been held - but Saturday night was the first time I'd seen it. Impressively tall.

What to say about the night? I liked the bonfire - a lot. I met some interesting guys and learnt a thing or two about UA's past. Nothing bad or embarrassing - just stuff about when he was a kid and some of his growing up experiences. I learnt the thrill of being a hunter/gatherer type of guy and appreciated some quiet, reflective moments when I could look up into the clear, cool sky and see stars.

I enjoyed it.

Sunday was a bit hard - due to fatigue and not the mildly anticipated hangover (I drank 3L of water during the course of the evening and this seems to have helped out a lot). I had to leave the farm early in order to be home for a 3 year old's birthday party. At the Wiggles play centre of all places.

We had a great dinner - although it won't sound like much. It was some teriyaki beef and fried rice - all home made. LGR gulped the meat down. Massive surprise - he usually won't even try red meat. The rice was liked by all and a 30cm fry-pan of it was consumed during the course of a single meal. I may have had 2 or 3 serves but I wouldn't be alone in that regard.

I was shot by this time; and I ended up passing out while watching a show on SBS at about 19:50 .... I'm not sure if Mrs G was amused or horrified.

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LGR is convinced I'm the funniest guy in the world courtesy of my outstanding knock knock jokes and something I unleashed in the car yesterday. On the way home from Kindy Hayzey was asking for her blanket (which is still called a mimi). I got a bit frustrated and uttered some words to the effect of "I can't just pull one out of my ..... nose."

The effect was instantaneous - a riot of laughter from a 4 year old boy. He would start to slow down - then say "Out of my nose!" and start up again. It was a real deep, full throttle laugh which I love hearing. It got even better when Hayz picked up on it and started saying "Mimi nose; mimi nose". More hilarity followed.

The Dark Dark Bat Cave

LGR's story:

The story will come later. LGR is a bit tired right now.

The Batman

LGR: Knock knock

Me: Who's there?

LGR: Justin

Me: Justin Who?

LGR: Justin the neighbourhood - thought I'd drop by!!

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LGR's story for this evening:

One day there was a person called Batman and then he told a joke. He said "Knock knock" and then said "Just in the neighbourhood - thought I'd drop by!".

The person inside that costume is actually called LGR.

And then that's the end.

The end.

Emotions

We only had one Anzac Day adventure (well - there were two outings but only of immediate significance) but it's worth telling.

At about 17:00 we departed our little house bound for an unknown (to the kids) destination. At about 17:15 we were next to Sydney Airport and LGR was excitedly remarking how much he'd like to visit. Next thing you know - that's where we are.

LGR was fascinated by the whole thing. He loved the check-in counter and the security booth's and in very short time declared it 'the best adventure' of his life. The food area overlooked a bunch of plane loading areas and both he and Hayzey were fascinated.

This theme of fascination continued until LGR realised that Mummy had brought along a big red bag for a reason - she was going away. He already knew she was going away but apparently it didn't occur to him that she might be catching a plane!!!

What followed was one of the sweetest conversations ever.

LGR: "Why does Mummy have to go Lemon?"

Daddy: "Lemon? Do you mean Orange?"

LGR: "Yeah. Orange - not Lemon!!"

Just retelling makes me get a big, goofy smile.

The departure was quite dramatic - with both kids chasing Mummy down to the departure gate and letting rip with a wall of tears. We watched Mummy get on the bus to the plane (only very small planes fly to Orange) and Hayzey quietly whispered "I love you Mummy".

It was very beautiful and more than a bit heart-breaking. I think LGR summed his feelings up very nicely when we got home (about 15 minutes back) - "It feels like we left Mummy behind."

We love our kids.

Reading

There's been some fantastic material in the Sydney Morning Herald over the past two days. There always is - but this stuff is worth repeating and/or referencing.

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The first (in order that I saw them) is the article here. It's a cut-down guide to growing food in your backyard - or on your balcony. It really captured my interest because of my recent dietary advice; but also because if it works out I could save a few $$ and also participate in a small fashion to the growing move towards 'planetary responsibility' and self sustainability.

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The second is a quote. I'll give the quote first:

"Australia at its best would see every single individual, irrespective of their gender or race or ability or country of origin, achieving their full potential and using their greatest strengths in the service of something bigger than they are, that they believe in."

I really like the feel of this. You hear our leaders (and perspective leaders) talk of opportunity and aspirations and hope - but nobody has managed to put into a single, elegant phrase like this. Where did it come from? A lady by the name of Therese Rein. For those who further care it should be pointed out she is the wife of a chappy called Kevin Rudd.

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The last thing that I feel is particularly worthy of mention is the following letter. No commentary will be needed:

"Just before dawn in the darkness of the trees on the hill behind the Australian War Memorial in Canberra is a treasured time and place for me. As the pinpoint lights of a thousand candles flicker in the War Memorial service down the hill, I stand among the shadows, the whispers all around me.

Shadows of my father, my uncles, my mother, who all served in World War II and Korea. All gone, but there beside me in the trees. All whispering to me of the Australia they helped to keep safe.

The murmurs of the candle bearers faintly waft on the morning chill and slowly hush to silence as the bugler sounds The Last Post. The notes float clearly up through the trees, and the kookaburras stir from their slumber in the softness of dawn's early light.

It is at that moment that I see, hear and feel the great legacy left to me and to all Australians by those who went before us. God bless all those wonderful men and women whose sacrifices allowed us to prosper."

A Good News Day

Today we were 'invited' to lodge an application for LGR to attend the school we have both decided we would like him to attend. The application was at great pains to stress that this was not a guarantee of acceptance - but they also went out of their way to explain how much we would owe and when it would be due ....

This is good news. We were giving very serious thought to moving to a new location to get the kids into a more reputable school than our local public school. We have been told by all and sundry (including teachers, social workers and even police) that our local school is not very good and has a deserved reputation. We were naturally concerned about this - more so when you think about how placid and shy LGR can be.

We couldn't even get an out of area enrollment - the other local schools get swamped because of the school we didn't want LGR to go to and so they don't accept any out of area enrollments that fall into the area we are in .... Bugger.

Now we don't have to move. Obviously we still can if we want to but at the moment we don't want to.

All we have to do now is get a bunch of information together, attend an interview and commit to pay some money.

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I got some magnificent video of the kids dancing tonight. They love it - and also love putting on a show for the camera. The only downside was the dancing was about 15 minutes before bedtime and it took a lot of calming down.

Hayzey does some cute things in bed. The sweetest is the habit she has developed of laying one of her blankets across the pillow and then laying her head on the blanket to go to sleep. Once she does this it's a fair sign that she is well and truly on the way out.

Weekend

It's been a busy couple of days. I've personally been crook but am on the mend - some cold and flu tablets, a fruit based diet and some sleep have taken care of that.

Where to start?

The kids are still doing swimming lessons - and are coming along nicely. This week Hayzey showed her first signs of truly swimming by moving about 5m through the water (with face in) while kicking and paddling. It was quite impressive. LGR is learning how to dive. Unfortunately he has discovered he is now tall enough to stand in the pool and is starting to take the easy way out.

My afternoon was spent out on the UA family farm helping to get ready for the boys night out prior to the wedding. We picked what I though was a lot of wood for a very large bonfire - only to find out we only have about 1/4 of what is actually needed .... The kids came with while Mrs G studied and they had a ball out there. They like the farm a lot and are very curious about why we don't have chickens, roosters, cows, horses etc.

Saturday night was spent at home with the kids. Mrs G was out and about on Aunt LJ's hen's night. Fortunately the kids were very, very tired because I was feeling very, very crook. Breathing was becoming an issue and getting upstairs felt like a marathon.

I woke on Sunday and felt a lot better - but not completely better. Breathing through my nose was once again possible. We were all very excited about our big day out in Wollongong. But not for long. It was canned due to a combination of other people having hangovers and some not so good looking weather. A quick ring around saw a second family drop out of the day's festivities so in the end Clan Jones and Clan McK boldly ventured over to Penrith Panther's for some fun.

The trip over was bizarre. We had all four kids in our car and 3 of them loved. LGR and Corky sat in the 3rd row of seats and nattered away merrily. Hayzey told me several times she was tired but never managed to go to sleep and AMcK assumed a buddhist meditative pose for the whole trip and didn't say boo.

Panther's was exactly what you'd expect - cheap and cheerful and a place where you don't have to worry too much about the kids getting into mischief. We had some lunch and the kids played in the playground and we hit some golf balls and that's about it.

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So that's the weekend. In retelling it doesn't seem like much but in the doing it felt a whole heap busier.

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I'm having some issues uploading pics for LGR's stories using Picassa's 'Blog This' function - it reports the upload has worked but when I view the page a day later the image is gone. I'm hoping I've fixed the issues now but if you something that doesn't look right let me know ....

Fireworks

No need for descriptions any more - I've figured out how to scan in colour. Hooray for me.

LGR's Story:

This one is called MOC. (Pause).

Once upon a time there were some people called Corky, LGR, Wim, Mummy, Daddy and AMcK and Hayzey. At the end of Australia Day there some fireworks. And then they all needed to go home. But they took a slice of cake and before that they had a little of a play outside. And then they needed to go home for a sleep. The end.

Smiley Face

This is the most recent LGR. Quite elegant in it's simplicity. This time the paper is sky blue and the crayon used is a vivid orange.

LGR's Story:

This one is called 'Timbuktu'. All right? Once there was a person who ate too many sweets. His name was LGR (Dad's edit there!!) and one tooth of his got wobbly. Just like the one right now. So he needed to go to the dentist and then he was going to go his best mates house and that's the end.

Tree In A Cave

This is the first LGR picture that I ever scanned. I'm particularly proud of this one. As always it's very literal and quite abstract. The original colouring was black pen on blue lined paper.

LGR's Story:

Ok. Let me tell you. Once there was a big tree in the forest and one person came and chopped it down so, and then, they popped it in a cave and then - guess what? Then they ate it and took the leaves off and some white parrots came and sat on the branch of it and then guess what happened? And then, actually, they flew the cave out and then a clever person, who made the tree, put it back to pieces.

Almost a Month

It's been a while. But I'm back. There's been plenty happen and I won't bother to try to cover it all. We've finally got our new car. It's nice. I found out my family history of heart disease may come home to roost if I don't sort out my diet. That's not nice. Easter was 4 days off and we did nothing apart from a quick trip up the mountains. That was very, very nice.

I'll put up some pictures for everyone to see. LGR drew them. I like them.

More of the same

Hi Folks. I'm back. Not much going in the world of Clan Jones.

Let me see ....

About 9 days ago I took the kiddies up the mountains to visit Nanna. When we got there Clan Cuc were already in place and shortly after Aunt LJ, UA and great Nanna all arrived. It was a good afternoon. Plenty of rain, plenty of noise and heaps of food. Best of all it let Mrs G do some study and the kids wore themselves out playing.

Not much happened during the week - I made some enquiries about the car and got nowhere. Still no date on when it's arriving.

On the 23rd Mrs G and I celebrated 6 years in our house - by going out for dinner. Seems slighly ironic but it was a nice evening and we used it formulate our plans for our next family holiday. We also got to eat some nice food and drink some very nice wine.

Saturday was quite laid back. We did not much in the morning - most of us lay around the house being lazy but others did more study. In the afternoon Mrs G and LGR went to the Chef's house - one for an undies party and the other to play in the pool. Hayzey stayed with me and also had a sleep so I had a few hours of doing not much time.

Aunt LJ and UA arrived at our place late in the afternoon and next thing I know I'm best man at their wedding. Quite an honour.

Dinner turned into a BBQ with the McK family. It was fun. The goods all played and many tantrums were had. It was all quite sweet and considering the lateness of the evening they were very well behaved.

Sunday was just another day. The morning was spent grocery shopping and in the afternoon Mrs G went out with Aunt LJ to look for wedding dresses. I used the time to figure out which settings were required for me to burn my video's to DVD via the PC - it only took about 2 hours and 4-5 discs to get it right ....

But I did get it right and I can see my next project taking shape nicely. Maybe I can put video editting on my CV?

Today is the day ....

We were supposed to get our new car today. But we're not. Why? The only explanation I have received from either the lease providers or the manufacturer is 'factory delays'. I can't help but wonder how it is related to the same manufacturer making 600 people redundant last week.

The other possibility is some sort of fault/recall situation but there's been nothing in the media. The truth is I don't know. I'm a touch upset about it - we've already been waiting 3.5 months and the best guesstimate I can get now is 4-6 weeks ....

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The kids have been very, very sweet this week. Hayzey has learnt to say 'I love you' and repeats it every night when we put her to bed. She continues to take a particular delight in reading her books to her dolls when she goes to bed - last night I saw her sitting up with her dolls all around her gleefully pointing out the Mummy, Daddy, LGR and Hayzey characters in her book. It's a bit of a mystery how she decided who was who - the book was full of cartoon pictures of zoo animals.

LGR surprised me last night - we put on a Pete Murray CD (again) and he started singing along to the choruses while strumming his guitar. Very unexpected and very sweet. He was also pre-empting the words I was reading to him out of a book earlier this week. Apparently this book is read to the kids at kindy ...

I went for my first semi-run in 2 months earlier this week. It wasn't much - run a couple of hundred then walk a couple of hundred. I have to start somewhere and at some time. This time around I need to respect my limits and/or respect the inevitable interruptions to the training routine. My ankles only blew out this time because I missed a bunch of sessions but trained as though I wasn't missing them. Stupidity/impatience on my behalf really; and an oft repeated mistake.

Races

Over the weekend Clan Jones headed off to Queanbeyan with a couple of other families for a bit of a weekend away and to attend some speedway races.

We all arrived at our motel at about midday - which is quite amusing because we all travelled down independently but arrived within 5 minutes of each other. We checked in, and got moved to another room after unpacking (grrr ....) and then went for a swim. The pool at the motel was quite a good size and everyone had a go. It was fun. The kids loved it.

After a short while, amidst much protesting from the kids, it was off for some lunch and some grocery shopping - mainly for brekky things and some stuff to take to the races. We also picked up a few beverages for a lazy afternoon by the pool.

A mid afternoon swim was had with a few less participants. Some parents were responsible enough to try to get their kids to go sleep but we didn't even try. We've been there before with Hayzey - as tired as she is she just won't sleep in an unfamiliar environment during the day.

At about 17:30 Grandpa, Aunt J, Aunt LJ and UA all rocked on up to join us for a walk over to dinner - at the Leagues Club. It was only 3 blocks but for some reason took us almost 30 minutes. Probably due to many kids with little legs :-) When we got there we met up with a good portion of the Hobson clan and we all proceeded inside.

Dinner ended up being quite a lot of fun - we ended up in a semi-private room which had 3 TV's, a bunch of very plush and comfortable arm-chairs and plenty of tables. Food and drinks were ordered and all parties settled in for a night of 'hair letting down'.

Quite possible the sweetest part of the evening came when LGR sat down with his 'girlfriend' at their own little table and they had a meal together. Nobody else was allowed to sit near them. LGR said it was fun but he wanted some candles!!!

We ended up getting back to the motel at about 23:00 and some adult members of the group very, very generously volunteered to look after kids while others in the group kicked on a bit. I managed to kick, as did Mrs G. The kick on was fun - and at times very, very amusing.

We all ended up going to bed at about 02:00 - and I was awake again at about 05:30. I don't know why - the kids weren't stirring and there was no noise outside. LGR joined us in bed at about 06:30 and sweet little Hayzey woke at about 07:45. She was filthy - she had dirty and food all over her and was in dire need of a wash. She looked very, very tiny in the shower by herself :-)

Breakfast was a BBQ - pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausages etc. Tasted great. Mostly everyone was quiet - from fatigue more than anything else.

Next stop was the races - theoretically the whole reason for being there. We rocked on up expecting something like Goulburn but it wasn't quite the same - the faster, more impressive vehicles (not withstanding the HQ's) hadn't turned up and the facilities were bare - even by country standards. The track was a really weird shape - or perhaps dimension? I've never seen a speedway track with a hill in it before .....

We watched some races. Hayzey in particular loved it - she clapped and cheered and strutted around the place as though she owned it. LGR paid some close attention for a while but drafted off eventually.

The races were a bit of an anti-climax but at least we got there. The highlight of the meet was when Uncle P gave LGR a racing helmet. LGR loves it. He hugged it all the way home (except for when he was asleep) and every now and then put it on in the car to tell us how cool he looked. When we got home he wore it while riding his trike around the house. The only other item he had on was his boxer shorts and it was a very surreal sight.

The kicker was when he went to bed - he took the helmet with him. The last time I saw him awake on Sunday evening he was quietly laying in bed with his helmet and blanket. The blanket was wrapped around LGR and his helmet and he was patting/stroking the helmet.

More Than I Thought

I mowed the grass on Tuesday afternoon. The section underneath the trampoline was long enough to reach the mat of the trampoline itself.

It took a while to get the job done :-)

It needs doing again :-(

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We've had a mellow sort of week - nothing much happening (nothing that's out of the ordinary that is). I feel as though I've eaten a ton of paella, Mrs G probably feels like she's done 1000 hours of study and the kids feel like they get put into bed too early. We all have our little gripes ...

I've becoming increasingly, over the past couple of months, that I'm becoming increasingly more fascinated by the art of politics. Not necessarily the getting things done/processes of politics but the game playing and general silliness that is becoming increasingly more prevalent. Nothing seems to happen or get mentioned unless there is the chance of sticking it to someone else in the opposition. The language used is incredibly deliberate and, wherever possible, vague. It's very seldom that a question gets answered - and even when a question is answered the smalles, most trivial piece of it will be taken by the opposition/media/whoever and twisted around to suit a very specifc and pre-determined agenda.

I can't help but watch it - and admire the way in which 'they' seem to get away with it. I don't aspire to politics in any way, shape or form but the game itself is fascinating.

Maybe I should have studied sociology at Uni?

3 Foot Pigmy; 3 Foot Grass

We've got some long grass at our place. So long that the bottom of the swings on our swingset ar obscured by grass. So long that are solar powered nightlights no longer get enough sunlight to work at night. So long that Hayzey managed to disappear into the grass along the side of our house :-)

I cut the frontyard grass yesterday. This involved emptying the catcher 4 times - and that was using the highest cut possible. So much grass, and it came so suddenly. I'm hoping to get the backyard done 'soon' but there's storms forecast all week so we'll see what happens. At least the house looks like someone lives in it again.

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We had a pretty big weekend. Swimming lessons first - and the kids are definitely improving all of a sudden. Then it was off to the optometrist. My eyes have barely changed over the past two years. It's nice to know that at least one part of my body is decaying ....

I spent a good chunk of the afternoon on the phone working. It was kind of amusing - the phone was on speaker and the kids kept walking over and talking to me and into the phone. It was even better when they started telling me it was time to go out :-)

Saturday night was a party. LGR has his first proper girlfriend. Sort of. He's smitten by a 7 year old. Apparently he has lots of girlfriends. Just ask him - he's quite candid about it. He doesn't know which one he wants to marry yet ....

At the end of the night LGR wanted to give his girl a kiss, and she wanted to give him a kiss but they were both to shy to do it. It was so innocent and beautifully sweet. Hayzey just wanted to eat lollies. They both passed out in the car on the way home ... which was a relief for us.

Everyone slept in on Sunday. I woke at about 07:00 and Mrs G woke at around 07:45. LGR stumbled downstairs at about 08:15 and Hayzey was woken at 08:45. After a quick bit of brekky and a wash (Hayzey had a complete meal plastered to her hair) we were off to the shops for some groceries and then off to visit Aunt LG and UA. Turned out Nanna was there too.

So we had lunch and some chats and generally sweltered. It was nice. We got home and I mowed - which wasn't nice. Then I showered and that was very, very nice. Both kids helped me cook dinner (paella) in their own special ways and then LGR pronounced he didn't like it. Again. He seems to look at food and then decided it's no good - without actually eating any of it.

And that was about it.

Until 21:30 - when the first flashes started appearing way off to the West. Mrs G and I sat on the deck watching it for a while (and while getting eaten by mozzies). The storm proper arrived at about 22:30, and it was fantastic. There was so much lightning it was like strobe lighting and the thunder sounded very crisp, very 'tearing' and very, very proximal. The house shook several times. It even rained.

LGR woke up and was a bit scared - he wasn't crying or anything but we could hear him calling out for us. I brought him into our bedroom and all three of us watched the storm (Hayzey slept through the whole thing) and then LGR lay down to sleep. I lay next to him and he hugged me as tightly as he could. I loved it. It made me feel very special.

Eventually he nodded off and the storm moved away. I picked up my sleeping boy took him into his bedroom and got told that he loved me. What else do you need in life?