Thanksgiving

It's time for the annual thankful post and while the faces of my blessings haven't changed much over the last 365 days, the joys have only multiplied and for that I am so grateful. This has been a hard year in some respects for our family and we have struggled with change. Me in particular. My parents divorce has been a challenging turn of events for us and has really changed the landscape of our extended family. In turn, while the world outside of our little house has been turned kind of topsy turvy, for the four of us inside, it has never been a better year. I am so grateful to have three people in my house that have kept me grounded and focused on what truly matters, so this post is dedicated to them as a type of love letter to the men I am so blessed to call my family.

My oldest child. Connor has really grown up over the last year and I have really come to appreciate having a child old enough to talk to about really important things. We have had amazing talks about life, God and the oh so very important Kenny and Stuart. I also really appreciate our conversations about super silly things because as a grown up, I forget how important silly conversations are to my soul. His imagination is endless and I know I have talked before about his absolute ability to find joy in life, but I don't think it can be mentioned enough. I love that he sees things in a totally unique way from the rest of the world, even if I don't always get it. He is smart and creative and every day is truly the best day of his life. I don't think I have ever had that mind set and I should. He loves the color pink and baseball in equal measure and can't wait to grow up to be a veterinarian or an artist or an astronaut. He is a fantastic big brother and loves his Mushy more than we could have ever imagined and I love to see them interact with each other every day (with the exception of the occasional slap fight). Hudson wants to be just like his brother and he couldn't have a better example.

My youngest son. He is a whirlwind. He has really come alive over the last twelve months and has been endlessly entertaining. He tolerates his family treating him like a baby even though he knows that he is a big boy. We know it too, but it is hard for us to see our little one giving up the last vestiges of babyhood. It has happened so fast. Hudson is hilarious. He hears five seconds of music on a commercial and it sends him into a dancing fit. He loves to break it down Wiggles style and has a groove like no other. He is can veer from complete and total stinker to sweet, snuggly boy so fast it almost gives me whiplash, but he always keeps us laughing. He is gifted at so many things, the least not being his ability to strip out of all his clothes in the blink of an eye no matter the time or place. Really, it is a talent. He has big dreams, even at the tender age of two, and so far those dreams consist of being a drummer and eating ketchup. Possibly being a drummer while eating ketchup, but I'm not positive. Joy. He has it too. It runs through his veins and I am so eternally thankful for it. He keeps all of us from taking ourselves too seriously and goodness knows I am guilty of that. Now, I just have to keep him from growing up and joining a nudist colony and we will be in good shape. I think I will tell him that they don't allow naked people to eat ketchup, that might work.

My husband. I thought I should probably save the best for last, especially since he gets some grief in this blog pretty often and never complains. He actually thinks I am funny, which is extremely generous of him. I love this man. He has been a rock for our family this year. He has dealt with my instability and roller coaster emotions and he has never once called me crazy (although I clearly was). He loves me enough to agree with me even when we both know I am wrong and supports me fully in my endless list of self-decreed hurts, offenses and one restaurant boycott (which is still going strong, by the way! It's been two years : ) He has shared my hurts and always finds a way to make me laugh, even at his own expense. Have I mentioned how he described our house to a realtor (whom we had known all of five minutes) as a "great baby making house?" It was both awkward and hilarious and classic Matt. He works about 5000 times harder than me every day and is fantastic at his job. Under appreciated, but fantastic and I always forget to give him enough credit (besides this annual blog, which if it were me, I would have circled in red on the calendar in order to make myself feel good, but he isn't like that). Matt is a great husband and a great Dad and I am so thankful that he is leading our family in the right direction, because if it were up to me, I think I would have us all on the road to crazy town by now. I love seeing the glimpses of my husband in both of my children and knowing that they are better for being like their dad.

So thanks for making it through my annual Thanksgiving brag about my boys post, we truly have so much to be thankful for this year. We have family that love us and friends that are like family and that makes us feel immeasurably blessed. Happy Thanksgiving!

Chariots of Fire

This morning Connor participated in his first fun run. He treated this event like it was the Olympics. Connor has always loved to run, so this short little one mile (approximately) jaunt seemed right up his alley.

Since this was his first foray into track and field I learned a few things about Connor Hill, professional racer, he has a list of things that are crucial to his success and they are as follows:

1. His get pumped up music. This includes one, and only one, song: Life is a Highway, performed by Rascal Flatts from the soundtrack to the movie Cars. He must hear this at least four times before he can run at his optimal level (watching it as a YouTube video is optional but a bonus).

2. His get pumped up food. The evening before the race he must eat as much as possible in order to "fill up his tank with fuel" This means he ate his weight in spaghetti and drank two full glasses of milk. His family is required to observe stomach and muscle size both before and after this meal to make sure we could see positive results.

3. An overabundance of self confidence. This event was titled "Fun Run", which Connor quickly renamed "My Race" and he declared himself the winner at least five days in advance. Halfway to the run this morning, he decided that he was over qualified for the kids run and should probably participate in "the parents run" with Ms. Karen (his running mentor and babysitter). This is a wonderful example of the Hill male's humility. He had already placed out of a division where he had yet to perform and promoted himself to the highest level. We agreed to work our way up to that though. His mission was not so much 'fun' as total domination of his competition. Oh, but he did have fun.

4. A fierce sense of competition. This goes hand in hand with number 3. His racing group was kids under 13 and some random adults who wanted to either run with their kids or didn't want to run the 5k. After Connor crossed the finish line, he let me know that he spent most of the race "trying to block a man pushing a stroller" in order to keep him from getting in the front. And by God, he beat that man pushing a stroller by at least 3 seconds (check the video). I can just imagine what that poor guy thought as he is casually jogging, pushing his baby and this crazy four year old making motor sounds keeps darting in front of him trying to cut him off. Near the finish line, a giant blue bear representing a healthcare company was waving and encouraging and handing out high fives as kids neared the end. Here is what Connor had to say about the friendly blue bear, "And Mommy, that bear tried to high five me, but I told him 'No! I'm winning this race!' I couldn't let that bear slow me down Mommy, because then that man with the stroller would beat me." That is dedication friends.

And finally 5. His secret weapon. What truly enables Connor to run the fastest and beat all but three other kids in the fun run? Wearing his Lightning McQueen pajamas underneath his racing clothes. He is kind of like superman like that.

Needless to say, I was overwhelmingly proud today. And cold. But definitely more proud than cold. I started to get a little worried though, after they left the starting line, because it was farther than I thought and he was totally out of sight for most of the race. He is, after all, only four years old and I kind of thought I would be able to see him the whole time. I started to imagine him getting a little tired and not being able to see anyone he knew and getting upset because again, he is four and four year olds tend to do things like that. But a mere nine minutes later, there he was, giving it his all and he crossed the finish line with a giant smile on his face. I don't think I could walk to my car in nine minutes without taking at least two sit down breaks. I love that kid with every ounce of my being and if I have to stand in the freezing cold to cheer him on in the other 92 races he has decided to run this year, I'll be there with bells on.

Really, he has set his personal racing goal at 92 and he is nothing if not an over achiever.