Days with the Dorans

So nothing like seeing THIS in the morning to set off your day!! I feel like this should be old hat for me- similar drawings- different kid... but this time it was sharpie and on WOOD!  Thankfully it wasn't on our hardwood floor but on a table in our dining room (that we don't use as much but still).   I posted the picture on facebook and thankfully got LOTS of suggestions on how to clean it off.  I tried ALL of them (literally).  It looks a little better than the picture below (which was magic eraser only) but I can still see a faint outline of the work. I don't think that anyone who didn't know to look for it would see it.  Maybe one day I'll look back on it and smile.   Of course it was Sean.  The one who randomly on the way to pick up Ali from dance tonight said, "You know mom, I love you."  When I asked him why (thinking if he were older it may be, because you didn't kill me for writing in sharpie marker on your table) my five ye...

On Wednesdays all over the internet , bloggers post a photograph with no words to explain it on their blog. Hence the ‘wordless’ title. The idea is that the photo itself says so much that it doesn ’t need any description. I will leave you with one word... ZACH!

It seems we rarely go to church as a family anymore. Jeff is one of the worship leaders, so often I am solo in the congregation with the kids. (My mom is usually there too.) Today Jeff was 'off' so we were able to sit and worship together as a family. It was nice. I had had a rough week- with some added melancholy- missing my Andrew more than usual. It was great to be in that place- with all I love surrounding me. I felt refreshed- happy. We were singing and I was connecting with God with thoughts of how truly blessed we were. The kids were great and I was really able to focus... I should have known that silence (even in church) is never a 'great thing' because in the middle of one of the songs, Ali Jane whispered to me, "Mom, Zach is coloring on himself." Let's just say that Jeff and I looked at each other- smiles spread across our faces- hearts full. My sadness and melancholy left me. God is good- and perhaps he has blessed us with a future tattoo art...

The other day I was upstairs folding clothes when I heard Jeff scream, "LAURA- GET DOWN HERE!" I got down there so fast (Jeff is NOT a yeller ) and what I saw was Zach- playing the piano and singing. I couldn't figure out why Jeff had yelled to me, and Zach turned around and looked just as confused. But then Jeff gestured to my chairs... my NEW chairs that were JUST delivered the night before. I looked at them and my mouth just dropped and I put my hands up to cover it. Immediately Zach came down from the piano and said, "I torry mommy, I torry ." wrapping his arms around me. It was hard to be angry with him after his sweet reaction- and I don't know if 'angry' would be the word to describe how I felt- but thankfully my mom came over with goof off, WD -40 and a print-out of ' Internet advice' to get out such stains. She flipped over the chair and tested out the various remedies... (all of which actually worked) but in the en...