SnaggleMoo

It all started a little over a year ago. Micah was running down the hall one day and smacked his face into the wall. It was his front tooth that took the brunt of the blow, and it was left just a tiny bit bloody and loose. I was worried -- I just knew that it had been irreparably damaged, and would end up falling out in a few days. Afterall, this was only about three months after Conner's tooth injury that ended up leaving him with a snaggletoothed smile. (Don't get me wrong, that little smile is still one of my four favorite smiles in the world. I now think it is really cute. But, the fact doesn't change that he is still supposed to have teeth there, and probably won't for at least another year...) For Micah to lose a tooth prematurely would be about par for the way things had been going for us.

But he didn't lose it. It tightened back up most of the way, and it seemed fine -- except for the fact that every time the child fell or bumped his head, it was his tooth that got bumped! Eventually, the tooth started turning a little bit dark, and I began to wonder if it had been bumped a few too many times.

Then, a few months ago in July, a blow to Conner's head proved to be the sentencing one for Micah's sweet little tooth. When I went to untangling the crying ball of boys on the floor, I discovered that Micah's tooth was out of place. Not by a lot, but it had definitely been hit pretty hard. I pushed it back forward, the bleeding eventually stopped, and the next day I called the dentist.

Micah had some xrays done, and we discovered that his tooth had been damaged. The root had already been decaying (which is what baby teeth do when they come out naturally) for some time now, even I could tell that on the xray. We were given the option of trying to save it, but I am just not one to drop $1000 bucks into a baby tooth that will fall out in a few years anyway. Don't get me wrong, I understand that is the right thing for some people to do -- just not us, not now. So, we were told, either the tooth would eventually become loose enough that it would fall out on its own, or it would abscess (get infected) and need to be pulled. And it would probably happen before Conner's new front teeth grew in. Eventually, two of the Wellsbrothers would be missing teeth prematurely.

Well, the dentist was right. Wednesday evening, Micah fell and hit his face on the floor. These days, every time the child falls and hits his head, I just know that this was the one that finally knocks the tooth out. But Wednesday wasn't it. He didn't hit his tooth this time, it was his lip. And as I was looking at it to see where the blood was coming from, I saw an angry looking blister on his gums above his injured tooth. It looked exactly like what the dentist had told me to be watching for.

So I called the dentist, he said yes, this was it. He said that if we wanted to, and it was loose enough, we could just try pulling it ourselves. I hung up the phone in tears and waited for Bret to come home. My Micah Moo was going to be a snaggletooth, too. (No way in the world that I was going to be able to do this!)

Long story short -- it wasn't loose enough for Bret to pull it. I sent Micah to school Thursday morning and made an appointment to take him to the dentist in Glen Rose (the one that I grew up with) as soon as his Halloween party was over. My heart broke when the school called around 11 to tell me that Micah was lying his head on his desk and complaining of a tooth ache. I went up there to give him some Tylenol, let him stay for the rest of his party, and then we were off to the dentist.

Micah couldn't have been back with the dentist for more than 6 or 7 minutes. And I could barely hold myself together when he came back into the waiting room with his softie in one hand and a ziplock containing his tooth in the other hand. A big wad of guaze was in his mouth where his tooth used to be, and his face was expression-less. He looked like he had no idea what to think about what had just happened. We had done our best to prepare him, but apparently it still was not what the poor little guy was expecting, and he was kind of in shock. I couldn't get him to say anything to me except that he didn't want the gauze in his mouth because he wanted to suck his thumb. He fell asleep in the car about ten minutes later.

Two and a half hours later, at Mom's and Dad's house, SnaggleMoo woke up, and he still wasn't talking, wasn't smiling or anything. I was getting worried. Would I ever see a glimpse of that wonderful smile that was truly one of the lights of my life? :*( What had just happened?

But gradually, as he really started waking up, the old Micah Moo came back. The missing tooth was a secret though, and he didn't want to talk about it, and certainly didn't want anyone taking any pictures. But I still managed to sneak a few...and just before we left to come home he told BooBoo and Yogi his "secret." By the time we got home, he couldn't wait to tell Daddy and Conner.

And then when he woke up this morning, he looked under his pillow where he had left his tooth last night, and discovered that the Tooth Fairy had come.

Dear Micah,

Wow. You are the bravest 3 ½ year old that I know! You were such a BIG boy at the dentist office yesterday! Thanks for leaving me your little tooth. I will add it to my tooth collection – on the shelf right next to Conner’s.

Please be careful with all those other teeth, though! I love it when I get to add teeth to my collection – but those teeth in your mouth make the most beautiful 3 ½ year old smile in the world! I don’t want them until they get loose on their own and the grown-up tooth is ready, okay?

You still have the cutest little smile though. You and Conner are definitely brothers. Keep smiling that beautiful smile, keep playing and enjoying being a little boy, but BE CAREFUL with the rest of those teeth, mister!

Here’s a dollar. I heard that you were really hoping for candy, but sorry – I’m the Tooth Fairy, and it’s against the rules for me to leave something under your pillow that’s bad for your teeth. I bet though, if you ask your mom, she’ll take you to the store and you can buy some candy with this cool dollar!

I love you, but I hope that I won’t be back to see you for 2 or 3 more years!

Love,
The Tooth Fairy

That smile right there tells me that everything really going to be okay. :)

SnaggleBrothers:

30 Rock

Bret turned 30 on Friday. That's right, the word is out, and there's quite a few folks who are surprised. I'm a cradle robber -- just by a few months -- but he's younger than me all the same.

Bless his heart, when it comes to food Bret's usually very easy to please. He'll usually eat anything that you put in front of him -- and the meatier and cheesier it is, the better. We make a good team, too. When it comes to dessert, I'll pass on seconds of the meal so that I can have seconds of the dessert. Bret however, will get seconds or thirds of the meal instead of the dessert.

So when it comes to birthday cakes, he'd really rather not even have one. Rarely will you ever see him eating a piece of cake with icing on it. (And if you catch him doing it, it's more than likely because he's avoiding hurting someone's feelings.) But it's his birthday for crying out loud! He's stuck with me for the rest of his life, and any time there's an excuse for a special dessert, we will have one!

So instead of traditional birthday cake, Bret has told me that he would much rather have some kind of dessert with fruit -- especially berries. (He specifically asked me not to refer to this as a "fruity dessert.") So we'll have cobbler or pie or fruit pizza or cheesecake.

This year I was trying to decide which one of these we would tackle, when I had a new idea. Dirt cake. You know those cakes that are cream cheesy goodness layered with crushed Oreos that look like dirt? It's not fruity, but it's cream cheese and Oreos -- both of which I knew Bret loves. Plus, I figured the boys would love to help make the "dirt" and add some gummy worms.

So I talked to the boys about it, got them sold on it, and took them shopping. While on the candy aisle looking for gummy worms, Conner saw some m&ms that looked like rocks. No really -- they actually could have passed for rocks. We had tried some earlier in the summer at the wedding of some geologists, and Conner and Micah were just beside themselves that we had found some, too. "Can we please get these? They can go on the cake with the worms, and then what's left can be Daddy's present." Sure. How can you say no to that?

As we got the rest of the ingredients, I started asking the boys what they wanted to get Daddy for his birthday. I threw out a few ideas, but they insisted, "But Mom, we already have his present -- rocks."

"Yes, we can give him the rocks, but what else are we going to get him?"

"Rocks. Just rocks. He'll love them."

I thought I was never going to be able to talk them into getting something else...until finally we decided on a gift card hidden at the bottom of the bowl of chocolate rocks. :)

When we got home, I told the boys that we would be making Daddy's cake the next day after school. They were very excited...but I didn't know just how excited until I picked them up the next afternoon...

Mrs. Summer said that Micah had told them all about Bret's 30th birthday, and the cake with worms in it. She was a little confused about it all, but after a brief explanation she understood. :) I was pleasantly surprised, I had no idea he was that excited.

And then a little later we went to pick up Conner. His teacher said the same thing, that Conner had told everyone that his Daddy was turning 30 the next day, and that he was going home to put worms in his cake. She was a little confused, too. Once again, a brief little explanation was all that it took. And once again, I had no idea that Conner was that excited, either.

So we got home and got straight to work curshing up the Oreos. I opened the package...and Conner immediately grabbed a handful and went and hid under the table to eat them.

Joey followed suit and grabbed a few, except I had him sitting up in a chair that he couldn't get out of. So he licked the creme out of all the middles and proceeded to paint his face and the countertop.

Micah, my star kitchen helper lately, was the only one who helped me put the Oreos into the blender.

Then we started putting the cake together, gummy worms and all.

But feeling a little guilty about not including the one thing that Bret had requested -- fruit -- I had gotten some sliced strawberries in syrup. We put a layer of strawberries in the middle of the cream cheese, and saved the dirt for the top. The boys did not disappoint. They thought this was the coolest part -- "groundhog blood!!"

"Yeah, I hope Daddy will be okay eating all this stuff," said Conner, playing along. "I hope it doesn't kill him."

"Yeah, Conner!" Micah chimed in enthusiastically. "We're gonna kill Dad!" (I calmed things down after that! :)

It turned out really cute, even if I do say so myself! (The crayon in the middle is the candle. That's all we had.)

Then the morning of Bret's birthday, the boys surprised him with cinnamon rolls and strawberries for breakfast. And Bret was appropriately "surprised" that his rocks were actually chocolate -- and that there was a gift card hidden in the bottom of them.

Bret, my dear, I wasn't able to make your birthday nearly as special as I would have liked to. And I'm truly sorry that such a large portion of your day was so crummy. Thank you for working so hard for us and unselfishly somehow making your day so enjoyable for your boys, too. I've enjoyed entering this decade of life with you, and look forward to what it has in store! (Well, I think I do anyway... :) I love you!

Lllllll!

A few days ago, Micah and Conner were talking about a list on the refrigerator. We overheard Micah say, "Look at the list, Conner."

Conner responded with something equivalent to, "Yeah, whatever Micah."

But then Micah said, "No, Conner. The lllist."

"Yeah, Micah. I know."

"The lllllllist, Conner. The lllllllist."

At that point, Bret and I finally started picking up on what was going on. Micah was pronouncing the "l" correctly. It was a list, and not a wist -- and he wanted his big brother to notice and be proud.

Well, Mom and Dad certainly weren't going to wait for that to happen. We jumped all over it, and Micah of course, was so proud of himself I really thought he might bust.

Since then, we've come up with all kinds of words that Micah can say correctly now. It's still pretty hard work to get that tongue just right...

...and he still needs lots of reminding. More than anything it's a habit that we're trying to break here. But once he remembers, he's usually very excited to say as many "l words" as he can. Some of his favorites are "b-llllue," "Lllll-ouisiana," "p-llllease," and "I llllove you."

Micah Moo Moo, we're so proud of you. I just can't believe how big you're getting, and am a little bit sad that your cute little toddler-speak is disappering before my eyes. I lllllove you, Bub!

Death

It was one month ago today that my MeeMaw breathed her last. I've spent a lot of time thinking about her over the last couple of days...

I was talking to Conner and Micah one night, before we went to the Family Visitation before MeeMaw's funeral. Trying to prepare them the best I could, I was explaining that there would be a lot of people there who loved Meemaw very much. Some of them would be crying, but some of them would be laughing. MeeMaw was a very special lady, and we are a little bit sad because we are really going to miss her. But we don't have to be sad all the time, I explained, because we have lots of good memories about MeeMaw that we can think about and laugh with one another about.

I also wanted to prepare them for the fact that MeeMaw's body would be there for us to see. I explained that MeeMaw is not alive anymore, she's not sick anymore, she's dead -- so she'll look a little bit different and she'll feel a little bit different, but that's okay. The best part of MeeMaw, her spirit, is in heaven now. What's left for us to still see is just her body. I continued to explain that they would not have to look at her body or feel of it, but if they wanted to it would be okay.

After listening intently, Micah told me that MeeMaw's spirit was really just her bones. Her bones are not here anymore, and that's why her body will look and feel different.

Conner, still wide-eyed and listening and taking it all in, finally let a grin spread across his face and said, "Really?! You mean we'll get to see a dead body?! And touch it, too?! Oh man, that will be awesome!!"

A little bit taken back, I wasn't really sure what to say. What a horribly disrespectful thing for my child to say about his precious great-grandmother! How in the world was I going to right this? What would I do if he said this to anyone else?

Taking a minute to think about it before I responded though, I realized that this wasn't horrible at all. Really, he "gets it" better than me. He's right. What's left really is just a dead body. Spiritually, MeeMaw is no longer here. Why shouldn't he be excited about learning a little bit more about the physical part of death, this abstract thing that he's been hearing about but has had nothing tangible to attach it to?

So I said yes. He would get to see and touch a dead body -- if he still wanted to when the time came. But I stressed that he would need to remember that there would be a lot of people there who were very sad, and that he really did not need to run into the room and jump into the casket with her. (At which point we had to stop and explain what a casket was.)

I pretty much left it at that, and spent the entire rest of the day worrying about how the visitation and viewing would go, worried about who we would offend, who would be horrified at how fascinated my child was with death, worried that the worst -- whatever that may be -- would happen.

I called my mother the next day to warn her, and she agreed that it was really okay, incredibly insightful and innocent even. I talked with several other people throughout the day, too. Most of them were like me -- a bit shocked and horrified at first, but eventually landing on the "insightful and innocent" stance that my mother had taken. I was mostly relieved -- but still a little bit worried. Especially when Conner came home from his first day of kindergarten that afternoon admitting that kindergarten had made him very tired -- "but not too tired to touch MeeMaw's dead body tonight!"

Finally, the time came, and it turned out that all of my worrying was precious energy wasted. Conner went into the funeral home, properly greeted all of the family that he knew, and introduced himself to family and friends he didn't know. When he finally made it back of the room where the casket was, he asked to be lifted up so that he could see. He reached in and felt of MeeMaw's hand and said, "Oh. You were right Mom. It's cold. And she does look a little bit different. I can tell that her bones are in heaven now." And then he was off to play with his aunts and uncles.

I have so very much to learn from my kids. I thank God for giving me these three beautiful examples of the childlike faith that is so precious to Him. And I think my MeeMaw would be -- well, actually I know she was -- proud.

The Candy Lady

My MeeMaw was The Candy Lady. That's how the children who attended church with her knew her; that's one of the things that we, her grandchildren loved about her. MeeMaw would eagerly give a piece of candy or gum to any child who asked for some -- no matter how many times that they asked. She always had multiple shelves full of huge Sam's Club-sized containers of candy at her house. After any visit to her house, the grandkids were given a ziplock baggie to fill with anything we wanted so that we would have a snack on the way home.

And it wasn't just kids that she loved to give candy to. Anytime that either she or PeePaw were in the hospital -- an increasingly common occurrence as they aged -- MeeMaw made sure that she had a bowl of candy in the room (usually chocolate) for the nurses. During her last year as she lived with my Mom and Dad, she always had chocolate in her room and insisted that any and all home health nurse-type-visitors take a piece -- or two or three. And the Wellsbrothers all knew that all they had to do was ask -- and they would be able to choose any chocolate that they wanted from the box. And MeeMaw, unlike their mean ol' mother, would let them choose another it didn't contain the filling they were hoping for.

As we were making plans for MeeMaw's funeral services, we knew that there would have to be a bowl of candy there. MeeMaw would have had it no other way. So we had a big bowl of tootsie rolls at the Family Visitation. We knew that a few people might think that was a little bit weird -- but those who really knew her would appreciate it.

My boys, of course, were very excited about the huge bowl of candy -- and even more excited that no one seemed to really care how much of it they ate. They soon figured out, though, that giving a piece of candy (or two or three or seven) to everyone there was even more fun than eating it. So they became the greeters. They spoke to every single person at that Visitation, and made sure that we all had more tootsie rolls than we cared to eat. It really could not have been any more appropriate at a gathering to honor MeeMaw -- and the best part was that they came up with it all on their own.

At one point, Micah asked to be lifted up so that he could see MeeMaw one more time. Earlier he had seen that Mom had asked the funeral directors to place a few pieces of candy in MeeMaw's hands, and had learned that much to his dismay, this candy was not for him to eat. As he was lifted up this time though, he placed a box of tootsie roll dots in her hands, saying that MeeMaw needed one of those, too. Thinking about it still brings tears to my eyes.

MeeMaw, Candy Lady, I miss you so!

(And I'm sorry if a picture of a dead body bothers some of you, but this is a beautiful and precious image to me -- MeeMaw looked more peaceful and comfortable than she had in years, and the box of dots in her hand was the last gift she received from her great-grandson. This picture brings me joy and peace.)

Also, I wanted to share the beautfiul, slightly non-traditional obituary that my sister, Jodi, wrote:

Oleta Loraine Conner, beloved wife, sister, mother, grandmother, was called home to her Lord Saturday, August 22, 2009 at the age of 81.

Born March 12, 1928, to Roy and Sadie Ragsdale, she was the eldest of their four children. Her parents soon found her to be a great helper with the other children. Always the little lady, she was quick to assist with chores and was the best cow-milker of any of her siblings. From a young age, she began to learn to cook in her mother’s kitchen, a skill her family would continue to enjoy for many years.

She graduated at the top of her class from San Saba High School in 1945 and went on to get her bachelor’s degree from Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas with a degree in Business Administration.

On July 6, 1949, she married Ira J. Conner, also of San Saba High, to whom she would remain faithfully devoted until his death in July of 2008. With him she would raise two children, Bonnie and Bonnie Conner. As her husband was a coach, Oleta took an active interest in all of the athletic activities in which he participated. Her grandchildren remember their frequent attendance of school events as well as the way she always kept up with what was going on in their lives. She remained an avid football fan until her death. Donnie went on to continue his father’s legacy as a coach, and Bonnie continues her mother’s legacy today as an elementary teacher.

Oleta began her teaching career in 1956, where her gentle spirit and loving heart touched thousands of children who found themselves in her classroom. Dedicated to her work, she spent countless hours preparing lessons, decorating, and making her classroom a fun and safe place for her students. Always striving to be the best for her students, she earned her Masters of Education from Texas A & M in 1971. She retired in 1992 after 35 years at Kendrick Elementary in Waco, TX.

Though her years as a formal educator had ended, Oleta continued her service to children for several more years as a Tuesday-Thursday preschool teacher at Robinson Church of Christ. When she was no longer able to serve as a teacher, she continued to work in the church nursery as she had for decades, always awaiting a fussy baby whom she could rock to sleep.

Well into her later years she was known at her congregation by every child as Mrs. Oleta, to whom they could always come for a piece of candy, and often two if they asked nicely. Through her last days she continued to keep a box of chocolates or a bowl of candy nearby for anyone she wished to bless. She continued to be the candy lady to her great-grandchildren up until her final days.

Despite many physical challenges, Oleta’s gentle, peaceful, and joyful spirit never wavered, continuing to be a light to everyone in her life. After relocating to Glen Rose to live with her daughter, Oleta continued to make new friends with everyone she met. She always sought the good in others, and through her love encouraged everyone to be their best. Her Christ-like spirit in the midst of challenges remains the legacy her family most wishes to carry on.

She is survived by two children, Donnie Conner and Bonnie Spies; a son-in-law, Bob Spies; a Daughter-in-law, Stephany Conner; her sister, Nettie Oma Carpenter; two brothers, Joe Ragsdale and Red Ragsdale; six grandchildren and four great-grandsons.

August Memories

Micah's "One-Eye Trick." I don't care who you are, that's funny stuff!Shelling black-eyed peas with BooBoo and Yogi. Yogi claimed he was making them work like pilgrim children. (This was after the pilgrim children quote referenced below.) Micah and his friend, Caden, eating popsicles. Cute.

Mmmm...a Wellsbrothers favorite, spaghetti for dinner!Micah said, "Mom, when I need to wipe my mouth, I just use my sleeve."
Silly, silly Daddy.
Promotion Sunday at CJ - we honored our kiddos that were moving out of the preschool class and into the elementary class. I love that Conner is so excited that his certificate is a blur, and one of the other ones is upside down. :)
Joey ate another marker...

Joey got ahold of Poppy's hat. He loves hats -- unless you're trying to get him to wear one.

A visit to Gammie's house -- all the cousins playing together!

The Wellsbrothers love to play in the dirt!

Micah got a little jealous of all the birthday attention Conner was getting... When Micah is tired, Micah goes to sleep -- wherever he is, whatever he is doing!Eating with "chopsticks."

At the Church Planters Retreat, the rooms were "hotel-style," with three beds lying straight across the room. The boys couldn't help but play Leapfrog.

We also got to play on the beach of Lake Texoma while we were there.

Some Quotes to Remember:

While sitting at the table coloring pictures, Conner randomly said, "Mom, you're making us work like pilgrim children!"

Going through Conner's closet the other day, trying to see if there were any pants in there that still fit him: "Mom, I don't think these fit."

Me: "I don't either."

Conner: "Yeah, they're way too long."

Me: "Babe, these are pants, not shorts."

Conner: "Oh. Yeah, I guess they are too short."

Me: "Guys, what movie do you want to watch. You have to agree."

Conner: "I'm thinking."

Micah: "But Conner, we don't have that movie."

At the playground at Chick-fil-A - Micah: "Mom, that girl is a bad guy and she won't stop killing me."
Me: "Well, it sounds like you need something cool to get her, like a fireball or something."
Micah: "Oh yeah. I know. I will get a force field with lava inside."

I don't guess he quite understands what a force field is... :)

During the Kids' Sermon at a Sunday morning worship gathering - Teacher: "Do you guys know what the word 'valuable' means?"

Conner: "I do! It means that it's breakable."

For reasons that we just can't quite figure out, Josiah has stopped calling me Mommy, and begun to call me, "Mah-min." I don't know, it's kind of weird... :)

After a little squabble, Conner announced that Micah was fired. Micah angrily retorted: "I'm not fired because I'm not burning."

Conner: "Being fired doesn't mean that you're on fire. It means that you've lost your job."

Micah: "But I did not lose my job. My job is in my pocket."

"So Conner, what did you learn at school today?"

"Well, I learned to eat my lunch faster, that's for sure!"

All About Conner

Conner just completed his first big school project this weekend. It was an "All About Me" poster. The assignment was actually a family assignment, for parents and kids to work together on. We worked and worked and worked and worked on this -- often when you do your best to let the kids do as much of it by themselves as possible, things end of taking f--o--r--e--v--e--r!!

But we made it! Conner helped with the plan/design/layout, he chose the posterboard, he chose how far out to extend the family tree, chose pictures of his family off of facebook, drew and colored the tree, cut out the pictures, drew himself, came up with all of the facts on the page from the "All About Me" book that he is holding in the picture, helped with the gluing. He really worked very hard on this poster!

At one point, it was about as much a "family project" as you can get -- Conner was cutting out photos, Micah was cutting his scraps into teeny tiny pieces, and Joisah was under the table eating all of those teeny tiny pieces. (Their "help" is another reason that this project ate up so much of our weekend! :)

But finally, it's done, he's taken it to school, and we are both proud for him and relieved!

(And a description of the poster, since you really can't see the details well:

There is a self-portrait of Conner, holding a book entitled "All About Me."

There is a magnified page out of that book:

"My whole name is Conner Allan Wells.

My birthday is August 24, 2003. I am six years old.

I like dolphins.

I like Pokemon.

My hair is brown and my eyes are blue.

My favorite food is macaroni and cheese.

My dog's name is Chicory.

I have bunk beds.

I like to read Magic TreeHouse books.

I used to live in Louisiana. I saw alligators there.

I like to eat at McDonald's, Burger King, and Peter Piper Pizza.

I have a real treehouse at BooBoo and Yogi's house."

Conner's dog, Chicory is sitting next to him.

They are standing under Conner's family tree -- Mom, Dad, brothers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousin. After this photo was taken, he also added Jesus. Jesus was the very last addition, because we were trying to find the very most perfect spot for him. Conner decided that in the family tree was best, because he loves Jesus so much. No, there is absolutely no order in the family tree. That is where Conner chose to put everyone!

At the bottom of the poster is a timeline, with a picture of Conner at each of his birthdays, including his actual "birth" day. Each is labeled with the town/state he was living in at the time. It says above the timeline that he has lived in six different houses -- one birthday at five of the houses, and two at only one of the houses.)

Proud of you, Conner Bug!