I woke up this morning to a quiet house.  Rick got up with the kids at 5:30 and I went back to sleep.  When I woke back up at 7:30 I didn't want to come downstairs.  I decided to sneak another thirty minutes upstairs to read by myself before greeting the day.  I'm reading a great biography about Lincoln that I can't put down.  I am fascinated by that man.
   Now I'm downstairs and Rick and the boys are gone.  I'm guessing Rick took them to the park to play before the sun gets too hot.  I'm sure they are having fun wherever they are.
   I should probably get some music cranking and clean the house while I have the chance.  It's a bit of a mess at the moment.  Yesterday all our efforts were spent taking care of a sick little Mase.  Out of nowhere on Thursday evening he got pale, could barely keep his eyes open, and couldn't keep anything down.  I let him sleep right next to me last night and the one before, to give his sick little self extra comfort.  For half the night he insisted on holding my hand.  Every time I moved it, he'd search for it and hold it close to him again, and for the other half, he wanted to sleep right on my chest.  I felt so sad for my sick little boy, but at the same time, cherished the time to be able to hold him, and be close to him.  Those moments are mostly fleeting now.
   But then yesterday afternoon, I cut open a crisp cold watermelon for dinner and he wanted some.  He ate a whole bowl full, and suddenly sprang back to life.  It was as if he had never been sick at all.  In no time he was running around with Vaughn, laughing and screaming, and pretending to be a superhero (he extends one arm right next to his ear, fist clenched and runs around singing "iroooooon maaaannnnn").  
   I told the boys they could have an incredible Hulk party.  We straightened the living room up, laid a blanked down on the floor, got the Hulk hands out of the closet, and put on a Hulk cartoon that Rick had gotten from Netflix.  I got plates full of healthy goodies for them, and sippy cups filled with not-so-healthy Hansen's kiwi-strawberry soda, and let them watch the movie together.  They sat right next to each other, snacking and completely absorbed in the drama of Hulk.  Rick and I watched from behind, and smiled at our cute little boys sitting together.  I'm so glad they have each other.
  Well I must get on to the house-cleaning.  I'm looking forward to a clean house, and a weekend with Rick and the boys.

Love,
Jane