bad news. good news.

wow. so much has happened since last week. where do i start? always start with the bad news, right? guess i'll start with the bombshell that hit us friday morning. i found out that my first cousin, james, had been killed in a car wreck late thursday nite near his home in lebanon, tn. he was only 27. james was mom's nephew, her oldest sister jill's 2nd son. we were very close growing up. his older brother michael was the first grandchild on my mom's side. though there are 13 cousins on her side, a few of us were very close in age. it was michael, then shannon, then james, and then me, all born within a few years. so anyways, growing up we were close, together a lot like most cousins. then his family moved up north while we were younger, maybe when we were in middle school. anyways. of course since then we have all grown up and gone our separate ways. after high school, james served 2 tours in iraq. then he and his wife danielle got married 3 1/3 years ago, and have lived in various states since then, most recently in tennessee. so though we were not as close these past few years as we once were, of course we are still family. james was a big, funny, loveable, teddy bear of a guy. he will be missed by all. please keep his wife danielle in your prayers. she has a few bumps and bruises from the wreck, but physically will recover soon. emotionally though, i just can't imagine what she is feeling right now, having lost her husband. also pray for his parents, and the rest of his family. 2 brothers and a sister, all of who are grown and married. also for my grandparents, and the rest of our extended family. we love you and will miss you james. we know james is in heaven though, so we hold onto the hope that we will see him again one day. so obviously, that kind of consumed us over the weekend. on sunday, nate stayed home to keep the kids, and the rest of us traveled to the funeral. it was a military service, and when they gave the final salute at the end, i lost it. it was such a sweet and honorable service. they played taps and then folded the flag and gave it to danielle. i just can't imagine. again, please keep the walworth family in your prayers. thanks. (oh yeah, the old school picture above from left to right is shannon, michael, james, and me. please notice they let me play with and CHEW ON a bottle-rocket!! i LOVE this pic.)

now for the good news! check out this cute little (happy!) guy.

these pics crack.me.up. notice lucas climbed up in his basket of books and is just chillin. like he is king of the mountain! :o) it's a wonder he could even find the basket in all this mess.

i'm sure i've mentioned trace is so into scooby doo. but if you think it is b/c he has no other toys, please think again!!!

so you see this mess that is their room? WOW! looks like a tornado came through, and left toys in it's path. kinda ridiculous huh? there's hardly any point in cleaning them up, b/c a few hours later, or sometimes minutes, it ends up like this again!

ahhh, and here, trace is sporting his lovely new diego helmet from his friend connor. connor, what would he do without your awesome hand-me-downs? from cowboy boots to blue jeans, sleeping bags and helmets, wow. :o)

sad thing is, trace needs to wear this helmet all waking hours of the day. the poor kid walks around in his own little world, resulting in bumps and bruises all over his body! his most recent boo boo was made when he apparently ran smack into the open van door. yep, bump, bruise and cut that he now proudly shows off when not covered by his diego bandaid. i joked to nate and said... if only he'd been wearing his helmet. ha. both trace and lucas are 100% B-O-Y!

don't ya think trace looks so big in this pic? he and lucas are both growing so fast it's hard to believe!

speaking of growing... i took lucas to the dr for his 12 month WELL visit yesterday. YES, he is FINALLY well after being sick for 6 months! he got a great report, and the dr said he is "picture perfect!" great to hear, but come on, don't ya think i already knew that? :) lucas weighs 20 lbs 1 oz, which only puts him in the 12th% for weight!! and he is 30 1/2 inches long, which is the 70th% for height. the boy eats and eats and eats... but for every calorie that goes in, he crawls at the speed on lightening and burns off twice that i bet! i remember trace being long and skinny just like that too when he was one. can you believe in less than a month he (trace) will be 3?

i love my boys and i am so thankful for the daily blessing of getting to be their mommy. i pray that i will not take a minute of their sweet little lives for granted!

i want to end with this song by steve fee. it is one of 2 that has been in my head constantly the past few days. i love love love the words... especially the simple bridge and chorus.

"take my life and let it be, all for you and for your glory, take my life and let it be yours.

glory to god, glory to god, glory to god forever!"