Catalpa Worms Galore!

We have to Catalpa trees in our yard! Obviously these trees are fairly rare around here because we often have folks stopping by and asking for the worms off the trees.  A Catalpa worm is fat and black with yellow stripes, and are apparently good for fishing!  Well...Mason and Adam got the idea to collect all the worms off the tree, put them in a bucket, and advertise them "for sale" on Facebook.  They worked long and hard all evening gathering every worm they could possibly reach, pulling them off the leaves and putting them in their bucket.  They were so excited, with dreams of all the money they were going to make from selling the worms.  They fantasized about what they might do with the money, what they might purchase at "Wal-Mart" (since Wal-Mart is the only store within 2 hours that sells items that little boys would get excited about.  
So, I advertised the worms on Facebook, 12 worms for $6.00, and we waited for all the orders to pour in, after all, these worms are a rare commodity in these parts.  Well, we waited, and we waited...and finally we got an order! Yay! Boys are excited, right! Little entrepreneurs dreaming big dreams.  Then the orders ceased! We only got one order for all the Catalpa worms we gathered. :(
As it turns out, even though the boys were a little disappointing, they realized that it really didn't matter, because the real fun and excitement was experienced in the "picking"! We were all outside together, gathering worms, carrying buckets, acting silly and laughing together! Those few exciting minutes spent working together with a a dream of a possibility that may only come through perseverance and ingenuity far outweighed the disappointment of not selling the worms! The memories made together, gathering worms will last forever and you can't put a price on a memory!
I must say, I am so proud of them! Proud of their character! Proud of their compassion! Proud of their imagination! Proud of their perseverance! Proud of their ability to handle disappointment with character and to see the positive things that were gained throughout the process.
Cook Kids....You are Loved more than could ever be expressed! 

Adam Lost His Tooth!

Adam lost his first tooth (July 28, 2013)! He and I were working on filling freezer bags with corn to be frozen for the winter when I looked at his tooth (for the hundredth time) and realized that the new tooth had already broken skin behind the baby tooth! I said, "Adam, you have to get that thing out of there tonight!"  So he and his daddy began the process to get it out. Darren tried first, then Adam tried for a while, finally Darren was able to get it out! Adam never shed one tear! He was excited that he had finally lost his very first tooth!  Me.....I cried!!!!!!!!!! Darren laughed at me, of course, but I couldn't help but to be saddened by this milestone!
 It is sad to see my baby growing up so fast...all my babies growing up so fast!  After he had pulled it he ran up the hill to show his Papaw Burch that he had lost his tooth!   As I watched him run (he loves to run) up the hill, I said, "I still see him as no more than 4" and he is 6!  Ugh!!!!!!!!!! Parenting is terribly wonderful! Haha! 

That night he put his tooth under his pillow in a little Ziploc bag, and the Tooth Fairy brought him $5.00 for that first lost tooth!  A morning I am quite sure he will never forget! After all, who can forget losing their first tooth and finding money under their pillow, placed there by a special fairy who turns their teeth into stars in the sky!


We love you Adam....To the moon and back!!!!