Officer James Boland Reporting for Duty

James thought his steady diet of donuts, "Cops", and "World's Wildest Police Chases" had sufficiently prepared him to be a police officer, at least for Halloween. James kept those trick-or-treaters in line.

  



It Suited Him Well

James has been asking a lot of questions about grandpa and wants to travel to see him in heaven. He has asked for a map, airplane, helicopter and spaceship to meet this objective. James loves to dress up, and we thought it would be nice if James could wear one of grandpa's suits to the services. One suit fit him almost perfectly, but grandma had to take out the pants a little bit. I took James shopping to find dress shoes. It was hard for me to believe that his stinky feet are already a size 12. James was very proud to wear grandpa's suit, and I could picture grandpa getting a good chuckle out of it. During the visitation James sat and watched the slideshow of pictures. If anyone stood in front of him, he would say, "Hey! I can't see!" He behaved very well during the funeral, but I don't think he processed very much of what was going on. When we got home, he sat in his brother-in-law Jeremy's truck for awhile, without permission, of course.

   

Brother-in-laws: Jeremy, James, Mark

The Boys: Jeremy, James, James, Mark



We're Always Watching

Our beloved grandpa passed away early Friday morning after years of battling cancer and other various illnesses. Last Wednesday night our grandpa made the decision not to go to the ICU. He told our grandma, "I want to stay here. I'm not afraid." We decided to wait to tell James about grandpa's passing until he brought it up. We had no idea how he would take the news or if he would even understand. While getting ready for school Friday morning, James repeated, "I'm not scared. I'm not afraid." James stayed the night with me on Friday night. He tried to comfort me and told me, "It's okay Val." On Saturday James repeated to me, "Don't worry. Even though you can't see us, we're always watching." This is a quote from Al the Boss Angel in the movie "Angels in the Outfield." James used to love this movie, but he hasn't watched it in years. The first time James asked about grandpa was Saturday evening at our grandparents' house. He asked our mom, "Where is grandpa?" Our mom replied, "He was very sick and went to live with Jesus in heaven."

 Grandpa & James

Concern for Winter

James served as Mark's plumbing assistant for a few minutes before heading out to see "Dolphin Tale" Friday night. Our parents' sink had clogged. If there is any way a project can be done sitting down, James will find it. James has been waiting to see "Dolphin Tale" for several weeks now, and the movie seemed to meet all his expectations. When Winter, the injured dolphin, was found onshore, James said, "He is bleeding. Get him to the hospital!" James' eyes didn't leave the screen for the rest of the movie.



I'm Taking a Shortcut

James' football team won their first game last night, and no one was happier than James. He even got in for one play during the fourth quarter. Later, we found out that he wasn't supposed to be on the field. Thankfully James' teammates reacted quickly, and it all worked out. As the season has stretched on James has gotten tired of the hard practices. Recently, James' football coach caught him not completing a drill and said to James, "James, that's cheating!" James replied, "I'm taking a shortcut."
 

Fall and Football

James has been all football this fall. His free time is spent mostly in football practice, playing in football games, or watching football games. Although James has been enjoying his football-packed schedule, he has been missing his Friday night movie nights. He told our mom on Friday, "I'm missing my Valerie." I told James that he could come over after he watched the East High Varsity football game that night. When my parents dropped James off he asked to watch The Weather Channel and fell asleep shortly afterward. James likes to watch The Weather Channel before bed. Before going home the next morning James gave Mark a hand with an outdoor project.