Home Again

Gracie made it back safe & sound from her visit to Dallas. She did great, despite the night time tears. I really enjoyed hearing all her stories from a couple points of view. Gracie ate her 1st donut...or it was soooo good, it seemed like the very 1st time she'd ever tasted one. :o) So much so she could not share and after all, she was the guest - so she reminded Margie & Mark quite often. We have more work to do on that "preferring others" attitude. She does have the "treat our guest better than ourself" part. :o) She milked it, folks - totally.

She had a blast with puppy play - 3 puppies! And then all that swimming & crafting. She discovered sewing & ironing - we have both sewing machine & iron; both in the box. Let me say now, "We absolutely LOVE Downy Wrinkle Release" - now let me tell you: the girl can spray & snap to remove wrinkles to her credit, AS WELL AS use the old fashioned iron. :o) Margie reported she can turn her own egg in the pan & put it on her plate. :o) She enjoyed the use of BIG scissors - sorry, Marge about the pillow case. Uhhhh...guess she learned scissors are for more than just cutting paper. Eeeesh!

What made me beam were the reports of her being helpful, as well as neat & tidy. Though I must say she did get thorough instruction before leaving home to be neat & clean up her mess. I'm also really proud of her when she spoke up about her own safety. Here's the account from M & M:
Margie: "Well hon, I guess I'll run to the store for _____."
Mark: "Ok, I'll get the mower out & work on the lawn while you're gone."
Gracie: "And WHO's going to watch ME??"

Upon our reunion, Gracie smothered me with hugs & smooches & I love you so muches. Then without missing a beat, she asked if we could get her hair cut. I previously promised after summer swimming was over & she got back from Auntie Margies, we could get her hair cut. Thankfully they could squeeze us in at my salon. She's wanted to donate her hair to Locks of Love since she was 2 years old - helping other kids who couldn't grow their own hair due to cancer/chemo. They took of about 8 inches of curls, 10 inches stretched out. That's alot of curl. Must admit, I miss them already. She looks so grown up; so Kindergarten-ish now. After hopping up in the chair at the salon & getting all caped up for her cut, Gracie swished her hair & said "I feel different all ready." It was really sweet & we love the new look. We hope that braid blesses some other cutie kid really soon!

The new do anddddddddddddddddddd the last curl picture....

Notice the "delighted" look on Mambo's face - Oh, JOY!

Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming~

All the way across - the little fish.

AND thanks for asking - the exam went very well. Exciting news this week, I was awarded a scholarship for the duration of my program. Yeah!! AND with that scholarship, I was moved into full time status. Thus, I'll finish up in 2 years...a full 9 months early! Yeahhhhh! I'll still have a year of clinicals to get my licensure, but that's paid & could be anywhere...anywhere - stateside, I mean. :o)

Ouch!

Ever do something silly (AKA: stupid). Ever do that same thing again? Like we didn't learn our lesson the 1st time around. This sure had me laughing...if only it didn't hurt so much. :o) Here's to catching on the 1st time & keeping outselves out of hostile territory:
Speaking of ouch; Gracie is visiting Auntie Margie in Texas right now. It's amazing how much "noise" (joy) one girl can make. I miss her. Yes, the house is very quiet & I should be studying. Instead, I've watered the plants, exterminated umpteen spiders (all the bad kind), cleaned out the fridge & brought my boxes in for moving. I'm half tempted to pack a little. Where to start? Where to start? If only I didn't have my final exam on WEDNESDAY - that's right, the day after TOMORROW! I just needed a bit of humor to get me going...well, after I bake these blackberry cobblets. Is that even a word?? If not, it should be. Happy day to you & yours, while I'm missing my little Marshmellow Sweetie Pie.