Princess Play

It's truly delightful & satisfying to watch your child experience dreams come true. I didn't introduce Grace to Disney princesses...never thought I'd be one of those moms or have one of those kids all about the princess business. Alas, the day came when a curious two year shopper spotted a Cinderella movie at a garage sale. That was it...our Disney princess collection had officially ensued. Or maybe it was when good friend, Tina, bought Grace that very frilly Belle dress for her 2nd birthday. But somehow it started & blossomed into this "Mom, we HAVE to go see Cinderella's house; that BIGGGGG castle."

So here we are a couple of years later, making dreams come true with our 1st trip to Disney World. Anticipating we would need a good thaw in the throes of deep Chicago winter, Uncle Bob agreed to accompany us to Florida. Too bad Florida was in a cold snap - dog gone it & we wore jackets & coats for many of our days. Grace said it was cold but no snow! That was plus!

Not that the photo captures it, but my absolute favorite moment was in Ariel's Grotto. You know we waited for nearly an hour to have our face to face time with that mermaid. Wait..Gracie danced around in the spray ground with the other munchkins while the adults waited in line. Finally, our turn & Grace was in awe of her favorite princess - Ariel. They chit chatted about hairstyles (Grace had lovely auburn extensions in like Ariel) & transportation -"How did you get here, little starfish?" Taking it all in, Grace was simply enamored. At one point, she looked down at Ariel's mermaid legs/fins, then back up & down again. Slowly, she slid her little hand onto Ariel's legs...fully exploring that shiny, sequined fabric. Oh no, what's going happen now...talk about violating the personal space rules. Ariel threw her head back, giggled, then tickled Grace right back. It was just the cutest! I asked Grace later why she tickled Ariel. "Mom, her legs were so shiny & sparkle-y with all those sequin-y things, I just had to touch 'em." There you go! That's my fabric feeling, sensory seeking girl. :o)

Favorites include Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique-- oh, so charming! Later, Grace got to ring the bell & wake up tiny Tinker Bell. She flew in for a little hello before heading off to dust the park with pixie cheer. Other highlights included a Wonderland Tea Party with Alice & the Mad Hatter. " That guy has bad manners--he gargled his tea!"

We also were chosen as the family of the day at Chef Mickeys & Grace helped open the restarant with Mickey Mouse. He asked for HER autograph in his special book...nice, we've been working hard on writing our name.

Grace was Lumiere in Belle's storytime in the castle couryard. We earned our pilot's license on the Monorail & celebrated Gracie's half birthday at every turn - met with trinkets, stickers & cupcakes with candles at every sit down meal. The crowd sang Happy Birthday outside of Toon Town & she opened the park with a generous shower of pixie dust & wishes.

There was a bit of swimming on the hottest days - think like low 70's - indeed a far cry from -15 or so when we left Chicago. Thoroughly enjoying fun in the sun, Grace joined in the poolside games at Fort Wilderness & scored some cool prizes winning the hula hoop contest. And all those prizes from arcade play with Uncle Bob.

We did, of course, see all the princesses, Pooh & friends, those wicked step sisters; along with Mary Poppins & Jimminy Cricket. However, Grace was a bit irritated when,after a week of hugs & hellos, those princesses seemed to forget they had already met her. It wasn't until that sweet Alice noticed she already signed Grace's autograph book & declared it was good to see her AGAIN. :o)

All in all, we had a wonderous time & even Uncle Bob survived 8 days of princess play. We tried to work in a fishing excursion at Fort Wilderness, just to break the monotony for the guy among us...but the fish & the attendant revolted due to the "cold" weather. :o) So, UB & Grace fed the ducks while mom enjoyed a hot stone massage. Oh, yeah...sooooo nice.

Here's a little bit of pixie dust & magic from our sleepy heart (yes, it's 2:53 AM) to yours~

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday, Kimberly~

More Christmas Presence

This to us from CP photographer, Jill Bonnema~ Personally, I love her work! This photo is so charming. Thanks, Jill!

Happy New Year & Snuggly Toes Tonight w/update

So, I'm a few days late in wishing God's very best for you & yours in 2009! We're off to a great start. Really. I turned in my application for graduation yesterday. Mind you, this is only a small "yeah" on the way to this 2nd masters degree, but a "yeah" nonetheless. I'm pleased. AND I was just granted permission to take 2 grad level courses in the speech path program. Thus, I am maxed out of classes I can take before getting into the grad program. Deadline for that application is March 15th, I believe. And while I'm believing....I believe in God's favor for entrance to that program. Would be delighted if you'd believe with me. :o)

This afternoon, we enjoyed a brief snowball fight & sledding with our warm weather neighbors. The kids had a blast! It's quite the winter wonderland here in Chicagoland, despite all the political hot air keeping us steamed in Illinois.

And speaking of Winter Wonderland, I've got picks to share from last weekends outing to Navy Pier. Oh what fun! Gracie is quite the ice skater...our would we call her an ice "dancer", Uncle Bob? Heartfelt thanks to UB for being a good sport & skating/dancing with the Gracie girl & keeping her on her feet - most of the time anyway. Pics to come~

Today's tender moment brought to you by way of toasty toes pjs. Grace received some wonderFULL gifts for Christmas this year....really, we were both blessed beyond measure by friends & family alike. The surprises just keep coming. One of my clients sent home a gift - 2 gifts for Gracie. A surprise lover like her mom, she tore into them in the car. Must admit I was curious what was inside the gorgeously wrapped presents. Ohhhhh & inside were the most cozy jammies...with feet even! Gracie was full of sweet things & we called my client up so the giver could get in on the delight! Typically, I'm a wash before we wear family...but Gracie insisted on wearing some of her new feety jammies. And INSTANTLY, there stood my little girl--like she's still little or something! I love it! Something about those toasty blanket pjs with feet that makes 'em look like she's still my baby. We are talking major snuggling already & it's not even bedtime yet!

Ok - my hot chocolate (xtra marshmellos, too) is cooling, so I better sign off of here. We've got bedtime stories to read, best & worst to share, as well as confessing our thankful, grateful hearts to each other & to our sweethearted God smiling up above.

Night night~

EDIT: Up at 2:35 AM, crying..."My toe hurts. There's this area in there that's squishing my toes. I'll never ever ever wear feety pajamas again, Mommy. Never EVER."

Well, so much for that~ Nice while it lasted. Think we might just cut off the feet part of the pajamas. Have a good one!

Merry Christmas

May your days be merry & bright! Wishing you the most wonderful time of the year!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Nutcracker SWEET

Living

Well, we are living today. Trying to get the tree decorated. It's up & UPRIGHT today. Mind you, it has been leaning since the Christmas tree stand broke last Sunday night. This brokeness followed a FULL weekend of rehearsal, wake/funeral, neuro study group, church, sign class w/extra credit interpretive play & Christkindl markt excursion.

A GraceFULL quote to sum up the experience at the end of the day "I think we're just both real tired & need to sleep."

Me, Chris & Dennette at Chris' mom-in-law's life celebration

Meine leiblings Schatz um Christkindlmarkt

Arielle & her petite flower at Christmas Presence Rehearsal

Recuperating from a humungo final last night...I know that's not a word, but my neurology final 'bout sapped me dry. I sat down for the exam & next time I looked at my clock...2 hours, 20 minutes had passed. Thank God for Christmas Presence which helped my brain rebound. Thank God I made it in time...20 minutes from GSU to CLC. What a performance! What a message! I've got a few pictures from last night.

Petite Flower - Nutcracker Suite

Phone call yesterday from the preschool director during my neuro marathon study session:

"Hi, Carmen, everything's ok. I just wanted to let you know there was an incident today at school involving Grace. She was kissed by one of the boys in her class. He's an affectionate little guy & while we encourage the kids to save kisses for home...well, he got Grace today. She was not the instigator, but perhaps you could reaffirm what we talked about afterward that we save kisses for moms & dads...our family at home."

Ok, we've had our 1st kiss. Now, this little guy has been mentioned a time or two around our house. Grace informed me & little pal, Jon, that she could not marry him anymore because ___ (preschool Don Juan) is making her a cake with a doggie on it & she will marry him now. :o(

What to do, what to do?? 1st kisses, weddings & cakes with doggies...good thing she's waiting until she "gets" 30 years old.

In the afterschool debriefing, Grace informed me she did not kiss back. "He just kissed me right on the lips & I didn't kiss him back. I said no but he kissed anyway." Good- you say no. We save those kisses for mommy & our family.

Christkindlesmarkt

Nurnberg - webpics

Now that we've cleared up that the Annual Roomie Cookie Exchange is in DEC this year (as it was last year - where was I??)...I'm headed downtown today to meet up with Roomie Valerie to explore the Christkindles Markt! Whooo hooo! So excited! Some kinderpunch (kid version of the hot wine) & a visit with Chriskindl himself. Now the Chicago Christmas market is no Nurnburg. Mind you, I lived 30 minutes from this world famous Christmas market in Germany, but hey it's as close as we'll get in Chicagoland & it's the next best thing to being there. Wishful thinking...So, I'm thrilled & Gracie's stoked as well. Only bummer is that Val's daughter, Allison, is still in MO & NOT not coming along. :o( for Gracie.

My own pic. Chicago version of Christkindlemart: note the skyscraper reflection~

With that in mind, a word about family tradtions~

Wise Words on the Value of Family Rituals as found on Being Saavy:
Trusted experts and wise preschool teachers Nancy Schulman and Ellen Birnbaum remind us of why the thought and care we put into the holiday season, and the many other rituals of family life, really matters."Your preschool child is now at an age when she can really begin to appreciate the rituals and holidays that divide up the year and bring a family together. When you do something on a weekly or annual basis, this helps create a wonderful sense of belonging within a family.... When you create family rituals, you're building a store of memories that will stay with you and your child, acquiring more meaning with every passing year." -- from Practical Wisdom for Parents: Raising Self-Confident Children in the Preschool Years

See Grace "sitting" on Santa's lap~

A Thankful Heart is a Happy Heart

Thanks to my friend, Renee, we've incorporated something new into our bedtime routine here at the GraceFULL house. Beginning with a live demo at our last roomie reunion, Grace & I now talk about the best/worst of our day. Sometimes it's as simple as "My best was when we snuggled in the morning" - that was Gracie's best reported last night or "Wow! I loved your smile when I was chasing you away from the cookie dough" - mine, last night. Worst - well...those don't come up too often - it's typically, "Noooo, I didn't have a worst today." However, last night Gracie "My worst was when we pinched each other's cheeks too hard." It had just happened-we just got carried away with the "Ohhhh you're so cute" stuff. Ouch!

So our best/worst is a nice transition from our book reading to prayers. I can't remember at what point we added in being thankful. Maybe as an attempt to facilitate Gracie praying rather than just mom. So asking her what she's thankful for was a way I tried to do this. ANYWAY....yesterday, it dawned on me to talk about what a THANKFUL heart is. So yesterday we had this conversation about blessings & what does being thankful look like.

Perusing Mommy Manifesto this morning, I came across this quote that is on a mommy level, but really spoke to the topic I've been trying to live & convey to my youngster. It's worth sharing. Oh, that my heart would exude gratitude such as this~

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and
more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.
It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a
friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and
creates a vision for tomorrow.

- Melody Beattieo

Christmas Presence

You're invited~

It's that time of year again..the most wonderful time of the year. CLC's production of Christmas Presence is coming up December 10-14th. Our very own Gracie-cakes is a petit flower in the Nutcracker Suite piece - the opening act. Don't miss it!

The Story
We invite you to capture the spirit of Christmas Presence. More than just a year-end tradition or a showcase for talent, Christmas Presence is a 360 degree ministry, providing both an exciting creative outlet for the CLC body and an effective outreach tool to share the love of Christ at a time of year when it is so often lost in the shuffle.

We feel at once humbled and privileged to be able to present our gifts to the Lord in this unique and organic framework that was a “God idea” from the beginning. Christmas Presence was created a night of fun for guests of all ages, a gift to the community & an opportunity for individuals and entire families to actively participate in ministry with minimal impact on personal schedules.

The first act of the production focuses on the outward trappings of the Christmas holiday. We present these as a series of musical gifts. From heartwarming and familiar classics like The Nutcracker Suite, to song and dance celebrating sleigh rides, winter fun, and family gatherings, these gifts remind us in part why Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. We can become so “wrapped up” in the bright packaging of Christmas, however, that we lose sight of the comfort, joy, and peace that God intends. Our enemy, represented by the Grinch, tries to steal Christmas, leaving us empty-handed and empty-hearted. Only by listening to the steady rhythm of God’s heartbeat can we hope to rediscover the reason for the season.

The second act poses the question: “Where Are You Christmas?” The answer takes us on a journey back to Bethlehem, to the midnight clear when angels heralded Christ’s birth and wise men brought him gifts. On each phase of the journey, God restores the gifts that the enemy had stolen, leaving us with the greatest gift of all: His Presence.