Hallo!

Hallo von Deutschland. Wir haben eine schone zeit mit alle freundin und papi heir im unser ander haus! Wir jeden tag eis essen, spielen im Spielplatz und schwimmen im Schwimbad! Viel spass im Nurnburg Volksfest auch! Wir vermissen dich und komm zu hause spater. Erste, wir mussen gehen zum unser lieblings platz um Italy wo das sonne ist immer! Bis spater, liebe freundin.

Hello from Germany! We are having a great time with all of our friends and Papi here in our other home. Everyday we enjoy some ice cream (gelato), play in the playground and enjoying the water park. We had lots of fun at the Nurnburg festival as well! We miss you all and we will come home later. First we must visit our favorite place in Italy where the sun always shines. Until next time, dear friends...

Letter in Hand

Hey, folks, as I prepare for my ROOT CANAL this morning, I am still rejoicing over this acceptance letter from the Communication Disorders program at GSU! Yes, I'm in - one in a group of 35 out of 250 applicants. My mom would be very proud! My joy is almost anesthetic enough to get me through this surgery...but.....I think I'll take the gas just in case. Ha! Have a good one!

Shout out to two of the BEST Uncles - actually, THREE, who have invested some time in loving on Gracie Cakes these past few weeks; enabling me to take care of myself and/or make a living! I love you! Your love deposits have eternal value! Wrestling, pirate play, Goldilocks, hide-n-seek and countless dance offs - you guys are the best! PS - Gracie asked for cocoa when we got home, UR! :o)

AND we love Uncle Hush!

Alarm-ing

Not sure how many of you caught my little snippet about Grace crowing like rooster in her sleep. Well, she was tickled about that. While it did not make it into the dream journal, she has commenced to crowing in the mornings...a delightful sign that morning has sprung & she's ready to meet the day. However, it's not cockadoodle-doo. It is CLOCK-a-doodle-doooooo. Funny - get it? CLOCK a doodle - alarm CLOCK? Hee hee - I have got to get some sleep.


But 1st - this Sunday was truly a reprieve after some serious schooling though the week & spilling on to my weekend. Darn..these weekend courses...I mean "Thank you, God, for this scholarship award." Anyway, just a time of refreshing & consecration. I was already thinking about taking Gracie up to pray with me when Pastor Chris suggested we bring our children. This youngster is anointed for missions work - I know it; known it from the womb. So, we waiting for our turn to be prayed for and she begins to cry. Now at first, I really believe it was in response to what God was doing and then that might have scared her a bit - feeling something new. Lots of other folks were crying; obviously touched by what God was doing. But then she said "Mom, I don't want to get pointed. It might hurt." No, honey, we're not going to get pointed - but ANOINTED - meaning God's going do something really special in us. So, it took some convincing she would not be pointed OR poked by any sharpy thing. :o)



BTW, Grace said she wanted God gift of music and violinin. OK - dear, ask & you shall receive. :o)

Catch Me

Lovely day yesterday, bright with sun that warmed me inside and out. We enjoyed some park play after work and school was finished. Grace made it across the monkey bars unaided for the 1st time at our favorite Circus Park. I'm so proud of her.

Another youngster was toddling around, climbing on this and checking that out. You can tell the kids with confidence. You can tell which have parents that have safeguarded from a slight distance--within reach. Kids need space to learn, take risks and try new things--developing their confidence and "I can do it" skills - all within reach of a parent who's there waiting.

"Mom, you be ready to catch me if I fall, Ok?" I'm right here, Grace...right here waiting and within reach.

And isn't that just like our heavenly Father- waiting to catch us if we fall...supporting us in His confidence that we can do it? If we are willing to walk where He's called us, even in unfamiliar or uncertain territory or circumstances - He is there within reach, cheering us and ready to catch us if we stumble...when we stumble. Stumble we shall, yet He is there to break our fall and dust us off; maybe tend to our wounds, only to encourage us to get up and try again.

He is my confidence. He will catch me. He gives us roots and wings. I love this Mark Harris song - the video is of his family, but it's a great song. I'll do my own video someday. Until then~ Here's to roots, wings, and confidence!

Crabby Pants & Marshmellow Pie

Knowing that water soothes the cantankerous soul, I said to Grace one evening this past week "Hey, Crabby Pants, hop on into the tub." Welling up with tears, the saddest face said to me "Mom, we don't call names. I don't like it & it hurts my feelings when you call my pants crabby."

True - we don't call names - except we do. Gracie cakes, Sweetie, Honey Pie, Babeluv & a dozen others. I humbly apologized, whisking those crabby-now-sad pants toward the lavender (because it calms & relaxes) infused bath. "If you want to call me a name, mom, it needs to start with Sweetie. Like Sweetie Pie, Sweetie Cakes, Sweetie Marshmellow Pie, Sweetie Peety." Ok - I got it. :o) We both felt lots better after Ms. Sweetie Crabby Pants took a bath. :o)

I love Sark's How to Really Love a Child - my friend, once college roommate & fellow child lover gave me a card with Sark's delightful instructions. Years later, an afghan, just like the one shown, was a loving gift from a boyfriend - now friend, with his own little crabby pants...I mean sweetie marshmellow pie. :o) It's one of her favorite snuggle blankets & a good reminder for me.

Good pie & adios

Well, the pie was a hit. Gracie's eyes were big as saucers when she saw just HOW MUCH Uncle George loved her pie. He said the lips & hearts on top were the best part! Nice visit, yummy dinner & we all napped in the afternoon after marathon services (3-count them, 3) at CLC. Though I do love to sing praises to our King. It really was a great day for confirmation of what God was already speaking & then the healing - deep healing for some. Seasons -we're all living through one or transitioning from one to another. Reminds me of one of my favorite heartsongs. I'm singing this morning~

and everything that's new, has bravely survived
teaching us to breathe
what was frozen through, is newly purposed
turning all things green
so it is with you and how you make me new
with every season's change
and so it will be, as you are all creating me
summer, autom, winter, spring

My brother left out in the wee hours of the morning while dark & Chicago slumbered still. Good visit in due season. Adios & glad so you enjoyed the pie...see you in the spring. Your spring is coming, brother.

Chit chat

Geez, I've neglected my blog...my writing, even though I'd up to my ears in what I've written the past few weeks. Feel like I'm drowning...then in my advance assessment class we're told if we want to be writers that we must write & do so every day. Right - in between reports for work, papers for school, dictations for Ms. Grace (really- that's no chore at all) & writing away my money to other folks so I can talk, type, drive, eat and sleep. :o) I'm doing a whole lot of writing these days. And Gracie heard somewhere about a dream journal...nice, except she hasn't been able to remember any dreams and doesn't want to be bothered by it as soon as she wakes up.

Well, my house is really clean & my laundry is almost caught up. I did a bit of scrapbooking today or supervising...scaffolding Ms. Gracie's creative streak. Nice. Actually, her pages are great with a shabby chic appeal with heavy emphasis on the shabby. :o) To be quite honest, after a full day of typing yesterday, I was glad for the break when she said "Hey, mom. Let's do something together, k?" Sure - I was thinking Pretty Princess game or reading some books, but she said scrapbooking before I could suggest or guess. Ok - now, mind you...I have a small, yet cozy- cozy, place that really doesn't work well for scrapbooking - you know, get it all out so you can lay it all out and go on with your bad creative self. No, not here. Here you must clean as you go scrap. Bummer...it's time to clean it up before I really even get organized to get anything on the paper. Imagine scrapping on the coffee table -yes, that's us.

Anyway, she wanted to scrap and like I said, anything was a welcome break from the keyboard - baseboards cleaned, cabinets organized, papers sorted...yanno. She with a bit of help from "we" finished two pages and I sorted some of my most pretty-FULL paper.

My brother's coming tonight...I should be in bed already. We leave for vocal rehearsal at 6:50 AM - when it's DARK outside. Geez...like I needed or had time to bake an apple pie tonight. It'll be 11-12 before he even gets in, yet I must bake an apple pie. I don't even know if he likes apple pie - if that tells you anything. He's been driving forever...well, since Lafayette, LA. South for sure. He's made stops at dad's & Tracy, which is really cool. Let's talk about restoration...

Ok - this is going nowhere and I still have writing to do and not facebook writing.

Just to get this out of my head & down in print before I go...

GraceFULL moments since last we chatted~

• Early one AM last week, I was here at the keyboard cranking out a report when I heard from the back of the house "Cocka Doodle Doooooooooooooooo. Cocka Doodle Doooooooooooooo." What in the world?? Checked in on Grace - the girl was still sleeping. I have no idea what she was dreaming but she was announcing a wake up call to somebody or something. :o)
• Gracie's still using her new word "chit chat" whenever she can. Last week, "So, mom, let's chit chat about when you were a kid and the snow was so high & you got stuck in that snowbank." She loves that story and the picture to go with it. We chit chat about volcanoes & the highest mountain and what makes lightening. We chit chat about the songs my mom sang when I was a baby and how Papi kissed her toes when she was tiny. Chit chat about restaurants and kitties and boy kisses and when she gets bracelets on her teeth. Chit chat~
• Fact: children need exposure to a new word in context 11 times before it's added to their lexicon.
• We have moved on from Mrs. Piggle Wiggle to the Snow Queen, our 1st chapter book that's really captured her attention ohne lots of pictures. Illustrated by my favorite Mary Engelbreit, I've had this book forever. So reading it with Grace has been a new experience for both of us. Here's one of my favorite parts:

Then Gerda said her prayers. The cold was so great that she could see her
own breath, which poured from her mouth like smoke. Her breath became
thicker and thicker, and it formed itself into little angels, who grew and grew whenever they touched the earth. All the angels had helmets on their heads, shields and spears in their hands, and their number increased as Gerda prayed. When she had finished her prayer, a whole legion stood around her and struck with their spears at the terrrible snowflakes of the Snow Queen, and shattered them into a thousand pieces. Then the angels stroked little Gerdas' hands and feet until she felt the cold less and could hasten with good courage to the Snow Queen's place.




Well, now the formatting is all messed up and I don't have time to fix it. Another bit of news...I was notified this week that I scored a really BIG scholarship. I'm thankful -yes, I am. :o)
Ok - the pie is out of the oven and it smells really good. The warmth from the oven made me linger there a bit. Gracie made a deal with me...she'd take her medicine without fussing if I'd let her eat a piece of pie dough and help make the pie. It's a deal. :o) Tonight was her 1st time using a knife knife - a semi sharp enough to cut an apple knife. She was so proud. She was so happy she got to eat some pie crust dough. Actually, we had quite a bit left over so she suggested that she make cutouts with our heart & lip cookie cutters to go on top of the pie crust. It's an apple love pie. Can't wait to taste it myself, but I'll wait for my company. :o)
Night all and happy Sunday to you!
Brother called and he's 1.5 hours away. Can I stay awake? Can I get this last paperpiece finished? I don't even know, but that pie sure smells good. :o)

Best & Worst: 02/09/09

What was your best today, Mama.

Well, it was definitely that love note you wrote to me. That was very sweet.

What was your best, Gracie.

My best was writing that love note to you, Mama.

No worsts were reported today...really, they are a rarity.

Here's the charming note she dictated to her teacher for me. It was stuffed..I mean folded... into a delightfully decorated envelop with lots of construction paper hearts & presented with formal fluffery when I arrived at her school-

I love you, Mama.

I like it when you cook pancakes with blueberries & chocolate chips.

I like it when we bake cookies together and when we dance together.

I liked it when we went to Disney to see Aurora - when we talked together & she walked us to our table. Then we saw Belle, Cinderella & Sleeping Beauty & Snow White.

I love you Mama & I know you love me, too!

The End.

Now, if that wasn't enough to make my heart overload on SWEETNESS...we had this exchange once home from the University.

Mom, I love you to the oceans & dolfins & Disney & Germany & back.

Ooooh, that's lots of love.

How much do you love me, Mama?

Well, I love you all the way to heaven & back.

Wow! That's alot of lovin~

This, followed by "chit chat" - Gracie's new word - about what heaven is like & the possibility of food in heaven.

Tears were shed in search of tiny Tinker Bell, who lights up but we're "saving the battery". We found her hiding under the pillow. Now all is well with the world. Finished up lights-on time reading & giggling our way through Mrs. Piggle Wiggle & the Won't Take a Bath Cure. Tooo funny!

After best/worst & thankful hearts, I think I may have fallen asleep during our prayers. :o/ God understands...He has kids, too.

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~