"Papo"

First it was "Paw Paw" (as in two bear cub hands)

Then it was "Papa" (as in Charles Wilder in Little House on the Prairie)

Next it was "Poppy" (as in the red flower)

Then it was "Pop" (as in soda)

Then it was "Poo Poo" (as in what you do in the potty)

Then it was "Poopy" (as a describing word for something you do in the potty)

Then it was "Po Po" (as in slang for police officer)

Now, it is "PaPo" (which rhymes with gestapo and could possibly double for what an Indian child might call the chief of the tribe)

I call it "LOVE."

Introducing the B.G.B

So glad you could join me today for the grand tour of my new B.G.B. (Big Girl Bed) Please admire me as I strike a pose in front of this exqusite circa 2009 Cocoon 1000 in antique white. Also please take the time to admire my bodacious purple zebra striped pajamas that my mom ordered one night at 3:00 a.m. when she had a fit of insomnia and just happened to stumble upon the Old Navy on-line clearance extravaganza and kept clicking until she had purchased enough to get free shipping. Yes, I know that I totally rock these jammies. I also have some with weenie dogs, monkeys, butterflies, etc...but I digress.

My mama, you see, purchased this convertible crib with the mindset that I will use it until they boot me out the door for college or I completely destory it during a wild 'n crazy girls sleepover...whichever comes first.

It took my mama nearly 9 months to get this crib after ordering it and since she was so terribly inconvenienced and ticked off, she demanded that the toddler rail and crib be thrown in for free.

And it was...but the bolts and hardware to attach it were not. Hmmm...I don't think she saw that one coming...

So my precious daddy spent the greater part of his day off converting my crib and making 6 1/2 dozen trips to Lowe's and Paker's in order to get the right size bolts and still did not find the exact ones, but that doesn't matter 'cause my daddy fixed it right up! 

As you can tell, the B.G.B is easy as pie to climb in. That's why this rail is here. So you can easily climb over it and hang your bahonkey off of it. Don't you see how convenient it is? This of course is my favorite sleeping position in the B.G.B. It perfectly aligns my spinous process (or at least that what's I hear).

I love me some B.G.B. I sleep so much better knowing that I can easily fall off the side at night.

It's that touch of anxiety that helps me know I am definitely a big girl now!

23 Months

23 months ago, we welcomed Sydney Abigail into our hearts...

A long-awaited and prayed for baby...

who against all odds....

miraculously joined Chris and me...

on the journey of a lifetime.

Everyday, we thank God for the gift of her life...

and for choosing us to be...

her parents.

Play Me a Tune

For as long as I can remember, my grandmother has come all the way down from Missouri to Texas to see me. That's a long drive...'specially for an old lady.

As she aged, it became more and more difficult for her to see to drive, so now she flies to Texas or has my uncle drive her down. She's the ripe 'ol age of 88 now, and just returned a few weeks ago after her Christmas visit.

I am my grandma's ONLY granddaughter. She reminds me of that constantly. She has great-granddaughters and great-great grand children, but I am the only official granddaughter. Makes me feel purty special.

She has always loved to hear me play the piano. It doesn't matter what I play for her: classical, jazz, praise & worship, show tunes, boogie woogie, love songs...if I can play it, she wants to hear it.

When she would come down for a visit, our first trip was to the store to get the Cheez Puffs, and the next order of business was for her to say, "Play me a tune."

I would sit at the piano and play everything I could think of...Grandma would sit in a chair nearby and just smile and clap at the end of each song. It is a memory I will never forget.

During her recent visit, she spent the day with Sydney and me. We accomplished many important things; such as, spending spare change at Dollar Tree, eating lunch at Dairy Queen, and running errands. As we were relaxing at home that afternoon, she said to Sydney, "Play me a tune."

To my surprise, Sydney knew exactly what she was talking about. She went to her piano, turned it on, and began playing Grandma her tunes. Grandma clapped after each "performance" and Sydney played until she couldn't think of any other songs.

To you, these pictures may look like an old lady watching a baby play in a junky living room...

To me, all I can hear is my Grandma's sweet Missouri voice saying, "Play me a tune."

And I can't help but choke back a tear.

Child-Like Faith

Sydney teaches me things everyday. I have learned that:

a. Sunday shoes make dangerous projectiles
b. a nap (or the lack thereof) can completely change the day's outlook
c. the 5 second rule is totally irrelevant

But this morning, she reminded me of something powerful.

She asked for breakfast, very nicely. Then she kept asking and asking..."Eat. Eat. Mama. Eat." I was busy with a few other things and I heard her petition and I was doing my best to get things in order so I could serve up delicious toasted pancakes and strawberries. I looked at her. She was sitting at the bar. Waiting...patiently...smiling....saying, "Mama...befest...eat...pease..."

I answered her, "I'm working on it, baby. I heard you the first time you asked. I've got to wait on the toaster to pop up. I am cutting up the strawberries. I know you need to eat and I know you are hungry. Just a minute..."

And then she said, "Tank you...mama. Tank you, tank you, tank you...tank you."

And then it hit me like a bolt out of the blue.

She was thanking me for something she had asked for but did not have. She had nothing to eat in front of her, not even a drink, and she was thanking me for her breakfast.

I have never let her down before in regards to breakfast. I've always provided for her needs. I've always answered her requests. She had faith...in my ability to deliver. I had proven myself to her time and time again. I had a track record of providing.

God has never let me down. He has always provided for my needs. He has always answered my requests. He has proven Himself true to me time and time again. He always delivers. He always comes through. He has a track record for being GOOD to me.

I encourage you to thank God in ADVANCE for what you are praying about...I'm not talking about frivolous requests, but the ones that are in perfect alignment with God's will.

Thank Him in advance for healing. Thank Him in advance for saving a lost loved one. Thank Him in advance for meeting a financial need. Thank Him even though you don't see the end result.

This is more than "blab it & grab it" and "name it & claim it." This is an exercise of faith.

"(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were." Romans 4:17

"Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see." Hebrews 1:11

When I heard my child thanking me for something I had yet to provide, my heart flooded with joy. I hurriedly got her breakfast delivered...I made it happen.

Make God's heart glad today by thanking him for all that he has already done and everything he is going to do. Anticipate a miracle. Exercise your faith.

He heard you the first time you asked.

Kitchen Kooperation

One evening, I decided to test the limits of my relationship with my man.

I got it in my head that Sydney needed a play kitchen for Christmas. I found a great deal on a cutie pie kitchen on-line.

When it arrived (all 80 pounds of it), I informed my groom that we would be assembling this lovely kitchen ourselves. I informed him how much fun it would be. I expressed to him that it would be "a piece of cake" and we would have a cheery good time assembling this piece of furniture. I told him, "Just imagine! Hot cocoa, Christmas music playing, you, me, and Black & Decker."

And that's when I saw this...

Just a few hundred bolts, give or take a few..

Fear crept into my heart. I will not deny it.

I immediately felt the need to hit my knees in prayer.

And this is the time we started our grand evening of togetherness and cooperation.

And this was what took us the first 30 minutes and it was all due to the fact that I insisted the end pieces were on backwards when they really weren't and my extremely kinesthetically/abstractly gifted man assured me repeatedly that yes they were on correct and this was the end of result. The look of satisfaction on his face was like no other.

He was right. He LOVES to be right.

And this was our supervisor/referee Simeon. He had to settle a few disputes with his evil stares, but he got the message across when things got testy.

And this was the time that we completed Sydney's Dream Kitchen...

and all due to the fact that I learned to "shut up" and just "hand him the tools."

This baby has a high-falutin "mikerwave"

and shiny, noisy knobs.

Feast your eyes upon what I think should be required of any and all couples who plan to get married.

If you and your beloved can slap one of these babies together and still love each other, you are meant to be together until the end of time, or at least until you attempt to put together a Cozy Coupe (which is of the Devil)...whichever comes first.

 

Shazam!

When your husband works in home health, you hear many amazing, scary, heart-warming, scary, and hilarious stories. The things people say never cease to amaze me.

What also never ceases to amaze me is how kind, loving, and generous people are to my hubs. Many times, he is the only face from the outside world that his patients see all day, all week, all month. Hard to believe, huh?

His patients have made scarves, soup, desserts, loaves of bread, mittens, and adult-sized booties hand-crafted from rainbow yarn. We have been given birthday/Christmas presents for Sydney, deer meat, fruit cake, cheese logs, petit fours, peanut brittle, fudge, and believe it or not, a 6 pack of Shiner.

One of Chris' latest patients had this made for us. Get ready...it's amazing.

Shazam!

Gorgeous, right?

We had it framed by the talented Jon at Reflections Custom Framing & Engraving.

We have now officially adopted him as our family custom framer for now and forever, Amen.

I gave him the doily and asked him to do his magic. This is what I got.

It's massive, too.  As in if this thing ever falls off our wall (it is hanging above our bed) it will surely snuff out Chris and I will have to cash in both of those insurance policies.

But, that's what those policies are for, right? Unfortunate and unforeseen accidents involving heavy objects that fall from atop your bed in the middle of the night.



So, put on your list, that before you check out, you will have a sweet lil 'ol lady crochet a doily with your surname, because it is really a beautiful thing.

Ring My Bell

It's pretty sad. Yes, I will admit it.

It doesn't take much, honey.

I went to Tar-Jay today (I was childless and out-of-town...so pretty much a given) and in the delicious dollar delights aisle...I find...

these...

Are these not the most fabulous, frilly, feminine, and funtastic file folders you've ever seen!? And for a buck, mind you. A buck. My little teachery heart just melted. In little fluffy thought bubbles, I imagined the papers I would file in these babies. Organization and beauty all in one.

and one of these...

functional, happy, round, and by golly, a steal of a deal for a buck.

And my baby girl is quite the mathamagician and carries a calculator around with her frequently, so I only saw fit to add this baby to her collection of digit devices.

Your kid collects baby dolls, mine collects calculators.

Ring a ding ding!

Illusions of Grandeur

What is it lately with some folks? Why do people try so hard to be something they are not?

A camera does not make you a photographer.
An instrument does not make you a musician.
A dry erase marker does not make you a teacher.
A Bible does not make you a preacher.
A loud voice does not make you a radio announcer.
A mouth does not make you an orator.
A microphone does not make you a singer.
A pair of legs does not make you a dancer.
A spade does not make you a gardener.
A stethoscope does not make you a doctor.

Now, put the words "wonderful, effective, life-changing" before the last word in each sentence. Read them again.

I am grappling with this lately. I am NOT a seamstress. I am NOT a great cook. I am NOT an artist. I am NOT an interior designer. I am NOT a violin player. So, I am never going to subject you to my sewing, cooking, artwork, or my violin playing...and I am definitely not going to come rearrange your furniture!

For Pete's sake, find what God has called you to do (and he EQUIPS THOSE THAT HE CALLS) and DO IT and quit torturing the rest of us. Please.

Being in God's will is the best place to be, dontcha think?

New Year's Views

Chris and I decided to get away for New Year's Weekend and it has been wonderful!

I am getting way too old to stay up till midnight, but I am glad I did...the fireworks were fantastic!

  

We look out of the balcony and there are colored lights hanging down everywhere...

We should kick off every new year like this...