Please pray!

To all my praying friends and family, please pray for my dear friend Beth. She was diagnosed with a glioblastoma about two and a half years ago. Every day since then has been a blessing from God for her, her husband, and their four BEAUTIFUL little girls, one of whom I had the privilege of teaching. They are in Kindergarten, 1st, 4th, and 5th grades, and being back at my old school has allowed me to see them all often.

Beth's health despite the tumor has been uncharacteristic for her diagnosis but is no real surprise to her. Her faith in God is so deep and evident. She even told me a couple months back that she wouldn't change anything. She accepts the situation she's in and uses it to glorify God.

This last week, her scan showed the tumor had grown about a cm in a three-week span, as opposed to the typical mm or so. Please keep her, her family, and her doctors in your prayers as they plan the next course of action. Pray for a miracle, and for strength and peace for each family member through their storm. Thanks!


Full of joy, the sense of humor is intact! Hat says, "No Hair Day."


The girls at the school talent show last year - so sweet!

I'm not convincing

The other night, Livy asked Aaron if she could watch Monsters, Inc., her current favorite movie. He thanked her for asking so nicely and said that we couldn't watch it at that time, so she folding her hands in the begging position (Where'd she learn that?!) and asked if she could "puhweese watch Monsers."

He said, "We can't watch it right now, but you are very convincing."

To that she replied, "I'm not Convincing; I'm Olivia!"


This afternoon in the Kindergarten class, one sweet girl made a little craft for me and told me I could put anything in it I wanted. When I asked her for a suggestion, she said I could put a dog in it. I drew a puppy and said her name is Gracie, like my dog. Her jaw dropped, and she told me, "I have a dog named Gracie. I used to have a dog named Muffin, but she died and is in heaven now."

I went along with the whole pets-go-to-heaven-thing (because they do) and said, "Oh, wow. So now she's healthy and happy."

Sweet Girl said, "Well...God IS pretty nice."

Cute. And from the heart.

About a million pics

We've had lots of fun lately. I took Livy and Samantha (our precious weekend friend) roller skating for Valentine's Day. My parents always made it a point to do something sweet and special for us on Valentine's Day when we were growing up, and I want to pass on the tradition. Taking Olivia to the skating rink I used to skate at when I was a preschooler seemed like a fun way to do that.

It was SO fun teaching her something new, and she tried to skate like the girl on Ice Princess and would dramatically fall down and hold her ankle when she did. So funny, that girl.

Samantha the Love Bug loved holding my hand and skating with me. Did Olivia? Of course not! "'Scuse me, Momma," she would say as she gently pushed my hand away. She didn't even want me close to her once she got the hang of it. It was such a blast!

We followed that up with meeting up with Daddy to go to a Valentine's Party at the library. Our friend Cutter (one of the boys I nannyed for last year) met up with us just befor we left the rink and partied with us as well. It was fun, but too chaotic to get many pics there. Here are some photos and a video clip of the Chicken Dance (ignore the wobbliness on the video and the "I'm GAY" on the carpeted wall behind Livy in one pic):

God is so Good

I didn't catch it all - she's less interested in singing when the camera is out - but this warms my heart!



And, like the doof I can be, I don't know how to edit the video, and rather than figure it out, I am posting it as is. It give a glimpse of the whole boundary-testing thing.

What you mean to me - from your husband.

Jenny,

Often, your family and friends don't get to see what you mean to me because I'm a bit of a different person when I'm in public than when I'm in private. So I thought I would tell them all what you mean to me on your BlogSpot.

We have come a long way in twelve years together. In our youth, we were much more open with our affection towards each other. Now, I'm a lot more private with all my feelings and even I sometimes don't open up in private to you either. For whatever reason, I've tightened up my personal feelings and haven't really allowed them to come out.

Looking back when we were young, I thought of you all day long, literally. I'd write love notes in class to you. For every major holiday, I'd go all out for you, especially on Valentine's Day. We would even surprise each other with things on non-holidays. We never lacked passion when we were young.

Over time, our passion turned into what I feel was true love for each other. We respected each other more and at the same time we reserved the lovy dovy stuff for when we were alone together (I imagine this made it much easier for people to be around us). Because we have been together since high school, we have grown into adults together. We have seen every imaginable phase of love with each other only, which I see as something very special. Not many people get to experience that.

We are different any many ways. You yearn and reminisce about the days when we were more openly in love, whereas I am now a love hermit. I only show my love for you at home in private and I am a little embarrassed when I think about how we made out in public. Why this is, I don't know, maybe it's just the natural progression of things for men and women. Despite this, I feel that I love you more now, and in many more ways, than I did eleven or twelve years ago. Now that Olivia is in the picture, life with you is so different. I see things daily that make me love you more. When Olivia learns something new because you were doing an activity with her, it's just an example of how my love for you grows daily. You do things to help the family; make sacrifices that show your care and devotion to us. These things mean the world to me.

Our lives, the way that our day flows, is all based on you. You dictate the mood and the experience of our daily lives. When you're having a bad day so am I. When your spirits are through the roof, so are mine. That is such a wonderful thing to me, that the order of our lives depends on you. It shows just what a special person you are. If you were taken from my life, then it would crumble.

Everything in this post, you already knew. So why did I write it? Because I want friends and family to know what you mean to me. Perhaps next time one of your friends or family sees us together, instead of seeing a bickering couple, seemingly on the edge with each other, maybe they will see a raging inferno of love that forms new experiences every day. That's the way I see things.



Above is one of my favorite pictures. It shows us exhausted after the birth of Olivia. It seems like we go through this very same emotion every day together. Exhausted, but in love.

Uh, uh, uh

Well. We will certainly and joyously have our hands full with this whole parenting thing. Many months ago, I was cautioned that I will have to choose my words carefully because Livy is smart (and ornery). I was reminded of Mendy's warning in the bathroom stall at Barnes and Noble last night. While I was standing in front of Olivia for quite some time, I played with the tag on her jacket. When she noticed this she scolded in a kind but serious way, "No, no, Momma." I took this as an opportunity to teach her about "No, no" - how mommies and daddies can tell this to their children because it's our job to take care of and teach them, how she can say this one day when she is a Mommy, and how it is not ok for her to tell her mommy or daddy "no, no" - yadda, yaddah, yadda. She simply looked at me and with the same tone of voice shook her head and said, "Uh, uh, uh, Momma." Boy, oh, boy, she makes it so HARD to keep a straight face sometimes.

On another note, I think it's time to buy one of these:

Because someone brought me a gallon of milk while I typed this post.

In other random news:

~I heard the phrase, "My mom is a lover" in the third grade classroom yesterday.

~Livy now tries to keep Daddy from tickling her when she's grumpy by saying, "I'm al-ready happy!"

~I am completely taking advantage of this inclement weather day by reading, cuddling, wearing sweats, and singing & dancing, all while wearing some comfy sweats (did I already mention that part?).

~One of the two most challenging kids I've ever taught (both are in the class I'm subbing in) was being completely rotten on Monday, stopped in his tracks, darted across the room to give me a HUGE bear hug, and returned to his spot to continue being horrible. We've made great strides in the past few weeks, and I can make it through this job under these conditions. :0)

~Olivia Saves the Circus and Olivia Forms a Band are keeping us entertained lately. These books are cute and random, and Olivia the Pig reminds me a bit of my own Olivia.


~And this weekend, we had so much fun watching Enchanted. When it was over, we (yes, both of us) put on our most twirly dresses, pulled out the tiaras and other dress-up gear, and sang and danced together all over the house. If you've seen the movie, you'll remember when Giselle pokes her head out the window and beckons all lovely and not-so-lovely creatures to aid her with her household duties by singing a series of "Ah"s. I couldn't possibly even begin to count the number of times I've heard, "Momma, sing 'Ah-ah-ah.'" I absolutely love it. I think I may have to break down and buy this movie for someone's birthday. I'm not big on buying movies. I really try to limit being "plugged in" to the t.v., but I'll make an exception for this one. (And for The Sound of Music. I don't feel as bad when it moves us to sing and dance.)

Getting ready to dance. I just love her room. Not that there's any kind of design element to it - I just think it's filled with sweetness.

Here we go!


So much fun!

Aw, she danced 'til she dropped.

Even Gracie got involved. She looks pretty happy, right?

I love her squinty-getting-ready-for-the-camera-flash look. (I don't love the double chin in the pic. However, I'm not quite motivated enough to do anything about it right now. Soon, maybe.)

Gracie's no longer speaking to me. Poor Gracie.

A walk in the park

Aaron's/Our Aunt Karla made a picture collage after we spent Christmas Day with them in OK. Poor Livy stayed up late on Christmas Eve, rode in the car for over three hours on Christmas morning and arrived at her great-grandmother's cozy house filled with 13 family members (9 she was meeting for the first time) right about nap time. She was kinda quiet and serious, but she handled it well and had a blast meeting her older second cousins. She found her second wind somewhere between the leaf pile and the Golden Retriever at the park where Aunt Karla took these shots. I love the collage she made and wanted to post it (even though I can't figure out how to post it right-side-up). More pics from our WONDERFUL December/Christmas celebrations may or may not be coming. :o)




P.S. Here is a list of fun Olivia moments from today:
1. When we made a trip to the girl's room at the mall today, she told me as I was taking my turn to 'go,' "Mama, work hard."
2. She stopped me at the curb before walking across the street and told me, "Mama, look both ways." Where would I be without her looking out for me?
3. While riding in the car, she was quiet for 5-10 minutes, then she dryly said, "This is fun."
4. At 10:19 pm, she knocked on her door from the inside. I opened it and found her light on, and she was wearing an adorable summer outfit from her off-season drawer, complete with big girl 'pannies.' She emphatically told me, "Mama! I had a GOOD nap!"