Friday, April 29, 2011

a royally dreamy day

there's a little princess in all of us


daddy telling a bedtime "princess Gracie" story

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

spring break thus far..and the heart of God

Ali has school.
Quinn and his pals are keeping the streets
of our neighborhood safe with their Nerf gun skills...

and these two are stuck together like
PB & J


if you are not a follower of my friend Linn's blog,
please take the time to read
THIS entry.
our family had the privilege of participating
in a small way by sending some items.

read HERE
to see the follow up.
it will break your heart,
as it did my own.

ALL are precious in His sight.
I want to be His hands & feet,
and bring His Kingdom to dark, hopeless places.
may the Father continually break our
hearts with what breaks His own.

this life is too short.

praise Jesus that these precious lives were touched
and honored in Uganda!!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

DC in pics

Erin & I had a wonderful trip.
we're in recovery mode -
catching up on some sleep &
tending those aching feet!



the view of the Potomac from
George Washington's Mount Vernon home



National Archives

Abraham Lincoln's top hat
at the Smithsonian
not to be outdone by

Michael Jackson's hat

First Lady Michelle Obama's
Inaugural Ball dress
definitely outdone by

Rick Flair's cape & boots
"whooooooooo"


loved Julia Child's kitchen
in the American History museum

the 8th graders at the White House



Air Force Memorial


the National Cathedral -
a beautiful, breathtaking tour

the National Zoo

changing of the guard at
the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington -
that ceremony never gets old


Erin's first Metro ride

WW2 Memorial
4,000 stars representing the over
400,000 American lives lost during the war

Monday, April 11, 2011

DC DC, Baby

three years ago I headed to Washington DC
with Ali's 8th grade class
tomorrow Erin & I will be on a bus at
5 am (really?!) with
62 8th graders
15 sponsors
and a positive, joy-filled attitude
(Bwah-hah-hah!)

ok, really, I'm sure if I can keep
a steady stream of caffeine,
orthopaedic shoes on my feet,
and some factory-grade earplugs,
I'll be just fine -
honestly.

so, thank you government
for not shutting down.
thereby avoiding countless hours of
free time.
(not the words you want to hear
involving 62 fourteen year olds)

Quinn pointed out the other morning
that when I accompany Gracie's class
to DC that I will be a
grandmother...
do the math,
he could be right.
(I'm saving up money for botox
and B-12 supplements starting now)



I'm honestly looking forward to sharing
this experience with Erin.
that girl can make me laugh,
and her company fills her mama's heart with
JOY!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

looming on the horizon


what's looming??

a government shutdown?
tax day?
spring break?
spring cleaning?
Easter Sunday?
Gracie's next surgery?

all of the above!

we were in Charlotte yesterday
to see Dr. Matthews who was still pleased
with Gracie's palate healing, and ready
to schedule her next surgery!
He will be repairing her uvula
(it is split in half basically),
her lip, and also working on her nostril,
which actually will be the most difficult
aspect of this procedure as far as
her recovery goes. she will
come home with packing in her nostril,
which will be interesting b/c it will
obviously affect her breathing, and
we will go back a week after to have a
tube-like device placed in that
nostril to hold the shape as it heals.

it will be an interesting summer...
he listed some things we should avoid/limit
after her surgery, mainly for the incision healing...
sun exposure,
sugar in her diet,
and he mentioned that with some Asians
wheat and dairy
can cause thickening of the skin
at the incision site.

ok, so any ideas for a
sugar-dairy-wheat free
diet for a 3 year old who loves food?!!

I guess we'll cross that proverbial diet
bridge when we come to it!


two of my favorite peeps
playing in the back yard

and here's a taste of the unbelievable musical
talent that resides in our home. I see a
worldwide tour in her future...

hearing that sweet girl plat her harmonica
thrills my soul...
she couldn't do that before her palate repair.
God is so faithful!!

Friday, April 1, 2011

april fools

so last night was Ali's first official
ride-in-the-car-with-other-teenagers-
without-parents-dress-up-get-
your-hair-done-receive-a-corsage-
wear-shoes-other-than-flipflops-
outing.
can't bring myself to say the D word.

it was like the car commercial where the dad
is looking at his 3 year old daughter
sitting in the driver's seat as he gives her
safety instructions, and the next shot is his
teenage daughter backing out of the driveway....

yep, that's what I saw - our little Ali playing dress
up and pretending to go out on a da__,
I mean outing with her daddy.
sniff sniff



"come on dad, please stop embarrassing
me, and quit threatening to be cleaning your gun
when my da--, I mean outing friend arrives"




this masterpiece took an hour -
wish I could take the credit for doing it!

someone was really excited for her sister
(I can't understand why said person
kept giggling all evening...)

the sweetheart of a guy who was our
baby girl's "friend-that-accompanied-her
on -the-formal-outing"


how did the family survive you ask?
after sitting down for dinner to an empty
casserole dish (April Fools kids!),
we ate dinner at Yogurt Mountain.
Yesiree - chocolate, vanilla, and
a plethora of sugary toppings can help
a mom & dad through anything!
(I still don't understand why
Erin keeps giggling to herself)