D is for D@*#*, that hurts!

Yesterday, I was out running errands and happened to catch a glance at my reflection in the rearview mirror.

Waaaaay past time for an eyebrow wax.

So, on the way home, I pulled into my friendly neighborhood nail salon.

And that's where the pain began. Now, let's be clear here. The pain of which I speak is not of the physical variety. Because if there's one thing you should know about me, it's this: My vanity is not of the sort that would allow a small thing like massive quantities of pain to get in the way of the pursuit of beauty.

Anyway, I approach the counter and tell the lady what I'd like: an eyebrow wax, please.
At which point, she turns and yells loudly into the salon: EYEBROW WAX!!!!
(This is why I don't tell the chick at the counter that I also want a lip wax. I save that part for the chair. I only made that mistake once. LOL.)

So, I get into the chair and the girl says: You liie eyebrow wax?

Yes, I "like" eyebrow wax, please. And this too, I whisper, while pointing discreetly at my upper lip. (Whispering it somehow makes it seem less real.)

Then, she punched me in the gut says to me: You liie I do chin too?

And there was silence. Like movie silence. The kind with the crickets. During which I stared at her in complete horror and consternation.

And then I managed to squeak: Do I NEED a chin wax?

And she said: YES.

And then I died. Right there on the spot.

C is for Could she be any Cuter?

A few days ago, Rowan wanted to have a Lemonade Stand. Of course, I'm never prepared for anything fun, so she had to settle for a Water stand. Which, I tried to convince her would have the neighborhood kids running for their piggy banks.

Turns out, piggy banks weren't really needed. Rowan has her own ideas about pricing. It's possible she misunderstood what I meant when I was explaining the "free market"

to her.

Of course, her generousity doesn't stop with the neighborhood kids.

She decided to use her "water" stand to collect money for charity for "poor people". Those are her words. Seriously. Could she be any sweeter? I love this kid and her big heart.

It was a great day for Rowan! She was thrilled when the neighborhood kids came to be her "customers". She "sold" three bottles of water, and collected about $1.30 thanks to her daddy and several of the kids who ran home to get change when they saw her basket. It was The. Sweetest. Thing. Ever. :) :)

Chuck & I shared a little laugh over her excitement at her $1.30 and all it would do for the "poor people" until we realized that that's $1.30 more than we've collected for charity lately. It's no small thing to teach a child. And it's certainly no small thing to learn from one.

B is for Ballet

It more dangerous than it looks.

A is for Absent

In a shameless act of complete copy-cattyness, I am blogging the alphabet like several of my more proficient bloggy friends have done.


Now, admittedly, it's been a while since I studied the alphabet, but unless they've changed it lately, it seems most appropriate to begin with "A".


And "A" is for absent, because that's what I've been lately. Absent from blogging. And absent from home for two weeks following Hurrican Ike.


I know you're just dying to know what I did all that time. So, here's a rundown of the last month or so. (Yeah, I know. I've been absent from the blog way longer than that, but I can't tax my memory that much or my head will probably start smoking.)


Rowan started Kindergarten. That's right. Kindergarten. I can't believe it.





She's so totally over me and my camera. LOL.





Just a couple weeks after school started, Hurricane Ike decided to pay us a visit. We did decide to "hunker down" here for the storm. But, the aftermath of Houston in September without air-conditioning was more than we could take. So, we went on a Hurricane "vacation" as my husband so exaggeratingly and annoyingly termed it.

We stayed in luxury hotels and had seaweed wraps and massages in the afternoon and lobster dinners every evening. (This is my blog, I can say whatever I want.)

It was sooo much fun! I know I, for one, can't wait for another "vacation". (I hope you're all reading my sarcasm here.)


Okay, well, our "vacation" (I can barely type that word in reference to those weeks) we did get to spend some time in one my very favorite parts of Texas - New Braunfels. It's a beautiful place and I would love to take the kids back there sometime, hopefully voluntarily.

Next up - B. I think.

this pretty much sums it up . . .

The Baptism.

On June 29th, Rowan & Luke were baptised at our church.

There are no pictures from the actual ceremony. Cameras are not allowed during worship. (That's in the Bible. Look it up.)

We did receive a very nicely edited DVD, though. God has nothing against video cameras, apparently. And, of course, you can download the podcast on iTunes.

The above picture was taken after the service, at a Mexican restaurant. This is Texas. Mexican food is sacred. So, it seemed appropriate.

I'm a preschool graduate!

Well, I'm not. But Rowan is. For a couple months now. Is anybody really surprised that I'm behind here? Didn't think so.



This is Rowan and her teacher, Ms. Debbie. On Rowan's final evaluation form, Ms. Debbie said that Rowan's strength was COMPASSION. I couldn't be prouder if she had said GENIUS.


And, in other Rowan news - she lost her first tooth right before graduation, on May 20. She was beyond thrilled! And the toothfairy was extremely generous to her, mostly because she was dealing with lots of guilt over some other issues. LOL.

negotiating . . .

Me: Luke, you need to help Rowan clean up the playroom. If you do, you'll get two dollars for the day!

Luke: Mommy, how 'bout this? I give YOU five dollars and you never mention cleaning to me again.

The Colors of our Family . . .

I'm so in love with my son. I love how he's growing up. He asks the best questions. He's so inquisitive and so stinking funny.

We had this conversation a few days ago:

Luke: Mommy, what do yellow and blue make?
ME: (So relieved that I know the answer, LOL) GREEN.

Luke: What do red and orange make?
ME: (thinking. . . thinking . . . thinking . . .) Uh . . dark orange?

Luke: What do brown and white make?
ME: Light brown?

Luke: How about orange and green?
ME: Uh, probably a very ugly brown.

Then, I turn the tables on him, thinking I can stump him.

ME: What do Mommy and Lukey make?
Luke: Family. (which he pronounces Fam-buh-wee.)

Good Answer, Lukey. :)

I LOVE this kid.

He's got the whole world . . .

. . . in his hands. And us, too, of course.

Luke and I had this discussion yesterday. He was fascinated when I told him that God is holding us in his hands ALL THE TIME.

Later that day, I hear this conversation in the backseat:

Luke: Hey Rowan! Did you know that God is holding us ALL the time? All of us. Even Daddy.

Rowan: Yeah, I know that. He's holding us right now. (spoken with the absolute certainty of her 5-year-old wisdom)

Luke: Is he holding our car?

Rowan: Yep, he's holding ALL the cars. (again, such certainty :) )

Luke: OH. MY. GOSH!! All these cars are like God's toys!

I love you really really LOUD.

A couple weeks ago, my son Luke said this to me.

Luke: Mommy, I love you.

Me: Really? How much?

Luke: I love you really really LOUD.

It was really cute. I think, in his sweet 3-year-old heart, he was trying to say that he loves me sooo much - and he couldn't think of a bigger word that LOUD. I thought his description was so fabulous. And so fitting - considering the child it came from. :)

And the more I think about it, the more I love it.

Think about how Jesus loved us. He loved us so "loud" that he died for us. He was not ashamed of us. He proclaimed his love on the cross, for all to see. His love was not quiet. It was LOUD.

And so I resolve to love Him - and everyone else in my life - a lot more LOUD from now on.

Thank you, Luke, for sharing your wisdom with me.

The presents of God.

Sunday, our pastor spoke about family. And what family means during Christmas.
He spoke of how psychologists say that the single most important thing that family gives us is a sense of belonging. And how that seemingly simple emotion is so important to us as human beings, that children who don't feel a sense of belonging at a very early age, may never develop a healthy self-esteem or emotional well-being.
And he shared with us something that he told his children when they were growing up. And I loved the message of it so much, that I wanted to share it with you:

I do not love you because you are smart. Though, you are very smart.
I do not love you because you are beautiful. Though, to me, you are very beautiful.
I do not love you because you are good. Though, you are very good.

I love you because you are mine.
And because you will always be mine.

Can't you hear God saying that to all of us?

And if you, like me, you were not lucky enough to have that sense of belonging here with your earthly family, you can rejoice and rest assured that there is always someone to whom you do belong and you always will.

Dilettante . . .

Dilettante.

Yep.

I am.

I'm a writer. Well, that was a long time ago. Not so much anymore.

I scrapbook. Sometimes. Digital and paper. But not much. Not for a long time now.

I knit. Well, I know how to knit. Crochet, too. I haven't actually made anytime in years and I never made much to begin with.

I create graphic art. Templates and logos and stuff. But only when I feel like it, which isn't very often anymore.

I'm a semi-retired part-time seamstress/designer. I like to sew. Sometimes. But not right now. Just not feeling it.

I'm an amateur photographer. Sometimes. But only when it suits my mood to be one.

All of these things are things that so many people are so passionate about. I want to be passionate about something. I just can't decide what. I keep hoping it will pick me.

Until then, I create whatever, whenever the mood strikes me, and go where the wind blows . . .

TOTAL dilettante.

We're going to Disney World!

Okay, well, actually we've already been to Disney World. But I'm a little behind here. :)

We all enjoyed our first trip to Disney World back in September. We were able to be there for Rowan's 5th birthday. It was an amazing vacation. We all had such a great time.

We rode rides:

This is the kids and me on Dumbo.

We also loved Peter Pan's Flight, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Goofy's Barnstormer and the Pirates of the Carribean ride.

And, of course, to my great embarrassment, both of my kids started yelling when they saw the Johnny Depp animatronic character in the Pirate's ride: "Mommy, look! It's your boyfriend!" Thank goodness it's dark in there!

But, just in case you wanted to see too, here's my boyfriend:

We also got to met lots of "real" characters, too!

With Mickey at his house in Toon Town:

With Minnie in her Safari Gear at Animal Kingdom:

Meeting Buzz Lightyear at MGM:

The Power Rangers at MGM:

With Jessie the Cowgirl at MGM:

And, of course, we met the princesses!

On Rowan's birthday, we had lunch with Cinderella at her castle! Rowan was in awe the entire time. It was such a special treat for her!

The kids got their faces painted at the African Village in Disney's Animal Kingdom. Don't they look awesome!

Some of my favorites parts of the entire trip were the parades! The parades at Disney are AMAZING! I took these photos of some characters during the afternoon "Stars and Cars" parade at MGM!

My favorite - Luke's father:

The rides, the parades, the shows, everything was just so awesome and so amazingly done! I can't wait to go back!

Did you know?

This is how brussels sprouts grow? We walked into the grocery store last night and there was a display of these - it was like a forest of brussels sprout trees. At first, I thought it was some sort of floral arrangement of vegetables. LOL. But, apparently, this is how they grow.

So . . . I bought one. And I did what anybody would do. I brought it home, put it in a vase, and took pictures of it.

Now, I don't actually eat brussels sprouts. Oh, and did you know it's brusselS sprouts? I always thought it was Brussel sprouts - no S. It seems the Brussels Sprout is quite the most mysterious of the cruciferous vegetables.

My kids are very much looking forward to getting their baskets and "picking" all the sprouts off the tree. But I think I'll leave it up just a little longer. I kind of like it.