In the yard, cooling off

We have been at the lake, at the pool and in the yard -- COOLING OFF! It's hot down here -- hotter than a June bride in a featherbed.

Hope you are enjoying yourselves -- wherever you may be.

Houston, we have a tooth

10 months and counting and our sweet baby Latham FINALLY has a tooth. WOOHOO!

This morning, Ellery declared that now Latham can eat whatever we eat. Well, not quite but she sure is one step closer.

Hope you have a relaxing and fun Memorial Day Weekend.

A post about pictures

Last night, I decided I needed to download the photos from my camera. I always have grand plans of downloading, organizing, labeling....it never happens.

As the pictures were downloading, I spent a few minutes taking a look at what was on my camera. And this is what I found....

I don't remember what these three were doing on this particular morning (I am assuming morning since they are still in their PJs but, believe me, I am fully aware if could have been afternoon). It looks like Vaughan and Latham are looking at something off to the side. Clearly, Ellery is pontificating about something. Whatever it is, is make me laugh.

This is a picture of an orchid we have in our living room. I look at this orchid a lot. I have spent a lot of hours the last 10 months in our living room nursing Latham. There is a comfy chair and we are just out of the way enough that she isn't easily distracted but we are still in the mix enough to not be completly isolated. And, there is a new. Just beyond this orchid is our front yard. I have seen summer come and go, the leaves change and fall off, the snow of winter (and snowboarders meandering down our street), the buds of spring and now....back to summer. I love this spot in our house and I took a picture of the window and the orchid because I want to remember those hours.

Next I stumbled across this gem. This is a photo from Easter weekend. I LOVE THIS PICTURE! I love the chaos that is captured and reality of what happens when lots of people and lots of kids get together. Things I especially like:

• The ladies in the kitchen preparing the cake (I think)


• The bottle of wine on the counter


• The kids at the table, hats on, ready to sing and eat


• Latham in the background being entertained by my cousin


• Someone standing with camera ready to the right of the photo

This was a picture I took from the girls' dress rehearsal. I tried to get Vaughan to stand up straight but she refused -- she wanted to cuddle into her big sister. So sweet!

Next up - my phone. No seriously I have never downloaded or deleted photos from my phone....I wonder what I will find?

If you don't do the work, you don't get the prize!

At first I wasn't really sure where to start this post. A lot has been happening here these last few weeks. Some good and some sort of tough. I wondered if this is the right forum to share some of those hard things? Then I thought that maybe this really is a place where I can share and focus on the positive things happening -- because to be sure there are LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS. But, I wondered, if I only share and show the good stuff does that diminish the other things? Are you following this because I think I lost myself a few sentences back.

So, I started this post and stopped. I came back to it and started it again and still I wasn't sure what to write. And, I'm still not sure.

Last week, Vaughan's class had a performance of the Little Red Hen. For days Vaughan was talking to her dolls saying, "If you don't do the work, you don't get the prize." You know, the funny thing about these children's stories...the lessons are true and they are applicable to us all.

We also had a ballet recital this week. This was Vaughan's first year taking ballet and I really didn't know what to expect. It was adorable. Is there anything cuter than 3/4 year olds on stage in ballerina costumes? I giggled so hard I had tears streaming down my face.

The girls had a blast and it made for a very entertaining hour.

We are embracing the beginning of summer - looking forward to hours at the pool, picnics, and fun with friends We have been grilling out, eating outside, and relishing in the late setting sun. I love the sweaty heads from hard play outdoors, the smell of sunscreen and the sticky popscicle covered fingers. This is what life is about.

Life is also about the hard stuff. Vaughan is so inquisitive lately - asking a lot of questions about what happens when we die. She is worried, afraid of what she has a hard time understanding. I explain gently what I believe. I explain the circle of life. I explain about faith and love and hope. And as I explain these things, I remind myself to focus on what means the most.

Ian we sure will miss you.

Reflections

Work, school play for Vaughan, home, lunch, work, swim team, lemonade stand, dinner.....bed!

It was a busy, busy day - but aren't they all? Alan had a work dinner tonight. He stopped home to help me with the kids before he met his colleagues. As he was standing at the sink doing dishes I heard him say, "Five years ago today." How had I forgotten?

Five years ago today, Alan's mother passed away. It was sudden, unexpected, a complete and total shock. What ensued were a difficult couple of months. Losing a parent is not easy. My sweet husband had already lost his father. Five years later, I realized, I had no idea how Alan felt. Did he still feel a sense of loss? Was he reflecting on the positive memories he has of his mother? Was he reliving this day five year earlier? I didn't know, so I asked.

I asked how he felt. I asked if he felt the same way on the anniversary of his father's death. And then, with a furrowed brow he had to leave for his dinner.

So, we finished up dinner. I put the baby to bed and then it was time for the big girls to go to bed. I read a story and we said our prayers. I thanked God for these little angels I am raising. I reminded myself to stop in the spinning, to stop in the madness of the day, to stop and reflect and remember and appreciate. This is what I was meant to do. These girls teach me more every day than any books I have read, than any classes I have taken. These girls teach me to laugh...at myself. These girls teach me patience. These girls teach me to use my imagination. These girls teach me to love. And I know Nana is taking it all in.