WOO HOO!

Ariana attacked the reading portion of the TAKS test and earned a perfect score! To celebrate, we went on a little family getaway to the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Dallas (THANKS to our dear friends who gifted their ‘free night’ hotel certificate to us).  

After a few tries, we mastered the self-timer feature on my camera and got a picture to memorialize our adventure.

It was kind of last minute, so my packing was a bit rushed, and I forgot BT’s casual shoes.  This is what we call an FE in our family–FASHION EMERGENCY! 😉

Saturday morning, we continued our celebration by eating breakfast at The Dream Cafe–one of our FAVORITE places!  They have the yummiest pancakes (fluffy ricotta cheese “cloud cakes” covered in fresh strawberries and whipped cream) and the tastiest Monte Cristo sandwich (melt-in-your-mouth french toast stuffed with ham and swiss cheese).

Our next stop was a fantastic estate sale at a quaint 1920’s townhouse in the University Park area of Dallas. I purchased some antique art for our library, a couple of darling old chairs, and a few other cool things.  BT patiently sat in the car with the kids while I browsed.  Even though Tad cried the whole time, BT never complained that I took too long. What a dear, sweet husband I have!

Next up . . . the MATH portion of the TAKS.  We all hope that Ariana does equally well so that we can celebrate her success again!

Good work, Guppy!

Dear BT,

I just want you to know that I’m not at all upset that you couldn’t find two eensy, weensy minutes this beautiful Sunday morning to call and check on your dear, sweet, sleep-deprived, mother-of-two-sick-children, camera-wielding, overly-creative, eternal companion.

Ok.  That’s not entirely true. I was a teeny bit miffed, but, for some strange reason, I’m not anymore. 🙂

Love Always & Forever,

LT

“In all of living, have much fun and laughter. Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured.”

~Gordon B. Hinckley

It’s true.  

I’m a sucker for American Girl Doll accouterment.  The dolls . . . dresses . . . accessories . . . EVERYTHING!

I am completely aware that everything is overpriced.  It does not escape my notice that, ever since Mattel bought out the original AG company, everything is made in China. I know that I am too OLD to be so enamoured with dolls.

And yet, the spell that the American Girl company has cast over me is eery and, frankly, a bit scary.  I am normally a very rational individual, frugal to a fault.  

But, when I get the large, glossy, darling catalog in the mail, my heart races. As I drive past the AG Bistro and Boutique at the Galleria, my car wants to veer off the closest exit. In fact, when I was in Chicago for three weeks of training preparatory for my relocation to TX, I’m not ashamed to admit that I spent nearly every evening (and a fair sum of money) at the AG store which, at the time, was the only one in the world.

And so, when our guests from out-of-town wanted to go to the AG store over spring break, Ari, Vivi and I were more than willing to accommodate them.

Thankfully, Ariana is a little tight wad and helps reign me in, but we still left with a few trinkets to add to our wonderful collection.

Judy & Laren, thanks for giving us an excuse to go on that FUN outing!

Week after week, especially these hormonally-imbalanced postpartum ones, I try to put on a happy face and pretend that everything is peachy keen.  And perhaps that is truly the best course of action. Perhaps that’s what I’m supposed to do. Maybe that’s my role at this stage and in this season of life.

And yet, there’s a dark corner of my soul that yearns to be heard . . . to whisper the truth:

 . . . . Sundays are really hard for me . . . . 

WHEW!  There, I said it. Perhaps a bolt of lightening will strike me dead when I walk outside later today, but for now, I feel an eensy weensy bit better.

Don’t get me wrong.  I live an absolutely charmed life.  I have an amazing husband who, above all, truly strives to do the right thing ALWAYS.  I have healthy children who bless my life in ways that I never could have imagined.

But the ugly reality is that Sundays are lonely, exhausting days for me.  And I’m probably the only person in the whole church to feel like that, which makes me feel even worse.

And even as I type, portions of a recent email from my dad flicker across my mind and sting my conscience:

“God bless you to continually rejoice in the blessing of children, of a husband who knows how to work and how to worthily serve in The Kingdom.  In your moments of wishing Bryan didn’t have to be away for this or that, think of Sister Monson or remember Sister Hinckey, or Emma.  You are in wonderful company when you stand alongside of them.  God will continue to make you equal to every challenge.”

“… I have learned, in whatsoever state I am , therewith to be content.” (Philipplians 4:11)
 
“…And having food and raiment let us therewith be content.”  (1 Timothy 6:8)
 
“…be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”  (Hebrews 13:5)

And so, I pull the pity party hat from my mop of matted, two-tone hair and garner the courage to climb the stairs and get myself & the bambinos ready for church.  Even though there are many Sundays that it means just going through the motions,  I hope and pray that my meager offerings of child-like faith and simple obedience are enough, because that’s all I have to give at the moment.

A sweet email message from my Dad–Birthday gifts just don’t get any sweeter than this.

Dear Lori,
 

I have not forgotten the feelings of my heart when I first saw you and cuddled you in my arms– and walked you around University Village on a cold fall day– and  watched you walk from the car up the sidewalk to your first day of school— and watched as you drove with the DMB officer out of the parking lot— nor have I forgotten your faithfulness through those difficult high school and college years; your heartaches have been my heartaches; your successes my successes. 

    
I am so very proud of you, your accomplishments, your steady course towards a fulness of the Father’s blessings in company with Bryan and your children. Be assured, all the trials and tribulations, the joys and sorrows through which you have passed or may be called upon to pass are but a preparation for the glories of a Celestial life, for it is written, “eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath preared for them that love him.”

 
Hold on to that great hope; keep that ideal always in your heart. 
 
And so to you, my firstborn in the wilderness, I send all my love on your 38th birthday.
 
Dad

I seem to have lost my right arm, and I want it back!  It’s the appendage that helps Vivi brush her teeth, that comforts baby Tad as I try to make dinner, and that gives me hugs of unconditional love at the end of a long day.

I’m amazed at how much I miss my little 8-year-old when she is away, spending a few days with her UT Dad. Yes, I miss her help.  But, I especially miss the sweet spirit that she brings to our home.

Hurry home, Ariana!  WE LOVE YOU & WE NEED YOU!

As we got her ready for bed at the end of her big day, we asked our sweet three-year-old a few questions to document this darling stage of her life:

• Q: Vivian, what’s your favorite color?
• A: PINK

• Q: Favorite kind of ice cream?
• A: PINK, too

• Q: Favorite kind of cake?
• A: PINK

• Q: Favorite animal?
• A: Piggies

• Q: Favorite thing to do?
• A: Make piggies out of play dough & play barbies

• Q: Favorite song?
• A: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

• Q: Favorite person?
• A: Aunt Heidi . . . & Aunt Lisa

• Q: Something you’re afraid of?
• A: Big bugs . . . and small bugs

• Q: Favorite movie?
• A: Princess & the Pauper

        

From the earliest days of her life, I’d sing the song “You Are My Sunshine” to her–not only because it was one of the few songs I actually could remember the words to, but also because she truly “made me happy, when skies were grey.”

When Ariana was not yet two, I cried, “please don’t take my sunshine away” as the nightmare of divorce and all its messiness became an unavoidable reality. Thankfully, the heavens were watching, as they always do, and everything eventually worked out.  But every time I think about that stanza of the song, I still shudder.

I am grateful beyond words for the sunshine that Ariana brings to my life.  She is mature beyond her years, she is stalwart and strong in her beliefs, and she has the kindest heart of anyone I’ve ever known.  Ever.  She has been on the “A” Honor Roll for 6 consecutive semesters.  She scored a perfect “1+” at two of her last three piano festivals and earned a blue ribbon in her first try on the Texas State Piano Theory test. She is trying to teach me how to “bite my tongue” when I get upset.

Ariana, even though there may be an imbalance of blog entries about the escapades of your younger siblings (as you pointed out the other day), “you’ll never know, dear, how much I love you” . . . . until you have children of your own. (And don’t even THINK about doing crazy things just to get more blog time!) 🙂

When BT harvested asparagus from the garden today, I must admit that I was mighty proud of my wannabe-farmer hubby.  If you followed the blog last year, you know that he had nothing but bunny troubles out back. The varmint pretty much gorged themselves on the fruits of BT’s labors, but for some reason, they spared the asparagus.

Do you think it’s because asparagus makes bunny tinkle smell funny, too?

I’m quite confident that Kaoru Ishikawa, a pioneer of quality management processes and father of the Ishikawa (“Fishbone”) diagram, must have had a toddler.

One of the premises behind this Six Sigma quality tool is that if you ask “WHY?” five times, you can better understand the cause/effect relationship underlying a particular problem.

Example:

Mom: “VIVIAN! I am disappointed in you!”

Vivian: “WHY?” (#1)

Mom: “Because you got into the cat food, mixed it with water, carried it upstairs, and dumped it all over the carpet!”

Vivina: “WHY?” (#2)

Mom: “Because you got into MISCHIEF!”

Vivian: “WHY?” (#3)

Mom: “Because you weren’t taking a nap like I asked you to.”

Vivan: “WHY?” (#4)

Mom: “Because, while I was taking a nap, you seized the opportunity to do things that you wouldn’t otherwise have been allowed to do.”

Vivian: “WHY?” (#5)

Mom: “Because you’re two.”

I may be the certified Six Sigma Quality Black Belt, but clearly Vivian is the one who has mastered the art of Ishikawa and, through brilliantly executed Five Why sessions, helps remind me that the crazy things she does sometimes are simply because she’s two.