Sunday, January 31, 2010
Random Facts and Travel Pillows
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Toots and Tu-Tu's
Monday, January 25, 2010
A Boy, A Pillow, and Yes....the Saints!
Samuel did great during the rehearsal on Saturday, so on Sunday we were cautiously optimistic. We fed him his favorite chicken nuggets on the way to the hotel, but after eating he fell asleep in the car. Oh no….too early for his nap! But about 15 minutes later we were there and we had to force him into his 3-piece suit, socks, and shoes. A rose was pinned to his lapel and his hair was styled and sprayed. All of this is obviously torturous for a tired preschooler. We barely got him to cooperate for a picture with the bride, and then it was over as far as cooperation was concerned. He was absolutely NOT going to be in any more photographs, so finally we gave up and went up to the empty hotel room belonging to family. Family who were downstairs getting family pictures made with the bride and groom…pictures without a certain tired toddler. All of the offensive, evil clothing was removed and we tried to get him to take a nap, but to NO avail!
Waiting until the last possible minute to redress him, we finally made it back downstairs for the ceremony. He was thirsty. He was antsy. He was restless. Mommy was nervous! The ceremony started and everyone was beautiful. I could see Elton in the back as I sat near the front feeding Olivia coconut M & M’s as a way to keep her quiet. When the time came for the ring bearer to do his job, I could see Samuel slowly walking out to the aisle area. Hundreds of faces turned back to smile at him. I turned my camera on and quickly snapped a picture, fully expecting him to bolt off into a mad dash, probably into the muddy grass for a nice mud bath. But with an almost audible snap, the stars aligned and a miracle unfolded: that crazy boy did exactly, perfectly, what he was supposed to do! He carefully cradled the pillow. He slowly placed one foot in front of the other. He mildly smiled and sweetly looked into the eyes of many of the hundreds of faces staring at him. And slo…www….ly….he walked up the aisle, past the staring faces and distracting rose petals on the grass. At the front, he paused and gave me a confident look before walking over and taking his place by the groomsmen.
I nearly fainted. I almost cried. I couldn’t breathe.
Mr. Handsome coming up the aisle.
Standing in place. Can you believe it?!?So miracles do happen. Because on another note, in the midst of this unfolding drama, another drama was wildly being played out thousands of miles away in the New Orleans Superdome. Elton and I (and dozens of guests….I saw you and you know who you are!) were watching the Saints game on his iPhone. One of the groomsmen (they were all Vikings fans, ugh!) agreed to send me hand signals during the crucial last 2 minutes of game time, since Elton had his iPhone in the back and I was temporarily in the dark about the game. And right around the time that the happy Bride and Groom shared their first kiss, the miraculous dream of the Saints going to the Super Bowl became a reality! The groomsman reluctantly greeted me after the ceremony with the agreed-upon 2-thumbs-up gesture, which meant overtime play, with the Saints victorious! Awesome! Loved it!
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Prayers for Samuel's Bride
My husband’s cousin is getting married tomorrow, and has asked my son to be her ring-bearer. It is his first wedding! Today at the rehearsal, we had him practice going up the aisle, cradling his pillow, over and over. He’s three, after all, and a bit on the hyper side normally. So you can see why we insisted on the practicing! But he performed like a champ and all fingers are crossed; if he does the same tomorrow then his first wedding participation will be a success. His mommy has her fingers AND toes crossed!
Samuel in place (after handing the pillow to Seth!). On the right is Miles practicing "getting" Keri from her dad. Look at the love on his face...awwwww!
Being an emotional Mommy, I will probably cry as I watch him come up that aisle in his black tuxedo, complete with tie and a fuscia silk pocket square to match the bridesmaids. It will be my first time to see him coming up a wedding aisle in a tuxedo, but hopefully it will not be his last! I’m sure the tears will blur my eyes, and in that moment I will not see an impish three year old ring bearer…but a grown man who is a nervously excited groom. One day I will once again be on the front row in a church hearing wedding music, but this time I won’t be biting my nails and praying that he won’t just happen to pick his nose and decide to taste the salty delights discovered on his stubby fingers. I’ll be watching a youthful man taller than me and praying that God will pour out His blessings as he recites eternal wedding vows.
Speaking of praying for God’s blessings for that day, I’ve always thought those prayers should begin now. When my children are babies. My parents always taught me to pray for my future husband, whoever and wherever he might be. I did so; throughout my childhood, teen, and single adult years. When I met the man of my dreams and married him, it became clear that there were certain times in his life that were surely a better result or protection because of those prayers. Say what you will; prayer works! And why not pray earnestly for years about something so vitally important as the future marriage of your children?
So today during the wedding rehearsal brunch, the mother of the groom stood during all the speeches. My eyes began to automatically fill; after all, I am a Crier. Funerals, weddings, births…if I don’t know the people involved I cry. If I DO know or am related to the people involved, I sob. Looking across the tables at Denise as she looked across the tables at her son, the tears began to sting my Crier eyes. One day, I thought, that will be me. I will stand there as she is, wishing my son the best as he sits beside a girl. Today the Mother of the Groom smiled at Keri, her son Miles’ bride, and told her that she’d written a poem for her as soon as she knew that Keri had told Miles “yes”. Those familiar with the popular Christian song will recognize the tune, but the words are for Keri. And as these words flowed in love from a son's Mother to his bride, it just reminded me again of the importance of praying for Samuel’s future bride. One day, with God's blessing, I will feel the same amount of love flowing from me to her.
Thank you to Denise for allowing me to reprint the poem here; may it bless my friends and remind all of us to pray for the spouse our children will select.
“Keri, Did You Know?”
Monday, January 18, 2010
Tiger Woods and the Saints
Friday, January 15, 2010
Jen's Blog and Giveaway
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Samuel's Tattoo Shop
Someday soon, I'll blog about our journey through the world of developmental delays, Samuel's early diagnosis of speech delay and the therapies, and his recent diagnosis of PDD-NOS on the Autism Scale. Whew! That's a whole 'nother story. It's been a challenge but God's blessings have been evident throughout the entire experience.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
The Button That Fell From the Fairy's Dress
Friday, January 8, 2010
The Genetics of Sewing
But fast forward a million years, add a husband and two kids, and suddenly I've found myself wishing I could sew. We need curtains in Samuel's room and I can't find any I like. I want my daughter to wear long flowing '70's style dresses and these are surprisingly difficult to find. But for me, the thing that pushed me over the edge and made me decide to get a sewing machine was when my son had to start taking his sister's Hello Kitty blanket to school to use for his naps. Again, not able to find a great nap blanket that we really like enough to buy. He's in Preschool so I don't think the other boys are teasing him about Hello Kitty yet, but as his Mom I wince every time I think of him snuggling down for a nap wrapped in that blanket. "I can make a better one for him," I thought. And so, for Christmas I asked for a sewing machine.
On a side note, you should see my friend Amy and her new-found creativity. We always end up doing things on the same time table and it seems that our Sewing Genes have mysteriously manifested within months of the others! She, however, has had hands-on help from her mother-in-law and this combined with her natural amazing talent means that she is already making things to sell. Today is the Grand Opening of her new hoodie line! Check out her blog: The Adventures of the Miraflor Family: Thank You!!:
Anyway, I have stumbled and sweated over the simplest things on this machine. Just learning to thread the bobbin (and figuring out what a bobbin even was) resulted in a broken needle (but then I learned out to replace a needle), thread being wound tightly INSIDE the machine instead of on the bobbin, and a few long, exasperated sighs. All before I learned how to sew a stitch.
But I'm sort of, kind of, figuring it out. Slowly walking out into the depths of this Sewing World. I don't know if I'll be able to sew and sell things like Amy, and I'll never be as good as my mom, but at least it's fun and my kids will be benefitting from my efforts. So here are some pics of my first ever completed projects!
Thursday, January 7, 2010
A New Year's Resolution....Sorta
As I sit here with a cup full of the last drops of my precious limited-edition Holiday flavored Kona coffee, I am mentally reviewing my day's "to-do" list and knowing I should gulp the coffee down, and get started on my day. I have a rule; I can sit and piddle around on the computer as long as there is coffee in my cup. And since I don't like cold coffee, I don't usually piddle too long. (By the way, is "piddle" a proper word? My mom has always used it, so I guess if a parent uses it then it's a Real Word). But sometimes, the "to-do" list seems so overwhelming that the coffee is made to last as looooooong as possible!