Art Creations

I was so happy to be getting back to some major play with just Annie and I this morning! : ) Here is Annie's wonderful color creation. And it's her very first picture that she declared what it was: a "BOW!!!" which means "Rainbow," certainly inspired by her favorite book these days which is What Makes a Rainbow! We'll certainly be saving this one! Not only that, but take a look at how she chooses to hold the crayon!!! She's holding it correctly, and no one even taught her how!!!! What a kid!!!! And she was so excited to be able to choose her own crayons, . . . see the video at the bottom with Annie's traditional "Whoa!" and other excited sounds. : )
And Leia Rose decided on her own that she wanted to write a letter to her Oma and Papa! Here is the result: LEiA ROSE LOVE OMO APAP SO MUCH 303 060
Translated: "Leia Rose loves Oma and Papa so much!!! 960-0353" I just love her attempt to write our phone number so they would call her! : ) So, Oma and Papa, if you get this message, . . . please call Leia!!!
And then she drew some fantastic bunnies "with the right smile that Heidi taught me." : )

The Way Home

During our breakfast on the last morning, I was reminded yet again that Annie just loves to share bits of food (especially the ones she doesn't want to eat herself). If she sees someone with an interest, she will happily hold up a Cheerio and say "Aaahhhhh!" as she holds it to your mouth. : )
And Leia Rose was happy again to watch Star Wars as we packed up. (This is the face she makes when Luke, Leia, Han, and Chewbacca are trapped in the trash compactor.)
And this is how Annie looks when we turn on Laurie Berkner to quiet her fussing. That always works. ; )
And THIS is Aunt Cassie standing in front of her new house!!! We went back the long way in order to stop in Greenville (or actually Mauldin) to pay a short visit and take Uncle Alan and Aunt Cassie out to lunch for Alan's birthday, and I have to say, it was an absolutely gorgeous home! I was so impressed! We drove out into the country, and there was this little development with shopping areas only five minutes away! Four bedrooms AND a bonus room. Garage. Wood floors. Great choice, guys!!! It was so nice to smell that "new home" smell and see walls that weren't smudged or chipped. ; )
And even Leia Rose was amazed to see the Gaffney water tower affectionately referred to as "The Gaffney Peach." I can't tell you how many times I passed this as a cheerleading coach en route to games while teaching at Spartanburg High School. ; )

Fishing at Sunset

On the way back out from the restaurant, there was a man catching brim for bait to use the next day. He was thrilled to let Leia Rose have a turn. At first I watched from our dinner table as she reeled a little fish in who escaped at the last second. The man was so nice, he took the pole himself hoping to catch one right before we left so Leia could have a second chance. Sure enough, he felt the tug on the line and handed it to Leia Rose, . . . and she brought up a little fish just her size! Annie was just happy looking at the fish in the bucket. ; )
Leia Rose was a bit afraid to touch the actual fish, . . . but then asked if she could take it home. Ha!

Alan's Legacy

Tonight we ate at Buffalo Creek Grill at Holland's Landing with Alan and Cassie who came to visit us all for the evening. Brian, Grandpa, the girls and I went by boat. It was really fun! We were sitting just feet away from the place where Leia Rose and I danced the night away on the July 4 that I was pregnant with Annie. Lots of fun memories for us here!
Just a little aside. Annie LOVES sipping ice cold water through a straw. I think she feels like she's a big girl when she does this. : )
Leia Rose wanted to sit by Uncle Alan and Aunt Cassie. They got a big kick out of Leia Rose's fondness for ketchup. : ) Alan being the condiment king and Leia being the condiment queen, the ketchup bottle didn't move from their table all night. Leia Rose dipped everything in it, . . . and when the food was gone she scooped the ketchup up to eat it plain, . . . and when there was no more to scoop she licked the rest up off the plate (much to Mamma's chagrin at the other side of the table). Alan, you truly have a legacy in Leia. : )
After dinner, Leia Rose needed to go to the ladies room, . . . and of course noticed the "Ice Cream Box" right beside the door. *sigh* I'll admit, though, she asked so nicely and with such respect that I let her choose one. She chose a "light saber pop" which was really a popsicle by Life Savers, but she had fun connecting it with Star Wars anyway. And showing once again that she is a spectacular big sister, Leia Rose shared the entire pop with Annie! What a great kid!

Friday at the Lake

I just love this picture of Leia Rose! She's on the dock at "The Barn," one of the places you can get gas on the lake. She's got her favorite Perri Pat Pat clipped into her life jacket, and she's holding a little sprig of flowers she found on the way back to the boat. I just love the clouds billowing behind her!


And when we weren't boating, Annie was busy creating a few masterpieces with chalk on the front patio! : )

Sunset & Sonnet

Ever since 11th grade, my poem of choice has always been the sonnet. Iambic Pentameter. Four general rhyme schemes to choose from. The unwavering 14 lines with an "octave" & "sestet" with the signature "volta" between the two revealing a significant change. Generally hard to write because you're forcing words into a very set form, but always coming easy for me, . . . like a blessing. Anyway, the number of sonnets I've written has gotten significantly less since I've had Leia and Annie for no other reason except time, . . . certainly not for lack of inspiration.

How can I explain this. . . . I get this feeling (similar to the feeling one gets when one is in the presence of God), and I just KNOW I need to write a poem about a particular experience. That happened to me during this sunset today. It just struck me that people spend their lives hoping to "get away" in order to find happiness & beauty such as this, when true happiness & beauty can be found right in front of them. It certainly can be found right in front of me every day. Anyway, the pictures and then the poem:




An added blessing was that we got to see one sunset behind the trees when they were close, . . .

. . . and then another sunset when the horizon seemed further away. : )
What one-year-old is lucky enough to balance the sun on her nose?!? ; )
And this laughter is in response to this prayer:

Mamma: "Dear God, thank You so much for this beautiful sunset in Your beautiful world."

Leia Rose: "And thank You for letting us see two sunsets, just like on Tatooine!"

(Leave it to Leia to connect the beauty of a sunset with the beauty of Star Wars!) ; )

Saved

Observant, placid, arms around my kin
Wisps of hair and smell of youth abounds

With mingled scent of nature and wrens' sounds

An added "gay-gle," brush of her soft skin

In that state hearing gentle lap of waves

And see the sun descending o'er the wood

E'en tasting golden light, it's understood

Remembering once again we're truly saved

It's God who put us here to see the light

Find reddish-orange turning to pinkish-blue

Others fight their whole lives for what is true

It's all right here, so plain, before the night

Thank Him, girls, leading us to holy ends

For all this beauty brought as eve descends

First Boat Ride of 2008

Every since she turned two, Leia Rose always poses herself in the same way each time she goes for a boat ride on Lake Murray. : ) On the first ride of the visit, she creates a song that she sings continuously again and again. "And it goes with the fastness of the boat. See? Right now I'm singing slow because the boat is going slow. Then I will sing fast when we're going fast." This time it was to the tune of "Shoe Fly Don't Bother Me":

Fishies, you wanna swim with me?

Fishies, you wanna swim with me?

Fishies, you wanna swim with me?

Because I love it so!

(And on the last day she changed it to, "Plankton, you wanna swim with me?" etc. : )

Annie's first tendency is to vegetate, feeling just like a rag doll, while we are boating. This goes on for a VERY long while while she is passed from person to person each getting their share of loving. : )

Because of all the wind, there were lots of those clouds called "mare's tails" that I was excited to show to the girls. Ironically, the wind didn't make for as bumpy a ride as I thought. In fact, compared to ocean-going, the whole thing was quite smooth, even when there were white caps! In addition, because it was in the middle of the week, there was NO ONE on the lake! We had it all to ourselves!!! : ) The only thing was, even when it was eighty degrees in town, we all had to wear wind-resistant jackets! Brrrr! That wind chill factor was really getting to us! : )

After vegging for a long while in lots of laps, Annie always wants to kneel, hold onto the rail and look straight out. I think I would have been scared to death if that loop of rope wasn't tied taught around my leg!!! Luckily, Annie never tried to either walk off the dock or jump off the boat. Whew!
Leia Rose creates such neat playtime games on the porch! This time, the cars were waiting to be serviced. : )

Morning on Lake Murray

Leia Rose has been hankering to take some pictures, so while we waited for the wind on the lake to die down, here are four of her choice shots (looks like the next gift-giving time will have to include that Fisher Price digital camera for Leia!):

(This one she took to commemorate the very first time Annie said, "I love you, Mamma!" without being asked. Well, I guess it sounded more like, "Ah-la-la-Mamma!")

At one point, Leia and I went down to the dock on our own (which was a rare occurrence), so we wanted to celebrate this special Mamma and Leia time. : )
This was a VERY typical sight this week. We noticed very early on that Annie wanted to explore, but the close proximity to the water presented a particular hazard (even with the ever-important life-jacket on). SO, I remembered something Leia's little friend Kevin has, . . . the Faulkner family affectionately calls it Kevin's "doggie." It's this little vest/pack doubling as a plush doggie, . . . with a leash. Karin used it when Leia had her state fair party. Anyway, remembering this, I took an old piece of rope and tied it around Annie's life jacket. I held this loop continuously every time we were on the dock or on the boat. (And while we were riding in the boat, I actually looped it around my leg just in case.) By the end of the time we were calling my little contraption "the poor man's doggie" and then Cassie announced that it was "time to walk the baby." Ha! And wherever we went we got comments like "that's the best thing I've ever seen!" and "What a great idea!" as laughter ensued. : )

Besides riding on the boat, Annie's favorite activity this week was watching the waves lap along the side of the lake.

Looking at worms.
Grandpa and Leia Rose even did some ballet together!

Today was VERY windy, and although it was in the upper seventies, it sure didn't feel that way! So, we had to wait a while before boating. No problem, we enjoyed the morning anyway! : )