Tickle in More Ways Than One

There is NOTHING more adorable than the way Annie says "tickle." : ) She pronounces it "tee-toll" and I just melt each time she does it. (The only exception is when I'm trying to cook dinner and I hear this at my feet: "Kitty tee-toll. Kitty tee-toll. Tee-toll, Mamma! Kitty tee-toll, Mamma!") Because, you see, Annie Katharine has fallen in love with her life-size kitty puppet which she has named "Tickle." ; ) This was a gift from the Andersons for Annie's birthday party, and yes, this was the item pulled out of that illusive bag. I don't think we'll be able to beat this gift, . . . even on her actual birthday! Thanks so much Emily, Heidi, & Greta!
Now, when Annie requests, "Kitty Tee-Toll, Mamma," this is what she is requesting. She wants me to control the puppet while Annie puts something random into Tickle's mouth. Tickle then says "puh, . . . puh" while making spitting sounds. Annie has never laughed harder. (See below.)

I Forgot to Mention . . .

At the time when Leia Rose was praying all of those prayers for Daddy to get a job, she used her coloring skills to DRAW what she imagined Daddy's job to be. Isn't this a wonderful picture? I particularly like the car in the parking space and the pretty purple flower gracing the outside. : ) But it was what was written on the back that was the tear-jerker:
"Dear Daddy, I love that you got your job! Love, Leia Rose" I couldn't help shedding a tear.

And BTW, Karin had a REALLY encouraging day today with all of her testing she had done!!! Radiation starts tomorrow and kidney removal is scheduled for 9/19. Remember what Leia claims about her prayers?!? Uh huh!

Treasure Hunt (Laura Would Be Proud)

Laura Worrel's famous "Snack Treasure Hunt" has become the most coveted game in our household these days for Leia Rose. Here she is excited to find a granola bar under the window seat cushion after following my detailed map to the prize. And, yes, X marked the spot. : ) (But Mamma also found out that our house was a LOT harder to map than Laura's. Ha!

Annie's Buggy Party

Here is one of the highlights of the special two-year-old birthday party we all threw for Annie today! (We wanted to throw Annie a little party before we moved, because her real birthday will be within the first week after moving.) Ever since last weekend (when we went to a rained-out show), Annie has been mesmerized by this puppet performance of "I Am an Insect" by Paperhand Puppets. I am not exaggerating (for once) when I say that EVERY SINGLE DAY she has asked, . . . "Puppie Show? Puppie Show?!?" And today was finally the day! As a result of Annie's interest, we decided to throw a little party for Annie and give the donations for all of her friends to come and enjoy the show with her. The families in attendance: the McNeils, the Oberlies, and the Andersons (but I have a feeling that the Faulkners were here in spirit). ; ) Before the show we would simply eat cupcakes, open gifts, and dance. This was a real difference for the high-strung-high-activity-packed party planner who is Noelle who finally got to sit back and enjoy a more relaxing party. ; ) And no one was happier about it all than Annie. : )

We had been watching the birthday episode of Elmo so very much, that Annie actually understood what to do after we sang to her!

. . . and she was able to blow out one of her little candles with such a cute, soft breath! Yay Annie!!!
And then she did what she did the whole day, . . . "Puppie show, Mamma! Puppie show!" (See video below.)

And here is Annie after licking the frosting off of one cupcake. (I made cupcakes with bug figures perched atop chocolate "dirt," by the way.)
But little did I know that while I was talking, Annie kept reaching into the cupcake carrier, tossing the plastic insects aside, and licking the frosting of more and more cupcakes. Ha! Here's her face after the second one.
Um, . . . and the third. Don't expect this too often, birthday girl. Ha! ; )
And I just love the look of concentration on Annie's face as she opened all of her presents.
Especially this one that had some paper in the top which confused her . . .
. . . until out came a life-size kitty puppet!!!! Oh my gosh! Can we say "favorite present"?!? ; )
Ah, and then the music began and we had some dancing girls on our hands. : ) (By the way, Leia Rose was thrilled to have a fun time with Jessica and Heidi this evening as well. She hasn't seen them in a while.) Even little Greta had fun! (See her in the background?)

And here is the typical snapshot during the show: Annie mesmerized and Leia Rose eating popcorn. ; )
But Annie would always remove that thumb to comment on interesting parts. : )

Gosh, I just love Annie's face in this picture. : )
And now some images from the actual "I Am an Insect" show by the Paperhand Puppets. Each year these puppeteers put on a show that mesmerizes youngsters. As for the adults, we go back and forth between being just as awed as the children, . . . and being creeped out by weirdness. Ha! (I'm afraid these shows are always littered with muted political statements that fall just short of me getting irate. Ha!)

The bumblebees showed up to buzz around their combs . . .
which magically turned into flowers. What cool little paper contraptions these were (that resembled the "cootie catchers" that Papa used to make when I was little). Of course, the flowers turned into a polluted city, which turned into broken flowers, which made the bees despair, . . . but we won't go there. ; )

This was the weird part: the creation story featuring a sun-god and a big spider. Hmmmm. Still mesmerizing, though.
And then came the absolute BEST part of the show!!! These butterfly puppets were phenomenal!!!

. . . And the big one flew right up by Annie, to her delight!!! Happy birthday sweet girl! Glad you enjoyed the "Puppie Show"! : )

Visiting Shenandoah

We got a real treat when we arrived in Richmond today, . . .
. . . as Leia Rose got to meet Shenandoah at the bus stop!!!

They were just a little happy to see each other. ; )
Then they got busy doing lots of paper projects. *sigh* Couldn't Leia Rose at LEAST confine this creativity to home?!? ; ) Anyway, look at this FABULOUS dinosaur mask that Leia Rose made all by herself!!!

[And it was this project that proved to me that I just need to get over my annoyance about this. Recently, whenever there is copy paper, crayons, and especially TAPE to be had by Leia Rose, . . . she is making some kind of a project with it that she always wants to save for eternity. A table. A chair. An umbrella. A mask. A heart pocket. A Shenandoah robot. Etc. Etc. These projects, although amazingly creative and incredibly educational, end up absolutely littering our home with what looks like trash. This drives me absolutely nuts. BUT Leia Rose absolutely LOVES doing this, and just when I was about to say NO MORE, I decided to make this rule in our new home: Paper Projects Galore, BUT when finished they need to be put away in Leia's closet for safe-keeping, . . . and anything left in any other place will be thrown away. Whew! This should solve the problem, . . . and everyone's happy! : )
Another highlight for Leia Rose (and me as well) was picking real carrots in Laura's vegetable garden! I was amazed at how FLAVORFUL these carrots were! SO different than storebought! [I'm learning lots of great parental activities from Laura these days!!! In fact, with all the things going on in my life right now, let's just say that, Laura, thank God you're a psychiatrist. ; ) ]
And, let me tell you, I was in AWE at Laura's parental skills for coming up with this educational-and-fun-cooperation-encouraging-healthy-snack-game. I'm stealing this one, Laura. ; ) And Leia Rose has already asked for it again! It's a Snack Treasure Hunt!!! Laura drew a map which led to a clue. And it was this clue that led to the actual snack! The girls had a BLAST with this!!!
And it was just SO cute to watch them figuring out the clues as to where those apples with lemon juice were. : )
Here is something that no one witnessed but Leia Rose and I. ; ) Leia found a cool snorkel in Shenan's bathtub. As she blew into it, she truly buzzed her lips just like playing a brass instrument, . . . and it REALLY sounded like a trumpet! I told her that she should consider playing brass. And you can guess her response: "MOM! You KNOW I want to play the piccolo!" ; )

Leia Rose & the Power of Prayer

I have been meaning to write this post for ages, but there just hasn't been an appropriate time until now. Perhaps that's why God was saving it for this very post. Anyway, Leia Rose has been totally empowered by prayer these days. It all started one day when I was driving back home and, not paying attention, I got caught up in the absolute worst fluke rainstorm of my life. It was so bad that I, quite honestly, couldn't see where I was going. Leia Rose got really scared and began praying for the rain to stop. She hadn't been praying but for a few seconds, . . . and suddenly the sun was shining!!! We were all amazed!!! And that was the moment that Leia Rose began believing in the power of prayer. Next, a few days later, we had a house showing and the realtor locked the door from the laundry room to the garage! We were essentially locked out of our own home, not knowing where the key was (and never having used it)! Again, I asked Leia Rose to pray, and at that moment Brian remembered the bag of keys that kind of "came with the house." And inside, and among the hundred keys or so that were in there, was the one to the garage door! Wow. Thirdly, we asked Leia Rose to pray for Brian to get the job at PharmAgra. We asked her to pray for this each day from Brian's interview on to the job acceptance. And now, when you say congratulations to Brian, Leia Rose pipes up with, "Well, you know that was really ME. I'm the one who prayed about that and got Daddy the job." There's no bigger smile on her face than when she says that little quip. ; ) Lastly, there was Hurricane Ike that we ALL thought was going to be a category 5 storm slamming into my parents in Ft. Lauderdale. Again, we asked Leia Rose to pray and that storm turned south and away from them.

I swear that these are all miracles, and I need to utilize the power of this young and innocent prayer for my friend Karin's recent tragedy. So don't worry, Karin. Yeah, yeah, all those other friends and family members praying for you on your next appointment. Uh huh, . . . WELL you just don't need to worry any more because now you have LEIA praying for you, . . . and just look at her track record! ; )

So as a result, when we really want Leia Rose to pray one of these special prayers, we say, "Okay, Leia, we need you to pray one of those stop-the-rain--find-the-key--get-the-job--move-the-storm kind of prayers, okay?"

Terrible News

Of course, Karin Faulkner is Kevin & Kien's mom. I have just learned that she is very sick and needs prayers from anyone who may read this blog post. Today I called Karin early in the day to see how her MRI went in regards to her back pain, and was in shock to learn that one of my best friends has kidney cancer in a tumor the size of a fist! This news made it an absolute roller coaster of a weekend for me who learns this about her friend, was scheduled to take a trip to Richmond, got news that both our buyer and seller have finally set a closing date on our home, had to figure out a mover/painter/carpeter/etc. on short notice, realized that Hurricane Hanna was about to hit our house, and was having trouble already because her husband is already at work, leaving me alone and feeling like a single mother.

And with all that is going on, my main concern here is for Karin. What a struggle for a friend to figure out how best to help in this time of need! Certainly pray and pray and pray, . . . but go for a visit? send an arrangement? cry with her? laugh with her? pretend nothing is happening? be emotional? be stoic? be a constant vocal voice? be totally absent and prayerful?

The answer is, just to be myself (with some input from Karin about her needs and desires). Use that as God's path for this tragic journey.

As for Leia Rose and Annie. They have been praying, too. All that Leia Rose knows right now is that Kevin's Mommy is sick. And I am going to save her special prayer for 9/10 and Karin's next big appointment. Leia's special prayers are featured in the next post . . .