Monday, November 29, 2010

Glimpses of a Thankful Day...and More!

I remember saying in my 20's that Thanksgiving was my most favorite holiday. 
 And today I believe the same holds true.
  What is better than a time specifically set aside
to reflect on all there is to be grateful for!?!

And here is my list:
God
Family
Friends
These three are the icing on the the cake of my life.
 They are the umbrellas that cover other aspects of my life for which I am so very grateful.
A list that would be too long to type out,
but I would bet it would run
parallel to each of your own lists. 

I was with two of my girls for the weekend,
and although it would have been more than sweet to have the other two here also,
I have to say it warmed my heart to hear of their day...
traditions made and time spent with special people in their lives.
(And THANK YOU, Charlie, for carrying on the Thanksgiving morning football tradition!!!
I would have loved to have been there...
I'm sure your soldiers would have loved having a 55 year old female quarterback..lol)
But we hope to carry on next year when Jess isn't "with child")



So this past weekend entailed much....

Lots of food cooked with love...


There were two DellaVecchia's...

 






Two Sharons...





Two Chihuahuas...


And a Yorkie...
 
 
                               
There was a slumber party...
(Disclaimer...Dre got the beds ready before I was home, therefore,
that's why there are no sheets!!!  But there is something
endearing about males using a butterfly comforter:)


There were attempts to hide from the camera... 




And even though there were 5 empty chairs around the table at this moment,
Lil~Lo dragged this "stool " over, squeezed it (unsuccessfully) between two chairs
so that he could sit and enjoy his pumpkin pie...lol
(watch out Christa and Hope!) 


The weekend continued and we started celebrating Christsa!
First, a birthday breakfast...A Peahonanas...yum!


There was some enjoying of the most perfect weather...
(Notice little baby bump starting!!!)


There was fussing over the birthday princess...


And who says you have to be 5 to enjoy traditional birthday games...


I have to put a side note in here...
I LOVE and am THANKFUL
for the men in my girls' lives.   They are thoughtful, accommodating, fun-loving men...
plus they love my girls, so that automatically endears them to me.
But to write all that is in my heart about each of them would take
up a whole other blog....so just stay tuned for that.
In the meantime...here is Peter being accommodating...LOL
It takes a real man to wear a pink, heart-shaped blindfold!


And if I had a video, I would have entertained you with the
hulahoop routines going on...lol...
but a single picture will have to suffice...


And I'll end with this quote from Marcel Proust...
“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy;
 they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”

My soul is content...
Thank you!







Saturday, November 27, 2010

Christa Jean ~ My Birthday Girl!

It was a lovely fall day.
A Tuesday.
A day your dad was making a trip up to Interlachen,
taking a truckload of possessions in preparation of our upcoming move.

“Be quick”, I said, “you never know if THIS might be THE DAY.”

And a few hours later I felt those first familiar twinges. And I knew your birth was just hours away!

Midwife (and your current bank member!), Elsie Wilson, was taking care of us for the prenatal, and her beautiful birthing center in downtown St. Pete was going to be the site of your arrival. Set in a vintage home on a brick-paved street with a wide porch, wood-trim galore, and cozy bedrooms!

But the problem at the moment was how to get there! And Yuriko was called into action! Yes, Yuriko, who was newly licensed, and already known as a white-knuckled driver. LOL

In the meantime, someone was assigned to get in touch with your dad, who was still in Interlachen. No answer was happening at the Johnson’s, our soon-to-be neighbors. And as a matter of fact, when the
one-room police department was called to ask for an officer to go to the property, the caller was greeted with an answering machine. An ANSWERING MACHINE….at a police department...during the day!!! But somehow or other, your dad was reached and he jumped in the truck to head back south (breaking speed limits, I’m sure!)

But back to Yuriko. She WAS white-knuckled. And I’ll never forget the look on her face when at one point I asked her to make a left-hand turn on a red light as there were no cars around. “REALLY!!!”, her face seemed to say, “We DON’T have time to wait for a red light!!!” And each time she realized I was breathing through a contraction, she would say in a somewhat whispered, high-pitched voice, “OH!  YOU’RE HAVING ANOTHER ONE!!!”  But to her credit, she got us there, safe and sound!!!

I remember Vickie Bueller showing up, and your sisters now joined us at the birthing center. But your dad was still miles away. We estimated him to arrive at 8:10 pm, and I was determined to “hold out” until that time. But you had other plans. One minute I was saying “I’m just going to breathe through these contractions”, the next minute I said “Forget about that plan!!”  And with Elsie and friend, Dr. Jim Holehouse, taking good care of us, you graced us with your presence just before eight o'clock! The miraculous story though is this…. As your dad was crossing the Howard Franklin Bridge over Tampa Bay, his heart gave a skip, jumped a beat! Yes, this was 10 minutes before his arrival, the time of your birth!

Shortly after your appearance, the party started, you party girl! Your sisters came in and joined me in the bed.


And pizza was ordered as we were all starving. (When the pizza delivery boy arrived and found out there was a newborn upstairs, he was so genuinely excited that he was allowed up for a peek ~ You made his day!)

You were surrounded in the room by people who loved you then,
and who love you now!

Your life is such a gift to us all. 
You bring laughter daily to those around you,
and you have provided us with so much joy from that very day to now ~ you are our walking sitcom! 
I love your love of traditions... you follow in my footsteps :)   
 And I must say,
 you have grown into a such a wonderful young woman!  
I count it a privilege that your are my daughter and also my friend. 

So...
Happy Birthday, my dear youngest girl!
I love you!

                                                                  ~Mom

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Fun Times...



What to do with a BEAUTIFUL Florida fall day, no work, and a daughter who also has the day off???
Why head to the middle of the state, of course! 
After picking up Christa and Lexie in Gainesville,


we jumped on I-75 and got off on the next exit south to visit
 lovely, historic Micanopy, where they have dog friendly cafes
 and wide covered porches to have a leisurely lunch.
 
 

Somebody wants some ice cream (guess which one?).....





I then suggested to Christa that we stop by Paynes Prairie
as I was hoping to see some... 


but her reaction was...
WHAT?!?
Gators + Lexie = Don't go Together


 But I explained we'll go to the South entrance,
 and I had checked and dogs were allowed,
so it must be alright (fingers-crossed).
So to the prairie we headed...
 

where she happily took a nature walk with me


although with Lexie we were limited to one trail which went to the observation tower,
which was where we wanted to go anyway.  To observe.


We had some laughs...

And Christa and Lexie relaxed ... 


while I Bison hunted (to no avail).... 


We then decided to make a stop at Lake Wauburg


and I'm so glad we did,
as I got to see this....


but at the end of the day,
Lexie was the one who had a pretty good idea too...


Tuesday, November 9, 2010

12 Weeks and Having a Good Day!

Jessica is following in my footsteps with morning sickness. 
 But today was a good day so we decided to take advantage of that. 
 And ice cream was in order, so Flagler Beach, here we come...
                                                                            
Yay! for good days, and ice cream, and an ocean!

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Come and Have Tea....


 ...because it is so very lovely!


We'll embrace the day


and find treasures 


enjoy visitors 


and take a stroll 
                                                                    Sherry C.


as we marvel at the goldenness of the morning!


Perhaps we'll stumble upon an early riser 


and, of course, keep an eye out for whimsy


and we can celebrate Florida!