Look at this 4-year old sugar pie! Kyah’s class held a dance recital in December. I couldn’t wait to see it and I wasn’t disappointed. She was fantastic! Her teacher is superb and so good at teaching skill and technique. Unfortunately, we have moved farther south and added 30 minutes each way to the dance lesson commute. It might sound silly (and it probably is in the grand scheme of life), but please pray that we can find a new dance class closer to our new home. Since returning from the states Ky asks on a daily basis when dance class is and I haven’t had the heart to tell her she isn’t going back to that studio. It would crush her.
A lot of parents sign their child up for dance class because it’s cute to watch them in their little leotard. We have taken classes, in the states and Costa Rica, and watched parents peel their child off and give them a love shove to go through the door. Not the case with us. There is just no denying the joy of dancing in the life of my sweet girl. She dances wherever we are. In a store, the airport, at school, in the park, or at home, it doesn’t make an ounce of difference. While we’re waiting to pay at the grocery store she’ll hear a tune and can’t keep herself from jazzing up the place a bit. I’m definitely not a “Dance Mom” (what the heck is wrong with those women?!), but I love to watch my girl dance. She’s a natural.
Her teacher gave them all a certificate and flowers. She was stoked!
I’m pretty sure I won the lottery of life. I get to share my days with the funniest, cutest, most sincere and enjoyable people I know. I get to love them and they love me back. Life is not always easy, but it is always good. I am one blessed, blessed little momma.
Almost 2 months ago we bought our little girl a bunny. Kyah named her Honey Pie Pony while we were still at the feed store. They were inseparable. Then the bunny died. There’s no pretty way to say it. She got sick, we took her to the vet, and a few hours later she died. It was awful. Kyah painted her a box “like a rainbow” and placed her inside. Tears flowed. Big Daddy dug a hole under the banana trees. When the time came to put the box in the hole, she couldn’t do it. She shook her sweet little head and just sobbed. She took Honey Pie Pony back out of the box and just held her tight. Kyah loved pulling the bunny’s little mouth apart to look at her teeth and she tried several times, but they wouldn’t budge. She was convinced Honey Pie was okay because her eyes were open. It was just terrible. We finally finished burying her and Kyah requested to go speak with her friend, Elias. She wanted to tell him about her bunny. When we got home it was raining. After a brief convo between Big Daddy and Kyah, my little bit went to her room, put on her rainboots, got a spoon, and walked outside. I asked her what she was doing and she said daddy told her that Honey Pie wasn’t sick anymore, so she was going to get her because she wanted to hold her. It broke my heart. I told her the only thing I knew to say, that Honey Pie had gone to Heaven. She replied with “She didn’t go to Heaven mommy, she’s over there. Can I go get her?” She cried herself to sleep that night telling me “Jesus doesn’t love me that much anymore” and “I just miss my bunny”.
The next morning was our Kid’s Club. While Cody and I were shuffling stuff across the street to the plaza, I noticed Kyah in the backyard with a couple friends, shovel in hand, digging up Honey Pie Pony. I rushed over to see what she was doing and to spare her from the “reality” she might discover. She looked at me with the most sincere eyes and said “Mom, I’m just going to show them that Honey Pie isn’t in her box anymore because she went to Heaven.”
We began discussing what to do next and she decided she would like another bunny. She was set on getting another black bunny with a white nose. I asked her what she would name it and she quickly said “Honey Pie Pony”. Then she began sobbing and told me “I just miss my bunny”. This kind of parenting isn’t very fun. I hate to see my baby girl suffer. Please pray for her precious heart.
Many people believe this to be true. The bigger house the better. The bigger salary the better. The bigger your son is the better. The bigger church the better. Chicken fried steak? I like mine plate sized. This saying had me thinking about birthdays. I turned 30. I’m okay with it. I feel a little sexier at 30. Don’t judge me. I’ve had many friends tell me that 30 is where it all gets started and I think I might believe them. An old friend from high school wrote on my FB wall and said “You’re not just a year older, you’re a year better.” I am choosing to believe it. It’s been a great 30 years and I am excited about the next phase in my life. I was able to celebrate with my parents and felt the love big time from all my friends back home. A special shout out to my sweet friend Kelly for making me feel so special and all the ladies at GP for your overwhelming love. Love you friends! Cheers to the next 30.
Cards and gifts from the sweet ladies at GP. Love them!
Waiting on Gigi and Papa at the airport. She wanted to make a silly face. I love my girl.
These wild horses come in our yard and eat our banana trees. They came just as I was opening my gifts. =)
“You can take the girl out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the girl.”
So, let’s talk straight. I’m not really from the country. It’s all a big fat lie. Although, Big Daddy will tell you that the first time he drove up I35 and headed west on 96 towards H town he was thinking “where in the heck is she taking me?? His version is slightly different, but that’s essentially what he was thinking. For those of you who don’t know, when driving the stretch of highway from Wichita to Hutch you will encounter mostly wheat fields with a few glimpses of alfalfa and soy bean here and there, a lovely community of Amish driving their buggies and making chocolate peanut butter cream cheese pies that are “smack your grandma” good , multiple grain elevators (one of which is the largest grain elevator under one head house in the world….ha, dad!), some more fields and a very large tornado locator thingy. It’s pretty much an hour of sweetness.
I’m proud to be a midwest girl. I love the state of Kansas. After living in Costa Rica for a while amongst the gorgeous mountains and lush green scenery and then traveling home for Christmas I was reminded that “there’s no place like home”. We flew into Dallas and spent the week leading up to Christmas and Christmas day with Cody’s awesome parents and our beloved Chaos. Gosh I miss that boy. There is such a void in our home not having him with us. Then we headed up north to our home. It was on a long stretch between OKC and ICT that Big Daddy told me to look around at how beautiful the scenery was. All I could see were wheat fields and cattle. He told me that no matter where we go or what we experience, this view would always be the most beautiful to him. It made me smile. He always does.
Don’t you just love those first days/weeks/months/years of a new relationship? The butterflies. The never-ending supply of fresh flowers and fudge. Long good-night kisses. Trips to Sonic for a limeade and some cheddar bites just to sit in the car for two hours laughing and talking. Lucky for me my husband of 8 years still makes me giddy. He’s the perfect……………..ok, seriously? Why does every analogy I can think of at this moment have to do with food? I won’t even tell you what is going through my head because they all sound a little PG-13. Darn you Sonic! What I wouldn’t give for a chicken sandwich- sin lechuga- order of cheddar bites with ranch, large cheese tots, and a cherry limeade extra lime. That has to be at least a ten smack worth of food and I would order it all in a heartbeat. Guilt free. Have you ever ordered a ton of food and pretended it was for more than just you…only to drive to an undisclosed location (i.e. a park) and eat it slowly while listening to a little Sara Evans savoring every last bite? Oh, that’s not normal? I haven’t either.
Ok, back to the hottie I share a bed with. When we were married in 2003 we had no clue what we were doing. We were just kids, college kids really, who decided the married life sounded fun. We were in love, how tough could it be? Big Daddy proposed to me a week after Valentine’s Day in 2003 and we were married less than 3 months later. Scandalous. Rumors were flying higher than a Barry Bonds baseball. It took us about 2 days to decide that waiting was pointless. We’d made the commitment so let’s just do it. He was the ideal groom-to-be. He couldn’t have cared less what colors we used or what flowers we had. His only request was to play “our song” during the ceremony. Problem. Big problem. Our song wasn’t some sappy romance tune. Our song was the epitome of our relationship and an essential part of our big ceremony. Yes the ceremony, not the reception. Feel free to listen to it here.
All of this randomness really has no point, other than the realization of how lucky I am. My husband is my world and together we are able to live and serve in a way that makes us feel so unworthy. I wouldn’t choose to spend my every day with any other person. I love us and am thankful for 8 blissful years. Happy Anniversary lover. Life with the one you love is inevitably perfect.
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Thanks for all your prayers and support.
Love and Hugs!
Started renovation on the new KidzPoint house! Discovered that it has been housing at least 50 bats. We shall now call it the Bat Cave. 6 days ago
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
"Everybody can be great because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love."
“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty."
"I've decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear."
"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."
"If nothing ever changed, there would be no butterflies."
