Relief Bus Ride

My father-in-law left his home in New Jersey this morning to ride across the country on his Harley.  He is riding to raise money to help feed & clothe the homeless, and it has also been a lifelong dream of his as well.  He is taking photographs and blogging about his experience traveling over 6400 miles to California and back.  Feel free to follow along!

http://www.richsreliefbusride.wordpress.com/

"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
to untie the chords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter--
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say:  Here am I."
Isaiah 58:6-9

Behind Her Back

Behind her back is a carefully drawn map.  Sometimes it is used to go on a treasure hunt.  Other times it is used to drive her stuffed animals to the correct movie theater.  And when she really wants to make her sister laugh, she says it is a map to show Colin (Leah's crush) how to get to our house. 

I love watching her create.  With her steady left hand, she draws pictures of our family, all five with smiling faces.  She colors pictures of dinosaurs in her many dino coloring books.  She is careful to add eyelashes and lipstick to each one.  She has learned about shadows and color from her Daddy and is careful to use them.  I think I see a budding artist in her.

When she doesn't have any toys readily available (like when waiting to be seated at a restaurant), her hands become spiders that run and play chase and talk in different silly voices to each other.

She loves to dance, but gets embarrassed when anyone watches too closely.  So I've learned to act like I'm not watching, and to steal long glances when she doesn't think I'm looking. 

She can become just about any animal you ask her to become.  Jaguar?  Puppy? T Rex?  Shark?  She can imitate their sounds and movements with a lot of accuracy and full abandon!

She is always curious about words.  I don't think a day goes by when she doesn't ask me what a word means.  Just today she has asked about the meaning of the words "vocabulary", "almost", and "stampede".  She loves to learn new things.

I love watching her grow and change.  She challenges me to be more curious, creative, and passionate about life.  And she tests my patience too, but I know that she is only making me into a better parent.  Thank you, Hannah, for being exactly who God made you to be.

Grandma's Notebook

I am named after my mother's mother.  She was Imogene Rebecca, and I am Emily Rebecca.  I have her blue eyes.  And her gentle way with cats.  I mostly remember her in one of three places: 1.) in the kitchen with her apron on cooking something delicious, 2.) sitting in her recliner with her hands always busy holding a book or working on her latest needlepoint project, and 3.) working fast and furious at her sewing machine.  I too love to cook and read.  Sewing...well, I'm working on that one. 

She had a very specific way of answering her phone by never saying "hello?" like most people do.  In her singsong voice, she would simply pick up the receiver and say, "Mmmmrrrsss. Gant!" as if declaring to whomever was on the other line that she was definitely home.  Once I would say, "Hi, Grandma!" she would instantly recognize it as my voice (even though I was one of her twelve grandchildren).  She was a good listener, and she always made me feel very special. 

Several years ago, she had to move from her home where she was living indepentantly to a retirement village.  One day, my mom, aunt, cousins, and I were at her house helping her clean out her kitchen before she made the move.  We went through her dishes, her pantry, her tupperware, and her cookbooks.  The whole time she was always telling us to "take what we wanted."  I came away from that day with an old yellow spiral notebook packed full of favorite family recipes mostly written down in her own slanted cursive handwriting. 

Inside were recipes for:
*Chicken Curry
*Sweet and Sour Pork
* Beef and Peppers
* Fried Rice
*Chicken Pot Pie
* Nuts and Bolts (her famous snack mix which she always gave out at Christmas)
*Cornbread

And her sweet tooth is evident in recipes like:
* Snickerdoodles
* Double Layer Pumpkin Pie
* Raw Apple Cake with Warm Lemon Sauce
* Christmas Cookies (yet another holiday tradition)
* Chiffon Cake
* Aunt Bill's Brown Candy

I think about all the time that it took to handwrite these recipes. I wonder why she included the ones that she did. She also cut out and taped in several recipes from newspapers and magazines. What made those stand out to her? Did she ever make any of them?

I study her handwriting and can remember what her hand looked like as she held a pen. I can remember seeing the same swirly handwriting on all of my birthday cards. The notebook itself says a lot about her: simple, but sturdy. Careful, thoughtful, thorough. Full of ideas, plans, and love.

She passed away four and a half years ago. I still think about her and miss her. I wish she could have met Lucas. I wish I could stop by her house and sit on her couch and tell her about my day. I would love to examine her latest project, and ask her questions about motherhood (she did successfully raise six children!).

But I can take out her notebook, cook a favorite family recipe, and feel connected to her anytime I wish.

Proof of Crawling

                                               One little baby sitting in the evening sun.

                                                              Getting in position.

And he's off !

Our NBA Team

Last year, something historic happened in the world of Oklahoma City sports....we got an NBA team!  I have only developed a love for watching certain sports in my adult years.  As a child, I never (ever) played any kind of sport.  Not softball.  Not soccer.  Nothing.  My extracurricular activities included ballet, piano lessons and going to lots and lots of concerts.  Sport were just not my thing.  I would occationally watch a University of Oklahoma football game with my dad, but that was about it. 

But when I was in college, something in me clicked and I decided that I actually liked watching sports (namely football and basketball).  And until recently, all Oklahoma had to offer was collegiate sports.  And believe me, college football is HUGE in Oklahoma. 

When it was announced that we were getting an NBA team back in 2008, I was actually excited to get behind and support our team.  A few weeks later, the team name was announced.  So it was then that I became an official OKC Thunder fan. I love that our team's theme song is "Thunderstruck" by ACDC.  And I love that we pack out The Ford Center every game to support our guys. Tonight, in only our second year, we are in the NBA playoffs against the LA Lakers.  It is a home game, but it will be tough.  And you know I'll be watching.  When I was fourteen, if I had envisioned my future at age 33, I would have guessed that I would be married with kids.  But I wouldn't have guessed that I would be at home on a Saturday night watching an NBA playoff game.  I guess life is full of surprises!

Thunder UP!

Nine Months

On Saturday my baby boy will be nine months old.  Nine months seems like an age milestone.  It sounds so close to twelve months which is then one YEAR.  Oh my.  I'm not going to think about that yet.  For now, I am going to enjoy nine months and all the wonderful thing Lucas is doing right now. 

*Latest Development:  He is crawling!  As of yesterday, he moves slowly, but steadily and with determination.  He is still a little wobbly, but he can get from point A to point B effectively.  He is so proud of himself too because when you cheer him on, he breaks out into the biggest smile.  Which leads me to the next point...

* Changing Smile:  Lucas has two bottom teeth now.  They popped up only a few days apart from each other.  He was pretty fussy when that whole process was taking place, but now that they are in, he loves to wiggle his tongue over them to check them out.  It feels weird to be feeding him and feel the spoon scrape over his new teeth.   I think they just makes his smile even cuter.

* Healthy Appetite:  I think my boy is not going to be a picky eater.  He loves anything we've ever given him so far.  He does have some favorite vegetables, however, and green beans, squash and sweet potatoes top the list.  He has also discovered the world of Cheerios and Fruit Puffs, and is proficient at feeding himself.  When he wants more or another bite, his feet start kicking and his little fingers start wiggling.  Currently, we think we weighs about 20 pounds, but we'll get the official number when we go for his nine month appointment next week.

* Talking:  Lucas loves to babble.  Right now the only sounds (other than screams and squeals) are "da,da,da,da" and "ba,ba,ba,ba."  The other day he woke up from a nap in a grumpy mood (I suspect the teeth were the problem there) and he was just crying away.  I thought I could hear a very pitiful "maa, maa, maa" in there somewhere.  I'm going to assume he was crying out for "Mama!", but it is up for debate. :)

*Nicknames:  I love giving my kids nicknames (hence "Banana" and "Bee"), so we've been calling Lucas a varitey of nicknames over the last nine months to see what would stick.  So far, we call him Mr. Butters most often.  It started out as Butterball, but then got shortened to Butters, and then we added the title "Mr." to it and it just worked. 

*Pets Beware:  Ellie and Tundra have now been reminded of what curious little baby hands can do to their tails!  I think they had blocked out those memories from when the girls were infants.  Lucas loves to see our cats walk by.  And if they happen to be in really close proximity, he just goes nuts squealing and laughing and grunting.  The cats seem curious, but generally unimpressed by him, however.

I am so over the moon for this boy that I can hardly put how I feel into words.  He brings us so much happiness, entertainment, and pride.  And he helps make this family complete.

Mr. Butters on Easter Sunday 2010

Handkerchiefs

My mom recently brought over a stack of handkerchiefs for my girls to play with and for me to use.  We are fans of handkerchiefs at our house.  I always have one in my purse because you just never know when you might need to dab your eyes or nose.  They are so much softer than tissues and I love the sentimental value of them as well.  When my mom graduated high school, she and her family lived in Okinawa.  Since she planned to move back to the States to attend college, a bunch of my mom's friends threw her a farewell party at which everyone brought a handkerchief as a going away gift.  That's where the bulk of our hanky collection came from.

My grandmother gave me a beautiful white handkerchief with delicate white embroidery to use on my wedding day nearly eleven years ago.  I wrapped the hanky around the base of my bouquet, and carried it with with me down the aisle.  It was a small, yet very special part of my big day.

Hannah and Leah love handkerchiefs too.  I think they like the dainty, feminine, frilly quality of them.  And for some reason, they go crazy playing with them.  The handkerchiefs become blankets for stuffed animals or a dress for a doll.  And lately Leah has been calling one of her favorite handkerchiefs a ghost.  The ghost hanky follows her around and is "friendly like Casper," according to my Bee.

Do you use handkerchiefs?  Do you have any with sentimental value?