Gathering Leaves

by Robert Frost

Spades take up leaves

No better than spoons,

And bags full of leaves

Are light as balloons.

I make a great noise

Of rustling all day

Like rabbit and deer

Running away.

But the mountains I raise

Elude my embrace,

Flowing over my arms

And into my face.

I may load and unload

Again and again

Till I fill the whole shed,

And what have I then?

Next to nothing for weight,

And since they grew duller

From contact with earth,

Next to nothing for color.

Next to nothing for use.

But a crop is a crop,

And who's to say where

The harvest shall stop?

Llamas, Emus, and Swimming at Grandma's

What a fun couple of months we have had. Gracie finally said "I love you". Of course, anyone other than family would hear "I emu" but we know what she means. The feeling that you get when you hear it for the first time is indescribable. I emu too, Gracie.

Grace is still receiving books from Dolly Parton's Imagination Library once a month. Anyone who has not heard of this wonderful program should definitely check it out. (I have placed a link at the bottom of this post) The look on my baby's face when she gets a new book is priceless. The last book she received was "Llama Llama Red Pajama" and I read it to her on a daily basis now. She runs around the house calling me llama mama and laughing at her own little joke.

Gracie loved swimming at Grandma's house so much that we decided to try and bring her to the new public pool in town. We told her that this pool had slides, fountains, and other kids to play with. She seemed so excited, I was becoming very optimistic about our adventure. We got to the pool and Grace dragged us to the pool all while screaming and laughing with delight. She did not want to go near the fountains and the various "spray things" so instead I carried her into the deeper end of the pool where it was a bit more calm. I am not sure what she didn't like about it. She was so ecstatic when we got there, but all of that went away when we got in. She was terrified. We spent the rest of our day walking around watching the other kids play. She especially liked watching the big kids on the diving boards.

Today as I was flipping through the channels Grace squealed when she saw the USA Swimming National Championships/World Championship Trials. I paused to see what she was so excited about and she climbed up on the couch with me and we sat and watched as numerous records were broken. Grace cheered all of them on screaming "Go, go, go" and "Look at 'em swim". Natalie Coughlin watch out, my baby has the ambition already.

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library

http://www.dollysimaginationlibrary.com/splash_usa.php

Happy Birthday Gracie!

The report I received the other day from Kate (our wonderful caregiver) was that Grace learned how to draw a circle. They have also been working on their alphabet and I am proud to announce that Gracie can say every letter and even recognizes A and B.

Today is her second birthday and along with these accomplishments I reflect on how much she has changed. She is beginning to form sentences, although they are simple things like "more juice" or "I want", this makes it much easier when trying to guess her needs. Every night I lay her down for bed and say "I love you, Gracie" hoping that I will hear the same words said to me. On Monday I got a response that felt just as amazing as an "I love you". With a big hug she said to me "My mommy".

That's right baby girl, I am your mommy and I could never be more proud of you for the things that you have brought into my life. Every new word you say or new animal you learn is just another reassurance for me that everything we want for you will come.

My daughter, I will give to you the world. In whatever form you may wish. It is yours for the taking and I trust that you will know how to use it. If ever you doubt yourself, I will be there to support you and guide you to your dreams.

I will not judge or blame. Your happiness is important to me. When others say that you cannot, I will be there to show you they're wrong. There is nothing you can't do baby girl, I hope you know this. Your possibilities are endless.

I would also like to mention that today is an extra special day. It is not only Gracie's birthday but Auntie Terra's too. Terra and Gracie share an untouchable bond. It's as if God brought Grace to us on this day because he knew that she shares more than just a day with Terra. Grace absolutely adores Terra and is always anticipating the next time she will see her. So happy birthday Terra, and thank you for graciously sharing your day with Grace.

Hooray for New Pics!!!

Grace is getting better with the names of family and friends. She lovingly refers to Grandma and Grandpa as Nama and Tampa. Big thank you's go to Auntie Terra for taking these pictures.
So, without further ado, I give you "Swinging at Nama and Tampa's".

Oh I got my lunch pack packed, my shoes tied tight, I hope I don’t get in a fight! Oh back to school,back to school…

Just stopping in to give you all a bit of an update. I am now an official college student. I had my orientation tonight and will have my first class (Student Success) on April 7th. I am enrolled as a full time student taking on 15 credits!!! I am on my way to the life I have dreamed of. I couldn't be more excited.

My first couple of years will be dedicated to business management and then it is off to Minneapolis, MN to complete my music emphasis. When all is said and done I will have a career as a Recording Artist Manager. This degree will also allow me to become a Tour Manager. (I will actually get to use the line "I'm with the band")

Before I was accepted at the school I had to take an assessment test. This exam rates your proficiency in reading, writing, and arithmetic. I scored above average on my reading and writing portions of the test. I am average when it comes to decimals and percentages. It was the fractions that got to me. I scored below average and now have to take an extra class to revisit Mathematics II.

The staff at the school are very nice and welcoming. They are all willing to help with anything they can. My class sizes will be very small at 6- 10 students each. I am taking 3 classes on campus and 2 of them online.

I never thought that I could be this excited to have homework, but I am dieing to dive right in to it! I will keep you all posted.

We're Baaaack!

Yay! We are back and with a few new pics to boot! The super charged time has flown right passed me and unfortunately I do not have much to show for it.

I do, however, have a picture of our trip to the butterfly house. Gracie had a blast and I would have gotten many great pictures. If only I wasn't in such a hurry and forgot to swap the battery on the camera. This is the lone survivor of the 20 or so photos I snapped before the battery died.

Next, we have a picture of Gracie playing with her airplane. Apparently, in her world, ice cream cones can pilot an aircraft.

And last but certainly not least, we have the evidence of the most horrifying experience I have been through since becoming a mother. A moment that, as soon as she was mobile, I new would come in only a matter of time. Grace was watching Dora (all the while singing and dancing along) she stumbled and hit her eye on the coffee table. (Grace may not have been a fitting name, as she is about as clumsy as her mother) We had to bring her in to Acute Care where the doctor was glad to report that the cut was clean and even and would not require stitches. They glued the cut together and about 4 days later the glue fell off and the cut is healing very well. She does have quite the shiner though, huh?

This experience gave me a whole new appreciation for my daughter's strength. That night when we got home, I was getting her ready for bed and the only thing she wanted to do was resume where she left off before the incident.

The girl is a trooper, that's for sure...Stay tuned to see what she will get into next!

Why I Will Miss 2008.

While ringing in the New Year with our extended family of friends, I couldn’t help but think of my beautiful baby girl at home sleeping. She does not yet have the capability to understand why we celebrate the passing of the year and the arrival of a new one. She does not recognize that she has given us reason to commemorate.

How could she possibly know it was her smiles and giggles that have made our year one to remember? That while she was filled with pride from finally figuring out that she can get onto that chair by herself, we were sitting close by stunned by our daughters strength.

Do you think she realizes that even though our year was filled with the terror that is teething, we couldn’t be prouder of that infectious half formed smile?
I wonder if she can feel the purpose she has given us when she points and tells us what she sees. That silly kitty in the book never meant so much to me.

Of this I am sure, to her there is no wrong in the world. The only evils she has seen are those of time-outs and the tantrums in between. But even these can be easily remedied with a great big hug and an “It’s ok, you will see”.

You see, 2008 will always be remembered as the year our precious baby blossomed into this wonderful person that we get to spend the rest of our lives with. We have learned that, though she is small, her love and strength is great. She has discovered that, with a little time and her parents’ guidance, she can overcome her greatest obstacles.

So to you little one, I give thanks. For all the little joys you have given us. We are forever grateful to watch you learn and grow. Because, in all your accomplishments we delight, we know that we are doing something right.

We know that with the passing years, our love for this child will only grow. That every New Year I will reflect on what she has learned and taught us as well. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to celebrate.