Still Laughing....

Greer:  Daddy, I am gonna ask you for a nacho. 
Greer:  Daddy, can I have a nacho?
Dad:  No.
Greer:  Daddy, I am gonna ask you for a nacho, again.
Greer: (very slowly)  Daddy, can I have a nacho?
Dad:  Um, still no.

Little Dude is a riot.  He truly is very, very funny.  At the moment everything that comes out of his mouth is followed by "...isn't that right Mama?"  He is also very polite which is a pat on the back for Terri, cuz he surely didn't learn manners from his Mama.  Little Dude is also loud.  He talks in a very loud, almost high pitched voice.  Sweet, perhaps.  But, since he talks incessantly, the sweetness soon morphs into something like the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard.  I have attempted to have him bring the volume down a bit by instructing him to use his inside voice.  It works for all of a couple seconds and then the octaves climb.  I have also told him that we need quiet time and he is not to talk at all.  That doesn't last more than a second, if that.  I have joked that he is only quiet when he is asleep.  Now, Little Dude repeats that but it sounds something like " I only quiet when I asleep...isn't that right Mama?"  Funny Little Dude.

Introducing Our Fiddling Phenom

Six months ago the Empress began violin lessons. Technically, fiddle lessons. What I would refer to as hoe down music. In the beginning, definitely not my first choice. I, of course, had envisioned my beautiful, petite violinist playing lovely classical scores. But, I reasoned that fiddle would probably be more enjoyable for a child, and not as big a snooze for a beginner. So glad I made that decision. As I may have mentioned in previous blogs, my little Empress leans to the lazy side of things. She is very willing to take the easy route, so practicing was often times a match of wills...hers against mine. Then one day a couple months back, she saw the trophies on the wall of her instructors house. She asked about them and how she could get one. And, in that very moment she decided that she would enter and win a fiddle contest. She wanted the prize...she always goes for the prize. Jump ahead...

Saturday was the Annual Glacier Fiddlers Contest. Our Empress, the youngest contestant, won third place....her first trophy (more like a medal, but she still refers to it as a "trophy."), and a check for $10. She was sooooooo excited. Sooooo, sooooo excited. She turned to me and stated that she loved the violin and was going to win her next competition! And, you know something, I believe she just might!

We are so very proud of our little fiddler!! Great job G!

Colored Eggs, Candy, and Favorite Folks!

Quick trip. Sketchy roads. Miles of smiles, Easter egg hunts (yes, two of them!), dinner at the Den with our favorites, and even...a petting zoo.

It was a short weekend, but very full of love and laughter. I made a quick call to my close friend and colleague, E. Bunny, and informed him that we would not be home for Easter. Together we schemed and came up with the solution. E. Bunny agreed to travel to Dillon on Saturday morning. A day early, yes. But it freed E. Bunny up to visit more children on Sunday morning and it allowed for our travel back to Kalispell. The children awoke at 5 a.m. on Saturday and despite sending them back to bed, we were all out of bed by 7. There was a nice egg hunt, some breakfast casserole and time with BB and Papa Joe. Around 9:30 we crossed town and greeted Nana, Papa Skip and Sue Sue. Another egg hunt, coloring eggs and visiting. Then we hopped in the car and went to a petting zoo put on in downtown Dillon by the high school FFA. The Empress loved it and petted all the animal babies. The Dude...well, not so much. After a nap and the game of "Life" we sat down to a marvelous dinner with the Family, Papa Joe and BB included. It was nice. It was yummy.

It was short but sweet. It always is. I wish we lived closer. I wish we saw each other more. Despite the distance my family shares a very special love. I have been blessed. And, remembering the reason for Easter, thank you Lord Jesus for your love, sacrifice and for your divinity in creating my family!!

Missing Matisse

More appropriately said...missing my heart. She was extraordinary. She was remarkably beautiful. She was kind and loving. She was my best friend. Everyone who ever met Matisse will tell you that she was special. She has been gone now since October, but somehow the ache remains. The glimpse of her I get out of the corner of my eye. Stepping over a long gone dog bed in the middle of the night. I can still sense her. I smell her. Strangely always the smell of graham crackers. Matisse, I miss you. I miss you. I know that she is even now still around and will always live in our memories and hearts, but I miss the physical, soft as seal, bony of body, love of my life. May you forever run in the sunshine with brother Mowgli.

Home Alone Again

So, apparently my attempt to blog more frequently was a pipe dream. Seems as though my life is spinning out of control. This morning I placed my foot on the ground for a moment to stop spinning long enough to post.

T is gone again. If I never mentioned it before, he a bit of a jack of all trades. A teacher by profession. A consultant extraordinare by nature. He works for Texas Instruments and has for the better part of 20 years. He teaches for them, writes for them, works in development, and at one point worked in the marketing side of things. All education related, of course. Currently he is one of three teachers working in India on their science curriculum. Through TI he became involved with NASA and has written curriculum based on the International Space Station. Last month he and a team flew on the Zero G flight with NASA. In short, he is phenomenal. I am very proud of him. Each spring he travels to the various conferences around the country. This past week he is in Chicago at TI's Teachers Teaching Technology International Conference. He was presented a very prestigious award - Leadership in Teaching Award for Science. Strangely enough, Mayim Bialik (Big Bang Theory, Blossom, etc.) was just named the spokesperson for TI's NSpire....which happens to be Todd's little gadget. So, he got to meet her. Funny really, as she is currently my favorite character on TV. She plays Amy Farrah Fowler, a Ph.D. in Neurobiology, and Sheldon Cooper's girlfriend. He is brilliant in the role. Love, love, love her. Oddly enough she truly is a science nerd. In real life Mayim holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience.

So, I am home again with the little G's. I believe this is our 5th weekend alone. Frankly, I am tired of single parenting. I want my hubby home. I want to run away and be alone for five minutes. I dream of a date night. I know the kids miss their daddy.

Happy 7th Birthday with Hello Kitty!!

Funny when I think back six years. Seems like yesterday. On February 17th, 2006, we boarded a plane home from China with our precious little Empress. It was a long trip! But, she was soooooo good. Maybe fussed 30 minutes total in about 30 hours of travel. We planned a long layover in San Francisco and checked into a hotel near the airport for a quick snooze before our final leg home. We arrived home on the midnight flight. There was tons of snow. Tons. It was cold!! We drove the thirty minutes home and were greeted at the door by my Mom and Dad. Two very excited new grandparents, soooooo happy to finally meet and hold their little grasshopper. The next morning, February 18, our Empress turned one! Todd and I were exhausted, way too tired to celebrate a one year olds birthday. Not Nana and Papa Skip. They quickly hurried down to the local grocery store and nabbed a tasty little 7-Up cake.

Yesterday was my Empress' 7th birthday! Daddy is working this weekend in Dallas, and he was sadly missed...though we managed to cram in enough Hello Kitty to make everyone feel a little better. The Empress invited 8 little friends, 5 of which came to the party. Emerson, her best girlfriend for the past 6 years came up from Missoula. We were soooo happy to see her. We had been planning the party since last summer and had some awesome little goodies for the girls. It was fun. The girls played games, ate yummy cake and loudly celebrated. We even served orange Fanta...a very rare treat. Auntie Sue-Sue and Sheri helped out and we managed to keep the girls under a semblance of control. Last evening Sue-Sue, Sheri, Brad, Greer, myself and the Empress dined at Spencers. It was so yummy and the company was great. Our favorite waitress, Lynn, brought the Empress a big piece of chocolate cake and we all sang Happy Birthday! Lovely day!

Thank you Dr. King

I have been mulling this post over in my head for several days now. Still not sure I can accurately portray my feelings on this subject, but let me try.

Dr. King. I call him this out of respect. Somehow calling him Martin Luther King, Jr. seems to portray him as a common man. He is not. In my opinion. A common man. He is a King among men. A man who stood up, when everyone around him was pushing him down. A man who spoke out when so many tried to silence him. Many were listening. He effected change in our world, in our way of thinking, in our way of doing. He was, in my opinion, God's messenger. I am today so very thankful to live in a world where you are not judged by the color of your skin, but by the strength of your heart. True, racism still exists. It will always exist. It is passed from father to son, like a disease. But, the good and faithful people of the world have erradicated it from our lives. Today when I look into the face of my beautiful son I am indebted to Dr. King. Thank you Dr. King that my son may have a life where racism doesn't effect him. Where I don't have to fear for his safety just because his skin is brown.

I too have a dream.