Blah-Blah-Blogging

It has been a little over a month now since I last alluded to the drama of my life.

Sometimes no news is good news - but not in this case.

I have deliberately avoided talking about it here, but the drama is still there. Drama and heartache and turmoil and pain have taken up residence in my life, and I don't think they'll be moving out any time soon!

With so much going on, this blog has become my refuge. I find peace here in compiling photos and stories. Despite the struggles I face, I am also very blessed - and blogging gives me the opportunity to both remember and share that. Plus, editing pictures is my way of "vegging out" these days!

And so, I have continued to blog - but I'm doing it for me. I used to obsess over daily page hits and fluctuations in subscriber numbers, but these days I really couldn't care less about that stuff. It's probably a good thing to be less concerned over that, but it also means that I've been conspicuously missing from the blogging community. I still sporadically read and comment on some blogs, but other than that I just don't have it in me to be an active community member right now. So, please don't take it personally if I haven't stopped by your place in a while!

Not as many people are stopping by here anymore either - but that's okay. I know that those of you that do still visit and comment are doing so because you genuinely care about me, and that's comforting. Thank you!

And, I'm sorry for the vagueness here. One day I'll be able to share more of the story with all of you - in the meantime, thank you for the prayers and support!

Boisterous Backyard Bathing Beauty

The Photo Stroll

It's been a good run...but I think my days as the uncontested owner of the title "Family's Most Prolific Shutterbug" are numbered. My mother and my daughter are both in hot pursuit, and one of them just might overtake me and claim that title at any moment.



The three of us recently went for a walk. Well, it started out as an ordinary walk anyway, but before long it had turned into a full scale photo stroll. And for once, I wasn't the one behind the camera.



The above photo is the one that started it all. Nadia wanted to take a picture of the yellow flowers shown there, so I carefully hung my big, heavy, expensive camera around her neck...she composed and clicked...and then she didn't want to relinquish the camera. Click, click, click - she took one image after another.



And the really cool thing? Most of the pictures were intentional! Nadia can now plan what she wants to take a picture of, and her intended subject is actually visible in the final image. Well, sorta anyway. That picture on the top right, with the barely visible STOP sign? that was her answer to our suggestion that she take a picture of something red.



Still, it's very exciting to me that she's starting to develop both the eye and the coordination to frame her subject within the viewfinder and press the shutter all at once.



This bird egg was the coolest thing we found, but by no means the only one. As the official Treasure Carrier my hands were full by the end of our walk: feathers, rocks, leaves, sticks and of course the bird egg. And yes, my three year old took the egg picture. Pretty good, huh?!



But wait, it gets even better! Nadia was also the photographer for the above photo of me and Oma. Wow, I am impressed with my little protege. Not bad, not bad at all. I quite like the picture and am glad to have a photo of me and my Mama together.



But Nadia wasn't our only photographer. After she'd tired of it, Nadia handed the camera off to Oma, who continued snapping away.



Oh happy day!!! This means that there are now pictures of me and my daughter together. You fellow moms realize the importance of that, right? Before this there were maybe a dozen photos, other than arms-length self portraits, of Nadia and I together. I am ever so happy to have expanded that number. Plus - Oma's pretty good too, huh?!



Even if I don't like the way I look in them , I am thrilled that there's now concrete proof of me in my daughter's life. It's priceless to be able to add pictures to my mental memories of things like investigating a little hole in the sidewalk, as shown in the series below.







So, if Nadia and/or Oma wants to take over the title "Family's Most Prolific Shutterbug" they can have at it. I'm happy to share my hobby with them - we can be the three-generation family photographers!

Oma, feel free to grab the camera any time you like.

But Nadia? Please ask first. :o)

Skater Chick

She is one uber cool little gal, with Uncle D around to show her the way!

Dream a Little Dream

The motherly urge to protect and safeguard her child is a flame that never dies, and there's nothing in the world that fans that flame into a blaze more fiercely than the sight of that child sleeping.

Cheeks brushed by long eyelashes...softy pouty lips...gentle sighs...innocence....and the way her fingers curl around mine even in sleep.

It gets me every time.

And yes, she really does hug TedBear like that while sleeping - all night, every night.

Car Wash

And suddenly, I understand the allure of watching a cute girl in a swimsuit washing a car. :o)

Hymn of Thanksgiving

Good things come to those that wait...and our little church community has been waiting for a long time!!

Months after we thought our new temple would be finished, we are finally ready to start building. It's been a long process, fraught with setbacks, but the plans now have the City's official stamp of approval and we should be breaking ground any day. Yay! Earning the city's approval meant meeting a lot of additional requirements, and those unexpected extra expenses have come with a hefty price tag. As a result our building fund is now falling short of the actual costs. Donations would be most gratefully accepted, with eternal prayers for our benefactors offered in return!

Last week, we gathered before the Cross erected on the future site of our church to pray a service of Thanksgiving that we have reached this point.

Our little monkeys were happy to be out in the fresh (?? "hot" is more like it!) air and enjoy a little loser discipline than usual for church services. Sometimes it feels like we've been overrun with little girls! (not that we mind!!!)

This next photo of my sister's eldest was snapped literally a split second before she noticed an itty bitty teen tiny scratch on her hand. Some kids are very stoic and take such injuries in stride, while others are more dramatic. And that's all we'll say about that. ;o)

Through all of it, the service continued. (For those that don't know - my dad is our priest. That's him below)

We ended with a procession around the property to bless it with Holy Water.

There may have been a bit of sprinkling little girls with water too. But only maybe - not that the laughter of the girls below would be any clue.

It sure will be wonderful when the grassy field has been replaced by an actual church building.

May God grant that the next phase of construction will continue smoothly, and we can meet our goal to be in the new temple by the end of the year!

Vine Ripened

I'm pretty sure my kid could eat her weight in tomatoes daily.

Nadia loooooves tomatoes. Her PawPaw has an extensive vegetable garden, and she's earned big point with him by being such a fan of it. Well, of the tomatoes anyway. She could pretty much take or leave the peppers and kale and even the cucumbers...but the tomatoes? She's all about those!

I remember popping cherry tomatoes - sweet and juicy and warm from the sun - like candy as a little girl, and it's clear those tomato-loving genes were passed along to my daughter. PawPaw happened to be out of town a couple weeks ago for the first big tomato harvest, but Nadia made sure no tomatoes went to waste. That first evening, she must have eaten at least a dozen fresh sun-ripened tomatoes straight from the vine.

That's my girl!

The Mother Bear

These photos tug at my mommy heartstrings like no others.

They may not tell much of a story to an outsider - but to me, they speak volumes.

They were taken as Nadia struggled to regain her confidence after her traumatizing moment with the geese.

In these images, I see my baby girl's valiant attempt to bravely walk out onto that dock...and I see the tiny nuances of trepidation in her body language.

They make me want to gather my sweet girl to me, to sweep her into an enormous hug, to smother her in love and protect her from anything and everything that could cause her harm or pain.

In fact, that's why there are only four image in the series.

After that last click of the shutter, I swooped.

I gathered her into a bear hug and held her tight.

She squeezed back, clearly confident in her mother's ability to keep her safe.

If only all of life's crisises could be resolved so simply.

Goose-aphobia

Last week, we spent a delightfully cool and pleasant morning at the park.

Wait, go back. Read that again. (Please?)

Last week, we spent a delightfully cool and pleasant morning at the park.

Did you catch it this time?

This is Texas.

In the summer.

Most days are hot and sticky, about as far from cool and pleasant as possible. Weather that doesn't leave you dripping en route from the house to the car is but a distant dream.

But every once in a while dreams come true, and one day last week dawned 30 degrees cooler than usual. It was almost chilly - ohhhh, the delight!

Of course we packed up and went to the park. What other choice did I have? I knew a storm was headed this way and I was playing a dangerous game, but there was no way I was going to pass up weather like that.

So, off we went to Towne Lake - a park full of memories from my own childhood.



My little pigtailed girl was only too happy to climb and slide and be scrumptiously adorable.



She almost perfected the art of climbing up the slide, too (something that's normally not allowed, but the park was deserted that day. Apparently we were the only ones brave enough/stupid enough to disregard the darkening sky).



Twenty minutes of energetic playing later, I made a grave tactical error. I suggested stopping by the ducks and geese on a walk around the pond. At the time this seemed to be a reasonable idea - even a good idea - but I was wrong. So very, very wrong.

A goose hissed at Nadia.

And my child was was immediately reduced into a quivering, shrieking puddle of tears.

I have never before seen Nadia this utterly and totally terrified. She was beyond coherent speech. I can't emphasise enough her level of terror.



Let's put it this way: when Nadia one day questions why she has a lifelong fear of geese and goes into a full blown panic attack at their mere mention, I will know what to say.

The geese and I traumatized her. Bad geese! Bad Mommy too?



My little sidekick clung clung to me. Had she been able to crawl up inside of me, I have no doubt that she would have done so. Poor kid! Every time a goose came within 200 feet of us, the terror returned.



Even back at the relative safety of the playground, Nadia kept a wary eye on those darn geese. Oh the fearful glances she flashed towards water's edge! It was time to call it a day - our "fun" outing had turned decidedly not fun!



And it was perfect timing. Within seconds of being safely buckled into the car, before we'd even backed out of the parking space - the rain came. It started as a gentle shower of fat raindrops, but before long the windshield wipers were at their highest speed.



A delightfully cool morning at the park, followed by a delightfully sudden summer downpour.

It was a good morning.

Minus the geese.

Now I'm Learning My ABC's

If practice makes perfect, perfection should soon be coming for my little girl and her writing skills.

As I watched Oma's hands wrapped around my daughter's, I couldn't help but imagine them wrapped around another pair of little hands years ago, guiding them in forming the letters of the alphabet.

My hands.

The circle of life is beautiful.

Fireworks and Fun

Joyous. Carefree. Camaraderie. Radiant. Fellowship. Celebratory. Togetherness.

Those are just some of the words that come to mind to describe our 4th of July evening.



We joined a fellow Orthodox church community for an amazing evening of fun. It was the relaxed, comfortable kind of gathering that makes you feel contented deep down in your soul. The kind that makes you smile, relax the tension in your shoulders, and think "this is the way life is supposed to be. Life is good." Ahhhh.



There was a wonderful buffet of potluck foods (homemade veggie chips? GOOD!), and an even more wonderful musical ensemble playing rollicking Irish tunes that got everyones' feet a-tappin'.



There were little girls, barefoot and fancy free, dancing away with grins stretching from ear to ear.



As the music went on, the band of miniature dancers grew....and so did their laughter.



Is there any sound on earth more precious than laughing children? Any site more precious than a gathering of little people dancing away in the rosy dusk of a summer evening?



As the twilight deepened, we passed around the glowsicks (15 for $1, minus my 25% Michaels discount. What a deal!). As you can see below, they were a hit with the young and old alike and before long the grassy field was dotted with bright spots of color.



Isolated fireworks began early in the evening, and each explosion was met with cries of eager delight from the kids (especially my kid, who loves fireworks in a big way and was antsy with anticipation for the big show!) At long last, we spread out the blankets and settled down to watch the evening's big fireworks display.

Full disclosure - all the fireworks below weren't really captured in just one exposure. I just slapped several images together to consolidate.



The City show was being held at a park just a couple miles down the road from the church, so we were close enough to see (most of) it all but also far enough away to avoid (most of) the crazy crowds. In all honesty the fireworks lost some of their majestic boom from there, but it still was a pretty good deal.



Fireworks, food, fun, fellowship. Oh, and dirty little bare feet. Yep, a pretty good deal indeed.

Diva in Training

What little girl doesn't love to get all fancied up with a pile of sparkly gems? Even better when it's Mommy's (costume) jewelry. My girl felt like a million bucks with all these pretties, and it was funny to see the her diva attitude increase a little bit more with each piece of jewelry. Sashaying hips, oh my! Kid, please remember that you're only three!!!

Smothered in Love

Anyone who spends any amount of time with Nadia will quickly notice something about her:

She is a very affectionate child.

She's been known to say on more than a few occasions, "I love every single person in the whole country and the world." I've never seen a kid quicker to share hugs and kisses than Nadia - she hands them out like candy. Her little heart simply overflows with love all the time, and she can't keep it to herself.

That of course makes my heart overflow with joy and love for her.

It's a good thing.

But there is such a thing as too much of a good thing, and this is defintiely one of those cases.

Nadia may be filled with pure love, but the victims objects of her affection don't always return the sentiment.

A wise person once said, “If you love something, let it go. If it comes back to you, its yours forever. If it doesn’t, then it was never meant to be.”

Nadia hasn't quite learned this yet. She loves fiercely, and she takes love by force. Her affection is a bit, shall we say, intense. Agressive. Smothering.

Literally.

Babies and kitties tend to bare the brunt of Nadia's smothering love. She simply canNOT keep her hands off of them, and Cole is no exception.

**Disclaimer: no child was harmed in the making of these photos. Really, he was fine. But poor kid, Jaimee and I just sat back and kept on clicking while my daughter throttled her son! **