Sweet Daughter

I have been taking so many client photos lately that I haven't stopped to take many photographs of Georgia.  The other day I decided enough was enough.  I grabbed my old Canon and set out to take pictures of my sweet girl.  Georgia loved the attention.  Here is a shot I captured right before she started posing.  Isn't she a doll?  I love you, I love you, I love you , I love you!  Here is what she told me yesterday:

Georgia:  Aw, I wish I could be a mommy!
Me:  Why?
Georgia:  Because mommies get to do FABULOUS things like make breakfast, iron clothes and scrub the floors.

And here she is doing her Zoolander look.  I have quite the little model.  She loves to pose and this is pure Georgia.  Silly, wonderful girl!

Revisiting Washington DC

 A couple of months ago I received an invitation to Ingrid's retirement party.  I was thrilled to recieve the invitation and immediately replied that I would attend.  I wanted to be present to thank this wonderful woman for her role in my life.  Ingrid is a landmark in my memory.  I see her as a combination of influential mentor-fairy godmother.  Twelve years ago when I worked as her intern at the Candian Embassy I knew very little about the task I had signed up for.  Oklahoma and DC are, suffice it to say, very different worlds.  She took me under her wing and taught me how to survive-- and she did it with warmth, candor and humor!  The trip was somewhat emotional for me because for the longest time I have wanted to return to DC and work.  I have always wondered why I had this experience.  Not much, besides my first job out of college working for the Senator, has related to political/diplomatic work.  It is like there is a disconnect between the life I lead and the life I almost lead and the gap between the two has always bothered me.  It was good to go, revisit, thank Ingrid for her kindness, and close the door on a chapter of my life that I have, until recently, not been able to close.

Ingrid and former interns.

Me and Rodolfo with the bouquet that we created as a special gift for Ingrid.

Here is my friend Jonathan whom I met all those years ago during my internship.  Luckily he still has the same phone number and we reconnected on this trip!  He took me and Rodolfo on a relaxing stroll around the capital (See the capitol building in the background).  Unlike myself, he never left DC!  Lucky fellow.

We also saw some Tibetian monks while on our trip.  I felt like this was a unique occurance.  How often does one see Tibetans of any kind hanging around on an American street corner?

Now this is a bike I could ride!  :)

And last but not least, some amazingly large hydrangeas that we came across while strolling through Georgetown.  Aren't they beautiful?!

Aunt Linda, Amy & Sophia visit OK!

Where did June go?  I can't believe I am now coming off of July 4th weekend.  Life has been packed to the max with activities-- travel, house renovations, photo shoots and baby showers.  One of the most memorable was a visit from Aunt Linda, Amy & Sophia.  We did all sorts of fun stuff like go to the zoo, visit a horse ranch, go swimming and TALK.  That's what girls like to do, you know???   I tortured Amy and my sisters by making them wake up very early and go out and shoot maternity shots.  More of those to come later.  Here are some from Aunt Linda's birthday party.  I'm so glad we were able to celebrate with her this year.  We talked about having a family-get-together next summer again, but instead of OK we are thinking along the lines of the beach.  Woo hoo!

the celebration

lighting the cake

aww... brother and sister!

two pregnant beauties, where is Rebecca!!!!

Georgia and Sophia.  These two cousins played, played and played.  Aren't their matching PJs cute?  Thanks Aunt Linda for the gift!  :)

We are so glad you guys came to visit us out here.  Come again soon!!

Heaven

The other day we were driving down the highway and Georgia looked over at this farm and said "Mommy, that's where God lives".  I have to agree.  Here is a photo of it!  :)

Happy Father's Day!

Georgia & Rodolfo at breakfast

Gigi, Rodolfo & the newest addition to the family, the turtle (soon to be named)

Happy Father's Day!!

Psalm 104

The following passage is perhaps my most favorite in all the Bible.  I read it once, more than 10 years ago, and forgot where in the Bible I had read it.  It is so beautiful and I have thought about it often.  Just the other day I finally read it again.  It made me full of joy to read it again.  I thought I would publish it here for all my readers to enjoy as well.

1 Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, you are very great. You are clothed with honor and majesty, 2 wrapped in light as with a garment. You stretch out the heavens like a tent, 3 you set the beams of your chambers on the waters, you make the clouds your chariot, you ride on the wings of the wind, 4 you make the winds your messengers, fire and flame your ministers. 5 You set the earth on its foundations, so that it shall never be shaken. 6 You cover it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. 7 At your rebuke they flee; at the sound of your thunder they take to flight. 8 They rose up to the mountains, ran down to the valleys to the place that you appointed for them. 9 You set a boundary that they may not pass, so that they might not again cover the earth. 10 You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills, 11 giving drink to every wild animal; the wild asses quench their thirst. 12 By the streams the birds of the air have their habitation; they sing among the branches. 13 From your lofty abode you water the mountains; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work. 14 You cause the grass to grow for the cattle, and plants for people to use, to bring forth food from the earth, 15 and wine to gladden the human heart, oil to make the face shine, and bread to strengthen the human heart. 16 The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. 17 In them the birds build their nests; the stork has its home in the fir trees. 18 The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are a refuge for the coneys. 19 You have made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting. 20 You make darkness, and it is night, when all the animals of the forest come creeping out. 21 The young lions roar for their prey, seeking their food from God. 22 When the sun rises, they withdraw and lie down in their dens. 23 People go out to their work and to their labor until the evening. 24 O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. 25 Yonder is the sea, great and wide, creeping things innumerable are there, living things both small and great. 26 There go the ships, and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it. 27 These all look to you to give them their food in due season; 28 when you give to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. 29 When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. 30 When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground. 31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works— 32 who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke. 33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. 34 May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord. 35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Praise the Lord!

(quoted from the New Revised Standard Version)

spring harvest

Fields were mowed this past week to make hay bales.  Dandelions and Queen Anne's Lace have been in bloom.  The spring wheat harvest should happen any day now.  We went out and enjoyed the prettiness of it all.

Dreaming of Alaska

Georgia says funny things.  Sometimes her word choice makes me wonder what kind of commentary she is actually making about MY speech.  For example, today in the car she told me "you need to go the speed lemon so you don't get a ticket".  That got me wondering-- do I talk with a nasal sound?  because how do you get "lemon" from "limit"?  She still calls a crayon a "crown".  This confusion, I believe, must be due to the draw of the Oklahoma accent.  She says "dis" and "dat" instead of "this" and "that"-- perhaps from Rodolfo's accent.  And then, she has these questions-- 3 year olds are full of questions!  Sometimes very difficult to answer questions.  For awhile after Easter she kept asking me if we have bodies in heaven.  I finally admitted that I didn't know and we would have to ask around.  Lately the question has been, "mom, why does it have to be morning, night, morning, night?"  As she says, she would prefer it to be "morning, morning, morning".  And when I tell her she would still have to sleep when the rotation of the day went morning, morning, morning she just gives a rumpled "hmph" for an answer.  I went on to explain that in places like Alaska half the year is morning, morning, morning.  That made her think and stop asking questions for about a week.  Last night she came running in my room, terrified of trolls (she said she saw trolls on a ride at Disney, I don't remember them).  After some time of motherly love and care I got her calmed down and back into her bed.  Then she sweetly said looking into my eyes, "Mom, I'm not scared anymore, I'm going to think happy thoughts."  "Very good", I replied, thinking she meant she was going to remember me and the love I gave her.  "What are your happy thoughts?" I inquired.  Without blinking she replied "Mom, I'm going to dream about Alaska."  This was totally not what I was expecting and really funny to me.  It is funny how their little minds are always ticking and thinking about things you have long forgotten you said.  She must have enjoyed dreaming about Alaska where it is morning, morning, morning six months out of the year because she slept all the way through the night!

Disney World 2010 - Rodolfo and Gigi's first trip!

Do you see the castle in the back?

Here is Gigi riding the Dumbo ride.  Loving this smile.

My favorite character photo.  These girls were cracking me up with their "evil stepsister" expressions.

Gigi in a magic carriage.

Epcot and the Princess Lunch.

Gigi zonked out.

Here is Gigi at the Luau.  So sweet.

First Recital

Here is Georgia with her ballet friends preparing for the performance.  It was a flutter of activity behind stage.  Excitement was high and moms were tossing makeup, hairspray and tutus everywhere.  I got Gigi ready at home so I could snap a few pictures of the backstage anticipation.

Here is another ode to Degas with the ballerinas hurriedly lining up to go onstage.

The girls performed to "Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polkadot Bikini".  It was pretty fun watching them walk onto the stage.  They came out in towels (see the first picture) and swayed back and forth hiding behind the towel as the lyrics sang "she was afraid to come out of the locker, she was afraid to open the door..." and then at "2..3..4.. tell the people what she wore" they dropped the towels, put their hands on their hips and shimmied around.  Pretty darn cute.  I wish I could have gotten a close-up photo of Gigi but this is the best my lens would zoom.

And here is Georgia after the performance, still dancing in the backyard.  They gave every little a girl a rose and announced each of their names at the end.  This was a special night!

ballet recital

First ballet recital.  Sweet.  Fun.  Funny.  Memories.  I loved it!  I'll put more photos up soon.  Been very busy lately!

The Magic Next Door

We found it!  This has to have been one of the first books my mom ever read to me.  Gigi and I were digging around in an old bookcase the other day trying to find a place to put all of the Barbie beds because they were just driving me crazy sitting out.  While we were moving stuff around we found The Magic Next Door.  Finding the book was like rediscovering an old memory that had been cherished but long forgotten.  This is such a sweet story, and it has great lines like: "Her hair was spread out on the tufted grass like silk from corn on the cob."  I smiled at every page remembering the images and the story.  What a great find.  This book is a little treasure to me.

Day at the Museum

We went to the Oklahoma Natural History Museum to explore dinosaur bones with Ashleigh, Michelle, Blake & Caleb today.  The girls were pretty fascinated with the animals.  This is a great age for hands-on-experiences.  Hats off to Michelle for all of her great ideas.  What a fun day it was!!

Playhouse

What do you think a busy CPA would want to do the day after tax season?  Relax?  Go to the beach?  spa?  How about build a fort?  That's right, my dad's after tax-season project was to build a playhouse for all his grandkids.  I have been amazed that every day since April 16 my dad has been out in the backyard constructing what you see above.  Since we are living here while we wait on our new house to be renovated Georgia is thrilled to the bones to have a slide in the backyard!!  Now Ellyn Claire, Anne & Kathrine need to come on over so the fun can begin.  Thanks Dad!!!!!!! 

oh the places you will go

Gigi has totally been the most beautiful ballerina today.  She was performing all day long, dancing here and there.  I guess she is ready for her recital coming up.  Even when we were on our way out the door she stopped and danced in front of the old mirror in the garage.  I had to snap her picture, she looked so pretty.  Her gaze made me think of all the possibilities and exciting things that await her in life.  The poem "oh the places you will go" came to my head. 

After our errands we came home and ate our Chick-fil-A.  Here she is drinking her chocolate milk. I sure feel blessed.

Wally's feet

On Wally's birthday he ascended the heights of a dog's life by receive a spa day.  Our regal pooch returned after his pampering bath and fluff with curls-a-shining and white hair a-glow.  He also brought the rains with him.  We admired his fluffiness for as long as we could before he begged us to go outside.  Not wanting to ruin his clean paws in the rain and mud we concocted the above booties.  Necessity is indeed the mother of invention.  These fine rain-resistant shoes are made out of nothing other than baggies and scotch tape!  They worked for about 3 minutes, long enough to take care of business.  I had a good laugh watching Wally waltz around in them.  He looked like a high-stepping horse!!  Happy Birthday you silly pooch!