That's about right...

After a LONG day, I was driving back home from LC and thought I'd drive through Sonic and get a treat. I don't do that often, but really thought I needed it today. Just a large Diet Dr. Pepper with vanilla - Easy Ice.  (I recently discovered you can order your drinks with half, little or no ice. Slow learner, I guess.)

I ordered and it came to my window a few minutes later. I paid the bell hop and then put my drink in  its holder.  At a quick glance I noticed the ice through the semi-clear lid. I opened the lid and sure enough, the cup was packed with ice.  I ordered Easy Ice - meaning not very much - because I get tired of paying for five sips of a beverage steeped in tons of ice. This is the point in the story where I would normally huff and pout and complain - all while drinking my ice-packed drink.

Well not today!  I quickly pushed the little red button and told them I ordered a drink with easy ice and it was FULL of ice. They apologized and told me they would fix my order.  They did. They quickly came with a Route 44 sized drink (upgrade!) with only some ice and two poker-chip looking coins that entitle me to TWO free cherry limeades.  How 'bout them apples?  I was so proud for standing up for myself and was sure God was rewarding me doing so. 

When the manager lady came to bring me my corrected order, I told her I didn't mean to be difficult.  Her response:  "Oh, no problem. We want what we want." 

That seemed like a nice enough response - but it bothered me.  I wasn't able to think quick enough to tell her, "It's not a matter of wanting what I want - it's a matter of receiving what I ordered." I'll have to put that one in my back pocket for another day.

I was so happy to go home, put my munchkin to bed and sit in the recliner sipping on my Diet Dr. Pepper - which now stood for something much more than a small treat for myself.  It was a life lesson in a cup, after all.

That would have been a great end to the story.  But, alas, it wasn't. I put my huge cup of satisfaction on the kitchen table and as I was depositing some bags next to my beloved DDP - one of them swept that beautiful drink off the table and upside down onto the chair. In slow motion, the cup tipped over on it's side emptying about 39 of the 44 ounces from one end of my kitchen floor to the other. I gasped, most likely in a dramatic fashion because upon hearing me - Gianna burst into tears (no nap) and cried for a good five minutes because she was so sad I would be so thirsty.

The time I thought I'd be spending having a relaxing moment - was then spent soaking the nectar of the gods onto big white towels, steaming my floors (for the 2nd time today) and putting on yet another load of laundry.

Yeah.....that's about right.   Welcome to my life in a nutshell. 

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And just for the record, this post isn't really about a measely soda.  It's really about how representative it is of how my life feels these days. I think it stung so much because of the symbolism.

There is a time to sow....

My sweet friend, Anita, came from Houston for a surprise visit and brought Gianna a little St. Patrick Day surprise:  a planting kit to grow your own flowers.  Yesterday, we took advantage of the beautiful weather and got to planting.

She was quite proud of her work.

(Should I mention that she completely flooded the soil the next day, while watering?  If these seeds sprout, it will surely be a miracle!)

Here we go again....

Back on the market!!!

 A year ago, Iain and I listed our home for sale.  We were full of promise and hope. 

My, how things have changed.

Exactly a year later, the house is back on the market. My feelings are much different this go 'round.

The experience last time was such a roller coaster. I'm praying for smoother sailing this time. I have really mixed feelings.  I want desperately to get back to LC and our support system, but Gianna and I both will be very sad to leave our home. We love it here. We became a family here and most of our family memories took place within the walls of this home.  There will be no memories with Iain in our next home. I know that will be terribly sad as well as a huge, definitive closure to the most significant chapter in  my life.  I also suspect that the next house will force us to move forward, both literally and figuratively speaking.  I have no idea what the next chapter holds. I'm taking baby steps.  I try not to let fear and anxiety take hold, but sometimes it does, 

Please pray for us and that God will provide us with a wonderful, perfectly timed, perfectly suited option in terms of our next living arrangements.

And for all those who will suggest the whole St. Joseph statue thing....thank you.  I have my grandmother's statue in my kitchen window. I listed the house on the Feast of St. Joseph to honor him and implore his aid. 
I'm hoping I get 'extra credit' for not burying him. :)

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And as a postscript - no sooner did I publish this post then my neighbor knocked on my door with a small St. Joseph in hand with the accompanying prayer card and instructions. Ha.

For those who are not Catholic or who are unfamiliar with this unconventional tradition, here's a little insight. 

The history behind the tradition to bury a statue of Saint Joseph is hundreds of years old (A.D. 1515 - 1582). It began in Europe with nuns (St. Teresa of Avila, I think) at a Cloister needed to expand their land, and after a prayer to St. Joseph they buried medals of him in the ground.
After a short time their prayers had been heard and they got more land. This old story has lived on until today but on the tradition has changed from burying medals to burying statues.

St. Joseph was the husband to Virgin Mary and the earthly father of Jesus of Nazareth.
We don't know a lot about Joseph, except that he was a skilled craftsman and a good father. He became a Saint for workers and it is very common to pray to him to get his help with house sales and many other things.
The reason he was made a Patron Saint is that he taught Jesus the craftsman's trade and made sure that Jesus always was well housed. That is the reason why he always helped people find a house they were looking for and in that way help the people who need to sell their homes.


Here's the novena prayer.  I'm begining it tomorow 3/28/12 for anyone who want to pray along.  (I'd be happy to add your intentions if you'd like to send them to me.)

O St. Joseph whose protection is so great, so strong,
so prompt before the Throne of God,
I place in you all my interests and desires.
O St. Joseph do assist me by your powerful intercession
and obtain for me from your Divine Son
all spiritual blessings through Jesus Christ, Our Lord;
so that having engaged here below your Heavenly power
I may offer my Thanksgiving and Homage
to the most Loving of Fathers.
O St. Joseph, I never weary contemplating you
and Jesus asleep in your arms.
I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart.
Press him in my name and kiss His fine Head for me,
and ask Him to return the Kiss when I draw my dying breath.
St. Joseph, Patron of departing souls,
pray for us.
Amen

Gone Fishin'

I have a dear friend that lives about 20 miles north of us - smack in the middle of the country.   She called last week and wondered if Gianna might like to go fishing in their poind. Well, that was an easy answer. YES! We planned for Sunday - which is wonderful since weekends are especially lonely for us.

My friend, C.C., is an agriculture and biology/science genius - as is her entire family.

And so it was - that this little un-country girl made her way to the country - with polka dots, bows, ruffles and all.

You can imagine her excitement when she was given her own pole.

 

They have about 42 acres and dug this beautiful, enormous pond themselves.

C.C. suggested they go dig for worms for bait.  She was reluctantly excited about the adventure.

 The worm was airborn within about 7 seconds.  (That's her momma's daugher, for sure.)

 The fish weren't biting, at first.

 She was as patient as any three year old.
"This is taking a long time. I don't like fishing."

 She thought Mr. Toby might have better luck.

 Mr. Toby thought we should move to another end of the pond.

 Boy, does HE have good instincts!  Those fish started nibbling right away.

 And lo and behold - someone caught her first fish!

A catfish, no less.

There was both squealing with excitement and squealing with disgust.

C.C. and Toby have two (very outdoorsy) boys.  They got quite a kick out of Madame Prissy-Fritz.

 The little fishergirl caught five fish in all. Impressive!

Zeke and Gino both helped releasing the fish.

(How cool are those names?)

The boys spotted a cottonmouth snake, so they kept an eye on it.

She called Toby 'Mr. Man' a couple of times when his name escaped her.  Then when she remembered, she called him 'Mr. Dopey'. Ha.

Then Mr. Toby had to clear out a drain in the pond.  Guess who voluteered to help?

There was a lot of pointing going on by Miss Bossypants.

 They asked if she wanted to ride the back of the truck toward the house.  Gianna quickly pointed out that a policeman would surely give them a ticket. 

 Gino and Jacob (the boys' friend) made her a seatbelt.

Check out the look of adoration in Gianna's face...

 I think the picture below has to be one of my favorites.

 I think this day held more excitement that she was prepared for. :)

 And then a quad-ride?  Yahoo!

The icing on the cake was the trampoline. Whew. 

What a day!  Thank you, C.C., Toby, Gino and Zeke.  We had a grand time.

And she was WHOOPED!!

Wands and Whimsy

One of my friends alerted me to a great little fundraiser this past Saturday, The Wands and Whimsy Character Breakfast at O'Charley's Restaurant - where princesses, super heroes and other familiar characters came in full costume to visit with the kids as they ate breakfast.

Gianna couldn't stop gasping and pointing and running to meet her 'friends.' Yeah...so much for eating breakfast. She was completely enamored by these precious ladies....and boy, did she grill them on their stories!  She stumped a few of them, too.

I didn't know if kids would be wearing their own princess dresses (I should've guessed they would!), so in an effort not to "overdo" it I put her in this little Fancy Nancy number that my sister-in-law sent for her. It was perfect.  (And Holly, I spotted some on Ebay, FYI. :)

She totally called out Spiderman as well as Peter Pan for being girls. :)

Gianna was confused by the purple outfit that Jasmine wore.  She kept calling her Aladdin.

Some of her favorites....

And then there was the classic Disney princess, Cinderella.

She was so sweet and knelt down with perfect princess grace to be closer to Gianna, and what does Gianna do?  She kneels down right in front of her, of course.  So precious.

 I just LOVE this pciture below...

A potpouri of princesses....

Ariel couldn't have been any cuter.  She was so sweet with Gianna and let her hold her 'dinglehopper.'

Gianna was a little curious about her feet under her costume.

Ariel cleverly distracted her by letting her wear her starfish in her hair.

(Anyone else find it ironic, or at least mildly amusing, that Ariel is standing underneath the "Seafood" sign?  Hahaha.)

And there was even story time with sweet Belle. 

I wondered why they didn't have other princesses read as well - until just now when I remembered from the story that Belle was obsessed with books and reading.  Hello!

How beautiful is Belle?

A rare, still moment.

 I love the picture below because Gianna was calling, "Mommy!" in a whisper to tell me the name of her new friend.  There are certainly looks that mom's always remember about their kids.  This is one of mine that I'll store away in my heart.

Even Emma came from a land far away.

Oh, and anyone who knows Gianna knows how she ADORES Snow White.  Let me just tell you, that this young lady was as close to Disney as we have gotten.  She had the high little voice.  Knew all the story and stats and she even sang just like Snow White.  Gianna was a complete groupie.

...and guess who managed to convince Snow White to accompany her to story time?

Snow White kept her doe-eyed look and sweet smile the entire time.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

And as MUCH as Gianna loves all the princesses - especially Snow White, there is one dark character that she has become obsessed with....the Evil Queen from Snow White.  And if you don't know her name, Gianna will quickly tell you it is Maleficent.

When she awoke Saturday morning, Gianna's first question was, "Will the mean queen be there?"

I seriously doubted it, but assured here there would be princesses.

But alas, I was wrong!  As I was visiting with a sweet couple - also adoptive parents, who actually knew me from my blog (go figure) Gianna tore off and ran across the restaurant.  I saw my friend there, so I knew I had a minute to visit before I had to run off.

And guess who she found? Apple and all!

Apparently, before I caught up with them, my friend noticed how awestruck G was and whispered her name to the queen. 

"Oh, Gianna - I've been waiting for you!"

I can only imagine what Gianna's face looked like.

How amazing is this woman?

And when Gianna asked where her Magic Mirror was, she didn't skip a beat. She trapsed across the restaurant with Gianna following her, where she dug underneath the table to find her bag.  Sure enough, she had a mirror - ready for a little stickler like Gianna.

 "Yeah, but it didn't really talk."

(the mirror)

Serious adoration...

And maybe there was a little mutual admiration going on.

Most beautiful!

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The girls and ladies of Chi Omega Sorority volunteered to raise money to benefit the St. Nicholas Center which was founded and run by a friend of mine. The Center provides therapeutic, educational, and social services to children with Autism, Developmental Delays, and Neurological Disorders in a fun and positive setting. Let me just say that is was well worth the $6 tickets. Gianna told me not long after we arrived, "Mommy, now we don't have to go to Disney World!"  Hmmmm.  That $6 ticket may have saved me quite a large chunk of change! :)   

Kudos Christy and gang!

What a wonderful event.

Next year, I'll blog a little reminder beforehand, so some of our local friends can join us.