Lord, That I May See

and I think she knew I would! Turtle smiling and pulling down her skirt and underwear to get her pull-ups on: "I have a nakey bonnin." (naked bottom!) Smiling wider: "I have a wittle nakey bonnin!" Smiling widest: "See, wook!"

It's guaranteed to pull at your heart when your little daughter brings you every single little fragment of shell that she finds close to her saying sweetly: "Pwetty shell, Mommy! 'Nother pwetty shell!" Her voice is filled with wonder. Every one is beautiful and special . I take them in my hands and look through her eyes at these tiny pieces of the loveliness in the world -- smoothed by sand and waves, softly golden and rose and cream. "Thank you, sweetheart, they are beautiful," I say, and I mean it. Every last bit.

We went through the stressful ordeal of packing and moving, and are now settling in -- slowly, but hopefully surely. :) We vacationed at the beach with my family for two weeks. Activities included: fun in the sun, family games, family rosaries, fishing, boogie boarding, seafood-eating, volleyball, basketball, X-box, foozball, pool, guitar music, shell collecting, kite flying, kayaking, ice cream eating, irish dancing, satelite viewings, Indiana Jones viewings, tapas night, etc, etc. -- hey, even a little family "drama, drama" as my husband says with rolling eyes :) We went to the zoo and saw tigers, "grillas", "eletint taking a baf", "turtules" and "panna mears"-- a big hit and a lovely day, marred only by the forgetting of the camera. We celebrated our third wedding anniversary -- with dinner and The Incredible Hulk (the former was a lovely treat and the latter, well, not so much for me :S . . . ) I turned 25. Tu...

Coming to our new house, we were greeted with magnolias. One day there is just a bud, the next a flower, fragrant white and beautifully smooth for one day, fading and falling to a golden tawny brown the next. I am so thankful to have this lovely welcome.

These wonderful best-you-ever-tasted raspberries will come and go without us. The daisies are coming soon -- my sister planted for us as a wedding present, along with purple petunias. The day lily that was a birthday present from a friend last year -- I haven't gotten to see it bloom. The wild roses that are everywhere now.

because we roast marshmellows for s'mores over our still-hot charcoal grill after dinner. Tonight was our last night.