I Know My Redeemer Lives!

...and He loves me!

and...He loves you!

There's a song I sang in church growing up in South Carolina and the refrain went: "Look to Jesus, look to Jesus, look to Jesus now and live!"

Hebrews 12:2 reads..."Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."

 King James Version (KJV)

What was His joy? Eternal relationship with us was His joy. You are His joy! I am His joy! We are His joy!

The Amplified Bible (AMP) puts it this way..."Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection]. He, for the joy [of obtaining the prize] that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God.^(A") 

How amazing to be the joy of Jesus.  Look to Jesus now and live!

I know my Redeemer lives!!  How awesome.

Happy Resurrection Day!

Much Love! So Much Love!

A Neighborly Nicety

Look at these adorable bunny cookies! Such a sweet surprise from our good neighbors to the south (Johngideon's fun-tastic block buddies) Connor and Carson (with their nice Grandma Evelyn's help).

They're actually made from a stiff pound cake recipe...delicious!!

Needless to say, they didn't make it very long in our house.
(By the way, no we did not adopt a child...the other little girl in the photo is Montgomery's school ace Isabella, who was spending the day with Gommy.)

Take Care. Much Love.

Say it ain't so!

Be still my heart!

Attended the Seniors Mother/Son Breakfast this morning at Job's school.

S-s-sssnniiiffff!!

Had a nice time, got the graduation invites, learned the ceremony details, admired the sentimental mementos and customized M&M's, got prom info, gave donation checks, [wo]manned the dessert table at the sports day cook-out, took lots of photos and a bit of video, smiled and chatted with other moms, ate a burger and some cookies, smiled and chatted with teachers, took more photos, fielded crazy phone calls from the other kids home for Spring Break, smiled and chatted with Job...and wondered where all those years went...

...so quickly.

Take your time moms...enjoy the ride...try, try, oh try to stroll...one day you'll look up and realize it's only 44 days 'till your "baby" graduates from high school.

Much love. Take care.

Knocked Out

This is how over-scheduled teenagers look when a car ride takes a little longer than normal.

We've been seeing a lot of this lately as we make the college visiting rounds one more time to help Job finalize his decision. I think its pretty much finalized now...more on that later.

But these two -- so interesting! so wonderful! so interested in life! -- wouldn't have it any other way...the over-scheduled part I mean. I'm trying to work on simplifying the overall household schedule, but I'm finding that simplifying is a complex process.

Much love. Take care.

  

Montgomery's New Hairdo

Montgomery was in need of a new hair-do...one that didn't require a daily fix from me (agonizing for both of us!)...and preferably for her, a "downer" style. "Downer" to Gommy means needing no elastics or barrettes and, most importantly, swish-able and shake-able.

For a bit of a back story, most of the little girls in Gommy's pre-K class are Asian and wear their hair "down" and very long. This was also the case at Gommy's pre-school last year; the little girls in her class were of European, Asian or East Indian backgrounds and also usually wore their hair "down" in various lengths. So, although big sis' Maia and I have praised and praised Gommy's afro puffs, braids, and other more traditionally African-American styles, Gommy has always asked for "downer" styles. (It probably doesn't help that Mommy is ethnically blendy, with ethnically blendy hair...usually worn in "downer" styles.)

What's a mother determined to instill "I am beautiful me!" into her daughter supposed to do?

Resist!

Ok,ok...so I know that's not the best plan...but we have made a conscious choice to live in a diverse community and have our children attend diverse schools, and we firmly assert and teach that every creation of God is beautiful and perfect as He intended. We remind our children of God's love for beautiful variety, and how we can see that in the many beautiful and different flowers and the many beautiful and different people He has created. AND...we make sure not to buy any Disney princess anything that doesn't included Tiana! We have also made sure that Gommy's dolls represent the United Nations and then some, in all skin tones...even adding our own home-made blue-haired and pink-haired dolls! (I'll post photos of them soon...soooo cute!)

Yet and still, maybe it's the constant barrage of hair and cosmetic commercials, advertisements and billboards everywhere around us in the city, but this little girl still wanted her "downer" hairstyle!

Insert Maia to the rescue! Ever since Maia chose to "go natural" and cut off her processed (perm-straightened) hair in favor of her natural hair texture, she has been researching and exploring healthier hair care and interesting styles that complement her hair texture. Recently she showed me an instructional video on the Internet for double-strand twists that lay close to the scalp in rows similar to cornrows for braids. I watched, learned, and styled Maia's hair in these twists and she loved it. And then we both thought hmmm, this might be the long-sought answer for Montgomery...a "downer" style that celebrates her beautiful natural texture and coilability (my new word).

So, after sitting tearfully through the styling (a more tender-headed child you've never met), Gommy finally emerged with a "downer" style that was Mommy-ethnic-pride-approved and Gommy-swish-able-and-shake-able-approved. And she looks just beautiful...but then again, she always has.

Here are a few close-ups...

Isn't she just beautiful!

I think this will be her style for quite awhile...especially since she recently fell in love with headbands!

Take Care. Much Love.

(I call this expression..."Really, Mom, more pictures?")

 

Penny Power

Johngideon discovered a new fun activity recently...counting and stacking coins, well pennies to be exact. Craig and I are very encouraging of this new found interest for him, as Craig is an intentional end-of-the-day pocket dumper and we usually have jars of change in several spots throughout the house. However, we're not frequent coin rollers and only tend to get around to it a couple of times a year.

As Josiah was preparing to make an errand for a promised all time favorite meatball marinara sub, I realized I didn't have any cash in the house to give him, and I didn't at all feel like running to a bank. Then I thought... aha, the change! So I quickly rolled up some quarters and off he went! However, change rolling, I've come to find, is rather addictive, and I found myself in the study for nearly an hour, stacking and rolling coins of all denominations.

Maia joined me for awhile, as did Josiah prior to his errand. But, the one that really found the activity irresistible was Johngideon, and after we'd ploughed through all of the "silvery" coins he went on for hours counting and stacking the seemingly endless quantities of pennies. I made him stop at some point to eat, and then he was right back at it. I'll tell you, that kid is a penny-stacking virtuoso! When he moved from floor stacking to table stacking, I knew we were nearing the end, which was a good thing because he didn't seem able to stop himself until all of the pennies ended up in neat stacks  and rows.

He was very proud of his effort, as were we! Such diligence and perseverance!

It took Craig and I a few days before we got the gumption to get all of those wonderful stacks and rows in to rollers, but they eventually all made it (mostly because we needed the table space in the study...and, because the stacks became too tempting for Montgomery's destructo nature to resist!).

Now we know who to call for help when the coins start overflowing their containers...Johngideon to the rescue!!

Take care. Much love.

Swinging Her Arms Again

Look who's swinging her arms again! After being on crutches and putting no weight on her right foot since January 17 (that's three whole months...one fourth of the year!) Maia has finally been given the green light this week by her orthopedist to simply "boot it" without the sticks! (That's finally walk without the crutches, but with only her supporting boot, for those of you who might process my slang a little slower.) :o)

She couldn't be more excited...but I must say she was rather unsteady on her feet for awhile as she began using some muscles that hadn't had any real exercise in all that time. Nevertheless it only took her a few hours to get the rhythm of walking again, and she feels quite free.

She has been a most diligent patient, following the doctor's instructions to a T, from regular usage of the bone stimulator machine, to downing the calcium tablets and drinking the chamomile tea, to never (and I do mean never) putting any weight on that foot. Still she was a bit hesitant to hear the doctor's opinion on her latest CT Scans, because she knew that bone in her foot was not fully healed, but she was hoping it was far enough along to get "promoted" to the next step.

So were we, her fellow household companions, who have been doing her chores and functioning as gophers for her during her long convalescence. We are all feeling free, let me tell you! For Maia, however, a main goal was to get fully on her own two feet and into some kind of heels by prom in late May...and according to the doctor, it looks like she'll make that target. Yeah Maia! We celebrate with you! Way to hang in there!

Much Love. Take Care.

A Fun and Unusual School-Nite Dinner

Tonight we stopped by Mama Cucina's, a neighborhood Italian restaurant, for Johngideon's school's fundraising night in support of the second grade. The restaurant donates a percentage of their Tuesday night earnings to the school, so the school rallies to get as many families there as possible. We have never attended a Mama Cucina's night before, and weren't quite sure what to expect.

Johngideon had a blast! When he walked in he was thrilled to see his awesome teacher, Ms. Rice, at a nearby booth and soooooo many kids from his class with their families. It was like a party atmosphere with the kids visiting from table to table...it kinda felt like dinner with a huge Italian family. The few other patrons there not from the school were either delighted by the energy, vibe and excitement, or were bewilderingly looking around at the gaggly ruckus of young people, not sure what was going on. The food took a loooooong time to get to the table, but nobody minded and it was really good when we got it. It was a fun, unusual way to dine on a rainyish school night.

Much Love. Take Care.

Learning How to Fry Chicken

Job wanted to learn to fry chicken.

So Craig taught him...

...outside on the back deck...

Mmmm....yummy!

Take Care. Much Love.

(By the way...all photos compliments of Josiah...Go Josie!)

An Evening of Shakespeare

Maia transferred to the Theatre Department at her school just in time to be assigned a role and an opportunity to prepare for the annual Junior Acting Ensemble Shakespeare Scenes. She was so new to the department, she wasn't sure she would get an assignment, but she did (by the way, I love those BSA educators!), and a neat one at that (at least by my "I'm not really a fan of Shakespeare in general" barometer)...she portrays Portia in a scene from Merchant of Venice...one of Shakespeare's most wonderful female characters.

While the actual Shakespeare Scenes productions are not until May, the acting students get the opportunity to "practice" their scenes at a delightful local cabaret in Little Italy: Germano's. This Italian restaurant is awesome (you have to try it when you are next in Baltimore), and the owners Germano and his wife Syl are gracious, very involved hosts who love to support the arts. Their two daughters both attended the Baltimore School for the Arts, and they have lovingly provided a venue for so many art students to perform at their Cabaret. The Cabaret is held in an upstairs dining room with warm, cozy ambiance, excellent wait service, and I'll repeat again...fantastic Italian food! The last time I attended Germano's Cabaret (with Maia), they had a number of cast members from the Broadway musical "In The Heights" singing whatever they wanted to sing for us with a local accompanist; the cast was in town for a run of the musical at our Hippodrome Theatre and Craig, Maia, Job and I had seen the show days before. The Germano's atmosphere made the cabaret evening a joy for both the artists and audience and we all just had an awesome time!

So, Shakespeare Scenes (in practice) was no different in delightfulness...only better because my Maia was performing. She was so nervous beforehand because it was her first time performing as an actor with the School for the Arts, and she didn't feel ready yet to do the scene. Can I just say that is Maia's normal process...and then she absolutely blows the performance away! We've experienced this with her in dance as well, so we've come to know that when she says she doesn't feel ready, it really means she is more than prepared by normal standards but hasn't yet reached her super high perfectionist standards.

I wasn't able to take photos during the performance for obvious reasons, but caught Maia and other members of the ensemble just before the show in an adjoining "green" room...

 and then afterwards when they emerged again for their bows with their awesome instructor Donald Hicken (far left)...

This is just an awesome group of incredibly talented kids! And they are wonderful people as well, which is much more important. Maia was absolutely excellent! (Of course I am biased -- no apologies here-- and thought she was the best of the bunch! -- sorry, Maia, I know you'd rather I not said that....but Mommas are allowed some liberties -- and I've pretty much thought you were the best of the bunch everywhere you've been since the hospital nursery!).

Craig was unable to attend (he was out-of-town and so disappointed), but Auntie JoJo and Adrian joined me and Gommy and we had such a nice evening. Gommy loved her "buttered noodles" which are just about the only thing she'll eat for dinner these days (thanks for the accommodation, Germano's), and we grown folk thoroughly enjoyed our delicious entrees as well. And, yes, taking a 4-year-old to an evening cabaret of Shakespeare is not my greatest idea of fun (however we did enjoy the "intermission" stroll outside in the night air and meeting the "cute little white puppy in the pink dress"), but that was just how the evening was stacked up for our family. All in all she did pretty well, until the very end, and that was alright by me (note the back of her in her photo...she wasn't in a picture-taking mood...but sure was silly!).

I hope to have many more evenings of Germano's, and sooooooo many more opportunities to just enjoy Maia thriving and enjoying using her God-given talents. It was a wonderful evening.

(Not sure what was going on with the date on this ticket...Hmmmm....well, what's a few months in an entire lifetime...right?  right?)

Take Care. Much Love.

On a Train

Pre-Kindergarten is fun!

So many new things to do!

Take Care. Much Love.   

Homophones...Such Funny Funnies

One night Josiah asked for help with a language arts school assignment ...homophones.

Once he explained what they were, and gave a few samples to get the mind juices moving, we just went to town homophoning...and I mean for hours...while I cooked dinner...while he did his math homework...while I got the littles ready for bed (and I must confess...for days afterwards!). We laughed uproariously and quite uncontrollably as we racked our brains thinking of more and more and more. We tried them out on all household members...they came from all corners of the house wanting to know just what was sooooo funny. Then they either joined in, also laughing hysterically, or walked away shaking their heads at just how ridiculously silly we were getting!

Maybe its just us -- no, maybe its just me (because I have always loved words so much...voracious childhood reader...journalism major in college here), but they tickle us so. I'm grinning just thinking about them right now. Earlier today I was laughing out loud in my car as I remember several of them.

So, just what are homophones? Here are a few...(by the way...feel free to share any you come up with as well). They absolutely delight me and Josiah! Matter of fact, if you try these out in your house or on your friends, they are guaranteed to be contagious......well, maybe at least to one other person...and of course, that would be the one with the best sense of humor!  ;o)

Here we go...

1)  What do you call a naked forest animal?

2)  What do you call a man who exchanges basements for money?

3)  What to you call an untrustworthy feline?

4) What does a vegetarian do when she's fallen off the wagon?

Another giggly (and blurrrryyy) photo to keep the answers at bay for a moment...

Answers:

1)  A bare bear!

2) A cellar seller!

3) A lyin' lion!

4) Meet meat!

Hahahahahahahahahhaha...hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha...whoooo hooooooo (catching my breath) hahahahahahahahahahaha...hahahahahahahahahahahaha!

I just love homophones...but not as much as I love Josiah! Thanks for the laughs Josie!

Much Love. Take Care.

Art Class and Impressionistic Flowers

Johngideon learned about "cool" and "warm" colors at his latest art class,

and took a look at the style of Claude Monet and impressionistic flowers.

Gommy thought he'd done a great job with his paintings.

My delight goes without saying.

(Art class is winding down...rats!)

Take Care. Much Love.