To Heather

To my neice, Heather:

I have missed several of your last postings, but I want to comment on a couple of them, and since I firmly believe that everyone has a right to MY opinion, I'll do it here on my blog, instead of on yours.

First, I just want to tell you, again, what an amazing and beautiful human being you are. Damn, we're lucky to have you. I love you to pieces.

Second, I'm really glad that you and Jake are trying to have a baby. We need a little 'Heather' in the family. Trying to get pregnant is not always easy, that's for sure. I tried for a two years to get Lisa, and 3 years, (with a miscarriage in there), to get Andrea. Like Kate, I'd only have a period, (and therefore ovulate), about every 3 or 4 months. We KNOW the pain and frustration of 'trying'. I used clomed both times, but it was after I'd given up on that, that I got pregnant both times.

As for Pam, you are taking NOTHING from her that she has not given willingly. You are actually doing a huge service, for one who does not deserve it, by giving her child a wonderful Mother.

Now, that having been said, please, and this is a plea to the entire family, please don't ever tell Grace how her biological mother simply abandoned her. PLEASE just tell her that Pam simply couldn't care for her properly, and so she did what was right for Grace. There is no need for that kind of detail, and such info could seriously screw up a beautiful happy little girl, or young woman, depending on her age. It's just not necessary. You must, no,... WE must all form a new view of how Grace was lucky enough to end up with you as a Mother, and we need to play down the "why" of it - for her sake.
Right, wrong or otherwise, Pam was unable to give Grace the care she needed. That's all Grace should ever need to know. Anything beyond that is personal opinion.

Well, that's MY opinion anyway... any others?

I LOVE THIS PICTURE!

From the mouths of bunnies...

Hmmm, I can't think of anything nice to write about.
I have packing and moving to look forward to. Yuk.
The weather has been rainy and snowy. (Yes, it's snowed twice this week.) Yuk.

And a very wise little rabbit once said,

"If you can't say something nice,
don't say anything at all."

So I won't.

Ugh,... How depressing.

My daughter Lisa, and I went apartment shopping today. We did our research, made phone calls, set times to look, and headed out this morning feeling pretty optimistic. :o)


It's funny how, after reading the apartment complex ads online, and listening to the managers' descriptions on the phone, you pull up to the address expecting to see this.

But most of what you find is
< this and this.
V

By the end of the day, all these apartments we'd looked at looked exactly the same.
Boxy blocks of concrete and wood.

I think we've settled on this.
They are pretty cute. The units are all being remodled as they come empy and before they are rented out again. They will have one ready mid-April. I'm sure we'll get it. :o)

"I believe in Santa, and I hope I always will!" ~ Lala

Apparently, my 7 year old neice, Anna, has recently decided that the tooth fairy and the easter bunny are myths. My sister, Kate, says that now Anna is questioning the existance of Santa. Apparently, she's notice a similarity in Santas writing and in Kates.

Kate, you could tell here a whopper to keep here believing in the fat guy that hangs out with midgets and flys on deer. You simply tell her that Santa had gotten a finger caught in the Reindeer reins that night and he couldn't write, so he politely woke you up and asked if you could write it for him.


Or, you could tell her the truth like I did with Lisa and Andrea:

Andrea, so much like Anna, investigated undercover. There was no fooling that kid, so I HAD to tell her the truth.

I said, " Sweetheart, Santa is as real as you want him to be. Do you want him to be real?"

She said, "Yes, I wish he was, but I don't think he really is."

So I said, "Let me tell you something. I don't know about a big guy in a red suit, but Santa IS the spirit of Christmas. The spirit of the whole winter, really. Remember last winter, when those very first snowflakes of the season floated down so big and beautiful? And you got that big swelling feeling in your chest, it feels really happy and special. That's Santa.

That lump in your throat when you turn off the lights and see your Christmas tree all lit up and glowing bright. That's Santa.
That smile so big it makes your cheeks hurt, when someone opens a gift from you, and they just love it. Yep, Santa again!
You know how ordinary things just seem to be more special at Christmas time? All those things become more special because of the Spirit of Santa. If there were no Santa at all, those things wouldn't be all that special, they'd be rather ordinary, wouldn't they? So, there you have it. Santa is as real as Christmas, IF you chose to believe."

Andrea grinned and gave me a huge hug. "Thanks, Mom! I knew you help me find a way to keep believing in Santa."

It went pretty much the same with Lisa. And to this day, I think both girls are hesitant to admit that they don't believe in Santa,... you know,... just in case!

^ _ ^

We did include Andrea

We did include Andrea, and Heather too.
I was just making the observation that we never seem to think of Anna
as a part of these girls,... and yet she is.
We always think of her as one of the little kids.

(Aren't our girls cute and funny!!!)

Here's a little brain teaser for you....

Who is missing from this photo?

Logically speaking, who else should be present to complete this sequence?

Holy Shit! They're takin' over!

Pink! OK?!! They're pink!
You asked what color my petunias will be,
Well, they're pink, and they're takin' over my house!

My leg!!!
Give me back my leg, you little pink SOB!!!

Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!...
>being drug across the room by a pink petunia....<

Send help!!!

Send Round-Up!!!!

“We are sisters. We will always be sisters.Our differences may never go away, but neither will our song.” ~ Elizabeth Fishel

My sisters and I decided a while back, that the next time we were all three together, we were going to do something wild and crazy - and get our noses pierced!
Well, this weekend was it! We did it! And aren't we cute?
It wasn't about putting jewelry in our noses. It was about doing something together. And together saying, "Even tho we are very different flowers, we are all from the same garden."
And individually, perhaps we each wanted to say, "Maybe, just maybe,... there's more to me than you realize."

“Both within the family and without, our sisters hold up our mirrors: our images of who we are and of who we can dare to be.” ~ Elizabeth Fishel

Check it out!!!

My petunias are getting big! I had to raise the light hood one notch.
There are flower buds on most of the plants! Oh, boy!!!

This was last time - on February 23rd.

And before that,... on February 11th...

I love this picture!

Kate!
I LOVE this new picture of you that is on your blogsite!
OH-MY-GOSH!
Did you just put it up today???
Damn, isn't our baby sister cute!
You look like a combination of Sarah Jessica Parker and Bette Midler!
What a perfect picture for your blog!

I won't be doing that...

Ok, I guess I won't be climbing Mt. Hood this year. Do to the unstable footing in Lala Land right now, I don't need to be worring about raising money, or doing things to create additional stress. If I'm still in Portland next year, and on more stable ground, then I'll try climbing the mountain. I can only handle one slippery slope at a time. :o(
...humpff...

I can't wait to come visit!!!

I can't wait to come see everyone! I hope I even get to see Allie and Kole, and Gracie, when I'm there this weekend. Can we arrange a "get together" for everyone at some point? I miss my whole family.

I think we need to have a sleep-all-over at Mom's house! Damn I'm glad I'm going home for a visit! I need this right now! ^ _ ^

Love you all!
Lala