Maybelline and Morgan

When Bailey was 4 years old, she asked me why all of her dolls were "white babies". I had never thought about it before, but they were all "white babies".

That very day, we went to Toys R Us to find an Asian baby. They didn't' have any Asian baby dolls, but they did have a little Asian "Kelly" doll. She named her "Little Bailey". The next Christmas, Santa was able to find a beautiful little Asian baby doll. She named her "Baby Bailey".

My Bailey's newest love is "Faith and Friend" dolls. My mom and dad gave her the Asian doll for Christmas, along with a complete wardrobe. It was Bailey's favorite gift. It even overshadowed her Santa gifts. She named her Maybelline and has played with her endlessly.

So, for her birthday, she asked for another "Faith and Friends" doll. She wanted Maybelline to have a friend. I took her shopping and let her pick which one she wanted. She chose a brown haired doll in a yellow dress. She wasn't the cutest of the "Faith and Friends" dolls and her clothes were a little plain, but that's the doll she wanted. She named her Morgan and has slept with her every night since her birthday.

A couple of days ago, Bailey and I were sitting in the floor of her room, having a tea party with Maybelline and Morgan. We visited about dolls, cookies, puppies and all of the things that are important in her little world. I thought this might be a good time to ask about Morgan.

"Bailey, tell me why you picked Morgan. Did you like her clothes the best? Or her shoes?"

"No. I liked her hair."

"Because it is cut kind of like yours?"

"No."

"Because it has yellow ribbons?"

"No, mommy. I like it because it's brown. I wanted a doll that looks like you."

Oh, my sweet Bailey . . . . .

Donny

I'm almost embarrassed to say that my first crush was Gilligan. Not the professor, but strange, silly Gilligan. I'm not even sure "crush" is the right word. I wasn't gooey in the knees about him, I just thought he was cute and funny. I've always loved men who could make me laugh.

My first real, gooey in the knees, butterflies in the tummy kind of crush was.... (imagine "One Bad Apple" underscoring here)..... Donny. I thought he was dreamy. My tummy would tickle every time I heard "Puppy Love" and to this day I am convinced "Go Away Little Girl" was written just for me (he was 16 years old and had already recorded 2 albums when I was born). My sister had his poster on her door and I would drool over his purple socks.

Later, as my taste matured, I fell head over heels for Bo Duke and Magnum P I, but my first love will always be (...sigh...) Donny.

So recently, after Donny won the coveted Mirror Ball Trophy, I confessed to my family that I used to stand in the hallway and kiss a tiny, little spot on the wall that I pretended was Donny.

This year, my sweet Daddy gave me the most wonderful Christmas gift ever. He went to a lot of trouble to get it and he was one of the first people in Amarillo to buy it on it's release date. It was (drum roll) the Donny Osmond Definitive Collection Cd! Can you believe it?!?!

I was so surprised! I squealed with delight and for just a moment, it was 1979 again and I was standing in the hallway staring at my sister's door and kissing the wall.

Thank you Daddy! You are the best dad EVER!

Asthma

My poor Zacky is so tired. He coughs non-stop and has almost lost his voice. He feels "good" and wants to play, but I am afraid to let him go out side. It has been a hard, frustrating week.

This "asthma stuff" is all brand new to us. What can he do? What should he avoid? How much longer will he need to use a nebulizer? What do we do if he passes out again? What do we do when he starts wheezing? Can he still play basketball? How many more medications are we going to have to try? How many more doctors will we have to see? . . . .so many questions and so little answers.

There have been lots of tears this week - his and mine. There have been lots of doctor's bills to pay and lots of prescriptions to fill. There have been lots of sleepless nights and lots of prayers.

If I could sum up this week in one word it would be "fear" and I am so tired of being afraid.

Do Do

Zacky has an imaginary friend named "Do Do".

Yup. Do Do.

Not dodo, like a dodo bird.

Do Do, like, well, you know.

Do Do makes our life very interesting. Like today. I went into Zack's room and opened his closet to get his clothes out for the day. Zack was sitting in his floor playing with legos and he SCREAMED "Noooo! Close the door! Close the door! Do Do is in there! You're going to let him out! I put him in there because he was being mean."

Do Do eats lunch with us every day. He usually has the same thing Zacky is having.

He also rides in the car with us everywhere we go. I have to remind Zack to leave Do Do in the car when we go to church, out to eat, or to the nursing home to visit my grandmother. People can be so judgmental about imaginary friends named "Do Do."

I have to be careful where I sit, because I don't want to sit on Do Do. I've done that before and it was very annoying.

Zack had a race with Do Do one day. I asked him who won and he said " I don't know. I can't see him."

I'm learning to love Do Do. He has a way of making me laugh.

My Seach for Balance

I am up to my neck in post-it notes, lists, calendars, schedules . . . .

The kids have an outside activity to attend 4 days a week. When basketball starts in a couple of weeks, we'll add a practice and game every week. Oh, and extra ballet rehearsals start in two weeks and run through November. On top of all that is church stuff, issues with my grandmother, and Kris working 2 jobs. It is out of control.

I have to look at our calendar every night to remind myself what we're doing the next day.

With Bailey needing a structured routine, I am wondering if all of this craziness is what has put her on edge. She's had a rough few weeks. I keep reminding myself (and Kris) that she can't live in a cave. She needs to stretch herself a little. She is most happy at home, in her room, by herself. But she can't stay in there forever.

I'm trying to find balance. It has to exist out there somewhere.

Second Honeymoon

I have, once again, been on a huge purging / re-decorating frenzy. I've cleaned out some closets, again. (I do this every few weeks. It's cheap therapy.) Re-arranged furniture, hung some window treatments . . . .

Then, my mom found this great sale just in time for my re-doing craziness. She bought 2 wire baskets, a clock, a bathroom set, some wall shelves, 20 wash cloths and 8 framed prints . . . all 90% OFF!!!!! I was doing a happy dance!

So, I was able to "fix" my kitchen color scheme, cutsy up my scrap space, and add a new "something" to almost every room of the house.

I think we're on a second honeymoon, my house and I. It's a happy day.


Our bedroom



Kitchen window



My scrapbooking Nook

Hillside Canyon Before and After

It's been 5 weeks since launch Sunday and we are having so much fun at Hillside Canyon. We leave the house at 6:45 every Sunday morning and get home around 1:30. We unpack, set up, have 2 services, take is all down, and pack it all up again. It's a lot of work, but worth every minute. These are just a few pictures of Exteme Kids. During the week this room is Canyon High School's choir room, but on the week ends it is an awesome children's environment. These pictures are pretty fun, but it's even better when the lights are on, the music is blaring, and the room is full of kids worshiping our amazing God. We just can't wait until next week!