Flashback Friday: Spring Break Memories

Today officially begins Daniel's first Spring Break in college. And he's going to be spending it in Nashville. That's OK with him, I think, and he'll have other chances to spend his break at the beach.

In honor of Spring Break, I thought I'd do a little flashback to Spring Breaks gone by. Based on the dates of these pictures, we're both overdue for a Spring Break trip!

March 2006 - Washington, DC

March 2009 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL

March 2009 - Doug and Daniel getting ready to go fishing

March 2000 - Grandpa and Daniel sharing ice cream in Chattanooga

Milestone Moment

This sweet girl lost her first tooth this week! And from my unscientific evaluation--I used my finger to wiggle--a couple more will not be too far behind that one!

Her little sister asked their dad if he could pull some of her teeth, too. Grandma consoled her by telling her that when she is five, she'll probably lose a tooth, too.

Unless Little Sister ends up like their cousin, who didn't lose his first tooth until he was almost seven!

Oh, the drama!

Sister Saturday: Little Sister Edition

Little sisters sometimes (most times) give us fun stories to share. I've been getting lots from the littlest sister in our family lately, so I thought I'd share one.

Do you see that little bird on the shelf in my pantry? I bought a "three-pack" of birds last year at Hobby Lobby so I could use one on a wreath (wreath is still to be made or at least decorated in that way, but hey, it's almost Spring again). Mary Lane had seen the birds in my extra/craft room last year and asked if she could have one. Of course, I obliged and she took said bird to her house, and I guess it's still there somewhere.

A couple of weeks ago when Mary Lane and Erica spent the night at my house, Mary Lane brought up the bird again and also saw the last one still in my craft room. She asked if she could play with it and I, of course, obliged again (although I told her that she couldn't take that one home). She was fine with that and went on playing and then we probably got started making pancakes for breakfast.

Later that week, I was getting something out of the pantry from a higher shelf and happened to look down on the bottom shelf. I laughed out loud when I saw that bird in there! I was in a hurry, so I went on with what I was doing, but then a couple of days later had the same experience and laughed again (and that time took a picture). I'm leaving that bird in there so I can have an unexpected smile, courtesy of Little Sister.

Then one day last weekend, Mary Lane was at my house again and I remembered the bird in the pantry. I said to her, "Mary Lane! Guess what I found in my pantry? Do you know what it was?"
She thought a second and then grinned and said, "A bird!"

I sure love the Little Bird who left a little bird in my pantry!

Friday Favorites: Love stories

On this last day of February, it is my joy to share this favorite with you:  My parents' love story.

Fifty years ago today, on a snowy night in Bel Air, Maryland, DeLane and Nancy became husband and wife. Their story together began years before, as they had both attended seminary at the same time, but did not date each other (everyone just knew everyone on campus). After they both moved to the northeast and began working in the Baptist Convention (Nancy in Maryland and DeLane on Long Island, NY), mutual friends did some match-making and they started a long-distance courtship which led to their engagement on December 1, 1963. I wrote more about their story in a tribute to them a couple of years ago and you can read it here.

My parents celebrated 47 years together on earth before my dad passed away in 2011. Their marriage was such an example to our family and to others, that it seems entirely appropriate to celebrate their milestone anniversary of 50 years, even though it won't be a huge party with invited guests.

My sister and I are so thankful for our parents and the love they shared and we miss our dad, as we know that Mom misses her husband. Today we're planning a "girls' night out," starting with pedicures and then treating Mom to dinner. It is a blessing to have this legacy of love and committed marriage in our family!

A glimpse at humanity

I wish I had a picture of what I'm about to describe, but words will have to suffice.

I had to stop at Kroger on my way home from work, and as I was walking through the parking lot, I overheard two people who were legally parked in the handicapped parking spaces talking about a vehicle that was parked in the large space in-between their cars (which was not a legal space). In addition, the driver had left two dogs inside the SUV.

Understandably, the drivers of the other cars were upset, especially the guy on the right of the car in the middle, because it was parked pretty close to his driver's side door. As I passed by, one man was verbally taking down the license plate of the illegally-parked car.

I went on into the store and while I started my shopping I heard an announcement over the loud speaker asking for someone with such-and-such license plate to come to the customer service desk. I figured that would be the end of that and continued my shopping.

After I had finished in the store, I walked out to the parking lot and saw that two of the cars were gone, but the one in the middle was still there AND there were three overturned grocery carts blocking the car from pulling out of the not-really-a space.

About that time, I noticed a woman alongside me pushing a cart pretty slowly and it became apparent that her car was the one that was blocked in (with her dogs in the car). I didn't know what to do, since I had my arms full of grocery bags, but I hurried and placed the bags in the car and decided to go back to help her move the carts.

By the time I got back to her, she had moved the carts . . . into one of the handicapped parking spaces! I started moving toward the carts and she smiled at me while she was backing out of her spot. I tried to tell her that nobody would be able to park there (not to mention how hard it could be for people in wheelchairs or otherwise disabled to have to move those carts), but she didn't have a clue!

I determined to take the grocery carts back where they belonged and then went on my way, shaking my head at this "fine" glimpse of humanity that I had witnessed from all three people involved.

It was a clear case of two wrongs don't make a right!

Sister Saturday: Sleepover Edition

Last night, to give their parents a Valentine's date night, Erica and Mary Lane came to spend the night at my house. They had done a lot of Valentine celebrating throughout the day, so we had a low-key dinner with Grandma (pizza, salad and brownies) and played Sequence (or as Mary Lane calls it, "Animal Match Game"). After Grandma left, the girls got into their pj's and watched a video on Netflix before bedding down for the night.

The sleeping arrangements were a little source of contention, since one sister didn't want to sleep in the bed with the other and the other sister was afraid to sleep in Daniel's room because of a "scary picture" (which turned out to be a Nashville Predators banner). I got Erica down on a sleeping bag on the floor of Daniel's room and then Mary Lane had a piece of the floor in my room.

One funny Mary Lane-ism was that when we were making all these sleeping arrangements, Mary Lane got up on my bed and said she wanted to sleep on the "icing," which was my white down comforter folded at the foot of the bed. She lay down on it like that was going to work just fine, not being worried that she could easily roll off the end of the bed with one turn!

Since they were so tired from the festivities of the day, they were both asleep around 8:00pm, and we all slept pretty well all night (with the exception of Mary Lane telling me at 1:00am that she wasn't sleepy anymore). At 6:00am, Mary Lane was finished sleeping for real and got to climb up in my bed and rest/snuggle until Erica woke up around 7:00. Knowing that they would be hungry pretty quickly, we got started making pancakes.

I decided to make it even more special by offering to put food coloring in the batter, but of course, we needed to make several colors. Erica wanted blue, while Mary Lane chose pink and then purple. We also made some orange pancakes in honor of Daniel at UT! The girls had fun stirring and watching the pancakes cook before eating them enthusiastically!

I knew that Jeanette and Russell were coming at 9:00am, so I had the girls get dressed and they let me "fix" their hair (as best as the mom of a son can do). Netflix was then the activity of choice, although Mary Lane had some other ideas to play as well.

It was a fun time and we will do it again soon!

Friday Favorites: Valentine's Day

I have said it before on this blog, but I really love Valentine's Day! I realize how much the greeting card and candy companies (among many others) capitalize on the romance aspect of the holiday, but my reasons for loving February 14 go deeper than sappy sentiment.

So here are my Top Ten Reasons Why I Love Valentine's Day:

10. I got engaged on Valentine's Day back in 1991.

9. I am a February Baby, so naturally, I love things that happen this month.

8. I love to make and send personal cards and notes to my family and friends.

7. I love the colors that are associated with Valentine's Day:  Red and Pink

6. I love candy. And I like that candy is 50-75% off the day after Valentine's Day!

5. I think it's fun to buy/make/eat heart-shaped pizza and other foods.

Tonight's dinner, ready to go in the oven!

4. It warms my heart to hear about the ways that others share their love on this day. From special doughnut breakfasts to singing telegrams, those stories always make me smile.

3. I love getting to spend time with my nieces on Valentine's Day while their parents go on a date. Tonight we're having a Valentine's Sleep-over at Aunt Nette's (heart-shaped pizza is on the menu)!

2. The first time I felt my baby flutter inside me happened on Valentine's Day.

1. My parents, especially my dad, gave me such a great example of saying "I love you" all year long, and he always made sure that Valentine's Day was special in our house.

This morning, Mom and I were remembering how thoughtful Dad was to his girls on Valentine's Day. There was always a little treat and handmade card waiting for us at our breakfast plate. She commented that he usually stayed up late to make our cards after we'd been to bed (including herself). I smile when I think of those little cut-out hearts with simple words of love written on them. It didn't take an elaborate gift for me to grow up knowing that I was loved and cherished by my dad and mom.

This morning in the devotional book, Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young, one of the verses to read was Isaiah 41:13:

"For I, the Lord your God,
    hold your right hand;
it is I who say to you, 'Fear not,
    I am the one who helps you.'"

It was a sweet reminder that even though I could be bitter about some things in my life on Valentine's Day, God has always been holding my hand and shows me that His love is greater and deeper than anything this earth has to offer!