He is clearly seen.

Yesterday was Mak’s volleyball tourny.  There is something really special about her team.  They encourage one another, even when a point is missed.  They smile at each other.  They genuinely like one another.  And that’s really saying something for 6th grade girls.  I know.  I was one once.  Girls in 6th grade can be clicky & rude & well, not enjoyable to be around.  Not so with this group.

They came in first place and were over the moon happy.  And they should be.  As a mama, I was happy but not as happy as I was when Mak explained to me what she was feeling.  As we walked out of the school she said something like this:  ”Oh, mama, we won first place!  I’m so excited.  But you know what?  It was God, mom.  I’m sure of it.  We could not have won without Him.  I was praying the whole time while we played those really tall girls.”  The played some very tall girls for the first place title

These girls of mine teach me so much.  Of course, you wouldn’t have won if He hadn’t willed it.  Of course.  Why didn’t I think of that?  And then she said this:  ”It was like David and Goliath, mama!  God was with us!”  I was in awe.  I love, love, love when she translates biblical lessons to real life.

I took a big chance trying to get a photo of her face when they won that match.  The trick was to focus on her face and try to get everything else to blur.  I was thrilled with the shot I got.

All the girls:

Took them out for a shoot today.  Had so much fun:

They spied a toy store in town and begged asked to waltz through when we were done.  Picked them up each a little something.  And then came the hard part.  We had to go to the grocery afterward.  Lulu whined and complained the entire way through the store.  I took the beloved toy away (yes the one I purchased just moments before at the toy store).  I told her she was not going to be able to play with that toy at all today because of the whining.  And the moment the tears began over that consequence, I said “If you keep it up, you will not play with that toy for three days.”  The tears stopped.

Later, while we were sitting at dinner we were all talking.  And Mak made a good point about something and I said “touché”.  

Liv said, “what does touché mean?”

I explained that it means, that the other person made a good point.

And then Liv said:  ”Mama, earlier when we were at the store and you gave me my consequence - touché!”

We all got a good laugh out of that.  It was a sweet day with my girls.

A photo of the toy store. When I was done playing with it, I thought that it might a fun Christmas card!

Just one more that I got of Liv today.  It looks like I took it inside with a backdrop, doesn’t it?  I actually took it outside against a cool wall we found.

Lulu began yelling “it came, it finally came, my book is here!!”
She was so excited and it brought me such joy. You see, for some time now Lu has admired a book that Mak had when she was little. The book is called Disney Princesses and You and it’s a fill in the blank….and draw pictures book. I finally grabbed the book last week and got online to order one for Lu. However, it is not in print any longer. That baffles me because it’s such a cool book for little girls. I found a used bookseller that had one in stock and I ordered it. I was a bit concerned because it was “used” and that can be a bad thing for a fill in the blank type book. We were overjoyed when we received it today in wonderful condition – not even one mark inside the book.

We hurried to begin filling it out. One of the pages now reads like this:
“My eyes are blue and my hair is the same color as Aurora. The princess I am most like is Belle because she always talks like me and sometimes she wears the same dresses as me and she has the same manners as me.”

I forgot how much I love this little book.  I’m so disappointed that it isn’t available to give little princesses as birthday gifts.  It’s a good one!

I took some photos of a dear friend’s son pitching this weekend.  This is one I think I might have printed for myself – because I love baseball so much.

There is something quite spectacular about the way children love.  Quite honestly, it takes my breath away, warms me to the core of my soul and makes me giddy.  It’s interesting because the way my husband loves me does all of those things too.  So, today I began thinking about what is so different about the way a child loves.

Their love is pure.  But then, I thought, so is Dave’s love for me and mine for him.  Well, I pondered, my girls know I’ll love them forever.  Yep, Dave knows that too.  So what is different about the way they love?Why can my girls can stop me in my tracks?  I really can’t come up with a difference between the way they love me and the way Dave loves me.  I’m very loved.  Undeservedly so, but very loved nevertheless.  I decided today that they are just smaller.  And their love is so big.

A few nights ago I went to bed and found a note from Livy.  She happened to be standing right next to me when I found it, so I said “what does this note say?”  Because, while her note was spectacular, the letters don’t always form the words she wants them to – yet.

She said:  ”You are like an ocean flowing over the clouds!”

Wow.  To me that really says, “Mama, I love you very, very much.”

I’ve been sick since yesterday.  And today was a big Cubs game – one that Dave took the girls to.  I had to stay home because of the alternating sweating & chills.  So, this morning after Mak’s volleyball game, I told them that I just wasn’t feeling good and so I was going to stay home while they all went without me.  Mak began immediately crying.  She’s 11 years old.  This caught me off guard.

“I just don’t want to go without you.  I just like being around you,” she said.  Again, the words weren’t officially ‘I love you’ but the words meant that she loves me very much.  The crying continued all the way home.  And her hug was extra long before they left.  

On the heels of Mak’s crying, Liv said, “Mama can you be excited and sad at the same time?”

“Yes, Liv, I think so.  It’s probably hard but it’s possible,” I told her.

“That’s what I thought because I’m excited to go to the ball game but I’m sad that you aren’t going with.”

Their love is spectacular.  Each of us that is loved by a child has some of that astonishing love lavished on us from time to time.  And revel in it is what we should do.  Constantly.

Mak’s team lost two (Ls) and won (W) one today.  Here are some shots from the game:

Lulu watches big sister play:

The big Cubbie win today was sweet.  I feel good about this year – it’s just different.  My house tonight:

Mak had a tummy ache when she got home from the game.  A list of food eaten today at Wrigley: pizza, french fries, cotton candy (pink and blue), lemonade, popcorn, soft pretzel with cheese and Double Chocolate Chip Frappucino.  Now, why I ask you, why would she have a tummy ache?

One more of my lovely 6th grader from the other day:

It’s confession time.  And I don’t like it one bit.

After supper tonight, Lu began yelling from the playroom.  She was yelling at the top of her lungs:  ”Mama, will you play school with me?”

Exhausted, I yell back, “Liv, can you play school with Kit & Samantha tonight?”

“MAAAAMAAAA, PLEASEEEE”, she yells back.

“Liv, play for a bit by yourself.  I’m tired.  I’m going to relax for fifteen minutes and then I’ll come up.”

Ten minutes later, she comes down the stairs.  Here’s the confession.  I wasn’t relaxing.  I was busy doing something else.  And it wasn’t playing house in the playroom with my precious little girl.

Coming down the stairs I notice that she has the funkiest costume adorning her head & body.  The photographer in me (certainly not the *exhausted* mama) jumped up and said, “Oh, Lu you look so cute.  Let me get a photo of your outfit.”

We went outside, I took some photos & on the way back in the house she says, “mama, you weren’t too tired to take a picture, come up and play school with me.”

Busted.  Busted.  Busted.

Now, I’ve got to show you the funky outfit.  And then I’m off to play school – before I am handcuffed and put in Lulu jail.

We’ve got a monkey among us.  Our monkey cannot sit still.  Our monkey does like bananas.  And she’s really, really cute.  However, she was a bit frightened swinging through the trees:

She was right to be frightened – she fell right after that shot:

Our monkey sticks her tongue out as she flies through the canopy of trees (and I’m not sure that could be anymore endearing):

She’s a beautiful money, don’t ya think?

Can you believe my harvest of lemons?  This tree has been producing lemons like crazy.

Something happened tonight that sent shivers up my back.  The hairs on my arms stood up.  I got butterflies in my stomach….and then I felt nauseous.  My head started spinning and I almost blacked out.  I ran for my cell phone so I could call the police to get them out to the scene but my legs wouldn’t work.  My entire body began to shake and I had to sit down in the grass.  I couldn’t sit up very long, so I reclined with my face looking at the heavens.  The sweat began to pour down my face and I began to cry.  Hysterically.

Well, not really.  I did get shivers up my back but the rest of that was, well, not true.  But it could be.

I took M out tonight to get a few photos.  Often times I take her to public places that I come across.  And tonight I thought I’d take her out to a place that I’ve seen a few times and have wanted to photograph.  It was on the edge of a busy road.  She was leaning against the fence, when all of the sudden, a big truck drove by.  It was a pick up truck with some downright scary hooligans in it.  And then it happened.  A cat call.  For. My. Daughter.  That’s right, I heard “ohwww”.  Like are darn wolf.  Those hooligans.

This is a difficult thing for a mama to digest.  And when Papa reads this post, he’ll be freaked for certain.  *get a paper bag, honey.  breath in.  breath out*

Here are some from tonight:

I have journals, scrapbooks, baby books and more journals full of things my children have said, done, been involved in, etc.  For me, however, this blogging thing is the easiest way for me to jot it all down to keep – forever.  So often times, I post photographs I don’t want to forget.  I came across this one tonight and just laughed.  I laughed because this is an outfit Lu would put on at least once per week this summer.  And every time she came downstairs with this ensemble on, I would say:  ”Oh, honey that doesn’t match.”

She would ALWAYS reply, “Yes it does mama.  See both things have pink in them.”

I would go on trying to explain that the patterns didn’t go together and you have to consider pattern and texture when putting an outfit together – not just color.

The last day that she put this outfit on I specifically made it a point not to say anything.  And then later that day, Papa pulled me aside and said “would you look at that outfit, it doesn’t match.”

“Yes,” I said, “but it makes her happy.”

It’s an awful photograph, but I need to remember the outfit.

It rained all weekend………and it was so nice.  It’s kind of like an excuse to stay at home.  We went to the osthoff this weekend with my mom and dad.  It’s just a treat to be with them.  The guys planned to golf but didn’t because of the rain.

My absolute favorite parts of this photograph are (1) mom and dad are holding hands; and (2) Lu is cuddled up with her Beepa…..she adores her Beepa.

M from the balcony & a view:

rainy Sunday with Lu…

Lu is asking daily how close we are to her birthday (1.5 months away).  She began writing the guest list and she’s been thinking hard about what she would like for her birthday.  She can’t think of a thing she wants.  So she said “I’ll have to watch the tv commericals to see what I would like.”  That line of thinking is a marketer’s dream…..and a mama’s sadness at the thought that she wants things that badly that she really doesn’t want.