you are my heart

To my precious son, Geoffrey...

Happy 11th Birthday! I am so proud of who you are and all that you stand for.

When you are older, possibly when you are all grown up with your own family, you may fully realize what it means for me to have you in my life. Because, all of my life, what I have always wanted was to be a mom. I know your dad & I have told you how much we struggled to have a baby and how long we waited to welcome you. Eleven years ago, when I finally held you in my arms, my heart was filled to overflowing. You are such a treasure, and life with you is always interesting!

I know that God has great plans for you. You are someone who has been gifted with the ability to literally change this world. I just can't wait to see all that you will do!

Thanks for being my son... I love you more than you will ever know!

Being a Tough Cookie

My husband emailed me this picture today. Everyone who knows us knows what a difficult time we've been going through. I wouldn't have thought it possible, but this week things got even more difficult.



Anyway, today I casually emailed Steve "I'm a tough cookie," and this is what he sent back. I love it!



I do consider myself a Tough Cookie, but not on my own. I have the support of so many special people in my life, and those people not only encourage me but will sit with me in my difficulty. (As I explained to one dear friend, they will sit in the crap with me, instead of trying to tell me that it isn't crappy. Eloquent? No... but it is true.)



Most importantly, the strength and grace that I have is not my own. Anything in me that makes me a Tough Cookie comes from God, and my faith in Him.



I don't know how, or when, or how long it will take... but this Tough Cookie will come through this time, and she will not be broken!

Not a Hair Blog, but....

This is not a hair blog, but... I just had to share this hair style which Hope has been rocking for the last week. They are Bantu knots, and Hope loves (I mean LOVES) them! Quite a few people have been informed that these are, in fact, Bantu knots... what I mean is that every person who has complimented Hope on her hair has heard her reply, "Bantu knots, bantu knots, my mommy made it!"

As I said, this is not a hair blog, nor do I have any plans to start one. Hope's hair care, however, is a big part of our lives. Properly caring for Hope's natural African hair is just one of the ways I show her my love for her, and I truly consider it a blessing to do this for her. The time we spend on hair care is time I consider very well spent, as it is, after all, time spent together.

My Daughter, the Aspiring Fairy

My daughter seems to have aspirations which now include having magical fairy powers. Specifically, Hope seems to want to be like Abby. For those of you without preschoolers, Abby is a cute little character on "Sesame Street," and Abby is a Fairy-in-Training. Ever since Hope saw Abby in the movie, "Abby in Wonderland," she has been trying out her own magical fairy powers. She goes around carrying her little plastic wand (yes, it looks just like Abby's) and saying "Poof!" Um, unfortunately for Hope, this is not working. In fact, those were her exact words: "Mommy, not working!" I'm not all together sure about what it is that Hope is trying to poof, but she does keep on trying... so I am hearing "Poof!" a lot these last few days. This morning, though, she was clear about what she was trying to poof. In the van after dropping Geoffrey off at school, Hope did her little "Poof," followed by, "I can't do it... it not working!" So I asked Hope, "What are you trying to poof?" She sweetly said, "Daddy... it not working!" See, Daddy was at work, and Miss Hope felt that if she poofed him, he would magically appear. Since she couldn't get Daddy that way, she did try poofing Geoffrey as well, which, I'm sure you can guess was "not working" either. Poor, sweet little Hope!

Happy Birthday Hope!

It was such fun to have Hope helping me out in the kitchen to bake her birthday cupcakes! She was taking the cupcakes to share with her daycare friends, and she was so proud to be "cookin.'"
Of course, the best part is always licking the beaters. :)

Our family tradition is to open a gift on "Birthday Eve." Geoffrey wanted Hope to open his gift for her -- she was happy to receive a princess doll from him!

Geoffrey and Hope together is a beautiful thing! Geoffrey was made to be Hope's big brother, and she positively adores him.

Happy Birthday Morning!! It's present time!

I love filling Hope's world with positive images of Black Girls. She was so excited to open this print of Supergirl.

Fabulous!!

Hope made her wishes perfectly clear regarding how she would wear her hair for her birthday. She had been telling me for the last two weeks or so that she wanted to wear her hair in an Afro, just like the Black Rapunzel print she has in her room. "Listen, Mommy, listen... Afro... a tincess Afro... my birgay," which is Hope-Speak for "Mommy, I want a princess Afro for my birthday." You gotta love a girl who knows what looks good!

Hope was so excited with her "Tincess Cake!"

Hope is really growing up -- last year she reached into her cake with her hand. This year, while she did take a few dips with her finger into the frosting, she mainly used her fork. :)

To say that Hope is a joy would never come close to describing how we feel about this precious girl. All my life, I will be forever grateful that God brought her to me and to our family. We simply wouldn't be us without her.

Happy Birthday Hope!

Memories from Christmas 2011

"All done pictures"

Geoffrey and Hope have gotten so close, it is truly a joy to observe their relationship!

A Time for Catching Up (in Pictures)