Love This Picture!!

Love this! My husband, the sweetie, really blushed after I gave him this little kiss!

Car Show Winners :)

This past Saturday, we had fun out at the South Haven Festival of Cars, where my dad entered his 1969 Camaro convertible. As usual, his car was awarded a trophy (it's quite a winner, actually!), and, also as usual, my dad ("Papa") shared his moment with his grandson, Geoffrey.

Fortunately, Geoffrey is not too big to sit on his mother's lap--of course, no one he knew was there, so that helped... :)

Wanting to be just like Papa, here is Geoffrey hanging out in the Camara during the show. Unlike Papa, though, Geoffrey is not napping!

Geoffrey polishes the car almost constantly and seems to take a lot of pride in doing so. If anyone comes near the car, he is certain to go behind them with the cloth to polish away any possible finger or hand prints. I think he did a great job--considering you can actually see his reflection on the side of the car as he polishes it yet again!

Dad sent Geoffrey forward to claim his award when the car was announced as one of Saturday's winners.

I am confident that Geoffrey will always remember spending these times with his Papa. I know they both love that car, but the real lasting love is the love they share for each other. And I'm so blessed to witness it!

Nana and Papa

Highlights From the Last Days of School

It's hard to believe the end of the school year came so fast! Here are some highlights from the last days...

Geoffrey's teacher hosted a pool party & picnic for the class at her house! I know none of my teachers ever did that! It was lots of fun and I'm so glad I got to be there. After lunch the kids played some relay races, including this one--walking while hula hooping! Glad I didn't have to do it, but Geoffrey rocked it!

Geoffrey is on the far right... and that very young looking lady to his left is his teacher.

At the school picnic, Geoffrey wasn't sure how to handle sitting with his mom and his siblings... um, isn't he a little young to find us so embarrassing?!? I'm happy to say that after I forced the issue (and forced him to sit with us, I might add...) we had a nice time. And, a couple of his friends actually came and sat with us--alert the media! :)

Geoffrey was blessed this year with an exceptional teacher! It was a very successful year for him in so many ways. He really came into his own with a teacher who treasured him for his personality, abilities, and his contribution to the class. The sky is definitely the limit for Geoffrey!

Geoffrey and his friend, together on the very last day of school. Happy Summer!!

What Lovely Children

What Fabulous Hair! (Part Two)

Last fall, I wrote about the fun Hope & I have with her hair. I'm happy to say that my skills are really improving with practice. When asked, "Who braided her hair?" (often by African-American females), I am always proud to be able to reply, "I did!" It is also nice to then hear in response what a nice job I did!

As my skills improve, my styles for Hope have gotten nicer, and can last a lot longer. We used to style once a week, but now we are able to go a month (sometimes longer) in between styles. This is good, since it literally takes hours to go from one style to the next. (Un-braiding, washing/conditioning, detangling, and putting in the new style can take 6-7 hours over the course of 2-3 days... un-braiding all those dozens of braids alone takes 1-2 hours, so then we like to enjoy the curly, "braid-out" Afro for at least a couple of days before moving on.) The amount of braids I am able to put in has also increased--I can do anywhere from 50-70 braids in a particular style depending on how small I make each one. I have also learned to add beads to all those braids--what a fun way to change the look of her style and she LOVES the sound her hair makes when she shakes her head around. Let's just say... we can always hear Hope coming!

Hopie & Her Music

So, lately, Hope really seems to enjoy making her own music at the piano. The really cute part is that she brings a book or two (or more) with her and opens them up as though the books are piano music. She then "composes" her own orignial songs based on the pictures. In this clip, listen for her to sing about the moon and the sky, and later she sings a "delicious" song about apples and the doctor (see, the picture on that page was a doctor's office and the doctor had a poster on the wall about healthy foods...).

What a cutie!