The Road to Freedom

Grace was selected to sing the solo in the 3rd grade President's Day assembly last Friday. She fully prepared by practicing and singing her song every minute of every day for the last couple weeks. I think she was pretty rehearsed by the time Friday rolled around. and i think everyone else in our family could have gotten up there and sang it with her...

She was pretty nervous, but that's normal for her and didn't affect her performance too much. She actually got into the beat, so stick around till the end of the song--her knee really gets going!

Singing is one of her many passions and we're happy that she enjoys sharing her talents with all of us!

...stay tuned for Port Orchard Superstar 2010 coming up in March!

Well, Hello LuLu!

We acquired a new addition to our family last week. She is 15 weeks old, 27lbs. and her name is Lulu. What is she--you might ask? Some people know immediately upon seeing her in all her glorious wrinkles and droopy eyes, while others still, ask "what is she?" Here is a little English Bulldog/Lulu 101 for you. They are one of the fastest growing breed of puppies, which is why she looks much larger than most puppies at 15 weeks. They are very mellow and like to kick back and relax much of the time. They rarely bark and don't lick you to death either.

They are also extremely interested in chewing..... .....everything. Consequently she has lots of fun chew toys that are "her very own." She is very good at going potty outside and getting a yummy treat after doing so. She likes to antagonize the cat, who pays her no mind unless she gets in his face. She likes to go on car rides to pick up the kids from school. {mostly because she gets a truckload of attention from all the kids and teachers.} She loves to cuddle and is one of the sweetest and most adorable things around! But that, my friends, apparently is debatable.

We have had mixed reactions regarding her little puppy face. On one end of the spectrum, we hear "oh my goodness, look at how adorable she is!" {i tend to agree} But we have also heard from more than one mouth "ugh...those things are so ugly" So my question of the day is: adorable as all get out? or....SO UGLY that they're cute?

{notice how your choices are limited} please--do tell.

the sweetest boy

I haven't been feeling quite "up to par" lately so sometimes I lay down for a bit while Alec watches Word World and Super Why. Yesterday when I woke up, this is what I found on my bedside table:

My 5-year-old son made me "lunch"

Notice the color coordinating cup of apple juice, you know--in case i was thirsty, too...

Then I decided to take a peek at the inner contents, having NO idea what could be inside. Knowing this boy, it could be army men and playdough...

But here is what it was:

How cute is this?

--He knows that he's not allowed to use knives, so he got out the cheese grater and used the middle portion that slices cheese.

--Then he pulled some chicken {not too much} off the chicken breasts I had just boiled for dinner that were cooling on the counter.

-- And then, he got in the fridge and found some cilantro and put a little sprig on there. {he knows how i love "salad" on my sandwiches, and hey, lettuce...cilantro, same difference, right?}

I was so touched by the sweet thought he had to make me a sandwich, the effort he put into it, and more so, that the thought even crossed his mind! Am I not the one who is supposed to be taking care of him? I just stood there staring at it with a big smile on my face. {and grateful he didn't attempt any mayo...}

I know I may, um, {cough}, comment from time to time about his crazy antics and how he makes my life so much more interesting, but this is the sweet boy I know and love, the boy that has one of the biggest hearts, and gives the best hugs, and makes cheese/chicken/cilantro sandwiches with the heel of the bread. I don't think I could love him much more...I'd explode.

He saw me bring my sandwich out of the bedroom and ran up to me and gave me a huge hug and said "mom, do you like the sandwich i made for you?"

...and i wasn't lying one bit when i said:

"sweetie, i LOVE it"