Isn't she lovely? Today I love...

Okay, so here's how the story goes, as I remember it...

Once upon a time...oh, some 27 years ago today, a lovely little girl made her way into all of our lives.  Well, it just so happens, that the day the lovely little girl decided to make her grand entrance was the exact same day...exactly 26 years before to the day...that the little girl's own very handsome papa had decided to make his own grand entrance into the world!  

      So, when the very handsome papa received this oh so precious birthday gift, he wanted to shout from the rooftops and declare to the world how happy he was with his lovely little girl!  Well, living in central Ohio as he did, and having no mountain tops from which to shout, he did the next best thing...he called the radio station!  He asked them to play this song and from that moment on, it became their song.  

      Now, I don't know this part of the story for sure, but I would imagine that the lovely little girl probably danced with her very handsome papa the way lovely little girls will, her tiny feet on his, him holding her hands, to that very song many times through the years...and many times I'm sure on this oh so precious shared birthday that they have.  

      Now, this part I do know for sure...if you fast forward the story some 25 years later, that song, of course, was THE song that the very handsome papa and the lovely little girl danced to at the lovely little girl's very own all grown up wedding.  And now...that very handsome papa and that lovely little girl are in the process of doing just what all good handsome and lovely characters in all good stories do...they are living happily ever after.  


      Today I love my very handsome big brother, Craig, and my very lovely niece, Jessica.  Happy Birthday both of you!  Enjoy your day!  Hope I got the story at least part right! 


"Isn't She Lovely" by Stevie Wonder

Isn't she lovely
Isn't she wonderful
Isn't she precious
Less than one minute old
I never thought through love we'd be
Making one as lovely as she
But isn't she lovely made from love

Isn't she pretty
Truly the angel's best
Boy, I'm so happy
We have been heaven blessed
I can't believe what God has done
Through us he's given life to one
But isn't she lovely made from love

Isn't she lovely
Life and love are the same
Life is Aisha
The meaning of her name
Londie, it could have not been done
Without you who conceived the one
That's so very lovely made from love

Today I Love...My Running Girl - Slice of Life Tuesday Challenge

     Okay, now how exactly did this happen?  18 years ago today, I sat my bulging self down in church on a beautifully sunny Easter morning, dreaming of the French toast with strawberries that I had been craving, as only a pregnant woman can do, and knew was waiting for me at Cracker Barrel after services.  The Man and I would pick the Boy up from his Sunday school class, the Grandparents would meet us at the restaurant with an Easter basket for the Boy, and I would be a happy woman.
     About halfway through the choir's beautiful selections, I felt a little twinge and thought to myself..."Hmm...I still have three days to go.  Nah, couldn't be." 

Fast forward several hours 
into the evening and 

Rachel Elizabeth Eaton 

slipped easily 
and quietly 
into our world 

changing it 
forever 

and much for the better.  

Such a good baby, 

scaring us both silly 

when she slept 

through the night

 at six weeks! 

 

And now...

it's 18 whole years later 

and this sweet baby girl is 

running...

running...

running...

She runs to school, 

she runs after school, 

she runs to work, 

she runs with her friends.  

She is getting ready to run 

right up the road 

to college 

and our world 

will change

 once again.  

She will run her race.  

And she will win.

 

She has her eyes set

firmly

on the future 

and she has a plan.  

She knows 

where she wants to go 

and she knows 

what she wants to do 

when she gets there.  

     I don't know how 
this much time has passed
 in what feels like
 the blink of an eye, 
or how this sweet baby girl
 of ours
 has grown up so quickly, 
but we are so proud 
to be a part of her life.  
We will miss her 
when she is running 
her own race 
and The Man and I 
can't always be there
 at the finish line for her.  
Hopefully she'll invite us 
to come along side 
from time to time 
to cheer her on 
or hand her a water bottle.  
But isn't that what life is all about?  
Learning 
to run your own race
your path
your way.

Today I love 
my beautiful
intelligent
determined 
daughter. 

Happy Birthday, Rachel.
  
Run your race 
as only you can!

Today I Love Laura Lou! Slice of Life 27 of 31

      It is birthday season in my family!  From the middle of March to the end of June, we have TEN birthdays to celebrate!  I am looking forward to our annual Spring Birthday Party, yet to be scheduled for this year.  This is the whole lot of the birthday crew from two years ago, before birthday girl #10 was even born yet!  
      Well, those other birthday folks will have to wait today, because today it is the birthday of my eldest niece, Laura.  I remember clearly when she was a teeny tot...she used to chew on my shoes!  I think I remember a bit of rhyme I stitched  into a sampler that I'm sure has been relegated to a back closet somewhere: 
      "Laura's got my shoe,
       She's tearing it to pieces,
       But I don't even care,
       She's one of my two nieces!"

(Give me a break, I was just a freshman in high school at the time!)

This is a photo of sweet little 6 year old flower girl Laura at our wedding.
What a cutie pie!  She practiced for days ahead of time tossing flower petals out in her back yard...only to forget to toss a single one on the day of the wedding!
  

      Today she is a strong young woman, making her way in the world, creating a loving home for her family, and helping those around her as she is able.  She is writing a book that I can NOT wait to see in print!  I'll be able to say I knew her when! 
      Today I love my niece, Laura.  
      Happy Birthday, Laura Lou! 

Today I Love My Sister, Slick...Slice of Life 25 of 31

Be glad there are TWO fingers showing behind my head!

Today I love my big sister, Vicki!  It's her birthday and I have been  thinking about her all day!  She's something special, my sister.  As my daughter says, there's never a dull moment when Aunt Vicki is around.  She livens things up and reminds you that there's always some new challenge waiting to be tackled.  Whether it's raising kids, teaching kids, traveling to tropical islands, dancing to the zumba beat, playing "the strip game" (NOT what you think it is!), or just hanging out on the beach, she's the life of the party.  

       I've told her many times that she reminds me very much of the frog in an old story that I happened across in the Katherine Paterson novel, Lyddie. In the novel, Lyddie is taken under the wing of Triphena, the tavern cook, who tells her the story of two frogs who fell into a pail of milk.  One of the frogs drowned immediately, overwhelmed by the circumstances in which it found itself.  The other frog kicked so hard it made a pat of butter by morning.  "Some folks are natural born kickers," says Triphena, referring to Lyddie.  

A beachside birthday present for her granddaughter.

     
      I don't think my sister is a NATURAL born kicker.  I think for a very long time, she would have much rather had someone else do her kicking for her.  But, as happens sometimes...she one day found herself all alone in a pail of cream.  I must say, these many years since that first unexpected dunking, she's sitting on butter!  Today she is a proud mother of three, grandmother of one, Nationally Board Certified Teacher with her Master's Degree, who (shivvvver!) teaches preschoolers!  (On purpose!  And loves it!)  And today I love her!  

The Edisto Island Straw Pit Symphony, 2011.

 Happy Birthday, Slick!
                                                                          Love, 
                 Snick