The holidays

Not to rush through Thanksgiving, but it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas at our house. 

Exterior illumination/decoration?  Check.
The upstairs decorations?  Check. 
The mantel decorations?  Check. 
The family tree?  Check. 

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Friday's quote

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.

Melody Beattie

Big win

All William George wants for Christmas is a big win on Saturday... ROLL TIDE!!!

Thanksgiving 2011

From our home to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!!!

WGL, 3 1/2 months

Back on November 1st, I took a little video of William George.  He had said "momma" about 4-5 times in a row so I attempted to capture his words on film.  As you might imagine, he immediately clammed up and barely made any sound at all.  He may not have delivered on saying "momma," but his adoration for his sisters is evident.  He is a tricky monkey!

Significant changes since filming include 1) WGL can now sit up in his seat, 2) he has said "daddy" a few times, 3) he has said "LuLu" twice, and 4) Gracie has him on probationary status until he learns to make a "G" sound.

Home improvement

Gracie during one of our many trips to Lowe's

We have finally completed phase one of our home improvement to do list.  We had our home painted, complete with some minor repairs on the trim.  We had several electrical projects performed (e.g., replacement of seven light fixtures, replacement of a garage door, replacement of two flood lights and several minor repairs), and we had to purchase a new refrigerator.  We also purchased a new microwave/range hood, but we are having to re-order, as the installer doesn't "cut tile" to make the new microwave fit.  Apparently having the right measurement for the height is important.  

These repairs constituted a huge portion of my to-do list.  While I am glad to be able to check those items off, I am now more behind than ever.  Updates to come soon. 

The last home game

Last Saturday we went to the last home game of the season.  We cheered for our team, had hot dogs, did the wave and had a fantastic time!

Blessings

Throughout the month of November, everywhere I have read, I see comments from people expressing "thanks," or taking the "thankful challenge," and/or otherwise simply embracing the spirit of Thanksgiving.  Giving thanks is something that we do not even begin to do often enough.  In fact, I would guess that many of the gifts we are given are not even noticed or really appreciated -- at least, this is the case for me.  This lackadaisical appreciation should and must change. 

We attended Sarah's life celebration in Williamsburg, Virginia, on November 12th.  We were given our marching orders by the family before arrival:  This was to be a time of thankfulness and celebration.  We tried our best to follow their wishes. 

On our drive into Virginia, we were struck by seeing a moonrise over the Virginia foothills.  The moon was so awesome -- so large and luminous -- that I sent a text to my mom who was here at our home, babysitting our three children (yes, she is a saint), to please take Gracie outside to let her see the moon (she loves the moon, and this was the largest moon I had ever seen!).  Truly, it was an inspired sight. 

An hour or so later, we stopped in Wytheville, Virginia, had dinner, checked into a hotel and slept for the night.  And, I did not think much more about the moon. 

On our return trip we drove straight from Williamsburg to Birmingham -- approximately a twelve-hour drive.  When the Birmingham skyline came into view, the buildings were lit with the most perfectly beautiful sunset we have ever seen.  This time, however, I thought much more about how awesome the sunset was and the timing of it all.  I do not really know how to explain this, but the timing did not seem coincidental at all.

Sometime after Sarah's diagnosis and surgery, she began penning her "daily blessings," mostly on Facebook.  Her musings inspired everyone who knew her (me included) or knew of her.  There were innumerous blessings last weekend.  My ongoing homage to Sarah will be to be much more deliberate about recognizing those blessings, acknowledging that they come from God and continually giving thanks.

Friday's quote

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24

Faith, hope and love

Sarah Lindsey Gupta was healed on Sunday, November 6th, 2011, by being called home to her Heavenly Father.  Although Sarah's illness was aggressive and vicious, she chose to embrace each day as the gift it truly is from God, to present herself as a living testimony and to live each day to the absolute fullest.  We will miss her beauty, grace, wit and charm.  And we will miss her megawatt smile. 

Words from Kathy Lindsey (Sarah's "mumma"):

All the Whys?????

This is not all about Sarah, but it is about God’s work – and one young woman willing to be used by God in his work. To be a witness of appreciating His gifts, His blessings, to show love to others before a concern for yourself, to appreciate the miracles that occur everyday in our lives, to notice that God does provide ALL of our needs, at All times, and at just the right moment.

It is all about God, and giving Him thanks and praise through his son Jesus Christ at ALL times!

It is a witness to the peace that passes all understanding.

It is about the joy of friendships; accepting and appreciating the help and love from family and friends.

It is about seeking and knocking and asking; about increasing your faith, asking for more faith, when you feel yours is too small; hoping for things not seen, trusting in your heavenly father as a small child,

It is about enduring pain and suffering, for a reason you do not yet understand.

It is about sharing tears of both joy and sadness.

It is about sharing the communion of the love of Jesus Christ, with people across the world that you don’t even know.

Of being lifted in prayer, by thousands, who only know your name – but love you in the love of Christ, our creator and redeemer and Savior.

It is about the unfathomable power of God, at work in the hearts of the ones you know and love, and those you may one day meet in heaven.

It is about remaining strong in your faith, never compromising, always striving harder to come in first place – to do your best.

It is about faith, hope and love, and the greatest of these is love. Sarah is receiving the love she cast abroad, coming back in full measure, pressed down and overflowing abundantly!

God is so good, because of His multiplication of love, through His son ,Jesus Christ!

Amen

Well done, my good and faithful servant, will be the words that Sarah hears when she meets her Lord, Jesus Christ, face to face. And he will hold her in his strong arms, as a shepherd holds a small hurting lamb – and she will be healed,and have no more pain, and live in the house of the Lord forever!

Sarah’s favorite two memory verses:

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Psalm 56:4 In God, I have put my trust
I shall not be afraid.


Sarah Lindsey Gupta, October 27, 1980 - November 6, 2011


Lovely words from Sarah's sister-in-law.   

Sumit's beautiful tribute to his beloved bride. 

Thank you for responding to our many requests for prayer for Sarah.  Please continue to keep her family in mind in the days and weeks to come.

Music lessons

We have tried to be judicious about the activities we schedule for our children.  We introduced ballet and choir last fall, and we briefly had some gymnastics classes over the summer.  We have avoided getting ourselves over-extended and over-committed, and that is a strategy that has worked for us. 

We knew we would formally introduce music into the girls' extracurricular activities eventually.  Last week I was prompted to go ahead and do so now.  Skip's cousin, Sarah, who I have mentioned many times here, is continuing to fight Adrenal Cortical Cancer (stage 4).  About 10 days ago, her a capella group, The Accidentals from William & Mary, performed one of their classics, "Passionate Kisses," with Sarah singing lead (audio only).  Sarah's portion was recorded at her home on October 24th, and current and prior Accidentals recorded the below video, wherein they sing back up, at W&M. 



The gesture, the lovely vocals, the amazing talent... all of it is too beautiful for words. I rarely make decisions based on emotion, but I decided not to postpone music lessons any longer. The girls' first piano/voice lessons were today:

They are so ready to be future Accidentals and make Sarah proud!

Friday's quote

"Picasso had a saying: 'Good artists copy, great artists steal.' We have always been shameless about stealing great ideas...I think part of what made the Macintosh great was that the people working on it were musicians, poets, artists, zoologists and historians who also happened to be the best computer scientists in the world."

-Steve Jobs

The story of Gracie's loose tooth

Gracie in the examination chair

As alluded to here, we had some dental drama Tuesday night.  Over the last 12-18 months something has happened to the girls' energy levels.  Particularly at night and/or any time they are tired, their energy has had this unbelievable trajectory.  In response, we have instituted all of the normal rules and regulations, e.g., no running indoors (that was expanded to include skipping, walking fast, etc.), no throwing objects, no aggressive jumping, etc. 

When we brought William George home from the hospital in July, our upstairs became party central every night at bath time.  They get so excited they literally run laps through the bedrooms and Jack-and-Jill bath.  Get a visual image of that, if you will.  They literally run through the upstairs in circles.  What used to be a tranquil bedtime routine has morphed into Lauren and Gracie behaving like monkeys at the zoo, while Skip and I are herding them into the water and into their pajamas while barking refrains of:

"Stop running!"

"Stop jumping on the furniture!"

"Stop running!"

"Don't hold the pillow over your sister's head!"

"Stop running!"

"Don't hold your head under the water!"

"Stop running!"

"Don't you dare jump on your bed!"

"STOP RUNNING!"

All of that is the opposite of tranquil.

Keeping them focused on the task at hand was always a challenge, but something has happened now that William George has entered the mix.  Once they see me distracted with bathing George, they really come unhinged.  Since George is 3 1/2 months old, I know that I have reiterated the "no running" policy at a minimum of 100 consecutive times, every night since he has been home.  In reality, I have probably told them not to run every single night for the last three+ years (as soon as it became an actual danger).

Tuesday night was no different.  Imagine all of the above.  I was standing at the sink in George's vanity area, bathing George, when Gracie began running laps.  As I was rinsing George's hair, I heard a very loud THUD, followed by cries from Gracie.  She had missed her turn back through the bathroom and slammed into one of George's walls.  Because she was running at top speed, she never had a chance to get her hands up to shield her face.  Thankfully, the injury was minor.  She busted her lip and now has a loose tooth.  Her lip was very swollen, and her lip and gums bled a good bit. 

We got her in to see the dentist Wednesday morning.  The hygienist completed a cursory exam and asked what we were seeking in terms of treatment, asking if I wanted them to pull the tooth.  Poor Gracie looked traumatized and started violently shaking her head "no".  An x-ray confirmed that her adult teeth are poised and ready to make their appearance, and Dr. G confirmed that she will likely lose her tooth sooner rather than later.  She may get to hang on to her tooth for another six months, and she was very happy with that plan. 

After picking out a trinket from the treasure box, she had shaken the trauma completely.  And, of course, Lauren wants to know if she can "bonk" her tooth so she can go to the treasure box, too. 

With our nightly routine, it is only a matter of time. 



Status Update

1) Awaiting the opening of my children's dentist so I can schedule an emergency appointment.

2) Painters have arrived to complete exterior painting.

3) Electrician expected to resume interior work today.

4) Our refrigerator still leaks.

5) The new refrigerator is expected for delivery Friday.

6) I am self-medicating with candy corn.