Eight

Our sweet Emily Susanne is eight today. As much as I hate to sound cliche I can't help but ask, where does the time go? As fast as these eight years have gone, I can't help but think how quickly so many other milestones will be here. In just a couple years she will be a pre-teen. In another quick eight years she'll be old enough for a drivers license. Two years after that we'll be getting ready for high school graduation and sending her off to college. I really can't bring myself to think that far ahead.

Emily gives us so much to be proud of. To us she is, of course, so beautiful and smart. But I'm especially amazed by how astute she is. She has always been very inquisitive. It's definitely paying off for her because she obviously stores away all the answers in that big brain to be referenced again at a later date. She is showing signs of a quick wit. This certainly makes her a terrific companion in my book. Combining all that perception with her sensitivity has also made her very compassionate. And it is this character trait that I am most proud. This past Fall the students in her class were able to send notes of thankfulness to their friends. Emily received one that read, "I am so thankful for Emily because you always include me in every game." I was so touched by that statement because it really captures Emily's personality so well. Her heart is huge for friends, family and even strangers.

Tonight we'll celebrate her eight years with friends and family. But I especially look forward to celebrating all that is ahead of her as she blossoms into what I suspect will be nothing less than amazing. And we will cherish every moment along the way.

Happy birthday sweet Emily Sue.

Carnivores Welcome

After tonight's dinner of yummy meatloaf, Megan declares, "I like all meat all day." This immediately made our long list of family catchphrases. Perhaps it can also replace the National Cattlemen's Beef Association motto...you know the one, "Beef. It's what's for dinner.".

A year in words and pictures

February 7th has come and gone...and with it the one year anniversary of this blog. I believe that calls for a gift of paper, don't you think? Although, I suppose paper would be somewhat contradictory to celebrate the anniversary of an online journal.

It is hard to believe it has been a year already, but I seem to say that about a lot of anniversaries these days. We've covered a lot over the past twelve months...lost teeth, visits with friends and family, music, a golden anniversary, communing with nature, the loss of a loved one, a historical election and even a Super Bowl run. It's been a fun ride and I appreciate the comments from our loyal followers.

Be sure to stay tuned for more Desert Doer antics. I suspect I'll continue to have plenty of inspiration.

Emily gets some help with her homework...

Flabulous Flashion

I guess with two daughters the odds were pretty good that we'd have at least one fashion hound. I just didn’t expect it so soon.

Emily has never been overly concerned about what she wears. When she was younger, she would simply wear whatever I picked out. There was a short period of time that she didn’t like anything with buttons, but other than that, I can’t think of any fashion cunumdrums for Em. Now that she’s older, she just pulls out whatever is at the top of the drawer and she’s off.

But Megan. Oh, Megan. She’s a totally different creature. Since she could talk, she’s been much more particular about what she wears. Last winter…it was her Dora Crocs with everything. Once the weather cooled down and we convinced her to wear Princess sneakers, they could only be worn without socks. Then there was the period that only short-sleeved shirts would do.

These days it’s more about her self-declared desire to look “flabulous” (That's how she says fabulous...it has nothing to do with annoying cellulite). She picked out her own pretty red dress for Christmas. If we’d let her, she’d have worn it every day of December. As far as pants…jeans are her favorite. Or as she calls them, “blue pants”. One particularly grumpy afternoon I asked what had caused her bad mood. She responded with, “Because I don’t look flabulous”. “Really? You look fabulous to me,” I respond. “But my pants are not blue Mama.” Oh. Well how could I argue with that?

I have even been subjected to the flabulous test. One morning she declares, “Mama..you look flabulous today!”. Why thanks Megs. As she directs a critical gaze to my pants she says, “What color are your pants?” “They are brown,” I respond. “Oh, well your pants aren’t flabulous, but your shirt is." Well then. Perhaps I can bring that up with the dress code policy writers at work.

She isn't a complete diva about it. After all, she will settle for wearing other colored pants…but they just aren’t as flabulous as good ol’ blue denim. And so it begins. She is four going on fourteen.

Here are a couple shots of her in her favorite “flabulous” outfit…making some “flabulous” poses.

A dream come true.

On August 28, 1963, a man delivered a speech on the steps of Lincoln Memorial. It is the birthday of that same man that many of us are enjoying a day off for. I find something poetic in the timeliness of that man's dreams coming to fruition tomorrow. Regardless of political party, I hope that we can all appreciate a dream, likely beyond his expectations, come true....

Excerpt from Martin Luther King, Jr's speech,

"Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."

This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.

With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:

My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,
From every mountainside, let freedom ring!

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true."

The masthead stays...

That's right! The Cardinals are going to the Super Bowl, baby!

Steve and I enjoyed the game first hand. The stadium was amazing. The crowd was often deafening. It was even nerve racking at the end. But they pulled it off and it is a bit surreal.

We owe a large amount of gratitude to our friends the Chungs. They added our two girls to the mix of their three girls for the majority of the day so we could take part in the festivities. I was told that the noise at their house was deafening at times too...and it had nothing to do with the football game.

CONGRATULATIONS CARDS!!