Finally, she posts pictures!!!!!!

I have promised to post pictures of my adorable son and family, etc. So here they are. By the way, you can probably tell from the pictures that we went to the Grand Canyon during Christmas break. It is beyond words.

When the weather outside is frightful . . .

Right at this very moment, my kiddos are getting shipped home on the bus early from school because there is SNOW outside!!!!! Yayyyyy!!!!! Deep inside this raised Southern girl is a great excitement of snow. As a child, snow meant: no school, mom's hot cocoa, making snow angels outside until your undies were frozen, then stripping and getting in warm flannel PJ's, trying (usually unsuccessfully) to make a snow man, everyone freaking out and going to the store to buy milk and bread, and one of my most humorous memories--the Blizzard of '93. In 1993 I was 11 and it was three days before the first day of spring when a freak Blizzard, and I do mean Blizzard hit Atlanta. Lily and I went to play outside in it, and the snow was blowing so hard that we couldn't even see each other only a few feet away. Mom made us come inside when she saw on the news that little children were getting lost right outside the back door and freezing to death. Bummer! All of those snow memories are surfacing, and I realize that little Max is making some snow memories of his own. Which reminds me that I've been a slacker blogger and haven't posted pictures of Max playing in our first snowstorm of the year, the week of Halloween. I'll just whet your appitite for said pictures by saying that he's running around the back yard in "Yellow" (the new sweater that Mom made him) trying to stomp all of the powder into submission and yelling "Now, Now, Now!!!!" (as in Snow, snow snow--without the S). Love you all. I promise to post them soon, or you can take my first born child (for the night, so I can sleep).

Being Max's Mom

I've been thinking alot lately about my journey so far as Max's mom. Just like other mothers, I started out loving him unconditionaly and willing to sacrifice anything to help him grow, learn, and be happy. The three years that I've been blessed with him have been at times joyful, difficult, agonizing, fun, sorrowful, and always full of surprise. I don't know why the Lord chose us to be his parents, but as always His infinite wisdom always guides us to the things that make us happy. Max has already surpassed many expectations that we had for him, and sometimes I think that his little stubborn spirit and uncanny ability to make people love him will get him through any trial. He is a special boy, with sparkling glad eyes that melt my heart in one minute, then in the next flash with rage and frustration. I cannot comprehend what his strong mind endures in that little brain of his. I have no doubt that every phase of his life will be interesting. I just hope that I'm up for it!!!!!

Good Music

http://new.music.yahoo.com/videos/Sean+Lennon/Dead+Meat--35553929

As I was checking my e-mail yesterday, I followed a link on Yahoo to a story about the Beatles. Apparently, the song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is not really a reference to LSD, but is based on a picture that John's son Julian drew at 4 of one of his classmates, a girl named Lucy. Lucy just died from Lupus (a disease near to my heart), and I was touched to realize that during her entire life, no one believed her claim to fame. Later on as her sickness progressed, Julian got back in contact with her and they became friends again. Maybe one day I'll get back in touch with my friend Jenny from Oakland. I still have a picture of her as a preschooler. Well, I guess that that was a confusing way to lead up to my latest find, a link to Julian's formerly estranged half brother (from Yoko--if you're wondering) Sean Lennon. I saw a video for his latest song, and it was quite shocking to see how much he looks like his dad (Thank Goodness he got his genes from the paternal side!) He actually is a pretty good singer, too. In my humble opinion. I liked this song so much that I made myself a station on Pandora of similar music. So maybe I will share other great music finds with you. Love it love it love it. Warning: You have to be in a mellow mood to appreciate the following music!

The Freaks Come Out at Walmart

I just had to share this picture with you. For the other pictures in the series, let me know and I can share. I believe that I've seen people like this at the WalMart on Hwy 49 in Hattiesburg.

So Sad . .

It is the end of an era . . . sniff. Max has stopped taking mid day naps, and I am very dissapointed about it. If you have ever been around my son for 24 hours, you know that mid way you need a rest, and cuddling with my little/big boy has been one of the sweetest pleasures of my life. I have many many pictures of me and Max napping. From those first few exhausted weeks to just last week. I'm sure that if we do something exceptionally wearing (like swimming, or hiking, or running mommy ragged) he might doze, but the routine is gone. Sigh. I'd like to quote my uncle Doug here. He says, "A day without a nap is a day wasted". How wise!

Why The Wiggles are Good For Hyper 3 Year Olds...

Last night, I think I might patent a new exercise regimen: Dance to the Wiggles with your Child. Don't steal my idea, or I will be very upset. Of course, you have to have a willing child to participate with you, otherwise you'll look a little psychotic doing the "cold spaghetti" by yourself. Max was in a dancing mood yesterday. So I popped our only Wiggles tape into the player (our DVD player having gone kaput), and it was 35 minutes of sheer madness. When Jack came in from outside, I don't know who looked funnier: me with my fat butt pretending to be a ballerina, or Max copying every move, even the finger poses at the end! I captured a bit to share with you from my cell phone, but Max's motions are all a blur. Hope this inspires you all to "do the monkey"!