Happy Easter!!!

I hope everyone has a blessed Easter! Even though Lily doesn't fully understand the concept of the Easter Bunny and she really doesn't care that much about him, she took the time to write him a note letting him know where she put her basket. This morning, she was thrilled that he answered her note, found the basket, and left candy in it for her. Lily's concepts of Easter are about Jesus, egghunts, and candy. The bunny is an afterthought, but a good afterthought.

Here are a couple of her in her Easter dress.

Love to you all,

Tracy

This is the BEST day ever!!!

We have been enjoying Spring Break this week with just some fun at home, lots of games, playing with some neighborhood friends, lunch and a movie with mom and big sister, Katy, tae kwon do, sleeping in, and then today...the BEST day EVER!!!

Lily had a date with Aunt Amy, Amy's friend, Melissa, and her two children, Sage and Seth. Dates with Amy are always fun, so she jumped out of bed at 8:00, did her hair and teeth on her own with no prompting from me, then raced to her room to pick out an outfit. The day began with breakfast at McDonald's at 8:30, then an Easter Egg Hunt at 10:00, the park at 11:00, Amy's friend, Joanne's was next at 12, so they could decorate Easter cookies.

While they were gone, I slipped off to Macy's with a gift card left over from Christmas and a 40% sale on Easter dresses, then off to Marshall's for shoes, and CVS for bunny stuff.

Lily and Amy be-bopped in the door at about 2:00, loaded to the gills with candy, cookies, and toys. Needless to say, Lily has been quite content tonight and is so tired, she can hardly move. Tomorrow, I will try to get some pictures in her Easter dress before church and Grandma's.

Happy Easter!!!

Tracy

Last Week a Yellow Belt, This Week ORANGE!!

Lily has finally, finally decided that she is going to take tae kwon do seriously and is gaining the confidence she needs to continue. Being a former baseball mom (11 years of sitting on bleachers, thank you), I did not see the dedication in Lily for tae kwon do that I saw in her brother, Ian, for baseball. I kept pressuring Scott to let her try dance or gymnastics, or something else for gosh sakes, but the two of them kept schlepping off to the gym on Tuesday and Thursday nights. One night about a month ago there was an Epiphany. She was actually practicing her form in the kitchen and there was precision in her movements and she was using her voice! I was so excited to see that she was clicking with all that Master Chon had been teaching her for the past 8 months, that it motivated me to become a tae kwon do mom. Her orange belt test was the hardest I have ever seen her work and I was proud of how focused she was. For the students moving to the higher belt levels, Lily was transfixed watching their form and never spoke a word. I was more focused on Lily, as I realized she was finally "getting it". So here are a few pictures of Lily, with Master Chon and with some of her class last night, after they received their new belts.

As a side note, Master Chon and tae kwon do are Korean, so all of the language they use in class is Korean. She can count to 50 in Korean and knows all of her commands in Korean, as well, so I guess by the time she is finished, she'll have a mixed bag of languages in her repertoire - at this point, she probably knows more Korean than Mandarin!

THE AFTERSCHOOL TEA PARTY

Lily and her friend, Hannah, had a playdate after school today. Pick up sticks proved a little too competitive for Mom to handle, so a tea party was formed in Lily's room. Lily is still learning age appropriate social skills and sometimes girlie things tend to bring out the best in her, where games don't. Lots of laughter was involved, with a bit of Splenda, Crystal Lite, bread and honey too. When I grabbed the camera, they both said, "Cheers!" then clicked their cups together. That was my cue to exit the room. Three teapots of Crystal Lite later, it was time for Hannah to leave and Lily complained that the time was too short. The Chinese Princess party will have to be continued...maybe next time with other friends, too.

Tracy

Who's that sleeping in MY bed??

This morning, I awoke to snoring. Loud snoring. Not what I am used to. Lily has finally begun sleeping in her own bed, and Scott was standing next to me at the side of the bed telling me to wake up, roll over, and look. Now that Lily is gone and our new Christmas memory foam topper has been added to the bed, Scott and I thought we were really in hog heaven. As it stands, we are really in DOG heaven, as Jack, our 120 lb. doberman loves our bed now. Scott said the only memory the foam has is a large doberman. We haven't been able to get him off the bed since Christmas. Good thing the comforter is in the dryer. Meanwhile, Scott and I can't seem to get a break!!!

Jeepers!

Tracy

Another one from Christmas

Lily Harper, Cole Harper, Melanie Harper, Katy Fraser, and Ian Fraser

Some family time at Christmas

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy 2009!

Welcome to 2009 and our very new blog. Hopefully, this will give us a chance (or second chance) to communicate a little better and we can get some pictures and a few items of interest posted here on a regular basis.

First and foremost, we want to wish all of our friends and family, near and dear, a very Merry Christmas. Since we are of the catholic tradition, our Christmas season officially ends tomorrow (on the 12th day of Christmas), and Epiphany begins on Tuesday, January 6, so....my tree doesn't come down and the decorations aren't put away until the 6th, although our outdoor lights came down on New Year's Day (Scott was bored and needed a project...sigh).

Lily had her second (there's that word again) Christmas with us and this year, and rather than a blur, she was very much a part of the activities and looked forward to each and every one. After Thanksgiving, Scott and Lily signed up to be part of our church's first play, "Silent Night, Holy Night". Into the first day of rehearsal, I was drafted into a part because a castmember had to bow out. I have never, hear that - NEVER - had the first experience acting in a play. A skit for fun, once, but never a play. I had to learn lines - paragraphs of lines. I was to play an off-duty nurse on a cold Christmas Eve and I was a nervous wreck. Scott and Lily had no lines, they had it easy being part of the manger scene. Lily was an Angel in the tableau, and Scott played a wiseguy...whoops, I mean, a wise man. I think he presented the gold (and if you know Scott, that wasn't the easiest thing to do-- LOL). Anyway, it turned out great, all went fabulously well and we had a wonderful Christmas experience that was new to all of us.

A quick update on family affairs:

Ian is 22 and working as a commercial estimator for a large air conditioning contractor here in Orlando. He is currently living with his dad and liking life as a bachelor. He fishes and plays golf and builds aquariums when he isn't working. On weekends during football season, you will find him wherever he can watch the Florida Gators and the Dallas Cowboys. Everyone else can step aside.

Katy will be 20 in 4 days. She is currently a student at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Academy, studying to become a chef. She will graduate in December. I now know the proper way to dice vegetables, how to make stock (with a sachet), and the proper way to make mashed potatos. (We've had our squabbles in the kitchen...this little soup nazi and me!) Anyway, she is so cute in her little French chef uniform. She must wear a hat, cravat (neckerchief), chef coat, black and white checked chef pants, black shoes. No skin must show, no earrings or jewelry, no makeup, no white of her nails, etc. You KNOW I have to laugh because this is the child who spent all of her money on her nails, jewelry, and makeup. Miss Priss is now fussing over lambchops instead of her nails.

Scott is grateful for the opportunity to serve his customers with H2O Depot for the second (hey!) year. With today's economy, we only saw a loss of less than 10% from last year, compared to so many who lost a third or more of their small businesses (or lost everything). We hope that we can tweak things a bit to prepare if we have another down year. But, for now, the bills get paid on time and we thank God every month we can pay our mortgage and put food on the table.

Lily is still taking tae kwon do and hopes to test for her orange belt soon. She loves all things Hannah Montana and lives for school. She has made me count the days during this past two week break until she can return. I asked her yesterday what it is that she loves so much about school. She said she misses her friend, Taylor, and she loves the "work on the board". This child loves to learn. Can't wait until next year, SECOND grade - right, Mr.Tarbox? (Mr. Tarbox is my second grade teacher and the very best life had to offer for a teacher. He, to this day, continues to inspire!)

As for me, I was fortunate to be able to be a work-from-home mom this past year. In April, I left my part time job at the law firm after almost 24 years. Scott needed my assistance with H2O and I needed to be home more. I miss my co-workers immensely, but still love them and we e-mail each other frequently. Also, in June, our "church without walls" moved to a school. I coordinate small groups and special social events, so being able to do this all from home affords me some time for Lily in the afternoons and saves us immensely on gas and afterschool care. For the first time in 24 years, I can actually say that home is my base and I love it.

Enough rambling...

Love to you all-

Tracy