Happy-ness!

I was on my way home from my doctor appt. (which was very good BTW) and my daughter Hannah realized she spilled her brand new Crayola Crayons all over her bag. She almost panicked and I don't blame her. Who would want to ruin a perfectly good, new box of Crayola Crayons??? I then made the statement to my family that I love a brand new box of Crayola crayons. Yes, they must be Crayola. I love the smell, the vibrant colors, the feel of them in my hand, and the way they color so smoothly the first time you put it to paper. Oh, I must add that Marco had to interrupt me and say that he felt the same way about Fried Chicken Wings...ummm. O.K. Anyway, so I decided I would list a few things that really make me feel happy. So, here is what I can think of right now.

1. Crayola Crayons (the bigger the box, the better)

2. The color red.

3. The new Michael Buble song "Everything"

4. The feeling of my little one kicking away inside of me (this will be over any day now :o( )

5. Hearing my youngest daughter "sing along" to songs on the radio, t.v. , etc.

6. Watching my oldest daughter Hannah as she tries to cook something for me (doing a pretty good job, actually)

7. Hearing my 7 year old daughter Taryn read to me. She is my bookworm (just like mama)

8. Scrapping at my own leisure.

9. Surfing the net - especially at SS. It's my outlet...

10. The smell of the new Philosophy perfume Inner Grace (I think is what it's called...)

11. When Marco surprises me with Starbucks (or anything else)

12. Getting in touch with old friends and keeping in touch.

So, what makes you happy these days???

Yes, I am STILL pregnant...

So, I am about 40 weeks and some odd days pregnant now. Yes, I am "over-due". I feel like a library book or something. I really love going to church or somewhere else where people know me and the first thing out of their mouth is - "You're still here?" Um, yeah. I am still here. Where do they want me to be for pete's sake? Oh, yeah - at the hospital. Having a baby. Well, guess what? So do I - but it's not my choice. So, I wait.

I have an appointment today and most likely, they will check me out, do a stress test, etc. etc. They won't want me to wait too long because I have had a previous C-section - 12 years ago! I feel good, baby is moving a lot, and I am just waiting. So, for all of you kind people that are saying things like: Wow, you're ready to pop!, When are you going to drop that puppy?, Are you having twins?, and You must feel miserable! Guess what? You will have to wait too! Hmph!

Summertime...

One of the latest blog challenges that was posted was to write about summer. Stacy (the gal who comes up with the challenges) posted a bit of the song "It's summertime, and the livin' is easy. Fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high...". This immediately got my attention. The song itself is a very special song to me because it's my daddy's song for me. Yup. He always sang that song to me when I was little to help me fall asleep. When I got into my teen years, I'd love to curl up on the couch in the crook of his muscular arm, and he'd start out humming the song. Before long, he'd be singing the words. Coming from a man who didn't like to talk much, this meant the world to me.

On my 18th birthday, I got a phone call at college. I sat in the dorm hallway and took the call. It was a lady calling me from our local station in Washington, KLIT. She said that my dad wanted to dedicate a song to his little girl on her 18th birthday. What??? Oh, you must have the wrong girl. My dad doesn't do stuff like that. No, she said. This really is for you. She read a letter that he wrote and it told how he recalled all our good times together. He talked about "our song" and how he always loved to sing it to me... If you knew my dad, you would have been as shocked as I was. This is a man that is retired military, now working in construction and garage door installing. The only time he really spoke out was to make a wise crack or use some sarcasm (to hide his "softy" feelings for us). I will never, ever forget this. She sent me a copy of our conversation and the song she played and I cherish it to this day.

I do love summer, everything about it. However, this blog challenge ended up being something else for me. It helped me to remember that just the word Summertime, makes me think of one the most important people in my life and that is my daddy.