Don't leave mommy ...

Sonora didn't want me to get out of the car when we went to See's Candy. She began crying and saying, "MaMa ... MaMa" and waving goodbye to me out the window. I didn't even know or turn back (obviously distracted by the chocolate I was about to consume!) And Daniel shot this picture of her with the tear in her eye. The full color version has a perfect tear stream running down the side of her face that the sun is shining on. I love this girl. I will never get out of a car without saying goodbye again, even if only for a few minutes!

Hope-Filled New Year

Today was historic. Not by my account, but by the world's account. Today was the inaguration of the 44th president of the US aka Barack Obama. It is supposed to be a day filled with hope for a new way of life. All the bets are on him, this black man who made MLK's dream come true. So many people are crying in the streets of Washington, in the bars of the ghetto, in the beauty salons of the midwest and sitting at home in front of their TV's or computers.

Not me. I don't shed a tear. I sit and wonder, after watching many inagural speeches in the past, when he will first mess up? When will he first go back on a promise and blame somebody else? When will he be exposed as "human"?

My New year isn't filled with hope because of the new president. My 2009 is filled with hope because of the Ancient of Days, the King of Kings. I have hope because Christ is on the throne. Not an earthly throne made of fine wood and covered in gold leaf, but a throne that is above all nations, all kingdoms, all humanity. I can hear my Lord's inaguration speech spoken from the cross, "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do ..."

My hope lies in the way, the truth, the life. Not in a man, not in the good ol' U. S. of A. but in the eternal salvation that is freely offered to me by the man that is God, Himself. Don't get me wrong, I am thankful to be living in these times. I did not vote for Barack Obama. I don't despise him or actually care one way or the other how the election went. I know it sounds horrible to most, but truthfully, no matter who is in the Whitehouse, all that matters to me is Who is on the throne in Heaven and that He made a way for me. Yes, I care about current situations on the planet, in the US economy, in the heartland, in my neighborhood and the neighborhoods I have never visited, but to be frank, I feel it is more important to continue spreading the good news, the gospel of truth and God's eternal Word than it is to rejoice in one man winning an election that puts him somewhat in charge of my nation for 4 or possibly 8 years. At my age, you realize it won't be long until the next inaguration speech ... the next set of promises and next first lady's ball gowns.

I vote for Jesus ... today and forever.

Ella and No-whaa

We are all sick. I mean the snotty, coughing, teary-eyed sick. Nobody in our house woke up feeling decent. Nobody wanted to take care of each other. Nobody wanted to get out of bed at all.

One somebody wanted to watch Dora. 2 somebodies did not. One somebody wanted to jump up and down on the bed. The other 2 somebodies did not want their brains shaking around. One somebody needed her diaper changed, 2 somebodies weren't in the mood to lift their heads, much less their whole bodies to get out of the bed and conquer the task at hand.

Still, we all got up, and served each other. We prayed, read the bible and sniffled and coughed our way through morning grace before breakfast that frankly I don't know why somebody wasted her time making sure it tasted so good when nobody could probably taste it!

I am here at the computer and in the next room, which is the bathroom, I can hear somebody splashing in her Vicks vapo-rub bubble bath while somebody is naming all the princess squirty toys. First you hear somebody yell "ELLA!" then ..."Yes, that's Cinderella." Next she yells, "no-whaa" which actually, today sounded more like "do-mah" with her stuffy nose ... and then Daddy said, "that's right! Snow White." And on and on he goes, naming all the princesses for her. I said, "babe ... thanks for knowing all their names." He said from the bathroom floor next to the tub, "it's part of being a dad, right? I mean, shouldn't all dads know this stuff?" And I smiled and thought, "wow. I am so lucky I have a man who thinks it's important to know what his daughter is in to and act like he loves it."

She is singing to him now ... the "shake your body na na na na shake your body like a crab " song from one of the Dora episodes. All she got out was "na na" which, again, sounded more like duh duh" today ... but he knew right away what song she was going for and now they are singing together. What a great day to all be sick and be able to be together.

Sea World and Sonora's Love-Hate Relationship with Elmo

Here is Sonora waving at Elmo on a sign. She even kissed the dirty sign. She was begging to stay near the sign, keep touching the sign. All she said over and over was "Elmo ... Elmo" She has never seen Elmo on TV ... my mom bought her an Elmo Christmas stocking and that's all it took! So I decide to be the coolest mom ever and let her meet Elmo in person. She goes to Disneyland all the time and kissed Mickey on the nose. She is not afraid of large characters ... well, she wasn't ... until ...she saw Elmo! She started to cry and wanted outta there so fast. Then when I walked away and said, "bye bye Elmo" she began to cry harder screaming, "More Elmo! Elmooo! More! More! Elmooo"
So I went back ...and she freaked out again ... so then I talked the photographer into being ready on stand-by with the camera and I got Elmo to leave his/her post so Sonora would just feel comfortable talking to me in front of the green screen.

I got Elmo to sneak behind her to capture a picture and then ... She turns around just before they could capture the one where she was smiling and all hell broke loose! So, to all who are wondering, no, I did not force my daughter to face an Elmo-nightmare extraordinaire!

And the ironic thing is, this MONSTER blue whale came up right to her face and she didn't even flinch! I took a step back and forgot to shoot the picture, he was covering the entire window. I got right before and right after, but I was intimidated when he swam right for us, but Sonora was like "cool!" I just don't get it ...

Snow Day

Happiest of New Years to all! It's Jan 2nd (happy birthday Ivette and Charlene) 2009. What an amazing year we have had. I got to see the world all over again with new eyes. I am so thankful that God has given me the ability to imagine what it's like to see everything for the first time and allow me to be able to slow down and experience it all with Sonora.

She is growing leaps and bounds and is so brilliant. I am not bragging, I am just documenting truth here, people! Our little 14 month old can already recognize and name letters of the alphabet *not in any order* A, S, M, O and D ... has a little problem mixing up D and O. When I draw stick figures, she says dada, mama, moon, star and my favorite, she pounds on her heart and makes the heart thumping noise (duh-doon, duh-doon). She can crawl off a chair, couch or bed now. She loves to climb up the step ladder. She is trying all kinds of new foods.She now says "no" very certainly when she does not want something. She loves baths with bubbles. She LOVES to watch Dora and Oswald. She loves Mickey and Minnie Mouse *meen-me* and she says *taputah* when she means Tinkerbell. She insists on wearing *taptchaw* (chap stick) every time we get into the car. She plays the keyboard and sings at the same time on her microphone! She is HILARIOUS!

She is a snuggler (thank God) and she loves to blow and receive kisses. She likes ringing the doorbell every time we come home before entering the house. I love that she has her own mind. She is definitely strong willed. I welcome that. I can't even say enough great things about her. She is all my dreams come true and the joy of my existence. Yes, she hangs on me all day and crawls between my legs when I am cooking and sits on my feet when I am doing dishes. Every time I try and talk on the phone, she says, "up!" and wants my full attention. I understand ... I was an only child.

I can't wait to see what this year will bring!