Pinterest Photo Challenge Day 3: Mail

Today's Pinterest Photo Challenge is Mail. Nothing in my mail is too exciting... but as I was unpacking some boxes, I came across a letter that was somewhat life-changing.

This letter arrived in my box in 1996. It says:

"Dear Sonia, You don't know me, but I hope I have some good news for you. I'm sitting here watching a show on family being reunited with long lost family members. This letter is to let you know where your dad is..."

My dad left my mom and I when I was 5. He left us...and left us with nothing. He hung around the periphery for a couple of years, always promising he'd come and take me somewhere fun, then wouldn't show up. Eventually, he just disappeared. I spent most of my childhood looking for his face in a crowd, wondering if I'd recognize him. I saw him at a funeral when I was in the 3rd grade. I spoke to him on the phone for Father's Day when I was in 5th grade (after which he promptly changed his phone number.) I didn't see him again until after I got this letter when I was 28 years old. I drove to his home to see him a couple of times...and then he disappeared again without a word. I saw him again in 1998 when I had to claim his body from a funeral home. I was his next of kin. Although he never took care of me, I managed to make sure he had a funeral and was buried in our family plot.

He wasn't a good father, but I suppose he did the best he could. Regardless, I guess things work out the way they should. His shortcomings taught me how to be a better parent to Libby and Roan.

Kitty cat update...

We've added to our cat family...

We still have Humphrey, but he's a BIG boy now. This is him loving on Libby. They're snuggle up together on the couch. He's enormous, and just about a year old.

This is our new kitty, Maggie. Shannon told me I could get another kitty as long as she was solid white with blue eyes. So I scoured CraigsList until I found one. She meets all the criteria, except she has one blue and one amber eye. My friend Sarah says she "finds this disturbing". I think she's beautiful. I tried to capture her eyes here, but it's hard to see.

As you can see, she's adjusted to our home quite well. She's sunning herself on the screened porch...

Piano Recital

Libby has been taking piano lessons since just before age 4. When we moved back to Jeff City, we were lucky enough to find an amazing piano instructor who only lives a few doors down from us. She has really taken Libby to the next level as far as technique and sight reading. Roan started taking lessons in January, too! He's been wanting to for a while, but I felt he was a little itchy and unfocused... He finally showed me he was ready, so we let him start.

They had a recital a few weeks ago. I love their recitals! They are required to stand up in front of the audience, introduce themselves and announce what they'll be playing. So many kids are so scared, they whisper, or race through it. Not my two! They stand up, and speak loud and clear. Makes me proud!

Roan's very first recital! That's Ms. Deborah, his teacher, sitting with him. He announced to the whole audience that this was his first recital!

Libby's a pro at playing in public. She doesn't get nervous at all! Look at her hair! She looks like a model. And look at those pigeon-toes...just like her momma!!

Her hair was so magnificent, I had to take a close-up. If it looks this great when she's 8, what will it look like when she's 18?

Piano lessons are expensive and take a lot of time, but it's been so good for my kids. I'd recommend them for any kid who's interested... it's really made learning fractions quite easy for Libby. It's teaching Roan a lot of good things, too. I'm hoping this is a skill and talent that will stay with them all of their lives...

Pinterest Photo Challenge Day 2: Color

Today's Pinterest Photo A Day in April challenge is COLOR. This is a picture of all my serger thread colors. The rack is amazing... I told my hubby that I really needed some way to store this thread; the next day, he came in carrying this and asked "Is this what you had in mind?" It's magnificent. I have it hung up high so it's out of the way, but easy to get to when I need to change thread colors. It's long... the picture only captured maybe half of the rack. He even painted it the perfect color to match my sewing room. I love that man!! How lucky am I?

Photo A Day April: Day 1

In an attempt to redeem myself from being a blogging failure (as of late), I've decided to participate in "Photo A Day April" by @FATMUMSLIM. I figured it would be fun, and give me some inspiration to visit my blog every day again!

DAY 1: Your reflection:
I thought about being literal and just taking my picture in the bathroom mirror. But honestly, my hair's been kind of a mess all day, and I only put on enough make up to keep from scaring my mother-in-law when she stopped by today. So, I thought about what else could be my reflection. Naturally, I thought about these little people... Libby and Roan.

After all, they do look an awful lot like me. Because I am the one raising them, they can't help but be a reflection of me. In fact, sometimes, it's a little spooky. Libby is so much like me, it can be eerie sometimes. I see a lot of Daddy in Roan's expressions and personality, but he's a lot of his momma, too.

I'm happy they're mine. I'm awfully proud of them both! By the way, this picture was taken outside their school last Thursday night. Libby had her 2nd grade concert. Roan is just a ham for the camera.

I have failed to blog...

I've not been a faithful blogger in a few months. Shame on me! It seems like life flies by so fast! The last part of 2011 was eventful...

We had Pocahontas and the Grim Reaper as guests for Halloween! The kids had a big Halloween party in the back yard, complete with a bonfire. They loved it! They went Trick-or-Treating and got more candy than they could eat in a year!

During spirit week at school, they had Career Day. Libby dressed as an artist; Roan was a math professor!

Then we had Hippie Day. OMG they were so cute! (and mom did a pretty good sewing job, huh?!)

In November, Shannon and I took a trip to Eureka Springs AR. OMG, what an amazing place! We've decided that when we're rich, we're going to have a second home there! We had the best time; if you have the opportunity, I highly recommend you visit!

We had a lovely Christmas. Sean was here from Colorado, and we hosted the McGowin family dinner. The kids got to spend some time in KC with their Nana and Papa, which made them very happy!

On New Year's Day, the City sewer backed up into our basement. This was bad. We lost pretty much everything that was down there. We had to tear everything down to the studs and build again. The good news is, we again have walls...and a laundry room...and today, we have carpet!! This weekend, we'll be able to move some things back in from storage. We almost have our home back!

We have a sweet new addition to our family! Shannon's daughter Mallory, and her husband Seth, welcomed baby Caroline on 12/15/11. She's a doll and Shannon is a proud Papa!

I hearby resolve to be a better blogger in 2012. Amen. Over and out.

Happy Birthday, Roan!!

Today, my sweet boy turns 7! How can this be? It seems like just yesterday he got here and turned our world upside down! He and Libby are 18 months apart. I'm not really sure why I thought that was a good idea... it's great now, but when they were little...wow.

This is the boy on his 5th birthday. It's one of my favorite pictures. He had such tiny Chicklet teeth. He's really changed a lot in two years. What a difference adult teeth make!

He will KILL me someday for posting this... but this is one of my all-time favorite pictures. When he was younger, he went through a very long dress-wearing phase. Dresses, high heels, tiaras. This pictures kills me.

Some things about Roan that I don't want to forget:

1. He's in first grade right now. He is apparently a math genius. It makes sense and it is very easy for him. Spelling is a different story, unfortunately. He really struggles with it but we work on it a lot at home.


2. He is desperate for a dog. So, he reads dog books and prints dog pictures and talks incessantly about our someday-dog.


3. He is completely obsessed with Monster High toys. He has all of the dolls except one or two of the very latest ones. He saves his money to buy them and plays with them all the time. It's funny though, because he worries what people will think about this. I don't think he'd ever want his best friend to know!


4. He's in Boy Scouts right now and loves it. Last week, he watched some Native American dancers, and now is interested in doing that when he gets farther in Scouting.


5. His best friends right now are Ryan and Drew.


6. He is incredibly compassionate. He has a soft heart and worries about other people. I love that about him.


7. He loves to watch iCarly, So Random, and most of the other tween shows.


8. When he grows up, he wants to be a Rock 'n Roll singer, an actor or a musician. He says he is "destined for the stage"!


9. He speaks his mind. He will tell you what he thinks and will let you know when he believes something is wrong or unfair.


10. He has a real heart for people with disabilities or other differences. He has a natural way about him that puts people at ease. He's a sweet boy!

Happy birthday, Roan! I'm glad I'm your mom. You make our family complete!