no 249 photos at last!

the camera broke on the first day of school...back to square one with my ancient kodak, that has lost it's ubc cord.
yes, the phone did loose it's own cord, because i can't find it anywhere in this little house.
however
i managed to get my printer to let the memory card take 100 photos off for posterity...100 photos
we've been to the airport more times than friends and family should know
we've been to souffelnehim france for a pottery fest
we've been downtown with a flat little girl
we've been to an outstanding high school football game
we've been starting school (but those photos are on the broken camera now being fixed!)
and then there were the spring photos of softball and soccer and play that somehow got left behind in all the fracas of our summer.

let the photos show, we've been a busy busy little family, and casa h has been full!
umarmen und lieben
e

no 248. what a difference a life makes...

a year ago, part of my heart left me-
left me for places unknown
left me for places uncertain
left me.

it has been a year frought with questions
questions without answers.

it has been a year of work
work without joy.

many mornings, i would drive to school, heavy thoughts filling the corners of my mind-
worry.
so much worry.
few mornings, i would drive to school, heavy rain filling the corners of the sky-
parting, ever so slightly,
pausing to let the sun shine through
in a heavy moment, a rainbow would appear...

my mother in law once said that rainbows were G-d's promise to mankind.

i have never forgotten that-even remember where we were when she said it-
G-d's promise...

the afternoon i got the call, it rained.
the afternoon i got the call, a rainbow appeared.
now, in my humble mind, i imagine that part of my heart-Dulce Maria somewhere beautiful, painting rainbows with G-d.
it makes me smile and give thanks for every one that i see.

so tonight, on the eve, it was Open House at my school.
i was SO SO SO tired; it had been a very long day, and the hour to close up shop was just about to ring, when
one last family came in to say hello.

this family is a new family,
this child is a new child,
who
has begun filling the empty place in my heart.

he is naughty, mischievious, whimsical, silly, sweet, good, kind,
did i mention naughty?!
his parents are both active duty, and, to tell them Open House was over-
it wasn't going to happen.
i spoke with his momma,
i spoke with his baby,
i spoke to his little brother -who- tried to feed my wall with a tub full of counters.
he made a mess, a mess that will wait until tomorrow to be cleaned.

but
it was what he did as he left that stopped me in my tracks...
as this child left with his family, a chorus of goodbyes filled the hallway, and ringing loudest of all was the little brother

"BYE H!"

Dulce.
you were there tonight, weren't you?!
some people might reflect on time passing...what a difference a year makes.
others,
we see the difference a LIFE can make.

it was my blessing in life to know her, and, my priviledge to be her teacher...

umarmen und lieben DW
H

no. 247 remember

this year
marks eight years...
when i took oreo out for his walk today
the sounds on base were loud and s.t.r.o.n.g.

this year
soldiers filled the streets
running in unison
cadences booming
the voices of comraderie, support, like souls and minds-

remember.

no. 246 a just like that, the revolving door slowed to a standstill

team leader and i said years and years ago that
we wanted our house to be the place where the kids and their friends wanted to be-
we wanted our house to be the place where the kids and their friends felt safe-
we wanted our house to be the place where the kids and their friends ate meals, shared moments,
laughed out loud.

our house has been that place, and more.

we moved here and shortly thereafter we woke up one day to find pres and some boy hanging out in the kitchen making waffles.
that was the beginning...some boy indeed!

it goes without saying that as parents, we want nothing more than every day to be a happy day for each of our three littles...
we do everything we can, and probably do too much, to make that ideal a reality.

so, when pres started having this boy over to our house,
and
a sleepover stretched from one night to two
two nights to three
we realized that this kid, was becoming part of our extended family...
he came on trips with us
he ate many many meals with us
he and pres had many many MANY adventures together (most of which i'm sure i really don't want to know about!)

for 2 years our phone rang constantly
for 2 years our front door opened to big boys shoes, big boys laughter,
big boys...
this big boy became our "extra harrison"
and at his house, pres became their "extra molina"

it goes without saying that as parents, we want nothing more than every day to be a happy day for each of our three littles...
we do everything we can, and probably do too much, to make that ideal a reality.

yesterday i drove behind the car that took him and his family to the airport...
to the plane that took them back to the states...
i hugged him until we couldn't breathe
i hugged his mother
i hugged ben
i hugged dollie
i hugged preston...who hugged his best friend
goodbye for now.
we watched them walk away, to a new chapter-
another place where another door will open-
spinning round and round

just like that, the revolving door of ours, slowed to a standstill

it goes without saying that as parents, we want nothing more than every day to be a happy day for each of our three littles...
we do everything we can, and probably do too much, to make that ideal a reality.

yesterday was a hard hard day for casa h and the littles
and today
we will do everything we can to make this day
this day
a happy one.

umarmen und lieben
essie

no. 245 my turn

is the column in Time magazine, where someone, some one regular or irregular person gets a voice.

today the world lost one voice.
team leader called me on my way to school...
it was just after 7am here in germany
it was shortly after the president had been informed in washington
the news was scrolling updates filled with shock and disbelief.

a mighty voice.

Senator Ted Kennedy cried at my grandfather's funeral.
he sat behind me during the service; what i remember most about that day, was the soft sound of loss.

a strong voice.

Senator Ted Kennedy was a true champion for the people.
he cared about our country; what i remember about his service, is his devotion to making this country a place for all it's citizens to be equal, our schools to be g.o.o.d., and health care to be universal.

a big voice.
Senator Ted Kennedy was a person who filled a room.
he would smile and speak; what i remember about this man, is more than his family name, it was the reflection found in the faces of those who listened and heard him.

yes, he was a Kennedy, and

his family was important to my family-
his family was important to my country-
his family was important to my, our, THIS world-

with his family, for whom i offer the greatest condolence, in the weeks of passing that have overcome them...
i take my turn in thanking him for his very full life.
i take my turn in thanking him for his big, strong, mighty voice.
i take
my turn

may you rest in peace...

no. 244 a house divided

is what you have when a daddy is a DIE hard Yankees fan

and a ben is a DOUBLE-DIE hard Redsox fan...

oh my stars!
umarmen und lieben
e

no. 241 we welcome you with love!

with the happiest post i have read
in a long long time,

this estatic member of Team Tang says "WOOHOO" and welcomes
"little e"
into the fold of our K-1 family!!!

La, Kevin, Sammy,
our hugs, love, kisses, and wishes for a fast trip to get her-
Ellie...
xoxoxoxooxoxx
"big e", t, p, d, and b

no.240 all about the wish

go here.

i wished that rahn would get a good night's sleep in anticipation for a great new school year.
what would you wish for today if you could?

umarmen und lieben
e

no. 239 bray...a day at the beach

no. 238 arklow

the yoda laptop isn't letting me rotate my pictures...fingers crossed it will stop the madness soon!

we went to see HP6 in arklow...had to take a photo on the way out









the band in a truck-TOTALLY brought back memories of trips to scotland to see my grandma and the lamas fair

no. 237 arriving

sunny smiles from ireland

over the hedge

ben, in front of our home away from home in ireland

the front yard of the cottage, Corbalis Lodge, Rathdrum Co. Wicklow Ireland

ben and daddy sharing a morning cuppa

we have arrived!

no. 235 lost in the shuffle

so... the post with other snaps from ireland...
hmmm.
i'm fixing it, but you know the yoda laptop does the first photo last.
the 3 pictures "choosing a rock"
temptation to keep scrolling!

umarmen und lieben
e

no. 236 choosing a rock...ireland 2009

 

 

 

 

no.234 kaBOOM!

happy fourth of july family and friends-
we love and miss you!

xoxox
e,t,p,d,and b

erghh!!

i know i am bigger than this.
i know it.

erghh!!!!!

no. 233 out of sight

walking into the shoppette just now
a song
was playing that made me stop.
for a minute i was singing along
but my head was somewhere else
thinking of my life
as it was
in another place
and
in another time...

short version-

i know that life passes us by.
i know that while we are gone
we are
out of sight.

and i know that often
out of sight
does mean
out of mind

even to the closest of friends
even to the most important people
even to the family you thought you could never be without.

i know.
i understand.
i get the big picture.

but the big picture isn't the immediate picture
particularly for our children
who are dealing with the heavy reality of saying goodbye.
saying goodbye because it is PCS season in our world

that's the unavoidable time when soliders and their families leave for new duty posts...a Permanent Change of Station.
but really, to military kids and their friends, who know better-
nothing is permanent
and this is just a move
to a new place
far away
from the life you work so hard to create for yourself
in spite of where the military sends you.

in a perfect situation
our children would have:
lived in one community
gone to a single elementary school
experienced preteen angst and upset in one middle school
captured four years of high school
lived in one community.

but they haven't
and they won't
and for every hard goodbye
i pray for a soft hello.

it's as simple and as complicated as that.
we miss you all

kisses and wishes
hope and virtue
umarmen und lieben
e

no. 232

(#$%$(%U(#((#*%**!!!!

now i feel better

no. 231 or the one where she turns 13

that "she" is my little girl
"she" is 13 today.

i think i'm in shock-
seriously.
seriously in shock.
it can't be that 13 years and 9 months of my life with her have already passed.
it just can't be...


i remember everything about being pregnant with her...it was the worst pregnancy...
ever.
i wasn't cute or bubbly
i wasn't gracious
i was enormous
and had the morning sickness of a thousand people
she turned my body upside-down and SIDEWAYS
she messed with me that badly!
i became diabetic
i went on bed rest
i was enormous-did i mention that?!
i was impatient
i was grumpy
i was enormous

i was convinced this baby was
a girl-
our daughter to be.
my mom was the only other person who agreed...even my doctor thought it was a boy
i knew better
she was already giving me the headaches...in utero no less!
heh
just kidding
i knew better though, i did.
from the beginning i knew that she would be the
only
one.
just doodlebug
no other daughters claiming
flesh of my flesh
daughters of my heart-later, much much later
but dollie
she was born and the mold was broken-
one of a kind.

these are the years where mothers and daughters struggle
where the temptation to spread wings is dashed by the primitive need to protect
where voices carry over one another
where tears are mighty
and
where tears are few

i love her with everything that i am
i love her with everything that i have
i love her with everything
i love her.

she is my daughter
she is my gift to the world
she is the world's gift
to me.

kisses and wishes
hope and virtue
umarmen und lieben
on your 13th birthday and every day
Dorothy Laura Grace

xoxox
momma

no. 230 more doodle love!

no pics yet-
sorry.
i know that's REALLY why my 2 loyal readers come here...for the fabbo photo ops.
again sorry.

they are coming-promise.

doodle bug love continues
as she was chosen as
MVP
for the softball tournament!!!
(her team came in 3rd overall, and considering that she didn't know you were allowed to steal bases when she played her first game EVER in April, is a pretty sweet deal!)
oh my stars!
that super duper girlie-o of ours...
she is on a roll
and she deserves the accolades!

side bar:
back to school tomorrow for the training before summer school starts.
bleech
HOW did i end up on THIS train?!
seriously...
trying VERY hard to wrap myself around the positive as i drive friends to the airport for their summer in the states.
we
are
staying
here.
no trips over for us.
*sigh*

thinking about rainbows and ponies right now
rainbows and ponies...
kisses and wishes,
hope and virtue,
umarmen und lieben
e