Old friends/New pics

Big thanks to the West family who let me attempt my first round of pictures on the beach. The lighting there is tough but a more beautiful landscape cannot be found in this neck of the woods so I will figure it out. In the meantime some cute ones of sweet Ty with his funny faces, photogenic Rhiannon, and I-am-totally-cooperative-with-pictures-but-refuse-to-wear-anything-but-an-odd-tshirt Dave! (love ya!)

More pics...and an update.

My friend Jess and her husband have adopted three kids - and each adoption story is unique! From paperwork having to be replaced and court dates delayed due to giant hurricanes to an overnight decision to come pick up a new little girl - they have a great story to tell. And their kids are hilarious. Good kids but with more energy than a Red Bull. This was definitely most my interesting photo shoot to date...those kids can move.

Other updates from the Maddex household: 7.5 days of school left. Dance recital last night. Day 3 of fitness boot camp complete. So sore!

Self Potrait

Me after Day 1 of Fitness Boot Camp.

Weekend Getaway...

I love to go...away from home. To spend relaxed hours with treasured friends or family. To escape the reality of never ending to do lists, errands and laundry. I also love traditions. The rituals of a holiday, a first day of school or the celebration of a decade or decades. Last summer my mom hit a mile marker and we packed our bags and headed to DC for a whirlwind tour of our nations capital. This year I am much anticipating a possible cruise as I ring in 3 decades of my life. And we did not want Tori to miss out...so away we went.

St.Augustine, for those who don't know, is the oldest city in America to have continuous residents. It was founded by Ponce de Leon and some of the oldest structures in America remain in this tiny seaside city. Better yet its a mere 4 hour drive from our house and therefore makes the perfect getaway - not too far to cost a lot but far enough to feel that vacation like experience.

LeShayne's Rules of Vacationing:

#1 - Always eat at touristy restaurants - both chains and non-chains alike. Make sure that at least once on your trip you eat a giant pile of pancakes or french toast with warm maple syrup!

#2 - Always check your hotel bed for firmness...by jumping on the bed.

#3 - Learn something new. For example - this fort called Castillo de san Marco has been around since the 1500's. And the walls are made of coquina (aka shell mud). And to this day the cannons fire daily.

#4 - If you are going to walk a long ways its important to stay fueled.

#5 Old things are cool things. There is something powerful about walking in the place where hundreds of years worth of people have walked. This picture was taken in the oldest American drug store. Look at that awesome cash register!

#6 The beach is a happy place. Okay maybe its my happy place. I seek them out whenever possible. The feel of sand between your toes and wind in your hair and that salty relaxed atmosphere you can actually smell in the air - good. The laid back, life has no cares or troubles, attitude the beach brings - fantastic.

#7 It is always good to come home!

The Formal Pics - 10

Celebration

A decade of life cannot go by without lots and lots of celebration. So Celebrate we did. The celebration started in her usual dramatic way with an announcement to the whole school that it was her birthday on the morning news show. A special visitor, aka daddy, stopped by for lunch. And after school...well we did homework. This was the week of the infamous egg project and so Bella, the egg, has a journal that needs to be written in and since she has no arms...it was up to Tori. So since Tori was celebrating a birthday, Bella had to celebrate too. (And no my kid did not read Twilight, she just likes the name!).

Then it was off to celebrate with family. Uncle Jonathan stopped by (Aunt Taylor was missed but had to work!) and Papaw and Lolly and our little family went to Tori's favorite restaurant: Outback. She likes the "brown bread".

She was excited to receive the Nancy Drew DS game she wanted, her first "credit card" (aka Visa gift card), and a designers sketch pad.

With the Little 'Kinz he picked her out Tristan gave her this sweet note...almost made me cry and it did make me laugh!
Translation: Dear Tori, Hope you have the best birthday ever. Your the only sister that is actually nice to their brother I have ever heard of. That is why I have you and no one else and you are the best girl dancer I have ever seen. I never want to replace you with someone else. You're the best. - Tristan
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Friday night we celebrated with her friends...a sleepover party that did not go quite as planned but Tori had fun and that's what counts. So after gathering sleeping bags, pillows, presents and overnight bags my packed out minivan headed home. They painted nails, colored with sidewalk chalk, played a game of Sharks and Minnows, as well as Clue.

Next stop: Kobe - Japanese Steak House. Here's what happened in my head - the kids were thrilled by this experience of delicious food and cool entertainment, our chef was funny and good with kids and a couple hours of the evening was spent not wrecking my home and filling stomachs with delicious but not totally unhealthy food. Outside my head here is what really happened - the kids were well behaved but the chef was dull, we had two very picky eaters, one who brought her own sandwich and one who said he would eat chicken but well...not so much, unless one bite counts. And since the chef was dull and did few tricks and clearly wanted to be at a table with less children the meal last a grand total of one hour - start to finish. At least the food was still delicious. And they did manage to collect a bunch of those little drink umbrellas and that, for lord only knows what reason, was thrilling.

The night ended fairly peaceful as they hunkered down to watch The Tooth Fairy. Of course the girls whispered crazy loudly late into the night but eventually they too fell silent!
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Taking a minute to appreciate one of Tori's friends. Tori has a friend named Rebecca, she moved here from the other coast in the middle of 2nd grade and the girls became fast friends. They seem to have little in common. Rebecca is athletic where Tori is studious. Rebecca could skip the makeup and nails while Tori loves those special girly treats! But yet they don't fight, they don't argue about what to play next and Rebecca is a delight to have at our house. I could not be more thankful for Tori having a friend like that, the kind you know has always got your back and as a mother the kind whose family I trust with my daughter - anytime, anywhere. Forever friends...those are the best kind.

(At Rebecca's party at the ice rink later the same day, birthdays are only 3 days apart!)
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Celebration comes in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes those celebrations are of the measurement of a life. Sometimes they are a celebration of a life itself. And while this weekend we celebrated Tori it took a sad turn that reminded us to celebrate life period.

Yesterday, on May 15th, God brought an amazing woman home. She radiated joy and she shared that joy with anyone that came near. She changed the lives of hundreds of kids and touched their parents hearts in turn. She leaves behind a husband and two gorgeous teenagers who are as beautiful on the inside as they are on the outside. As Pastor of Children's ministries at our church she leaves behind a hole that will be hard to fill. But today we celebrate - the life she had, the pain she is no longer in, and the impression she has left on each of us.

I don't like it, I don't understand it. But I truly believe that God has a plan. And for Lisa, while much missed here, I believe it is a good day.

At Tori's baptism a couple of years ago, Lisa dedicated both of our kids and baptized Tori.

A Decade

Ten years ago today my life changed forever. I was scared, and uncertain about what the future what bring. And now a decade has past and the little bundle that caused me such great worry taught me great joy. As she turns ten I am thankful for her generous spirit, her ability to love deeply and feel passionately. I have learned with her and from her. I have cried tears of joy over her and tears of sorrow.

Today Tori is creative, loving, diligent, and faithful. She loves to dance and sing and color and paint. She loves to read - especially Nancy Drew. She loves to learn - especially about rocks and mysteries and plants and why things work the way they do. She loves to spend time with her friends. She writes stories. She gives speeches. She plays ball. She loves to go to the pool. She has a flair for the dramatic. She likes computer games and board games. She loves to mother little kids.

May the next decade be as amazing as the first!

Love you Tori!

Real birthday pictures and party pictures, coming soon!

Discouraged.

I have been trying extraordinarily hard to be positive, to remind myself of all the blessings in my life and the constant wonder of all that is being a mother and wife and daughter and friend and human being. But today I am discouraged.

Today I want to skip the laundry. Feed my kids and myself a big greasy double cheeseburger from McDonald's. I want to forget trying my best at work. I don't want to meet with the orthodontist or shop for a birthday gift. I want to leave the muddy shoes at the door, forget the dust bunnies under the couch, and leave my garden in its dry hot little pad crawling with big nasty red spiders I cannot seem to get rid of alone. I want to crawl into bed with a good book and call it a day.

But I believe that his grace is new each morning...so I guess I will go fold laundry, whip up some tacos, find the perfect gift for a ten year old...and sic Todd on the nasty spiders! A girl can't do it all when she's discouraged :-)!

Shine

Do you ever experience that moment in your life when you think about the things you wanted? And then you realize that while it's an ever-changing, ever-growing, ever-different list...the one you had before? Well it's all there. The husband who is good to you. The kids who are well behaved. The sweet cuddly puppy. The amazing extended family. The laughter. The sunshine. The mother's day spent with those people on the beautiful day playing in the beautiful water eating delicious food.

Today I am thankful that the sun shines on my life. I am thankful for the amazing mother that made me who I am. I am thankful that she taught me to be creative, to work hard, to play just as hard and above all else to remember to show love - everyday, everywhere. But most importantly at home. And I am thankful for the children who made me a mother, who taught me what a mother's love is like from the mother's side!

The kids (and Todd!) got me some cool stuff. Tristan made me a coaster with his own personal cubist art on it. Tori made me a teeny tiny plant in a pot and a really sweet Power Point presentation (only in 2010!). Todd and the kids also got me some gardening stuff - including a super cool springy hose that makes it 1000 times easier to water my garden.

After being served breakfast in bed and picking up a mommy fav, Starbucks, we headed to the park for some fun. Jonathan and Taylor brought the boat down and we picnicked at the park and tubed in the bay. Lots of fun.

Bocce Ball...very serious competitors here. In case you don't know it's basically bowling on the lawn...except you have to get the big colored balls closest to the little white ball, no pins to knock over!

Obviously Tori has no issues posing for the cameras but please excuse my hair, this was after round one on the tube! And you get very, very wet. And salty. And the wind basically beats you up. So fun!

Tori's turn on the tube...she is a little more hesitant than everyone else but still enjoys it, though it did seem questionable for a moment there!

Tristan has always been the kid with a million funny faces and today he was priceless. He was so excited to go, had no fear, and made one funny face after another. The constant salt spray can get to you after a few but he went three times so it must have been ok!

Piper: Mother's Day Dedication

Piper is the much awaited daughter of my friend Brooke. Brooke also has a super sweet son about the same age as Tristan. But Piper, she has been the cute, cuddly doll Brooke is the perfect mom for. This girl always matches, coos at everyone she meets and smiles with those precious little teeth sticking out! Today we met at the park for some fun pictures and some more special ones too.

These last few pictures are wearing her dedication dress. For those of you that do not know a baby dedication is a church "ceremony" similar to that of baptism in the Catholic/Methodist/Episcopalian faiths. However in many other protestant faiths baptism is a decision you make for yourself and includes total water submersion. So as a child the parents choose to have a child dedicated. It's not promising the child to God but rather that as parents, family members and the church community we will do our best to raise our child with Godly values and instruction, to pray for their journey. It's really a commitment from parents. As for the child we still dress them up, parade them up front, and note the day down as one worthy of good food, gathered family, and a page in the scrapbook! This is Piper's special dress.