Dear Alyzabeth

Poor dear sweet Alyzabeth. Little one, you just might want to hide under your bed after I share some of what is waiting for you on this side of the world.

Alyzabeth or “Lizzy” as your mom calls you, I hope you are a forgiving child.

I hope you have a sense of adventure. I pray you love a good nap. I hope you like depression glass. I hope you have a butt as tough as alligator hide. I hope you like tasting new foods. I pray you love living & playing on the water. I hope you like humid weather. I hope you like clothes that won’t always match and shoes that aren’t always tied. I pray you get along with Salty Dog. I hope you enjoy little road trips to nowhere. I hope you like the taste of fish. I pray you love your Great Gandmother’s china. I hope you like finger tip rubs and toes lightly tickled. I pray you love Sunday School. I hope you like finding stars at night. I hope you like cats that are sure to get in your lap. I hope you like riding in the backseat of cars. I pray you love family coming together for holidays. I hope you like kisses on the nose. I pray you love learning and music. I hope you like cousins and nieces and nephews who will push you down and then help you up. I pray you love Florida winters and Maine summers. I hope you like writing thank you notes. I hope you like your Grandmother’s blueberry buckle. I hope you like reading. I pray you love Justin & Leaa. I hope you like the Jacksonville Jaguars, the St. Louis Cardinals and the University of Maine hockey. I hope you like challenges. I pray you love honesty. I hope you like homemade ice cream. I hope you like “live” theater. I hope you like being read bedtime stories. I pray you love giving more than receiving. I hope you like skiing at Steamboat. I hope you like movies that aren’t scary. I hope you like growing fresh veggies. I hope you like pretty ribbons and things in your hair. I hope you like getting dirty. I pray you love taking baths. I hope you like riding a bike. I hope you like The Beatles. I hope you like practicing good manners. I pray you love older people. I hope you like tradition. I hope you like people who are different. I pray you love helping others.
I hope you like making funny faces. I hope you like cooking with dad and baking with mom. I hope you like being you.

I pray you love your birth mother & father.

Oh, poor dear sweet Alyzabeth. Little one, We are full of hopes and love for you.

We pray you love God.
We pray you love mom and dad.
We pray you love this country of ours.
We pray you love being our daughter.

We pray all this and so much more.
And mostly we pray with each passing day God’s speed to bring you home to us…

Name That Movie Revealed

Good Will Hunting

Sean (Robin Williams) and Will (Matt Damon) are sitting together on a park bench. Will doesn’t look at him throughout the speech; he looks away. The scene ends with Sean’s walking away, leaving Will there, contemplating Sean’s words.)

Will (Matt Damon): So what’s this? A Taster’s Choice moment between guys? This is really nice. You got a thing for swans? Is this like a fetish? It’s something, like, maybe we need to devote some time to?

Sean (Robin Williams): I thought about what you said to me the other day, about my painting. Stayed up half the night thinking about it. Something occurred to me and I fell into a deep, peaceful sleep and haven’t thought about you since. You know what occurred to me?

Will: No.

Sean: You’re just a kid. You don’t have the faintest idea what you’re talking about.

Will: Why, thank you.

Sean: It’s all right. You’ve never been out of Boston?

Will: Nope.

Sean: So if I asked you about art you’d probably give me the skinny on every art book ever written…Michelangelo? You know a lot about him. Life’s work, political aspirations, him and the pope, sexual orientation, the whole works, right? But I bet you can’t tell me what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel. You’ve never actually stood there and looked up at that beautiful ceiling. Seen that…..If I asked you about women you’d probably give me a syllabus of your personal favorites. You may have even been laid a few times. But you can’t tell me what it feels like to wake up next to a woman and feel truly happy. You’re a tough kid. I ask you about war, and you’d probably–uh–throw Shakespeare at me, right? “Once more into the breach, dear friends.” But you’ve never been near one. You’ve never held your best friend’s head in your lap and watched him gasp his last breath, looking to you for help. And if I asked you about love you’d probably quote me a sonnet. But you’ve never looked at a woman and been totally vulnerable. Known someone could level you with her eyes. Feeling like! God put an angel on earth just for you…who could rescue you from the depths of hell. And you wouldn’t know what it’s like to be her angel and to have that love for her to be there forever. Through anything. Through cancer. You wouldn’t know about sleeping sittin’ up in a hospital room for two months holding her hand because the doctors could see in your eyes that the term visiting hours don’t apply to you. You don’t know about real loss, because that only occurs when you love something more than you love yourself. I doubt you’ve ever dared to love anybody that much. I look at you; I don’t see an intelligent, confident man; I see a cocky, scared shitless kid. But you’re a genius, Will. No one denies that. No one could possibly understand the depths of you. But you presume to know everything about me because you saw a painting of mine and you ripped my f*****’ life apart. You’re an orphan right? (Will nods) Do you think I’d know the first thing about how hard your life has been, how you feel, who you are because I read Oliver Twist? Does that encapsulate you? Personally, I don’t give a s*** about all that, because you know what? I can’t learn anything from you I can’t read in some f*****’ book. Unless you wanna talk about you, who you are. And I’m fascinated. I’m in. But you don’t wanna do that, do you, sport? You’re terrified of what you might say. Your move, chief.

(Sean stands and walks away.)

Family In China Now

The Nance Family is in China right now and will soon be bringing their daughter home. They have some great pictures and a video we think you will enjoy. Check them out…

Name That Movie

Memorable Movie Lines! Can You Name That Movie?

“And if I asked you about love you’d probably quote me a sonnet. But you’ve never looked at a woman and been totally vulnerable. Known someone who could level you with her eyes. Feeling like God put an angel on earth just for you…who could rescue you from the depths of hell.”

Was it?

A: The English Patient
B: Good Will Hunting
C: Cruel Intentions

Slowly putting things back together

As you may know, we live in Florida and the past couple of years have been a tad bit unruly on the hurricane front. For the most part we were one of the fortunate ones. Our damage was “manageable” in that our home escaped all but the slightest of damage. Oh, we lost power, had limbs and neighbor trees down and lost our gutters but compared to others we were blessed. Still, as each new storm hit we lost more and more of our dock. Eventually, the yard filled with dock debris washing in from our neighbors.

However, the one who suffered the most from the hurricane after-effects was none other than our own Salty Dog. SD lost his backyard romp area following one of the hurricanes that washed the fencing away. Without a fence to keep SD in and the gators out (I’m not joking here), SD was confined to the screened in porch. Well, we are happy (and ashamed for taking so long) to announce that SD is once again the KING of his domain! The fence has been replaced and the pet door has not stopped flopping since we removed the stop.

We still have not replace our boat. We used the insurance money to pay towards replacing the dock. Once we have saved the money we can start thinking about replacing the boat (That was Alyson you may have heard laughing just now). Oh well, all in due time.

Which reminds me, I may need to test run the generator this weekend. You never know. You just never know…

I do miss our boat. 24 hours before the next
hurricane hit our insurance company called
saying they were cutting us a check. Bottom
Line: If the boat caused further damage to
our property or anyone else we held the risk.
It took 3 of us six hours to raise, flip and get
the boat out of the water. I spent 5 of those
hours in the water with the waves and wind
growing stronger and stronger. The sad part
is I still have that insurance company. It’s not
always that easy getting & keeping insurance
in Florida.

To my FIL: We saved the gate you made for us. We know that once you all get down here we will find the perfect place for it.

We have to have a gate leading out to the dock walkway. Without one, Salty Dog would walk out a little ways and wait for the river tide to go out. Once he could see ground (make that MUD) off he would jump. What a pleasant surprise when I would get home from work only to be greeted by man’s best friend happily wagging his tail while encased in mud from head to foot. Salty Dog is the man but I grew weary very quickly of having to give him a daily bath. We strung a rather crude bit of fencing to block his access to the dock. However, when my FIL came down in the spring he took his talents and tools and built us a proper fence. Now he became the man! I wish I had an ounce of the talent this man has to build and repair things, just an ounce! Just One. He’s already replaced the lights and repowered our dock about a zillion times from previous storms. Alyson actually makes a “to do” list before they come down for a visit.

Heck, I feel bad for them. I love visiting with them but it’s like they work to stay with us! Then again, I guess with a SIL like me you do what you have to do for your daughter. My son can build & fix anything. I’d like to meet his father. It scares me knowing it couldn’t have come from my gene pool…

Here’s the new fence. SD is so happy. I should post a picture of him flying out the pet door. I know the two cats he shared the porch with seem a little happier with him gone. Not that they didn’t get along but I sense a greater joy in both of them. Now we just need to start fixing the yard were the erosion did a number on it. (BTW: Clicking on any of the pictures will make them pop up larger)

Name That Movie Revealed

When Harry Met Sally

Sally (Meg Ryan): “Most women at one time or another have faked it”.
Harry (Billy Crystal): “Well, they haven’t faked it with me”.
Sally: “How do you know”?
Harry: “Because I know”.
Sally: “Oh. Right. Thats right. I forgot. Youre a man”.
Harry: “What was that supposed to mean”?
Sally: “Nothing. Its just that all men are sure it never happened to them and all women at one time or other have done it so you do the math”.

The film is best known for a scene with the two title characters having lunch. They are arguing about a man’s ability to recognize when a woman is faking an orgasim (a largely improv scene expanded upon at the last moment when originally shooting). Sally claims men cannot tell the difference, and to prove her point, she vividly (but fully clothed) demonstrates the skill as other diners watch.

The scene ends with Sally casually returning to her meal as a nearby patron, played by Reiner’s mother, places her order: “I’ll have what she’s having.”

*Disclaimer: The above was cut & pasted from the internet. If I could properly do footnotes and not be so lazy I would. I don’t. Therefore I haven’t.

Name that movie!

Memorable Movie Lines! Can you pick the movie?

“I’ll have what she’s having”.

Name that movie…

A: CASABLANCA
B: WHEN HARRY MET SALLY
C: FUNNY GIRL

Buying Spree over the Weekend

I have still kept my promise of not buying anything for Lizzy yet: I have no clothes, no shoes,
no pajamas, no “onesies”, no coats, no sweaters, absolutely nothing. I decided a while ago to wait until I have Lizzy’s picture and statistics (you know – her weight, age, size etc.) before I purchase any clothing.

So my energy is going towards working on her bedroom – it still looks like a guest room/library!

I continue to gather “things” for Lizzy’s bedroom. I have not made any final decorating decisions. I am only collecting pink and brown items to try in the room until I get a sense of “this is it” revelation. So here are some recent pictures of “items” hanging around the room (Yes, I am still blaming my weekend without Ford and my shopping trip with Pam for my over-run on the budget this month). Thank goodness for Target’s return policy!!

New pink items:
Table lamp: I plan to use fabric paint and add brown polka dots.
Bedding: new queen size hot pink coverlet, shams and sheet set, new brown pillowcases. Need to buy the matching brown sheet set if I decide to keep the pillowcases.
New brown baskets for bookshelves: these are made of plastic; thought they would hold up better than real baskets/wicker. I only bought three until I decide if I like them. I will line each one with a pink stripe or floral fabric. Purchased cute pink tub to probably store toys or small items in.
Bought two new frames: one hot pink and one “shabby chic” pink floral (matches the two rugs purchased at Target).
Bought one framed print of a ladybug. My first lady bug!!

If you look at the prior pictures of the bedroom (01/07/06) you will note that I have not given up on keeping the “hunting scene & dogs” lamps on either side of the bed!! I love them.

What else do I need besides toys and Lizzy?

Okeechobee

I made a quick trip down to Okeechobee with son Justin and granddaughter Kilee to visit with my Dad & Joy over the weekend.

The weather was absolutely fantastic. The citrus had mostly been picked but it was still a rush to see all the groves. I wish I had taken more photos! I especially wish I had taken one of Joy giving Kilee a sink bath! I can’t believe I didn’t get a picture of that.

Justin pulled Kilee around in her wagon and we made a couple of golf cart journeys (the preferred method of transportation while there) to dispose of Miss Kilee’s pampers Kilee loved the golf cart…

It was a short but very nice visit. I’m glad Justin and Kilee made the trip with me. All the more special. We caught a break coming back through Daytona. The race was still in progress so the traffic was not so bad. You can see the track from the interstate and the people, the motor homes and blimps! You know they were having some kind of FUN!

Still, it’s nice to be home to my sweetie…

Weekend Blues #3

This will be the last of my blues series…. I am actually very cheerful so the unsettling news is providing me more fodder to contemplate about; If I should help or how I can help with family issues far away.
Let me say that this will be brief as to air other family member’s news on our blog is not our forte. Talking about ourselves is great fun but am not so sure other’s want to see their name in print (they can start their own blog!).

Our immediate family is all fine. DH visiting with his folks, son & Kelly and baby Kilee are all well; daughter and SIL are out of town visiting family and celebrating SIL’s birthday, I am fine – yes, I got my Starbucks and went shopping with a friend who is the sweetest person but I may have to hold it against her that I bought way too much while shopping with her. I buy alot less when I shop alone! So we are doing fine amongst the usual worldly concerns.

Here in Florida, I have a retired cousin and a “cousin-in-law”. The CIL recently has had two surgeries and is recovering at their home. She has a long rehab schedule ahead of her and I know with her spirit of determination (and helpful cousin, her sister-in-law, coaching her) she will recover. My cousin is waiting to schedule her needed surgery in the next month or two, so that is up next.

My family in Maine has some issues. My Mom has been sick with a major cold/sinus infections/breathing difficulties for about two weeks. She did go to the doctor and has some meds that are allowing her to get better. Hopefully she will be well soon. My M&D are due to drive here for their spring vacation next month.

I have two sisters, my “baby” sister has had some health issues for a while now and to hopefully conclude this, she has surgery scheduled in about two weeks. We pray that all goes well and her recovery is speedy. Her son is entering adulthood, with first car (a very old, used Pathfinder) and we know he will stay out of trouble (even his license plate has “NP” on it – we figure it means “No problems”).

My older sister has a daughter who is struggling with work, personal decisions and college. Things are a little up in the air but she and her boyfriend have a plan and he has been recently accepted to re-enter college too. They are young and will figure it all out! I wish them success. The same sister’s son has struggles relating to college. What is it with kids these days?? (oops, I think my parents said the same thing about us!!). We hope his plan will be to finish college and move forward. He is a hard worker so we know he will suceed!

Maybe all this doesn’t sound so bad in the big picture of world events but you know how family troubles are very big and real and I am many miles away from helping. A phone call is about all I can do and pray for all of them.

We love them all and wish we could give them a hug!!