1. The NY Grandparents’ 3 month “vacation” at our house is coming to an end. They start their journey home in a couple of weeks. We will all miss them but I suspect that Hope will be particularly sad to see them go.

2. Bethany Hamilton, the Soul Surfer girl, is speaking at our church on the 22nd. Lauren is ecstatic!

3. Hope is using more and more words. “Daddy’s car”, “Lauren’s school”, “Hamburger!”, “Taco!”, “Thank you!”, Mine!” At this point, she is able to communicate what she wants and that makes her (and us) very happy.

4. Our neighbors dug up their side yard and replaced it with mulch. Lauren helped and Hope and I went over to watch. The neighbor grandpa picked up a grub and showed it to Hope. Hope grabbed it right out of his hand and popped it into her mouth! Our neighbor was just as fast as Hope in grabbing it right back out.

5. Dave has been working on making some videos for church. I’m glad he has a hobby he enjoys so much. Look out Spielberg!

6. After 13 years of making the same pancake recipe, I used a new recipe today that has butter in it instead of oil. Not sure why I didn’t switch sooner.

7. This week is Lauren’s spring break. It’s really nice to have my favorite eight year old home for the week.

8. I’m giving my testimony at MOPS in a couple of weeks. If you can pray about that, I would greatly appreciate it. I love telling Carmen’s story but that doesn’t stop me from feeling like I might throw up for a few days beforehand.

9. I just finished reading the To Save a Life series. The youth pastor at our church and his wife wrote them. Wow! I’m seriously impressed. As I finished each book, I couldn’t wait to read the next.

10. I have been finding some fantastic “deals” at the local Goodwill Boutique. Naartjie, Janie and Jack, Mini Boden, Gymboree, Justice (Lauren’s fav), etc. The girls are all decked out!

11. I have never liked summer at all because everywhere we have lived has been HOT in the summer months. I am soooooo looking forward to summer this year! 60s and 70s is really nice for winter and mid-70s is going to be really, really nice for summer!

12. After a few months with bangs, Lauren has decided she wants to let her bangs grow out and get a cute bob cut. I think I traumatized her bang experience when I trimmed them very, very crooked and Dave had to fix them.

13. My solution to a picture taken indoors at a play place with iso at 3200 and a weird greenish cast: change it to black and white.

Yesterday, Lauren received an award at school for outstanding integrity.

Lauren accepting her award

On stage

Her award read: “Lauren is hands down an amazing student. She is a model for her classmates in every way. She is honest, treats others fairly, has impeccable judgment and leadership skills. Lauren stands true to who she is and excels socially and academically.”

Lauren, we are VERY proud of you!

Hope and I get a lot of looks and then this question: “Where did she get her hair?”

Dave had blond hair as a kid and my maternal grandmother had curly hair. That’s my best answer!

Hope’s hair most definitely goes with her personality. A little wild. Vivacious. Full of bounce. Dramatic. Definitely not subdued or quiet.

Hmmm, my hair is mostly a thick, frizzy mess. What does that say about me? Ha!

Does your hair go with your personality?

When my friend Kerri was here visiting, she commented several times that Lauren entertains herself very well. I hadn’t thought much about that because Lauren has always been content to play by herself. Actually, let me clarify. The first year of Lauren’s life? I held her. On my hip, in a carrier in front, in a carrier on my back, in a pouch, etc. She was happy as a lark as long as I was holding her! The second year of Lauren’s life? I think I spent most of my day playing games with her and reading books to her. Somewhere around 3-4 years old, Lauren started enjoying playing by herself, looking at books, etc.

I think several things contributed to this. First of all, personality. Lauren is a lot like Dave and me. That makes perfect sense; she is our daughter! She loves to be around people but she also loves her quiet time. And her sleep. Yep, just like us! Also, Lauren was forced to entertain herself on many, many occasions when Carmen was alive. There were times when I couldn’t play with Lauren and take care of Carmen at the same time. I agonized over those times. When playing with Lauren, I wished so much that Carmen was healthy and could join in the Monopoly game or Polly Pocket adventure. But more often than not, I told Lauren I had to take care of Carmen – medicines, suctioning, preparing formula, etc. – and that Lauren had to read a book or play with her toys. And she did.

I suppose it’s not much different than families with kids close in age. The newborn tends to need a lot of care and the older kids have to learn independence. But, it is so different than that too.

The funny thing is that for all of my agonizing over what I felt Lauren was missing…well, she seemed pretty content with how things were. There were times that she was bitterly disappointed that we couldn’t get to the pool or the playground but for the most part, she wasn’t phased.

I’ll often pop into Lauren’s room now and see her reading a book or drawing a picture. She likes to quietly play with her dolls. She sometimes asks for the laptop so she can play games.

I’m rambling so I’ll end this post. I just want to say that I love who Lauren is and who she is becoming. I can’t wait to see how God uses the personality He gave her and the circumstances He allowed her to experience.

Lauren on the laptop

This past weekend, we went to the San Diego Zoo. Of course, NY Grandma and Grandpa went with us. Our friends from Virginia, Kerri and Lee, also went with us. They were visiting for the week.

I’ve been to 5 zoos in my lifetime: my hometown zoo that seemed great when I was 7; the St. Louis Zoo that is very nice; the Guatemala City Zoo, which will always hold a special place in our hearts; the Washington National Zoo, which is big, nice and free; and the San Diego Zoo, which is wonderful. Is is most certainly not free but discounts and season passes do help.

Here are some pictures from our day.

Flamingos are such colorful, strange looking birds.

Everything is blooming this time of year.

Some kind of red kangaroo...can't remember the name.

Hope goes for a spin with NY Grandpa

Red

When the NY Grandparents are along, souvenirs are part of the day. Lauren and Hope both got panda bears.

This week Dave’s brother, Wes, is coming for a visit from Philadelphia.

Apparently, we’ve become much more popular in the past 8-9 months. Nah…it can’t be San Diego!

Have you been to any zoos? Which ones?