Bye Bye Baby Teeth...Hello Kindergarten!

Yes, my sweet Gracie has started Kindergarten. I really can't believe it. I was so worried about her being sad or throwing a fit when I had to leave her at school but none of that happened. In fact quite the opposite. She was so excited to be there. At last her teacher said, "Okay, give one last hug and kiss and we'll go to Kindergarten!" As I leaned over to kiss Gracie, I was flooded with gratitude. Gratitude for this little girl in front of me, gratitude for her doctors and mostly gratitude for living today when medicine is changing from day to day and miracles happen so often. It just hit me so hard at that very moment that here she is so healthy and strong and thriving and that only 5 short years ago we sat beside her wondering if she would ever be able to come home and if so, for how long? Gracie noticed the tears in my eyes and took my cheeks in her hands and said, "Mom, are you a little sad that I'm going to Kindergarten?" "No, Gracie," I responded, "I am just soooo proud of you for being so brave!" She smiled back at me, tugged on her backpack and headed into the school.

The morning before her second day of school she came to me with a loose tooth. I popped it out and she was so excited for a visit from the tooth fairy. Five minutes later she came to me with another loose tooth (funny I'd never noticed before) so we popped it out too, and she went to school with a little lisp. She was thrilled to meet Lizzie after school and show her the new gap in her mouth!

Gracie is pure joy. She's our daily reminder that life is to be enjoyed each and every day and that we should live passionately (not just go through the motions.) Thank you Gracie for your amazing little spirit! We love you and are so proud of you!

1st day of 1st Grade for Lizzie Jane!

Lizzie FINALLY started 1st grade. I say "finally" because she has been counting down the days for several weeks now. She is so happy to be back in the social scene on a daily basis and especially happy to have her little sister join her on the afternoon bus ride home. She's been sharing all the Kindergarten secrets with Grace to get her ready for her big debut... She's such a little Mommy. I already miss her so much. She is so mature for her age and loves to sit down and have mature conversations with me. She also loves to play with the babies and they love her so much (Hallie usually prefers to be held by Lizzie instead of me!) But today she's off on her own. Exploring the new world of 1st grade with school lunch, snack time and 8 hour days!!! She's a great reader and is sharing her skills with me every night. Her handwriting gets better and better everyday, too. I just can't believe how fast time has flown...yesterday I was telling her to "leave your clothes on!" for the 5oth time, today I'm packing up her lunch box and sending her on her way! I love you Liz! You make me proud!

Thank You!

Thank you so much to everyone that came to "Comedy for a Cure." It was an awesome night with a hilarious comedian. We raised $1.300.00 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to help fund research. Adam said that he will definately be back next year for another show so plan on it again for next year! Thanks so much, Adam, for donating your time and talents to this great cause! We also had so many stores and people donate food for concessions and we are so thankful for them also! Mom, Suzanna, Stoney, Jen, Brad, JoLynn, Heidi...couldn't have done it without you guys!!!

Watermelon, Apple Pie and Softball!

One thing in life that Craig is passionate about is softball every summer. Their team finished up a great season at 1st place this year and are all a little sad that its over. I, on the other hand, am not sad that chasing the twins in two different directions for an hour every week is over! I got to see few plays this season in between getting Hallie out of the other team's dugout and stopping CJ from eating a snow cones out of a dirt piles. Lizzie and Grace loved playing with cousins and climbing trees like little monkeys. It kept us all up a little later, wore us all out, and gave us all a few more memories to tuck away.... Thanks Daddy for a great season! You never cease to amaze me... and you've still got that amazing swing!

Before the last game we enjoyed having the team and their families over for a bbq. We will miss seeing all of you for a few months! Thanks for a fun night!

Comedy for a Cure!

Hey everyone,

At the first of this year, a lot of couples from our neighborhood went on a cruise and while they were onboard, they went to one of the craziest (CLEAN HUMOR) comedy shows they've ever seen: Adam Ace. He seriously had them crying they were laughing so hard! After his act, they spoke with him about coming to Utah to do a show since his style would fit perfect out here. They've been working on getting him out ever since. He agreed to do a show here as long as ALL of the proceeds went to benefit a local charity. They said they thought of Gracie who was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis at birth and decided that the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (www.cff.org) would be a perfect place to send the proceeds.

So, the show is on Friday, August 22 at 7:00 PM. It’ll be held at the South Jordan Community Center which is located at 10778 S. Redwood Rd. in South Jordan. Tickets are only $10 per person or $30 per family and considering it’s all going to the CFF, consider it a date night with a tax write-off! General concessions will be sold with proceeds going to the CFF as well.

We’re trying to make sure all of the seats are filled so please forward this out to everyone in your email list! Even if you can’t make it, please try to forward this out so we can create as much awareness as possible. If you have any questions, feel free to call Lora at 801-446-4225.

Thank you in advance for your help!

Tagged!

scattegories...
{it's harder than it looks}

use the first letter of your name to answer the following. they have to be real places, things, names...nothing made up! try to use different answers if the person who tagged you had the same first initial. you can't use your name for the boy/girl name question.

what is your name? Lora
4 letter word: Love
vehicle: Limo
tv show: Lost
city: Los Angeles
boy name: Luke
girl name: Lucy
occupation: Lawyer
something you wear: Long Johns
food: Lasagna
something found in a bathroom: Laundry
reason for being late: Lost
something you shout: Loser

I tag: Amy T., Jen W., Angela G., Kati B.

Ice Cream and Pen Pals

A little over a year ago, Grace, CJ and I were flying home to Alabama for a Cystic Fibrosis fundraiser my mom was putting on. We had a layover in Texas and as we waited I sat with CJ on a bench and watched Gracie dance for us. After a few minutes of this an elderly gentleman walked over and said, "I've enjoyed watching your daughter dance so much the last few minutes. She is just filled with joy. Can I buy her an ice cream cone?" I said, "Sure," and within a few minutes he returned with a cone of Butter Pecan Ice Cream (don't all older people love Butter Pecan?). Gracie was so happy and gobbled it down (despite the fact that she'd finished an ice cream cone about 20 minutes before.) We thanked the man and parted ways.

A little later we boarded our flight to find we were on the same flight with the gentleman. We greeted one another again. When the flight ended and we exited the plane, I found this man waiting for us in the terminal. He handed me a slip of paper with his and his wife's name and address on it. He said, "My wife Cecily and I would love to have you and your husband and children come visit us. There is something special about your little girl and we'd love to get to know you all." We never got to go visit Mr. and Mrs. Hovanes but throughout the last year we've become great pen-pals. Many letters and photos have been exchanged back and forth and with every trip to the mailbox I've hoped for a new letter from my 86 year old friend. He's done so much in his life, has a wonderful family that loves him dearly and a wife whom he adored and who adored him. The last few weeks I've been anticipating a letter from him when yesterday it arrived...only it was from his wife.

Cecily explained to me that her dear husband had fallen from a ladder and had passed away from the injuries involved. He was surrounded by his six loving sons and wife and will surely be missed by all. In her letter she said something that I can't get out of my mind, "I must tell you he so enjoyed your letters, loved the pictures of your wonderful family you sent him from time to time and admired your loving care you gave the little ones when he met you in the airport. I do thank you for giving him that pleasure."

I don't repeat this to toot my horn but rather to remind myself how closely other people are watching. Sometimes we are unaware and almost always we are clueless as to where these "first impressions" could lead. I am grateful Mr. Hovanes just happened to catch us in a good moment! My life has been richly blessed by a man that could have forever remained a stranger. I will always cherish my pen-pal and the things his letters taught me. My sincerest thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Hovanes for sharing with me.


John Hovanes
June 11, 1921 April 14, 2008
John Hovanes, 86, of Huntsville passed away Monday. Mr. Hovanes, a survivor of Pearl Harbor, served throughout World War II in the Pacific Theater and was present at Okinawa. He was a retired aerospace engineer and sculptor. He received his degree in fine art from Canterbury University in New Zealand. Survivors include his wife, Cecily Hovanes; sons, Michael, Stephen, Robert, Peter, Bruce, and Kenneth Hovanes; and nine grandchildren. A memorial service will be at 3 p.m. Thursday at Temple B'Nai Sholom with Rabbi Jeffrey Ballon officiating. Burial will follow in Maple Hill Cemetery. Laughlin Service Funeral Home is assisting the family. Memorial donations may be made to Temple B'Nai Sholom.

Don't Blink

Lately I'm having a hard time coping with the idea that my children won't always be little and needing me. In a couple of weeks Lizzie will be going off to 1st grade where she will spend more time each day with a woman I don't even know than she will with me! My sweet Gracie, whom I have babied much more than I probably should have, will be going to Kindergarten. That has my stomach in knots. And my babies won't even sit still for two seconds to let me love on them and fill my reservoir. I once heard that being a mother meant watching your heart walk around outside of your chest. Every time I see their little faces light up with excitement or little bottom lips turn down with sadness, I feel that I will never again be in control of my heart.

So many days I sit completely enveloped in joy as I watch the people they are turning into. I think to myself, "take a picture in your mind right now and never forget it." But of course I always forget and that is what makes me sad. I want to always remember the funny things they say and the little voice they say it in. I want to remember the way they love each other and their mom and dad so much that it seems the rest of the world could disappear and we wouldn't even notice. I want to remember their smells and their funny expressions. I want to remember what makes them happy and what makes them sad. I want to remember waking up in the night to clean up "accidents" and comforting them until they fall asleep again. I want to remember their laughs, their cries and breathing. I want to remember feeling like a walking zombie from getting up every 3 hours for feedings and at the same time feeling like the luckiest woman alive to have these little people in my life. Every stage passes so quickly that I'm afraid to blink lately or I will miss something...

I loved this song from "Mama Mia"

Schoolbag in hand, she leaves home in the early morning
Waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile
I watch her go with a surge of that well-known sadness
And I have to sit down for a while
The feeling that I'm losing her forever
And without really entering her world
I'm glad whenever I can share her laughter
That funny little girl

Slipping through my fingers all the time
I try to capture every minute
The feeling in it
Slipping through my fingers all the time
Do I really see whats in her mind
Each time I think I'm close to knowing
She keeps on growing
Slipping through my fingers all the time

Sleep in our eyes, her and me at the breakfast table
Barely awake, I let precious time go by
Then when shes gone theres that odd melancholy feeling
And a sense of guilt I cant deny
What happened to the wonderful adventures
The places I had planned for us to go
(slipping through my fingers all the time)
Well, some of that we did but most we didn't
And why I just don't know

Slipping through my fingers all the time
I try to capture every minute
The feeling in it
Slipping through my fingers all the time
Do I really see whats in her mind
Each time I think I'm close to knowing
She keeps on growing
Slipping through my fingers all the time

Sometimes I wish that I could freeze the picture
And save it from the funny tricks of time
Slipping through my fingers…

Slipping through my fingers all the time

Schoolbag in hand she leaves home in the early morning
Waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile…



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