{glimpses from this weekend}

{Oprah and my sweet Little Bit}

I watched Oprah's final show yesterday. It was a very sad moment for me. I have grown up with her for most of my life. I have run home from school to watch her show the way that my Mom ran home from school to watch American Bandstand. I have watched a lot of her shows with my Mom - some then, some now. I have taped tons of shows so I didn't miss an episode while I was at work. Some people are not into her. That's fine with me. My Grandma didn't like her one bit. When she stayed with us in Florida, she would go in her room and read during Oprah - she just did not like her at all. Seeing as how they are both from practically the same town, I find that funny. So now what? I am sad - but also very enlightened. I loved sharing in her "aha moments" with her. I even had one yesterday. She said this: "I've talked to nearly 30,000 people on this show, and all 30,000 had one thing in common: They all wanted validation... They want to know: 'Do you see me? Do you hear me? Does what I say mean anything to you?'" Something that seems so simple, but I had never thought of it.

Thank you so much Oprah.

I think my Little Bit can safely say that I see her, hear her, and what she says means so much to me.

Who have you validated today?

{wordless wednesday}

(i still LOVE that bike)

{some thoughts on a monday...}

I was going through a lot of my pictures the other day, and man, oh man, I have a lot of pictures. A lot of pictures of my kiddos especially. Too many probably. But I am so addicted to this photography thing. I really and truly LOVE to take pictures. I have for a long, long time. I can't draw worth a darn. But, with LOTS and LOTS of practice, I think I may be getting a hang of this shutter thing. I know I have a long way to go....but, I am having so much fun getting there.



And some super awesome and cute subject matter doesn't hurt either. BTW - Emily made a great heads-up play at second base tonight. So very proud of her! I sure hope that she wants to continue playing softball after this season- because watching those games is so much fun for Eric and I.



This picture below is my favorite. They kept grabbing grass and throwing at me - and it kept landing all over them. Which they thought was pretty funny.

{finally}

It's time to break out the swim suits. Yea! I can hardly believe it since last weekend we were wearing sweaters and jeans....

{hodgepodge}

Well, it's been quite a week. Lots of stuff going on around here. Not a lot of picture taking. Here's some pictures from the last couple weeks -

The following three are from Mother's Day. I do have a couple with me and the girls, but I just don't have the time to look though all of them right now and find the one where we are all looking at the camera and at least look slightly happy....yes, it's come to that.






Paige reading after her bath last week.


Showing off her clean feet?


Wearing a tiara...


Watching TV in my office. The TV is now in the shelves next to my desk. A much better arrangement.


And her new favorite thing to do - play my DS. She is quite obsessed.


That's all for now!

{seriously proud}

Emily is well into her very first softball season. She, currently has three games under her belt. And she's doing quite well, learning a lot, and having a lot of fun - which, at this age, is the most important thing.



She's definitely not the best hitter on her team - but i think she's doing a great job. And, I really think she'll only get better with time. I am just so proud that she gets up there and tries her very best. Much better than I was at that age. I was a nervous wreck. I was such a wreck that my coach told my Mom that maybe softball wasn't for me. I think I only got to play in one game.





And last night, she got to try her hand at catcher. And according to Eric, she was quite good.



She was not loving it too much, though. She was not a fan of all the equipment. I thought she looked pretty awesome. :) Look at that concentration! Isn't she the cutest catcher ever?

{wordless wednesday}

(taken a couple of weeks ago)

{Emily's 1st Softball Game}

This past Saturday was Emily's very first softball game. The weather was perfect. The girls were all excited, and a bit nervous. And, don't you think it's so very nice that Mother Nature perfect coordinated the field where there pictures were taken with their uniforms? How nice is that?



After their pictures, there was a bit of practice/warm-up.





And then it was time for the game. Emily did kind of hit the ball her first time up....it went about 2 feet in front of home plate. But, because these girls are not the speediest fielders, she got a single. YEA!





She made it all the way home and scored a run! Here she is waiting patiently at 3rd base.





And taking off for home!





 I think they had fun - they don't exactly keep score when they are this young. It's a good thing...I think they may have gotten crushed by the purple team.......

 
Game one down, another one tonight!

{spring concert}

True to form for taking pictures right before a performance of any kind - Emily makes her natural I-am-nervous-so-could-we-just-get-this-over-with-right-quick face.



Paige did not want to be left out. She's doing bunny ears on herself.



And apparently, she calmed her big sister down just enough for a natural smile. Those second graders put on an awesome performance. Some of them were a bit nervous, but they sang their little hearts out. A truly entertaining and very enjoyable performance. Her music teacher, Mr. Mallore, is AWESOME. Who gets 7 and 8 year olds to sing Beatles tunes?

The fourth graders - who sang Motown songs - we equally awesome.

Yea for school choral performances!

{wordless wednesday}

{two faces}

This one - above - makes me laugh. She's just pretending to be mad, but when she really is, watch out. She been turning out tantrums left and right lately. Kicking, screaming, crying...then whole nine. Tantrums are a new thing around here. Emily never had them. Never. So it's a learning curve. And I have learned to give her some space.

 
But then she can be so sweet. She loves to give hugs and kisses. She is so loving and caring with her stuffed animals. She loves to help out. She can be very funny. She is such a giggler. And truthfully, she is like this most of the time. Thank goodness.