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An Extra Hour

Today, we gained an extra hour. I had visions of sleeping in with a quiet house.

It didn't happen.

Because, I am a morning person. And no matter how hard I try, I will always be a morning person.

Which means my body wakes up when it is early.

No matter what.

It seems Bboo may be inheriting that trait a little. I say a little, because she can sleep in if she's really tired.

So, we decided to get up and make breakfast. The girl had bacon on her mind and just had to have it! We went to work in the kitchen cooking bacon and grits and remarking how the Smart One could sleep through a tornado!

And we put on music. Lots of it!

It started off with Cyndi Laupers's, "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (Dad said said, "Girls Just Want to Have Bacon") and it kept going from there.

Music from my childhood…teen years…etc.

And finally, the Smart One woke up.

And joined in.

And we sang.

And danced.

And laughed.

And ate bacon.

I'm sure in the spring, we won't be so happy with the time change.

But this morning, I gained an extra hour with my children.

What did you do with yours?

Lost Get Found

Music is strong in our family. I’m really not that musical myself, although I did play the clarinet for 8 years and was pretty good at it. I love to sing and goof off, but I’m not real sure anyone would love to listen to me sing! Hubby plays the guitar. As a matter of fact, he’s been known to serenade me. When we first started dating, he came to my work with a guitar, blanket and the hood of his car! He brought me out, sat me on the car and proceeded to play and sing to me. My boss wanted to know why one of his *girls* was being serenaded in the parking lot!

My oldest son also plays the guitar. I have fond memories of he and his friends sitting on my roof, playing their guitars and singing. (Ok, and playing spoons, but that’s another blog!)

You’ve often heard of me talk about the Talented One. He is a musical genius in my humble opinion. I know I’m his mother and so there is a different swelling of pride, but when we were in Sedona last week, he gave us a mini concert the morning before we left. The resort had a grand piano, so he played. I swelled, thinking, “That’s MY son!” He plays so beautifully. There was a lady sitting on the couch in the room; tears streaming down her face. God has indeed, blessed my son with a gift.

The Smart One has even been picking up the piano. His teacher at school asked him to join percussion this year at school so that he can play in the jazz band next year.

B-boo is more like me….not really musical, but enjoys listening! And being a part of whatever children’s production we are a part of. She’s great at organizing, setting up, keep the ball rolling, etc. Great at taking pictures. She doesn’t think she’s musically talented, but she is on the dance team.

Our latest project was the Drama Queen and Punky. They’ve been having fun recording, “The Lost Get Found,”  by Brit Nicole. Today, they sang it in church. I thought I’d share it with you. I love that Punky spends so much time teaching my child and that they have so much fun together. Thank you, Punky!

The Drama Queen

Isaface(rev 1) Or, as we like to say, "And then there was…"

Yup, that's her. Our very on Drama Queen. A brilliant ray of light, full of energy that refuses to be told she can't do anything. Her name, roughly translated, means,

"A beautiful rainbow we don't deserve."

Yes, that about sums her up!

After a complicated pregnancy, the Drama Queen arrived two weeks early, on the only day that week that was not someone else's birthday. Within a couple of weeks, we knew something was wrong with her. For the next five months, we'd travel back and forth to the doctor over and over, trying to get them to figure out what was it was that was making her so sick. Finally, a diagnosis. She was suffering from severe food allergies. Severe enough to land her in the hospital on more than one occasion…and for me to get over my fear of needles since I was the one that was her main care giver.

As we began a whole new lifestyle of eating, I worked hard to educate myself on the in's and out's of food allergies and to try out new recipes. Not easy when you can only cook with a handful of ingredients: chicken, turkey, rice, potatoes, carrots, broccoli, apples, tapioca, salt and pepper. Yes, I'm serious.

When she was finally able to have soy, I was ecstatic! Adding in beef and beans later was awesome. And then, we could finally have melons…oh, how happy we were! Yes, we. Because of the severity of her food allergies, she could not have formula. This meant that I had to follow a strict diet, too. And so it went.

These days, she's allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, apples and dairy. Her brother, the Smart One, is on a gluten free, nut free diet, so sometimes cooking for the two of them together is hard; but we manage to have some pretty decent meals anyway!

So what is it about the Drama Queen anyway? Well, she has a pretty high tolerance for pain, kind of like her momma. Translated into English, this means that:

When she says a penny is stuck in her throat, yet doesn't act like it, you take her to the hospital anyway. And they don't believe you until an x-ray proves it and then they do surgery.

When a VCR lands on her feet and nearly slices off two of her toes, and she has to have them stitched back together, she can still go right outside and run around instead of sitting for the next week.

When she goes into anaphylaxis she will try and go about her play in spite of the swelling and hives.

When 300 pounds of plexi-glass land on her foot and she can walk anyway, you take her to the ER. Odds are, it's broke. And when they send you away anyway and tell you it can't possibly be broke because she's fine, you nod your head and drive away…and then come back again when they call you to tell you that the x-ray showed it was indeed broke, after all. It also means that she'll go through a boot thing once a week for three weeks, destroying them, until you finally give up and tell her to just wear her sneakers and try not to make it worse. Oh, and you beg her not to show people where it's broke by moving it around. That's just gross.

When she flies off of a swing that she wasn't supposed to be on anyway and lands on a two-by-four in an anthill, you take her to the ER. And even though the nurse says it can't possibly be that bad, you scream for a doctor anyway, because you've seen it, and you know. And then you take her home with 17, yes SEVENTEEN staples in the back of her head, and you're told to keep her down for the next 48 hours. Sure, OK.

IMG_2448(rev 1)And all she wants to know is when can she please go outside and play…and climb her favorite tree, the big Mulberry tree that she's been climbing since she was about a year old. The same one that her older brother had to climb up into and get her out over and over….until we finally got smart and taught her how to get down, too.

The Drama Queen is just that. She wants to try everything. She is all about living life to the fullest. The righter of wrongs. The sheriff of the house. The let's just have some fun child.

She loves to sing…and sing….and sing, especially if it's about her Lord.

She loves music…all of it.  Celtic Women, Bocelli, Selah, Barlow Girl, Newsboys, Celine Dion, and Journey (cause Mom really likes Journey.)

She loves to dance. She started a new dance class this week, so I've had the pleasure of listening to her tap away on the kitchen floor…over and over and over again. Because it annoys her siblings, so she waits until it's just the two of us. Yup.

She's all about fashion. It has to be shiny, or glittery, and of course, noticeable…because she's also all about that. And honest. Sometimes too much. She's had to learn a thing or two about humbleness and just because it's true does not mean you should say it.

She loves babies and can't wait until she can babysit all by herself.

She can make friends with just about anyone…and usually does.

She loves to talk on the phone and can't possibly understand why we won't let her have a cell phone…because, well, she needs it.

She wants to live life!

This is our Drama Queen. The wannabe pop star, actress, and doctor. Because, yes, she can do it all!

If you'd like to listen to some of her singing, click here.