Bella

Introducing Caroline Grace
The song has been running through my mind for aproximately 3 hours straight.
Sweet Caroline.
Go ahead…add the duhn, duh, du…you know you want to.
Hello Grammy.

Where am I?

I’m hungry.

Still hungry.

Please mom, don’t put me on the blog.
Fine then, here’s a good one for you.

Hello Dad.

Hello Abigail.

Hello Bella.
Hello Sophia.

Hello Simba.

And hello to my favorite bad hair day ever.

In this life, I was loved by you

Yesterday,
Bella was throwing a typical fit.
She even wrote me a note.
It said,
“Nobody likes me.”
Did I teach her to feel this way?
To self depricate?
I worry about it.
I tried to reason with her.
I told her that lots of people love her.
I told her that if she whines and cries,
it makes people uncomfortable,
and they may not want to play with her,
when she acts like that, but they still love her.
She was on the couch pouting.
It was funny,
I had been feeling kind of the same way.
I was doing dishes pouting.
I laughed.
Just as Bella was waiting for someone or something
to make her feel better,
I had been waiting
for my husband to make it better.
I should have written him a note
that said
“Nobody likes me.”
It might have been a little less subtle than my pouting.
I thought about what I wanted to hear.
I decided to test it on Bella.
To see if it would make everything better.
So, I said to Bella:
“Alice…um…I mean, Bella, I love you.
You mean the world to me.
I am so proud of you.
You are such a good helper.
Even if nobody else likes you,
I like you a lot.
I love you a lot.
I’m sorry that you are sad.”
She was miraculously cured.
People say women are complicated.
Really we aren’t.
We just want to be loved.
Like everybody else.

Here are the ever so true lyrics to one of my favorite songs:
For all I’ve been blessed with in this life
There was an emptiness in me
I was imprisoned by the power of gold
But one honest touch could set me free
Let the world stop turnin’
Let the sun stop burnin’
Let them tell me love’s not worth going through
If it all falls apart
I will know deep in my heart
The only dream that mattered had come true
In this life, I was loved by you
For every mountain I have climbed
Every raging river crossed
You were the treasure that I’d longed to find
Without your love I would be lost
Let the world stop turnin’
Let the sun stop burnin’
Let them tell me love’s not worth going through
If it all falls apartI will know deep in my heart
The only dream that mattered had come true
In this life, I was loved by you

Dad’s Money
A few weeks back Bella accompanied me to the bank. It was a wondrous experience for her as she had never been to Daddy’s work bank before.
We stood in the line for the teller.
Bella asked me about my little deposit bag. I explained to her that this was daddy’s bank for work
and that I had to give the bank the money that dad had earned.
She asked me how much money daddy had in the bank. I told her that it wasn’t very much, but that this deposit would give him more money.
She exclaimed to me and the three people behind us in line:
“Maybe we should go to daddy’s work and get his money.
Daddy has a lot of money at work.”
I was perplexed.
I then rememebered that we have been trying to teach Bella about coins. Daddy had given her free reign in his change drawer a few days before. She loved counting all those pennies. I guess I had better go and rescue the change from the office, now that you all know where mu hugely successful lawyer keeps his big bucks.

How to make the Grand Canyon more grand
As you know my husband’s name is LeGrand.
Many people get confused over the name.
I tell them it’s a French name,
and the best way for them to remember it is to think of it’s meaning.
LeGrand means “The Big.”
In fact, one of my favorite nicknames that LG was given is
The Big and The Mighty.
And you can all decide for yourself if that describes my hubby.
So, what does the name definition have to do with my post?
It was pure coincidence that we visited The Grand Canyon
on LeGrand’s birthday.
In honor of LeGrand visiting The Grand Canyon,
you all should know that our girls have renamed
The Grand Canyon to LeGrand Canyon.
It’s very fitting I think.
Don’t you think LG looks just like this Native American
who claims to be The Grand Canyon?

And, to make the visit even more grand,
we made sure our rental car was a Grand Caravan.

I think the train is due for some updating
along with all the other signage at the Grand Canyon.
It shouldn’t be hard, just add the “Le” at the front.

For me, The Grand Canyon, was just another evidence of God’s majesty!
What is possibly more grand than that?
Except maybe the scriptures.

If you think of The Colorado River as Willy Wonka’s chocolate river,
it’s automatically more grand.

I thought it a grand coincidence that the Arch from the Arches National Park
showed up in clouds right over the Grand Canyon.
I think that maybe God was trying to tell us that he
approved of our name change.
If you decide to hike, make sure that you read the signs so you can get back up.

Stop at the shop and gets some Dreyer’s Grand ice-cream.

Hide from mom in the tower and make her panic for a good twenty minutes
that you may have fallen into the canyon.
That’s always grand fun.
Especially when dad is in on the game.
Doesn’t it look like they are touching a painting?

Nope just pointing out the grandness.

Put yourself into the painting.
Because you are part of God’s grand creations too.

Tease your mom and wife some more by laughing at her

as she hollers for you to step back.


Show your children that you are just as grand
as any of those overpriced toys that they want.

Camp…you gotta camp.

Find something very small to remember the grand occasion.
This is our baby owl.
Her name is Paquito.
We let dad name her for his birthday.

Sit right at the grand edge.
It’s so much fun.
Notice all the grand fossils.

And the grandest layering ever.

Can we call this a grand bee?

And, make sure you visit at the grandest times of the day.

Sunrise and sunset of course.

Take notice of the grand calves. Nothing less would be worthy.

Lean over just once and ponder the
grandness of your own mortality.
The horizon is endless and so is the land.

What’s more grand than that?

Add your own caption here. I can’t think of one.
On your drive home, take a grand minute or two to realize that the

grandness of God and his creations are really never ending.

You just have to keep looking.

Off to school
Last week marked the beginning of another school year for the Gold Family.
It is a little historic for us, as Bella, our baby, finally gets to go along with her sisters.




So, now I am left filling my days without children in tow.
I think that this Wild Thing will be o.k.

When I started getting a bit sad, I decided I needed to embrace the change.
I gave myself a treat on the first day of my new found freedom.
I went to Panera Bread and got whatever I wanted.
I sat and ate and read my book just to make sure I could still enjoy some quiet.
I sure hope the girls enjoy school as much as I enjoyed my date with myself.
I also hope that they will find and be the kind of friend that is illustrated in the following story by Susie. And, they will always remember that prayers are answered.
Bella can attest to prayers being answered herself. All summer, Bella repeatedly told us she wanted Mrs. Nitz, and we told her that any teacher would be just fine and that she wasn’t going to get to choose. It ended up that she had been assigned a teacher other than Mrs. Nitz, the one Sophia had last year. Bella was bummed out during the first week of assessments, but didn’t complain. She just kept on saying, “I really really really want Mrs. Nitz.” To our pleasant surprise, when Bella reported to her second day of school, Mrs. Nitz was waiting. Bella had been changed to her class. You should have seen that smile of an answered prayer.
WET PANTS

Come with me to a third grade classroom…..

There is a nine-year-old kid sitting at his desk and all of a sudden, there is a puddle between his feet and the front of his pants are wet. He thinks his heart is going to stop because he cannot possibly imagine how this has happened. It’s never happened before, and he knows that when the boys find out he will never hear the end of it. When the girls find out, they’ll never speak to him again as long as he lives. The boy believes his heart is going to stop; he puts his head down and prays this prayer, ‘Dear God, this is an emergency! I need help now! Five minutes from now I’m dead meat.’
He looks up from his prayer and here comes the teacher with a look in her eyes that says he has been discovered. As the teacher is walking toward him, a classmate named Susie is carrying a goldfish bowl that is filled with water. Susie trips in front of the teacher and inexplicably dumps the bowl of water in the boy’s lap. The boy pretends to be angry, but all the while is saying to himself, ‘Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!’
Now all of a sudden, instead of being the object of ridicule, the boy is the object of sympathy.. The teacher rushes him downstairs and gives him gym shorts to put on while his pants dry out. All the other children are on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk. The sympathy is wonderful. But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have been his has been transferred to someone else – Susie.
She tries to help, but they tell her to get out. You’ve done enough, you klutz!’
Finally, at the end of the day, as they are waiting for the bus, the boy walks over to Susie and whispers, ‘You did that on purpose, didn’t you?’ Susie whispers back, ‘I wet my pants once too.’

Tar jay
Where is your favorite place to shop?
The kids were so excited to receive these flashing reflectors from the Target workers at a local National Night Out dinner.
The kids thought that the Target workers were more exciting than the chief of police, a local politician, the mayor, and the head of the FBI.
Who am I to argue?
We know which employees offer a 75% off discount of the dollar spot from time to time.




Summer Fun
Here are some of the girls favorites from this summer.
Not just any Mr. Potato.
Abigail informed me, “This is a Mr. Picasso Potato.”


The Webkinz were placed for their photo shoot.

Did you know that the magnets in Little Pet Shops
allow them to scale lamps?

And perch from lamp switches?

Forts are always fun.

And when you take your walls down,
you can use them to make Rapunzel hair.

She knows she’s the envy of her sisters.

Lunch is a chore, but there’s always mac n cheese.
Like, always, like, every day.

And who doesn’t love tomato soup, grilled cheese and apple juice?
They are a winning combination.

And, when mom is blogging too much, my girls always know where to find the staples, like Fruit By The Foot. We can’t live without them. And they are only $1 a box at Big Lots. If they are out when you go, it’s just because we got there before you.

A message from my five year old.

I think she was going to write her name, which is Bella.
(Actually, it’s Isabella, but she will be the first to tell you to call her Bella.)
But, I don’t think she finished her work.
And so the message of the day is plain and simple:
Be.
I like it.
Mostly, as we work on mastering ourselves.
Sometimes when we get discouraged, we can remember this message.
We can just Be.
Sometimes being is enough.
Being is a great blessing from God.

Earning My Underoos
This was written for the Scribbit July Write Away Contest.
I don’t expect to win, but it was so much fun to write,
so thanks to Michelle Mitchell for a beyond awesome topic.

When I was a about eight years old, I remember being so jealous that my sister had Wonder Woman Underoos. I wanted some BAD! I wanted to rule the world.

Before I knew it, I was a young woman, reading the quote, “The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.” I thought, “Yeah right. My mom rocked seven cradles and she doesn’t rule the world.”

As a young married, I was still trying to figure out how to get me some of those Underoos (that being said with my best fake Southern accent ever). I thought that I would have to accomplish so much more before I could reach that Wonder Woman Underoo realm. I just knew that if I could write and photograph and work as a prized photojournalist, (you know, just after I spent my stint in The Peace Corp) that I would rule the world. The world needed me and if anyone was capable of being Wonder Woman it was me. But I had a dilemma. How could I gain my title when I now had a husband and future family to worry about?

I was struggling with my role in the world. I didn’t want to rush into having kids. I had wanted to be a Wonder Woman since my earliest memory, not a wife and mother. I wanted to rule the world, not rock the cradle. I knew that if I were to achieve all of my goals, my husband’s may have to take second place, and he deserved his Underoos too. (albeit he would probably choose Spiderman or Batman – “that’s a tough choice” he just informed me) I felt there was no winning.

It took months of serious reflection and prayer before I started to understand how I could rule the world. Little did I know that it had everything to do with rocking the cradle. I think I was unknowingly on the cusp of earning my Underoos when I wrote this in my journal:

“I think that I will have serious decisions to make in the near future, and they are going to be hard. I will have to be selfless. I think that the only way I will find true joy in this life is if I can help my husband and my children obtain all of their dreams. I need to make their dreams and goals my dreams and goals. If I get to a ripe old age and find that through my own pride I have deprived them of their potential, then I will be ashamed and sad. I know the way to true joy is in the realm of my own little family. I want to look back and know that I was the greatest cheerleader of the greatest people in the world.”

So, the decision was made. At the time I felt like I was giving up my Underoos dream for a while. I felt I may even have to wear Depends first, but darn it, those would be some joyful Depends with stylin’ Underoos over the top. I didn’t realize that in those early months of marriage, I had found the ONLY way a woman becomes a true superhero. The real Wonder Woman Underoos can only be earned by a woman’s willingness to give of herself.

I got pregnant shortly thereafter. I gave up my job. I gave up my full time pursuit of a higher education. Some women may feel like by doing this I have shamed Women’s Lib. But, I feel like I joined a higher cause. I gave up the Underoos because I suddenly knew and understood that “the hand that rocks the cradle IS the hand that rules that world”.

My family needed me to be their stabilizing force. God guided me into rocking the cradle of my husband and my children. And, who was I to argue with God? Even if I was Wonder Woman waiting to be discovered. Besides, if I was going to rock a cradle, I wouldn’t need those Underoos anyway. (Oh, how little did I know)

Soon after the birth of our first daughter, my husband and I made the decision that his education would get top priority. I had no way of knowing that his education would monopolize the following TEN years. Count that! One, two, three, four….yeah, you all get the picture.

So, now you all can understand that earlier this year, when LG FINALLY got his legal license, I couldn’t help but shed tears of utter joy. It wasn’t until I processed the good news that I realized that somewhere along the path I had earned my Underoos. I was all of the sudden astonished that those Underoos didn’t come while I was a photojournalist. I had been wearing those Underoos for years without even realizing it. If it wasn’t for my Wonder Woman Underoos I would have never been able to survive.

I had the greatest joy of all time. My husband had his dream in hand. And so did I. My dream had become his dream, and making his dream mine was precisely how I had earned those Underoos. I was Wonder Woman all along.

The Hand That Rocks The Cradle Is The Hand That Rules The World
~ William Ross Wallace
Blessings on the hand of women!
Angels guard its strength and grace,
In the palace, cottage, hovel,
Oh, no matter where the place;
Would that never storms assailed it,
Rainbows ever gently curled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.
Infancy’s the tender fountain,
Power may with beauty flow,
Mother’s first to guide the streamlets,
From them souls unresting grow–
Grow on for the good or evil,
Sunshine streamed or evil hurled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.
Woman, how divine your mission
Here upon our natal sod!
Keep, oh, keep the young heart open
Always to the breath of God!
All true trophies of the ages
Are from mother-love impearled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.
Blessings on the hand of women!
Fathers, sons, and daughters cry,
And the sacred song is mingled
With the worship in the sky–
Mingles where no tempest darkens,
Rainbows evermore are hurled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.