Isaiah...

I'm going to just ramble for a bit. There is a lot of stuff going on and I just want to get a bit of it in this written journey of mine.

I am reading the Old Testament. I have been for a very long time, but then it is a very long book. I'm not reading for speed just to enjoy it. I've made my way almost through Isaiah. This is a book that really stumps a lot of us. I don't think I really appreciated it until I taught Old Testament in an early morning seminary class at Church. It was at that point that I got a lot of the basic history of Israel (the country) in my head. This is a help in understanding Isaiah. Often he speaks of current history for his time and Old Testament settings. But that same passage can also related to the end of days. So having a minimum bit of historical knowledge is very helpful.

I also found while teaching Old Testament that I really enjoyed reading Isaiah aloud. It is a book that I feel lends itself to a reading with your voice instead of in your head. It is a form of Hebrew poetry and, even though you may not understand all you are reading, while reading it out loud you come to appreciate the rhythm of the words and the strength of the words.

Over the years I've come to really understand some of the chapters and passages. Others I still don't quite get but I still truly enjoy reading the way Isaiah is written.

Then I started to read my Book of Mormon again while walking on the treadmill. I have a very old copy of the Book of Mormon. It is a hardbound big print version that was my seminary copy of the Book of Mormon. A lot of the chapters from Isaiah were included in 1st and 2nd Nephi, the first two books in the Book of Mormon. I enjoyed seeing again what I felt was important enough to underline or make notes about in the margins of my old seminary copy of the Book of Mormon. When I came to the Isaiah chapters some of them were right where I was reading or had just read in my Old Testament. What a delight to re-read without all my notes in my current copy of the scriptures. It was a pure pleasure to read these words again in this older Book of Mormon.

When teaching Isaiah in seminary, I had a good little book that some wonderful person wrote that took Isaiah and Revelation and in brackets behind the phrase or word it would explain what the phrase or word meant. This was a really helpful tool as well.

Another huge help for me in studying Isaiah is the LDS Edition of the King James Version of the Holy Bible. In the footnotes are included idioms and Hebrew definitions of words that may be obscure to us or may have a very different meaning today than it did anciently.

Here are some of my favorite thoughts from Isaiah:

• Isaiah 41:10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. (This is just a most comforting verse to me. I often share it when I send a note to a friend who is struggling or has endured a loss in their life.)
• There are several chapters that begin with or have included in them the phrase 'the burden of Babylon (or some other location)'. That word burden means a message of doom lifted up against a people. These are important to read and understand what will happen historically and what I should guard against.
• While reading the Psalms I looked for the word 'trust' this time. So as I read Isaiah 14:32 I noted the word 'trust' with a little letter 'd' leading me to the footnotes. The explanation of the word 'trust' in this case mean 'seek refuge in it' (the it being Zion).
• Another newly acquired favorite is Isaiah 61:1-3. Our stake president used these verses in his talks during the ward conferences in 2009. The words are just beautiful: The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are boung; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengence of our God; to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. (Isaiah is speaking of the Savior here and the role he is to play for and in our lives.)
• One of the most profound chapters is Isaiah 53. This describes our Savior, the suffering he would have to endure and that it was part of our Father in Heaven's plan. It has words like despised, rejected, grief, sorrow, stricken, smitten, bruised, oppressed and many more. But buried in this chapter are words like pleased, bear pleasure, prosper, healed, offering, knowledge and peace. This chapter is truly worth reading again and again.
• Isaiah's words in Isaiah 1:18 promise us that even though our sins be like scarlet because of the Savior those same sins can be white as snow through repentance.
• Even Handel used the words in Isaiah 9:6 in his famous work 'Messiah' that we hear each Christmas...For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, Teh everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
• There is the story of King Hezekiah's life being lenghtened by 15 years and the sign to Hezekiah that this would truly happen was the sun being turned back 10 degrees.
• I love the strength of the words in Isaiah 40:31 "But they that wait (Hebrew meaning is hope for or anticipate) upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles (I can see those majestic birds flying in Alaska); and they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."
• As a parent, I loved the words in Isaiah 54:13 "And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children."
• There is a great chapter about the law of the fast in Isaiah 58.
• While reading Isaiah 40:22 I came across a phrase that I shared with Jake. He has a wonderful appreciation for space. This verse says, "It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers..." The phrase 'circle of the earth' caught my attention. I shared with Jake that people somehow think people that lived long ago didn't understand the earth was round. Clearly here they did know of the 'circle of the earth'.
• Then there is Isaiah 6 which explains the call of Isaiah as a prophet. If I were an artist (and I truly am not) I would paint a picture of what these words describe to me.

So there you have it, just a few of my observations in Isaiah. I don't understand all of Isaiah but he is not nearly as intimidating as he once was. I've learned to be comfortable with learning a little more each time I read and study this good book. I don't have to know and understand it all right now. I can learn line up line, precept on precept and be just fine. I'm truly grateful his record was preserved for us to study today.

Easter 2010

We had another wonderful Easter. Hayden and Bailey persuaded Andie to bring them to Pa and Ma's house for a few days. Hayden has Spring break this week so they came Sunday afternoon and returned home Tuesday afternoon.

I made little Easter baskets for Hayden and Bailey. They were smaller baskets that sat in a bucket hat. Hayden's basket and hat were green. Bailey's basket and hat were pink. I have an abundance of plastic eggs. I purchased the sticky backed foam letters. They were bright glittery colors. I put them inside the eggs in three and four letter words. The kids baskets has eggs full of letters and one little toy each. In the picture above Hayden is opening the eggs and trying to figure out the words the letters are supposed to be. I previously made some handouts for a Relief Society Leadership Training coming up this April. I had scrap paper in strip forms. Hayden took all those strips that were just big enough to make his words on. He had a great deal of fun making words using the letters. Bailey is on Claude's lap while he opens her Little Pony toy.

Eventually our little Bailey needed to go downstairs to explore all the toys. We by-passed the toys and headed to the back yard with Little Pony in hand. Little Pony was introduced the Owl and Elmo in their hanging baskets, the planters with dirt for Bailey to play in as the summer warms up, and down the hill to see the turtle on the rock. They even played in the sandbox a bit.

We decided to try a bit of time outside Monday morning. Andie and I thought we would be outside for a bit, then maybe head into Georgetown to visit Mimi. That is not how it turned out. We had a bag for each of the kids to collect twigs and grass. Hayden wanted to use play dough and make a pretend fire with twigs and grass he found. As soon as we got outside in the backyard, two deer bounced across our empty lot. That did it...Bailey was off to find 'Bambia'. And we were off on a REALLY long hike up the hill and into the woods past our empty lot.

The older grandmonsters have all hiked on this hill at some time or another. Papa loves to hike this hill. But Hayden and Bailey and their little legs have only gone down the hill behind our house to the creek and up and down the creek there a bit. We ended up hiking all the way back to a trestle bridge for the train. This trestle bridge goes over Eagle Creek which is the creek behind our home. The kids did really well on this extended hike.

We first past a tree that died and broke in half. It turned out to be a Honey Locust tree. Now as gentle and good as that sounds, a honey locust tree has enormous thorns along its branches. It turned out not to be a good tree for the kids to play around. They were fascinated by the thorns though.

                   

Then we went across the little road cut through the woods on the hill. This parcel of land our housing community is in was originally a farm. We were going to see where the old barn had been before it was leveled. That didn't take long. It is really just a pile of boards. The crafty side of me thinks there is some great wood there to make something out of.

Down the road be sauntered to find a pile of rocks. Now this does appeal to little ones. They carefully sized it up and determined the best place to try and climb on it. My job was to find rocks close enough to try and get a good picture or two. It gives me a better appreciation of those photographers that follow people around as they explore caves, or under the sea, or whereever. You forget they are there because you are watching the star of the show talk about how hard it is to get to where they are or to do what they are doing.

Then the Mini-Marx's were off and running. Andie and I told them to keep looking back and as long as they saw us we could see them and they were okay. Oh the energy!!

Halt!! Bailey found sticks. We were not going to find 'Bambia' on this hike but Bailey found something that could be held on her head so she was a deer.  She also found a great place to sit and pick out leaves and sticks for her bag of treasures.

Hayden amused me by finding a stick. We determined it was the perfect size for a walking stick for him. He carried the stick the rest of the hike. Such a little man!!

We did stop and take a bit of a break. Andie took my camera and got a picture of my with the little Marx's.

Then it was time to head back to our home. We found a moth on Hayden. He was very still and the moth just seemed to really enjoying being on Hayden's t-shirt. Even when we decided to walk again this little moth stayed on Hayden's t-shirt. It crept from the front of his t-shirt to his shoulder and then around to the back of Hayden's head. Eventually the little guy flew away. But it fascinated all of us for a good long time.

 

The other fun thing about that long walk back was the enormous fallen tree. I noticed it on the way over the hill. It looked like some kind of creature. The branches touched the ground and kept the trunk up in the air. This made the branches look like huge legs. As we came back down the road I pointed it out to Andie and the kids. Andie thought it looked like a praying mantis, Hayden was sure it was a dinosaur, and Bailey was sure it was a crocodile or alligator. Whatever it was, it was a place Bailey was sure she needed to play. This crocodile or alligator needed food. Bailey is really into preparing pretend food and this tree creature was in need of a special Bailey meal of a leaf. Off she headed into the trees to feed the crocodile-alligator tree creature. Hayden and I headed to the end where the roots would have been. Turns out there was a place hollowed out in the ground and lined with rocks. I'm not sure what could have been there but I am sure those rocks didn't get lined like that on their own. Hayden and I climbed the rocks on this end of the tree and eventually he met Bailey in the middle of this tree. There was a really good branch they each took a turn climbing to get to the top of the tree trunk. Amazingly no one fell, no bones were broken, a few scratches from branches were added to our bodies, but it was fun to play with the tree creature.

Then we made the end of this longer than planned hike. Here is a picture of Andie with her little ones. Hayden on the left and Bailey on the right. The house on the left front is our home. The kids were really happy to see Pa's cool house again. When we got home all of us were worn right out. We found snacks and headed to the basement for a video. Bailey took a good nap. Hayden had a good quiet time. I got a great shower.

When we returned Claude said he had come out two time to find where we were since we were gone so long. Claude fixed dinner and I headed off to my Friends of Sadieville meeting.

I returned in time to help get Bailey and Hayden ready for bed. Bailey was in her Little Mermaid outfit. She 'yoves' Ariel. Hayden was in his new space pajamas. They managed to find the bookshelf on the side of the TV and rearranged all the Readers' Digest Condensed Books I have stored there. The covers are fun colors and the size is perfect for little hands.

Tuesday would begin with a breakfast of muffins and bacon. Then we finally got around to decorating Easter eggs. Claude boiled a dozen eggs before Hayden and Bailey ever came but we never stopped long enough to get them colored. Hayden and Bailey wore their bucket hats that their Easter baskets came in and ended up coloring their hands green. The eggs got colored and Claude and I will enjoy some deviled eggs and egg salad over the next few days.

 

 Now we thought we might write with chalk over the driveway. We had to locate the chalk. Hayden opened the door to garage and headed right for the shelf where it should have been. But we moved it the day before because we thought we would be playing on the patio. There were rain clouds overhead so I put it on the card table in the family room. I checked there and it was not where I left it. As I crossed the room to go back up the stairs I saw and remembered. Little Miss Bailey determined the little frog in its hammock beside the entertainment center needed to have a piece of chalk to use like a bottle. The bucket of chalk was tucked in the corner and the frog still had it's stick of chalk for nourishment.

I grabbed my camera and we headed out in the front to write on the driveway. Then we realized how windy it had become. Hayden and Bailey were about to blow away. I placed my camera on the little table on the front porch and followed the kids as they ran in the wind. We ended up in the backyard and then down the hill. This little adventure turned into another hike but this time the camera was on the front porch so no pictures. We hiked down to the edge of Eagle Creek and then followed the creek to the bridge that comes into our development. There is a little dam there to slow the water down. My allergies kicked in big time. I only had one tissue in my pocket. I had not planned on this hike. My left eye began to itch very bad when we reached creek level. By the time we got to the bridge it was swollen and very irritated and my poor single tissue was worn out. I finally told Andie I needed to head back to the house. By then Hayden was ready and he and I walked back to our home.

On the way back Hayden explained to me the meaning of the word 'thoughtless'. It means you think more of yourself than you do others. Then he explained that the word 'selfish' is the same kind of word. They are two different words but they both mean you think more of yourself than you do others. He is a fascinating young man

We got home, got a drink, blew my nose, did a potty run, and found the car keys. Hayden was sure we needed to rescue Bailey and Andie. I buckled Hayden in his car seat and got in the drivers seat. Hayden told me to be sure to drive like I had watched Andie drive. Then it would be just right. I did fine getting down the driveway but I realized the emergency brake needed to be released. I pressed down on the emergency brake and it only pushed it down further. That meant I needed to find the release somewhere else. It took me a bit of time but I finally found it and released the brake. By the time I got on the street, Bailey and Andie were about 4 houses down the street. We drove on down and picked them up. Andie said Bailey would have stayed outside forever.

It was time for lunch so we did a backwards lunch. Claude had purchased some Choco-Tacos. They used to be on the menu at Taco Bell. Hayden and Bailey each had a Choco-Taco. They wolfed them down. Then I took sliced of cheese and cookie cutters. They cut out the shape they wanted and ate the cheese shapes. We added some of the hot dogs from the day before and had a great little feast.

Andie took the kids down for a show before quiet time. Then I put Bailey down for her nap and Andie put Hayden down for quiet time.

During quiet time Andie packed up and loaded her car. After quiet time we scurried off to Georgetown for Andie to say hi to Mimi. Then to Brookings Park for a picnic with Papa and Claude and playtime at the park before their drive home.

Years ago we took a family camping vacation with all of Claude's family. We went to Green River Gorge so that most of the family could go white water rafting. Then we went through Yellowstone National Park. While we were camped at Green River, I decided my kids needed a bath and clean clothes. I got water and warmed it up in my mother-in-laws camper. Then I took my kids in turn into the camper shell on our truck and cleaned them up really good and put new clothes on them. With my work all done, I took my good book and a folding lawn chair and determined I would get some sun while I read my book. As most young mothers would, I fell asleep quickly. It was not for long but it was long enough that when I awoke I heard my three kids playing happily nearby. They were laughing and having a great time. I turned around to see all three of them in the pit for a fire. They had ashes rubbed all over their clean little bodies and clean clothes. So the picture above was one of those "When you are a parent you will understand!" moments. Hayden and Bailey found the grills by our picnic table and enjoyed playing in it a bit before we realized they were not in the grass with their cars.

After dinner Hayden and Bailey took their cars to play on the concrete roads. I just love this feature of this park. They have two big concrete tables with roads on them. The kids really enjoy driving their cars. This time the village made of concrete looked like Pinocchio's village.

Then it was time for the Marx family to head back to LaGrange, the Christensen's to head to Sadieville and Papa to head to his apartment.

Papa asked Bailey if she wanted to ride on his shoulders to the car. Hayden took Claude's hand and off we were with the Mini-Marx's to their car.

It was a great Easter and we filled it as full as we could. Claude and I were exhausted in a most happy way. Now I must go make egg salad and deviled eggs!!!

"I'm Happy" & Other Thoughts...

This week Papa took a drive to the Blue Ridge Parkway. He just get stircrazy in his apartment and after being in all winter really needed a break. We had beautiful warm weather this Thursday and Friday. I picked up Tiny on Wednesday evening after my presidency meeting and took her home with me.

Thursday morning Papa got up, fed Mimi, and then drove to the Blue Ridge. Turns out NOTHING on the Blue Ridge was open. His plan was to camp in his Jeep. About 9 in the evening he found a spot he remembered and pulled his car off the road to bed down for the night. About 1am he heard someone banging on his car window. They told him he could not park there overnight. (Now, I learned that you never argue with an Alzheimer's patient because you'll never win. The same is true about arguing with an 81 year old man.) Papa asked the man why he couldn't park there. He was told in a very firm voice, "This is federal property and you can't stay here!" Papa said, "I know it is federal property, my taxes paid for it!!" Reluctantly Papa woke up and got ready to move his car and him. As he drove further down the highway he noticed a parking lot to a camping/picnic area. In the center of the parking lot were sleeping bags and a bunch of college age kids. They had not been asked to move. Go figure...may an 81 year old is an easier target.

Friday I went into Georgetown at noon to feed Mimi lunch. We worked our way through her eating all her lunch, dessert and two beverages. As I prepared to leave, I wrapped my arms around my mom and gave her a big hug. Then I looked her right in the face and said, "I love you mom." She looked up at me with her big brown eyes filled with a little bit of tears and said, "I'm happy. I'm happy." What a tender mercy!

This last week I have been trying to shift computers. My old PC is really trying to die on me and it is definitely slower than cold tar. Michael found a great deal on laptops and bought two. We bought one of them from him to replace my old PC. This necessitates the moving of files. Loading unique software to my needs. Making sure I know how to use the newer versions of the software on this new computer, etc., etc., etc.

I have now tranferred all my data. Found that I can't load a lot of the software that I really enjoy because the versions I have are too old.

My Palm Pilot software is even too old. Claude has checked on the Internet for upgrades to the software and it seems there is a dirth of help there. Most people are in my same boat and complaining about it already. I even stopped by the AT&T store Friday to see if they had any Palm cell phones. None in stock and don't expect any for at least a month. My other option is a Blackberry. I came home and did a good sync with my old computer. Then I printed out all my files on my current Palm Pilot.

I'll miss my old PC. You get used to them and they are like and old friend. The Mahjongg game I enjoyed will not transfer, the Create A Card Gold software will not transfer, the font CD will not transfer, the PCStitch software will not transfer, etc., etc., etc. These little treasures have provided me lots of help in creating things for others, or, in the case of Mahjongg, given me a bit of a break when things needed to slow down. My Camedia software will not transfer. That was the software from my first digital camera. I like the way it would edit pictures the best so I kept it and used it even after buying a newer digital camera with new editing software. I have lots of pictures and will sorely miss this software. But I'm sure there will be other software on this computer to edit those pictures with.

I think I've got everything moved and have actually used the Word software on this new computer to create a postcard for my Stake Leadership Training this month. I'll make the change and it will be a good thing for me. I'll make new software friends on this computer and I'll enjoy them. And, at the rate things change these days, in about 2 months, this computer will be out-of-date. Yike!!

Claude spent a few days with the Marx family. They purchased a wooden playset for Hayden and Bailey. Claude was called in to help Michael put it together. He came home very tired last night. But Andie tells me Hayden and Bailey are really happy with their new playland.

I'm off to watch General Conference. Then the mini-Marx's are coming for a visit. Can't wait for them to find their Easter eggs in the Easter baskets I got them. I filled plastic eggs with the foam letters that stick on things. The letters are flourescent glittery colors. I put three and four letters in each egg that spell words. Hayden is fascinated with spelling words and will love this Easter egg hunt.

Something Strange Is A Happenin' Here...

This morning we woke at 7am to get ready for meetings before Church. I peeked out the door from our bedroom to the deck. We are out in the country. No on lives to that side of us. And the deck is up one floor from the ground. We do not close the blind for this window that is the length door. It is always fun to peek out in the morning and see if we have any animals roaming our empty lot. However, this morning the peek out the glass revealed a mystery... It was still a little dark but there was the shape of something in the middle of the deck. We don't keep anything in the middle of the deck. But, nonetheless, there was really something out there. I rubbed my eyes and looked again. Yep, there was something and it was the smoker covered in it's plastic cover. I turned to Claude and asked him if he put the smoker in the center of the deck yesterday for some reason. I thought maybe he was checking it for summer usage. Claude assured me he had not moved the smoker. So I asked him, "Why is it in the middle of the deck?" He said he didn't know and he had not touched it. I told him I had not moved it either. This was feeling very weird. I know that Bailey and I peeked out on the deck Friday morning so she could see it was too cold to go out watch the trains. I know the smoker was not in the middle of the deck Friday. We had a really bad wind last night that brought a little bit of rain. It was strong enough to blow something over. But this smoker was not blown over, it was moved about 3 feet, standing upright, and it's cover still on correctly. The big grill at the far end of the deck still had it's cover on correctly. The lightweight plastic end table that sits by the grill was exactly where it should be by the wall. The plastic lawn chairs and glass top picnic table were against the wall and had not moved at all. The only thing out of place was the smoker with it's cover on just as it should be. This was really feeling very weird. Claude suggested one of us was sleepwalking and moved it. Now that is just silly. We got ready and I found my camera. I wanted pictures of where the smoker was for a record. That may seem silly too but it felt like the right thing to do. There was no water on the wood under the smoker so it appears to have been there all during the rain and wind during the night. Years ago while Claude was on a business trip I chose to read "Helter Skelter", a novel about the Manson family and their killing of Sharon Tate and others. "Helter Skelter" was the term for what they would do to frighten people and mess with their brains. They would go into their homes and move things around that would be obvious to the residents when they woke up or returned to their homes. I told Claude I was feeling like 'helter skelter'. He rolled his eyes. But this was really weird. The only other explanation we have is that we have said ever since we moved here that there was another family living in our home that we didn't ever see. When we can't find something we just blame it on this other family. Now I wonder if they might not really exist. In reality we said the same thing about our home in Maryland. When we got home from Church I immediately checked the deck. The smoker was in it's place where Claude moved it back to. I have no real explanation but I just have to say once again...this is really weird.

Our Littlest Princess...

Tickets were purchased as soon as they became available. "Disney On Ice Princess Classics" was coming to Rupp Arena in Lexington. Such a wonderful thing to take a little Princess to just as she is learning about Princess' and how wonderful they are. We got tickets for the Marx family and Grampa and Gramma so we could all watch the wonder in little ones faces as the characters glide across the ice.

Thursday evening (March 25th) we planned to meet the Marx Family at the McDonald's on Hwy. 922 just outside Lexington. Claude and I got there early to have a bit of dinner. Then we got the call from Andie they were running a little late and maybe we should meet at Rupp Arena. We determined to both aim for the Rally's Burger stand closer to the arena. Now all this arriving together was because we figured out that Hayden had an OT appointment on Friday morning. If Claude and I kept Bailey after the Princess Show then Andie didn't need to get a sitter for her on Friday morning. This also meant Master Hayden could have a morning with just him and mommy. So the Marx & the Christensen cars needed to be close to each other to get a car seat in my car and transfer Bailey's sleepover gear. Claude and I headed to our car and when Claude put the key in the ignition he got nothing, nada, zero, zip, zilch!!! What in the world was the matter. He tried again. Still no start-up action with my wonderful red car. I gave him my key to see if that made a difference. With all these computer systems and keys with little micro-chips in them, it seemed a logical thing to try. Still nothing. I called Andie back and told here we were on to the next plan. They needed to come to the McDonald's and get us because my car wouldn't start. Now our evening had been carefully timed to allow just enough time to get to Rupp Arena, have potty breaks and find out seats so there would be a minimum of time for the mini-Marx's to get restless. All this silliness was not fitting into our timing for the evening at all. I hung up with Andie. Claude tried his key again while I'm rummaging through my owners manual trying to find something that might give us a clue as to what in the world to try. Then the most wonderful thing happened. The ignition ignited!!! Yeah!!! I called Andie back and said, "Back to Plan A revised!" We would both head to Rupp Arena parking and try and find each other in the parking lot. The Marx family arrived first, called and told us about where they were. Claude made it into the parking lot and we parked right beside the Marx family. Quickly Michael went into switch the gear and put in the extra car seat mode. I opened Hayden's car door and got the most wonderful hug. He loves to hug and gives great squeezes. Then he looked me right in the eye and said, "Bailey is coming to your house for a SLEEPOVER!!" I was so happy to hear that. This would be Bailey's first time sleepover at our home without mom, dad or Hayden. But Andie had talked to them over the last 3 days and Hayden understood clearly he was going to get a day with just Mommy. He was okay with the plan. But how would Miss Bailey be? Bailey was in her blue princess dress. When we were at the McDonald's waiting 2 little girls came in at separate times in their princess costumes. What fun to see all these little ladies getting into the feel of the evening as we entered Rupp Arena. We got into the Arena and seated just at the show was beginning. The first half of the show was all about Aladdin, Beauty & the Beast, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Mulan. We knew all of the stories except Mulan. None of us had seen Mulan. That is the only time the kids were a bit restless. Otherwise it was just great to watch them taking all that skating, costumes and scenery in. There was a brief intermission. The second half of the show was really about Cinderella with a grand finale of all the characters dressed in white costumes styled like their regular costumes and standing on a grand staircase. Even Mickey and Minnie had on white formal attire for the finale.

After the performance we did get Bailey an Ariel doll. Hayden didn't quite find anything of his choosing and willingly agreed with Andie that he could look for something else the next day while they were out on their day together.

Then we got to the cars. We loaded Bailey in our car. She was quite happy and said, "I go to Pa and Ma's house for a sleepover!" She never fussed or anything. I rode in the backseat with her because she wanted to hold hands while we drove home. My that was tender and sweet.

We got home and Bailey woke from maybe a 10 minutes sleep during the ride. She was wide awake and hurried inside the house. Then she came running back to get me and said, "Come on Ma! Yet's go to your bedroom. That's a gate idea!!" There you have it. Bailey was sure she was sleeping in Claude and my room between us in that big old bed. Claude came into the room and Bailey was nestled comfortably between our pillows. Claude looked at me and said, "If she wants to sleep here, I'll go to the spare room." What love from a tired grampa!! I had Bailey's crib all made up in the basement where she usually sleeps. But I knew our little 'princess' had just had a quick nap and was truly excited to be at Pa and Ma's home. So I popped in a Thomas the Train DVD and she watched a couple of short shows while I made sure the monitor was set up and her PJ's were one her.

Then I suggested, with as much excitement as I could possibly generate, that we go downstairs and see if her bed was still there. She grabbed Wah-Wah and I grabbed the bag of lovies and blanket that Andie sent and we headed to the basement. Bailey bounded right into the storage where her crib is kept. She was so excited to see all the things she usually had right there for her. The blanket to read and play on was beside her crib and we sat down there and picked out two books to read. She chose which toys to sleep with. Then we tucked her and the toys in her crib, turned the music on for her and off to sleep our little princess went. AMAZING!!

I was prepared for whatever reaction we got from Bailey on this first sleepover. I had carried my body pillow into the extra bedroom and made a wall with it and the extra pillows on one side of the bed. I figured if Bailey was really fussy to begin with or during the night, she and I would curl up in that bed and sleep together. It was not needed. Bailey slept from 11pm to 7am Friday morning. I kept waking up during the night to be sure the monitor was working. Silly me. That is that 'mommy gene' kicking in.

At 7am sharp I could hear over the monitor, "Ma come get me." I quickly got up and headed to the basement. There was our little princess waiting patiently for me to come. I scooped her and the lovies that were chosen to attend her that day out of the crib. As we started across the family room to the stairs Bailey said, "Oh, I forgot something." Back she raced to the storage and looked all over. She was missing a Beany Baby horse she likes to play with when here. We added that to her attendants and up the stairs we went.

I asked her if she wanted a waffle for breakfast. She said, "I want waffles and chicken." So that was her breakfast, a waffle and a chicken tender with catsup and ranch dressing. Oh, and she really needed chocolate milk. I only had white milk but I did have chocolate syrup to make the desired beverage.

As I prepared breakfast Bailey said, "Yet's get Pa." Faster than I thought possible she was across the living room to our bedroom door. She did knock a couple of times quickly, then turned that door knob and into the bedroom she ran. Pa was not going to get to sleep in this day at all. Bailey does like those around her awake, ask Papa about that some time!

After breakfast Bailey climbed up on a chair at the breafast table. The kids like to stand on stepstools at the island and eat. So now the breakfast table was her next destination. She took the Beany Baby deer and horse with her. They needed to eat and the perfect thing for their feed was sitting on the breakfast table. She shook salt and pepper on a napkin and then held their noses right in it to eat.

We had a full morning with our little princess. Here are some of her adventures. We hung the Easter ornaments on the little Easter tree. Well, we only hung the rabbits and chick ornaments. All of the egg shaped ornaments Bailey put inside the plastic eggs in my purple Easter basket.

We found the double-12 dominos and made Aladdin and Abu out of them. Then we added the Genie. I went to grab the camera just as Bailey jumbled the dominos again.

We played with the toys in the hallway upstairs. Then the John Deere barn that sorts coins in Pa's office. Then we needed to head downstairs. That is where the real toy closet it located. Bailey searched it for a bit and we found and played golf. Then her eagle eyes caught the Nemo movie and it needed to be on Pa's big TV. I got that going and she was sure she needed chips while she watched Nemo. Bailey is a chip-o-holic. She was really happy with the Pringle's and the blanket. Pa joined us for the movie viewing. He had been upstairs trying to get the new laptop out of the box and get it working.

I used the opportunity to comb Bailey's hair and put it in pigtails. I wanted to cut some off her bangs and this got the bulk of it out of the way for that job. She let me cut her hair but some of it was on the run. I did it in my sewing room in front of the full-length mirror so she could see what I was doing. This could very well be the least kid-friendly room in my home. Bailey knew it needed to be explored. Here are a few pictures of her looking through the sewing machine. I usually have it closed when the kids come. This time I did not and Bailey found it a very interesting place to explore. She reminded me of when I was very little and my mother's mother found me looking through things in her home. Gramma Fisch asked me, "What are you doing?" With the frankness and innocence of youth I honestly told her, "I'm punderin' Gramma, I'm punderin' (plundering)!" Princess Bailey was punderin' herself. Gramma Fisch just chuckled at me and I found myself doing the same with Bailey.

Claude watched Bailey and I managed to get my shower. Then I reciprocated the favor. Bailey really likes horses now and found a new interest in the rocking horse she has almost outgrown. She rocked and talked. Then she would stroke the nose of the horse and talk to him. Then she got off and shared her chips with him.

We pulled out all the trains and Bailey found it appropriate to sit on the train table to play with them. Please note the horse, deer and Wah-Wah are observing her play with the trains. All is in order in Baileyland.

We made our way back upstairs and read books with the little reader things I have. Claude and I gathered everything and loaded the car. It was time to take Bailey home. We had a wonderful visit with her. It wasn't until just time to leave the house that she said for the first time, "I need to go to my house to see Mommy and Daddy and Hayden."

I told her we were going to get Papa and take him with us. We loaded in the car and headed to Papa's apartment. He came out and got in the car and Bailey assured us she thought Tiny should be there as well. Tiny dutifully barked from her perch on the bed by the window.

Then we drove to Frankfort to the Dairy Queen for a bit of dinner on our way to LaGrange.

We visited with the Marx family for a couple of hours. Hayden had a new projector that showed 3-D slides of the universe. He and I watched all the slides. Bailey played with Papa. She wanted him to keep his legs out in front so she could crawl under them like a bridge. At one point she got his legs the way she wanted and then she looked up and him as best she could from under his legs and said, "Do you understand Papa?" He lost it and laughed really loud.

Then Claude, Papa and I headed to the temple for the rest of the evening.

It was a wonderful outing. What a blessing to be able to do things with little ones. Sometimes as we get older we forget all is really a wonder to see and learn about. Little ones remind us of that.