HAPPY BIRFDAY TO MY BRUDDER

This picture was taken in 2002.
Bryan has changed a lot in his 32 years.
A lot of things have changed in the 30 years I've been his sister.
But the way Bryan and I behave when we're together has not changed much.
I remember us getting in trouble for putting spaghetti up our noses at the dinner table.
That was also in 2002.

Happy Birthday B! I love you!

TARGET THERAPY

What do you get when you go for a quick trip to pick up photos at Target and end up spending three hours there? Well, let's start with a Grande Two Splenda No Foam Soy Latte (for stamina), then toilet paper (it's on sale), the hair product I'm out of is not in stock so I'll just get shampoo instead (I've been wanting to try this new kind), and dental floss (floss picks to be exact), hmmm it's time to replace my Sonicare brush head (two-pack please), AAA batteries coming right up (no more switching batteries between remotes), oh here are those Vanilla Bean flavored almonds Renee' had that were so good, gee this would work great as a bin for recycling glass, wow those towels sure are soft, this is just the type of rug I've been looking for, a machine washable shower curtain liner would be sweet, now that's a cool mirror but I have something different in mind for that wall, oh man they have the little crystal knobs I decided on and these oil rubbed bronze ones too, well I might as well get some for the kitchen while I'm at it this is so exciting, ooooohh a magnetic to-do list and these cute little melamine plates for when the wito ones visit, that cardigan looks like something Renee' would wear, I don't have a dress in this fabulous color, these pants will be so versatile, who couldn't use a stock of cute birthday cards on-hand, oh Aubrey would like this and this and Pete always wears shorts and let's see how old will Reid be when it gets cold [brain insane, too much to actually list what was going on in the children's clothes section], now aren't these spiffy pajamas with owls on them --- RING RING --- "Hello?" "Hi babe." "I'm still at Target." "Oh, nothing, just looking around. . . "


Note: I made it out of the store with very few things. My retail therapy involves loading the cart then putting almost everything back. My motto is Shopping: Spend time not money.

THIS IS KIND OF BLOWING MY MIND

This picture of Reid and her mom is now among my all time favorite pictures, among the ones that I will always remember and will recall as that picture. My beautiful sister holding her week-old first born, her daughter, my precious niece, another child who has caused me surprise at my own capacity for love.

It's funny how quickly I forget what it's like to meet a newborn; how easy it is to think that all newborns are pretty much the same - they sleep, eat and poop and that's about it. Thinking back to my first experience as an aunt when Aubrey was born, and when I met Pete and now Reid, their uniqueness is immediately apparent; the difference in the way they move their tiny mouth or the sound of their cry. They are each captivating in their own way. God's miracles - before we were even conceived, he knew what would be special about each one of us, he knew the plan for our life and set it in motion. Maybe Reidy's little bird cry will turn into a beautiful singing voice, or her affinity for Pugs will draw her to a life in Chinese Pug Rescue.

Maybe Pete's height foretells aspirations of caring for giraffes, or his sense of humor (yes, believe me, he has one at the age of 4.5 months) will give him the ability to try and fail a million times without giving up before he discovers the cure for disease.


Maybe Aubrey's command of language will lead her to study monkey communication, or her imagination will stretch boundaries into new ideas that change the world as we know it.


Maybe I'm just biased and have great expectations for these children who will carry on my lineage. But one thing is true, God has great plans for us and a new life just starting its journey is a beautiful reminder.

REID NOEL ROBERTSON

She's Here! Reidy is HERE!

She is even more beautiful than we could have imagined. And Renee' and Casey have fallen into parenthood as naturally as a caterpillar turns into a butterfly. Plus they've fallen pretty hard for their little girl. It's easy to see why. She is bright and shiny and has a lovely disposition.

She sounds like a little bird when she fusses - kind of loud, but a pretty sweet sound nonetheless. ;)

Look at her goofing around already. She said, "Hey AuntGi, this is my impression of a burrito. Take a picture!"



Doug the Pug gladly took on his role of Guardian and Protector. He caught on pretty quick that this little girl is something special and that they will be best friends soon. Plus, he knows who is making those dirty diapers, and he wants to be sure she sticks around for a while.



I'll trust Doug to tell Reid daily stories about how fun their AuntGi is and how she'll give you treats without you even asking.

Little do they know, I'd give her the moon and stars.

Reidy, I love you from here to the Sun.

WILL SHE BE LOUD?

Today I leave for Florida to be with Renee' and Casey for the birth of their little girl, Reid! She will be here by next Wednesday, if not sooner.

I am really excited that my Mom and I will get to spend a few days with Renee' before she has the baby. And I am soooo thankful that, so far, things have worked out perfectly for us being there when she goes into the hospital and can be with them through the labor and delivery.

Although I am exploding with love for my niece already and I can't wait to see her sweet face, I am mostly glad I can be there for my sister. It seems like usually, when a baby is born the attention the mother enjoyed for nine months is pretty much immediately shifted to the beautiful new baby in the World, and rightly so. I mean, we've waited with much anticipation to meet this miracle, this absolute gift from God.

But I'm really feeling glad that I will be in Florida in time to sit with my sister through her labor, and hold her hand as others hold her newborn daughter, and be near as her heart experiences motherhood for the first time.

Because we are sisters, and if I couldn't be near her heart for this occasion, my heart would break.

It's only a matter of days now until we meet this precious little girl and discover if she has dark hair and blue eyes? Does she have Casey's nose or Renee's mouth? Is green her best color; no blue I think. :)

And then it won't be long until we'll know... if she's loud.

TODAY'S SPECIAL

The Monday Blue Plate Special is oven fried chicken, corn on the cob, baked beans, sweet Hawaiian bread and tea for $6.99.

Okay. Do you see the size of that piece of chicken, that half of a chicken? Tonight's real adventure was not the recipes, it was me...wrestling with two chicken halves...with their chicken parts still connected by bones and bloody tendons...tendons which allow wings to still work and move in a flap-like manner when manipulated just right, even if accidentally. Heaven help me!

I do not do well with animal bones. And I especially do not do well with food that still resembles its live state. So I gave myself MAJOR props for handling two chicken halves and successfully dismembering them without any prior knowledge of or preparation for how to do this. The process was not without some squeals and gags and a few instances of reflexively chucking the stubborn fleshy meat away from myself when a wing flapped or a bone protruded alarmingly. But I did it. Hoorah. I will either a) be calling my good friend Rhett to give me a lesson in tearing apart chickens (not because he's violent but because he's an experienced chef), b) get a big electric food saw (surely one exists, right?), or c) never again buy such large pieces of bone-in animal.

The end product was tasty. But I will probably dream of being chased around a barnyard by wingless chickens who want to relieve me of my burdensome arms.

In other news, this weekend we celebrated her 2nd Birthday with Zoe Brewer and her posse. Zoe was not sure why all those people were singing.



And here are gratuitous pics of the doggies tonight as I was blogging. True to form, Sadie was chillin'...



and Scoopie was all up in my biz.