Saturday, March 27, 2010

Happy Birthday, Robert!



Well, It's the 28th again... March 28th this time. It's Robert's Birthday. He's FIVE today!

I can hardly believe my first little baby is growing into such an independent young boy. He amazes me every day. He asks questions all day long: "What does ____ mean?" (as I rack my brain for synonyms to words I know he already knows) He blows my mind with his math skills and comforts me with his toothless smiles.

Five years ago today it was cold and rainy. We didn't know if he was a boy or a girl. As we drove to the hospital, John Mayer's "Daughter" played on the radio. I was convinced he was a girl. But somehow in my heart knew he'd be a boy. A perfect and charming little boy, just as I have dreamed. And he was. He is.

We're friends now. Best friends. He's taught me more than I ever thought I'd learn - about myself and about being a mom.

Happy birthday to my BIG boy, Robert. Mommy loves you more than you know. Thank you for letting me love you! I'll always be proud of you.

Here is a link to his birth story.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Pennies from Heaven



I always heard the phrase "Pennies from Heaven" but I never really thought about what it meant. After my dad died, almost immediately, I started to find pennies.... everywhere.

The first pennies I found were in a group of 3. They lay in a pile on the family room floor of my childhood home. Mom was in the process of moving out and very little was left in that particular room. But 3 pennies in a corner. I picked them up and shoved them in my pocket.
A few days later I found a penny sticking out of an air return duct in my own family room. Just sticking out, as if someone had placed it there. I grabbed it and put it with the others. Still not even thinking where these pennies had come from. Then I started to think...
That very day, I emailed my sister-in-law to tell her about the pennies I had been finding. She immediately emailed me back and told me to take the pennies seriously. She and my brother had met with a spiritual adviser the night before. My dad had "come through" in their meeting and something was said about coins. I never got the exact story there, but I understood it to mean that when I randomly find coins, Dad is around.

At his funeral, my siblings and I eulogized my father telling a story of our days as kids at the beach. Dad used to take us out early in the morning to get "the best seashells" that were washed up on the beach with the night time tide (true story!) Little did we know, those early mornings at the beach, that dad was walking ahead of us, dropping beautiful "Made in China" shells for us to find.

I now keep my pennies from heaven in a "Made in China" seashell that was delivered to me at Christmas time in box that said "From Santa." I have quite a collection.

And now I will share a few places where some of these pennies have been found:

~On the front seat of the car
while Christmas Shopping at Toys R Us. (I hate that place! But Dad loved to Christmas shop for us there)

~In Chicago's Midway Airport in the bathroom, under the paper towel dispenser. I was between flights on my way to San Diego. I traveled with a picture of me and Dad. When I saw this penny, I knew he was letting me know he was there.

~At the grocery store
just last week. Robert was asking is Pape was "here" because the clock read 2:33. I told him No, and that Pape is around when all the numbers on the clock are the same. (another 'sign' we have from Dad) Ava cried and insisted Pape was there. I ignored her and as I went to pull out a shopping cart, I heard a penny hit the floor. I stopped dead in my tracks to find it. It was almost as if Dad had thrown it at me.

~Outside my front door.
Ava opened the door to go out and there sat 2 pennies. I had been in and out of the house a few times that day and would have noticed them.

~At my doctor's office. Outside the room that I was waiting in, I heard an elderly couple chatting about some quarters that they saw outside on the pavement. The woman sent her husband outside to pick them up. I thought myself "Hey, those are probably MY quarters... i bet dad left them for me." Then, the nurse came to get me to take me to a different room. As I sat down, there was a penny sitting right on the tray in front of me.

We've found other coins... nickels, dimes, a single quarter. But none so prominent as pennies. I'm hoping he'll start to send some hundred dollar bills my way soon! In the mean time, I'm content with pennies.

Pennies from Heaven
Bing Crosby

If you want the things you love
You must have showers.
So when you hear it thunder
Don't run under a tree.
There'll be pennies from heaven for you and me

Monday, March 08, 2010

You say Tomato....


To you, this may just be an Avocado. We eat them often in our house. Alex, especially has a special place for this fruit in his tummy.

Alex calls them A-Doe-Ca-Does. I love hearing him say it over and over. Just another way he continues to make me laugh.