Play Doh Kitchen

First, there's this:

Note that the above contains all essential elements of good eating.

And the tools of a good kitchen:

Scissors

Rolling pin

Knife 

Fork

Unsupervised Children.

PERFECT.

Because then there's this:

Yes.

PlayDoh Soup.

Yum.

And don't forget Play Doh Salad:

Lettuce, broccoli and grapes.

I think.

And then:

We must rally the troops and share ingredients.

Trade thoughts.

Help one another.

While the big girls chill-lax on the porch and cuddle puppies

Or kittens...

Or read...

Sweet.

A Princess in need of Prayer...

I will never understand how smart people don't see each and every baby as a miracle.

I mean, seriously:  Look at that face???

This is Anna Elizabeth, our newest granddaughter.

Precious, right?

And healthy. But that's not a given with babies.

Four generations: Beth, Grandma holding 'Lijah, Grandpa and Dave

We are complex creatures. To get all the ducks in a row and all the i's dotted

and t's crossed that need to happen to produce a normal human is not only amazing...

It's a miracle.

And it's not polite to argue with me. I'm old. Set in my ways. I might get crotchety.

:)

Hey, it COULD happen. You never know.

This is Teresa:

Beautiful, right?

But Teresa has a heart defect that requires a heart/lung transplant for her to live.

It's as simple and complex as that.

And here is their family link where you can find out more about Teresa and the 

whole Bartlinski clan.

ourplacecalledhome.blogspot.com 

She needs our prayers, and you guys are great at that.

So tuck her into your heart. Onto your prayer lists.

Spread the word, please. 

The younger Bartlinski girls! How beautiful are they?

 No one knows the day or the hour. 

I get that.

But I'm a big believer in miracles and this family,

this little girl sure could use one.

Right about now, God willing.

Fight Like a Girl Pink Party

Ten years ago God brought Lisa into my life.

With a baby girl named Taylor.

And a cute husband named Jeff.

They trusted me (silly people!) to watch Taylor.

And then McKenna.

And then Nolan.

And then Brody.

Four kids. Four delightful gifts from God.

And now Lisa has breast cancer.

I hate saying those words. 

But I can't pretty them up like I do in a novel.

Dagnabbit. You can find out more of Lisa's story HERE

So Taylor (now ten years old) got an idea.

A wonderful, marvelous, God-sent uplifting idea.

Why don't we throw Mom a party?

A "Fight Like a Girl Party"

And everyone can wear pink and cover their hair in sisterhood.

Except it was a surprise party so Lisa is in blue.

Which only makes her stand out in a crowd even more than usual.

Well.

That and the bald head.

:)

So we did just that.

Pink food.

Pink shirts.

Pink friends.

Girls came from all over. Big girls.

Small girls.

Girls having fun.

Because, well... They're girls. And girls just wanna have fun.

There were messages of love and hope and good wishes:

And a visiting puppy.

The puppy was also a girl.

Girls united in faith, hope and love.

And the greatest of these is love.

These are my girls. My friends. My comrades. My daycare moms.

These gals made Taylor's dream of having a big "Fight Like a Girl" Pink Party a reality.

Rock on, ladies.

Taylor, Lisa and McKenna Tydings.