Theme Competition #36 - Building

Theme Competition #36 - Building
Originally uploaded by Theme Competition.

This weeks Theme Competition was Building, noun or verb. Our entry of Little Miss was of her on a jungle-gym overlooking NYC [she is the fourth photo, top row] and you can see the Empire State Building lined up with the playset.

She is here.....

Isabel our German Exchange student is here.....and little Miss Emma Sage missed greeting her because of flight connection problems and moving from Newark Airport to JFK in New York, they arrived just before 11pm....when they were originally due to arrive here at 5pm....poor Isabel and friends, they looked so tired [but very excited] and we are so looking forward to the next three weeks of her visit. Emma Sage bought her flowers to keep by her night stand and made her a sign. What a lucky little girl to get to experiences something so 'international' as this....I bet you Emma Sage will have a few German phrases before the visit is over [and lets hope they are all good words.....lol...and not like her little video clip below]

So now what???? 

Following the leader, the leader, the leader....We're following the leader, where they may go....ta-dum, ta-dee........ 

Here you go....a little yellow flower. The children really wanted to find salamanders, but we had no luck this afternoon 

I love how when Emma Sage is concentrating that old tongue is sticking out.....like it is her radar!!!! 

Three best-friends by the rivers edge.....this was part of our nature walk...we threw rocks in the river, listened to birds singing and found beautiful little yellow wildflowers popping up to welcome spring! 

Hey Mom....do you think this is a good rock to throw in the river? 

Yes, yes, yes....it truly is spring and Emma Sage and friends had fun at the park and going on a nature walk! 

I"m excited....very, very excited. Tonight the tree toads were peeping and the sounds of the night were alive and humming....and all my bulbs are shooting through the dark earth...spring is coming,,,,,it is really coming! 

This little girl can fall asleep anywhere....love the crossed legs......I'm off to join you in slumber........Good night! 

Sweet Dreams.....Emma Sage fell asleep snuggled with her big brother. Sweet Dreams my little ones. 

Mommy, I happy!

"Mommy, I happy!" are the words from little Misses mouth as we finished our book before bed tonight.

Me: "I'm so glad you are happy.....why are you happy?"

Emma Sage: "Cause my Bella come tomorrow"

Me: "Yes, Isabel comes tomorrow"

Emma Sage: "Yes, my Bella come, I love Bella"

Now mind you, Isabel is our German Exchange student, whom Little Miss has never met, but she is so excited about her visit and she already knows she 'Loves Bella'.

So life will get a little fuller here starting tomorrow as our German Exchange student arrives and settles into 'life in our American Family'

Isabel is an only child, .....she is coming into the depths of a family.....big, loud and happy! I think this is going to be a wonderful experience for all!

and I know that this 'love' will grow over the next few weeks and Emma Sage will have another 'Big Sister' to cherish.

"Down, down baby"

On a bright note as I get ready to leave for the funeral....here is Little Miss and her best friend playing a hand-game.....please pardon the silly [potty word] used at the end by little Miss smarty pants, she was being a 'typical' four year old who just has to push buttons from time to time!



Video Sharing at DropShots.com

Aunt Franny.........

Today I head out to the funeral of my beloved Aunt Franny. I have not been writing much or sharing much this week on Emma Sage's blog because of so many emotions and just so many activities going on at one time that there truly is no time to just sit and share [but don't you all worry, I've been taking pictures as we go and writing in my written journal to share sometime in the future].

My Aunt Franny was an amazing woman.....as she embraced her life and lived it to the fullest....and she always had a smile on her face, a song in her heart and ALWAYS had a positive and supportive thing to say to others. She truly was a magical woman and she made me feel like I was the greatest gift in the world. That was her gift....to celebrate and cherish others and to give many thanks for our day-to-day blessings.

I saw my Aunt three weeks ago, before her cancer turned for the worse ~ and then on to a time of trying to comfort, keep the pain at bay and gently let her return to the heavens.

We laughed, we talked and little Miss Emma Sage just brightened up the whole room and I know Aunt Franny was delighting in the gift of my littlest daughter.

As we hugged to leave she whispered in my ear 'You are a special woman....a special mother...you are a gift that I have always cherished'

I love you Aunt Franny, and you will be forever missed.

~~~~~~~

My Aunt Franny had six sons. One tragically died when we were teenagers. They are now scattered around the country and I so miss the times we all got to see each other. Today I will see my cousins and I so wish it was like the happy times of our family picnics and Grandma and Grandpa Hagoods.

So...you think your special..... is a post from Bits of Betsy. I read it this morning and during my reflecting on Aunt Franny I realized that my Aunt Franny was special.....so very, very special, because she loved and cherished every blessing around her. She cherished her own six blessings and every single child that she ever came in contact with. If you can, take the time to read the above post, as it is one that truly touched me.

Lake Solitude falls 3

Lake Solitude falls 3
Originally uploaded by annikaleigh.

This is the water falls at the end of Lake Solitude...I would sit pearched up on the left hand side of the falls [as that was the way down through the woods from my childhood home] to sit and read and just daydreams while watching the water rush by......we also, as young kids/teenagers used ot jump off the top of the falls into the river and swim under the falls and climb the steps and dive....it was such an incredible experience, but I shudder now at the thought of my own children attempting something so dangerous [and they patrol the falls now so kids can't do those fun things we did on a hot summers day!]

Lake Solitude

Lake Solitude
Originally uploaded by annikaleigh.

This is the lake behind my parents house...when I was a young girl on a nice day, I would walk through the woods to the edge of the lake and water falls and read what ever current book I was reading. I took this the other day with Katrina when I had her out on a photography class assignment.

My dear Aunt Franny passed away the evening before and it was so peaceful to recall special childhood memories with my oldest daughter this cloudy afternoon and spend some quite time reflecting on all my precious memories of Aunt Franny.

A time of sweet sadness....

I write this knowing that while I always hold high expectations of my daughter [of all my children] and believe that anything is possible if they want it and work for it, there are somethings that even if we dream them, want them, work hard for them........they may never come true.

So here is a moment of sweet sadness....

This morning Emma Sage and I were getting up to start our day. We headed for the bathroom and because she had on footy-pajama's she had to unsnap them and take them off from the shoulders to the waist to go potty. As she undressed herself, Emma Sage pointed to her nipples and said 'I have little boobies' and I responded, "Yes, you do"

Then she says: "I nurse when I bigger......[and then pointing to herself] I nurse my baby".....

at which I just smiled and said "Yes, you can nurse your baby" and little Miss got the biggest smile and then pointed to me and said "You nurse all your babies" to which I smiled and said "Yes, I nursed all my babies and you were my last baby to nurse"

Then she reaches over to me and gives me a big, huge hug and says "I love you".

I hugged her back.....thinking of how precious this little girl is, how blessed I have been to nurse all four of my babies and then the thought that made this moment such 'sweet sadness'.....

I don't know if Emma Sage will ever be able to have that baby she so wants to nurse. But I realized that all I could do is 'sigh' and capture this moment for exactly what it was and know that 'Anything is possible' and leave it at that!

Yes, she must have wings that we can see, because this little angel is flying through the air, if only for a moment of time,,,but in her mind, she is really flying! 

The flying Bambino........yes, this is my little acrobat....Emma Sage just loves to jump on the trampoline...and if you notice Claudia's hair up in the air in the bottom left corner, you can see how high little Miss is actually jumping....and yes, she scares the daylights out of me, but she is just having way too much fun! 

The normalacy of being different

We are all different....we are all unique.

I have this blog for my daughter to share our life in words and pictures.....to share the 'normalacy' of being different.

I have a blog for each of my four children.....they are all unique, they are all different, they are my special gifts and I celebrate them, their days, their lives.

But there is a special focus of this blog,,,,because Emma Sage was born with an extra chromosome on her 21st pair, she is different, but in a way that society for way too long has deemed 'different', as in bad, wrong, abnormal, as not worthy of life, or if alive, tucked away, out of sight, out of mind'.....a different that is slowly changing, but still riddled with stereo-types and negative assumptions....so, the special focus of my blog is to share our life......to show others that those 'assumptions', 'stereo-types', 'biases'......are not a healthy way to look at another human being.

Always Chaos shared a link on her blog from an article titled: Please see my child as a child, not a condition, By Helen Middlebrooke ~ For Pacific Sunday News and this article really touched me because I want that same world...a world that see's Emma Sage as just that, Emma Sage [who happens to be sporting an extra chromosome,,,,but who cares...she is Emma Sage, and that is what/who/why I have this blog.....so that those of you who stop by for a visit get to see my littlest girl....a little girl who loves her life, is so funny and silly, so inquisitive and spirited and truly a blessing in our life.

The normalacy of being different. We are all different,,,,we are all unique!

Mommy, you tired?

"Mommy, you tired?".......asks Emma Sage

"Yes, sweet-heart, Mommy is very tired" I reply

"Oh Mommy, you need a nap!" answers my sweet-heart

Emma Sage takes my hand and leads me to my room to bed,,,

"Now lay down, sweet-dreams Mommy" says Emma Sage with the biggest smile on her face

"I make dinner, you sleep!"

Ah,,,,,if I only could have taken that nap that my little 'Sage' so wisely knew that I needed.

I worked my way through the rest of our day and now I'm about to read a bit of my book and reach those 'sweet-dreams' that my little girl wished me so many hours ago.

Days have been very full of late, Rick has been traveling non-stop for a long time now.

We are busy with life and getting ready to welcome our German Exchange Student next week...so of coarse I have one-to-many projects that I wanted to get completed before Isabelle arrives and we can spend all of our free time showing her our little Hamlet here in America.

Sweet-dreams to all......

Theme Compition #35 - Green

Theme Compition #35 - Green
Originally uploaded by Theme Competition.

Here is the Mosaic from this weeks Theme Compition, Green!!! And guess who won an honorable mention for 'Best Fairy'......Yes, you guessed it!!! Miss Emma Sage [4th row down, last photograph!]

We are so excited as I just loved this series of photographs I took of my little nymph last summer!

Just so sweet.....

Emma Sage is just so sweet. Day~in and Day~out, our life with this little girl is filled with the sweetest and sometimes the funniest moments.

Today we had to quickly head down to the high school to pick up Greta as she got hurt at Track during hurdle practice. After I hung up from the phone call, I asked Katrina to sit for the children [it was just about pick-up time] as we had to run down to the school to get Greta.

On the way to the school, Emma Sage was quiet, looking intently out the window. As we pulled into the school parking lot this is our conversation:

"Momma, my Greta urt?" asks Emma Sage

"Yes, she is" I respond

"She get urt on the track?" asks Emma Sage

"Yes, she got hurt running the hurdles on the track"

"Oh, my poor Greta" says Emma Sage

and then as we round past the track she says "Bad track, you no hurt my sister"

and then when we finally get Greta in the car Emma Sage was so, so very sweet.....and gives Greta a big hug and kiss and says "I love you Greta, I sorry you urt" and then "you no do track again!"

and another sweet thing she has been doing.

Her Daddy brought her home a necklace from Barbados last week and he put in on her......she danced, she looked in the mirror, she said "Oh, Thank you, thank you" over and over.....and she won't take that necklace off........"No, not ever, ever" is what she says.

Grammy [the other day]: "I like your necklace" to Emma Sage, who responds: "Thank you, Daddy got it in Bados [this is how she says Barbados when she is talking quickly]. and then Katrina says "Do you want to take it off to show it to Grammy?" ..........."NO, NO, not ever,ever, I no take my necklace off" says our little nymph.

So if you notice, all the photos of Little Miss lately [and probally from a long time to come] will have a shell necklace around her sweet little neck.

3~21 Celebrating World Down syndrome Day

In Celebration of World Down syndrome Day, please take the time to click on the below link and view amazing clips of people from all over the WORLD that are blessed with 3~21 [Trisomy 21, aka. Down syndrome]

Truly Amazing.....Incredibly Moving.......Awe Inspiring!!!

Celebrate 3~21, World Down syndrome Day!

March 21, 2006 **World Down syndrome Day

Tomorrow is the first annual World Down syndrome Day!

Come celebrate with Emma Sage and all those blessed with an extra chromosome on their 21st genetic pair of chromosomes.

If you do something special, or just take a moment to reflect how knowing Emma Sage [or someone else with T21] has touched your life, please share it here in the comment link below. I'd love to hear how the magic of 3/21 has touched lives around the world.

So my thoughts and plans for tomorrow.....we are going to focus on the number 3! I have some fun activities planned for the children....we have some songs picked out, some games to play and a craft project....so come back on the 22nd to see how we celebrated our first

WORLD Down syndrome Day!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
World Down Syndrome Day will be held on 21 March. The decision was taken by the boards of the Down Syndrome International (DSI) and the European Down Syndrome Association (Edsa) at the 6th International Symposium on down syndrome held in Palma, Majorca. The 21st day of the 3rd month was chosen in order to highlight and promote a greater understanding of down syndrome which is associated with 3 copies of chromosome 21 (Trisomy 21). The city of Bruges has accepted this first World Down Syndrome Day as a godchild. Patrick Moenaert, as the mayor of Bruges and father of a girl who has down syndrome, has accepted to do the official declaration of this first World Down Syndrome Day. Although at a very short notice, the DSI and the Edsa are requesting all members to celebrate the first World Down Syndrome Day in their own countries. The Down Syndrome Association of Malta is a member of both the DSI and the Edsa and it will be celebrating the first World Down Syndrome day in Malta with Mass being celebrated by the Archbishop Guzeppi Mercieca. This will be said on Monday 20 March at 6pm at St John’s Co-Cathedral, Valletta.

Spring Equonix 3

Spring Equonix 3
Originally uploaded by annikaleigh.

Looking out the window for a sign of Spring!

The Spring Equinox..........

The children and I celebrated the magic of spring today, welcoming the Spring Equinox with a walk by the river and joyful play at the park. This afternoon we are going to finish our birdfeeders and plant wheatgrass seeds in pots to watch the magic and wonder of springtime growth right on our windowsils.

The spring equinox is one of the four great solar festivals of the year. Day and night are equal, poised and balanced, but about to tip over on the side of light. The spring equinox is sacred to dawn, youth, the morning star and the east. Just as the dawn is the time of new light, so the vernal equinox is the time of new life.

Today, Celebrate with your children the magic of the season....the end of the long winter's slumber to the rebirth of the earth.

Happy Spring!!

The sun was warm but the wind was chill,
You know how it is with an April day
When the sun is out and the wind is still,
You�re one month on in the middle of May,
But if you so much as dare to speak,
A cloud comes over the sunlit arch,
A wind comes off a frozen peak,
And you�re two months back in the middle of March.

Robert Frost [1874-1963]
Two Tramps in Mud Time [1936]
 

May we continue to dance stars into being,
re-magic the earth, plant seeds, birth great trees in our midst,
and, like Aphrodite,
coming ashore out of the sea,
let flowers and grasses spring up under our dancing feet.............and may there always be children playing in the park!

Outside today at the park Celebrating the Spring Equinox.......My little Dancing Star.......the children and I danced and played and welcomed the new Season of Spring! I just love this picture because you can see the pure joy of childhood on Miss Emma Sage's expression. 

The end of winter....I took this the other day from the pond...the clouds were just beautiful...but the air was cold and crisp.....we are so happy the Spring Soltice is just a day away.....I'm so looking forward to warm, sweet days and the world blooming in color around us! 

Making pinecone birdfeeders for the birds.....they are big pine cones [from North Carolina] and peanutbutter and then we cover them with birdseed and hang them in the trees....with the cold, windy blast of winter these past few days I know the birds are so thankful to Miss Emma Sage and friends for making them these delicious treats! Did you notice who was eating as much peanutbutter as she was putting on the pinecone? LOL!!! 

Just playing around with the camera on one of my favorite models.... 

I love this shot....we had just come in from being outside and it was cold and windy, so the tear in her eye is not from sadness, but from the weather.....So sweet! 

Competition #33 - Weather

Competition #33 - Weather
Originally uploaded by Theme Competition.

Last weeks Theme Competition Mosaic.....my entry of Little Miss is the fourth row down, second one in....of Emma Sage on the 'twirly-go-round' at the playground in the snow...with no other children to be found.

Can you tell what Little Miss just loves to do.......Bounce, Bounce, Bounce, Bounce....she is a jumping bean this little one. 

............and the FAN of THE YEAR award goes to 'GRAMMY'.......This is Ricks Mom [and Coach Cook] receiving the first ever 'Fan of the Year' award. Grammy has been attending basketball games at our high school since 1975 [and since 1968 at North Hunterdon, when Geoff, Doug and Ron played] with Rick first attending and then Heidi [who was the first player to score 1000 points at our high school] and now that Heidi is a coach and her grand-daughters play, Grammy is truly the 'Fan of The Year',,,if not the decades!!!  

Hey Mommy....you want some cake? Emma Sage at Greta's basketball banquet last night....she had so much fun sitting with the team. She would come running over to where I was sitting and whisper in my ear 'I having fun!' and then run back to the girls! 

Emma Sage getting a piggy-back ride from Kelsy. Kelsy is so great with Emma Sage, always playing with her. Emma Sage just adores her cousins.