A New Face to Love

Meet Skye, age 3.She is my daughter's boyfriend's little girl. Her father only found out about her right around a year ago maybe. He missed out on 2 years of this little girl's life because he didn't even know she existed. How sad it that? Even worse, since he wasn't aware of her existence, he didn't know the circumstances of her living conditions. This baby has been through some turmoil. I'm not sure what her mother's issues are, but it's my understanding she had fallen on hard times and that perhaps drugs played a huge part in her losing custody of little Skye and her siblings. My daughter's boyfriend was given custody of Skye a couple of months ago and I have to tell you, she's stolen our hearts. She is such a precious little thing...so smart and so funny. Here she is yesterday, Thanksgiving, after Randey showed her the fun of sticking olives over her fingertips:

Here she is with Randey. Look at that smile!

Here she is posing in front of the trees. She knows all the details of the Christmas decorations...what makes noise, what sings, what dances, what lights up. Every time she comes over, she plays with the remote controlled Grinch car, the spinning snowman Susan just gave me, Yule Burner (the talking log) and the bubble blowing Santa. Thank goodness she got bored quickly with the giant Grinch (listening to him too often can make even me crazy. lol).

And here she is, sitting on my lap as I sang the Twelve Days of Christmas to her. She was getting just about sick and tired of all the picture taking and the interruptions at this point. Isn't she just adorable, though?

My heart aches at the thought of all the turmoil she's been through in her short little life. I just want to hold her close and make sure that nothing and nobody ever hurts her again. She's just the sweetest little thing.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We had a great one...Skye was our main source of entertainment, but we also went and saw the new Vince Vaughn movie "Four Christmases". There was kind of a freaky scene early on in the movie (couple's role-playing, but that's all I'll say about it), but it was pretty good anyway. I laughed my brains out during the scenes at his Dad's house...the "brothers" were hilarious. I also, for the first time ever, ever, ever, cooked a wonderful dinner with NO disasters. Everything came out great. You have no idea what a feat that is for me. And by the way, I tried my friend Susan's WW friendly pumpkin pie recipe and it was FANTASTIC!!! No kidding - it was the best pumpkin pie I've ever tasted. I'll share the recipe with you guys soon.

In other news - BIG NEWS - we will be meeting our youngest granddaughter for the very first time right around 6:00 this evening. Jodie and Kara are flying in from Okinawa today. YAY!!!!! They'll be staying here for a couple of days before continuing on to Florida to visit her family and friends (but they'll be back here for a couple of weeks before and during Christmas!). I'll post plenty of pictures over the next few days and weeks. Kara is a real beauty - can't wait to get my hands on her. (I hope she likes me. lol)

Now get out and start shopping, people! Let's work all those calories from yesterday off and keep our economy going at the same time!!!! LOL

Busy, busy, busy....

Hey guys! Just a quick note to say where I've been lately. I took a trip to Oklahoma City to visit my dad. I also managed to get in two very wonderful lunch dates with two very wonderful people. On Friday, I met with Annie (My Life as Annie) at the Cheesecake Factory. I'd never been there before and boy, have I been missing out!! What a great place. I'll go on and on about it later. I'd love to show you pictures, BUT I FORGOT TO TAKE ANY!!! Can you believe that? Talk about a missed opportunity! Anyway, after I left my dad's house Sunday, I met up with a dear friend for lunch at Santa Fe, a nice little restaurant there close to Dad's house. Penny is someone I went to junior high school with and I don't think we've seen each other in over 25 years! You have no idea how great it was to see her. And sitting there talking to Penny was just like it was way back in junior high and high school. She's still the same sweet, funny, all around wonderful person she was then. And I have to tell you, the years have been extremely kind to Penny. Her hair has turned this gorgeous, envy-inspiring shade of white. Everything about Penny just glitters...you know what I mean? She's got a sparkle about her that no amount of make-up or artifice could ever give. I can't believe it's been so long since we've gotten together. It's amazing how so many of us let things go for whatever reason...too much distance, too many address changes, life gets too busy, your butt gets too big...the excuses are endless, aren't they? For any of you out there who have been contemplating getting in touch with an old friend, but have put it off, STOP PUTTING IT OFF! Go for it, contact that friend and enjoy each other! Oh, and by the way...I'd love to show you pictures of Penny, but again, I FORGOT TO TAKE ANY!!! I'm so ticked at myself for that. I guess I need to wear my camera around my neck, just so I can remember I have it. (Penny, the next time we meet, remind me to take some pictures!!! Please!)
I have to get ready for a shopping trip I'm taking with my daughter this morning. This is going to be another busy week. I can feel things stacking up already. I think I need to buy a planner or something, just so I can keep track of life for the next few weeks. I know I'd be better off if I could at least feel like I was more organized. lol
Hope everyone is preparing for a fantastic Thanksgiving! Right after you call those old friends you've been meaning to get in touch with the past decade or three, get out there and buy those turkeys, eh? And pick me one up while you're at it. I can't seem to remember to get one and if I don't start remembering soon, me and mine may be dining on Progresso soup for Thanksgiving. LOL (Yes, Kari, you DO need to buy yourself a planner...add that to the Wal-Mart list!).