EFY

I must admit when I first signed Christina up for EFY I was very nervous. I have never been away from Christina for more than a couple of days. There was some sadness because she is a wonderful child and I knew I would miss her greatly. I have had a hard week without her. I miss her terribly. She has been calling me every night to chat and say good night. Tonight when she called there was such an enthusiasm in her voice I knew something great happened. Something wonderful did happen. She bore her testimony for the first time in her life. While she was on the phone with me describing how EFY has helped her find her testimony and how it has changed her life spiritually I knew I had done the right thing. Letting go is hard but in this case it is worth it. She just could not stop talking about how happy she was to finally feel the spirit so strong and how happy she was to bear her testimony and share those feelings. So through tears of complete joy I chatted with her about her experience at EFY. I am grateful she has had this opportunity. I can't wait to go pick her up Saturday morning. I am bringing tissues because I know I am going to need them.

It is all about Perseverance

Christina has been trying out for a solo in chorus since she began middle school. Each fall and spring she would try out for a solo and each fall and spring she would not be picked. She never gave up though. She kept trying out and all that perseverance paid off! She had her first solo of her middle school chorus years tonight. The spring concert of her 8th grade year. She was so excited when she came home from school yesterday that I knew something really good happened. She was so hyper she could barely get the sentence out to tell me she got the solo. Her voice teacher and good friend of mine Kristen and another good friend of mine Tianna came to watch her performance. I am grateful for friends who willingly sit through an entire chorus concert of which none of their children are participating in.

I am so proud of Christina for not giving up! She never got down about not being picked for solo's she just said I will try harder next time. So all of her hard work has been rewarded and I have a very happy 8th grader this evening.

Mothers Day

It is hard to believe I have been a Mom for 14 years. It really does seem like yesterday that Christina was born. It is funny how your appreciation of Mothers increases ten fold when you in fact become a Mother. Although it is the hardest job in the World it is also the most rewarding.

This morning my wonderful daughter made me delicious Blueberry Muffins. They were my Noni's recipe and my favorite. Here are some pictures of the yummy muffins.

And here is the recipe as written by Noni, my Italian Grandmother. Enjoy!

1 cup berries

2 cups flour

1/3 cup sugar

3 t. baking powder

1 t. salt

1 egg well beaten

1 cup milk

1/4 cup melted shortening ( which really means butter)

Wash and drain the berries. Mix and sift flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and set aside. Combine egg, milk and melted shortening. Add all at once to the flour mixture. Stir till liquid is absorbed. Gently fold in berries. Fill greased muffin pans 2/3 full. Heat oven to 400 F. and bake for 20 minutes or until brown.

I hope all my wonderful friends have a fabulous Mothers Day!

Christina's first Church Dance!

Christina turned 14 back in March and this is the "magical age" that the youth are allowed to start going to dances. She was really excited to go and apparently was having a good time before the dance even started. She got asked to dance by one boy and that was good enough for her. Her secret crush was not there so she was slightly bummed. When I peaked in the last couple of minutes, because as a parent I just can't help myself, she was skipping around the gym without a care in the world. She did not stop and think, people are looking at me I should act "normal". She just kept skipping and twirling and having a great time. I love that she has not lost the ability to just have fun and be herself. I hope that she keeps that for a long time. I hope her spirits are never crushed by someone making fun of her because she is having a good time and maybe not dancing "cool" like everyone else. Sometimes our children teach us valuable lessons. As I was watching her I thought why do we let what other people might think from holding us back from skipping when we want to. She reminded me that being ourselves is a great thing. So thank you Christina for having the strength and courage to be yourself.

Cherry Blossoms

Every year in early spring my daugher, my Dad and I go to the tidal basin in Washington D.C. to see the Cherry Trees in full bloom. If you live in the Washington Metropolitan area and have never been I highly recommend going. We go very early Sunday Morning, we leave Leesburg at 6am, so we can beat the crowds and get into D.C. around 6:45. By the time we park, which does not take that long because my Dad works for the F.A.A. and can park at their building which is only about 5 blocks from the tidal basin, we are usually at the basin by 7:15 a.m. It is wonderful that we can take our time walking around because there is hardly anyone there. It is peaceful, beautiful and a great way to spend time with the family. We always visit the Jefferson Memorial and walk up the steps to read the words written so long ago and need to be remembered more often. This is my absolute favorite thing to do in the Spring. To me it represents the start of Spring a new Season where we can come out of our Winter doldrums and start anew.

New Year

Well it is the New Year and I was thinking it was time for a new name for my blog. I think the other name was too stuffy and did not fit well. So I have changed the name to one of my favorite songs and have given my blog a "face lift."