See the light

As I left work today I passed Mr. White's house. He's a tenant of mine who lives beside my office. His porch is always decked out in wind chimes and plants, but to celebrate the season, he's literally decked the halls with lights. It's a festive display although small. It caught me off guard seeing it today as I left the office as night was falling. It caught me off guard when I realized, Mr. White is blind. Of all my tenants on that street - the blind one decorated for Christmas...with lights...that he'll never see. He told me he has to feel them to make sure they're burning. He has to make sure they are warm. On this same evening, I rode through a neighborhood. A seemingly normal place for people to live. Some houses I passed had decorations and some did not. As I approached the stop light, scrawled on the back of a convenient store were 2 words.."War Zone." As I looked past the decorations, there were groups of people walking the street. Were they kids? Who knows? But this didn't look like a war zone to me. The evening just seemed to be full of contradictions in my mind. A friendly looking neighborhood labeled "war zone," a blind man putting up decorations for all the world to see...except him.

December

December has been a whirlwind. We spent 14 days out west visiting family in Nevada and California. Addison had wonderful time meeting great aunts, uncles and cousins. She rode a cable car in her daddy's lap and saw her first displays of Christmas lights through the open doors of a van with the heat blasting. She's eaten shrimp salad down at Fisherman's Wharf and helped usher in the opening of an 8.5 billion dollar CityCenter in Vegas. She banged her head more times than we could count in her repeated attempts to walk...and run to the point where one bruise was yellowing as another was born. At 13 months, she has seen more of the world than I had at age 21. And she did it all with laughter and smiles and hugs and kisses - the best traveler ever. What a wonderful Christmas present. The actuality of spending 24 hours a day for 14 days with my family and seeing my little girl change by the day from an infant to a toddler. With our crawling days behind us I'm only asking for one more gift this season...running shoes, to keep up with her in the days to come.

Pictures of our TRIP.

Fox in socks...

is the most impossible book to read. If you've never read it, you should crack the cover at least once in your life if for no other reason than to give your brain a workout in rhyming. Better yet, read it out loud...to a 13 month old. I think that book can only confuse a child...or a 33 year old and even moreso trip up a tongue faster than a drunken tumble down a flight of stairs.

A View on Marriage

There is a picture that sits on my dining room buffet of Michael and I on our first date. It's probably rare that people have pictures of their first date, but we were fortunate to be attending an event with a shutterbug present.

Early on I put that picture in a frame where it has sat through changed seasons and rooms and addresses.

I recently attempted to take the picture out of the frame only to find that it is impossible. By some event of moisture or heat or mere chemical reaction, that picture has adhered itself to the glass of the frame. It can never be removed or the entire integrity of that picture will be destroyed. The photo will be torn from the paper and the picture will be destroyed.

I thought today about the irony of that situation as it pertains to our marriage.

Just like that picture of Michael and I, our marriage has been effected by so many things. We have had our seasons. There have been sorrows and joys and struggles and bliss. Maybe it was the moisture of our tears or the heat of our anger that made the bond so strong. Or was it the wetness of our kisses and the burn of our passion? Whatever the contributors, they have resulted in a bond wherein any attempt to break it would destroy both parties.

It's a little scary to think I'm so connected to another being. And yet it's the biggest comfort I can ever imagine.

So, I'll never ever take that picture out of the frame. It will and must remain, untouched for eternity in order to preserve it's integrity. And with my marriage, I must strive to do the same.

Halloweeeeeeeeen

Little Miss Queen of Hearts.

The Party

I think she liked it.
See more pics here.

Birthday Blog

Addison on her birthday!

I love this outfit.

One of her birthday photos from the mall.

Five days late. That's about right. I think I'm perpetually five days late on everything these days. Moving on.

Addison turned one on the 23rd. My baby girl is growing up. She's taken a total of 4 steps so far. She is also really partial to a hamburger all the while, still extremely attached to her bottle. She has a great right curve that can send a sippy cup clear across the kitchen. But the girl's also got rhythm. If there's a beat, she'll start boppin' to it. I cannot convey the joy I feel when she buries her head in my chest or grabs both sides of my face with her hands, only to slobber all over my chin. Almost as enjoyable are her blown kisses of which she'll give out to pretty much anyone who asks.

Our newest feat - What sound does the doggy make? (She answers with a grunt grunt). What sound does the kitty cat make? (A long and quiet "mow"). My kid is smart, I'm tellin' ya!

Pigs, sheep and cows have yet to make it into her animal repertoire, but the barnyard sound corral is getting fuller by the day.
For her birthday, we had a Large party. Notice the capital letter there. It was a bunch-o-people. She had a blast and so did I. Not to mention, she racked up. We are now clothed for winter....THANK YOU ALL!
She also received fluffy new car set for a forward-facing gal. She really can enjoy that in-flight movie now. I'm so glad since we paid extra for the DVD feature.
Michael and I gave her a red wagon and a radio flyer bouncing horse. She absolutely loves cruising around the yard in her deluxe, 1 human powered vehicle. She's even had her first wreck. Luckily the spill only resulted in a face full of grass and dirt. (Note to self, 6 year olds are reckless wagon drivers..lol).
I will post party pictures as soon as I can. My laptop has died and I am a blogger without her tools!