18 reasons

I see my school number come up on my caller ID on a Friday evening. Straight to voicemail you go, school person! When I check my message I hear that it is Maria from our front office. She explains with a heavy accent, "Ms. Kelly, I am calling to tell you that you have a gift at school. Well, I don't want to tell you what the gift is, but I think I have to tell you that it is some flowers. In a box. Because I think that you need to come get the flowers so they won't die. OK--bye bye." A gift? Flowers? Delivered? I have been at a conference for the last part of this week, so I haven't been at school. Charlie, of course, knew that, so I knew they were not from him. As we drove over to my school this evening to pick up my "flowers in a box", I guessed aloud about who they could be from. My suspicions proved correct when I read the sweet card. My sister, Jenny, had sent them. Jenny, who, in case you have forgotten is doing missions in another country. Jenny, who despite the hours and energy she is putting into lesson plans, loving on her students, learning the language, ministering to her community, living in community with her roommates and coworkers, was intentional about finding a special way to encourage my heart. So, I used my flower-arranging skills (I just wrote that in my best Napoleon Dynamite impersonation, btw) and then took some pics of my gift.
Wait, there's more.

Told ya. Yeah, 18 total to be exact. So, in honor of my 18 beauties that are looking so cute in my entryway and kitchen, here are 18 reasons I love this girl:

1. She is probably the most selfless person I have ever met in real life.

2. She doesn't think this is true because she is probably the most humble person I have ever met in real life.

3. She always looks for the good in people. Always.

4. She is honest.

5. She has strong opinions about the stuff that matters. She is not afraid to share those opinions and always does so in a non-threatening, accepting way.

6. She has a heart for the poor. The ones who lack money, the ones who lack spirit, and the ones who lack both.

7. She listens without judgment.

8. She is a gifted dancer.

9. She has so much compassion and empathy that she feels way more people's hurts than just her own.

10. She loves my daughter so well.

11. She has learned how to pick on Charlie. And she loves him well too.

12. She is silly.

13. She knows my junk and loves me anyway.

14. She is creative.

15. She seeks to serve others.

16. She loves SYTYCD, singing praise songs, boy bands, Skittles, languages, french fries, live music, Diet Mt. Dew, learning about other cultures, having a tan, The Office, dangly earrings, , making crafty stuff for other people, dancing, the beach, and the mountains...just like me.

17. She is strong and brave.

18. She values every relationship she has. Especially the one she has with Christ.

If you know her, you know all this stuff is true. If you don't, betcha wish you did!

Now, since she's probably all bashful and kind of wishing I hadn't written all of those things about her, here's the other way I can say "thank you".

Some of the best from our fall "photo shoot"....

Love you, Jen. Love you Neen Neen.

costuming it up!

How fun it is to wear a costume? To be something or someone that is not you for just a night. I remember the anticipation of Halloween every year...it wasn't that I had any special affinity for the holiday itself. I wasn't ever into scary movies or even the candy that much. But the costumes. Oh I was into the costumes. Probably partly because of my creative parents and grandpa. They always made sure I had an original costume in the age of the vinyl smock-style outfits with the plastic mask and the character's face on the front. A la...
I know several of you all had those, so, please don't get offended. But seriously...please tell me why anyone needs a face on their face and on their chest. I also loved the masquerade of performing. There's just something magical about eyelining those little tails on the corners of my eyes while wearing a very regal, very poofy tutu. And of course, Jenny and I spent countless hours playing dress up. I can't even begin to tell you how in-depth we went with some of our "shows". We're talking multiple acts, playbills, you get the picture. Since Jenny was six years my junior, I was often the director/producer/choreographer, and of course the co-star. Maybe someday I'll post some photos of us in all our grandeur.

So, I think it's safe to say that I will try to foster that in my daughter. Of course I want her to find contentment in the way God made her, but I hope she will use her imagination and creativity, not only to have fun, but also to dream big.

This year for Halloween, I still got to call the shots (I may not be so lucky next year). Her costume was a hand-me-down, but I fashioned the wig myself...this is the closest I come to any craft involving yarn/thread. I am including some a pic from last year too. Wow. She'll be printing playbills and directing shows before we know it.

"raggedy maddie"

2008

"the chicken"

2007

Also, this year's video footage was just as hilarious as last year's. I tried to post clips of the chaos from both years, but I couldn't get '07 to load. So here's 2008...Especially amusing is the chain reaction of crying babies. Note that Maddie is keeping her distance.

partyin' girl

No, your Google Reader does not deceive you. It's really me. Actually posting a post. Don't worry, I won't dwell too much on my inadequacies as a consistent blogger (I woudn't want to make my poor, neglected blog another empty promise)...or give you a play by play recap of the last couple months (that would be certain to only entertain readers with such names as "Momma Lu" and "Grannie Annie")...in fact, maybe I shouldn't be the one to write at all. Maybe I'll give the kid a turn...

hi. i'm maddie in case you didn't know.

who am i kidding? i know you totally know who i am.

i want to say thank you to my mommy for letting me have a turn. for the record, i can say "thank you." i cannot, however, say "mommy". nor do i even try. not anything even remotely close. i give her lots of hugs and kisses that make up for it, though.

i am not going to tell you about our fun summer. mommy promised a summer recap, so i'll let her tell you about it. it's ok that summer is long gone, mommy. (you are a busy woman.)

what i am going to tell you about is the great big celebration we went to last weekend. we drove 8 hours to get there! you can eat a lot of cheerios and read a lot of books and sing a lot of "E-I-E-I-O" in 8 hours!

the big celebration was for elizabeth's wedding. elizabeth is my daddy's only girl cousin. so this was a big deal. here is elizabeth with 7 of the 9 cousins--uncle jimmy could not come because of work & uncle wally had to leave early to take the sick ring bearer home:-( i think elizabeth is a beautiful princess!

we had a party every night we were there! i wondered if it was because people from ohio were more fun than people in north carolina. daddy said it was because it was the heritage family

the first party was at a big park full of old planes and trains and cars.

i got to ride on a train and uncle kirby gave me a real conductor hat! we had a competition between north carolina and texas bbq. i thought that the corn on the cob won. mommy and me danced and danced in our green dresses. don'tcha think she looks like a watermelon?! mmm, i do love watermelon!

the next party was just for us girls. a nice lady gave mommy's feet a bath while i got a great big remote all to myself! it was so much fun, only i couldn't ever find the tv and our chair was bumpy.

that night we got to dress fancy. don'tcha think we look fancy?

mommy told me that uncle kirby gave a speech that made daddy cry. something about how special little girls are. that must mean i am pretty special.

after that party, we went to another one. it was at uncle kirby and aunt rita's house. that night i slept in three different places. talk about confusing.

then came the big day! we did some park-exploring and some hotel pool swimming before we had to get fancy again. i liked to stick the very tiny tip of my big toe in and tell grandpa it was "hot."

my favorite part of the wedding was all of those rose petals. i decided i needed to start practicing if i am ever going to be a flower girl one day. that is one tough job. i also liked that big room upstairs that i got to run around in. and playing with my new friends, the flower girls (they were the ones that gave me the inside scoop on the whole operation). and the chicken fingers. mommy and daddy said they liked all the dancing. and having so much fun with the whole heritage family. thank you, kirby and rita, for so many fun times! i would like to come to one of your parties again soon. so please invite me...especially if you need someone to throw some petals around.

school's in

Well, as I knew it would be, my summer has been a short one. But also a full one. And a really good one. I think going into it with few expectations of myself (usually my summer to do list spans a couple of notebook pages) due to the brevity of it was actually helpful. Although I am certainly not ready to end my summer vacation, and more specifically, end my full days spent with Madison and quite a few spent with Charlie, I am not facing this school year with the dread that so often accompanies the start back. Or with a bucket full of unmet expectations and unfinished projects. Not that there aren't a lot of those projects...they are definitely still there. But, I think with my mindset, I was able to focus on what was really more important rather than that ever-lingering list of shame. Rest. Adventure. Fun. Laughter. Time spent with the folks I love most in the world. Isn't that what summer should be about?

I promise to post a little summer re-cap soon...there are pics of Maddie that simply must be shared! But while I only have a few moments today between putting up bulletin boards and planning classroom guidance lessons, I thought I'd share the latest media spotlight on our school. This aired a few days ago.

Adios, Summer!

Bienvenidos School Year!

thank you!

a greenville celebrity

http://www.reflector.com/photos/mediahub/media/slideshow/index.jsp?tId=112229

she's #15.

our weekend away

I had the pleasure of a weekend getaway to the Outer Banks with my sweet husband. We were celebrating our anniversary, which was actually almost 2 weeks ago...but, you know--better late than never--that's how we roll.

So, we always try to mix up things a little bit when we are visiting new places. Sometimes we do lots of people watching (and listening) and write down the funniest things we hear. Sometimes we play the game where you find everyone you can that you know...except the people you find are really not the people you know (for example, in case you ever want to play...you might say, "Hey, it's Charlie Heritage," upon sight of a tall, lanky, dark-haired, completely random guy. You really should try it.) This time though, we decided to give each place we visited a rating. Our rating system was based on three criteria: 1. atmosphere; 2. service; and 3. product (usually this was food, but in some cases it was, for example, history of human flight...that would be for the Wright Brothers Memorial in case you don't know your NC history). I won't give you the complete ratings list, but here are a few of the highlights (and lowlights):

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

Yes, we scoffed the ridiculously high cost of gas, and drove all the way to Hatteras. But it was worth it! Windows down all the way, we took in the view of the beautiful seashore and were entertained by what is, apparently, the new frontier of wave riding--kite surfing. There is just something about breathing in that salty ocean air that makes summer complete. Charlie only wished we had taken his truck so that we could have driven out on the beach.

So, for the lighthouse...

Well, I won't even waste time listing the grade and comments for each category...it was given an A all the way around. Because as Charlie adamantly stated in response to my wavering between an A and a B, "This is history. You can't give history a B."

The Froggy Dog

Not to be confused with The Salty Dog, a popular waterfront dining establishment with great atmosphere and good food, The Froggy Dog was nothing of the sort. Sorry, Froggy, if you are reading, but I have to be honest with my readers. Here's how the Dog ranked on our scale:

Atmosphere: D. I couldn't ever quite put my finger on the smell, but it was kind of a great-grandmother's house meets elementary school cafeteria spray cleaner aroma. Although the restaurant was only a few yards from the water, the only view from the dining area was of the gravel parking lot.

Service: D. Our waitress was nice. She was also from another country. What country, you ask? Well, we might have picked up on an accent if we could have heard her. She whispered and mumbled her way through taking our order and scurried away from our table before we had the chance to ask any questions. We also didn't have the pleasure of meeting our silent server until about 15-20 minutes after we sat down.

Product (Food): D. So, I have to preface this one and say that Charlie and I probably should have made better choices in our selections. Charlie got a hot dog. A hotdog. At a seafood restaurant. At the beach. Don't ask me why. But I don't think he'll ever do it again. I tried to tell him that a 1/4 lb. hotdog was more hotdog than anyone should handle in one sitting, but he wouldn't listen.

Wish someone had told me that my crab sandwich was going to contain a whole deep-fried crab between 2 pieces of soggy bread. I would have listened.

The Downeast Rover Sunset Sail

One of the highlights of our trip, we set sail from the Manteo waterfront around 6:00 pm with our cooler and carryout.

Atmosphere: A. What could be better atmosphere than the beautiful Roanoke Sound at sunset? The captain said it was one of the best sails he'd ever had on this boat.

Service: A. The captain and first mate were friendly and laid back, but we also felt confident that they definitely knew what they were doing. There were a few times that I had white knuckles due to the white caps...but First Mate Marina (that was really her name--you know she's got to be good when her name is Marina) totally kept us from all going overboard.

Product (the sail): A. Nice boat. Good wind. Beautiful sunset. Romantic evening with my hubby of 6 years.

We have several more ratings from our trip (most of them positive), but this long post would get even longer. And I have laundry to do.

So this is the last one I'll tell you about. It tops the charts as an A++. Thank you for an amazing weekend, Charlie, just you and me! And wasn't it wonderful to come home to this?