Welcome Cousin Carter McCall Strickland!

Born June 29th 2010, 11:07 pm, 7 lbs

We have so much to teach you...

(Carter is my parents' fourth granddaughter, my maternal grandparents' fifth great-granddaughter and my paternal grandparents' sixth great-granddaughter. There are no boys on any side!)

VB - Where the Party Never Stops

The girls and I headed to Virginia Beach for a long weekend. So Fasten your helmets - it was a wild ride... "The Bugger" was the girls very green choice of transportation while we were there...
Oh Wild Water Rapids, water park of my youth. How you have changed so much less than you should have - but are still so enjoyable.

We spent every afternoon at "Great Grandma's Pool." It was a 100 degrees almost every day we were there, so being submerged was essential.

Come on Olivia...look like you are enjoying yourself

There it is!



Next, was the hot tub party with Uncle TBone and Company - complete with bubbles! Very Spring Break.

From left to right - Cousin Meredith, Uncle TBone, Sophia, Titi Teta

Ruthie, Sophia, Buela

Here he is Master of the House - Buelo. When many of his generation choose to downsize, my dad has enlarged his estate to create the incredible multi-generational, multi-lingual, multi-dog experience that it is. It's a sociologists dream. He welcomes you to eat of his food, fish of his inlet, soak in his hot tub. Just don't leave your bike in his garage.

Hey Dad - Why is your swimming pool so small?

My beautiful Abuelos took me out to lunch at the De Rican Chef - for a taste of the Homeland. I can't hang out with Bobo that often - he brags about me constantly. It could go to my head...yes, I am brilliant. I am beautiful. I am fabulous. It was great!

And no I am not pregnant. Last time I posted a picture of myself in this dress (which I wear in 70% of pictures this summer) I received some email inquiries.

And in case the pool, hot tub, and water park weren't enough...here's some more water fun on the back deck...

Discussion Questions: When did their hair become the same color?

How did I produce children this tan?

And back to Wild Water Rapids (known as Ocean Breeze) to those not from the old school.

Olivia's sentence of the week is "I stuck." She uses it both literally and metaphorically. It came in very handy when describing her displeasure with the life jacket. The wave pool life guard had shouted at me "He needs a life jacket because he is under 42 inches." Wow, two sweeping assumptions in one statement. We refused the tyranny and returned to the kiddie pool.

Even after an action packed time on the "other side of the water" its always great to return home

and back to our dull, colorless routine

And not long after we drove our circus out of town, the Abuelos began the race down the highway to meet our new cousin Carter - who should be here any minute!

We're cheering you on Aunt Lindsey and Uncle Daniel!

2003

Travis: 7 years? This is starting to sound like a legitimate marriage.

Sophia: Mommy, Who babysat me while you were at your wedding?

Olivia: More chips please!

HELP! My Child Knows How to Work An IPhone...

And I'm still not even good on Excel... Sophia loves doing the SpinArt App on Grandma's Iphone. Above is today's creation...

Night Out

We had a little pre-anniversary celebration last weekend. Dinner at the Trellis "Redesigned' (If you have not been in a while GO, it has been reborn). What you can't see behind me...is this...

oh Death By Chocolate...how you heal my soul. I am still in the midst of reading Women, Food, and God, where the author argues that we use food as a substitute for "staying within ourselves" and being spiritually aware. I am torn, because this dessert makes me feel very alive. (I suppose Geneen Roth might have written this book exactly for people like me who say things like that...)

And the girls were well cared for as Grandma came to town bringing style and adventure with her...

Here's Sophia, purse in tow, driving to Grover's house.

Baby Grace!

We had our first momentous meeting with Baby Grace Armstrong on Wednesday - and this sweaty picture is all we have to show for it! Travis and I met Matt and Kate five years ago when we all were moving into the grad housing at Emory University. It was Kate who walked miles with me over the Clairmont Campus as I processed our Sophia Surprise - and again Kate (poor Kate) who was a very patient friend as I became a Post Partum Psycho. It has been so exciting to watch their journey to parenthood - even from afar. And this visit also celebrates that we are all back in the same state again. Welcome to the Old Dominion Armstrongs - we've been waiting for you!

Things I Desperately Want for Sophia and Olivia #6

Lifelong Friends When I referenced a wedding we attended in 1997, Erin commented on the navy blue dress I wore. I remember fondly her striped jeans from sixth grade, she has a soft spot for my life-long addiction to turtlenecks. She holds memories I no longer have - discussions we had senior year in high school, the depth of angst we felt in college. We have laughed together over nothing since 1st grade and last Wednesday night, over a bottle of wine, we were able to shrug off our acceptance that though many things change, we just don't seem to "progress" all that much. And maybe we're the better for it...
And so Sophia and Olivia...my hope is that you have friends that make you laugh so hard your sides hurt, who speak strange languages with you, and believe you can do anything. Forego the quest to know it all (a hopeless cause) and revel instead in the Apostle Paul's declaration that "we are fully known." Because, if a late night catch up fest is merely a poor reflection of God's relationship to us, there is much to be excited about...

Inconceivable!

I have this haircut that I love. Problem is it is a 3 step (wash, dry, straighten) 3 tool (brush, dryer, flat iron) multi-product process. A successful day for me is one in which I have showered. Do other moms feel this way? Thus the big mystery: how does Michelle Dugger do it? Her hair is incredible and nothing about it says "wash and go." I am sure today has produced loftier issues to ponder but I find myself stuck on this one...

Graduation

Fortunately it was only 99 degrees on Saturday, as opposed to the 106 forecast for tomorrow, making graduation a wonderful day for memories - and a rough one for makeup, hair, and small children who do not like to wear shoes or clothes When we got home for the day the girls were barefoot and covered in dirt but they still had their clothes on (which I could not say for the night before)...We had a great day of celebration...I really want to graduate from something again...I love the pagentry and the garb and the tassels and medals and validation. And the video camaras and cheering families and bored siblings and inspirational speeches. I love that in one ceremony the past and the future are equally celebrated. Most of all I love that everyone apologizes after seeing we have come - like sitting through graduation is equal to a morning at the DMV. Hardly. I'm telling you we love this stuff.

Above, with Rylie at Lafayette's graduation - 10 am.

Apparently my camera has a "celestial" mode.

Boys - Jamestown's graduation 6 pm

William and Mary Hall

Post-Graduation Perch

The Future: aren't they cute?

Very serious occasion

Trav went with the seersucker and made quite a splash.

Check out the tree dweller.

Another promising member of the Class of 2025 (!!!)

Family Hierarchy

Olivia, are you the boss?

No.

Is Mommy the boss?

No.

(Hmmm...)

Well, then who is the boss?

Si-a.

(Perceptive for a 19-month old)

Seniors...

We had the Senior Banquet honoring all of those in Student Ministries who are about to graduate. Here's our small group. My first declaration upon turning 29 is that I am officially too old to do the Sorority Squat in the front row of a picture. Have fun with all that girls!

Christie,who has taught me the importance of prompt text message response. My continual failure to internalize this lesson is quickly leading to the demise of our friendship. Sorry Christie! Go Hokies?!

Running Partner Jessie -

She cleans up well...

Rylie and Crystal

Ali, Christie and Kristina

Renee, Katie and Tara

This group has been one of the sweetest parts of this season in my life - and it caught me by surprise. I took them on when they were leader-less as an effort to help out, never realizing how often they would prove to be my lifeline. They have taught me many many things including how people really dance at prom (big news to this Christian school girl), what stores to avoid entirely if I don't want to look like a Mom, and how you can learn everything you need to know about a person from 13.8 seconds on their Facebook Page.

But they have also humbled me again and again by sharing their hearts - their pain and their joy and their fears. I have had the privelege of watching right here from my Elmo-strewn living room as they grappled with the anxieties of growing up and deciding who they want to be. They have made me so proud.

Last December I clearly remember sitting squeezed in a pew at Christie's Grandmother's funeral. It was the second funeral that day for our little tear-stained group. I'll never forget Ali's Mom turning to me and whispering "Aren't we so lucky to be here?" And we were. And we are. It is an incredible gift to participate in people's lives. When one of these precious girls started sharing her most hidden thoughts I always felt I was entering sacred ground. I am honored to share the journey with them.

And now they will spend the rest of the summer trying to convince me to get on Facebook and I will be trying to tutor them on this real retro techonology called email...and next Fall I will become that creepy Mom who visits her friends in dorm rooms...I can't wait!

Maggie and Chelsea