Noni, You are Loved

It was a great day. We had successfully surprised Noni with bringing her siblings and family from California to visit. That day she leaned over to Kevin and said in a quiet voice, as if to tell a secret, "Since everyone is here, why don't we go somewhere for dinner? How about Olive Garden, my treat." Kevin smiled and replied that it sounded like a nice idea. (Little did Noni know that we had other plans for her that night).

Kevin, Noni and I drove to the restaurant to together. It was a little bit of a drive, and the restaurant is located in a sparsely populated corner of Mesa. Noni commented about how she didn't recognize this area. We pulled into the restaurant parking lot, and she realized, "This doesn't look like the Olive Garden..."

The smiles on our faces grew even wider as Kevin and I responded, "We know! We had something planned for you... this is Anzio's Landing." An Italian restaurant set on the edge of Falcon Airfield, where we could watch the airplanes land and take off against the beautiful backdrop of an orange Arizona sunset. Not to mention, the food was delicious!

As we met up with everyone else, the surprise was finally unveiled to Noni. We were all there to celebrate her 80th birthday early (her actual birthday is Oct. 9).

She was so surprised! It was fun to watch her squirm under the limelight since she doesn't like to be the center of attention. Amid the toasts and the gifts, we could tell that this deeply touched her heart.

My dearest Noni, there is no one else like you. When I think of you, I think of generosity, hospitality, unconditional love, unwavering faith, selflessness, contentedness, wise stewardship, and beauty. You have taught me more than you know, and I am proud to call you my grandmother. You have been one of the most influencial women of the Faith in my life, and for that I am forever indebted to you. Thank you for your godly and loving example; I cherish you and the legacy you are leaving in my life.

Sweet Nothings

This may be insignificant to some of you, but I'm rejoicing today! For the past couple of months, I have been persistently - and sometimes annoyingly - teaching Isaac the basic manners of "please and thank you." I'm determined to have well-mannered children, and I have hope after this morning's simple, yet large reward! Alas, my dogged effort seems to be reaping the harvest.

When handed his juice, my sweet son replied, "Thank you, Mommy." All by himself, without the typical promptings!

Good manners sound so lovely when they roll off the tongue of a small child.

Next project: "You're welcome!" and "My pleasure!"

John 3:16

... As attempted by Isaac.

I was inspired by my friend Cheryl's blog post entitled "John 3:16 by Evan." Evan is her two-year-old, and, well, her story was just really cute.

So I gave it a try, and here's how it went...


Me: Isaac, we're going to learn a Bible verse! Would you like to try?
Isaac: Yeah!
Me: Okay, we're going to learn John 3:16. Can you say, "John"?
Isaac: Don.
Me: Three.
Isaac: (Blank stare, probably unsure of what exactly we were doing here.)
Me: Threeeee.
(pause)
Isaac: Fooouuuurrrr. (accompanied by a big grin and followed by cheering)


What the hay, I cheered with him. We have, after all, been learning how to count to ten.

Rounding Out the Month of May...

First came Noni...

which is always fun

REALLY fun

She plays outside with me.

We go for long truck rides together.

She even helps me with my truck repairs too.

And we have a lot of photo shoots because I'm really cool, and Noni likes to make sure she has hundreds and hundreds of pictures of me to take home with her.

One week later came Great Noni...

Isaac {loves} Great Noni.

With TWO Nonis around, I got double the spoiling!

Papa came the same day...

I was excited to see Papa.

And the next day we saw the rest of the crew!

Uncle Caleb (a.k.a. "Nunco Cay-wub")

... with Auntie Anna (a.k.a. "Intie"), with whom I am thoroughly and utterly smitten.

And as a surprise for Great Noni, her brothers Joe and John, niece Angela, sister-in-law Wanda, and nephew-in-law Ted came out from California for a surprise birthday party she knew nothing about.

And here is where the fun began... More to come!

Our Little Parrot

I was walking through the grocery store with Isaac yesterday, and he wanted to hold my purse as he rode in the cart. Well, that usually means he is going to pick through it and potentially empty it out. So I distinctly told him, "Okay, you may hold my purse, but you need to keep everything inside it." I knew my directive was pointless, but I stated it anyway.

Sure enough, as we were cruising the aisles, Isaac proceeded to rummage through my purse and remove various items. Shaking my tic-tacs, pulling out my wallet, waving a pen in the air... In response, I simply told him to put the items back, or I took them and put them back myself.

However, he eventually decided to load the cart with the items from my purse, and that is where I drew the line... The following conversation ensued:


Me: "Isaac, please keep these in Mommy's purse, okay?"
Isaac: "No!"
Me: "Uh, yes."
Isaac: "My puss!!"
Me: "No, it's my purse, actually."
Isaac: "MY puss, ackshawee."

Oh my sweet boy... such a parrot these days! I couldn't help but laugh at his ability to imitate even the inflection and tone of my voice... and how quick he picked up a new word - "ackshawee."

Later as we watched the Laker/Celtics game, Isaac learned a few more new phrases from his daddy as Kevin shouted at the TV.

A frustrated Kevin: "Come ON!!"
Isaac, with arms extended in exasperation: "Cummon!"

Kevin: "Really?!"
Isaac, again with arms extended: "Weawy??"

This was amusing but also enlightening... haha. Good thing we don't use foul language in our house!!

Where Did May Go?

We've been having a lot of fun around here! May was packed - filled with tons of time with family and friends! We loved every second of it.... so sorry we've been AWOL in blogworld. Here's a recap of all the fun:

First came the Matson's from Washington State - and Isaac is still asking, "Where's Nunco Nik?"

Picture perfect: Nik, Kiera, and Lisa

The sibs showing some love - Lisa & Kevin

I think we were all surprised at how tall the kids have gotten! Kiera and Isaac were fast friends once again.

And of course, it wouldn't be a vacation without some free golf!!

I had to share this picture so I could say, "Look at that view!"

Then came the Rossi's from California - and Isaac is still asking, "Where'd the baby go?"

Here's Kevin with the kiddos - Isaac & Felicity

Erica and I are already planning their arranged marriage. Seriously, with names that mean Happiness and Laughter, doesn't that sound like a match made in heaven??

Truly BFF's {I heart Erica}

Isaac with the Rossi's

Sweet Felicity

Then came Noni and the rest of the family ... which requires a whole 'nother post, so more to come!

My Racoon Artist

Isaac got to fingerpaint for the first time when we made his Mother's Day gifts for his Noni and Grandma.... a fun time!

The colorful fun didn't quite stay on the paper.
But that's okay - it's all part of the fun!

Hey, why not throw a little face painting in there too.

And here's a little video action...

Killer Dance Moves

Not a day goes by when Isaac doesn't put some time in practicing his dance moves...

Train Up a Child...

Isaac actually gets a little put out when I don't invite him to help me with the laundry. He gets a kick out of it ... and who am I to dissuade my little one from doing some housework?


Start 'em young, I say. It's a perk at this point...

The Tacter! The Tacter!

The highlight of Isaac's trip to Lowe's...

... ever since then Isaac has been asking, "Where's the tacter?"