Our Soldier Surprises His Sister at School!
Our son is a Soldier in the Elite 82nd Airborne Combat Aviation Brigade.
Our B-e-s-t CHRISTMAS ever as he comes home unexpectedly & surprises his sister at school after being away for a year!
Starts off with a few kids, then hundreds gather to form a huge semicircle to witness the surprise! The Principal says he saw a horseshoe form with nearly 600 kids!
Thank you to all of the students who came up afterwards & thanked our son for his service!
Credit: Buddy Brown, Lyrics: Daniel Brown, Album: Deep South ~ Stop When You See a Uniform
Click this video below:
The Bright Spot – Celebrating the holidays together!!
Whimsy & Reverie ~ Fairies Delight
Our darling last year at the renowned   New York Renaissance Faire (left).
For this year’s faire, she knew exactly what she was looking for in a gown…
For over 38 years, fairies & fellows, princesses & knights alike have gathered throughout 65 acres of Sterling Forest, Tuxedo, NY to celebrate the Elizabethan era at the Renaissance Faire!
We
We went again this year with family & friends. Our 10-year-old told us this is her favorite summer tradition, now several years running.
From dragon rides…
…to cuddling baby dragons, there’s an adventure around every corner.
 
If you love acrobats & magic, sword fights & jousting, this is definitely the place for you.
With 20 stages and over 100 shops, there is something for everyone, young or seasoned.
 
 
Our Darling played the flute for the Woodland Fairy, the Acorn Fairy, the harpist and the Queen.
 
 
Armor and headdress for every age…
  
 
 
…thundering horses and overflowing … overflowing…well, simply overflowing…!!!…
 …overflowing attractions from wenches serving mead!
  
  
 
  
 
The Bright Spot – For swashbuckling pirates, jousting, boating on the lake or dancing around the Maypole, be sure to visit a Renaissance Faire near you, so magical, indeed!
I’m looking forward to seeing what our Darling picks out for her dress next year.
Sweet Acorn Fairy kisses farewell till then…
Amazing Grace
Blessed with lovely skin & timeless English beauty, my mother-in-law, Grace, and the Queen have always borne a striking resemblance. A woman ahead of her time, Grace, always gave new things a shot.
 
And nothing slows her down! Approaching 90, she has a personal trainer at the gym, Skypes us every Saturday without fail, uploads her digital images to her hard drive and e-mails family nearly every day.
The epitome of Englishness, she is gracious, discreet and always polite. During tough or sad times, Grace keeps a stiff upper lip and her chin up.
Her mainstay, of course, is proper English tea. It must steep in a     silver pot and the teacup must have a white interior.
She keeps her gardener busy and has redecorated parts of her home four times in the past 10 years.
In Grandma’s Gardens
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Young Grace:
 
  
  
       
    
Grace is an avid reader & animal lover. She enjoyed many years dancing with her dashing husband, Geoff, whom she misses very much.
   
   
   
 
 
   
   
   
I’ve learned lots of things from my mother-in-law over the years, from baby tips and awesome authors to food advice, fabric care and beauty tips.
  
    
 
 
  
 
One of my favorite gifts from my mother-in-law was this beautiful statue sent from England shortly before I gave birth to our daughter.
A few months old (above) Â Â Â Â Â Â 4 years old (below)
To avoid arthritis in her hands, Grace knits and knits and knits. Beautiful sweaters and hats and any request our little one desires.
I mean any! Like the day our 7-year-old said, “Grandma, can you please knit me a cuttlefish & grimpoteuthis?†And in short order, the beautiful cuddly sea creatures arrived in the gift package made with grandmother’s loving hands. A whole array of knitted marine life:
 
Knitted headbands & sweaters, ballerina shrugs and ponytail hats!
   
   
  
  
 
The loss of her beloved husband took a toll on her but did not stop Grace from living life. She hopped on a plane to surprise my husband for his birthday and stayed for Christmas that year.
Grace flew over every summer to stay with us. In 2001, my Mom took Grace and me to Mohegan Sun, the big casino upstate for a grand shebang before my mother-in-law headed back to England. It was the 1st time she visited a casino. My husband warned, “My mother may weary, don’t stay out late.â€
Honestly, nothing wearied her the past 8 decades… so when I arrived home at 4 AM with two happy grandmas, my husband was speechless. Not only did his mother have a marvelous time, she even won!
A few hours later, the towers came down and the world changed forever. Flights were canceled that week and Grace stayed with us longer that year. Phillip worked by the towers and felt the 2nd building crash to the ground. It took hours and hours and hours for him to get out of the City and back home. It was a mother’s nightmare and
a wife’s torment. Late that night, he finally made it home. We were grateful to be together as a family again, safe and sound.
The Bright SpotTM – A Grandma’s love. Every visit with Grace has been memorable. The stories she tells, reminiscing the history of the family and her great love of Britain; she is a treasure in our lives and all who know her.
My mother-in-law and the Queen were born the same year…Grace is our very own queen xoxo
   
Zumba Kicks It!
My sister loves Mexico. She lived in Puerto Vallarta for years while dating a Grammy award-winning rock star; she learned the language, loves the music & culture, learned to cook traditional cuisine and can tear up the dance floor.
She’s always been daring & adventuresome whether hopping in her open-topped Jeep Wrangler driving thousands of miles from New York > Puerto Vallarta, or hopping out of airplanes.
I visited her many times in Mexico, especially the years I lived in Texas, and we spent many a night shakin’ our thang to the beat of night music at the clubs along the famous malecon – the seaside promenade.
My sister’s always been more athletic than me. So it is no wonder that when Zumba came on the scene, there she was rippin it up every day, begging me to join her.
It’s taken months but I finally joined her today. I learned I’m not as young as I used to be (yes, to the right is the “then” in Mexico, the couch pic below is the “now” LOL!)
We have a tendency in our family to jump headfirst into everything with zeal and passion and exhuberance.
But somehow my freespirited soul didn’t tell my back that. Or my knee or my butt.
That’s right – Zumba kicked my butt!!
I came home aching & aaahhing and did what I love to do nowadays more than ever – hang out with my kids and put my feet UP!
The Bright SpotTM – I love my couch!
