Better Late than Never

Well, Brooke has been attending preschool for a couple weeks now, but she didn't want me to take any pictures; she wanted me to drive up, drop her off, and drive away. She has become very independent! Yesterday, for whatever reason, things changed; she informed me that she wanted me to take pictures of her walking into the school (I think it was because we straightened her hair; she always wants pictures of her when her hair is straight), but of course I still was not allowed to walk her into the building. I stood by the van and took pictures while Miss Independent sashayed into the school all by herself. Brooke is truly one of a kind!

A Typical Day in the Maseda Household

Yesterday a tube of chapstick was eaten, a bottle of perfume was broken, a drawer was raided, toothpaste was eaten, and a couch cushion was christened, a typical day in the Maseda house. What is even more typical is that all of this destruction can be attributed to one and only one individual, our resident hoodlum, or as we sometimes call her Emma.

How can someone who looks so sweet be such a little imp? She's lucky she is cute, and she's lucky she knows how to give the best hugs! It's hard to stay mad at her when she throws her little arms around you and squeezes as hard as she can!

Pictures, pictures, and more pictures

Here are some of the pictures I took of Ashley (my sister-in-law) this past weekend; John is leaving for 7 months this week, and I thought it would be nice if she had a couple pictures to send with him. Ashley also didn't mind being my guinea pig; it gave me a chance to practice for a couple upcoming photo shoots.

Oh, To Be A Child Again!

Yesterday Rich, the cuties, John and Ashley, (my brother-in-law and sister-in-law) and I went to Charleston for the day. I can't tell you how much I LOVED being in Charleston again!!!!! Charleston holds so many fond memories for me: numerous family trips as I was growing up, the family tradition of participating in the Cooper River Bridge Race (my parents would run, and when I got old enough, I walked), yearly trips to Charleston to do Christmas shopping, and most importantly meeting the love of my life, and falling in love. When I moved to the Charleston area to teach over 9 years ago, my plan was to stay put; I loved it! I could see myself growing old there and being quite content, what I didn't see was being swept off my feet by a tall handsome Navy officer; once I met Rich though, I gladly was willing to follow him anywhere. We met, fell in love, married, and in August 2000 left the area I had grown to love, so it was absolutely wonderful to go back; I also was excited about showing the children the place where their parents met and fell in love, but I digress. One of our stops yesterday was Waterfront Park, as the boys plus Emma went to retrieve the van, Ashley, Brooke, and I meandered over to the pineapple fountain. Brooke's eyes lit with excitement and longing as she watched the children splash and swim in the fountain, so I did what any good mother would do, I took her shoes and socks off, rolled her pants up, and told her to splash away. I of course also told her not to go in deeper than her knees, but I am sure you can guess how well that worked. Brooke splashed, laughed, and got soaked up to her neck. I guess I should have been upset with her, but I wasn't; her face was one of pure joy and contentment, so I all I did was take pictures of her memorable childhood moment and think about how nice it would be to be a child again. Sometimes it is just more important to let your children live and savor those moments they will never forget; life is too short to worry about wet clothes. Brooke will never forget the fun she had splashing with pure innocent abandon, and I will never forget the look of joy on my sweet little girl's face.

The other things I will never forget from the day is sitting in the little garden area at Ben and Jerry's watching Braden devour Ashley's chocolate milkshake, after finishing his scoop of chocolate ice cream,

watching Brooke and Braden walking and holding hands, being grateful for how much they love each other and hoping that they will always be good friends,

Emma running with wild abandon through Waterfront Park, only stopping to give her brother some sugar,

sitting and watching the comings and goings of The City Market,

watching Brooke and Braden making wishes as they threw coins into the fountain,

(Braden wished that Pudger, Ashley and John's dog, could turn into a person)

shopping, eating at T-Bonz, spending time with family, and knowing that it would be a day I would never forget!

Hear Ye, Hear Ye, Guess who is Pregnant!

No, I am not going to tell you that I am pregnant, you already know that! This news is even better, even bigger! My friend, and many of yours as well, Christina Eichorn is PREGNANT!!!!!!! Yes, you read correctly! She called me this morning to let me know that she is indeed pregnant! For those that don't know Christina, this is a blessing from Heavenly Father; she and Casey (her hubby) had started adoption proceedings, because they thought they weren't going to be able to have children of their own. Christina has a great desire to be a mother, and she felt like I did many years ago when I questioned whether Rich and I were going to be able to have children; she knew that wherever a child came from (whether from her womb or through adoption) it would be meant to be hers, and so began the adoption process. Much like my story, Heavenly Father had other plans, and now she and Casey are expecting a beautiful bundle of joy!

Braden's First Test

Here is a copy of Braden's first test, at least that is what his teacher called it. Braden practiced his sight words every day this week, and then today his teacher tested him to see if he had indeed learned them all. I was worried that the word test would make Braden nervous, but he excitedly told me this morning that he got to take a test today at school, and these were the results.

Brooke's First Day of Preschool

Here are some pictures of our new 3 year old preschooler; if you notice, there are none actually at the school, and that would be for two reasons: 1) I forgot to put the camera in the van & 2) Brooke wouldn't let me walk her in, because she informed me she could do it all by herself.

Rich's Impromptu Family Home Evening

Rich and I decided that it was his turn to teach the lesson tonight, but we didn't decide until supper. Though, he only had a very short time to plan, he came up with a hit. He had the kids dress up, and they acted out the story of Samuel the Lamanite (Brooke pretending to be Samuel and Rich and Braden pretending to be the Nephites trying to stone and kill Samuel). Brooke, a.k.a. Samuel, stood on the wall, a.k.a. changing table, and told the sinning Nephites to repent, "Stop being mean Nephites, Jesus doesn't like that!" Then the sinning Nephites, a.k.a. Rich and Braden, tried to stone her and shoot her with arrows, but as the story goes Samuel was protected and could not be harmed. It was very entertaining, the kids learned a lot, and it was a great photo op.

Emma's latest skill

How cute is this picture?! Emma has started folding her arms when we pray as a family, and of course she looks around to make sure we are all looking.

Presenting the next Maseda cutie

Well, this afternoon Rich and I went to the doctor's office to see if everything was okay, and I am happy to present to you our next Maseda cutie; he or she is healthy, strong, and very active. We heard his or her glorious heartbeat and left with these spirit lifting pictures. I guess Heavenly Father decided that this baby is meant to be part of our family in this life, and I guess he wanted to answer Brooke's prayer, which went something like this, "Dear Heavenly Father, let the baby come out of Mama's tummy, so I can say goodnight to the baby every night and good morning to the baby every morning. I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."



The baby waving

The baby with his or her hands behind their head chillin'

The side view of the next Maseda cutie

Steel Magnolia

Well, right before I went to take Braden to school, I discovered that I was bleeding or spotting; to the dismay of my bewildered husband, I still took Braden to school. Now, I am back at home waiting to hear from the doctor. You know, at times like this you truly know that Heavenly Father is in charge. Only Heavenly Father knows what the outcome of today is going to be, but I have faith that whatever happens is what is meant to be. Brooke and I both said a prayer, and that is all we can do. I know that Heavenly Father loves me and my little family, and that he is mindful of our hopes, our dreams, our disappointments, and our well being. I know that if I am to loose this baby, like I have done in the past, he will give me the strength, wisdom, and peace to deal with the loss, and if I am to keep this baby, I will have been taught to truly treasure the pregnancy and the baby (and to stop complaining about how truly fat I have become this pregnancy). Without my faith in and knowledge of Heavenly Father, I could not have the happiness in my life that I do; sometimes we do have to go through painful, sometimes heart wrenching experiences, but they make us stronger. After what I have been through in my life and what I may be getting ready to go through, I think it is accurate to say I am a Steel Magnolia; Heavenly Father wants me to return to him one day, and he knows that I have to be strong to do it. Heavenly Father is molding me to into the type of woman I am meant to be; he is making more of me than I could have ever made of myself, and I am grateful for that.

My Big Boy the Kindergartner

Well, I worried for nothing; Braden found his classroom with no problem. In fact when I asked him if he had found it without any problems, he simply explained that he looked for the flower necklace ( lei) his teacher had hanging on the door; Braden then peeked inside to check, and sure enough he had found his classroom. Not only is my baby growing up, he has some pretty good problem solving skills. Braden also says the funniest things. Yesterday I asked him who he played with. He said that he played with two girls (still loves the girls), Amanda and Madison; he explained that Madison has yellow hair and Amanda has dark hair and a dark body. I love the sweet innocence of that statement, dark hair and a dark body. Braden has eyes; he sees differences, but they are simply colors to him. I hope my sweet hearted boy is always like that; he could teach the world a lot of things!

My Husband~he has the best ideas

Rich is a great father, and he comes up with the best ideas; I know he is making tons of memories for our children. This past weekend, he and the cuties constructed and set off a clay volcano; needless to say, the cuties LOVED it! Here are some pictures of the scientists and their creation.

Braden's First Day of Kindergarten

Well, I guess it is official, my little baby is not such a little baby anymore; he is growing up. Yesterday was Braden's first day of kindergarten. For the last month, I have been buying uniforms, hemming uniform shorts, and buying school supplies in anticipation of the big day. Tuesday night the whole family went to see Braden's new school for open house; he met his teacher and explored his classroom, and then yesterday was the BIG day!

First, Braden started off with a breakfast of caramel sticky buns, grapes, and orange juice.

Next, Braden got all decked out in his uniform, we gathered his book bag, school supplies, and loaded up in the van.

This is what he looked like before going to school, not scared or nervous at all. I however had trouble going to sleep the night before worrying about how he would do.

This is Braden walking into the classroom, mat in hand, still calm.

This is Braden writing his name on his first official worksheet of Kindergarten.

And this, is Braden when he realized I had to leave. Can you say, tear your heart out? I knew I had to leave him, but it was hard. I worried about him the rest of the day, but I knew that he was in good hands with his teacher.
This is Braden after school, telling us all about his day. He talked nonstop from the time I picked him up, until we got home; he only stopped to take sips from his celebratory vanilla milkshake. I guess I worried for nothing; he LOVED it!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Braden told me, "When you left, I cried a little bit, but then I got happy." (good, that is what I was hoping would happen)

My worry for today, whether he made it to his classroom okay. I was tempted to walk him to class again, but Rich luckily encouraged me to let him see if he could do it on his own (sure glad Rich is on my team). When I pulled away from the school, Braden was still standing outside wondering where to go, but at least he had a smile on his face; he also was surrounded by teachers. I hate thinking about Braden being scared or crying, but I know that by succeeding and overcoming an obstacle on his own, his confidence grows. Having said that, I will still feel better when Braden is safely back in the van this afternoon telling me about another great day at school.