I love the way Cassidy's little mind works. She is always thinking. Always practical. Always inquisitive. Her insightfulness and curiosity can be problematic for her, as they cause her to be more aware of herself than many 8 year olds (certainly her sister at that age!) are. She needs reassurance before attempting anything new, although, ironically, seems to excel at everything she tries!

Today was her first day of FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) sports camp. She was eager to participate while still on the "high" of a successful first soccer season, but by the time we shelled out the fee, she had changed her mind. Oh no, here we go again! So bedtime last night consisted of me holding her while she worked through her concerns... what if she was the only one wearing shin guards ...
("Take them off", I said.
What if I take too long taking them off?")

"What if she hated it. Why did we spend all this money on things she never wanted to do in the first place?". On and on she went, until I had addressed each of her concerns one by one, and then she snuggled up against me quietly to sleep.

I spent a sleepless night, tossing and turning, and praying that all would be well today. I prayed that she would see God's hand in her life, comforting her and allowing her to conquer the fear that satan tries to trick her with. She went to camp today, which took a lot of effort on her part. After meeting her huddle, she was ready for me to leave. So after a quick wave, I left her there, entrusting her to her Heavenly Father. I know she is in good hands.

Dear Lord, please let this be a victory in Cassidy's life. I love her precious little mind. Let it dwell on You and Your goodness and mercies. Let her always remember that You are active in her life, that You care. And thank You Lord, that her sister is happy to go everywhere. Thank you for their differences.

Gizmo


I feel like I have a newborn. A hairy, snorting, roaming all over the bed 15 pound newborn. Shi tzus were originally bred to sit on the laps of royalty, looking pretty, and doing little else. Well Gizmo makes the breed proud, for this is exactly how she likes to spend her every waking dozing moment. Since we aren't residents of emperial China, however, she makes do with snoozing her days away on the dirty laundry in my closet.

This is all well and good, except that at night, she is rested up from all that sleeping, and spends her nights wandering all over our bed, looking for a spot to rival those smelly socks she loves so! Since I am a worrier, I spend most of my nights making sure she doesn't fall off the edge, or alternatively pushing her off my head. I mean, I love the dog, but sleeping on my pillow while snorting and licking her chops is too much even for me!

Last night I scooped her up and plopped her back in the laundry pile, thinking she loves it so much during the day, she would be thrilled to be reunited with her cozy bed, but oh, no, she beat me back to the bed. Grrr! Finally, in desperation, around midnight I plopped her on my daughter's bunkbed and barred the ladder with an overstuffed horse (I guess my fear of her falling had been replaced with desperation for sleep!) to prevent her from leaping to follow me, and finally sank to sleep in my own bed.

I told my husband she really is like a newborn with her days and nights mixed up, and that we need to make sure she stays awake during the day. He just stared at me, amazed, I think, at what his life has become. Amazed in a happily surprised way, I'm sure!

A Mommy Memory

As I was cleaning out some junk important papers from the school year, I came upon Cassidy's bus name tag, unused since the driver grasped their names sometime back in September. I placed it as a definite for the "keep pile", because it triggers one of the sweetest memories of my little Cassidoodle, and I love those reminders of their innocence.

This year is the first year the girls are on different campuses of the same school, and as such, have different drop off times. Since I am only one woman, the solution was to force, kicking and screaming allow Cassidy to ride the shuttle bus from the upper campus to her own each morning. Since there are various buses , they each had a name tag to help the teachers identify which line to put them in, and they were labeled with identification such as "Lee Hill" for the bus to that community or "shuttle" for the little bus that just runs back and forth between campuses.

Well, after Cassidy survived the terror of her first day as a bus rider, she was a little proud to sport her little name tag, and even mentioned her driver "Mrs. Shuttle". "What is her name?" I asked, surprised at the coincidence of a driver of a shuttle bus, having the name "shuttle".
"Shuttle" she said, and showed me her little tag. Oh my goodness, the sweet innocence with which she said it. I didn't laugh at the moment, but I did call Nana to ask how long I should allow her to address the driver as Mrs. Shuttle before I corrected her. I love that sweet girl!