Life’s perfect moments are NOW

Swinging with Pop on a tire swing in a Dallas park.

One of my best friends recently sent me a card (I know, hard to believe some people still mail cards. But if you know me at all, I’m a STRONG supporter for the written word). Handwritten notes and cards are priceless . . . period. I won’t be saving anything on Facebook or Twitter, but I do have boxes of meaningful handwritten notes I’ve received throughout my life. Anyway, I’ll step off my soapbox and continue. As I was saying, a very dear friend of mine sent me a card and it had this message on the front – "Life’s perfect moments are now.” This card will be one of those “keepers” I will stash away as a reminder of that simple truth.
After another miscarriage, a new AC unit that the insurance won’t cover, a new hot water heater, costly repairs to both of our cars, and a drought, heat-ridden summer that has zapped the life out of our landscaping, it’s easy to scoff at such a sentiment about life’s perfect moments being now. However, once I’m in the presence of my sweet lil’ Alexa – the saying couldn’t be more true. Our little girl is almost one-and-a-half and this age is my favorite (so far). She is a sponge for everything. She is in a constant state of chatter, exploration, learning and activity. Her little personality is bubbling over with enthusiasm, humor, drama, joy and delight in everything she does – be it playing in the “dut” (dirt) or clapping her hands after we say “Amen.” She’s just a ham. It’s a tremendous privilege watching her grow and develop into the little lady God created her to be. I’ve tried to capture just a few of the priceless memories we’ve made over the last couple of weeks. Yes . . . life’s perfect moments are now. Thank you, Lord, for the present and thank you for the privilege of sharing it with the ones I love.

Alexa has fallen in love with a book titled, “Good Night Gorilla.” It’s a brilliant little picture book by Peggy Rathmann, and I think it’s a must for any child. Alexa reads it before naptime, before night time, and we take it in the car for any commute. There’s a scene in which the zookeeper’s wife realizes several animals from the zoo are sleeping in her room. As anyone could surmise, she is absolutely shocked and the illustration in the book reveals as much. I always make the face when I read it to her and Alexa loves to mimic the same face she sees in the book. Yep – a priceless moment every time we read it.


Here she is reading “Good Night Gorilla” to us on a drive to Dallas.


Here’s the shocked face of the zookeeper’s wife in the book.


And here’s Alexa impression of the zookeeper’s face. What a surprise!


And here’s that surprised face again! She was grinning a bit too.


Getting a good tickle from Mimi. Alexa’s got a very contagious giggle these days.


Mimi and “mini mimi” Alexa.


Alexa loves playing with her Pop. CHEESE!


It’s not the new act for Cirque du Soleil. It’s Alexa reaching as far as she can to feel the fountain without Chris dropping her. If we let her, Alexa would stop and play in every fountain she saw.


Did I mention Alexa LOVES chairs of any kind. They are “highs” to her because she calls every chair a “high” in reference to her high chair. Here she is cracking herself up in a large wingback in Mimi’s office.


Did I mention she loves chairs? Oh yes . . . I guess I did.


She also enjoys rocking in her own little rocking chair – especially to read.


Chillin’ in yes, you guessed it, another chair.


And if you missed the post about the recent fascination with her fleece jacket, she hasn’t given up the habit. She’s still a fan of fleece and link necklaces.

So many more “perfect moments” I’d love to share but I’ll save them for another post. Enjoy your “perfect moments” today!