For a good cause

Less than a couple of weeks ago, I took Lily to get her hair cut. Her hair tangles real easily, so I need it to be a more manageable length. When we got home, Jasmine had said, "I want to get my hair cut too." I brushed the comment off at the time because I've always loved Jasmine's hair. It's naturally curly, and is pretty easy to take care of. And I know she loves it too. She'll twirl around and let her hair fly, and say, "I'm a princess!" Or she'll come out and head-bang, flipping it all over the place, while Jamie and I are playing Rock Band. Her hair is thick and healthy. She always gets compliments about her hair. But lately I've noticed more and more breakage, and she's been messing with it so much that we've had a few occasions where tangles were a problem. I asked the people at the hair salon about Locks of Love. If you don't know what that is, Locks of Love is a non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children suffering from long-term medical hair loss (you can check out their site at http://www.locksoflove.org/) . I showed Jasmine the website, and let her think about it for a few days, even though her initial reaction was "I want to do that." Earlier today I called and got her in for the appointment. She was grinning from ear to ear...not only on the way to the salon, but during the entire hair cut. She loves her new hair do. Over and over after the trip, I've heard, "I got a hair cut...do you like my new hair cut?" Which I do. She's beautiful either way. So, now she's a bit lighter on her feet (minus about a foot of thick curls), and her locks will go to bless a girl out there soon.

Got to give a plug for my salon. I and the girls are loyal to a local salon called Freak Show. Shelby always takes great care of us. And since the hair is being donated, the cut was free of charge.

Catching up

A few weeks ago, some friends of ours got married. I was asked to sing. I didn't have a good reason to say "no," so I went and found a song. I haven't done a solo since I was in high school. I worked very hard on the song. I was very nervous, and my voice was shaky. In fact, my left leg shook through the entire song, so I couldn't put any weight on it. I think I did okay. I got a lot of compliments and encouragement from people that know me. My brother, James, was at the wedding with us. He gave me the best compliment of them all. He said that when I started to sing, it reminded him of our mom. Our mom used to sing in church, the car, the bathroom...just wherever. It's something that we grew up with, and since she's gone, it's one of those things that we miss. So, it meant a lot to me that my brother would say that, and if I'm ever asked to sing again, it will be my motivation to say "yes."

Our newlywed friends put the wedding together so fast that we decided to schedule the wedding shower a week after the wedding. I was very happy to get to take part in that as well. I volunteered to get the cake for the shower. My step mom made my wedding cake, so I knew she'd be perfect to ask to tackle the task. I kid you not, this was her second cake to put together...my wedding cake was her first. She was an art major, so any project that she gets her hands on will be beautiful. She did a great job, and the cake was the talk of the shower.

This past weekend, we had friends over...Saturday for a pay-per-view fight and Sunday for the Superbowl. I love having people over. The fellowship is always great, and then there's food, and the kids get to run around with their friends...it's always a lot of fun. I just hate the stress of getting the house in order. I hate to clean. I hate to nag Jamie about helping out. I always have clutter somewhere all the time. So, I am determined to get the whole family to help out around the house. It's a big job no matter what the size of your house, and I want my kids to know how to help out (I know too many people that their mom was also their maid, and they're lost without her when they get out on their own). So, right now as I type this, Lily just started the dish washer, Jasmine is mopping (with the swiffer) the kitchen, Rosalie is dusting, and Iris is running around the house with a damp rag wiping anything in her path. I crafted together a chore chart, and sat down with the girls earlier to see what they'd like to help out with, and they were honestly excited about doing chores (I can only pray that will last). Hopefully, I can keep this up because it will be a big help.

Levi cut his first teeth...the front two bottom teeth. I think he's working on more, too. He has been restless at night. I can't believe he's getting teeth already. It's time for it, but he's growing way too fast for me. I'm so in-love with this little guy. I catch myself just staring at him. He's a really sweet baby. God has blessed us with great babies...