Classic Hilton's

"The decision to have a child is to accept that your heart will forever walk about outside your body" ~ Katherine Hadley The last few times we have tried to have Brooklyn spend the night over at Nana and BobBob's, we inevitably get a call between 10pm and 12am from a tearful little girl, begging to come home.  They only live about a mile away, so it's not usually a big deal.  This morning, however, we packed her up and sent her with them to Nashville, part of one of the two part trip to Illinois where we will ultimately join them for Thanksgiving.  Last night while we packed and this morning while we got ready, I could tell she was having a little trouble dealing with the idea of separation.  She said over and over how much she was going to miss us.  Meanwhile, I walked a fine line of reassuring her that we love her and would miss her, and encouraging her to enjoy the trip.  Of course, inside I was crying "Just stay home with me!! You don't have to go if ...

The other night when we got home, the sky was dark and the moon was illuminated by a big patch of white clouds. Very pretty! The clouds were moving, but at first glance it looked like it was the moon. It didn't matter what we said or how we made her look at it, Brooklyn was stubbornly convinced that the moon was moving. Tensions at work are very high right now. Between a major software conversion that is exactly a year behind schedule and must, must, must be ready come Jan. 1, and a slowly recovering economy that just didn't recover enough to make a difference to the bottom line, morale is at an all time low.  Management is reorganizing departments, doing what they can to make the most of their resources. Being in HR I am in the uncomfortable position of seeing both sides of the story.  I may not always agree with the decisions being made, but I can understand where they are coming from. And of course, as an employee, I feel the same pinch that everyone e...

Brooklyn had a little bit of a rough day.  Early in the morning she deliberately dropped a toy on my foot. And I do mean deliberately . On her way to school, she misunderstood our plans for the evening and burst into tears. Finally when we picked her up after a fun filled evening with Nana, shopping, Chuck E Cheese, and decorating for Christmas, she went wildly out of control when asked to get her shoes on.  At least two apologies and a spanking later, we were on our way home. Sometime during her bath I realized she could not handle any of her normal responsibilities, and we may be heading towards another melt down.  I called for reinforcements and took on more of the things Brooklyn usually does.  During our prayer time, we led her to ask for forgiveness, but it wasn't until later in the routine that I saw true repentance.  Just before we turned out the lights, Brooklyn said in her usua...

Brooklyn brought home a family project from school. Our assignment was to decorate some cardstock feathers, which will be added to the class Turkey for Thanksgiving. So as a family we sat down with our scissors, glitter, glue, and pretty stick-on gemstones.  It was such a simple, sweet, fun moment. I told Brooklyn she did a great job cutting out the feathers and she replied with a completely innocent, "I know".  We tapped a little too enthusiastically on the purple glitter tube and were rewarded with an out pouring of glitter. Fortunately it all landed on the paper, so clean up was simple. We admired our work (Brooklyn was ready to jump into the next project, but we assured her we would pull the glitter out next weekend) and put her to bed. It was one of those evenings that was so smooth and enjoyable. One of those reflective times when I am really thankful for where we are in life. Sure there are lots of things that I would love to be different, but they are really just ...

So, Brooklyn and I are walking around my favorite grocery store, Publix. While I looked at make up, she looked at tooth brushes and since hers is starting to get icky, I told her she could get one. She held it as we gathered the other items on our list. We put all of the groceries in the cart on the conveyor belt and checked out. Brooklyn's job when we check out is to hold the car keys and she does this marvelously! So it wasn't until we were out at the car and I asked her for the keys that I noticed the toothbrush still in her hands.  We realized our mistake and went back inside to pay for it. The cashier laughed at us a little, but in the end all was well! Brooklyn and I are back on the path of righteousness and her teeth will be clean tonight!