Good Morning ...

W O W ! ! !

77 Degrees today! I am SO EXCITED ! ! !

I couldn't ask for a better day ...

It's my Favorite time of year ...

The color is at it's optimum ...

It's very warm today ...

Almost too perfect of a day ...

I'm taking LeAnna out of school at Noon today ... to do her Fall 5 year pictures ... outside ...

I am SO excited ... I was just hoping for "no rain" while the colors were still pretty ... but a rare day like today is just unbelievable to me!

I had clients Saturday and Sunday ... and while I was driving to my destinations each day ... I was just amazed at the beautiful colors ... almost as if I haven't seen it this pretty before ... A lot of times at this "pefect time" of the season, it's raining - which messes up everything ... the "pretty leaves" get blown off the trees by the rain and wind and then turn yucky on the ground ... It was just a very pleasant time for me, to be able to drive through this "perfect scene" that I usually just imagine in my head when I begin to think about my favorite time of the year! .... Wow ... thanks God!

Yesterday LeAnna had her first solo at church with the children's choir ... Bless her heart ... we've been practicing for weeks ... and she has done just fine ... knows the music, has the words memorized ... and then ... Sunday morning, while getting dressed ... I heard her crying ... I went into her room and said, "What's Wrong?" .... she says, "I'm (sob), so (sob), nervousssss, (sob-sob) ...

Oh yikes ... I started saying all the things that any parent would say ... and nothing helped! SO ... then I told her that we would trade clothes at church ... she would wear mine and I would wear hers and I would sing her part for her! This at least made her smile ... then she said no ... that wouldn't work! ha! Still sniffling and red nosed ... I started humming the tune to her song and then starting making up new words! Oh my ... that did it! She started laughing so hard that she completely forgot about being upset and nervous ... the only thing is ... she made a deal ... that if she sang her verse, I had to sing what I made up! AND ... sit on the front row in front of her to do it! ... So I did ... no one heard me ... but I mouthed my "made up" words .. in front of her ...

She got through it ... she did just fine ... I could tell she was nervous ... at one point she grabbed Miquela's hand beside her while she finished her verse ... she stumbled through it a bit and didn't sing it as confidently as she had while practicing in the bathtub ... but she did GREAT for her first time ... and I was so proud!

Yes ... my "made up" words were very silly ... but it made her "less nervous" ... and it was very important to me, to "complete our deal" ... no one heard me sing them ... but it was the simple fact that we made a deal ... and important to me that I follow through ....

I know it seems trivial ... really ...

But ... I wanted LeAnna to know ... that she can trust Mommy ... and when we make a deal ... we keep it ...

To me ... the trivial things should be just as important as the BIG things in life ...

And if she trusts me and feels comfortable and confident in the "little things" ... hopefully she will be in the big things too!

Okay ... whew! ....

Anyhoo ...

Hopefully ... we'll get some great pictures on this beautiful "God-Given" day today ...

Happy Monday ... tammy