OK.  I can’t help it.  I might just be on a bit of a posting rampage in the next week or so.

Bear with me.

My family has been here, and I’m kinda sorta just completely GAGA for them.  I have lots of pics of my nieces and nephews and am feeling a little bit sad since I just dropped my sister and newest nephew off at the airport tonight.  Boo hoo.  Someone, give me a tissue!

This little guy is just really super duper cute, right?  I mean, not the average-run-of-your-mill sort of cute.  He’s like, EXTRA cute.  Right?  He is.  I know it.  I know it’s true.  I am a very objective person when it comes to my sweet baby  nephew.

This first picture was taken a couple months ago, but my sister made me promise not to post it until she got her birth announcements out.  They’re out.  So, I can’t wait any longer.

Ladies and gentlemen!  Boys and girls!  I present to you, the cutest baby EVAR!

OK, but there’s more.  MORE!

LOOK at his FACE!  Look at his LIPS!  Ugh!  He’s really cute.

But seriously, look at his chin.  Just do it.  Go ahead. LOOK!

Did you see that?  See those lips?  See his cute little square face?  Isn’t he cute???

OK.  I’m done gushing.

Stay tuned for pics of the TWINS.  Oh yeah, baby.  Twins.  They’re cute too.

I love my family.…

I am behind.  I went to Hawaii (shame on me!) and have yet to catch up on the weeks I missed for the 52 week challenge.  Each week goes by, and I am ever so aware that

I

am

falling

behind.

The A+ nerdy student in me does not like this.

So, I’m gonna have to cheat a little bit.  For me, the 52 week challenge is about getting out there and shooting each week.  Stretching your mind and trying to be creative.  But, I also have to recognize that I am a bit of a geek, and just skipping the weeks I’ve missed when I was in paradise just isn’t.gonna.cut.it. And I’m too busy to catch up.

So, I’m cheating.  Nerds don’t usually do that, but I’m a bit of a rebel nerd.

I’m too behind.  I have to catch up.  So, here’s my entry for CHAIRS.  It was taken back in May before the challenge started.

I love this chair.  This was my chair.  I probably sat in this chair when my daughter was this age.  This chair was my sister’s desk chair.  And then it was my desk chair.  And until recently, this chair was sitting in my dad’s house with a pile of books on it.  Heeeey, that was the last week’s theme.

I digress.

So, I love this chair.  And I just so happen to love the kid that is sitting in this chair.

A lot of learning happened in this chair, and that kid that is sitting in it now has taught me a lot of things.  She has taught me that love comes from deep within.  She has taught me that unconditional love is real and true.  She has taught me just what it feels like to have my heart outside my body.

That kid in that chair has made me a better person.  I love that kid in that chair.

…

Gosh, I love books. I will admit that it has been way too long since I have read a book for myself.  Now, it’s all about reading books for the kids.  But I love books.  We have books scattered all around the house.  I love grabbing a pile of books, putting it on the floor, and watching my son start devouring the images in them.  I love that books can entertain, spark the imagination, make you smile, laugh, think, cry, wonder, pontificate, analyze.  Books are cool.

When I thought about this week’s theme, the image posted below immediately came to mind.  Looking at this image makes me cry.  This was taken just days after my mom’s diagnosis of brain cancer.  It was the darkest time in my life.  We didn’t know what was going to happen and were all prepared for the very worst.

When I took pictures that day, I didn’t know if I was capturing the last moments my children would spend with their grandma.  Looking at this image brings me back to that day.  The sorrow that I felt.  The sense of impending loss.  But, what I see in this picture is not sad.  It is my daughter loving my mother.  It is my mother loving my daughter.

My mom is singing her the words to “What a Wonderful World” from the book she had given her for her birthday.  For my daughter, it was a time of joy–to see her grandmother, sit on her lap, and listen to her voice.  My daughter loves this book and loves her “Bama.”

That book holds a special place on our bookshelf.

It’s amazing what an image can conjure up in our hearts and minds.  It is images like this that I will always, always treasure.

I am so happy to be able to report that my mom is fighting this cancer with an inner strength and makes me proud.  The chemotherapy has shrunk her lesions, and I can’t wait for the day that we hear the words: “Cancer-free.”…