A Peek at Our Week

Well, unlike the week prior, this past week was quite eventful. We began with Keira putting up her own artwork for display on the fridge. These are the drawings, according to Keira: blue: a big drop of water; green: a dolphin; orange: a crocodile floating sideways; right yellow: a raccoon; left yellow: a ghost; & red: scribbles!

Monday Night Football! Of course, this is about how well we can see the television when we're trying to watch any show, as Keira is the star of EVERY show!

She loves her some hot chocolate!

Even if it's not hot though, any chocolate will do.

Yes, this would be a car on fire at the service station across the street! On a related note, this Thanksgiving I will be exceedingly grateful for the absence of explosions at the Arco!

You could say that my fretting was freaking Keira out just a bit! This view from our front door, with Bob watering his flowers on the left, gives some better perspective. They had already performed an emergency shut down of all the fuel pumps & taken fire extinguishers to the car. In this shot the fire truck had just pulled up.

Between the pumps you can see the raised hood of the car with burn marks. And here come the firefighters with their water hose...to the rescue!

Although it was a bit chilly on this Thursday afternoon, we spent some time playing in the yard. I picked a medium sized bowl full of cherry tomatoes, & then started shooting me some nature! My favorite pink roses...

Why hello there, Grasshopper.

& Mama Mantis.

She has laid her eggs underneath another zinnia flower about two blossoms over. Bob says he cannot cut down the flowers now, since she is tending to her babies there.

I thought this shot of her turned out kinda cool!

Marguerite Daisy blossoms.

Keira, so proud of the maple leaves she has collected. We're going to have to go on a nature walk together, one of these days soon.

Little Keira, in the big side yard.

Goofing around with mama. Her happy face & giggles melt my heart!

This is how I get Bob to remember to do something important! haha! I left post-its all around the house, in conspicuous places. Then in the morning, he gathered them all up & posted a note for me that his mission was accomplished! That's how you do it!

Miniature roses on the front steps.

I rather like this shot from the underside of a fuschia blossom.

And a cool shot of some succulents from above.

Our pumpkin patch pumpkin, still gracing our entryway. We never did get around to carving our orange, gnarly friend. Oh well.

Saturday morning I was holding Keira's hand as we were walking along a dirt embankment, & I tripped & fell. I tore my jeans & scraped my knee but it was nothing, for in my falling I took Keira down with me, face first, down into the dirt & gravel. Oh, how my heart broke! I cried as much as she did, or perhaps more. After we got her cleaned up & she fell asleep in daddy's arms, I went to donate blood. I told the phlebotomist gal of our woeful morning, & as I laid there, she made this little rose for Keira out of the sticky bandages they have there. Keira was so touched. She said, "I wanna go there & tell her thank you...& tell her I love her!" But alas, the donation time had already expired & everyone was long packed up & gone. I promised Keira she could accompany me next time, & that hopefully we would see her again & she could tell the gal whatever she had to say. 

Keira ended up with scrapes on her forehead, nose, & upper lip. Her upper lip was hurt the worst, as her teeth hit from behind as well, resulting in bleeding & ultimately, a fat lip. She's such a brave, strong girl. I keep trying to remind her of that.

Daddy wanted to take Keira out, to brighten her day. So we ended up at the theater to watch Wreck-It Ralph. We haven't been to the movies in nearly two years, so we were hoping Keira would enjoy it. She sat through about half of it, but lost interest & wanted to go play in the car while daddy finished watching. So we did. She had fun anyway, & that's what it's all about.

I remain heartbroken over the fall. Keira is a sensitive girl & has not been wanting to go into the bathroom under any circumstances these past few days. She finally told me, the night before last, that the reason why is because, "When I see my face in the mirror, it hurts my feelings." Oh, if there were only a dam that could possibly hold back my flood of tears! Leave it to daddy to save the day! We had put up extra mirrors in the bathroom at low heights because she likes to see herself, when she's dressed up, goofing around, etc. So he simply took them down. Now the only mirror is too high for her to catch her reflection & she is content. Of course, it didn't help matters much that at church on Sunday, the usual attention paid to her beautiful dress was completely displaced with questions about what happened to her face. Beyond the first day, I have tried to refrain from being the apologetic mama, but I am forever the reassuring mama though. Reassuring Keira that others mean no harm in asking about it, reassuring that beauty exists in spite of scratches and scabs and scars, reassuring that the time will come when all will be healed. As I put the medicine on her wounds each day though, Keira likes to remind me that I should have just let go. 

Indeed.