Our Hearts are Seeing Polka Dots

Many of you know that my home is filled with so many pets that I should start charging admission to my "zoo." Yes, I'm a pet lover! Growing up, it was cats. I had a huge heart for cats and my parents nearly strangled me one evening when I came home from a babysitting job with yet another new kitten. I believe the most I ever had at one time was 4 cats, but I can't say for sure. I've also been known to bring home birds, hamsters and fish. The one pet my parents never allowed growing up was a dog, what cruel parents they were! While John and I were dating, my love for cats spilled over on his place and soon I was bringing cats to his bachelor pad. John had no weakness to my sympathetic face and sweet kitten in my arms, but his roommate was a sucker and he took in every cat I brought their way.

John and I got our first pet the day after we arrived back from our honeymoon, a sweet kitten we named Peter. A year later, we purchased our first house together and soon after, Trapper joined our family. He was a Hungarian Vizsla and was the love of our lives, although he had to take a backseat to the girls once they arrived. The pets just continued joining the family over the last 16 years. Until 3 weeks ago, we were standing ground at 3 dogs, 3 cats, 2 fish and a mouse. We decided that was it, no more! But then........Kiley, our oldest, finally found her absolute passion in life and our lives changed....BIG TIME!

Kiley has a love for animals that reaches way beyond her mother! I do believe if we let her, we would have so many pets that we could star in the show "Animal Hoarders!" Her heart is big and she fills it with animals. Unlike her sister, who found her passion for life in swimming at the age of 5, Kiley tried many things, but just couldn't find that one thing she loved. Piano lessons failed to capture her heart, as did soccer, swimming, tennis, gymnastics and many other activities. She often found things she enjoyed, but just didn't bring her to her knees in excitement the way swimming did for Makenna. As all devoted parents do, we continued to pursue new activities for Kiley, but never finding that one thing.

John's brother happens to have beautiful horse property just up the road from us and he boards several horses at his place. Just about every time we visit, the first thing she wants to do is visit the horses. That got me thinking. I spoke to my brother-in-law to see if one of the horse owners might be interested in teaching Kiley some "horse basics" in trade for her helping with the mucking. He introduced her to a 16 year-old girl named Hailey and they formed an instant bond. They worked together twice a week and we started to see tremendous growth in Kiley. She started to develop a strong work ethic, responsibility, confidence.....all the things we pray she'd develop. It wasn't long that she was asking for riding lessons, which we did, and then her own horse. For those of you that don't know, horses are a HUGE responsibility!!! Their stalls must be mucked daily, exercised often, fed huge amounts of food twice daily and I'm not even at the part about them being a giant money pit! BUT, all that seemed to not matter when it came to the "passion" we finally saw bubbling over in Kiley. She wanted a horse and she wanted it bad! So, she set out on a journey to prove she could do it and we made an agreement with her that if she could prove to us that she could handle owning a horse, we would get her one. We made no promise in terms of a timeline, we just said "some day."

That "some day" came three weeks ago when her trainer found the perfect "Kiley horse." His name is Polka Dot and when you see him, you know exactly where he got his name! He is 12 1/2 years old, just like Kiley. With Kiley visiting my parents for a week, we quickly began planning her big surprise, her very own horse. I set out early on a Saturday morning with our trainer and we drove to Palm Springs to pick up the horse and take him to his new home at John's brother's house. We arrived "home" about 11am and got him all set up to meet his new owner. I even attached a blue polka dot bow to his halter. At noon, Kiley arrived at the barn with my parents for what she thought was her riding lesson on Hailey's horse. It was then that we took her to the stall and revealed her gift. Her initial confusion over what was happening quickly turned to excitement. The joy on her face brought tears to my eyes. The moment was captured on video as well as in the minds of all that were present.

Three weeks have gone by since that day and Kiley is building a bond with this horse that will be with her for a lifetime. Together, they are learning how to listen to each other and work together. I couldn't be happier for my first born to finally find her "thing" and I praise God for bringing us Polka Dot, even as I also pray for my sanity as we now have a HUGE responsibility!

Graduation!

"Graduation" is such an exciting word. It brings to mind things like, accomplishment, success, hard work and much more. This may only be a 6th grade graduation, but for Kiley, this is huge! Kiley didn't have a "typical" start to school. My husband had just had life altering surgery after a life altering injury from a life altering accident. To say that the Moore household was in the midst of CHAOS when K started kindergarten would be an understatement! It didn't help that I was also having some serious health issues and underwent 4 surgeries in her first 7 months of school either. Add Kiley's shy demeanor to the mix and you get a rocky start to school. Along the way, K was surrounded by wonderful teachers, great friends, close family and supportive parents, which lead to extreme growth in her life. We are so proud of the young woman she has become.

Her last week of 6th grade was an adventurous week. Monday brought a softball game of 6th graders against the school staff. The staff won 24-12 (the closest the 6th graders have ever come to beating the staff). Tuesday held a pool party at Pitzer College and a feast fit for royalty! It was games in the park on Wednesday and finally the big day on Thursday......GRADUATION!!! Of course, it had to be the hottest day of the week and no "June Gloom" for this outdoor event. My parents, "Mamaw" and "Guga," were also there to cheer on Kiley. We all beamed with pride as we watched Kiley graduate. The biggest excitement of all came early in the ceremony when Kiley won the "President's Award of Academic Achievement." Of course, I would have preferred McCain's signature was on it as President instead of Obama, but it's still very exciting, none the less. We all applauded with joy over her achievement and I teared up at the memories of walking my sweet 5 year-old to her first day of kindergarten. How quickly 6th grade came and is now gone. K accomplished so much in her 7 years of elementary school, obstacles that many other students take for granted. It is K's determination and hard work that makes us so proud and caught the attention of her teachers that they would choose her for such an honored award. We LOVE you Kiley!!!

7 Years with Mrs. Colinco

Patti Colinco first approached me about Kiley joining a new Daisy Girl Scout Troop she was starting during the first week of kindergarten. With K being so shy and weary about making friends, I thought it would be a great opportunity for her. The troop started the next month with 12 girls. Little did I know then that this group would still be together 7 years later, with Patti still the DEVOTED leader. Even more astonishing, 10 of the 11 girls in the troop today have been in the troop for all 7 years!

These girls have done so much together, it just blows my mind when I think about it. They've gone to camp together, sold cookies, ice skated, swim parties, many trips to Raging Waters, dance classes, painting, community service, 4th of July parades.....the list goes on forever. It's been such a pleasure to me as a mother to watch these girls grow from tiny 5 year-olds to preteen 12 year-olds. They've learned to work out issues with each other (bound to happen with this many girls entering puberty!) and share their lives together.
I have no doubt in my mind that Patti Colinco is the only reason this troop stayed together so long. She is beyond AMAZING at what she does. She is the definition of patience and kindness. She just happens to be a teacher at the girls' school and both of my girls were fortunate enough to have her for their 2nd grade teacher. Although her family has gone through some tough times (the death of her mother after a battle with cancer, her father's heart attack and surgery and the death of her father-in-law) she has never neglected these girls. The woman should be declared a saint!

Recently, the girls participated in a "Culmination Ceremony" wrapping up their 7 years together under the guidance of Patti. It was a beautiful ceremony, honoring the girls that have gone from Daisy's to Brownies to Jr. Girl Scouts and now to Cadets. Patti will be passing the leadership baton over to Maia West, the mother of one of the girls, but she will ALWAYS be a huge part of all of our lives. To honor her, all the girls wrote a letter to Patti and I put them in a Shutterfly book along with 7 years of pictures and presented it to her along with gift cards to all her favorite stores. It was truly not enough to pay her back for the incredible dedication and impact she's had on the lives of these girls. I know Kiley and I will never forget her! I also believe Kiley is a well-adjusted, kind-hearted young woman because of Patti's influence on her life.

True Respect is Earned

Today, as I sat at the softball game of the 6th graders vs. the staff at the school, I just couldn't believe that my oldest daughter had only 3 days left in elementary school. In the fall she will be off to Jr. High. Where has the time gone? I can't believe she will soon be done with elementary school and that my younger daughter only has 2 years left! As I walked home from the game, all I could think about was blogging!

I actually have another blog. It's where I write to my daughters and a handful of other important young women in my life. It's not necessarily for them to read now, but for them to read later on in life. I use that blog to write my desires for them, the things I pray for them, my dreams for them and much more. Today, as I'm realizing just how old they are getting, I decided to write about marriage.

Here is just a little of what I wrote:

As I've mentioned before, I have been praying for your future spouses
since before you were born. I often wonder about them. Who are they? Do we
already know them? Are they living a good life or is life difficult for them?
Most of all, I pray that they are growing to be God honoring men. I pray that
they are growing to be fully devoted followers of Christ, just as I pray that
for you. I believe that if they are fully devoted to Christ, then they will
treat you like gold! The Bible is clear on how men should treat their wives,
therefore, they'll treat you as God intends a husband to treat his wife.

Recently I was reading Ephesians 5:22-30 and focused on verse
25, Paul says, "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave
Himself up for her." Husbands are to be equally respectful to their wives as
wives are to their husbands. Marriage is to be GOD CENTERED! A
marriage is set up to fail if God is not the center. With God as the
center, it won't always be easy, but it will be good. That's because God is
perfection and will bless your marriage if you honor Him.

What I'm about to say is extremely important! If you are
dating a young man and he is not living for Christ, run! If he pressures you
about anything, run! If he says the only way you can prove your love to him is
by sleeping with him, RUN FAST! A true, good man will TREASURE you and RESPECT
you. A true, good man wants nothing more than to meet you at the alter
completely cleansed and pure because he loves God and he loves you and wants to
honor you both.

I realize that's kind of deep for today, but it was on my heart and I'm committed to sharing my heart on my blog. :) Don't worry, my next couple posts will be much more light hearted and will include everything about the end of the school year. God bless you all!

San Diego Sunshine

We are currently on the road, coming home from a 4 day trip to San Diego. To say we love San Diego is a complete understatement. Personally, I could live there, but as much as John loves it, he prefers just to visit. We stayed at a “luxury” RV park in Mission Bay. There is nothing like full hook-ups and being right on the water! We did lots of bike riding (well, John only did a little since his knee isn’t 100% yet) and relaxing. The girls are on “contract” with school this week, so they did “school” each day.

The highlight of the trip for me was joining our friends, Derek and Christiana, in their ministry in San Diego. They are friends of ours that are missionaries in San Diego that minister to the homeless, broken and marginalized people in the community along with training other leaders in missions. We have been big supporters of them since they first answered God’s call for them to go. I helped a lot as they organized, raised support and transitioned into full time missions. We support them both prayerfully and financially and are so honored to be a part of their lives. They have 2 adorable daughters, a 2-year-old and a 2-month-old. I joined them Sunday evening for church, which they do in someone’s home with other people from their missions team. We enjoyed a delicious meal of soup, salad, homemade bread and pies. After the meal, we gathered around the living room as Derek lead us in worship with his guitar while others helped with percussion. No words can describe how uplifting it was to listen to Derek do what he does best. He is so talented! I always tell them that I’m their biggest fan (Christiana has a beautiful voice too!). In fact, they released a great CD a couple of years ago titled “We’ve Got the Victory.” (Please let me know if you would like a copy.) Back to the story, we also talked a lot about prayer and its importance and what it means to us. It was a great honor for me to join them and share in just a small part of what they’re doing in San Diego. Then on Tuesday, my entire family got to have lunch with their family at my favorite pizza place, Filippe’s Pizza Grotto, in Little Italy. It was a great time of fellowship, laughter and the best pizza ever, in my opinion.

As always, the trip went way too fast! Now we’re headed back to reality with more laundry to do and housework to catch up on, but at least we’re relaxed as we reenter the “real world.”

50 Years of Wedded Bliss

Last week marked 50 years of marriage for my in-laws, Jean and Roger. Fifty years of marriage certainly deserved a great celebration (especially since their marriage was able to survive 4 children, 4 rambunctious children I might add). Jean and Roger were introduced to each other in November 1959 by their close friends Paul and Carol. At the time, Jean was living a carefree life with some girlfriends on Coronado Island, working at a bank in the morning and hitting the beach, just a block from her house, in the afternoon. Roger was a young engineer working in San Diego. They were married March 25, 1960 attended by their best friends Paul and Carol. The Moore Girls

As a family, we decided the best way to celebrate their anniversary was a weekend trip to Coronado Island. Roger's brother, John, and his wife, Barbara, flew in from Oakland to join us on this trip. Sixteen of us in all stayed at the Hotel Del Coronado, probably the most beautiful hotel in the United States. We had such a great time exploring the island, playing on the beach, shopping and a whole lot of eating. We even walked by the house Jean lived in when she met Roger. A special treat included meeting Carol (aka "Aunt Carol") for the best pizza ever in Little Italy in San Diego. On Saturday evening, we enjoyed a delicious dinner at a beautiful restaurant overlooking the ocean. We were seated against a window with an incredible view. The restaurant manager even had special menus made that said "Roger & Jean, Happy 50th Anniversary."

I'm so proud to be a part of the Moore family. They are such a fun, tight-knit family and it's such an honor and blessing to call them my family. Although the trip went way too quickly, it was an amazing trip and the memories of it will last forever. God bless you Jean and Roger and I pray we will be back in Coronado in 10 years to celebrate 60 years of marriage!

40 Looks Good on John

It may be a couple of weeks early, but due to my in-laws 50th wedding anniversary trip and Easter, John’s 40th birthday got celebrated early. John, not one for surprises or much attention at all, I knew that if I wanted him to ever talk to me again, a surprise party was out of the question. Instead, I convinced him that turning 40 did warrant some sort of gathering. He agreed to celebrating with family, then I added that he should have his closest friends there (I had to ease him into the whole party idea). So, on March 20th, our family and friends (50 of them, we do have a lot of family) gathered at John’s brother’s house for John’s 40th birthday bash. His brother, Bob, kept busy at the wood burning pizza oven making all kinds of yummy pizzas, our friend, Rick, manned the bbq with hamburgers and hotdogs, my mother, of course, played anyone she could get her hands on at ping pong, there were kids in the pool, teenagers playing Wii in the pool house and friends gathered around the pool table and the bbq/bar area. We also feasted on a delicious white cake with cheesecake filling that was decorated with a “capatilla” (you have to be from CCV to understand the humor with that). What a blast! It was such a treat to visit with close friends from all different stages of John’s life, some that we hadn’t seen in quite awhile. There were PLENTY of fun gifts: hair color, creams for all kinds of “old people” ailments, a “40 Sucks” sucker and many more. There were also special gifts, like the traditional poem that my father writes for all our birthdays. It was SO APPROPRIATE that John is still healing from knee surgery and was on a crutch for his 40th birthday (he graduated to 1 crutch instead of 2) and I decorated it with black ribbon. I also made a picture collage that included photos from many of the special moments in his life and put them in a large matted frame for everyone to write a message for John. It was a special day that we will remember for many, many years to come.