Dearest Isabella

  I gotta  warn you: This is going to be pretty long.  In fact, I think that I will break it up into several installments posted over the next couple of weeks. That way it won’t require such an investment of your time. Thanks for indulging me and reading!  I hope you will find it was definitely worth your time.

Dearest Isabella,

I flew to Dallas on the Tuesday morning that you were 10 days old to help your Mom and to get to know you. I was sooo excited to hold you for the first time because when I saw you in the hospital the day that you were born no one was allowed to hold you in the NICU where you spent the first couple of days. That first Tuesday getting to hold and kiss you and just look in your beautiful face was FANTASTIC!

Unfortunately, your Mom was not feeling very peppy so I thought that my timing in coming was pretty good. How true that proved to be! By 9:00 that night, your Mom had passed out and your Dad had called 911.  Your Mom and Dad left in an ambulance and your Mom wound up having to spend the night and most of the next day in the hospital.  Of course, your Dad went to the hospital and stayed with your Mom so, guess who had a brand new baby to care for all on her own!?

One of your Mom and Dad’s neighbors came over and helped me figure out all of the bottles that I would need to feed you that night. One of your Mom’s best friends since childhood, Sarah, came over to lend a little moral support. I sent Sarah home around 1:00 am and the rest of the night, I proceeded to hold/rock/feed and listen to you to see if you were breathing, Isabella.  I prayed some specific scriptures over you.  One was "The Lord is my Protector and Defender."  As I held you and stared at your beautiful face I couldn’t help but ponder all the people that would come into your life, which lead me to remember all the amazing women that had been in my life.  I wished for you some one like these women (They are in no particular order of importance, except for the last few):

Connie Stark:  My church choir teacher.  I always thought she was beautiful and boy could she lead the pack of unruly church kids in some wonderful songs to sing in the sanctuary.  I can’t sing “Fairest Lord Jesus” without thinking of how Connie tapped her foot on the floor to keep time and made us watch her as she directed us with flamboyant style.  She could also lead us in the best fun songs ever.  I still sing “Do your Ears Hang Low” and “The Grand Old Duke of York” while I am photographing kids or playing with your cousins, Jack and Sarah.

Dixie Dice:  Dixie was my kind of woman!  Another foot tapper, she was my tap dance teacher and owned Dixie Dice School of Dance.  Her married name was Dixie Watson but she went by her maiden name (Go Dixie—way back in the 50’s!).  She would fly to New York, go to Broadway plays and then lock herself in a hotel room and write our dance recital.  I can still see her now as she pulled her skirt above her knees and taught us shuffle ball changes until we got it right.  I can still see my Mom in the waiting room with all the other moms sewing sequins on our costumes.  Thank goodness that your Mom didn’t know about Dixie because I would have failed sequin sewing.  I have vivid memories of wild tap music and sparkly costumes. I can still remember the smell of the greenroom at her studio!  Jane, her daughter, taught us ballet but it was that wild tap dancing taught by Dixie that made my heart sing.  A love of Broadway musicals was deeply instilled at a very young age.

 

TO BE CONTINUED

Isabella Rose

Isabella Rose McGee entered this world on Sunday, June 21, 2009 at 12:14 a.m.  Happy first Father’s Day, Sam!

She weighed 7 pounds 4 ounces and was 20 inches long.  My friend, Judy, thinks she might have been pointing her toes in order to slip into some nice fancy shoes. I had hoped that she would come on Father’s Day in order for Sam to always be reminded about the greatest gift a Dad could ever ask for….a precious baby.  When Kristen was born 30 years ago, Gary brought her yellow roses.  For every special occasion since then, he has continued the tradition.  The last time he gave her yellow roses was the night of the rehearsal dinner.  I think that he thought his job was complete.  However, about two weeks before Izzy arrived, I dreamed that Gary brought the baby yellow roses.  Was it a girl?  Was God giving us a heads up?  You know he is a master at details and I can’t help but wonder if he was chuckling, as he knew how much pleasure it would bring Gary to restart the tradition.  So, when Izzy was born Gary brought her a single yellow, all they had down in the hospital florist shop on a Sunday morning.   He even talked them into taking it out of an arrangement.  When Kristen, Sam and Isabella left the hospital for home on Wednesday, he had a florist arrange a brand new dozen yellow roses for Izzy’s arrival at her new home.  I can’t help but wonder about all the special occasions that will “require” that little love language between a father and a daughter and now a grandfather (or Coach, as he is called) and a granddaughter.  

I have been reading a book by an author whose first book I first read thirty years ago when I had young children.   Prudence Macintosh is the author and her first book was about the trials and tribulations, but mostly joys, of raising three young boys. Her later book that I am now reading is about watching her boys launch into adulthood while also telling her aging parents goodbye.  Prudence was very close to her dad and grew up at his knees as the editor of a small town newspaper.  When her dad was at the very end of his life, he asked her the question, “Do you know why I want to live forever?”  She guessed so that he could wear that Brooks Brothers’ suit that wasn’t worn out yet or to go to the Master’s Golf Tournament again.  His answer was beautiful…….”So I could love you forever.”  Well, Isabella Rose McGee, I can assure you that Coach and Cici will love you forever.  It will be an imperfect love unlike the love of our Heavenly Father, but it will be steadfast and unwavering.  You can always come to us as you are and we will love, listen and help in any way we can.  I hope we have dozens and dozens of yellow roses occasions ahead.

JOYS AHEAD.

Cindy    Cici   Cease

Final Countdown

This is the week that we have all been waiting for……Kristen, my daughter, well, I guess that would be our daughter, and Sam are expecting their first child and the due date is Friday, June 12th. The doc says that she will probably go another week past June 12----so June 19th. We are ready to drive to see our third grandbaby when we get the word that he or she is ready to enter this world. I can’t help but have Psalm 139 go around and around in my mind…..Psalm 139:13-14
 "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

God has been busy at work from the very instant that baby McGee was conceived. He has created a unique and beautiful person and we will get to watch as that life is presented to us in a few days and be a part of the miracle. What’s the song? ”I Stand Amazed!” Well, I stand amazed that within a few days, our family will have a third grandbaby and another little somebody to love! Here are the last of the maternity pictures before we welcome him/her into the world. There really are joys ahead!

Lili is Dos

Lilli’s two year old birthday party was Saturday.  I started my business photographing children’s birthday parties 29 or so years ago.  I’ve come full circle and man was it fun.  They are such a pleasant family and there were so many great details that Joan, the grandmother and Jenni, the aunt had made to make the birthday special.  It was a tutu party and there were tutus and boas for all ages.  We did the invitations and I couldn’t stand to not see the final result.  Enjoy the fun of Lilli turning two.

Today I was made an honorary member of the Thurmond family. Jeannie has three grown girls and they are adorable. The grandmother, Jeannie, the great grandmother, MeMaw, Shelley and her two children, Bonnie and her two children and Tracy were here for a BIG “girl members of the family” session (As my granddaughter, Sarah, would say, “Dirls only!”). Oh wait, boy children were allowed to participate. Jeannie and all her girls. And a few grandsons. They were so much fun to be with and were so much fun with each other. Being an only child, I am very envious of all that fun. SOOO they made me an honorary member of their family. Take a look at all the fun of five adults and four children ----two two year-olds and two two month-olds. MeMaw is one good looking great grandmother!

Whose your Coach

Sometime in March, Gary and I received a letter from the school that Jack and Sarah attend. Grandparent’s Day was scheduled in April and we were invited to come . We had been to Dallas several times and had several more trips scheduled and felt like we just couldn’t attend. Normally, we would have crawled on our knees if we had to, but this time it just wasn’t possible. On Monday, Gary received a call from Curt that Jack was hysterical that none of his grandparents were coming. Was there any way that Gary could jump on a plane and come for the day? Gary had a hearing and I had a shoot, so we were out. The other grandparents were equally tied up and it was Aunt Kristen, (who lives in Dallas) to the rescue. There was only one other little boy that didn’t have any grandparents attending and they paired him with Jack and Kristen. I am thinking that Aunt Kristen was the only pregnant grandparent rep there, but that is another story and another blog on families being families. One of the activities was doing a family tree. If you remember, Jack calls Gary, Coach. The other boy didn’t have anyone to help, so Jack ask him “Who’s your Coach?” Of course, he must have had a coach somewhere in his tree and before the activity was over, the guest little boy had Coach written in his family tree. I keep laughing about someday when he finds his pre-K family tree, there will be listed Coach in one branch. Can you imagine the confusion? I also keep thinking about how easy it is to ask “Who’s your Coach?” and share with them someone you treasure.

Joys Ahead

Kristen and Sam came to Houston last weekend for two reasons. Sam was riding in the MS150 and Kristen was being given a baby shower. On Friday, we had maternity pictures scheduled, as this would be the last trip to Houston before the baby, Queso, is born. Queso is the name that my granddaughter, Sarah, gave to Kristen and Sam’s unborn baby. Sarah’s mom, Margo, is also pregnant and Sarah gave that baby the name of Cupcake. Wouldn’t you know that we would have food items to describe our family, even by a three year old! Oh, well. Back to the shoot…..we started about 11:30 and around 12:30 Sam left to meet some of his friends. About another hour to 1 ½ hours of shooting should allow us to capture everything that we needed. I am usually the one saying “Let’s just do a few more….and a few more, well, and just a few more.” But this would be my young, energetic full of mommy hormones daughter. By 4:30 we had to stop because we had a manicure/pedicure appointment that we had already moved once. Let me say, or as Jimmy Buffett says, “The party lasted way too long, and I had too much fun.” I was out in the pedicure chair…..sound asleep. Kristen did treat me to a mani/pedi for all the “hard” work.

Well, the first day of the MS150 was cancelled and we got to have Sam around a little longer. But here’s the summation of this entry…..At the shower, they had a picture frame with a big mat for everyone to write something to the baby. My friend, Liz Ellis, wrote something that captured my attention and my heart. All she said was “Joys ahead. Liz Ellis.” I have been captivated by that simple expression now all week. If we had a road map of our days, shouldn’t every sign that we see say

“Joys Ahead.” So what if there are a few curves ahead, we know that the Joys Ahead sign is always there. So my new closing phrase is born as well as the new grandbaby in June. Keep your eyes on Liz’s sign and let’s celebrate all the reasons that we have to be thankful.

Joys Ahead,

Cindy