Lessons from my Niece

Kids teach us so many lessons. But I have to say, I've learned more about "being a woman" from my niece than any 30-year-old should learn from a 4-year-old.
I will say that she has been extremely girly, ever since she was little.

She makes sure that she always coordinates everything. And maybe it's Gymboree's fault, with their tights that match the skirt that match the cardigan that match the hairbow. But my niece is all about matching.
She takes risks with her looks, too, though. She'll put together shades of colors that would make any fashion expert cringe, in theory. But when she's tearing through the house and all you see is a blur of orange and pink, somehow it works.
And, every day is a fashion show.

Saving Up Memories

I'm not a pack-rat -- in fact, I tend to throw a lot of stuff out prematurely just because I don't want anything cluttering up my life. But there are some things I've kept through the years -- cards, letters, pictures... I went through this stuff over the past two nights and read through it all, my mind just flooding with memories.
I have tons of old pictures - some really funny pictures from college and the couple of years afterward with my New Jersey girls (these were the days before digital cameras, so I have some really weird pictures that just make me laugh and laugh when I look at them), pictures of the family from when I was little, a lot of pictures of my old dog, Tootsie, and an entire album filled with pictures of me during my awkward adolescent stage (they are awesomely bad and I am happy to share them with anyone -- they are a cautionary tale).
Trish and I went through a letter-writing stage in college and the two or three years afterward, and I kept many of those letters. They are mostly funny, but there's one that is just words of encouragement that was sent to me in the the few weeks before I left for my big Australian adventure.
I have treasures: a card from my uncle to me, written the year he died, and sweet cards from my mother over the years. My mom is really wonderful in this way - she sends me cards with really encouraging or loving messages that make me feel great. I have a card that she gave to me right before I left for Australia that I kept with me the entire time I traveled.
My biggest treasure, though, is a tiny note card from a close family friend, written just a couple of years before she died. I'll call her Mrs. B. so that those of you who know me, know who I'm talking about. She was my mother's friend from the neighborhood, she had a son who was born a month before me and we were each others first friends. I always felt at home in their house and I can still remember the smell of their kitchen (Mrs. B. was always baking pies -- that's one memory I have of her -- always baking). When I was in college, I found out that she was diagnosed with ALS, and my mom and I would visit her whenever I was home on break. We'd sit with her and chat and laugh or talk about her treatment and pray and cry. As the illness progressed, I'd chat while my mom cleaned her house, or painted her nails, or wrote down the details Mrs. B. wanted at her memorial service.
The card is a thank you note from one of my visits with her. In it, she included Jeremiah 29:11-13:

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

And then, she wrote about how she knew me before I was born, and how she knows that God has good plans for me. Needless to say, I cry every time I read the note -- because I miss her, and I wish we'd had more time. It's funny, the card moves directly from the verse into her writing, "I knew you before you were born..." and I always read that as part of the verse (every time!), and then I realize it's her saying it to me ... and that's usually when the crying begins. Anyway, she was an amazing woman and I think about her and her family all the time and that card is the thing I hold most dear in my box of memories.

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.  -Philippians 3:20-21

Letters from Another Time

This is a letter I wrote to my brother when he went away to college at the University of Michigan (or Michagan, as I wrote it). I totally remember this stationary. I totally remember that when I used this stationary, my handwriting got crazy lopsided. I was nine when I wrote this letter, but by that age, I was already quite a letter-writer. My brother spent one summer while he was in high school at Carnegie Mellon, studying theater (I think). I wrote to him there. A few years ago, he read me some of those letters. They're even better than this one.
When I read this letter, my primary thought was not, "I can't believe I became an grammar nut, based on the atrocities in this letter," or "Wow, I was such a nosy busybody! No wonder my sister kept so many secrets!" (those were secondary thoughts), but was "aw! Letters! Remember them?"
It's a little sad to me that letters have been replaced by emails and texts. Even our communication is rushed! Kids today won't necessarily have a note from the past come back to them one day. And old emails just aren't quite the same.
Anyway, in case you can't read it, here's the transcript of the letter:

Dear Greg,
Hi! How many is 100 / 10000? You don't really have to tell me. But can you divide 100 / 10000? Todays the big day! Michagan against Notre Dame! Do you think Michagan will win? I miss you but I like getting letters from you. It's almost like you in a different world. The train just past. Laura slept over Loryn's house last night right from the football game! Laura didn't have her stuff with her because they decided it right at the football game.
(continued on another page, lost forever).

For the record, My favorite lines (aside from the brilliant opening) are: "I miss you but I like getting letters from you. It's almost like you in a different world. The train just past." I totally know what I was doing there, and I still do it. I was sad and missing my brother, but didn't want him to feel bad, so I was letting him off the hook. Then I was dramatic, as usual. Then I was trying to make him feel like he was there with me: The train just past.

The New Orleans that I Know

It's the five year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, and I would love to take this opportunity to talk about New Orleans. I had the pleasure of visiting New Orleans for my 30th birthday this year. It was my first visit, so I don't know the area pre-Katrina, but I loved so much about that city. I would go back in a heartbeat. The food is amazing, the architecture is beautiful, the people are friendly and are a huge family ... and the music! The music....
I don't think I can even explain what the music is like.
I'll try to describe it with stories.

Once we found this amazing group, we made sure to find them every day. They were so talented and were a joy to listen to. It was a cacophony that just made beautiful music. That's what New Orleans was: a triumphant blast of different kinds of music, coming together to form a roaring melody.

One night, while my brother and I were eating an early dinner on the balcony of a restaurant, a saxophone player swooned with music on the street below. A few buildings away, a couple came out on their balcony to dance. When the music and dancing ended, the crowd on the street (and in balconies lined along the street) applauded both the musician and the romantic couple.

I loved this group, who we caught a couple of times on the best street for music: Frenchmen Street. One of them is playing the washboard. Yes.
In a bar on Frenchmen Street, open mic night means "bring your instrument, jump up on stage with everyone else, and pour out your heart!" I felt like I was in a movie when the band (sometimes with up to 10 people in it!) would begin to play and people would jump up from their chairs and begin to swing dance. Don't know how to swing dance? Then stop by Frenchmen Street earlier in the night for free lessons at one of the bars.
Of course, my brother and I took the opportunity to visit the 9th ward, where some of the worst flooding happened. It's been five years and progress has surely been made, but it was still devastating to see the damage to people's homes and schools. I can't even imagine what it must have been like.
Here are some other great memories from the incredible city.
If you have the opportunity, visit New Orleans. If you love music, you must.

Update on Being the "Fun" Aunt

So, remember how I said I like to let my niece and nephew have fun? Well, here's an update. When we were on vacation 2 weeks ago, the kiddies were having a blast jumping on the beds in my room. So I went over and took some pictures, because they were just
                                  jumping!
                     and giggling!
     and shouting!
             and having 
                                so
                                      much
                                                 fun
Not even five minutes after I left them there, there was a blood-curdling shriek and then crying from my darling niece.
Of course, she had gotten hurt.

I've learned my lesson.

The Nosiest People of All

Just yesterday, I was talking with Anjajog about how I felt very nosy. You see, I know a person who's not technically my actual friend (see? this is why facebook is bad for me), and he just broke up with his girlfriend and I want to know why. So can I ask? I'm just being nosy. And I don't necessarily want to open up lines of communication. I just want the hot gossip. So... really I'd like someone else to ask. Any takers? No? Anjajog said I could ask, which is definitely the opposite advice I will receive from everyone else, I'm pretty sure.
Anyway, I thought I was nosy, and then... THEN, Nosy Personified came crashing into my place last night in the form of 2 rugrats, ages 6 and 4. My gosh, little ones are sooo nosy!

"Aunt Christy, who are those people in that picture? Is that me? Is that you? Who's that girl?"

"Aunt Christy, I just used your toilet in your bathroom!"
"Aunt Christy, do you have something longer than this?" (holding up some fabric that I have no idea where they got it.)
Pointing to a picture of the Indian girl I sponsor through Compassion - "Aunt Christy, is that your kid?" That one is hilarious to me on so many levels. Why, yes, child, I have an Indian daughter whom you've never met, and she's hidden away right now.
"Aunt Christy, look at those puppies! Puppies!! AWWWW, PUPPIES!" Me - Please let that man walk his dogs in peace.
"Aunt Christy, a KITTY CAT!" Me - That's not my house, please step away from that house!
"Aunt Christy, why don't you have a downstairs?" Me - someone else lives downstairs. Them - "And he's a police officer!" Me- yes.
"Aunt Christy, where is your downstairs?" Me - someone else lives there. Them - "A police officer!" Me - yes.

"Aunt Christy, do you wish you had a downstairs?"

You get the picture.
Meanwhile - how cute are they?! So cute!

Oh, the fun we had

So I got back from the beach, and what a time it was! Those of you who know me, or ever met me, or have read this blog, know that I wasn't necessarily looking forward to this vacation.
But it was really amazing this year. We made sure we did a bunch of things other than just sit on the beach. Like... well, I met a really handsome guy and we went jet-skiing! That's a picture of us!
Just kidding.
My family did go jet-skiing, but here's what actually happened:
• My mom and I went over the 20-minute time limit and ended up giving my sister less time on the jet ski than we intended.
• Dylan wanted OFF the jet-ski; Cassidy did not want to get off.
• My dad, brother and Dylan fell off the jet-ski while trying to retrieve my father's hat from the bay.
• The hat, and my dad's glasses are gone. Forever.
We also went to the USS North Carolina battleship which was pretty amazing, and we explored Wilmington, which was a really cute town. My brother came at the last minute, so that made the trip even better.
My favorite memories are playing a bocce ball/golf beach game while the sunset and holding Cassidy, all wrapped up in her beach towel, and singing to her on the beach.
It was a great trip, and a great time with the family.

A Terrible (but fun!) Aunt

I took my 4-year-old niece into a bar yesterday. During happy hour.
I also gave her a sip of my coffee when she was like 2 years old.
Wait, wait, wait... lemme back up.
I have a 4-year-old niece who is a princess, and a 6-year-old nephew who is a boy genius/soccer star. My relationship with my niece and nephew is so very different from the relationship I had with my own aunts and uncles. I see them all the time and I live only about a 3 minute drive from them. My own aunts and uncles lived at least 1 1/2 hours from us, and a few were out of state and we'd only see them maybe once a year. Since I see my niece and nephew so much, it's normal for me to discipline them or tell them to behave. But I'm the aunt, not the mommy, so I kind of want to be the cool Aunt Christy. For example, my parents - who watch my niece and nephew a few days a week - have a lot of rules at their house. No jumping on the beds, no being a room that you're not supposed to be in, etc. etc. Well, I don't have those rules. You kids want to jump on my bed? Have at it!
The other day I walked upstairs to see the kids in my parents house and opened a bedroom door. My nephew said, "Oh! It's only Aunt Christy. I don't have to hide Samson (his lovey)." Apparently, Grandma would have yelled at my nephew for going into the other room and getting Samson out. But not Aunt Christy! I'll save my yelling for something else.
Here's my philosophy: I will let them get away with the little things, so that when they become crazy teenagers, they come to me with their dumb, rebellious ideas, or runaway to my house. They can come to me and say, "Aunt Christy, take me to get a tattoo, and don't tell Mom." And I'll be able to calmly say, "Let's talk about why this is a bad idea," and hopefully they'll listen to me.
So all of that to say, yesterday my niece had to go potty, and when she has to go potty, she has to go now. So we ran into the bar next to where we were, walked through the smokers and drinkers and I brought her to their potty. You're welcome, fine boozing establishment! I hope they understand.

Two Wild and Crazy Gals!

So I spent my long weekend in Birmingham, Alabama with my mother.
First things first: If you've met my mother, you've already had a deep conversation about your dreams or your future with her, she's put you on her prayer list and she prays fervently for you daily, and you are welcome to our family holiday celebrations and on our family vacations. But she may or may not get your name right.
My mom's passion is her family - none of us have ever doubted that. When we were little she told us that her dream was that we would all end up living in the same place, even on the same road. And that almost happened, so that's pretty good! She's never met a stranger, which is both fun and embarrassing. Fun because you just never know what kind of connection you're going to have with the guy selling you tickets to the caverns (we're all from New Jersey! His uncle lied to him about walking to NYC!) and embarrassing because ... yeah... we don't really need to know the connection we have with the guy selling us tickets to the caverns...
She has a great sense of humor, which in our family is a necessity, as we like to pick on each other. I, on the other hand, can only take about a minute of it before I burst into tears, so you already know how the family vacation goes. And speaking of a sense of humor, she has an incredibly infectious laugh, which I think got passed down to the females in our family. I remember once we went to a movie and the theater was so crowded that my brother and I had to sit on one side of the packed theater while the rest of the family sat on the other side. We heard my mother's laugh ring out over the crowd during all of the funny parts (and probably some of the non-funny parts, too)! This was literally 20 years ago, and my brother and I still talk about it.

"Remember that time we heard Mom across the entire movie theater?!"

So basically what I'm saying is, if you get the chance to play charades with my mother, do not pass it up. It will be the funniest thing you ever do. I guarantee it.
P.S. - it's cool, it's cool. My Mom doesn't know how to log in to leave a comment on this site.

We've won an award!

It is an HONOR to receive the "I love this Blog" award from Cyndi Clack.
Cyndi has a special place in both of our hearts. She is a very special lady with God-given, amazing talents. Cyndi is a great mother and friend. We are so privileged to have her in our lives. Thanks for the award Cyndi!

I, Jennie, will be writing on behalf of the both of us (Jennie and Christy). So here we go.
10 things we love:

1. We love friends. Friends are very important to us and we love spending time (and stories) with each one of them.
2. We love family. Family is very important to both of us as well. We have many stories, that we love to share, about each of our family...and their quirks.
3. We love missions. Christy and I both have a heart for missions. Spreading God's love to people across the world is something we both want to participate in.
4. We love reading. At any given time, we will both be reading SEVERAL books spanning from Classic literature to Young Adult to Self-help books. Reading is our passion.
5. We love to travel. Most of our travels happen inside of our minds, but we both have BIG expectations/plans for retirement. We try to plan mini-trips along the way :)
6. We love music. Luckily we have the same taste in music, so we can jam out together like Nobody's business. “RA-RA-RAMAMA, want your bad romance!” (that is for you Christy)
7. We love ice cream. Unfortunately due to my recent diet change, I haven't been able to partake in ice cream like I used to. I STILL love it though!
8. We love children. Christy has a BEAUTIFUL Niece and a VERY HANDSOME nephew. I am pretty sure I love them as much as she does, but SINCE she is their family.... Seriously though, We both love children and hope to have one or two...someday!
9. We love Sent by Ravens. They are a band (so they probably technically should be under music), but they deserve a specific shout out. Sent by Ravens is an amazing band, dedicated to sharing God's word with their fans. They are a group of fantastic men with amazing talent.
10. We love Chocolate. BUT then who doesn't.

10 blogs that we love:

1.NIE NIE Dialogues. A lovely lady and plane-crash survivor, Stephanie Nielson gives us insight into her daily struggles. She has 4 BEAUTIFUL children. It is a pleasure to see a glimpse into her love of life and family. She takes beautiful photographs, documents heart wrenching, as well as light-hearted moments in her daily life. She is an inspiration to both of us.
2.Jamie, the very worst missionary. God is an important part of our lives, so it is great to hear a realistic, refreshing look at the world we live in today. Jamie is so hilarious, we often find ourselves LOLing...in the office.
3.Baked Perfection. Risa has a passion for baking and I can definitely relate to that. I have made several of the recipes from her posts and they are delicious. Although only I read this blog, Christy has enjoyed several of the confections I have made from this site.
4.Stuff Christians Like. Jon Acuff, author and comedian, has a blog-turned-book called Stuff Christians Like. The blog is a rip off of the book “Stuff White people like” and Jon is all to quick to admit it! Jon tell hilarious stories about common Christianisms. Check it out, you'll laugh for days.
5.Oh! Sweet Pig!-Lori Ford, a loyal reader of I heart Banana Copenhagen, has started her own blog! She is a great story teller and has great insight on life.
6.The Beautiful Mess. I just recently found this blog. Candice is a photographer that lives in North Carolina. She posts highlights of her photographs for the month and also posts recent work in her albums. We have enjoyed looking at her BEAUTIFUL photographs!
7.Grit and Glory. Alece is an inspiring woman. I would love to be more like here. She has gone through a lot recently and still finds God in everything.
8.The Sphors are Multiplying. Heather shares intimate details of what it is like to lose a child and life afterwards. She breaks up the heaviness with lighthearted stories about her new baby, Annie, and her husband Mike.
9.Donald Miller IS-Donald Miller is an accomplished author. He is personally one of my favorites. He is working on a variety of projects in his spare time (although I doubt he has much). He documents all of it on his blog.
10.Brandon McDaniel. Brandon McDaniel was an amazing young man. He was ready and willing to serve the Lord in whatever ways possible. His life was short, but his memory will last for a long time. He touched many people and we are able to get a small insight into his thoughts, prayers and experiences.

Now recipients of the “I love your blog,” pass this on to your favorites:

1st--Thank the person who awarded you the “I love this blog”
2nd--Write 10 things you love.
3rd--Call out 10 blogs you love and why. Let them know so they can pass it on.