She can withstand the fear of a 60 foot drop but needs her night light

Last weekend we went camping and then spent a day at Dollywood theme park.

We (oh wait...not "we" but rather Russ) had made the mistake of telling Analayne all the fun details about our weekend about 2 weeks prior and that began the spiral downward toward the official Lackey summer time kick-off. I say "downward" because for nearly two weeks I (the official care-giver, boo-boo kisser, lunch creator, teacher and entertainment guru...(also known as Analayne's mamma)had to endure several full blown emotional break-downs involving Analayne's spirited verbal desire to go camping and ride the rides.

Well, finally the weekend arrived and we took off on our adventure. Its a good thing Analayne has about as much energy as a hamster running on its wheel. She is full of life, is always ready for the "next big thing" and has virtually no fear for a child her age. Russ took her on a ride that shoots up 60 feet in the air and then falls down and shoots you back up again. Please note: Analayne wanted to go on this ride and was not forced. Anyway, as her mamma I stood on the ground watching my precious 37 inch tall almost 3 year old baby get on this ride with her manly daddy and I was squeamish. I even told the ride operator to watch the cute little girl with the green bow because I was scared she would fear for her life. I felt a little stupid later after she never so much as let out a peep! However, I can't say that she enjoyed this ride to its fullest potential because she never cracked a smile and the look on her face was one of confusion interspersed with brief moments of panic.

Since our trip she has been talking about all the rides and the experience of sleeping in our camper. She mentions the round and round tea cups, the bee ride, the ducks, the elephants, the train and the ferris wheel. However, not so much as one word has been mentioned about the shooting star ride. Since she has become quite the verbal girl who enjoys giving full reports about EVERYTHING, I have been a little shocked that she has not even said a word about the experience. I believe psychologically she is trying to oppress that memory. ME TOO!

"Alex...I'll take childhood rites of passage for 500 please."

There are many rites of passage as you proceed through childhood and one of them must be to get a hold of a pair of scissors when your mommy or daddy is not looking! We all know that you simply cannot keep your eyes on your child 24/7 so despite our best attempts to keep all dangerous or potentially dangerous items out of the reach of our children...we sometimes just fail.

Yesterday, I walked around the corner to a "play area" in our den and found some little "tuffs" of hair that appeared to have come from Analayne's head. We had been cutting with her little scissors the day before and I guess they were within reach. She apparently felt the need to give herself a little haircut and now she has some whispy bangs. My reaction when I saw her was to send her to time-out. As her mommy, I did not want her to think this "little act" was okay! Time out is like the worlds worst punishment for her, so she cried and cried. I only let her sit there for about 25 seconds (I can't stand it when she cries) and then I sat down with her and we talked about it.

Well, this is what I have to say about the situation, "it could have been much worse." Some kids basically scalp themselves with their home-made haircuts. However, Analayne managed to just give herself some nice whispy bangs that honestly look like I took her to the salon to get them done! I am not the biggest fan of bangs on little bitty round faces but I know they will grow! I can assure you that the scissors are now out of her reach---only to be used on paper with adult supervision. Nuff said about that... Now I will take "proud moments in motherhood for 200."

A loyal reader...

This blog entry is dedicated to Betty W. Betty is a woman that I have only met a few times but I have heard that she reads my blog regularly! I know who most of my "readers" are but when I found out about Betty I thought I should post a formal SHOUT OUT to her and formally tell her hello and let her know how much I appreciate all her kind words! I will keep the blog updates coming. Here's a picture of Analayne and her friend Noah that I took at the park today. I would have taken more pictures of her and her friends but its a daunting task to get multiple children, all under the age of 4 to be still enough for a decent picture. We are enjoying the beautiful spring days. Betty... I'll holler at you later!

One Very Envious Wife...

Last week my dear hubby had the opportunity to go with some guys from the marina to race in the 2008 50th Dauphin Island Regatta. They sailed in a 40 foot Endeavor sailboat and they came in 3rd in their class! One of the joys of having known Russ since I was 18 years old is that we literally have grown up together. I say that because I can remember the day that Russ said, I would love to learn to sail." Now, just like many of us, when Russ makes up his mind to do something --- he does it! He started learning to sail and then eventually got a position working at the marina. He has read too many sailing and race rule handbooks to count them, taken classes, attended regattas, crewed for others, obtained his US Sailing Instructor certification, logged hours for his captains license, owned countless boats (somehow-- people just give them to us) and now manages a sailboat marina on Percy Priest Lake. Its been amazing to watch his knowledge grow and grow and now, others call on him for his expertise (the countless phone calls we get are proof!) So for Russ winning 3rd place in his first open water regatta was awesome! Now, I was just fine with him being away for a week and I was ecstatic that he and the other crew members had placed 3rd in their class. However, I became envious when Russ got home and showed me all the photos and video clips he had taken. All of the sudden I was ENVIOUS! Take a look for yourself...


Untitled from leeanne lackey on Vimeo.

Easter 2008

We spent Easter in Florida with my brother,sister-in-law and niece. We had a great time. Here are some highlights and funny things that happened:

Analayne starting calling Cracker Barrell the "crappy darrell."

Analayne and Hadley played and played and now Analayne loves to get in her little tykes car and say to me, "I going to Hadley's."

We went to an Easter egg hunt and the girls got to hold little baby chicks.

We went to the beach (it was fairly chilly) but we still had a great evening.

Analayne and Hadley played on the playground and Hadley did her best to show Analayne how to do flips on the bars.

We enjoyed being with everyone and we miss having all of our family living close by. For now we just have to make yearly visits and try to capture the girls as they grow older together. Enjoy some photo highlights.

Make a slideshow - it's easy!

Back Off Satan...

For those of you in my group of family and friends who read my blog (and any lurkers who are reading this), I want to ask for your prayers! My brother and sister-in-law are adopting a baby boy from China. They have prayed for such a long time for their child and are so excited (and we are too). They have eagerly been preparing for their son to come home. For weeks there has been feelings of anticipation, excitement, eagerness, thankfulness and honestly feelings of heartache for him.

A few weeks ago they were given travel dates and all seemed to be set for them to begin their journey on May 1st. However, today they received word that one little piece of paper needed for their adoption ( I think its the I-171H letter) is being held up and as a result it might hold them back and make them and their baby boy have to wait longer. This is agonizing for them! As a mother (and with a mother's heart) I can only imagine how difficult it is to continue to wait to hold the child you have already been waiting for and have already been loving. I won't even attempt to put those feelings into a written form!

We know that it is the Lord's plan for baby Shepherd to come home and we know that Satan loves to destroy our happiness and joy and he especially would love to thwart this process. Here is what I have to say (and I am very strong willed...) "Satan, you just step back. You have NO power over this situation. God's plan is divine and we as followers are faithful and we believe that the Lord is in control."

God can do amazing things and we believe that....so my fellow friends and family, please join with me in prayer that this paperwork gets completed in time to allow for the scheduled travel and time line. We know God can do anything and HE CAN MOVE MOUNTAINS! Oh yeah--- and pray that they receive the needed money to complete their adoption. I also ask that you might additionally pray for Candace to somehow miraculously find the diamond earrings. (Hey, our lord asks that we come to HIM with all our needs and requests so I figured I might throw that in there too)...

**If you want to read more about the adoption of MY NEPHEW, Shepherd click here.

A Big Girl Bed

Out of necessity Analayne has moved to her big girl bed! Here is the drama that occurred that prompted this sudden and abrupt move down the hall. Last night our garage flooded, the drywall was wet, Analayne's carpet and padding got wet and overall it was just a big mess. So Russ being the wonderful handyman and "jack of all trades" that he is began working and very quickly found the problem. It seems that the pipe that led to our hose spicket burst and so water was spewing out of it and coming out the wall into the garage. The other side of this garage wall is the wall that is in Analayne's room, so with that said, water was leaking into her room. However, she was already asleep and it was almost midnight so we decided to deal with the mess in her room today! So Russ tore out everything that was wet and installed a big fan to ensure that the no water or dampness is left. With the big fans going there was no way that a poor little girl could sleep in the same room. So once I realized there was no way she was sleeping in her little toddler bed I began "talking up" how wonderful her big girl bed was and I started moving her babies and blankets into the new room. Analayne looked puzzled for a few minutes and then climbed right in and Russ and I sat down with her on her bed and prayed and did all of our hugging and kissing and then... we turned on her music, closed the door and walked away. That was it... yep...that was it... no getting out of bed, no crying, no nothing. A big girl indeed!

I had been working on a plan for her "new" room and had already put her bedding together. However, I had not yet painted or hung her new window treatments or started moving all of her "babies" and fun stuff to their new home. I just got done telling Russ, "you know-- if she sleeps through the night with no issues...she will not be moving back into her old room." He replied, "yep, I know." I wonder if he realized that with that comment he just committed himself to painting her room next weekend?