The Lytles Are Moving . . . to Peru!

One of my sweetest, dearest, bestest, specialest (yes, I'm using those "words") is moving from her family's work in Indonesia to Peru in only a few months (like two to be exact).

She and her husband believe deeply in the benefits of education and have committed to working in international schools to equip the youth of the world with knowledge both intellectually and spiritually.

Here's a great YouTube clip that shares their passion: [click here]

While they receive a small salary from the school, they must raise funds to supplement their income to sustain their family. The transition from Indonesia to Peru will be "interesting" with one of those "interesting" aspects being finances. The cost of living is considerable higher in Peru. Please consider giving any sized donation to my sweet Lytle friends.

Anna-isms #3

While busily packing for our trip to Nashville, I came upon Anna at the top of the stairs, laying at the landing with a blanket over her. She was holding two CD cases, which she isn't supposed to have (a la no-touching-the-CDs-on-the-bookshelf rule).

I ask: What are you doing?

I could tell she was deep in thought. She sat up and showed me the Kelly Clarkson CD. She pointed to Kelly and said: This is Mama.

Then she showed me the other CD with Mariah Carey's face planted on the front and said: This is Anna.

We were coloring today with our new fancy smancy, straight from the yard sale colored pencils. (She thought these were the best things EVER.) She had a paper. I had a paper. As I started drawing the ever faithful flower, Anna said: Good job, Mom. For the next few minutes for every teeny tiny mark I made, I heard: Good job, Mom. Melt my heart. What a sweetie, right? 

Tonight I asked: Who will help me clean up? (I meant toys.) The next thing I know Anna comes out of the laundry room with the broom. The mop. The duster. She proceeds to clean, which ended 15 minutes later in her knocking a glass of water off the table. Bryan cleaned it up.

Anna's been doing some swimming at Ms. Lisa's house:

And here's one from today after our garden picking and walk:

These days, Anna loves:

• Polka dots
• Doc McStuffins
• Applesauce
• Choo choo trains
• Bubbles
• Playing "surprise" and hide-and-seek
• Cheese
• Watering plants

Another Book Project: Legendary Locals of Fort Worth!!!!

Hip, hip, hurray! How exciting to announce to you, dear readers, that I will be writing another book, along with my stellar co-author Joan! This one is about Fort Worth's finest folks, featuring more than 100 of Cowtown's exemplary citizens. The remainder of this year will find Joan and me researching, writing, and securing photos. So much to do before the November deadline. (If I look frazzled and covered in paper cuts when you see me next, now you'll know why.)

So proud to be an Arcadia author!

Fort Worth Moms Blog: Read MY Post

Y'all.

**scream**

I am soooo thrilled to be a regular contributor to the Fort Worth Moms Blog (FWMB)--a new website dedicated to the moms of Cowtown. It has great info about local activities, good ol' parenting stuff, blog posts from real-life Fort Worth moms, GIVEAWAYS, and (coming soon) ways to connect with other moms and kids (life play dates, events, etc).

FWMB is a great resource. Heck, I've already learned something and it just launched on Monday. Who knew about the Little Sprouts FREE program at the BRIT? We are going--sans disaster or sickness--on the 28th.

My niche is covering adoption-related topics, sharing what life is like as a transracial family, and documenting the highs of lows of toddlerhood. Of course, my first blog post, which went live this morning; and, of course, my first, best topic is my sweetest girl.

(This is the part where you click the link for my post). Click here, please.

Busted Eye Update

After eight days, the stitches from Anna's wound came out. And we were not pleased with the results. Sigh. The wound immediately opened right up. Bless.

A visit with the plastic surgeon later and we have a game plan. We will protect the wound until it heals up, and hopefully in November/December Anna will have a quick surgery to remove the entire scar. The surgeon will then restitch to make a smaller hairline scar.

Anna, the Hunter

While downloading my camera to the computer, I came across egg hunt pictures of Anna. Yeah, I totally forgot about them.

She LOVED hunting for eggs. I mean LOVED. We played "egg hunt" numerous times inside. And for the big day with snack-stuffed eggs, she had a blast. After she found each egg, she sat down and ate the snacks right then.

Mother's Day Mention

For those who have followed since last year (and before), you know I lost my mother in October. So this Mother's Day was a first for me--the first without my mom alive.

Many thoughts passed through my mind last week: What it means to be a mother without a mother. What life will be like without a mother for most of my Mother's Days. And the day my mother died.

Hearing the news on my phone . . . it felt like a punch in the gut. I'm still reeling from it. I remember walking through the door, fumbling into the dining room, and seeing Ms. Lisa's face. She froze, asking me what was wrong.

I'm thankful Ms. Lisa was there to hug me and let me sob. I'm thankful Ms. Lisa--Anna's usual babysitter--cared for her while Bryan and I sorted out the news. I'm thankful Ms. Lisa took Anna out to eat and kept her for several hours while I absorbed the shock.

I'm thankful for Ms. Lisa.

I'm thankful she is a great mother herself. I'm thankful she helps me be the best mother I can be. I'm thankful she helped me when I lost my mother.

So, Happy Mother's Day to Mom, to me, and to Ms. Lisa.