In the Blink of an "i"

Heading Home from the Hospital. Lili 3 Days Old

Wow! How has it already been two years since our sweet little Lili came into this world? Well, almost two years. I'm starting this post a couple of days early since I've been late on everything else (including her 1st birthday card which I fully intend to write in this week, along with her 2nd Birthday Card)! All of that time waiting and wishing and hoping and praying for a baby, and when she FINALLY arrives, she's, well, perfect! Perfectly worth the wait, perfectly a part of God's plan, and a perfectly pieced together combination of genes and gestures, looks and laughs, features and feelings of both me and her daddy...mostly her daddy. She's been happy and headstrong from the beginning. Sweet and stubborn. Kind and curious. Sometimes it feels like a blur, these last (almost) two years of watching her grow from a teeny tiny little baby to the terrific toddler she is now, but looking back on it, there are definitely moments of clarity that will stay with us forever. Holding her for the fist time in the delivery room. The ride home from the hospital and being nervous about every bump and turn along the way. Rocking her to sleep at night in her room. And holding her in my arms, pacing back and forth across her room, up and down the driveway, swinging and shhhhh-ing every step of the way. Having my parents and mother-in-law there with us in KL the first precious few weeks of her life and letting them bond with their Malaysian-born grand baby. And bond with us. And to lend a helping hand and offer a reassuring word whenever those new-mom jitters kicked in.  Hearing Lili laugh for the first time, which had something to do with Lyle. Carrying her around in the Bjorn for the first, well, for way longer than she probably should have been carried. So long, in fact, that she started chewing a hole in it, and the straps started to give out. :) Taking her to Cambodia for a "girls trip" before we moved back to Texas and visiting the temples and riding in Tuk Tuks and having to sneak into her hotel room to avoid being swarmed by her adoring fans. Just the two of us in a remote part of the country in a remote part of the world and yet not lacking for a single, solitary thing. We had each other, we had the love and support and encouragement of Will that encouraged us to take such a trip. Having women, complete strangers, approach us in KL and taking a huge sniff of her head and kissing her toes.  Seeing her "crazy leprechaun" face for the first time when wearing her St. Patrick's Day pajamas, ironically enough. Flying to Dubai with her and walking around the Emirates Malls and shops and enjoying the hotel breakfast buffet.  Taking her to London to meet Will for a perfect pairing of parks, palaces, and pubs. Her very first taste of real "food" - soaking her pacifier in barbecue sauce at Louie Mueller's. Watching her learn to crawl and then to walk and then to RUN. And March. Going bump bump down the stairs, saying "Hi" in a sweet Texas drawl, waving at neighbors and cars and squirrels. And stuffed animals. And pictures on the wall. And birds in the air.  Figuring out how to turn on light switches and open door knobs. Slinging a "purse" over her shoulder and yelling 'Byyyyyye" as she marched out the front door on her own. Being dressed as a skunk for her first Halloween and going flying down the driveway in her walker (on wheels), laughing all the way. Taking her to New Orleans and walking around Audubon Park. Christmas Eve service at Church last year when she could not...sit....still.....her first real Christmas morning when Santa brought the play house and rocking horse/giraffe and tricycle scooter. Watching her steal cousin Max's snacks and laughing about it. Giving high fives. Learning to give head butts and kisses. Hearing her say "mommy" and "Dada" for the first time. For the first 10 times. For the first 100 times and still loving it. Feeding the dogs one kernel of dog food at a time out of her hand. Grabbing onto their tails and being pulled around the yard and giggling until she almost falls over. Opening the car door just a couple of weeks ago and seeing her notice the moon for the first time. REALLY notice the moon and being amazed by it. And wanting to look for it in the sky ever since. Twirling her hair with her fingers when she's tired. Getting her finger stuck in her hair after falling asleep twirling it! Getting her thigh stuck in the slats of her crib and Will having to grease it out. Watching her toss and turn and talk in her crib night after night before she falls to sleep. Waking up in the mornings and calling for "Boo" to come see her. Wanting to hold the dogs leashes from her stroller while we're out on our walks/jogs. Needing a snack every time we go grocery shopping. Grabbing a banana or an apple from the produce section or eating a whole cucumber. Eating salted and roasted peas and edamame from the bulk bins at sprouts. Eating pimento cheese (with jalapeños) by the spoonful. Heaping spoonful. And let's be honest, sometimes handful. Watching her learn to blow bubbles in the bathtub and getting so tickled at herself. Each day a new discovery, each hour a new memory made, each minute a million thoughts and ideas running through her head. She's been so patient with us as we try to figure out this whole parenting thing. I've gotten her sweet arms and legs and head wrapped up and tangled in onesies and rompers too many times to count. I've accidentally bumped her head against walls and doors when carrying her through the house, I've let her go too long in a soggy diaper more than once, I let her lap water (clean water) off the driveway for crying out loud and let her splash around naked in the backyard with Lyle. Not a great mom....or an experienced one at least. I left her in the living room for maybe 30 seconds the other day to rush to the bathroom and came back to find her standing on top of the computer table. Smiling. And saying, 'Hi Mom." Cringing the first few times she tripped, tumbled, skidded, slid, and crashed her way to the ground but now just shrugging it off and smiling as she picks herself up and keeps going full steam ahead. And it's almost always full steam ahead for this one. She's brought more joy, more laughter, and more personality into this world than Will and I could have ever imagined a little girl could. She wears a tutu and walks around with a fishing pole. She puts sweat bands on her arms and wants a bow in her hair. And then she wants it out of her hair. And then back in. She walks over to neighbor Marjorie's house and takes a seat at the kitchen table, waiting to be served a Nilla wafer and cup of ice. She hasn't met a puppy or cat or neighbor or stranger she hasn't tried to greet or pet. Or sometimes both. She loves puddles but not play dough. She likes to sweep and mop and wipe up messes & spills but enjoys making them even more. We've learned that a little bit of sugar goes a long way. A LONG WAY. 6 jelly beans is probably 5 too many. And fruit loops are just out of the question all together. But she can have all the hummus and peanut butter and olives she wants. And pickles. And Zapps hotter than hot chips. She has to have a water bottle in her possession or immediate surrounding most all the time and drinks it like a camel. She's logged more miles in her jog stroller than most babies twice her age. Not a proven statistic of course, just a guess. She's a trooper and is usually happy just going along for the ride. With a snack. And a book. And a toy. And a whistle. She's recently started "feeding" her stuffed animals bites of her dinner, and she insisted on taking a nap with her hat on last week.  She's been known to peel a banana in private and leave the peel hiding somewhere to be found what can only be guessed as "weeks" later. She loves her daddy's BBQ. And her daddy's voice. And hugs. And lap. And laugh. She lights up when she sees or hears him coming through the door and squeals with excitement. And sometimes the squeals are accompanied by a cute little jig. She loves her daddy with all her heart. And she loves family. And the dogs. And being outside. And watching football. And baseball. She loves to pretend fish and collect acorns and pull weeds. She likes to push the trash can out to the curb and back up the driveway. She's fascinated by how things work. She likes to watch the water drain out of the tub and then plug the drain back in and pull it back out and plug it back in. She hums and spins and dances and bumps into walls from not watching where she's going, and is totally unfazed by it all. She's Lili with an "i" and marches to the beat of her own drum. She's turning two this week, and it just doesn't seem possible that almost 730 days have gone by since she first entered this earth and forever changed our lives and our hearts. What's even harder to comprehend is how just 731 days ago, Lili wasn't yet with us. I mean, she was with us of course, but she wasn't really with us.....and we didn't even know she was a she! We had absolutely no idea how much more fun and more enjoyable and more fulfilling our lives were about to become. We thought it would be that way, and we hoped it would be that way, but we just didn't know for sure it was going to be that way. And even though her 2nd birthday will probably come and go without a great deal of pomp and circumstance, for we have not planned a big birthday bash or even picked out a gift for her to unwrap (yet), we will do our best to celebrate her with all the love and laughter and Lili-isms that she has so generously given to us. We hope that every day will be a party for Lili, and that she will always find joy in even the smallest and simplest of things. We wish so many things for her. We wish for good health and pure happiness and to be filled with kindness and confidence and faith and friendships.....and fruit loops. I mean a fruit loop. One fruit loop. On her birthday. In the morning. :) We love you, Lili, and we love everyone that's a part of Lili's life. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbors, friends, all of you. Thank you for loving her the way we do and embracing all that is truly, uniquely Lili...with an i.

Daddy's Girl

Walking the dogs 

Crazy Leprechaun 

Lili in Cambodia 

Lili and Max - Snack Attack 

"Aaaah" 

Our little runner. Halloween 2016

Summer Days

Our little Tiger 

Happy Mardi Gras! 

Audubon Park 

London Pub Crawl 

Jingle Bell Dash

Little Girl Lili

Lili, Lyle, and Boo 

BlogComa

4-Year Nap

Ok, so I took a little nap here and am slowly awaking from a long, deep cyber sleep of sorts. It's certainly not anything I planned to do, and I certainly can't believe it's been over 4 years since my last post, but sometimes a "blogger" just gets a little sleepy, er, lazy, and needs a good snooze to help feel all write once again. And much like a bear coming out of his cave after his long winter repose, I too am feeling quite refreshed from my sudden cybernation.

Sooooo, picking up right where we left off...well not literally right where we left off, for we were still living in Malaysia when we left off, and a lot has happened since then. A lot. Mostly just adding a few more stamps to our passports with trips to Spain, London, and back to Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Australia, and Singapore. And coming back home for sweet Mamie's funeral and buying a house in Ft. Worth. Oh, and there was the whole having a baby thing, Will taking a job in Dubai, us moving back home, Will leaving his job in Dubai, and well, I guess that brings us up to speed once again, right where we "left off."

So here we are, it's May 2015 and somehow we have an 18-month old daughter. A beautiful, funny, smart, clever, dog-loving, ball-throwing, high-fiving, light of our lives little baby girl named Lili. I know, I know, she will have to constantly correct people her entire life on the spelling of her name. Lili with a y? Lili with an ie? Lili with two ll's? None of the above. Just Lili. It's my fault. There's a restaurant (a "bistro" really) not far from our house that we've always loved for lunch dates. The name of the res, er, bistro, is Lili's, and the sign outside the building spells out Lili's in beautiful, dainty, delicate script. We didn't necessarily name Lili after the restaurant, that part was just because we both happened to like the name Lili, but the spelling of it was because of the sign. It's a sign you look at it and just instantly want to write it down yourself, as delicate and daintily as they did. And quite honestly, I thought that I'd instantly have perfect penmanship when I tried to write it out myself. My handwriting is still terrible, she has a name that will forever be misspelled, and that's what we're dealing with here. But her personality can certainly carry the weight of a commonly misspelled name.  More to come on Lili (the girl, not the restaurant) in the days, weeks, months, and years to follow, but for now I'm just trying to ease back into this blogging world once again so bare with me. We are in for a wonderful ride ahead, and I can't wait to share the latest and greatest Lili laughs with, well, myself, the primary reader of this blog. Oh, and of course with Lili should she ever choose to look back on these one day and read about the fun and exciting life she's creating for us on a daily basis. Stay tuned...

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling on the River...

A Mother and her 3 Children Rowing Home

Way, way, way back in November, Will and I were lucky enough to take a trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia with his dad and stepmom, Neil and Monina. All of our friends in Malaysia had recommended this place to us and hailed it as one of their all-time favorite travel destinations, not only in Asia, but in all the world....and most of these friends have seen a lot more of the world than we have, so we took them for their word. And I for one, am so glad we did. Siem Reap had to have been one of the most amazing, eye opening experiences of my life. Everything about it just seemed so....well, ancient for one thing, but almost magical...or mystical..or maybe both (or maybe neither but I'm  having a really hard time trying to come up with a proper adjective that could describe something that's so powerful, yet so peaceful all at the same time....so if you have an adjective for that then please insert it here). If not, then yes, this place was ancient, magical, AND mystical. Trust me. :) Anyway, we started out on Day 1 by taking a 45 minute car ride north of town (I'm saying north here without really having any idea whatsoever which direction it was exactly, but when all else fails, I say go north). So here we are, "north" of town and we're weaving and winding our way down dirt roads, rice fields, and swamp land for what seems like, well, 45 minutes, until finally we come to a stopping point where our guide led us the rest of the way on foot down to a little make-shift dock to board  the boat for our tour of the floating village. Now I didn't really have that much experience with the whole floating village concept before this trip, but it's literally what one would expect it to be: a village that floats. Except that, it wasn't entirely what I expected it to be because I've never really expected villages to float before, but after seeing it first-hand, it all made perfect sense to me. It was an entire community of people, of grandparents and moms and dads and kids and babies, living and working on the water. Their houses were built up on stilts over the water and they somehow managed to survive only on the things they could catch, kill, or grow in the waters beneath them or in the swampy shores beside them. There was even a floating school where children paddled their way to class every day on their own rafts or in family boats. It was common to see families rowing their way from one house to the next, maybe in exchange for goods, or maybe just to play and visit and pass the time. These were people far removed from modern day conveniences like electricity and plumbing and television and computers. Instead, you could see the kids playing marbles or throwing rocks after school, and parents would be casting lines or nets in the water, hoping to reel in something for dinner. They were just living on the water, miles  and miles from civilization and seemed perfectly happy with what we consider to be the "simple" way of life, but in reality, is far, far from it....at least 45 minutes or so "north" anyway!



Me, Will, Neil, and Monina on the boat to the floating village

 A Welcome Wave from a Village Cutie



The Floating Village School



A Little Girl Waving as we Boated By

  

4 Little Boys Totally at "Peace" with  Life on the Water

The Village Barber

A Final Look Back at the Floating Village 

A Nose for Trouble...

Like Father, Like Son: Neil and Will Rucker 

Well after almost 10 months of living in Malaysia, we were finally able to welcome our first house guests recently! Will's dad, Neil, and stepmom, Monina, won the friendly little pool that Will and I started between ourselves on who would be the first to come visit. Congratulations, you two! And in order to celebrate, we introduced them to a fun "little" dining experience over a champagne brunch at the Westin Hotel with twelve of our other KL friends. It's amazing how quickly our reservation for 4 grew to a table for 16 when we sent word to our friends about the bubbly brunch. And it was certainly bubbly alright! I'm fairly certain that the Westin lost out on a good amount of money from us that day, but judging from the pictures I'd say it was a smashing success for all of us! Now, you might think that a "Champagne Brunch" at one of the pricier hotels in the heart of KL would be a rather hoity toity affair, but I assure you that the only people holding their nose up in the air are the ones trying to keep them from falling off (see pictures below). And with the finest of foods, bottomless bubbly that guarantees your glass is always (more than) half full, and a balloon artist dressed as a clown making the rounds to ensure we're all enjoying the best of both, one is guaranteed to have a good time (just like one is guaranteed to "borrow" the "community" jar of M&M's from the toppings table at the Sundae Station. We tried to catch the culprit, but this group's not saying a word. All they keep saying is, "Nobody Nose..."

Neil and Monina

 

Iain and Cynthia

Rob and Lauren

Rosh and Jane

Mike and Courtney

Ela

Caught Red (Blue, Orange, Green, and Brown) Handed

The Great Pumpkin

My Niece Hannah at her First Pumpkin Patch

Despite the unfortunate circumstances of having to make a last minute trip back home for dear Daddy Buck's funeral last month, I'd have to say that my time in Texas was the perfect dose of family, friends, fun, and FALL that I desperately needed! Not only was I able to meet my "new" niece Hannah who was just a couple of weeks old when I arrived, I also managed to make up (or at least attempt to make up) a lot of lost time with the rest of the nieces and nephew litter that my sisters have so generously blessed us with. We partied it up at the pumpkin patches and parks, hee-hawed it up on hayrides, slid it up down on slide after slide (after slide), and threw bounced it up in the bounce houses. Yep, I was that Aunt. The one encouraging the acrobatic maneuvers of a 6, 5, and 2 year old in a bounce house. The one provoking the silly shenanigans on the slippery slides. The one that gets all the questionable looks from the real parents out there thinking to themselves, "She obviously doesn't have children."  I'm not quite sure who had more fun out there, me or the kids. And in between play time at the parks and hide-and-seek games at the house, I was elected to carpool duty to and from Wellington Elementary School, where I quickly learned after Day 1 that Zach's class gets out 10 minutes earlier than Madison's class....a minor little mistake I vow NEVER ever to make again. Sorry Zach. :) Don't worry, the emotional scars of him thinking nobody was ever going to come for him immediately disappeared the second we pulled up to Rita's Italian Ice and Frozen Custard. A little bit of ice cream can go a LONG way....both in curing a kid's craving AND in dripping all over one's clothes and car. How is it that all of that ice cream can come out of one itty bitty little cone?!? Yes, my time in Texas was quite a treat, in a number of ways. I spent a great week at home with mom and dad just enjoying their company, being their little girl again, and soaking up all of the flavors of my Tall City favorites I possibly could (Thank you Murray's, Rosa's, and TCBY, repeated as necessary). Repeated as necessary. Repeated as necessary. Then I got to go spend another great week with the sisters, their husbands, and kids as I tried to blend in to their everyday routines as best I could. I couldn't have enjoyed it more! I even got to see some dear friends that I've been missing terribly and enjoy spending some quality time with them at some of my favorite ol' lunch and dinner stomping grounds. And in between it all, I also managed to sneak in a trip out to the lake house with the family for a great weekend of fishin', boatin', and S'mores! The weather was absolutely perfect. The entire trip was! And to top it all off, I got to spend my last night in Texas seeing the kids get all dressed up for Halloween (Ariel and Darth Vader for Madison and Zach respectively) and then going trick-or-treating with the cutest little bunny (Halie) and "Boo" Baby (Hannah) I've ever seen. To all of you I got to see when I was back, thank you for squeezing me into your schedules and making my time at home so enjoyable. And to those of you I didn't get to see, I'm planning on making up for it at Christmas when Will actually gets to come with me! I'm so very fortunate to have had those two weeks in Texas to help tide me over until the holidays. Thank you, friends and family, and all of my great pumpkins (Madison, Zach, Halie, and Hannah) for all of the fun. I can't wait to do it all over again very soon!

Halie and Winnie the Pumpkin Pooh

Hayride with Madison and Halie 

Hanging out with Halie

One of Many Trips up the Slide with Halie

Madison, Zach, and Halie: The Silly Sliders

Halie helping me Pack

Daddy Buck: The Final Farewell

Taken in England, 1944, 12 days before D-Day

I'll be flying home tonight to face what I've long been dreading. It's time to finally say goodbye to man that I've always placed high atop a pedestal in the ranks of the untouchables, the too-good-to-be-trues and the hero of all heroes categories. Our dear Daddy Buck passed away earlier today, in the only way I can imagine he would have ever wanted to go: resting peacefully in a bed in his hometown while holding the son of his only boy...his lifelong best friend. The two men had an incredible relationship, a bond much stronger than any other father/son bond I've ever known. It's truly amazing to think of all the times that Daddy Buck was there holding my dad's hands along the way, teaching him how to hunt, fish, catch, and gamble, I mean pray. He must have taken my dad by the hand a million times to teach him new things, to take him to new places, or just for the sake of taking him by the hand. He was very much a hand holding kind of guy. I can't remember any of us ever having sat down beside him without him reaching over and grabbing our hand or patting us on the arm. He loved to be close to his family, especially his boy, and to let us know how very he much he loved us. That's why I think it was so appropriate that after all the years of him reaching out and comforting each one of us with all of his love, handshakes, and pats on the arm, that he waited for my dad to come in and take him by the hand today and let him know that everything was going to be just fine before he finally slipped away peacefully, exactly as he would have wanted. It's like he designed it that way...I guess you could say he certainly had a hand in it.

"Daddy Buck" Buchanan: Born December 21, 1922, Died October 13, 2010, and did a whole lotta livin' in between. In fact, he did so much livin' that he came awful close to dyin' quite a few time along the way. This man was as tough as they come. He was shot in the head during the war, nearly electrocuted when he was blown off a utility pole working for the electric company, nearly bled to death when he sliced open his leg with a machete, and oh yeah, he had a heart attack somewhere along the way too. He was as strong as an ox and stubborn as a mule, and had the heart of a saint. He is truly our hero...he always was and he always will be. Godspeed, Soldier.

Dad and his Best Man, Daddy Buck, on his wedding day

Me with Daddy Buck and one of his famous arm squeezes

Sweet Sister Rebecca and Dear Daddy Buck

3 Generations of "Bucks"

It's a Girl!

Hannah Grace Lessly, 9/28/10, 6 lbs. 10 oz.

Attention everyone, I have a new niece!! Congratulations to my sweet sister Rebecca and her dear husband Kevin on the birth of their second little girl. Miss Hannah Grace was born Tuesday night, September 28, weighing in at a respectable 6 pounds and 10 ounces and every bit as cute as I knew she would be! Not scheduled to arrive until early next week, little Hannah's big debut came as a bit of a surprise to say the least. After returning home from a typical night of grocery shopping, Rebecca's water decided to break and then the race was on! With Kevin speeding back from Ft. Worth after a night of working late, Rebecca called for back-up in the way of our other sister Angela who just so happened to be walking into a nearby restaurant just a few streets away. Angela immediately rerouted herself and scooped Rebecca up in her Expedition-Turned-Ambulance and frantically raced their way to the hospital, Rebecca screaming all the way (the contractions were coming full force at this point). They got there just in time for Rebecca to be wheeled into Labor and Delivery (after Angela made a few minor threats to the security guard out front) and to start pushing (too late for an epidural at this point). Fortunately Kevin had arrived at this time, and just a couple of minutes later, so did Hannah Grace Lessly! It was all a whirlwind of activity, and the entire process took less than an hour!It's times like these that reiterate the fact that we really are a half a world away over here. I desperately wanted to be there and to be a part of it all, but I had to settle for listening through the phone as my new niece made her first sweet little cries thousands of miles away from me. I just hope she wasn't listening to my sweet little cries on her end. They were definitely tears of joy though and tears of excitement for the newest addition to the family (well, along with a few tears of homesickness sprinkled in as I longed to be there too). I just hope she knows that someone in Malaysia loves her very much!!! Congratulations Rebecca, Kevin, Halie, and Hannah! My heart is right there with you!!!

Ready or Not, Here I Come

Speedy Delivery

Proud Papa Kevin and Big Sister Halie