This song gets to me every time I hear Johnny Cash sing it (American IV: The Man Comes Around). Lyrics by Roberta Flack.

The first time ever I saw your face
I thought the sun rose in your eyes
And the moon and stars were the gift you gave
To the dark and empty skies, my love,
To the dark and empty skies.

The first time ever I kissed your mouth,
I felt the earth move in my hand,
Like a trembling heart of a captive bird
That was there at my command, my love,
That was there at my command.

The first time ever I lay with you
And felt your heart beat close to mine
I thought our joy would fill the earth
And last til the end of time, my love,
And last till the end of time

(Wait, don’t answer that!)

Exerpted from a credit card offer in today’s mail:

It’s easier than you think to earn your valuable reward. Simply use your card to make purchases totalling $1,300 or more each month from September 1 through October 31, 2005. Once you do, you’ll earn a $100 [Nice Hotel Chain] Bonus Bucks Coupon which you can use at most [Nice Hotel Chain] hotel brands. Pay for your stay, enjoy a facial at a luxurious spa or dine with your colleagues. So, start using your card and earn towards your $100 [Nice Hotel Chain] Bonus Bucks Coupon today.

What a joke! Spend $1,300 in order to receive a coupon I may or may not use at some hotel? It’s madness I tell you…

The other credit card info in today’s mail was legit. At first I had a bit of trouble activating our new cards on the credit company’s computerized telephone line. For some reason I ended up deep in Spanish dialogue, way over my head considering my fading Spanish 4 skills from high school. The second time around I dialed a completely different company’s phone number. Finally, on the third call, things went well… Over my speakerphone, when the computerized voice said “Press 1 or say 1 for English,” Livia loudly pronounced something serious in Baby Babble. Whatever she said did the trick and within moments our cards were activated. What would I do without that kid?

Livia just said, “Ay-ai! Mama?” (rough translation: “I’m in a bit of a pickle. Help, please, Mom?”). I agree with you, Michelle… That word from a baby’s mouth definitely makes a mom’s heart go pitter-pat.

What is the album (or two albums, or three or four) that you simply cannot live without at this moment? Tastes will change and tomorrow you may have new favorites. But for now, what do you love listening to, what do you highly recommend?

Also, what do you think about the following bands? And, if you like them, which albums are the best to own?

• The White Stripes
• Sufjan Stevens
• Interpol
• Franz Ferdinand

OOPS! How did this picture get in here? It’s kinda silly, isn’t it?! Three grown women acting like bats out in the front yard? Hey, don’t ask me what’s going on. I’m just the one taking shots of the scenery… and making hats when I can find the time.

I’m glad I took this shot of one of our giant sunflowers. Last year they did so well, but this year they’re looking rather sad. No seeds to speak of and their stems are hunched over now. I don’t know if this is happening because I planted them so late or whether they aren’t getting enough nutrients from the soil as our garden is packed full this summer.

My favorite thing about cucumbers is the tendrils they send out for climbing trellises and such. The thin green shoots are delicate yet strong — and look kind of like curliques on birthday ribbons. We grew cucs from seed this year (no seedlings were left by the time we planted the garden) and they’ve turned out beautifully. One of our plants is using a nearby sunflower as a trellis.

This is our first attempt at growing broccoli and it’s going quite well. We ate fresh broccoli with grilled chicken and baked potatoes Tuesday night — yum! My guess is that our broccoli plants are growing decently only because we’ve had a few cool weeks recently. I don’t think a broccoli plant would produce quite so well if it was really hot outside.

This is the reason why we take pictures, to preserve one moment in time. It’s hard to believe she was ever that little!

Livia and I don’t move too quickly in the mornings. It’s kind of our time to greet the day and get things sorted out. We breakfast with the paper and baby oatmeal. We build toy towers and ride bikes around the house (oh wait, Livia does the bike riding on her own). I surf the internet, she attempts to bang the life out of my keyboard. Life is good when your mornings look like this.

This morning I pulled out the full length mirror for a little extra fun while Livia apparently found the lid to an old Avent pacifier. There in front of the mirror, we basked in the morning light and entertained ourselves for a few minutes. Really, life is good.

Thank you, God, for your many blessings.

I’m telling you, Joss Whedon is the resident genius of Hollywood. If you haven’t yet seen Firefly, you’ve only got a few weeks left to catch a few episodes (on DVD) prior to the release of Serenity in movie theaters. And if enough of us catch the film, we might be rewarded with a sequel. Now THAT’S what I’m talking about!

Sunday was an extraordinary day. The sky was blue, the sun was shining brilliantly and the high temp was around 77 degrees. In short, it was a perfect day for a family trip to the zoo.

We have a lovely children’s zoo in Lincoln. It’s small but beautiful, and the zookeepers do a great job of keeping the grounds well-manicured and the animals in great shape. That being said, Jeremy and I were reminded of it being a zoo (a.k.a. a place where animals live, eat and have their being) when we rounded the front walk and were affronted by raw animal odors. Ah well. Livia, who hasn’t yet exhibited displeasure at her own nasty odors, didn’t seem to care a bit. We spent over an hour wandering by exhibits. Livia mooed and woofed her heart out at reindeer, goats and ponies—and even squawked back at the macaws. I was shocked to learn that bald eagles’ nests can sometimes equal 10 feet in diameter and can weight several tons, and Jeremy found out that the difference between monkeys and apes is that monkeys have tails. So there you go, education and fun rolled up into one tidy package on a Sunday afternoon.

Dear Livia,

Ack! How did you get to be a big 15 month old KID already??! I remember talking with other moms months ago and I was all like, “I love babies at 6 months old best. They’re so cute and so interactive.” Secretly I was thinking that it was you who was the best and illogically I was thinking that their babies were too old already. And here you are now, 15 months “old”, and I keep saying that I love this stage the best. If you haven’t learned it already, know that your mother can be way silly sometimes.

This past month you’ve turned into a toddler. All of a sudden you have this uncanny ability to explore every nook and cranny that we’d rather you didn’t explore. You seem to know when you’ve come upon something “illegal” and you’ll turn towards me with ______ (pointy pencil, shiny quarter, small happy face sticker) squeezed tightly in your little fist. I end up wrestling the object away and then you holler for a few minutes. Diversion is the best tactic I can find at this moment, but it doesn’t always prove helpful. A few days ago you discovered the wide, button-filled, black world of media equipment—dials and LEDs on low-shelving, oh my! Could anything possibly be more exciting? I think not! Simply moving you away from the entertainment center wasn’t enough… In fact, I’ve never seen you move so quickly in your short life. You went from sitting to lying down in one smooth seal-like motion and in less than a second later you had rolled your toddler self right back to square one. Even my “no-no, Livia,” accompanied by pointing, did no good. You simply said “nah-nah” over and over while pressing buttons with your toes. Welcome, toddlerhood!

It won’t be long now until you’re walking on your own. Within the past week, since Sue the PT came, you’ve started cruising around the furniture. You’re a careful cruiser, cautious in all movements and mostly in control at every turn. You don’t like to feel wobbly and will cry if you even feel like you could fall. But that’s okay. I think your observant, sensitive personality is a strength and it’ll be interesting to see how it benefits you in the future. Back to the business of walking… Yesterday I plopped you on the bathroom floor while I, uh, used the restroom, and you PULLED YOURSELF UP on the tub! Woohoo!!!! I didn’t want to freak you out with my best impersonation of a cheerleader, but boy was I excited. This is huge, Livia, so huge. Your daddy and I couldn’t be more proud. Apparently your skinny arm and chest muscles have gained strength in recent weeks, at least enough to haul your own body weight. Your newfound strength combined with your toddler curiosity are going to do wonders for your skills. I never knew child development was so exciting. You, my dear girl, have opened a whole new world for us.

There’s so much more to say… Like how beautiful your huge, blue-gray eyes are and how long your dark lashes look. Like how funny you are and how you like to imitate us laughing. How you copy me when I stretch in the morning, complete with grunting noises, and how you point to your cow and then “moo” almost every time I get you from your crib. You can say lots of words now—Mama and Dada, Woof, Moo, Thank You, something of an Amen, All Done, Bear, Uhfly (for butterfly), Quilt, No-No and sometimes Nana and Papa. Granted, you say it all in your delightfully garbled Baby English, but we know what you mean. We’re preparing your for the upcoming football season by raising one arm for “Go, Huskers!” and both arms for “Touchdown!” You are a sweet, cuddly babe who loves to give tight neck hugs and puckers up beautifully for kisses, complete with smacking sounds. And even though you haven’t mastered walking quite yet, I can see in your eyes that you are so ready to join older kids in their play. Soon you’ll be running with them, shrieking the way they do, and hanging onto your toys fiercely when they try to steal them from you. But always, always, you’ll be our sweet girl, Livia who loves her family and brings us all much joy.

You are the apple of our eyes—it’s an expression I used to consider cheesy, but it has never been more true than it is today.

Love always,
Mama