I also say, Happy Birthday to her, for today is her birthday.

I suppose you will have noticed that these birthday tributes have become a sort of staple around here. What you would never know, unless you were Louise, is that she did one such tribute for me ever so many years ago on her blog. She had a blog L O N G before I even knew what a blog was and she sent me some serious love via that blog of hers.

It is from the seed of love that she planted for me many moons ago that so many other flowers have  bloomed in the form of birthday tributes here on Dawsome. Thank you, my dear friend, for what your kindness has inspired.

So, to the originator of the birthday tribute, “Here’s looking at you, kid.”

A while back I asked Louise what her exact birthday was because, OF COURSE, I was planning on sending her some birthday love. She very humbly told me not to worry about doing this but then went on to ask if I would please write a tribute for her funeral! Oh, dear, NO! There is no way that  I am going to wait till you are dead to let the world know what an awesome lady you are.

This got me thinking, it is a shame that we wait until someone dies to express our deepest feelings for them. In fact, I will go further, it is a shame whenever we resist the urge to express our love to anyone. Let the world take note: expressing love is always an act of courage. And when we hold back love, we hold back the best thing we have to offer each other.

So, dearest, English Rose, my sweet Louise – prepare yourself for some L O V E !!! (you have been warned – I plan to lay it on thick, but I won’t cry into your neck or anything that extreme remembering always that you are English).

Louise has one of the world’s most remarkable memories. She remembers E V E R Y T H I N G. And when I say everything, I mean everything. She remembers dates, poetry, scriptures – it is remarkable. She is just the person you want to have around if the Gettysburg address needs remembering, or a Shakespearean sonnet. I don’t know how she does it, but I, a person who cannot remember from week to week what I have committed myself to doing – be it play dates or dates with my husband – Louise, on the other end of the spectrum has committed the entire dictionary to memory. She is an absolute wonder!

Speaking of this remarkable gift – she has taken her talents – the aforementioned great memory,her smart as a whip-ness, incredible organization, and downright professionalism and made a career of them. She is a top dog personal assistant for the tippity-top dogs themselves.  She has run hotels, taken care of famous peeps, thrown a “hen party” for Joan Collins, and kept the guys in pin striped suits on time.  I wish that I could hire her to run my life for me.  I KNOW she would make it run perfectly. She would make it hum like a fancy engine.

She is a person who lives very close to the Spirit of the Lord. She cares deeply about his will for her. She lives in a very deliberate way so that she can merit His guidance. Once she gets the direction, she follows it.  More than once she’s taught me, through her example, about the kind of person I would like to be. She is patient. Patient and willing to learn the lessons that he would have her learn.

She has a buoyant disposition. At her core she is positive. This makes her an absolute pleasure to be around. Added to this, she has a laugh the size of KENT! If an opera singer can fill the Royal Albert Hall with their singing pipes, Lou could do the same with her laugh. She throws her head back and lets it go, friends! I love it. I think it is a mark of her ability to truly enjoy life.

She is a wonderful contradiction of English propriety – beautifully genteel, sweet and reserved – and an absolute hoot!! She has got ZIP, people, with a capital Z! She can have fun with the best of them.

Louise has a very kind and loving nature. She is an appreciator. She notices things and loves to delight in even the simple daily pleasures that life offers. She is also extremely bright, or clever, as they say on the other side of the pond and a very talented writer.

She is a wonderful wife. I love what a mutual friend of ours said to her on the day she married Jonathon. This friend was single at the time and he said to Louise, ” Johnathon is the luckiest man in the world.” He added that Jonathon would only remain the luckiest man in the world until he got married — single and funny, he was! But I must say that I just loved the sentiment he expressed because it is true. Jonathon married one of the kindest most selfless women on the planet. She is SO incredibly giving. I will forever remember at the height of her mono she ran us back and forth from one end of London to another helping us move stuff in her teeny-weeny little car. You are an angel, Lou – you really are.

She is also a whop-dinger of a mom. Completely devoted to her darling little girl – she is rocking the house in the mommy department! Not too long ago Louise and Jonathon were visiting us and they are so kind to each other and enjoyed each other so much – and they were so excited to have a baby. I remember thinking I cannot wait for these two people to have kids – they will be such a powerful team. Alas, I have not had the chance to meet dear Adelaide but I keep a careful watch on her through her mommy’s blog.  One day! I hope soon we’ll finally get to meet this beguiling little fascinator! I feel confident that she gets what I call a “love shower” every day of her life – her mom, dad and extended family just pour the love down on this kid!

And look at her! What is not to love?! I’m in love with her too and I have never even met her.

Another thing I love about Louise is her open nature. She has always been aware and connected to her feelings.  I have  been impressed with her ability to analyze her deepest emotions. I am not saying that she is an open book, she keeps her cards close – but I really appreciate her ability to be aware of her feelings and her willingness to examine them. She does this a lot on her blog – and this is the main way that she and I stay in touch – so I am grateful for her honesty and openness.

Louise is a devoted friend. She is the kindest and best friend. I have never heard anyone say anything negative about her. She is so kind to everyone she knows – nobody has any dirt on her!

She is also a person who has overcome many challenges in her life and remained lighthearted and cheerful – you know that wonderful quote, “angels fly because they take themselves lightly” – that has always reminded me of Louise.

Sometimes I think you are too good to be true! You are loved by your friend Liza and I know I am one of a multitude of people who simply adore you.

Happy Birthday, my wonderful friend!!

we.  are.  hashed.

If we were potatoes we’d be hashed browns.

This is Millie on New Year’s Eve Day.

Guess how late we stayed up on New Year’s Eve?

We made it until 9:30, which was actually 3:00 according to our body clocks.

Happy New Year!

After a rather grueling flight with two petite girls, we arrived in London. Went to bed and woke up a mere four hours later to the sound of Jan’s cell phone, we threw our clothes on, ran down the steps and out the front door to meet the black cab that was waiting for us. Waiting to whisk us away to the train that would take us to

PARIS

But friends, it was not to be. The Eurostar should be called the Euro NOT Star because it had stopped running. Electrical failure. When we realized there was no hope of a pain au chocolat (or three!) Jan and I looked at each other, shrugged our shoulders and said, “CRUMBS!”

For the last three days I’d been singing La Vie en Rose, in anticipation of our Parisian get-away, and as our cab turned around and drove us back the the flat I thought, “Now more than ever I need to put on those rose colored glasses and see this sad situation in pink.” Or as Millie might put it, “FIND THE PINK and then ENJOY THE PINK!”

We were in LONDON, after all. So we decided to make the best of the situation and go straight to

THE BODEN STORE!

And my friends, it did not disappoint!

Just walk right through these doors…

“If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it!”

Oh, how I wish that Mom, Brynn, Betta, Summer, Tess, Nikki, Amanda, Allison, Emily, Heather, and Margie could have been there with me. It was so cool. Like the catalogue, only right there – all of it – at your finger tips. And you could take it right into a dressing room and see if it worked or not.

Does this look like the face of a disappointed female?

Je ne suis pas déçu!

As we headed back to central London Jan caught me peering into my Boden bag with a little grin on my face.

Jan told me that as he is in London on a regular basis that I could choose our itinerary. SO, we went to a few of my favorite places:

The White Company, The Little White Company, Monsoon, Hobbs, and L.K. Bennett, Rachel Riley, Cologne and Cotton. I still haven’t been to Jigsaw, but fear not, I’ll get there eventually.

And came home to these little rascals…

…who’d spent the day exploring London with their Granny and Papa

Life is beautiful!

P.S. The sentiments expressed by the armchair are his and his alone.

How do you feel about your Christmas decorations? We never  invested in decorations that we really loved so we felt rather ambivalent towards ours. Every year I planned to buy Christmas decorations AFTER Christmas, during the sales, but every year without fail, I would be so tired that I never did. Hence, my efforts to beat the system and get a screaming deal never came to fruition.

Well this year I made a decision – I was going to make an investment while I still had energy and desire. I was going to get a few beautiful things and start building towards having a collection of decorations that are really beautiful and that make us excited to get them out.  Part of the problem with our old ragamuffin decorations is that there is no rhyme or reason to them – they don’t work together. So I decided I needed a plan because there was no way I could afford to buy everything this year. I decided to go with silver as a theme. I know, I know – original, very original!

Enter Alice Lane! I love this store, with true devotion. When I went out to UT in November Alice Lane was selling their Christmas decorations and they were PERFECT! Just what I was looking for and though not on sale, much less than I would have paid for them had I bought them in NJ.  My mom and dad helped me pick a few things and have been asking for a virtual tour, to see how all of our efforts have come together.

So Parentdukes,

Here is what you’ve been waiting for – a brief tour of our efforts to decorate the house for Christmas – as revealed by the lovely Millie Dawson — who started to “channel” me part-way through the tour.  A little odd, a little wonderful and A LOT MILLIE. There is a part where she mentions that the doll house in her room she gave to her daughter for “giving up her binkis” and that  pillows on her bed have been purchased at J. Crew!! (They weren’t, but just ask Tess, my daughters are trained shoppers – they know how to take over a small dressing room and OWN IT!)  I find it so hilarious that she knows the names of the stores that I like to shop at.

Anyway, enjoy! Jan helped me to edit it together so you can thank him for it – he is the real reason that it is coming to you LIVE & IN COLOR…and even in HD, suckaz!

oxox,

Lize

PS Mom and Dad aka the”Mr. & Mrs. Claus” of my life.  This blog has given me an opportunity to consider why Christmas is such a happy time for me. As I have done so it has struck me how you have always worked so hard to make it a special time for our family. I feel like my efforts to carry the happy feelings of my youth forward for my little family are because of you two.

This picture says it all! Here you both are knocked out after making dinner, wrapping presents, and making the season wonderful for a bazillion of your offspring.

And here is Dad, “Mr. Figgy Pudding” – the KING of Christmas fun and frolics! This is so dad I just couldn’t help but feature it here.

I love you guys!

Can you figure out this equation?

What does,

This

+

this

+

this

+

this

=

????

Because this is “my kind of math” there are no numbers so I’ll just tell you the answer:

the birth of a Christmas tradition!

Last year the girls and I watched “It’s a wonderful life”  (best movie ever made) had cookies & milk and fell asleep under the glow of the Christmas tree’s twinkling lights. When I was little I always wanted to sleep by our tree. So last year, when Jan had to be away one night I blew up the air mattress and decided to follow my heart’s desire.

And a tradition was born!

We did it again this year. It was swell!

In fact, it was better because Dad was with us!

Sweet dreams little Millie o’ mine …

On Friday, October 23, the Dawson, Bench and Rich children took over

POTTERY BARN KIDS

(and yes, there were a few hostile moments)

But mostly it was just insane

wild

&

fun

Tea for two

Jack rock’n out! Millie and Hudson battle it out!

The boys “fuss” it up.

Lucy sports different head gear:

(including, “Thanksgiving Lulu”, “Christmas Lulu” and “Pirate Girl Lulu”)

Clara takes herself and babies for a walk.

More headgear, only much less happy about it.

Hudson living L A R G E! (Don’t you want to say, “scoot over, man! and make some room for me!)

To top it off, Lucy brought out her Halloween teeth, just for the occasion. Can you believe this little baby’s teeth are growing in just in time for Halloween. Check out the placement. So fitting. This child is not to be outdone, I tell ya!

the end.

I had the most interesting experience tonight.

Simple and profound.

Today as I walked Millie to school I recognized something –

since being called to be the primary president I have turned into an A1 grump.

The reason is three fold:

1. I am the mother of two small children and when I add another 5o children to the mix all of the sudden, I feel totally out of my depth, actually I felt out of my depth when it was just two small children so I guess that I am drowning at this point

2. I have felt under spiritual attack – (Dear Satan, you stink! Please go bother someone else.)

3. The harder you work, the more vulnerable you become to the callousness of others

Whatever the reasons – I want to toss them off! BE GONE, GRUMPY LIZA! This is an official invitation to GO. As in out the door, never to return.

Tonight as Millie lay next to me in bed (Jan is out of town and so Millie always sleeps in his spot when he is gone) I was reading to her from the scriptures. We read her a scripture every night and I am pretty sure she listens, but it is in a half-hearted way. I was trying to convey to her what the Savior has done for us.  And that if we repent, are baptized, follow Jesus the result is – YOU GET EVERYTHING HE HAS! These concepts are pretty major for a four year old (they are pretty major for a 33 year old) and then I said to her, “Millie if we didn’t have Jesus than when the day comes that you or I die – that would be it. We couldn’t be together.” The look on her face was one of total and utter disbelief. She heard that. And I felt the truth of it as I said it to her.

Later in the evening I was blog hopping. I learned that a woman I know is going to have her sixth child, I looked at photos of a beloved friend’s newly decorated home and we exchanged emails (I love you, Zi!), I looked at my cousins food blog and wished that she was still East Side and that I could drive to her house with a fork in my purse, ring the bell, sit down in her kitchen and TUCK IN to whatever she was making, I jumped over to another cousins blog and read about her futile attempts to buy a mattress for her pack and play – boy did she get the run around! I looked at a blog where a woman had moved to France for three months and renovated a house, I then jumped over to a blog of a mother of three little kids who is a very gifted photographer – and on her blog was a photo of her sister-in-law dressed in black, at her mother’s funeral. The photograph was so moving – apparently this woman’s mother died suddenly and unexpectedly of a brain aneurysm. This mommy had been called home and here was her beautiful daughter, in tears, placing a rose on her mother’s coffin. I thought of my own mother. Of how much she means to me. I thought of Millie who I’d just been trying to teach about moments like the one this girl was suffering though. I wept for this beautiful girl in the photo. I may not know her – but in a way I am her, we are all her.

All these people: Their lives. Their news. Their dreams. Their efforts. Their contributions. Their daily struggles. Their victories. Their pain.

As I jumped from blog to blog I felt the same way I do when I drive through Manhattan and watch the throngs of people streaming past me. HUMANITY! IS! REMARKABLE!

At the center of it all, is Jesus Christ.

Then I went upstairs and read my scriptures. I read about Christ’s betrayal, his trial and crucifixion. Certain moments really stood out to me as I read. When the soldiers showed up to arrest Jesus, I so touched by how quickly Jesus identified himself and made sure that his friends didn’t get hurt, he says, “I am the one you are looking for please let these men go.”  Another moment that just got me was when he was taken to the high priests and they are so rude to him and then one of them has the audacity to hit him in the face. How could they have done that to him? I don’t know why it hurt me so deeply, but it did. Perhaps it is because although I may have never physically slapped Him, I know that in another way I am guilty of taking him for granted every day. His love, patience and kindness I cannot live without and YET I forget!  The other moment that really stood out to me was when he talked to Mary at the tomb as a resurrected, triumphant being. He tells her not to touch him because he hasn’t ascended to his father and her father. His God and her God. As our savior, he invites us into the most intimate and glorious relationship in the universe. He lived perfectly. He never once let his father down. So that relationship – the one he shares with his Father, becomes one that he willingly shares with us.  Christ’s love and atonement make a bridge for you and me to our Father. We couldn’t have it without him.

I can’t believe that he did this for us. But I am so grateful that he did.

As I read through these verses Millie reached out for me, in her sleep, and I could hear my little Clara coughing in her room. After I said my prayers I looked up and the first thing I saw was this  –

My daughter. She looked so beautiful to me. Lit by the bedside lamp she seemed to be glowing. (Maybe it wasn’t just the lamp light, could a few celestial rays have made their way to my little bed room?) This little person, who I call M I N E, is only mine because of Jesus Christ. I felt this in such a profound way.

I just wanted to thank Him, publicly for what he has given me – everything – and for what he has promised me if I just keep at it – everything and more. I want the world to know that I have signed up with him, to fight for his cause, to do his work as best I can.

I love him.

Clara just started crying (by golly, so am I).

So I guess this is the end of this post.

And the beginning of a HAPPIER me.

(P.S. To everyone who has had to endured the A1 grump,  I am sorry.)

with this picture!

The arrows are pointing to what is wrong.

My poor brother-in-law has his paw paws all bandaged up.

WHY?

Because he had to have his carpals and tunnels worked on, that’s why.

Oh, Benny-boy, we here in Madison, NJ are thinking of you every day and wishing you a speedy recovery. We wish we lived closer so that we could drop dinner by, or I could bring your nieces over and they could drive you nuts, or Jan could sit on your sofa and talk politics, movies, current events, church stuff – whatever you like.

I heard from that cute wife of yours that you were needing a bit of a break, but I guess lounging around for over a week really isn’t that cool if you can’t use your hands.

Get well soon, my friend!

Dear Reader,

(I just love it when Charlotte Bronte addresses her readers as, “dear reader” and I have always wanted to do the same!)

I have made a little house keeping change on my blog. Unless you are my parent, sibling, husband or child I have moved your the birthday tribute to another spot. If you look to your right, on the side bar you’ll see a link to where you can find them now.

These birthday tributes tend to be on the longer side (for good reason!) and so I thought I would stash them in a new location.

Thanks for being a dear, dear reader.

If you carry on having birthdays then I will carry on gushing…just in a slightly different place.

Ian has a wife who LOVES to go a ball game.

She takes the game very, very seriously.

Poor Jan. He has a wife who tells him, “I’ll do one game a year, tops.”

Here’s the thing: it takes two hours to get to the stadium if you’re lucky and don’t hit traffic. Then you park. Then you get on the subway (people, people, people everywhere you look). Then you arrive at the stadium (MORE PEOPLE!), then you sit down in your seat – crammed in with all that humanity – and 90% of them are swearing like sailors and 99% of them are drunk or getting there, the food is astronomical, the seats are sticky, the weather may or may not be on your side…you paid a small fortune for this?

NO!

You paid a small fortune to watch the drama unfolding on that emerald green field (where it is only a matter of time until a bunch of grown men will be forced to perform the YMCA while racking the sand, poor fellows!)

Jan’s birthday wish was to see the drama play out between the biggest rivalry in the history of baseball. So I grudgingly accompanied him to the Yankees/Red Sox game this Saturday. It’s not that I don’t like baseball, I just don’t  L O V E baseball – and my life is so full to the brim with demands that when I have a spare seven hours I like to spend them very wisely. Don’t hate me, but baseball is not my first choice.

Having said all this I have to say, I had a swell time on Saturday. The air was charged (sometimes overcharged – To all the Red Sox haters: STOP! that is all I am going to say) the game was awesome and my birthday boy was thrilled.

GO YANKEES!

P.S. Brynn, when I considered what to wear to the game I remembered how much you loved the navy buttoned down shirt with tiny white polka dots I once wore ages ago.  I recall you made particular mention of it.  Thank you, for noticing, dear sister.

It’s been a while so in case you forgot, here I am trying my hardest to be cute –

I kept you in mind when I dressed (for success) for this game:

I was going for a subtle navy and white combo. Knowing your love of a sweater vest I wore mine, with a white shirt and due to the nippy weather I donned my tweed jacket.

It’s hard to see, but, all the same – I dedicate this outfit to YOU.