Christmas Traditions

What can I say about Christmas. Since Brody has entered our lives Christmas is amazing. The statement, "a baby changes everything" is so true in so many ways. When there is a child involved we want them to believe in Christmas Magic and we, adults that is,will do anything to make sure that the Christmas Magic is just that......MAGIC. How perfect was it this year for us to receive snow over Christmas. We actually had a white Christmas and we were able to celebrate Brody's first real snow and white Christmas together. The day was absolutely perfect. Of course the new traditions took place prior to Santa's arrival. My mother, or otherwise known by Brody as GG, has started a tradition with him that is messy but fun. We put together a gingerbread house and he decorates it. Of course this year for some reason we had some issues. The roof of the house kept sliding down. Of course Brody didn't care but his mother and I did what we could to keep that roof on. We each have roles when it comes to this tradition. Nikki and I put the house together (which translates to we are the ones that get sticky with the icing), and then GG pours out all the candy and then Brody gets to decorate it......all by himself! In a perfect world this process would be just right. But it never fails.....Nikki and I end up with icing everywhere and Brody ends up with his shirt off because he ends up wearing the icing. But who could complain as you watch this great kid have the time of his life as he places each piece of candy on his gingerbread house with the exclamation of, "I did it!" We had other issues with the house to.....well really we didn't....the roof simply would not stay on. So we did what any other construction worker would do.....we made re-enforcements out of pretzels.....don't laugh...it worked. I only got in trouble once because I bought the cheap jelly beans....note to self....remember to purchase real Jelly Bellies next Christmas. Clete said the cheap jelly beans probably brought the value of the house down, ha ha. He buys one house and he is already an expert. On this same night we also opened our Christmas ornaments that my mother gets us every year. I of course got Barbie - I love Barbie. Nikki received her traditional Eeyor - which I did not touch (long story). Wesley got an OSU football that blinked and Brody got his "choo-choo" or other wise known as Thomas the Train. I don't know how we are going to top this Christmas. We had snow, sweets, and family. What more could we have asked for?

Loksi, Loksi, Loksi - Minti

Loksi, Loksi, Loksi - Minti

Those are probably four of the strongest words I have ever said during a performance. Being a part of Lowak Shoppala' has been one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had. A lot of preparation went into getting ready for the production. I spent many late nights reading this wonderful story written by Chickasaw author and Pultizer finalist Linda Hogan over and over again. I had to make sure that when I told the story I was to the point that I new the story just as I knew any other traditional story that I have t0ld. I had to feel this story.....I had to become part of this story. I had to be able to feel the river when I spoke about it, I had to feel the emotion the girl felt when she was being made fun of, and I had give off the feeling of how proud this woman was to give such a magnificent gift to the Chickasaw people. The gift that allowed woman to dance. True emotion was coming from my lips. Images where feeling my head as the words floated out of my mouth. Images of dancers, gatherings, and what the Chickasaw people did in ancient days. I was on top of a mound, of course built out of wood but still a mound and all I could think of was, "I wonder if this is what it was like when stories where being told when..." The music playing while I told the story only made the story stronger. The music was elegant, strong, and breath taking and written composed by my great friend Jerod Tate. I gave the story breath the music gave the story a heart beat. And with each powerful word the beat grew stronger making me raise my voice to ensure that everyone could hear me call the turtles. I wanted the audience to get chills when they heard me call the turtles. I wanted their heart to race just as mine did as I commanded the turtles to come. The feeling was amazing. Afterwards I was complimented on my performance. I was even told that I did in fact give e the audience chills.

"And now WE have respect for the Turtle because THEY gave US our dance."

It looks like home to me

Well how do you like it now?!  The brick  has been delivered, windows and doors are in.  Plus every room now has sheet rock.  YEE HAW!!  And as of yesterday the rest of my driveway has been poured.  I wonder what my nephew would think now trying to run around inside, lol.  The last time he could run through the boards.... now....not so much.  I'm sure he would find a way to get through the house quickly.....he's a fast little guy.  

Ataloa Theater

19 days until the premier of Lowak Shoppala'.  I wasn't nervous until I walked on the stage where the actual performance will be.  I bit intimdating and exciting all at the same time if that makes sense.

There is a lot of excitement in the air about this production.  It has people from all walks of life.  Professional performers, dancers who have danced for years, children and adults.  I am the storyteller...I know that is a stretch for me.....ha.  I am actually reading a story written by Nobel Prize finalist Linda Hogan.  I know impressive right.  This performance will tell the story of the Chickasaw from before removal to removal.  It will tell small stories with words, dances, songs, and music.  The costuming is by Margaret Roach Wheeler, who is know all over.  And yes I will be wearing a piece designed by her.  Again, impressive!!  I can't wait to see what it looks like.  I have seen the other costumes she has completed and they are amazing.  So I can only imagine what mine looks like.  Even the most simplest of costumes are breath taking.  She made a dress for one of the dance troupe member to wear and she looks as if she stepped right out of a history book.  I actually got weepy.  To know the history and then to see it unfold as it is .....is AMAZING!!  

It's taking shape

For the past few weeks it has done nothing but rain, or mist which turned to rain, or flood. It seemed as if there was never going to be another dry day again. I just knew my house was never going to get framed. Then finally this sun came out. It really scared me at first because I hadn't seen it in so long. But then the next day........you got it. It rained. My mom and I still drove by the house site just to see if in that one day that was sunny if something had been done. And from the road we could see that the trusses had been delivered. Then the days to come...more rain. I knew construction would probably be stopped for awhile due to the weather. I mean the house that I rent had a pool in the front yard now. So I could imagine what my house site that was nothing but dirt would look like.
I, of, course knew I was just getting impatient because I knew that once the framing started that the process would take flight.  I so badly want to move into my new house. I was to the point of praying to God asking him to stop the rain. But then I realized how selfish that was. So then I was praying to stop the rain during the week and only rain on the weekends. And again I knew I was being selfish thinking only of myself and my house. So then I just asked  God to give me patience. So I stopped driving by my house. When people asked me how the construction was coming along I would just say, "I don't know. I figured because of the weather things had probably slowed down." Then this past Thursday morning,October 22, my dad called me and asked, "when was the last time you went and looked at you house?" So I told him about a week. That's when he said,"you might want to go out there because I think it's framed." My first thought, "FRAMED!" Surely not. I mean it has done nothing but rain....for days. So that afternoon after work my sister, mother, and nephew drove to my house to see.  And there it was.....framed along with a roof! I was estactic! When did all of this happen? How did it happen? My house site now has a house on it. Not just a foundation. A HOUSE! My house! And a drive way.....I have my own drive way! Of course the day we go out there it had been raining all day....no surprise there. So the ground all around is somewhat soft....okay it was pure mud. And my nephew could hardly wait to get down  in it.  It was as if the mud was calling his name and only he could hear it.  Of course we didn't put him down until we were inside the house but that didn't matter because the first thing he did was find where the back door was going to be and ran out it with his GG running after him. But not fast enough. He ran across that mud before any of us could get out the door.....and he just looks at us and smiles. How can you get on to him after making that cute face? You can't.  There my mother is stuck on the only semi dry patch of mud there is and it's  barely big enough for both of her feet and on the other side of the yard is my nephew planning his next escape.  It took both me and my sister to make a path with discarded roof shingles all at the same time yelling at my nephew..."don't you do it Brody" and he would just squeal and stomp his feet.  After what seemed to be a chase scene from the Benny Hill show (minus the half naked people) we finally get my nephew back into the "house" (hee hee I love saying that). He of course is running from room to room and then he figures out he is able to run in between the boards and we adults.......can not. It's game time. Let the second chase begin.

Walking through the framing I have made out the living room area.  The picture window will actually face what will be my back yard.   

Today, the house has windows and doors...no door knobs which for right now I'm okay with because once the door knobs are put on the doors will be locked and even I won't be able to go in.  They construction workers are getting ready to put the air system in.  Imagine the living area filled with silver tubes...I can only imagine what my nephew would do if he saw that!!  Mental note...don't take Brody back until the silver tubes are placed.

The ground is almost completely dry now and the weather looks as if it is going to be really nice this entire week!

Rain Rain Go Away

All the excitment of having a house built has been placed on hold due to rain.....and more rain.  I'm starting to think that it's not going to stop.  My sister keeps telling it will but I'm really starting to question it now. I will be honest it has not rained every single day for the past month or even weeks.  But it has rained enough that if it isn't raining we are dealing with the mud that it has left behind.  So because of the rain it has delayed the framing of my house.  I do however have a driveway so that is a move in the right direction.  I just need the rain to stop and have the sun come out and shine is wonderful warm rays down on us....or specifically my lot.  

Lesson Learned

My family and I learned a valuable lesson this past Labor Day weekend.  Never leave Moosey behind!  You see my nephew, Brody, has this stuffed moose that has become his confidant....his best friend.  We all had something like this growing up.  There's a lot to be said about these security blankets because they are more than just a blanket, stuffed animal, or doll.  They protect us from what lurks in the dark, they give us confidence when we meet new people, they provide a source of comfort when we fall asleep on someone's shoulder, they keep our secrets, in short they become our first best friend and when they are missing we know it.  Well,that's exactly what happened.  Mr. Moosey was left behind.  My sister is trying to break my nephew from having to take Mr. Moosey everywhere and she has done a pretty good job....he only has Mr. Moosey when he goes to bed.  This seemed to work out perfectly fine and Brody was happy with this arrangement. Until what is known as dooms day to us all happened.  As my sister starts driving to Tuskahoma she realizes that she has packed everything but forgot the stroller so she drives back with Brody in tow to get the stroller.  She begins her journey again and then realizes, after being much to far out of town to return home again, that she does not have Moosey.  Thinking that maybe if she does not bring the name up that Brody might be okay with it.  He won't miss Moosey at all.  He has is pacifier, which he only gets when he goes to bed, so surely he will be happy.  None of us thought that he had put it together that when he gets one he gets the other.  

We, the whole family, enjoy a great day at the Choctaw Festival.  We got our traditional foot long corn dogs, lemonades, and looked for a good seat to watch the concerts.  Brody has having a blast and was keeping us all entertained.  Needless to say by the end of the night we were all tired and ready for bed.  It was close to midnight as we walked backed to the car and I thought, "Brody will be asleep in no time after we start driving down the road".  I also think this is our way out of not having Moosey and him not finding out because we have all been careful not to bring up his name.....Moosey was now being called Mr. M.  It was about a thirty minute drive back to the trailer and who stayed awake the entire time......Brody.....he had a movie to watch in the car and he watched it until the credits rolled.  Not once did those eyelids close.    We all unload the car and get in the trailer and begin to get ready for bed.  We begin to inflate the air mattresses that Brody thinks are made for him to jump on which he starts to do before it is inflated.  He is laughing, running, and screaming....it is a sight to see and hear because his daddy is already in bed in the same room we are in trying to inflate the air mattress.  As we all get dressed for bed and lay down Brody gets his passy and climbs into bed with his momma and daddy and then we hear it.....very quietly......"moosey".   Very softly and sweetly his mother says, "Baby moosey is staying home to watch the house until we get back."  Those where by no means the words that Brody wanted to hear.  And then slowly  as one tear at a time started to fall he walked towards the window with his hands reaching out and calling for his friend moosey.  It was awful, sad, and heart wrenching to see him go through this.  You would have thought he had lost his best friend....in his eyes he had.  Hours went by before Brody finally settled down and actually went to sleep.  I'm talking HOURS.....okay it was two in the morning.  As the sun came up  and we slowly start waking up one at at time realizing how tired we still are my sister sends a text message to a friend who is making their way to the festival to join us.

The text message read, "I don't care what you have to do to break into my house but please go get moosey".  Needless to say Tim and his family show up with the infamous Mr. M and Brody did not let him out of his sight for the entire day.

Building a Foundation

Foundation is defined as a physical basis, and the foundation of my is has officially been poured. So far there has been removal of trees, cleaning of the ground and leveling it and now the foundation is visible. Seeing this brings a lot of things to mind about what this foundation means for me personally.  So much has happened in this one week that has my head spinning. I have paid off my car, I have completed my summer semester of my bachelors program, I was told by my dentist that I might get my braces off early(in two weeks to be exact so check back on September 9th), and I'm just giddy with excitement and happiness. This is a lot to wrap my mind around. So this is what has got me to think about this new foundation in my life. I can think of it as a foundation that my house will stand on but I think of it as much more. It's a foundation that a new chapter of my life is starting. I have absolutely no idea where it is going or where it will lead. I constantly go and check my house site with my family....as always when something happens to one of us it happens to all of us. My nephew enjoys going now because there is a large pile of dirt he is just itching to climb. I'll have to take him one day when he isn't going anywhere after wards. As you can see he is also a good  house inspector. He walks the edges of where the cement is and picks things up he is not sure if it belongs or not....even the dirt rocks.  He looks at me with this serious look and says, "TT dis trash?"  I can already imagine him playing outside when the house is completed.
There's a lot of meaning behind this small word, foundation.  This is where the rest of my roots will be planted and be allowed to root and spread out and grow.
Next framing......

What I did this summer

With the start of a new school year I am sure the $24,000 question of the day is, "What did you do this summer?" Let the stories begin. There will be stories of camp outs, sleep overs, pool parties, amusements parks, and weekend's at grandma and grandpa's. Some of these trips either required long car rides that were almost unbearable while other trips required a plane.
So what did my summer consist of? I was giving an opportunity to spread my wings and story tell in venues I never thought I would step foot in. Not because I did not want to but because the opportunity never revealed itself......until now. I have a dear friend who I met through work. It started out working on a project with her and turned into a wonderful friendship. LeAnne, who is an amazing author, host a gathering of arts every year (this being the second year)  called Salon Ada. I have been lucky enough to attend both years and meet a group of interesting captivating people. Some authors, some poets, visual artist, folk singers, and educators. This gathering inspires all of use to continue to do what we love doing and for me it has allowed me to spread my wings in storytelling and perform on a different level than I have in the past. I have enjoyed every bit of it. It has required me to re-evaluate how I perform but that's okay. Because it allows me to continue to grow and show others how powerful storytelling is. Seven of us participated in a poetry, short story reading and storytelling on the campus of ECU in little ol' Ada, Oklahoma. We had the place packed and the applause was wonderful. My mouth hurt because of my braces but I didn't care I wanted to perform. I never thought I would catch a bug like that. Me - alone- performing in front of people - strangers at that. I have to admit it has been wonderful, overwhelming, and down right fun. I want to do more! I of course spent the summer spending every moment I could with my nephew, who just recently turned two! I gave him a giant chocolate candy bar with his name printed on it from the Hershey's Factory in Chicago. I'm sure his mother, my baby sister, is waiting for the day that he stays with his TT to let him eat it.  I'm just doing the job that I have been so blessed to get.......being Auntie.  I keep telling Nikki that there are certain rules that we  Aunties have to stick by that are written in the Auntie Handbook that only Aunties get to see.  She just rolled her eyes.  

Another event that make the blood pump strong was when I was giving the opportunity to storytell to a group from other countries.  The group, Global Teens, is organized every summer and they select a place to go to and emerge themselves in the culture and history.  This summer they selected Oklahoma, specifically the Chickasaw Tribe.  There group included high school

 age students from four different countries.  It was an amzaing time.  I was able to give a history presentation along with traditional storytelling and they inturne shared stories from their country with me.  This is why I love storytelling.....it connects everyone!  

Home Swee Home

Growing up kids play some form of "house". Whether it be with other friends playing with a kid size kitchen set and baby dolls or Barbie. Someone is always playing house at home, daycare, or school. And then.....we dream of what the house we will one day live in will look like. Mine, as a child, was going to have a French garden filled with all kinds of colorful flowers that would bring in the humming birds and butterfly's. It was going to be two story with French doors leading to my wonderful garden. There were going to be columns by the front door and a large arch way that would lead my guest to the living room. I imagined something on a much grander scale than what I am actually going to get. But not matter the size it will be mine. The process is starting. The trees are being cleared, which part of me hates because they were perfectly healthy trees, but I understand why the trees had to be destroyed. It is amazing how quickly some things go. Like taking up the tress. I went to the site one day and there were large chunks of dirt, tree limbs, roots, and limbs everywhere. You could not walk without tripping over a part of a tree. Then a few days later I returned (because I think if I keep watching what is going on it will get built faster.......yes I am reminded of the watched pot theory)the tress where completely gone. The location of where the trees once stood where gone.
My house is not going to be two story and it won't have the grand entry way that I imagined....but it will be my house......my home.

B-Man

Another day of amazement will soon be passing me by. The second birthday of my prodigy nephew. Of course that is my personal opinion, that he is a prodigy, but there are many signs that have demonstrated why I can, and do, think this. I am amazed by what children can achieve. But, I guess, when you are around a child, whether your own or not, their achievements are more noticeable. And my nephew is no exception. From day one, though he started his life out small (just a little 5 pounds) he was already stretching his little neck out trying to hold his head up all on his own. I would just sit in the hospital chair, recline back, lay him on my chest, and stare eye to eye with him. It was then that I told my sister, his mother, that we would be hearing that phrase that most little ones say but only earlier than anticipated. Phrases like, "I do it" or "no me". And in fact we did hear those phrases earlier....even without him saying a word. It was said all in those eyes with the looks he would give us or simply by pushing us away. He can say a lot with those big blue eyes. It was also then when he started to want to do things by himself that we started to let him learn consequences which can be hard to do...especially for my sister. Because that means he is growing up. and as his TT, which is what he calls me, I don't know if I am ready for him to grow up. He has the most amazing laughs and each with a different meaning. He is giving, unless candy

is involved, and he wants to share, especially if someone has a coke to drink. He is silly, happ y, smart, lovable, and all these are contagious. I can have the worst day possible but when he walks into the room it is as if that bad day just melts away. And is it just me, or do kids make adults act like fools.....and not care? It is as if we will do anything to make them simply smile, but if we make them laugh also, JACKPOT!
We are so proud of ourselves. I am an Auntie who is so in love with her nephew.

Happy Birthday Baby Doll this is for you.

I can't believe my Baby Doll is five today.  When I watch the three of you I wonder how this family ever made it without you in our lives.  You all have brought so many smiles, much laughter, and even more love that I, or anyone, could ever imagine  I want to share a story with you of how I started calling you "Baby Doll".  You see, I had an aunt, Jeannie, who was the world to me and I was the world to her. She taught me many things without knowning that she was.  She taught me to love music, and dance even if people are watching,and yes, there is a time and place to say say thing out loud, but sometimes things just have to be said.  Most of all she taught me to be myself and love myself and not to listen to the harmful words that people may try to send your way.  She called me "Pretty Girl" and she called Nikki "Baby Doll".  When she left us I knew I would not hear those names "Pretty Girl" nor would Nikki hear "Baby Doll" but she left us, or me, with these terms of endearment to pass on to you and Makynlee.  My Pretty Girl and Baby Doll.  So if you ever wonder why I call you that....now you know.  Happy Birthday Baby Doll...may you have many more and may your dreams and wishes be carried to the heavens on the wings of Angels.  

Come dance with us

While on my journey to Amman Jordan our group traveled to Jerash.  Jerash is an amazing place and I wished we had more time to spend there.  While in the oval coliseum the group took yet another group photo to memoralize our day and after our photo was taken we started to hear commotion and music followed by clapping and singing.  I had no idea what the song was about nor what they where saying but the beat and rhythm pulled us into the excitment the singers where feeling.  It was amazing.  Looking around the people in my group where jumping, clapping, and "lili'ing", which I learned to do myself....pretty impressive.  Here I was standing in a biblical place and I had all these emotions going through my body,  thoughts going through my mind and I wanted to share them with everyone.  So I quickly turned my camera on and started to record, I learned half way through the trip that my camera did in fact record, go figure.