Auntie Tish Braids

Done late September early October 2008 (can't remember date right off but baby Ashton was over)!

Exercises In Reading and Writing--Freestyle

Kids are over and its story time. Kyn often takes the lead and grabs whatever book is in sight to inspire her. The Bible happens to be near and so this was her script. When its time for Kyn to tell her story, she often needs to turn pages in a real book, because she's serious and likes to be official with hers. LOL! Jaden appears to be writing his own and Kyr of course, recites free style, holding a random piece of paper of pictures. She flows right off the dome, like so! LOL!

(Late Summer/early Fall 2007)

Literally In The Word!

Literally pressing into the Word!

This was late summer, early fall 2007 with my boo boo littles. They are literally "in the Word" Kynnedy is our little contortionist! Had to capture this...too funny

Sisters

The girls were over with Ashton. They were out on the patio and made it a stage. They line the chairs up and do their thing. They did everything from tell stories, to model, to sing....to praise the Lord (I think). Hands raised here????? Oh this is the day, that I did their hair. Later that evening.

Auntie Tisha & Jordan

This is me and Jordan in December 2004--Christmas day. He is the big brother of Jaden, Kyn and Kyr. He is now 14 years old, in the 9th grade, and playing football. Yikes! I'm getting old. I don't see Jordan much because he is doing his thing and growing up! I have fond toddler memories of him. He and his mom came to live with me back in 1996 when he was just two years old. This was before digital cameras were an option for me. I have many photos of he and I him but I'd have to scan them. I have a photo album of his baby, toddler and preteen years. Now he's a teenager and I'm staying clear--I'm scared! LOL! But one very vivid and fond memory I have of him as a toddler is our visits to the park. On the drive home one day, he yelled at me "sing it" when I was not singing the Barney song with him. He was distraught that he was singing it alone! Jordan now is my man. Last year he went with me on one of my house cleaning contracts and earned some money. Once I get back on my feet, business wise, I will be hiring him again as he is very into earning money these days! Wow Jordan!

The Girlz Turn 5 Wow Time Flies!

Look At Those Faces

The Kyr & Kyn Contrast

Krysten wore her crown for a great part of the party...I don't remember Kyn wearing hers--if she wore it, it was not for long. Kyr above is getting ready for her turn to hit the pinata. And looking like she's praying she does not have to take her crown off in order to do so.....LOL! Kynnedy, on the other hand, looked like she just hit a grand slam and was ready to go rob a bank. LOL! No crown in sight! I love these contrasts in them. Kyn is very much a "girly girl", too, but not to the degree as princess Kyr--at least from my observations over these years! Kyn has a rough edge to her. She romps around with Jaden. She always has some new scar. Kyn also has an active mind. Kyr too, but I think when Kyn grows up she's going to be like her mom and me--not too shy to say what she feels and very animated when she talks. Then again, I see similar in Kyr sometimes, too. Maybe too early to call it! But there are some distinctions right now worth noting. Rhonda told me some months ago, Kyn was being chased by some little boy and she entertained the chase for a minute (running from him) then mid-stream, she stops, as if she had an epiphany and told the boy to stop chasing her because essentially, he did not know her like that. LOL! And he obeyed! Another thing that made a contrast clear to me was some months ago, during bedtime, I asked them to tell me a story. Kyn shared a story about a castle and a mermaid and some adventure surrounding the mermaid. Well, Kyr's story was about a mother taking a little girl's "pocket book" from her and the story ended with the little girl saying to her mother, "ohhhh mama! Give me my pocket book back so I can get my lip gloss." LOL! I wrote it down verbatim because they were cracking me up...the stories are packed away but this was the gist! Hee-darn-larious! I'm loving the clear femininity in them! And Oh! Though Kyrsten was all about being a princess and wearing her crown, she was all for sharing it too...notice her sharing her crown...with her guest. What a sweetheart!

More Girlfriend Fun!

Girlfriends at Da Party

Finally The Girlz Birthday Party Photos May 08

It was a "princess" backyard pool party and why all guest had on bathing attire!

Auntie Adventures w/ Ashton

Well, Ashton is now a bit over one year old. He's spent the night with me a couple times now. One occasion was, a couple months ago, when the "girlz" stayed over. He had a small melt down but the girlz helped out as he is very familiar with them. Also, he took a liking to my roommates. I had my hands full that night, too, because I also did the girlz hair! Didn't get to bed till well after midnight but it was precious (see the details in upcoming posts). But just last night (December 6th 2008), I kept Mr. Ashton with no buffers. Just he and I and he had a serious melt down due to seperation anxiety. He cried for maybe 20 minutes, at least. He would not let me hold him. The only way he got calm was by me sitting him on the bed, giving him his favorite snack, and doing the "stare down" with him. He was just sitting there staring at me. LOL! When he figured out, I maybe related to him and I was not going to hurt him, he started to warm up, cracking a smile or two. Then I turned on some music and noticed he was rocking a bit and that seemed to really get him warm. Finally, I was able to make him laugh and I finally crossed over from stranger to auntie! He finally allowed me to cuddle with him and before I knew it, he was asleep in my arms. Although, around 3 am, he awoke in another melt down mode. He was wet. So I took off the pamper thinking he was done; I ran to get a clean one and came back and he had made it rain on my bed. LOL! But he was soon off to sleep again. So these are my new auntie adventures with Ashton. We have more in common than he knows--we both are rocking "fros" right now! Afros unite!

THE NEW BOO BOO LITTLE--ASHTON CHARLES

Here he is--my new boo boo little, Ashton Charles Strobridge. He was born August 2, 2007 and he is a delight. He and my sister (mommie Tavonya) dropped by today to visit. Below are some shots that I got of him after he got his tummy full of mommy's milk :) He seems to delight in looking at my locs--strange hair to him. They seem to tickle him. Isnt' he just da cutest thing? I hope in the coming months I get to spend lots of time, since he is not having meltdowns anymore and can stand to be apart from mommie and daddy! Enjoy!

Mommie and Auntie Tish w/ Ashton

Oh by the way, this is my lounging in da house dress.... :)

Auntie Tish and Ashton

Bed Time Stories, What's Her Last Name

Bedtime is a riot--when my boo boo littles come visit. Tradition is to tell a story and then have an interactive story moment when they all add to the story I begin. Can you say "hee darn larious" Well this weekend, I turned off allthe lights and was telling my story--and right in the middle--Kynnedy feels the need to tell me things she's observing that DOES NOT pertain to the story, like, "I can see your eyes, I can see your teeth in your mouth" LOL! Okay you had to be their. It was such a funny interruption.

To give you another example of these sweet interruptions of 3 year old thought processes, it was December 2006, weekend before the Christmas holiday. Me, Kyn Kyr are in the bed. They have on their lil homemade stocking caps (to keep their hair from messing up of course) had my boo boo littles. Well I decided to tell them a story from the Bible about Ruth and Naomi. So I'm being all animated and trying to make the story of Ruth gleaning in the fields entertaining. So as I said, there was this girl named Ruth who came to a town w/ her mother in law and ____________, then Kyrsten interrupts very puzzled to ask, "what was her last name?" LOL!

Oh my! Oh and Kynnedy loves telling story. As I mentioned before, she loves to say, "and den, and den" but what's most delightful to hear is when she pops her little lips (like a true lil shorty) and say, "Once upon a time" LOL! (cracking up--you gotta see her little mouth and facial expression--girl be having a story to tell). Story time with my boo boo littles. Would not trade it for anything.

Fashionista's

I promise that I've not taught the girls how to strike a pose. They've been at this since they could walk. Note the bottom phot0 here, there girlz were18-24 months rocking pull ups and my choice shoes. They've been raiding my and their moms closet all this time. And they are still at it! They are going on 4 years old, they wear little girl panties now. LOL!

I have only encouraged them to "be a lady" and of course a princess. But can't you see these lil sistas are full of estrogen. They are women to the bone--complete with a shoe and fashion fettish, model poses and a cat walk struts. Their mother is so not into fashion like that--so this is something inate. They are serious girly girls. Kyrsten most noticeably. Kyn too, although Kynnedy is somewhat of a tom-boy prankster. She's strong willed and not afraid to be different. She's not afraid to say I don't like dat. She ain't afraid to get dirty--and scared. For she always have a new one when she comes to visit. But she's still very into her fashion--I like that balance about her.

Case and point to Kyn's girlie side. Notice her outfit. Well it was a task to get it on her. She threw a fit because, she wanted to wear her jeans that day and not what she is wearing in the photo? What? Well you see who won that argument. But inside I was too tickled ( I did not let her know I was laughing).

Another case, note the little fur trimmed jackets they both are wearing (top photo) that are about 2 sizes TOO SMALL! Well I was informed by my sister when they were dropped off--that they were insistent upon wearing these coats. They are their favorite coats. They love em! Can't let it go. Like a true woman holding on to those jeans from high school hoping to get back into them. LOL!

This is why I took a photo of them with their hands up--so when they are older, I can show them how much of a "trip" they were at 3 relative to their clothes. Too funny. Also, mom informs me that they are into "belts" now. Gotta wear a belt--even if there are no loops. Well I saw this first hand this weekend. Again---too funny. Finally any fabric that is lacy or chiffon--is a must have. They love to wrap their heads and whole bodies in such fabrics. Their favorite style to wear what I've called their "princess hat" They look like little muslims in their princess hat or head covering--but they be styling it--like little ladies!

Now before you go thinking we are allowing vanity to creep into these little princessess. Well it's obviously there already but right now it is healthy. I testify, that my sister (as well as myself seeking to reinforce mama's teaching) does well to keep them balanced and an eye on this self-discovering behavior. When they get out of hand--we both put our hands to their backsides and they cooperate. They are not unruly out of control at all. They are 3 year olds discovering themselves and the reality of beauty (they like to look in the mirror, like touching their bodies, running around naked, and asking grown ups questions about their bodies, etc).

We are more amused than alarm right now as their overall mannerisms show tendencies toward obedient and loving children. "Auntie, can I...." when they want something before they take it! Or when they waste something or do something wrong--most of the time they say, "sorry auntie or a sweet lil sooory!" Or for no reason at all they will randomly come and hug or kiss you and say "I love you" So precious, it makes me melt !

Moreso, they know quite a bit about the Lord. "Jesus is the way, Jesus is da Truth, Jesus is da life, I love Jesus, and Jesus Loves me" Yes! They remember. Jaden--has it down pat. He needs no help. And the girlz know much of it by themselves.

I'm delighted! So enjoy these photos of my boo boo littles.

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"Push Me To Da Sky"

The weekend of February 23-25 was an absolute joy for me. I spent it with my infamous and very beautiful nieces and nephews. First off my sister and her hubby to be have done a fine job in teaching them kindness and manners even though it is clear they are "little sinners" LOL! whew!

Okay....I haven't seen my boo boo littles since December and it was long overdo. I got a call early in the day from the girlz telling me very loudly with glee, "we're coming to see you" While I was at work, I had butterflies in my tummie because I knew in a couple of hours I would see them. It was similar to the feeling of being in love. How about dat! Anywho, Rhonda's (my lovely and amusing sister) drops them off. And we get ready to head to our favorite place---the park a few blocks from my house.

What fun! They could not wait---the hop out of the car and blaze toward the play ground. As you can see from the photos. The highlight of the day was Jaden, Kyn and Kyr's desire to be pushed to the sky.

"Push me to da sky, push me to da sky" they said one after the other (as it only takes one to start the chain). Well being the opportunitist I am, I saw this as a teachable moment--that is to use this enthusiam to go "higher" to teach them about seeking God. So I attempted a trick of some sort. I told them, okay you can go 3 places, to the sky, to outerspace or to God. So I asked, okay where do yawl want to go? They replied to da sky. (As that's all they knew of course). So ,when they instructed be to push them to da sky, I pushed them really lightly (not high). Then Jaden caught on and said, push me to outer space. And the girlz of course follow suit. Of course I held back there too. Then Jaden said, "push me to God" LOL! It was too funny. Then I pushed them really high--as they were all saying--push me to God.

The moral of the story, is we only venture to go higher when we know we have the option. So hopefully, they know God is higher than the sky and outer space. I hope that seed will one day grow so they can know that God is higher than the sky and outer space and they will look to Him remembering God is indeed approachable. I pray they discover Him in their youth so they can be trees planted and one of the one's keeps from bowing their knees to the "baals" (gods) of their generation!

MY BOO BOO LITTLES

I had another priviledge to hang out with my boo boo littles Jaden(6), Kyn(3) and Kyr(3) on Thursday, October 4th. Jordan (12) is not a boo boo little anymore. He's 12 and is often not around. He has big boy, 12 year old, stuff to do these days. Or he is off with his dad, as he was this summer and missed all da festivities. He's auntie's helper when he does come. But most notedly, he's a middle line backer now. And is taking em down on da field. I went to a game a couple weeks ago and brother represented. So I'm making sure I stay close to him, just in case he makes it to the league one day, so he can break auntie off a lil sumthin--this is per my sisters admonishment to me, that day after the game. I'll have to do a blog about my sister Rhonda. She's a riot! But stay tuned as I plan to do a chronicle of Jordan's adolecent years--if he allows me that close to him. Speaking of Jordan, he's also enterprising always seeking to make a deal with as little cost to him as possible. That worked before he turned 12. Usually anything he'd ask me for, I'd get it for him. Well, thought that system was still in effect when he asked me for a MP3 player for his b-day in July. I told him he had to come up w/ half da funds and I'll match it and we'd go get it. Now get this, he told me, "okay." But went home and told his mama long faced dissappointed talking bout, "auntie told me I gotta come up w/ half to get my mp3, " His mom was tickled saying, he thought you was gonna get it like he got everything else. So this is my interaction with Jordan.

So back to my boo boo littles. On Thursday, while my sister and Tony were taking their engagement pictures at STN MTN, auntie was called in for duty. I love the greetings I get from my boo boo littles. They are OVER DA TOP and a long luxurious stroke to my "auntie ego".

The format goes a little like this: when they pull up and see me walking out to the car, (while still in their car seats), I hear AUNTIE AUNTIE TISHA AUNTIE TISHA......(hollering). This time Jaden breaks out into what looks like a seizure yelling AUNTIE TISHA I LOVE YOU. Then when the shackles of seatbelts are off, they all charge for me and into my arms they go. Oh my! I live for those moments.

Then come sweet the can I and I wanna demands from the girlz, "can i go in your car, can I go to your house, I wanna get in da water? " Then when they settle down, I ask them about their day and boy do they to tell me. Jaden begins with his adventures. Then girlz go with theirs. This is so fun to me to listen to because I'm beginning to see their words, reasoning abilities, and syntax take shape. I noticed that Kynnedy favorite phrase when she is talking or when anyone else is telling me something is, "and then, and den, and den" (I'm laughing as I'm typing this) and then as in continuing the story--but there is no story. She just be picking up from other people's story. She was killing me. And den..... and den what suga?

Then they started asking each other while I'm driving around the park (Jaden in front girlz in da back), "where Kynnedy at?" "I'm right here" and so on. Then when the circular asking stopped and they wanted the fun of it to begin again, one of them would say, "say where I'm at" LOL!!!! I love it!

The most precious thing I'd like to record about my moments with them that I haven't up to now is how I've been teaching them this little song I've made up to plant a seed of Christ's supremacy in them. I teach it to every child God give me priviledge to bond with. It has no name, it just goes, "Jesus is the way, Jesus is the Truth, Jesus is the Life, I love Jesus, and Jesus loves me" I have a lil tune and everything.

So when I see my boo boo littles, I always ask them, "who is Jesus?" And the girlz will randomly break out with one of the three attributes, "Jesus is da Life" or "Jesus is da truth" You should hear them say "da life" it sounds so sweet to my ears.

Well Jaden has got it down now! He was able to say it all by his self and I think when I see him next, he will be able to say the whole thing without any help. He did so well, that I put him in charge of teaching his sisters. I tell him that he is the leader and he loves that. But he always complains, "dey ain't listening, .....but I tried to tell him" He gets his feelings hurt so easy. He's always crying. It's hard being the middle child! Oh well.

So that was the highlight of my time w/ my boo boo littles. This week.

Until next entry.....

P.S. The photos above was taken back in June weekend after my sister's wedding. You will see more photos from this day as well as other days below. Don't laugh too hard! I pray I have kids one day--I think!!!