—

Stella (coughing)
Me: Are you okay, Stella?
Stella: Yeah. Just choking.

—-

Me: What are you going to do for Christmas, Sam?
Sam: Eat my breakfast so Santa doesn’t skip my house.

a couple hours later…

Sam (pointing to dry skin on his feet): “I’ve got some enemies on my feet. Do you have enemies on your feet?”

—-

Stella: “Hi, Sweetiemuffin.”
Me: “Who’s Sweetiemuffin?”
Stella: “YOU’RE Sweetiemuffin!”
Me: “I am?”
Stella: “Come here, Sweetiemuffin, I just wanna hold ya.” (Comes over and hugs me)

—-

Sam: “Do you want to go to the bank and check out some money?”

—-

Sam: “Can I watch Saturday Night Live?”

—-

Stella: “Can we order a pizza?”

—-

Me (peering into Stella’s crib):  “Are you awake?”
Stella: “I’m just tooting.”

—-

Stella (looking at my french manicure): “You’ve got a hangnail.
Me: “It’s not a hangnail, it’s nail polish. It’s supposed to be pretty.”
Stella: “You have a hangnail.”

—-

Sam (singing): “Africa! Africa! It’s a new place to take your friends. And jumpy face, jumpy face!… I’m fixing the elevator, so you can push the buttons, push the buttons, push the buttons… Oooh, what’s this? A bouncy ball!”

—-

Sam: “I was just sleeping on the naughty bench and my eyes were making drops like rain, but I calmed down.”

—-

Me: “Sam, why are you so energetic today?”
Sam: “Because I just love to do everything!”

—-

Me: “Sam, who taught you Rock, Paper, Scissors?”
Sam: “Those two pigs! Those two nice pigs who were playing a new game! It was kind of weird.

___

Stella (to her mom): “Bye! Have a good love you!”

____

Sam: “Do you have a butt?”

____

Sam: (Hugs my legs out of nowhere.) “I love growing up.” (Then runs off.)

___

Sam (who has never heard of Pinnocchio): “I’m a real boy!”

___

Stella (pointing to a tear rolling down Sam’s face): “Sam spilled.”

____

Sam: “What’s your address?”
I tell him my address.
Sam: “What planet do you live on?”
Me: “Earth.”
Sam: “ME TOO!”

____

Me: “How are you today?”
Sam: “Three and a half.”

____

Stella: “Are you happy?”
Me: “Yes. Are you happy?”
Stella: “No.”
Me: “Are you sad?”
Stella: “No.”
Me: “What are you?”
Stella: “I’m Stella.”

“When the daylight breaks through the buildings of Chicago, I will stand alone in the valley of tomorrow. Oh, this is the way I want to go down.” – Needtobreathe

So, thanks to…

Mike- a gem of a guy who has been through physical and emotional wars and has come out on the other side with a fresh perspective, making the choice to be optimistic about things that drive others to despair.

Krystal-a sweet girl who is working hard to get her adult life off to a solid start, is getting back into what she is passionate about on the side, and still doesn’t know how beautiful she is.

Ryan-a deep thinker and adventurous spirit who is taking on the adventure of digging into his own pain in order to become the best version of himself.

It’s so good to know that although we’ve gone our separate ways, we are all pushing forward through this less-than-perfect life, continuing to discover things that matter along the way, and becoming who we were created to be. You’ve been a breath of fresh air.

Frozen blueberries

Under the Bean