Smiles ... More Important Than Anyone Knows

This week has held struggles and smiles ... like most every week, it seems!  And as I work with photos of Girl Scouts (on Girl Scout Leaders Day, nonetheless) I see so many moments where adults have brought smiles to girls as they learn and experience and grow.

I am ESPECIALLY thankful this week because the smiles have made the difference in some of the biggest ways to the girl who is the most special to me ... my daughter.  It feels like God orchestrated some truly wonderful things from friends old and new to encourage both of us.  A few know the struggles, and if you're one who is reading this, you'll be glad to know that the smile you see on her face here was how the week ended and has continued.

Thank you.  Thank you to family and to friends and to church leaders and to Girl Scout leaders for bringing those smiles.  They are more important than you know!

Juliette Low Birthplace

DSC01983, a photo by IndigoBleuePhoto on Flickr.

Miss M's troop had their first "BIG" trip ... to Savannah, GA to see the birthplace of the founder of Girl Scouts: Juliette Gordon Low (aka "Daisy").

Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace

Miss M's Girl Scout troop bridged at a very special place today ... the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace in Savannah, GA. For those of you not in the Girl Scout realm, Juliette Low is the founder of Girl Scouting. So, we did a quick bridging ceremony in the garden and they "flew up" from Girl Scout Juniors to Girl Scout Cadettes!

Sunday's Moment ...

Brought to you by Girl Scouts. This is how we started our day ... helping the MS Society and their guests. Post Oak Lodge outside of Tulsa is a beautiful place!!!

Proud Poster Girl

This week we had an interesting encounter with a woman saying to little M, "You look SO familiar to me!" She couldn't quite place her finger on it, but she KNEW she knew her face. Of course, neither of us could figure out any connection (and I didn't mention this signage at the airport - I hate to feel like I'm bragging) but it sure makes me wonder! Little M whispered to me later something about telling her she's on the billboard at the airport. LOL. She is so proud!

By the way, this interesting encounter also happened to be just before a very interesting event. It was the first time I have been "caught" in a store when the tornado sirens sounded. We just picked up our McD's food and were suddenly rushed to the back of Wal-Mart! It felt like we spent our whole evening against the back wall. Just today I found out that a tornado indeed touched down a block away! It was a weak one, but all the same, a tornado! As I hear from so many people, "Welcome to springtime in Oklahoma!"

Dominique Dawes and her chauffeur ...

OK ... so I hate being on my own blog, but c'mon! This is Dominique Dawes! I had the pleasure of picking her up at the airport along with little Miss M. We waited and waited and waited, and after I couldn't stand it any more, I snuck off to the bathroom and left my daughter by the security guard holding a sign that said "DOMINIQUE DAWES" (and wearing her renaissance costume from her gifted program that day). It was a cute sight! Of course, Dominique arrives in that moment. By the time I returned, little M had told her about a plethora of life events and Dominique knew more details about our family and life in Tulsa, Oklahoma than most!

I will have to try and capture the portion of Dominique's speech from our luncheon because she mentioned little M! I wish I would have taken photos of our personal afternoon with Dominique before her Q&A session at the Council office (for Girl Scouts who wrote essays and some of our outreach girls). A couple of the girls there were gymnasts ... one in particular cited Dominique as her inspiration. Even though she was too young to be aware of it at the time, she later grew up watching video tapes of the Olympic Games and Dominique Dawes. What an amazing opportunity for her to sit in a room with 25 girls and Dominique!!!

Sister Scouts

Sister Scouts ... a whole troop of Brownies being introduced to camping by their older "sister" Girl Scouts. It was a beautiful overnight and I don't think any of the girls wanted to go home!

Women's Legislative Day

It was my first trip to the Capitol of Oklahoma with the Oklahoma Women's Legislative Coalition. I was surprisingly comfortable for being out of my element! I found that the issues presented clicked with me and easily energized my thoughts. Next year, I'll be able to be more involved and hopefully generate some good press! Although, I have to admit I'm proud to say that I garnered an on-site interview for our CEO with Oklahoma Public TV.

Selling Girl Scout Cookies

As I look at my white board after my daughter visited my office last week, I recall a line from my grandmother's poem ... "Annette and Ingrid have orderly minds and even make lists when they play." My daughter seems to have inherited my love of lists!

She will probably inherit my schedule as well, which right now is very demanding and the reason why I have not kept up with kid photos on the blog! But I'm taking a moment today because I wanted to help my little Brownie with her "sell cookies" goal. Last year she wanted to do a super-fun video, and we made it happen with music and photos. This year she wanted to get a Girl Scout "build a bear" outfit and have a photo shoot with her bear selling cookies. UNFORTUNATELY we might be too busy this weekend, which is the last weekend to take orders. Hopefully I'll have some photos to share, but just in case, I wanted family and friends to know that you can comment here or email me (or littls M) and she can tell you all about the cookies and her goals, etc.

I'm so proud of her ... if weather warms up, she and our neighbor will be going out together to sell cookies. They have become good friends and since my daughter is a big talker and our neighbor is in speech therapy and has a very difficult time speaking, it will be a great thing for both of them. I'm imagining Moses & Aaron wearing Girl Scout sashes! LOL!

And just so everyone knows, the Girl Scout Cookie Sale in Magic Empire Council starts with individual order taking January 19-February 3. Booth sales happen in March, and girls can still take individual orders until then (and fill the orders with booth cookies). This year I have recruited help on the post office side of things so cookies will go out right away in March!!

OH ... and guess who was on TV? Click here to find out!

Look what I finally found at the airport!

I'm proud of my little girl, who rather accidentally became the poster child (just happened to be with me one day in the summer when a request for a local girl photo came) for this project presented by GableGotwals, a law firm that partners with Girl Scouts! I've been in the airport a few times since this went up, but it wasn't until a recent trip to New York (including a visit to the national Girl Scout headquarters, or GSUSA as I've come to know it).

Shall I shamelessly blog for Girl Scouts of Magic Empire Council? (I have to admit, I love it when these things show up in my media alerts!) My own background with Girl Scouts doesn't go much beyond one year of being a Brownie, so this is pretty new to me. But I am so impressed with the opportunities offered to girls! It's like a "design your own" leadership experience that could really lead girls into great places ... Not to mention gaining the life skills that are such a wonderful part of Girl Scouting! Our council serves nearly 13,000 girls and volunteers with offices in Tulsa, Stillwater, and Muskogee. We are in the process of "realigning" and will be uniting with two other councils and by June of next year will be making a difference across eastern Oklahoma.

So ... I'm not only proud of my little girl, who is a fantasic little Girl Scout, I'm also proud to BE a Girl Scout! Did you know adults can be Girl Scouts? I guess I never thought about it. But all of the leaders, trainers, and volunteers are members - men included!

Chilly Christmas Parade

Look who we found! I can't believe I didn't think to ask any cousins about who would be at the Christmas Parade ... but we found a few. Click on the album link below for all the photos (including some beautiful ones of "Miss B").

Broken Arrow Christmas Parade 2007

Time in a Bottle ... or Capsule!

As part of the Oklahoma Centennial, Tulsa created a gigantic time capsule and in addition to all kinds of contributions, a Harley-Davidson motorcycle was put into it to be opened in 50 years. Girl Scouts contributed a scrapbook (the pages of which can be seen online at www.mecgs.org) to the Oklahoma Centennial time capsule. The girls who created the scrapbook couldn't come to the event, so I brought my little one as a backup and she got to write "Girl Scouts Were Here" inside the capsule! It looks like a giant pill! Now if THIS wasn't an awesome opportunity, I don't know what is!

Lucky Girl!

My little helper was happy about being out at Girl Scout camp all weekend. Now that her mother has certain assignments that involve being out in nature, she feels pretty lucky to get in on special things ... but when you can find a REAL horseshoe? That seals it! You're a lucky girl!

Her first "real" camp!

This made me laugh for some reason ... I guess that's part of the camp experience!


Such a brave little camper ... a room full of 18 little girls and parents all making an exodus! She smiled and waved and was VERY excited about her first camp!


Only 3 days ... but boy was she worn out! She fell asleep on the way home, never really got to go to bed early, and after a late night of shooting off fireworks may have caught up a little. She slept almost until noon!

Lazy Days

Just got back from a day at Camp Tenkiller with my little photog assistant. As you can see, she had a VERY difficult job today. She loved it! We'd go back in a heartbeat ... and plan to!

Pirate Debut

Inspired by my irresistible K, the fascination with all things piratey has rubbed off on my little M. This theatrical (camp skit) debut as "Captain Jack" had her humming for days!

She loves the stage!

More modeling! Today, it was a trip through the years as girls modeled Girl Scout uniforms. My little one showed the introduction of the "Daisy" uniform. She liked that because even though Daisy troops are for younger girls, that's her dog's name! WOOHOO!

Modeling in High Society

As my little model passed by this table, Ginny Creveling saw her 1957 Brownie Girl Scout uniform and exclaimed, "That's my FAVORITE uniform!" During this Juliette Low Leadership Society Luncheon, there were so many women who do so many wonderful things at our event. But Ginny Creveling is one who stands out in my mind because I saw her on the cover of Tulsa People magazine ... Woman of the Year (I think)? Naturally, I couldn't resist asking for a photo.

Thinking Day 2007

They danced the night away! These little girls had the best time at the Girl Scout Thinking Day event last night. My little fashionista girl said if she had known there was going to be a DJ, she would have worn different clothes. Instead of dressing up (in a skirt and tights), she would have worn cool jeans and a really cool shirt! COOL! I didn't think about "cool" at her age.

Brownies at the zoo!

Our troop number was drawn and the girls got to enjoy a special day at the zoo. They were given a guided tour, learned about animals in all different regions, had a fun activity (made a bird feeder), and earned a badge! Isn't that cool? If you're brave enough to look through all the photos, click on the link below for the web album:

Brownies at the Zoo