YouTube video of Maria Sue Chapman with her Daddy!

I found this precious video clip while looking online for any updates on how the Chapman family is doing. It was on a blog site run by their manager friend, Jim Houser. It was filmed just about two months ago and it captures a cute and funny side of their little girl, Maria. I thought some of you might enjoy watching this...

Such a tragedy...

I don't know if you've heard, but yesterday the daughter of my all-time favorite Christian musician/artist, Steven Curtis Chapman, was tragically killed in an unfortunate accident at their home. Her name was Maria and she was 5 years old, their youngest adopted daughter from China. Most recently, Steven had written a very popular song entitled, "Cinderella", with lyrics inspired by recent precious moments Steven had with his daughters. The Chapmans have three biological children (a daughter and two sons) and three younger daughters who were all adopted from China. Sadly, yesterday the Chapman family was also going to be hosting a high school graduation party at their home for their son Caleb. Apparently, their other son, Will, accidentally tried to back out of their driveway and did not see little Maria directly behind the SUV before running over her. I can't even begin to imagine the feelings the entire family must be going through at this moment, especially their son, Will, who was driving the vehicle. My prayers are with their entire family and I hope that no one I know EVER has to go through this kind of a tragic loss of a child. Thank goodness for the family's strong Christian faith and for the hope they have in Jesus that one day they will see Maria again in Heaven. Below is a video clip of Steven talking about his motivation for the new song, Cinderella. It's also the first song playing right now on my playlist (track 03). What a touching little video clip this is to see, especially in light of what's just happened in their family.

Chad the Wolf Scout!

Following my husband's lead, I am posting a new blog about our son, Chandler, and his Cub Scouts graduation ceremony held at Fort Christmas Park, yesterday! I am a proud mama! "Chad" graduated from Tiger Cub Scout to Wolf Cub Scout! We had a wonderful time at the picnic and we even toured these old wooden houses at Fort Christmas that were built in the early 1900's, including the original Post Office for the town! I had never been to this park before, but I was very impressed with the unplanned field trip we experienced as we were taken back in time by walking through some old forts there, too! I felt like I was walking on the set of Little House on the Prairie. There were many posted signs around the entire park with lots of written history of the families who once lived in these old wooden houses there. The inside of the forts had all kinds of memorabilia from the 1800's-early 1900's, including rifles, loads and loads of various tools, wagon wheels, and lots of clothing and pictures in black and white of the many family members who once lived on the property. It was a fun history lesson and of course, there was also a section dedicated to the history of the Seminole Indians who used to inhabit that land. There were examples of their Indian clothing and shoes, as well as plenty of photos, too. If you are ever in the mood for a unique family outing that doesn't cost a dime, try driving out to Fort Christmas Historical Park & Museum! It's easy to get to and not very far at all from east Orlando...you just go down SR50 (east) and follow it as the road forks into SR520 and SR50...stay towards the left on SR50! A few miles down you will see the sign and Fort Christmas Rd. is on the left. It's right where the big Christmas tree is standing on the side of the road.

Big sister, Sierra

Here's Daddy officially placing the neckerchief around Chandler's neck at the ceremony...how cute!

The Ice Hotel...

I have heard about this unique hotel over the past year just a handful of times...it's called the Ice Hotel! Tonight, I caught the last half-hour of a special on Discovery Channel that was all about the Ice Hotel, how its built, how long it lasts, and some stunning and unique views of the one-of-a-kind accomodations you will find in this hotel!! It's located in the village of Jukkasjarvi, which is 200km north of the Arctic Circle in Sweden. I did some more research online and found their website, where you can actually book accomodations online and even take a peek through one of their live webcams! This place looks totally COOL...pardon the pun! Seriously, the bar, the entrance hall, all the bedrooms, and the dining hall are made out of these uniquely carved and designed blocks of ice! Sculptors from all over the world participate each year in creating one-of-a-kind rooms and intricate details such as the large, ice chandelier which hangs from the ceiling in the entrance of the hotel. They have even put fiber optic lighting inside the chandelier to illuminate the interior of the hotel. The hotel also has an Ice Globe Theater for all your entertainment needs, including plays, dancers, singers, etc. And yes, the entire theater is made of ice, including the auditorium. But, don't worry, the hotel graciously accomodates each of its guests with special protective clothing to help keep guests "warm" (which in this case is a very relative term...LOL!) The ice is taken from the Torne River in Sweden, which is known for being one of the purest rivers in Europe.

This hotel actually has its own chapel made of ice, too! Apparently, they perform about 140 weddings there per season! The season lasts approximately 5 months beginning in mid-December until late April or so, when nature takes its course and things melt away. Amazingly, everything flows back into the Torne River from where it originally came. So, in that respect, nothing is really being used up, as the ice eventually melts back into water. Then, it's on to planning for the next season's accomodations by starting to harvest the ice ahead of time in freezers. What an interesting concept! You have to admit, it would be quite an adventure, if even for only one night's stay! Check out their drinking glasses in the picture below from the bar...pretty cool, huh?





I've been trying to do the converting from the Swedish Krona into US Dollars to figure out the exact price for one of their rooms per night, and it appears that the prices for a standard "snow room" start at around $400 per night. There are also "ice rooms", which include sculptured furniture made out of ice. These start at around $430 per night on Mon-Wed only and $580 on Thurs-Sun, during the month of December only. During the remaining months, the prices go up to about $600 per night on Mon-Wed and $800 on Thurs-Sun...OUCH! This does not include the cost of a dog sled ride from the nearest airport located in the town of Kiruna to the fantasy hotel! Let's face it though, right about now in Florida with the heat & humidity steadily climbing, any place cool like this sounds like a treat!





Check out www.icehotel.com

In honor of Nanny...July 28, 1924- April 22, 2008

These pictures are of my grandmother, Nancy Anne Jordan Small Eshenaur. Yes, her maiden name was Jordan. She married my grandfather, Christopher Small. They had two daughters...my mother was the youngest. They later divorced and eventually Nanny remarried and her new last name became Eshenaur.

Wasn't she a "dish" back in the day? LOL!!!! I think she was pretty! As you can see, she was just a hair taller than my grandfather, Christopher. The youngest little girl in the photos above is my mother, Carolyn. Her older sister is my Aunt Jody. They were both born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Since this blog page only lets you post 5 pictures in one entry, I have included 5 other photos in the post directly beneath this one. I tried to keep things in chronological order, so the most recent pictures of my Nanny are below.

Here are some brief facts about my grandmother which you may not know...

1) She was an only child.
2) She graduated from medical school at Temple University in Pennsylvania. Yes, that's right...medical school!
3) Nanny became one of the first female physicians to practice in the Orlando area many years ago!
4) Nanny used to be the student health physician at Rollins College and ran the entire practice herself in their Student Health Center on campus for 12 years!
5) My Nanny was an accomplished floutist. She earned a full scholarship to college by playing the flute! Oh, how she just loved music her entire life!!
6) Nanny was the person who faithfully taught me how to play the flute so that I could be in the band in Junior High School. She came to my house once a week for a few years to teach me everything I know about playing the flute! She was my private music teacher.
7) Nanny was probably one of the few elderly citizens who kept up with the times by owning and using her own Mac computer. She read and sent emails everyday and played games, as well as kept current with the times by writing frequently on her computer, thanks to my husband, Scott, who got her up and running in her late 70's. He taught her from the beginning how to use a computer and since that time, she never stopped using it daily! How many other women in their 80's can say that?
8) Nanny had a companion cockatiel [bird] named "Popeye" for 19 years after her late husband, Bob, passed away in 1981. After Popeye died, we found her another cockatiel bird who looked exactly the same. She named him, "Jimmy". You can see Jimmy sitting on Nanny's shoulders in the last picture below.

Honoring Dr. Nancy J. Small Eshenaur...my Nanny

These are some more recent photos of Nanny towards the bottom. She was my last living grandparent and I will miss her terribly, but I know we will be reunited one day in Heaven!

Smash and Grab!!

BEWARE MOTHERS...AND EVERYONE ELSE!!!!Have you heard of the "Smash and Grab" crimes that are happening more and more frequently these days? I just got home from taking Amanda to her preschool this morning and as I was coming out of the building and walking to my car, one of the other preschool moms came up to me frantically saying that someone had just broken her car window and stolen her purse out of her car! It all happened literally within a 5-minute window of time because I had just seen this woman walking with her little girl to the school as I was pulling up to park! By the time I came back out, the crime was already done and over with! These thieves are getting more and more brazen as they sit and literally wait and watch the moms as they leave their vehicles for only a few minutes while walking their child into school! I have heard of this before and my own stepmother had the same thing happen to her a few months ago while at a Country Club parking lot. Another mother I used to know in a Mom's Club group I used to attend also had this happen to her around 9:30am in the morning while taking her child to preschool. So, let this post serve as a reminder not to leave your purse or any money, valuables, etc. unattended in your vehicles (locked or not) for even a minute!!! Times are more and more desperate and thieves will do this in broad daylight! It's called, "Smash and Grab" and they are literally gone within minutes from the scene of the crime, before anyone has a chance to figure out what has happened or gotten a glimpse of the suspects. Today's incident involved several witnesses who were able to describe the car as a black Dodge Magnum with three males inside. They even were able to tell the police what direction the vehicle was headed out onto SR 436. But, without a license plate #, I am sure it will be difficult for the police to make any arrests. What really left me feeling shaken up is that I had almost parked right next to the lady's car this morning, but didn't because suddenly a closer parking space near the building had just become vacant. Her car was on the end in this grassy parking area. My purse was in my car and this definitely could have happened to me, too! This lady's entire front driver's side window was completely smashed and on the ground. There was nothing left of the window in the door.

What a pain in the butt for this mom now to have to not only have her minivan window replaced, but to have to contact all her credit card companies, banks, driver's license office, etc. just to prevent any potential for further loss.