A (too) quiet house

My sister and niece left today after visiting me for a week, and Chad is not due back from his business trip until tomorrow night. I walked in the house and it sounded way too quiet. It was so fun to have my sister and niece here keeping me company. I miss the laughter and energy that fills this place when Olivia is here. Everything is exciting to her, and it's contagious.

One morning she was asking to go to the park, but my sister was at a hair appointment and I had a work project to finish up. I kept saying, "Soon. Soon." She played patiently for about an hour and finally, she came up to me and said "I clean up now. We go to the park." (Cleaning up her toys is always the last thing my sister has her do before they leave the house.) It sounded like a statement rather than a question to me, so I said "OK" and off we went to the park! It reminded me of that old commerical in which the Mom puts down her unfinished work and tells her girls they have 5 minutes get ready to go to the beach.

Olivia is quite the singer. She does a rousing rendition of "Hollaback Girl" by Gwen Stefani and the country song "Honkeytonk Badonkedonk." One day we're driving around in the car and she starts singing something that sounds really familiar to my sister and me. Rhea figured out is was the "Little Bitty" country song. During American Idol, we let her have a chance to perform during commercials and she did all of those songs, as well as her favorite Sunday School song -- the one that goes "I've got the love of Jesus, love of Jesus, down in my heart. Where? Down in my heart to stay." I would say her repertoire is quite well rounded, wouldn't you?

Anyway, my niece is a precious, precious child, and I have a lot to learn from her about seizing life.