The "Backyardigans." It brings a smile to my face every time I think of them as they were one of Mari's favorite shows. As soon as the music would start she begin to dance. She might flap her arms and do a little awwwwwwww as she watched. I wonder sometimes what drew her the most. Maybe it was the vivid bright colors that each of the five characters were. Or maybe it was the fact none of them were human beings but all animals of some sort, although Uniqua, I never did find out exactly what kind … [Read more...]
A is for Adorable
What better word could describe my precious little girl than the word adorable (well, I'm sure I could find several :) )? Mari had this way about her. She'd be watching one of her favorite show whether it was Dora or the movie "Cars" where she be in front of the TV dancing around or flapping her arms in excitement at whatever was being played out before her. She'd be sitting in her high chair eat whatever meal it was at the time and all of a sudden she just start to giggle out of no where. … [Read more...]
I’m doing it again this year… A to Z Challenge
Some of you may remember that last year I participated in the A to Z challenge on website. I loved it. Each day of the challenge I dedication the posting to Mari in honor of her memory. This year I've decided to do it for both this website as well as my author website (kristenatunstall.com). My hope is you will join me again this year over the next 30 days as I make my way through the alphabet from A to Z. My hope is that you enjoy this next month as much as I will. To give you a heads up of … [Read more...]
Reflecting Back on the A to Z Challenge in April
It’s hard to believe that the month of April is already over as well as the A to Z Challenge for 2013. I remember finding out about the challenge toward the end of March and thought it was a pretty kewl idea to take a letter from the alphabet for each day of the month. I knew right from the get go that I’d be doing it about my daughter. However, I had to come up with what each letter for would signify. Here were all the words I used this month: Amazing beautiful caring dare-devil energy … [Read more...]
Z is for zest
Mari's zest for life made you want to follow her lead. Have you ever wanted to feel complete freedom? No worries. No deadlines. No bills. Just complete and utter freedom. I think of freedom and Mari's picture comes to mind. She had an unmatched zest for life that I don't think I've seen in other people. She really didn't care what people thought of her as she always did as she pleased. Whether it was creating Lake Mari in the bathroom sink as the waterfall hit the floor or take a permanent … [Read more...]
Y is for yummy
Boy did Mari think her food was yummy. I swear I think we asked ourselves one too many times if Mari wore her food more than she ate it. It would be all over her face, in her hair, all over her clothes, and below her highchair all over the floor. You might be thinking, "Highchair?" Yes, Mari still sat in her highchair and actually preferred sitting there. When it was time to eat she would actually climb herself in, but that's a different story. Back to Mari's food. Mari thought something … [Read more...]
X is for eXtraordinary
Mari was and will always be remembered for her eXtraordinary personality. I know that technically eXtraordinary doesn't start with an X but not a single word in the dictionary I found could be used to describe Mari. So I decided to be creative like we used to do on road trips when I was a kid. We'd play the alphabet game and because it was next to impossible to find words that started with an X so we were allowed to use a license plate if it had one or if the second letter, like eXit, could … [Read more...]
W is for Walk
I swear Mari thought to herself, "Why walk when you can run," Sometimes I forget how much Mari was constantly on the run. She'd be watching TV and she'd run around while flapping her arms in excitement. Or reading a book and running around while she did it. Or playing with some toy that could make as much noise as possible and run around excited by the noise. It just didn't take much for her to run as you could see the freedom it gave her. So the next time you are feeling a little blue, try … [Read more...]
V is for Vivacious
Mari always had a vivacious personality that made her seem larger than life. I think back on Mari's life and I love how it seemed like when she was in the room she filled the room with spunk and spontaneity. She could always find something to do, especially when it involved things she wasn't supposed to do. For example, white walls were her canvas. And she wasn't picky with the instrument to use as she used colored pencils, crayons, pens, permanent markers, regular markers. You name it. … [Read more...]
U is for Unconditional
Mari showed everyone every day what true unconditional love really looked like. How much do we wish we could love someone unconditionally. I think the closest someone could truly love someone else this way is the parent/child relationship. When it came to Mari I loved her with all my heart. No matter how hard or difficult things could get I loved her. Sometimes in those moments of frustration you say things you don't mean. That is when the emotional roller coaster is leading the charge. If … [Read more...]
