Auntie Jami is in love with little Mattie. Isn’t she beautiful? Joshua thinks she is.

That’s what he says as he blows the dandelion seeds into the wind. I asked him what he’s wishing for and he said he was wishing the white stuff would fly off. I guess he always gets his wish. . .

My little girl is growing up into a little lady. She’ll be 7 in less than a month, when did this happen?

-in keeping with my new policy of writing what I want to and not worrying about if its a bloggy masterpiece I give you this tasty tidbit on herbs.

Mint, Basil, Chives, Thyme, Dill, Oregano, Rosemary, and Sage; I love my herb garden! No I really mean it I LOVE my yummy fresh herbs. Just thinking about them makes me smile.

I’ve always wanted one. Last spring I decided to stop talking about it and just plant it. I’m so glad I did, these little herbs cheer me up each time I think of them. Using fresh herbs makes every meal special. I highly recommend growing a few yourself. It’s not too late, I started from seeds but would recommend you visit your local nursery or (Walmart) and buy a few plants, then grab a bag of soil and a few of their 88cent pots. For only a few dollars a piece and about 10 minutes of time you’ll be well on your way to your very own garden of happiness. I added oregano to my collection last Friday and only paid $2 for it, the plant I bought was mature enough that it’s leaves were ready for harvesting when I got it home. So if you start now with the already grown plants then unlike me having to wait months for the seeds to grow you’ll have a full garden by this afternoon. YUM!

If you’re only going to grow one plant I recommend you start with basil. Oh how I love basil, hmm. . . I think I’ll go pick some.

Yes, we already knew that. . . but look it’s official now.

Ummm. . . I’m uber supportive and all but garsh my sissy’s in the Army. Yeah, she told me to stop calling her that about 26 years ago but come on! We’re in a war here, I can call her what I want. I love you sis, and I’m proud of you!

Wait, when did I start saying “uber” and “garsh”? See! It’s already messing with my head.

Vijayashanker’s first 24 years were brightly colored with dreams and determination but his future dimmed when it was taken from him September 11, 2001. Today as the World remembers the thousands of lives lost that day let us remember one life lived.

As an only son and a friend to many, “Shanker” found his way into hearts across the world. Shanker was born to Sivapkiam Paramsothy and Navaratnam Pathmawathy, he was their only child. Growing up in Malasia Shanker displayed remarkable self-assurance, at an early age he walked his own path and followed his own dreams. His parents loved him greatly, they reflect on their memories of him in a biography called “The Perfect Son”. Even after he left Malasia to go to college in New York, Shanker called his family almost daily and visited them as often as possible. His father recalls their great friendship through out the years, “He was a very jovial chap, a great companion”.

In 1996 Vijayashanker moved into the dorms of the College of Insurance (now St. John’s University’s School of Risk Management) in lower Manhattan. He fell in love with New York! Walking the streets he snapped pictures of all the sights, then would call home each night expressing to his parents how vibrant and fabulous the city was.

Along with his love for photography, Shanker had a knack for making friends all over the world. In all the accounts I found of his life they each mentioned how very many friends he had. In fact they said he had 3 mobile phones to keep up with them. One for calling friends here in the States and one for international calls. His father remembers how he not only was able to connect to people all over the world but he connected those people to each other as well.

“Vijay”as he was known by his many American friends was a huge fan of British soccer, he never missed a Manchester United game. He quickly settled in to city life and made it his home. In 2000 he got a job as a financial analyst for AON and began working on the 103rd floor of the South Tower.

On the last day of his story Shanker was a month short of turning 24, so young yet he had accomplished so much. His vibrant determination shined even on his last day, after making it down to the 56th floor unharmed he chose to stay behind and help his injured supervisor. His character and determination shone through once again.

Whether they called him Vijay or Shanker, if they were from New York, Spain or Malasia the hearts of all the friends of Vijayashanker Paramsothy were darkened by his death but more than that they were brightened by his life.

As I sit here listening to the memorial being held at ground zero I wait for his name to be called. I don’t know Shanker, I never met him. I only heard of him a few months back. Our lives are so very different but tied together in three ways: we shared our birth year and our love for photography and the wost tie that bonds us is that while I didn’t know him I watched as he died. Burned in my heart is the memory of when his tower fell. I saw it collapse and my heart sank, I fell to my knees and a scream I’d never knew existed flew from my mouth. 1800 miles away I reached out to the television unable to help him. Today I pray for his family and his friends.

To view more tributes to other lives visit:

You heard me right. I’m done.

When I started “blogging” I didn’t know that’s what I was doing. I thought I would be sharing my everyday life with my everyday friends and perhaps it would cut down on the phone calls. Some where along the road I turned into a blogger (albeit not a very good one) I passed through the gates and entered the realm of the blogosphere. Once one steps foot into this simple yet complex environment the atmosphere changes as well as the expectations. I began to feel as if I could no longer post as I once so freely did. I felt the pressure to write things of interest to more than just my friends and family. I felt as if a brief post updating on my daily happenings might be too pedestrian, too amateur. So instead of upping my game and writing articles of value I often wrote nothing at all. You see worthy writing takes time. Time I have its true, in fact I have more free time than most. It is the prioritizing and prudent use of said time which I need to be more concerned with.

So I’m clicking the heels of my ruby shoes and leaving this crazy world of blog. I’m going home. Where is home you ask? Well actually right here. As we’ve so often been told “Home is where the heart is” So here I am, and here’s my heart. I’m going back to posting what ever I please, even if its just to tell you my toes are going numb from sitting in this chair too long. I might write a lovely devotion on discernment or I might update you on how disappointed I am in myself for eating that second third piece of cake. Who knows? Maybe I’ll devote a post to why I think Alton Brown rocks or perhaps I’ll muse on the wonders of knitting and my addictive tendencies. I guess you’ll have to wait and see.

So here goes: JamiLeigh is no longer a “blogger” she’s just a person who every once and a while puts on her worn out jeans, sits in her worn out chair and types on her worn out laptop, sharing her life with her friends who’s welcome will never be worn out. So welcome friends, to the new jamileigh.com which by the way is me.

I thought I’d share a few more pictures of Miss Mattalyn. I did have a bit of trouble getting good pictures of her since I seemed unable to put her down during most of our visit. I may have been acussed of hogging the baby a few times and they may have been right.

The last picture is of Big Sister MacKenzie holding her little sis. Kenzie looks so grown up and beautiful, I know she’ll be a fabulous big sis!

I wish I could explain to you how anticipated Mattie’s arrival was, however; I can’t seem to find the words and the story isn’t really mine to tell. I will say this: Mattalyn Avery is faith in fruition, she is a quintessential portrait of God’s own timing.

Saturday morning I awoke to a cool breeze that whispered hints of Autumn. I found it fitting that with Mattie came not only a change of weather but the start of a new season. Fall was in the air yesterday, you couldn’t help but notice it. As I dug through my closet for a jacket I thought of the amazing changes Mattie is bringing her family. Hold on Nae and Brian! Here comes a new season in your life and while yes it may be windy at times it’s sure to be full of color.

Miss Mattie was born last night September 1, 2006 at 11:19 PM
She weighed 6 pounds 3/4 ounces and was 18 1/2 inches long.

She is quite beautiful and as an expert in beautiful babies (having had 3 myself) I am sure that I am not being biased she is in fact gorgeous! This picture can’t possibly do her justice as it was taken through the wired window of the nursery. I look forward to sharing much better pictures as soon as I get to see her again.

It turned out being a long night, Nae ended up have a caesarean and it took quite a while before she was able to come out of recovery. Mattie spent some time under the oxygen and getting her temperature up so I had to leave before she got her bath and before I got to hold her (which is honestly driving me crazy!) I got home about 3:30 this morning, I then got up at 6 thinking about Janae, wishing I could call and check on her since I hadn’t seen her after her surgery, I decided not to call her so early but I just couldn’t get to sleep so I went ahead and got up. Perhaps it was the fatigue but I was a bit emotional this morning thinking about how I left without making sure my Nae was Ok. I finally got to talk to her a little while ago and she is doing well, now that I’ve been able to check on her and now that I’ve shared her picture with you I think I’ll go to bed.

Look out world here comes Mattie!

That’s right my friends Janae and Brian are packing up and heading for the hospital! I’m on my way too, I’ll be picking Kenzie up from school and we’ll be having some Big Sister fun while we wait for the baby. WHOOOHOOO!

I told Joshua and he is beyond excited! He had about the same reaction as when he found out Aunt Nae Nae had a baby in her tummy. “I’m going to be a BIG Brother!!!!” He told me to get to the hospital and bring his baby home to him. I reminded him for the bajillionth time that this would be Nae’s baby and we can’t have her. He said “Well you’re going to have to give me to Nae then, cause a big brother’s gotta be with his little sis!”

Be assured there will be pictures published here as soon as she makes her appearance. Auntie Jami will make sure of that!