HAPPY NEW YEAR

Out with the old...

                in with the new!

Luke's Name Game

Awhile back I submitted an idea to a magazine,

well IT'S BEEN PUBLISHED!!!!!!  YEAH!!!!!

Luke's photo is in the new Parents magazine for January, 2010 (page 68).  When I showed him, he slapped his forehead and fell to the ground!

Here's what it reads,

"NAME GAME

To teach my son his ABCs, I took photos of him posing his body in the shape of each letter of the alphabet.  Next we enlarged the photos of the letters that spell out his name and made them into a fun sign to post on the door of his bedroom.

Betsy Myers; Monroe, Ohio"

How Fun!

Snap! The Job's a Game

UPDATES:

WE FOUND JESUS!

hee hee

As I described in an earlier post, we had a few missing pieces from our nativity sets.  Well now everyone's been found and are back in place!!! SO EXCITING!

Plus, we started the collection basket as I had described earlier - of items lying around the house out of place.  The first item in the basket?  LUKE'S MOUTHWASH!!!!  He LOVES his mouthwash!  In fact, when we first got him a bottle a couple months ago, he was SO excited that he used an entire bottle in ONE WEEK!!! YIKES!!! I guess I wasn't clear enough when I explained that he should do it only ONCE each day.  Well, he left his bottle and cap thrown aside on his sink a couple days ago and I snatched it right up to toss it into the basket.  Several other items have since been added- a pair of Lydia's shoes with some dolls stuffed inside and a card from our Memory game.

I DO still need a clever name for this collection basket. hmmm...

It may be strange, but it's actually FUN for me to glance around and devilishly look for items to grab.  I just hope the novelty doesn't wear off before the lesson is learned!

or better yet...

Not A Laughing Matter

Have you raised a son?
Are you raising a son?

Are you pregnant with a son? 
HELP ME!

I have reached my wit's end. 

Luke seems to have SO MUCH ENERGY & SO LITTLE TIME. I can't even wrap my mind around how much energy he's busting out second my second!  He doesn't WANT to be "bad", but regretfully I confess- this has proved to be quite a difficult stage for me as his mother! I'll get back to this topic...

The other day I was telling my sister about a parenting strategy I had read about.  It described a family that had a basket designated for collecting all items in the house that were out of place.  Anytime someone left something not "put away", it was tossed into this basket (NO EXCEPTIONS).   On Sunday, they returned the items in the basket and started it empty for the week.  Eventually I supposed the kids were less careless about where they left their toys, new shoes, or favorite coat.  I've given it more thought, and I think my kiddos are definitely not too young to put this practice into action.  We're starting TODAY.  I think I'll take it a step further and include my own junk in on this.  Although I try not to, I'm guilty too of leaving things tossed about.  I need to be a better model and walk my talk!!!! NO MORE CLUTTER!

Hmmm.... now to NAME this basket???

Okay, so overall... we need things to change around here.  I've raised my voice one too many times lately- a technique I find to be completely ineffective and worse... completely exhausting!  Today, I woke up with a fresh attitude and a new theme in mind for our household.  The plan is:

CALM - CLEAN - QUIET

I've already discussed this with Luke and all behaviors need to abide by these three rules.  These three words encompass all that's been wrong lately.  These words are going to be my prioritized expectations for the next couple weeks.

Now... if I can just come up with

strategies to deter missteps.

No More Emails About Updates

NOTICE: Betsy's Blog will no longer send out emails when her blog is updated.  Her intention is to continue to blog at least once a week (if not more).  Having said that though, sometimes there will be periods of inactivity- but if she ultimately decides to discontinue posting permanently, she will let you know.

SOOOOO, in order to read her new posts...

please check back regularly!!

You can click HERE to

see her blog and to BOOKMARK the address.

THANKS FOR READING!

Nativities and Twix

We have many nativity sets around our house.

Let me count... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, SIX!

Two have the figures that are all glued into their little places. The rest of them have moveable characters.

It's been fun for both Luke & Lydia to reposition them.

Sometimes I see Joseph leading a parade.

Or sometimes it looks like "duck, duck, goose"

with Mary caught in the middle.

Or sometimes it appears the three kings maybe misbehaved,

because they've been forced to stand behind the stable in shame.

Or occasionally a camel is in the manger.

I never know what I'm going to see day after day.

As fun as this sounds, it's hasn't quite been as neat as I had hoped. As of yesterday, lost somewhere in the 7+ rooms of our house are a poor Mary, a donkey, a lamb and dare I confess...
TWO BABY JESUS!!!!!
So HEARTBROKEN I've been to know that the "STAR" of the show is possibly gone for good from two scenes.

Okay, though the GREAT news NOW is that as I wiggled under my bedcovers tonight, I felt something strange by my toes.
It was JESUS!!!! Jesus... right here in MY bed!
WHO WOULD HAVE GUESSED!?!?!!!!
He had been buried deep under the quilts. I'd like think that Lydia, with all the best intentions, tucked Him sweetly into bed with a little kiss. Maybe not though. It could be that she and Luke were tossing Him around trying to get our dog to fetch. Poor Jesus.

I'm super glad to have this one back though. Now we need to find the OTHER one and the rest of the crew.

Needless to say, I enjoy finding silly pictures to go with some of my posts.  I tried to google such a nonsense topic as "Missing Jesus".  Not much luck, EXCEPT the fact that I felt comfort that I must not be the only person with this dilemma!!  They even have a t-shirt to describe this very thing!  Must be a common problem for families!   funny

(t-shirt says, "I Found Jesus!  He was hiding behind the couch.")

Here's another quick story...

HOT OFF THE PRESS!!!

Seriously, it just happened this very second!  As I was finishing typing the above section of this post, I heard our pantry doors squeak closed.  Craig and exchanged abrupt glances, and down the steps I flew!
RED HANDED!!!

Luke busted into tears holding a miniature TWIX!  That stinker! He immediately started sobbing and through the tears I heard him say, "You Hate Me Now."  It took alot of strength for me to hold back laughter.  We discussed it and he headed to bed after I assured him that I'll NEVER hate him, NO MATTER WHAT!  I did threaten to lock him in his room at night though.   hee hee

* * * NEVER A DULL MOMENT * * *

too close to close

Nothing too exciting going on around here, except that we're making huge strides in teaching Luke to read!  Yes, that's right- my young man is blending 3 and 4 letter words!!
WOO WOO!!!!   (hmm....."oo"   that's a phonetic sound I need to still teach him.  Ugh, there are so many rules & exceptions to rules in our language!)

Anyway, he typically has a great attention span while we work through our lessons, but every once in awhile I have to get a little creative to bring him back in focus.  So the other day- just for kicks, I threw the word "BUTT" into his reading list.

Does that make me a bad mom?  I hope not!

It's a word we tend to shun around our household, but it sure got him giggling and did indeed get him interested (as he dreamed of all of the OTHER naughty words he might read someday!) YIKES

Needless to say or type, I'm SUPER proud of how things are going with him!  Lydia is also learning some new concepts, developing some fine motor skills and growing her vocabulary.  I'm blessed and excited to have two children so fascinated with academics!

Speaking of our difficult English language.

Here's an "oldie", but a "goodie" list:

The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

There's no time like the present, so it is time to present the present.

A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

I did not object to the object.

The bandage was wound around the wound.

The farm was used to produce produce.

The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

The buck does funny things when does are present.

The wind was too strong to wind the sail.

Upon seeing the tear in the painting, I shed a tear.

I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

They were too close to the door to close it.

Another Good Day

SO MUCH can change in such a short amount of time

we can be given so much in just one simple year

and on the contrary, so much can be taken away

My wise Aunt Mary (aka Aunt Mary the "Great" -

dubbed by Luke a couple years ago, since it's MY aunt...
HIS "great" aunt)

major sidetrack there... sorry

Okay, so- Aunt Mary the Great shared with me something that was perfectly timed this past spring when my mother-in-law was taken from this earth.  Aunt Mary told me,
"Life is not taken away.  It is just changed."

True. Very True.  And on many levels.

To quote Craig's cousin, it's those "seeming too young,

too needed, and so loved"

The hardest part about this concept is that

WE WILL NEVER HAVE ANSWERS!
We don't even have a right to know.

This can lead to * Anger * Fear * Depression *

And then for the first time this year, I really KNOW what it means to have the world "move on" around you.  - To have my heart re-break in unexpected ways with each passing day.  Friends can't help but sort of "forget" about your loss.  They don't mean it.  They do care.  They just aren't living in your world, so they don't realize how often you ache for just one more day with your loved one.

I also empathetically imagine it's uncomfortable for many people to outwardly discuss the grief of loss.  It includes such confusing emotion.  Within the walls of our home though, we try to frequently talk about "Mimi" with the kids... to remember.

Being Thanksgiving, today more than ever,

I had to focus on what we HAVE, and not what we DON'T.

Here's a story... of a lovely "hospice nurse"

(that was supposed to go to the tune of The Brady Bunch theme)

Did you go back and reread it with the melody? ha ha

A hospice nurse shared a personal story with us.

She hypothetically told us, "What if God came to you and said, 'I can give you a son.  He's going to be wonderful!  He's going to be handsome.  He's going to be smart.  Do you want him?'  Well of course, she proceeded, I'd answer, 'YES!'   God then would go on, 'Now, you'll only have him for 14 years.  Do you still want him?'  She answers without hesitation, 'Of Course!"  She told us that this fictional conversation helped her to deal with the loss of her 14 year old son a few years prior.

SO... I put a spin on this scenario to help myself cope.

At first- my reaction to my mother-in-law's diagnosis was anger.  I was mostly mad because MY CHILDREN... HER GRANDCHILDREN were only going to get a small handful of years with her.  Lydia was getting just ONE YEAR!!!! Can you imagine?!?!  It still pains me to process that.

Here's my version, God approached CHARLOTTE and explained, "I can give you some grandchildren.  They're going to be fun.  They're going to be healthy.  They're going to be smart.  They're going to be everything you'd want.  Do you want them?"  She of course would answer, "Yes!"  He goes on though, "Now, you're only going to have a couple years with them.  Do you still want them?" WITHOUT HESITATION, she undoubtedly would answer, "YES!"

That makes my heart instantly  H A P P Y ! ! !  Immediate contentment to know that my kids weren't entirely "jipped"!   No!!!  Instead SHE was blessed!  SHE was given a the gift of being on this earth long enough to meet and hold and LOVE her grandchildren.  I am wholeheartedly grateful.

THANK YOU, GOD!!!!!

SO... how do I make you laugh today????

Well, my nieces and nephews attempted a drama today-

unfortunately not their first to which we've been subjected.

They spent nearly an hour in preparation (costumes, props, dialog, casting programs, etc.).  Five minutes in, my brother-in-law shouts out, "This Play Blows!"   Sadly, it was a super drag!  They're nuts though, and actually did have a great time goofing around with the adult audience!

In my opinion, the BEST PART about it was that my niece

chose her stage name to be Mayme.  WHAT?!?!

Where in the world did she get that name?

Craig asked if her character worked in a cotton field?  hee hee

Mayme... hee hee   "Now, That's FUNNY!"

ASK LESS - THANK MORE

I came across a simple phrase today:

ASK LESS - THANK MORE

WOW!!!  In a world like ours... a world where we have MORE than enough... where we are utterly surrounded by met needs and an abundance of wants....  It rips at my heart trying to help my children comprehend what it really means to having nothing.
I certainly can't speak from experience!
How do you truly teach gratitude?
I do my best to model it, but I myself am too often guilty of greed.  That saddens me, and I definitely don't mean to be! 

I want to use THIS week - on purpose -to take time to reflect...  take time to process a real understanding of this new found phrase I'd like to forever remember!  I wrote it down on a card and plan to post it someplace where I will regularly see it and in turn, regularly remind myself to...

ASK LESS - THANK MORE

I feel compelled to challenge you to do the same.
I imagine it can only bring genuine joy to our hearts!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Babies Having Babies

Tonight at dinner, I removed Lydia's shirt- as I often do when we're having "messy" food.  It showed that her tummy-tum-tum is starting to pooch out.  Now- if you've met her in person, you know she's a teeny little thing.  We've had a slow grow start, but after some diagnostic (BORING) stuff this year and some pharmaceutical intervention... SHE'S GROWING!  FINALLY, she has a healthy appetite and is starting to beef up a bit! 

SOOOO  back to this evening: we giggled at the sight of her bulging baby belly,
and then Luke boldy announces,
"I think Lydia's going to have a baby soon."
I burst out laughing, and yes-

seasoned my dinner with some saliva sprinkles!!!

(did I hear an "eewww!"???    COME ON!

Like you've never had drink fly from your mouth mid-cackle!)

Anyway, I could hardly contain myself,

and WISH I would have grabbed the camera! 

It did indeed look like a little preggo pixie sitting there.  Oh My!  Then we had to quickly steer
Luke away from the reason WHY Lydia CAN'T be having a baby.  UGH   

funny stuff

The FUN Theory

SUPER COOL!!!

(taken from www.thefuntheory.com)

Now, THAT'S what I'm talkin' about!!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

And here's one more site that I've seriously had bookmarked for YEARS!!! And seriously visit rather regularly... every couple months or so. It may seem weird and possibly unnecessary, but for me- there's nothing that can compare to hearing a child laugh until they can't breath!!!!!!!

MY FAVORITE SOUND E V E R !

It replenishes my soul instantly!

http://joe-ks.com/archives_may2005/Elastic_Baby.htm

It's A Bird! It's A Plane! It's DIAPER GEL!

THREE POSTS IN ONE DAY!!!!! Too much!!!! I had to share this though P R O N T O! My Uncle Jim commented on my last post... Heavy Huggies. He told me of some fascinating related information. I'm going to quote from his email referencing our diaper experience, "Yes, the absorbent gel that they contain is amazing. As an aside, they are currently experimenting with spraying a... form of this foam over homes in forest fire areas and then wetting them down with water. The gel holds the large quantity of water and protects the house from catching fire. Clean up is not too bad either." WHAT?!?!! Craig, my personal skeptic, prompted me to do some googling. So here... an article I found on this topic, "The federal government will begin field testing the gel by dropping it out of planes, probably onto forest fires in Utah, Nevada and California, said Merrill Saleen, a chemicals program manager at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

The gel, made with a super-absorbent polymer, soaks up water and stores it in several layers of tiny bubbles. When heated by fire, the gel is boiled away one layer at a time, protecting the surface below from extreme heat for long periods.

After a fire, it washes away with water and is biodegradable.

The gel was originally developed after a firefighter in Florida, John Bartlett, noticed that disposable diapers didn't burn during fires. He discovered that the absorbent powder used in those diapers could be converted to a gel that, when mixed with water, could be sprayed on houses and foliage, Fredley said.

In his living room last week, Fredley mixed water with a quarter-size blob of the Barricade gel -- which looks like milky-colored, translucent shampoo -- spread it on his hand and blasted his palm and fingers with a propane torch. His skin was undamaged.

Saleen said the gel won't replace the retardants currently dropped from planes because it doesn't halt fires for as long as traditional retardants. It's about the same price as other fire retardants, he said.

But it's valuable to firefighters because it's mixed with water using a 1-to-99 ratio, meaning little gel is needed to fight a large fire. Other fire retardants are mixed in a 1-to-4 or 1-to-5 ratio, Saleen said. That makes Barricade more portable, allowing firefighters to transport it closer to a fire quickly, Saleen said" - taken from http://www.firefightingnews.com/article.cfm?articleID=13801

Don't you feel a little bit smarter now after reading this? ha ha

Thanks, Uncle Jim!

Heavy Huggies

Hilarious!

Today, I pulled laundry from the washing machine and found that a CLEAN (it's NOT GROSS) pull-up diaper that had slipped in along with our clothes. I was astounded to find out just exactly how much these suckers would hold!!! I weighed it and it weighed just around 3 pounds!!!! Can you believe that?

That's almost 15% of Lydia's body weight!

Calculate that for yourself! What if you carried 15% of your body weight around IN YOUR BRITCHES!!!!!!!!!! I was cracking up SO MUCH about it, that I decided to share some photos comparing a fresh new one and one that is SOAKED TO THE MAX.

FUNNY STUFF!

Plus... Luke never experimented this way, but we might have some trouble with Lydia's curiosity. She stuck Captain Hook's sword up her nose this morning. At least it wasn't Peter Pan's knife which is a third of length. That would have been a whole different problem. I doubt in that circumstance I would have told her to FREEZE so I could... grab the camera. ... or maybe I would! hee hee

Our Favorite Place

THE LITTLE GYM

of LIBERTY TOWNSHIP rated CINCINNATI'S #1 GYMNASTICS FACILITY for 2009 by Cincinnati Family Magazine. WOO HOO Just about OUR favorite place to go... EVER! We never leave without a giant smile and I - as a mother - an overflowing feeling of satisfaction and pride! This is where Luke has been involved in karate for nearly a year. Week after week, we watch as the instructors teach him chops and kicks along with gymnastic skills, sports skills, and always always always through the most exciting and typically entertaining (for the parent audience) techniques a child (and parent) can only dream of experiencing. Each week... lots of praises, high fives, hugs and plenty of laughter! So for Luke's 5th birthday last month, we couldn't think of a better place to celebrate but The Little Gym. Ms. Jenna and Mr. Josh were the perfect team to create a remarkably memorable party! Mr. Josh "SLAMMING THE CHEESE" Each guest took a turn at this. Even I gave it a try. Surprised?!?! probably not, right? WHAT A HOOT! I can't say enough about this city's best kept secret! I hope if it's appropriate for your family, that you can check it out. They offer free trial classes and have a terrific reward program! I obviously have EVERYTHING great to say about it!!! This is my shameless plug!!! PS Thank You to TLG Staff!!!! and Thank You to my sister, Trisha, for her excellent photography skills and willingness to share!

Enjoyin' The Ride

Well... I've had trouble taking my own advice lately.

I must admit. I've had too definitely

"look harder" this past week.

(see my last blog)

Last week on Wednesday, my day started as normal... had a great day starting with school work for both Luke and Lydia... and then babysitting for the dear family I've spent over 2 years caring for. Then I stopped by my sister's to drop off some silver that belonged to our grandparents, gave some hugs and on our way. I just wanted to stop by the bank and get some milk before heading home for dinner and CRASH! I smashed my car!

Let the drama begin.

It took a few days of hanging my head in shame... well not really, because my neck was sore, but I then decided I was going to make my days happy again.

No sense in moping around, right?

It started with a hug. A LONG embrace with the man I love. Then it turned into our family members taking turns listing 10 things we were grateful for. Even Lydia joined in! She's happy for her baby dolls, and her DADDY! among other things. I let her and Luke come up with their own list. It was remarkable to see their little hearts announcing with pride what they love.

So then the weekend rolled in. Sunday we attended with my father-in-law a memorial service sponsored by Hospice of Cincinnati in honor of my mother in law. It was lovely and Craig and I agree that it's nice to have a designated time to pause and just remember. It hurts to remember sometimes, so it's often easier to just stay busy and not make time to feel sad. We were reminded that it's healing though in a way to have those emotions surface!

So now today even still without a car, my days are back to some normalcy. We started our day with some more school work and then our fun friends Christy and Lily visited.

Life is moving on, and so am I. It's so cliche', but I love the description of life as a roller coaster. It really is... and if it means you have to have the DOWNS to appreciate the UPS, then I'll take them all!!!!

Lastly, a quote I borrowed from a wise (and happy) gal:

The happiest people don't have everything;

they make the best of everything.

Look Harder!

Forgive me... I'm going to sin! I'm STEALING from a friend. Well okay, not really. It's not stealing if you asked permission to borrow, right? A friend of mine does some mighty fine blogging, and she just included a wonderful, wonderful blip that I want to share.

"Happy is all around us - sometimes we just have to look for it....

God? I just want to give You a shout out for providing the little things."

LOVE IT! Thank you, Christi!

Blast From The Past

Today was a total

BLAST FROM THE PAST

- - -

and not just for ME!

My friend, Christy, and I went to West Park Retirement Home and put on a musical show for the residents. We had done this a handful of times when we were much younger and had much more free time, but it's been awhile!

Christy's great aunt Gene and my dear aunt Mary were both present, which was an especially wonderful treat for us.

We chose songs that are decades old and for more than half of the performance, we had a whole room of lovely people singing along and tapping their elderly toes.

It blessed me beyond words!

I was reminded about how remarkable it can feel to be selfless.

I want to work harder at that!

Gotta Post

Well, I have to do it... I HAVE to post at least ONE photo of my kiddos dressed for the newly named "Beggars' Night". We joined our friends at Mr. & Mrs. Marble Man's house tonight, and had yet ANOTHER great evening full of fun.

Our friend, Lily, was a birthday cupcake - she did actually sing the birthday song a few times. CUTE Luke... a hot dog! How appropriate, right?!? Lydia, a bunny! As it turned out, it was a bit chilly out, so this was a perfect cuddly way to keep her warm! Plus, since she didn't care to wear her hood the entire night, I took a turn squeezing into it. ENJOY

Hiking the Hills of the Cincinnati Zoo

Yesterday was a breathtakingly awesome autumn day! What a better way to spend it than OUTSIDE inhaling the fall flavors!

It's funny how sometimes when PRE-PLAN outings, the weather can ruin things at the last minute...

but it's funny how (and THANK GOODNESS) sometimes IT COULDN'T BE MORE PERFECT!

My dear friend, Amanda, and I have been trying to get our kiddos together for weeks now. Between illnesses and poor weather, we've had to continually reschedule. I wonder if she watched the weather all week like I did - hoping and wishing for a sunny forecast.

Our wish was certainly granted!

Plus EVEN MORE SUPERB,

we had two other great gals join us.

For me... something "old"

and something "new" in a sense.

My close friend, Christy (friends since 1993!) & her sweet Lily... and my newest friend, Shelly and her little man Caleb.

We unloaded our brood and had a fun fun day at The Cincinnati Zoo. I have to say this is one of my FAVORITE places to take Luke & Lydia! They can run and enjoy, and somehow never seeming exhausted. And hiking those hills is completely worth it at the end of the day. The kids took turns hopping on and off of our 4 strollers and seldom did we see a sullen face.

I feel completely and utterly blessed to be surrounded AND TO SURROUND MY CHILDREN with such wonderful families!!!

Funny Females

This year, Craig and I found a new church home suitable for our whole family. Plus, it gave us an opportunity to reconnect with some old friends! This church has had some absolutely OUTSTANDING Ladies' Nights!!! I've been to a handful now, and never do I leave unsatisfied or unfulfilled!

Two featured speakers they've had recently are Sally Baucke and then tonight, Liz Curtis Higgs.

Again... just phenomenal evenings!!!

If you EVER have a chance to see these women, they will inspire and bless you! Plus, they are SUPER FUNNY!!!!!!

Seriously, "PEE YOUR PANTS" FUNNY!!!!!!

Sally Baucke

http://www.FunnyGalSal.com

one of her features bits: is the Minivan Song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjTA1ljaoG0

Liz Curtis

http://www.lizcurtishiggs.com/

"Now, That's Funny"

"blogging''... something I thought I'd NEVER do! I do enjoy reading about other people/families, but I didn't realize how much I would LOVE thinking about how to share my life with you through words and pictures and videos. Think of my blog as my way of reaching out to those I care about, since I know I fail miserably at reaching out via other forms of communication most of the time! SORRY I knowingly spend time blogging about our frivolous daily activities, and sometimes I obviously post videos that aren't even my own. Know though that these are all with the intention to share with you some of my favorite entertainment, and much is with the purpose of making you LAUGH! hence the title of my blog Actually, I have been thinking a great deal about that very subject though (and for good reason)... ***LAUGHING*** We underestimate it's value, I'm afraid. Sadly, I am too often guilty of getting into the rut of FORGETTING to laugh. Forgetting to enjoy every single moment with which we're blessed! Forgetting that's it's MY CHOICE whether I want to enjoy my life or not! Life stinks sometimes! I'm sure it always will! However, there is ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS something to be thankful for! Always someone needing you to smile at or with them! Here's my serious story to share- You probably know and remember I lost my mother-in-law this past May. Her experience fighting cancer was very unexpected, too short, and extremely devastating. - only 3 weeks - to be exact - from the day of her diagnosis to the day of her passing. Up until that time, she was an active and overall 'happy' person. She was presumably healthy and here it is... one of my favorite things about her... in fact- OUR MAJOR THING WE HAD IN COMMON - she loved to laugh! It was no secret that she and I were very, very different, but I am certain that if there's any truth to a man marrying a woman like his mother... that characteristic was his draw to me. She laughed at just about everything. I remind Craig that I believe that's what she enjoyed most about him as her son- she could call on him at any time to get her cracking up! By the way- MY favorite thing about him too. Anyway... my point to this story. In the hospital, the family continued to get worse and worse news, and as you can imagine- our spirits were crushed and worn out. My most vivid memory though was Charlotte's ability to CONTINUE to laugh and joke- all the way until she closed her eyes for her final sleep. I am completely serious about this! As her state of consciousness was failing her, she began to repeat phrases not making too much sense, but GUESS WHAT HER #1 PHRASE WAS?!?! What we heard her say over and over??? "Now, That's Funny!" She would throw her weak hand in the air and slap her leg, saying "Now, That's Funny!" I can still hear it, "Now, That's Funny!" "Now, That's Funny!" Folks... LIFE IS FUNNY!!!!! Even when it's sad... LAUGH THROUGH THE TEARS! For me personally, I think that's the only way to bear it. I never want to forget those words, because it's relevant every * single * day about every * single * event I'll never forget, "Now, That's Funny!", because IT SURE IS! Thank you, Charlotte, for the reminder and lesson! And thank YOU for reading! I Love You All!

Love The Library!

At our library (and I would assume at most) you can check out books with coordinated puppets and stuffed animals. This time around we chose The Three Billy Goats Gruff. My niece, Kira, and our friend Lily R. were the first to help Luke & Lydia reenact the dramatic tale. Tonight it was 'Daddy's' turn...

His voices are WAY BETTER THAN MINE!!!!!

Also on today's list of adventures:

As I undressed Lydia for bedtime,

I took off her pants to see she had

(under her pants)

DOLL PANTS up to her thigh on one leg!

Guess she was trying them on for size!

NEVER A DULL MOMENT!!!