Happy Birthday, Sweet Ethan

Yesterday was my sweet baby's birthday-and he turned a great big FOUR!  He told me he isn't a baby anymore. : (  It makes me sad, since I like to call him my baby.  I mean, he is, but he isn't.  I can't believe it's gone so fast!  I hear that all the time-even from parents of kids going off to college, but time really does get sucked up in a vacuum-we don't even know where it goes!  Into baths, bedtimes, teeth-brushing, story reading, car playing, movie watching, outside playing, bike riding, yada, yada, yada-and life happens! : )


We took our little "big" boy out for his birthday.  We always let the kids pick where they want to eat for their special day.  Ethan picked Fun City (he's pretty smart that way).  It's a fun land of pizza, climbing stuff, arcade games, and mini golf.  We got 80 tokens, and used every one!  They golfed, ordered too much pizza, ran around like crazy, and even had cupcakes.  Here are some pictures:

I got my sweetie and his Beary matching overalls!  So precious.  Wish they made them in bigger sizes.

He finally got his new *green* bike!

And he rode off through the house..guess he can ride it! : )

Clay with a helmet playing a 3D game

Playing a water-shooting game

His favorite spot-the junk you buy with your tickets!

This pizza is making me thirsty!

He actually got a hole-in-one at the end on this one!

He wanted a big 4 on his cupcake!

He couldn't be happier to be four!

And a flashback to December 27, 2006.  I'd had some contractions on Christmas, but I'd really wanted to make it past Jesus' birthday.  I wanted them to both have their own special day.  I knew if I made it to Dec. 27th (a Wednesday) to my scheduled appointment, and was dilated, I'd have a c-section and see my baby!  I was so excited.  I was dilated to a 3+, so my doctor told me that things were going to go fast.  I was taken downstairs, got my iv, an epidural, and before long, Ethan was here!  I'd never had an epidural or a c-section, and the biggest surprise was that I couldn't walk-it takes stomach muscles to walk-yikes!  We did fine, I was just so thankful!

Mom brought the kids to see baby Ethan.

He was so tiny!

And then he began to grow..here are my three cuties-Ethan's first Easter!  I could just eat them up! : )

Ethan had a sweet fourth birthday, and Ches even took him to Wal-Mart (for the second time yesterday!) to get MORE cars and a carrying case-it's super cool: opens on both sides, shaped like a wheel, and there's a neat silver wheel that spins on the front!  He's totally happy.  He is so blessed to have a daddy who absolutely adores him!  He also got a Trio construction building set and the rest of the Speed Racer set of cars (from eBay-you can get anything!).  Bless that child, and keep him safe.  His love of all things high and fast scares me!


I got an answer to the letter I sent to Great Wall of China Adoptions.  It wasn't the answer I was looking for, but at least the international adoptions consultant responded.  There is currently a fifty-four month wait.  (Yes, they put it in months..maybe to sound shorter?)  Holy Cow.  She also added that by then, Ches will be too old for us to adopt from there, and suggested we adopt from a less-stringent country and gave me the web address for a sister-agency.  So, you need to get on a waiting list even before you decide you want a child, much less encounter infertility! Ha.  I think I hear God talking.

Cowboys and Crafts

Howdy, ya'll!  I've been vacationing (in my bed with some good books, heehee).  I finished Women, Food, and God, finished Mini Shopaholic, and started Love the One You're With.  Is it escapist to love to read so much? : )
I found pictures I'd forgotten about in this busy week!  Last Tuesday, we had the kids with us in Bible study, and Tiffany brought a video for the kids to watch:

This is upstairs in the old church, the only room they'll loan us. : )  This is in a row of old cast-off furniture along the walls.  It kinda looks like a Furniture Dance, and these are the wallflowers. : )
Then we were at the school in the Parent Room (we even get our own room there!) working on doling out tickets to those who sent in money, while our boys played.  This is Ethan cleaning the white board of the eloquent Spanish that must be taught in there:

And here are the boys posed together after their amazingly fun afternoon!

And then on Thursday, I was back at the school reading to Mary Claire's class, as the Mystery Reader!  They had five clues who I was, and I showed up after lunch and recess to read to them.  They all yelled that they knew it was me! (Ha!) A couple of kids wanted their parents to come read, but I couldn't tell them that we were backed up all the way till spring-it might give something away! : )
Afterwards, Ethan and I went to the library to read a couple books (he loves a good library, even if it's in the school!).  Then he checked out the gigantic chair in the sitting area outside the library.  It's a great reading area, and he crawled all over the wood chair (even though it looks like it's upholstered!):

He's just so cute! : )
Then on Friday, I had a CrAzY day!  I tried Zumba with Veronica (and I laughed out LOUD when the lady was all sexy-dancing, and rubbed her hands down her body!- but it was part of the dancing/aerobics!) (you can burn up to 1000 calories an hour-and I was worn out!), then I went by the church to do the books and envelopes, then to the car wash and vacuumed out my van (Love, love, love a clean car!), then back home to discover I had another flyer to make to go home in the kids' Monday Folders!
I hurriedly called/emailed people to find out what they wanted on our flyer (had to get the games person, food person, silent auction basket person, etc!), and get to the school to copy it for the whole school, plus copy the ticket forms again, then make the third grade's copies for morning work, and Mary Claire had a field trip that there's no way I could have made it to (but her blood sugar was good after prayers on the way to school!), and I asked for help.  The best thing I've ever learned to do!  I called Danielle (my ticket partner), and asked for help, then she called her friend, and Dottie came to help (sooo sweet!), and while I was waiting, I called up front for some fifth graders, and they were all awesome helpers!!
We had just talked in Bible study about some people never letting us help, and they were robbing us of a blessing-and I asked for help, and let some people be blessed.  Boy-which is better, helping or being helped.  Hmm...
Then Saturday, Clay had his last two baseball games.  Mary Claire had been dying to go to a craft fair, since she'd never been!  (I used to go every year, but crafty things kinda went out of style...for decorating anyway.)  So, I took her and Ethan to a 'fair!  We drove around for almost 30 minutes looking for parking, and they got more and more restless.  We got in there, and I wouldn't let go of them!  It was CrOwDeD!  She got some American Girl Clothes and shoes, and a necklace (do I sense a pattern here?) and Ethan melted down while I was looking at sterling jewelry (beautiful-here's her site!), but we had to leave.  It was just too much for Ethan!  We waited outside for some kettle korn, then left.
We drove to Clay's game to watch a little (and I was going to drop off MC, but no), then we went to Party Time Ponies to take Ethan to a friend's birthday party.  It was really fun, they rode the ponies, played tons on the hay bales (the total hit of the party!), had hot dogs and cupcakes!  He'd been so excited, wore his cowboy clothes all day (it was a Woody and Buzz party!), and even had Clay make him a lasso. : )
Here's his pony ride (minus his hat):

Mary Claire loving seeing all the horses!

 But still kinda shy:

 I just loved this one, even though he wasn't looking.  He's just so sweet with his lasso:

And he looks up at me (and I'm using my lame camera-phone.  This could've been so beautiful!):

And these are the sweet birthday boys: Ethan with Isaac and Andrew, both turning four! (Ethan is behind them by a couple months):

Their absolute favorite: the hay bales!  They climbed allll over these-they were up by the roof at the top:

 Mary Claire finally on a pony (she looks bigger now!)

We fed the horse in the background, Bear.  He is forty years old, and has ground his teeth to nothing!  He ate Ethan's hot dog bun just fine. : ) (with permission, of course!) This is a dwarf horse-a random act of nature.  She's so sweet, and I forgot her name!  I bet Mary Claire will remember.  It was Tinkerbell, or Cinderella, or something Disney-like.

 This is Tuxedo, he was very patient with the kids.  They liked petting him the best!  He was so happy to be out eating fresh grass, that he didn't bother with the kids, which they liked!

What a great (yes, busy!) day.  I came home, and the boys swam.  They are swimming again today, it's the Last Day.  We are having the pool closed tomorrow, so it's the official End of Summer.  Thanks for the memories, and we'll see you next year!  (Maybe April next year?)  Happy Birthday, Isaac and Andrew!  Four is a big year. : )

Sleepover (with sleep!)

We love getting ready for a party-so much fun!  Mary Claire had a sleepover at a friend's house last night, and we used a couple days to get ready.  We spent yesterday wrapping the gift (zebra bag, hot pink tulle bow, homemade card-wish I had a picture!-and tied it on with black gingham ribbon), and we got the new Go Phone working-and practiced!  I had her call me a couple times, call her daddy-just to make sure she could use it.  In the phone calls, I was coaching her.  I wanted her to know she had to call me every time she was about to put food in her mouth.  She had to check her own blood, and give herself boluses.  I figured it was a tiny reward (to go to a party/sleepover), since she's learned to check herself and use her pump (with me talking her through it).  It's still progress for a sweet eight-year-old.

Last night Ches and I had plans to go out, so Mary (our amazing babysitter!) took her to the party.  We had all her stuff out and ready, but it didn't start till after we were leaving.  Mary took her, and Mary Claire got nervous.  She was nervous with me yesterday afternoon, and she got nervous again with Mary.  Then she forgot everything I told her in our repeated conversations (about check your blood, call me lots, call me when you are going to eat, check yourself last thing before you go to sleep, brush your teeth, etc.), and looked at Mary at her friend's house like she didn't have a clue that she even had diabetes!

She did fine.  She called me before our movie was starting, and she was having pizza.  Her blood sugar was 79, so she was fine.  I talked her through a bolus for the food, and went back to the movie.  Then, she called halfway through the movie, and they were having cake.  Her blood sugar was only 59! so I told her to eat all the cake/frosting, and to give herself a .6 (6/10 a unit of insulin) and I thought she'd go sky high, truthfully!  Well, on our way home, I called her thinking she might be on her way to bed.  She was 59 again!  I could not believe it.  I had her eat two sugar tablets (8 grams) and a teaspoon of peanut butter, and helped her set a temporary basal to 85% for eight hours.

Her friend's mom texted that they were fine, and I asked if she was still up in an hour (which would be midnight...), to wake up Mary Claire and have her check herself.  Well, she was, and Mary Claire was 159-good.  I can't sleep with her low-our doctor in Rogers said the only way you can die (quickly) is low.  (A patient of his-who was trying to tightly control his blood sugar-went to bed at 59, he didn't eat anything, and he didn't wake up the next morning-yep, that's my fear.)

So, I could finally sleep and stop worrying!  Mary Claire called me this morning, and she was 299-ok, a little high, but I'm sure it was my overprotective eight hours at 85%.  I just like her to make it!  She's having doughnuts this morning, and I told her to call me back when she gets ready to eat.


My baby made it through the night, and she is growing up!  I think the experience is as good for me as it is for her. : )

Aprons, Birthdays, Clipboards, Decoupage, Need I Go On?

So..I'm behind. : )  It just means I'm putting my family first, so I don't feel so bad.  : )  Tuesday was crazy-Bible study, we were supposed to meet Mom and Dad for lunch (Dad's birthday), but he was at his Compass test (getting ready to go back to the UA!), and he went longer than he thought he would.  So, then we had Ethan's open house at preschool (fun!), and he just wanted me to leave so he could play!  I'm so excited, because it means he probably won't cry on Monday!  Then later we had a meeting for parents at his school, and what a fun night.  I got to chat with a great friend, then grocery shopped till 10!
Wednesday was good and busy too-cleaned, dusted, did laundry, then went out to Wal-Mart, Target, and the library.  It was so stinkin' hot!  I think it must be 102 degree heat combined with my black van!  I learned, I promise.
Today I ran errands, took Mary Claire to the orthodontist (back to pink rubber bands!), and got a teensy nap-maybe 30 minutes?  I've also been crafty in my spare time-ha!-I've been making Mary Claire a clipboard (she didn't like the ones at the store..), and making new pump pouches for her, ordering shoes online (wait-is that not crafty?), and making birthday aprons!  Those are so much more exciting than my errands, so I'll take some pictures for you..
Here's the front of the clipboard:

And this is the back:

Then I have been working on these aprons for two birthdays tomorrow (so we're getting them the same thing: monogrammed apron and nice cookbooks on cupcakes and cookies-yum!):

And here are the two pump pouches I finished tonight-one for the party (cupcakes!), and one for school.  I have about six more cut and ready to sew, but I'm tired.

Yeah, productive, but I just can't do it all.  I think I can only be really good at one thing at a time!
Do you need instructions for the clipboard?  It was pretty easy, and so fun!  I used a plain fiberboard clipboard from Wal-Mart, and used scrapbook paper and Mod Podge to stick/seal the paper on.  Then I have put two more coats of that sticky stuff on it. Then I bought some spray sealer today to do tomorrow, and then I'll tie billions of ribbons on the clippy, and it'll be done!  I'll show you a pix of it finished.  If I can make a utilitarian thing a tiny bit cuter, I'm happy! : )

Fancy Party with Nancy!

What a day!  It was my sweet baby girl's birthday-she turned 8!  It was not so long ago that she was in diapers and sucking her thumb.  She is so precious, and I'm so thankful for her-for so many reasons.  She is full of love and hugs-even when I wake her in the morning-she has hugs for me.  Her smile and even her puppy-dog-eyes can melt my heart-even if I think she's playing me!

So-on to our day!  We started early-6:15am-and got ready to go to our friend Angie's daughter, Andalynn's, party (I know I said that wrong, but I don't have time to rethink it).  It took me two hours to get there last time, so I used the GPS sooner, and it only took me an hour and 25 minutes!  You can bet I'll use it again next time.
So, we got there, and everything was just perfect!

Her table was sooo cute-she'd found a Fancy party in a Celebrate magazine-so adorable!  I think her stuff was better, but you can't tell a magazine that, heehee.  Anyway, they all had little buckets with tons of goodies: lip gloss, a big blingy ring, a flower ring, candy, and a sweet thank you for coming to my party bookmark-all just adorable!
They decorated picture frames with pink glitter glue and rhinestones:

Then they sat, and snacks and finger foods were served on cake plates and silver trays: Ooo-la-la!

They were all so lady-like and used the best manners!  There's nothing like a dress-up party to bring out the princess behavior (note to self).
Then Angie read them the original Fancy Nancy story:

She didn't really want her picture out there, but she was just beautiful, and it was a great party-she deserves some kudos! : )  Yay, my sweet friend-you did a wonderful job!  But, I'm not done yet... the cake was amazing-and she made it!  It took a few days of baking, freezing, frosting (and coloring frosting), matching frosting colors with ribbon colors, layering, more freezing, ahh-I'd have ordered out and given up, but it was awesome-and tasted just as good as it looked!  Tres, Tres, Chic!

Mary Claire got to open her gift while Andalynn was opening hers-she was so excited-since it was her real Birthday!  I think she was thankful to have that teensy bit of attention!

When the ladies got ready to leave, they got the most precious little buckets-want an even closer-up picture?  So cute!

And then we hung around to clean up a little, and we took pictures of Mary Claire with her new American Girl doll that she just got for her birthday (well, a little early-she got it in the mail last week!).  They are so cute-and she let Megan wear her :M: rhinestone bracelet for a necklace!  I love that she's a girl doll, and not a baby (for more than one reason).  She wears dresses and panties, not diapers and onesies.  I love it.  She has pierced ears and a cell phone!  Woo Hoo! But, here's a cute one:

We couldn't fine the small hot pink bow, so Megan got the light pink-just the best we could do.  But they are both wearing flowers and bows, so close enough. : )
Ok, so then..we went to Schlotzky's and then Target to spend her birthday money-it was burning a hole in her pocket!  We were there at least an hour, and I had on heels!  I got a little whiney after an hour of the toy department.  We looked in music, movies, books, then dolls, Barbies, Zhu Zhu pets, Pixo's (thought they were recalled!), and she would put stuff in the cart, then change her mind, and trade it out-this happened at least 6 times.  Decisions when you actually have money to spend!  She ended up with a Blender pen kit and a Chixo's Luxe Loft with girls and furniture (on sale!).  It was raining as we came out of Target, and she ripped into her toys in the van, so I have no picture here.  I'll try to get one of the new toys tomorrow.
Then the drive home, some time with Genevieve outside, then to Olive Garden for her birthday dinner!  Ethan was so sleepy he fell asleep at our table with food in his mouth!  Bless his heart-he was so tired.  Then to Gigi and Papa's for our cake-I haven't uploaded those pix yet-and more birthday!  She got more birthday money, so she begged to go back to Target tonight (yes, it was almost 8pm by then!).  I was so pooped, I said no.  She played the :birthday: card (it's her special day, she gets to do what she wants, etc.), but I said no.  So, we have one more long toy department visit ahead!  note to self: wear comfy shoes, bring a book.  : )
We got in late, more playing with Genevieve, and off to bed.  Clay's at a sleepover birthday party tonight at a friend's house.  He's only been to one before-and this is the same friend.  They are good together, so I think he's having a blast!  I just hope he makes it through church in the morning.  I bet he falls asleep-we'll see.  What a day of birthdays!
Happy Birthday, my sweet little princess-you'll always be my little girl.  Happy Birthday, Andalynn-your momma loves you so much-and does so much for you!  Happy Birthday, Sutton-I hope you boys are having fun, fun, fun, and that you get a teensy bit of sleep!
Thank you, God, for kids to celebrate!

Did stock in velcro go up? It should!

I'm currently working on printing pictures of our Daisy Girl Scout Investiture-it's hard since not all of our girls were there at the time. We've gained a couple of new girls, and so I'm having to hunt for pictures! I can't find pictures of one girl! : ( I'll have to make her collage differently, and it makes me feel bad. We are planning to scrapbook tomorrow, so I have to get busy!

It's now about 8 hours later, and I've really made progress! I have the books ready to put together (I picked out their paper, got the pix ready, and made journaling spots and titles for them. Should be pretty easy. I'm missing a couple of scrapbooks, but I put all their pictures/papers in order from front to back, so they're ready!

I took Clay to a birthday party this afternoon, at a girl's house. He was one of two boys there, and I wondered about taking him, but his good friend was there, and they are both very sweet kids (and I warned him within an inch of his life about behaving at a sweet girl's party!). The little girl is just absolutely precious, and I've gotten the opportunity to get to know her at the school when I've helped her with her writing, and making rice krispy treats! She is so mature and very intelligent. I actually asked her to keep an eye on Clay for me! I told her if he gets hyper or crazy to rein him in (and didn't mention this to Clay)! She actually did one day, he came home and complained about her telling him what to do, and I had to tell him I'd told her to keep an eye on him! He was embarrassed. I think he'll be in better control at school!

Then Mary Claire and I went to the girl scout office to buy patches, certificates, etc. and they were closed! There were lots of cars there, but the doors were locked! It looked dark in the gift shop, but I was not happy they weren't open! They were supposed to be having sales today! Well, I'm not sure we qualified for any, but still!

Then to Wal-Mart to pick up all the pictures I'd ordered, and look for another birthday gift. That took us wayyy too long! We found lots of neat stuff, but we had trouble deciding. The time just got away from us! We finally left (and I decided to shop alone next week!). Then to Hobby Lobby to get even more zippers and velcro for more pump pouches. Get this. Velcro prices have tripled! Why on Earth do you suppose? Is there oil in there? Or bacteria-resistant plastic-y fabric? Or gold sewn in the seams? Ugh. I make all these pump pouches and give them away, but now maybe I'll request some velcro and zippers in return! It's frustrating! I mean, how can it have gone up? Ok, next time you see "notions" on sale at Hobby Lobby, please let me know! (BTW-they had PiNK velcro at Hobby Lobby! MC was so excited!)

I made two more pump pouches on Friday-so cute! I took a couple of pictures, I'll have to post them! Tomorrow we have a JDRF Walk 2009 Family Team Kickoff Event! We're all meeting and going to a Naturals game. I've made a pump pouch for one of the little girls we met last spring, and we'll meet tomorrow to get it to her. I also got a request for one for a girl over at another elementary in Springdale. I'll work on it. I'm also making one for Little Emily! She is so sweet, and appreciates them! : ) I just love to help people. It's a shame I don't have more time to make a pump pouch bank to ship them out (especially to the sweet kids just transitioning to a pump!) I soooo remember Mary Claire just being diagnosed, and not getting good help. And then not having a clue what to do with that stupid pump when we got it! Mary Claire had a belt clip, and for a couple months, I'd totally transitioned her to pants and skirts, thinking we had to have something to clip it to! I had no idea there were other ways of wearing it! Imagine being new at wearing a pump, figuring it out, dealing with your child's transition, and then trying to make it :cool: and stylish, and somehow fit it under your clothes so the tubing doesn't get caught on something! I really do understand. I have compassion for these new families. It's so hard (and that is the Understatement of the Year).

Ok, so then church alone (Ches wasn't feeling well, and Ethan was sound asleep-and slept till we got back with dinner!). We played games and read and Weckled (Ethan's word for wrestled-so cute!) and made ooey, gooey cookies for snack. Sometimes, I like a quiet cold, rainy evening at home! : ) Just sweet.

Oh, and can I just say, Clay was an ANGEL in church tonight??? I mean, perfect? I had to tell him about fifty times because I was sooo impressed! He gets a little Jesus in him, and presto, he's really a Child of God! Woo-hoo! He made his second communion tonight, and he was wonderful, and was so happy and respectful. He prayed with me when he came back, and I am just overjoyed for him. He is exactly what I would have prayed for in a child-I never asked for a perfect child, or an angel, or an intelligent kid, or a sweetheart who adores his brother... But, I knew God would give me what I needed. He knows so much better than I do! Anyway, we prayed on the way home, and I was praising God for my :beautiful: children, and he was back to himself! He protested that beautiful was for girls (I Still object), and I explained and he snapped out of perfection. But it was nice for that good hour and a half. A taste of Heaven. : )

Are you ever surprised at what your kids know? I mean, I think they are (dare I say it?) Learning something at school! : ) We were asking questions from the Brain Quest cards-so fun!-and sometimes Mary Claire was answering faster than Clay! Ha. Even about spheres and name the two words in this sentence that end in -x (Six cats sat on top of a box of socks). And you are reading out loud-and they can't see the words!! Very Cool. And she got it right!

Ok, my house is quiet, and I've now finished my work on the scrapbooks. 12 hours later. They'll never even know. : )

And I got a message requesting a pump pouch for a new pumper tonight. So, put another shrimp on the barbie! (and get me some more velcro!)

Is your life like peanut butter? Recalled Peanut Butter?

I'll tally up the votes in just a minute, but I think I'm at around nine to two! So...Fresh baked cookies are officially better than cookie dough! ..I should have voted more myself! : ) Thank you to my greatest fans-heehee-who voted! And if you didn't-You Missed Out! You could've donated to JDRF on Mary Claire's behalf! I'm donating $11 on another page, and I'll post my receipt link when I get it finished. : ) **My receipt page won't come back up, but you can see the donation on the page below. I must have accidentally pushed the button twice, since there are two donations posted! So, each vote was worth $2!**
Here's our website for 2008 after-walk info (well, our total raised was about $2400, but this was my personal page, since I don't have a "team" page):

http://walk.jdrf.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=extranet.personalpage&confirmID=87034992

What do you do when you have a (kid's) birthday you didn't make it to? I like to send a gift anyway, but Ches thinks not. He says our kids didn't avail themselves of the amenities, so they shouldn't send a gift. Hmm...I think if it was my child, I wouldn't care to not get a gift. BUT, it is not about the parent. It's about the birthday child! The birthday child (and my child!) doesn't understand why that kid's parent forgot about the party, so should they suffer? I used the back of the sweet child's invitation to take notes on for about a week, then forgot the card had a back (front!). Now I feel awful, and want to send a gift to make up. I shouldn't admit I took notes on it (oops!), but it was there, and it was Blog Background Code-Muy Importante! So-gift, or no? Hurry and advise-time's a tickin'! The clock's running out on Late Gift time-more than a week is Really Rude.
Oh-and on that subject... how late is too late to give Christmas gifts? I have been delivering very late ones (not quite a month..), and is it just Too Late? I care about these people, and I just don't see them very often (or am busy and/or forget and/or haven't wrapped them. YET.). It's January already. I have lots of calendars telling me this. I have to move on! It's now a Resolution! : )

It's Thursday again, and Meredith and Christina didn't make up again this week-but Christina did tell Meredith that her high ponytail looks stupid. So they are making progress I think. Sometimes nothing is something. Like when you aren't speaking, but want to, so you make up something dumb to say. Or fumble like when you first got to know each other. It's obvious to the other person, so they take the bait if they want to make up. Life is crunchy, a bit like crunchy peanut butter. And then it's Recalled.

Yep, had to call the school nurse today, and ask her to pull MC's Austin pb crackers from her lunch and trade it for a bag of Ritz bits (thank you, God!) I'd put in her tub last Friday! Since they are pulled from shelves due to a recall of the pb paste they use made by PCA. You know, if you were wondering. Here's the link, and I'm not skilled in linking it yet, and can't figure it out tonight, as I'm tired. Click and paste in your browser, people.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/15/AR2009011501525.html

Ok, more exciting news! Did you hear about the plane that landed on the Hudson River (Landed, not Crashed!) and all 155 people lived!? I want him to fly MY plane! That's skill! Ok, and can we get to the problem? A BIRD flew into the engine and caused it to fail. Have we NOT figured this one out yet?? Could we put, oh, I don't know, netting/caging over the intakes or something? Kind of like the netting around the Empire State building-to "protect" suicidal jumpers and people on the ground from evil falling trash? At least they are all safe. Can we all say a big, "Praise the Lord!" and "Bless their Hearts"? I mean, can you imagine? My life would have passed before my eyes. I always think I'd be calm, but I probably know better. I'm thankful I was at home playing games (Connect 4, Whac-a-Mole, Cranium Caraboo, Legos, Color Tiles, Hard Cracker Barrel Triangle Game, and coloring!), instead of flying out of New York!

If I don't talk to you this weekend, I hope you have a good one. We pray for each of you daily on the way to school (well, sometimes we ask Him to bless all our friends and family-that's you!), and we hope you have a safe and fun January weekend-whether with your family or shopping in the sun!