Grateful for the Minutes

Are you here to read a Farmer Show and Tell post about Hawaii? Today you're gonna have to wait. Until later. It's coming. Sometime after this one.

I could be one of those moms. You know, the moms that have the clanky key chains clipped around their purse strap with the gazillion photos in the plastic 2x3 frames? Or those moms with colossal round picture buttons, safety pin in back, clipped to their purse?

I almost could be one of them. But my kids aren't in team sports yet. And my purse is usually stuffed deep in my diaper back pack. And I don't have clanky plastic frames or colossal picture buttons.

I never wanted to be them. Those moms were crazy in love with their kids. And I was crazy in love without children at the time.

I'm a different person now. My heart is Gushing With Love for my kids! And I have a blog. And I have readers, all 52 of you that showed up here yesterday, for a total of 70 page hits. That means a lot of you aren't commenting. And that's ok. I see you anyway. Hubs is trying to talk me into doing some favorite Hawaii giveaway stuff. Maybe. But we're not talking about that right now. Unless you leave a comment and make me. Back to my Gushing With Love heart....

About a year ago I was putting Son1 to bed. In his prayer he thanked God "for da minutes." I may have even interrupted him. For the what? "FOR DA MINUTES!" What minutes? Were they learning to tell time in preschool? Had he been in time out? He had a one line, don't you get it, Mommy, answer. "FOR DA MINUTES!" I asked the teacher the next day. She thought and thought. "Well, I do tell the kids, 5 minutes until clean up time, or in ten minutes we are doing this or that." She laughed. Not at me, of course. She laughed at Son1's cuteness.

Here we are, a year later. And I understand his prayer just a little better. I am so grateful for the minutes, because that is just what they are, minutes, tiny blips of time, here so briefly.

Preschool is within walking distance from our house. In the mornings, as long as it's not raining, we walk. Most of it is uphill. Some of the time Son1 thinks the sun is too bright, or he is too tired to walk, or he whines he needs a little rest.

With his little hand in mine, I am grateful for the minutes. His hand won't be little forever. It won't always reach for mine. But it does now. I speak coaxing and encouraging words, telling him we can make it. He throws his arms around me in a huge bear hug, and I am grateful for the minutes in the mornings, even if they involve struggles. He is doing his job, testing the limits. And I'm doing mine, setting the limits.Hubby just chopped down an apple banana tree after an open house because I talked him into the Eye Candy Principle. We have lots of these trees. Some kids tote apples for the teacher. Son1 hauled apple bananas, the sweet tropical bananas. Okay, he didn't haul them. I put them in the stroller basket. He helped his daddy collect the fruit from the tree. What a spectacular opportunity to live in Hawaii and chop down apple bananas from our own back yard!

I am grateful for the minutes. I am grateful that his daddy is his hero, grateful that he finds ways to be a helper. I am grateful for the time we have lived in Hawaii, counting it a privelege, bordering on a miracle.

We walked up a block, down a block, and started on the Big Uphill. Son1 turned and ran down the hill, defiantly, away from me. I started to say something. But he melted my heart.

"Mommy, I have to pick you some flowers!!!"

I am grateful for the minutes. I am grateful for my eldest son. I am grateful for his thoughtful, big heart, and the care he used to pick my flowers.

We arrived at his classroom, and his teachers greeted him eagerly. He proudly produced the bananas. Son2 started to fuss, and we started to walk out the door. Son1 dropped the wilted flowers gently on the stroller shade, and patted them carefully. I hugged and kissed him and promised I would take good care of my flowers. He beamed, relieved I read the thoughts of his heart.

I am grateful for the minutes. We are so blessed on these morning walks. We identify plants and birds, clouds, and different lawn ornaments. We spend uninterrupted time, just the two of us, talking about all we see. For just minutes.

We leave the school, and I start a new conversation with Son2. I pull the stroller shade back, and we find dogs, trees, cars, and more birds. He laughs and points, and utters the words he knows. We walk for an hour. Sometimes we both talk. Or sing. I love his jargon. Sometimes neither of us talk.

I am grateful for the minutes. I know he won't remember Hawaii exactly, but he will remember the things we have seen here when he sees them on the Big Rock. He is so curious, and I love him for that.

I am grateful for quiet minutes on the walk. Those are the minutes when I dream about our future, when I tell God what's on my heart, when I recite paper napkin scratch in my head. Some days I people watch. I dream stories up about other people I see on my walks. Other times I create mental lists. But the minutes today are quiet. I see things differently than the day before. For fun, I examine tree bark and estimate tree heights.

More minutes passed this day. Hubby came home early, and Son2 was taking a good afternoon nap. I walked up to school alone, and picked Son1 up after school. We walked a different way home. We found these beautiful blossoms, differently colored on the same vine. He told me God made them that way. I smiled. It started to sprinkle, but neither of us minded.I am grateful for these minutes. All of them. The pretty ones, the frustrated ones, the tiresome ones, and the whiny ones. It's a short season. Soon enough I will be grateful for the minutes, even when they disappear. I love these two little boys so much!! I am so grateful for the minutes with them!

Stakin' Out the Steak Out

Hubby and I were starving after his doctor appointment. He fasted before blood work that morning, and I had walked for an hour. By lunch we were impatient and hungry. A light bulb blinked on in his head about a steak place. He told me they were quick, even though the place was packed, and we would get the food to go. They had just a few plates, and the menu was not extensive.

Picture this. I'm famished. Obviously he is too. He says STEAK to a confessed carnivore. He happens to like some nice steak places. In my mind I had an expectation or at least a general idea of the kind of establishment where we might stop. In his mind he thought we were going somewhere that would meet my hunger needs. So he pulls up here.

"This is where you're taking me?!?!????" I recognized the building. It's along the access road between Pearl Harbor Naval Station and Hickam Air Force Base. It's not anywhere that ever flashed EAT HERE at me. It reminded me of bar with no windows. The square sign reads "STEAK OUT Pearl Harbor's Best Kept Secret.

"You're gonna love it!" he announced. He jumped out of the car. I sat there with my mouth in an "O" shape, in shock. I might have followed him and dragged him back to the car, but Son2 was sleeping in the back seat.

I sat there thinking, ok, either way this is going to be something to blog about. Either I am going to love it, and it's going up on The Farmer Files, or I am going to hate it and it is so going up on The Farmer Files. I felt some consolation. I tried my best for a passenger seat shot from a weird angle. The shot was tough. The parking spaces were painted on the diagonal. People kept coming and going on my camera screen, but I finally snapped an exterior shot without any people. Well, some people must sure love this place because the door kept swinging open and closed, with folks carrying lots of take out bags.

Several minutes later Hubby returned. He swung out through the door, armed with take out. I suppressed any images of swinging saloon shutter doors from the old West. Again, he told me I was going to love it, with a confident smile.

We arrived home. I laid Son2 down for a nap in his crib while Hubby unpacked lunch in the kitchen.
He ordered the 21 ounce for him and the 11 ounce for me. We split the larger portion of meat, and still didn't finish. Rice, the Hawaiian food staple, and salad were snuggled into the box. They weren't anything to write home about. Now the meat, that was a completely different story. The meat was savory. It was a bit sweet, probably from shoyu, because it's used in all Hawaiian food. The meat was also peppery, tender, and juicy. It was surprisingly delicious. The Steak Out delivered a pleasing lunch, for lunch. It was what it was, lunch and not a high falootin'- tootin'-I'm-getting-a-babysitter-so-I-can-eat-steak-with-a-knife-in-peace, kind of place. It was definitely some place I am glad I tried, though.

Napkin and No Nos

Selling two homes in a soft market doesn't exactly breed quiet souls. It's a season in our lives, a season that one way or another is going to pass.

Our pastor just finished preaching a six week sermon series on Psalm 23. I was so inspired I wanted to memorize the Psalm completely, committed to memory for good. I memorized it (is it possible to forget something you memorized?) in the fourth grade. I still know the verses today, but I get them mixed up, and forget words here and there. Hubby and I are re-memorizing (he memorized it eons ago, too) it together. I don't commit to anything without Hubby. I like sharing a goal.

In Hubby's lunch I always include a napkin with a note. NO MORE PERSONAL LOVE NOTES until Psalm 23 is memorized. Can you make out my scratch? Here is what I wrote last night for today's lunch:
Do you like the "restores?" Those are Costco and Wal Mart for stores.

"The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He guides me on paths of righteousness for His name's sake..." These are the first three verses. I am adding a verse a day.

Ohh, and the dark spot on the napkin is a reflection of my shadow over the white napkin. It's clean! Memorizing truths might prevent us from filling up on these:In an absolute moment of stress, recently, two half gallons of our favorite ice creams grew legs and walked in our house. But they didn't come solo. Noooo. They held the door open for a bag of brownies that crawled in because they were the "good guys." They benefited a fundraiser. These desserts made a negligible difference in our weight loss. So far.

Sixteen Month Pedestrians

I wasn't going to panic until Son2 turned 16 months. I told myself this when he crawled at 8 months. Don't expect him to walk. Just love the crawling, don't anticipate the walking.

After all, his big brother walked at 16 months. He never toddled, fell down, or walked into things. Nope. He stood up and walked across the house at 16 months, without warning. At 18 months he pretty much went on a complete stroller strike and insisted on walking EVERYWHERE at big people speed. We never bought a double stroller, even though the kids are 2.5 years apart!

Son2 was a crawler and a surfer one day, and the next day he was a walker. He's been a pedestrian for a week and a half. See him walk and see what he finds!

Clouds in Hawaii

Never listen to the people that tell you to take the "easy" science classes in college. Someone doesn't get an "A". ME! I took Dinosaurs And Their Relatives, AIDS and other Sexually Transmitted Diseases, and Air Pollution for my science requirements. Not what most college kids take for science requirements, just the benefits of attending a research university, I suppose. Somebody is studying this stuff and publishing their findings somewhere. I rested on my laurels and figured these were the easy classes, and GASP I think I got all Bs, while everyone else probably got As. Or at least they all bragged they did.

The one thing I learned from my Air Pollution class is that clouds differ by region. I literally remember almost no other content. I am grateful for this little piece of knowledge.

Wherever we have lived or traveled, I am conscious that I am seeing clouds people in another part of the world may never experience. And that leaves me with complete respect and awe for our Creator, that He is so creative in even designing the clouds.Driving home from Costco, Hubby and I saw these low lying clouds. They erupted from behind these mountains, reflecting the sunset. Son1 called it an erupting volcano. We have ongoing discussions that low lying clouds over mountains (and sometimes they really are over inactive volcano craters, now called mountain ranges) are different than erupting volcanoes. It's a little confusing. He knows so much about volcanoes from school, from a museum, and the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. One thing he tells me is that God created these things, whatever they are. For that little acknowledgement, I am grateful.

"He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth; he sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses." Psalm 135:7

A Papaya In the Hand Is Worth Two In the Bush (Or on the Tree)

Hubby and I differ in our opinions about picking the papayas from our trees. He likes to pick them when they are still green, just barely starting to turn yellow. I think they are too green, too hard, and will take too long to ripen. I prefer them to be golden. Besides, they are eye candy for potential buyers. I wouldn't let him pick one golden papaya until after our open house. Just what Hubby warned me about, happened. As in, I told you so. But he never says it. He just shakes his head.He said if I left the papaya on the tree the birds were going to get to it. He was right. I am not sure if it was a cardinal or a mynah.

In the song, The Twelve Days of Christmas, Local Style (the Hawaiian version of the song The Twelve Days of Christmas) the lyrics say:

Numbah One day of Christmas, my tutu give to me
One mynah bird in one papaya tree.

It is kind of sung with a Hawaiian pidgin accent. "Tutu" is the respectful way to say grandma in Hawaii. Well, this song has new meaning for me. I bet by the twelfth day of Christmas that mynah bird was sitting in that papaya tree with no fruit!!

Because the Celebration Is Worth It

So it was a cold week in November. Three of us got pregnant, and our kids were born within days of each other. My friends at T.E.A.M. Althouse found two pictures of me, Melody, and Mama Eekhoff at my baby shower and a picture of our three babies at our Farmers Are Desserting Us party (our going away dessert party). Go here to see.

Their daughter, Erin, was born three days after Son1, and four days before little A. over at the Eekhoff's Plain Life. So in honor of Erin's birthday here are the kids at Cox Farms at just 2 months old. Oh, and girls, get ready. Son1 wants to know when we get to visit you little cuties! He's been visiting your birthday posts with me!

An All Time Favorite Photo

My friend over at The Eekhoff's Plain Life posted an all time favorite photo of mine here, in honor of Son1's birthday. She doesn't even know how much Hubs and I love this photo! See how B.I.G. I got? I even got BIGGER than this! Son1 cooked for 16 more days, and I was induced. I had another ultra sound a little over week after this picture. Baby looked much bigger on the ultrasound than he actually was at birth, and the doctor called TIME!

The second we knew I was pregnant with Son2, Hubby pulled up tons of pictures of this very poker night at our old house. He was so proud I was going to be hugely pregnant again. I am only 5'1", and I carried both babies straight out. Impressive I could walk, I know.

Little A was born seven days after Son1. Which means little A's birthday is tomorrow! So I'll be by after the birthday post to say hi. But for now, here are two sleepy babies after their baby dedication at church. I think it was October 16, 2004.

Unexpected Stress

To take full advantage of Hubby's relocation package, this needs to happen immediately, and not in February, as planned. Our home in VA only 11 miles south of the Pentagon is for sale.

The Real Fourth Birthday!

Son1's birthday was finally here, his Big Boy birthday. Goodbye three, hello four. I recognized the differences between three and four long before today. He identifies gender differences more and more, wanting things that are for Boys Only. If his daddy was his hero yesterday, he is even more so today. He yearns to emulate him in every sense. He is growing into a little man already!
I am so proud, but at the same time I am amazed at how we got here.

Newborn narrowly arrives escaping a C-section, 7lbs 11 oz, 21.5 inches.

Blink. Size 6 underwear, size 12 shoes, and regular 5 (not 5T) clothes.

Blink. TURNS FOUR. Blink. Blink.

Right before my eyes. Blink.

Son1 and Hubby wore matching shirts, and Son2 and I also sported yellow shirts, because we love to match. Birthday breakfast was a feast at our favorite breakfast place. Son1 had his usual, scrambled eggs, Hawaiian fried rice, and old fashioned pancakes with whipped butter and strawberry syrup.
He shared his meal with Son2. I leaned over to spread his whipped butter and serve his strawberry syrup. I was interrupted by, "No, Mommy. I do it all myself because I am FOUR and I am getting bigger and bigger." Hubby and I exchanged glances. Oh boy, here we go.It was a special day. Hubby and I needed a little something for celebration, too. We passed on the cake at the party the day before. But today, ooh lah lah....we feasted on a mango and cream biscuit, swimming in butter, with our breakfast.
That was our morning. A few garage sales, some presents, and a nap later, the kids and I found ourselves on the windward side of the island at Chip and Cookie.

Chip and Cookie is owned by Wally Amos, founder of the Famous Amos chocolate chip cookie brand. His cookie dough, called Chip and Cookie , sells at Costco, and his Uncle Wally's Muffins sell at Costco, Wal-Mart, and Sam's.He used his fame as an actor, cookie entrepreneur, and writer to become the national spokesperson for Literacy Volunteers of America. Three years ago his wife created Chip and Cookie, two characters in the shape of chocolate chip cookies. These store mascots are promoters of literacy.

On Saturdays, Wally reads to children at Chip and Cookie. He is a huge supporter of PBS Hawaii, and is on TV reading to children.
We walked in, and Son1 removed his shoes (Hawaiian custom) before sitting on the beach towels while Wally read Where is the Green Sheep? Son2 refused to sit with me. He inched his way up to his big brother, his best friend.
Afterward Wally offered all of the children and their parents free sample cookies. I purchased a quarter pound of Butterscotch Chip with Pecans, the cookie of the month, to take with us. Son1 grabbed a copy of Wally Amos Presents Chip & Cookie: No More Chocolate Chips! from a shelf and asked me to buy it for him. Soon enough, it was his turn to sit with Uncle Wally. (Uncle is a term of respect in Hawaii, like sir in the South.)
We asked Uncle Wally to sign Son1's book. He took one look at Son1 and asked how old he was, because he is a tall kid. I told him Son1 turned FOUR today. Wally was beside himself. He couldn't believe we came all the way to his store to celebrate Son1's birthday. He autographed the book, and handed Son1 a gift, his CD, and he signed that, too. Then, he played his kazoo-like wooden harmonica (I'm not really sure what it is) around his neck to the tune of Happy Birthday and requested the whole store sing Happy Birthday to Son1. It was soo cool.

Blink blink. In a few hours we were all at home, and Hubby and I tucked a four year old little boy into bed for the first time.

His BIG FOUR Train Party

We celebrated Son1's birthday party at the Hawaiian Railway Society Ewa Station. (W is pronounced like a "v"...Eh-vah; that means west in Hawaiian.)

The train normally runs Sundays only, for the public. It runs weekdays for field trips and private birthdays. This past Friday was Statehood Day, a Hawaii state holiday. This day commemorates the 1959 anniversary of Hawaii's admission to the Union. Schools were closed, and some parents were off from work. Other parents kindly took the day off for the party.
Our little conductor was so excited to celebrate with his buddies and their families. We celebrated with friends from this year and last year's preschool classes, his Baby Hui friends, and friends from church. The party lined up outside of the train yard and waited for the engineer and crew to call a booming "ALL ABOARD"! The keiki guests sported cardboard conductor hats from the Hawaiian Railway Society.Our party filled two passenger cars, though the entire train with many more passenger cars chugged out of the station. Son1 decided our family would sit at the end of the caboose car. The passenger cars were once old military flatcars that were rebuilt by the Hawaiian Railway Society.The gorgeous weather was breezy, warm, and not too bright. It was still morning, though. The train was rather quiet, even with all of the children. They contently gazed at the scenery and the construction along the route. The construction workers and the cross traffic waved the Hawaiian shaka (hang loose sign, pinky and thumb extended), and the kids eagerly waved shakas back.Twenty five minutes after leaving the station, we stopped at the midway point, and played games. We sang the whole Hokey Pokey song, led by the train narrator. Then, our passenger car competed against the other passenger car to see who could shake their car the hardest by rocking, jumping, and shaking the cars. The train crew judged. We were slipping and sliding and rocking and rolling, but our car won! Finally, we switched sides so that we could have a different view on the way back to the station for the last 25 minutes. Those sitting facing the mauka (mountain) side rotated with the makai (ocean) side.

On Sundays the railroad crossing signals work. During the week, they are inoperative and a crew member jumps off the train with an orange flag to halt the cross traffic. That's what Mr. Lou did below. The train engineer repeatedly blew the train whistle as we chugged through cross traffic. All of the passengers waved shakas and the halted cross traffic waved shakas back. The caboose led the way back to the station, since we didn't switch tracks. We tried to hold 16 month old Son2 in our laps, but he scrambled away to sit with his brother. I love this picture.We lugged into the station, and I handed off Son2 to our babysitter, at the train yard. The last activity before lunch was too noisy for Son2. We were so grateful to our babysitter. She was a tremendous help to our family all day. While we were on the train she readied our lunch. All of the keiki followed Son1 off the train and past several passenger cars to the train engine. One by one they climbed into the engine of the train, stood on the engineer's seat, and pulled the rope that sounded the train whistle.The train engineer presented Son1 with a birthday certificate from the Hawaiian Railway Society.

The train engine is a 300 horsepower Whitcomb diesel electric train.

Son1 and his preschool teacher

Son1's preschool teacher suggested she take a picture of Hubby and me.

All the kids had their chance at the train whistle, before we congregated in the train yard. We kept the party simple, yet colorful. The tables were all decorated in Thomas colored tablecloths of red, blue, and yellow. We tied colored balloons to different train accessories on each table. Some tables were decorated with train sets, and others with station pieces.

The kids lunches were super easy. We packed an Uncrustable sandwich, string cheese, juice box and gummy bears with a Thomas napkin in each lunch sack. This worked so well! The parents loved,loved, loved this idea! While the kids were quickly served, the adults popped up and grabbed their lunch without distraction. They had grapes, a veggie tray, chips, dips, and salsa, roast beef croissants and tortilla wraps from Costco. You know I couldn't get away with sack lunches for adults! HA! The fabulous lunch sack idea came from Hubby. The cake was another Costco wonder. One of the children has a chocolate allergy, so we stuck to vanilla with strawberry mouse and buttercream frosting. The toppers were from a LEGO Thomas set with some tracks. Son1 requested balloons on his cake, so he had four balloon candles in addition to his number FOUR. Look closely. Can you see why folks think we're local?

Cake was served, but the kids invented their own game. We brought a couple of Thomas pop up tents. The kids played a game of Chinese Lion. You know, like the lion that is commonly used for the Chinese lion dance? They lifted and lowered, and lifted and lowered all over the yard. Ahhh so Hawaii!The party came to an end. Son1 handed goody bags to his friends, complete with small wooden train whistles. But we were wise enough to hand them whistles as they left!

When his teacher helped clean up after the party, Son1 asked for a purple balloon. I told her the story of last year's last day of preschool. Son1 accidentally let go of his purple balloon after the preschool party. Coincidentally we had been reading Where Do Balloons Go? about a little boy who let go of his purple balloon. I reminded him of the book when he lost his balloon that day. But he has never forgotten that balloon. He reminds me every time he sees a purple balloon that he wants that purple balloon back from the preschool party. We chuckled at the story and finished gathering our things. Just a few minutes later, we exited the train yard with the last of our belongings when his teacher looked up.

She said, "Look! It's your purple balloon! It came to find you for your birthday!" He was stunned. We were all taken back a bit.

The purple balloon is actually stuck in the trees above his head.

After a quiet rest time at home, Son1 opened his gifts from friends. I love that at almost every birthday party I have been to in Hawaii, gifts are not opened at the party. My local friend explained local people want the focus to be on the party and the guests and not on the gifts. This is the second year we have opened gifts privately. We love this idea, and plan to make this a family tradition, even on the Big Rock.

The party was over, but he wasn't four yet. I still had one more day with my three year old!

Turning FOUR!

This was the beginning of birthday week. Son1's actual birthday did not fall on a school day. In Hawaii, though, children's birthdays are celebrated in school, in addition to home celebrations. Parents send in a treat, and sometimes even goody bags. But we decided to keep it simple, because the class and the teachers were invited to his birthday party. I knew we were going to have birthday cake the next day, so instead I chose a double chocolate mousse cake for the class. There is no actual cake inside. It's chocolate mousse covered by this chocolate topping. Whatever dessert I sent in would be too much for his classmates. So I sent in something the teachers could take home with them.

His teacher played her ukulele and sang Happy Birthday to the birthday king. So Hawaii! Son1 wore a shirt Hubby bought him on his last trip that matches his. He has been waiting for his birthday since June. This was two days before his actual birthday, and I just kept thinking, well, he's not actually four yet. He's still our three year old!

You Make Me Smile and Sometimes I Even Laugh Out Loud

Naturally Caffeinated Family tagged me with the Smile Award. I am glad I make people out in Bloggy Land smile! Thank you so much for thinking of us, floating way out here in the middle of the Pacific Ocean!!

Characteristics for the Smile Award:
1. Must display a cheerful attitude (not necessarily at all times–we are all human)
2. Must love one another
3. Must make mistakes
4. Must learn from others
5. Must be a positive contributor to blog world
6. Must love life
7. Must love kids

These are the rules:
1. The recipient must link back to the award’s creator.
2. You must post these rules if you receive the award.
3. You must chose 5 people to receive the award after receiving it yourself
4. You must fit the characteristics of the recipient of the award, as posted by Mere.
5. You must post the characteristics of a recipient.
6. You must create a post sharing your win with others.
7. You must thank your giver.

Now, here is who gets one:
(AND I am including the link to a post they wrote that made me smile!)

Sand Between My Toes
I smile when I read so many of your posts! I love when you share pictures, take me on vacation with your blog, and share your grandchildren and friends. I am intrigued by all that is in your attic, in your garage, and all about the old barn. Your patience with Bob the Builder is admirable. I enjoyed reading about your godson and Japanese daughter. You seem like such an inclusive family! This post made me smile.

Beloved Spring
You are so transparent and honest! You share your heart, the joys and struggles of mothering two little men, and particularly how you are growing! I read your posts, and think, yeah, me too! Your photography speaks more than a thousand words. You inspire me to want to read my camera manuals! I just loved that sunset, and can't wait to hear how running goes. This post made me smile. You have such a way with the boys!
C is for Caleb
Your silliness and playfulness make me smile. I love how your share private family moments, your thoughts on His grace, and your confessions on change. I see a side that I don't even see in 4D. I read these posts, and can't wait to see you afterward. Ha! This post made me smile from beginning to end.
Embrace the Circus
Ok, Kathleen makes me laugh! The rest of you do, too, of course, but you just aren't Kathleen! The mouse that ate the corn was priceless. I loved her superhero cape to protect her from the virus evils, telling Lambie he is too old for glitter glue, and her attachment to the jeep. But a post that just captured motherhood was this one. It made me smile.
His Treasured Possession
Well, I smile an awful lot when reading your posts, through the funny ones, and through the heartfelt ones, the ones that are brimming with integrity. Those are the days I wish I lived in the same city, that we could still play cards at night, and that you would make dessert. I have not forgotten this post. I thought it was HYSTERICAL.

Love you all! Share, share, share these awards!!!