dogs again

the cutest thing I have EVER seen

My sister Amy's three dogs Brandon, Mia, and Spencer curled up asleep together.
If that doesn't make you smile and give you warm fuzzies then nothing will.

fotos

I know that I subject you all to my photography sometimes and since I know how much you LOVE them (oh just humor me and say you love them), I am now going to share with you some of my favorite pics that Jeff has taken. I will set aside my snobby pride and admit that he is actually a pretty good photographer (what makes me fume is that it's accidental, he doesn't spend most of his waking moments framing imaginary shots in his mind and then constantly have a camera ready just in case one of those shots presents itself...). Anyway, enjoy.

Some chilly geese

Coming in for a landing

more geese

He took this in Germany. It's probably my favorite picture that he has taken so far.

This is another one of my favorites from Germany.

I'd say he's pretty good with a camera :)

One month

Today is the one month anniversary of my dad's passing. It is also Veteran's Day. I was always proud of his service to our country and this holiday always held special meaning to me but now it has a little more poignance to it. I prayed last night for strength to help me get through today and wondering how I was going to make it without tearing up at all the little thoughts that run around in my head. Then I got to work and found a beautifully written message from my sister Amy. I won't share all of it but I will share a portion of it. It was exactly what I needed and it made me realize that God has already given me the strength I need to make it through this. He gave it to me in the form of my amazing family. My siblings and I have grown closer and have relied on each other for hope, laughter, remembrance, and reminders of the lessons that he taught all of us. My mom has shown amazing amounts of grace and resilience and has guided us all. One month later, and the memory of his smile and laughter is slowly wiping out the pain and heartache. Thank you all and Happy Veterans' Day.

Here are a few exerpts from my sister's message:

So I was trying to figure out a way that I could get through the day without those little thoughts that bring tears to my eyes......So many times I've wondered how I could hang on for even one more day or even a moment. I just did. There it is, exactly the same thing Aron said at Daddy's funeral. You just do. Something Daddy must have instilled in all of us so deeply that it seems like a natural thing to do. One month ago I wondered how we would get through the pain and continue living life. We just do.

How does Andi get married without Daddy to walk her down the aisle? How does she have children without them ever knowing Daddy? How does Dina enjoy her new marriage and love her new husband without being able to share her happiness with Daddy? How do reunite with my children or not, without having Daddy to share it with or lean on? How do I have another child without Daddy ever holding him or her? How does Aron continue to grow as a family man without Daddy to guide him? How do the grandchildren grow without having a wonderful influence such as Daddy in their lives? How does Leslie find joy and meaning in life again? The answer is, we just do. We do it because that's what he taught us to do. We do because we are the strong people he taught and encouraged us to be.

So instead of being sad, let's honor him by living our lives with joy and passion. Let's do our best at whatever we decide to do. Let's live with dignity. Let's be kind and compassionate like he taught us to be. Let's lean on each other the way he taught us. Let's be strong and courageous like he was. Let's celebrate the good times. Let's love our families and each other. We know that Daddy is with God watching over us all. He wants us to be happy, and yes, he is here with us I know it.

I found a quote that sums it up. "The barn burned down... now I can see the moon." What it means to me is that the "barn burning" is something really bad happening, and at the time it's all you can focus on. But soon your focus changes and you start seeing things differently, your view changes. Now you see the moon, or rather something beautiful you didn't see before. And you may have never seen it if the bad thing didn't happen, or if the barn never burnt down.

Thank you to my dear sister who knew just what I needed just when I needed it. You truly are a blessing.

Daddy and Andi. September 7, 1983

Thanksgiving 1983

a nation of wimps

That is the title to a book that came out recently about how many parents are setting their kids up to fail because they are over-involved in their lives and are trying to protect them from falling down, getting discouraged, and telling them that they can have as many times as it takes to get it right. I know that at the tender age of 25, I can't exactly sit in my rocker and tsk tsk about kids these days, but I have seen too many examples of kids who are going to never make it because their parents insist on making their lives easy and bailing them out of any unpleasant situation they find themselves in.

I'm not saying I had to walk to school uphill both ways in the snow or anything, but something just gets to me when I see 16 year olds with fresh licenses driving around in shiny new Mustangs, Camaros, and trucks. Granted, my dad did buy me my first car, but it was an 83 Oldsmobile with an AM only radio that I had to switch out myself. I had to pay the insurance, and if it needed repaired, I paid the bill or was out in the garage with my dad learning how to fix it.

Case in point: we had a kid that worked here for about a month. He is a high schooler and drives a fairly new Mustang that he does not make a car payment or an insurance payment on. The other night he was just standing around (which was normal for him) so Jeff's brother got irritated and gave him a job to do. He replied by saying that he was getting picked on for no reason, then he said he quit, clocked out and went home. All because Tim expected him to work while he was at work. What a concept.

The other kid that worked for us pretty much shared the same work ethic. He drives a fairly new car as well. He didn't show up to work last night.

Both boys of course showed up today to collect their paychecks. I asked the second kid why he wasn't here last night, he replied that he quit as well. Then they had the nerve to go out to the cash register to get their checks cashed.

Another lady I know has twin boys that are 17. One has a Camaro, the other has a 3000GT. She and her husband bought the cars for them and pay the insurance. One just recently got a ticket. His mom is paying that ticket and paying for him to take the class to get it off of his record. The other one just recently locked his keys in the trunk of his Camaro (don't ask), and you can guess who paid the locksmith to come and get them out.

Is this seriously our future? The kids that worked here and quit will go home to parents who will tell them "that's okay, you were getting picked on" and continue to pay their bills for them. The other kids will be 30 and still having their parents bail them out of problems.


Is this seriously what we want to teach our kids? "Do whatever is most comfortable and if it doesn't work out, we'll fix it for you and help you blame somebody else." Yeah, that's just what we need, more wimps.

Sounds like a winner to me. Okay, okay, I'll get off of my soapbox now.

Oh no she di-in't!

Oh yes she did. That's right. She's goin' political.

My political activism has always been right at the "have my opinion and let other people have theirs" level. Apparently, not all people keep it at this level.

I'm going to come out and say it.....I'm....a......Republican! Gasp! I can't believe she actually admitted this! Wow, she's brave!

I know it's not the popular thing to be right now and I can almost hear the hisses that will follow me wherever I go.

I am a Republican. I do not, however, believe that Barack Obama is going to eat our children or that he is going to make copies of the keys to the white house and mail them to terrorist organizations. I do not believe that he harbors a secret love for all things communism and gets pointers from Castro and Kim Jong-il. For those of you that do believe this (particularly the man who was just in the hardware store rambling on for about 20 minutes trying his best to convince everyone withing earshot that this is in fact the case), please shut up and go away. You are giving the rest of us a bad name.

I am a Republican. I do not believe that the apocolypse will set upon us should Mr. Obama be elected. I do not feel the need to go out and stock up on assault rifles and canned food and shut myself in a bomb shelter for the duration of his term. (aforementioned nutjobs, please feel free to lock yourselves away, we'll be better off without you).

A quick note to the extreme left-wingers, please stop preaching that the apocolypse will set upon us should Mr. McCain be elected. You are just as annoying as the extreme right-wingers.

Thank you.

Happy Halloween

From.....

BATMAN!!!

BATGIRL!!!!

and ROBIN!!!...er...well....

well, they tried to get Jonah to be Robin but he had to be a stubborn Bowman and go with the non-conformist dinosaur costume.


Me: Jo Jo what are you?

Jonah: Dy-soar (dinosaur)

Me: What kind of dinosaur?

Jonah: T-Wex (t-rex)

Me: Are you a cute T-rex?

Jonah: NO! T-Wex Scawy! (t-rex scary)

Me: What does a t-rex say?

Jonah: Rawr!

Who Knew

You Are the Swedish Chef

"Bork! Bork! Bork!" Your happy and energetic - with borderline manic tendencies. No one really gets you. And frankly, you don't even get you. But, you sure can whip up a great chocolate mousse

The Muppet Personality Test