Patrick gets a haircut

The End Result



Halfway through



Before the great chopping!!

Patrick has been begging me to Buzz cut his hair since November. Well, today was the day. He is so happy about it, but still doesn't understand why I didn't do it sooner...Kids!!

Old High School Dance Picture

Oh my gosh...a friend of mine found this picture in his High School stuff. It makes me feel old. But I love it!! Just wanted to share it with everyone.

Thinking about my life...

What makes each of us special? I am thinking about it...is it a talent? or maybe a feature? The pursuit of education? I'm not sure.

How does my existence change anyone else's. Am I making a difference?

Or, am I afraid of what someone might see? Afraid to put my life out there to be examined, to be completely transparent. Is that really a good enough reason to hide? Or, would it really be considered hiding?

I read the blogs of friends and family, never putting down my thoughts. A voyeur in life. Being an observer in everyone's life, but not really involved. Not really connecting. Being able to say..."yes, I know (such and such) they were a good person" when really I am thinking, that person made my life hell. I disliked being in their presence. But does that make it right to say they were a good person, or should I say how I really felt. And, now that it is almost 20 years later, does it really matter?

What makes right...right? Isn't it a duty to do all that I can to make the world better than when I came?

Forgive me. I am just connecting with a lot of people lately and I keep thinking I should have done more. More to stay in touch, more to be a better friend, just more.

Remembering Uncle Frank

I will always remember Uncle Frank. When I woke up this morning I remembered him, so I have been thinking about him all day. I am going to share some of the things that I remember.

1. Frank called Nathan - Chongo the Dog Boy - it still makes me laugh
2. The Little Mermaid also known as the "The Little Barmaid" Set up another round Arial. He always made me laugh when he said that.
3. When Uncle Frank married Aunt Dar...Krissy, Laura and I were devastated. We were sure that he was going to marry one of us, and that we were going to live in the Hilldale house.
4. I loved when Frank would do the floors at the Pit because he would sing. I loved listening to him sing.
5. High Pockets - another nickname that Frank had for Nathan
6. A woman came into the pit and Frank was the meat cutter. She chastised him for throwing away scraps when there were starving people in China...his reply "Name 3" I still use that one.


John shared a story with me today about Uncle Frank.

He was having uncertainty and doing things he shouldn't have been doing. But he was contemplating a mission. He didn't feel right about going, but he also felt he should go. So, he got down on his knees and prayed asking for guidance on what he should do. He had a dream...he saw a young man and the man said "John" John didn't recognize that man and asked him who he was. He said "I'm your Uncle Frank" John said "No, my Uncle Frank is dead". Frank said "John, I am your Uncle Frank". John recognized him as a young Uncle Frank. John than asked him if he should go on a mission and Uncle Frank told him "No, you aren't ready." John said that he felt peace after this dream.

I loved him very much...and miss talking silly with him, and singing with him in the San Marcos Pit Room. I would love to hear any stories or Frankisms so if you have one, please post.

Just hanging out

Patrick still has issues with "flash photography" as he calls it. I can't get a picture of him unless he is making a face or anticipating the flash. He is a funny kid.



This is Megan after she had been playing in the mud. She took off her shirt because there was mud on the sleeves and then she just buckled her overalls. I found her tiara on the ground in the kitchen and had asked her to put it away. When I went back into the living room she was sitting on the floor no shirt, overalls and a tiara. That is exactly who Megan is.



Here they are together...and yes, I did make Megan put a shirt on (after we took the pictures of course) She was not happy about it. But I couldn't let her play outside without a shirt.



William came by this weekend (with his parents) and he was determined to get soda out of this empty bottle. He kept spitting out his pacifier and trying to drink out of the bottle. He is such a sweet little boy. We always enjoy his (and his parents) visits.

All the ice is melting

What a difference a week makes. I can hardly believe that we had almost 2 inches of ice and 2 inches of snow on top of our house. You would hear horror stories about how carports collapsed under the weight of the ice, cars slid off the road, etc. But, we were lucky...our power only went off for 45 minutes. There are people in Arkansas still out of power, and will be for awhile longer.

Anyway, I just wanted to say how blessed we are that we didn't have any home damage. We all stayed warm, played in the ice (sledding) and we just are grateful we are healthy.

That's all I wanted to say. I hope this finds you and yours healthy as well.