For Services Rendered:

We would like to say "Thank You" to all of the veterans who have served our country in any capacity, especially Papa.

YOU are appreciated.

So, where is he?

Today was a day of both sorrow and joy.

Buddy is our male dog. He is 14 years old and mostly blind and deaf. Somehow, he got out of the backyard. Hence the source of our sorrow.

Fortunately, Buddy is chipped. Unfortunately, we didn't have the chip number. (We do now!) Mommy tried to reach the vet where he had been chipped and they were having a staff meeting. She contacted the local animal shelter, which, oddly enough, was not listed in the phone book. We asked our next door neighbor and she remembered seeing a black and white dog across the street and heading north. So, off we trekked around the neighborhood to see if we could find our lost boy.

After a half hour of searching, we had no luck. So, at home, we made posters with Buddy's picture and our contact number to put up around the area. When we exited our home, our next door neighbor's son asked if we had found him yet. Caleb is a really good kid and was genuinely interested. He said he would check with his friends around the neighborhood to see if they found him.

We jumped in the van and started placing signs. Just after placing the first poster, we met another neighbor who said she also saw him heading in the same direction. That was our heading for placing signs. We traveled another 1/2 mile through the houses when we spotted Caleb. He had found Buddy. He rode his bike along every side street in order to try to find him. What a blessing it is to have Caleb as our neighbor. Even in the midst of dispair, God's mercy is present.

The ending of the story is that Buddy is home with us again and is none the worse for wear. He was missing for about 2 1/2 hours. We have secured the gate to the yard with some bungie cords so it cannot be pushed open by him, again. His return is the source of our joy.

K's 1st Sleepover

Yesterday evening we picked up Kitty from her first ever sleepover without her sister. Both she and Jules have stayed with these friends before, and Jules has spent the night without Kitty, but never just Kitty. All reports are she did just fine and had a really great time She was very excited to be able to do this alone, but was glad to be home after two nights.

Our baby is growing up.

A Teddybear Picnic

This morning we are having a picnic that included teddybears, a koala, two elephants, a panda bear and a rabbit. There were 10 friends in all. We had stuffed pretend food - sandwiches, watermelon slices and cookies from Mommy's fabric picnic basket. After our meal, we will be treated to a dance recital and stories from our racecar driver, scuba diver, young Bear Scout and World Cup Soccer champion.

What a fun morning!

Singing in the rain? Part 2

The performance today went just fine. Both girls sang really well. The rain showed up in the morning instead of showtime. Their group was entertainment for the Relay for Life participants.

Singing in the rain?

The forcast for today is rain all day. The girls are performing outside this evening, so we hope that they won't get wet or be rained out. We'll just need to wait and see. At best, we can hope for a delay.

Bump Day

We were involved in a very minor rear-end collision yesterday afternoon less than a mile from home. We were stopped behind two cars at a stoplight. Just as the light turned green, a woman behind us rammed into the van. There was no apparent damage to either vehicle and WE ARE ALL OK. The back of Mommy's head hurt afterwards and she was a little bit dizzy, but not too much to drive home. The girls were frightened, but not hurt.

We are thankful and blessed that it was not any worse. We thought Wednesday was hump day, not bump day.

La-la-la-la

The girls perform their first song of the year on the fifthteenth of this month. They have been working really hard on getting each song just tight and making really good progress.

This year, Jules will be singing "Angels" by Amy Grant and "Love Changes Everything" from the musical Aspects of Love by Sir Andrew Lloyd Weber.

Kitty is performing "This Is My Father's World" - author unknown and "Friends" by Michael W. Smith.

New this year is a duet. They will being singing "The Coloring Song" by Petra together. Additionally, we are hoping most of the performances will be sung with live guitar accompaniment. An instrumental version of the song is not available, but Mommy was able to get a copy of the sheet music. Another student of their instructor volunteered to record the guitar back-up for the vocals. The girls have been using thus version for practice and will be using it at perormances only if the youngman is unable to attend. What a unique experience for the girls!

What's red, delicious and ... seedless?

Today, while cutting open an apple for our snack, Mommy discovered that it had only one seed. Period. Since when didwe develop seedless apples?!?