WHO IS THIS MASKED MAN?

Letters from LADY

THe following is an email I received from J's mom (LADY) today. I thought it was so good that I would share it all with you. Sometimes we just need some motherly advice!!

To my dear children, I have just watched, viainternet, a beautiful man talk of life. He will losehis in the very near future due to pancreatic cancer.There was a short article about him in the Parademagazine but best of all, I watched part of aninterview last night with Diane Sawyers.Unfortunately, I didn't see the first part.After 7 years of marriage and 3 children he wasdiagnosed; he is about 46. In the interview he and hiswife talked of their lives and how they are handlingthis situation-with joy for life, their children andone another. It is a warm story filled with wisdom andserving to remind us that much of what we spend ourenergies, thoughts and money on are really prettyuseless. To ourselves and others.Mostly, it reminded me not to wasteful of my own time,and to be eternally grateful that I have had a longlife. And I don't want to "lull" the rest of it away.I'm asking you to take the time to hear his speech,"My Last Lecture." It can be found at Parade. com. Itis about 1 hr. 15 min. He is very funny, verythoughtful, very real. Please don't think you don'thave time--you do and it may be the best gift you giveyourselves.God bless each of you and may we have the mind to makethe most of what is important AND to enjoy our lives.Perhaps that is a gift we forget to accept. Mom

Not so Wordless Wednesday

The Chefs........ who got up at who knows what time to make breakfast for their mom and dad..........all on their own.......its no ones bday or anniversary.........the chefs just wanted to do it!

The diners.......notice our "table" is the ottoman with a blanket on it. We are each sitting on two pillows as our gourmet breakfast was served. Again....the seating in the living room....was the kids' idea!

Mom's breakfast.....toasted bagel with cream cheese, 3 strawberries, and coffee with my favorite creamer!!

Dad's breakfast........3 pancakes (microwaved) with a pat of butter and syrup on the top, 6 strawberries, and coffee.....no creamer.........This was such a great surprise for us. Neither J nor I had any idea that this was their plan. They all got up and were dressed for school while preparing our breakfast. We then had to remind them that they all needed to eat before school, too. We have such sweet kids!!!!!!

This picture is just funny.

The blue and white shoes are mine.......but now that Jill and I wear the same size (8 1/2).......sometimes, like today, she borrowed (I mean stole) my shoes. So today, I got her tennis shoes (brown laces) and wore them to work out!!!!! She can even wear some of my shirts and jackets! YIKES! She is going to be as tall as Cathe!

Jonathan thought it was funny, so he took a pic for the blog before we all left this morning. : )

NANO HELP ANYONE??

An IPOD Nano arrived for me today. With our European trip coming up in a few months, I decided I need my own.......that it probably is not a good idea for Jonathan and I to share his!!! We have totally different tastes in music and podcasts.

I got the color like the one above......its so pretty! Now if I can just keep it from getting scratched up! I may even have to ask Jill for instructions on how to use the thing. If any of you have helpful hints........please post them. THANKS

Camp Courage........J's Mom's article

Camp gives kids courage to carry onAttending one's first-ever summer camp can bedownright daunting. Even if you're the oldest persongoing and a counselor.Last June, I climbed onto one of three buses headingto the Butman Methodist Camp, wondering how (and why)I got myself into this. I'd be spending four days with110-plus children, in grades first through 12th, allof whom were dealing with grief because of personallosses.Our family's experience with loss taught me thatchildren grieve deeper and longer than most wouldthink; compelled to help (as many had helped us whenwe were new to the "family of sorrow"), I hadvolunteered.What felt right then didn't feel so right now.But there I was, and unless I feigned illness and leftthe bus, I was in. Turning to the child sitting nextto me, I said, "Hi, what's your name?"Thus began a rewarding experience into the world ofCamp Courage, whose motto is, "I didn't cause it, Ican't fix it, but I can cope with it."Camp Courage is funded by Children's Miracle Network.The top-notch, age-appropriate activities are plannedand executed by Hendrick Hospice Care; counselors aretrained volunteers.My first clue that Hospice knew what they were doingcame when I was paired with Brenda, a capable andexperienced counselor. We were assigned to six teenagegirls from across the Big Country.I wish I could share their stories, but like LasVegas, what happens at Camp Courage stays at CampCourage. Unlike Vegas, we returned home with moretreasures than we took. Equally important, heavybaggage was left behind.Campers are not pressured to tell their stories; itcomes naturally in that setting. Suppressed grief islike attempting to hold a ball under water; it willpop up somewhere. Teaching how to keep it from"popping up" in uncontrolled or destructive ways isone goal of Camp Courage.Our group included athletes, loners and a carhop.Their losses ranged from disappearing dads to deathsof friends and family -- including an infant.Like me, they questioned their attendance, but unlikeme, they hadn't volunteered. Mostly they had beenpersuaded by someone who loved them. After days ofsharing, crying and laughing, they were glad theycame! So was I.We had pet therapy (gorgeous dogs and one cat), yogatherapy, writing therapy, rock therapy, friendship andfun therapy. The best part was that none of it feltlike "therapy."During "roll down the hill" therapy, a snake wasdiscovered. Some kids thought it was "cool." Somedidn't. I was in the latter group.There's no quick fix for grief. Hopefully, through theCamp Courage experience, kids won't be stuck on"high-center," but will continue to travel the roughroad of recovery. Recovery doesn't mean life is "asbefore" because it's not and won't be, but life canstill be good. Even in great sadness, lessons can belearned; we can grow.Each of our beautiful girls left camp stronger, morehopeful; the transformation thanks to time spentlearning the skills of acceptance and coping.Counselors met twice daily to share problems, getadvice, tell stories. My favorite story:Two little first-grade girls were walking past thelarge slice of stone announcing the entrance to theCamp Butman complex. They stopped, pondered.One wondered aloud who was buried there. The otherstudied the wording a bit and replied, "I think it'sMr. Butt-Man."I've signed up to go again; I wouldn't miss it.Please join us.

Camp Courage information: www.hendrickhospice.org Orcontact Nadene 677-8516 by April 14. Hillcrest Churchof Christ Web site: HillcrestOnline.com (click griefministry under "latest news").Betty Davis is a freelance writer in Abilene andregular columnist. She is a former Abilene publicschool board president.

STITCHES.........

A few posts ago I mentioned our dog Cocoa..........I also mentioned that I love that little dog!
After his run-in with the barbed wire, we checked him out and he seemed like he was going to be OK. On Thursday, I was looking on the spot on the inside of his back leg again and YUCKY looking it was. My BFF Taos Lurker was here (she is the dog queen----seriously she may have 7-8) and I had her look at it. She almost gagged, too. We decided that Cocoa should go to the vet that day. He went that afternoon.......you know, you take your kid to get an allergy shot, then off to the vet for him to look at your other "kid".........Dr Meurer said that he would need to put Cocoa to sleep, remove the dead tissue, and stitch him up! He also had to spend the night because of the sedation........he is also taking the pink bubble gum antibiotic (the same one your other kids take) so that he does not get an infection!

Sweet Jonathan picked him up from the vet. He was not a happy Budget Nazi. NOT GOOD.
I told him that he knows that if it was our other dog, Love, who is his favorite......that we would not be having this conversation.

I was not one to look at pet insurance before..........I will check into it now..........I could even sell it!
LOL

(I am home alone. Jill is at a friends house and J and the boys are helping brand cattle today at another friends house. SO PEACEFUL I might take a nap-----or clean the house!)
HAPPY SATURDAY.

What a hottie!!!!!

OK.....this pic was supposed to be last, but.....whatever! I saw this on the Davis Girls Hunting Trip and took a pic of it on my phone! Pretty appropriate because the Davis Boys Hunting Trip is actually hunting for animals........the Davis Girls "hunt" for cute stuff! We do not kill Bambi.

Here is the HOTTIE.......

J got some new sunglasses today. It is so weird to see him in other brands than Oakley! He was branching out and decided to try something new! You look good, honey!