Pajama Party

The kids got some new pajamas and were so excited to wear them tonight at bedtime. They got all riled up and crazy. I think "this pajama thing" is the direct result of getting so many unique and wonderful pajamas from their Grandma.

In their little world; Pajamas=Love!!!!!!!

It reminds me of that Christmas when Mom made all those pjs for the kids at the shelter in Phoenix and we delivered them downtown.(I can't remember how many?) I'm not sure my kids can remember the experience but I won't ever forget thinking about the kids who would wear those snuggly pajamas. I hope they knew "Pajamas=Love". Those were not second rate pjs either, they were just as fancy and beautiful as the family jams.

As always, the drama crew wanted me to put the picture on the blog. Maybe.... Blog=Love too!!

Fernbank Forest & Fernbank Science Center

I am in Atlanta this weekend and today after Emma's basketball game we went to a local science center and natural area which is run by a local school district. We had a fun day of exploration and learning!

We also had fun inside taking pictures inside of a kaleidoscope.

Happy Birthday to Joe

Happy birthday to Joe. Happy Birthday to Joe. Happy 11th birthday cute little monkey. Happy birthday to you (and MANY more....!)

Joe celebrated his birthday so many times I can't even remember where this picture was taken. He went out to eat (and had a birthday dessert) at least three times. Celebrated with Gram and Gramp and had a special toy shopping outing with big bro Josh. Still on his radar is a "friend party" .. which we have learned is more successful in late January or early Feb.

We love you Joe and we are all glad that you are ours!

The beach in the rain

The day after Josh's graduation we went to the beach on the base. It was cold and rainy but still a lot of fun! Joe was the only one brave enough to get in the water. It was Jaylin's first trip to the beach!

Video from Josh's graduation

We started the day with the flag raising ceremony and there was some fantastic brass band music. The song on the video was my favorite! Then the video goes to where we were cheering for all the Marines in the audience, Jayson and Dad being among the many of the few there supporting the new. The last part of the video is a small part of the graduation. The graduation was inside because there was a threat of rain and it was nearly impossible to take a good picture. Josh was in the last row the third column from the left.

North Carlina museum of history

Debby and I went to this museum before we went to South Carolina for Josh's graduation. It is a great museum. We didn't get to see all of the displays but the ones that we saw were really cool. The first display was about North Carolina furniture, textiles, and pottery. It was very fascinating and made Debby and I want to go and explore the areas where the pottery was made.

This quilt is one of the coolest that I have ever seen. It is a representation of a cotton boll. This is what the note next to the quilt says: "The combination of red and green for the cotton bolls is striking against the white background. The cotton boll pattern is based upon the ancient Greek anthemion, a popular architectural motif."

I remarked while we were at the museum that I know a lot more about the Navajo people than I do about the Cherokee. It is interesting being in North Carolina to learn about the Cherokee people and traditions and to know that is is a small part of my heritage. This is a sandstone carving which depicts the Cherokee story of creation. Here is what the sign says: "This sculpture tells the story of creation of the Cherokee people and the things they considered sacred. The turtle represents Mother Earth and the continent where we live. The owls are messengers from the great Spirit. They carry the message of death to remind people to get their lives in order before they die. The snake symbolizes Cherokee unity and power and is a warning to tread softly in Cherokee territory. The dogwood flowers stand for the beauty in each day. The old chief on the top has died, and the medicine man wearing the owl mask prays for his spirit to go to the place of peace. Feathers hang from the rear of the sculpture, and they represent the Cherokee nation and its thousands of years on the land. Cherokee warriors always wore their feathers hanging down to show membership in the Tsalagi tribe. At the top of the feathers is a round medallion. The circle and lines mark the four directions from which the Creator is called in prayer. At the base of the sculpture are two circles containing drawings that represent the ancestors who have passed. The medallion drawings originated from gorgets that are thousands of years old. One drawing is of the rattlesnake, which represents unity among all clans of the ancient Cherokee, and the other is of a woodpecker. Woodpeckers symbolized the bird clan. In the design, they are pointing in the four directions. A salamander, carved on the left side of the turtle, stands for the little creatures in the world. They are also important to creation.

This is a piece of pottery by a contemporary Cherokee artist. I thought that it was absolutely beautiful!

The next generation of Ward Triathletes

Katie jumped on her Dad's stationary bike this afternoon and said"I'm going to ride 10 miles!" And she proceeded to do it! I was pretty impressed with not only her dedication but also her cool sweatband.

Life is a bowl of Ice Cream

A group of alumni, all highly established in their respective careers, got together for a visit with their old university professor. The conversation soon turned to complaints about the endless stress of work and life in general... Offering his guests ice cream, the professor went into the kitchen and soon returned with a large container of ice cream and an eclectic assortment of cups: porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal -- some plain, some expensive, some quite exquisite. Quietly he told them to help themselves to some fresh ice cream. When each of his former students had a cup of ice cream in hand, the old professor quietly cleared his throat and began to patiently address the small gathering... "You may have noticed that all of the nicer looking cups were taken up first, leaving behind the plainer and cheaper ones. While it is only natural for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is actually the source of much of your stress-related problems." He continued...''Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the ice cream. In fact, the cup merely disguises or dresses up what we eat. What each of you really wanted was ice cream, not a cup, but you instinctively went for the best cups... Then you began eyeing each other's cups....'' ''Now consider this: Life is ice cream. Jobs, money, and position in society are merely cups. They are just tools to shape and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not truly define nor change the quality of the Life we live. Often, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the ice cream that God has provided us... God makes the ice cream, but he does not supply the cups. Enjoy your ice cream!'' The happiest people don't have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything they have ... So please remember:

Live simply.
Love generously.
Care Deeply.
Speak Kindly.

And remember -- the richest person is not the one who has the most, but the one who needs the least.

question

Dan & Kris -
Would it be possible and/or appropriate to link to your smugmug sites from here?

I'd like to be able to download/order some of your pictures.

thanks

NC Snow Storm

I just thought that I would upload some of the photos of the storm that we had here. We didn't get near as much as Atlanta but it was enough to for me to get "snowed in" on Saturday. I still have great fear of NC roads in the snow after seeing the stop sign that Dan ran over!

By the way ... that is ice on the trees, not snow. It was funny to me that it was reminiscent of what blooms look like rather that what a winter storm should look like, especially the second photo.

On-Line Chat

I posted this so that everyone would see what I had commented to Charlie's post about the book review.

I suggest that we do an online chat each Sunday night between 9 - 9:30 until we run out of things to talk about. If everyone can finish the "Ultimate Gift" by next week we could do the review then.

Mom and are will both have finished the book by the end of the week.

Love you all,

Dad & Mom