Catching Up and Being Thankful

I was just beginning to do a little catch-up post when I heard about the devastating tornadoes that hit Moore, OK today, a town where we lived when my two oldest kids were in early elementary school. One local official has described it as the worst damage from a tornado ever to occur in this country. Whether that is true or not the damage is incredible. My heart goes out to everyone there with a special prayer for the parents who are waiting with hopes of being reunited with their children at an elementary school that was destroyed.

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I've said before that I sometimes try to avoid posting too much of the same 'ol family stuff, though in reality that is mostly what my blog is about. Today, thinking of what the people in Moore, OK are going through, I am doing this little family catch-up with an extra measure of gratitude in my heart.

Our Mother's Day finished with a picnic to celebrate Mother's Day and several May birthdays. There was cake, baseball and the annual picture of me with my grandkids on the slide.

Beck wasn't too excited about the picture taking.

Later in the week I got to watch Hope perform in a school orchestra concert and at her school talent show.

EJ had her last soccer game of the season on Saturday.

On Sunday we went out for a birthday dinner for Hope and my daughter, Joanna, who both have birthdays this week.

Big news! Dodger (center)  has a new girlfriend.....the black dog on the right of the picture. He was doing his best to look cool to impress her at doggy day care.

Another busy week coming up with 4 grandkid graduations.....2 from preschool and 2 from elementary
school.

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Great news.....I just heard that all the kids at two elementary schools hit by the tornado in Moore, OK have been accounted for. As I recall the recent activities that my family has enjoyed, my thoughts and prayers go out to the families in Oklahoma who are suffering from the tornado damage there.
***I just heard an update that they are still looking for children at one of the destroyed elementary schools and that there are also some children that may not have survived.***

May Has Been a Blur.....and It's Mother's Day Already

It seems like for me that it has gone from the 1st of May to nearly the middle of May in the blink of an eye. As that time flew by we enjoyed a trip to New Orleans and a visit from Doc's son and family from San Diego, and I have been working way too much for someone who is supposed to be retired.

We had a great time in New Orleans, but I don't really have much in the way of pictures to prove it. The ones I did take have to do with food, which is appropriate since we spent a lot of time eating while we were there.

This is our dessert being prepared after a wonderful Sunday brunch at Brennan's.

This place was not quite as fancy as Brennan's, but the popularity of their fried chicken dinners is apparent from the line of people that was waiting to get in as we were leaving.

Doc's 5 yr old granddaughter, Avery (left) and one of my 5 yr old granddaughter's, EJ, became immediate best buddies while Doc's son and his family were here.

This morning Mother's Day started early for us with the Colorado Rockies Home Run For The Homeless race. This has become a very fun Mother's Day tradition for our family.

Joanna and Hope nearing the finish line.

Jared, Hope and Justin after the race. 

EJ getting a Rockies tattoo in preparation for the Kid's Fun Run.

Justin ran the Fun Run with EJ after doing the 5k race. She finished in style, still running fast enough to have her hair flying.

Beck was all set for the Fun Run.....until he changed his mind and said "no, thank you".

I'm off in just a little while to Mother's Day part II, a family picnic, another family Mother's Day tradition that I really look forward to. 

Beneath all the activity today are thoughts of my mother who died when I was 18.

I hope everyone is having a good Mother's Day.

May Fool's Day

A conversation between my daughter, Joanna, and my 5 year old granddaughter, EJ,  on Tuesday.

EJ: Today is the last day of April

Joanna: That's right....so what does that make tomorrow?

EJ: May Fool's Day!

It turns out that EJ was right and the joke is on us....this is what we woke up to on this May Day morning. We went from 80 on Monday to this today and it is supposed to snow all day.

No, this is not normal for us, and no, I do not love it. I sort of feel like the person I heard the other day saying, "If I hear one more person say, but, we really need the moisture, that person is going to get a snowball in the face."  What's wrong with a little rain?

I guess we won't be skipping around leaving flowers on people's doorsteps this May Day.

How is the May Day weather where you are?

Friday Fragments

Thursday was Take Your Child To Work Day and thus Hope spent a few hours in his office with Brandon. She always wants to do this, but I expect she was ready to get back to school after a bit of child labor in the office. I think Take Your Child To Work Day is a good idea, but I have to wonder about how people with with no kids like it when others show up at work with their kids in tow.

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This is a short conversation my daughter heard between 5 year old EJ and a friend who had come over to play.

EJ says to her friend, "Want to play a real game?"

Friend: "What do you mean?"

EJ: "You know, one without a cartridge."

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I think that I am usually a cheerful person and that I see most things with a positive frame of mind. That being said, there are some things that bring out my cranky side. Specifically, I really, really don't like practical jokes. At the risk of sounding like a grumpy old woman, I just don't see the humor in doing something to someone else that scares, embarrasses tricks or shames them. I just don't understand the "gotcha" element of getting a laugh at someone else's expense.

While I'm at it, I also get a little crotchety when the weather reporters feel the need to tell me that I need a jacket or an umbrella or that I need to leave early on a snowy day. If I can't figure those things out from a straight report of weather conditions I have bigger problems than being grumpy.

Okay, I'm back to being cheerful and positive now.....thanks for listening.

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Running to Help

There has been a a lot written about both the horror and the heroism following the bombings at the Boston Marathon. The thanks and praise that have gone out to all levels of the law enforcement community is well deserved. The group that my thoughts keep going back to are the marathon participants....the runners. The reported behavior of those whose day, in an instant, went from a day of celebration to a day of devastation is a credit to the running community. Runners who had completed the race ran back to the finish line to offer aid and comfort to the injured. There are reports that their immediate assistance saved lives.  Runners who were denied the ability to complete the race turned and continued running to the nearest hospital to offer blood donations to help the injured.  The runners, as runners often do in races big and small and in less dreadful situations, put their own circumstances aside to come to the aid of fellow runners.

I am not a runner, but I am admire those of my friends and family who are. Several of my grandchildren are aspiring runners. Three of them belong to running clubs at their schools and have participated in various races in our area. These kids may or may not have marathons in their future, but the behavior of those in the running community immediately following the horror in Boston makes me glad that it is a community that they aspire to be a part of.

Some Things That Made Me Smile

Last week was a good week and a busy week, but not a very exciting week. Even though there were no big events there were things that made me smile and a week with some smiles is a good week.

When you are 2 1/2 years old and you miss or resist your nap for a few days it is bound to catch up with you. . This picture made me smile.

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This happened about 10 miles up the road from us, but apparently it was on the news around the country. The story was not so funny but an article about it in our local paper said that the girl's parents were trying to help her look at it as a positive experience and that made me smile. 

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I was playing a pretend game with 5 yr old EJ and 2 1/2 yr old Beck this week. Some of their stuffed animals  and I had been hurt somehow and EJ and Beck were the ambulance drivers taking us to the hospital. On the way to the hospital we had to stop at Starbucks for a few lattes and some tea. I  wasn't sure whether to be disturbed or pleased that even in an "emergency" EJ and Beck kept my priorities in mind, but it made me smile.

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Our friend, 8 yr old Addison, who was diagnosed with Leukemia three years ago this month is two months away from completing a very rough three years of treatment. The words below were the fortune in a fortune cookie he got at the end of a Chinese meal recently. Seeing Addison's brave smile always makes me smile.

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Has there been something that made you smile lately?

Six Word Saturday

A question answered.....7 years later

In April, 2005, when my fisherman son found out that the baby he and his wife were expecting was a boy his first question was "I wonder how small they make waders."

Now we know.....7 year old Wil will soon be in the water with his dad looking for that big catch.

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