Happy Birthday Nell

It's hard to be responsible, adult and sensible all the time. How good it is to have a sister-in-law whose heart is as young as your own.

A new rat rules, Mickey Who?

We spent a very hot and a very crowded day in the park on Sunday with Francine and Bill and then just Nathan and I returned on Monday, still hot and still crowded but we had a blast. Nathans favorite was Buzz Lightyear, mine was the Pirates. Love that Johnny Depp!!

Good friends = Happy times

Arrived in Anaheim tonight with Nathan and met up with Francine and Bill from Roswell. It is so good to see them again, we spent the evening visiting and we are headed into see Mickey and his friends in the morning. I think what makes Disneyland the happiest place on earth is the fact that, when you are here, you are with friends. And being with friends makes you happy.

Beautiful baby Alaina

Just had to share more pictures of Stephanie's new little girl and her Daddy

Happy Birthday Emil

Birthday breakfast my baby in Idaho
my guy? in Key West 33 years old and getting better every year, love you son

Walkin' on water

Stevie's catchin' em too....

{pic sent in from steve' phone}

Happy Fathers Day

A Sunday BBQ, family, fun and lots of home made food. Outside was hot, hot, hot but inside was cool.

Vacation time

The evenings at Lake Kaweah are a great oportunity to cool off and wind down, Emil gets to relax and fish, while I get to catch up on some reading. I'm still not very good at starting the boat but I'm pretty handy at pulling up the anchor

Father's Day is especially hard

The Wild Goose

by Colleen Thomas

On a clear cold night

The stars shown like diamonds
Not beautiful, but hard and cold
When I last heard the cry of the wild goose
Alone he was flying
High up in the night sky
A black shadow on the field of stars
A plaintive cry has the wild goose
A cold wind stirred
Rustled through the naked trees
I shivered with loss
Yes still came the cry of the wild goose
Over and over
Each time further away
Speeding down night’s shadow
Came the forlorn cry of the wild goose
Tears burned my eyes
A dagger of loss
Twisted inside
With each echoing call of the wild goose
Far down the valley
Beyond sight and sound
A last mournful sigh
Came a faint farewell call from the wild goose
Each night now
I go back outside
And listen with out hope
For my heart’s gone the way of the wild goose

Happy Birthday Sarah

Today is my niece's birthday. I remember my brother having big birthday parties for her in their back yard. Over the years of never living back East, I was only able to make one. There were so many things I have missed. Sarah is my only niece on my side of the family. She is an amazingly talented and beautiful young lady. I hope some day we will have the opportunity to really get to know each other. It seems the older we get the further our families have drifted apart. Miles don't have to separate people, but not keeping in touch does.

Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling five balls in the air. You name them - work, family, health, friends, and spirit - and you're keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls - family, health, friends, and spirit are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged, or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for balance in your life.

Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one. And I miss Sarah and her family.

Alaina Marie

"Children are a gift from God; they are His reward." Psalm127:3
Alaina Marie, born June 8, Congratulations Stephanie and Rodney, Roswell, NM


A friend should be mathematical, They should multiply the joy, Divide the sorrow, Subtract the past, And add to tomorrow, Calculate the need deep in your heart, And always be bigger than the sum of all their parts. Stephanie is just that type of friend

Only in Cali

A knock on my door this afternoon and I answer, expecting it to be Nathan's best friend from up the street. Ian is always checking to see if Nathan is here and if he can play. But instead, it was my neighbor next door and she was asking if Harold could come over to her house and play out back with her two dogs for awhile. Can you believe it? Harold had his first play date.....

13 weeks 4 days pregnant

God gives a Guardian Angel to every Mom-to-Be...to share the ups and downs you feel throughout your pregnancy. Just say a little prayer to her, and she will do her best, to help you cope with any kind of aches and pains or stress. So while you are expecting, up until your labor's end, someone's watching over you with love ........... ~your Angel Friend~

The future is bright

.........Jacque's graduation I hope your dreams take you to the corners of your smiles, to the highest of your hopes, to the windows of your opportunities, and to the most special places your heart has ever known.

Sea shells and sand dollars

A chilly day in Morrow Bay, a walk in the water, some hot clam chowder in town and a campfire with toasted marshmallows, tonight, curling up in our sleeping bags. Tomorrow, sand castle training on the beach.