5 addictions

My dear friend Tami at The Next Step tagged me to post 5 of my addictions. I LOVED reading hers and am checking on everyone else that she tagged so I can read theirs, too, so I'm game to play along! It's been really interesting as I've tried to nail down 5 - and it was fun to ask my family to get their input, too. So, in no particular order, here goes:

1 - SNUGGLING. With my hubby, my kids, my dog, my cat, or even just my body pillow....just love that feeling of snuggling up tight!
2- My FIREPLACE....which goes nicely with #1.....snuggling BY the fireplace! This is the first house that I've ever lived in that has a fireplace and I just LOVE it! My Dad, bless his heart, supplies us with free wood and delivers it right to our garage! I have seriously been known to turn the a.c. up in the summertime so I could build a fire without frying everyone in my house!
3 - MAKING LISTS. On paper or just in my mind - they're everywhere in my house and in my office! I often make a list of the lists I need to make. A little anal, you think?
4 - FOOD. I love to eat out and I really enjoy cooking, too. Mexican, Italian, sweets, salty, healthy food, junk food, meat and potatoes, pastries and desserts, fruits and veggies...you name it, I like it! At our house we TALK about 'eating to live' instead of 'living to eat', but I'm just all talk on this one.
5- MY HAIR. Its the only part of me I've ever really liked. The gals in the office at school have asked that each time I come through their door, I would walk in slow motion and flip my hair from one side to the other - ala a shampoo commercial. I know that at some point, I ought to cut it off, but I've never nailed down an age for that....40? 50? 60?

OK...I made it! Thanks, Tami...it was good for me to get to thinking a little bit while I'm on vacation and my brain is otherwise in neutral. :-)

I'm baaaack!

OK, after a friendly reminder from my friend Beth that it's been a month since my last post, here's a quickie! The kids don't have school today - they're still in bed and I can't WAIT to tell them!! There is a broken water pipe in the elementary so they get the day off....I still have to go teach Jr High and Sr High, but I'm excited for them.

Lots and lots of stuff going on, but there are only so many hours in the day and I'm really having to prioritize....and blogging is not too high on my list these days. I'm wondering if I'm going to get to Christmas cards ( or Christmas shopping! ) and I don't remember the last time I got to the Y to work out. Really, though, lots of "newsworthy" stuff going on...and maybe I'll get caught up over break. Some of the highlights, though, were Amanda singing with the Lincoln Symphony at the Lied Center (which will be broadcast on NPR on the 21st) and Molly having an epileptic seizure....who has EVER heard of an epileptic dog!?!? Scared us SO badly!!!

Facebook!

OK...here's the new fun thing - facebook! I only wish I had been on it all those days I was "stuck" at home with no adult conversation! :-)

Busy, busy, shockingly busy

Can you sing it like Madame Blueberry? "You've no idea what I've got to do....." (I LOVE Veggie Tales!)

It has just been crazy busy around here...ever since school started, it seems. And, I guess maybe it's really not that hectic of a schedule, just that we're STILL adjusting and it's exhausting. There has been lots and lots going on, though....first school pictures, field trips, first report cards, concerts, halloween, a camping trip....and I even have taken pictures of some of those things...just don't ever find the time to sit down here and write it all down.

The highlight for me lately has been getting report cards. As a homeschool Mom, don't we always kind of, in the back of our mind, wonder if we're TOTALLY screwing our kids up....well, at least I did. So, to get report cards in black and white, filled out by someone other than me, saying that they actually have learned something over the past several years, was a great relief. And, they all did pretty well....mostly just a few behavior things we need to focus on and I'll let you guess which kid that is! :-)

School really does seem to be going better. No more tears or tantrums, no more being locked in a bathroom stall. I find the kids laughing and being silly with their friends, and they're signing up to do "extra stuff" that they don't really have to do. We still talk about going back to homeschooling and are weighing the pros and cons of each....and there are many. I am hopeful that God will show us very clearly what our next year will bring - just as clearly as He did this with this year.

Ready for Christmas?

It's Monday morning and I'm getting around to head back to school....and guess what I'm working on all week!! Yep, Christmas music. It's not even Halloween yet, let alone Thanksgiving, but we're playing O Holy Night and Sleigh Ride today. The only people who start on Christmas earlier than retailers are Music Teachers! :-)

The coolest new thing!

We just thought of something that will be THE COOLEST new thing for us at school this year - a SNOW DAY!! When you are homeschooling, those don't really ever happen.....you hear other kids talk about them and you see them on TV shows, but it's not quite the same. I'll bet you'll be able to her the whoopin' and hollerin' from our house the first time we see the name of our school scrolling across the bottom of the TV screen!

A quick update...

Wow, it's been a long time since I've been on here, huh? Again, there is SO much going on to write about, and my camera is FULL of pictures, but I just don't have the time to sit down and put it all together. Actually, maybe I do have the time...what I am lacking is energy. :-)

School is going better - for all of us. We are nearing the end of the first quarter and still hanging in there. I was just reading James in the Message Bible and it says ...."don't try to get out of anything prematurely...let it do it's work in you so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.." I can see that we are ALL learning valuable lessons through all of these trials, and if it had been up to us, we certainly WOULD have pulled out prematurely. God knows so much better than we do!

We have a nice short week and are SO looking forward to a little vacation. We get out early on Wednesday and are going straight to pick up some friends and then heading to the Children's Museum until they kick us out at closing time! We're gonna stay up late, sleep in, snuggle up by the fireplace, spend time with old friends...and if the weather would cooperate, we'd go camping.
And, maybe I'll find time to get those pictures off of the camera so you can see them!

Dirty and Happy!

Look at our dirty, stinky dog!! We took her with us last week to Mom and Dad's house in Pawnee and she LOVED it out there!! She had acres and acres to run and run, and when she got hot and tired, she went straight to the mud to cool down! And, it hadn't been raining, so it wasn't just ordinary mud....it was sewer mud - and it was S-T-I-N-K-Y!! Bruce hosed her down and got her all cleaned up...and then a few hours later, she did it again!!! She came home a tired and happy, happy dog!

Gonna need a bigger boat!

Mr. Alex is growing up all too quickly and is into "scary movies" lately. He and Bruce watch them together whenever they get some time to themsevles, and lately it's been JAWS. Last night, there was a midnight showing of it at the Grand Theatre downtown - and they went!! They've been talking about it for weeks, but we didn't know if Alex could make it that late. When we got home from school, he curled up to take a good nap so he'd have a fighting chance (and of course I volunteered to snuggle up and nap with him!) and he made it! They were both up when the rest of us went to be at 10:00 and I heard them come home at about 2:30am!!

Go Cart

Uncle Jerry bought the kids a go cart to have at Grandma and Pa Stallbaumer's house. It's going to be GREAT fun, but for now they're just a little bit too small for it. They can't quite reach the pedals enough to control it well and it goes fast enough that it's pretty scary. It's very safe (which I am THANKFUL for!) because it's really wide and very low to the ground. There are miles and miles for them to ride out there, so once they grow just a couple of inches and get the hang of it, they're going to have a blast. Bruce rode it and had a great time, although he is just about too big for it. Thanks, Uncle Jerry!!

Another first

We had another first at our house yesterday. Since this is our first year at "real school", we're having lots of them, but this one was a big one....Parent Teacher conferences. Bruce and I used to have them every evening at the dinner table, but this wasn't quite the same.

After having been my kids teacher all of these years, handing over the reigns to ANYONE else is a big deal to me. But, once again, God has a plan. Mr. Riley is Amanda's teacher and he is a wonderful, Godly man. He prayed with us and shared with us about their year so far. Miss Peterson is Alex's teacher and she is a lovely, patient, Grandma-like lady who is perfect for him this year. She also prayed with us about how we can all work together to best serve Mr. Alex. And Andrew has Mrs. Garcia. She is a delightful, energetic gal who is excited to have Andrew in her class - and he LOVES her too!

We are still struggling through the transition - mostly me these days, admittedly - but are taking one day at a time and looking for God's leading through it all.

Faith and Hope

Borrowed this one this morning....isn't it great?!?! Thanks, Brenda!

A picture's worth 1,000 words

If a picture really is

worth 1,ooo words, then this would should tell you how things are going for school! Andrew LOVES it!! Amanda would still rather be home, but is doing much better. And Mr. Alex is really struggling these days. Really misses Mommy and believes that school was invented as some form of torture for kids. The entire staff at school has been fabulous to help him and we're learning some really valuable life lessons through it all. God is absolutely at work and we are trying hard to "consider it pure joy".

These shirts are their chapel shirts and they all wear them on Wednesday for chapel services. They are "Calling all Characters" to become People of Purpose - lots of great lessons for all of us!

Go big red!

We live just off of 14th street and just north of Memorial Stadium, so on Saturday game days, the traffic is CRAZY! (Last week it was EXTRA crazy with returning students PLUS the State Fair PLUS a home game, but that's not the point of my story!) Anyway, when the game is over, traffic going north on 14th street is backed up for probably an hour as people try to get out of town and onto the interestate. Last year, Amanda started going up to the corner of 14th and waving our Husker flag as people drove by after the games. It turned out to be great fun and is now a bit of a tradition here, and yesterday all 3 kids took turns doing it. People will honk and whoop and holler and one guy even threw a $1 bill to Andrew yesterday! Very fun!

Bragging on my hubby!

NEWS RELEASE FROM AMERITAS: Sales Culture Associate of the Month! The Sales Culture Builders Team is pleased to announce September’s Group Sales Culture Associate of the Month . . . Bruce Bond!

Bruce, a senior actuarial analyst, has been with Ameritas since October 1999. He was selected by the Group Sales Culture Recognition Committee based on his exceptional contributions to his customers, team, department, and to the Group Division and company.

Here are a few things associates had to say about Bruce.

“Bruce is a true team member when it comes to resolving problems that arise.”

“He always has both the customer and the company in mind.”

“Bruce has always shown true professionalism in all the dealings I’ve had with him.”

“Bruce has a vision that reaches beyond his department and significantly impacts all of Group.”

“He is consulted on the majority of spreadsheets that are used for rating outside of SalesXpress.”

“His openness to share and spread his knowledge continues to propel all who are around him, and the Ameritas Group Division, to be disruptive.”

“There has NEVER been a time when I requested assistance from Bruce that I was rejected, and generally he volunteers even before I can ask for his help.”

“Bruce has an advanced understanding of our rating systems, Excel, programming and many other key elements of our company processes.”

“Bruce’s problem-solving skills, his knowledge of Ameritas methods and his selflessness make him a unique asset to his department and the company.”


As September’s award recipient, Bruce will receive an award certificate, a $50 gift card and front-door parking for the month of September! Congratulations and thank you, Bruce! The things you do each day help to create and enhance our Group Sales Culture.

Pep Band Premier!

This isn't the greatest picture, but I think its fun. And if we end up at LCS for years and years, it will be special to look back on. We had our first home football game on Friday, which means Pep Band! There were a few glitches that we'll work out, but the kids were GREAT!! They are talented musicians, really neat kids, and many are quick to pitch in and help moving and setting up equipment without even being asked which makes my job MUCH easier!

Update...

Just a quick update from our house....actually, from my office! The kids are in school all day long, but I only teach in the mornings. So, in the afternoons, I usually hang out in my office getting all of the work done that should have been done this summer. Once I get caught up, I hope to use the time a little more productively, but for now I'm still playing catch-up.

The kids are coming around slowly but surely. Andrew is great - and has been since day #1. He now insists that I drop him off at the front door so he can go in by himself like all of the other kids. Then, I go around the curve and park, then the rest of us get out and walk in together. Funny guy! Alex is doing alright, but would still rather be home. We're making sure we get plenty of snuggle time in the mornings and the evenings, and I go down to see them all at noon recess each day. Amanda is still not sold at all. She is realizing how good she had it with homeschooling and she wants to go back. One bright note, though, (no pun intended!) is that she is getting to play the cello which she has fallen in love with!

We're all really looking forward to a long weekend and a short week! The band has their first Pep Rally and Football game this Friday - that will be fun!

Thanks for your prayers - keep 'em comin' please! The transition is still very difficult, but we can see God working.

TGIF

The kids had never heard of "TGIF" before - and have certainly never appreciated it! When we were snuggling this morning before getting ready for school, we taught them what it stood for and it sure has lots of meaning to us today! We've survived the week and it actually has turned out well....the kids all had a great day today and are settling in nicely. We stopped at a big McDonalds playland after school to celebrate. It was fun for me to see the three of them playing together again!

We are going to do absolutely NOTHING all week-end and I am looking forward to that for sure!!

Better

I am happy to report that things were better today for all of us. We are all growing and learning a lot through these changes. The faculty and staff have been very faithful to pray for us - they are a great group of people who love the Lord and love teaching, too.

D-Day

Today was D-Day for us .... the first day of school. We survived, but it was a little rough at times. I told someone that it was very much like sending your kid off to Kindergarten...only I am doing all three of them at once - and I have had an extra 10 years to get attached to having them around!

First thing in the morning, we gathered together in the entryway of the elementary school with all of the kids, staff, and parents and prayed together and sang together - and I cried and cried. I found one kid crying at lunch time and the guidance counselor said that another one was crying and asking for me in the afternoon. At one point in the afternoon, I found myself locked in a bathroom stall crying myself!! :-) For those of you who are homeschooling now, let me encourage you to CHERISH the time you have with your kids....no matter HOW crazy they are driving you and how much you have to battle with them to get their work done!! Anyway, for the most part, everything was good, although a couple of the kids had some rough spots to work through. And, by the time picked them up, Andrew said "Mom - that was SO AWESOME!! Could we come back again tomorrow?". Leave it to Andrew to lighten the mood for all of us!

Please continue to pray for our adjustment. We still completely feel that God has placed us there for a purpose, and that helps us to get through the tough times.

Ta-da!

Here he is with the new glasses! He is doing VERY well with them so far...takes them off every night, puts them on every morning...and has only ALMOST lost them once so far. He has 2 pair -these rounder ones, then he has a more square pair that are just like Daddy's! Thanks, Dr. Williams!!

Irony

OK, I think it is pretty ironic that now when there is SO MUCH going on around here and I have lots to write about....I also have ZERO time to write about it. :-) I have been at school every day this week - 5th grade band camp, plus faculty meetings and trying to get things somewhat ready for the first day of school on Monday. The kids and Bruce have been great - Bruce took off Wednesday to stay with the kids, the boys have tagged along and been very patient, Amanda has made a few extra meals. Good team work! :-) I start on Monday with the Jr/Sr High kids, and then the Elementary kids will start on Tuesday. We're all stocked up on convenience foods to pack lunches (although no more Spaghetti O's....they weren't really a big hit after all) and thanks to Grandma, we're all set in some fun new clothes to wear, too!

Spaghetti O's and Coke Zero

I knew things were going to be changing around here, but already there are things happening that I didn't see coming. Yesterday, there were two of them. First, I ALWAYS have can of pop sometime in the morning....Coke Zero - either Vanilla or Cherry. But, we started band camp at LCS and yesterday and I was out of my routine. At about 2:00, I realized that I had NOT had any pop all day so far....and you know what, I was OK! Might just be the start of a new GOOD habit. Then, yesterday afternoon I was grocery shopping to get organized for packing lunches and guess what I found in my cart.....a can of Spaghetti O's! When I got them home, Andrew had to ask me what they were - I have NEVER bought Spaghetti O's. I'm not a total health food nut, but I do work hard to try to keep us eating fairly healthy, but I really don't think any of my kids have EVER had them. Wonder what other changes we'll find today. :-)

Did you love Facing the Giants?

I just found out about a new movie coming out in September. It's by the makers of Facing the Giants, so if you loved it like we did, then you'll be excited about this!! It is a message about divorce-proofing your marriage and looks to be another good one! It says they also made another movie called Flywheel....have any of you seen it?

Glasses!

All 3 kids had eye appointments yesterday and Mr. Andrew came home with a prescription for glasses!! We have known for a full year that this was coming, so it wasn't a surprise at all. Just in time for school!

Back to school.....BIG TIME!!

Back to school has BIG meaning at our house these days! After 12 years of being out of the classroom, and 11 years of homeschooling, the kids and I are ALL going to school! I accepted a teaching position at Lincoln Christian School and the kids will be joining me there starting in 2 short weeks. We are excited, nervous, thankful, scared, overwhelmed, and a myriad of other emotions...but are feeling a great sense of peace that this is just what God has planned for us. I wasn't looking for a job, and we weren't really looking to send our kids to school, but all of the pieces (and there were many!) have just perfectly fallen into place to make this work.

It will surely be a major adjustment for us in many ways, and we'd appreciate your prayers during this transition. We can't wear our jammies all morning long, we'll have to pack our lunches and won't be here to have lunch with Bruce each day, our dog Molly is going to have to get used to being home alone a lot more, and I'm going to have to write up lesson plans and turn in report cards. I'll have Pep Band at the football and basketball games and the kids will have homework to do. All that, and I have NO idea when I'm going to do the laundry or clean the house...I better get on the FlyLady website and get to work on my control journal!

We LOVE George

We love Curious George at our house - Most days, you can find all 5 of us snuggled up in front of the TV laughing at what George has gotten himself into this time! PBS runs it 3 times a day, first at 8am, so we can start our day with George, then again at noon so we can have lunch with George, and finally at 5:30, so we can end our day and begin our evening with George. (apparently we're not the only ones who love George if they're running it that often!) If you've had a stressful day and just need a laugh, I highly recommend a half hour of monkey fun! There is NOTHING like it! :-)

In the toughest times

I have a friend whose little boy has battled health problems all his life, is now in Minnesota at the hospital, and has just undergone his second brain surgery in a few days. Their faith in a powerful and loving God has gotten them through this in a way that is just amazing to me. They remind me of my friends in Loup City whose son lost a long battle with leukemia Watching their faith through the toughest of circumstances had a huge impact on my decision to give my life to Jesus 7 years ago. Life is way too hard and makes no sense otherwise. In Patty's update below, she asks us to tell of God's goodness...and right now I think she does it WAY better than just about anybody could.


Dear All,
Adam is out of surgery. The surgeon said everything went as planned. After he wakes up enough to breath on his own he will go to the intensive care unit overnite. The next few days will be rough recovering from the 6.5 hour procedure in addition to the surgery earlier in the week. He will probably be in the hospital for about a week depending on how he recovers.
Praise God that he has made it through the surgery safely. Pray for freedom from complications, minimal pain and quick recovery of motor function which is sometimes lost temporarily.
He is a tough little guy who continually amazes us. I read about angels today. The Bible tells us that they are strong, tough creatures capable of amazing feats. Adam speaks of his angels sometimes. I know those powerful creatures, which God created to do his will, were there with him today protecting him when his daddy and I couldn't. It is an awesome priveledge to witness the power of God as we have this week. Our lives are forever changed.
Tell someone about how God has worked in your life. There are so many people hoping someone cares about them. Tell them about a God who if faithful and whose love is endless, boundless, limitless, has no depth nor height.

Workin' Girl

Amanda has turned into a bit of a workin' girl lately and is pretty excited about it....and making some $$ doesn't hurt either! She spent most all of Saturday working for the Dad of a friend, and then yesterday she had her first real babysitting job. She had a great time doing both and is excited to have the money to buy the new Eragon book that comes out in September. :-)

Family, Friends, and FUN!

The kids and I took off for a few days and had a great time! We went to Pawnee to stay with my folks. The first picture is Amanda and Alex at the barn...playing with the kitties! Farm life seems pretty cool to my "big city kids" and they just love it out there. Uncle Jerry gave both of the boys a ride on his dirt bike and then let them even try it out themselves. And, they all got to ride on Pa's lawnmower. Amanda mowed the area where they always play croquet, Andrew got to cruise around on it, and Alex got to help Pa move this big branch that had fallen in the front yard. One day, we went into town to have lunch with Grandma, say hello to the people at her office, and to tour Pawnee.

On our way home, we stopped in Beatrice. We visited lots of friends and drove by the houses that we used to live in. That second picture is the big playground at the Y in Beatrice. Alex showed us the exact spot where he fell and broke his arm so many years ago....and he remembered a little more of the story. All this time, we'd always heard that he was just walkinig along and fell and broke it. He admits now that he was actually climbing over that fence and fell. Interesting! :-)

Good times never seemed so good!

Our "Summer with the Saltdogs" continues and we LOVE it! Sweet Caroline is the theme song this year and we are singing it around our house all the time..."Good times never seemed so good - So Good! So Good! So Good!" (I suppose you do have to hear it to appreciate it!)

This is the last game we were at - we came home with 4 balls, some autographs, and some fun stories!

Amanda Bond, DVM???

If you ask Amanda what she wants to be when she grows up, she will tell you that she thinks she'd like to be a veterinarians assistant. She wants to do all the "good stuff" with the animals, but doesn't ever want to have to put one to sleep, so she thinks that if she's just the "assistant", she won't have to do that part. I don't know if she's right or not, but I do know that she spent a good, long time playing vet at the Children's Museum. She took care of lots of sick and wounded critters and helped lots of them get adopted into good homes....and was just beaming the whole time!

Children's Museum Fun

Alex has been watching too many X Games and playing video games where guys do "cool" stunts!
My sabre-tooth tiger boy....doesn't really look TOO scary, does he?
Andrew spent most of his day at the ATM making withdrawls of large amounts of cash. Think that's something I should be worried about?
My "big girl" had a blast making creations out of tinker toys.

We spent 6 hours at the Children's Museum yesterday - and has SO much fun! We hadn't been there in quite awhile, and honestly, I thought the kids had maybe almost outgrown it. But, apparently I was WRONG! We played and played, then took a break for lunch at Noodles, then played some more....until they kicked us out and locked the doors!

Like Father, Like Son

I have NOTHING to say about these pictures.....will just let them speak for themselves!!

Self Portrait

Guess who got ahold of the camera and decided to do a self portrait?

Come play with us!

The excitement level is HIGH at our house today! We moved this beauty from Bruce's folks' house in Kearney to our house...no small feat. Thanks SO much to Crazy Uncle Keith for helping take it apart and getting it loaded up, to Mr. Incredible Geoff Eckert for hauling the slate down our stairs, and to Dan Thompson for helping get the slate on and leveled. We could NOT have done it without all of you! Come over and play anytime! Here's the table at it's old home in Kearney - thank you SO MUCH to Grandma and Grandpa Bond for passing it along - we will take good care of it and use it LOTS and LOTS! We were talking about buying a cover for it and decided that it will probably never need a cover because there will ALWAYS be someone playing it! :-)
Here's Bruce and Geoff moving a piece of slate through our recroom and down the stairs. We think that each piece weighs around 350#.
Got all of the pieces moved into the basement and now we're getting the legs attached.
Bruce melted beeswax into the space between each of the three slates. The kids thought that Daddy's blowtorch was the coolest thing ever! We used it at night to light sparklers, too!
Got the slate finished, all leveled out, felt stapled back on and just wrapping up the finishing touches!

Pioneer Park outing

The kids and I went to Pionners Park last week and had a GREAT time! We left wondering why we haven't been going there ALL the time. Fun, educational, and free - what could be better! Alex thought this turtle shell was cool, and we really had fun watching the live turtle trying to climb up a rock to escape! Poor little guy would struggle to the top, just get to the edge of freedom, and topple back down and land upside down...pretty cool watching him flip himself back over, too!
Lots of birds, critters, feathers, skins, shells, and cool stuff to check out.
Ouuuuuuch!!!
We got to touch a couple of different snakes - the kids all thought that was pretty cool...especially Alex.
The birds were swimming, and the bullfrogs were croaking. We went on an adventure to find where the croaking was coming from and one jumped and "scared the bejeebers" out of Amanda. We're still laughing about it!

Reunited - and it feels so good!

Yep, we're all reunited at home again....and MAN does it feel good! We (OK, well I) sure missed Amanda while she was gone to camp this year. And, I don't think I even really worried about her like I usually do, I just plain missed having her around. And, for the first time in 3 years of going, she really missed us too. But, she is home now, safe and sound and a little more grown-up. She took a long, hot shower, got all of the ticks off of her, has gotten 2 good nights of sleep and we're about back to normal....whatever that is!

Camp friends

Amanda is at camp - STILL. We are missing her around here...more and more each day. By the time she gets home on Sunday, she will have been gone for 10 days. Thankfully, though, some GENIUS person put together a website that posts pictures each night, so that all of us worried Moms can see how our little campers are doing. This one is a special one because it includes Amanda's best friend Elisa (with the pink bandana) and a dear friend from Beatrice, Lili, on Amanda's right. The other 2 are girls in their cabin - new friends, I'm sure.

I just see Alex

Alex has been wanting a mohawk for the longest time and he finally won me over (with some extra convincing from Daddy!) and here he is. We all had some good talks before hand about what we think when we see people with mohawks - or big tattoos or piercings. It has been a really good lesson, especially for me, in not judging people by how they look. Now when I see him like this, I just see Alex - my sweet, sweet boy who loves to help people who are hurting, who is witty and clever, and is my big teddy bear! I hope my kids learn half as much from me as I learn from them!