Dare Ya To Cram That All In Your Mouth!

The "I dare you" words have been floating around the house lately. You will recall that Justin had made a dare to me (by the way, you don't dare me!) back at the post entitled, "Fashion: Camouflage or Fur?" . And you will recall that I reciprocated that dare.

(And did I tell you that he wore the fur coat two or three times AFTER the dare? I think he's secretly taken a liking to "Barbie".)

So at the supper table one evening, back near the beginning of April, I believe that Justin dared Jared to lick some chili sauce off his plate like the dog! (meaning Jared to lick off his OWN plate, NOT JUSTIN's..... jeepers, how sick do you people think we are anyways????)

Uhhhh, you don't dare Jarey either. Check out Duke in the background, patiently waiting for Jared to leave some morsels behind.

So then someone, likely Justin, dares Jake to eat the tiny little pumpkin tarts from The County Farm Centre that were purchased for a buck! Yes, a buck! for twelve mouth-watering delicious baby pumpkin tarts.

There are five left, and Jake decides he can eat them in, like, 15 seconds or something stupid like that! Maybe it was 30 seconds. Anyways, the clock starts and Jake starts crammin' them in. (What a waste of good tarts!)

C'mon, Jakey, keep chewin'. Only two tarts gone and he's already grabbin' for the water.


It's hard to tell with a mouth that large...... but, yes, I think they're all in there. Problem is, they won't go down the pipe! A little DRY, Jake?

Jared and Justin watching Jake pass the one minute mark, or did we go to two minutes? Or three? Keep chewin', boy. Look out! He's gonna spew!

Nah, he didn't spew in MY kitchen! He knew better! But Duke wasn't too far away.... just in case he did.

I know, that was gross. Sorry.

Stupid dares. Anybody out there got a good dare story? Click on the Comments below and tell me about it.

Springarama 2009

SPRINGARAMA!!!!

It arrived.
We were there.
Now it's over.
It will be back.
We will be there.

Another enjoyable year with "the girls".

Did we behave?
Of course..... well...... mostly.....

So, YES, the answer would be YES.

Friday to Sunday we experienced music and worship with Trinity, we received God's Word from Hilary Price, we went to workshop seminars, (some of us signed up for R&R, but if we didn't want to do that, we just rested and relaxed..... HAHAHAHAHA.... sorry, that was an old inside joke in memory of our dear late friend Kerry.... she still makes us laugh from Heaven!), we ate and drank coffee and ate and drank coffee and ate and drank coffee......, we laughed, we cried, we laughed some more, we required frequent visits to the Ladies Room..... (Donna!)....

All in all, we had a great time. Seven ladies went this year (from our church) and we had the pleasure of initiating two gals, Jan & Sally. Hope we didn't scare you off from future Women's Retreats.

I am pleased to show you some of our photos. I am a little more brave than Ann-Marie.... posting some "questionable" photos; HOWEVER, that being said typed, I do still have some on my computer that will not reach the blog. (I know you are thanking me, girls. You're welcome.)

Let's start off with a group shot of the seven of us with Trinity.
Back - Jan, Chris, Danielle, Ann-Marie, Donna, Sally, Michelle
Front - Jeanette, Renie, & Kim (also known as Trinity)


Trinity led our Praise & Worship time. Three spectacular voices, each distinctly different, with an AMAZING trio blend of harmonies. Actually, they're a quartet because the Lord is with them.

Here are "the girls" at one of our tables in the conference room.

Out for supper at Moxie's. We did NOT check in with each other to see who was wearing what..... just so happened that browns and blacks were what Renie, Danielle, and I chose!

Ma Critter put in an appearance this year. She looks younger, doesn't she? Maybe it's that age-defying perfume she received at Springarama. On second thought, she is looking older...... check out that middle-aged spread. Thanks, Sue!

Ma Critter got up on stage during some fun time on Saturday night and told a few jokes. I think next year, some people will remember to wear their Depends.... eh Donna???????

Ma LOVES Linda. Ma gave her the "stamp-of-approval kiss" on her forehead. Linda, you should move to Picton.

For security reasons and the well-being of others, we are not able to disclose information about the following photos:

Nope, sorry. Don't ask. I can't hurt "the innocent". The unidentified lingerie and woman in the window is completely top secret in nature. You wanna know? Ask the Lord. If He tells you, then that's fine. But you won't get it out of the Springarama girls. What HAPPENS at Springarama, STAYS at Springarama.

One lady at Saturday's fun night got us up to "shake our booty". Here's Kim and Sally.

And here's Ann-Marie, Danielle, & Chris.

At about 11am Sunday, it was time for us to depart. Some had to head home.... (Donna, are you checking your pulse to see if you're still alive?)

and some got to stay in Kingston for the afternoon. Sally spent the afternoon with her parents while Dani, Annie, and I shopped and visited my dear friends John & Brigitte. (Hi John & Brigitte & "Baby" & Cara, Leta, & Bosa!... thanks for tea time!)

After loading up the car, we took a little 'ride'. Everyone should take the opportunity to ride the cart back into the lobby. Keeps ya young at heart. Chris, the look on your face is absolutely priceless.

Thanks, ladies, for a wonderful weekend. Those of you who couldn't make it this year, we anticipate you joining us for some fun and laughter next year. I truly cherished this well-needed weekend.

Springarama 2010......... we're already gearin' up!

Too Tired For Intellectual Words.... so you get photos!

I am still a bit pooped from my weekend away with "the girls"; therefore, my brain is functioning today on slooooow speeeed.





And I don't think I usually have "intellectual" words anyways.... but it's a word that makes me sound a lot smarter than I am! haha

So I thought today would be a good day to post some photos from the Fraser Easter get-together. Unfortunately for us, some of the family was in Newfoundland at the time, so you won't see any pictures of Blake or Danielle, Brent, Jackson, & Abby. But we were thinking of them as we pigged out on turkey and ham and mashed potatoes and gravy and baked beans and corn and string beans with carrots and coleslaw and jello and cheese and pickles and buns...... and then cherry cheesecake for dessert.

Looks like this last sentence was unfortunate for THEM (the Newfoundlanders)! Sorry you missed it, guys.

Oh man, talkin' about all that food, I'm hungry now........

Anyways, here's the photos.

Here's my Jakey with my niece Beulah (her real name is Celia, but I call her Beulah).

Here in the centre of this photo is my baby, Jarey, with my two nephews hanging off of him. Fraser is on the left and Bruce is on the right.

Here are two gentlemen who literally stepped up to the plate! ....not just the "plates", but the silverware and the glasses and the bowls and the pots and the pans....... Helping out with dishes are my Uncle Gerald and my brother-in-law Robert.





My sister, Wannett, already warned me about putting Robert's picture on the blog.... poor Robert lost a front tooth (Wannett can be violent by times [wink, wink]) and Wannett WARNED me NOT to put a picture of his missing tooth on the blog. So I'm obliging. (Rats! I had such a good photo of him with a big ol' toothless smile! Oh well, there's always the newspaper at birthday time!)





Wannett: The above photo technically does not count because he has his tongue in the space. (Pleeeeease, Wannett, I'm begging you to not knock out my tooth as well.........pleeeeeeeease.......)







This is another older brother of my Mom's, my Uncle Murray. He's digesting all that good food!!!








This is my Mom & Dad's kitty-cat, Darby. He was eyeing up the turkey meal. He "passed away to Kitty Heaven" last week. (Bye, Darby....)






Here is my niece, Carley, with my Mom, Jean. They were playing a game at the table.











And this photo is of my sister Wannett, and Dad ("Ikey"), and me.

Last, but not least, is me with hubby, Jonny. I'm tired and stuffed to the gills from that big meal!
I love my family very much. I cherish their support and their love, despite the fact that I can be loud and weird and bossy and a "know-it-all". But they love me anyways..... I think. Not every family has a close bond, but mine does.... so I truly am blessed beyond words.

I'm thankful that God gave me the best family in the world. And I didn't do a thing to deserve it.

I Don't Do Ups! / Get Outta The Line!!!

Happy Spring-like Monday everyone!

The sun is shining in the southern end of Prince Edward County.... I see my daffodils blooming on the edge of my woods, a pretty pink flower has bloomed in one of my flower beds (sorry, I don't know it's name.... it's one of many from my late mother-in-law's garden), and the tulips should be out very soon! The beautiful blue 'forget-me-nots' will soon be out as well. They, too, were from Jon's Mom's garden and I look forward to them every year in memory of her.

(Miss you, Mom!)

I returned home late yesterday afternoon from a well-deserved weekend get-away with some ladies from my church. It was a women's conference held in Kingston, Ontario, and I know there was well over 300 women.

Spent the weekend listening to speakers and taking in workshop seminars and worshipping in music with a group from Prince Edward County called Trinity, who I'm proud to say just happen to be friends of mine! (Jeanette, Kim, & Renie: Your gift of music was a blessing to all of us. The harmonies in your trio (ahem, quartet.... including the Lord) were fabulous. I'm so glad you were there. Thank you for your ministry.)

Here's a couple of links to Trinity.
Trinity - Bios
Trinity - Upcoming Performances

One of the hi-lights is always staying with friends in the hotel room. YES, we behaved tried to be on our best behaviour. Once I download some photos, I'll do a "Springarama" post about our weekend.

In the meantime, I thought it would be funny to post a couple of videos of some quotes that my friends Ann-Marie & Donna often repeated throughout the weekend.

I don't do ups!

Get outta the line!

(Sorry for, and please excuse, one little cuss word in "Get outta the line" video.)

These are comedy videos by John Pinette. Enjoy.

So, folks, kindly have your order or coupons ready the next time you're in line. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to defy the law of gravity. I don't usually like to "do ups" myself, but I need to get up outta this chair and get something accomplished today.

Marriage & Scary Bedtime Prayer

I am getting together with some friends this weekend and won't be taking the time to make any blog posts.

So....... I wanted to leave you with a couple of funnies.

These two videos aren't very long, but they had me laughing for sure. Hope they bring a smile to your face and a chuckle to your belly.

This first video starts off like one I posted the other day, but it's only a "snippet repeat" at the beginning, so watch it all the way through.








As children we've all prayed this prayer before going to bed, only I believe we likely said it slightly less horrifying dramatic.




Funny guy, eh?

Y'all have a good day...... and don't let the bed bugs bite...... hahaha.

I Just Experienced A GOD MOMENT!!!!

I just experienced a God Moment and am practically in tears!


I just received a phone call this morning (7:44am!). The lady on the phone said she has set aside FOUR TICKETS TO THE ABRAMS BROTHERS CONCERT AT THE REGENT THEATRE.........FOR FIDDLERS FOUND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


WA-HOOOOOO!!!!




The Abrams Brothers

I have been planning on going to this concert.....well, I should say WANTING to go to this concert and wanting to take all the boys. However...... $ Cha-Ching $ ..... it's a lot of money right now for us.


So I've been holding off and hoping a windfall would arrive in my mailbox. Since nothing had arrived as of late, I figured I might have to face the fact, with GREAT disappointment, that we might not be able to attend.


I also was figuring that these guys may possibly have a sold-out show, based on the FABULOUS performance they gave at their last concert at the Regent, so tickets might have been hard to come by anyways.


Then........ this morning......... my 'prayers' are answered. I hadn't even really bothered the Lord with this request yet; but He knew my heart's desire and He gave me this wonderful gift.


(Thank You, Father, for this wonderful surprise gift; and I most graciously ask for You to bless the lady who chose to supply these tickets to us.)


This lady (Hi Kathy!) who called has simply asked if Fiddlers Found would be willing to come to The Old Schoolhouse in Ameliasburgh (QEMA - http://pec.on.ca/victoriaschoolhouse/ ) sometime through the summer and put on a fiddle show.



Ummmmmm...... Golly....... let me think about that.......

YAH! FOR SURE!!!!

So I am flying high right now. I am so excited to go to this concert. I am so excited that all three boys can go as well.

Oh yah! I almost forgot to tell you...... CMT did a big interview with The Abrams Brothers in Toronto, and so CBC decided that they would come TO THE REGENT and do some filming during their performance here on May 9th!!!!! (Get OUTTA here!... )

Then Kathy says to me, "You should have your boys throw their fiddles in the trunk of the car..... maybe we could get them to jam with the Abrams Brothers after the concert."

SHUT UUUUUUUUP!!!!!!!!

[insert wide-opened jaw here]

Now, that last part about the jammin' might not happen; Kathy was just thinkin' out loud and said she would LIKE to see that happen. She said, "Leave it with me!"

(BREATHE, Michelle!)

Folks, Kathy doesn't even KNOW us! This is what's amazing! It's not like I know somebody who knows somebody...... this call came out of the blue! She has never met me; she doesn't even know what I look like. She hasn't even heard the boys play fiddles before.

GOD IS IN THIS!

So, Pastor Paul, in response to your reference last Sunday morning about having a God Moment........

YES! I HAVE HAD A MAJOR GOD MOMENT.

I---AM---BLESSED!

The Abrams Brothers

May 9th

Regent Theatre

Picton, Ontario

If you can, be there!

You WON'T be disappointed!

(Did I tell you how excited I am??????)

ps - Don't forget to pray for Baby Stellan; see my post from earlier this morning.

Wearin' Orange for STELLAN

Tuesday I dressed in orange.....and for good reason.

I brought Stellan to Picton, Ontario, Canada.

I'm not even going to try and tell you Stellan's whole story, because I would never repeat it correctly; however, I'll give you a short version. (If you want the whole story, her blog site is My Charming Kids).

Baby Boy, named Stellan, was in womb diagnosed with heart problem. His mom, blogger name = MckMama, kept friends and family up to date by blogging and asking for prayer for their unborn child for God to heal him.

Then a link was created and people were sending photos of his name written out in many different ways from ALL OVER THE WORLD.

Fast forward.

Baby Stellan was born. All was well. Parents knew that as Stellan grew older, heart issues would need to be dealt with; however, all appeared to be well at point of birth.

Fast forward a few months (five?). Around the middle of March 2009, Stellan's heart continued to be in something called SVT (rapid rhythm of the heart and something to do with it's electrical signal). He was hospitalized in Minnesota immediately.


So of course, the prayers for this babe begin again, and his name circles the globe again.

And every day they're adding more pics. Click HERE and check out these photos from around the world.

So last week he was flown to a Children's Hospital in Boston where doctors were looking at his very unique situation. They decided to do surgery Tuesday, April 21st. Someone set up a new gmail address and asked everyone to wear orange for Stellan and to send in their photos.



So, I decided to join the orange group supporting Stellan. Click HERE for some amazing orange photos.



MckMama cannot believe the support she has received from so many people around the world. When they arrived in Boston, there were signs everywhere that welcomed Stellan to Boston. She's been on the news and in the papers.



She is always mentioning the Lord and keeping Him in the centre of this whole "nightmare". She has certainly had her "at-the-end-of-her-rope" moments; but she's also experienced God's peace. She has released Stellan to the Lord's care and direction and wants to accept whatever the Lord decides.



Anyways, if you have the time, check out Stellan's photos. (As of 12:40am April 22, my photo has not yet made it on the Orange Site; however, I'm expecting that it will take literally days for the person to download all the photos.)



And FYI, my sister Danielle was wearing orange as well..... I love how she listens to her big sister!

Cletus Take The Reel

I have to dedicate today's blog post to two fellows, Justin and Kevin.

Justin loves to fish. His mom, Susan, was telling me that when he was about two years old, he would go out and sit in the driveway and "fish" in the mud puddles for looooooong periods of time. At least she knew where he was! haha.

One day when Justin was staying with us, he and I ended up at Canadian Tire, and sure as shootin', he purchased a fishing rod and reel. I wish I'd known about the "fishin' in the mud puddle" story that day.... I'd have had a lot of fun teasin' him about where exactly he was planning to go fishing with this new rod and reel. hahahahaha.

And Kevin .... Kevin is a friend of mine and is one of my all-time favourite Christian radio hosts. I love his sense of humour (which is occasionally over my head! no surprise! ....... it doesn't take much these days!).

A famous country music song (Jesus Take the Wheel, sung by Carrie Underwood) is also being played on our local Christian radio station (UCB 102.3fm). Let's just say that Kevin is NOT a country music fan, and so Jesus Take The Wheel is not really one of his favourite songs.

So after watching this video, Justin and Kevin popped into my mind and I just had to post it. Tim Hawkins, a Christian comedian, has had me in stitches with some of his comedy routines, one of which I posted the other day (Things You Don't Say To Your Wife). There's a few more of his videos that I plan to post, but I thought I'd share this one with you today.

Justin and Kevin, this one's for you guys.






We've just experienced a big downpour this afternoon, so the puddles in the driveways will be overflowing for sure!

A PERFECT day for fishin', Justin.

Today's Giggle

This little guy is sooooo yummy! You just can't help but smile and laugh right along with him.

A cheerful heart is good medicine. (Proverbs 17:22)

Now, go ye forth into the world and..... giggle!

Things You Don't Say To Your Wife

This post is dedicated to my friend, Janna. She says that I've been on a 'downer' lately with my posts and she had to go back and read some of the older ones in order to get a chuckle. So I looked at the last number of posts, and yes, it's been a rough couple of weeks.

Blake was visiting Newfoundland,
Justin returned to his home,
Harold had heart surgery,
no visits lately from Billy,
a reminder of Hurricane Katrina,
a shortage of French Vanilla creamer......

Then, of course, I wanted to remember Kristen and Rachel yesterday.

Yep...... it's been a rough go of it lately.


Soooooo...... we'll do a "slight shift" today and I'll post something that I watched quite a while ago and thought was very funny.

I thought it'd be quite appropriate since Jon's and my 20th Wedding Anniversary is approaching (May 13th, to be exact!). So many marriages just aren't surviving anymore; 20 years seems quite monumental these days. My maternal grandparents made it to 67 years! I likely won't even LIVE that long, let alone be married that many years! But I guess I can give 'er a whirl. What ELSE have I got to do? ....... [insert smirk here]

Anyways, I believe our marriage has survived because these are some things that Jon has NOT said to me:





Hahahahhaaha..... funny guy. Nice to be able to listen to a nice clean Christian comedian.

Maybe I'll post a few more of his comedy routines this week.... just to keep Janna content. hahahahhaa.

(Thanx for the kick in the butt, girlfriend)

Have a great weekend, everyone.

KRISTEN and RACHEL ~ A Memorial

Ten years ago today, April 17, 1999, it felt like the world literally stopped rotating.

It felt like our hearts stopped beating.

I remember not being able to breathe, I couldn't even think, I was literally not able to even move my limbs.

Honestly, at that moment, I couldn't even pray. (God understood, by the way).




Kristen..... seven-year-old Kristen....... had died.

But while we, here on earth, were stunned, immobile, paralyzed, heart-broken, crying, weeping, wailing, questioning, wondering, grieving, aching........ there was a group of people waiting on the side of the Beautiful River of Life to welcome a dear little soul into Gloryland.

Along with some grandparents and great grandparents who had gone on before, Baby Rachel waited with great anticipation to greet her dear sister and take her to the arms of Jesus.

Ten years ago today, Kristen went to live with Jesus.

Ten years ago today, I saw the heart of this girl's mother, my dearest childhood friend, get ripped from her body.

This is dear Kristen:

And this is me with Kristen's dear momma, my dearest friend, Taimi:

This is a photo of Taimi with her son, Nathan, as well as her husband, Scott:

I don't want to get into the details of Kristen's death because, frankly, I don't understand it all, and I don't want to quote something that is inaccurate. I know it had something to do with Kristen's blood, and because of a blood clot, blood and oxygen were prevented from getting to her brain. She died in hospital a couple of days after losing consciousness at her kitchen table at home.

Yesterday, I went to her grave, as I've tried to do every year since her death, and placed a pretty bouquet of bright flowers at her head. I also took some to her sister, Rachel, who died about 15 months prior to Kristen's birth. Rachel is Taimi's first daughter, who died suddenly in Taimi's womb at the same time I was pregnant for Blake.




Since Kristen's death, I have never sang the following song without thinking of her. It's hard to keep your wits about you when performing it in front of people. I even have a friend who sings it and I provide backup vocals for him; man oh man, it's hard to get through it sometimes. But I appreciate the opportunity to sing it because it reminds me of Taimi's girls.

And the joy and peace that this song promises provides me with the hope that we will indeed one day see our loved ones and spend eternity with them....no more tears, no more crying, no more broken hearts..........

Take a few minutes and listen to Selah's medley of "In My Life / If We Never Meet Again". The video is not mine, but the pictures of the flowers reminded me of Kristen's pretty dresses that she always wore.....always covered in big bright flowers.




Well, that song was for Kristen & Rachel.

And this is for their Mom, Taimi, and for their brother, Nathan, and also for the girls' grandparents, Vel & Carolyn. It's Nicol from Selah singing a medley of "Be Still My Soul / What a Friend We Have In Jesus". (If you haven't already, you'd better grab some tissues...... I LOVE this one).

There are TONS of Scripture references that I could include with this post. TONS. But I'll just leave a few that you can draw some hope and strength from.

Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5)

Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)

My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)

I heard a voice thunder from the Throne: "Look! Look! God has moved into the neighbourhood, making His home with men and women! They're His people, He's their God. He'll wipe every tear from their eyes. Death is gone for good --- tears gone, crying gone, pain gone --- all the first order of things gone." (Revelation 21:3-4)

What promises! What hope we have! And our hope is found in Jesus Christ our Saviour.

Taimi, Nathan, Vel & Carolyn: We lift you up in our prayers today. May God's peace surround and comfort you today as you remember these sweet girls, not just today, but every day.

......until we meet again on that Beautiful Shore.

JUSTIN ~ We Miss You

It has been one week today since Justin headed home. He returned to celebrate Easter with his family and has made the decision to try and find employment closer to his home, which is 'a couple-hours drive' from here.... (please don't mind the Coun'y talk).




I miss him already.........


And so does Jon.........


For Jon, it's like he's lost his own little "puppy-dog".

The two of us have been wandering around moping for a week now. (But we're getting better, Justin....don't let it go to your head! hahaha)

Justin had traits of all three of our own kids:

He had Blake's easy, calm, relaxed attitude.... not getting upset or excited about too much, just taking life in stride.

He had Jake's work ethics.... a strong, consistent, hard-working, 'put-your-all-into-it' fellow.

He had Jared's sense of humour..... always coming out with some comment that would split your gut; and it was always in such a dry manner.... you never knew if he was serious or not!

This kid impressed me. You know why? He took his hat off at the table. That speaks VOLUMES!!!! (Good job, Susan!)


I miss him.


What's made this doubly hard is the fact that Blake had not returned from Newfoundland when Justin left. Two birdies out of the nest at the same time.... that was tough for me.

(By the way, Blake returned home safely on Wednesday, along with his Uncle Brent, Aunt Danielle, Jackson & Abby.... thank you for travelling mercies, Lord.)

Justin is much like me, in that he grew up listening to the "old" country music. Here's a tune that will always remind me of Justin..... little bit of a story behind it, but that's between Justin, me, Jon, & Keith.

When I tried to download the video, it said that the embedding has been "disabled by request", so I'm not able to post the video box. However, you should be able to watch it via YouTube when you

'

CLICK HERE

The video should be Johnny Cash singing Sixteen Tons. I, myself, grew up hearing Jimmy Dean sing it, but ol' Johnny-Boy is pretty good too...... :O)

Hope you like it, Dooley.


Did I mention that we miss him???


[sigh]


[bigger sigh]


I miss him.

Looking forward to your next visit to Th' Coun'y, Justin.

And you can't get rid of us that easily either.... we'll be up your way one day to check up on you and spend some time with you and your family.

And in case you didn't know...........we miss you.

Cry Out To Jesus - A Hurricane Katrina Tribute

Blake, our oldest son, spent March Break 2009 on the outskirts of New Orleans assisting in clean up and repairing homes from the damage of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. Sadly, after almost four years, the area is still in great need of assistance.

I love this song from Third Day, Cry Out To Jesus. What else could these folks do, other than cry out to Him.

Sometimes WE feel that way..... not knowing where to turn or what to do. Jesus just wants us to cry out to Him.

Please watch this.... it will help you to "get your mind on straight" for today. My first thought after watching it was, "Lord, forgive my selfishness".

Better grab a tissue......

See? I TOLD you to grab a tissue.........

Cast all your anxieties on Him because He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

Billy ~ My "Adopted" Son

My "son" Billy has been on my mind the last two days, so I figured I'd take this opportunity to embarrass him on the world wide web.


May I introduce you to "one of my boys"..... Bill. Billy. Billy-Bob.







Above is a photo of Billy on Prom Night, Spring of 2008. And here he is with his friends, Blake and Jack.





Are these three handsome fellows or what??? And you just CAN'T beat a photo of them in nice black tuxedos!


And in this photo, I asked them to give me the "tough guy" look.






I haven't seen as much of Billy lately.... he's going to college and also working in a nearby city. I miss him. Even though he didn't come around to our house daily or even weekly, I still miss him.


He was able to spend some time with us on New Year's Eve, Dec. 31, 2008, at my sister's house. The guys had a few games of poker.






Then the 'kids' moved into the living room to play with Abby's toys. That's right. ABBY's toys....not JACKSON's......ABBY's.


Here's Billy, embarrassed that I caught him playing with a doll.




Finally, he agreed to pose.

Blake saw that Billy was having a fun time playing with dolls, so he thought HE'd give it a try.

Billy decided it was then time to do some house cleaning and he pulled out Abby's vaccuum.

Uncle Brent just about had enough of watching these boys play with dolls and vaccuums, so he thought he'd get Billy into some "manly" wrestling.

Billy has this fancy shmancy camera, so we decided to take each other's photo at the same time.

A parent always wants the best for their children and having good friends is SO important these days. I am a VERY fortunate Mom because my kids have some pretty good friends. I am very thankful for that.

'

Billy, you're a good boy......uhhhh, I guess that would be MAN now, right? Nah, you'll always be "one of my boys". I miss you, kiddo. Stop by for a visit soon.
'


That's an order from your "Mom".