Tigger or Eeyore

How many are familiar with Randy Pausch? He's the author of The Last Lecture (I believe that's the name). He recently died of cancer but made a big impact upon many folks before he died. I was reading part of his comments and one that stood out was (to paraphrase) "Do you go through life as Tigger with a childlike exuberance or do you go through life like Eeyore, always expecting bad things to happen and consequently, bad things do happen"

That struck a cord in me. There are so many folks out there that are happy most of the time and then there are the folks that are never happy. My grandmother's side of the family, definitely TIGGERS. They were a happy group. With 11 brothers and sister growing up in the early 1900's, theirs was not a life of earthly wealth. Man oh man, did they make the most of what they had. (Which mainly consisted of each other) They laughed and played music and sang and danced. They were always there for each other even when they were grown and had families of their own. Just a wonderful family. Then there was my Grandfather's family. They fell more in the Eeyore side. They were not bad people per se. IT was just their outlook was more puritanical and cold. Not a lot of laughing occurred in that family.

What's the difference? Both sides had ample resources (Without being monetarily rich). Both sides had sadness and hardship in their families. Everyone does. It was how they handled the bad things that came their way. Totally different perspective.

So I ask, are you a Tigger or an Eeyore?

What Happened?

I go away for 1 hour to my annual doctor's visit. I come back to find my den has been transformed into a pirate ship. (don't ask what happened when they had to pick it all up)
What else have we been up to, you ask:

Sawyer singing Apples and Bananas



Ansley with Gum in her hair

Emma's Surgery

Miss Emma is having surgery August 4th. (10 days earlier than originally planned) Click on the button to your right "Emma's Hope" and follow along. It is a very scary time. The surgery carries a lot of risk but without it there is no hope for Emma. So, send those good vibes to Emma and her family.

Just a Few Days Left

To win a Blackberry Curve. Go HERE and check it out. It's for a good cause.

Keeping Busy This Summer (Lots of pics and 1 movie)

Riding Bikes (she really was happy to be riding)

Studying Bubbles

Chalk Drawing (Notice the "A" and holding the bubbles so brothers can't get them)

Two Swimming Parties in One Weekend (This is our local Down Syndrome group. Judson is trying his swimming skills)

There really were lots of folks there. I just don't post other people's children without permission. There was even a couple from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia! It's a small world.

Say a Prayer for Emma

Click on the button labeled "Emma's Hope". She needs your prayers/thoughts/good wishes right now. She's one month from heart surgery. Her heart is failing.

Mother of the Year/Wife of the Year?????

Do you think I have a chance to win either of the awards listed in the title:

1. When I plot in my head to send Sawyer to chaperon Ansley on her dates, as 'payback' for her being mean to him when they were little? How bout I only use this approach to potential dates I don't trust? How about I just make her bring her dates inside and let each sibling ask one question of the beau before I let them leave on their date?

2. When I'm happy that my husband moved his office to the basement instead of having it upstairs where the rest of us 'roam'? I truly am excited that he's working from home but it was getting hard to keep 3 kids quiet every time he was on a conference call.

3. When I won't let my 5 year old watch Zack and Cody or Sponge Bob? "But Mom, they're funny!"

So, I'm thinking those awards are not in the cards for me. Perhaps, I'll let the kids help me make chocolate chip cookies and we give them to Dad. That's bound to get me some points!

Here We Go Again

So for those who do not know, we are adopting again! We're quite excited. We are currently waiting on the courts to approve us to be parents to an adorable little guy living in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We hope to be able to bring him home by November/December.

If you'd like to follow along with our journey, please go here:

Our Adoption Blog

Happy 4th of July

Hope everyone is having a great holiday. We got up this morning and headed over to the local 4th of July parade. Judson actually rode his bike in the parade. AND he won Most Creative for his bike decoration. (and you thought Randy and I were just 'eggs' and weren't creative)

Spending time with Family

Cousin Abigayle (and Aunt Robyn and Nana and Pop) came to visit us this weekend. The kids had a great time putting on plays and doing 'kid' things. Poor Cousin Abigayle does not feel good today.

Things We Like To Do

Play outside!
(Notice the footwear: Picture 1, socks and flip flops Picture 2, barefoot)






Play Dress Up (He's a pirate!)


Go Swimming (Mental note: Sawyer cannot go swimming before bedtime again. Too much to process and he stayed up most of the nite, therefore, so did mom)

Game Ranch

So we took the kids to the Game Ranch again. (We met some friends there) Had a great time, even though it rained a bit. Sawyer actually fed a deer this time. (In between throwing fits, that is) Ansley enjoyed it until one of the turkeys got a bit cranky and scared her. Judson enjoyed it but was disappointed that we didn't get to go on a picnic afterwards because of the rain.

Here are some pics.

This deer would not take NO for an answer. He's 'eating' my shirt!

Emma's 1st Surgery

Click on the button on the right to follow along with Emma today. She's having a T&A today. It's the first step to getting her heart fixed. While for most children, having your tonsils out isn't that big of a deal. It's a huge deal for her. So, keep her and her family in your thoughts and prayers today please.

A Trip To the Botanical Garden

Took the kids to the Botanical Gardens today. See what fun we had!

Digging for dinosaur bones and 'swimming'. (Okay, so I forgot Judson's trunks so I made him wear Sawyer's trunks, (24m)) Sawyer has that old Tarzan thing going on with his swimmies pulled up under his arm pits.

Thanks, Annie

For giving me this site: Click and see how rich you are http://globalrichlist.com/

Judson's Daddy Haiku

We Love Our Daddy
Daddy is the BEST Daddy
Happy Father's Day

What's Your Reality?

A fellow blogger (Christine) showed these stats and I thought it was worth repeating here. Pretty eye opening, I think.

If our diverse world were melted down to a village of 100 people, do you know what it would look like?

57 Asian, 21 European, 14 from the Western Hemisphere, 8 African
52 Female, 48 Male
70 Non-white, 30 White
70 Non-Christian, 30 Christian
89 Straight, 11 Gay
6 people hold 59% of the world's worth (all from the US)
80 live in substandard housing
70 are unable to read
50 suffer from malnutrition
1 has a college education
1 has a computer

How does that jibe with your reality? She got the information from this website:
http://www.sustainer.org/meadows/

Out to Lunch

We went out to eat with friends this weekend. Here are the pics Lisa took of the kids. This is Sam. Isn't she a cutie!!!!! Judson was probably under the table at this point.

What are you doing tonite?

What we do, every night: "Plan to take over the world". Ok, maybe not. Maybe we just play outside until we get hot and sweaty. Come in, clean our rooms, take our baths, and watch Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy. (during the commercials, we wrestle with dad) It's pretty funny when Ansley asks, "why didn't they give me an "S", Dad?" while watching Wheel. (She actually walks up to the tv, cups her hands around her mouth, and says, "can I have an S please") Or when Judson actually gets an answer to the Jeopardy questions, which he usually does at least once each night. Oh, what a wonderfully boring life we lead. LOVE IT!

Emma's Having Surgery

Click on the box to your right, Emma's Hope. The surgeon is going to operate! That's right, she is going to have her heart repaired. How awesome is that!