Currently The Boy in the Striped Pajamas By Boyne John see related

SMILE AND WAVE, BOYS!

Sammy is walking around the kitchen and family room - around and around in a circle - with no apparent purpose. Moppy: "Sammy, what are you doing?" Sammy: "Taking my head for a walk!"  His mom told him not to ever go for a walk without it and he said "OK!"

Lizzie is finishing her dinner and says, "Masha is scared. Masha is a little bit scared." Why? "I don't know. Masha is a little bit scared." No idea where that came from. Malikas, why are you scared?

Sammy comes in with 2 little penguins. He walks over to me and shows the penguins to me... and then says "Just smile and wave, boys. Just smile and wave." Yep, we watched Madagascar last week.

A Lizzie story from a few weeks ago. Jenny tells her she can go shopping after dinner. As soon as the food is ready she climbs onto her chair and and eats very fast. Jenny says, "Lizzie, you must be so hungry. Do you want some more to eat?" Lizzie: "No, Mommy, I want to go shopping!"  Watch out, Jason!!

On the phone with Masha, it's about 11:30 p.m. her time. The sun is still shining here and we haven't even had dinner yet. Sammy and I are on the phone with her. She tells us she's going to bed. Sammy wants to know why she's always going to bed... then calls her a "kaban!" He doesn't quite understand the time difference so it makes no sense to him that she goes to bed while the sun is shining.

Sammy asks Poppy if he likes being at the airport. Poppy says he will be very happy to go there in a couple of weeks because Sara is coming home. WOO-HOO!!!

Four days since my surgery. "Just getting old" kind of surgery... but doing OK. Plenty of pain but gotta love those painkillers... takes away pain and puts me to sleep... good combo!

My lovely daughter-in-law brought us a delicious dinner tonight - chicken pot pie, Ceasar salad, homemade chocolate chip cookies. She is such a good cook. Jenny's birthday is tomorrow so Poppy bought her a cake and put candles on it.  Good thing he was top of things.

Grandkids are so much fun!!

HE IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED!

What a glorious day! When I woke up this morning, the words that I used for the title were on my mind. We had a truly wonderful morning at KidZone Worship. "Mary" came in to see the kids. She was so excited because the tomb was empty! After she left we began the morning by singing "God's not dead! No! He is alive!" Like I said... what a glorious day!

We had a fun evening at Jason’s. We walked in with 2 gift bags and Sammy says “Are those presents for the kids?” Sammy and I put together his new puzzle while Charlie and Jason  watched the end of the Masters Golf Tournament. Jenny went to get the pizza; Lizzie was playing with her coloring pages and pen that we brought her. We had a “picnic” in the living room and watched Veggie Tales’ “The Easter Carol”. Afterwards we had strawberry shortcake. 

Jenny was telling us that one day last week she told Sammy to put his jammies on his dresser so he could wear them again that night. He forgot and put them down the laundry chute. As they went down he yells “Oh, no! The laundry chute ate my jammies!”  Jason asked him why he put them down there and he said, “I guess the laundry chute was hungry!”

Sammy asked Poppy how much money he had. Charlie said “none”. Sammy says, “is that what you say when you don’t know?” So Charlie pulls his change out of his pocket and gives it to Sammy and tells him to count it. Sammy says “wait, I’ll be right back; I’m going to get my shoe.” So he comes back with a shoe that is a bank and he begins to count the money – as he puts it in the bank. Then he gives it to his mom and says “is it full yet?” She tells him no, that he has a long way to go. Sammy says “OK, and takes his shoe to his room.” Oh, but not before he asks me for money. I told him mine was in the car and he said OK.  I’m surprised he didn’t ask me to go get it.

Lizzie's plate was in the floor – remember it was a “picnic” and she stepped on the side of it. Her food went flying. She could not have done it better if she had tried. She stops… looks at it and says “Oh, man!” It was so funny!

DON'T EVER GIVE UP...

Nothing profound about the title. It's really for those few who read this and had given up that I would ever write another blog. There's no way I'm going to go backwards. I'll start with today - our annual Easter Treasure Hunt... an absolutely beee-yew-tee-ful day!!! I ordered this weather especially for the egg hunt. I hope those of you in attendance appreciated it.  The Lord certainly blessed us with a great day when you consider all the rain we've had recently.

OK... maybe a little bit backwards... Chris turned 23 on Wednesday. Am I the only one who can not believe that he is 23? But he is still my baby boy!! He and Charlie are at Bennett Springs fishing. What a great day for that, too!! Talked to Sara on Friday. Pray for her. She hasn't felt so well this week. Of course, my thoughts turn to malaria. Please pray that's not what it is. Masha is in Belarus visting friends until next Sunday. It's surprising what a difference 2 more hours in time difference can make.  We're looking forward to Easter Sunday and spending some time with Jason and family. It is ALWAYS fun to have a chance to play with the grandkids.

Currently Madagascar see related

UPWARD ON THE BRAIN

Yep - that time of year again - constantly thinking about Upward. Trying to get the teams as even as possible. Trying to make sure coaches practice on the night that works for them. Trying to make parents happy - the hardest job of all. Setting up practice nights. Ordering uniforms. And the list goes on and on from now until March 1. This morning I saw this video and decided I want this little girl on my team. She's 5 years old!!

JOSEPH, PLAICE, TREACLE, ETC.

Wednesday was a bright, sunny day - certainly not your typical British day. We left for London on the train, headed for the Adelphi Theater to see Joseph and the Amazing  Technicolor Dreamcoat! After a lunch of paninis at Cafe Nero, we went there for the matinee at 3 pm. And it truly was amazing. The young man who played Joseph, Lee Mead, certainly has one of the most beautiful smiles I've ever seen... an incredible voice, too. I really, really like the young lady who was the narrator. Wow! When she opened her mouth the sound that came out was indescribable. We arrived home that evening after dinner at Friday's in Leicester Square, tired but very content with our wonderful day.

Masha had a mock exam on Thursday so it was off to her school, The College of Law. They have a very nice reception area so I waited patiently and began reading "Safely Home". By the time she finished it was raining so with hoods up we went around the corner to have sushi for lunch.

Friday was another mock exam day for Masha. This time in Business Law. Once again I read my book - if you've never read "Safely Home", you should - and waited patiently. After she  finished we took the underground to London Bridge to find a traditional pub with fish and chips. We ate at the Old Thameside Inn. Masha had scampi. In America, one would think that she was eating shrimp sauteed in garlic and butter. However, in the UK, it's fried shrimp. I had a fish that I had never heard of - plaice - and it was quite nice. Next to our table was a small  board with a dessert menu. I asked what a treacle tart was and after the explanation that it was burnt sugar, I thought we should give it a taste. Yummy!! It was served with vanilla ice cream and it was sooooo good. If you ever come to London, you really should try it. The train ride home - about 40 minutes - was good - mainly because we were ahead of rush hour. However, even with that... this is what Masha looks like at the end of a day. 

Saturday was a wonderful day of doing nothing - just relaxing - watching movies - laughing - eating pizza (yes, with corn) and other very "healthy" foods.