2007 Portrait

Here is the official portrait of the kids this year. I took it (and many others) around the property last month--this one being up the hill north/northeast of the house.

They're laughing because 14yo (front right) had just asked, "Does my hat look funny?" at which point 5yo grabbed the center-top of the hat and pulled it up so that it stood up and did indeed look funny. So we all cracked up, although it took 14yo a moment longer to, since she couldn't see it.

Mary Susan

Wish List

This is our 5yo when we were on the "mountain" out back, getting a Christmas tree. (Yes, we all wore orange; deer hunters are common in our area and on our property--with or without permission.)

Our 5yo son has a wonderful wish list this year, courtesy of lack of television, pre-school, etc. He wants a rubberband gun, a deck of cards, and a watch.

I LOVE IT!--and not because it makes shopping easy, but because it reflects the simple wishes of a boy who is fairly untainted by too many worldly influences. And that's not to say that he or we are perfect, by any means. I've just been very touched by his simple desires this year. (Of course, last year, he requested a hippopotamus. Or, barring that, a camel!)

I remember as a child, sitting down with pencil, paper, and the Sears and JCPenney Christmas catalogs and going through them nearly page by page, writing down pertinent info on any and all products that I might possibly want, then going through my list and the catalogs numerous times after that, paring the list down to only a page or so, and giving it to my mother!

The 5yo is a refreshing change from that. Will it continue? Who knows, but I'll appreciate it while it's here.

Mary Susan

Doe or Buck?

Okay. True story.

Just happened this week.

The father-in-law of a friend of ours (We'll call our friend "Bubba.") is a guy who has to be really sick to go to the doctor. He'd not been feeling well for a bit, and finally got bad enough to go see about it. He was admitted to the hospital with fever, headache, etc. Apparently the medical folks have discovered that Phenergan (Is that spelled correctly?) can help headaches, so they gave him a half-dose of it, upon the administration of which, the father-in-law immediately passed out and entered into a comatose state. He was taken to ICU. The doctors had no idea what his body was doing or why, but were ready to order all kinds of tests, etc.

Enter Bubba and Mrs. Bubba. After work on Monday, they headed up to see the father-in-law. This was something like a day-and-a-half into the comatose state for father-in-law. They went through the same things others had been trying--talking to him, stroking his hair, talking about the good-looking nurses, etc. Nothing caused any reaction. So Mrs. Bubba said, "Okay, let me change tactics." She went over to father-in-law and said, "Daddy, Bubba shot a deer this morning."

No apparent change, except for three words actually being spoken by father-in-law: "Doe or buck?" He then started pulling the oxygen mask off, etc.

Upon examining father-in-law, the doctors couldn't find anything wrong with him. They kept him overnight for observation in a regular room. We're thankful he's better, and that Bubba has another story to tell.

This could happen only to Bubba.

Mary Susan