What I Love About Josie

If you'll scroll down, you can see that I listed some of the things I love about Lindsay. Now, I'm going to clarify, in case I hadn't before: these are not ALL of the things I love... just some of them.
Today, I'm going to list SOME of the things I love about Josie:

1. She's very affectionate. This girl ALWAYS has a hug and a kiss for me, if not several! And she's like that with her whole family.
2. Her eyes twinkle when she smiles.
3. She has the most gorgeous beauty mark just below the left corner of her mouth.
4. She's sporty.
5. She's very brave.
6. If Josie falls down, she gets right back up again.
7. In similar fashion, if Josie doesn't succeed right away at something, she keeps trying until she gets it.
8. She's funny. In fact, I've never heard or seen anyone else make Lindsay laugh as hard as Josie can.
9. She's great at cheering you up when you're down.
10. She'll wipe away your tears if you're crying.
11. Josie is always willing to try something new, whether it's a new food or a new activity.
12. She can - and does - make friends anywhere she goes.
13. She has fantastic hair... just the right amount of straight and curly to make it full and bouncy.
14. She's great on her bicycle.
15. She swims like a fish.
16. She has a very kind heart.
17. Josie is a very determined person.
18. She's really smart, especially at math.
19. She writes well.
20. Josie is a great dancer.
21. She has a lovely voice and makes up beautiful songs.
22. She does a great job with her baby brother, playing nicely with him as well as keeping him out of trouble.
23. She is very forgiving.
24. She has her own, unique fashion sense.
25. Josie is independent.
26. She has lovely hands, especially when she lets her nails grow long.
27. She truly enjoys helping out in the kitchen, whether that's with setting the table, clearing it, or even cooking.
28. She's especially good at making brownies and chopping tomatos!
29. She loves to sleep in--something she gets from her mother.
30. She always knows the coolest catch phrases.
31. She has a magnetic personality--everyone wants to be around her.
32. Josie is just as comfortable hangin' with boys as she is hangin' with girls. She can be a bit of a tomboy, yet she's very much a girly-girl.
33. She looks great in pictures.
34. She gets excited about the simplest things--she finds pleasure in everything!
35. She makes me very happy!

A Few Things I Love About Lindsay

I was thinking about the time I wrote what I love about Jim, and I thought, "Why not write what I love about my kids? There are so many things I can say about them--they're so fantastic!"

Things I Love About Lindsay

1. She's got a big heart.

2. She's very smart.

3. Her eyes twinkle when she smiles.

4. She has the cutest dimples, just a little down from where you normally see dimples--so special!

5. She is the best Big Sister I have ever known!

6. She loves playing dress-up, something I enjoyed as a child.

7. She's a very good dancer.

8. Lindsay is always willing to make sacrifices for people, especially for her sister, Josie.

9. She is very forgiving.

10. She doesn't hold a grudge (something I could learn from).

11. She is patient.

12. She loves to sing, and she does it well, even if it's songs she's made up herself.

13. She's a friend to everyone.

14. She doesn't like watching movies or shows where someone gets hurt, physically or emotionally, even if the person getting hurt is the "bad guy".

15. She's extremely empathetic.

16. She's willing to try new things, even when she's pretty sure she won't like them.

17. She'd rather play independently than hang out with someone who's not necessarily treating her well. (i.e. rather than "taking it")

18. She truly loves reading (something I think/hope she gets from her mother).

19. She's very creative.

20. She's artistic.

21. She loves to write and make up stories.

22. She stands her ground when it's something she truly believes in or feels strongly about.

23. She tries to find the best in everyone.

24. She's a girly-girl.

25. She's in no hurry to grow up.

26. She has good values already.

27. She behaves well when she knows she should (e.g. in Church, in restaurants, etc.).

28. She comes off as shy to people who don't know her that well.

29. She's not so shy at all!

30. She can talk your ear off--much like her mother would at that age.

31. She's very photogenic.

32. Lindsay comes up with great make-believe games.

33. She is willing to defer to other people's ideas.

34. She is very free with her praise for others.

35. She's 100% sincere with her praise.

These are just a few things I am able to come up with off the top of my head. I have been blessed for just over 9 years with a beautiful, sweet, loving girl who brings Sunshine to the cloudiest of my days. Thank you, God, for the gift you have given me in Lindsay!!!

Hannah Montana

I've got a million other things I should be doing, and this is actually kind of "old news", but it's still something I want to talk about... I haven't posted for so long!

Okay, Hannah Montana. I absolutely LOVE little Miley Cyrus and her alter-ego, Hannah Montana. I think she's adorable, sweet, wholesome, and the kids just love her. She's very funny and her fellow cast-mates (including her Dad) are great, too. She's obviously very talented, and if you saw her on the Oscars, you know she is very poised as well (she tripped on her dress, but didn't let it fluster her one bit). Pretty good for a 15-year-old.

Here's the thing: She recently went on tour with The Jonas Brothers (little hotties that they are), and her tickets were sold out in a matter of seconds. The tickets were, of course, horrendously priced. I can't imagine how much of the ticket sales she (rather, her Dad, as manager) will actually see. Little girls (and boys) everywhere were crushed not to be able to get tickets to see her. Well, in an effort to soothe these poor losers who missed out, Disney, in their infinite wisdom, released a movie of the concert, including behind-the-scenes stuff and backstage stuff. How fun, right? Super cool, right? No. Y'know why? Because a) the movie was only in theaters for one week. ONE WEEK?!? And b) tickets were $15 in advance (per person), $18 at the door. Come on, people!!! I think it's absolutely disgusting (not to mention degrading) to put such a high price on the little girl and to expect kids and their parents to pay it. And let's be honest, in today's very competitive society, you know there were plenty of people forking over their cash in another attempt to provide their child with everything they wish for while simultaneously securing bragging rights to lord over the other soccer moms. "Well, I know it was pricey, but my little Ashley just LOVES that Hannah Montana and I hate to tell her no. After all, she DID do her homework every day last week... So I took her to see that movie. My daughter is worth it!" Puke! Please! I mean, my kids are worth so very much to me, too, but let's get real. They don't need that!!! Disney is turning Hannah McCyrus into a machine. She's an innocent little girl!

...So far...

Let us not forget that Britney Spears was once a product of Disney.....

Update

I haven't written an update (with pictures) for quite a while.... We've been so busy. Our niece, Jamie, got married four days before Christmas, to her True Love, Wayne. Jim did one of the readings. Both our girls were two of four flower girls in the wedding. It was a lovely ceremony, and the reception, held at Chez Hay, was tremendous!

Lindsay was radiant, getting her hair done!

Josie enjoyed her first trip to a real beauty salon, as well.

(Apparently, since my hairdresser works out of her home, it's not a "real" salon!)

Aren't they all such little darlings!

Then, of course, we had several Christmases to celebrate (with my folks, Jim's folks, our own, plus one in Columbus with my maternal grandmother). Before AND after that, we celebrated Donovan's first birthday. We did it twice because his Godparents were in town for the wedding, but they were leaving for home on Christmas Day. So, since Donovan's actual birthday is December 27th, we had an early celebration so the Godparents could attend. And just to sweeten the deal for everyone, we had it at Valentino's. (My brother-in-law has a number of places he has to visit each time he returns to Nebraska: Val's, Runza, and Taco John's.)

The Elmo cake was one of Donovan's gifts from his Godparents.

"Still not quite sure what all this frosting is for....."

"The things I go through for this family!"

Then we celebrated Donovan's actual birthday as a small family, just the five of us. Donovan didn't seem to mind eating cake twice!

Now that he's naked, he's really getting the hang of it!

"Mmm, yeah, this is fun!"

"How old is Donovan? One year old!!!"

Then, of course, there was New Year's Eve. We rang in the New Year at 10:00. Are we lame, or what? Lindsay turned 9 on January 5th, and she had a few girlfriends over for her first birthday party... three friends, a cousin, and her sister. They had a good time, and Mom was able to score her a Hannah Montana cake for the occasion! Josie lost her first tooth and was paid a visit by the Tooth Fairy.

Lindsay, Morgan, Anna, Katelyn, Sara, and Josie

"See, Mom? Can you see where my tooth was?"

Donovan got his first haircut--Jim and I took turns hacking away at him. That night, it seemed like Jim had done the most damage. However, the following morning, I decided I couldn't leave well-enough alone, and I chopped off some more above the ears. Yikes! We've got a walkin', sort of talkin' (Ned-Flanders-Speak--"deetle, deetle, deetle") little boy keeping us happy and occupied; two girls in Brownies, wrapping up cookie sales; and temps at seven degrees below zero! No snow-days lately, though. (Bummer, man!)

God in our e-mails

I am pleased that I continually receive e-mails from people saying, in various ways, that we should keep God in our pledges, on our money, even write about Him (e.g. write "in God we trust" on the back of the envelopes we send out). I love that so many people I know want to keep God in our thoughts, in the forefront of our brains, and even in our actions. The fact that I get so many of these e-mails means that people know where I stand... that God is a presence in my life that I acknowledge and am grateful for.

But isn't it interesting that we keep sending these e-mails to the same people? I mean, it's a little redundant, isn't it? Maybe I shouldn't even say this... I don't want to make you all think I differ from the common point of view--I don't! It just seems that we're not going to accomplish much more than self-congratulatory head nodding, the occasional "right on!" or "amen!" spoken (or even shouted) in the comfort of our own home. I notice we all say "Don't use those new golden dollars, because 'In God We Trust' isn't on the front of them (it's on the edge, where it'll get worn off quickly, &/or people won't even see it)", or that thing about writing on the backs of our envelopes, or sign this e-mail petition to keep God in the Pledge of Allegiance, or whatever. We're all so concerned about letting people know where we stand, but we're all in agreement.....


I don't feel like I'm getting this out quite right. Let me try again.


How many of us are sending those e-mails to the people we know (don't we all know at least one or two) who are atheists, or at least don't "practice" their religion as fervently as the rest of us (who are OBVIOUSLY in the right)? I have to admit, I don't. I forward those e-mails to all the rest of you who send the same stuff back to me. I only send those e-mails to the people I won't... um... offend. (You're right, it IS an outrage that mentioning God and His importance in our day-to-day life would offend someone, but isn't this the country where we're supposed to be free to have whatever opinion we want?)

So what's the point here? I feel like I'm waffling back and forth between two different arguments: I don't forward those e-mails to people who really "need" to see them--the people whose minds the e-mails are supposed to try and change. But I'm afraid of offending them. And I believe that one of the things that makes this country great is that they have every right to be offended by those e-mails. So while part of me thinks I should be forwarding them, not just to the active God-lovers in my life, but to the people who they're really directed to--the "lost"; the other part of me says "who says those people are 'lost', just because their values are different from mine?"

Do you see why I'm in a rather constant state of confusion?