The Last Lecture

This is a great book! I downloaded it from i-tunes and listened to it. Now I am listening to it again with Andrew.

What a great guy. Randy Pausch, is a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. (Yeah for my hometown.) He was diagnosed with terminal Pancreatic Cancer last summer and was told he had 2-3 months of good health left. He is 47 and has a wife and three kids.

Last September he gave a "last lecture" at Carnegie Mellon entitled “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams”— it wasn’t about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because “time is all you have...and you may find one day that you have less than you think”). It was about living.

Someone put it on You-Tube for those that had to miss the actual lecture and about 10 million people viewed it and were inspired by it. It kind of took off and he and a friend wrote the ideas into this book and it was published in April. He and his family have had a lot of media coverage and he really is the nicest guy. He is funny and positive and sensible. He has survived longer than expected and even has a web site letting us know how he is doing. He really just wanted to voice his feelings and thoughts for his kids - that was his main motivation.

I connected with him because he loves learning and loves Disney among other things....I love his sense of humor. Here is their Halloween photo this year.
I have thought about the randomness of this life and how some live long and some don't, some live stupid and some don't.

If you are looking for a great book to make you think about life and make you grateful for your own, check this one out. It is at Costco now and of course on i-tunes.

Design on a Dime... Flip That Table....

I get the ideas and Mike does the work. That is the story of our marriage. Well, not really. I did all the work in pregnancy and childbirth. And I still do the lion's share of childrearing because he is always out of town. (In LA as we speak) Okay, so when it comes to house and yard, I am the designer and Mike works really hard to make me happy.

So....I need a new kitchen table. We have loved this one to death. It is as "real" as the Velveteen Rabit - lots of character. But I can't find one I like. I have shopped around. It must have a drawer for napkins and comfortable chairs. So I got this great idea to spray our old one black. Call me cheap but it just might be a $6.00 fix.


I came home last night from shopping with Katie and Mike had changed this...

to this...

with this!

Now I have a new end table in the downstairs family room to match the entertainment center. It looks great! Thanks honey! This was a practice run.

Now shall we do the kitchen table???

Things We Learn From Our Kids Part 2 - Katie

Katie taught me a great game called SNATCH. For any of us that love word games like scrabble, this one is addicting. She brought it home from school and at first we played with the letters out of the scrabble game. You start by turning them all face down and then take turns turning them up one by one. You look for 3 or more letter words to form from the letters you have revealed and be the first to call them out. You then get that word. But if a letter comes up and allows you to change one of your opponents words to a new word then you can steal his words.

Katie beat me terribly the first couple of times, but I can hold my own now. Can you see the word here? I shouted out BOLD and got it. But later, Katie turned up an I and an E and changed it to BOILED and took it away.

Katie is my kindred spirit in games. She loves Scrabble, Balderdash, Scattergories and other thinking games. I love to play her.

Anyway - the things we learn from our kids!

Fun Family Home Evening

Monday night we did a lesson about how Christ is the "bread of life." We made a fun bread recipe that you squish in a ziploc bag. I put the recipe on the cooking blog. I've been enjoying homemade bread all week!

Andrew liked the squishing part. We made sure he washed his hands!

Katie liked the quality control part - somebody's got to make sure it tastes good!

Chelsea spend 3 nights at our house this week just for fun. We love cousins. She is a blast and laughs about everything!

Melissa and Megan had done the recipe for Achievement Day's so they led the activity.

Mom was the clean up crew and teacher of the lesson. Somewhere in all this there was a spiritual lesson. Actually, we read the scriptures in John about "I am the bread of life" and talked about how we get life from bread by eating it or taking it inside us. Likewise, we receive life from Christ when we live his gospel and accept his atonement. Andrew brought up the Israelites and manna, and Katie added that they could only gather enough for one day except on Saturday. Don't you love seminary and sunday school.

Getting to Know Dallas

What do you do when your Mom and Grandma love to take pictures?

You pose endlessly for photos. But what choice do we have - he is sooooo cute. I'm sure this is some type of addiction - camera compulsive, photo obsession.

Poor Dallas...we're just getting started.

One week old....

Visit to Spokane at two weeks old...

Father's Day

This kid never took a nap laying down.

He was always held by someone who absolutely adores him. He is laying on Melissa here.

Three weeks old....

He is changing so fast, we have to capture each stage of cuteness! This addiction is cheaper than it used to be with digital everything. I love my Nikon and my computer...and my new baby love!

The Things We Learn From Our Kids

Andrew has discovered "Long-Boarding"

not to be confused with "Skate-Boarding."

If you have a few hours, he is willing to tell you all about trucks, decks and wheels and bearings, grips and slides and ... Long-boarding is like a combination between snowboarding and surfing. The wheels pivot and the rider can turn by throwing his body weight from side to side. I think he spends more time taking his boards apart and adjusting wheel bearings than actually riding but he is having fun.

Even Toby got in on the fun. This big kid will be a great Dad!

Thank goodness we live on a cul-de-sac. He is in the street more than in the house these days. Tammy snapped some great photos last Saturday. And thank goodness he heals quickly from all the scraps and bruising that comes from practicing tricks!

Oh Andrew - thanks for all the things you have taught me!

How Embarrassing!

Okay, I am a grandma. I really don't mind. (I thought I was old when I was 25 and graduating from nursing school.) I was very wrong then, so anytime I start feeling old I just remind myself that 25 is not old and neither is 40 something... I am often unsophisticated and immature but not necessarily old...

Well, Last Wednesday I went to Shopko. When I checked out the clerk gave me a SENIOR DISCOUNT.... I had to smile because she saved me $20.00. Thank you so much. How can I complain? But when I read the poster advertising - senior discount every Wednesdays to our customers 55 and older I thought, do I look 55? Is this really worth $20.00? Maybe she was just being nice and gives the senior discount to all Wednesday morning shoppers. I'm not sure if I want to laugh or go home and call a plastic surgeon. Will Botox help - maybe I should just get more sleep. DO I REALLY LOOK 55???

I told Mike and he totally cracked up. Andrew too. He already teases me about driving like a grandma. Well, thanks little Dallas. You are already saving me money. Granny and getting discounts. (I should have gone to Macy's.) Why can't people make a 10 year mistake in the other direction. Think of how happy I would be if I had received a "30 something" discount. Well honey, you are obviously in your 30s, can we offer you a discount?

Happy Birthday Melissa!

Our baby is ten! Into the double digits as she says...

She adds crazy and fun and spontaneous affection to our family.

Happy Birthday Melissa!

For her birthday party, Melissa decided on a medical/doctor party. All things blood and guts I guess. It was a fun theme to work with and 10 little girls had a great time.
I made some white scrub tops out of a sheet and the girls decorated them to start off.

Then we did brain surgery (red jello in a bowl - much like my actual brain sometimes...) We had to remove tumors (rocks) and germs (gummy worms) without doing much damage to our patient. Funny enough, some of the girls actually ate their jello patients after the procedure. Not exactly standard practice....

Then for the facial trauma - using eyeliner and ketchup the "doctors" turned themselves into patients.

Fun gift bags to send home with the girls. We put prescription medicine bottles full of Smarties and surgical gloves full of candy, some hand sanitizer too.

Happy Birthday Melissa!

Welcome Dallas Cade Thornton!

May 27th
8 lbs. 7 oz.
21 inches

Well, he is finally here to make me a Grandma. I fell in love so quickly. I am embarrassed to say that I show anyone (who shows a slight interest) his picture on my cell phone. I miss him already and request daily videos via cell phone and updates from Tammy. He came home today and I was able to see him real time with our web-cam. The blessings of technology.

What an unexpected turn of events. I never expected that we would go through this. Tammy's labor was hard, delivery long and difficult and then the "expensive tour of the hospital" with a trip to NICU for the baby. I was surprised at how familiar it all was even though I've been out of ICU for 16 years! I have a new empathy for parents who spend time in the hospital with their babies. It is such a difficult thing to go through.

Dallas came home today and is ready to live life without being connected to a heart monitor, oximeter, IV etc. No more cables, bright lights, new nurses, alarms and constant beeping....Now his world will be soft and quiet and loving and all things baby blue!