Learning Joy

Nicholas at his “computer”. Oct. 2006 

Jonathan’s recipe. A couple mornings ago, Jonathan asked if we could make these bars. He’d been reading the cereal box while eating breakfast. So I had him copy the recipe down and we’ll make them later. 🙂

Jonathan reading to Nicholas 

Last night I went to Bartell’s to get some graham crackers. Jonathan and I walked in & saw a worker. Thinking asking would be better than wandering around the store, I asked her if they had any graham crackers. She told me no, and the guy next to her said,
“Yeah, we only sell them when they are on sale and we have some.”

I love the little green footballs blog! Well, Jef checks it more often than I, but it always has good stuff! Today they have a message from some troops in Iraq to Mr. Kerry, who recently said that if you’re uneducated, you get stuck in Iraq. Check it out –
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=23178_A_Message_to_John_Kerry_from_Iraq&only

Q: What kind of pie do people not like?

A: Octopi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last night was awards night at AWANA.
The boys did well. Nicholas didn’t get any awards, but Pastor called him up to the front because he is SO excited about EVERYTHING! Pastor Greg thinks Nicholas is great. He said Nicholas might have to become an evangelist. 🙂
Daniel received the Sports Person of the Month award for the Sparks group. 🙂 This meant that he was good at encouraging his teammates and was courteous and respectful – exemplifying a sportsman-like attitude.
Jonathan received two awards. He received the AWANA T&T Clubber of the month. Jonathan received this because he completed the most sections in his book & worked really hard. 🙂 He also received the Sports person of the Month award for the T&T group. 🙂
The boys received a Dairy Queen gift certificate ($1 each) for each of their awards. They’re pretty excited about that!

Earlier this year I read Michael J. Fox’s memoir. I was going to post about it, but never really had (or took) the time to clarify my thoughts. His memoir left me feeling sad, a little angry and empty. It is always interesting to read perspectives from a different world view.
By now most of you probably know that Michael J. Fox, like Christopher Reeves was, is an activist for embryonic stem cell research. Mr. Fox has released a new commercial in which he encourages voters to elect a democrat because of stem cell research. He makes it sound like if you don’t support stem cell research, you are causing him pain. Mr. Fox went off his

Got this from a friend … I’m so silly – I love surveys! You can copy it by right-clicking and highlighting the whole thing. Then you can paste it in the comments section & answer it! 🙂

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree (but not in the whole hippie-tree-hugging way)
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb (they’re kind of hard to hold, so it was more of a hug)
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business (does helping Jef count? I keep the books)
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Gotten flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Passed out cold
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery (I think my 3 c-sections count, but they are pretty mundane, not so major, even though they are called “major”)
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad – and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life