BRAINSTORMING "B"

Previous Entry: Pass The Popcorn, Please!

Recently I came across a fun little meme. By commenting, I received a letter of the alphabet for which to list ten things I love in my life that begin with that letter.

Thanks to Amy at Adventures in Being for challenging me with "B"!

1. Brownstones...Mr. Brownstone, Tornado, and Twister ~ these are the people I love best!
2. Big Cheese and JayBird...My parents are amazing!
   
3. Brat Pack...It's great to have siblings that are also your friends!
   
4. Best Friends...I have been blessed beyond measure!
5. Brethren...Our church home is awesome!
6. Barbecue...If this wasn't on the list, then I wouldn't be a true Southerner!
7. Bargains...I am NOT a full-price shopper ~ not even for groceries!
8. Books...Reading is one of the greatest adventures!
   
9. Blog Comments...I'd be lying if I said I didn't love 'em!
   
10. Bible...Last typed on the list but not last in my life by any means ~ this is the most important part of my day!
    

Let me know in the comments if you would like to play.
Hey! Comment even if you don't want to play!
Because we ALL love comments, and if you comment, I'll come and comment for you!
And if you ask me to give you a letter, a LOT of people will probably come comment because they
will want comments, too!
Like I said...we ALL love comments!

BRAINSTORMING "B"

http://xboxwife.blogspot.com/2008/09/brainstorming-b.html

HUMOR IS RELATIVE

Oh, the relatives! What would we do without them? You either gotta love 'em...or you can laugh at them!

This week Mad Kane is giving us all the opportunity to laugh! Check out her Limerick and Haiku prompt over at Mad Kane's Humor Blog. The topic is "relatives" ~ now who could resist that? Below you will find my efforts!

A little limerick for you:

I once had a cousin named "Slats",
Who did not consume many fats...
But his sister Bernita?
Well, she liked to eat-a!
So together they looked like "The Sprats".

And now the haiku:

Things One, Two, and Three ~
What great memories I have
'Cause I was the boss!

Don't forget...
It's a mad, mad, mad, mad world!

HUMOR IS RELATIVE

http://xboxwife.blogspot.com/2008/04/humor-is-relative.html

WHATCHA GOT COOKIN'???

The Brownstone Family has not done a good job of dining IN the past few months. Dining out? We've perfected it to a fine art. And quite frankly...we are all tired of it! While we do realize that dining out is definitely a part of our week, we are making a concentrated effort to eat at home.

Before my forced blogging hiatus, I was a regular contributor to Menu Plan Monday. Though a large part of my fall away from the kitchen was unavoidable, I must admit that another part of it was that I stopped planning ahead for the week. It was easier to just pick up something, or run to the nearest restaurant. But...too much of a good thing is not always a good thing!

With encouragement from Rachel Anne at Home Sanctuary, I am jumping back into Menu Plan Monday with both feet. Rachel Anne's challenge for today is to plan out a five day menu. She reminds us that 1) cooking does not have to be elaborate to count; and that 2) some days are just destined to be days for takeout, or a restaurant...and that's OK! (This week, I am thankful for point #2 because even though we are officially back on the "eat-at-home" band wagon, we do have some dining out planned for special circumstances!)

Here's what's cooking in the Brownstone kitchen!

MONDAY - We will have a delicious meal of roast turkey breast tenderloin, rice, and steamed broccoli! This tenderloin is so easy to make. You literally take it from the package, put it in a dish, and bake it for an hour and a half. There is no hassle and no mess!

TUESDAY - For the month of "March Madness", we are in a "Tuesday Night Supper Club" with some friends. Weather permitting, we will be dining outside on $6 pizza, while the kids enjoy a free meal per paying adult. Now $12 might sound like a high price for pizza for two adults, but when you factor in that it feeds both of us for dinner, as well as lunch the next day, and it includes as many toppings as we want, as well as the free kids' meals...well, I call that a pretty great deal!

WEDNESDAY - We are having Slow Cooker Tortilla Soup. It will be something easy that I can throw into the crock pot the night before and then start simmering on Wednesday morning.

THURSDAY - We have a special family celebration, so we will be dining out that night!

FRIDAY - We are having Taco Soup! Two words ~ Yum. Yum. (See the recipe for Taco Soup below!)

SATURDAY - Tornado and Twister have been BEG-GING for homemade spaghetti sauce! We will have that with spaghetti noodles, of course, along with tossed salad, and Texas Toast.

SUNDAY - Easter Sunday is always a time spent with family, and there is always a ham or a brisket, potato casserole, hot rolls, green beans, and some form of yummy dessert. We haven't received our assignment yet, but the meal will be awesome, and the time with family ~ even better!

From my mom's recipe box:

Taco Soup

2 pounds ground chuck or turkey
1 onion, chopped
1 can Hormel chili
2 cans pinto beans, undrained
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 can Ro-tel tomatoes (your flavor choice!)
1 pound Kraft Velveeta Mexican cheese, cubed
1 16-ounce carton sour cream
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon pepper

Brown the first two ingredients. Drain, and then place in a large pot. Add the remaining ingredients, and heat until cheese melts. Serve over Fritos Original Corn Chips.

Enjoy!!!

To see more recipes from the Brownstone kitchen, click here!

As always, thanks to
Laura at I'm An Organizing Junkie
for hosting

each and every week!

And thanks as well to
Rachel Anne at Home Sanctuary
for hostingon Monday through Friday each week
and helping me (and a whole lot of other people) to make
"a little bit of progress every day"
in creating a wonderful home!

WHATCHA GOT COOKIN'???

http://xboxwife.blogspot.com/2008/03/brownstone-family-has-not-done-good-job.html

HEADLINES

My good friend Jenn, or "Lurch-Lady" as I like to call her, was recently tagged over at texas wife and mom. (Jenn, we really need to discuss your de-capitalization of TEXAS!) She participated by listing seven random thoughts as they randomly popped into her head. Once tagged, it seems to be customary to tag others to participate in the fun. I mean, Lurch-Lady was tagged by her friend Reagan from Mississippi, who was tagged by 24Crayons from Virginia, who was tagged by Kate, tagged by Zombieslayer, tagged by Beach Bum from South Carolina, tagged by Mike from Michigan, tagged by Meggie from Australia, tagged by Leanne from Australia, tagged by Nicolette from Netherlands, tagged by Tracy from Norway, tagged by Hege - also from Norway and with a bilingual blog to boot, who was tagged THREE times:

• by Monica from Norway, tagged by Kristen from Norway, tagged by Petunia from Norway, who was tagged twice,
  
• by Marianne from Norway, where the trail went cold on September 23, (Monica, Kristen, Petunia, and Marianne all had completely foreign language blogs! Check out Monica's blog just for kicks. Bet you can't read it either!)
• and by Hobbygasa from Gjovik, Norway (FINALLY, a bilingual blog!), tagged by Tina from Dixon, Kentucky, tagged by Carol from Las Vegas, Nevada, where the trail went cold on September 19.
  
• by Sylvia from Norway, who was also tagged three times!
• by Frokenij from Norway, tagged by Mrs. Darcy from Norway, tagged by Sina from Norway, (both completely foreign language blogs), tagged by Hobbygasa from Norway (same as above), tagged by Tina from Dixon, Kentucky (same as above), tagged by Carol from Las Vegas, Nevada, where the trail went cold on September 19 (same as above).
• by Ninne, tagged by Lilje, who was tagged twice,
• by Sina from Norway, same as above
  
• and by Kristin from Norway, same as above
• and by BIM-HD, where the trail went cold.
  
• AND by Merete, from Norway and a foreign language blog, which made it difficult to find the meme and it's origin and date because no 1-7 numbers were visible as they were on the other foreign language blogs.

(And yes...I DID take the time required to investigate how long this meme has been going and where it originated. I'm kind of a nerd when it comes to stuff like that! And Y'ALL - let me tell you, those Norwegian women can knit! I was amazed by all the pictures of the beautiful things they have created! AND...may I just ask you the question...do you find it completely incredible that this little meme has traveled AT LEAST from the United States, to Australia, to Netherlands, to Norway, and back to the United States between September 19 and today, and it has been bounced around ~ sometimes more than once ~ between AT LEAST twenty-seven people, not including the off-shoots of every OTHER person these people tagged? Me either!)

Silly Lurch-Lady!
SHE, apparently, had OTHER ideas... Instead, she wrote:

"Okay, I'm tagging..........no one, I could hardly find time to do this one myself!! I'm off to get the kids and myself dressed to go to Ladies Bible class and hopefully enjoy a fun lunch with all of my great girlfriends from church!! If you want to do the tag, be my guest!!! :)"

Of course, I called and harassed her after she didn't tag ANYONE! Being one of those "great girlfriends", I personally felt that I had the right to give her a hard time about not tagging ME! As a new blogger, I don't really get tagged ~ ever! (I was once tagged by Jenn BEFORE I started blogging publicly!) Lurch-Lady really needed to help a "great girlfriend" out with a tag opportunity, especially considering that I've been at a loss for words this past week. I told her that I would be happy to participate, but she had to actually tag me first. ~ no vague references about being her guest but a real black, white, and true tag. In other words, I basically called her and said, "ME! ME! Pick me for the meme!"

So, yesterday I made the headlines in her blog:

"Okay, Jill, you are it!"

That was the title of her latest post. Obviously, the harassment (as well as the shameless begging) worked! I have officially been tagged to list seven random thoughts as they randomly pop into my head. It was interesting to see how this meme evolved over it's traveling course. In the oldest link I could track, there were rules:

1. Link to your tagger and post rules.
   
2. Share 7 facts about yourself, some random and some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of post and list their names.
4. Let them know they were tagged by a comment on their blog.

On that note, here are some of MY headlines, or the random lines of thought that are running through my head...

1. With the exceptions of Rhino's Real Total Package, M4Mom, and Lurch-Lady, people reading this meme have NO IDEA how extremely difficult it is for me to sort out only seven of the seven hundred random thoughts that will run through my mind while typing this. Seriously! Mr. Brownstone told me I need to be tested for ADD. Mr. Brownstone never takes lightly anything for which he will have to shell out money. He is also not of fan of "labels" or of taking medication unless you truly need antibiotics for something. He must be serious about my short attention span if he's mentioning it.
2. I wonder if ADD is what causes my little problem with chewing gum. Can you get bored while chewing gum? Is it possible to forget why you put it in your mouth in the first place? It is for me. I am thirty-something years old and cannot chew a piece of gum without swallowing it. Seriously ~ Can.not.do.it. This is why I do not chew gum very often. Sometimes I swallow it before the flavor is even gone! Sometimes I swallow it while saying to myself, "Do not swallow your gum. Chew your gum. Do not swallow your gum. Chew your gum." I know ~ gum-swallowing is immature, and it makes me a little weird; but it's a struggle. The really weird thing...I didn't start this nasty little habit until adulthood. It just came out of the blue, and unfortunately, it seems to be an unbreakable habit.
3. I have at least five loads of laundry to do right now, and that does not include all the bed linens, or the towels, or what I will find lurking under the bed and in the corners of Tornado's room. It also does not include the two loads that I have already done that still need to be folded. Laundry is my nemesis. Really, it should be such a simple task, but it is my least favorite task. If I can ever get caught up, it will be simple because right now, I have to do at least one load every day just so the loads do not multiply. Laundry, you better hope we never meet in a dark alley. Your grime will be mine.
4. The background noise of the crowd at televised football games really gets on my nerves. That kind of white noise gives me a headache. The air conditioner noise gives me a headache, too. There is a battle over the thermostat between Mr. Brownstone and myself. I do get chilly but could live with the cooler temperature. It's really the noise I don't like, and I do not like to feel the air blowing either. (I just sneaked in there and bumped the temperature up a couple of degrees so it will quit blowing right now.) I also do not like to feel or hear the air blowing in the car. I could listen to the crickets call, or the frogs croak, or the birds chirp, or the rain, or the thunder, or the rushing water all day long. Please, though, never lock me in a room with crowd noise, or an overactive air conditioner! I'd be crazy by the time you released me.
5. I really miss my kids right now because they are at my parents' house for the night. I'm happy that they get to be around all of their grandparents so often, though. We are lucky like that. I love my family so much. It's such a great feeling to have such a great relationship with our parents and siblings. I don't know what I would do without my parents or the other Things. It's also a bonus because it's free babysitting whenever we need it. It's fun for all of them, and it's nice to have an occasional date with Mr. Brownstone. Mr. Brownstone still has it! I'm not always good about letting him know it, but he still makes my stomach flutter. He is very cute to look at and very funny to boot. Our kids are inside/outside beautiful! They are also very sweet and funny. Tornado is a master prank caller and is quite the teacher for Twister in the art of prank calling as well. Twister pranked called our messages three times today. The first one said, "Hi, this is Rochelle, Buddy's mom, and we would like for Tornado um tuuuh come over at 2 am in the morning tomorrow... well not at 2 am. Two am in the afternoon... after school and we would like Tornado to spend the night. Well, no. Tomorrow after school... the next day, um Monday? Wait, I messed up on my ...." CLICK! Now that, my friends, is a QUALITY prank call. Twister also called earlier this week and left a message that informed me my shirt was ready to pick up from "The Shirt Store" for one thousand and one dollars. When Tornado calls, it is a whole different ballgame. I have to say...Tornado has prank calling skillz, and that is "skillz" with a Z!
   
6. I am not sure if my friends know that I can play the saxophone. I used to be pretty good ~ you know...skillz with a Z. They were not hard to play, but my favorite songs to play were songs from before my time: "Brandy", "Smoke On The Water", and "Horse". I really think I could still play them if I could get my hands on a saxophone.
   
7. I have the best friends...ever! We have not all known each other our whole lives. Some of them I haven't even known for a year, and I haven't known ANY of them for more than two years. We just all came together at the right time, and we just fit. I feel like I have known them forever, and it's a great feeling. There is no doubt in my mind whatsoever that any single one of them would drop what they were doing at any given moment to come to our aid, and we would do the same for them. I can't imagine not talking to them several times a week. We are so happy where we are...living this full life!

Well, there's seven or more random and weird facts about me. I tag Chrystal, Jenni, Liza, Julie, Rosheeda, and then of course "Rhino's Real Total Package" and "M4Mom" - y'all can post your answers in the comment section here. Please play! I would love for ANYONE that reads this blog semi-regularly to also feel free to participate if you'd like. Please leave a comment for me in the comments section, if you decide to play along, so I can go read your answers! And if you are a brand new reader...YOU CAN PLAY, TOO! The more the merrier!

And Lurch-Lady...thank you so much for helping me find words again!

HEADLINES

http://xboxwife.blogspot.com/2007/10/headlines.html

IT'S SNEAKY, AND IT STRIKES AGAIN

It is with a heavy heart that I am writing this. After receiving such great news about my grandmother, we have received news from the other end of the spectrum for a close family friend.

Please pray for my sweet friend. Out of respect for her privacy and her family, I will refer to her as Mrs. C...God will know who you're talking about when you pray for her!

Mrs. C was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. She has just found out this week that it is Stage 4, and she just found out yesterday (Thursday) that it has metastasized to the bone. (She has six spots spread over three different areas of her bones.) It is in all of her lymph nodes as well.

They will be treating this cancer very aggressively. Chemotherapy will be the first step of many. Mrs. C has a very long battle ahead of her. Aside from the cancer, Mrs. C is very healthy. She has taken care of her body, and this will help her during treatment.

Ladies, Mrs. C was very faithful in getting her mammograms each year. Please carryout this important procedure on a regular schedule and do monthly self-exams. Report anything that feels or looks suspicious to your doctor.

I believe that God can take away Mrs. C's cancer if He so chooses. I believe in the power of prayer.

Matthew 19:26 says, "Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Please, please pray for Mrs. C. Please pray for her husband and her two sons. Please pray for her extended family. Please pray that they may find peace in all of this sadness and fear. Please pray for a full recovery for her.

Blessings to all of you...

IT'S SNEAKY, AND IT STRIKES AGAIN

http://xboxwife.blogspot.com/2007/09/its-sneaky-and-it-strikes-again.html

AND THE TITLE MEANS MORE THAN EVER...

My grandma remains faithful to the title I have given her: The Encylopedic Energizer Bunny That Is My Grandma!

Thank you so much to all of you that sent up thoughts and prayers for my grandmother yesterday as she had her mastectomy...and today as she recovers...and ever since we found out last week that her lump was actually breast cancer.

I truly believe in the power of prayer, and I'll tell you a few of the reasons why.

• God has been faithful to my family in our hour of need.
• My grandmother went into her surgery with complete peace.
• I have seen a remarkable change in my mom - she was very worried, even though she tried to keep that bottled inside to be strong. She is back to her happy self, and I can HEAR the relief in her voice.
• The surgery went well, and it went quickly. The doctor and his team said that the type of cancer she had was the best kind to have if you have to have breast cancer. (Of course, NOBODY wants breast cancer!)
• They do not think that there will be a need for any further treatment; though we are still waiting for the results of the lymph node biopsies. Please still pray for that!
• And now for the amazing part...my 85-year-old grandma came out of her anesthesia quickly and began talking in complete, coherent stories. Not sentences. Stories! My mom said that she came in from the recovery room talking and that she talked for the rest of the afternoon as she received visitors! She did not even take a nap!
• Today the nurses woke her at 4:30 am to weigh her, then the doctor came around to do a check, and when I spoke to my mom this afternoon, my grandma STILL had not taken a nap for the day.
• And now for the REALLY amazing part...my 85-year-old grandma HAS NOT TAKEN ANY PAIN MEDICATION!!!

I do believe that God answers prayers. Thank y'all so much for answering the call to pray for this sweet, sweet woman - The Encyclopedic Energizer Bunny That Is My Grandma!

AND THE TITLE MEANS MORE THAN EVER...

http://xboxwife.blogspot.com/2007/09/and-title-means-more-than-ever.html

TODAY IS THE DAY...

My grandmother is having a mastectomy today.

If you are a praying person...
Please pray that she will have no anxiety as she goes in for the surgery.
Please pray that she has no adverse reactions to any medications or anesthetics.
Please pray for the doctor.
Please pray that he will be easily focused.
Please pray that he will have steady hands.
Please pray for the other medical people that will be in the room.
Please pray that they will perform their duties efficiently.
Please pray that they will get all of the cancer.
Please pray that the cancer has not spread.
Please pray that she will have no difficulty coming out of the anesthesia.
Please pray for her speedy recovery.
Please pray that someone will learn about Christ through this.
Please pray for my mom.
Please pray for my dad that he can be a great support for her.
Please pray for my siblings, our extended family, my family, and for me.

Thank you so much to all of you that have sent well wishes and prayers this week. I truly appreciate each and every one of you for your support.

Have a blessed day!
"This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice, and be glad in it!" Psalm 118:24

TODAY IS THE DAY...

http://xboxwife.blogspot.com/2007/09/today-is-day.html

AND JUST WHEN WE WERE NOT LOOKING...

Cancer.

CANCER.

It's cancer.

Why…cancer?

WHY???

We've had a just over a month to prepare for the diagnosis. We were given the percentages. The doctors said there was a 98% chance the tumor was malignant. We were hoping and praying for the 2% chance it was benign.

We found out yesterday that the bigger percentage was bigger for a reason.

Eighty-five-years-old. My grandmother has been on this earth for 85 years. During this time, she has been healthy. She has rarely even had a cold.

Now she has cancer.

Simply typing it is hard.
Saying it out loud is even harder.

Breast cancer.

There is no family history of breast cancer. Of course, Grandma pretty much IS the family history. I’m guessing that breast cancer was not even detectable when her relatives were still alive.

I can’t really put a definitive label on my feelings right now.

I do know that I AM NOT angry with God. Grandma is 85! We can celebrate her life. We can celebrate that she has been healthy for 85 years. We can celebrate that she still has an amazing memory and is FULL of wonderful stories to share with us. We can celebrate that she has such a positive outlook on life in general, including her diagnosis. We can celebrate that she got to raise her children. We can celebrate that her grandchildren know her...even her great-grandchildren know her.

I do know that I AM sad. I am sad that there is cancer in this world. I am sad that there are so many people affected by this terrible disease in one way or another. I am sad that my grandma will have to experience any sort of worry over the next week as she prepares for surgery. I am sad that there are still more tests to run to see if the cancer has spread elsewhere. I am sad that my mom is feeling guilty for not knowing. How could she know??? I am sad that I did not know. She came and stayed with me for a week, and I did not notice anything out of the ordinary. I am sad that she will experience physical pain after the surgery. I am sad that she will experience sickness from the treatments. I am sad that my children have to know that their great-grandmother is sick. I am sad that Tornado is concerned about not finishing the big interview. I am sad when the thought creeps into my head that...she might not beat this.

And yet...I find a reasons to laugh and smile about the whole situation. I smile when I think about what happened after her biopsy. She put back on her shirt and said, "OK, now take me to Wal-mart!" I can't help but chuckle when I think about how the doctor asked this 85-year-old woman if she wanted to try and save her breasts. I think she got a chuckle out of that, too. I laugh out loud when I think about her telling me a couple of weeks ago that she had gotten an "angiogram" on the day she had a "mammogram". I have a smile, albeit a sad one, when I think about her positivity...when I think about her happy demeanor...when I think about how she unexpectedly got to stay with us for several days before we knew she was sick...when I think about that precious irreplaceable interview.

And finally...I am worried. Worry - I confess - is my biggest struggle. This past weekend I attended a women's workshop at church. We were told about a study that was done in which it was determined that the human brain is not able to worry and give thanks at the same time. Try it. I tested the theory and personally cannot do it. I cannot give thanks for something at the same time my thoughts are worrisome. Twice in the New Testament of the Bible we are asked, "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" This exact verse is found in Matthew 6:27 AND Luke12:25, so maybe God was trying to tell us that this message is important - important enough to tell us...TWICE! We are also twice reminded "...do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear..." in Matthew 6:25 and in Luke 12:22. Finally, in Matthew 6:34, it says, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." I think God is trying to tell us "DO NOT WORRY! I know your needs, My child. I will take care of you."

Easier said than done - right? I am worried about the obvious, the short-term. I am worried that the surgery will be too much for her tiny body to withstand. I am worried about the doctors having to give her enough drugs to put her to sleep before the surgery. I am worried about how much weight she might lose during the treatments. She doesn't have much weight in the first place. Then, of course, I am worried about the less obvious, or the long-term. It's breast cancer. Now it is most assuredly in our family history. Finally, I am worried about that thought that keeps creeping into my head...she might not beat this. And that opens the floodgates of regret. Did I spend enough time with her? Did I give her the attention she deserved? Did I appreciate her enough? Did I take in everything that she has to offer as one who has fully experienced life and all its tragedies, as well as all of its wonder? I think that the answer is "yes" to all of the above. However, it is easy to doubt...easy to worry...when you are faced with those questions.

For now, I am choosing to be thankful. I am thankful that I got to spend time with my grandmother recently. I am thankful that we have a close family. I am thankful that I have great friends. I am thankful that we captured a portion of her life on videotape. I am thankful that she walks in the Light. I am thankful that we have a God who loves us and has a plan for each of us. I am thankful.

What are your thoughts on breast cancer?
How has cancer affected you?
How did you deal with the illness of a loved one?

If you are a blogging person, I'd love to hear your thoughts. If you are a praying person, I'd love for my grandmother to have your prayers.

I do believe that God answers prayers. It may not always be the answer we want to hear, but God does answer prayer.

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. What does the worker gain from his toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on men. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him." Ecclesiastes 3:1-14

AND JUST WHEN WE WERE NOT LOOKING...

http://xboxwife.blogspot.com/2007/09/and-just-when-we-were-not-looking.html

INTERVIEWING GRANDMA...

I just watched and videotaped one of the sweetest things ever.
Tornado interviewed my 85-year-old grandmother. More importantly, she is Tornado and Twister's GREAT-grandmother!

I first have to say how impressive it was to witness an 85-year-old woman still going strong at midnight. Secondly, I have to say how even more impressive it was to watch Tornado sit patiently and kindly listen - with eyes on the speaker - to the complete answer. You cannot even begin to imagine how hard of a task that can be where my grandmother is concerned. To say "she rambles" would be the understatement of the year...the decade...the century...the past millennium!

Grandma is a talker. It's one of the things about her that can drive you a little batty at times, but it's also one of the things we love most about her. It is incredible to hear the details that she is able to recall. She not only has this amazing memory, but she is knowledgeable as well. Grandma is like a walking encyclopedia...with a cane. She still remembers names, dates, and a plethora of other information on an unbelievable amount of topics. She has had so many life experiences. It would be a crime for us not to get some of her memories on tape, so that is just what we started. I say "started" because we are nowhere near being finished.

The interview lasted for just over twenty minutes. I honestly think that if we would have had more tape that Tornado could have kept questioning, listening, and learning. I know that Grandma could have kept going...and going...and going... Grandma is also like the Energizer Bunny. Seriously. In twenty minutes, Tornado was only able to ask the following questions:

1. What is your full birth name?
2. Do you know why your parents selected this name for you?
3. Did you ever have a nickname?
4. If so, how did you get it? (Technically, this question was answered before it was asked.)
5. When is your birthday?
6. What year were you born? (Technically, this question was answered before it was asked.)
7. Where were you born?
8. Were you born in a hospital?
9. What are the full names and birth dates of your parents?
10. Where were your parents born?

Is it amazing to anyone else that she could correctly answer the last two questions? Obviously, these all of these questions should have taken only 5-10 minutes to answer. Grandma did not see it that way. I was so proud of Tornado for listening to her ramble. The thing is...when you are interviewing an 85-year-old woman that has an incredible memory...nothing is "rambling". The unexpected information that she gave in answering these ten simple questions held ALL of us in rapt attention! We were all disappointed when the video tape ended, and we cannot wait to continue the interview as soon as possible. We currently have a list of ninety-two questions and are hoping to add more as we think of new things to ask!

What a wonderful gift is the gift of legacy!

INTERVIEWING GRANDMA...

http://xboxwife.blogspot.com/2007/08/interviewing-grandma.html

A DIVINE NEW DEVELOPMENT!

Thing 4 and Thing 12 were sitting in a tree,
K-I-S-S-I-N-G.
First comes love,
Then comes marriage.
Then come The Things pushing a baby carriage!

YEA!

I am so
EXCITED!!
I'm going to be an aunt again!!!

CONGRATULATIONS
to Thing 4 and Thing 12!!!

THING 13
will be their first baby!
(Isn't that just the cutest name?)

BLESSINGS
for this new creation of God!

A DIVINE NEW DEVELOPMENT!

http://xboxwife.blogspot.com/2007/07/thing-4-is-having-baby.html