A favorite boy

Today my oldest celebrates his 25th birthday.
Time is funny. Sometimes it seems to go by very slowly, and in the case of children growing up it goes so quickly.
When he started Kindergarten, I couldn't believe David was already going to school. When he entered 6th grade, I was sad to see the elementary years gone so quickly. As he made his way to the high school campus, it was difficult to imagine that I had a kid in high school.
Sitting beside him as he practiced for his driving test was surreal.  He was a great student, and always had high scores on his tests, scoring in the 95th percentile or above usually.
Before I could turn around he was old enough to vote.
Now he is shopping for his first home, and he is clearly a grownup.
I always told him, "You're my favorite boy Dave." Which was kind of a joke, because back then he was my only boy. Then he became my favorite young man. He has always been a great kid, and I'm so proud of him. Not just because he's smart, but because he's such a great person.
I've been searching for some earlier pictures, but this is the earliest one I've found so far. He's about 10 months in this one, sitting with my brother.

Happy Birthday Dave! It's your day, and I am so blessed to have you as my oldest son.

Anticipation, excitement and nostalgia

In about seven months my daughter's life will change, and I will add another name to my list of titles. Jewel is 12 weeks pregnant, and I am excited for everything that a baby will bring for her. She is happy, Bjorn is happy and I welcome this new role for myself with open arms. I wonder if I'll be Grandma, Granny, or what name this new little person will give me. My mother was grandma to all three of my kids until Sean pronounced her Nanna when he was 2.
I wish I could live closer to Jewel. That will be a difficult part of this new chapter of life, I'm sure. There's nothing like the day-to-day living that bonds a family, but I am thankful for telephone conversations, and all of the things like Skype and Facebook that keep us connected.
David will be celebrating a birthday on Sunday, and he is looking for a home to purchase. I'm excited for him too.
I know it is such a cliche, but it is amazing how fast time flies. I have enjoyed all of my children at each stage, but I am keenly aware of how quickly childhood passes as I watch Sean experiencing things.
He's at a stage now for making rules to games. I remember studying this stage in child psychology. They enjoy games, and want to make up their own games with their own rules.
I've been blessed to have such kind and wonderful children. They are all lovely and caring and so intelligent. I don't think I could have a better set if I had been able to place an order. Each one is unique, and  the only thing I want for all three is that they live to the potential that God has planned for them.

Reptile Zoo

For Mother's Day we took a little road trip to Monroe, Wash. to the Reptile Zoo. It was our second visit, but I think there have been improvements since we were there last year.
We saw so many snakes it was overwhelming. Sean loved it, of course. He loves to study about them and when we took our library load back today we came home with his favorite snake book- again.
I'll let the pictures tell the story.
WARNING:
If you are not the parent of a little boy, or are not yourself interested in reptiles, some of the images may be disturbing.

Pretty cool stuff so far, huh?

Now we'll make our way to the cousin of the monitor.

This guy was enjoying the heat and sun at the window. He was eyeing us the whole time we were near his pin.

This is the Alligator Snapping Turtle. They hail from my home of Tennessee, and I am happy to say I've only seen one--this one--contained. 

I think this is the Green Tree Python, but I don't have Sean here to set me straight. Could be the Emerald Tree Boa.

Best buddies. These pythons were snuggled together in a large pin. The yellowish one is an albino.

Sean was really happy with this rosey boa.

The albino corn snake was friendly. But it was also determined to go where it wanted to go. In the picture above, the snake had slithered into Sean's sleeve and when he tried to pull it out it worked its way out the back of his shirt, but had it's tail gripping the sleeve.  It's tangled in the shirt in that photo, as you can probably tell, Sean was a little concerned.

We definitely recommend this place for all families interested in reptiles. There were tons of other photos that I didn't share on this post. Some of them were too messed up with light reflected in them because of the glass cases and all the heat lamps. There was a huge green anaconda, some rattle snakes, lots of different cobras, (one even struck at the glass a few times-yikes!) The reptiles look well cared for, and the people who work there seem to really love these guys. There is no guided tour, (not really big enough for that) but if you have questions there are people there to answer them. The man who owns the place does a program for schools, etc.

Reasonable entrance fee too, $6 for adults $5 for kids.

I have mixed feelings about zoos and places like this, because I don't like to see animals in captivity. It's a chance to educate people about the many different species. It amazes me how many different species share the earth with us. 

Easily amused

I recently purchased a new camera. I got last year's Sony H20. It's different from the other Sony camera I had so I'm still getting used to it.
I love the zoom.
I am easily amused. I spent quite a while today taking pictures of an inchworm that hitched a ride on my shoulder while I was out working in the yard.
I enjoyed watching him through the zoom lens. I assume it's a he, I don't know for sure. I didn't zoom into that area, plus I don't know how you tell on an inch worm.
They're really very cute. I've always loved inchworms, but I've only seen a handful in my lifetime. Sean held it for a while and I took a few pictures, then I brought it to my desk/office area and started shooting away.

If you look closely you can sort of see his little antennae in this one.

He hung out on my finger for a long time.

Then he was on the move again. He was looking at me in this one.

Inchin' along.

He's still here at my desk, munching on a piece of lettuce. 

I've always had a bit of a soft spot for inchworms. I used to have an inchworm riding toy back in the day - the 70s.

I was hoping we had a picture of it. 

It looked like this:

I loved that thing. I guess I've always been easily amused.

Worth it

Six of my staff and I attended an SPJ conference in Seattle last week. It was a beautiful day, worth the drive and definitely a nice location to spend a Saturday.
There are things I wish would have been better, like the temperature in each room, but the lunch was incredible and the view from our table was fantastic. We learned a thing or two and had a good time.

The view from our table at Pier 66.

Quiet Easter

Saturday before Easter was a busy day, and we didn't even do our egg coloring until pretty late in the evening. I've always enjoyed coloring eggs, though it gets messy.
Way back sometime when the grown kids were little we discovered that writing on the eggs with a crayon before dipping them in the dye creates a nice effect. The coloring shows through well if you use the right color combination. You can draw images, write messages, etc.
Sean had one ready to go with some crayon designs, then it fell to the floor.

One casualty

We colored about a dozen and he would have kept going, but I knew we were just wasting them. No way we could eat that many eggs.

Easter morning we found the Easter Bunny had left us a basket. We went to church and did an indoor egg hunt since it was quite cold and rainy. The hand bell choir played that day, always a treat for us.

Though we didn't have a big meal with all of the family around, we enjoyed a nice dinner with Grandma.

Pay it Forward

Saturday I worked in the yard. As I was raking, I was approached by a man coming from my next door neighbor's yard. I was puzzled. I didn't recognize him, but it turns out he was the neighbor's dad visiting from Montana.
So he stood there talking to me, and we talked about yards and homes and financial stuff and I said I was hoping to get some repairs on the house this year.
He asked what I wanted done and I said my first concern was the front porch. We had a ramp sort of installed when my mother was in a wheel chair, but it was never finished and just sat there looking ugly.
His name is Clay. He  took a look at it and said he thought he and his son could help me with it the next day. I told him I would be at church Sunday morning but home around noonish. I invited he and his family to come along. To my surprise he said, "We might just do that."
Later that day Clay and his son came over and dismantled the ramp.
Clay and his wife rode to church with me Sunday morning, and it was a little cooler and rainy that day.
Monday it snowed here--first time all winter-- and everyone stayed inside. But yesterday Clay and his wife came over and installed the rails on my porch and put it all back the way it was prior to the ramp being installed.
I tried to pay them and they wouldn't accept it.
This was such a huge help to me. I can't adequately convey how much it means to me.
I know this is going to sound cliche, but we do hear a lot of the bad things that people do. This gave me a little hope that there is still a little bit of good out there.
I can't do major home repairs, but I know I can help people in need.
So I'm waiting for God to put someone in my path that I can help in some meaningful way.