Drumroll Please!

The answer to the question posed last week:
56,000 miles
That's a quarter of the way to the moon. Or, 2.5 times around the Earth.

YIKES!

"Cut Own Hair" gland

For the fourth time in Audrey's life, she has cut her hair. She did it yesterday, but I didn't even notice until this morning. Her cute little bob is now a bob with lots of bangs. I was so mad. I lost it. I feel sort of bad now as I replay a conversation we had yesterday. It went like this:

Audrey: Mommy, would I be cute with bangs?
Mom: Sure, but I think your hair is just perfect the way it is.
Audrey: Whitney said I would be ugly with bangs.
Mom: Well, I think you would be cute even if you had green skin with pimples everywhere!
Audrey:(yelling into another room)See Whitney, Mommy said I would be cute even with a green face and pimples!

I thought the conversation was funny, and that I was reminding her that she is special no matter what. I am sure the seed I planted yesterday was squashed this morning when I was so upset. I swear she must have an overactive "Cut own hair" gland. Do you think there is a medication to tone this gland down?

All the other times before this, she has blamed it on someone else. This time she has noone to blame, not even a pretend tiger:

CORRECTION

I think it should be 900,000,000,000,000! Remember that is what is being proposed as our "stimulus" package. Correct me if I'm wrong.

How far can you stretch a dollar?

How high can you stack 900,000,000,000 (900 billion) dollar bills? Our friend, Sam, called last night and asked this very question. I was waaaaaay off. Anyway, make a guess. I'll post Sam's findings later. And, Jenn C. you can't answer since you already know!

YUM

Baking bread is like a therapy session for me. After several days of Texas style winter and kids at home being bored, I found the need to bake some bread. I wish you could smell the mix of cinnamon and raisins coming from the oven. Now, I can't wait 'til everyone gathers round the dinner table for bread breaking and conversation. Mission accomplished. I feel much better now!

Missing You

So a few weeks ago, our dear friends, the Hamiltons, called to see if we could meet them at the DFW airport for their layover later in January. They didn't even have to tell us when, we jumped at the chance to see them again. It was so fun to see them and spend a few hours together. The kids all enjoyed seeing Emily and Andrew as well. We were all sad when their layover came to an end. We were sure hoping they could get bumped from their flight so they could stay a little longer. There were many tears as we headed home. This short little visit sure made me miss my Michigan friends. So, I just wanted y'all to know that I think of you often. If you are ever down this way, call. We would jump at the chance to see you!

WHITNEY AND EMILY



AUDREY AND ANDREW


VIVIAN, CORINNE, MINDY, & ALETA


THE MARX FAMILY


THE CLOUGH FAMILY


THE MALONE FAMILY


MADDIE AND LINDSAY - MISSING ALL THE KESLER CLAN


MARISSA & WHITNEY - MISSING ALL THE HARKERS, TOO


ELISE AND AUDREY


MIA & WHITNEY - WE MISS ALL THE KHAN'S


So many more of you come to mind as well. Lucky for you, I don't have pictures. I hope these thoughts will send a little warmth and sunshine to you in this cold and snowy January!

Resolutions?

I say who needs 'em. I am so busy just doing things everyday, that I can't imagine putting that kind of pressure on myself. However, I always make my New Year's Resolutions. One of mine this year is to spend more time with family! And, boy, that has gotten off to a good start so far. Jenn's sister and family welcomed their long awaited baby boy, Robert Moorman Klingler, on Jan. 9th. We are so grateful she made it to 36 weeks. It was really touch and go for a while. He is back in the NICU, and so we are all praying for them once again. We are so happy to have a new little member of the family. We also got to get in a visit with Kevin's aunt and uncle as they were heading back to Sunny California after finishing their Church mission in North Carolina. It was so fun to have them with us for a few days. It was also a great reason to get the Krueger cousins over our way for a day as well. The kids all love getting together, and are always sad when these get togethers come to an end. We just need to start planning the next "cousin swap." Kevin and Brandon spent a lot of time together as they built the last Pinewood Derby car for this cub scout! Daddy and the girls even made a pink "E-Racer" for them to race as well. They were so excited to watch their little pink car race against all those boy cars! And last, but not least, Whitney got her braces on. We have spent a lot of together time just trying to make her smile. We want to get a picture, but she hasn't let us yet. We'll just have to trick her into it! Hope you are all having a wonderful start to the New Year. As always, reach for the moon. You may not get there. In trying, though, you will land among the stars! If I keep up this pace, I will definately reach my goal of spending more time with family!