On this day in history!

1578 – King Henry III lays the first stone of the Pont Neuf (New Bridge), the oldest bridge of Paris
1790 – The United States enacts its first copyright statute, the Copyright Act of 1790
1889 – Johnstown Flood: Over 2,200 people die after a dam break sends a 60-foot (18-meter) wall of water over the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania
1910 – Creation of the Union of South Africa.
1927 – The last Ford Model T rolls off the assembly line after a production run of 15,007,003 vehicles.
1930 – Clint Eastwood, Born, American film director and actor
1933 – Henry B. Eyring, Born, American religious figure
1965 – Brooke Shields, Born, American actress and supermodel
1976 – Colin Farrell, Born, Irish actor
1977 – The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System completed.
1981- Stephanie Ann Burrell Dirks, Born, Luckiest Girl Alive
1985 United States-Canadian tornado outbreak: Forty-one tornadoes hit Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario, leaving 76 dead.
2011- Caden brought me breakfast in bed at 6:22 am. Fruit loops, Chips o'hoy, Sour cream and onion Pringles, and Cream Soda! I got to sleep in until 8:30!!!

R & R

Although you won't be as comfortable as we are:).....

Or have toenails as cute as mine are:).....

Sit back, scroll down, and read the many posts I've written today to catch you up on the happenings of the Dirks'!

Best Friends Forever

From Heaven, to Earth, to Heaven again, You'll always be my Bestest Friends!

Grandpa Kimber's Visit

This last week we had the privilege of having my Grandpa Kimber and Mom come to visit. My kids DEVOURED Grandpa!

There wasn't a moment from the time they arrived till the time they left for home that one of my kids wasn't attached to Grandpa. The ALL loved it!

He read almost every book in our house to the kids (more than once!) He played games over and over with the kids. We all had a good time looking for birdies and bunnies in our yard and antelope ("lopers") on our drives.

We loved listening to his stories and learning more about his past. He sure misses my Grandma!

A woman in our ward commented that her Grandpa is a better Grandpa to her own kids than he ever was to her. That's just not the case with mine. He has always been so fun. So full of life. So full of love.

It's no wonder that he's my favorite. I loved having him here. I can't wait to see him in August for Keilie's baptism. I love you Grandpa Kimber!

There are hardly words!

Brennon was picking his seat for Caden's talent show!

For Good

"I've heard it said that people come into our lives for a reason, bringing something they must learn. And we are lead to those who help us most to grow, if we let them. And we help them in return.

Well I don't know if I believe that's true. But, I know I'm who I am today, because I knew you.

Like a comet pulled from orbit as it passes the sun. Like a stream that meets a boulder in a distant wood. Who can say if I've been changed for the better? But, because I knew you, I have been changed For Good."

"It well may be that we will never meet again in this lifetime. So, let me say before we part. So much of me is made of what I learned from you.

You'll be with me like a hand print on my heart. And now whatever way our stories end. I know you have rewritten mine, by being my friend.

Like a ship blown from its mooring by a wind off the sea. Like a seed dropped by a sky bird in a distant wood. Who can say if I've been changed for the better? But, because I knew you. I have been changed For Good."

My 30th Birthday party!

My 30th birthday party started on Friday morning at 9:00. I picked up Kimberly for our 676 mile drive to Omaha, Nebraska. The kids had woken that morning at 5:45, so I was nervous that I was going to get pooped early, but with all the excitement, it was perfect. We arrived at our hotel at around 9:00 to find that our balcony look out not at the beautiful landscape of Omaha, but at the pool instead. There were a TON of people there, so it was SUPER loud in our room. We were both super tired, but knew we wouldn't be able to sleep, so we went to Perkins for some Recess PB pie. YUMMY! We got some earplugs at the local Walmart and went back for sleep. However, our neighbors thought it would be nice to wake us up at like 6:00 by slamming their door every 10 minutes or so. Nice! We started our Saturday by picking up our sisters at 11:00. My party could officially begin! We first tried to find a nice restaurant for lunch. We couldn't find any known chains, so we decided to try a local place, Spezia. Um.... expensive and nice! Ashlee and I split 5 cheese ravioli for $16.98. FIVE!!! We then headed to Kohl's for some shopping. I can't wait for ours to be finished in September. I found some lipgloss, a purse and watch, and some perfume. It's so fun to shop with girls and not kids! We then headed over to get pedicures. I had called around to a few places to see if we could do four together. The place we went to could actually do about 7, however, only two of us were worked on at a time. So, when Kimberly and Hillary were done, they headed over to get a manicure while Ashlee and I got ours. Perfect!!! Although, the little woman had on a skirt and would squat on their smallish chairs and give the whole world a free peep show. We had a good laugh at that one:) We then headed back to get all dolled up for the show! We looked GOOD!!! We tried to fit in a quick dinner at the Applebees we found on our way to Pedi's ( literally around the corner from where we were!) but ended up waiting for our booth for 10 minutes, waiting for our waitress for 5 minutes, waiting for our appetizer for 15 minutes, waiting for our check for 5 minutes, and waiting another couple of minutes for our food to be boxed. We made it to our show just in time. The theater wouldn't let us take pictures, so you'll just have to imagine the most beautiful of theaters. We were 13 rows from the front on the lower level. We could see the actors expressions, eyes, and even their tongues moving as they sang. It was MAGICALLY WICKED!!! The show ended at about 11:00. We waited in line as people butted in line for me to get a WICKED jacket and 4 WICKED keychains for souvenirs. We then headed for some cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory. We had a hilarious waiter with an awesome Australian accent that served us the most sinful cheesecakes ever. Hillary got a Red Velvet cheesecake, Kimberly got a Recess PB cheesecake (the best one on the table, in my opinion), Ashlee got the 30th anniversary cheesecake, and I got a chocolate tuxedo cheesecake. Yummy! We joked with the waiter, devoured our goodness, and even got an extra piece for breakfast for the birthday girl. Man, she's lucky! We finally got into bed at 1:00 am, woke up at around 7:15, and 7:25, and 7:35, and finally 7:45 to make it to the airport for a 9:30 flight. It was a worldwind day, but absolutely PERFECT! The 676 mile drive was much harder the second time! I must have still been on my WICKED high, because I made it without even the slightest nap. Phew! What a birthday party! Pictures coming soon! I still can't believe it's here and gone! 30 is starting out PERFECT!!!

*Bragging Mommy Alert!*

Yesterday was the Bar Nunn talent show. Caden got up in front of the whole school to show them his pogo stick skills. He jumped forward, backwards, side-to-side, and without his hands. The kids were screaming!!! I'm proud that he had the guts to get up there. His was the only talent of it's kind. It was fun to see the kids flock and tell him how cool it was that he could do that!

Today was Caden's track day. We went to watch the first half which was the competitive races. He got 3rd in the 50 yard dash, 4th in the 100 yard dash, and 2nd in the 440. His team got 4th in the relay because the baton was dropped in the 3 string. Caden was pretty excited to run the 880. He LOVES to run long distance. It shows! He took off from that starting line, led the race the whole time, and came in first WAY ahead of the other runners. He's a long distance lover for sure. CONGRATULATIONS, Caden!!!!!

While we were there, Keilie saw her friends from school. There were many that came for more than one hug and wanted to get her phone number and give her theirs for the summer months. They couldn't get enough. She really is a popular little girl! She can't wait to go back to her friends. I LOVE that she is so loved by everyone. She's such a social butterfly!

Yesterday I took Brennon and Shelby to the Bar Nunn Elementary screening for preschool. I was told that there were too many applicants for the spots that they had to fill and that the 4 year old children had preference because this was the last year for them to go to preschool. I kind of knew that Shelby would make it. She knows her letters, sounds, shapes, colors, and can write her name and all the letters. I didn't think that Brennon would make it simply because he's three and there were too many applicants. We got the call today after we got home from track day still on our high from Caden winning the race and got the message that BRENNON MADE IT IN!!! He beat out some of the four year olds and almost all of the three year olds. He may have started out this life with a few challenges, but he's risen above and come out on top. HE MADE IT IN!!! It was no surprise that Shelby made it in as well:) Free preschool is the best! I wonder if the decision was made because the kids cleaned up all of the toys while I was talking to the teacher after their "interviews?!" Who wouldn't want kids that clean in their class to set a good example for the other kids?! :)

Not a bad way to start off my 30th birthday weekend! I'm one proud mom!

WICKED

It's here. It's finally here. Kimberly and I are driving out tomorrow morning to pick up our sisters for a girls night out in Omaha, NE to see the broadway musical, WICKED!!! We'll get to Omaha tomorrow night, pick up our sisters from the airport on Saturday morning, have a day of R & R getting pedi's and shopping till our hearts content, then going out for a nice dinner and then going to my favorite musical, WICKED. I was able to get us the best tickets- right behind the orchestra center stage. This is going to be the best birthday ever!!!!! So, Ashlee, Kimberly, and Hillary- let's get ready to PARTY!!!!! This is going to be WICKED! (Ya, I know. I just couldn't help it:) )

19 Month Stats

Tyson had a well child checkup yesterday. The results make me sad for two reasons. One, he's growing up too fast. Two, he's thinning out! He's pretty much evenly proportioned, 50% length, 45% weight, and 50% hat size. Pretty perfect if you ask me! Since my post about how many words he says, you can now double that- at least! He's taken off. A new word each day. A new sentence even. Today he said, "I want some more." I want some more kisses from that boy, that's what I want:)

Determination

I told Keilie that if she would organize and clean the books in the bookcase, I'd pay her $3. She's watched Caden earn money recently and expressed her wish to earn money also. She jumped at the idea. A couple of months ago the dentist told me that she had one baby tooth that needed to come out. We made an appointment for two months out and he told her that she needed to get it out before the appointment. I told her that I'd pay her $15 to get that tooth out, instead of the $50 it would cost us to get it "wiggled." This morning she was commenting that she had wiggled her tooth a bunch last night and that it was getting pretty loose. I stated that if she were to get that tooth out she would have earned almost $20 before 9:00 am. She got right to it. She got the floss, hooked it to the bottom of that tooth and gave it a quick yank. 5 minutes of working that tooth, which wasn't truly all that ready, and she had it out. Once that girl gets something in her mind, there's no stopping her. It still amazes us how brave she is with some things. Pulling a tooth out when it still needs some wiggling, no problem. Tyson getting shots the same day, drama like you can't imagine. I think her blood pressure rose substantially from him getting those things:) She's one brave little cheeka!

Slugbug

Our family is OBSESSED with playing Slugbug!!! We have been known to scream at the top of our lungs just so we're the first to finish the word and win the point. Even Tyson can say it:) Shelby, Brennon, and Tyson call slugbug to any car with a bright color. We usually congratulate them for their mad skills. Yesterday Shelby saw a TON of her so-called slugbugs and proclaimed, "I am on fire!" So be warned! If you ever ride with us, you better know your stuff. We're that good!

How old are you?

When anyone would ask Caden how old he was, his reply was, "9." People would look at him with the strangest face, thinking that that was how old he was now. He would then break the punchline to them. "I won't be 10 until 8:04 tonight. Which is 7:04 our time since I was born in Houston." How politically correct, Senator!

Happy 10th Birthday Caden!!!

Because the Priesthood was restored on May 15, our Stake always does the Fathers and Sons campout the weekend of the 15th. Since Caden's birthday is also May 15th, he always gets a weekend of FUN! The one thing that wasn't so fun about this weekend was him leaving his expensive glasses on the bank of the river. Almost the minute that they got back from the 2 hour drive after a day full of swimming (and a night with no sleep) they got right back in the car to go get the glasses. We tried to make it a fun trip, but nothing can make a drive full of nothing fun! Wyoming is just a boring place to drive through. And that's the truth! We started his day with Keilie making Almond Poppy Seed muffins, Randy making him Orange Julius, and I made him No Bake Cookies. And he chose to have Double Decker Tacos for his birthday dinner. We'll find other things that are his favorites to make his day even more special. We got him a Swiss Army pocketknife. He said that was the only thing he wanted! Happy TENTH birthday to my sweet little Caden! Double digits for the rest of his life. Unless he makes it to 100:) (That's what he said to me the other day!)

Grave 2011

This has been a grave year for me, pun intended. My beautiful Grandmother passed away January 19th. I had a dear friend lose twins to miscarriage April 18th, 7 years to the day from when I found out that my own baby had died. I had another friend lose her baby to miscarriage on April 19th, 7 years to the day that I had my D&C. One of the women that I looked up to as a child lost her battle to Cancer the end of April. I found out that another friend miscarried her baby on May 11th and felt again the heartache of loss. "How many deaths do I have to experience in 2011," I thought. That night I got a call from my mom. About 11 years ago, a boy of 13 from our ward was riding his bike with some friends and got hit by a car. He lived, thankfully, but was paralyzed from the neck down. The ward was rocked by this news and came together back then to give the family emotional and physical support. The ward is needed again. His mother had taken him outside for some fresh air while working in her garden. When she was ready to take him in the house, she noticed that he was unconscious. His breathing tube had come loose. She immediately called 911 and got him to the hospital. They found him to be brain dead, harvested his organs for donation, and took him off of life support. This happened the night before his youngest brother was to be sealed for Time and all Eternity the next morning. My heart ached for this family. How can you put on a happy smile for one child when you know you've got to start planning a funeral for another? Randy left for Fathers and Sons with Caden last night, so I decided to let the girls choose a movie. They asked to have Kennedy and Hailey over, so I jumped at the opportunity to have Kimberly over as well. We had such a good time. It's weird now to think that I'd looked at the clock at 8:00 because this morning I found out that one of the women I look up to most passed away last night at 8:00. Sarah Bertagnole was diagnosed with Cancer on June 2, 2009. She was going in for a hip replacement and came away without the new hip and a new prognosis. She called me a few days later apologizing to me that she hadn't called me on my birthday. She talked to me for over an hour, not once bringing up anything about her sickness. Not once since then have I ever seen her complain. Never did I see her without a smile on her face. I talked to her on May 1st. She had tried Shelf Reliance's Pomegranate Yogurt Bites and wanted to throw a party for me after she came back from Utah, where she would find out if she was a candidate for a transplant. I was waiting for her call to see if she was going to get the surgery, instead, I got the call that she has passed away. She was down in Utah for the surgery, got very sick beforehand, was placed in the ICU where her blood pressure dropped suddenly putting her into Cardiac Arrest. They couldn't revive her. What hope this family must have had letting her go, thinking they'd get a healthier mom when she came back, only to have those hopes and dreams dashed by one phone call. My heart is broken. How many deaths do I have to experience in 2011? I'm thankful for the knowledge and faith that I have that I will live with my Heavenly Father, family and friends again. I know that my Redeemer died so that I might live again!

Brennon's Declarations

It has been over a month that Brennon has mastered the hardest part of potty training, in my own opinion, of course. Pooping in the potty! I love it, he loves it, we all love it. When he was in the CDC program for Gross motor skills, it was a big deal for him to be able to jump off of the floor with both feet at the same time. They let him borrow a little trampoline that everyone fought over for a few months. He got jumping in no time:) The other day he asked Randy to watch him jump. After the world-record-breaking jump, Randy praised Brennon for his awesome jumping skills. With a smile of triumph on his face he exclaimed, "Uh-huh. And I go poopoo in the big boy potty!"

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

When I was potty training Shelby last year, I found a website that had a lot of testimonials that they had potty trained their own kids in one weekend. I tried it. It worked. She was potty trained after just ONE day. I knew I would try it with Brennon. It worked in just two days! Some of the tips from this woman were that the toilet should be a fun place to sit. We would read books, sing songs, tickle legs, and just have a "good time" on the toilet. The one that worked the best for both Shelby and Brennon was the "reward" system. We would give a mini M&M for every time they simply sat on the toilet, which was every 10-15 minutes. Then, if they gave us some "action," we would give them a Starburst of their color choice. Our first Sunday back to church after the whole week, I bribed him with a piece of gum if he went before Nursery, then every trip we made after that. Now anytime Brennon asks for gum or sees M&M's or Starbusts he says, "Can I have...? I go poopoo in the potty!"

Birdies

When we were looking at this house for the first time, I noticed that it was vacant. I have NO problem looking through windows when I know no one is living there. I also have NO problem walking around the yard, either. It's for Sale! They must not mind people looking at it, right? Well, when I walked in the back, the first thing I noticed was the deck, if you can even call it that. It's more like a glorified landing made out of wood. Not even two chairs fit on it. Like I said, glorified landing! We've talked about a few options for the backyard, all of which include tearing out that "deck." So, I had no problem buying a bird feeder and screwing it right into that thing. It will one day be gone, so it might as well be used for something while we still have it, right? We got a fairly large bag of seed and hoped that it would last us through most of the summer. Nope! There are so many birds that we get to watch each day that we're refilling that bird house almost every day. It will cost us about $6 a month to have our new "pets," but in my mind, it's worth it. They're so much fun to watch. They're so much fun to listen to. They clean up any mess they make when there isn't any more seed in the house. What more could you ask for? I like this ownership stuff!

Baby Bunnies

A couple of weeks ago as I was walking out of the front door to take Shelby to preschool I noticed a bunny in our front "flower garden." We made a wide arch so we wouldn't startle her too much and went to school. When I came back and was walking the opposite direction I noticed the hole. It got me excited thinking she was getting ready to have babies. The hole is right under our big windows in the front, so it was exciting to think that we'd get to see baby bunnies from our window. That night I went back out to get Caden from school and saw that she had covered the hole back up. Since then I haven't seen her back at that spot. I've seen bunnies all over our yard, but not in that spot. I thought she'd gotten too scared having us walk by all the time, so she'd moved it. Not the case! Today as I was working outside (I love 69 degrees!) I saw that the hole was back. It's about the size of my fist and I saw some movement. We have at least 2 baby bunnies in our flower garden. They're about the size of 5 cotton balls in your hand. Their ears are about the size of a penny, although not as round. They haven't opened their eyes yet, so they didn't know that Randy was shoving the camera in their space to get a better look at them. We have bunnies!!! When I went to pick up Caden from school so he could go to Fathers and Sons with Randy, I told him about the cute babies. He jumped up and down and yelled to the kids on the playground, "We have baby bunnies at our house!" I'm not the only one that's excited about these new "pets." Kind of perfect if you ask me. We get to watch them grow, but don't have to feed them:)

And the Oscar goes to...

*Keilie Ann Dirks*

Keilie was getting herself Chili for lunch today and cut her thumb on the lid. She was quietly crying when I walked in and found her holding the thumb in her other hand. I asked her what had happened, I didn't know what she was doing, when she pulled the thumb out to show me. When she saw the blood she let out a blood-curdling scream that would be a great voice over in any horror film. That's just the way she rolls. Cries because it hurts, screams because there's blood! I think theatre classes are in her future.

Books

I love to read! I can easily read a book a day if I neglect everything else around me. And I mean everything! Before doing school at home with Keilie, I'd easily read 3-4 books a week. I just love reading!! I remember loving Dune, After the Dancing Days, Summer of the Monkeys, Les Miserables, To Kill a Mockingbird(I've read this one over 30 times), Scarlett Letter, and many others were my favorites from both Junior High and High School. I loved finding similes, juxtapositions, and other literary terms in each. I just love reading. When we lived within walking distance of the library in Houston, I would go at least every other day (except Sundays, of course) and read when all of the housework was done. I read a lot. Randy said that he hoped that my kids, seeing my love of reading, would spark the interest in them as well. I sure hope so. Caden asked me last night if we could go to Waldenbooks after school. I asked him why, thinking I had just bought him the set of Diary of a Wimpy Kid. He's done with them all. He wants more books for his collection! Keilie also asked me to get her more Junie B. Jones books. I can't, she has them all already! I've got readers. And I love it!! Some of my favorite books since living in Casper are: Twilight Series, Hunger Games Series, Percy Jackson Series, Kane Chronicle Series, Maze Runner Series, and many others that aren't in a series. I started Water for Elephants and threw the book away 1/4 into it. Trash, filth, and sleaze are words that come time mind about that book. The book I'm reading right now is Financial Peace by, Dave Ramsey. It's awesome! Books are so wonderful. I have plans to read Summer of the Monkeys, among others, to my kids this summer. I'd love for that one to happen to me!

Another one!

Today Brennon came to me saying that his ear hurt and he needed to go to bed. He got his blankie and dog and climbed into bed for a nap at 8:30am (he woke up at 6:00am). I didn't really think he'd actually take a nap but he did. After he woke up he came to me saying his ear hurt and that he needed medicine. He's had two or three ear infections in his life, so I knew he could get one, so I made an appointment. The doctor was asking if he'd had a cold prior to this, if he's had a fever, those sorts of questions. No to all. He's been a bit weepy, but nothing out of the ordinary. He looked in the right one, knowing that we'd come in for the left. Fluid! That has come to be one of the top 10 worst words in my vocabulary since the first of the year. I am SICK of fluid in the ears. He then went on to the left ear and found infection. I swear, if I have one more bout of infection after infection, I'm going to scream. Again! So, onto another antibiotic for ear infections. Thank goodness it's not Ty!

Best Buy!

There have been many things that we've done for our kids that were a waste of money. Ballet for Shelby- she cried the whole hour each week. Soccer for Caden- he doesn't like running because of his asthma. Tumbling for Keilie- she just didn't really like cartwheels. Piano for both Caden and Keilie- that was one too many fights in a time we didn't really need any! Back in February, I signed Keilie up for something that I knew would be beneficial, just not it the ways that it has been. I looked in the phone book for a tutor. I was having a hard time teaching her reading comprehension. I just didn't know how to teach someone how to understand what they were reading. She was also stumbling over words that I thought she should have known by heart. I could teach her the history, science, art, and even math, but language arts was a struggle. I found a tutor and got her signed up for 1 hour a day for 15 weeks. It has been the best investment we've ever made for one of our kids. She has shown leaps and bounds in not only her reading, but comprehension as well. She no longer is embarrassed to read out loud. She even volunteers to read. There are times that she looks at a page and kind of shuts off, but for the most part, she's doing awesome. I asked her one night on the way home from the tutor if she was excited to go back to school and show her friends how well she reads now. "Yes," she replied, "I won't feel like such a nerd. I can read!" Not only has it helped her excel in academics, but in self-esteem as well! Best purchase ever! The tutor said today that she was now in the 4th grade reading level. She's in 2nd!

Of Course!

It has been weeks that I've felt like I've had a handle on my housework. I felt ok if someone stopped by unexpectedly. The house was picked up, the dishes were done, and I was happy. Yesterday was a very different story. One that makes me sick just thinking about it. Keilie was doing SOOO well learning Multiplication. It was a rare day where she was fully focused on the task at hand. I took advantage of the opportunity and did Math from 9:00-2:30. We worked hard. She's awesome at Multiplication!!! Well, with all the work that went into Keilie's Math, you can imagine the mess that 3 babies can make in that time slot. Brennon took advantage of the unlocked pantry and took Special K cereal downstairs. It was spilled all over the floor. Tyson took the time to throw each of the items of clean laundry that was in the basket- ready to fold- and flung it across the TV room. They had taken every single toy out of the toy box. It wasn't in a nice pile, it was spread over the whole floor. I hadn't had time to really clean anything in the kitchen from either breakfast or lunch. I hadn't made my bed, cleaned up my clothes from the night before, or even shut the curtain from the shower. I was in my cleaning/lazy clothes with a hat to cover my undone hair. No make-up. In a word, the Dirks' house was a DIVE!!! This was the time that our neighbor decides to come over and ask me about food storage. Not the day before when the house was uber cleaned- yesterday! He had the fortunate chance to see the house at it's worst, and I'm sick about it. They have been married as many years and Randy and I, however, don't have any kids. So, he must have been mortified to walk into our NASTY house, see Ty without any pants, with buggers running down his allergy nose, Brennon with a smudge of something on the very tip, and thought, "Boy, CDC needs to come over and see this!" Why did it have to be yesterday? Needless to say, the house is spotless today in case he comes over to order food storage! Randy has my permission to show him the finished basement today, instead of traipsing him around the mess that it was yesterday, which is what he did! Or course it had to be yesterday!

Spoons

I once told my brother-in-law that I prefer to use plastic spoons instead of metal ones. I just think it makes food taste better for some reason. I don't like the taste of the metal when the food leaves the spoon. I just like plastic ones better. He told me that was something that I probably shouldn't say out loud! I found the spoons featured above at Sam's club and LOVE them. I find myself giving the kids plastic spoons instead of metal. It's not that I don't want them to use the metal ones, it's just a habit. This morning when I gave Brennon his cereal I had given him a metal spoon. He looked at it and said, "I don't like the big ones," and got a plastic spoon. I think I've accidentally started something here. He prefers plastic, too. We don't throw our plastics away, so it's not expensive, but might be something that his future wife will be embarrassed about when they have guests over:)

Ha Ha

Since the kids started attending their elementary, I've taken and picked them up from school many times. I'd say 90% of those times I noticed a woman, kind of picked her out of a crowd. I would bump into her in the halls, run into her at an assembly, or just notice her going in or out of the school. I've wanted to introduce myself many times, but have felt reluctant to do so, thinking that she'd think I was a weirdo. I've just noticed her so much. One month ago she started coming to church again. She's a member, but has been less active. I feel somehow that I was supposed to meet her. Supposed to extend a hand of fellowship. Now that I know her, we could become friends. She's noticed me as well. When asked if she knew me, she responded, "Is she the girl that live in the yellow house?" We've noticed one another from a distance. I was telling the missionaries about this experience stating that we must have been friends in heaven. Caden thought I was just joking. He actually laughed in my face. I am not joking about this one, however. I do believe I have noticed her for a reason. We will be friends! As we were out to eat for Randy's birthday, I recognized a woman sitting in another booth. I couldn't quite place her, so I asked Randy how we knew her. He couldn't place her either. Caden, in all earnestness, leans over and says, "I know how you know her." "How?" "You were friends in heaven!" That was him laughing in my face once more. This time, I laughed with him:)