Happy Birthday, our Angel Baby!

Dear Kerry Bear-y: Happy Birthday! We love you and think you are still our angel baby. We love that you were and are still our sweet one. We remember that you had a content and curious personality. You had a smile on your face constantly. You came to us a genius baby and we think you are still a genius. Congratulations on your diploma. We love that you research questions about life and spiritual love. We benefit from that research. We love how well you show love to your children as you raise them. We love that you have always been a hard worker.

A memory we have of your childhood was how much you loved to read at such a young age. We remember you were so engrossed in your book one day that you took a step right off the stairs of our third story apartment. Luckily dad realized what you were going to do and was a step ahead and was able to catch you. We thought at the time that books were going to be your friend and we think that has very much become a reality in this day and time.

We hope that this next year brings love and contentment and happiness and great health to you and your family.

We love you.

Excuse Me, Will You Rub My Feet?

I was in the hospital when I was seven and eight. I remember I asked complete strangers if they would please rub my feet. The skin grafts hurt bad then and they hurt now. It's not so cosmically great that I have a daughter who got skin grafts, too. What a world. It's hard to wrap my brain around that. Her legs are aching so bad. She doesn't know why, but I do.

So if you see her, would you please rub her legs?

Thanks.

I'm Scanning Negatives

I'm scanning in negatives to the computer and it looks like it's just in time. These are, sadly, deteriorating, but at least I got them in time. We have a scanner that scans slides and negatives, it just takes about 10 minutes a slide to do it, and then freezes up my computer every third or so picture. But it's so cute! Kerry loved to ride her "horsie" everywhere. It gave her hours and hours of enjoyment. This must have been BYU at an apartment complex on 5th West on the third floor because I recognize the snowsuit. We wouldn't have needed it for the desert, where we spent some summers when Marty worked for Kerr McGee in Trona. I have the print, I'm sure, but just in case, here is the negative. This was someone's birthday, but I'm not sure it was Kerry's birthday--but it must have been because of the new-looking snowsuit, and the horsey looks unabused--and we were such poor college students at the time that that is all that she probably got--unless you count the re-purposed clothes we made her--I especially liked the jeans with Kerry's name zigzagged on the pocket that were made out of Marty's old jeans--including the re-used pocket. (Are there enough dashes in that last sentence?) Now let's see, Kerry was born in Utah and we went to Ridgecrest to live for eight months and then moved back to the apartment on 5th West, so this could very possibly be her first birthday--shaking the cobwebs out of the old noggin is a very hard thing to do, so youngsters, keep up with your blogs, you'll be grateful when you're in your dotage.

Paradigm Shift, Revisited

I said I had another story about paradigm shifting and parenting. This last one was really the first. I thought of this story first, but then the other stories kind of made more sense to me, so they were posted first. The harder concept with this story is that our parents did a good job of maintaining our twin individualities. We were so often frustrated when someone would give us a letter/permission slip to take to parents, a flower, a birthday gift and tell us, "You don't need two, you're really one person anyway." My answer is: How do you share a "Jingle Jump"? The point of that Jingle Jump was to turn the bell around your ankle all day, so, when was the sharing going to take place?

My parents were very good at letting us maintain our identities. We wore different colored tennis shoes so they could tell us apart, but one day, my mom let us switch our usual red and blue shoes so we could "trick our daddy." In my mind, at a very young age, that fun game was what helped me do my earliest "deep thinking," as Kerry and Steve call it. I was able to think through some "I'm an individual" thoughts. So hard to explain, but a great technique. Thanks, Great Grandma and Great Grandpa!

Thanks, Kerry

How's this for a beautiful tatting job? Kerry did it for us for Christmas. With all that free time she has. Thanks, Kerry. We love you.

Happy Birthday, Kerry!

Dear Kerry:  Happy (XX)st Birthday! We love you. Here are a few pictures we like: