Oh, What Fun...

We begin today by answering Ranelle's question from yesterday. Yes, I chased him.

Occasionally I even caught him!

Chickie seemed a bit more pleased to hang close to her Grammy.

Last night started at home with "Shake A Leg..."

...continued on the back porch with rocks decorated especially for Sampa...

...and ended at the park.
Laughing all the way!

(Sort of.)

Of Ice Cream and Energy

Last night was a big date in Sampa-land. It started with La Fonda Mexican food (for mommy), had a stop-over at Target (for Grammy) and landed at Cold Stone Creamery (for Chickie, Zoodle and Sampa -- well, mommy, too; Grammy was being good).

Then the real fun began. Zoodle wanted to run so we headed out the door onto the large, outdoor mall. Zoodle discovered lights -- the spotlights shining up on the palm trees. Then he discovered more lights. He ran from one to another, pointing and saying, "Light! Light!" Then he ran to a bench, climbed up, then down and kept going.

At one place, he stopped just under some misters. You who don't live in the dry heat may have never discovered these wonders that cool the outside air with evaporation. Realizing that he was being misted, Zoodle just stopped and squealed with delight.

Chickie stopped and said, "I'm taking a shower!"

Run, giggle, "Light!" Climb, crawl, run, giggle.

We arrived home a little before 8 p.m. Zoodle was in bed and asleep within 15 minutes. Chickie was just behind him.

Sampa's eyes are drooping.

But I'm smiling!

My Brain Is Being Stretttccchhhed!

On Friday, we picked up our daughter Beth from the airport. Actually, we picked up Chickie and Zoodle -- Beth had to come along for the ride!

Chickie is three-and-a-half and my brain is being stretched by her imagination. For instance, yesterday morning I was enlisted to help build a tower with some connecting blocks. As we added the last pieces, Chickie noticed some "eyes" on the floor that weren't related to the tower pieces. No problem.
Chickie: "It's a giant tower robot!"

Remembering Helen

Cathy and I are grieved by the death yesterday of Helen, the mother of our son-in-law D. Helen and her husband Noel moved from Ireland to the U.S. when D was just a kid. We first met her at the wedding of D to our daughter Becki.

Becki told us recently how Helen had reached out to her in recent months, strengthening their relationship. It's almost as if she knew her time would be short. We will be forever grateful for her and what she meant to our family. After all, she brought Molly's daddy into the world and we deeply love him.

Our prayers today are with Noel, D, Becki, Molly and all the rest of Helen's family.

Today's The Day

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday, dear Zoodle!

Happy Birthday to you!

We love your smiles;

You're happy as a lark!

But it's been two months

Since we played in the park!

So, Chickie, please help us,

You cutie-pie, you!

Give Zoodle hugs from Grammy,

And from Sampa, too!

Controlled (?) Chaos

I begin today with a word of gratitude that I live in this country. As we inaugurate a new President, I am reminded that much of the world has never understood how rivals can passionately vie for a chance to lead a nation, then stand together and move forward after the election is over. May our new leader experience wisdom, courage and grace as he dons the mantle.

Yesterday's post, while not evoking the highest number of comments I have received, certainly brought out the greatest collective depth in the comments section.
Scriptor, your transparent self-revelation left me with a sense of profound joy. The way you "chewed on" my thoughts, then formulated your response was -- to me -- a high honor.
Beautiful daughter Becki, I am -- as always -- touched by your passion for those things you care about. In this case, it's your deep desire to help kids who might otherwise be overlooked. Thank you for sacrificing to do it.
Dina, your personal insight that blogging is somewhat your "off season" was a sort of revelation. I, too, find that blogging sharpens my mind in a way I find both enjoyable and stimulating. It helps me focus on the most important things as I chase through life.
Rachel, your view that "I can't narrow myself down to which one thing would count as 'on'... it's all life... it's all connected" is a reflection that I have long related to. I love to think of the church as a living organism and not an organization. My personal life seems to fit in that same model.

Now, the meaning behind today's title. Cathy and I drove 3 hours to Phoenix yesterday to pick up our daughter C. Beth and grandchildren Chickie and Zoodle. The simple lunch with them and a life-long friend, along with the "3 hour" return trip, took about 6 hours.

Still another 3 hours have passed since we arrived back home. Whew! So far we have played dress up and horsey rides, along with toys and books. We have eaten, fed, cleaned, fed, cleaned, changed, cleaned (still toys all over the floor), and -- finally -- kissed good night.

I'm off to bed. I get about 7 1/2 hours of "off season" and I don't have an action plan for it.

I'm exhausted!

Pennsylvania 6-5000

The lady that cuts my hair told me the other day that her husband likes to "lose himself" playing video games when he gets home. He uses his gaming equipment with a small, black-and-white television. She said she likes that because it leaves her the nicer set to watch what she wants.

That got me thinking. I have always loved electronics and computers are a hobby for me. One of my favorite uses these days is the webcam. Well, when I was little, I can remember our first telephone, which allowed us access to the outside world through an operator. "Number, please." "624." (That was my friend Mike's number. Ours was 723.)

My grandparents, who had to communicate with us by mail from 80 miles away, would not have believed our ability to talk on something like a fancy TV screen to our kids and grandkids from all over the country.

Here's Cathy, better known to our favorite little people as "Grammy", sitting at the electronic equipment that brings so much joy into our home. Our children grew up many miles from their grandparents without this convenience so we are particularly aware of what a great blessing it is.

Computers and their ilk can deeply enhance communication. Or they can create a sizable impediment.

How do you use yours?

The Second Seventh

I am writing this on Saturday, my "day off." I was up late last night and slept late this morning. Here it is, almost noon, and I've pretty much been goofing around. Anyway, I ran onto the following item on LifeHacker and thought I would pass it along to you. With the holidays fast approaching, it might save us all a few dollars.

FreeShipping.org is one of those URLs that you could imagine turning into a veritable spam factory, but it thankfully hosts a roundup of free shipping coupons found for more than 600 stores. If you think you can do better, or your online merchant isn't covered, also check with Free Shipping On, which sometimes hosts different versions of similar coupons. If you're buying from Amazon, though, and you're just a few bucks short of hitting your free shipping target, try the Amazon Filler Item Finder, which takes in a dollar amount and shoots back hopefully useful plug-ins to save money and get you more gear.

On a very personal note, I talked to an old friend Friday and he has moved to New Braunfels, TX. That means he is only an hour away from my Austin grandkids. Friday night at the Family Fall Festival, I met a lady who lives in Boston and she was going home today. That puts her very close to the Boston granddaughter. Cathy and I love our webcam and the joy we get from talking to those "best grandchildren in the world" on a regular basis.

But it's hard not to be jealous when others are so close and we're so far away.