Thank you Mom! (A poem by MalibuNinja)

My son & I

Thank you Mom 

For teaching me right from wrong,
And feeding me so I could grow strong.
For reading to me despite your yawns,
And singing to me your favorite songs.
For patching me up when I'd scrape along,
And making me feel like I belong.

Thank you Mom

For building me up when I feel small,
And picking me up when I fall.
For guiding me since I could crawl,
And inspiring me when I hit a wall.
For loving me even if I'm a goofball,
And answering me whenever I call. 

Most of all thanks for being my friend.

My Grandmother (AKA GG) & my son

My mother (AKA Lala) & my son

My foster mom,  Cindy & my son

Happy Mother's Day!

Stop motion animation

Goofy Bubble Blowing in Chicago

Are You Celebrating International Talk Like a Pirate Day With Your Kids? You Should!

How it all started ...   (Excerpt from Official International Talk Like A Pirate Day Website)
Arrr! We be the pirate guys, matey.

Or, in another vernacular, we are guys, John Baur and Mark Summers. And that really should be all you need to know about the origins of Talk Like a Pirate Day. We're guys. Not men, with responsibility and suits and power ties. We're guys, with all that that implies. But here are the details.

Once upon a time -- on June 6, 1995, to be precise -- we were playing Raquetball, not well but gamely. It wasn't our intention to become "the pirate guys." Truth to tell, it wasn't really our intention to become anything, except perhaps a tad thinner and healthier, and if you could see our photos, you'd know how THAT turned out. As we flailed away, we called out friendly encouragement to each other -"Damn, you bastard!" and "Oh, jeez, my hamstring!" for instance - as shots caromed away, unimpeded by our wildly swung rackets.

On this day, for reasons we still don't quite understand, we started giving our encouragement in pirate slang. Mark suspects one of us might have been reaching for a low shot that, by pure chance, might have come off the wall at an unusually high rate of speed, and strained something best left unstrained. "Arrr!," he might have said.

Who knows? It might have happened exactly that way.

Anyway, whoever let out the first "Arrr!" started something. One thing led to another. "That be a fine cannonade," one said, to be followed by "Now watch as I fire a broadside straight into your yardarm!" and other such helpful phrases.

By the time our hour on the court was over, we realized that lapsing into pirate lingo had made the game more fun and the time pass more quickly. We decided then and there that what the world really needed was a new national holiday, Talk Like A Pirate Day.

First, we needed a date for the holiday. As any guy can tell you, June 6 is the anniversary of World War II's D-Day. Guys hold dates like that in reverence and awe so there was no way we could use June 6.

Mark came up with September 19. That was and is his ex-wife's birthday, and the only date he could readily recall that wasn't taken up with something like Christmas or the Super Bowl or something. We also decided -- right then and there on the court on June 6, 1995 -- that the perfect spokesman for our new holiday was none other than Dave Barryhimself, nationally syndicated humor columnist and winner of the Pulitzer by-God Prize. So, naturally, we forgot all about it.
Source

Now, occasionally Sept. 19 falls on a Sunday, and we recognize that may not meet everyone's desire for an excuse to party. While a lot of fun can be had celebrating TLAPD in a church setting (The choir will now sing, "How Great Thou Aaarrrrt!") we're suggesting that those of a more secular bent consider celebrating Talk Like A Pirate Weekend.

J's Jumping Rope for Hearts

http://jumphoops2016wsa.kintera.org/jamisonprice
Posted by Stacy M Price on Friday, January 8, 2016

My little Horsefly in his school play "Bugz"

Jamison starred in his class play, Bugz, in which he was a horsefly (complete with cowboy boots, hat and stick horse).  Sorry the focus is so bad, my camera was set on auto continuous focus and it couldn't decide whether to focus on the audience or the stage so it kept refocusing between the two. 

My Awesome Nephew Deven on Haiti & Happiness

NewLifeforHaiti.org

Keeping Up with the Hattabaughs

Thoughts from Deven Hattabaugh Deven is 13 years old and an 8th grader. Deven was kind enough to share with us his experiences from the summer spent in Haiti. Here it is and we are coming up on Christmas time. It makes me think back to my trip over the summer to Haiti. While I was in Haiti, I met all these beautiful happy people who had next to nothing. Driving by their houses, I noticed that their entire house was smaller than my bedroom! All these people were so happy about life. It's so weird because I look around here at home and all I see are people who are angry, mad, or unhappy. Why are we all so unhappy when we have everything we could want at our finger tips? My family spent 3 weeks in Haiti this past summer. The first week, the youth group from our church was there. We had a VBS with the local children and teens. The day of the teen VBS, after some singing and learning, it was play time. A bunch of girls from our group and Haitians were dancing in a circle and one person was in the center at a time. I was standing on the edge of the group watching them when one of the girls pointed at me to go in the center. Of course I jumped right in and started dancing my crazy dance. I don't think I have ever heard so many girls laugh so hard. It was one of those moments that was just so funny and a great time just being a teen. On that day, I also met a little boy named Jinn. He was 5 years old and could speak a little bit of English. I originally thought he was about 2 years old because he was so small and adorable. We became good friends. I would see him at church and he would come sit with me. He lives right by our guest house in Haiti.  The last day before we came home was one of the best days I had in Haiti. Dis, one of the workers, and his family came to the house to get a water filtration system. We had a football and a couple Frisbees at the house. My sister, Katy Deenihan (another teen staying with us) and I started playing with the kids. A few of the neighborhood kids came in the yard and also started playing. I had so much fun running around with all the kids. It's pretty crazy that even though we couldn't communicate with language, we were able to play and just have a great time being kids. Later we were all sitting around and Velix [NLH field worker and very good friend] was helping us translate to the other kids. It was so crazy because I was younger than a few of the boys that I thought were about only eight. If you knew me, you would know I am a big kid. The Haitian kids couldn't believe that I was younger than them. They thought I was 16-18 years old, and I had just turned 13! I am so thankful for the time I got to spend in Haiti. It has really opened my eyes to the world outside my little bubble. And it has really made me appreciate what I have, and made me want to help more. From my family to yours, have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. And as we go through the stressful holiday season, just remember that happiness is a choice. If my friends, the ones you help support in Haiti with next to nothing can be happy, why can't we? We encourage you to become monthly partners with Chris and Rachel, which will allow them to make New Life for Haiti even more fruitful in changing lives among the poor. You can contact Chris at Chris.Hattabaugh @NewLifeforHaiti.org

Childhood Stomping Grounds Revisited

My step dad, Paul's Striking RV Collection

If you love so much it hurts... Maybe you have too much compassion?

Here are some inspiring words by Mother Teresa...  and an inspiring Graphic By Me!

Blank Wall Transformed!

Post by Malibu Ninja Über Geek.

Seahawks Game Day!!!!!

At the beginning of the season I posted the following graphic predicting that the Seattle Seahawks would keep up the steady pace they were setting, all the way to the playoffs.  

Unlike other teams that showboat and kept their best players in a game despite an obvious lead, Seattle has maintained tact, consistency and a good strategy throughout the year.  Hawks have mostly kept their heads down, staying focused on the goal and plowed on through their games.

So my prediction has come true and they made it, not only to the playoffs but they are going to the Super Bowl!  

I am proud to be a longtime Hawks fan, once again fair weather fans are coming out of the woodwork since the last playoff game against San Fran but I have been supporting my home team for longer than I can remember.  We are (my son and I) very excited to see the Seahawks go to another Super Bowl!

The last time the Hawks played in the bowl was when I was pregnant with Jamison.  He was literally born a Seahawks fan!  Every year he has worn his blue and green and watched games with mommy and hoped to see them go once again.  Now he is getting his wish!

Photos... Some random favorites

I have have been going through photos on all my various hard drives, organizing them and backing them up to Google+ Photos lately.  This is a time consuming process but the fun part is looking at pictures you may have forgotten about.  Here are a few of my favorite photos that I have taken over the years...

Head Scratcher

My sister Rachel & I,
Photo was taken at a friend's wedding in 2006

So this crazy thought popped into my head the other day, which is not odd in any way because that happens all day long...   But this one is about my siblings, which I have more than I can count on my fingers I would have to use my toes too! 

Anyways my little brothers were over and we were talking about nieces and nephews and I realized our unusual situation and I decided to share it.  I sat down to write out a post about it and then wasn't sure how to even explain it.  So I slept  on it for a couple of days and now here it is, my random head scratcher.

I don't know how common this type of family situation is but I am sure many others have weird families right?

My baby brothers, Aaron, Chris & I
Taken August 2013

I was fourteen when I became an Auntie for the first time.  My youngest brother, Aaron, was a year old when my oldest sister, Rachel, gave birth to my niece.  Aaron however, was an Uncle before he was even conceived.

So how is it possible that Aaron was already an Uncle before he was born but I became an Aunt the first time almost a year after he was born?

Honor Our Veterans

Adorableness

Today I give you random adorableness due to my illness.  I have been sick since the evening of Halloween and was so busy finishing the "Jammer Bot 6000" costume leading up to Halloween that I haven't been posting.  For this I am sorry and hopefully this cuteness makes up for it! 

Oh and Little Ninja is sick now too so I have been juggling feeling crappy with nursing him back to health too!  :)  Mommy duties call!

 I will get the Jammer Bot post up as soon as I can sit up without feeling nauseous!  Thanks!

Don't allow Expectations to Ruin You *Wiz-Dumb Pai*

So many people go through life attempting to control every aspect of their day to day lives.  They plan everything in their minds and expect their plans to become reality.  They expect what they consider to be perfection.  Even if they don't expect exact perfection, they do expect close to it.  Through their predictions they are sure that events will go smoothly for them.  Predicting every outcome so all will be right in their world! 

These people predict what will happen, how it will happen and how they will react to whatever it is.  Then they spend their day manipulating everything and everyone around them in an attempt to produce their desired outcome.  When whatever it is doesn't turn out exactly how they believed it would... well, they become enraged or depressed.

 

When you set expectations you are throwing a metaphorical wrench into the engine of your life.