eSpecially Ben

At Christmas I received a card from one of Ryan's cousins. Inside the card was a 4x6" magnet with the title, "101 Ways to Praise A Child." It lists those 101 ways beginning with "Wow" and ending with "I Love You" with 99 more in the middle. In my mind, I thought, "What a wonderful gift to add to your holiday cards." Praise was a very important part of my growing up - my parents were heavy on the praise and I understand the value and impact of the special words parents can share with their children. Then I read the card. This exact magnet had been on her fridge while her boys were growing up. Now that they were mostly grown, she decided to pass it on to me. Talk about "Wow!" Let me add that this cousin and I have met just a few times at family reunions and funerals. It has only been through Facebook and this blog that we have developed a relationship. The support from her is wonderful. I feel like I have an extra cheerleade

Cooper River Bridge Images   I asked my good friend to put together an exercise plan for my March race over the Cooper River Bridge in Charleston. It is a 6.2 mile run with a big hill so I want to be sure I can finish and in the time I have set for myself, under 60 minutes. My friend is a former Ironman participant and a triathalon trainer for the local YMCA so she is more than qualified to put something together for me. In fact, it was with hesitation that I asked. I know that whatever she put together would be serious hard work. Here I sit on the first day of my plan, psyching myself up for me strength exercising and 3-mile run. There's ice and snow on the ground and I must motivate to get to the gym. Yeah, there's no way I'm running outside. I am not hard core. But I will drag my sorry self to the gym...

Ben, age 6, came home from school with this wonderful macaroni man made from dry macaroni. My husband and I were curious of Ben's actual participation in the creation of this masterpiece. I had the opportunity to ask the teacher about this pasta person, and she said that Ben had to pick up the noodle from the table and give it to the teacher, then she did the rest. Sounds good to us - Bravo!