The funny thing about birthdays is they give you an excuse to share information that might not otherwise become available to the public at large.

Dave and Rod both celebrate May birthdays, and since I missed my opportunity to roast Rod on May 11, I thought perhaps Dave wouldn’t mind sharing some of the glory on his birthday, which is today.

Both Dave and Rod have had highly successful Navy careers.  Dave retired a few years ago and Rod is still “active.”  Well, active doesn’t necessarily mean you know what you’re doing or where you’re going next.  Sure, Italy is beautiful; but the Navy told Rod he couldn’t stay there forever.  When he inquired as to his next duty, they said “We’d like you to try on the last suit you’ll ever wear.”  Rod is now exploring his other options.

Happy belated 43rd, Rod.

When Dave retired from the Navy, he knew he had to acquire some new skills and hobbies.  All while we were growing up, Dave had heard that fishing was for old people, and now he qualified.  How this photo leaked at a major sporting event, no one knows.

Happy (on time) 48th, Dave.

From Mona…

With Karen’s birthday fast approaching and Kathy’s quickly having left, we wish them a very, very Happy Birthday!!  This photo captures Kathy’s amazing dance talent, although she’s usually doing the “swirl with the hips as fast as you can” motion.  Karen must have won out by suggesting, “let’s just kick”.   Cousin Scott was just fortunate to have witnessed this moment.  We love you guys!

Happy 48th Birthday Joel! We love you and hope to see more of you guys in ’09. We can all gather up our plaids (I know the kids have their share) and reunite with many laughs. Ron, Mona, Anna Ben & Emily

Joel Cruisin’ Chicks…

Found Chick… 

Congratulations to Rod and Kathy for the birth of their beautiful daughter, Josie.

All the vitals are included in the birth announcement below, so I’ll just let the pictures do the talking.

I’m so happy for you guys.  Love, Ron.

I prayed quite a bit tonight asking God what He would have me tell you this Christmas.  I wrote a bunch of stuff (on my own) and erased it all.  His message for you is this:

1. He loves you.

2. Jesus is alive and well.

3. God wants you to know Him better, but He won’t force himself on you.  You have to step closer to Him.  As you get to know Him more, you’ll truly understand that all He wants for you is good, very good.

4. God sent His Son Jesus for a reason.  Don’t take it lightly.  You cannot measure the price He paid so you could have a personal relationship with Him.  God’s gift to you is free, so stop measuring yourself against anything.  You’ll never be good enough to go to heaven without a Savior, so God took care of this for you.

This is what Christmas is really about.

I put together a little slide show for you, along with one of my alltime favorite Christmas songs.  Turn up your speakers. Listen very closely to the words. And imagine yourself in Bethlehem…

Oh… before you go, I want to wish you the best Christmas ever.

Go here now.

Today is my dad’s birthday; and if you ask him how old he is, he’ll simply tell you that he’s a day younger than he will be tomorrow.  So, let me clarify that for you a bit.  He’s 24,837 days old.  Or is he 596,088 hours old?  Hang on.  I’m getting a bead on it… he’s 35,765,280 minutes old.  Somehow 68 years sounds better.

Happy birthday Dad! 

A pretty good birthday joke…

Old Guys’ Noggins
 
Three old guys are sitting in a diner, chatting about various things. One guy says, “You know, I’m getting really forgetful. This morning, I was standing at the top of the stairs, and I couldn’t remember whether I had just come up or was about to go down.”

The second guy says, “You think that’s bad? The other day, I was sitting on the edge of my bed and I couldn’t remember whether I was going to sleep or had just woken up!

The third guy smiles smugly, “Well, my memory is just as good as it’s always been, knock on wood,” he says as he raps on the table. Then with a startled look on his face, he asks, “Who’s there?”

Today is Mona’s birthday!  Woohoo!

If you’ve followed my blog posts and saw our “Anniversary Post”, you know that I got kind of gooshy mooshy.  Well, not today.  Time for some fun.

So, there’s these two blondes waiting at a bus stop.

When a bus pulls up and opens the door, one of the blondes leans inside and asks the bus driver: “Will this bus take me to 5th Avenue?”

The bus driver shakes his head and says,”No, I’m sorry.”

At this the other blonde leans inside, smiles, and twitters: “Will it take ME?”

See Mona’s Birthday Photo Tribute (oh crap, I could be in big trouble for this)

Yesterday Ben celebrated his 16th birthday, and we all celebrated with him.  The day was a blast.

I considered an orchestrated rite of passage into manhood.  One particular ritual that I thought Ben would be good at is cow jumping.  It’s fairly popular in Hamar, Ethiopia, and it looks like it would be a lot of fun.  However, after Ben recently demonstrated his grace on an inanimate object with four little wheels (a skateboard), I thought better of asking him to scurry along the hairy backs of large mooooing creatures.  He’s good, but…

So, we all agreed that bowling would be more fun.  And it was.  Have a look at Ben’s birthday photo slide show here.

Ben, I’m extremely proud of you and I love you very much.  Don’t ever change your fun-loving heart.  God has blessed you with a contagious sense of humor and a heart of gold.  Share it whenever and wherever you have the chance.

Love, Dad

Fair warning… if you get annoyed by tunes that get stuck in your head all day long, you may not want participate in this birthday celebration. However, it’s in honor of Ellen Marpe (my mother-in-law), it’s all done in love, it is very funny, and you get to see a nice photo collection of the birthday girl and her family.

Happy Birthday Ellen!  You’re awesome and we love you.

My (Ellen’s) Favorite Things…
Wildflowers and winter and sewing and Scrabble,
Cribbage and hiking and hugging the grandkids,
Quilting and picnics and hot sourdough,
These are a few of my favorite things.

Yesterday Mona sent me an email message about Julie Andrews turning 69, and it said that to commemorate her birthday, actress/vocalist, Julie Andrews made a special appearance at Manhattan’s Radio City Music Hall for the benefit of the AARP. One of the musical numbers she performed was “My Favorite Things” from the legendary movie “Sound Of Music”.

As it turns out, the story is made up, but the creative lyrics that accompanied the story are very funny and appropriate for today’s big celebration.

So, here’s how this works…

1) Click the “Play” button immediately below,

2) When the song gets to the part where the words come in (you’ll recognize it), that’s your cue to sing along. Here are the lyrics:

Botox and nose drops and needles for knitting,
Walkers and handrails and new dental fittings,
Bundles of magazines tied up in string,
These are a few of my favorite things.

Cadillacs and cataracts, hearing aids and glasses,
Polident and Fixodent and false teeth in glasses,
Pacemakers, golf carts and porches with swings,
These are a few of my favorite things.

When the pipes leak, When the bones creak,
When the knees go bad,
I simply remember my favorite things,
And then I don’t feel so bad.

Hot tea and crumpets and corn pads for bunions,
No spicy hot food or food cooked with onions,
Bathrobes and heating pads and hot meals they bring,
These are a few of my favorite things.

Back pain, confused brains and no need for sinnin’,
Thin bones and fractures and hair that is thinnin’,
And we won’t mention our short shrunken frames,
When we remember our favorite things.

When the joints ache, When the hips break,
When the eyes grow dim,
Then I remember the great life I’ve had,
And then I don’t feel so bad.

Wasn’t that fun?

CLICK HERE to see Ellen’s Birthday Photo Gallery.

Again, happy birthday Ellen. We love you.

I hope this message finds you well.  Birthdays and holidays sometimes get crowded together, but we do our best to appreciate both.

Bette Davis once said, “Old age is no place for sissies”, and there are two relatives that should take courage in this.  Let me introduce you to each…

Diane Marpe is my sister-in-law on Mona’s side of the family.  Today she is celebrating her __th birthday.  Only Diane can fill in the __ blanks.  She’s a native Minnesotan who’s defected to the land of Clinton.  Diane has tried to distance herself from Bill-ville, so she picked the furthest point from Little Rock she could find.  It was either Bentonville or Piggott, and Bentonville just sounded better.  Diane and her husband, Joel, have two beautiful girls, Leslie and Stephanie.  I’ll pick on them when their birthdays come around.

Diane, happy birthday.  We miss seeing you.  I have one more quote for you…

“Old age is like a plane flying through a storm. Once you’re aboard there’s nothing you can do.”
Golda Meir

The next birthday wish goes out all the way to Naples, Italy, to my newphew, Christopher Hutton.  Chris is Rod’s eldest son, a very special guy, and tomorrow Chris turns 16.  Chris has many talents and is developing his web design skills.  You can see his work at http://www.huttonhomeschool.com. 

Happy birthday to you, Chris.  If you haven’t already, feel free to remind your dad that you are now of legal age to drive.  You might also remind him that driving is undoubtedly one of the best – and most adventurous – ways of discovering Italy.  Your quote of the day is…

“In youth we learn; in age we understand.”
Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach (1830-1916, Austrian Novelist)

To everyone else… Happy Thanksgiving.