Leah's movie favorites....

So we have a dusty box full of old VHS (yes, ancient, I know) video's that Michael's mother passed along to us. Most are Disney videos. And Leah wanted to go through them meticulously and take inventory. Anything that looked like it had a princess in it was approved material. Anything else was placed into a discard pile after she studied it and remarked as to why it was unacceptable. She was happy to find Aladdin, Cinderella, Snow White, and Beaty and the Beast. She collected them together and put them all in a nearby tote-bag for safe keeping. Other Videos she turned her nose at were Aristocats: "Kitty movie, I don't want to watch Kitties", 101 Dalmations: "That is doggies, and not Princesses, I don't want doggies". Then there was Babe: "I don't want to watch piggies" and Emperors new Groove: "That one's for boys". And it culminated with the rejection of Shrek: "That is Mucinex, I don't want to watch about Mucinex."
I laughed so hard, I thought I was going to pass out. Ah, poor Shrek! So easily confused with Mucinex.

The Last Lecture - Randy Pausch

For those of you who have never heard of Prof. Randy Pausch or his famous "Last Lecture", you would do yourself a favor to acquaint yourself with his marvelous speech, and his enduring message. He was a Professor of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University. He was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer in Aug '06. And in Sept '07 delivered his "Last Lecture". This talk was modeled after an ongoing series of lectures where top academics are asked to think deeply about what matters to them, and then give a hypothetical "final talk," i.e., "what wisdom would you try to impart to the world if you knew it was your last chance?"

I heard of him from my Husband over a year ago, and saw him on TV as a guest on Oprah Winfrey in Oct '07. Click this LINK to see his 10 min presentation on Oprah. It is a more condensed version of his original "Last Lecture" (which was over an hour long when delivered). This is a warning to all you pregnant and/or emotional folks out there, it is quite moving. I of course cried.

Today 7/25/08 Randy Pausch died of Pancreatic Cancer.
After being diagnosed two years ago, and given 3-6 mos of a prospective further healthy life, he outlived his doctors expectations, and in the process changed the lives of his audience members who gave ear to his message. It is touching, and amazing, it is WORTH IT. Never take life for granted.

The GREAT SHAVE of 2008

For 7 years I've been waiting for this! My Mikey shaved his goatee off! This last week he was set apart as a Temple worker, and here at the OKC Temple, President Gillespie holds brethren to Missionary grooming standards. So OFF WITH THE FACE FUZZ!!!!!
Leah didn't mind the change, she thought it was interesting but not a big deal. Isaac however FREAKED OUT beyond belief. Wouldn't even look at the man for about 45 minutes. He cried and cried and said "My Daddy's not real anymore". Isaac has always been a very tender hearted child, and this change was sudden, and quite drastic. Yes, his Daddy does look COMPLETELY different now and he wasn't ready for that. He buried his face in the living room furniture and bawled, not letting Michael near him. I had to calm him down and show him pictures of Daddy right after his mission, and show him that he's the same person, and looks a lot like this old picture. Isaac calmed down and went and let Michael hold him and hug him...however he still wouldn't make eye contact. He's fine now. He just needed some time and some love.
Here are pictures of the "progression" of the shave, with the lovely smooth faced hubby as the finished product. SO HANDSOME! I absolutely LOVE IT! Who knew this man had lips!

Leah is 3!

Our Princes turned 3, and to celebrate she had a little Princess Brunch with her friends. Hosting a dozen Princesses is no small task, but Leah was totally up for it (as she told me "I'm in Charge Momma!"). She LOVED it. In fact, after everyone went home, she laid on Daddy's lap and cried "It's so hard when the party's over!" I agree honey, it's always sad when the ball ends and the Princesses ride off in their carriages! I made a slide show, but sometimes the image is cropped weird and I can't figure that out. But I do the best I can!