YES, VIRGINIA, THERE IS A SANTA CLAUS

Exactly 110 years ago, 8-year-old Virginia Hanlon wrote to the (old)New York Sun to settle a question about whether Santa Claus exists.Many of her friends told Virginia that the answer to that question is,"no."Times have changed and newspapers, such as that version of the Sun,have come and gone. But the answer, published in 1897 by Sun editorialwriter Francis P. Church, is timeless:

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except what they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else as real and abiding. No Santa Claus! Thank God! He lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

Every blade of grass and twig completely encased in solid ice.

This is where the electric meter used to be and the meter where it landed. Plus the actual power line that used to be attached to the meter now lying in the middle of the yard. OG&E turned the power back on to our neighborhood a few days later leaving us with a live power line lying in our back yard. Good thing that Bonni knows an electrician or we'd have been quite a bit more than 8 days without power.

Scenes from an ice storm - December 2007 - Bristow Oklahoma

Hey, Scrooge McNat here. I did get one little boost to my holiday spirits yesterday morning. I got up and Cheyenne was here, dancing around the living room with little Ryley, singing Christmas songs to her while Ryley gazed up adoringly at her with her bright blue eyes. It was a really sweet moment. I have missed hearing her beautiful voice. Even if she had a cold and was just singing softly to the baby, it did my heart good.

Have you ever had one of those weeks... um months... and months.... when you feel like you are in a never ending cycle of crisis and chaos? You don't dare say, "what next" for fear you'll find out? You are beginning to think there really is something to that whole "Law of Attraction" crap and you are on the wrong side of it? Yeah.

Here I am again just before Christmas, sitting here alternately crying and just wanting to, thinking, "Damn, I really didn't pull it out. I'm not going to be able to give my loved ones anything for Christmas unless I just flat refuse to pay the rent and buy groceries. What? You say I bring this on myself? I've been married to this man for over 20 years and hoping each year that he won't withdraw into a little incommunicative shell of wounded little passive/aggressive boychild by November 30th is getting sillier and sillier each year? If I just accepted that he is going to be unsupportive and ... just a huge pain every December, and just start planning for Christmas from around March then I wouldn't be in this fix? Is that what you think? I should count my blessings that nowadays it is just December that he goes over the edge instead of from early October on? Well... just... shut up.

Here is a little teaser from Harmoni's book. I have left her spelling and usage errors in since we haven't "edited" this section yet. I use her mistakes to teach grammar, spelling, etc.


ch 18 THE DUEL

As they disapeared Katie felt a pang of sadness and regret. As she turned to find Bobby she ran into jennifer. "Jennifer, have you seen Bobby?"she asked.

"Yes he's in the practice ring." Jennifer replied.

"Thank you".

She ran down the hall, she ran until she came to a dead end. "What...what is happening?" she asked herself.

"It is simple,"came familiar voice.

"Mike"she whispered.

"yes, thats right katie, I did this."

"why?"

So we could have a private fight."

"Alright, we will,"

"Good, get her a sword."

Clank. She turned around and there he was, just standing there wearing the false kings symbol. She took a deep breath and picked up the sword. You can do this Katie, you can.

Now, this is an 11 year old who didn't learn to read on her own until she was 8 1/2. She loved being read to, still does, but she just didn't care about reading. She was much more interested in numbers and music so I left her alone. Just when Dad and I were beginning to feel our commitment to following her natural learning rhythms, she decided she was ready to read on her own. Within a year, she was reading everything in sight up through junior high level. I really think her primary motivation for wanting to read was because she had all these amazing stories in her head and she wanted to be able to get them written down. Don't get me wrong, she doesn't write like an adult. But she sure writes like a pretty darn clever and imaginative 11 year old8o)

And while we are on the subject of Harmoni, the kid is growing like Jack's beanstalk!! She is now 5'7" and is outgrowing her size 12 shoes! I'm so sick of her having to wear ugly old mens' socks that I've decided to knit her some pretty socks. Socks are not my favorite thing to knit but by golly my little girl is going to have some socks that look like little girl socks once in a while!

I have a new favorite quote. I heard it on, of all things, Men in Trees! Now, I love Men in Trees but it is usually a pretty light diversion, not exactly deep, kwim? But this past episode, a character named Jerome had sort of an epiphany I suppose about who or what he had let himself become. It showed him looking at pictures of himself as a young man looking very successful and happy with important people. He is currently the town character that sits around the bar making pithy remarks. Follow me? Anyway, after his epiphany or whatever, he is sitting at a bookstore in a suit, all shaved and cleaned up and reads the following quote to a lady:

"The greatest loss of all, the loss of oneself, happens very quietly in the world as if it were nothing at all. No other loss occurs so quietly." ~~Kierkegaard

That hit me like a ton of bricks. In the middle of this light, fun show I was suddenly reflecting on how true that was. Nuff said lest I go on for days. Keep me as well as ol' Jerome (or his archetype) in your prayers that what was lost may be found. And may you all pay attention to who and what you are. Don't let it slip away. Be the person you truly mean to be.

Ryley's first Halloween. She was totally, seriously NOT impressed. Trey and Braiden had a great time. But then, they got to eat their candy... Mommy and Daddy took all of Ryleys8o) Gini opted not to go this year. She is 13 and I figured it was her call. Harmoni probably looked 13 to people (the kid is 5'7"!!) but she is just 11 and I guess she is now the last trick or treater amongst my kids. Unless you count Bonni (the one in the hat); she and her friends trick or treating was on a whole different level8O

Here are some of the portraits we had done at JC Penney. Ryley was one month old.

Left to right: Rob, Natalie, Cameron, Stefanie, Marilyn, Bill.
Cam and Stef Just Married! Sapulpa Oklahoma Courthouse, October, 9, 2007

HERE SHE IS... RYLEY BROOKLYN... ISN'T SHE ADORABLE!!!!

AN UPDATE ON ME AND A MOVIE REVIEW OF "FRACTURE"

I haven't posted in a while because I have been so discouraged by my difficulty in getting my picture posting problems solved:( I got an expensive digital camcorder that also takes stills only to find that it costs a mini fortune to get set up to upload from it to the computer. I am pretty much back at square one. But, on the upside, I'll be able to get tons of video of the new baby when she gets here. Cheyenne is due in only 3 1/2 weeks!

I have been having a really bad time lately with my MG symptoms. Plus, my left knee has been giving me severe pain for weeks. I went to the ER for something unrelated and they ran tests on the knee to make sure there were no blood clots (like my right leg has). No blood clots but apparently my knee is "bone on bone" and I'm s'posed to see an orthopod for it.

I'm working really hard at getting healthy these days. I am eating right but getting the exercise is tricky in my sorry condition. So far, I am just trying to do aquatic exercise in my little pool for at least 30 minutes a day. When I see the doc, I'll ask him what is okay for me to do. I just started a little over a week ago and I've lost 3.5 lbs. It's a start!

I went to the movies with Cheyenne and Bonni yesterday. We planned to see Pirates 3 but it didn't work out for us. We saw Fracture instead. It stars Anthony Hopkins (first rate by any standard) as a very wealthy and brilliant man who discovers that his young and beautiful wife is cheating on him. He plans and executes the "perfect murder". He shoots his wife in the face and then makes sure that the only officer admitted to the scene is Detective Nunally (played to moody and haunted perfection by Billy Burke). He turns over his gun and admits to shooting his wife and knowing that it was wrong. Only when Nunally turns to recover the body of the victim does he discover that it is his lover "Mrs Smith".

At this point, Ryan Gosling, as a very ambitious Asst D.A. is pulled into the maniac's clever web. He is poised to move on to a lucrative private practice but must first win this "open and shut" case to maintain his perfect record. Uh-oh. The ensuing cat and mouse manage a trois among the murderous genius, the grieving cop and the driven attorney is absolute movie magic. Oh, did I mention that wifey was not dead but only in a vegetative state?

If you love thrillers and edge of your seat tension without all the gore and serial killers in horror movies, you will love this. Ninety percent of the "action" in this thriller is in the mind. Which is just how I like it.

I have only 2 minor complaints about this movie. One, I had a really hard time "buying" Ryan Gosling as an ambitious ADA. Others may not but I did. Two, I wish the wife had a bigger role in the movie because I love Embeth Davidtz and believe her to be one of the most under-appreciated actresses around. Those are minor beefs about a very worthy movie. I recommend it to anyone who likes a good suspense yarn.

Bottom Line: 4.5 stars

Here are a couple of my latest FOs. At least the ones I have decent pictures of. Since it takes an act of Congress plus approximately $1000 to connect my vid cam to the computer, I guess I am still going to need to replace my digital camera. Aargh!!! Anyway, here is Harmoni in her new top that I made based on a design in an old magazine. I just changed it up a bit. The cell case is all mine. I'll post a free pattern later. I promise!! I really plan to have several free patterns up by the end of July.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARMONI

My baby girl is turning 11 today. She is my youngest child and my sweetheart.

Just had to post this pic of my two beautiful oldest daughters. Cheyenne is on the left and Bonni is on the right. They went out to karaoke and a friend snapped this. I think they look as different as night and day yet people will still say they look a lot alike!

Here is a picture of Cameron doing his show the day he proposed to Stephanie. He looked so handsome up there. I have video but have yet to find the proper cable for connecting the vid cam to the 'puter to upload it. When I do, we'll post the video of the proposal and prolly one of Cameron's songs on his myspace. And/or maybe YouTube.

This is the top I made from the pattern in the May issue of Creative Knitting. It's called "Lilac and Lace" and was designed by my epal, Lorna Miser. I made this one for my oldest daughter, Bonni. It is turquoise Lion Brand Microspun with Bernat's Cool Crochet for the trim. Gotta love stashbusting;o) Not sure what's with the goofy expression....

FREEDOM WRITERS

I'll make this brief. 5 stars. Watch it. Own it. Everyone who lives in this country should watch this movie. It will make you angry, it will make you cry but ultimately, it will give you hope. Thank God in Heaven for the Mrs. Gruwells in the world.

If you have often thought, "I just don't understand the gang mentality," watch this movie.
If you are worried that the world is going to hell in a handbasket, this movie.
If you care at all to understand how and why non-white races in this country feel disenfranchised, watch this movie.
If you don't believe that public schools are part of the problem more often than part of the solution, watch this movie. (And then go to UTube and watch this video of John Stossel's report "Stupid in America": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfRUMmTs0ZA
If you don't believe that one good teacher can make a real difference, WATCH THIS MOVIE.

New picture of Grandma's little cowboys - and their mama too, my beautiful oldest daughter, Bonni;o)

This is a set of "Nesting Bags" that I made for my March Color Swap partner. I will be posting a pattern for these soon; hopefully with a better picture. The pics I took of just these bags was on the oft lamented dud camera. I would love to find a few test knitters for this pattern as well as a lacy shrug pattern that I plan to post as well. Any volunteers???? Just let me know and I will email you the pattern.

I was really hoping to get a good picture of this purse because I thought it came out really cute. It was for my purse exchange. I guess I should be thankful; this was one of the best ones on the roll. Most of them are completely unusable.

You know how cats and dogs love to lie on the sun-warmed concrete on a cool but sunny day? Well, I caught all my... um, fur-babies warming themselves in the sun the other day and couldn't resist snapping a couple of pictures;o)

I am so proud of Bonni, my oldest. First, she is such a good mommy to my boys. And she has a really good job and is very responsible with her money, although she can be kind of a shopaholic;o) Right now, I am really proud of her because even though she is a single mom, raising her two little boys on her own, she is buying a house! I see soooo many people her age making the same mistakes I did and ruining their credit. That is really easy to do nowadays but Bonni has avoided that pitfall and should be moving into her own home sometime next month.

Your Vocabulary Score: A+

Congratulations on your multifarious vocabulary!You must be quite an erudite person.

How's" Your Vocabulary?

STUPID FLIPPIN' DISPOSABLE CAMERAS!!!
Grrrr. I got a beautiful puffy with lots of cool green things in it from the wonderful Karla along with a really sweet encouraging note. I took a picture of it thinking I would blog it when I got the pictures developed. The freakin' camera apparently was a dud. I not only lost the picture from this swap but also several pictures of my little cowboys, Trey and Braiden, and pics of my donations for February to my charities!! Almost all of the pictures are way overexposed and have a weird line through the middle of them.

Anyway, thank you HUGE to Karla for my wonderful package. I love Simply Soft Chunky; use it all the time so that was perfect for me. The kids took off with the tea and the snacks immediately so I don't even remember what all was in there8O) The book was perfect, though and so was the yarn.

Have I mentioned how much I miss my digital camera!!!!!!!!!!! I didn't get a replacement for Christmas, I didn't get one for my birthday in February; if I don't get one for Mother's Day, i am going on strike!!!

ERAGON
Okay,a little background. I have been homeschooling for almost 15 years. When the news comes out that a 15year old homeschooler has been published, and in one of my family's favorite genres - fantasy - I get excited; my whole family gets excited. We read Eragon aloud as a family and 3 of us also read it individually. The same goes for Eldest when it came out. (Eldest is the 2nd book in the projected trilogy.) Let me be clear about this. We. Love. Eragon.

When we heard that they were making it into a movie and who all was involved, we were psyched!!! So, to be fair, we went into this movie with HUGE expectations. And, to be blunt, we were tremendously disappointed. Well, everyone except Gini. Gini is a huge book hound but she able to view the book and the movie as totally separate entities. That is probably useful but for me, I just hate when they make major changes in a story when they translate a book into a movie. Small changes are often necessary just for the function of making a movie but major plot changes just bug me.

Christopher Paolini created a world. An entire world with different races of beings and ecosystems and the whole nine yards. He created characters that you could really care about. He created tension and resolution in fair proportions. He did not copy Harry Potter or Dragonriders of Pern or any other fantasy book. I am sure that he was inspired by masters of the genre as any author would be. The problem is that the movie reduced his world to a shadow of itself. They left out entire characters and plotlines that made the story more interesting and well-rounded. They completely left out the relationships and people of Carvahall, which will be of much greater importance to the understanding (and whether or not you give a crap about) the second movie. They reduced Murtagh to a bit part, left out the testing and the Twins and Orick and the dwarves and the Morning Star. The whole bit with the Varden was cut into about a fourth. They reduced Angela to a silly bit part as a fortune teller and omitted Solembum, the werecat, completely. Harmoni was especially disturbed by thefact that they left out Brom's horse, Snowfire, and changed Brom's death and Arya's condition.

I could go on and on. Let me just say that if you can, like Gini, completely separate book and movie, you should enjoy this movie. Assuming, of course, that you are a fan of fantasy films. I have tried to imagine how I would have felt about the movie if I didn't know what I know. Unfortunately for me, it is like trying to imagine how i would feel about an orange from looking at a photo of one if I had never bitten into a ripe, juicy one. I really don't believe they developed the characters into people you really care about; especially Murtagh and Brom. And I am really curious to see how they are going to deal with the second movie since they didn't have Eragon injured in the battle. The people of Carvahall and Eragon's inury, among other things, are very central to Eldest.

My final diagnosis: Gini will buy it. Iwill not have problem with the kids watching it; no earplugs required;o) But, really, left to myself my opinion is, why bother? The book is infinitely richer and more rewarding. 4 (of 6 possible) Stars

Grandma's Boy

I just had to post this picture of Braiden sitting with me on the couch while I knit. I was working on an afghan when the boys were spending the weekend here and Braiden just loved it when I would knit cuz he would just climb up next to me under the finished end while I knitted away on the other end. He is quite sure that Grandma is going to make a blanket for him to take to his house8O) Now that is a good day!

STRANGER THAN FICTION

I was looking forward to this movie even though I am not ordinarily a Will Farrell fan. I don't like the Will Farrell, Ben Stiller, Farrelly Brothers brand of comedy. I do like Emma Thompson, though. (Of course, I like Matt Damon, always, and Greg Kinear, often but I'm never going to watch Stuck on You.) But, the previews intrigued me. And, if you pay attention, even though the previews are funny, the movie is billed as a drama. So, I took the bait.

Farrell plays IRS agent Harold Crick who begins to hear a woman narrating his life. His Deadly. Boring. Life. Noone else hears this voice and we are not really informed whether or not he has any memories of his life before this begins. I presume he remembers anything that his author has written into his book. Because, of course, he is the protagonist of a book, he just doesn't know it. Lots of things aren't really explained and we are asked to swallow whole some pretty weird premises. Crick is motivated to find his "author" when he hears her announce that he will by dying soon. Emma Thompson, of course, is the author in question. She is being prodded to work through her writer's block by her assistant, played by an understated and classy Queen Latifah. It was nice to see her branch out into playing something other than a street smart, sassy sistah. I personally think she is gorgeous and smart and worthy of better roles. Anyway, Crick enlists the aid of a really weird college professor played by Dustin Hoffman! Weird, weird, role. Not getting that one.

Emma T. outperformed the movie, in my opinion. Farrell did not. I had a really hard time believing that the Maggie Gyllenhaal character would fall for him. Except maybe because she was a major nurturer. And boy, did this guy need nurturing. Actually, what he really needed... was a personality.

Bottom line: 2 stars; break out the cable needles.

Next to knitting and crocheting, one of favorite obsessions is movies. I LOVE to put in a good movie and knit. And I have very eclectic taste in movies. So, to try to spice up my blog a little bit and because I just love talking about movies (just ask my knitting friend Erin;o) I am going to start posting my personal reviews of movies that I watch. I usually watch DVDs but I will go to an actual theater once in a while. And, from now on, I will be sharing my thoughts on those movies, including whether or not they make a good knitting movie of course! I will rate the movies as:
0 stars - I would never watch it again, period. Fugedaboudit
1 star - If the kids just had to watch it and I was incapable of leaving the room, I would knit something with a complicated lace pattern... and possible put on headphones and listen to Gavin DeGraw.
2 stars - Again, I wouldn't waste my rental dime on it but if the kids or grandkids just had to watch it, I would feel free to knit cables or the heels of socks cuz the movie wouldn't distract me.
3 stars - It may not be something I would buy but if the family rented it, I would probably keep the knitting fairly simple.
4 stars - This would be a movie that I would actually suggest renting. And I would knit mindless things like hats, scarves and slippers.
5 stars - Movies that I love and would own if possible. Totally mindless knitting, or crochet because it is easier to frog if I mess up.
6 stars - One word. Bliss. Very rare. Of course, I realize that my bliss is very different from anyone else's.

Remember that these are all JUST MY OPINION.

I want to ask any of my friends or anyone who comes across my blog who is a praying person to please pray for my daughter, Cheyenne and her unborn baby. She is a beautiful person who has let herself get caught up in a situation that is harmful to her and could be very dangerous for her and her baby. I am very afraid for her. Please include her in your prayers.

This is a picture of the last batch of hats and scarves I sent to Stand Up for Kids. That is a charity that my Knitting for Children yahoo group supports. I actually sent these several weeks ago but just now got the pics developed.

I didn't use a pattern for a single one of these. Just very basic stuff. I really liked the way the black and pink one came out though. I think I'll do some more like that one in other colors. I like making the blue and orange (Go Broncos) but I figure that everyone isn't a football fan ;o) Plus, we are told that the kids like pretty basic colors. The blue with brown specks is actually two yarns held together and I liked the way it looked. The lightest one (on the right - doesn't show up very well) is also two yarns held as one but I didn't like it as well as the other one. I thought there was a hat out of the strata that matched the strata scarf but it didn't make the picture somehow. There were also a couple pairs of fingerless mitts that I didn't photograph. I probably won't send anymore boxes to SUFK afther this month since Spring will be almost here. I'll be sending more to Parkland, the Reservation Women's Shelter and so forth. There is always someone to knit for8O)

I finally got the camera developed with the picture of my Color Swap package from Julie. This was the January "metallic" swap and she did a fantastic job of finding cool metallic stuff and stuff that I would love. I couldn't believe she sent me a drop spindle and some fiber. I have been wanting to have one of those for a loooong time. Swapping like this is actually really good for me because i have a really hard time buying things for myself. I can always think of so many things I would rather get for my kids or my friends or for charity rather than something that I would like to have just for my own pleasure. I'm sure all the nurturing types out there know exactly what I mean. You Moms, Aunties, adopted grannies... you all know who you are;o) Anyway, this way I get to have some of the goodies that I would love to have but just never get around to buying for myself. Julie, you definitely came through on that score!!

I wish I had gotten a better picture. (Yes, I am now going to gripe once again about how much I miss my digital camera - another one of those things it is hard for me to put out the money for just for my own pleasure.) Anyway, I can't even remember everything that was in it cuz I've already used so many things so this is not a complete list. In addition to the drop spindle and fiber and the Aunt Lydia's yarn with the metallic thread through it (I love that stuff - use it all the time!), I really loved the butterfly applique and the purple and green beaded edging. There was yarn and knitting needles and shiny fabric and several varieties of beads and charms and some beautiful handmade stitchmarkers (I get comments about those anytime I knit in public.) For crafting, there was gold metallic cord and silver metallic braid, royal blue glitter and metallic fabric scraps. For my scrapbooking (did I mention that I scrap or is Julie psychic?) there was purple and green paint and embossing powder, a little silver frame, a whole stack of cool papers and loopy eyelets. I know there are things that I am forgetting but things have already been dispersed into my different projects. Suffice it to say, my puffy raneth over!!! THANK YOU JULIE. You were a great swap-buddy, hopefully at some point this year, you will be my recipient;o)

My Mom

Ramona Gay Bittick-Anglin

1934-2003

This is my middle child, Cheyenne. She is 19 and is expecting a baby this August. I have been thinking about her a lot lately. Looking for pictures of the older kids wearing things I made for them made me realize that I really didn't make nearly as many things for Cheyenne as I did for the oldest two.

When Chey came along, I was not only working full time with an hour commute each way, I was also taking college classes and was separated from my husband for about 2 years. We just made 20 years in January but we definitely were having rough times when Cheyenne was little. I quit working full time when she was about 5 so that I could homeschool and I always spent a lot of time with her as with all my kids. But I know that she always felt that she was in Bonni's shadow. To meet her, it is hard to imagine her in anyone's shadow. She is so beautiful and talented. And I always felt that she had the strongest desire to be "good" and to do what was right. That makes it hard for those of us who have always known and loved her to understand some of her choices lately. I feel that she has lost herself somehow.

I know that I have never loved her or cherished her less than any of her siblings but I have to admit that she did get shortchanged during her early years (up to about 12) on pure-dee ole time. I have always had a tendency to allow more time and resources for the oldest child. I guess because I feel that I am running out of time with them. I am starting to feel that way about Gini. When Bonni was a teen (and the type who was just successful at everything she tried and so darned sweet that you couldn't hate her for it) I know that it seemed that she got the Lion's share of the attention. When Cheyenne was a teen (and still at home), I spent every little bit of time, money and energy I had supporting her desire to perform. She has a beautiful gift and people so love to hear her sing - I believe that she deserved that chance. But Gini and Harmoni didn't get as much time and attention as they probably should have during that time.

Notice I skipped right over Cameron. Honestly, if anyone has a right to complain, it is him. During the years when I would ordinarily have been making sure he had the chance to pursue his interests and dreams, he moved in with his Grandma to take care of her so she wouldn't have to go to assisted living. He gave up his teenage years out of love for his Grandma. People who knew him during that time were so amazed at the selflessness and love he showed for her. It got to the point where she required round the clock care and was bedfast. He even took care of her through peritoneal dialysis for several years. And when she went to hemodialysis, the nurses at the unit fell in love with him because he would help anyone in any way that he could. I was, along with many other people, in awe of him. This was from the time he was 15-18. Every few weeks, Bonni or Cheyenne would stay with her to give him a break for a week or so but it was pretty much all him. There were people who thought it was wrong of me to allow it. There were people who thought she should have just been sent to a nursing home. What they don't realize is that it would have been over his dead body. She finally went into a nursing home a few months before she died because she knew her time was short and she wanted him to have a chance to let go a little before he had to let go all the way.

His education didn't suffer because she was probably a better teacher than I was anyway. She was one of the smartest people I've ever known. She dropped out of school in 8th grade to get married and went to technical school in her 30s to become an operating room nurse. After a heart attack at 48, she went back to college and graduated Magna Cum Laude. She was an autodidact in the truest sense of the word. I guess it is no wonder I became a homeschooler after all:o) I can't even imagine having gone through being a teenage mom without her. She handled every situation with good old fashioned common sense, love and grace. She had the faith of a giant and embodied the meaning of "endure to the end".

Okay, here is a couple of things I made for Cameron. I thought the hat looked like a girl but my Mom made it so he wore it home. The sweater probably would have been too big for most babies but Cameron was over 10 pounds. I made Bonni a blanket just like Camerons in different colors and with Care Bears fabric for the back. The blankets and sweater are crocheted. I crocheted more than I knit back then. Nowadays, I knit more than I crochet.