Dear Peter,

I hope you are doing well today. I had a great, but busy day. I had a scrapbooking party, and it went very well.

I know I have told you about my hobby of scrapbooking. It is really more of a passion. A "Mission" if you will... I feel that scrapbooking is so important. It is much more than just putting photos in an album. It is telling the stories behind the pictures. The history of the people in the pictures. Passing the heritage down for generations, and knowing that because I use very safe scrapbooking products that my older nephew's great, great, great grandchildren will be reading the words that I write today and it will look just as fresh as it does now. I want them to know about us.

A well known scrapbooking supply company puts it this way. " Your first car was a monstrous ’79 thunderbird. First pet? A goldfish named Frank. First date? It’s OK to talk about it. It was all real. It’s all part of who you are.

You see, the small stuff doesn’t just matter. The small stuff is everything. It’s part of your story. And you’re the only who can tell it."

I couldn't have said it better myself. :-) The saddest thing in the world is to look at a photo of someone you KNOW you are related to, and not know a thing about them. Not even their name. I have been in several antique stores in the last couple of years, and I have seen boxes of family photos for sale. The people put them in there because they don't know who the people are, so they don't want to be bothered. That is so sad to me!! Not to know your heritage, your people, where you came from...... It is so important for the future generations to know what we have experienced. Both the "ups" and the "downs", so they will know not only their family history, but will perhaps learn a lesson of how to get through the hard times. To know that Uncle "John" was a man of integrity, so they will strive to be like him. To see a photo and say, "I look like Grandma Michelle", or "I have Aunt Jennifer's eyes." For someone to love writing, or crafting, or reading and say, "I got that from... It is in my blood." It's about family, and loving the family that will not be here, until long after we are gone, enough to tell them about US.

Okay, I'll get off of my soap box now. :-) As you can see, I am very passionate about scrapbooking. I also find it relaxing, but this is the "bigger picture", so to speak. :-)

Please, tell Tink that I said, "Hello", and I will write again soon.

Love,
Wendy Darling

Dear Peter,

I hope you are doing well. Today was a really nice day, although it was HOT. We took dear older nephew and the little girl we babysit to the park this morning. We intentionally went early as to avoid the heat. We arrived about 9:30 am and stayed about 45 minutes. It wasn't too bad. It was actually really nice. There was a nice breeze, and it was so pretty. The kids played hard. We did not walk the walking trail like we used to. It is about a mile around, and I just can't do that anymore. Not yet. HOWEVER, we DID walk the tree line around the "meadow". It is about 1/4 of mile. I am so proud that we did that. I finished it!! :-) The kids loved running in the flowers (there was no high grass), and they even found a forgotten Easter Egg. I did make them throw away the candy inside, but allowed them to wash and clean the egg so they could keep it. (Hey, Dora the Explorer was on it. What else could I do?) :-) We made our way back to the playground equipment where they continued to slide and swing for a little longer.

We came home, ate lunch, did school and little girl went to sleep until she was picked up at 3:00 pm. By that time the temp was over 90 degrees with no breeze at all. Inside the van it was 105 degrees. Oh my goodness are we dreading the temps this summer! :-) It was so hot we decided to have sandwiches for supper so we didn't have to turn on the stove. Lunch tomorrow will be leftovers nuked in the microwave and sandwiches for supper. Wednesday night will probably be sandwiches for supper as well, but dear nephew will be eating a hot meal at church so everything will be fine. :-)

Well, that's all for the weather update. I hope the weather is a lot better in Neverland. We plan to go the park again on Wednesday morning about 8:00 am. Before it gets too hot. Dear older nephew will probably swim in the morning around 7:00 am, before school and before the heat gets too bad. :-) Wish I could join him.

Tell Tink and the Lost Boys I said to stay cool, and use their sunscreen! :-)

Love,
Wendy Darling

Dear Peter,

This will be a short post. It is late and I need to get to bed. We have been planning our family vacation for October this year. I have to admit, at first I was skeptical, and did not want to get too excited for fear we would not be able to go, again. Something always seems to happen. But, I just can't help it. I am excited! I can't sleep, because I keep having this song run through my head. It is only part of the song, the theme to the Mary Tyler Moore show "You're gonna make it after all...." over and over and over.....

Dear older nephew has a karate tournament in Oklahoma, so we have decided to leave on the Wednesday before and take our time getting there. :-) We have poured over travel books, online maps, state maps, etc. and have planned a great vacation. Most of the places we are going are "off the beaten path", but great for kids. The best part, most have free admission. :-) It's just small stops here and there. Stops to visit a hands-on museum, or a store, or just to get a picture of a building we will be driving past. Nothing huge, fancy, or costly. But, it will be fun and we will be doing it TOGETHER; building memories. :-) We even have 3 of the restaurants we will eat at picked out, because we saw them in the travel guides! :-)

We get to actually rent a car and stay in HOTELS! :-) We are saving our pennies, literally, like crazy. (not to mention the dimes, nickels and quarters). We have most of it all planned. I just can't wait to get away. October doesn't seem very far away now. :-)

I have to get to bed now, so I will write again soon. Tell the Lost Boys and Tink that I said, "Hi". :-)

Love,
Wendy Darling

Dear Peter,

Well, I must forego tonights letter, because I have been "tagged", again. So, I must answer these silly questions. :-) I will write soon.

Love,
Wendy Darling

Answer the following questions using only the song titles from a chosen musician/band.

Artist I chose: George Strait

Are you male or female? High Tone Woman


Describe yourself. She'll Leave You With A Smile

How do some people feel about you? Heaven's Missing An Angel


How do you feel about yourself? So Much Like My Dad


Describe your ex: All My Ex's Live In Texas


Describe your current significant other: That's Me (Every Chance I Get)


Describe where you want to be: Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind


Describe how you live: One Night At A Time


Describe how you love: "You Know Me Better Than That" :-)


What would you ask for if you had just one wish? Love Without End, Amen


Share a few words of wisdom: You Can't Make A Heart Love Somebody


Now say goodbye: Baby's Gotten Good At Goodbye

Dear Peter,

We are so blessed and do not even realize how much we are blessed everyday. That realization has been made very real to me all day. I have a dear friend who is in the hospital with a bad heart. He had a heart attack almost a week ago. (his 3rd) The doctors want to do a particular surgery, but it could be dangerous. He is not sure he wants to take the chance and have it. We are blessed that we do not have this life changing decision to make.

I have another friend who is spending a fortune just to make sure her young child, and herself, are safe from his "father". She is a nervous wreck, because in the end she has no idea what will happen. I am blessed that I do not have to deal with that uncertainty.

We have been dealing with a dryer that has been going out. We know we need a new one, but where would the money come from? Tonight my brother went to look at something behind the dryer. He moved it only a little and a spark flew out. How blessed we were that he was not close enough to be electrocuted. How blessed we are that the dryer did not cause a fire while we were using it today. How blessed we are that it happened so we knew to unplug it so it didn't cause a fire.

We complain that we are too tired to clean our home in the evening, but we are so blessed to have a beautiful home to clean. And we are blessed that we are able to move, see, hear, think, and have 2 beautiful children in our home to "chase after" and teach, even if our bones and joints ache at night. At least we can feel the pain.

Sometimes I complain that I have no time, because I am always preparing lesson plans, but I am so blessed to be able to homeschool 3 beautiful, bright children because their parents have trusted me to do so. And very blessed to be able to teach other children in our homeschool group. I am also blessed that most of my "work" is IN the home. I do have some flexibility that my sister and brother don't have because they work outside the home.

I know I complain that "I need a vacation", "I am too tired to cook","I hate to do the dishes", "I want....", etc... But, the truth is I am blessed beyond all understanding. I don't deserve anything at all, but by the Grace of God I am blessed, and have much to be thankful for. In all that has happened all I know is that no matter what little disappointments I may experience, no matter how "big" they may seem at the time, no matter how much I choose to "wallow" in self-pity, I have nothing at all to complain about, ever. Most of us don't. I love to sing the song "Count Your Blessings" to my nephew. Those words have never rang more true....Just thought that I would share that with you.

Love,
Wendy Darling