Dear Peter,

Guess what finally came to East Texas. WINTER! Check out the picture. No, it's not raindrops. That is ICE. Yep, our back yard is covered in ice. The nephew and I headed out with our digital cameras and in less than 5 minutes we took photos of this rare occurrance. :-) Believe me, less than 5 minutes was all we could handle. It is COLD!

Love,
Wendy Darling

Dear Peter,

I hope you are doing well. I am SICK!!!

Ok, not sick physically, but I am so sick of hearing about Rosie O'Donnel and Donald Trump. What the heck has happened to our society?

President Bush was on TV last night, talking about the war in Iraq. Talking about his new plan (which I support btw) We are still at war people!! What were the news stations talking about? Rosie and Donald. I just don't get it. What about the Economy? What about the issues before Congress right now? What about the U.N.?There is more going on in the world!! And to be honest, most of the people I know DON'T CARE what they say. It is like hearing about 2 kids in a school yard fight. GET OVER IT!!! Even my FAVORITE news channel, Fox News, is talking about it all the time. UGH!!! Sorry, just had to vent.

Love,
Wendy Darling

Dear Peter,

Today was a wonderful Christmas. I really enjoyed most of the whole weekend. :-)

My sister, BIL, and youngest nephew spent the weekend with us. This was the first time that they have done that since they have been married. :-) We spent the weekend eating, laughing, and playing Chicken Foot. :-) I loved it. Not just that it was fun, but just the "bonding". At least, I felt it.

I have never really been able to spend quality time with my sister and her husband. My brother visits, and they like a lot of the same movies, music, etc... they have the same sense of humor. But, I had never really felt like I had been able to spend time to "get to know him" and just have fun. It really meant a lot to me. :-) (So, when you're reading this Laslo, I hope you had just as much fun.)

This year was the first year we had the "Advent Wreath". I really enjoyed lighting the candles each week, and bringing the focus back around to Jesus. Last night the youngest nephew got to get in on the lighting of the candles. Our tradition of reading Luke 2 was carried on with my sister reading it this year. That was really nice. My brother continued his tradition of reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas", this time with the youngest nephew as well. It was so nice to see the "young, innocent, wide-eyed excitement of a child. :-)

Today we finished the Advent Wreath with a family prayer. I really appreciate Laslo leading us in such a beautiful prayer. :-)

And last, but not least, the food and the PRESENTS! Yes, the oldest nephew got the digital camera he wanted. :-) His favorite gift of them all. :-) And Santa did not disappoint "little one". He did bring the Buckaroo game. :-)

Yes, we did have our disagreements, and the kids did argue and throw fits. After all, we are a family. :-) But, all in all it was the nicest Christmas I can remember in a LONG time. I really hope we can do it again next year. :-)

By the way, I am visiting Laslo and Queen B in May. It would be great if I could come a day or two early, so we can play games and just relax before we have to go to the seminars. You up for it? :-)

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year.
Love,
Wendy Darling

Dear Peter,

Wow! You're hearing from me two days in a row. That must be some kind of record. :-) I made a cake for the people who really helped make yesterday possible (see blog below)by buying most of the gifts. :-) I thought I would share the photos. I was pretty proud of it. I really like decorating cakes, and one day I DO plan to take the Wilton Cake Decorating class. I still have a lot to learn. Maybe some time next year. :-) Hope you like them. :-)

Love,
Wendy Darling

Dear Peter,

I was going to write to you about the wonderful, blessed day we had yesterday, but Cleggy did it for me. And once more, he did it better than I could. So, I am going to refer you to his blog to read all of the details. :-) To the right is Santa and his youngest helper. :-)

http://holmfirth.blogspot.com/

Merry Christmas!!!

Love,
Wendy Darling

Dear Peter,

Sorry it has been so long since I have written.

Tonight I wanted to tell you about my favorite time of the year. Yep, CHRISTMAS!! :-) I have been busy the last couple of weeks, but it hasn't been the "hectic, chaotic" busy. I haven't been running around like a chicken with my head cut off worrying about buying gifts. My goal for the Christmas has been simple, "relax, and make sure the kiddos know the REAL reason we celebrate Christmas." :-)

We have made lots of memories, and thanks to my new digital camera I have documented them all. :-) The first thing was to make Advent chains, stressing the birth of Christ. We read books about the birth of Jesus, and a book about "The Best Thing About Christmas, Jesus." See a pattern here? :-)

The commercialism of Christmas has always bothered me. I think the show "Merry Christmas Charlie Brown" pretty much sums up how I feel about Christmas. I think it does for most people. We can't get bogged down in the presents, expense, time, etc... We can't get so bogged down that we don't ENJOY it, get so stressed we wish it would "hurry up and be over", and forget the REAL reason to celebrate Christmas.

I have just taken a laid back approach, and let the kids have fun. We have made ornaments, handmade gifts and ginger snaps; and have plans to make gingerbread men, assorted cookies, and cards. :-) Each time bringing it back around to Jesus. We are singing Christmas Carols, they rode in the parade together, and we talk about why it is important to GIVE to others rather than ask for what we "want". :-) The nephew participated in a Christmas play at church this evening that was about this very thing. I have to admit, when they sang "We bring our gifts, You bring Your presents" I cried. I usually only cry when I hear "Mary Did You Know", or "Silent Night". Maybe it was the song, maybe it was the pride of hearing/seeing my nephew as part of it, maybe both. I don't know, but it touched me. :-)

I have enjoyed this year so much. I love the smells, the lights, the music, and the holiday shows (Frosty, It's A Wonderful Life, A Christmas Carol...)and I love watching them with the kids. They make it "magical". But most of all I love the look on the kids faces when we talk about Jesus's birth, and when I ask them "Why we celebrate" it is like music to hear them say "Jesus".

We are creating new traditions, such as the Advent Wreath, which again stress Jesus. I can't help it. I just love it. It is such a great opportunity to share Jesus, especially with children. :-)

I have two special Christmas Memories to share with you. The first was when my nephew was about 4 or 5. We read "Little House on the Prairie". The one where Laura and Mary got tin cups for Christmas. It really taught him that Christmas isn't about getting "things", but spending time with family. He LOVED it. So, that year we got him a tin cup, a new shiny penny, a peppermint stick and I made him a heart shaped cookie with white sugar on it. We put them all in his stocking. As soon as he opened it he yelled, "It's just like Laura's!" It was awesome.

The second is from my childhood. I was about 11 or 12, I think. My sister and I had asked for a stereo and typewriter. That was all we asked for. We were sure we would get it, not realizing the cost, of course. We were kids. A couple of weeks before Christmas our mom sat us down and tried to explain to us that we would not be getting the stereo and typewriter. She did not want us to be disappointed, so she wanted to go ahead and tell us. I thought she was just saying that because she wanted us to be surprised. After all, that is all we asked for, so that is all we were expecting. I even told her that. She tried her best to make us understand, but after all we were kids. Stupid selfish kids I might add. (At least on my part)

Christmas morning we did indeed awake to a stereo, a typewriter and a Kenny Rogers album. We loved them all, and used the stereo for many years. Unfortunately, it was also many years before I found out just how hard it was for our parents to get those gifts. Daddy put in A LOT of overtime, and worked odd jobs. They did that because they did not want us to be disappointed and because they loved us that much. I wish I had had the maturity back then to truly appreciate all that they went through for us. I will always remember that Christmas.

So, to conclude,let me wish you a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Love,
Wendy Darling

Dear Peter,

Just in case it hasn't aired in Neverland yet, let me fill you in.....


EMMITT BEAT MARIO, EMMITT BEAT MARIO.... :-)


Love,

Wendy Darling

Dear Peter,

Days 4 and 5 were pretty much "low key" compared to the first three days of vacation. We left the hotel about 8:30 that morning to drive into Oklahoma City. Now, the directions said we were a little over an hour away, from Oklahoma City. We were supposed to meet the nephew's sister and her family for lunch at Pizza Hut in Del City at 11:30 am. We reached Oklahoma City with no problems. Then came the task of looking for 290 to get to Del City. This is where the problems began. Just to insert a little warning here, if you ever need to find 290 in Oklahoma City don't bother, because IT DOES NOT EXIST. Somehow a little elf changed my 4 to a 9. We were supposed to get on 240. I am still blaming it on the elf.

We got half way to Tulsa and pulled over to called his sister for directions. They had no clue where we were. We knew we were on Route 66, and we weren't supposed to be. Oh well, Mom wanted to see Route 66 anyway. So, we turn around and drove back to Oklahoma City. After a few more wrong turns we finally get back on 44 and find 240. Within 15 minutes we are at the Pizza Hut, and guess what time it was... 11:30! :-)

We had a great lunch and enjoyed a nice ride home. We went to the lake close to our hotel to look at the ducks. We went to a grocery store and bought things for sandwiches. We had an early supper, we were all in bed at 8:00 pm, and got up early for breakfast and to head home.

Our plan was to come home back through Witchita Falls and then to Weatherford, Corsicana, Athens and home. We woke up to rain. LOTS of rain. It rained all the way to Witchita Falls where it was raining harder. We called our sister for a "weather report" in Weatherford and Corsicana. She got on the "net" and reported that they too had lots of rain. So, we cut that entire part of the trip and went home the same way we had come up. I was disappointed, but the vacation had been so wonderful we just couldn't be upset for long. We stopped back by Mary's of Puddin' Hill, and stopped at a neat Mexican Food Restraraunt for lunch. Took us about 9 hours to get home, and it rained most of the way, but we sang just as much on the way home as we had on the way up. Mom never wants to hear the "Gas song" again, I am sure. :-)

As soon as we made it home we unloaded, put things away, started laundry, and went out for dinner. We were tired, but so rested and relaxed. It was great!!

I hope you enjoyed hearing about our vacation as much as we enjoyed going. :-)

Love,
Wendy Darling

Dear Peter,

To me day 3 of the vacation was THE BEST. :-) We left Witchita Falls about 8:00 am and drove into Oklahoma. We stopped at the Visitors Information Center to walk a bit, take care of business, pick up some more info about the things we wanted to see, and let the nephew by a t-shirt. This was just after paying the toll. Oklahoma has A LOT of tolls. I don't know how the people who live there afford to travel.

Anyway, we drove on into Lawton and our first stop was the Ft. Sill Museum. Now, I don't know why this did not occur to me sooner, but we actually had to go through a security check point. Not that we minded at all, it's just that it didn't occur to me that we would, even though I knew it was an operating military base. So, after going through security we made our way to the museum. Along the way we passed tanks, rockets, old guns that are on display, the barracks, and the officer housing. It was really neat to see all of that up close, and to hear the tanks and gunfire up close. This is where the army practices there shooting.

The museum was really great. We learned a lot about the original post, Geronimo, the Buffalo Soldiers, ect... David bought some souveniers for his friends, and we watched a 20 minute film about the history of the museum. It was very informative. The lady in the museum told us about the chapel on the base. It is the original chapel, and is the one they still use today. They also have a bell, and if you visit the museum you are supposed to go ring the bell. So, I have a really neat picture of the nephew ringing the bell.

We then made our way into the Wichita Mountains. Our destination, Meers Store; home of the 7" Longhorn Burger. Mom and I split one, but the "men" had their own, and finished it. These burgers are served on 9", tin pie plates, just to emphasis how big these suckers are.

After a very filling meal we drove into the mountains and the wildlife refuge. We saw some buffalo very close to the road. It was awesome to see them that close. We also saw hundreds of prairie dogs. Everywhere you looked there were prairie dogs. We drove into the Holy City of the Witchita's. This is a city built out of stone, and they perform the Passion Play every Easter. It is so cool!! The chapel has paintings of the 12 disciples on the wall, and angels painted everywhere, including the ceiling. Dave laid on the floor to get pictures of the ceiling. :-) After we left the gift shop we continued driving through the mountains, and then made our "treck" up Mt. Scott.

I have to brag on my brother here. The man does NOT like heights, but he drove over half a mile to the top of this mountain, and stopped twice along the way to allow me to take pictures. That's love for your family!!! They trip down was a lot easier. :-)

We then went to our hotel. We decided to just get fast food and call it an early night that night. This day was the most fun day, in my opinion. We laughed so hard that day, learned so much, and the weather was gorgeous. This is one of those days that you had to be there to really understand just how great it was.

Next time, days 4 and 5. That entry will be much shorter. :-)

Love,
Wendy Darling

Dear Peter,

Well, here are the details of day number 2 of our vacation. For the “cliff notes” version I encourage you to read “Cleggy’s” blog at the “White Horse”. :-) Wish I had written those instead. :-)

Ok, so the second day we woke up around 6:00 and got dressed. We put our things together, and ate a so-so continental breakfast at the hotel. We checked out and were on our way at about 8:00 am. I believe it was that day that dear nephew learned to sing “Witchdoctor”. :-)

In no time at all we were in Gainesville. We saw a sign for an outlet store and decided to check it out. It looked pretty cool, but did not open until 10:00 am. They had a huge pond out front, with lots of ducks. It was such a pretty sight that I had to “break in” my camera by taking some pictures. After all, I had a gig scan disk in the camera. It wasn’t like I was wasting film. :-)

It seemed that as soon as I opened my door the “northern” that we had been hearing about decided to hit. The wind was blowing so hard I had trouble putting my sweater, and it felt like the temperature dropped 30 degrees in a matter minutes, literally. I got my pictures, and we decided to drive around the historic downtown area and wait for the mall to open. I remembered that there was a neat train museum, and interesting courthouse/town square to occupy our time.

Turned out we picked the wrong weekend for that. The very next day they were having a “celebration of the depot”, so the museum was closed to prepare for the day. We decided to drive around and sightsee. It was really neat. Lots of big old houses, neat courthouse, lots of old businesses… We even found a pharmacy with an old fashioned soda fountain inside. We decided to wait for it to open. Dave and I got out and walked around the square “window shopping” and taking pictures. I am sure people looked at us and thought “hmph… tourist”, but I didn’t care. :-)

The pharmacy opened and we went inside. It was worth the wait. This place had the old counter, bar stools, Coke memorabilia, and old draft machine, 45s hanging on the wall, etc… It was cool!! We decided to order “dreamcicles”. Vanilla ice cream with orange soda. They were good. :-) Then, we were off to the mall.

Our first stop was the information center where we got a map of all of the stores in the “mall”. We immediately decided on 4 stores we wanted to go to. Turns out 2 of them had closed down, one being the toy store that the nephew desperately wanted to go to, and the other being the Bible store he desperately wanted to go to. Guess it was not his day. We went to the last two stores that did exist, and did a little shopping. It was disappointing, but it was a nice mall, and we had nice, cool weather to walk in.

Back in the car, more singing and laughing, we stopped at a Dairy Queen for lunch. We then made our way into Wichita Falls. Let me interject here how much MapQuest sucks!! The hotel was no where near the directions they gave. Thank God for cell phones! After calling the hotel for directions we arrive at the hotel in about 15 minutes. Good news, the hotel is in the same parking lot as a mall! :-) We decide to go into said mall and look around. We go into a couple of stores, look over the directory to locate a toy store. Finding none we head on to the hotel to check in, only to discover that directly behind our hotel is a Toys R Us. The nephew is bouncing off the walls at this point. Unfortunately, he was down to about $10 left of the days “spending allowance”. I make a deal with him later, and he does get to go to Toys R Us, so for those of you who were disappointed for him, don’t be too upset. :-)

We check into the hotel, eat at Denny’s, and head in for the night. Other than the hotel beds being too small, it was much better than the hotel the night before. We all rest pretty well, and David and I both enjoyed playing the Deal or No Deal game he bought at Toys R Us. :-) So, the day was very relaxing, fun (you just had to be in the car to experience and hear that stuff) :-) and “uneventful”. But we loved it.

More next time
Sincerely,
Wendy Darling… “Ooh, eeh, ooh, ah, ah, ting tang walla-walla bing bang”…..:-)

Dear Peter,

We made it back from vacation! :-) It was wonderful, and I will tell you all about it. :-)

On Tuesday I rented a Ford Taurus from the car rental company in Rusk. It was raining on Tuesday, so we took our time packing and set everything in the school room. When the rain “let up” I ran outside to open the trunk. I was very pleased to find it had such a large trunk. We loaded everything we could into it. The only things left to be packed were the things we would need in the morning, such as toiletries. :-)

We left Wednesday morning at about 7:30 am. (In my head I was singing “We’re Gonna Make It After All…”) With a quick stop by the local donut shop we headed out. Our destination was Denton, TX. About a 3 hour drive, maybe. We were prepared. We all had drinks, donuts, the nephew had the DVD player in the backseat, and we were well stocked with CDs in the front. My dear brother made 3 awesome travel CDs. He really put a lot of time and thought into the music he put on these. By the time we returned home our nephew had learned some new songs that we sang when we were his age. :-) More about that later….

Our first stop was in Greenville, TX. We stopped at the Audie Murphy/Cotton Museum. http://www.cottonmuseum.com/audie.htm if you ever get to Texas I highly recommend a stop here. We learned so much, and it was such a neat experience. Of course, the nephew was ready to leave before we were, but we still enjoyed it. I learned a lot about Audie Murphy that I did not know. I never knew he was a successful songwriter.

As the sign at the museum says we also learned about cotton, “from plant to fabric”. The “homeschool teacher” in me took over, and a lesson was “taught”. Maybe not learned as completely as I would have liked, but it was taught. :-)

We then drove to Mary of Puddin’ Hill. http://www.puddinhill.com/ It is a candy store. HEAVEN!! We sampled fruit cake, fudge, peanut brittle and cranberry butter. It was fantastic. I bought 1 piece of toffee candy, for $1.23, and I enjoyed it. :-) If you ever get to go there I encourage it. They do have sugar-free candy as well. :-) We got to watch them make candy through the “viewing window”. They even have a picture of “Lucy and Ethel” in the famous “candy wrapping scene”. It is so neat. They also had a carrousel and doll house made completely out of chocolate. (see pic above) COOL!!

After leaving Greenville we were on our way to Denton. Around lunch time we decided to stop at a grocery in the next town and find a park to eat lunch. We stopped and purchased pimento cheese, chips, rolls, dip and drinks. We asked the cashier about a park, but she only knew of one, in the opposite direction we were headed. We figured there had to at least be a roadside park/rest area up ahead so we journeyed on, keeping a close eye out for somewhere to enjoy our lunch. A few miles down the road we saw a sign for two parks, in the same direction. We tried to find the first one, following the signs. We ended up on some dirt road. After a few miles we realized that even if we did find the park we didn’t want to eat there. So, we made our way back to the “main road” and turned to go to the other park. We are so glad we did. We ended up at a big picnic/park area. The kind that people rent for large functions. There was a gazebo, pond, ducks, etc… It was NICE. There was even a small house/office. NO ONE else was there. To make ourselves feel better (okay, make me feel better) Dave went to the office and asked if we could picnic there. They were very nice and said yes. So, we unpacked our “stuff” and enjoyed a nice picnic.

It was so nice not being on a “schedule”. We just relaxed and enjoyed every moment. And took LOTS of pictures. Have I mentioned how much I love my digital camera? There was only one “scary moment”, and that was when the nephew dropped my camera. My heart went in my throat!! It is fine, so don’t worry. But, that was a very scary time for me.

We then got back on the road and went on to Denton. Turns out that MapQuest is not very good at giving directions. It gave us the directions for the where the hotel used to be, two years ago. Thank God for cell phones. :-) I called the hotel and got the right directions. We got back on the road and were soon at the hotel. :-) We checked in, put out things in the hotel, rested and then went to a book store. It was pretty cool.

We went back to the hotel. I took the nephew to the pool. We ordered pizza for dinner. Dave and the nephew went to the exercise room and enjoyed that for awhile. Mom and I took our showers. They came back to the room and took there showers, and then it was time for bed and TV. You would think this was really late in the day by now wouldn’t you? NOPE, it was about 8:00 pm. I fell asleep halfway through MythBusters. :-)

When we were little one of the things we loved about vacation was staying up past our bedtime. On this whole vacation we never stayed up passed 9:30 pm. And that was only on one night. :-) Man, I am old, but well rested. :-) So, I went to sleep with the sounds of the day(laughter, music, singing songs such as The Purple People Eater, The Partridge Family, Disco Duck, etc…) playing in my head. It was a great start to a great vacation.

Day two next time…. :-)

Love,
Wendy Darling

Dear Peter,

I hope things are going well in Neverland. :-) Remember awhile back when I quoted the Mary Tyler Moore theme? (insert song.... "we're gonna make it after all") :-)

Well, looks like we ARE going to make it. Vacation is 2 days away!! I have informed my family that I will not be 100% convinced until we pull out of the driveway Wednesday morning, but I am 98% there. :-)

I go to rent the car tomorrow. All hotel rooms are booked. Money is in the bank. Packing list is made, and has been triple checked. Road trip snacks have been purchased, and others will be made tonight and tomorrow. CDs for the road trip are being made, others have been picked out, and everyone has chosen the outfits that need to be packed for tomorrow. The itinerary and all brochures, maps and confirmations have been placed in a vacation folder. Substitutes for the nursery and my classes have been booked.

OK, does the word "anal" come to your mind? I know, but this is the first vacation we have had in so long, and I just want to make sure that nothing goes wrong, and we have a wonderful time. :-) We're really going to get there this time. Can you tell I'm excited!! :-)


Talk to you when we get back. :-)
Love,
Wendy Darling

Dear Peter,

I hope you are doing well. How is the weather in Neverland? It is finally cooling off in East Texas. We are praying for a REAL fall and winter. :-)

I just had to tell you about a new singer that I have "discovered". Ok, so I heard about him from "FlyLady", but this guy is AWESOME, and I really wanted to share him with you. His name is Eric Dodge http://www.ericdodge.com/

Ok, first of all THE MAN CAN SING!! He really has a great "country" sound, but he also sings broadway. It's amazing. :-) Personally, I think he's better than Tim McGraw. Actually, I'll go as far as ranking him with George Strait. (You know me, Peter, if I rank him with George he has to really be something) :-) I encourage you to go to his website and listen to the songs there. I really like "What a Concept", "The Other Kid", and "This is the Moment". I LOVE the song "When I Was Your Age." To get to this song click on the "Good Things Utah" link. You get to watch the video of when he sang it on TV. Oh, did I mention how very good looking he is? :-) He also seems to be very genuine...humble. Can't go wrong there. :-)

When I first listened to the song, "When I was Your Age", I had to laugh. How many times did we hear those same sentiments from our parents and grandparents. How much "easier" we had things then they did. Now, I find myself saying those very same things to my nephews. I played the song for my 10 year old nephew. He didn't "get it". Oh, but he will one day. Just like the song says... :-)

Listening to this song brought back so many memories of my childhood. The "modern" things we had to make our life "easier". I mean, after all we had color TV! We got 6 channels!! If I remember correctly we got the three major networks, PBS, and two stations on UHF. In Houston they were channels 26 and 39. I remember 39, because that was the station Underdog came on. :-) We had electric typewriters. How much easier could life get? And those huge console stereos. Portable record players! :-) Almost every home had at least one telephone. Most people didn't even have party lines anymore. :-) We had small cassette tapes as opposed to those bulky old 8 tracks. How much better could life get?!

When comparing the kids of today with my generation sometimes I wonder how we survived without all of the "neccesities" of today. Cell phones,computers, internet, hundreds of channels on the TV, etc...It's like an entirely different world. Then again, maybe we had it better. But, that's a "blog entry" for another day. :-)

I encourage you to listen to Eric's song, and think about your childhood. Check out some of his other songs, and then purchase the CD. I don't think you will be disappointed. I really see this young man making it BIG very soon. :-)

Tell Tink and the Lost Boys that I said, "Hello".

Love,
Wendy Darling

Dear Peter,

Tonight I had the best date I have had in years. Ok, so it is the only date I have had in years. Still, it was wonderful.

My date was very handsome, and polite. He has blonde hair, blue eyes, is almost as tall as I am, and 10 years old. Yes, my dear nephew and I went out on a "date". We went to a very nice restaraunt here in town. OK, normally I wouldn't take children to this place, but it was a special night and I thought I would take a chance that he has matured. He has been well behaved for the last few days, and is really trying to do better. He did not disappoint me. We had a very nice time, and he used his table manners. I only had to remind him twice to put his napkin in his lap. :-)

Even after my letter about exercising I decided tonight we would share a dessert. I RARELY order a dessert, but we decided to have one. We shared a slice of Chocolate Earthquake Cake. And you know what? I loved it and didn't feel a bit guilty about eating it. I am broke, but I don't care. It was the best $23 I ever spent. We dressed up, went out and made a nice memory. I even got a picture of us before we left so I can put it in the scrapbook. Hey, I'm a scrapbooker. :-) Just thought I would share my evening.

Love,
Wendy Darling

Dear Peter,

Well, after all these years I have decided that I do like exercising. Provided of course that it is in my own home and I pick the music. :-)

About three weeks ago I began to use this "pedal machine" given to us by our dear sister and her dear husband. I didn't think I would accomplish much, but it was moving and that was progress. I made a "cleaning CD" that has now become my exercise music. 63 minutes of music to be tortured by.... I mean to get healthy to.

I am now up 2.2 miles a day, with my legs. Then I do floor exercises for about 10 minutes and then a 0.5 a mile with my arms. After 3 weeks I have discovered that I do have more energy, I wake up faster, and I am able to walk more during the day. Ok, so when do the smaller size clothes come, because I need a pair of jeans and I don't want to spend $64 for a pair my size.

You may be wondering "what took me so long to come around". Well, I have always had valid reasons for not exercising. One, I do not want to do it anywhere but at home. I did not have the right kind of equipment. I am physically unable to do it right, and if I can't do it right I don't want to do it at all. My main reason, "I have no time". Believe me, with my schedule this is a VERY valid reason. I usually don't have time to eat much less exercise. How did I suddenly "find the time" you may ask? I get up at 5:45 am. Yep, you read it right 5:45 AM. I literally hop out of bed, make my bed (for FlyLady), and go straight to the torture device, uh... exercise machine. It is ready and waiting for me, because I set everything up before I went to bed the night before. I put on my headphones and start pedaling. I don't even think about it, so I can't talk myself out of it.

I exercise until around 7:30 am. I take a shower, dress to my shoes, eat breakfast, and then dear nephew and I begin his school work between 8:30 am and 9:00 am. Which would be about now, so I am off to teach.

Tell Tink and the Lost Boys I would appreciate your prayers and encouragement. A little Pixey Dust wouldn't hurt either. :-)

Love,
Wendy Darling

Dear Peter,
I have been reliving a childhood. I say "a childhood", because the one I am reliving is not mine. It is my nephew's. I am reliving it through the little girl that I babysit. It occured to me the other day while we were watching TV. She was eating her cereal while I was attempting to pull away the wayward hair from her face. Then,I heard the familiar song... "Hey it's Franklin, coming over to play..." I instantly smiled, and that warm, fuzzy feeling came over me. It has been a long time since a child has watched the NOGGIN shows here.

Watching Little Bear and Franklin gave me that same feeling I used to get when I watched Sesame Street and Mr. Roger's. Maybe I am just being overly sensitive, because I swear I almost cried. To be young again, with no cares in the world except "what will I play today", "Do I watch Franklin or Blue's Clue's", and "Just how much can I get away with before Aunt Wendy has had enough and makes me stand in the corner for 3 minutes?"

It also made me long for the days of when my nephew was that age. I could do nothing wrong in his eyes at the time. Now, everything I say is an argument. He used to cuddle up with me to watch those shows. Now he is "too old for that". Everyday was an adventure with something new and exciting to learn. Now he is 10 going on 40, and already "knows everything". I didn't know the adults were the ones who got the "pains" when kids got "growing pains".

Does this make any sense? I don't know. I wish they could stay little just awhile longer.

Okay, I got tagged by Princess Ladybug. Here are my answers...

"10 years ago..."

I was working at the local "alternative school", still under the delusion that I wanted to teach public school. My older nephew was 2 months old, and we were taking every opportunity to enjoy spending time him. We had not, yet, met Princess Ladybug, but we did write and had become friends.

"5 years ago..."

I was engaged to be married; actually I called it off in July of 2001 so I guess I wasn't engaged anymore. I was homeschooling my nephew, and was the Children's Director at our church, and taught Sunday school.

"one year ago..."

I was still homeschooling my nephew, as well as a young lady in high school, and babysitting a two year old girl. I was teaching 2 classes at our homeschool group, was just elected Secretary of said homeschool group, and voted in to work in the church nursery.

"5 songs I know all the words to..."

Count your Blessings - Rosemary Clooney
Amarillo by Morning- George Strait (actually, I know most George Strait songs)
Just about every song in High School Musical
The theme to Hanna Montana
The theme to Franklin
Too many to name, actually...

"5 snacks I love and wish I could eat"
Oreos
Cheese Dip and tortilla chips
Turtles
Milk Shakes
Hostess Cupcakes

"5 places I'd run away to..."

The mountains in Colorado
Massachusetts
Tour around Texas
Disney Land

"5 things I'd never wear..."
Tube Tops
Mini skirts
Spandex
Bikini
Stiletto heels

"5 favorite TV shows..."
Alton Brown
Zack and Cody - with my nephew
Franklin - with little girl I babysit
Paula Dean
Fox and Friends

"5 greatest joys..."
My Faith
My Family
My Friends
Listening to good music
Scrapbooking

"5 favorite toys...."
My scrapbooking "stuff"
Computer
Crafting
Exercise "pedaling" machine

Okay, I can only think of four. I don't have many "toys".

"Tag Five People..."
The White Horse
Laslo's Semi-boring Adventures
Queen B Experiences Life
what if this is as good as it gets?
http://www.texcalif.blogspot.com/

Dear Peter,

This "assignment" was given to me by FlyLady. (www.flylady.net) I am supposed to write 37 lessons that I have learned in my 37 years of life. ( One lesson for every year old you are) :-) I chanllenge everyone who reads this "letter" to do the same. Here are my lessons that I have learned, in no particular order.

1. There really is no sweeter sound than that of a child laughing.

2. It is better to keep your mouth shut and have others think you a fool than to speak and prove them right. (Thank you Bro. Doug)

3. You really can't roast marshmallows in a microwave.

4. The Great Commission really is the greatest commandment in the Bible, and the hardest to follow.

5. I'm not as dumb as I used to think . I learned how to use a computer! :-)

6. Doodlebops IS more annoying than the Wiggles.

7. Water really is good for you.

8. When you don't listen to the Lord, there WILL BE consequences.

9. There is no greater gift than family.

10. Always plant in the evening, and use Miracle Grow. (lesson from Papa).

11. Less is more.

12. ALWAYS check www.snopes.com before passing on e-mails. (thank you, Dave)

13. Spell check is a good thing.

14. I can do anything for 15 minutes!

15. No matter how you cook it, liver still tastes bad.

16. There are no "coincidences", everything that happens is part of a master plan.

17. Time alone is not only nice, it is a neccessity.

18. The house will not fall down if company "drops by" and the floor is not vaccumed.

19. I don't have to eat the whole candy bar to be satisfied.

20. Be prepared!!

21. I do have good leadership skills, and I enjoy being a leader.

22. You must "stretch" and "grow" as a person or you will not be truly happy. (get out of your comfort zone)

23. If you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours.

24. Organization is key.

25. No matter how bad you think your life is, there is always someone worse off than you.

26. Mr. Snuffaluffagus is REAL!!!

27. Character is everything.

28. To survive in this life you MUST have a good sense of humor. Laugh at yourself.

29. Hobbies save your sanity.

30. I will NEVER be perfect, and that is OK.

31. No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. (Eleanor Roosevelt)

32. Take advantage of "teachable moments".

33. Music really does make the world go 'round.

34. Live each day as if it really was your last.

35. ALWAYS take the opportunity to tell your loved ones that you love them. You may not get another chance.

36. Humility is not a weakness.

37. The older I get the more I realize I have to learn.

Dear Peter,

I hope you are doing well. I have had a very rare, and much needed few days alone. No kids, Mom is in Dallas, and Dave and Jen work during the day. So, I did the house work early in the morning, and spent the day doing things that I have wanted to do for a long time. Stuff just for me. To relax, catch up on, etc...

One of the things I did was watch the movie The Outsiders. I read the book before I saw the movie. I LOVED the book, still do. It was the first book that ever made me cry while I was reading it. I saw the movie when it came out, and I enjoyed it, but to me it was never as good as the book. Recently Francis Ford Coppola went back and put in all of the stuff he edited from the movie, and re-released the DVD. My family bought me the DVD last Christmas, and last night I finally took the time to watch it. I have to say, “THANK YOU” to Mr. Coppola. THIS is the version that should have come out to begin with. It was so much truer to the book, and answered a lot of questions that arose for those who just saw the movie without reading the book.

This really showed the true personalities of each of the characters. Especially of Ponyboy, Soda Pop, and Darrell Curtis. I liked it so much that I spent today watching ALL of the special features, including watching the movie, again, with the cast commentary. I don't usually do that, but I really liked it. It gave me new insight that really made me appreciate the movie more. I understand, now, why Mr. Coppola filmed certain scenes the way he did, and the symbolism of certain events and the way things were shot. I never "got it" before, but I do now and I am very grateful for it. I even have new respect for the actors. I didn't always agree with the casting, and even last night I was saying that a couple of the people were cast wrong. I was totally comparing them to the way they were described in the book. They didn't "fit" physically. Now, that doesn't even matter to me. These actors are the characters. I don't care how they are described in the book. For example, Matt Dillon looks NOTHING like how his character, Dallas Winston, is described. But, now I will never think of "Dally" any other way except picturing Matt Dillon. Now, at this moment I only feel that one character could have been cast differently. I just never liked Tom Cruise as "Steve". I still don't. But, watching the new released version is like watching an entirely different movie, and it is 100% better than the original. I can't stress that enough.

For years my sister and I swore there was a scene at the end when Soda is having a "heart to heart" with Darry and Ponyboy, but it was never in the movie. I have no idea where we saw it. For awhile I thought that I dreamed it, but there it is. It is now in the movie, and it changes the dynamic of the whole thing. The whole story of the 3 brothers, who are trying their best to keep their family together, while still learning to "deal" with their respective "season" in life. It is so awesome, and moving. I love the way that the characters are supposed to be so "tough" and yet, underneath it all most of them are just scared little boys trying to survive.

Now, having given it all that "praise" I also stress that this is NOT a movie for kids. I wouldn't show it to anyone under 14, and that would only be AFTER we read the book together and that they are mature enough to handle it. It is more violent than I remembered. However, it is "timeless". This was supposed to take place in '67. But, the whole scenerio of "gangs", kids dividing over social and economic classes, clique's.... kids just trying to find a place to belong and be accepted, even it means being in a violent gang. It is relateable to kids of today.

I like to go back and watch the movies that came out when I was younger, and look at them now with “adult” eyes. I understand a lot more, and sometimes I think “Why on earth did I like that movie?” Some of them seem pretty stupid now, but some, like The Outsiders, I like A LOT better, because now I understand it more. I guess that is what happens when you grow up. 

Love,
Wendy Darling

Dear Peter,

I hope you are doing well. How are things in NeverLand? I am sorry I have not written in awhile. Things have been very busy here. One thing has happened that I would like to tell you about. I think my dear nephew is maturing. :-) Let me explain.

I had changed the rules about his PS1 playtime. It used to be after school and chores he could play for 1 hour. Well, he wasn't practicing his karate or
exercising, so I changed it to "1 minute of PS1 for 1 minute of exercise,
and he had to earn a minimum of 30 minutes before he could collect his
reward". Then, he got grounded from it.

Yesterday he was talking about this thing they do on Nickelodean "the go
healthy challenge" http://www.healthiergeneration.org/kids/
He said he wanted to exercise more and eat healthier, which we have been
trying to do for quite sometime`. I told him about something I saw on TV. It was a boy about his age who figured up how much time he spent in front of the TV and game
systems (he had several). It was A LOT. He decided to sell his systems and
TV. He used the money to buy some exercise equipment and healthy snacks,
then he took the same time he WAS spending watching TV and playing games and
used that time to exercise. He lost weight, obviously. David liked the
idea and asked for permission to sell his PS1 and TV. I said, "Ok". He
put it on the radio for $30 and it sold this morning. I took him to the
store and he bought several kinds of fruit, veggies, and rice cakes. As
soon as we got home I helped him clean his veggies so they would be on hand,
and ready to eat. He had raw veggies, ranch dressing, chicken salad and
crackers for supper. When he got home from karate he ate a rice cake with
cream cheese. He has done very well for his first day. :-)

I am also trying very hard to eat healthier and move more. He is inspiring
me. :-)

Tell Tink and the Lost Boys that I said, "Hello".

Sincerely,
Wendy Darling