Is it a bird? Is it a plane?

No! It's SUPER Joost!

Faster than a speeding Noah [our cat], stronger than Thomas the Tank Engine [both the wooden and plastic models], able to leap tall baby Kates in a single bound--

Do not fear, Super Joost is here. His super powers include the ability to fly, the power to see through walls and the power to give people diarrhea through sheer force of will.

5 year-old imaginations are a ton of fun.

Red Envelope Day

I was made aware of this day by several friends and thought I would pass it along to all of you who read our blog and care about the lives of the unborn.

What:
Get red envelopes or postcards (http://www.zazzle.com/RedEnvelopeDay) and mail them on March 31st to the White House

When:
March 31st, 2009

Get a red envelope. You can buy them at Kinkos, or at party supply stores. On the front, address it to

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington , D.C. 20500

On the back, write the following message:

This envelope represents one child who died because of an abortion.
It is empty because the life that was taken is now unable to be a part of our world.

We will mail the envelopes out March 31st, 2009.

Put it in the mail, and send it. Then forward this event to every one of your friends who you think would send one too. I wish we could send 50 million red envelopes, one for every child who died (in the United States) before having a chance to live.

It may seem that those who believe abortion is wrong are in a minority. It may seem like we have no voice and it's shameful to even bring it up. Let us show our President and the world that the voices of those of us who do not believe abortion is acceptable are not silent and must be heard.

Together we can change the heart of The President and save the lives of millions of children.

Thank you.

Barack Obama spoke at a Planned Parenthood Action Fund event, uttering the now infamous line, "Well, the first thing I'd do as president is, is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. [Applause.] That's the first thing that I'd do."

An empty red envelope will send a message to President Barack Obama that there is moral outrage in this country over this issue [The Freedom of Choice Act, which will essentially “undo” every law currently in place to limit abortion in the U.S. (i.e., parental consent laws, parental notification, waiting periods, prohibition of transporting a minor girl across state lines to obtain an abortion, etc.)].

It will be quiet, but clear.

a little blue and yellow

I'm pretty sure Jeff wouldn't want this picture posted--oh, the humiliation of having his children wearing University of Michigan hats!

I was doing some super-powered organization this morning, and found my old Michigan hats that I used to wear back in my college days. I'm not really a die-hard Michigan fan (in fact, at this stage of life, I have very little preference for who wins what basketball or football game), but I do like to pull out some Michigan love when I'm around all the countless Penn State fans in my life (my husband included.) It's a lot of fun to see the hair on their necks rise a little. Joost has been wearing his hat ever since it was dug out, so we'll see how that all pans out... he-he.

Marjorie

I've been meaning to post a picture of my grandmother, Marjorie Elizabeth Rhoades (1925-1985), whose name we used for Kate's middle name. She died of cancer when I was in 2nd grade, but I made many happy memories with her before that. She was a wonderful grandmother whom I still think of often after all these years and still love dearly.

This is my grandpa and grandma's wedding picture. (At least we think it is. Rumor has it, that at their actual wedding, the person responsible for taking pictures did not have the film in the camera correctly, so there were very few pictures from the actual day. Grandma doesn't have a corsage on in this, so I think they had it taken after the fact.)

I love this shot of my grandparents. They are in Philadelphia, standing in front of Independence Hall. I am still determined to have Jeff and I pose in the same spot--although all the barriers that were put up around all the historic sites after 9/11 make it a bit more difficult to do so.


I love this picture and pull it out every Christmas. I'm pretty sure this was taken at my great grandmother's house on my grandparents' first married Christmas. (In fact, you can see the wedding picture from above on the top of the piano in this picture.)

Tag, you're it.

Okay, I'm going to have to explain this picture. My friend Tesha tagged me to put up a post about a certain picture in my computer.

Here are the rules:

1. go to your documents/pictures

2. go to your 6th file.

3. go to your 6th picture.

4. blog about it.

5. tag 6 people to do the same.





This is a very fun picture that was taken pre-digital camera. The quality is less than great, but it's so fun that I had to have it in my computer picture album. This is the vB clan at the beach the summer the first round of kids turned 1 year old (2004). We always try to do a family picture each summer that we vacation together, and Jonelle (the blonde, bottom center) loves to do a picture where we put the camera on timer and we all stand behind the camera until the time is ticking and then we run to the appointed spot and do something random before the camera takes the shot. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. This one I love and have it framed in my office.

Now I'm going to tag 6 of you to do the same:

1. Laura Wimberly

2. Andrew Bosworth

3. Beth Earl

4. Angie Ferner

5. Steve Perkins

6. Wendy Huggard

A photo shoot with Miss Lauren

Today we had the luxury of a visit from a friend of mine who lives and studies in State College. With our busy schedules (hers and mine), we're lucky if we see each other once every two months. The kids always enjoy a visit with her, as well. Today she met Kate for the first time. She helped keep all 3 of the kids happy until dinner was ready by showing them a good time with her camera. I believe Joost may have taken a good deal of the shots.

Here is Kate--unsure whether or not her big brother is able to take a decent picture.


I'm not quite sure what the story is behind this picture--but I can say that Lauren was quite brave to be in the living room with all 3 of the kids by herself. ;)

And, finally, we have a self portrait of Joost. I guess Kate was right to doubt his photography abilities.

wait a minute, shouldn't they be groundhog ears?

As I was straightening up the bedrooms this morning, I left Kate and Joost in our bedroom alone. I figured I was close enough that any over-enthusiastic love that might be given out could be easily heard and quickly moderated. Soon I heard, "Hey mom, come here. Look what I've done to Kate." When hearing that from the mouth of a 5-year-old boy, one is sure to feel a bit of apprehension. So I quickly entered my bedroom and found this: