Smiles

SMILES!
Today is a really dreary day. Too much rain, no sunshine, wet dog smell inside, ants in the living room, and Macy is wearing an awful grumpy face! ACK! I just need to see some happy faces and not because they want something from me! (like Molly is doing right now... she thinks if she's cute enough she won't have to clean up that polly pocket mess she just made...) I think I'll let the kids help me make pizza tonight. That always puts a smile on their faces and beating the poo out of the dough is a great stress reliever. Win-Win! What makes you smile? Help me get out of this funk. I can't wait to see your happy faces!
This week's theme is: SMILES


Happy side note here: We now have the internet at home! Wow I feel so happy to be wearing my jammies,  sitting in my favorite ugly chair, posting on the blog, and reading others all from my own home... NOT at McDonalds! 

BEANS

Oops guess I'm a day late posting these... I was waiting for one more but that person can jump in next week. Finding 'beans' was a ton of fun... more fun than I expected actually. So jump in and snap some pics of this weeks theme (coming soon in next post). Then send me your favorite 1 or 2 pics to post here. Enjoy!

Ground up (used) coffee beans

Garbonzo beans (aka chickpeas)

Italian style (my favorite!) green beans

Pinto beans

1 Down 163 Millionish to go...

Mr. Samson Jude Couch is home!
Oh we are so blessed to have the "Poppy Dip" family in our lives! In the short time we have known them they have been quite an inspiration and just a fantastic family altogether! Last night we (accompanied by Joe's sis and her fam) went to our first airport greeting... it was amazing watching a family come together that way!  They were of course exhausted, coming off a 20+ hour plane ride and adjusting to a 9 hour time difference, but obviously excited to be back home! We can't wait to get to know our new friend. Pop on over to Sallee's Poppy Dip blog for pictures of the now larger family. Hopefully their story will inspire more families to adopt...

Nostalgia #3 (December 2008)

Here Comes the Sun
...Ok, no, there goes the sun. A glimmer around 9, a "sunrise" around 10, 10:30, breaks the surface clear for a few minutes and heads back down. I can easily say I'm in school working from before the sun goes up until after it comes back down. And I miss that big orange ball. I never thought I was that crazy about the sun, rather liked the dark, but (going deep here) the dark doesn't mean much when there isn't any light. I'm not all into that yin/yang stuff, but I'd appreciate the dark quite a bit more if it wasn't so... prevalent. I'm downing Vitamin D, but I literally am feeling physically sick because of the lack of sun; like the feeling after you just spent an entire day inside playing video games, drinking a 12-pack of Pepsi and throwing candy wrappers on the floor, that feeling, constantly.
Of course, I am a spoiled American, as I've come to find out. I get pissed if I can't have my whole milk (screw that dry crap), run out of juice, can't take a shower because the water is too hot (yep, too hot, not cold)...I sat and read all sorts of sad stories of how kids live all around the world in garbage dumps and infested with diseases and pulled into gang life, yet I can't seem to let go of all the simple things that God has blessed America with. Well, this "adventure" has certainly made me grateful for all of those things, something that is impossible to do unless those things are taken away. I wonder what sort of eye-opener living in a Peruvian village would be...probably an adventure I wouldn't be willing to take. I used to fault America for basically being rich while the rest of the world is poor...I wonder if the greater fault is that it's so natural to us we can't help it but to take it for granted; instead, we trample people to death to get things, and not even things we need, not even things we can't afford. The "rich" wouldn't harm us as much if we were humble and grateful for it.
Life was starting to slip into a bit of a monotony, but the nice thing here is that there is always something to break the monotony. The volleyball tournament begins tomorrow (I am the coach), and I'm excited to see how my team will do. The Venetie Wolfpack came a long way in just one month, learning how to come together as a team, and I'm excited for the kids to have an opportunity to have some fun on the court (and win!). I've had a blast teaching them, and have turned into a decent volleyball player myself (never touched the stuff before)! I'd rather be playing basketball, though...
This is an adventure, and something I knew, having read many adventures stories, is that the adventure is always coupled hand-in-hand with simultaneous good/bad pairs; its the constant up and down extremes, the beauty of seeing the golden sun break over an absolutely white earth, seeing trees that are actually white (I always wondered why they made fake white trees, now I've actually seen real trees that are 100% white b/c of the snow and ice), feeling the cold of -30 degrees which, in itself, is an amazing thing, knowing you are living somewhere where human beings have no business living, that coupled with missing the sun, being "trapped" inside by the bitter cold, not having quick access to Juicy Juice Fruit Punch (don't laugh unless you've been there) along with missing other things...Adventure is something that's fully appreciated afterwards, or by people who didn't have to go through the suffering or the loss or the trials. But it changes the people on the adventure, and perhaps I'll feel the changes for the better when this adventure ends. And the adventure is always, always better than staying at home, its always better to experience brand new things and see sights that you never would have gotten to see from your front porch; and, I think, adventure is best, especially when it leads back home in the end.

Nostalgia #2 (October 2008)

The Fam @ Big Lake

Big lake is one of the many fish-less lakes that dot the waterlogged (yet incredibly dry...parched!) landscape of Interior Alaska. It didn't used to be fish-less, but b/c of oxygen content, all the fish died...anyway, there's rumors that pike still live in the lake. Didn't make sense to me at first, b/c I wondered what the pike would eat if they were the only fish...then one of the kids pointed out that they would eat the baby ducks (big lake=big fish!)...the existence of the pike are a constant debate.
I've been up to Big Lake on three occasions. The first was my high school camping trip fiasco, the one where I stayed up to 2 am, went moose hunting and had to deal with surly teenagers refusing to do anything in the morning. The next time, we showed the landscape to Donna and Eric and took some pictures; the lake is just incredible to stand and gaze out on; placid waters, a couple of tiny islands, trees surrounding, mountains in the distance (sigh). Anyway, we didn't stay long that time because molly crapped her pants (end serene moment). I did show everyone the "bridge" that was built down the road from Big Lake, which was just a log bridge, no side rails, with the logs being held down only by their weight (good for four-wheelers...not for truck). The third time we came up, I played "Alaskan Guide" to Donna and Eric, taking them deep into bear country, carrying my newly-acquired 300 Mag with me for protection; saw LOTS of bear crap and some tracks of a smaller black bear, but no bear yet (wait for March). It was still nice to walk among the white birch forrest with no one around but the three of us...and a little creepy, too! Lets just say we kept talking the whole time (did NOT want to "sneak" up on Yogi!).

Nostalgia Post #1 (August 2008)

Gav... he still looks the same to me

Doesn't this babe look familiar? It's Molly... NOT Arwen!

Little Miss Sleepy Pants aka Macy

Home Sweet Home. Read on for explanation of the crazy looking meal in front of us.

Just reminiscing about the little adventure we had teaching 10 months in the Alaskan Bush in 2008! Decided to post a few of our favorite over the next couple weeks! This was the first from Venetie!

So we are here! (have been for almost 3 weeks) We just got the internet at our house a few hours ago and this is the first time I was able to sit for a minute. Let's start where I left you... on our way to Venetie.
It was a rainy day the day of our flight and I have to tell you it was a pretty scary ride. Only for me though. Everyone else loved it! The mountains and rivers we passed were all beautiful! We flew about 200 miles and passed one village (which we stopped in)! When we got here we were shocked to see Mr. Stathis (the principal) in a brand new Toyota Tacoma. It's nice. We went from the little gravel air strip straight to our new home to put our bags down. They were, after all, getting wet. And who do you think followed us in the door but a fat little mouse! We live in the old school building (more details to come). For those of you who helped us pack all up and saw how far in advance we shipped our things will be shocked to know that it took about a month for some of those things to arrive! We got here and had the clothes in our suit cases and the perishable food we brought with us from Fairbanks! *sigh* We ate eggs and spinach for 2 days. Mr. Stathis brought us over a few slices of bread, butter, cheese, oil, and salt. Thank God for that man! We got a few boxes (some of which had food in them!) two and a half days later! We have not known hunger like that before nor do I think will we ever again. We have now received almost all of the boxes we sent ourselves; but during that time we have twice run out of food (practically), toilet paper twice, and diapers once!!! And wouldn't you know God has come through at the last second EVERYTIME! For those of you who know the sermon on the mount... it has taken on a whole new meaning for us. We have learned that worrying is not going to get cash or supplies here any quicker...only God. And even if He waits literally until the last second we are taken care of! Better than most people around here too. We are one of four or five buildings that have running water. The people here are mostly Gwichin Athabascan Indian (note from Joe: they call themselves Indians, so I'm not being insensitive). They are subsistent livers (they live off the land... hunting, fishing, etc.) And they are some of the nicest people I have ever met! I love it here. The weather is wonderful (in the high 60's low 70's most days), the people are amazing, the rhythm is so much slower, and the view is what I would call breathtaking. I am so very thankful that we were allowed this experience!

New Ideas

I’ve been reading a friends blog and recently she posted something called Sunday’s Scavenger hunt. Her list was chocolate, numbers, music, canned food, and a stack. She then went through the house taking fantastic pictures of these things. For numbers she took a picture of the tv remote, for music she took a picture of piano sheet music, and so on. I was thinking... this would be a lot of fun to do and that thought evolved into I wonder what such and such would take a picture of or how would such and such make this shot better... no not better… different… no… different in a better way. (Lol! That scene in Kicking and Screaming cracks me up!) SO I have an idea that I’d like you to participate in. At the beginning of the week I will post a theme. Throughout the week you and I will look for the theme and snap a photo. You DO NOT have to be a ‘good’ photographer to join in because this is just meant to be fun! Make it silly, artsy, creative, or whatever your style may be then email it to me. I will post it on this blog on Sunday with your name (or disguise) listed with it. Then we can all admire the world from different points of view. Literally.

This week’s theme was inspired by my addiction to Starbucks and tonight’s dinner. I want to see your BEANS! I can’t wait to see what you guys come up with!

This week the theme is: Beans

What keeps you up at night?

What a night! When Joe and I headed to bed last night there was a mouse in our room. I thought, “It’s sure to be a fantastic night.” Little did I know it was going to get sooo much ‘better’! Around 1 am this morning our fire alarm went off. Some of you will know that my biggest earthly fear is of house fires. Yes, more than car accidents! I panicked! There wasn’t smoke anywhere in the house so on to the next thing… GAS! Is the smoke detector a carbon monoxide detector as well? I still don’t know. So the windows were thrown open and the fans turned on while we walk from room to room trying to detect any odd smells. I turn to Joe and ask, “Do you feel oddly tired or faint or anything?” He’s tired and so am I! Oh God we’re all going to die! WAIT WAIT I bet we are tired because we were scared out of bed at 1 am. Joe rolls his eyes as he always does when I say/do something ridiculous. Silly Alice. So we change the battery in the gadget that has caused so many issues tonight and has continuously gone off in spurts until we unplug it. After a quick google search it would seem we just have a crap detector that likes to torture people in the middle of the night with its false alarms. Thank you, Kidde 1275, for an eventful night filled with chaos and nightmares for the remainder of my sleep… well when I did sleep… the baby WOULD wake up AFTER the alarm had gone off multiple times and I FINALLY get to sleep. Did I mention that the pesky mouse showed up again right after this debacle? We called Meeko into our room and had her lay at the foot of the bed for the purpose of scaring away the mouse. We didn’t hear from the mouse again instead Meeko laid there making awful smacking sounds with her mouth! I start giggling and say, “We just can’t win tonight!” The dog decides she’s had enough of our schenanigans and storms off to guard the kitchen from intruders. * sigh * Today is definitely a 2 pot o’ tea and extra prayer kind of morning.

On the flip side, I recently drove our SUV down our driveway.

“Joe, give me the keys I’m driving.” “Sure babe,” (rolls eyes knowing I WILL NOT). I’ll show him. I start the car and wait for him to walk outside. Insert evil laugh here. Joe reaches door and I move another 5 feet. Ok enough games. “Get in Joe.” I move again and nearly pee myself I laugh so hard. Ok OK for real this time… NOT BAH HAHA! I think myself a pretty funny person for about 1 minute. I reach the bottom of the drive. Joe catches up. Game over. This has carried on for far too long. 

And the winner is...

... MA! Yeah thanks Ma for the comments. You win a bottle of homemade vanilla. I am going to get it to ya this weekend! Thanks for being the ONLY ONE to comment... at least I know someone is reading. So take that stalkers... you soo just missed out!

You too should have that 'special' drink in the morning

No, NOT booze your floozy! I’m talking about tea… more specifically a wonderful concoction I’ve made with black tea. If you too have a terrible time waking up in the morning you’ll want to try this. I’ll tell you why but I’m guessing you want to know what the heck is in it first so here is the recipe I have come up with.
I ask that if you share this recipe please leave a link to this blog post, email me, or just leave a comment letting me know you’ve used it. After all, I worked hard on getting this one just right (as with all the recipes I post here) J
Alice Hearts Chai 
1 bag Dargeeling tea (I prefer Twinnings brand)
½ cup water
1 3 inch cinnamon stick
~Put all the above in a small pot and bring to boil. Remove from heat, cover, and let it sit for 5-15 minutes. Remove the cinnamon stick (save for tomorrow because it has a few uses in it) and squeeze out that tea bag. Then add…

a Smidgeon of Ground Cardamom
1 tsp vanilla (homemade is wonderful!)
1 Tbsp Pure Maple Syrup (again guys I’m talking about the REAL stuff… corn syrup is an awful way to kick off your day)
1 Tbsp Honey
2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
~Mix well over medium high heat and grab your choice of milk and when the cocoa seems to have unchunked itself add…

2 cups milk
~Heat to your liking, stirring constantly. If you don’t watch your milk, the kids will distract you and you won’t remember you were even going to have tea until you hear sizzling and smell milk burning to your stovetop!
ENJOY! *Makes approx. 2 mugs of tea*

Ok back to WHY this is THE drink for me (and possibly you too).
Did you know that the health-giving properties of tea have been many for centuries!? I found these fun little bits online… 1st Century AD period attributed these properties to tea: refreshing effect, relaxes the nerves, brightens eyes, helps combat alcoholism, cleanses blood of heat, reduces obesity, cleanses blood of impurities, eliminates phlegm, cures dysentery, stimulates digestion, cleanses the bowels, gives energy, and strengthens teeth. Research confirms much of this today. Black Tea contains enzymes called polyphenols, which include, flavinoids. Falvinoids are anti-oxidants that help resist many diseases by preventing cell damage. Favinoids have also been found to help prevent clots that cause most heart attacks. Tea also contains fluoride so its helps to fight tooth decay!

Who would have thought plain ol’Cinnamon was anything but wonderful? It gets better though. Cinnamon contains calcium, iron, fiber, and Vitamins C and K to name a few. It has a mild anti-inflammatory effect, helps relieve gas and bloating, and has anti-fungal properties but mostly it can improve blood sugar levels, blood pressure, and cholesterol!

Cardamom is a wonderful Indian spice that is known to ease muscle tension, aid in digestion, and improves metabolism. It is also known to have antioxidant properties.

Vanilla is more than just a way to make things taste better. The compound in vanilla is called vanillin. Vanillin is a polyphenol, which is a strong antioxidant. Because vanilla is such strong antioxidant it may offset some of the oxidative damage in your brain keeping cells healthy and preventing effects of diseases like Alzheimers. Studies show that vanillin can stop cancer growth as well as slow cancer spreading in lab mice (poor mice)!

Maple syrup is a good sweetener to use if you care about the health of your heart. It contains manganese and zinc, which are important to your white blood cells, immune system, male reproductive system and helps prevent heart damage. It also has an anti-inflammatory effect. It tends to be sweeter than table sugar, meaning you will use less, and has less calories.

Honey’s natural sugars help prevent fatigue during exercise. The glucose in honey is absorbed quickly to give an immediate energy boost, while the fructose in absorbed more slowly providing sustained energy. It has antioxidant and anti-bacterial properties that can help improve digestion and fight disease. This one is for you floozies; honey is known to speed up the oxidation of alcohol by the liver.

Cocoa has reported use for about 2,000 years with over 100 uses such as: treatment of fatigue, heart pain, anemia, kidney complaints, and bowel issues. Many of cocoa’s therapeutic properties can been attributed to flavinoids. Scientists have established that regular consumption of flavinoid rich foods can reduce the risk of many chronic illnesses such as cancer, stroke, and heart disease! Flavinoids, act as antioxidants, by cleaning out free radicals. Excessive free radicals cause damage to cells including DNA… making you age quicker aka look old! Cocoa flavinoids also do the following: inhibit the oxidation of ‘bad’ cholesterol, keep blood clots from forming, regulates inflammation, regulates blood pressure, and may relieve diarrhea. Cocoa also contains phenylethylamin and seratonin, both of which lift your mood giving it a reputation as an aphrodisiac.

Finally, milk! Calcium, potassium, protein, Vitamin K, iodine (essential for thyroid function), riboflavin, Vitamin B12, Vitamin A, and Vitamin D are important to your health and can be found in milk. Milk helps maintain bone mass, may help maintain a healthy blood pressure, can reduce PMS symptoms. Milk produced by grass fed cows is said to contain a fatty acid called conjugated linoleic acid, which kills human skin cancer, colorectal cancer, and breast cancer cells! If you are worried about your weight or cholesterol opt for skim milk like I do; if you fear processed foods you’ll want to get the whole milk like Joe does.

So if you were lucky enough to inherit really crappy DNA such as I have then you will see clearly the benefits of  Alice Hearts Chai.
Mix all the above with a good Bible reading, add the caffeine and you will absolutely be good to go.

Teddy Bears

Remember SNL’s Valentine’s Day commercial-spoof about buying your significant other a teddy bear holding a heart? The spoof was making the point that there’s hardly a more cliché gift than this plush vascular-holding omnivore. Does a better way to say that you’re only buying a gift out of an obligation to tradition even exist? A well-thought out gift is rarely mass-produced, an exceptional love rarely stoops to safe normalcy. I heard someone say that if your giving (tithing) isn’t hurting your style of living, you are not giving enough, that simply following the 10% tradition isn’t always sufficient.  But forget about money for a moment. What about the command to take up our crosses daily? Are we settling for cliché demonstrations of our love of Christ? Have we simply incorporated our “sacrifices” into our safety zones? Read the Bible. Go to church. Bake for a sick friend. Participate in one church activity. Don’t cheat on your spouse. All good things, of course. Ask yourself, though, what can you do this Valentine’s Day (and everyday) for Christ that goes above and beyond the safe, normal, mass-produced Christian “sacrifices?” Or are we settling for a love that is something less than exceptional?

Chocolate B-A-N-A-N-A-S Waffles

I love to cook but I’m one of those people who NEVER follow the recipe and sadly my food ends up different every time. Well, I have finally started writing down my recipes! This way I can actually remember what goes in my crazy concoctions and can share the love. Soon every recipe will have a name instead of, “Mom’s surprise dinner,” which they are often referred to by the kids. Sunday I was given a waffle maker (by a cook that puts me to shame!) and just had to try it this morning. As we all should know, Valentines Day is right around the corner (I still need help with my gift! Comment on the Teddy Bear post to win the ‘special prize!’), so, to mimic the spirit of love and giving, I am sharing the recipe I came up with this morning. Remember it is still a works in progress and may get better but for now… Enjoy!  

Chocolate B-A-N-A-N-A-S Waffles 
  4 large eggs
  2 tsp vanilla (homemade is best!)
  1/2 c. + 2 Tbsp maple syrup (the REAL stuff ladies!)
  2 B-A-N-A-N-A-S, smashed
  1 c. carrot puree*
  1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
  1 tsp cinnamon
  1 tsp. baking soda
  ½ tsp. baking powder
1c. flour
coconut oil for greasing
pure maple syrup for drizzling over the finished waffles

Turn on your waffle maker and lightly grease. In a large bowl, blend together the wet stuff… vanilla, maple syrup, bananas, and carrot puree. Then add the dry ingredients… cocoa, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and flour and blend until just combined. Try not to over mix it. (I know you are thinking WAIT WAIT WAIT shouldn’t I mix the dry ingredients separately first?! Well sure if you want to wash an extra bowl today but it’s not necessary for this recipe.) When the ready light appears on your waffle iron you are ready to GO! Using a ¼ measuring cup, dump the batter in the center of each section of the waffle iron. Close and wait for the magic light to reappear! Remove and shovel into face before the kids get any... they can have some of the next batch after it’s cooled.

*Making carrot puree the ‘easy way’- buy a bag 1 lb. of baby carrots. Steam until a knife or fork can be poked in the carrots and removed easily. Fill your food processor with the carrots and blend on max speed until the carrots turn to a smooth mush, adding bits of water as needed. Time to freeze… Using a ½ measuring cup, scoop the carrot puree into plastic baggies (only put ½ cup in each bag) and toss in the freezer for a later date.

Thoughts from Angelina Rose

Sunday, while waiting for the Super Bowl to come on, our oldest daughter requests a piece of paper and pen from her father. “Sure babe but what are you going to do with it,” asks her father. She replied in her ‘duh’ voice, “I need to write my blog out before I text it to the computer.” As if he should have KNOWN. She has been so full of thoughts and (as she puts it) ‘show ideas.’ She has even started putting on a very silly show for us that she calls ‘Hanna Mutana’ (she knows NOTHING of who Hannah Montana is). So I thought I’d entertain her and give her the spotlight every once in a while. At first she was disappointed it wasn’t a video blog but then I told her she could pick a pen name if she would like to and she perked up. So here are some thoughts from Angelina Rose on what love means…

Love means you want to marry somebody. Like Dad loves Mom! You kiss and hug and get married and have a baby. You love your babies but you don’t marry them. It’s different kinds of love. They grow up and fall in love, then marry the person theylove! God loves all of us but he doesn’t want to marry us. He loves different. Like a mom loves her babies.

Valentines Help Giveaway

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and every year I struggle with what to get Joe. Oh wait… We’ve been getting each other the same thing for YEARS! Every year our gifts are exceptionally unique and extremely hard to find. It’s a gift that screams, “I know you.” I know some of you are laughing already. If you aren’t you probably haven’t watched this SNL commercial parody. So go ahead and do that now.
No really, right now. You deserve a laugh today.

Feel better? Now you are ‘in the loop’ and we can continue this post properly.

So yes, every year for Valentine’s Day Joe gives and receives a ‘Teddy Bear holding a heart’! It ranges from drawings to homemade or store bought bears. For those of you who know Joe (or have seen a previous post with his artistic painting abilities broadcast) know he has exceptional artistic abilities. I can’t wait to see what he comes up with this year! I know he is already planning something in that gooey brain of his… which puts me behind in my search for this perfect gift. Hahahaha! Really though, I do have trouble figuring out how to make it different from the years previous. This year it seems harder than usual. Maybe it’s because I cut almost a foot of hair off (again… your welcome locks of love) and I’m pretty sure my brain went with it. So if you have any bizarre ideas/advice feel free to share it with me. The crazier the better! Random/Best comment wins… a special prize!

Greenlake for Christmas

This year @ greenlake we... found out I suck at sledding, wore undies on the outside, stayed up much too late, enjoyed an awesome Christmas Eve dinner with a HUGE extended family, blew up a TV, had a marshmallow gun war... AFTER the kids went to bed, cleaned up vomit (but what's new? it just wouldn't be a waarvik xmas without throw-up!), cleaned poo out of the tub, let the little ones sled for hours, enjoyed pasties, and played wayyy too many rounds of "I going camping and I'm bringing..."

We got UNDIES in the pinata this year! And of course had to put them on RIGHT AWAY!

Silly Baby... pooping in the tub! I didn't realize until I pulled the camera from my face that she was actually pooping... she thought it was funny!

Gav's dimples are just adorable! Check out the shirt his cousin made him! LOL!

The big boys wrestling... happens every year

The little boys (and girls) wrestling with Uncle Joe

just 2 of my favorite people looking adorable

The kids all lined up to sit on 'Santa's' lap

Christmas Travels

We started vacation at my mothers in Michigan, visited my Uncle's house in MI, then headed to GreenLake WI, on to the UP, and back down to TN with a stop at Great Grandma's house in WI! Oh man and it didn't stop there... we went on to visit my Father after getting back in TN and headed out to Mississippi for a day too! ACK we needed a vacation from vacation.

Arwen LOVED Malik... he wasn't so found of her LOL!

Malik passed out in Joe's arms...That's MY adorable husband

Grandpa teaching Macy to plow snow

The amazing view from Joe's parents cabin

Gavin sledding @ Grandma's and Grandpa's cabin

Macy's turn!

my crazy baby

This one cracks me up!

Waarvik Inn and Saweet!

Molly and Gav warming up @ Waarvik Inn

Arwen contemplates being naughty

You rarely see these two playing/reading together. So sweet.

Dinner is served!

Bald Eagle in flight

ask the kids what they remember about visiting great grandma's house and they tell you waffles

A few family photos

This is my disfunctional family

you are not going crazy... my brother really doesn't have legs... and can stand alone *giggles*

This one went on the Xmas cards!

Yep this is my family

Before...

...after