Double Trouble

Well, actually they were not that much trouble. Rachel's friend Rylan hung out with us for a while this afternoon. They are a lot of fun to watch. They didn't argue with each other, but at one point they were telling the doll that it was time to go to bed. "Now I'm SERIOUS, you have to go to bed", is what they were saying. I wonder where they have heard that before. :) They played hide and seek with Aaron. Everytime Aaron would say, "I wonder where they are", Rylan would let out a high pitched giggle. The afternoon was almost drama free. That is until Rylan decided to hold Rachel's prized "raggie". You know - Raggie - the worn out old cloth burp rag that she holds while sucking her thumb. Rachel is yelling "raggie" over and over. Finally I convinced Rylan that we had much better things to drag around than "raggie". Everyone was happy again. :)

From the other side of the world

We received our 1st letter from Mwajuma last week! Mwajuma is the 9-year old girl from Tanzania that we sponsor through Compassion. She had someone who wrote down her letter in her language. Then parallel with that letter was the English translation. She wrote her own name at the end of the letter.

Also, with the letter was a page that Mwajuma had colored on. She drew different objects and then wrote down what they were. The translation was under that

We read her letter many times. She told us that her family was well. She told how they celebrated Easter. She asked that we pray for her that she would get good grades. Then she said she loved us and was praying for us. To know that there is a little girl halfway around the world who is praying for me and my family is very humbling. I would love to meet her someday. It will probably never happen on this earth, but this little girl has become very important to us anyway. If you have ever considered sponsoring a child, do it! It amounts to a dollar a day and it will be one of the best investments of your life.

Color Burst

Just another Monday to catch up on housework....I know, riveting! I even moved the sofa to vacuum under it...EXCITING! What, you wanted photos of that? Sorry. These will have to do. These are Mom's flowers. She always has a yard full of beautiful flowers. I'm lucky if I can keep petunias alive all summer long. So here they are for your enjoyment.

Happy Birthday Dad!

We surprised my dad with a visit for his birthday this weekend. Had a great time with a picnic at the lake yesterday and dinner with my parents and my brother Peter and sister-in-law Mychele today. So here's your Daily Dad Photo to wrap things up. I really wish I had the photo of my dad that went up on the powerpoint announcment at church. It was from 1976 and looked like the wolfman in glasses! Anyway, I have the best dad in the world. He taught us to love the Lord and love your family. He has my love and respect. Dad, I'm proud to be your daughter. I love you, and Happy Birthday!

Season #13 done!

Today was our last day of soccer. We thought it might be a rainy day, but the clouds cleared out and everything was great! Aaron has really improved this season. In fact, his whole team was working together and playing great today.

DON'T FORGET THE DAILY DAD PHOTO!

Dad with Aaron - 1998

Pics with Madelyn

This morning we headed off to the park to take Madelyn's photos. I haven't got a chance to edit them yet, but I thought this was funny. I was taking Madelyn & Becky's photo and David wanted to jump in and give his mommy a hug as well. The look on Madelyn's face! I know she's thinking, "Hey! This is my photo shoot!" :)

Then we stopped at Heather's for a few minutes to drop something off. It gave Rachel a chance to hang out with her buddy Hayden for a bit.

I think Hayden had been playing in the dirt, or rolling in the dirt, perhaps eating the dirt. But I'm sure it had something to do with dirt!

"Give us a big hug!!"

AND NOW, YOU KNOW IT, YOU LOVE IT...
THE DAILY DAD PHOTO

July 4, 2001 - 4th of July parade in Lebanon, IN. Mom, Daniel, & Peter were dressed up as clowns handing out stuff from our church. But I guess if you're driving the vehicle you don't need full clown gear. The wig will do!

O Happy Day!

Yes it is a happy day at the Hackney household. Last weekend Dusty's parents brought us a surprise from our hometown. Our favorite pizza joint back in Illinois, Dimaggio's, has started bottling and selling their sauce! We've found some good pizza here, (the pepperoni breadsticks from So Itailian are hard to beat) but nothing quite as good as Dimaggio's. So I made a pizza tonight with the sauce that my in-laws brought me. All I can say is "Mmmmmmmm"! OK, so maybe it's not quite like having a pizza hot from Dimaggio's, but it was pretty stinkin' good. I even raised the bar a bit. Instead of the crust from the mix, I made it from scratch. (Using the bread machine of course) Now I'll have to stock up every time we go back to Illinois to visit family.

And now in the way too cute category - I took photos today at the Brockelsby's. They had a couple of kittens. Rachel loved them! Especially this little guy. He would just lay in her lap and let her pet and cuddle him.

Daily Dad Photo - Installment #3

This is my dad signing a permission slip for me for the last time. This was for a youth group trip and I was turning 18 soon after. But you've gotta love the early 90's hair!