just wanted to post one picture for now. thank you everyone for praying for me and the team. this picture was when i got to see my girls that i had so much fun with last summer. they are now in 5th grade and some are starting to speak more english which is fun! they were yelling hello to me from across the school yard through the window. pretty much made my day! it was an amazing experience, i will post more stories soon.

stumbling upon this new tv show made me have to run for the kleenex to dry my tears because i was laughing so hard. ABC's show "wipeout" is basically random people who think they are coordinated [some do look like they do] going through this crazy impossible obstacle course. once again, i picture the guys and gals around a table in some planning meeting coming up with these obstacles for regular joe-shmoes to go through so that we can have a little more laughter in our days. genious people, it's genious. maybe i just needed to have a good 'ol belly laugh tonight, but who can resist a 56 year old woman getting knocked out by a wall full of punching gloves....or the man that looks like he could be a decent athlete going over the gigantic red balls, being knocked around like a rag doll into the water below. hilarious people, it's hilarious. i'm going to bed tonight giggling about it.

i don't know why i get a kick out of things like this that i found. probably because this company didn't just want to make matchbooks, but thought they would bring smiles to those who use them. i mean come on, how funny that they put FACES on the matches? hilarious. so...here's to you pyros, smokers and candle lighters out there...hope you find that this just puts a random smile on your face. and thank you Japan...for having a sense of humor!

this is why i love japan. hello kitty was just named the official tourism ambassador for the country. look how proud she looks... ha ha....oh i love it.

i can't think of a worse way to start my day in the morning. someone thought this would be a brillant way to wake up.
the sad thing is that there were people probably sitting around a conference table of some sort that brainstormed the design of this product. in my mind it probably went something like this:

theBoss: we need to design a creative alarm clock
designer1: what kind of alarm clock?
theBoss: one that makes people frustrated and frazzled in the morning
designer2: how about an alarm that punches people in the face instead of a "alarm sound"
theBoss: no, something more annoying...
designer1: i have an idea! let's design it so that when the alarm sounds, puzzle pieces fly off into several different directions around the room....AND...the person now has to FIND the pieces, pick them up, place them on the appropriate shapes to make the alarm stop.
theBoss: brilliant. let's go with that.

i have begun education a few people among my small circles about the overuse and abuse of this font.

[to be said in a very over-dramatized way]
now is the time not to be silent anymore. it is time to send this message out to the world. *with a fist raised to the sky* we must stop people from using this font, it's name is "comic sans"

In 1995 Microsoft released the font Comic Sans originally designed for comic book style talk bubbles containing informational help text. Since that time the typeface has been used in countless contexts from restaurant signage to college exams to medical information. These widespread abuses of printed type threaten to erode the very foundations upon which centuries of typographic history are built.

While i recognize the font may be appropriate in a few specific instances, my position is that the only effective means of ending this epidemic of abuse is to completely ban Comic Sans.
*selection taken from bancomicsans.com*

there are so many font/typefaces to choose from. if you need help finding free fonts, i'll give you a handful of websites to get you started. although this post may sound like this is my life long goal to banish this font...i just simply think it's funny that people keep using it. especially the medial, legal and restaurant menus. i just may start posting pictures of comic sans abuse. because i think it's funny.

i realize there is no correct way to mourn or grieve one that has grown so dear to a heart. for some reason, this blog post is something that i have put off...because in this world that we live in now, posting this is making losing audrey a real thing. i want to honor her, communicate clearly the person that she was...but words just fall short. but it's all that i have, so here it goes:

i could count on audrey for several things [this is not a complete list] but here are a few,
#1 a hug as a greeting, and a hug as a goodbye. and these were good hugs, not the wimpy hug accompanied with two slaps on the back. we are talking a real squeeze here. :)

#2 always knew that i had good company at the dinner table during family gatherings. sometimes included some sort of beverage going through the nose due to some serious laughter happenings.

#3 an occasional necessary eye catching when something "interesting" would happen among groups of family members. something that non-verbally communicated, "did that really just happen?" or "did they really just say that?" was also coupled with some smirks or grins.

#4 always had a partner for the scavenger hunt, or any other game.

#5 partner in crime when it came to being goofy. audrey would never let me do anything without joining in with me.

the list goes on and on...

aud was someone to have some great deep conversations with, and then in the next minute be laughing so hard, tears are squirting from our eyes. someone to sing at the top of our lungs songs from RENT driving into the small town of fonda. and she was someone who always seemed to end up in the chair next to me. i loved that. and i told her all the time that i did.

at her funeral...it seemed fitting that beads were handed out. audrey, you always knew how to have fun. but there was also this theme of honoring aud's life by "loving someone better"...because let's face it, she understood what it meant to love people. she truly was someone who was created to shine, someone who was MADE to shine. and that is what she did. it's all over her face, literally...that smile, those eyes, that heart....it shined. and you know the crazy thing? she is still shining. praise God for that.

love someone better. to me, that is a life worth living. a life full of love. i want to look back on my life knowing that i did that. audrey, you showed us a great example to shine the way God created you and to love people the way He made you to love, with no excuses. it was an honor to call you cousin. it was a blessing to call you friend.

i miss you.

your smiling, shining face is forever burned on my heart.