Today's joy was reading these two happy posts from Marie and knowing you are experiencing some joy AND hot flashes.

Love and hugs....Mary Jo

Marie,

Midnight (before and after) Chinese snack is called 'Xiao Yeh' (宵夜) (both words means 'night') Many people take it with a sip of rice liquor or a can of beer. Very often it is a bowl of noodle soup or rice soup with some stewed meat and pickled vegetables. People who work late shifts (restaurant, hospital, hospitality, transportation, industrial...) or who play Mahjong (Chinese dominos) late into the night are the ones who eat Xiao Yeh regularly.

Students who are cramming for exams often get the special treats if a caring Mother (or other family member) is present. Often time it is a package of instant noodle soup with a stewed egg and some cabbage and green onions.

It's a light but satisfying meal that help people have a good night sleep (with sweet 'dreams'... :)

supposed to be getting dilly on next couple days.

Today's Joy: Ed has been craving cherry pies. In his Mother's pie plate I made him another one of my famed cherry pies.

Tonight he ate 2 helpings of baked ziti and he has not ate 2 plates of anything in such a long time. For dessert, he even had room for the pie. This pleased my heart. The house is extremely hot but it was so worth it.>>Believe51

Today's Joy........Thanking God for this group of angels....for the love and support we receive here and for the laughs and fun we share.

Also, thanking God that Ed had 2 helpings of zita and wanted cherry pie. I'm so happy Ed's days are being "filled" (no pun intended) LOL -with yummy things and wonderful love from you Marie.

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Now that is great news Marie !!!!!!! The fact that a person has a good appetite and enjoys eating is a joy and a blessing !!!!!!!!

warmer weather!

The other day I was walking behind a woman leaving the beach. We exchanged a few words but nothing special, she just seemed like a normal person.

Her cell phone rang and the caller must have asked her how she was - her response was "I'M HAVING THE BEST DAY EVER!!!!"

That made me smile at the time, and still makes me smile!

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Today's Joy: I make sure now more than before cancer came into town, that I always say what is on my mind to Ed.

Tonight as I passed him a beverage and kissed his bald head I told him what a wonderful husband he has always been. Of course I added much more mushy stuff to the conversation and my eyes began to fill.

He looked at me smurking and replied, "I am still here!!" Today's greatest joy was hearing that there is still such a fight in him. His attitude refilled hope in my heart.

Tomorrow is OncoMan's visit. Let's see if I can come back here later and report something good.>>Believe51

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My youngest crewman, Jacob, has always said that he would do anything to go up into the bell tower of the Atkinson Memorial Church which is the oldest Methodist Church west of the Mississippi River.

I recently got a job to survey the church property for a future expansion. Since the church is in a historical district it has to have an architect review to ensure the expansion will match the original church.

Yesterday I got to go out to the job site and I told Jacob that I needed to run the instruments and the data collectors on the final few shots. I handed Jacob the prism pole and told him to follow the curate. Within a few minutes I saw Jacob up in the bell tower and he had a huge grin on his face. He asked if I could take pictures of him up in the tower. He said the view was fabulous and it was even better than he ever hoped it would be.

He spent almost an hour up in the tower and on the way down I overheard him phoning his girlfriend to tell her that he had the best job ever.

I am the boss and I have to send people out into awful weather, terrible brush, and over nasty steep slopes. Being able to make one of my employees' weeks is a rare treat. I almost enjoyed the moment more than Jacob did.

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I coach a 7th and 8th grade girl's volleyball team. They adopted the name 'Don't Eat Crayons' mostly because they think it is funny to hear the other teams chant "Two! Four! Six! Eight! Who do we appreciate? Don't Eat Crayons!" at the end of the game. I mostly coach for my daughter Ma'ire. It is nice to have an activity that the two of us can share.

Our team hasn't been doing exceptionally well this year. Before today we lost all three of our matches. Not to make excuses, but our team is made up of all 7th graders or girls who have never played volleyball before. What the team has going for them is they are a great group of kids who have good attitudes and they try harder than anybody else.

Today we played the best team in the league. They are all 8th graders and all have played at club level. Before the game, the league director passed out a flyer to all coaches about running up the score and trying to humiliate overmatched teams. I kind of believe that the flyer was aimed at the other team when they played against us.

But a strange thing happened. Nobody told the Don't Eat Crayons team that they were supposed to lose the game. So the girls went out and played harder than anyone can remember 12 and 13 year old girls play. They dove for loose balls and they never gave up. And you know what? They beat the best team in the league! The other team was so upset they didn't give us a cheer and they didn't shake our hands.

Most of the time, life kicks you in the teeth, but you get back up. But if you are lucky, perhaps once in your life, you have a David and Goliath moment when you win one you had no business winning. I am very proud to be their coach, but mostly I am so happy that these girls refused to lose and that they learned that if they work hard and don't give up on themselves, then they can win and overcome remarkable odds.

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Love the name Dont Eat Crayons!
BIG SMILE.
I think we ALL munched on one at least a little bit ... I thought it was terrible, spit it out, and never tried it again.

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