Happy Birthday to our Aunt Nae Nae! We miss you so much and if we could run fast like vampires we would have run to Seattle to see you , however since we are only human with stupid human limitations we will have to rely on the magic that is the internet to bring our birthday wish to you! We love you!

Saving the children of Africa...... one child at a time

Sometimes I find myself laughing at my children so hard that my stomach hurts. I also try to see the world through their eyes and I am amazed at how that information I recieve is the same but the way I interpret it is entirely different. Let me give you an example. Ben , for those of you who do not know, is obbsessed with infomercials. He is amazed at how much great stuff is out there for only $19.95. Every evening my night is not complete until I recieve the latest and greatest 1-800 number for the newest " too good to be true" item. We now have an unspoken understanding ,he and I , he will just walk into the room I am in and lay down a peice of paper with a number written on it and push it towards me and nod, I nod back retrieve the paper and he walks out of the room.Sometimes if I am in the bathtub trying to soak away the stress of the day a small peice of paper with vaious numbers written on it will find its way inder the bathroom door with an unspoken understanding. That being said I was utterly speechless at the latest object of Ben's affection. A couple of weeks ago he came running through the house talking so fast that I could hardly understand him. I told hime to slow down,take a deep breath and tell me what he needed. He did so and then proceeded to tell me about the latest thing that we just had to have. He saw it on a T.V commercial. " Mom, there are these kids that are really hungry and do not have a home but we can help." My heart started to warm inside. " Wow , my kids have empathy for other kids who do not have it as good as they have and they want to help" A smile crossed my face and I excitedly leaned forward to hear what he had to say. " They are running a special today and you can get them for really cheap!" That smile on my face started to fade. " Today only they are all 2 for a dollar, but you have to hurry before it is too late" I asked him " What is 2 for a dollar" He replied " the hungry kids of course. They live in Jackamaroo" Where is JAckamaroo? I asked. "Somewhere in Africa I think, but you have to hurry, every 30 minutes a child dies from starvation and I already saw the one that I want, he was the one in the blue shorts. If we dont hurry he could be the one that dies in 30 minutes" WOW. Where do I even start on this one. " Ohh since they are only 2 for a dollar could we get two of them, you know a boy and a girl?" he continues despite my horror.As I begin to explain to him that you do not get 2 African children for a dollar , you can send a dollar to the company and they will help 2 African children he suddenly seems very dissapointed. Then he gets this indignant look on his face and being the frugal 10 year old that he is he replies " Well then if I send them my dollar what do I get" I replied " You get the satisifaction of knowing that you helped someone" He gave me this look and said" Satisifaction..... that is what I am paying for? Seems like a rip-off." Now id you know Ben you know that he would give the shirt off of his back to you if you needed it, he would give every last penny that he had to get shots for a stray dog but he needs to see waht he is getting for his money. Satisifaction is not something he can see and hey when you think you are going to get a new brother and sister for a dollar, well satification seems a to fall a little bit short of his expectations.