Posted by Kathy Torrence on Dec 8, 2008 in
Family Stuff,
Today's Photo Well…it seems that the holiday craziness has begun. Last week, we had one event every night and this week, some nights we have as many as 3 events! I feel like I’m already running on empty (and it’s only the 8th of December!). At least our decorations are up and our shopping is complete!
I have a quick minute and thought I’d share a few quick photos…
Emily and Matthew had their annual Holiday Concert at school – Andrew was SO excited to go (as only a 14 year old can be):
I figured out that by the time Emily is done with elementary school, I will have sat through 14 of these holiday concerts! This one was nice though – each class sang only one song and the accompanying music was kept to a minimum which meant we could actually hear the kids’ voices. And Matt had his debut in the 4th grade band playing the clarinet – quite a lovely rendition of “Hot Cross Buns” (now stuck in my head).
I also went on the Pitman Christmas House Tour this weekend – I just LOVE the house tour! It’s so much fun to see inside other people’s houses and view their Christmas decorations. Cameras were not allowed, so I have no photos, but there was one house that I loved so much, I told the owners that if they ever put it on the market to please let me know.
Yesterday, the Girl Scouts sang for some of the older residents at Pitman Manor:
That’s Emily in the back. Later that afternoon, Emily (who is just 6 years old) said that she had to hold back her tears because she found herself getting ‘emotional’ in the retirement home. Emily, I was getting emotional too.
After a morning at church, and an afternoon with the Girl Scouts, I ‘helped’ Andrew with his 9th grade biome science project for several hours. I’m just glad to be home alone this morning focusing on nothing but laundry and the batch of yummy chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven…
I received an email last week from children’s author and fellow Daisy-Doodle goldendoodle owner James Preller. James is the author of the “Jigsaw Jones” mystery book series as well as other titles.
James happened to stumble upon my blog and found that we have goldendoodle ownership in common.
A quick side note here – we found a fabulous new place to have our doodles groomed – Pet Styles in Pine Hill, NJ. We had the dogs groomed for the holidays – how cute are they?
They even painted Daisy’s nails red and green:
Anyway…back to Mr. Preller…
As many of you know, I’m a HUGE fan of Barack Obama. And as many of you may also know, the Obamas are in the process of selecting a new puppy for their daughters to bring to the White House. They want a family friendly dog that is low shedding to help with allergies but still want a substantial dog (as mentioned the other night on the Barbara Walters interview – when Barbara suggested that the Obamas choose a Havanese dog, Barack asked if that was one of those little ‘yappy’ dogs). Emily and I talked about writing a letter to the president-elect suggesting they try a goldendoodle – but it appears that Mr. Preller’s dog Daisy has beat us to it. Read for yourself and see what I mean…
An Open Letter to President-Elect Obama
I couldn’t have said it better myself (nor could my own doodle Daisy – seems she’s a little behind in the abilities of learning to type or form complete sentences – maybe some further training is in order).
I would also like to thank James for his most recent email where he said, “And by the way, you have a really nice, natural voice on your blog, very warm and welcoming.” Thanks, James – you are welcome to stop by anytime. 🙂
Posted by Kathy Torrence on Dec 8, 2008 in
Family Stuff Yesterday the world lost a strong spirit – my co-worker Linda Olivo. Linda has been battling breast cancer for over 10 years and finally lost her fight last night.
I have never seen anyone fight so hard for life – squeezing every last precious second that she could to spend time with her daughter, all the time knowing that she would lose that fight in the end.
But even though she knew that her time was limited, she never let it slow her down. She just completed several master’s degree courses and received a standing ovation and huge round of applause as she walked up for her certificate.
The last time I saw Linda was just a few weeks ago – I told her I would be praying for her and her family. I hope those prayers are answered today as her husband and daughter face the reality of their enormous loss.
