This morning, I joined a good friend in downtown Austin for the Alzheimer Association's 5K Memory Walk. We walked in honor of her dad...and I had an added incentive to walk a little faster.Mr. C.M. "Toots" Farnum.My paternal grandfather was a great man. A funny, fiesty, hard-working guy. I may have only been in middle school when he passed away at age 79 from Alzheimer's but the impact it had on me was greater than I imagined.I suppose there's no ...

I've been working WAY too much lately. So, while at the store today, I took a quick turn by the ice cream aisle. The kids had been great and I figured why not? If you know me even a little, you know how much I LOVE, LOVE ice cream.And, let's be clear. There is only one maker worthy of the creamy stuff - Blue Bell. Let the midwest have their Blue Bunny. Ben & Jerry's - no comparison.Perhaps it's because ...

Why does the loss of a baby hurt so much? A sweet friend of ours called and we found out she miscarried her twins. My heart dropped. Five years ago, we made a similar call to dear friends. That call doesn't get any easier. We did, as a great book said, go from "sorrow to serenity." But when the call comes - and you know in your heart by the pause - that the news is some you've experienced before. ...

I've been holding on to this one for a while now. This summer, you may remember we trekked to Arkansas for the family vacation. Well, one morning we could hear the boys CRACKING up. But, we didn't hear any body slams, thuds or the sound of anything breaking, so like the good parents that we are, we rolled over and went back to sleep. It wasn't until about 45 minutes later we discovered the source of all those giggles.Yeppers. This ...

ALGie (Anna-Laura Grace), Sisty, Drama Queen - however you address her, she's one cute little gal. The ballet/tap/tumbling classes are such a hoot. We've finally figured out "the Monday system."Shall I set the scene?Every Monday, we get said Ballerina in her clothes, piggies done and then dash to pick up Will from school. We arrive and send her on into the studio where we watch the closed circuit monitor. Will does homework, John Paul colors and Clare snacks/screams/squirms/eats/repeat 5 times. ...

Hi, yes, we're still here. Oh, and no (for our friends outside of Texas) we did not get hit by Ike. We thought we might. The meterologists forecasted 50mph winds and 4-6 inches of rain here in Austin. We got? 30mph winds and zippo on the rain. So, while the water bill is not loving that scenario, after seeing the devastation just 2.5 hours away...well, it puts it all into perspective. In light of that epiphany, I thought it was ...