you never know who might show up!

we flew home to surprise Mom & Dad for their 30th wedding anniversary

all it takes

Someone hurt my feelings. And I didn't really handle the situation well. I felt like a victim and probably could convince you of the same. Instead of letting it get the better of me, I wrote an apology note.

Yes. An apology note.

When my husband heard that I planned on writing an apology note to someone who had wronged me, he was flummoxed. But the truth is, I needed to take responsibility for my actions and thoughts (even if they didn't see them).

That note was healing. For both parties.

We all make mistakes. We all have the ability to say something unkind or let our mind be filled with unsympathetic thoughts.

I wonder what the world would look like if we all took a bit more personal responsibility, even when it minimally our fault.

first time for everything

In all of our years of marriage, Eric has always won Monopoly.

Until now....I have finally won!

It was a very close game, but he spent a lot of time in jail which gave me the opportunity to pull ahead. I'm not sure when we'll play again because I like being able to say "The last time we played, I won."

I <3 llamas & my birthday

sent to me from my wonderful husband

even in China

My brother (the good looking one in the white shirt) is in China teaching English to young students. He has been traveling for a few years discovering the world and bringing our language to others. For as long as I can remember, my brother has played video games. He plays with the same spirit, effort, and dedication that many apply to sports. In high school, my brother was known to miss full days of class to prepare for local Halo & Tekken tournaments. Either as an individual or in a team - he generally took first place. This extra money helped pay for much needed things like new video games and accessories.

A few years ago, he became a little more known in the United States for his Tekken abilities (you can search YouTube for "Young Man River" & "Tekken" and you will find many of his matches). Even though he has been playing for years, he has only played Tekken professionally for about five years. He recently entered a very large Tekken tournament in China where the audience turn out as pretty incredible. I worked at an arcade for a few years and never had so many on-lookers for an arcade match.

Being the white boy in the tournament instantly made him the underdog. Many Asian cultures have incredible video gamers who dedicate hours each day to master characters and skills. My brother hasn't been playing as often as he used to because he is so busy teaching. He decided to train for a few weeks before the tournament and enter for fun.

The stage is incredible!! He is the player on the right.

He took second place to the player on the left. When he lost, he shook the winners hand and people were very surprised. Chinese culture doesn't allow for the losers to be happy and gracious.

Here he is with his big check : )

He won about two month's salary for placing second in this tournament. Not a bad hobby!

Keep up the good work Mike!!

We miss you!

smile for the camera!

As I was taking pictures for work inventory, I snapped a shot of our mechanic. The picture didn't belong in the insurance binder, so I'm putting here.

Make sure you smile at everyone.

our pumpkins

We celebrated Halloween with friends who treated us with chili and homemade cinnamon rolls (it is a Kansas City thing). I didn't get any pictures of that night (my hands were very icky from my juicy pumpkin), but here are what our pumpkins look like no that they've been outside a few days.

After much thought and careful planning, I carved a bunny. No one could tell what it was, so I had to keep explaining - - "this is his tale, those are his ears, etc"

I am not the family artist.

Eric on the other hand did his pirate pumpkin free hand and quickly. If there was some sort of pumpkin carving award, I'm pretty sure he'd get it.

Hope you had a lovely Halloween!