At Home in the Mountains

Spring break went by with the blink of an eye this year! We had an absolutely fantastic week of fun and family visits. Aaron went on an almost week long business trip for his consulting so we did some family activities the first week of spring break like going to eat at Chick Fil-A, letting Maddy ride the train at Grapevine Mills Mall, and relaxing around the house. Maddy paid for part of the train ride with money she earned from picking up recyclables. Aaron's grandma would take Aaron and his brother out to gather cans and then take them to the aluminum can cashing place to get the money. Aaron feels like this is what instilled the idea of hard work into him and his brother so he wants to do something similar with Maddy. Since we have a recycling program with free pick up at our house, he is paying Maddy a nickel for every plastic bottle or aluminum can she picks up. The first day she gathered 24 cans and bottles. She picked up one glass bottle, which we try to discourage for

This week Maddy wanted to read "I Know an Old Lady" (who swallowed a fly, etc.). We have the version with illustrations by G. Brian Karas. Maddy's comment on the book: Why didn't she just eat a chicken and some broccoli and some salad an' stuff like that?

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as Christ forgave you. ~Ephesians 5:32 I have been remembering a lot about Uncle John this week. The above verse is what always comes to mind when I think of him. Aaron has a saying, I can’t remember the exact wording, that goes something like if you’re a grumpy young person, you will be a grumpier old person. And the opposite is also true. If you are a kind young person, you will be a kinder old person. This was true of Uncle John. Even when he lost his memory and went to Bender he was still who he was. His character of kindness and compassion and interest in other people still shined through. Though he had no clue who I was anymore, he was always glad to see me on the few occasions I went with the family to visit him at Bender. “Hello, young lady!” That’s how he always greeted me, and that’s the greeting Maddy got when we took her to see him. Uncle John had a talent for making people feel special, espec