It has been a good year for my second Sidekick.  She is growing up very quickly.  She is her brothers opposite in every way.   The funny thing is these photos are the exception to the rule.  KenzieBear is a real HAM and is usually putting on a show instead of sitting still for the camera.

School is going well, she has all A's and B's (yes, they do letter grades in the 2nd grade..).  She has worked so hard at literacy this year, it is really paying off for her. 

Kenzie has taken a real liking to life's more imaginative artistic endeavors.  Coloring, creating a scrap book, writing a journal, thinking up stories....she is definitely a free thinker.

If you are a cultured geek, you will get a laugh out of this....

 Gee, why didn't he just print a billion-gazillion dollar bill?

Link to Man tries to deposit fake $1M bill - Yahoo! News

It has been a long time since I truly wrote in this blog.  There has been the occasional commentary on a news story, or sporadic pictures of the Sidekicks, but nothing with real substance.  This has been on my mind of late.  I seem to recall really enjoying the act of creating this thing.  Where did that go, I wonder.

Well, I thought about it, and I can think of one reason I have not written as much.  In thinking back, I realized that I did most of my blogging while in school.  I don't mean to say that I blogged more during that time period, I mean that I literally blogged during class, while listening to the lecture (or not).  Ok, I hear my parents out there gasping in horror, all I have to say is check out my 3.9 GPA....  Anyway, about 90 percent of the time, class was flat out BOR-ING, so I killed the time writing for the blog.

Of course, since graduating, there is certainly not an overabundance of boring moments to motivate me to extreme measures such as writing.  Still, I don't think that is the whole story.

I have realized something else as I have read through my old entries.  Early on I wrote about family, old war stories, and whatever else seemed fun.  After a while, most of the entries start to become about MudTreasure having cancer, and her eventual passing.  (Wow, a few months ago I couldn't have written THAT sentence).  The Ol' Balding Avenger's Lair became a pretty sad place.  I was just as involved in our little local blog community, but we were all about MudTreasure.  Now, I think that the blog was very impotent for getting through that time.  It was a great way to share news with everyone and pull together. 

Ever hear of Pavlov's dogs? If you are reading this, I am sure you have, only a very enlightened person would be cruising this blog.  Well, I think I am one of them.  For me though, instead of a ringing bell making me salivate (actually, that does happen), I think that I associated the blogging with the more negative aspects of those times.  Until very recently, thinking of writing for this was accompanied by dread.  Sheesh, heavy.

The magic year has passed since MudTreasure died.  I don't know why it is magic, but it seems to work.  I find myself suddenly ready to move on in many respects, and blogging is one of them.  Of course, at this point nearly my entire fan base have stopped reading (all 3 of them).  None the less, I am diving back in.  I know, you'll believe it when you see it, but I am telling you, I even have some entries queued up for future use.  Besides, look at the length of this bad boy, it's an essay!

For now, I am going to try and catch up on this year a bit, and see where it goes from there.....

Gee, that didn't take long.  He was without a job for a whole six hours! 

Link to FOX Sports on MSN - COLLEGE FOOTBALL - Nutt moves quick, takes Ole Miss job

Well, if your not a Hog fan, this is no big deal, but around here this headline may be the biggest news of the year.  Allot of folks have been highly critical of Nutt here lately.  I think he was a good man and a great coach.  I dread having to play him if he gets a job in the SEC.... 

Link to ESPN - Nutt era closes with resignation of Arkansas coach - College Football

I just wanted to post a few photos of the Sidekicks playing in the neighborhood this summer.  

 Mainly because it shows just how  HUGE they have grown. 

There are plenty of kids in this area, and a lot of good neighbors.  If the weather is nice at all an impromptu block party tends to start with all the young ones converging on some "lucky" parent's house to romp in the yard. 

So, the commercialization of the holidays is nothing new..... 

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Greatest Stories Never Told: Thanksgiving


FDR was lobbied by retailers to lengthen the Christmas season by making Thanksgiving earlier.

I had never heard of this, but it seems this happens a lot.... 

Link to Dolphins rescue surfer from shark - People: Tales of survival - TODAYshow.com

Wow, this does not surprise me, but it does scare me.  It occurred to me that Sidekick #1 is only a little over 3 years away from being a teen.  How sad that I am having to already start talking about drugs... 

Link to Drug dealers peddling new kid-friendly mixes - Addictions - MSNBC.com

This is flat out amazing.  It is too bad a takes a war to drive this sort of innovation: 

Link to Revolutionary mechanical arm provides grip, feel - MSN Tech & Gadgets - Products

Several days ago (yes, I am a little behind) we had a bit of snow in our area.  There was actually enough for the sidekicks to play in!

It was very, very cold, so they did not stay out long, but it was enough to get a "taste" of the winter weather...

...and to kick up some snow running laps in the yard. 

Ok, it may be good for your heart, but who can find customers that will let you nap?

On-the-job naps might cut heart risk

I am using Windows Live Writer to type up my blog posts.  I love this tool, because it has spell checking.  Anyone who helped raise me can tell you that I need all the spelling help I can get. 

I noticed something that really bothers me.  The spell check in Microsoft's blog writing tool does not recognize "blogged" as a word.  Does that seem right to you?

.....the best thing to ever happen to scrambled eggs.

That is the first thing that comes to my mind after cooking up an egg sandwich for dinner tonight.

So, what is the strangest thing about this blog post?  The fact that it says that I was cooking!  Ok, so that probably does not seem like a strange thing to most of you, but the truth is that this family for a long time has not done much cooking. 

I guess I have not blogged about it, but we have been in a new house for a while now, and it has a kitchen that we like to cook in.  As a matter of fact, the Lady Avenger and I have actually been cooking together! (Alright, I mean food you people).  I must say, I have really enjoyed it.

That reminds me, I guess I owe the world some house pictures.  I will get those up soon.  I think I will put up some before and after photos for you.  It will give you a good idea of the incredible change this new house is for us.

So, anyway, lets hear it for Teflon, or if your a Teflon hater, this is your chance to perpetuate several Teflon urban myths.

We had a great New Year's Eve.  I would say it was pretty traditional.  Our night consisted of the usual activities: lots of drinking, loud music, wild dancing, and crazy party games.  Of course, the drink of choice was milk, and most of the dancing was done by the Sidekicks in between their turns as we played Sorry, Star Wars Monopoly, and War.

After the Sidekicks wore out, the Lady Avenger and I curled up for a marathon of episodes from the Firefly box set she bought me for Christmas.

As I tucked Kenzie into bed she summed it up pretty well, "This was the greatest night, ever!"

Christmas was very nice around here.  We all made out pretty well!  I am adding an album of photos from our visit to see Grandma and Aunt Mars (yes, names changed to protect the innocent). 

Sorry Avid, I did not take any of Christmas morning at the Avenger's Lair.  After one child getting up at 4am, and then getting to sleep in all the way until 6 am, I was still waking up by the time the gifts were all open!

 A final post from MudTreasure's blog:

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For YOU... Willba's Blog Community

We thought writing this entry might give a little closure for some of you.  This is just a tid-bit of what happened in the last few weeks of Willba's beautiful life!  We are also including pictures that were taken at the Memorial Service.

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We took our friend to the hospital on October 24, 2006, little did we know at that time, we had a one way ticket.  The next week was like a roller coaster for all of us and her family, the initial tests indicated liver problems and possibly cancer in her bones, and we were told there was ‘nothing notable’ in her brain, we all had hope.  The blood work showed some opportunities to get her to feeling better, and after a couple of hours she did.  The doctors wanted to admit her for further testing, and then from there we quickly got lost in what was happening.
 
By the end of the week our friend was in so much pain the doctors let her know that she needed to discuss with her family and close friends what to do if her heart should stop.  She gathered her bother, sister, her oldest son, and us together, and discussed her wishes.  This was very hard on her as well as all of us.
 
The doctor was still trying to fight this horrible disease, he gave her a round of chemo.  Before the next weekend her family had been told of the path we were all on, and the decision was made to make her final days as pleasant as we possibly could.  She was moved to a wonderful Hospice facility, with a wonderful staff that treated her like a queen.  From that point we had 21 more days to enjoy our time with her, until it was time for her to move on.
 
On Dec 5, 2006, we had her memorial service.  This was a celebration of her life, not morning her death.  The Chapel held a good size group.
 
During the service we could hear her say:  

'You people!  This is wonderful, what you have all done for me!  
 
You know, really, this is not for me, it is for all of you!  Keep in mind -- this is all part of life, it may be the part that really sucks!  Know now that I am not in pain, I suffer no longer, I AM cancer free -- I have moved on!  It is time for all of you to move on!  
 
I have a plan, that includes all of you later!  In the meantime - be there for one another - live life to the fullest – do those self breast exams – and if you are not comfortable about something – GET A SECOND OPINION – be sure to look at that glass as half full, not half empty, you will waste your life pining on what is gone, not what is left to be.  
 
Be sure to tell the people that you love, what they mean to you -- because life is way too short, and in the end the love and the memories are all that they have!  Remember - it takes a village to raise a child, to help each other, to get each generation standing on it’s own!  Don’t forget to stop and smell the roses, look at the art, and just FLAT out enjoy life!
 
All of you ROCK!  Thank you for what you have done, this is not good-bye -- it is see you later!  I love all of you!'
 

Willba, a piece of you will be with all of us, we miss you, your smile, your conversations, your way to find a little happiness in everything. We place these pictures taken by another friend (Marc) of your memorial – which some of your village worked on together so that we could prepare to move on through life, in your absence.
 
You ROCK!  We miss you!  And we will see you later!  We love you!
 
Thank you family for allowing us to make this entry.
 
Tiffany, Kevin & Sherry

Yesterday was the big day.  I "walked" in the graduation ceremony at John Brown University.  I could not be happier! 

I am posting some photos in an album above.

WOOHOO! 

The Balding Avenger, B.S. 

 From Tiffany......

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Willba's Celebration Service

The service last night was AMAZING.  Everyone worked together to pull this off without a hitch!  I believe it's exactly what Willba would of wanted.  Jim (Willba's pottery instructor) did a wonderful job officiating the service.  There were lots of tears, lots of laughs and lots of hugs. 

 

We still have Willba in our hearts as she made a place for everyone in her heart.  I truly believe that she is my angel watching down on me.  I couldn't of asked for a better friend as she never let the "little" things in life get her down.  Even when she was going through all of her cancer treatments she always had a positive outlook and even though she was tired she always had a smile on her face.  Willba touched the lives of so many people and it was such a joy that she was my best friend for the short time that I knew her.  We shared many memories together and I will always hold those in my mind and will think about them often.

 

Thank you to everyone for all of the prayers and encouraging words.  They meant a lot to her family, Willba and I.

 

My love to you all!

Tiffany

 

PS - I will post new pics as I find time to get them out here!  I've been slacking lately!  :0)