#39

Happy Anniversary, D We continue to grow and change. Thank you for who you are - now and even all the 39 years before May 15, 1971.

Joys of being a Grandparent

" In youth we learn; in age we understand."

Happy Mother's Day - especially to our two amazing daughters. I thought being a mom was the best, but being a grandmother is even better. Seeing my daughters becoming such sensitive, insightful, and loving moms is such a blessing. Watching them both with their boys reminds me that Jer. 29:11 is a promise that I will cling to each day. This weekend all for boys filled our house with swimming, bar-b-que, laughter, activity, and yes even a little sibling horse play and arguing, I got to sent quality time with each boy but especially with my youngest grandson. It warmed my heart to hear him say "ov yu" and give me kisses only an 18 month old can. Thank you daughters, son-in-laws, and grandsons for visiting.



Drew and t-ball action.


Sarah and her boys


A & J visit the horses


Wade and his boys love to ride bikes


A & J walking across a bridge - maybe to join a loving family


Toothless A

"Truth, which is important to a scholar, has got to be concrete. And there is nothing more concrete than dealing with babies, burps and bottles, frogs and mud."

March Birthdays

March is the birthdays of three of my favorite men: Clayton ("Batman"), Jeff, and JD.

Happy Birthday, Guys.

The return of Mrs. H

I realize that I have not blogged lately. There is several good reasons. After working in the oil industry 35 years, Mr. H found himself on an unplanned sabbatical. The economical downturn seemed to be no respecter of experience and loyalty; those with more gray hair and years appear to be first to go. Seven and a half months is a long “vacation”. He was faithful to know that God would not leave us unemployed for long; this was a time for revitalizing our relationship, marriage, and friendship. The last two years have been difficult, but the morning has come. Mr. H says “They meant it for evil, but God means it for good”. I not only have my husband back, but I also rediscovered my best friend.

Another reason was the arrival of two new grandsons. Our younger daughter is a social worker. She observed the foster care system first hand. Her heart ached for each child. She and her new husband of three years were led to explore the option of being foster parents. The process is long and involved as it should be; after all, these children must be treated like the gifts they are. They completed the process and are now fostering with the option to adopt two very special little guys. A and J are a handful but a blessed handful. We are enjoying being real grandparents to them. It is so exciting to be able to see them daily and to babysit when needed. Papa He, as J calls Mr. H, loves to be able to shower them with love – and discipline. We were on duty last night; they will jump through hoops for Papa He. I must admit that I still miss our Dallas grandsons so much. I have to work on not being jealous that we cannot see these two rascals more often. Our daughter is so faithful to regularly update her blog with pictures, videos, and a description of their antics. Even this is no substitute for being there.

Now that I have explained my absence from the blogospere, I reflect on the real reason for Christmas. The truth is “He is the reason for the season”. Merry blessed Christmast to all of my family, friends, and ex-students.

Nanny Man and Super C

Once upon a time there was a guardian of supers, and the guardian of supers was so amazing. Their names were Super Miss Leah and Super Mister Todd. When my mom fell down the stairs, they came to our house. And Super Mister Todd took her (mom) to the hospital.

Nanny Man is so thankful for Super Miss Leah and Super Mister Todd. He realized that it is now necessary for him – Super Nanny - to train new super heroes, He must become a Jedi Warrior Trainer in the tradition of Obi-Wan-Kanobe. Nanny Man looked for a true leader of this group of Super Heroes. Eureka.. He automatically thought of Super C. Super C is a real super star of Super Heroes. He appears to Nanny Man dressed in his orange outfit with a white star on his chest, a red cape with an orange C on back completes the amazing picture of a true hero. His outfit is complete with black gloves and black shoes. His posse is composed of Daring Drew, Joyful J, and Amazing A. Nanny Man is eager to help Super C train his gang of new recruits.

Super C's first task is to rescue a birthday party in America. Super C becomes the real hero in the Birthday Adventure. The party had so many fast moving children that they began to look like ants at a picnic. Each child jumped and jumped in the Bounce House that was the entertainment for the party. It was hard for each child to be safe as they jumped. In fact, there were several close calls as they jumped. The Gang of Four helped rescue a three year old who was jumping in the Bounce House. The young blond haired girl was cornered by all the other children; she found herself in the back of the crowded Bounce House. Her eyes were full of tears; she was so afraid. The Gang flew into action. Daring Drew was the first to reach the hysterical girl. Joyful J and Amazing A were not far behind. The rescue only took our heroes minutes but it seemed like days to the girl. She was so grateful to the Gang.


Super C was so proud of his new recruits that he considered them his closest friends. In fact Amazing A became known as “Cuz”. The party continued with the eating of the birthday treats. The hot dogs were delicious. So was the treat called Cracker Jacks. The main attraction of the feast was a brightly colored birthday cake. The cake was vanilla with butter cream icing. The cake seemed to be covered with purple, orange, and blue balloons. There seemed to be millions of flaming candles on the cake. All of a sudden Joyful J noticed that the burning candles were getting out of control. He knew that the Gang must come to the rescue! The cake became a ball of fire. Super C jumped into action. He needed help, but someone needed to be the leader. The fire was extinguished very quickly. The Gang came to the rescue again and saved the party. The mother Miss Becca was so thankful Super C, Daring Drew, Joyful J, and Amazing A (known as Cuz) where at the party and came to her aid.

Super C is also proud of his gang. He smiled and congratulated each brave guy. It was time to continue their training. What is to be their next challenge?

Nanny Man to the Rescue

Once upon a time a guardian of supers was fighting together from a dangerous enemy. And there was a new hero in town. His name was Nanny Man. And Nanny Man was so super that he rescued his mom from falling down the stairs.


The secret door under the stairs is really an advanced refrigeration mechanism. Nanny Man was able to fill it with necessary items to help in any rescue. He rummaged through the contents. Eureka! There is what he needed. He got her an ice pack. Then he was the guardian of supers, and he opened the door for more help.

His other friend was Batman. Batman is officially from Gotham City. Then he was a buddy of Nanny Man. Nanny Man is so relieved that his mom, he, and his brother got help from his mom's friends who rushed over to help. He realized that his job was not finished. Because he did such a great job in the rescue of his mom, he was given a most important job. He was now the guardian of supers. His other friend was Batman.They were off to complete his mission.

Nanny Man is so exhausted from the busy day that he decided to rest his eyes just for a minute. He went to sleep instead. During this nap, he was contacted through a dream by his mentor affectionately known simply as Obi by his trainees. Obi had another rescue for Nanny Man and Batman. Obi told of a land far, far away called China. An evil emperor had captured Spiderman, Captain America, and Hulk. Rescuing them was a dangerous task, but it had to be done. Nanny Man woke up from his dream with new energy and determination to not run from this new challenge.

Traveling to China was a new adventure. He and Batman could hardly believe some of the unique sights visible even for the space traveler.


Nanny is intrigued by the sights of China. He sees dangers ahead in the rescue. There are many strange creatures in this far away land.


Communication in this strange place is only by video conferencing. New heroes that are already in China must join the rescuers.


This new superhero is named Daddy Man.

The heroes must fight the evil emperor. What was strange is that the evil one resembles a child.


An elaborate rescue by becoming invisible is necessary. The battle is long and dangerous. The battle is fought in strange and difficult terrain. But Nanny Man's army of rescuers cannot be defeated.



Nanny and the army of the heroes must rescue the superheros so that mankind can be saved. The emperor and his army cannot see what is attacking them. The amazing army of new rescuers from a galaxy far, far away fought with highly advanced light sabers and other weapons that proved to be indefensible. They are able to rescue all of the supers - Spiderman, Captain America, and Hulk. Nanny Man to the rescue again.

*This story is co-authored by Clayton.

Luke Meets Nanny Man

Luke found himself desiring a new adventure and maybe meeting a new friend. He had so many friends, but Luke never turned down an adventure that would introduce him to new friends. Luke always wanted to explore new places. Going further out in space than he had been before required a larger, primitive technological rocket. Luke remembered hearing ancient stories of something called a space shuttle. Maybe he could go back to the cave where he found the comics and find the plans and bill of materials to build his own shuttle.


Luke was able to re-locate the cave. He climbed deeper and deeper into the underground of this mysterious cave. Suddenly, he discovered an old laboratory. There were stacks of ancient lab experiments and reports. Brushing the cobwebs aside, Luke poured over these papers. There in the corner of the lab was an old machine. Luke was amazed when he realized that he had discovered one of what scientist then called a computer. This was before the creation of the teleprompter of this age. A computer was so archaic. Maybe Luke could use this to solve the mystery of the building of his own space shuttle. Excitedly, he was able to pull up old drawings of a shuttle from the hard drive of the computer. Now he must acquire the materials to build this ancient space traveler. Through the help of Obi, Yoda, Hans, and his robot sidekicks, Luke was finally able to construct his own shuttle. He found a museum of space travel and was able to get some rocket fuel. He had heard stories of a superhero named Nanny Man and his companion Brownie. This was to be his new friend.


Nanny Man was relatively young but was very creative. He rescued a mom that fell down a staircase, fed the screaming, hungry toddler, and was the doorman for others that were needed to supply more help. Nanny Man was wise beyond his age. Luke was anxious to meet this superhero. It was finally time to begin his journey. Luke climbed in the shuttle, secured the harness, and checked all the gauges prior to lift off. 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 Lift off.


Nanny Man's home plant was beautiful even from way up in space. It was amazingly colorful. Luke had never seen such vibrant colors. The planet was named Ynnan World, a perfect planet for a superhero. Luke set the shuttle down like an expert on planet floor. Now Luke must search for Nanny Man. Luke carefully descended the stairs. He could not believe it. At the foot of the stairs was a welcoming party consisting of Nanny Man and some planet dignitaries. Luke was known and admired throughout the universe. Luke could not wait to begin an adventure with Nanny Man.

Clayton and the Magic Mirror

Clayton is a four year old boy with a vivid imagination. He has a little brother that looks up to him. Drew wants to be just like him. Nobody can make Drew giggle like Clayton can. Every morning the awesome sunrise introduces a new day with promise.


Clayton can not wait to see what adventure this new day will hold. Will they be as much fun as those he dreams about every night.

Last night he remembers dreaming about pretending to be Luke Skywalker. Was Luke his alter ego?


A smile came over Clayton's face as he remembered his adventure with Superman.

Superman gives him a knowing glance and encourages Luke to fiddle with the dials. One dial is labeled Gotham City 1949. Luke pushes the dial. Weird sights and sounds happen. Luke quickly realizes that they have wandered into a time capsule. They are hurdling toward the past. Luke is curious. He notices Superman has a smile on his face. He seems eager to begin the adventure. Clark (aka Superman) jumps into the Sky to fly toward Gotham City pledging to save Gotham City from the villains. Who is that woman standing in their path? She is the female villain, Daisy Bella.

Or was his favorite adventure the one with Woody and Buzz Lightyear.

Once upon a time, Buzz Lightyear was having trouble with Zurg from the planet Mars. On Mars, he was destroying all of the pieces of aliens on F-E-Y. Zurg's ultimate goal is to not only destroy Mars but to also annihilate life on Earth by blowing up the Moon that lights the planet Earth.

Clayton not only imagined adventures, he also had the costumes to match each of his magical imaginative dreams. The biggest delima was what adventure would he have today?

As he wakes up this summer morning, he vaguely remembers that he had a truly amazing dream. As he rubs his sleepy eyes, he notices something new in his room. It is an elaborate mirror. He had never noticed it before. Was it here yesterday? Maybe he was still asleep, and this is only a dream.Clayton stares into the mirror. It can't be a dream because Clayton recognized the reflection. He was seeing himself as one of characters in his dream.


Every time he looked in the mirror he was a different characters from his amazing, realistic dreams. Was he going to be Superman and rescue Jimmy and Lois?


Maybe Captain America needs to be the hero.


Was he to be Buzz today and save Mars and the Earth with his buddy Woody?


Maybe he is going to be the doctor that saves a new born baby? Or maybe he will be able to provide the skills that will cure a man who has been unconscious for a long time.


He looks again in the mirror to see himself as a race car driver. Maybe Clayton is going to win the Daytona 500 in Florida. Is he another Dale Ernhart? His dad will be ecstatic.


All of a sudden, Clayton heard a fire alarm at his neighbor's house. He knew what his adventure would be today. He looked in the mirror. A real fireman was staring back at him!


He yelled for his neighbors to be calm. Fireman Clayton is on his way!

Drew calling out Clayton's name brings him back to the real world. This really will be a day filled with fun and adventure with his little brother.

Luke Goes to Mars

Luke could not begin to forget his adventure at Gotham City and Bella. He felt such a rush of excitement joining forces with Superman in the rescue of Jimmy and Lois Lane. What other villains, times and places could he be teleported to in the new found time capsule? There is only one way to find out; he must re-enter the time machine and dial in a new nemises, time and place.

Luke entered the machine and dialed in Zurg (a villain), Mars, and the Old West. Who would led him through this dismal, forgotten time and place? Using the dial for Mars confirmed scientific thought that Mars had existed for centuries.


Pictures of Old West heroes could be seen on the time capsule dial. Luke had heard of a duo of heroes named Woody and Buzz Lightyear. Luke punched the START button and waited anxiously. The time machine began to shake violently. Luke held on for dear life. Luke enjoyed being a time traveler; it was exciting to begin a new adventure.

He arrived at his destination. He recognized Woody from an old movie poster. There was also on the Toy Story poster was a strange looking character in an astronaut's suit. Luke was able to recognize that this character was Woody's sidekick Buzz Lightyear. Both Woody and Buzz were visibly excited and amazed when they saw Luke. Buzz seemed to be the most pleased that Luke was there and seemed eager to begin an adventure. It even appears that Buzz was the most anxious to begin to come to the aid of the citizens of F-E-Y.


What was happening? Why was Buzz so determined to complete his adventure? What was the history behind the action on Mars? Woody was the only one who could answer Luke's questions. Woody remembered hearing this epic story from a wise sage named Clayton. Here is the story Woody began to tell Luke:

Once upon a time, Buzz Lightyear was having trouble with Zurg from the planet Mars. On Mars, he was destroying all of the pieces of aliens on F-E-Y. Zurg's ultimate goal is to not only destroy Mars but to also annihilate life on Earth by blowing up the Moon that lights the planet Earth.

What a diabolical plan! Woody and Luke must came to Buzz's aid. No one person – even Buzz – can single handed stop this evil plot. They must brain storm a logical solution. Zurg must be convinced that Mars can not meet the same fate as F-E-Y. The trio of heroes decide to encourage the remaining living citizens of F-E-Y to join the army that is defending Mars from Zurg. The three decide to put Zurg into a deep sleep and cause him to temporarily cease his destruction of Mars. His destruction of the civilization on Mars must be stopped. The citizens of F-E-Y can become allies of Luke, Woody, and Buzz.

Just like the method used on Bella to cause her to be subconsciously used to assist Superman in the rescue of his friends, a cover of undetectable gas filled the surroundings of Zurg. The creature fell into a deep sleep. His thoughts can now be controlled. Through mind control, Zurg is now becoming the salvation of Mars not the destroyer. He will be reformed and become one of the “good guys” not an evil foe. In the deep sleep of Zurg, his mind was taken over by good not evil. When he woke up, Zurg freed the F-E-Y's, reestablished the civilization on Mars, and ceased to plan the destruction of the Earth's Moon. Woody and Buzz realize that the outcome would be much different without the unbelievable mental capabilities of the famed Luke Skywalker.

Luke was thankful to be helpful, but now he must return to the time capsule and be teleported back to his home. How sad to leave his new found friends. But a new adventure is on the horizon for Luke.

Luke Joins Forces with Superman

Luke begins to read the new found strange comic books. Luke reads about unique science experiments.

Suddenly, he sees a funny box. Is it Clark Kent's phone booth? It looks so different from Clark's phone booth. Suddenly Clark Kent jumps out of the pages and leads Luke to the mysterious box. His curiosity gets the best of him, and Luke boldly enters this box. Luke glares at the side of the machine. He realizes that one side of it is covered in dials and levers. What is this?



Superman gives him a knowing glance and encourages Luke to fiddle with the dials. One dial is labeled Gotham City 1949. Luke pushes the dial. Weird sights and sounds happen. Luke quickly realizes that they have wandered into a time capsule. They are hurdling toward the past. Luke is curious. He notices Superman has a smile on his face. He seems eager to begin the adventure. Clark (aka Superman) jumps into the Sky to fly toward Gotham City pledging to save Gotham City from the villains. Who is that woman standing in their path? She is the female villain, Daisy Bella.



She has captured Jimmy and holding him hostage Jimmy's face is darkened by fear. Has she captured anyone else? Bella has Jimmy locked in a well fortified cage. Yikes! She also has locked inside this different cage Lois Lane. What diabolical plan does she have on her mind? She knows these two friends will get Superman's attention. Bella believes that she will be able to lure Superman into her snare using his two best friends as bait. Little does she know that good will triumph over her evil desire to defeat Superman.



Superman stares at the situation. Luke ponders how he can help Superman free his friends. Luke remembers being able to use his powers of ESP to be able to even manipulate the thoughts of another person. He decides to attempt the feat with Bella. It will be necessary to make her completely under his control; she must be unconscious in order to be under his power. Luke shares his plan with Superman; they realize that this is their only option. It must work. Bella is distracted by a sudden strange storm that seems to be about to attack them. Luke must spring into action. Superman sprays the area with a compound to put everyone to sleep. He is able to isolate the spray only on Bella leaving both Jimmy and Lois safe. Bella quickly falls asleep allowing Luke to enter her thoughts and convince her to believe that she must release Jimmy and Lois. Bella is awakening. This must work! Without any reason, Bella opens the cages. Jimmy and Lois are swooped up by Superman, and they all escape.

Superman is indebted to Luke for freeing his friends with his quick thinking. They all are off to a new adventure.