Things that make you go "hmmmmm"............

I've had a number of things on my mind over the past couple of weeks and I've decided to put my thoughts "out there" for you all to think about as well. Hopefully, by the time I get to the end of this post I will have gotten all of you thinking about these things, AND tied all my thoughts together into a neat little bundle.
OK, here goes..........

First off, we (as a group) started this little family blog in an attempt to keep each other updated on our day-to-day lives and keep in touch. So far this has worked out well for most of us. Some folks are a little more involved than others, but I think those who are not contributing have at least been reading the other blogs....am I right??? (Comments please on this point...) With that being said, over the past couple of weeks I've noticed comments coming from other folks not related to our family in ANY WAY who have stumbled upon one of our family posts. I don't know if it's just me, but I forget when I'm putting my boring life "out there" that anyone in blogland can read what we've written. This is not a "BAD" thing, but sometimes a bit disconcerting because I only get on this site to read what the family has been up to. I, personally, have a list of frequently visited blogs and only visit those particular blogs when I'm online. I guess it never occurred to me that I could go "out there" and look through other folks' blogs, but I can!!!!

With all of that being said, my next admission may come as a surprise to some of you. When we were setting up this blog site, Katie sent me a link to her friend, Catherine's blog, which I immediately added to my "list" and I check her site for new updates whenever I'm online (Hi, Cat!! ;))........ Anyway, Catherine is a friend of KT's from college and she and her wonderful husband, Dave, currently live in Tallahassee.

A couple of weeks ago, Catherine had a link to another blog that she said she reads regularly. The first time she posted something about this blog, I went to it and read a little. It was a very cute blog by a young woman who is a stay-at-home mom with four small children and outlines her childrens' daily escapades. It was, as I said, cute, but not where I am in my life at this time. I just figured "Been there, done that"...... Anyway, a few days later Catherine had another post about this blog and I went back AGAIN...... This time things were much different. The author of this blog, Stephanie Nielson, lives a distance from the rest of her family and as a group the family began a blog, much like ours, to keep in touch. Stephanie has a sister named Courtney Jane who also has a blog and "C Jane" and Stephanie have links to each others sites on their respective blogs. Courtney's blog is called "C Jane Run" and Stephanie's blog is "The NieNie Dialogues". Stephanie and Courtney are from a large Mormon family and they are all very close. It seems Stephanie and her husband (Christian) and their children live in Arizona, while the rest of the family lives in Provo, Utah. According to the blog, Christian recently got his private pilot's license and the couple took a trip in the little plane, without the children. They also had Christian's instructor pilot with them. The plane crashed and the instructor pilot was killed instantly. Christian was burned over 30% of his body and Stephanie over 83% of her body. I have been following their progress every day for the past 3-4 weeks, along with a great number of other folks out there. Stephanie's family has been interviewed on the Today Show, in numerous newspapers and magazines, including People Magazine. Courtney had a 3-month old baby at the time of the accident and she has taken Stephanie's 3 older children in and another sister has taken Stephanie's baby to take care of until the parents are out of the hospital. This family has drawn together in a time of crisis and they are raising funds for the hospital bills, as well as keeping the children fed, clothed, and (most importantly) LOVED throughout this experience. As of today, both Stephanie and Christian have had multiple skin graft surgeries and Christian was able to go to Stephanie's room to see her for the first time yesterday. Stephanie, however, with the more severe injuries, has been in a drug induced coma since the day of the accident. Since I've been keeping up with this wonderful family, they have been included in my daily prayers. I feel this is the absolute MINIMUM I can do for them. You may want to check out these two blogs. I actually went back and read all of "The NieNie Dialogues" from the begining. It was sort of like reading a book after you read the ending first. Somewhat bittersweet......

Since I've been keeping up with this close-knit family, I've taken the time to reflect on our own very close-knit family. So many things they talk about remind me of us...... No one is ever afraid to make a joke at another's expense. (Today's post to "C Jane Run" talks about Stephanie's teenage lovelife. VERY entertaining!!!) Anyway, I have something that's been on my mind for quite some time now and I didn't know how to introduce it to this blog. Seeing this open and loving family putting their lives "out there", I decided there is no better time than NOW to pass on this little "tidbit".

As you all remember, Steve and I were able to come to Atlanta for Christmas last year (with Katie and Bryan in tow...). Believe it or not, this is the first time in all these years that we have participated in the ANNUAL TOWHEY CHRISTMAS EXTRAVAGANZA. Since we've been away for most of our married life, we've only heard about all the fun times. At this past year's event, I (being the only sister and this year "the prodigal child") was approached by THREE of my sisters-in-law to tell me how great their lives are. Each person spoke to me totally unsolicited and privately, but said how much she loves her husband (my brother) and how much fun these guys have brought to their lives. It was a really great Christmas gift to me and I was so proud to be a part of this great, fun and loving family!!!!

After reading of the trials and tribulations of the family(s) above, I felt compelled to share this information with my great family. First off, once again, I have to say THANK YOU, MOM AND DAD, for raising us to have fun and to love freely and openly. Secondly, I want to say THANK YOU to my sisters-in-law for letting me know that my brothers are happy in their lives. Thirdly, I want to say THANK YOU, GOD, for the life of our family. We have been so untouched by any major life threatening accidents or health problems. Sure, there are a few things going on in everyone's life with the day-to-day health issues, but on the whole we have been SO TRULY BLESSED with the life we have had.

Now, I would like to make a request of each family member who reads this blog, whether you normally comment or not...... I would like each of you to either write a comment or devote an entire blog of your own to your BEST childhood memory. I would love to read something that makes me laugh out loud while I'm sitting here with my computer. I know I have my own memory, and it's one that most of you probably don't remember, filled with childhood angst and tears.......I'll share it on another day, but in the meantime, remember that there are lots of folks out there who are reading this that we may not even know, so let's let them know what a GREAT FAMILY we have!!!!

Thank you, Mom and Dad.....

I love you all.......